Hindus: Swami Vishwananda criticism and controversy?

[Aupmanyav]

Maybe it would be easier if Swami Vishwananda was ugly. Maybe I'm just falling for that pretty face.

Yes, you are falling for a pretty face and glib talk. My advice will be to keep away from him. As we discussed in the other thread, he is a fake. No one is qualified to call himself a 'swami' if not ordained in a recognized religious order. We have thousands of such bogus 'swamis' in India. At one time or the other they are caught for engaging in unlawful activities (sex, influence pedaling or money-laundering).

I didn't attend his darshan and now I am glad that I didn't kneel in front of him. In a personal experience unrelated to Vishwananda I had to learn that charismatic people can emanate "love" while at the same time feeling very different on the inside.

I would hate to be so subservient to an unknown 'swamy'. Yes, there are 'swamis' who get respect from me (though I may be follow a different belief) Swamy Adgadananda, Kripaluji Maharaj (both deceased), Swami Avadheshananda, etc. You would not know about them, they were/are in India.

Truly he would be dead by now if he had really done what they say he has.

No, most will just stop associating with them, as one poster here did. Most people will not take law in their hands. That has consequences.

Energetically it is not possible to do both, if what they say of him is true he would be evolving into some kind of hell being and would rapidly be losing his spiritual connection. This has not happened.

Such people do not have any 'spiritual connection'. They thrive on the money that foolish people give to them. The devilish have more energy than nice people.

 

[Sirona]

You have to realise that these books, apparently by SV, are actually verbatim transcriptions of his talks by so-called 'devotees', they have not been edited or authorised by him because BM 'devotees' do not work like that. Therefore you cannot ascribe much credibility to them. Anyone who knows about publishing is well aware that the spoken word comes across very differently to the written word and that informal talks delivered to a specific group of people at a certain time and place, when transcribed word for word, rarely come across well. They need to be edited and reworked to make them suitable for the general public and would-be devotees to read in their own environment with additions and subtractions made where required. Similarly with the YouTube videos. My understanding is that for the most part these are excerpts from much longer talks aimed at a specific audience of followers which have not been authorised for release to the public so it is easy to get the wrong impression. The teacher may need to talk to a group in a certain way to make a certain point which may not be relevant to you personally as you are not part of that group. A really good teacher knows the group both collectively and as individuals and will know exactly what he wants and needs to say to them. If you and others were part of that group at that time he may well have modified what he said to suit your needs as well or even delivered a totally different talk. We live in a relative world!

Please don't take it personal but generally speaking, the claim that things are "taken out of context" is frequently used to shoot down criticism. I do acknowledge that things may be taken out of context, but SV has chosen to publish several books and to appear in many videos. I find it very hard to believe that in all of this, he is nothing but a helpless puppet. I also think it is a defense tactic to claim that his followers had hijacked his mission. I think it is a possible way to criticize a religious organization while technically remaining loyal to the leader. If Vishwananda really didn't want to be a leader/part of his organization, he could always step down from his throne and just walk away. Anyway, everybody has a right to their opinion, I just wanted to know what being in Bhakti Marga is like. Thank you for your answer.

 

[ajay0]

Fraudsters and pseudo-scholars are not a new thing in Hinduism.


In the Upanishads, the story of the asura Virochana is highlighted as a pseudo-scholar who mistakenly assumes Brahman to be the body and then proceeds to teach other asuras the same.

This is in start contrast to Indra, who through patient study, inquiry and satsang, was able to realize Brahman as pure consciousness by direct experience, as taught by the vedic teachings.


In Shankaracharya's time too, there were many pseudo-scholars who mistook Brahman for their son. Shankaracharya , in his works, criticized these viewpoints as foolish and springing from ignorance .

Mahatma Gandhi too had disparaged in his works on the Bhagavad Gita, those pseudo-scholars who announced themselves as Brahman due to deluded understanding.


So such delusions have a long history in Hinduism.


In the path of bhakti too, there were such fraud. Paundraka was a king who deludedly believed himself to be Krishna and imitated him in total delusion, and even disparaged the original Krishna.


