We have been asked many times during the last months, about what really happened in Agama Yoga in 2018, during those weeks of confusion. The communication was poor, and many people were in turmoil. Senior teacher Muktananda graciously agreed to give an interview, in which he answers the most important questions.
Q: Were there any sexual abuses or rape happening in Agama, in 2018 and the time prior to that?
A: Absolutely not. That is a big lie, made possible by the social networks phenomenon and associated with personal grudges. It is first a preposterous lie, given the fact that Agama is a rare authentically spiritual school, where the Divine Feminine is transfigured, adored, and integrated in the flow of sadhana (daily practice). It is shocking that knowing this so well, from their experience here in the school, many pupils fell so easily for fake news, and only very few had the spine to stand up for the truth and defend their school.
It is also a ridiculous lie, because for the last 20 years, 60% of the Agama students (and more) have been women, and still are. More than 60% of the Agama management has been made of women, and Agama has always been a very safe environment for women to unfold their spiritual quest.
And it is a damned lie, because the aspiration and access to spiritual education of so many people has been disturbed, and the karmic consequences for those that have perpetuated it, will be seen in its own good time. Everybody trained enough in the ways of spirit, could see clearly the dark forces that have been at work in those days.
Fact is that not one of the complaining people came forward with an official complaint. It has all been an attempt to create a smoke screen of trumped up accusations, hoping for the closure of the school under the pressure of the media ado. The enemies of Agama even spread malevolent anonymous letters to all the agencies of the Thai government, hoping thus to cause the fall of the school.
Agama and its teachers have been investigated by no less than 4 different branches of the Thai authorities (police, military, local administration, etc.) and has been cleared of any accusation, under Thai law. And there is no amnesty time in Thailand for severe cases, such as rape allegations, in spite of what some misinformed people have written online.
In the entire civilized world, the prevailing rule is the presumption of innocence: one is deemed innocent until legally proven otherwise. So, the same applies to Agama and its teachers; we have been taken through the fire of legal investigation, and found innocent. Anybody who opposes this conclusion, is actually accusing the Thai authorities of incompetence and malpractice, and may feel free to take it up with them. Now they are aware of the false information that has been given to them, and will be ready to also investigate those that try to send them on false tracks for satisfying personal grudges.
Q: Come on, will you say that it has been all a concoction and a lie?! There is no smoke without some form of fire, they say. It is hard to believe that such wild stories have been trumped up simply out of the blue.
A: Like all good lies, this one also starts from a truth: the realities of the life of a Tantric school. Then a lot of fake news and falsities are added on top of that, without any shame.
Everybody who studied in Agama Yoga knows that it is a Tantric school. This is so clearly indicated, written all over its homepage site, mentioned in published materials and lectures, and repeated by its teachers over and over again, at least once a month during the Brahmacharya lecture. So nobody can claim in all seriousness that coming to Agama they thought they came to some Catholic school dormitory or some celibate Vedantic ashram. On the contrary, most people came here precisely being attracted by the profound sexual teachings given, a space of openness towards sex, and the loving environment around the school. There have also been a number of people, who chose to live in celibacy while with the program of the school, and they have been freely allowed to follow whatever lifestyle the wished – just trying to illustrate here the fact that Tantric practice was never enforced on anybody.
This is the “fire” from the metaphor that you have used before. Starting from this simple truth, the big lie propagated about Agama has been inflated into a fake story about sex abuses and rape, which is simply not true.
Q: We have been told that there are some 31 complaints made against Agama and some of its teachers. That seems to be a large number, too large to be ignored…
A: This will be one day a textbook case about how lies can be embroidered and fake stories trumped up. A small group of inside people, who hated Agama and some of the teachers, for their own personal reasons, created a forum inside the school, pretending to wish the improvement of its activity. The group was allowed by the management to unfold its activities even on the premises of Agama, being deemed as beneficial to the activity of the school. The few “conspirators” claimed the necessity of gathering complaints, even minor, from the students of the school, for being able to address its problems and correct them. 31 anonymous messages have been generated or gathered, without any proper control whether they were coming from actual people, men, women, or if they had been simply fabricated. Most of them express minor complaints, 26 of them without any concrete reference to sexual activities – they have since been posted online. All of them have been brought forth under the guarantee that the complaints were to be kept strictly internal, to be used only for the benefit of the management, for improving the school’s activity.
Then, at the moment of choice, these “31” complaints have been stolen (without the approval of the whole reformist group, or their authors) and passed on to outsiders, including a dubious character posing as a journalist and who has been since revealed to have a lot of hate against spirituality; he even states publicly that his goal is to “depopulate spirituality”. On his webpage, he has a list of targeted renowned spiritual leaders, and this exemplary article might give you some more insights: https://baxtersjournal.com/2019/05/30/the-misdeeds-of-be-scofield-and-the-mysterious-orcas-island-death-of-carla-shaffer/
Thus, people who had no other intention than improving the activity of their own school, have unwittingly found themselves as blind instruments in the hands of those who were secretly planning its downfall. The members of the so-called “Ahimsa” group scattered like birds, and only one of them has had the dignity until today, to stand up and apologize, at the same time confessing how his good faith has been used by those people without scruples.
