One person who was apparently a strong supporter of James Swartz has let it be known that he now sees Swartz as a spiritual fraud, and his wife as both a leader and accomplice in his (criminal?) activities.

Here is a message from this person. It came to me via a friend. This friend a#ked me to post this message. just belowis the cut and pasted message,with all identities kept private.



I haven't been following, so thanks for keeping me posted.

I have though been actively communicating with a few new key contacts (most other victims) and had encouraged them to start reaching out; glad to see that it's perhaps taking some positive effect.

Hopefully this dharma train continues to pickup full momentum and lands both those phonies in their deserved spot.

It would be great if a registered member on the forum exposes the fact that JS used Swami Chin's name purely as a marketing tactic to bolt his SW brand, and that he in actual fact had zero direct relationship with him apart from riding on the coat tails of Swami as a branding tool.


Just one simple question needs to circulate among the the mass audience of SW;

"Please can JS share just one image of him and his "direct guru" together"

I mean, surely this would not be difficult seems as if JS used to be his traveling partner and the chosen one to hold Swami's oxygen tank.

What a joke. But granted, he he so confident and convincing at selling this story that 99.9% of his audience doesn't even register that there's not a single piece of evidence that supports his famous claims.

Perhaps you could ask the forum manager or another member to post this?

Anyway, glad to see some movement.

Regarding the post about Ted Schmidt from page 1.

I know Ted Schmidt well. He is a stand up guy with deep knowledge of Vedanta. He was an endorsed Shining World teacher but that ended under conflictual circumstances between him, JS and Sundari. There have been 5 or 6 Shining World endorsed teachers, that I know of, who were asked to leave SW also under conflictual circumstances. The ones that I do know personally are extremely dharmic and impassioned students of this great tradition. We have all come from a variety of backgrounds that led to the place we find ourselves in now. If you've spent significant time in the spiritual world, no doubt you will have come across adharmic teachers. At any rate, Ted, like many of us, learned a lot (past tense) from working with JS. This is not in anyway meant to condone JS' adhamric behavior but rather to share we are all learning and at times find ourselves with adharmic teachers. My main point being, that regardless of Ted's background shared on his website, he's a very good person.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2019 01:36AM by BeTrue.

Heather, thankyou so much for talking to us here. I'm sure I speak for us all, we're really pleased, and we are all really supportive of what you have started.


It's so beautiful that you have a good man beside you and children, I think? What happened to you was and is traumatic, without a doubt, but you have not let it destroy you. In fact, your book, your ordeal, so well spoke and wrote about, is a book of love. For the entire world. For there to be no more victims. Enough it enough. The book has took a stand, and we are standing with it, and with you.

You encapsulate JS's ways so much in what you write. It is him you speak of, and could only speak that what because you have been close to him. The way you write about the teachings on by-passing and making excuse for being a shithead, they ain't changed over time, that is for sure.

Your poetry. There is much in what you have wrote that is still currently his teachings. It's a wonderfully painful and powerful poem. My face is still grimacing from reading it, however it's a pleasure to feel the strength and feel the depth to that courage, in it.

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Regarding poor Ted Schmidt. Ted was an excellent Vedanta teacher. He was actually earmmarked to take over from JS. But of course, Isabella and other had ideas. There is a palpable sense of fear and treachery among the Shiningworld organisation. And poor Ted, he was made a scapegoat.

I dont want to elaborate on what Ted was accused of. But as much as I can say, he didnt actually do anythng wrong. And certainly what he was accussed of was made out to be a huge big deal.

Ted was an existing mainstream teacher before he became a vedanta teacher, so he would know what was appropriate behavior or not.

Isabella does what she does, and cause she is providing JS with certain 'things' other students may not be at the minute, so he continually fucks over his own student teachers he has raised up.


It's a ridiculous situation, at least, but in reality, its a disgrace.

More from Heather

[b]Message 1 from Heather[/b]

Dear Trav,

Thank you very much for posting all of that...I really appreciate it

In regards to some recent posts I saw on the cult ed site:
In my opinion...people should be careful in rushing into judgment about Swartz's current wife Isabell...I do not know her at all...she may be involved in (criminal?) activities with JS...but how do we know she is not just another one of his victims? I see Marlene as his victim for sure! People might have viewed her as part of the racket at that time...not knowing she was actually a victim. I would just ask people to be open-minded to the possibility of this.

If you feel this is a valuable thought...you may post it...if you think so.

Sending lots of love!

“Heather”

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My reply to Heather relayed what many of the recent messages to us had unveiled. That is (and to our surprise) that the second wife of James Swartz is, according to these accounts, naturally vindictive, back-stabbing, corrupt, and a smooth organizer, charming in getting what she wants. Plus, that she saw in Swartz a way to make lots of money, and in him a person as (the story goes) crooked as herself in doing whatever it took to do so.