Due to such fraud in the name of philosophy and religion, Kabir had exhorted the need for critical examination to distinguish wisely between the genuine and fraudulent.

I have elaborated on his teachings on critical examination in this thread.

Kabir on the need for critical examination to weed out the false and fraudulent...

When even the Rishis and Krishna themselves had to deal with pseudo-scholars and frauds, it is only natural there will be more such fraudsters in the Kali Yuga, and we must work on exposing them patiently with critical examination as Kabir taught us.

Just as darkness is eliminated by light, so also does critical examination wipe out the false and fraudulent.

Only by creating and maintaining a culture of critical examination, can we eradicate Hinduism out of its evils and weaknesses and restore strength and vitality to it.

 

[truth12]

Hello people,
(please read all the way through)

There have been a variety of responses to the testimonies about their experiences with Vishwananda. The fact that there is a debate about the claims that he has done should raise an awareness or bring a doubt in your head to look further. I urge everyone to not blindly follow someone who claims they are God. all of the very famous religious scholars began their faith with a DOUBT and was able to find it through their own research.

Anyways, there are two audio recordings at the bottom of this post that I have recently found on youtube. they are of past devotees being interviewed about their experience. I think hearing the recording has a lot more power behind it because you can literally hear their voice.


For all of those who claim this is a lie-- please reconsider.

For all of those who have gone through a similar experience I urge you to reach out to me. It is very important to realize that when voices come together the power exponentially increases. I have a lot of people standing behind me and they can stand behind you as well. please don't stay isolated.


I miss the friends I made in Springen. I am so sorry that I just up and left all of you leaving a lot of unanswered questions for you all. I respect you as people, but I do not agree with who you are following and claim to be God. I love you, but disagree.

I am tired of people being tricked and wronged by someone who uses two of the most respected religions in the world (Christianity and Hinduism) in the wrong light.
Using the words of Christ and Krishna, talking about love, pointing a mass amount of people towards spirituality, then manipulating and pressuring your 'Celibate' devotees to please you in the bedroom to resemble obedience and serenity is SICK.
I am tired of the sickness of Vishwananda using his power to have sex with his devotees-- If you are homosexual, great! more power to you, but don't exploit others by using the pedestal you have put yourself on.
- STOP claiming you are God
- STOP claiming you are the key to salvation


My heart goes out to those who are on the cycle of serving a false God.

here are the recordings of two past devotees

Praying for guidance, peace & Wisdom,

[email protected]

 

[truth12]

Truth12, why have you got 2 accounts of experiences with Vishwananda, apparently by 2 different people, but repeating the same 'experience' paragraph word for word. As it happens I am just about to speak with 2 Bhakti Marga teachers and I will ask them if initiation includes being branded on both shoulders. I also do not find this a credible account of a sexual experience with one's guru or with anyone really, it sounds like a fantasy rather than actual fact. Whatever the case it sounds as though it was consensual in which case what is the author complaining about? That he regrets a mistake or that it didn't happen again?

I copied it from my blog that I wrote. and as for the brand-- I was done. it was done with a small chakra shaped piece of metal and a lighter. it was not a full on bull brand, but it definitely bubbled my skin and hurt for a week. it was done 3 years ago so it is faded but you can still see the skin discoloration.

 

[truth12]

Hello everyone,

I can confirm what truth12 has written, similar things have happened to me as well. Vishwananda is a homosexual guru who is seducing male Brahmacharis. The problem of these boys/ monks is, they are controlled energetically by Vishwananada and would not speak up.

This is still happening in 2018, 10 years after many hundreds of Brahmacharis (this includes some Swamis) have left Vishwananda because of his homosexuality and abuse of them. Please have a read through this article and be cautious with gurus as such!

Review a guru

Francesco, where are you?

