Nithyananda Tries to Bend Vedic Truths a Sharp Left Turn
Hi there, Sri Nithyananda. What's happening with your blog? You know, the parallel universe blog where everything gets turned upside down? You know, that blog that we wrote about just a few weeks ago in the blog article called "Nithyananda Starts a New Parallel Universe Blog = Fantasy Land". Oh, that blog. Here it is now:
nithyananda-cult-clarity.blogspot.comWe must admit, Sri Nithyananda, we had a lot of fun making fun of that blog. It was like a 20 mph fast ball, where the 'S' fell out of the word 'fast'. Yes, it had 'hit me' written all over it. In fact, it was like our personal piñata. (A piñata is a paper figure that is filled with candy and little toys. Children that are blind-folded try to hit and then break the swinging piñata to get access to the goodies inside.)
Yes, Sri Nithyananda, your parallel universe blog gave us these posts, "Nithyananda Starts a New Parallel Universe Blog = Fantasy Land", "Nithyananda's Parallel Universe is Ignorant, Therefore Not Bliss", and inspired our latest post "Backpedaling Keeper of Revised 'Truths', Nithyananda, Required to Embellish His Story (Again)". We think that anything of substance that we posted instantly became weightless in your cult's parallel universe blog. In fact, it looks like you ran out of things to say. Sri Nithyananda, did you get tired of the same old character assaults, cling to fantasy land, remedy the Truth by taking some brainwashing cult-indoctrination programs of yours? It's been over two weeks, and nothing new. You still haven't answered our five (5) simple chronological questions about your time line. Why anyone with fingers on their hand should be able to answer these five simple questions. When will you do that, Sri Nithyananda? "Grabbal Gabble." Oh, our gruntanese translator said that means you don't want to talk about it. But, sorry there, Sri Nithyananda, we do want to talk about it. You see, if you can't even answer those five simple chronological questions about you and your 'enlightenment', then we might begin to think that you made all of these stories up. Then you, Sri Nithyananda, really do offer a fantasy world.
So, does this mean, Sri Nithyananda, that we are not going to hear anything more from your cult's parallel universe blog? Is it destined to float the Universe of Truth like some space junk from the Soviet Sputnik? At least, Sri Nithyananda, you should clean up after your mess. That's good for the environment.
But, what is this here? Oh, my gosh, Sri Nithyananda, you really are abandoning your parallel universe blog. And, you're replacing it with a perpendicular universe blog!
Look at it right here:
nithyananda-culture.blogspot.comWow, we see that you used the same strategy of typing our address of 'nithyananda-cult' and at the last minute you do the 'bait and switch' to 'culture'. Why isn't that using the quote one of your followers gave to the Los Angeles Times when pressed some hard questions about your cult operations?
"It's not a cult, it's a culture," said Nithyananda follower David Herold, president of a drug and alcohol testing company headquartered in Redlands. "I call it the enlightenment express."Is our tiny little blog pressing hard questions at a real-genuine-truth-laden Paramahamsa? Nah, it couldn't be true. At least Sri Nithyananda, you chose a skin that was different than our friend Jody Radzik Guruphiliac Blog. That's an improvement. And, we see that you're not accepting any comments. That is very safe, Sri Nithyananda. But, all the viewers will think that you're not able to stand up strongly to the Truth or even defend it. They will then come to our site, and make comments about your site from our site. This attracts new viewers and adds legitimacy to our site, which is lacking in your site. So, in a way, you, Sri Nithyananda, are really helping our blog. Thanks.
(source: LA Times July 13, 2007)
Anyway, Sri Nithyananda, we think we get it now. Are you taking the strategy of hiding behind the true-and-tried method of 'Vedic Truths'? And, then hoping that some of these Vedic truths rub off on the perception of your cult? And, Sri Nithyananda, while you go 'straight-up-and-down' with some Vedic Truths of your liking, then do you make a sharp left-turn into the realms of your cult? Why isn't that bending the Vedic Truths into your direction? Could someone call that bait-and-switch, co-opting, or just plain propaganda? Sri Nithyananda, do you really think that gullible people will fall for this? Oh, we see, Sri Nithyananda, this strategy has worked for you in the past, and that by 'going straight' on some selective Truths and then turning a sharp left turn into La-La Land makes this the perfect Perpendicular Universe Blog. Potential followers think they are traveling a safe and straight path, and then swoosh a sharp left turn leaves them way out in left field. Amazing.
Let's take a look at your Perpendicular Universe Blog, shall we?
Your post: Significance of Energy Beads
Our reply: Yes, you are correct there, Sri Nithyananda. Some items are able to conduct and the hold energy such as rudraksha seeds, sandalwood, tulsi (basil) seeds, silk, gold, silver, etc. Yes, that is the 'straight-up-and-down' truths that your Perpendicular Universe Blog states. We agree.
