YOGA, YOGIS, ASHRAMS &

ORGANIZATIONS
Vasan Sri
Yoga and yogis have dominated the public scene in a
big way for the past 50 years. Besides such stalwarts
like Swami Vivekananda at the turn of the 20th century
and Paramahansa Yogananda during the mid 20th century
[from 1920 to 1952 in USA], there had been a steady
stream of yogis landing in the USA airports with their
own brand of Yoga/Vedanta to sell with teaching
techniques -- to establish centers and ashrams here and
also build world wide organizations [with franchises or
chains like fast -food chains ,aka Macdonalds--] to
dispense their flavors of mixed curries of yogic
methods. [I am not referring to purely 'hatha yoga'
[physical yoga] like B K S Iyengar's yoga--but to
metaphyscial stuff].
The latest sensation in this line had been two


prominent spiritual masters--one Ravi Shanker [ 'Art of
Living 'foundation teaching 'sudarshana kriya'] and Mata
Amritananda Mayi, [" Ammachi"],the hugging saint from
Kerala ,with a large ashram in San Ramon, California.
All these yogis /gurus and their ilk have fallen into
some controversies or the other. They seem to rise like
a comet or meteor in a matter of two decades, spurred by
media, heavy advertisement and internet--and then fall
into quagmire of court cases, bad reputation and become
like a broken satellite burning up in the atmosphere.
Many of them have developed a long line of social
work/community service, with or without too much fees
for service. But they all slowly become dysfunctional
and appear like a canker sore on the skin.

Having seen many such yogis/gurus go up like a rocket
and then their organizations blow up in smoke in a
matter of 30 to 50 years, one wonders:" What ails these
systems , based ,as they are on sound foundation of
Vedantic lore of our forefathers and ancient


Rishies/seers in India who lead simple , austere ,often
obscure lives?"
The Gurus and their ill-trained chelas
In the first place, the rapid rise of these ashrams and
orgs, with inadequate training of the yogi/swami
disciples is mainly to blame. In traditional Hindu
ashrams, a disciple or 'chela' was trained by the master
at least for 12 years. Most of the students would join
at a tender age of 10 or 12 and in some cases, after
some years of married life. In modern times such long
training may not be feasible...but a chela should be put
through rigorous routine of learning and practice at
least for 2 to 3 years ...not less than that. We heard
about a famous ashram in Oregon ,USA, and its branches
in India where one could buy the ritual materials,
saffron robe and seed -mala or necklace ,walk into
ashram and becomes a sannyasin/ or sannyasini [monk or
nun] in an hour, with a newly acquired Indian monastic
name!--after paying- of course--the required membership
fee. Such a callous attitude towards monastic life had


ruined many well-meaning [at least initially] gurus and
charlatans.
Stay away if any yogi or swami promises to make you a
monk or nun in a matter of a few months or give instant
'nirvana' or 'samadhi experience. He or she is a bogus
or fake one.

2 Secondly, there is a gross misunderstanding of
Guru-Sishya [master-disciple] relationship, particularly
in Western minds ,when they enter an ashram. It is not
the servitude for the organization or the master that
matters. It is the attunement of the disciple with
master's ideas and thoughts. Many think that doing
chores in the ashram for several hours every day or
managing the affairs with some skill, will help their
spiritual growth. While some amount of voluntary service
in the ashram is expected and is wholesome, a slavish
labor is not called for. In this respect, the swami or
mataji is to be blamed , not just the chela or disciple.
In the same strain, there is a frequent


misunderstanding of the 'surrender principle'
--surrender to the guru---it is not physical or
financial or mental;it is the surrender of one's ego
,learning to behave humbly. Many have surrendered their
assets and will power, only to be kicked out of the
ashrams later and left uncared for. You don't have to
give all your property to the Guru or ashram and later
regret the decision when it is found that the master had
clay feet.
If there is one quality you have to learn and practise
in an ashram , it is humility. If you cannot behave
humbly or accept certain practices in an ashram, quietly
leave the ashram or the Guru..Do not make a ruckus about
the situation. Your views and approach may be different
--that is all.
The western mind can be highly individualistic--standing
for one's own rights--that may not seek to understand or
appreciate humility in a Hindu ashram. Note also that
Hindu ashrams have a long tradition of many practices
which may or may not have much relevance today, but have


meaning in certain cultural or religious context. You
may not understand or appreciate that. For
instance,touching the feet of a master and then touching
your head--'taking the dust of the feet of the
master'--is a traditional Hindu practice which may be
repugnant to you. You may not like to follow that
practice. But accept that as a valid practice in that
situation, honored by countless Hindu brothers and
sisters. It is considered a mark of humility like
saluting a national flag which is ,after all, a piece of
cloth.
Money and sex in ashrams
3 The third factor and the fourth factor that destroyed
many gurus and their orgs are money and sex--- the
powerful combination of fuel and oxidizer for the
soaring rocket of master's fame/name and power.
While many great organizations struggled for even small
amounts of money [for instance , Sri Ramakrishna Mission
and SRF of Paramahansa Yogananda]in the early stages,
these 20th century gurus are greedy beyond any one's


