Nithyananda
Swami
Personal
Born
Arunachalam Rajasekaran

(1978-01-01) 1 January 1978[1]
Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India
ReligionHinduism
Founder ofNithyananda Dhyanapeetam
PhilosophyAdvaita Vedanta

Nithyananda (born Arunachalam Rajasekaran;[lower-alpha 1] 1 January 1978), known among followers as Nithyananda Paramashivam or Paramahamsa Nithyananda, is an Indian Hindu guru, "godman", and cult leader.[2] He is the founder of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, a trust that owns temples, gurukulas, and ashrams in many countries.

Following charges of rape and abduction filed in Indian courts, he fled India and has remained in hiding since 2019. He is subject of a court-issued non-bailable warrant relating to the allegations.[3][4][5]

In 2020, he announced the founding of his own self-proclaimed island nation called Kailaasa.[6][7]

Early life

Nithyananda was born Arunachalam Rajasekaran[8][9] in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, to father Arunachalam and mother Lokanayaki. He belongs to the Saiva Vellala community.[10][9] Sources conflict as to his birth date – a 2003 United States visa gave a date of 13 March 1977, while a sworn affidavit in a 2010 Karnataka High Court case mentioned 1 January 1978.[9]

Nithyananda at various ages

He was first noticed at the age of three by Yogiraj Yogananda Puri.[10][11] He claims to have had powerful spiritual experiences from age 12 and to have experienced full enlightenment at 22.[12]

In 2002 (age 24), he began his public life under the name Nithyananda.[13] He says that this name was given to him by Mahavatar Babaji in a mystical experience during his monastic wandering days in the Himalayas.[13][14] In 2003, he started his ashram Dhyanapeetam in Bidadi near Bangalore, Karnataka.[10]

Recognition

Nithyananda was formerly a chairman of Florida-based Hindu University of America.[15] In 2012, Nithyananda was recognized as one of the "100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People" by Watkins' Mind Body Spirit magazine.[16] Also in 2012, Nithyananda was appointed the 293rd pontiff of Madurai Adheenam.[17][18][19] In February 2013, the title of Mahamandaleshwar was conferred on Nithyananda in a closed ceremony by the Panchayati Mahanirvani Akhara.[20][21]

Conferred as Mahamandaleshwar at Kumbh Mela, 2013

Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, a religious organisation founded by Nithyananda, hosts cultural events in United States as well as India.[8][22][1][23] They hold two Guinness World Records: one for the largest rope yoga class,[24] and one for the largest pole yoga (mallakhamba) class.[25][8]

Teachings

Nithyananda has given discourses on various scriptures like Brahma Sutras, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Shiva Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.[26]

Claims of paranormal abilities

Nithyananda has made several pseudoscientific claims, including that he delayed the sunrise for 40 minutes, that he could make cattle speak in Tamil and Sanskrit, and that he could disprove the correctness of the mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2.[27][28][29][30][31][32][33]

He has claimed to have discovered over 400 siddhis, or paranormal abilities, expressible by humans and alleges having initiated his disciples into 60 such powers[34] including kundalini and third-eye awakening.[35][36][37] He has since asserted he would open the third eye, for anyone, free of charge by 2021, claiming that the person would be able to see through smog and walls.[38] Disciples of Nithyananda claim that he gave initiations through "third eye" to a class of 82 blind children,[39] thus curing them of blindness. Skeptic Narendra Nayak challenged Nithyananda to prove his claims.[40]

Nithyananda has also claimed that he and his followers were able to perform activities like extrasensory perception,[41][42][43] materialisation, body scanning,[36] increasing height,[44] and remote viewing, and that they had the ability to find lost objects.[45]

Controversies

In 2010, Sun TV telecast video recordings that claimed to show Nithyananda and an actress Ranjitha (who was one of his followers) in a bedroom. The story became viral among news media in Tamil Nadu.[46] Nithyananda and Ranjitha claimed the video to be fabricated and accused Sun TV of extortion.[47] A forensic sciences laboratory in Bengaluru confirmed that the video appeared to be that of Nithyananda and Ranjitha.[48] Sun TV and other media channels since then were subject to various lawsuits.[49][48][50][51] Ranjitha filed a complaint with High Court of Karnataka against news channels.[52][53] Channels were ordered to apologize to Ranjitha for violating the complainant’s privacy and dignity.[54][55][56][57][58][59]

