Though Mani Ratnam was worried about the sex-scandal hit Tamil actress Ranjitha, who went underground after tapes of her with Swami Nithyananda who is now behind bars were aired by TV channels, because she plays Vikram's sister-in-law in the Tamil version of the movie Raavan, it seems now the director has decided to go with Ranjitha’s scenes.
Earlier there were rumours that Ranjitha, who was dragged into a scandal with spiritual and mystic guru Swami Nityananda in a sex video tape aired by Sun TV on March 2, has been removed from the mega movie Raavan. After the controversy hit headlines, Ranjitha went underground and Mani Ratnam was left with the dilemma of either re-shooting her portions with another actress or going ahead with Ranjitha. However, scenes with Ranjitha will be retained by Mani Ratnam, and it is going to be another highly rated publicity, business promotion and marketing tool for the much awaited movie.
Mani Ratnam to retain Ranjitha's scenes in Raavan
Video: Swami Nithyananda back in Bangalore
This NDTV video report dated April 22, 2010 says, “Insiders say supporters of Nithyananda, who is confident of securing bail in court today, tipped off CID about his Himachal Pradesh hideout.”
But it cannot be true, as much as some other reports that claim that Swami Nityananda stage-managed his capture by the police so that he will be under full media glare and that will save him from harsh treatment by the police. There are also others who claim that Nithyananda is quite afraid that the public will lynch him for which reason he went into hiding after the alleged sex tapes were aired by TV channels and flooded the internet, especially YouTube. It may be noted that immediately after the news of his alleged sex relations with many men and women came out, his Ashram at Bidadi near Bangalore was vandalized by the enraged local people.
According to this report, Swami Nityananda was taken to a hospital for a medical checkup, and he was expected to be presented before the court, upon which, possibly he can be under custody/ in prison for 14 days. Before he was brought to Bangalore from his hideout in a remote village in Himachal Pradesh, from where a joint team of Himachal Pradesh Police and Karnataka Police apprehended him, Karnataka Police had raided his ashram and captured records including hard disks of computers.
According to official sources, Karnataka Police was monitoring his phone calls for about two weeks and based on that they were able to locate Swami Nityananda in the remote mountainous village in Himachal Pradesh. He had all the communication equipments including cellphones, video cameras and laptops that the police team captured. Most of the calls that Swami Nityananda made was to USA, where he has the biggest investments and from where most of his money came from.
According to a report, his Vedic Temple in Los Angeles (California, USA) is closed for devotees following rift between his supporters and opponents. His American money-spinning organization, Life Bliss Foundation that used to be the main arm to popularize “Nitya Yoga” and “Nitya Mediation” invented by him, also seems to be affected as their website is defunct now. His Malaysian Ashram said they are ready to cooperate with Indian authorities, and they only conduct some rituals once in a while. Swami Nityananda’s Singapore Ashram is also said to have distanced itself from him.
Nithyananda seems to be more worried about his American investments and their future. Worse, Swami Nityananda cannot visit USA for fear of being arrested there by the American police as already a case is filed in USA.
It is reported, Swami Nityananda is afraid of facing prosecution in the US following “a case lodged by a US citizen Douglas Mckellor before the California State Attorney-General Jerry Brown, accusing the Swami of fraud, financial irregularities and physical abuse of devotees in USA. McKellor, a former devotee, also known as Swami Nithya Prabha, is a resident of San Jose in California and came in contact with Nityananda in 2007, and later he became the head of the California branch of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam. Douglas attended Nithyananda's enlightenment program held at Los Angeles ashram, where he said he paid Swami Nityananda a fee of $400,000 for the workshop and the enlightenment certificate. Nithyananda sexually exploited his American devotees, the American said in his complaint”.
The chief of his American operations, Gopal Sheelum Reddy alias Nitya Bhaktananda, was also arrested along with Nithyananda, and brought to Bangalore. He was along with his master ever since Swami Nityananda went into ‘spiritual seclusion’, in order to take care of him. However, there is a power struggle going on in USA, between two groups of his devotees to take control of Swami Nityananda’s assets worth several millions of dollars.
A YouTube video posted by his organization shows men, women and children of all age groups who have been staying in his ashram for many years and they swear unconditional allegiance to Swami Nityananda and they say that all the allegations against him are false.
In reports posted in his websites/blogs, his organization claims that his popularity has multiplied many times; in fact Swami Nityananda is more popular now than he was before the sex tapes were aired. His blogs are full of requests by his devotees to come back and guide them and the world to a truthful spiritual life.
As things stand now, nothing is going to happen to Swami Nityananda just because no victim has come forward to testify against him. Neither charges of sex nor unnatural sex can be proved unless victims come forward and testify. Those who allege fraud cases against him also cannot do anything just because they were insiders once, and they cannot now claim innocence. Almost all who now clamour against him are people who committed the same crimes; if at all any crime was committed.
Now the only things that can be said against him are that he cheated his devotees by claiming that he was a celibate/ brahmachari, or he hurt religious sentiments. Good, if people can fight against fake gurus and prevent them from exploiting Indian culture, Hinduism, etc. But how many are there to fight them, with so many godmen being apprehended recently? All these godmen were ordinary men once, and the same devotees fed them with money, women and all that they oppose now!
Nithyananda’s biographer claims that more than 50% of what Nithyananda preaches is from Osho, and the rest is from Indian scriptures. But Osho was more honest and he openly advised his followers and inmates of his Ashram to practice safe sex, use condoms, etc., even much before the governments, including the US, started campaigning against HIV/AIDS!