Q: Wait a second. Are you saying that those 31 complaints have been made public illegally, without the clear permission from their authors? I have seen some of them reprinted even in large newspapers!
A: Yeah. Bad journalism can be found even in famous places. The greed for a “good story” is so big that many have fallen prey to this temptation. The “Me Too” movement seemed to make it acceptable for anyone to come up with a story of alleged rape or sexual abuse, and the hell with the truth! You cannot allow the truth to ruin a good story.
I am not saying that we are opposed to the “Me Too” movement. Many women there cried rape because it did actually happen, and we also think that their truth must be revealed. In our case however, some people have just tried to unfairly use this global trend against Agama, while Agama is an admirable place to study Yoga and Tantra.
Q: It seems quite incredible to hear out your perspective. So, you are saying that there are no sustainable complaints against Agama?
A: Listen, whoever works, makes mistakes. The only way of not erring is probably doing nothing… It would be absurd for us to claim administrative or procedural perfection. Along the last 16 years in Thailand, Agama has taught Yoga and Tantra to more than 15,000 people, out of which 10,000 have been probably women. If after those numbers, we have 5, 6 or even 31 people complaining about things they do not like in Agama (but no crime, let us say that again clearly!), we still have a success rate of 99.7%! There is no physician, judge, journalist, car producer or government agency that will come even close to that rate. So yes, I would say that Agama is a great school, a very safe place to be and probably the best Yoga in the world. Anyone who wishes to learn authentic Tantric Yoga (and not some nonsense psycho-poopoo that abounds out there) should visit Agama and sample the quality of our teachings.
True, we still feel responsible for our school and pupils. We feel we could have been even more skillful and tactful. Agama has spread pure, raw, unadulterated traditional Tantra to all and sundry who wished to come and pay for a workshop. And has allowed relative beginners to become part of its Tantric community. This may have been way too much for people coming from the profane world out there, full of bourgeois and selfish ideals and without enough spiritual aspiration. As soon as confronted with the emotional challenges of their “shadow”, such people first tend to project their misery, and accuse the whole world around them for whatever trouble befalls them. We can have only compassion for such persons. At the same time, we have learned some important lessons, and we have made changes to much more personally connect to the people who wish to go deeper into the field of Tantra after studying for at least a few months at Agama to adapt to the new times.
Q: You have made an interesting opening here about the changes that you have made in Agama recently. Could you point some of the most obvious?
A: First of all, we have inserted in the beginning of any Tantric teachings and practice with Agama, a compulsory workshop regarding “boundaries and consent”, educating both men and women about conscious touch and many related issues. This workshop has already received splendid accolades from the people who joined it, and has become so popular that some students come especially to Agama (and even to Phangan!), just to attend this one seminar, given its beneficial effects on one’s Tantric practice and related social interactions.
A part of the problem of teaching Tantra to an international audience is of course the difference of acceptable standards in different cultures and environments. A slap on someone’s butt may be considered a silly joke in Brazil or Ukraine, but will cause the downfall of Kevin Spacey in America or England. Going around in a swimsuit or revealing clothes may be acceptable in the beach culture of Spain or even Thailand, but can absolutely not fly in India or Saudi Arabia. I still remember the case of a Korean student who had been accused some three years ago of sleazy behavior, by several Anglo-Saxon women, and who apologized and defended himself justifying that by his homeland standards, his behavior was within acceptable limits, and that he did not realize he would offend. It goes without saying that Agama first has to adapt and correspond to the Thai law and standards, since it operates mainly in Thailand. If you come from the “advanced” Swedish/American/Australian/Canadian society, where you may no longer call people by common sense pronouns like “he” or “she” and you have to use absurd politically correct expressions to address their gender crisis, then maybe Thailand and Agama will not feel comfortable for you, since we are traditionalists here…
Many other forms of protection are implemented for the sake of the school’s students. People wishing to learn and practice Tantric teachings in our school, will now have to fill up forms and sign disclaimers from the very beginning, where they are acknowledging their understanding of the correct nature of the Tantric practice and environment. In this way they will know what to expect and what to not expect from the other practitioners around them.