In 2010, a United States citizen who was a disciple of Nithyananda accused him of raping her in the US and in India repeatedly over the course of five years.[60] She filed a complaint with the police department of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who did not commence any formal investigation.[61] She also filed a complaint with the Karnataka Police in India. On 19 February 2018, the Third Additional District and Sessions Court in Ramanagara ordered the framing of charges against Nithyananda and five others in relation to the case. Criminal revision petitions by the accused were dismissed in the Karnataka High Court on 16 May 2018.[62] An appeal against the High Court decision in the Supreme Court of India, in which all of the accused pleaded not guilty (except for one who was absent from court), was dismissed on 1 June 2018, following which charges were framed in the Ramanagara court on 4 June.[63][64] In August 2022, the Third Additional District and Sessions Court in Ramanagara issued a non-bailable warrant against Nithyananda following multiple orders to appear in court.[4]

In 2019, a couple from Tamil Nadu approached the High Court of Gujarat claiming that three of their four children were taken to Nithyananda's ashram in Ahmedabad from Bangalore without their knowledge; the couple sought return of their children to their custody. A first information report (FIR) for alleged abduction was filed by the Gujarat Police in relation to the case on 17 November 2019.[65][66][67] In affidavits filed in the Gujarat High Court from various locations in the Americas, two of the missing children, who were by that time adults, rejected their father's claim that they have been detained forcibly.[68][69] In a joint live video statement, the two girls further claimed that their father had plotted the abduction controversy after his name cropped up in an embezzlement case.[70]

Nithyananda was the subject of the 2022 Discovery+ series "My Daughter Joined a Cult", streamed internationally.[71][72]

Flight from India

On 20 November 2019, the Gujarat Police issued a statement that Nithyananda fled India after choosing not to appear at several court hearings.[73] Some senior police officials did not discount the possibility that he was still in India.[74] He subsequently approached the United Nations complaining about persecution and sought recognition for his new country Kailaasa.[75] Nithyananda also claimed attempts at mob lynching and assassination as reasons he was forced to withdraw himself from Indian society.[76][77][78]

The Gujarat Police alleged that he could be shuffling between Ecuador and Trinidad and Tobago, while news reports said that he may have gone to Ecuador because the country does not have an extradition treaty with India.[79] The same month, the Embassy of Ecuador said that it "categorically denies the statement wherever published that Nithyananda was given asylum by Ecuador or has been helped by the Government of Ecuador in purchasing any land or island in South America", but has confirmed Nithyananda had reached Ecuador after he left India, then left soon after his request for international personal protection (refuge) was denied.[80]

Kailaasa island nation

Flag of the claimed Kailaasa Hindu Nation

In December 2019, Nithyananda claimed that he had created a new "Hindu nation" called Kailaasa (also known as Shrikailasa and Kailasa) and claimed to issue passports, currency, and other documents.[81][82][83][84] In his announcement he said, "Kailaasa is a nation without borders created by dispossessed Hindus around the world who lost the right to practice Hinduism authentically in their own countries". Nithyananda claims that Kailaasa is the world's only sovereign Hindu nation.[85] Kailaasa has also been described as a network of non-governmental organisations spanning three continents.[86][87][88] According to a statement by someone identified as the press secretary of Kailasa stated: "It was established much in the spirit of a country like the Sovereign Order of Malta, a borderless service-oriented nation", and the MoneyControl website reporting this (based on CBS News coverage) also stated that Kailasa "is operated through a group of NGOs from multiple countries",[89] suggesting (along with "Kailaasa is a nation without borders") that it does not exist as geographical territory. By contrast, India Today reported (relying largely on self-published promotional material at Kailaasa.org), that Nithyananda had bought an island off the coast of Ecuador for Kailasa; however, the article also said it was "near Trinidad and Tobago",[81] which is physically impossible since those islands are on the opposite side of the South American continent from Ecuador.

