NEHUMANI I OKRUTNI BOGOVI NEW AGEA - jedan od takvih svima poznat

Eva Vrbová felt there was something wrong with the atmosphere in the room. It wasn't often that the Indian guru Swami Maheshvarananda, on his occasional visits to the Czech Republic, would invite someone to his room after the evening meditation. But it felt like an honor to Vrbová to be close to a man considered by his disciples to be an enlightened master. Only the dim lighting and the fact that she found herself in his bedroom disturbed her.

Her suspicions grew after the bearded guru, stretched out on his bed, asked her to take off her T-shirt, but her mind still responded with a feeling of trust. The thought, "What sort of test do I need to pass now?" went through her mind. Years spent in the Yoga in Daily Life (YIDL) community, with all its conditioning regarding the guru's infallibility, made Vrbová obey his words. She also obeyed when Swami Maheshvarananda told her to "charge her heart from his". Half-naked and stiff, she lay on top of Swami Maheshvarananda's body. It was only when he started to feel her private parts that what was left of her common sense snapped into action. "This is divine bliss," he whispered in her ear, while incense sticks burned in the dim light. "No, it isn't," she said. Finally, she found the strength to refuse his commands, and even when he insisted she repeated forcefully "No, it isn't".

It has been 15 years since that night in a Prague apartment, and throughout that time Vrbová has hardly spoken about what happened. It was only this year that she discovered, via the internet, that she is far from alone in having experienced something similar. Since spring, there have been more accounts of the sexual escapades of the enlightened guru, who is officially celibate, and the scandal is picking up speed. In Austria, the home of YIDL's international headquarters, the national cult bureau is investigating the organization, which has 30 centers around the world. In the former Yugoslavia, many local leaders have left their spiritual master and in Australia the organization is practically falling apart. However, the Czech Republic, one of his main bases, with several thousand followers, has so far remained silent.

This case has a broader context. At a time when exotic spiritual trends are becoming ever more popular in the West, this story acts as a signpost, helping us navigate the confusing terrain of postmodern spirituality, so that, instead of spiritual development, followers don't suffer traumatic experiences. This scandal is even more surprising because, among Asian spiritual trends in the Czech Republic, YIDL has the longest tradition and has been considered very trustworthy. It organizes yoga lectures for Charles University students, its actions were endorsed by the foreign minister, and movement founder Swami Maheshvarananda gave speeches at UN peace summits. "For me, the saddest discovery was how easy it is to take advantage of the trust and effort of people who are full of good intentions and just want to develop themselves," says Vrbová, who only this year found the strength to leave the organization.