As about the more advanced levels of initiation, Agama will filter out more carefully the pupils that are not ripe for such practices, and that still carry within their minds the poisons of shame, hate, guilt, possessiveness and other bourgeois mentalities. It is very significant to remember that most of the troubles brought in the past to Agama, were actually not caused by beginners – who have always been elated with quality of our teachings – but by more “advanced” pupils, who were only apparently advanced just because they formally graduated some number of levels of Agama, but were not truly transformed spiritually, and were carrying around in their hearts garbage, egoism, skepticism, while still indulging in drinking, smoking and other vices.
Q: Back to the big issue; if Agama is indeed innocent of all the serious allegations, then why did you not react immediately and defend/justify yourself?
A: There are several layers to this answer. The first one is that such work would have had to be done by the administration, not by the advanced teachers, who often live in a spiritual world of their own and have no PR skills. And Agama simply did not have any functional administration at that time; the General Manager was abroad and chose not to return to work, and other managers fled as soon as things got heavy. So, firstly, there were no people to do the admin work of defending Agama.
Secondly, one of our head teachers, Ananda Maha, had the inspiration that, being a woman and a medical professional, she could solve the situation by just talking straight to the people, speaking the truth and defusing the fake news and allegations. So she asked to be left in charge of the crisis management. As the subsequent events have demonstrated, that was very idealistic, because the people intending the shutdown and destruction of Agama, did not care about her beautiful intentions and were out for blood at all cost. They treated her miserably, they extended a calumny and smear campaign against her, attacked her whenever they could, and they showed their true evil intentions at every turn. So eventually, being a true lady, she decided to stand back and not let herself dragged in all that low-life environment. Then, Swamiji returned to take the burden of the school. Should those dark souls not have acted in such manner, perhaps Maha would have agreed to still be the leader of Agama today. Just food for thought for the people who acted so wrongly…
Q: I have to interrupt you here and ask: there are rumors out there that actually Maha left Agama as a sign of protest and because she no longer agreed with Swami Vivekananda. Now you are telling me an entirely different story. Can you clarify?
A: Those rumors are another excellent example of lies, internet fake news and manipulation. I do not wish to speak in the name of Maha, she can state her own truth whenever she wishes, and if she wishes. I can only speak in my name and can describe the reality which I know to be true. And the truth that I know, is that huge injustice has been done to this wonderful person. Being Indian, I always had a sweet devotion towards Ananda Maha as being the partner of Swamiji, having started Agama Thailand together with him, and being such an advanced yogini, and my teacher in yoga. When I saw how people treated her reputation I got horrified with the injustice of it all. And I got even more appalled, when I saw that from the 10,000 women who have received her gracious teachings along these last years, some of them even professing to be her friends, not even a handful dared to come forth and defend her great work!
I could maybe understand that Swamiji, being a man, would trigger other people’s envy and would be judged in a wrong way. But Ananda Maha’s reputation has always been impeccable. A great soul, a great guide and a great professional, striving for perfection in all her deeds. And then she gets attacked by a bunch of people that belong to the category of gutter, really. Like – An East European woman known as a sociopath, working as an online prostitute and breaking multiple laws in multiple countries. And a dope dealer implied in dealing drugs to under-age kids and putting a sheep’s skin on top to pretend he was an “activist” and a lamb. Also, a woman registered for mental care in her country and who sued her own family for big money, being seen most of the time high on booze and dope. And an alcoholic would-be-yogini claiming to be in a stable relationship and at the same time soliciting drunken sex shamelessly around. Adding to this list of wicked souls, is an ex-heroin DJ, creating a business as an anal sex queen, and having the cheek to claim she had been… anally raped! And a neurotic drug user who years ago was on record begging Swamiji to allow him to join the Kundalini teachings of Agama (after he had already done a previous campaign of smear against the school), and pledging himself abjectly in writing to never again do damage to Agama. This list could continue. A lot.
What I think that is appalling in this situation, is that of all the people who benefited from the guidance of Maha, her health care, her charity, of all the people who came with sparkling eyes to her thanking her for the great selfless service that she did, almost nobody stepped forward in front of the liars and deceivers, to say: enough is enough! We can understand you have heard rumors about Swamiji, but please do not touch Maha! As an Indian mystic, I cannot help believing that such people have failed a huge spiritual test, have defiled their souls, have covered themselves with shame, and no angels, devas or ascended Masters can approve of their behavior until they repent and repair the harm done. Indeed, for the evil to triumph it was enough for the good people to stand with their arms crossed, and do nothing…
Q: I can see you are presenting an entirely different face to some events, and also that you are upset. Let us come back to the reasons why Agama has not defended itself vigorously in a public campaign.
