The greatness of the Rishi tradition in India

A Rishi is one who flows or is in tune with the rhythmic movement of the universe, writes Sampadananda Mishra, a Sanskrit scholar from Odisha who is the director of Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Indian Culture in Pondicherry, in Pragyata. Read on: 

Introduction

इदं नम ऋषिभ्यः पूर्वेभ्यः पूर्वजेभ्यः पथिक्र्द्भ्यः ||

|| idaṁ namaḥ ṛṣibhyaḥ pūrvajebhyaḥ pūrvebhyaḥ pathikṛdbhyaḥ || (Rigveda, 10.14.15)

“We offer our obeisance to the Rishis, born of old, the ancients, the path-makers.” 

India, indeed, is the land of the Rishis. Therefore, the culture of India is often called as the culture of the Rishis. The tradition of the Rishis in India seems to be perennially flowing, like a stream, to enrich the mind and imagination of her common people. So, in India, the Rishis are revered as supreme personalities. Living a true life was to be learnt from the Rishis.

A Rishi is the one through whom the secret words of the Vedas are revealed,1 the one who has the inner sight to see the Mantra. Therefore, the Rishis are known as the seers of the Mantra - ṛṣayah mantradraṣṭāraḥ.2 Sri Aurobindo says that a Rishi "sees or discovers an inner truth and puts it into self-effective language - the Mantra."3 He further elucidates that a Rishi is the seer. He has seen the Mantras (mantradraṣṭā). According to Sri Aurobindo,

"The Rishi was not the individual composer of the hymns but the seer (draṣṭā) of an eternal truth and an impersonal knowledge."4

He does not merely see, he also hears. He possesses a supernatural faculty of hearing. To his inner audience 'the divine word came vibrating out of the Infinite'. So he is called Kavi satyashruta, the hearer of Truth. He is the possessor of great spiritual and occult knowledge, the complete inner knowledge. The Rishis "were seers as well as sages, they were men of vision who saw things in their meditation in images, often symbolic images, which might precede an experience and put it in a concrete form." So it was possible for the Rishis "to see at once the inner experience and in image its symbolic happenings."5 In the words of Yaskacharya, ‚the Mantra came to the Rishis who were doing tapas, therefore they became Rishis, in that lies the Rishihood of the Rishis." tadenān tapasyamānān brahama svayamabhyanārṣat | tadṛṣayo'bhavan| tadṛṣināṁ ṛṣitvam| 6 Elsewhere he observes that the purport of the Mantras has to be reached by tapas alone'7, tasyāstapasā pāramīpsitavyam. Shaunaka supports Yaskacharya's viewpoint when he says in his Brhaddevata, "The Mantra is not perceptible to one who is not a Rishi" 8 na pratyaksamanṛṣḥiṇāmasti mantram. He further declares: 

"He knows the gods who knows the Riks. The Mantras to be approached through Yoga with self-control and skill, understanding, general knowledge and above all tapasya."9

Rishis are the possessors of great spiritual and occult knowledge, the complete inner knowledge. They are men of vision who during their meditation see images and put these in a concrete form. So it is possible for the Rishis to experience at the same time the inner Truth as well as see in image its symbolic happenings.

The Rishis, the seers of the Mantra devoted to a life of Spirit, discover a certain line of development beyond the range of sensory perception by means of their strength of self-discipline and achieve a many-sided inner progress.

 The word ‘Rishi’ comes from the root ‘Rish’ which in Sanskrit means, ‘to go’, ‘to move’ and ‘to flow’. Thus, a Rishi is the ‘one who flows or moves or is in tune with the rhythmic flow or movement of the universe’. He is one with the movement. He vibrates with the vibration of the movement. He knows the truth of the whole of the movement.  

A Rishi is also known as kavi, the poet; satyadraṣṭā, the seer of the truth; satyasrotā, the hearer of the truth; krāntadarṣī, of transcendental vision; mantradraṣṭā, the seer of the Mantra; krāntadarṣī, of transcendental vision; mantradraṣṭā, the seer of the Mantra. In India, Rishis have always been given the highest reverence. Their words always held an authority greater than those of kings and other leaders of the society. Throughout the ages India has thrown up a long line of seers and sages of various orders and there is hardly any period in her history where there have not been at least a few seers and sages.

