A Brahmacharini’s struggle to be on her sacred path: Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami

 

In the year 2010, religious persecution of Paramahamsa Nithyananda started with the release of a morphed video. For the safety of girls from being attacked by goons-brought-by media, a few brahmacharinis (first stage Hindu monk) like Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami were instructed to go back to their families.

Ma Preeta Swami, who was a Brahmacharini then, called her mother.

Out of immense trust on Swamiji & the ashram, her mother told,

‘You can be there.’

However, Ma Preeta Swami followed the advice of the seniors and went back to her purvashram parent’s house.

When Ma Preeta Swami reached her purvashram house, no one was asked anything about what happened in the ashram (earlier aadheenam was referred to as ‘ashram’). But as days started passing, slowly, the family members started discussing about the morphed video and allegations which were being put on Paramahamsa Nithyananda by the media. They started believing in the news being aired in TV.

Ma Preeta Swami recalls,

‘When Swamiji was illegally arrested, I saw the news on the TV. I wasn’t able to express any emotions in front of my family. I went to the restroom and cried without anyone’s knowledge.’

Defamatory Article in Nakkheeran

Ma Preeta Swami’s purvashram uncle was a great support for her and her sister during tough times. One day when he returned from his office, she noticed that he looked sad. She asked him, ‘What happened Appa?’ (Appa means father, she used to address him as father). He answered that one of the ex-devotees named Ramesh, has threatened and blackmailed him.

Ramesh has said,

‘Do not support or follow Swamiji. If you continue to support him, we will publish a defamatory article about your daughters (referring to Preeta Swami and her sister).’

So, the uncle was worrying that something bad might befall them.

Preeta Swami boldly said,

‘Appa, don’t worry about us. Just be there for Swamiji. He will protect us.’

That made the uncle feel much relieved and he continued with his work and life. 

But shock was awaiting them. The very next day, Nakkheeran published a defamatory article about the two. Once it was published, her purvashram uncle was extremely angry and her purvashram father was very upset.

Earlier when Ma Preeta Swami had called her mother from ashram she had said they could stay there. But once when they went to their purvashram home, her mother said,

‘They themselves send you back to home. So we will not allow you to go back.’

Days in Kanyakumari

When the first defamatory article was published, Ma Preeta Swami was in Chennai.
That time they had a temple function in Kanyakumari, their hometown. So they went for this function. One day when Ma Preeta Swami went to the temple along with her purvashram parents, both her parents went front and she followed them back. That time, some local rowdie asked her,

‘O you can only be with your Swamiji, why can’t you stay with us too!’

And they commented about Swamiji in a very abusive and derogatory way.
By now Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami felt very strongly that if she continues to stay there in Kanyakumari she will not be able to go back to ashram ever again. So she and her sister planned to come to Chennai again.

She told her parents,

‘I’m having back pain need medical support.’

Her parents agreed to send them for treatment to Chennai. Again they came back to Chennai.

Chennai

One day Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami’s mother called her and asked,

‘How long you will be like this? What’s your future plan.’

She thought that the problem would settle within a year and truth would be revealed, so she told to her mother,

‘Don’t disturb me for a year I’m planning to go for a job.’

Her father took the phone from her mother and told her,

‘You have to come to Kanyakumari otherwise I will give a complaint to police, saying Swamiji kidnapped my daughters!’

She told her father,

‘I’m here in our house how will you tell police like this?’

He laughed and said,

‘I will get you locked and tell you are kidnapped by Swamiji.’

Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami reflects over this and shares,

‘When my father was saying this, I knew clearly he will do. He had other plans also. Our family was well known in our local community and so whatever my purvashram parents would say people and police would accept their words. So my father had a plan to put me in prison for six months. Thinking, if he put me into fear, I may change my mind.’

She decided to give complaint against her parents. That time she met a devotee who was a lawyer. They discussed her plan. The lawyer said,

‘Yes, I will support you. But it is a big risk for you and for Swamiji. Is it okay for you?’

She said,

‘Yes, otherwise my father will give a complaint against Swamiji’

His office was in T. Nagar in Chennai, and Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami was in Mylapore. They had to go every day to his office for putting together the complaint but her family wouldn’t allow her to go out. She told her family,

‘I need medical support for my back pain so I’m going for treatment.’

