The Nithyananda Dog and Pony Show
The Nithyananda Dog and Pony Show
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Friday, November 6, 2009
For the Love of Money, 'Paramahamsa' Nithyananda and His 24K Golden Opportunities
Golden Boy 'Swami' Nithyananda = King Midas 2.0, and Yes, All that Glitter is Gold, But Maybe Not So Golden
Paramahamsa Nithyananda, are you materialistic? Why how silly of me to ask. I know you will say, "No". OK, then, Sri Nithyananda, I just have a few questions to help clear things up. Why did you charge $150 for the Kalpataru program in May 2009 and just a few months later you raised the price to $250 for this one-day program? Same thing, Sri Nithyananda, with your Nithyananda Spurana Program (NSP). Why in 2004 in a hotel, you charged $250 for the two-day program. But, in 2009, you now charge $750 per person for the same program without occurring the expense of a hall rental. Why that’s a 300 percent increase. Did you, Sri Nithyananda, get just that much better? Why even Google’s stock didn’t go up that much over the past five years.
And, why do you use so much gold? Nithyananda, I see that you have gold plated your super big mala (rosary). Is it now a bling-bling? Yo! Wassup, Swamiji? And, in July 2009, did you, Nithyananda, solicited in e-mail tax deductible donations for 24K gold flowers to be placed at your feet in exchange for the donors having their names presented to you for ‘blessings’? Is that what it takes to get your blessings? What if someone couldn't afford to donate a 24K gold flower, Sri Nithyananda? Would you still bless them?
And, after declaring that you gave 'enlightenment' to 53 of your close followers, did you, Sri Nithyananda, then pat your self on the back by splurging on a gold throne that is coated in 24K gold? Did you say that you are now 'qualified' to sit on this golden throne? Sri Nithyananda, did anyone else ever sit on this throne? Oh, yes, there was that incident in 2007 where some homeless junkie wandered into your Vedic Temple in Montclair while he was as 'high as kite' and while in a stuper sat right there on your 24K golden throne. Did this druggie take a bath afterwards? Boy, Sri Nithyananda, that throne is sure heavy to carry. Good thing there’s a healing master at hand, or all of those volunteers probably would be sporting sprang backs or hernias. Did you, Sri Nithyananda, really plan to have something so high maintenance?
Another question, Sri Nithyananda. Do you have a 24K gold crown? Why yes, we have even seen you wear this 24K gold crown. Sorry to say, Sri Nithyananda, but when you wear it, you kind of look like Jughead from the Archie’s comics.
Paramahamsa Nithyananda, can you name any enlightened master that has this sort of love for gold? For the life of me, I cannot imagine Paramahamsa Ramakrishna, Shirdi Baba, Swami Vivekananda, Ramana Maharishi, anyone, who would be so bold as you, Sri Nithyananda. Please help. There have been a lot of worldly kings, nouveau riche, and drug dealers that have done this sort of conspicuous consumption. Nithyananda, are you the newly rich king of sanyasis who just cornered the spiritual market? You know, the hybrid of a renunciate, a powerful politician, and a gangster? Oh, sorry, Sri Nithyananda, I forgot there is a spiritual side to wearing all that gold. Osho loved to wear diamonds, and you like to wear gold. I see the connection now.
And, will there be anything to help the poor, the meek, and the humble out of all of these donations, Sri Nithyananda? And, you will say “Yes, just look at my website.” Oh, I see, Sri Nithyananda. There is an image and a link that we can ‘donate’ additional money on top of all the other money donated to you in order to help those recent flood victims. But, you seem very reluctant to say how much you, personally, donated. Isn’t that kind of like if Warren Buffett giving a commitment to give something back to humanity just by promising to ‘trick or treating’ for UNICEF next year? Nithyananda, we were kind of hoping you would do a little more than provide just a link.
And, Paramahamsa Nithyananda, do you think you can make your donations and allocations a little more transparent? Didn’t you, Sri Nithyananda, once promise the Ananda Samajis (donors) who were tithing (giving ten percent) that their money would help the local Nithyananda Centers? And, what happened to that money, Nithyananda? Didn’t you divert it to your main ashram in India to help achieve your new grand priorities there, leaving your local centers high and dry? Isn’t that kind of like a shell game where we get to guess which shell still has the pea under it? Wow, Nithyananda, I see your empire is going to be big one day, just like Enron. For your next wave of ananda sevaks (fulltime volunteers) do you, Sri Nithyananda, need some more accountants and lawyers? Don’t forget the telemarketers.