In the words of Sri Aurobindo:

“Ours is the eternal land, the eternal people, the eternal religion, whose strength, greatness, holiness may be overclouded but never, even for a moment, utterly cease. The hero, the Rishi, the saint, are the natural fruits of our Indian soil; and there has been no age in which they have not been born… The Rishi is different from the saint. His life may not have been distinguished by superior holiness nor his character by an ideal beauty. He is not great by what he was himself but by what he has expressed. A great and vivifying message had to be given to a nation or to humanity; and God has chosen this mouth on which to shape the words of the message. A momentous vision had to be revealed; and it is his eyes which the Almighty first unseals. The message which he has received, the vision which has been vouchsafed to him, he declares to the world with all the strength that is in him, and in one supreme moment of inspiration expresses it in words which have merely to be uttered to stir men’s inmost natures, clarify their minds, seize their hearts and impel them to things which would have been impossible to them in their ordinary moments. Those words are the mantra which he was born to reveal and of that mantra he is the seer.” 10

In India, the Rishi was always, recognized, as it is even now, as the real teacher, the guru. He is all powerful to intervene between the seeker and the highest object of seeking. He knows right word of instruction and right mantra of initiation. He himself is the living example of the ideal that he places before the seeker. His power flows directly from within to the inmost being of the seeker.

The Rishis devoted maximum time of their life to self-study, to composition of various literary works, imparting knowledge to the disciples, propagating knowledge to the masses and doing tapas for the good of the world. The Rishi is the friend of all and does good to all. His message is oneness in which he lives all the times and he knows nothing of division. In the words of Sri Aurobindo,

"The seer, the freed & illuminated soul hates none, condemns nothing but loves all and helps all; he is sarvabhutahite ratah, his occupation & delight are to do good to all creatures. He is the Self seeing the Self in all, loving the Self in all, enjoying the Self in all, helping the Self in all. That is the ethics & morality of the Vedanta."11

Rishis of the Veda

The Rishis of the Veda were great mystics whose first concern was spiritual - not the spiritual as divorced from the temporal and the secular, but as both the high point and sustaining base of all that is in the universe.

According to Sri Aurobindo, the Rishis, the poet-seers of the Veda, were men ‚

"…with a great spiritual and occult knowledge not shared by ordinary human beings, men who handed down this knowledge and their powers by a secret initiation to their descendant and chosen disciples." 12

The contributions of the Rishis can be experienced/ observed through the verses of the four Vedas, of which the Rig Veda is considered the oldest. The Rigveda has ten mandalas or sections. Out of the ten sections, the first and the last were the contributions of various Rishis. From second to the ninth each section is the contribution of the Rishis of a particular family. In Rigveda the second Mandala is credited to the family of Bhrigu; the third Mandala is to the family of Vishvamitra; the fourth to the family of Gautama and the fifth to the family of Atri; while the sixth Mandala is by the family of Bharadvaja the seventh is accredited to the family of Vasishtha; the seers of the eighth Mandala belong to the family of Kanva and the ninth Mandala to the family of Angirasas. 

It must not be understood that all those who lived in the Vedic age were Rishis, or all the Rishis and common people of that time had attained an all round prosperity – spiritual and material. Rather it has to be understood thus: The Rishis, the seers of the Mantra, devoted to a life of Spirit, discovered a certain line of development beyond the range of sensory perception by means of their strength of self-discipline and achieved a many-sided inner progress. Whatever they achieved by their tapasya they then cast into a veiled language which they called ‘Mantra. 

