Talk:Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda

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This article was nominated for deletion on 19 May 2008. The result of the discussion was keep, following no consensus.

This page needs major editing. And how about some criticisms of this guy? I've seen him and he seems like a cult leader to me. Selling pictures of "his holy feet" on his website.

There are many pages on the web that explain the significance of 'holy feet', a concept from eastern spirituality and traditions.

Holy Feet is a concept in Hinduism that stems from the tradition of bowing down (throwing yourself at one's feet) and touching one's feet. It is a sign of respect. "Holy Feet" (or "Lotus Feet" since the Lotus Flower is holy in Hinduism) is an aspect of God that shows that He is worthy of all respect. To claim that you have Lotus Feet or Holy Feet is to claim that you are Sri Bhagavan Himself. Armyrifle 04:32, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Contents 1 DO NOT DELETE 2 WTF is this??!!? 3 uhh 4 Neutrality/Objectivity 5 Neutrality/Objectivity 6 Oh my God 7 Deletion will be a mistake 8 Fair use rationale for Image:Nithyananda.jpg 9 rewrite 9.1 Early life 9.2 Early life 9.3 Later Years 9.4 Adult life 9.5 Notable followers 9.6 Spread of the movement

[edit] DO NOT DELETE

You will be doing a huge mistake if you delete this article...

Swami Nityananda is a great teacher and spiritual Master. You can visit http://youtube.com/user/LifeBlissFoundation to see his teachings.....Do not Talk if you do not know about him......

His teachings have helped many souls to overcome from various problems......so I would suggest strongly not to delete article on him..... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Xtqw420 (talk • contribs) 00:04, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WTF is this??!!?

I'm worried that this page may be attempting to advertise for some sort of cult. You can just see by how some of this stuff is written out. I think it should either be totally re-written or deleted off wikipedia. Can anybody say "scientology"? one look at his website suggests that they can remove depression and have solutions to people lives with "life solutions" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.137.100.43 (talk) 11:35, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] uhh

Well, yeah, I wrote the original article and I'm not too interested in him, my family is. I just thought he needed a Wikipedia article, and someone else would make it NPOV. He doesn't lead a cult, by the way, he's a spiritual leader. I

He's kinda new on the scene, so there haven't been any controversies yet.

Okay, I added a "neutrality is disputed" tag.

[edit] Neutrality/Objectivity

I agree that page needs a complete, more objective, overhaul. And this is coming from someone who has been closely associated with Nithyananda. I made the last of several changes which removed some of the "fawning" material which originated off the official website. Owing to lack of time, and not wishing to drastically alter what's already posted, I let much remain. Since I am not too familiar with Wiki standards and just what type of information ought to be included, I did not add any. I welcome an open discussion and constructive criticism about changes that might be made.

As mentioned, there have been no controversies related to Nithyananda. Thanks.

Just rewrite the article leaving whatever can be deemed facts and adding phrases like 'it is said that', or 'some people believe that' before what seems difficult to admit. Instead of blatant criticism.

We see whether a person is qualified to comment on certain areas of expertise and then only we will look for any opinion from them on those areas only. It is essential that anyone writing about a person practicing spiritualism like meditation for example, should have at least practiced that form of spiritualism or technique from a parallel/ credible source for a considerable period spanning at least some years and attained comparable levels reached by their peers. Just like men doesn't know the pain of child delivery, non-practitioners of spirituality techniques are completely in dark about these credible, replicable states obtained by the practitioner which he willingly subject to scientific scrutiny. Nithyananda is not what is depicted in some websites for someone to mimic and write about. He is an enlightened master. For a common man who has not yet got glimpses of spiritualism, his words of wisdom will show a practical way to lead a happy fulfilling life for sure.

[edit] Neutrality/Objectivity

I have done the Life Bliss workshop and found it to be very impressive and very effective. I think many people consider mediation to largely consist of breathing techniques and navel gazing. :) The workshops are active meditations, rather than "navel gazing" meditations and are actually a lot of fun ! Some people who have done his workshops have chosen to become a "follower" but, this isn't necessary, or, required. If I'm not mistaken, "cults" tend to be closed organizations, which do not offer workshops on an on-going basis, since they do not want to be scrutinized by the general public. One of my personal difficulties with this "Enlightened Master" is that he repeatedly and insistently tells his male followers, that they shouldn't be in relationships with women, as it detracts from their spiritual life. I can't help but wonder, how much experience this 29 year old male has had with women, himself ?! Considering he comes from a third world country with a very high rate of AIDS, he may not have had - any - relationships with women ! I understand this may be a necessity under such circumstances, however, a large percentage of his followers - are women - and yet, he - DOES NOT ! - tell women that - MEN ! -will interfere with - THEIR - spiritual journey ! This may be a perfectly acceptable attitude in India but, here in the West, I feel such an attitude is hypocritical, outdated, sexist and disrespectful of women. Queen of the Castle 16:33, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Oh my God

Or should I say "Oh my Me"?

This page is absolutely ridiculous. I've just done my best to make it seem like something you'd find in an encyclopedia instead of in a flier one of this man's programs. I had to just completely get rid of a few sentences that said things that really don't mean anything tangible and don't belong in this article at all. Also, since everything seems to be unsourced (I'm not counting his own personal website as a reputable source of information), I've added citation needed tags on some of the more interesting claims that this article makes. Honestly, halfway through I almost decided to trash the whole thing and leave a single sentence on his status as a purported healer and founder of several programs, the article is just that bad. Someone's got to fix this thing up or it's going to get trashed as it looks like it's written by the man himself.