And, what about all the income from your programs, Sri Nithyananda? With workshops at your Indian ashram going for $6,000 to $8,000 USD a pop, why then do you find it necessary to ask all of these new 'enlightened' graduates to tithe (give 10 percent of their gross income) to you? Just think about it, if people had modest incomes of $50,000 a year... all it would take is to get 200 of them to tithe, and you have become a millionaire each and every year. But, we know you target the super wealthy... so is your goal is to get a whole stadium full of money? Oh, what a coincidence. Nithyananda, I see you have plans to build a new stadium so you can fill it with more potential donors. Sri Nithyananda, will there will be a VIP section in your stadium, bright lights, a big throne (24K golden of course), a scoreboard, plenty of cheerleaders, and a special 'backstage' room? I knew you wouldn't disappoint us.
Follow your dharma. Use your common sense. Listen to your inner-conscience, and follow the Truth. Come out of this trap, and escape from this fraudulent cult.
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Wow! All this gold but not a dorm bed or floor space for the ananda sevaks who worked 7 days a week with only a few hours of sleep each night. These slaves must prove themsleves before getting sleeping space in the ashram.
ReplyDeleteI remembered how relieved a few lucky ananda sevaks were when Nithy gave them the ashramite initiation in Nov 2007. They don't need to worry about renting a space in Los Angeles anymore! Some were running out of funds making money for you. Swamiji!
One more thing, these unpaid/unhoused slave volunteer sevaks didn't even have time to meditate. They told that work is their meditation or sadhana. They get no special spiritual guidance from you either.
ReplyDeleteThey got to be in your priceless energy field and have your blessing! You must laughing inside at these fools.
Any of these early sevaks in LA enlightened yet? A few had became ashramites and earned their dorm space in your ashrams.
There needs to be an investigation into how the donation money is used. If it is used for making golden throne then its illegal.
ReplyDeleteThere were no true charity events. Only a very small scale charity event would be set up and it was mainly for photo-op purposes. In the photos posted on his website of some of the so-called charity events in India, look in the background and notice that these medical camps barely have any patients - lots of empty chairs and just a bunch of volunteers looking important.
ReplyDeleteNithya had a chance to DOUBLE his donations for charity work - all he had to do is to is register his charity under the UN and tell them what kind of charity work was being done and show that these funds were being used for charity and UN would match the funds Nithya already had. But Nithya flat out refused to do so! That's because it's all a sham operation - there is no true charity work. If someone was really doing charity work, they would jump at this opportunity. Nithya's comment was - no one should tell us what to do with our money.
And I know someone who has permanently damaged his arm from lifting all the heavy statues when the Montclair temple was being set up. Shouldn't it have healed by now? Especially since it happened under 'dharmic' conditions? And especially with Nithya's healing energy all around?
Also, how does Nithy justify sitting on and putting his feet on the Golden throne when God's image is right under his butt? Isn't that showing outright disrespect to God? Nithy's comment was - I am God so I can do that.
Yeah, sure Nithy....if you're really God, stop having all your ashramites push the button for "report abuse" of this website and rather use your Godly powers to wipe out all the negative comments that pop up on the internet! Rather, why don't you just put your 'positive' and 'loving' energy out there to these negatively commenting people?
Yeah, you need your henchmen to do your ugly work because just you doing the ugly work isn't enough.
This reminds me of what happened when Beatles left Maharshi; Mahrashi asked them why are they leaving?
ReplyDeleteAnd to which Beatles vocalist replied: you are omniscient, you figure it out :)
Nithyananda arrogantly proclaims that he is God in his programs. He should be able to use hiw powers to bring this blog down :) why are his devotees reporting abuse.
Nithyananda when he started off the intent was pure. He got corrupt as he saw his empire expanding when he started using cheap tactics to acquire property and money. Infact I heard that even his bidadi ashram land was swindled from some guy.
Nithy's proclamation right on his website:
ReplyDelete"I am not here to say 'Aham Brahmasmi' (I Am God). I am here to say 'Tatvamasi' (You Are God) "
Swamiji, do you treat your followers (may be except the super-wealthy donors) like God? You treat many of the most devout followers (ashramites and ananada sevaks) like slaves, not gods.
Were you not verbally abusive to your ashramites in the America? Were you not physically violent to many bramacharies in India?
So you said we all are God. Is that how you treat God?
Did Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekandanda, Ramana Maharshi, Yogaananda had a heavy golden throne?
ReplyDeleteAny one of them had a throne so heavy that it caused permanent damage to an arm of a devotee moving it?
None of these great realized beings had such a big heavey 24k golden throne. Right?
You out-shined them all! Sri Nithyananda.
Om Namah Shivaya,
ReplyDeleteWow! So many comments, so little space.
Thanks, Peanut Brittle, we have forgotten about the pictures of the deities that were embossed / molded right into Nithyananda's 24K gold throne. If memory serves correct, I believe Lord Vishnu is right under the 'seat' portion of the throne. Usually (for Sri Nithyananda's comfort - but I'm sure it was mutual) there is a cushion to buffer between the seat and the sitter. Although I am sure the Divine loves all of our parts 'part and parcel', I feel more comfortable placing the Divine in my heart, mind, and tip of my senses. Perhaps Sri Nithyananda just wants to get close to the Divine from the part he feels he can relate best to. Maybe one day, Lord Vishnu will give Sri Nithyananda a big swift kick, and a new form of 'enlightenment' will happen. Otherwise, Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra could have some interesting uses.