Arunachala temple in Tiruvannamalai, courtesy Mat McDermott

Types of Rishis

These Rishis of Vedic period were of two types: those who perceived the Mantras directly by the power of their tapas and the others who were incapable of direct perception but had an intense aspiration to go deep into the Mantras perceived by the superior Rishis. The first kind of Rishis were called sākṣātkṛtadharmā and the second type of Rishis were called asākṣātkṛtadharmā.13 Later the sense of the term Rishi got expanded and we come across several types of Rishis mentioned in our Shastras: śrutarṣi, kāṇḍarṣi, taparṣi, satyarṣi, devarṣi, maharṣi, paramarṣi, brahmarṣi, rājarṣi, janarṣi etc.14 The role of the Rishis as seers is prominent in the Vedic literature, while their role as teachers is emphasized in the epics and Puranas. In the epics we find mention about various categories of these Rishis: the Rishis who were householders (gṛhāśtasramīs), Rishis who had no wives and children or never thought of women (ūrdhvaretās), Rishis who were hermit dwellers (āśramavāsins), Rishis who were continuous wanderers (yāyāvaras), Rishis engaged in priestly duties (purohitas), Rishis constantly engaged in imparting sacred knowledge to the disciples (śāstrādhyāpakas), Rishis engaged in imparting training in warfare (śastrādhyāpakas), Rishis who were constantly engaged in intense tapas (ugratapasvins) etc.

When we look at the lives of these Rishis we find that majority of the Rishis were householders. They lived in their hermitages with their families, chanted Vedic hymns, imparted sacred knowledge to the disciples, practiced tapas, performed daily rituals and other sacrifices. 

Rishikas or the Women Seers

In the Vedas as well as in the other Vedic scriptures we find mention about several women seers. These women seers or Rishikās were mostly the family members of the Rishis, either wives or daughters. In the Rigveda we find mention about twenty-one Rishikās. During the Vedic period the women were free to live the life of a brahmacharini or sannyasini. We find mention in our scriptures about Shrutavati, a daughter of Rishi Bhardwaj who remained a brahmacharini all her life and entered into deep study of the Vedas; Shrimati, a daughter of Shāndilya, who led a similar life; Sulabhā who was an authority on the Vedas and entered into Vedic arguments with King Janaka; and about many other women who were given entirely to the study of the Vedas.

The wives and daughters of the Rishis were not just Veda learners but many of them were seers of mantras. So, we see Lopāmudrā (Rigveda, 1:179), Romashā (Rigveda, 1:126:7), Aditi (Rigveda, 4:18:7), Nadyā (Rigveda, 3:33), Ghoshā (Rigveda, 10:39), Apālā (Rigveda, 8:91.1 to 7), Visvavārā (Rigveda, 5:28), Indrāni (Rigveda, 10: 86 and 145), Godhā (Rigveda, 10:134:6,7) and few others like Shraddhā, Maitreyi, Urvashi, Vāgambhrini and Gārgi.

We find in the Brihadaranyka Upanishad (Chapter 3, section 6) Gārgi questioning to Yajnyavalkya. This shows the Rishikās were actively participating in the various conferences on brahmavidyā. We see Maitreyi’s aspiration for attaining immortality. The kings and princes of the Vedic age preferred to marry the daughters of the Rishis in order to bring home the most illumined persons as their spouses. At the same time we see that many princesses, deeply interested to lead spiritual life, married to the Rishis and lived in the Ashrams. 

Conclusion

Since time immemorial, we see a long line of the tradition of Rishis in India. They ‚were creators, educators, guides of men and the life of the Indian people in ancient times was largely developed and directed by their shaping influence.‛15 It is important to note that there has always been a continuity of this tradition of Rishis and there has not been any time when the Rishis have not taken birth in this land. If India had a glorious past it was because of the seers and sages and saints of this land. Though engaged primarily in a tapasyä of knowledge and self-discipline, the Rishis always did good to the world. The following words of Swami Sivananda Saraswati, the founder of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, which he wrote in the introduction to his book on the Lives of Saints of India, present the magnanimous nature of the seers, saints and sages of India:

“Saints and sages are a blessing to the world at large. They are the custodians of superior divine wisdom, spiritual powers and inexhaustible spiritual wealth… Their very existence inspires others and goads them to become like them and attain the same state of bliss achieved by them… Their glory is indescribable. Their wisdom is unfathomable. They are deep like the ocean, steady like the Himalayas, pure like the Himalayan snow, effulgent like the sun…To be in their company is the highest education. To love them is the highest happiness. To be near them is real education.”