In August 2020, Nithyananda launched the Reserve Bank of Kailaasa and released its official gold currency, the Kailashian dollar.[82] He said the design of the coins was inspired by the currency of "the ancient 56 Hindu nations".[90] He said that the bank would be structured on the lines of the Vatican Bank.[77][91][92][93][94][95] In December 2020, Nithyananda announced that Kailaasa had begun issuing three-day visas for tourists.[96] According to his announcement, visa-holders will have to travel from Australia aboard a newly launched private chartered-flight service, Garuda, and all visitors will be provided with food and accommodation during the course of their stay.[96][97]

On 19 April 2021, citing COVID-19 cases across the world, Nithyananda banned travel to Kailaasa from India, Brazil, the European Union, and Malaysia.[98][99][100] On 7 June 2021, media reported that while answering a disciple during a Amman reading, Nithyananda said that COVID would end when he is received in India with respect and performs pilgrimage to all Shakti Pitha.[101][102][103][104]

In August 2022, a representative for Nithyananda wrote to Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe to request political asylum citing Nithyananda's ill-health. The letter contained an offer to invest in Sri Lanka on condition of asylum being granted and the donation of medical equipment required for treatment. The request demanded the establishment of political ties with Kailaasa so that an air ambulance would transport Nithyananda as a head of state.[84][105]

In November 2023, the chief of staff of Paraguay's agricultural minister was replaced after the Paraguay government discovered that they had signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives of Kailaasa.[106]

Publications

  • Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2004). Open the door... let the breeze in!. Life Bliss Foundation. ISBN 978-8190243711.
  • Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2004). Meditation is for You: An Introduction to the Science and Art of Meditation. Life Bliss Foundation. ISBN 978-8190243742.
  • Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2008). Guaranteed Solutions for Lust, Fear, Worry ... Life Bliss Foundation. ISBN 978-1606070314.
  • Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2008). Living Enlightenment. Life Bliss Foundation. ISBN 978-1606070482.
  • Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2009). Arunachala! The Giver of Nithyananda. Nithyananda Yoga & Meditation University. ISBN 978-1606070581.
  • Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2011). Bhagavad Gita Demystified. Nithyananda University. ISBN 978-1606071328.
  • Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2011). Guaranteed Solutions: Spirituality, Meditation & Self-Help. Life Bliss Foundation. ISBN 9781606070314.
  • Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2017). Nithyananda Yoga: Evolution of the New Species. Nithyananda University Press. ISBN 978-1-60607-194-6.

Notes

  1. ↑ In this Indian name, the name Arunachalam is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Rajasekaran.

