Nithyananda Update and Photographs

Received these photographs today and am posting them below as they represent the last 'happy' visit of Swami Nithyananda to Tiruvannamalai and Arunachaleswarar Temple. The photos are from the beginning of 2010 during his visit to Tiruvannamalai (which is his native place) in celebration of his Birthstar.

Right-click on photographs to view enlarged version

To read a balanced and insightful posting about the lessons one can learn from the Swami Nithyananda scandal, go to this link here. While there also check out the comment section of the posting.

Godman? No, Just Human

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.

Nithyanada Current News

To find out about the current situation of the Nithyananda scandal, read below:

“The sex scandal allegedly involving Swami Nithyananda and a Tamil film star Ranjitha got even murkier on Thursday with a web of fresh charges and sinister scenarios popping up, even as the self-styled godman is believed to be “somewhere in the Kumbhamela festival”, either in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh or in Puri in Orissa.

Nearly two days after a Tamil TV channel beamed amorous pictures of the sexual intimacies that landed both the protagonists in a soup, the ‘Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam’, the worldwide institution for meditation and harmony the Godman founded, broke its silence this evening as his lawyer claimed that the pictures were not that of Nithyananda.

Hours after having moved a civil suit here, the spiritual Guru’s lawyer, M Sreedhar told a press conference amid near chaos in the hall, the whole episode was part of a “much larger conspiracy” to malign both Nithyananda and his institution by projecting his “morphed” images with an actress.”

Click here to continue reading article

There are several websites online which have been set up to 'debunk' the mystique of Nithyananda. One of these websites provides intriguing and curious information which perhaps could go some way towards explaining how this still very young Swami has dug himself into such a very deep hole.

And one particularly fascinating posting (extract below) discusses Nithyananda’s apparent usurpation of power intended for different aspects of the Divine.


“Oh, yes, there's your Vedic temples. That should be a strength we can build on. But, then again, there's those mantras where you inserted your name in them, those idols that are specifically made in your image so people can worship just to you, while the other legitimate Hindu deities you renamed with your name attached to them, your thrones have images of Divine Deities right on the seat so you sit firmly on top of them, etc. Gee, 'Swami' Nithyananda, we thought that your Vedic Temples might be a strong point, but then again, maybe not.”