But, instead of merely singing the glories of the past by remembering the names of the Rishis and worshipping them is not going to do any good to the humanity and its future. What is demanded of every human being is to rise above to attain to the state of Rishihood. In the words of Swami Vivekananda: He further says:

“In ancient times there were, no doubt, many Rishis and Maharshis who came face to face with Truth. But if this recalling of our ancient greatness is to be of real benefit, we too must become Rishis like them. And, not only that, but it is my firm conviction that we shall be even greater Rishis than any that our history presents to us.”16

References / Footnotes

1. tathaivaà vedänåñayastapasä pratipedire (Mahabharata, Shantiparva 155.2)

2. See Nirukta of Yaskacharya Naigamakanda, 2.11

3. The Future Poetry, SABCL, Vol. 9, P. 517

4. The Secret of the Veda, SABCL, Vol. 10, P. 8

5. The Hymns to the Mystic Fire, Vol. 11, P. 12

6. Nirukta of Yaska 2.11

7. Nirukta of Yaska 13.13

8. Brihaddevata of Shaunaka 8.129

9. Brihaddevata of Shaunaka 8.130 yogena däkñyeëa damena buddhyä bähuçrutyena tapasä niyogaiù| upäsyästäù kåtsnaço devatäyä åco ha yo veda sa veda devän |

10. Sri Aurobindo, CWSA, vol.1, pg. 637)

11. Sri Aurobindo, CWSA vol.17, pg 411

12. Sri Aurobindo, CWSA vol.16, pp 6-7

13. Nirukta of Yaskacharya, 1.20

14. Those who received the Mantras from their teachers were called çrutarñis. Those who were experts in different sections of the Vedas were called käëòarñis. Those who performed severe penances were called taparñis. Those who were given to truth and were truthful learners were called satyarñis. Those who were in communion with the Gods were called devarñis. Those who enjoyed a great and exalted position among the Rishis because of their contributions were called maharñis or paramarñis. Those who realized the Brahman, lived the truth of the Brahman and ultimately became the Brahman were called brahmarñis. Those who had attained the Rishihood and at the same time ruled the kingdoms as kings were known as räjarñis. A common man possessing the qualities of a Rishi was called janarñi. (Baudhayana Dharmasutra, 2.9.14)

15. Sri Aurobindo, CWSA Volume 13, pg 525

16. Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 3, pg 371

Celebrations for 82-yr-old seer’s male child: We’re still feudal when it comes to sex

We live in a Bharat where we celebrate an octagenarian ‘finally’ having a male heir, but are enraged that a youth may watch porn or have sex, writes Preethi Nagaraj on the TNM. Read on: 

In the last few weeks, the state of Karnataka – which gets a ‘trickle down’ of national politics – had two incidents to react to. One was the birth of a male heir to the ‘educational empire’ of a Lingayat ‘pontiff’ (note the quotes – they are there for a reason). The second is a regular staple of the mainstream media – the release of a sex CD of a leader in his 20s associated with the Patidar community in faraway Gujarat.

While the sexual urges of a healthy young man in his mid 20s were seen as a ‘blotch on his character’ (thank god the target here is a man and not a woman!), the news of the octogenarian’s son being born was seen as ‘news’, and only that. The mainstream media followed up on celebrations that broke out at the educational institutions and mutt run by Sharanabasappa Appa, a father to seven daughters and many grand children.

Don’t get me wrong here. My goal here is not to deride the existence of sexual desire among 80-year-olds. That’s hardly the point. The whole argument here is about the way the media perceived and projected both news items to create a public perception.

So, the ‘good news’ from Karnataka seemed to be that Appa could now finally put a full stop to his ‘mission male child’. His second wife Dakshayani, who also happens to be his sister’s daughter, had borne him an ‘heir’.

Dakshayani married Appa in the late 1990s, after his first wife passed away, leaving behind four adult daughters, some of whom were already married by the time Appa married again. One daughter passed away some years ago.

Now 48-years-old, Dakshayani married the septuagenarian Appa in her early 20s. The objective was clear. She was to bear a male child for her ‘maama’ as maternal uncles are called, in Karnataka. But unfortunately, there was only news of daughters being born. Appa fathered three daughters with Dakshayani, before the son came around less than a month ago.

Appa is thought to be a descendent of the ascetic saint Sharanabasappa Appa, who lived in the 18th century in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which was under the rule of Nizams. But the contemporary Appa is a ‘laukika’ (lives in the material world), who has established an empire of educational institutions in Gulbarga and its surrounding areas, and is one of the most ‘well-respected’ persons in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.