References

  1. 1 2 Tripathi, Ashish (17 March 2018). "Nithyananda moves SC against his removal as pontiff of Madurai Adheenam Mutt". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  2. ↑ Sawer, Patrick; Joshi, Poonam (11 December 2022). "Work of cult leader wanted by Indian police promoted in Houses of Parliament Diwali pamphlet". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  3. ↑ "Bengaluru: Non-bailable warrant against controversial godman Nithyananda". The Times of India. 19 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Karnataka Bengaluru Highlights: Non-bailable warrant against controversial godman Nithyananda". The Indian Express. 19 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  5. ↑ "Karnataka: Court issues non-bailable warrant against Nithyananda". The Siasat Daily. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  6. ↑ "Nithyananda has fled India: Gujarat Police". The Hindu. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  7. ↑ Kumar, Ankit (21 August 2020). "Exclusive: Behind Nithyananda's Kailaasa empire, a hidden maze of companies and NGOs". India Today. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Raghunath, R. (22 November 2019). "All you want to know about Nithyananda". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  9. 1 2 3 "Nithyananda may have forged birth documents". Deccan Herald. 24 March 2018. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 "'I am a virgin. I have no libido'". The Telegraph. West Bengal. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "On the run, Swami Nityananda arrested near Shimla hill station". India Today. 21 April 2010.
  12. ↑ Dale, Edward (2011). "Evolutionary Developmental Biology, the Human Life Course, and Transpersonal Experience". The Journal of Mind and Behavior. 32 (4): 280. ISSN 0271-0137. JSTOR 43854311.
  13. 1 2 "The Unexpurgated Nithyananda Interview". Outlook. New Delhi. Retrieved 12 August 2021.(subscription required)
  14. ↑ Nithyananda, Paramahamsa (2006). His Name is Nithyananda (2nd ed.). Nithyananda Vedic Sciences University Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-934364-30-7.
  15. ↑ "Hindu University in US expands its Vedic base". Rediff.com. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  16. ↑ "Watkins' Spiritual 100 List for 2012". Watkins Magazine. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  17. ↑ "Amid protests by Hindu groups, Nithyananda crowned Madurai Adheenam pontiff | Madurai News - Times of India". The Times of India. 30 April 2012.
  18. ↑ "Nithyananda declared 293rd pontiff of Madurai Aadheenam | Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam | Bidadi". 27 April 2012.
  19. ↑ "Nithyananda 293rd pontiff of Madurai Aadheenam". 28 April 2012.
  20. ↑ Pandey, Sanjay (13 February 2013). "Nithyananda feted at Mahakumbh". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  21. ↑ "Nithyananda conferred 'Mahamandaleshwar' title". Press Trust of India (PTI). 14 February 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2017 – via Rediff.com.
  22. ↑ "Mahaniravani akhara takes out grandest peshwai of all". The Free Press Journal. 19 April 2016. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2017. Followers of Swami Nithyananda from more than 25 countries including Russia, USA, China, Mexico, Germany, France and Spain were the crowd pullers
  23. ↑ Rohit, Parimal M. "Temples Come Together to Celebrate 'Kumbh Mela USA'". India West. San Leandro, California. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  24. ↑ "Search: rope yoga". GuinnessWorldRecords.com. Jim Pattison Group. 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017. The largest rope yoga lesson is of 272 participants and was organized by H.H. Sri Nithyananda Swami (India) and Nithyananda University (USA) in Bengaluru, India, on 30 September 2017. Rope yoga involves completing postures on a rope suspended from the ceiling. It was performed by disciples of Swami Nithyananda at their ashram outside Bengaluru, India.
  25. ↑ "Search: pole yoga". GuinnessWorldRecords.com. Jim Pattison Group. 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017. The largest mallakhamba lesson is of 263 participants and was achieved by H.H. Sri Nithyananda Swami (India) and Nithyananda University (USA) at Bengaluru, India, on 3 October 2017. Mallakhamba is a traditional Indian exercise form where yoga postures are done on a vertical wooden pole.
  26. ↑ "'I am a virgin. I have no libido'". The Telegraph. West Bengal. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  27. ↑ "Swami Nithyananda: I can make cows speak in Tamil and Sanskrit". India Today. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  28. ↑ "From universe following him to cows speaking in Sanskrit, Swami Nithyananda has planned it all". OneIndia.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  29. ↑ Vembu, Venky (10 October 2018). "Pseudo-science LOL: from Nithyananda to Sokal Squared". @businessline. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  30. ↑ Viegas, Vanessa (21 September 2018). "Nithyananda delivers a brain freeze". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  31. ↑ Verma, Anurag (18 September 2018). "'E ≠ mc^2': Controversial 'Godman' Tries to Explain How Albert Einstein Got His Science Wrong, Fails". News18. