GURU RATING: 1 / 5 (AVOID)
Swami Nithyananda is a controversial guru from India who claims to be an avatar with siddhis (special powers) — the most realized spiritual state attainable by human beings.
Nithyananda spent time training as a yogi with his master, Yogiraj Yoganandya Puri. Years later, on the auspicious date of January 1st, 2000, he experienced an explosion of enlightenment.
He claims to be able to do levitation, teleportation, and materialization. The swami also writes that he’s cured a variety of chronic diseases by simply touching the afflicted.
The controversial guru
Swami Nithyananda has been tainted by a variety of scandals, including being videotaped having sex with one of his disciples, an Indian actress. The local media and police were all over it.
The Swami claimed that he was not in a full state of awareness at the time, and that he had asked the disciple to stop.
Was the supremely enlightened guru with a variety of siddhis to his name raped by his student? The recording does not confirm this.
The guru later stated that he was practicing a tantra spiritual technique. With tantra, traditionally taboo acts, like sex, are used to reach greater spiritual heights.
Other disciples have said that they signed tantra sex contracts with the guru, which only furthered the controversy.
Either way, no charges were pressed by the woman and, according to reports, she remains a disciple in his Ashram.
An assessment of the Swami
What are we to make of this guru’s behaviour?
Is Swami Nithyananda really an avatar with special powers? He certainly does not act like one.
Would an avatar need sexual intercourse to reach greater spiritual heights? Of course not. An avatar is a living embodiment of the Divine on Earth.
If the Swami was having sex for the benefit of his disciple, then he would not have put out a statement about her taking advantage of him.
If he was merely having consensual sex with a woman, then he could have simply said so. This would have been unpopular with the mainstream Indian culture as gurus are expected to behave according to certain traditional standards, but at least it would have been honest. Why should a spiritual master, an avatar even, be beholden to tradition?
On top of this, he spent days actively evading the local police. Why would an avatar run away from law enforcement? Could police really intimidate an immortal being?
Even Jesus encouraged his followers to pay their taxes… “Give what is Ceasar to Ceasar’s…and what is God’s to God.” Nithyananda, instead, would have you run from the law. That’s his demonstration.
It is telling that his organization is now stepping away from his leadership. They’ve found another photogenic guru to take the helm.
Update December 2019:
Indian border officials and embassies have issued an alert for a fugitive guru accused of rape, the government said, days after the holy man announced the creation of his own “cosmic” country. – Indian border officials on lookout for fugitive cosmic guru
The bottom line
We recommend avoiding Nithyananda. Smoke does not always indicate fire, but one would be foolish to ignore it.
“You always see the world the way you are, not the way the world is.” — Swami Nithyananda
I am shocked that the media is still reporting on Nithyananda’s sex scandal when I believe it was two cases went to Court where both were proven to be lies. The one women who said she was raped by him had a STD, so it would have been impossible for her to have sex with Nithyananda without him having contacted the disease and on top of that, it was proven that she lied and was mentally ill. I am an American and went to see Nithyananda in 2011. I can honestly say that he has “siddhi’s” and definitely knows how to activate the Kundalini because from my experience, it feels just like having been anointed in a pentecostal church, where the “energy of God bliss’ was the same. Also, Christians don’t understand that when Pentecostals “shake,” it’s the kundalini energy having been activated by God. Anyway, it was also proven that those kids who claimed they were “beaten” or something by women at his ashrams, had parents trying to extort money from the ashram. The kids were lying. As far as Nithyananda being enlightened, all I know is that he has “siddhi powers,” that were proven at UCLA years ago and also, when he broke his arm where he fell off a horse and the bone was reset without any medications due to him being able to control the pain with his mind. Personally, I am not convinced he is or is not enlightened. However, I am convinced that Shri Ananda Ma in CA IS definitely enlightened with her husband definitely NOT. I” met Ananda Ma personally years ago and when one meets a totally pure, enlightened being, one just “knows.” Enlightened to me simply can mean, “doesn’t have to reincarnate anymore due to not having any bad karma.” However, I’m sure there is more to it than that. If one reads the book, “This House is on Fire, The Life of Shri Dhyanyogi,” as told by Shri Anandi Ma, many people will KNOW that Dhyanyogi who died around 1994 at 116 years of age, was an enlightened being. When I am sort of sad from all the “bad news,” or recently, from having a serious disagreement with someone, all I had to do was read part of this book and afterwards, I noticed ho much happier I had become. Just the energy of the book is uplifting for people who are sensitive to “high spiritual energy.” The book can be purchased from the dyc.org . In my mind, I’ve read part of the book and thought, well, this is sort of boring, it talks about this saint visiting these little villages in India that I just can not relate to… But, then, I keep reading and afterwards, realized that received a blessing of “joy” just by persevering and reading the book. Yes, I have found parts of the Bible uplifting, but personally, I get “happier” by reading parts of the “This House is on fire” book.” King James was mentally ill and he got the Bible translated, not because he was such a devote Christian. The bible, also, has a lot of violence in it. Of course, there are parts of the Bible, I feel are still “sacred,” because it compliments the Gita, per Yogananda. Anyway, I spent 21 days with Nithyananda and he certainly is not the “fraud-con-sex pervert,” the East India media wants to make him out to be. This is probably, because the communists in India want to destroy Hinduism in a similar fashion as they wanting to destroy Christianity in the US. For “real news” about what they are putting in these “jabs” go to beforeitsnews.com and that website has all kinds of info on what’s really going on in the US, in Davos, etc. Kuddos for Modi for refusing to start a war with Russia and is staying “neutral.” Putin is fighting the AZOV NAZI’s in the Ukraine who have collaborated with the Satanists in the Ukraine. Anyway, for real news, you can best figure it out on that website. Nithyananda wants to preserve Hindu religion and it’s ceremonies and that’s why he’s in his new “country.”