He has even built a dedicated college for girls who want to study engineering. With all this, when he remarried with a clear brief and objective, the Lingayat community spoke in whimpers against it. Interestingly, Appa’s elder brother, who stays away from this humdrum, has a son. Many Lingayat leaders suggested that Appa could take that son under his wings and train him to carry forward his legacy. But, no. None of that was palatable to Appa.

The cases of Appa and Hardik Patel are a fine example of how selective disparaging of human desires happens through media. Appa is obviously a big shot who can ring the right notes. His influence is far and wide. Hence his penchant for a male heir is justified in view of his grand legacy.

But what does a man in his late 20s have to do with sex? Should he not abstain himself from that ‘human desire’, that’s as natural as hunger and anger?

In perceiving and accepting the senior citizen’s ‘male baby’ desire, we seem to be furthering the feudal mindset we thought we had shunned long ago. We may live in cities, drive cars and use technology, but for us, nothing is more enraging than a youth watching porn or having sex.

Somewhere on the way to our journey of being an IT superpower of the world, we left our commonsense behind and trusted to some unseen forces to further our hallucinations.

Which is why, a Karni sena in Rajasthan can threaten to chop off the nose of a female artiste over a film like Padmavati, and a Hardik Patel will have to defend his libido or be forced to apologise for possessing it. Yet, an 82-year-old can rejoice the arrival of his son in media, irrespective of whether he’s done the most responsible thing or not.

This is Bharat – home to hilarious and ironic contradictions.  We can only hope that our unprivileged, unrepresented daughters ask us some tough questions and demand better answers from us.

Jain couple to leave 3-yr-old daughter, Rs 100-cr property for monkhood

The couple’s decision has sent shockwaves across hometown Neemuch, where their families are established in politics and business.

A Jain couple from Madhya Pradesh has decided to leave behind their three-year-old daughter and property worth around Rs 100 crore to become munis (monks), stunning the community that is no stranger to acts of renunciation.

Sumit Rathore, 35, and his wife Anamika, 34, are scheduled to take deeksha (the first step of their initiation into monkhood) under Sudhamargi Jain Acharya Ramlal Maharaj at Surat in Gujarat on September 23.

Their decision has sent shockwaves across hometown Neemuch, about 400km northwest of state capital Bhopal, where their families are established in politics and business.

The first question on the lips of incredulous Neemuch residents is: what about their daughter, Ibhya?

“I will take care of my granddaughter,” said Anamika’s father, Ashok Chandaliya, a former Neemuch district president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

He said no one could convince the couple not to renounce the world. “We had no counter to their religious arguments and relented. One cannot stop anyone when religion calls,” Chandaliya added.

Sumit’s father, Rajendra Singh Rathore, who owns a factory that makes sacks for cement companies, too accepted the decision. “We were expecting this, but not so soon,” he said.

Sumit and Anamika’s decision was not exactly a surprise for their loved ones because they had declared their intent to become munis when Ibhya was only eight months old and, as preparation, started living separately.

Sumit announced his final decision to take deeksha during a gathering of Acharya Ramlal’s at Surat on August 22. The Acharya told him to seek Anamika’s permission. She gave consent and expressed her desire to take deeksha too. Their families rushed to Surat to dissuade them, but failed.

Sumit and Anamika, who married four years ago, have taken a vow of silence till the deeksha.

Sumit Rathore and his wife Anamika will take deeksha under Sudhamargi Jain Acharya Ramlal Maharaj at Surat in Gujarat on September 23. (HT Photo)

Anamika was Neemuch’s first gold medallist in Class 8 board examinations. She did her BE from Modi Engineering College, Laxmangarh (Sikar) in Rajasthan, and worked with Hindustan Zinc before marriage.

Sumit holds a diploma in import-export management from a college in London, where he stayed and worked for two years before returning to Neemuch to manage the family business.

Sumit’s cousin, Sandeep, who is close to him, said, “He had everything that a man wanted. Property worth around Rs 100 crore, a loving wife and a daughter. But he chose to renounce everything. We are stunned.”

