Swami Vishwananda

[[File:Paramahamsa Vishwananda.jpg|thumb|165px|Paramahamsa Vishwananda, 2020]]
{{hinduism}}
'''Swami Vishwananda''' or '''Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda''' (born in 1978 in {{wpl|Mauritius}} as ''Visham Komalram'')<ref name=EZW>http://www.ezw-berlin.de/downloads/Materialdienst_08_2013.pdf</ref> is the leader of a particular brand of [[Hinduism]] [[personality cult]] marketed as ''Bhakti Marga''. His business concept seems to be a carbon copy of [[Sathya Sai Baba]], namely spitting out golden eggs and giving out pendants to his devotees that he hid somewhere in his wide clothes before and pretends to 'materialize' for them. 

Sometimes, he acquires these artefacts by stealing them from [[Catholic]] churches. A [[Swiss]] judge found in 2007 that he had done so in at least 23 churches, mostly around 2001.<ref name=EZW/>
His followers see him as a personification of [[God]]. He allegedly took advantage of this devotion by secretly [[Child sexual abuse|sexually molesting underage male]] followers<ref>https://www.cultnews101.com/2015/03/swami-to-be-probed-over-claims-of-abuse.html</ref> while preaching [[celibacy]] to all his devotees and amassing a fortune.

==Religious practice==
Vishwananda is celebrated as an ''[[Avatar]]'', an incarnation of God, and advertised as effectively "the new [[Jesus]]". Sometimes, his disciples claim that Vishwananda is the only way to find [[enlightenment]], other times they are a bit humbler and simply claim that it's the easiest, most feasible path to find it through him.

[[Meditation|Meditative]] practice often consists of chanting songs in Hindi that more or less all go "Oh Vishwananda you are our savior, please guide us".

===Luring in===
In newcomer events where new followers are supposed to be attracted, it's claimed that Vishwananda has [[supernatural]] abilities, like spitting out golden eggs and 'manifesting' ''vibhuti'' (holy ash) on food and religious objects. In newcomer event presentations, [[quantum woo]] is used in what might be the most amateurish form. A video of the {{wpl|Ernst Chladni#Chladni figures|Chladni plate experiment}} is shown. It is then claimed, "as you can see, all matter consists of and is affected by [[vibration]]s, and therefore, by chanting 'OMM', [[Vibration#Woo|we can create vibrations and transform]] the [[Subtle energy|negative energy]] of the [[Holocaust]] into positive one."<ref>Newspaper article in German, [https://www.wiesbadener-kurier.de/lokales/rheingau/landkreis/rheingau-taunus-om-singen-fur-die-opfer-des-holocaust_18533725 "Rheingau-Taunus: Om-Singen für die Opfer des Holocaust"] ''Wiesbadener Kurier''</ref>

==Documentary about alleged rapes published on German TV==

In March 2022, a documentary and podcast was published on the German TV station {{wpl|Hessischer Rundfunk||.}}<ref>Bhakti Sāhasikyam, [https://rumble.com/vywop5-bhakti-marga-just-love-documentary-coercive-rape-and-abuse-by-vishwananda-c.html Bhakti Marga, Just Love Documentary - Coercive Rape and Abuse by Vishwananda Cult]. rumble.com, 29 March 2022.</ref>

The documentary contains allegations of the rape of young men and the story of how Vishwananda was once sent to prison for stealing [[Catholic]] Church relics. These relics continue to reside in a room at their German headquarters. 

However, at present, the cult has paid for a Canadian lawyer to invoke certain German laws that currently prevent Germans from being able to see the documentary in their country. At present a legal case continues.

==External links==
*[https://www.bhaktimarga.org/paramahamsavishwananda Paramahamsa Vishwananda]
*[https://twitter.com/vishwananda Swami Vishwananda] — Twitter
*[https://www.ardaudiothek.de/sendung/just-love/96463766/ Just Love podcast]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vishwananda}}
[[Category:Cult leaders]]
[[Category:Hindus]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Religious leaders]]

Categories: Cult leaders, Hindus, Living people, Religious leaders