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  32. ↑ "Controversial seer Nithyanada says he stopped sunrise for 40 minutes in Bidadi". Newsable.AsianetNews.com. Asianet News Network. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  33. ↑ "Cows Will Talk in Tamil, Sanskrit, Self-styled Godman's Bizarre Claim". NDTV.com. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  34. ↑ Saxena, Lalit (2016). "नित्यानंद बोले ड्रग, डिप्रेशन और डेथ से बचाएगा डिवाइन पॉवर" [Nityananda to Save from Drugs, Depression and Death with Divine Power]. Rajasthan Patrika / Patrika Ujjain (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018. मनुष्य में कोई 400 प्रकार की अद्भुत शक्तियां हैं। ध्यान, सिद्ध अद्वैत योग का अभ्यास उन शक्तियों को जाग्रत कर सकता है। यह वैदिक विज्ञान है। इसमें किसी तरह का जादू नहीं है। अभी हम यहां शिविर में 60 प्रकार की ऊर्जा के विकसित स्वरूप के दर्शन कर सकते हैं, शेष 340 भी कर सकते हैं [There are about 400 types of amazing powers in humans. Meditation, practice of Siddha Advaita Yoga can awaken those powers. This is Vedic science. There is no magic in this. Right now we can see the developed form of 60 types of energy here in the camp, the remaining 340 can also be seen]
  35. ↑ "नित्यानंद ने 70 लोगों को दी दीक्षा" [Nithyananda initiated 70 people]. Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 7 April 2018. कल्पतरु दर्शन शिविर में शनिवार को योगाभ्यास, सत्संग व कीर्तन के साथ 70 लोगों को स्वामी नित्यानंद ने गुरुमंत्र की दीक्षा दी। इस दौरान स्वामी नित्यानंद गुरुकुल के बटुकों द्वारा त्रिनेत्र शक्ति का प्रदर्शन किया गया। [During Kalpataru darshan on saturday along with yoga practise, satsang and devotional songs, 70 people were initiated into Gurumantra by Nithyananda. At the same time, children of Swami Nithyananda's gurukul school demonstrated third eye powers.]
  36. 1 2 "कल्पतरु दर्शन शिविर में त्रिनेत्र शक्ति का प्रदर्शन" [Third Eye power demonstration during Kalpataru Darshan]. Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 7 April 2018. नित्यानंद गुरुकुल के बच्चों द्वारा त्रिनेत्र शक्ति के तहत आखों पर पट्टी बाधकर पढ़ने और शरीर को स्कैन कर बीमारियों के बारे में बताते देख लोग आश्चर्यचकित रह गए [The children of the Nithyananda Gurukul with the power of the third eye read blindfolded and scanned the bodies of people and told about their diseases, experiencing this people were amazed.]
  37. ↑ "Nithyananda will do Kundalini Awakening and Third Eye Awakening". Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2017 – via Rajasthan Patrika / Patrika Ujjain. Paramahamsa Nithyananda is believed to be accomplished in many extraordinary spiritual powers. Swami-ji is specialized in the science of kundalini awakening, and science of third eye awakening.
  38. ↑ "Swami Nithyananda will find you and open your third eye in 2021". India Today. IST. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  39. ↑ "Swami Nithyananda assures No More Blinds!". Afternoon Voice. 24 January 2019. According to the disciples of the self-styled Godman HDH Nithyananda Paramashivam on January 23, he initiated into powers of the third eye to 82 students afflicted by varying stages of blindness at a blind school in Vastrapur area of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, claiming there will be No More Blind kids! As per the Nithyananda Hindu University, "Bhagawan Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam" initiated powers of the third eye to the blind children enabling them to read print material with consistency and stability while recognising shapes, pictures, objects, and colours for the first time in their lives.
  40. ↑ "Nityananda's disciple 'curses' Narendra Nayak". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  41. ↑ "Girl, 9, reads, plays games blindfolded at Vedic Temple in Montclair". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  42. ↑ "Nine-year-old 'Reads' Blindfolded at Business Advocacy Summit". India West. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  43. ↑ "Miracle or magic? Girl reads blind-folded". India Herald. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  44. ↑ "अमिताभ शाह ने किया दावा- नित्यानंद के आशीर्वाद से तीन इंच बढ़ गई लंबाई" [Amitabha Shah claimed - by the blessings of Nithyananda 3 inch height increased]. Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  45. ↑ "गुरु पुजा के बाद चला मुलाकात का दौर" [After Gurupuja there were meetings]. Dainik Jagran. 3 April 2018. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018. बेंगलुरु के स्वामी नित्यानंद आश्रम में अलौकिक शिक्षा ग्रहण करने वाले छात्र नित्य तत्वानंद व प्रेमाश्वरूपानंद अपने गुरु भाई विद्वेश्वरानंद व आत्मपूजानंदम के साथ सोमवार को गोरखनाथ मंदिर में मुख्यमंत्री योगी आदित्यनाथ से मिलने पहुंचे [Nithya Tatvananda and Premeshavrupananda who received extraordinary knowledge in Swami Nithyananda ashram in Bengaluru, along with their guru brother Vidveshvarananda and Aatmapujananda went to Gorakhnaath temple this Monday to meet with the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.]
  46. ↑ Rao, Shakuntala (2013). "Justice and Indian Journalism". In Ward, Stephen J. A. (ed.). Global Media Ethics: Problems and Perspectives. John Wiley & Sons. p. 241. ISBN 978-1-118-35982-2.
