Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Swami Nithyananda : Perversity Of The Public Gaze




I have not read anything of Swami Nithyananda nor have i attended any of his lectures or meditation classes. Though i don't like any of these 21st century spiritual guys, i always admire their management skills. I used to like the youthful boyish image of Nithyananda : there was a latent gayish charm which disappeared, much to my dismay, as the vagaries of time made Nithyananda grow old! A couple of years ago, one of my colleague, Hari, who is an ardent disciple of Nithyananda told me on a sunny afternoon at Bangalore, while i was sipping Smirnoff, that Nithyananda likes to wear sarees on certain Full Moon nights in order to rediscover the female counterpart of his Self - the Shakti in Siva. I just whistled. I was delighted to get a fantastic new angle of transvestism which i thought is brilliant, as the third gender can now identify themselves with a spiritual guru for their salvation. Everything is fine as long as salvation is out there.

Yesterday's expose of some TV Channel on the alleged sex affair of Swami Nithyananda at his ashram in Thiruvannamalai has put an end to all my speculation : that Nithyananda is predominantly heterosexual! It seems some zealots are crying foul that the Swamiji has insulted the Hindu Paarampariya by this very act of having sex. Some others are planning to take the Swamiji to court while the others are crying hoarse to arrest the Swamiji. How ridiculous! As long as the lady and the Swamiji had consensual sex and as long as there is no exploitation and misuse, this should not be the concern of anyone. Swami Nithyananda cannot be equated with other rotten scoundrels who exploited women and misused many. Afterall he was just having sex with his lover. How moronic it is to project this as an act of crime! In fact, legal action, if any, should be taken against all the TV Channels for repeatedly telecasting the private moments in the lives of two individuals and perversely infringing their privacy.

The very act of having consensual sex among any consenting adults is not just legal but also divine! Why is there such a hypocrisy when the issue of sex crops up in India and the US? why can't we live and let live like the French? Why should we make such a hue and cry when a Chief Minister has more than one wife, when a lady ex-Chief Minister gets intimate with her female companion, when a 83 year old Governor sleeps with young girls? There is no substance in all these chest-beatings. It all stems from simple and pure envy! One cannot rule out the involvement of other spiritual business houses in tarnishing the image of Swami Nithyananda as the market competition in this sector is quite high these days. Adding to it is the ever hungry perverse media guys who cater to the perversity of the public gaze.

These guys in this spiritual business domain should learn much more from one of the three most interesting Banias of 20th Century India - Osho Rajneesh. The other two interesting Banias of 20th century were - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Dhirubhai Ambani. Osho Rajneesh did not get into all these clownish nonsense of celibate puritanism. He was open in his approach towards sex. The only solution for Swami Nithyananda is to go the Osho way candidly and with renewed vigour. He should make his views clear on sex and be done with all the moralising claptrap. Let us respect the love of Swami Nithyananda and the lady and leave them in peace. Long live their love for each other!

4 comments:

  1. This is a responsible post. But who will take across such perspectives to the people. In democracy, if 99 people say that the 100th person is a fool, he becomes a fool. What comes to X and Y if someone sleeps with somebody? It is not only envy, I think only those who don’t have work will mind other’s private affairs. In the eye of law, Mr.Nithya Anandha can file defamation suit under IPC section 499 on the TV Channels. Every adult has the right to sex and have sex. As well quoted in this post, the Honourable Supreme Court has ruled that consensual sex is not a crime. It is not for the media to publicize that fundamental right in order ‘to intentionally insult with an intent to provoke breach of peace among the public’, which is a crime under section 504 of the IPC. Such a fundamental right is not a vulgarity. Thus Media lacked social accountability in this issue. It is also to be explored that is there any possibility of booking the TV Channel under section 503 of the IPC for threatening one’s reputation to cause to him to omit a pursuit, which he legally entitled to do. Someone should bell the cat.

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  2. red earth and pouring rainMarch 9, 2010 at 10:45 PM

    After reading one intellectual treatise and another legal update, I feel very awkward of my naivity. Great that one Charles Baudelaire and another Soli Sorabjee chatting under dim blue lights sipping vintage single malt whiskey of 150 years old, listening to the vintage jazz music.dear two's, don't batter my body and soul, which is already boiling under never-ending humid chennai summer.
    tragedy of communism is tyranny whereas the tragedy of democracy is media. In a heady mix of communism and democracy in Kerala, one couple was forcibly brought out of their drawing room, were beaten by great grandsons of lenin, etc, registered case against beaten couple and slapped paul zacharia in full public glare. don't get dishartened so quickly. the trago-comedy of shakesperean proportions have just in this apostle of peace.
    Great Nithya got the taste of Media, which only brought him from obscure lanes of thiruvannamalai to the citadel of popularity, that never-trustable mischievous mistress. hope ghosts of BPL sadhus, who metamorphised from sadhu in one moment into beggar in another moment smoothly, are not whining.
    my disappointment from footage is that the cliche of the video is so boring. as i am getting attracted to the theoretical aspects of mahamantric tantra, i was expecting something extra-mundane. but,no glimpse of timelessness, no rays of extra-ordinary. i don't even have the company of chill beer to mitigate my disappointment.

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  3. Sex is a part of life for any living humanbeing. Just because of the external images projected about a person, he or she can not suppress the natural feelings.

    I dont see a point in discussing this issue.

    Like this, there are hundreds of thousands of issues raised by media. Reason is - every news channel has to give "Breaking News" every hour, irrespective of whether it is worth or not.

    Only solution is - go back to the olden days of broadcasting news only for an hour a day (maximum). Kamal.

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  4. The post is quite ordinary. Swami Nityananda is a public figure and he preaches yoga with great emphasis on brahmcharya. His actions are subject to public scrutiny and he cannot enjoy "personal" and "public" life separately. His conduct is against his preaching. If he wants to violate his own teachings then he has to suffer....alongwith his love lady. Sorry boss, their love (or lust) cannot live long, at least in public....

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