SYDA and Gurumayi 1

Subject: SYDA and Gurumayi 1
From: danshaw@pipeline.com (Daniel Shaw)
Date: 9 Oct 1995 18:31:40 GMT
Approved: srh <srh@rbhatnagar>
Article: 367 of soc.religion.hindu
Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
Organization: none

In response to your query, I would like to forward to you two open letters,
each written by former devotees, the first about Muktananda, and the other
about Gurumayi. These are letters criticizing these gurus and seeking to
speak out about very serious abuses they are responsible for. I hope you
will take the time to read this information. I will also include a list of
other publications which corroborate the information in these 2 open
letters.

Please also note that the New Yorker magazine published an exceptionally
well researched article about scandal and corruption pertaining to
Gurumayi, in their Nov. 14th, 1994 issue.

Please let me know your response: mail to
danshaw@pipeline.com

The letters follow:

AN OPEN LETTER OF RESIGNATION FROM SWAMI ABHAYANANDA TO
MUKTANANDA

(An exact, unedited transcription of the original, then well-known letter
circulated by Swami Abhayananda in the Baba days, ca. 1981.)

Dear Muktananda,

The time has come, I feel, to make a testament for you and for all my
friends
in Siddha Yoga:

The events which led up to my leaving Siddha Yoga began in South Fallsburg
in
the summer of 1980 when I was called to the nearby house of a lady devotee
of
yours who told me of a teenage girl who had confided in her that you,
Muktananda, had called her into your apartments, had asked her to disrobe,
and had taken liberties with her on the pretext of examining her virginity.

I was, of course shocked; but thought to myself: "The girl must be lying!
But even if she's not, there must be some good reason behind it. He's a
Siddha--he can do whatever he likes." I did not investigate further; I did

not talk to the girl. The incident ended.

The lady then returned to her home in Europe, and shortly after Swami
Tejomayananda mysteriously vanished. You learned from an informant that
the
lady was talking about the young girl's story, and you suspected her
involvement in the Swami's disappearance. It was then that you began your
campaign to discredit the lady as well as the Swami so that no one would
listen to what they might say. The Swami, you told me; was a "turd" who
left
only because he needed a woman, and the lady, you told me, was a
dope-smuggler, a spy, a sex maniac who had given birth to twins, proving
that
she had had sexual intercourse with a number of men consecutively.

You learned that I was on friendly terms with this lady and her family, and

so you enlisted me in your harassment and defamation campaign, calling me
in
Chicago sometimes twice a week to instruct me to call this lady collect and

tell her that "Baba is very powerful," that she should be careful of what
she
says because you had spies everywhere who were watching her every move.
You
became maniacal, Muktananda, whenever you spoke of her. You pressed me to
soak her for all the money I could get out of her, which I declined to do,
and finally you urged me to insult her and sever our relationship, which I
did to your apparent satisfaction.

Still, I knew too much. I also had to be made to look like an incompetent
fool who could be easily discredited, should I begin to speak about these
things. So, in January of this year, I was sent to live in a two-bedroom
apartment with three working girls in Oklahoma City with no explanation.
Nonetheless, I went unquestioningly, established an ashram there, and kept
at
going despite your apparent disinterest and frequent insults. Then, on
Sunday, June 7, the "rumors" finally reached me.

Two well-respected, long-time devotees of yours came to visit me at the
ashram, and told me some very astonishing stories which they had heard by
phone from some ex-devotees of yours in Oakland, California. According to
their caller: you, Muktananda, sent two men, Shreepati and Joe Don Looney,

to Oakland at the time you returned from California to New York, to harass
and threaten two young couples there who had recently withdrawn from your
service. They were told by your men to stop talking about your escapades
with young girls in your bedroom or they would be "taken care of." The
couples then went to the District Attorney in Oakland and filed a statement

of complaint. They also hired a lawyer who informed you that if you did
not
cease harassing these people, a suit would be filed. The couples then
received further threats of disfigurement before your two men left town.

This was the "gossip" I listened to on that Sunday in June. I told friends

that I could not believe all these accusations without proof. I requested
them to arrange for their Oakland informant to contact me; I wanted to hear

these rumors from their source.