Prakash Bhandari, a leading Jain community member in Neemuch, said as far as he knew, this decision was unprecedented. “This is the first time that such a young couple is taking deeksha and that too by leaving behind a daughter,” added Bhandari, secretary of Sadhumargi Jain Shravak Sangh.

Earlier this year, a stunning renunciation by a Jain teen from Gujarat made waves across the country.

Varshil Shah, 17, renounced the world and became a monk in June, barely weeks after scoring a stupendous 99.9 percentile in Class 12 Commerce examinations. After initiation for his spiritual quest, the teen’s name changed to Suvirya Ratna Vijayji Maharaj.

The Jain community, with an estimated population of less than 50 lakh in India, follows an austere lifestyle including vegetarianism and a large section is known to observe customs laid down thousands of years ago. Digambara Jain monks – who consider the sky their clothing – still go naked.

The death of a 13-year-old Jain girl, Aradhana Samdariya, in October 2016, less than three days after she ended a 68-day fast under the tapasya ritual practised by her community triggered debates across the country.

Aradhana’s death put the spotlight on the community’s tapasya ritual. Amid debates, many Jain leaders came out in support of her parents, saying they were being hounded and the community was being maligned.

According to Jain elders, the ‘tapasya’ that Aradhana undertook was voluntary and the first of nine steps (nav-pad) aimed at attaining salvation, and it was not the same as the ritual of ‘santhara’ under which the elderly or the sick abstain from food until they die.

(Source: HT)

Sexual crimes committed in the name of God: A look back at 'Swami' Nithyananda's 'sex contract'

While Gurmeet Ram Rahim gave ‘maafi’ to devotees, Nityananda followers were allegedly made to sign a contract where they agreed to ‘sexual enlightenment’.

Self-proclaimed godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the rape of two saadhvis at the Dera Sacha Sauda ashram. But the crime this rapist has been convicted for, is merely the tip of an iceberg shrouded in a dark web of lies and deceit practiced by the 'Guru'.

More horrors in his premises allegedly took place with the consent of followers - castration of male devotees, being the most gruesome of them.

From 2000, over 400 followers were reportedly brought under the scalpel in Dera Sacha Sauda hospital for bringing them closer to God.

But it isn’t just Gurmeet Singh who extracted sexual favours under ‘divine’ pretexts, cloaking them in secrecy. The survivors of sexual assaults in 'Swami' Nithyananda's ashram have spoken out about non-disclosure agreements and sex contracts. The chargesheet of the rape case against Nithyananda reveals that sexual exploitation was masked in the guise of a 'Learning from the Master' programme.

The mental conditioning
The chargesheet filed by the police in the Ramanagara court in November 2010 on a case of rape allegedly committed by Nityananda, speaks of five non-disclosure agreements signed by various victims.

In 2009, a 'special' group of men and women gathered in a room at the Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, which is led by the 'godman' in Bidadi.

They were not just the regular followers of 'swamiji'. In fact they were a chosen few, who would take care of him and help in the running of his foundation.

On that particular day, they were given two sets of "non-disclosure agreement" contracts to sign in the presence of their leader.

Signing these would make them eligible for the "Learning from the Master" programme. Such was their blind trust in the self-proclaimed godman that most of them signed the papers without even reading the clauses, says the chargesheet.

The 'Sex Contract'
The most appalling section of the 10 page contract included in the chargesheet reads -

"Volunteer understands that the Program may involve the learning and practice of ancient tantric secrets associated with male and female ecstasy, including the use of sexual energy for increased intimacy/spiritual connection, pleasure, harmony, and freedom. Volunteer understands that these activities could be physically and mentally challenging, and may involve nudity, access to visual images, graphic visual depictions, and descriptions of nudity and sexual activity, close physical proximity and intimacy, verbal and written descriptions and audio sounds of a sexually oriented, and erotic nature, etc."
The contract further functioned as a gag order, threatening devotees with consequences if they were to reveal to outsiders.

"By reading and signing this addendum, Volunteer irrevocably. acknowledges that he/she is voluntarily giving his unconditional acceptance of such activities and discharges the Leader and the Foundation, and anyone else not specifically mentioned here but directly or indirectly involved in the organization, management, or conduct of any such programs from any liability, direct or indirect, arising from such activities," read the document.

