Nithyananda

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[[File:Paramahamsa_Nithyananda.jpg|thumb|right|165px|I'll escape, with the help of police!]]
{{Hinduism}}
'''Nithyanda''' {{lived|1978}} (born A. Rajasekara) is an [[India]]n [[Sadhguru]]. He has been involved in a  sex scandal, his aides have been arrested for kidnapping of minors, he has been accused of [[rape]], and there have been suspicious deaths in his  ashram. <ref>{{cite web | title=Nithyananda and His Many Controversies | website=Outlook India | url=https://www.outlookindia.com/national/nithyananda-and-his-many-controversies | access-date=}}</ref> He is also a [[YouTube]]r with close to 300k subscribers where he uploads videos riddled with [[pseudoscience]] and outrageous claims. Nityananda 
fled
 left India after the authorities had no other option than to arrest their [[God]].

==Pseudoscience==
Nithyananda has long indulged in [[pseudoscience]], causing great controversy in print and broadcast [[media]]. Some of these claims include (but not limited to):
* "E equal to... not mc<sup>2</sup>, it cannot be. What is mc<sup>2</sup>: the difference between intensity and continuity. What is energy, what is matter? Matter is continuity; energy is intensity… The intensity and continuity is separate for a non-veg crooked [[brain]], which has seen only ups and downs. Only a [[vegetarian]] brain, which can retain the experiences continuously without losing the intensity, can understand m and c is not mc, it is emceeee."
* "I asked the [[Sun]] not to come out till I finish flag hoisting."
* "Chemistry and biology of the physics; physics and chemistry of biology; biology, physicality of the chemistry is one and the same".
* "If you have once got 11 or more lemons pierced into the body, you are absolutely protected from the coronavirus". <ref name="nithyananda corona">[https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2020/03/17/nithyananda-recipe-against-covid-19-fast-walk-on-fire-pierce-body-with-lemons.html Nithyananda's recipe against COVID-19: fast, walk on fire, pierce body with lemons] The Week </ref>

==Sex scandal==
Nityananda first came into the limelight when one of his disciples leaked a video of him sharing bed with an actress. Nityananda claimed that it was faked, but a forensic team proved otherwise.<ref name='sex scandal>[https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/swami-nithyananda-2010-sex-video-tape-tamil-actress-godman-delhi-forensic-science-laboratory-rape-sexual-exploitation/130592 CONFIRMED! It was 'Swami Nithyananda' in the 2010 sex video] Times Now </ref>

==Death in ashram==
Nityananda's ashrams have had deaths where foul play is suspected. In 2014, a 24-year-old disciple of Nityananda died under mysterious circumstances. While those at the ashram claimed that she died of a heart attack, the family claimed it was murder. The police were criticized by the court years later for not following up on the case.<ref name='ashram death'>[https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/k-taka-hc-pulls-police-not-probing-nithyananda-disciples-death-ashram-82152 K’taka HC pulls up police for not probing Nithyananda disciple's death in ashram] The News Minute </ref>

==Rape case==
Nityananda was booked along with his five aides in 2010 for allegedly raping a disciple for five years. He delayed the case for eight years by changing his stance from time to time and even filed a fake impotency report.<ref name='nithyananda rape'>[https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/rape-case-against-nithyananda-trial-finally-begins-after-8-years-legal-hurdles-86233 Rape case against Nithyananda: Trial finally begins after 8 years of legal hurdles] The News Minute </ref>

==Kidnap charges and escape==
In 2019, Nithyananda's two aides were arrested by the police for the illegal confinement and labour of two minors. Said minors were allegedly [[torture|tortured]] and forced to work. Similar allegations were made on behalf of two other children rescued from the ashram, in a complaint filed by their parents.<ref name='nithyananda escape'>[https://thewire.in/religion/gujarat-godman-nithyananda-booked-two-disciples-held-for-kidnapping Godman Nithyananda Flees Country After Two Disciples Held for 'Kidnapping'] The Wire</ref>. After the case was filed, Nithyananda left India without a passport.

==Current status==
Over a week after leaving India, a website surfaced, apparently setup by Nithyananda that announced his new [[Micronation|country]] "Kailaasa" which aims to build "a nation without borders created by dispossessed Hindus around the world who lost the right to practice Hinduism authentically in their own countries" with "Dharmic Economy" and a Hindu Investment and Reserve Bank. According to various reports, it is established on an island near [[Ecuador]]. <ref>{{cite web | title=Nithyananda's Kailasa: UN to ignore remarks of fugitive India guru's fictional country | website=BBC News | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-64807659 | access-date=}}</ref> However, Ecuador has denied that claim.<ref name='nithyananda country'>[https://thewire.in/diplomacy/ecuador-nithyananda-asylum-denied-mea-passport Ecuador Says It Denied Nithyananda Asylum; MEA Says He Left India Without Passport] The Wire</ref> Nithyanda still uploads videos to his YouTube channel and Indian authorities have no intention of catching him anytime soon.

==See also==
*{{wpa|Nithyananda}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Religious leaders]]
[[Category:We're on a mission from God]]
[[Category:Hindus]]
[[Category:Indians]]

Categories: Living people, Religious leaders, We're on a mission from God, Hindus, Indians