For treatment, she found a female devotee and told everything to her and asked her to help. She agreed. Every day she would go there for treatment and from there slip to the lawyer’s office. She recollects,

‘We didn’t have enough money to travel to the lawyer’s office every day. So we used to walk all the way to his office. We discussed the draft (complaint) with the Lawyer, he said one of us should go and work and stay in a hostel, because if we stayed in my joint-family home and if I give a complaint about my father, my father may give a complaint against my uncle who is a devotee and supporting us for all these things.

Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami and her sister discussed this and her sister decided that she would go to work, and Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami would be in hostel or hospital (devotee hospital). After that, her sister went for a part-time job and Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami used to go for the hospital at morning time, and afternoon they would go to the hostel and afterwards go to lawyer’s office and at night return to home. Only from home (implying Mylapore) to T. Nagar they would travel by bus after that they would walk to other places.

Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami recollects,

‘We were not able to eat in the hostel because they used to cook non-vegetarian food. So we wouldn’t eat there. We didn’t have enough money also, so we used to buy bread and water and would find a closed home and we go there and eat.’

Finally, they drafted the complaint letter. She recollects a few words from the original complaint draft,

‘We are major. My parents are forcing me to get married. I’m not interested, please protect me from them. I am a Brahmacharini of the Nithyananda Order and I wish to go back to the ashram. If my father gives any complaint against Swamiji, please do not accept it.’

Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami continues describing the scene,

‘Everything was ready. The plan for the next day was to go to the commissioner’s office. The next day morning, as per the plan, we packed all our bags. I thought, ‘If we do as we are planning, very soon our family members will come to know and will lock us up. We used to stay on 3r floor from there we packed everything and kept it on first floor in morning. But the gate was locked so we waited for a while. Finally, they opened the door for kids to go to school and once they went, again they locked the door. After a while, they opened the door to buy the vegetables and once they bought it, they came inside to give money to the vendor. In that gap, we ran away from the home and got an auto and went to Lawyer office. Meanwhile, my family members found out that our bags were not in that room, so they called my parents to Kanyakumari and informed this to them.’

‘They immediately came to Chennai. We expected this will happen, so I called my home and spoke to my mother. She knew my sister is working so we said today is the night duty so we cannot come home today. She knew we were telling a lie because we packed everything. She told I will give time till night, if you are not coming home tomorrow morning we will give complaint against you. I called from a public booth but she found the place where we were.

The lawyer told Ma Preeta and her sister to stay in the office till next day. Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami continues: 

‘We agreed and went to his office and that night I called ashram and told about this. I got a message don’t give any complaint, go to your home and be with your parents. O my god my heart was broken and I cried loudly. No one is there in the office other than both of us. After few minutes I got a call from the ashram and they said go and give complaint but don’t give any press meets. We agreed and next day morning we went to the commissioner office and gave the complaint to him. He was the same person to whom Lenin Karuppanan gave that CD and complaint against Swamiji at that time. I gave my complaint also to the same person.’

He read the first line, called the Sub-Inspector (SI) and said: ‘call her parents and speak to them about this’ and he told Ma Nithya Preetananda not to worry, said that he would help. Then he read further and he started shouting: ‘are you mad? Your Swamiji is a womanizer and you want to go to him? If your father will give a complaint to me I will put you in prison’.

Ma Preeta became angry and told him:

When some stupid guy is giving you a CD, you believe him but when I am telling you directly that my Swamiji is not like that, why you are not believing me? And now you are even threatening me?

The commissioner was shocked and the SI laughed at him. The SI told Ma Preeta that he had recorded everything that was said and that they would imprison her for what she told the commissioner. She answered that he could do as he wants and that she would do everything to save her life. When she left his office, the press was already there. Without her knowledge, the lawyer had arranged for a press meet. Ma Preeta told them everything and went home.

The next day morning it was published in all newspapers and magazine with their photograph. The title of the article was ‘Nithyananda’s disciple gave a complaint to the commissioner‘. The content of the articles was positive. 