A: The third reason was that the nature of the allegations against Swami Vivekanandaji and some of the teachers, I included, were of entirely personal and intimate nature. The only way to react, would have been to start washing the dirty laundry in public, and going into very personal details: no she did not do that, no he did not say that, no first she took off her clothes and then she said this-and-that. Etc. I hope you get the drift. There were no witnesses, there were no legal proofs, so the whole process was of the nature of: he said versus she said… In such circumstances, only the tabloid press would have had a day with printing the private details. And nothing could be proved either way, in the end. So we at Agama considered it to be below our dignity to lift our skirts in public and get sucked in such low-life arguments. As Swamiji once said in a lecture: if people after having heard my teachings and after having tasted the benefits of the rare Yoga that I taught to them, and after having done meditations and festivals with me, still would choose to give credence to miserable people like those, then there is no use for me to try to argue with them. There is no bond of trust between us, so it is perhaps better for them to search for another spiritual path and guide.
Also, I personally do not want to have to dance a jig every time that a SOB decides to beat the drum of lies on Facebook just to make me react. It is against the spirit of freedom that I have been searching for my whole life. And against any basic human dignity. Just throw some dirty lies on the net, and then let us have fun seeing Muktananda trying to defend himself. In this way you could hold everyone at ransom by just accusing and lying endlessly. And also: “He that excuses himself, accuses himself.”… There was even a jerk around here who suggested that Swamiji and I should take a polygraph test regarding our innocence – and then maybe he will believe us! Any person with dignity would tell such a control freak manipulator to go and have sex with himself, for a long, long time, in a far remote location of the underworld.
Listen – Those accusations against us are distorted stories, scrambled with outrageous lies in plenty, and things taken completely out of the real context in which they may have actually occurred, making it seem so immoral. In my opinion, VERY FEW PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH. Most people are so lost in the sensationalism of gossip, and their own delusions, projections and pain, that the truth is unbearable. And because to acknowledge the truth, it would be to admit their ignorance and humble themselves. I do not waste any more time with the likes of these. They will get to hear nothing from me. No statements pleading innocent, no nothing!
Also fourthly, there is a deeper spiritual layer to this situation: at the time when this artificial crisis started, Swamiji was delivering satsangs (spiritual discourses) on the teachings of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke. He seems to have felt that the synchronicity was meaningful and that while the whole school was tested in terms of their loyalty, aspiration and discrimination, he was also tried in respect of his adherence to the teachings that he was channeling to the students. So he decided to practice Christ-like humility and in a certain way “turn the other cheek” to all the insults, lies and calumnies that were thrown at him. He did not wish to use lawyers and sue people into courts of law, ask for reparations for the damage done, and other such American ways. When asked, he always spoke the truth with directness, but he did not try to strike back or do harm. There are some of us who are truly impressed with his humbleness and forbearance of insults, and it is still a subject of amazement that many ex-students were so blinded by lies that they could not see this simple truth. Ultimately, it was not Swami Vivekananda who was supposed to defend himself; it was his self-proclaimed “disciples” who were supposed to stand like a wall in front of him and defend what they had hitherto held as sacred. I think it is very shameful and very Judas-like that almost nobody did…
Q: Actually there was even a rumor that the Swami ran away from the island, and that was a sort of his admission of guilt.
A: Ha, ha, ha. Facebook, Facebook, Facebook… Lies, lies, lies. When will people realize that the Internet is a largely out-of-control media, and that anybody can post almost any piece of excrement there, and not be held accountable or verified? Swami Vivekananda has never admitted to any guilt, quite the contrary.
Q: Your colorful reaction hardly answers the question, does it?
A: Anybody can verify visa dates. Swamiji had to do his visa run to Penang for his annual Thai stamp on August 1st. It had nothing to do with running anywhere. One can anecdotally even check out with the famous Jim T, who is the man that facilitates almost all the Thai visas for farangs in Georgetown, if what I say here is true. Swami did his yearly visa, then he visited his old mom in Romania, and then he was quickly back to Phangan. How can somebody stir up lies from such an elementary simple story? “Admission of guilt”?! It was one of the Illuminati of the past, who said it very well: “Lie, lie, lie! Even if exposed as not true, there will always be a residue of doubt and confusion left in the aftermath!” This is the typical policy of manipulators and those horrible people.
Let everyone search their hearts and find out whatever they think the truth is. But that shows that people do not know who Swami Vivekananda is. As far as we know, this man was interrogated, beaten, tortured, wire taped, phone taped, chased, had his house ransacked multiple times and his books and personal effects confiscated and destroyed, multiple times, by the “Securitate” – the notorious political police of Ceausescu, during the Communist years of Romania. He was held into arrest and house arrest, his friends were sent to prison, he was socially ostracized and marginalized, and the list of the acts of persecution continues with a very long series. And all those were done to him for continuing to teach Yoga and Tantra in those adverse times, to those who wanted to evolve spiritually. Whoever can imagine that a man like Swamiji would get scared or deterred by ridiculous people like those who created the 2018 crisis, and would run away to hide somewhere, suffers from severe megalomaniac delusion, and is either a wicked liar or needs psychiatric help.