Said Swami Nithyananda while addressing his first-ever press conference after the scandal, hinting the hand of political parties and religious groups behind it
Said Swami Nithyananda while addressing his first-ever press conference after the scandal, hinting the hand of political parties and religious groups behind it
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Blame the other: Nithyananda tried to come clear, saying he was
targetted by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living and other political causes.
Pic/Ramesh H S
Interesting spin
"I belong to an ideological minority group, and people with a powerful influence on the religious sector targeted me," he said.
While Ranjitha had blamed Christian missionaries in her press conference a month ago; Nithyananda gave an interesting spin by pointing at religious leaders within the community.
Even as speculations are rife about his rivalry with the AOL camp, this statement only fueled it further. Asked whether he was referring to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Nithananda said, with his trademark smile, "I don't want to name anyone."
Neighbour's envy
Sources in his ashram Dhyanapeetham said, he was referring to Ravi Shankar, while other religious leaders were on his mind.The rivalry between AOL and Dhyanapeetham is because of the paid religious exercises conducted by both organisations, while the taget audience is the same (foreign devotees mainly from America and Europe), sources said. While meditation classes conducted by the Dhayanapeetham and Sudharshana Kriya by the AOL are popular,u00a0 fees collected from these respective programmes are their main source of revenue.
The money game
"We charge between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000 for the course and our popularity is growing. We have crossed one crore devotees around the world, and naturally one would feel insecure. The competition should have been legal in which case, I would have faced them, but they are following an illegal path," he told MiD DAY after the press conference.
Ravi Shankar had condemned Nithyananda on the alleged sex romp when the tapes were aired, and Dhyanapeetham had hit back saying, "Some elements are casting aspersions on us just to gain supremacy in the religious field."
He added, "I might kick up another controversy, if I make an open statement on this at this point of time."
In a measured response, an AOL source said, it was not competing with Dhyanapeetham.
In an e-mail response, Kiran Krishna, spokes person of AOL, said, "It is not in our culture to malign anybody. We don't condemn anybody. We have been transforming people's lives."
Politicians from Tamil Nadu, especially leaders from DMK were others Nithyananda blamed. "They blackmailed me and demanded Rs 100 crore. When I tried to complain to the Tamil Nadu police, they did not take the complaint because my 'tormentors' were powerful."
| Potent issue |
| >>Nithyananda had said he was impotent when the police questioned him on the alleged sex romp. |
Rs 2,000-10,000 Fee charged for the meditation programmes which also form a major source of revenue for Dhayanapeetham
Rs 1 crore Dhayanapeetham's approximate number of followers around the world
Rs 100 crore Amount that the swami claims politicians demanded from him
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