One such agreement copy signed by the devotee had the date September 3, 2005. The document accessed by TNM clearly carries the name and address of the devotee and of an ashram trustee as well. So, did these followers willingly agree to sexual exploitation under the garb of a 'learning' programme?

"No, we did not," says a survivor, who signed one such document, to TNM.

Speaking to TNM, the survivor says that at the time of signing the documents they were unaware of what it said.

"We were given two copies. One had to be signed along with the date on the that day and the other had to be backdated to the day when we had first met him. So he was pretty much covered legally from the day we met him to any point in the future. Because the contract states that the agreement does not end even if the relationship does. It is like a perpetual binding agreement," the former devotee says.

The survivor further alleges that they were not given time to read the clauses and were told that it was "regular, routine stuff to do with confidentiality".

A few who tried to read the document were accused of wavering devotion. They were asked, "Don't you trust swamiji?"

“We had extreme trust in him and looked at him as someone who was beyond being an ordinary human being. We never even doubted that there could be anything in these documents that could have these kinds of implications,” a survivor said.

Those who tried to question the 'Swami' or his decisions were allegedly dealt with force, threat or intimidation.

Raped for enlightenment?
A chargesheet filed by the Bidadi police in November 2010, narrates how Nityananda 'convinced' one such devotee into having sexual relations with him. The survivor, named Amala* in the chargesheet, was a housewife and pregnant when he first decided to satisfy his 'illicit sexual desire' by using her.

She was brought to his room under the pretext of cleaning it and was asked to massage Nityananda's legs. This was when he allegedly embraced and kissed her on the lips. When she withdrew shocked, he told her that the act was for her enlightenment.

Amala argued that a physical relationship with a saint was wrong but Nityananda allegedly claimed that 'feeling love was a path to enlightenment' and that 'he was God'. The only way to attain spiritual enlightenment was to 'listen and obey his words'.

'Thus he attacked her mind and took control of it and made her go into a state of total surrender' says the chargesheet. It further claims that Amala lost her ability to think clearly and was overcome by blind faith. Following this she was raped multiple times in various hotels and the Bidadi Ashram.

According to the chargesheet, between February and March 2009, the victim "was made to sign, along with others, non-disclosure agreement documents".

The conditioning continues?
Now, with media attention back on self-proclaimed godmen and the exploitation they met out to devotees, several have come out to question the case pending against Nithyanandha.

What is shocking is that despite testimonies of the 'godman' forcing women into sexual activities being made public, a large number of people continue to root for him. When social activist and environmentalist Piyush Manush took to social media to ask about what action has been taken, he was at the receiving end of severe abuse.

Most of the abuse (unsurprisingly) was directed at Piyush’s mother, wife and daughter.

The case now
The case against Nithyananda is currently pending for trial at the Ramanagara sessions court, the trial has not even started. The accused has filed a discharge petition, where they have claimed that there is no prima facie case. Nityananda's counsel has requested that he be discharged without the hardship of trial. The Court's order on the petition is still awaited.

The judge can either order a discharge in which case the self-proclaimed godman will be acquitted without trial or he can order a trial saying there is enough material.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has stayed the trial court proceedings based on yet another petition filed by him in 2014 to consider his self-generated medical reports of impotency. Next hearing in the Apex court is scheduled for September 2017.

Nithyananda had earlier sought to be discharged as he was 'impotent' and had test results from an examination conducted in a private hospital to prove the same. However, tests ordered by the Supreme Court proved that the excuse was yet another lie.

In yet another attempt to allegedly evade the law, Nityananda claimed that statement recorded by the CID from 32 witnesses at his ashram must be included in the chargesheet. These were reportedly generic statements glorifying 'swamiji'. While the trial court rejected them as defense documents, the High Court of Karnataka ruled in favour of the 'godman'.

Affidavits and counter affidavits have been filed to delay the case. Though the complaint of rape was registered in 2009, the victim has been pushed from pillar to post, with justice delayed for eight long years. The only hope is that, at least now, justice is not denied.