The following day I received a call from a person in Oakland whom I had
known
very well since our early days together in Ganeshpuri. He told me very
convincingly that all these previously mentioned events had actually
occurred: There were scores of stories, he said, from a number of girls,
reputable and well-known to me, who reported having been led into your
quarters and sexually enjoyed by you, Muktananda, in the name of Tantra
initiation. He and his friends had spoken of these things and had
subsequently been visited, harassed, and threatened by your men.

I was in a quandary. What was I to do? I could not share this with
anyone,
and I knew what your response would be if I were to ask you about it. My
only real choice seemed to be to investigate these stories for myself. So
I
decided to take a vacation, go to Oakland and enquire further in an attempt

to determine the truth of the matter.

I withdrew from the ashram funds the back pay and clothing allowance owed
to
me, and bought a ticket to Oakland. I visited and stayed with the people
who
had supposedly been threatened. I listened to their accounts of numerous
girls whom I had known over the years who had reported to them their
stories
of sexual service to you, and heard for myself from one girl who described
her own experience of sexual intercourse with you. I also heard from
others
who corroborated the stories of harassment and threats from your two men.
After thorough questioning, I could not help feeling that their stories
were
true. I could not help feeling that there was too much agreement, too much

outrage, and too many people saying the same to imagine that they were all
making this up.

The capper to all this came when finally I heard from Swami Tejomayananda.
He had known about your "sex leela," as he called it, from 1977. You
discovered that he knew about it, and thereafter relegated him to a
background position from which it was apparent that he was no longer in
favor. This way, he could easily be accused of "sour grapes" if ever he
said
anything. Still he remained--though sullenly, until he learned of your
attempted seduction of his teenage daughter; then, he left in the middle of

the night in silent outrage.

Previously, I had found it possible to rationalize most of your behavior,
Muktananda, and to simply suspend judgement on the remainder. But I could
find no way to rationalize such deceit, such duplicity, as you have
apparently practiced on your faithful disciples over the years. I could
find
no way to make it fit my conception of "human perfection." I believe that
when a Guru begins to lose sight of moral values--whether because of
senility, madness, illness, or whatever reason--, and regards others as
objects to manipulate and use for his own ends, and when he begins to
resort
to threats of violence to hide the lie of his personal life, it is a
disciple's DUTY to leave that Guru. It is therefore with much regret and
deep anguish that I feel forced to terminate my discipleship to you. May
God
protect and guide you.

Sincerely,

Stan Trout
aka Swami Abhayananda

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A CRITICAL SYDA BIBLIOGRAPHY

HARD-COPY SOURCE #1. Harris, Lis. "O Guru, Guru, Guru." The New Yorker,
November 14, 1994.

Incipit: "The spiritual movement known as SYDA boasts a glittering
clientele
and a multimillion-dollar Catskills retreat. But behind all the serenity
lie
some uncomfortable, ill-kept secrets--and a less than blissful struggle
about
succession."

Summary: A meticulously researched account which includes recent
allegations
as well as a convenient review of old allegations.

HARD-COPY SOURCE #2. "I was ABDUCTED," in The Illustrated Weekly of India:

March 16-22, 1986.

Incipit: "In a sensational interview after his escape from Hawaii, Swami
Nityananda reveals how he was forced to abdicate and abducted from the
country by Ganeshpuri's gang of foreign devotees."

HARD-COPY SOURCE #3. Rodarmor, William. "The Secret Life of Swami
Muktananda." CoEvolution Quarterly, Winter 1983.

Published abstract: "The last few years of Swami Muktananda's life saw a
proliferation of abuses which are only now coming to light. William
Rodarmor
spent months interviewing former and current followers for this article.
CoEvolution Quarterly independently contacted his major sources and
confirmed
the authenticity of their quotes and allegations."

HARD-COPY SOURCE #4. Kottary, Sailesh. Cover story. The Illustrated
Weekly of India, Jan. 19, 1986.

HARD-COPY SOURCE #5. Hard copies of related documents are available from
Cult Awareness Network (C.A.N.), (312) 267-7777, 2421 W. Pratt Blvd., Ste.
1173, Chicago, IL 60645.