But wait, Sri Nithyananda, here comes that sharp left turn. Sri Nithyananda, what kind of energy can be held in those beads? Can a glass not hold milk, beer, or even poison? So, what type of energy is being put into your energy beads? Is this the same graveyard energy that you perform when you take your followers to midnight graveyard tours? Or the same energy you use when you do a fire ritual with red chilies, human hair, and marijuana seeds? Or is this the same energy that is being stored when someone chants one of your modified mantras where the Lord's name is replaced with your name or your name is slipped in there, giving the mantra a 'new' vibration? Sri Nithyananda, we don't know if we really want that type of energy around our necks. And, why Sri Nithyananda, such a great emphasis with the outer world? Isn't that just another form of worldly materialism? Shouldn't true seekers of the Divine just chant uncorrupted mantras and let the inner vibrations activate the divinity within them? And, come one, Sri Nithyananda, did the rishis or even Ramakrishna attach their pictures to these energy beads? Are you making your followers attached to your material body? [See your post "pt 3, Attachment to Nithyananda's Enlightenment?: Nithyananda's Ashramites & Inner-circle of Nithyananda"] Don't you know that seekers can get stuck there? Oh, we see, you want people to be stuck to your image and praying and then paying just to you. That's part of being in a cult. The personality cult of a cult guru. That sounds very familiar to Reverend Jim Jones did, and definitely something that Osho did. Why Sri Nithyananda, your following perfectly in their footsteps. Great left turn. Very sharp!
Your post: Namaste - The Vedic Greeting
Our reply: Yes, Sri Nithyananda. That was a perfectly safe 'straight-up-and-down' Truth about 'Namaste'. Folded hands and humility. We agree with you totally. Nice touch. And, you, Sri Nithyananda, sound so humble filled with humility. We agree, that those are nice traits to have especially when you want to appear to be something different than you are.
Ah Oh, here comes the sharp left turn into the Perpendicular Universe. Sri Nithyananda, do your followers greet each other with 'Namaste' or 'Namaskar'? We cannot ever recall that. Sri Nithyananda, did you teach your cult followers to say "Nithyanandam"? Is there any references of "Nithyanandam" in any of the Vedas? Why is "Nithyanandam" a totally new greeting that is unique to only you and your followers? Why, Sri Nithyananda, pardon us for being so blunt, but we smell cult. In fact, our very first blog post was on this alone. Look, you can read it here: "Nithyananda Corrupts Sanskrit and Vedic Culture".
Your post: Chakras - Wheels of Energy
Our reply: Yes, Sri Nithyananda, that's a nice summary of chakras (energy centers). Your blog post is crisp, clean, and even has a nice mystic illustration. Very professional. Very straight-up-and-down Truths. But, wait, what's that at the very end? You place a link to find out more about chakras and then attend your two-day introduction program that participants can learn about chakras, meditation, and how to get hooked to you. Oh, Sri Nithyananda, we were hoping that you were not going to turn sharp left on this one. But, you did. Yes, that link doesn't just go to your Life Bliss Program, but goes right to your home page. We suppose then the unsuspecting person can really learn about what restricts chakras with greed, envy, lust, ego, fantasy, inability to accept reality, etc. Yes, your website really does make a good social laboratory. Don't worry, Sri Nithyananda, in a future post, we'll spend a whole blog post about how the 'Life Bliss Program', you know, your two-day workshop on chakras and meditation and how you then 'turn sharp left' and recruit followers from that. We hope that this is not considered fraud. Let's get on to your next blog entry, shall we?
Your post: What is the significance of Kumkum (Sacred Vermillion)?
Our reply: Yes, Sri Nithyananda, placing the kukum (red powder that has turmeric) on your forehead helps the energy flow through the agna chakra (third-eye center), and yes, that is the origin and significance of why Vedic seekers place a little bit on their agna chakra. Turmeric is a wonderful spice. Glad the Rishis discovered early on the benefits of this wonder root.
But, wait, there Sri Nithyananda, wouldn't it be even better if your followers practiced some meditation that would focus on the agna chakra? Wouldn't it be helpful if they lied down on their side and then stared through their agna charka into their upper big toe and then 'looped' this energy for 21 minutes? So, Sri Nithyananda, isn't it best to go into the inner world and not be dependent on the outer world stuff? Or, Sri Nithyananda, is it easier to peddle 'outer world' stuff? We noted, Sri Nithyananda, that someone can purchase online or at your temple your special blend of kukum, why it even comes with some wax! Why the wax, Sri Nithyananda? Oh, we get it, cult followers apply the wax first and then the kukum. That way, someone can get that huge oversized red glob of kukum right between their eyes. But, then again, with a layer of wax in between the chakra and the kumkum, does someone really get the benefit of the turmeric or is this just for show? We have to admit, Sri Nithyananda, with that huge red mark, white cloths, and energized beads that have your big smiling picture, that adds to a certain look, a certain mystique, a certain air of mystery... straight out of a cult. No chance in getting a job anywhere in the world, even Starbucks, looking like that. Oh, there's the sharp left turn. We were waiting for that.