There can be real trouble if questions of tax evasion, financial irregularities, encroachment of land etc., are vigorously taken up by the concerned authorities. That too is not going to happen as most people in the government are too religious and afraid of godmen! They will act only if the public make a hue and cry, or courts direct them to do so. So, Nithyam Anandam! Jai Ho!
GruruSwamiG blasts Nithyananda's fradulent resignation!
Watch this video! Is Nithyananda still entitled to wear saffron and call himself Paramahansa or sansyasi? In his announcement of resignation from his trusts, he did not deny the truth about the sex videos. He did not admit them either! His wealth, estimated running into hundreds of crores of rupees is made in a period of ten years, as he was a junior in the Ramakrishna Mission order before he started of his own, and it is a fact he hides in his writings, website, etc. The wealth he amazed is in his own personal name, as per reports, not in the names of the trusts. And who are the trustees? No names! His Ashrams are deserted with only a few guards and a couple of staff to report to the authorities, because cases are going on! Where is he? Haridwar? Reports say he is there attending Kumbh Mela!
How sex Swami Nithyananda was viewed by Indian media
On March 04, 2010, Aaj Tak reported, “In yet another shocking incident, a godman Swami Nityananda has been found involved in a sex scandal after a local news channel released visuals showing him in a compromising position with a film actress. Some days before, another self-styled godman was arrested for running sex racket in Delhi.”
The updates from various sources follow:
The actress in question is Ranjitha, whose sex tapes found their way to the mainstream media and the internet. Soon it was to be followed by more and more spicy stuff involving many other women, and names of actresses such as Yuvarani, Devayani, etc. were associated with the sex guru’s spiritual adventures. The highly literate, religious and god-fearing people of South India were shocked to hear what the swami has been doing all the time. They attacked his Ashrams and burned his photos and effigies.
In the meanwhile, Lenin Karuppan, a one-time associate and driver of the sex-tainted guru, who videotaped the steamy adventures of the swami, claimed that he was contacted by Nithyananda with offers such as promoting him as a junior godman and appointing him as one of the branches of his organization Dhyanapeetham, which is claimed to have 33 branches worldwide, including in the United States. Karuppan, it is reported, has declined the offer as ‘his life is under threat’.
In a bizarre twist of events, as it happens with such fake gurus, Douglas McKellor, an American national and once a disciple of Swami Nityananda, has registered a case with California State Attorney General against the godman. In his complaint, McKellor has accused Nityananda of sexually exploiting the devotees at the ashram, fraud and financial irregularities.
McKeller, a resident of San Jose, California, was influenced by the swami in 2007, and he changed his name to Swami Nityaprabha and later became the head of the California branch of Dhyanapeetham.
In his complaint Douglas McKellor said, "I was in the first batch that enrolled for Nityananda's week-long instant enlightenment program. It was held at the Los Angeles ashram in June 2007, where I paid swami a fee of $400,000 for the workshop and the enlightenment certificate… During the workshop, I felt abnormally lightheaded. It was like as if some strange drug was causing me lose all my senses… Nityananda performed some fire rituals and asked us to cut a strand of our hair. Then, he put the hair in fire along with something that looked like marijuana seeds. After the workshop, he issued certificates to everyone claiming that we had attained enlightenment."
McKeller has also accused Nityananda of sexually exploiting his American devotees. "Nityananda was fond of pretty girls. While he was at Sanatan Dharma temple in Norwalk, California, for a two-day workshop on spirituality, he asked me to stand outside the door to ensure no one disturbed him, while he was with female guests," he said in his complaint.
Nityananda was reportedly fond of striptease parties with pretty young girls, according to McKellor, who added that ‘Nityananda used to eat his meals and rest with young girls in his private quarters at the cult organization’s Norwalk and Montclair ashrams. The swami had named attractive girls 'flowers' and used to say that they are a must item for his puja’.
“While he was at Sanatan Dharma temple in Norwalk, California, for a two-day workshop on spirituality, he asked me to stand outside the door to ensure no one disturbed him, while he was with female guests,” Douglas McKellor said in his complaint.
Meanwhile there are reported that the 32-year-old sex-maniac swami has resigned as head of his organization and all its branches as he wanted to ‘pursue his spiritual quest in silence’.
Ranjitha - Malare Mounama?
Film: Karna (1995)
Song: Malare Mounama
Music: Vidyasagar
Singers: S.P.Balasubramanyam and S. Janaki
Actors: Arjun and Ranjitha
NDTV video on Swami Nithyananda scandal
NDTV video dated March 3 reports that a controversy has erupted over an alleged sex scandal involving Swami Nithyananda. The swami was allegedly filmed in a room with women in Tamil Nadu. Following the exposure his Ashram was attacked by a mob. Watch it in this video.
Ranjitha only massaged Swami Nityananda
Tamil film actress Ranjitha, who was allegedly in a compromising position with Swami Nithyananda in videos and TV reports, has finally now talked to the press, according to sources. She said she had known the godman for quite some time and she is grateful to him for curing her wheezing trouble in just a day.
About her relationship with the godman she said, "I am a devotee of Nityananda and used to offer my services like 'feeding' and 'massaging' to him… The media has unnecessarily blown the issue out of proportion. I know Swamiji for the past few years and my association with him is quite transparent."
A March 25, 2010 report from Chennai said that a doubtful video appearance of Nithyananda and Yuvarani in action which is not being broadcast on Television due to an appeal filed by Advocate and K N Subba Reddy earlier in the Karnataka High court. Yuvarani has denied the allegations about her involvement in a sex scandal video tape with Nithyananda.