I recounted with Heather that there are quite a few people in contact with us, and that they are sharing stories of Swartz’s bullying, irrationality, and virtually paranoid angry reactions should one of his followers question his assertions regarding “spiritual truth,” and more. These are persons who were close to Swartz, leaders in his inner circle, (For over two years some of us have been waiting for the good people who had been hoodwinked by Swartz into becoming supporters to begin to see the light. Certainly, as they looked at the teachings of the greats such as Shankara and Ramana Maharishi, they would see many things, not the least of which would be that their “teacher” James Swartz was a total fraud. And, we surmised, once having realized that, they would then see him and his worldly doings much more clearly. With all the accusations, his teachings about “what happens here doesn’t matter” would all of a sudden make a dark sort of sense. Now, thankfuly these good people are appearing.)

As I reminded Heather, it was these people who informed us about the alleged ways and doings of J S’s second wife. Based on their accounts, she was a big factor in the unfair treatment of Ted Schmidt, and others, deeply involved in (alleged) financial defrauding of naive and weak followers, and much more.

Heather’s response is below.

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Message 2 from Heather

Dear Trav,

..I will follow your lead...and trust your judgement...however let's keep in mind that Swartz is a devious demon...capable of mind controlling & manipulating the closest to him...I just don't want to hurt people who may be victims...& I don't want to hurt Isabell's daughter & granddaughter. we should keep all this in mind.

Blessings..

Heather

Hi,

I'm at an event tonight, but thought it worthwhile to post a few lines.

Thankyou for sharing the chat between you and Heather. It shows the integrity of both of you.

Heather is not being vindictive, this can be saw. She speaks facts. As does Traveller99.

Im still gonna be careful what way I put things, but I can say, that Isabella has been instrumental in much nastiness lately. AS JS aged, it might be he has changed and refined his devious ways, though this in no way takes away from what he has done already.

Im not at all trying to excuse him. However, she has tantalised him with his charms so that every single aspect of appropriate behaviour toward students is now absent. it is no longer a sexual deviancy. that is horrifying enough. it is also now total cultish control.

SHE, is a controlling and devious person. She destroys anyone who gets close to him. And she is absolutely not worthy of the station she has.

I can say much more inside factual information. I know for a fact they are watching his topic. And the truth will come out. As I spoke to the author of the book about, the spiritual control they extert is totally, totally, damaging to people.


I dont want to flame. There is no need. So please, everyone, keep reading this topic, the word is spreading. And more information will be shared.

Shiningworld members are aware of this topic, and many are listening.

Thankyou so much to Heather, the author, Rick, and the people who are joining this movement to speak up. Heather was then, we are now. And together we will show the truth.

earthquake Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyhow, fast forward two years to the most recent
> Berlin seminar. At the end, James SWartz decided
> to ask donations in order to pay for his new home
> in Spain.

He did the same thing in Amsterdam. He also said roughly the same things in Amsterdam as he said in Berlin obut how bad Trump is but that it doesn't matter because it's not real.

We have Swartz on the record using the same kind of spiritual bypassing in an attempt to make us dismiss the Heather allegations:

[www.shiningworld.com]

Quote

Of course the quickest way to remove it is to see it as a mithya problem and dismiss it as unreal. But in the event that you are not at that level of inquiry, you can make a reasonable determination based on what you do know.

And of course James allegedly used the same kind of bypassing to groom Heather and Sandy to work in the sex entertainment industry.

I'm reading the book “The Mind of Adi Shankaracharya.” by Menon, Y. Keshava and I think the following quote from the book could be seen as a reminder that Advaita Vedanta was not intended to be misused this way:

Quote

Shankara made no attempt to suggest that the commonsense view of the world is not correct as far as it goes. When an object is perceived, there is a real object before the perceiver. Even illusory perceptions—such as a snake in what is in fact a rope—have a limited reality. Moreover, in denying reality to the external world we can do so only in implied relation to something else which is undeniably real. Therefore, when Shankara says that Brahman is the sole reality, though this statement by implication denies absolute reality to the phenomenal world, it presupposes a relative reality in it. We might say (though the words are vague) that the world has a reflected or ‘delegated’ reality from Brahman.

Yea, there are two teachings in Vedanta that seem on the face of it to be opposites:

1. Ajativada. That there is no creation.
2. Vivartavada. That creation is an effect.

Both lead the person to understanding that no matter what way one looks at it, there only is Brahman. This is satya. That which is 'real'. Real means that which does not change and is not limited.

What we see all around us is mithya. That which appears to change, has no independant existence of it's own, so 'borrows' its existence.

What does not exists in any way at all, ever, is called tucham. Vedanta gives examples like the horns on a hare, or an elephant in ones hand.

