[Advaita-l] Swami Nithyananda

[Ravi Parimi]

> Without commenting on the particular instance of the scandals currently
> associated with this Swami Nityananda, let me just make a few general
> comments.
>
>
>
> 1. A person who acquires Yoga siddhis is not necessarily a good guru.
> 2. A person who acquires some Yoga siddhis is not necessarily a master
>   of all Yoga siddhis.
> 3. Even a person who has mastered all the powerful Yoga siddhis is not a
>   role model if he has not given up attachment to sense objects.
> 4. The powers that gurus claim and the powers that they actually have
>   can be very different things! It is up to those who are looking for gurus,
>   to check for the gap between what is claimed and what is actually there.
> 4. A person who wears saffron robes, but does not have a time-tested and
>   authentic guru-paramparA behind him/her, has to be treated with caution.
> 5. My own thumb-rule: if some person amasses a lot of material wealth and
>   fame within a few years of arriving in public as a guru, or if some guru has
>   a penchant for being in the news all the time, it is suspicious, to say the
>   least. Guru-dom is not a tradeable commodity to be marketed and publicized
>   via media outlets.
>

Vidyasankar ji,

I totally agree with you. While the presence of an ashram and some
wealth around a guru cannot be ruled out these days, an excess of any
of these results in corruption. Long before these scandals about Swami
Nithyananda hit the media, I watched a few of his videos/interviews on
youtube. I was unable to find support for some of his statements in
shruti (or even by comparison with the life of Bhagavan Ramana
Maharshi)

 - Going into great details about the experience of self realization.
 - Holding a gathering to celebrate 10/20 years of obtaining self-realization !

A true teacher would never promote deha-abhimana and would urge
devotees (or students) to stick to the teaching and pursue their
sadhana. It is the fallacy of human mind to postpone learning shastra
to a future date since engaging in the service of the guru, thereby
gaining his good will seems to give it a sense of security. Failure to
contemplate on a guru's teachings and its relevance often misleads
people and they end up wasting several years on nothing.
So, it can be said that Isvara's grace is absolutely required in
finding the right guru. When a guru sticks to teaching only the
subject of Self knowledge, he is not bound of have thousands of
followers, neither is he bedecked in riches.

> I am engaging in this thread not because this topic of is worthy of discussion
> here, but only because this list has a lot of sincere seekers after truth, who
> may have similar questions in their minds.

We don't gain anything by blaming the Swami or his organization for
their alleged (mis)deeds . This could just be a wake up call for all
the serious sadhakas to recognize the pitfalls that might confront
them during their sadhana and realize the importance of studying
shastra under an able teacher to make any progress in their quest for
the truth.

Regards,
--ravi