 

[truth12]

I have one problem with what you have said - in 2008 Swami Vishwananda was still relatively unknown - there is no way that he had 'hundreds of Brahmacaris' following him, I have seen as many as 800 Brahmacaris being spoken of in other articles and 600 in your 'review a guru' article. In 2006 he could hardly fill a decent sized hall and if the video of his 2014 visit to the Uk is anything to go by he could hardly fill a hall at all and people were coming in off the street to fill the seats. Even now in 2018 I doubt he has attracted such large numbers of Brahmacaris to follow him. To me this sounds like disinformation. These are serious claims that people are making and if they are to be believed they need to be backed up by sound facts rather than hearsay so that we all know where we stand.

look at my most recent post at the bottom of this forum. listen to the recordings and decide for yourself

 

[truth12]

I got an email from word press about a lawyer attempting to take down my blog posts because they claimed my blog went against their code of conduct. within the letter the lawyer also claimed there have been 16 other "false" accusers against Vishwananda for similar accounts. long story short, they denied the lawyer. here is the attachment of the letter that was sent by the lawyer to Wordpress.

 

[Bhakti Alarm]

I copied it from my blog that I wrote. and as for the brand-- I was done. it was done with a small chakra shaped piece of metal and a lighter. it was not a full on bull brand, but it definitely bubbled my skin and hurt for a week. it was done 3 years ago so it is faded but you can still see the skin discoloration. View attachment 34025

OMG!!! So, this is true? You've got really branded...this is SO SICK!!!

 

[truth12]

OMG!!! So, this is true? You've got really branded...this is SO SICK!!!

Yes it is true. I definitely did not get even close to the worst branding. Ask any of the 12 appointed swamis to see their shoulder. Yikes.

 

[Bhakti Alarm]

So it's really "branded" for life then? How far the brainwashing can go......till the very end. Fortunate are those (you and me among others) who can see through the illusion and recognize the truth. At least something to be joyful about

 

[Bhakti Alarm]

Hello everyone,

I can confirm what truth12 has written, similar things have happened to me as well. Vishwananda is a homosexual guru who is seducing male Brahmacharis. The problem of these boys/ monks is, they are controlled energetically by Vishwananada and would not speak up.

This is still happening in 2018, 10 years after many hundreds of Brahmacharis (this includes some Swamis) have left Vishwananda because of his homosexuality and abuse of them. Please have a read through this article and be cautious with gurus as such!

Review a guru

Francesco, can you (will you) give a testimony also? This would help others to speak up! Please talk to truth12 about this. Thank you

 

[Bhakti Alarm]

I got an email from word press about a lawyer attempting to take down my blog posts because they claimed my blog went against their code of conduct. within the letter the lawyer also claimed there have been 16 other "false" accusers against Vishwananda for similar accounts. long story short, they denied the lawyer. here is the attachment of the letter that was sent by the lawyer to Wordpress.

THE PROBLEM IS THAT YOU HAVE NO PROOF OF ALL THIS. DO YOU HAVE ANY PROOF? PHOTOS, WRITTEN, SPOKEN WORDS? BRANDEN PICTURES AND SO ON...PLEASE READ THIS BELOW:
DEFAMATION ISSUE LAW
Section 186 Defamation Whosoever asserts or disseminates a fact related to another person which may defame him or negatively affect public opinion about him, shall, unless this fact can be proven to be true, be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine and, if the offence was committed publicly or through the dissemination of written materials (section 11(3)), to imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine. Section 187 Intentional defamation Whosoever intentionally and knowingly asserts or disseminates an untrue fact related to another person, which may defame him or negatively affect public opinion about him or endanger his creditworthiness shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine, and, if the act was committed publicly, in a meeting or through dissemination of written materials (section 11(3)) to imprisonment not exceeding five years or a fine.

 

[Bhakti Alarm]

Hello everyone,

I can confirm what truth12 has written, similar things have happened to me as well. Vishwananda is a homosexual guru who is seducing male Brahmacharis. The problem of these boys/ monks is, they are controlled energetically by Vishwananada and would not speak up.

This is still happening in 2018, 10 years after many hundreds of Brahmacharis (this includes some Swamis) have left Vishwananda because of his homosexuality and abuse of them. Please have a read through this article and be cautious with gurus as such!