Yes, Hippie, everyone loses with Sri Nithyananda, and we would have to agree that the Ananda Sevaks (full-time volunteers) got the rawest of the deals. Yes, there were a few ananda sevaks that got immediately 'upgraded' to the status of ashramites (however, one of them immediately escaped), but there was no free ride. In the beginning in 2005, ashramites had to pay for their unit plus an equal portion for the kitchen, Nithyananda's personal quarters, the office area, the hall, all the food even for events, and the utilities. This came out to a HUGE bill every month. As money began to flow in to the Foundation, and as ashramites' bank accounts became empty, a lot of the fees for food etc. became subsidized through donations. For a short period, the Nithyananda Foundation paid for the rent and the utilities at the ashram. About six months later, as money was being diverted back to India, the short fall was soon made up for through rent and rentals. Those ashramites that still had some money and assets were asked to pay rent (a lot more than those slum-rated units were worth), and the Foundation piled up existing ashramites into a few units, freeing other units, which then were rented out to cash paying ananda samajis (donors). So, those upgraded ananda sevaks which you were referring too, did not get a free ride, and still had to pay. And, pay they did.
Jai Maa.
Om Namah Shivaya,
ReplyDeleteI knew that someone was going to post about Puttaparti Baba (Sathya Sai Baba) and his golden throne, and we were not disappointed. True Sathya Sai Baba also has a golden throne. And, after viewing pictures of it, we could not see any deities on his throne (unlike Sri Nithyananda's throne that has pictures of deities where you would least expect them to be.)
Sorry, we declined to post that comment for a couple of reasons. One, we want to focus on Sri Nithyananda and not lose our way. Two, there are some major differences between Sri Nithyananda and Sathya Sai Baba, and we don't want to use this blog as a launch pad against other gurus who, in our opinion, do good things for society.
Although there are some controversies associated with Sathya Sai Baba, we noted that he never speaks lies and never does practices that go against humanity. For instance, Sathya Sai Baba never asks money from his followers or sets up elaborate 'up-sell' programs to secure funds. He also certainly does not make claims of selling 'enlightenment'. In addition, we do not know of any cases of families being broken up over him, and it seems that Sathya Sai Baba wants his devotees to keep their core religious beliefs.
To his benefit, Sathya Sai Baba has opened up many hospitals for the poor people at no costs and in many states provides pure drinking water. Sathya Sai Baba also just wants money for charity to help people... NOT for himself. We have also noted that his followers in the US are the first to feed the homeless and care for the needy. And, if a disaster strikes in India, there is usually a well organized core of his followers willing to dig ditches and fill sandbags to anyone of any belief. In contrast, Sri Nithyananda's idea of service is to have a photo op with dignitaries and rich donors, a link on his website for 'additional' donations to disaster victims, and delegation volunteers to pass out flyers for his next program or lead a meditation that helps promote Sri Nithyananda and his cult.
In short, Sathya Sai Baba is a soul that believes in service to God and service to humankind. Yes, he has powers and sometimes he demonstrates these powers. But, the source of Sathya Sai Baba's power is not from any dark practice.
I'm am certainly not a follower, but we want to make it clear, for the record, that we do not hold Sathya Sai Baba on the same level as Sri Nithyananda.
Hope this is useful.
Jai Maa.
Thanks you Expose Nithyananda for your clarification.
ReplyDeleteNithy charges outrages fees for his program (including programs run by the unpaid achayas teachers w/o him) but does not provide basic living allowance for those who slave their lives away for him.
Even slave owners treats their slaves better than that! Who needs such a God?
Was Nithy's father a sannyasin disciple of Nithy? This was so from what I read.
ReplyDeleteWould anyone please clarify this. Thanks.
Was Nithy's father a sannyasin disciple of Nithy? This was so from what I read.
ReplyDeleteHe was given sannyas and the monastic title Swami after death.
Even a dead parent is used for marketing! The dead man could not refuse the monastic title forced upon him. How clever, Swamiji!
ReplyDeleteNithy' gave the impression that the father was first disciples. Thus, it was ok for him (Nithy) to do the last rites for the father even though Nithy himself is a sannyasin.
Was the father Nithy's disciple as Nithy claims? Did his father legally changed his name to Nithyanada something?
Hi Expose Nithyananda,
ReplyDeleteIt may be a good idea to add his father's sannyas story to the part about his father's death, with details on how his father became a disciple and changed his name.
These details would answer the question for those of us who had got Nithy's version of family history from Nithy's tall tale books.