imagination..charging fees for every little thing and
amassing wealth---often with the avowed purpose of doing
social service back in India. One guru accumulated more
than 90 Rolls Royce cars while another charlatan had the
temerity to hoard 90 kilograms of gold in an
underground vault in his 'kutir' [cottage]. Some gurus
had private jets and bought castles for their
head-quarters.!
Many swamis possessed vast real estates in USA and in
India, often bought at low price or offered by gullible
devotees. One yoga master even had a manor house with a
few hundred rooms...Gone were the days of thatched roof,
cow-shed like 'kutirs' or cottages of ancient sages.
Almost always, these gurudoms were ripped apart with
legal battles and even murders over the control of
properties after the master was gone .
Except a few organizations of swamis, many have had one
or more murder cases , perpetrated often during the
founder's time or soon after his demise. Most of these
cases were hushed up by the police or legal system and


were never investigated properly.
Many of the guru-orgs do not keep proper accounts
because of huge cash transactions and collude with
corrupt tax officials. They get tax exemption status
easily both in the USA and in India. Further it may be
seen from many cases that several ashrams have used
clever methods to grab lands from government [state]
lands or forest lands or others' estates by dubious
means. A number of them are constantly battling legal
actions for their land grabbing pursuits.


4 The fourth and most insidious factor is the sexual
exploitation of innocent 'chelis' or female devotees by
the master or their chief disciples --the torch bearers-
under various pretexts. Many times, these victims
endured and continued to remain in the organization.
But things have changed in the last two or three
decades. Many abused women came out and took the cases
to court, dragging the swamis into the open with their


robes torn apart.
I was told that while in many cases, the legal things
were sorted out by huge payments, one famous swami went
back to India from USA and quietly committed suicide.
There were other swamis/yogis ready to justify their
sexual exploits and carried on with their money spinning
activities.
While some of the allegations against some swamis may be
untrue or cannot be easily proven and could be construed
as an act of scandalizing by other religious groups or
vested interests to defame Hindu faith or system, I tend
to believe that several of them are genuine sexual
abuses under the garb of yoga/tantra practice and would
need proper investigation. No doubt, after such sexual
allegations, the concerned swamis never recovered and
were thrown out of public acceptance. [A recent case is
that of a Guru -- a married man with interesting
background--with several ashrams and thousands of
students to his credit, was accused of sexual misconduct
by his own wife of 10 years. He was dragged to the


court. It so happened that the guru died a year later in
2014.]
The reason for this form of sexual exploitation by the
swamis or their main chelas or disciples is simple. The
swamis indulged in private encounters or 'interviews '
or even special 'training' and thus opportunities for
sexual exploitation of women devotees were numerous. In
most ashrams in India, such private closed-door meetings
do not occur and would be deplored and therefore, such
cases are rare.
I must also add that in many cases ,sexual offence
against swamis were brought out only at much later
periods...when the swami himself was in his 70's or even
80's and the events related to such cases occurred some
30 to 40 years earlier. In those cases, it is difficult
to prove the allegations or innocence of the swamis. If
you give the benefit of doubt to swamis, they would be
considered innocent . Further it is also not easy to
imagine women devotees coming out of ashrams and
accusing their gurus some 40 or 50 years ago, when


women's lib movements have not been promoted. Therefore
there are grounds to believe that sexual exploitation by
swamis might have happened in many cases.
The sexual misconduct of the swamis casts bad light on
the swami circuits and also means that many of the
swamis are not spiritually trained or advanced , but
mere cheats---wolves in the garb of lambs. This is to
be condemned by all right thinking religious Hindus and
Hindu organizations, though it can be easily dismissed
as a reflection of present-day sexual mores.
Grace from the Guru and all that
There is an under current of belief among the Hindus
that a great Guru can bestow special grace on a devotee
which would quicken his/her progress in spiritual
efforts. A famous instance is that of Sri Ramakrishna
Paramahansa showering his grace on a particular day
,celebrated as 'kalpatharu day' ,on nearly 60 selected
devotees. Such instances are rare, because great masters
like Sri RK are rare. Do not expect such grace to flow
from money-spinning charlatan 'god-men' who run their


ashrams like business corporations. Any pretense of such
grace is only a ploy to lure the gullible to the Ashram
and extract more money.


Caveats
Like the saying 'customers beware', the responsibility
of protecting oneself from exploitation by Swamis or
their organizations rests with the individuals--devotees
and disciples who approach them. Certain amount of
background research can help to uncover the truths about
charlatans masquerading as avatars, avaduts,
paramahansas and self-styled prophets/messiahs. Don't
go by their speeches or writings ,but by their actions
and the austerity of their lives.
Note also that any Swami or Yogi who had apparently
renounced the world having links with former family
members. A true renunciate or monk would not even meet
his family members and do anything for them. Modern day
bogus ones siphon off money for their own kith and kin


and support them or make them trustees of various
outfits run by the ashram. [In former times there was
the quaint custom of a monk or nun talking to his or her
family member only by the reflection in a mirror kept
close to them. Those days are gone!]
Again if any Swami gives private audience or interviews
within closed doors, that is a red flag...he may have
ulterior motives or plan for sexual misconduct . Much of
tantric methods are veiled sexual encounters...beware of
them.
Closing remarks
In the final analysis, our Hindu traditions
emphasize only two straight-forward methods for
spiritual progress: Japa [chanting] and
meditation [dhyana]. These two can take many
forms. One may use music to focus on chanting,
singing and praising the Lord. These two proven
methods are slow and sure methods---which work
over several years.


Company of saintly persons [Sadhu sangh] is
very essential to cultivate the mind....or else
read about various saints and their works.
Scriptural study in moderation is helpful up to
a point. Karma yoga--social service without
rewards or looking for name--is the surest
method. Have trust in the Lord or your favorite
saint to guide you.
-----------The End--------------------------