I was Almost Stoned to Death!🔗

She along with many others hadn't eaten or drank anything for two days. The Police and mobs were all over the place and anything could happen. They had no protection. Whom could they go to for security, for justice? Nothing was under their control, the mobs were destroying their home, the whole aadheenam was getting destroyed and being set on fire.

Ma Sarvatmananda always felt her life wasn't worth anything. She didn't know why but she was just angry all the time. Angry about life and angry with everyone. Then she attended an Ananda Spurana Program (ASP) conducted by His Divine Holiness Paramahamsa Nithyananda in Ambalam, her hometown, in December 2006. The truth she experienced there, was so profound that after the ASP program, she felt new hope in life. The transformation was so quick and deep, that curiosity arose in her about other truths of life.

Her spiritual journey lead her to the next program which took place in Bengaluru Aadheenam (temple monastery complex) in 2007. When she saw the flyer for the Nithyananda Spurana Program (NSP), she felt as if the program was just meant for her. Yet, it was not easy for her to come. She was the only girl in the family with 2 brothers and her parents initially refused her to attend the program in the aadheenam. She cried and put up so much fuss that they gave in and let her come. The NSP Program shifted even more her outlook on life. She could not believe the change that was happening within her. It is not that she was new to spirituality. She was well read in many different spiritual teachings but they always seemed impossible to practice. Yet when she experienced the NSP program, everything seemed easy; the secrets came as a gift in the form of initiations from His Divine Holiness Paramahamsa Nithyananda. She knew then, this was where she wanted to be and that Paramahamsa Nithyananda was her Guru.

Then, in 2008, she attended a 3 month residential program in Bidadi and got initiated into sanyas (Hindu monkhood). Life was more than she had ever thought possible. With all the work she had done and the changes within her, she got involved in enriching lives and this just kept her blossoming even more.

“On March 2nd, 2010, at around 8 pm, one of the other Sanyasis came to tell us that a video had been released, in which Swamiji was awfully abused. We were completely lost. None of it was true. Why was this happening? We were panicking! None of us slept that night. We had so much fear about what was to come.

The next morning around 6:00 am, mobs came in and checked every room, even those belonging to female sanyasis. We were terrified! They were staring at us; we knew our safety was in jeopardy and we felt helpless. That whole day, we didn’t move, we didn’t bathe, we didn’t even eat. We were about 20 to 30, all of us in one room because we felt safer that way. We knew reporters were also out there taking pictures. The Police forces had taken over the aadheenam. We didn’t know what they would do to us. In our own home, we should have felt security, but that was taken away from us.

It continued the following day: hundreds of police officers were all over the ashram. It was a major crime done to us in in our own home. We finally had to come out to use the restrooms but as soon as we did, rocks were thrown at us. So we decided to just remain in the room and be safe. There many reporters kept on trespassing and abusing us.

Some of us took turns to try and see what was happening - to our shock, our home was on fire for no reason! Angry mobs were running riot inside the ashram, throwing petrol bombs, lighting torches, kicking and beating sanyasis. We were terrified, that at any moment we may have to flee from our room. At any moment they could come light our rooms on fire. I had never faced such a threat to my life!

What they were saying on television was not true. Nothing made sense to us. We were terrified and this went on for 2 more days. We hadn't eaten or drank anything. We felt worried about the balasant (gurukul students) children, who were probably going through the same thing. And we didn't know what was happening to Swamiji. Was He safe?

One of the residents got an instruction from the administrative members of the organisation: we were to return to our homes, the aadheenam was just not safe for us to stay. The Police and mobs were all over the place and anything could happen. We had no protection. Whom could we go to for security, for justice? Nothing was under our control, the mobs were destroying our home, the whole aadheenam was getting destroyed and being set on fire." -Ma Nithya Sarvatmananda

Ma Sarvatma didn't want to go back to her home as her family would certainly believe the false news. She knew that if she went back, she would never be able to return. From the start, her family had not wanted her to come to the aadheenam. So she went from place to place.

After a month, she finally had to go back home as she couldn't keep on going to different places as many were not safe. It was the worst time of her life: neighbours and even passersby were staring at her. Although insulted and verbally humiliated, she held on to her kavi (the robe that initiated monks wear) with great pride. “We were all innocent including Swamiji.” The news was filled with abuse about Swamiji. It was pure torture. She felt like she had lost everything. She knew the truth but no one wanted to hear it. The abuse went on and on every day; and the lies from the media increased every day.

Her family was thrilled that Swamiji got arrested and put in prison. However, within herself, she knew that somehow they were all going to come out of it; Swamiji would make it happen. “We will all be able to go back home and do our work of raising humanity.” She just held on to Swamiji with everything she had and that got her through all the abuse she had to deal with. “When Swamiji was released, my family put me under ‘house arrest’, not allowing me to return to the aadheenam. Sometimes I felt that I was going insane but then something would happen within me and I would keep calm. Just remembering the teachings of Swamiji, reading His books and listening to satsangs kept me calm. I had no idea when or how but I held on to the belief that we were going to come out of it and all be together again.”

She was under house arrest till 2014, which means 4 long years, without any shift in her family. She finally planned for an escape and was able to return to the aadheenam.

“I still do not understand why society is doing this. Swamij, the organization, the Hindu monks are only doing good for society. Swamiji dedicates His life to raising humanity consciousness and keeps coming up with new projects and programs to achieve this Who was trying to destroy Swamiji and the lives of sannyasis and thousands of devotees? Those abusing Swamij, what did they know? We were hundreds living around Him, well educated and successful in our careers... wouldn't we know Him better? They believe the media.”