O god I thought they will beat me up but nothing happened. My mom cried and fell at feet and said don’t go to ashram again I won’t be able to manage this society.
I didn’t say anything to her. But my father arranged everything to go for Kanyakumari. I have to escape from my home so I told my mother I put all my things in the hostel, so for once I will go and get it.
She agreed we escaped from my home.
Now we are known people to public, so were not able to stay in hostel anymore.
A devotee helped us. He took us to his home in outer area of Chennai city.
We stayed there what ever we expected happened, exactly my father gave complaint against my uncle his own brother who helped us.
I got a instruction from ashram to cooperate with police and support our uncle till everything is done then come to ashram.
We went to Mylapore police station and we explained the whole thing. Mean while my mother came there, she cried a lot and she begged us do not go. We just left her there and came back to his home.
Ma NithyaPreetananda Swami

We were supposed to travel to Bidadi that day evening itself but the devotee was not able to arrange a vehicle for us so he said we can leave at the next day. That night the devotee got a call from an unknown number asking about me. No one know where we were. Only Swamiji and in our ashram 2 people and my uncle knew where we were. That time all media people asked for our interview

The devotee was shocked then he immediately arranged a car and we came back and on the way for safety we changed into another car. Finally we came back to Bidadi.

-Ma NithyaPreetananda Swami

False statements given in the Nakkeeran article  :

1. Out of fear they both going to Swamiji when Swamiji called them back 
2. Swamiji kidnapped the two daughters of  Sivabalan
3.  Swamiji had hypnotized the two daughters , that’s why they still want to go back ashram no matter what

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Ma Nithya Preetananda lodged a police complaint. Read the full complaint below:

 

In 2015, Ma Nithya Preetananada Swami was attacked and rushed to hospital

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In 2018 there was another attack, read the story here :
Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami, a female monastic member, a sannyasini, of the Nithyananda Order, was busy like her serving people who had come for the local temple festival. Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami was serving food, water, taking Kalpararu class.

People were very happy to come to our Adi Nithyananda Peetham Aadheenam, Avathipalayam, Erode, Tamil Nadu.

After the devotees left a rowdy belonging to anti-Hindu group barged in jumping over the gate and came straight at Ma Preetananda Swami. He started hurling abuses at her and shouting abuses on Swamiji.

Ma Nithya Preetananda Swami was alone, a woman about to be attacked by a male rowdy, and there were only two elderly ladies nearby. Ma Preetananda Swami tried to run to a room and lock herself. But the rowdy physically abused her,assaulting her sexually and broke Swami-ji’s Murthy and threw things around and broke them.

After frantic calls to the police, they came and took the man to the police station. They registered FIR on him
for sexual assault, criminal intimidation, obscene language use. The photograph of the FIR is attached below:

Here are the pictures of the shocking incident’s aftermath:

What hurts the most?

After such attacks, an onlooker wonders – What hurts the most?

1. Legal Crime: Sannyasinis (Hindu female monks) were beaten, sexually assaulted, abused. Especially just after they offered food to thousands in a festival.
2. Spiritual Crime: The attackers broke their beloved Guru’s Atma-Murty. Millions of devotees and followers throughout the world worship their Guru’s Atma-Murty every single day, offer flowers, naivaideeyam (sacred food offering), and do puja (Hindu ritualistic worship) to it.
3. The Silence of the society: The society at large is not able to wake up to the series of attacks against Hindus. The society is not able to see brutal attacks against it’s sannyasis, the authentic voices of Sanatana Hindu Dharma and stand up against such atrocities.

How a sannyasi who was just attacked feels:

From society and law-and-order perspective, the legal crime might be the most severe of the three crimes.

However, for a sannyasi, the fact that they could not protect their Guru’s Atma-Murty from being broken by these goons, hurts them the most. And when disciples speak out their pain, the pain of seeing their Guru’s Atma-Murty being broken, the anti-Hindu forces and anti-national-media call them brain-washed. Due to the spiritual strength the sannyasis and disciples have, the physical abuse does not cause them suffering beyond the point it happened. But this is sometimes seen by the society as a sign as if it is ok to let anti-Hindu forces continue their attacks against the sannyasis – authentic voices of Hinduism.

Role of the media:

During pre-independence era, the role of the media was to be the voice of the unheard. But now, we see the Indian media engage in extortion, blackmail, paid-news, and attacking the sannyasinis by manipulating and misrepresenting the entire incidence and putting the blame on the very people who were brutally attacked. In one such failed attempts, one of the local media channels got fined $5 Million USD (approx. ~ Rs. 30 Crore), where they tried to take the side of a child rapist, to attack Paramahamsa Nithyananda.

It is shocking to see, to what extent media has gone down in its attempts to attack Paramahamsa Nithyananda, that it even partnered with child rapists and projected a child rapist as a hero on their show, even going to the extreme of attacking the judicial process of the U.S.A. and getting penalized for the same.