And, Sri Nithyananda, on this blog post you mentioned:
"When this chakra is blocked, one sees the world through a mask of his/her own ideas and conditionings (this mask is called ego). This stops them from seeing things the way they are. Flowering of the agna chakra refers to the process of waking up to the reality, breaking from the clutches of ego, enlightenment."We have to admire your sense of reality there down in the fantasy-filled world of La-La Land at your ashrams. Where else can followers disown their family, end their careers, quit their education, give up their savings, change their name and identity, farm off their kids, divorce their spouse? Wow, all this happens when someone moves into the ashram and has all that social conditioning removed. So, Sri Nithyananda, if anyone wants all of this, then all they need to do is just place some kukum on their agna chakras and hang out at one of your temples or ashrams? And, yes, in no time at all, the transformation will simply just blossom? Brilliant, there Sri Nithyananda. You're sharp. Sharp left turn that is.
Your post: Fasting - a Healthy Practice
Our reply: Yes, there, Sri Nithyananda, you're right again. Straight-up-and-down. Fasting twice a month is common practice in Vedic culture and has certain benefits. We notice that you like to choose Pradosham, but other common days include Ekadasi, full and new moons, etc. And, giving a seeker's tummy a chance to rest helps clean the system and allows energy to be given to other parts of the being. Spot on.
Speaking of healthy practices, Sri Nithyananda, do you allow your followers a chance to rest properly? You know, get six or perhaps six and a half hours and sometimes maybe even seven-hours of sleep? Sri Nithyananda, do you know the ill effects of sleep deprivation? Of course you do, we covered these topics with your parallel universe blog twice now. You can read them again at "Nithyananda Starts a New Parallel Universe Blog = Fantasy Land" and "Nithyananda's Parallel Universe is Ignorant, Therefore Not Bliss".
But, since you seem a little slow, there, Sri Nithyananda, we'll quickly review some of the ill effects of sleep deprivation. Did you know, Sri Nithyananda, that according to Wikipedia, sleep deprivation can cause mental instability, irritability, cognitive impairment, memory lapses or loss, impaired moral judgment, hallucinations, ADHD symptoms, impaired immune system, risk of Type 2 diabetes, increased heart rates, risk of heart disease, decreased reaction time and accuracy, tremors, aches, growth suppression, risk of obesity, decreased temperature. Why Wikipeida even has a cute little image to illustrate these facts.
[click on the image for larger view]
Sri Nithyananda, is the fact that sleep deprivation in your ashram one of the reasons why some of the ashramites put on so much weight? Is this the type of spiritual 'experience' that you provide them such as hallucinations and impaired moral judgment?And, did you know, Sri Nithyananda, in laboratory animals, sleep deprivation can cause death? Do you still say that your ashrams are laboratories for the spiritual world? What will happen, Sri Nithyananda, if someone died in your ashram due to sleep deprivation? Will you make a second corrupted holiday called Maha Parinirvana Day 2.0?
And, Sri Nithyananda, did you read the portion about sleep deprivation being a form of torture? With mental instability? Lucky thing for your ashramites that they are with a genuine Paramahamsa who considers himself bigger and badder than Ramakrishna, Ammachi, Swami Vivekananda, and perhaps even Jesus Himself. Otherwise, your sleep deprived followers, under the wrong guidance, could be exploited. Criminal. Wouldn't it be disappointing to hear that your ashramites were sleep deprived and also starved? What next, a bed of nails?
So, back to the fasting twice a month, Sri Nithyananda, do you really think the benefits from fasting make up for all of the losses from sleep deprivation? We hate to say this, Sri Nithyananda, but we think that the benefits from fasting after you sleep deprived all your followers is like putting icing on some cardboard and then trying to pass it off as cake. Yes, that sharp left turn of yours takes the cake!
We have to admit, Sri Nithyananda, none of us ever tried eating a cake quite like this, but it doesn't sound so yummy or even all that healthy. Although we must confess, that it could perhaps look rather tasty for anyone who didn't know what is really going on underneath all that icing. Sri Nithyananda, you're not just all about appearance and setting some impression, are you?
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.