The below article entitled 'Godman? No, Just Human' by Vikram Muthanna raises some interesting points about Nithyananda’s current situation. I’ll post my own thoughts and updates as to the climate in Tiruvannamalai towards the ‘scandal’ over the next few days. But for now read on:
Godman? No, Just Human
"They called him ‘Swami’ Nithyananda, they laid their hearts at his feet as they performed ‘pada puja’. They laid out their life savings for a boon from him and in return he shattered their hopes and hearts. But Nithyananda’s sex scandal has also woken his devotees up from their Rip van Winkle slumber of blind faith and ignorance. The message is clear, Godmen are as human as the rest of us. Nithyananda who took his name a little too seriously, Nithya Ananda — “always happy,” is not the first nor will he be the last swami to succumb to mortal desires. As long as there is misery in the world, there will be godmen giving hope, even if it’s only placebo.
Nithyananda certainly seems to have made some people’s lives better. He smiled his ‘toothpaste smile’ all the time. But to be happy he needed more than just ‘pada pujas’ and money, it seems he also needed ‘intimate healing sessions’. Now the question is, did Nithyananda do something wrong by having sex? Legally, No. Two consenting adults had sex, it’s a non-issue. But the problem is that he said he was a Swami and a Brahmachari. Accordingly, he was treated like god by his devotees who now feel he defrauded them. To be sure, there are also other criminal charges of destroying evidence and the possession of illegal materials. But why is everyone so surprised? Nithyananda is a 33-year-old man and like all men his hormones would be ravenous for a little bit of sexual intimacy."
To read the rest of the article click here.
3 comments:
I will first say that I know nothing. I have no opinions. But I am puzzled as to why a video camera should have been operating as Swami Nithyananda watched TV. (If truth be told, I am almost more disturbed by a swami passing his time in such a mundane way ie watching TV.)
I think a TV station admits that the secret camera was in fact part of a sting operation.
Also agree that the TV watching was a bit of a surprise and wonder how many of his devotees are shocked by their Guru’s out-of-the-zone demeanour.
As I suspect that in the case of a legitimately fully realised person, that there is little difference between their public and private persona!
However in his defense, would remark that many holy people seem to enjoy keeping up with news and in this respect there are many photographs of Sri Ramana Maharshi sitting on his couch and reading the daily newspapers.
I, too, have no opinion on this one way or the other. But, why are we surprised that Swami Nithyananda is watching T.V. Next, will we be surprised he sleeps at night, eats, and God forbid, goes to the loo. I think the public has these misconceived notions of what a saintly person should be and then feels let down when they don't match up to hit. It is the public that needs to have its head examined.
As for Nith, he is young, successful, a small town boy who made it big... how dare he!!! There is obviously an orchestrated campaign - from abroad, all evidence is pointing to it - that is trying to pull him down. If you haven't guessed, there is race to grab as much of the devotee pool in Tiruvannamalai
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