Dilcoe

[edit] Deletion will be a mistake

Paramahamsa Nithyananda is a spiritual leader from South India. I have met him and have heard his discourses. I agree this page can be edited and some external references can be cited but considering it for deletion is wrong. The section titled programs refers to the LBP program and states the benefits. This can be re-written as it appears promotional. This is not a cult. The eastern world has different beliefs, religious and spiritual practices. The Hindu, Economic times , Times of India - all these are India's leading and respected newspapers - carry his messages on a regular basis. Karthik99 (talk) 16:43, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Nithyananda.jpg

Image:Nithyananda.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 06:49, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] rewrite

I didn't know anything about this guy -- until the {{afd}}.

I think he is notable, but that there is a serious neutrality problems.

I think the references I found, below, are sufficiently verifiable, independent references. I think the article should rely on references like these.

I am prepared to take a stab at rewriting this article, to conform to the neutrality policy. But I won't do so if my attempt is going to trigger an edit war.

current wording	proposed replacement	issue
[edit] Early life Nithyananda was born on January 1st, 1978, as Rajasekaran, the second child of Arunachalam and Lokanayaki in Thiruvannamalai, home to Arunachala, the spiritual heart center of our planet. On the tenth day after his birth, an astrologer was summoned to cast his horoscope and awed by the unique configuration of planets in Nithyananda’s birthchart exclaimed that Nithyananda would grow up to be a Raja Sannyasi (King among Swamis). True to the astrologer's words, Rajasekaran showed spiritual inclinations from a tender age. He would make idols out of mud, clay and soap stone, decorate them and worship them with a deep fervor. This aspect of Nithyananda’s personality would remain unchanged; the miniature stone figures have been superseded by the spectacular and towering deity idols that grace the temples of Life Bliss Foundation in North America and other countries today. In childhood as well as throughout his wandering years, Nithyananda was deeply inspired by two great saints of Bharat, Sri Ramakrishna and Ramana Maharshi. A photograph of Ramakrishna was the focus of Nithyananda’s worship practices, and he was blessed to have had direct darshan, or superconscious experience of Ramakrishna in the flesh. His spiritual teachers in Thiruvannamalai awakened Nithyananda’s enormous latent spiritual potential	[edit] Early life Nithyananda was born on January 1st, 1978, as Rajasekaran, the second child of Arunachalam and Lokanayaki in Thiruvannamalai. His followers report various portents of spiritual greatness were observed during his early life.[citation needed]	Unverifiable claims of astrological portents here don't comply with the neutrality policy.
[edit] Later Years Nithyananda would often meditate all night long in the cremation grounds of Tiruvannamalai, absorbed in the vibrant silence of Arunachala, and at the break of dawn, he would return home. During his teenage years, after a profound cognitive shift in his understanding through an encounter with a Siddha in Thiruvannamalai, the urge which he had since childhood, to leave home as a sannyasi, reached its peak. After completing his diploma in Mechanical Engineering at Gudiyattam, Nithyananda made the final resolve to set out on his spiritual journey as a wandering ascetic. He embarked on what was to be an arduous journey, stretching thousands of miles covered mostly by foot, over a period of 6 years, traversing the land of Bharat. From Tapovan in the Himalayas to Kanyakumari in the South, from Dwaraka in the West to Ganga Sagar in the East, Nithyananda wandered for several years in India and in Nepal, practicing intense austerities and studying with many sadhus. Amongst Nithyananda’s numerous soul-stirring experiences was this one, in the Himalayas: One day in Gaurikund, high in the Himalayas, he saw a lovely vision, of a young man with a glowing countenance and flowing locks, walking towards him with long strides and captivating grace. He realized, only after physically verifying the solidity of the radiant and divine being facing him, it was Mahaavatar Babaji, the Enlightened Master who has dwelled in the Himalayas for thousands of years in perpetual youth. At the moment of passing by him, Babaji looked into his eyes and pronounced, 'Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda!’ – signifying the state he would soon come to achieve. Nithyananda's single-minded pursuit of the Divine truth led to deeper and more profound experiences over the years. Finally, when He was 22 years old and staying on the banks of the river Narmada, the final explosion happened, into the experience of Superconsciousness, where space and time, body and mind, the seer and the seen - all dissolved into the state of Eternal Bliss, or Nithya Ananda.	[edit] Adult life After completing his diploma in Mechanical Engineering at Gudiyattam, Nithyananda decided to go on a spiritual journey, which he reports lasted six years. He reports studying with learned religious scholars. He reports meeting mystical, spiritual beings, and finally acheiving what he called "superconsciousness" -- the state of Eternal Bliss, or Nithya Ananda.	Meetings with glowing, 1000-year-old spiritual beings shouldn't be reported as established fact. "Superconsciousness" shouldn't be written of as an established fact.
	[edit] Notable followers Following the scandal over his use of racial insults comedian Michael Richards reported finding benefits in taking one of Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda's courses.[1]	I think a limited number of neutral reports about notable followers is acceptable.
	[edit] Spread of the movement Several large temples have been opened in the United States.[2][3][4]	IMO the opening of large temples is an objective sign of the movement's significance.