(Source: TNM)

A few sex-obsessed babas India could definitely do without

One can only feel sorry for the gullible devotees and believers who are exploited by these self-styled 'swamis', says an article on DailyO. Read on: 

Is becoming a self-styled "swami" or a "baba" the best profession in the country? These are the benefits of becoming a "baba" - he becomes popular instantly, has wealth that is not accounted for, has massive political and corporate contacts, has a large fan following in the form of devotees. The attractions go on and on. Besides all these, the babas also indulge in sexual misdemeanours.

One can only feel sorry for the gullible devotees and believers who are exploited by these babas. Many cases of sexual exploitation go unreported owing to the social stigma attached to it and social connections of these so-called saints. However, some of them have come to light after some of the victims mustered courage to spill the beans.

These are five prominent babas who preyed on their innocent believers, but finally law caught up with them:

1. Baba Parmanand

The police in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, on May 24, confirmed the arrest of this controversial "godman" on charges of sexual exploitation of women. An FIR had been filed against Ram Shankar Tiwari alias Baba Parmanand after several women registered complaints accusing him of sexually exploiting them in the name of treatment for infertility.

The police raided Parmanand's ashram in Barabanki and seized several CDs containing obscene videos of women, vulgar literature and porn movies. Parmanand was arrested from Satna in Madhya Pradesh and brought to Barabanki.

2. Asaram Bapu

Asaram has been in jail in Jodhpur for the past 26 months. He was convicted after being accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl at his Jodhpur ashram even as her mother was waiting outside. He has not only been accused of sexual assault but also rape and molestation. He, along with his son Narayan Sai, are in jail for exploiting women devotees.

3. Sant Rampal

According to reports, Rampal preferred "hostesses" whom he called "sadhikayaen" inside his private mansion. Of them, only a few were allowed to enter his bedroom as his alleged sexual partners.

Babita Kumari alias Baby, 27, was reportedly his most preferred bed-mate. Unconfirmed reports said she used to stay in the room of Rampal's son. The exact nature of her relationship with the Sant's son is not clear.

But her proximity to both the father and son gave her power over Rampal that other hostesses could not exercise. Sources said Rampal had even made a fixed deposit of Rs 10 lakh in her name. The reports also said that Rampal did not allow anybody to enter his room when Babita was with him. They would spend hours together locked inside a closed room. The police also recovered a pregnancy kit from Rampal's room besides medicines for improving vitality.

4. Nithyananda

The 293rd pontiff of the Adheenam Mutt in Bidari on the outskirts of Bangalore was arrested in June 2012 on charges of rape and molestation. After searching the premises of Nithyananda, the police were horrified to find a dump of condoms and "ganja" in the corner of a compound.

The then Karnataka chief minister, DV Sadananda Gowda, ordered the arrest of Nithyananda after several of his followers appeared on a private Kannada TV channel and accused the godman of exploiting them.

Arathi Rao, a follower of Nithyananda, gave a detailed account of her five-year experience with the guru. She alleged that Nithyananda repeatedly raped her and threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed it to anybody. Arathi also claimed that it was she who had secretly filmed Nithyananda's sex tapes with a Tamil actress.

5. Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale

He was also a self-styled godman who preached spirituality while running a prostitution racket. Two air hostesses were among eight people arrested in February 2010 for flesh trade in the capital. The eight, including two men and six women in the age group of 19 to 30 years, were taken into custody near the PVR cinema at Saket in south Delhi while travelling in two cars. They included an air hostess who worked for an Indian carrier and another who was employed by a European airline.

The mastermind was identified as Shiv Murat Dwivedi, 39, alias Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale. Dwivedi, who belonged to Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh, had come to New Delhi in 1988 and worked as a security guard at a five-star hotel in Nehru Place.

He later worked for a massage parlour at Lajpat Nagar. He was arrested for carrying out prostitution 1997 and 1998. Subsequently, he changed his appearance and started calling himself Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale. He was based at a Sai Baba temple in Badarpur and gradually started a flourishing flesh trade racket in the guise of leading a spiritual life. He started holding religious discourses and congregations and even got a video CD titled "Shri Sai Amrit Varsha" released. He constructed a 200-bed hospital and a huge temple in Chitrakoot. The two air hostesses lived in posh areas of south Delhi.