Nithyananda

Nithyananda Paramashivam or Paramahamsa Nithyananda or simply known as Nithyananda is an Indian Hindu guru and godman. He is the founder of the trust "Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam", which has temples, gurukulas, and ashrams in many countries.
Following accusations and charges of rape and abduction in Indian courts, Nithyananda absconded from India, citing supposed threats of assassination and mob lynching, and sought refuge from the United Nations. He subsequently announced the founding of his own self-proclaimed island nation 'Kailaasa'.
Early life.
Nithyananda was born A. Rajasekaran, in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, to father Arunachalam and mother Lokanayaki. He belongs to the Saiva Vellala community
Sources conflict as to his birth date – a 2003 US visa gave a date of 13 March 1977, while a sworn affidavit in a 2010 Karnataka High Court case mentioned 1 January 1978.
He was first noticed at the age of three by Yogiraj Yogananda Puri.
In 2003, he started his ashram Dhyanapeetam in Bidadi near Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Recognition.
In 2007, Nithyananda was elected as Chairman of Florida based Hindu University of America.
Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, a religious organisation founded by Nithyananda, hosts cultural events in United States as well as India. They hold two Guinness world records, one for the largest rope yoga class and one for the largest pole yoga ("mallakhamba") class.
In 2012, Nithyananda was recognized as one of the '100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People' by "Watkins' Mind Body Spirit Magazine".
In 2012, Nithyananda was appointed the 293rd pontiff of Madurai Aadheenam.
In February 2013, the title of Mahamandaleshwar was conferred on Nithyananda in a closed ceremony by the Panchayati Mahanirvani Akhara.
Pseudoscience and 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".
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 including kundalini and third-eye awakening. 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. Disciples of Nithyananda claim that he gave initiations through 'third eye' to a class of 82 blind children, thus curing them of blindness. Professor and activist Narendra Nayak challenged Nithyananda to prove his claims.
Nithyananda has also claimed that he and his followers were able to perform activities like extrasensory perception, materialisation, body scanning and remote viewing, and that they had the ability to find lost objects.
Controversies and allegations.
SunTV tape.
In 2010, Sun TV telecast morphed 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.
Nithyananda and Ranjitha claimed the video to be fabricated and accused Sun TV of extortion. A Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Bengaluru confirmed that the morphed video appeared to be that of Nithyananda and Ranjitha but did not discuss whether the tape was morphed. Sun TV and other media channels since then were subject to various lawsuits and criminal investigations for blackmail using morphed content.
Ranjitha filed a complaint with High Court of Karnataka against news channels. Channels were ordered to apologize to Ranjitha upon acknowledging the content was morphed.
Alleged rape.
In 2010, a United States citizen who was a disciple of Nithyananda accused him of raping her in the US and in India for close to five years. She filed a complaint with Ann Arbor, Michigan Police, and police didn't commence any formal investigation. In turn Nithyananda sued her in US for defamation caused by her false rape accusation, for which she was penalized USD 463,211.25 by a default judgement in 2014. 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. 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.
Alleged abduction.
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, and sought custody of their children. A First Investigation Report for alleged abduction was filed by the Gujarat Police in relation to the case on 17 November 2019. In affidavits filed in the Gujarat High Court from various locations in the Americas, two of the missing children, who were adults, rejected their father's claim that they have been detained forcibly. 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.
Flight from India.
On 20 November 2019, the Gujarat Police claimed that Nithyananda fled India after choosing not to attend several court hearings. In December 2019, Republic TV published a 742 page document, which it claimed was a petition by Nithyananda to the United Nations seeking refugee status on grounds of his persecution in India for spreading the Adi Shaivite tradition. Nithyananda claimed attempts of mob lynching and assassination as reasons he was forced to withdraw himself from the Indian society in order to protect himself.
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. 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.
Kailaasa island nation.
In December 2019 Nithyananda declared that he had created a new 'Hindu nation' called Kailaasa and claimed to issue passports, currency and other documents. 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 Kailasa is the world's only sovereign Hindu nation. Kailaasa has also been described as a network of non-governmental organizations spanning three continents.
In August 2020, Nithyananda launched the ‘Reserve Bank of Kailaasa’ on Ganesha Chaturthi, and released its official gold currency, ‘Kailashian dollars’. He said the design of the coins was inspired by the currency of 'the ancient 56 Hindu nations'. He said that the Bank would be structured on the lines of the Vatican Bank.
In December 2020, Nithyananda announced that Kailaasa has now begun issuing special three-day visas for tourists. 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 free food and accommodation during the course of their stay.
On 19 April 2021, in a Presidential Mandate, citing COVID-19 cases across the world banned travelers from India, Brazil, European Union and Malaysia to island nation Kailaasa.