Review a guru

QUESTION: What would happen if those 2 blogs (review guru blog) were not deleted? Somebody has any experience with this?

 

[Bhakti Alarm]

PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT BOTH PARAMAHAMSA'S! EX-FOLLOWERS, SEX ABUSE VICTIMS: SPEAK UP NOW!
As we know lately the ex-followers of Nithyananda are speaking up! Please watch and learn from them! People all over the world appreciate and are grateful to learn the truth this way, because to know the truth can save them not only lots of money, but also energy and time (among other issues).

 

[Sirona]

I am tired of people being tricked and wronged by someone who uses two of the most respected religions in the world (Christianity and Hinduism) in the wrong light.
Using the words of Christ and Krishna, talking about love, pointing a mass amount of people towards spirituality, then manipulating and pressuring your 'Celibate' devotees to please you in the bedroom to resemble obedience and serenity is SICK.

Has this already appeared on your radar? I don’t know much about Orthodox churches, but as I understood it, the Orthodox splinter church which ordained Vishwananda a bishop seems to have split over the very same issue:

https://www.coachurch.ru/uvedomlenie-dlya-evropy

"The public co-serving of Metropolitan Vitali Kuzhevatov [as leader] of the AOC [Apostolic Orthodox Church] with the head of the neo Hindu movement Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda who previously was ordained into priestly orders as Bishop Michael by Vitali Kuzhevatov is fraud and deception of all [Orthodox] believers."

"In Christian countries his position as a Christian bishop and the rituals in “adoration of Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary” allow his followers to overcome the cognitive dissonance between their native religious and cultural tradition, and the Hindu doctrines propagated by him."

I always used to wonder where he got the priests and nuns from who celebrate Easter with him in his Orthodox chapel in Springen.

 

[Aupmanyav]

"The public co-serving of Metropolitan Vitali Kuzhevatov [as leader] of the AOC [Apostolic Orthodox Church] with the head of the neo Hindu movement Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda who previously was ordained into priestly orders as Bishop Michael by Vitali Kuzhevatov is fraud and deception of all [Orthodox] believers."

I will consider any one associating with a fake swamy, him/herself a fake.

 

[Joakim]

Here is a link to the German documentary with English subtitles Bhakti Marga, Just Love Documentary - Coercive Rape and Abuse by Vishwananda Cult

 

[Joakim]

PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT BOTH PARAMAHAMSA'S! EX-FOLLOWERS, SEX ABUSE VICTIMS: SPEAK UP NOW!
As we know lately the ex-followers of Nithyananda are speaking up! Please watch and learn from them! People all over the world appreciate and are grateful to learn the truth this way, because to know the truth can save them not only lots of money, but also energy and time (among other issues).

Here is a link to the German documentary with English subtitles:
Bhakti Marga, Just Love Documentary - Coercive Rape and Abuse by Vishwananda Cult

 

[Joakim]

THE PROBLEM IS THAT YOU HAVE NO PROOF OF ALL THIS. DO YOU HAVE ANY PROOF? PHOTOS, WRITTEN, SPOKEN WORDS? BRANDEN PICTURES AND SO ON...PLEASE READ THIS BELOW:
DEFAMATION ISSUE LAW
Section 186 Defamation Whosoever asserts or disseminates a fact related to another person which may defame him or negatively affect public opinion about him, shall, unless this fact can be proven to be true, be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine and, if the offence was committed publicly or through the dissemination of written materials (section 11(3)), to imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine. Section 187 Intentional defamation Whosoever intentionally and knowingly asserts or disseminates an untrue fact related to another person, which may defame him or negatively affect public opinion about him or endanger his creditworthiness shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine, and, if the act was committed publicly, in a meeting or through dissemination of written materials (section 11(3)) to imprisonment not exceeding five years or a fine.

Here is the German documentary with English subtitles:
Bhakti Marga, Just Love Documentary - Coercive Rape and Abuse by Vishwananda Cult