  47. ↑ "Sex tape footage aired by Sun TV doctored: Nithyananda". NDTV.com. New Delhi Television. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  48. 1 2 "Sex video and the Swami: Nithyananda and Ranjitha in 2010 tape, confirms forensic department". India Today. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  49. ↑ Reynolds, Matt (6 March 2013). "Big Trouble at the Ashram". Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  50. ↑ "Nithyananda Peetam seeks action against Sun TV". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  51. ↑ "Ranjitha files complaint; alleges pictures were morphed". The Hindu. PTI. 12 July 2011. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  52. ↑ "Karnataka high court bans airing of 'Nithya sex tape'". March 2011.
  53. ↑ "Karnataka High Court write petition dated 14 March 2012" (PDF).
  54. ↑ "Channel ordered to apologise to Ranjitha". The New Indian Express.
  55. ↑ "BCCC tells channel to apologise for airing 'morphed' video". 3 September 2013.
  56. ↑ "Nithyananda cites U.S. experts to claim videotape is fake". The Hindu. 16 March 2012.
  57. ↑ "In the matter of Complaint filed my Ms Ranitha" (PDF).
  58. ↑ "Press Council of India, Index of Adjudications 2010–11" (PDF). p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2022.
  59. ↑ "Press Council of India, Compendium of Adjudications 2011–2012" (PDF). pp. 172–175. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2022.
  60. ↑ "Rape case against Nithyananda: Trial finally begins after 8 years of legal hurdles". The News Minute. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  61. ↑ Parlato, Frank (24 January 2020). "Rape Victim Thought She Was 'Having Sex With God' — More on Nithyananda Rape Case". Frank Report. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  62. ↑ "K'taka HC refuses to entertain pleas by Nithyananda, charges to be framed in rape case". The News Minute. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  63. ↑ "Karnataka trial court frames charges against Nithyananda in rape case". The News Minute. 6 June 2018.
  64. ↑ "Setback for Nithyananda as SC dismisses discharge petition plea". India Today. 1 June 2018.
  65. ↑ "Rape case: Karnataka HC cancels Nithyananda's bail; Interpol red-corner notice might be next". Times Now. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  66. ↑ "Nithyananda and his many controversies". The Indian Express. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  67. ↑ "Interpol Notice Against Nithyananda, Wanted In Rape, Abduction Cases". NDTV.com. New Delhi Television. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  68. ↑ "Nithyananda ashram case: Two 'missing' women file affidavit from 4th country". The Indian Express. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  69. ↑ "Missing women affirm affidavits". The Times of India. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  70. ↑ "Nithayananda ashram: Missing sisters may be in Trinidad & Tobago". The Times of India. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  71. ↑ Singh, Suhani (9 June 2022). "How documentary series 'My Daughter Joined a Cult' shines a light on India's obsession with godmen". India Today. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  72. ↑ "Discovery+ announces new original My Daughter Joined a Cult". Advanced-Television.com. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  73. ↑ "Nithyananda has fled India: Gujarat Police". The Hindu. 21 November 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  74. ↑ "How Nithyananditha landed up in Nepal". Ahmedabad Mirror. The Times Group. Retrieved 10 July 2021. While the police are now in a limbo regarding his whereabouts, a senior official confided, "You never know, he could still be in India."
  75. ↑ Srinivasan, Vasanth (6 December 2019). "Nithyananda and the call from Kailaasa". Business Line. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  76. ↑ "Nityananda played patriotic card, says after death all my money will go to India". News Track. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  77. 1 2 "Rape accused Nithyananda cites assassination threats for not coming back to India". India Today. 21 December 2020.
  78. ↑ "Jagga Reddy's Poser to Police: Can cops kill Swami Nithyananda in encounter?". The Hans India. 8 December 2019.
  79. ↑ "Where Is Nithyananda Now? And What Is Kailaasa?". HuffPost India. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  80. ↑ "Ecuador Says It Denied Nithyananda Asylum; MEA Says He Left India Without Passport". The Wire. New Delhi: Foundation for Independent Journalism. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  81. 1 2 Pinto, Nolan (3 December 2019). "Rape-accused Nithyananda buys island, sets up own nation Kailaasa near Ecuador". India Today. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
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  104. ↑ "நான் காலடி எடுத்து வைத்தால் இந்தியாவை விட்டு கொரோனா ஓடிவிடும்... சாமியார் நித்யானந்தா சர்ச்சை பேச்சு..!". Tamil.AsianetNews.com (in Tamil). Asianet News Network. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
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  106. ↑ "Paraguay official resigns after signing agreement with fictional country". AP News. Associated Press. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
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