When JS says that things like trump are not real he must be either confused in what he is meant to be teaching, or just deliberatly teaches this to excuse his own behaviour.

What we see all around us, mithya, is neither real nor not-real. It's in between. And only in between in terms of that which does not change.

Vedanta never ever teaches that one is to by-pass or drop out of anything in the world. Shankaracharya has made specific texts that put into context what way one should be in regard to the world and what way one should be in regard to Brahman. I dont want to elaborate that much on the text, incase it pinpoints me, but suffice to say Shankara specifically teaches on what way ones live should be in all areas. If life didnt matter why were these things taught?

In fact the whole of the Bhagavad Gita is about how to life. JS should know this, since he teaches three month courses on it.

In times gone by, the ancient Rishis had a real problem. These guys, the 'originals' they had a hard time using their enlightenment in an appropriate way. Scripture is rife with stories of how the Rishis were quite harmful in their behaviour.

This was because they could not reconcile knowing one is Brahman, with how to live a good life. Over time Vedanta began to deal with this. Most notably around the time of Guadapada and Shankara.

Enlightenment only has meaning if it has positive benefit to life. This is why there are really two aspects two it. Knowing what you are, and that bringing meaningful improvement to not only your life, but for the whole world.

This is encapsulated in the term purna ananda. Which jnani, so-called enlightened people (jnani never regard themselves as enlightened) rest as. This is whereone is nothing but love and they do whatever is needed to benefit the world.

A message from Heather, copied directly.

Hi Trav,

Would you be willing to post this latest thing I wrote?

Dear Traveller, Earthquake, ZizIz and others on this thread, I would like to respond to some of the ideas that have come up…

Please know that I do not have a problem or dispute Advaita Vedanta…not in the least. I have a problem with what (in the words of Earthquake) JS has done with Advaita Vedanta in the form of spiritual bypassing.g

I think that Advaita Vedanta, as well as other spiritual traditions, has so much practical wisdom and can, in a positive and constructive way, facilitate empowerment for self and others.

But that is not what JS has to offer. He offers nothing but destruction. He does not give, he takes.

Swartz is nothing but a common thief and conman. The only skill he truly has is to fool and trick people…and steal what is theirs, and not his to take.

When I knew him, I was a young teenager. I was easy to fool and trick, especially because I had problems at home…and I was in search of something better…I was in search of God…a better life…a family I could trust. Too bad I fell into the path of Swartz…my tough luck. He presented as a spiritual leader…a father figure…someone I could trust.

What he stole from me and “Sandy” was our youthful energy…our creativity…our sexual energy…our trust…our love…and when he got “Sandy” working full time in the stripping industry…he essentially stole her money too.

Now some people reading this might think that what I’m writing below is too flakey—new agey—woo-woo…so I ask you to think of it in terms of metaphor…what I’m about to describe can be understood concrete or symbolic terms:

Swartz sexually abused me…and in doing so, he took “energy” from my sacral energy center and distorted the flow of energy there…it was essentially a sucker-punch to my power center too…the power center, located above the root and sacral centers, is like the sun…it is a person’s place of power…and Swartz (aka Rama at that time) took my power…he stole it. Rama used to tell us…that where ever we were in the world…it wouldn’t matter how far the distance…we could call his name “Rama”…and he would be there for us…he basically implanted the idea that he was everywhere…he could always see us, where ever we were. (This implanted thought-reform idea has haunted me over the years…and been a source of much paranoia and fear for me.) “Ram” by the way…is the seed sound for the 3rd energy center…which is the place of power for the embodied person. Do you see how he continues to steal my “energy” after all these long years? Once the natural flow of energy, through the centers and up the spine, has been injured and misdirected…it takes a lot of work to get things working properly again. The energy is meant to go through the center…up to the throat (for expressing and creating), and then eventually up to the energy centers in the brain…where at last, one can awaken into the knowledge of our ever-loving God.

I am finally on to this…and with the help of my loving family, I am getting my personal energy to flow the way it was designed to…and Swartz cannot steal from me anymore.

JS is not only deceptive, he is cruel, unloving, totally selfish, and maniacal. In my view…he is a psychopath.

He is a conman and a thief. He should not be trusted.

I wonder if people examine very closely their relationship with Swartz…what is he stealing? What are we giving away unknowingly?

We should not be lambs to this wolf.

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Heather’s tales of how life under the thrall of James Swartz was for a 14-17 year-old girl is told as “allegation-based fiction” in the book, “Guru? The Tory Of Heather,” available at no price at www.reallyguru.com.

Thankyou, Heather and Traveller99 for the information you keep providing us. Heather, what you have went through cuts so deep. I can honestly feel some of this in the profound way that you write.

I can corroborate that JS is still like this. He drains peoples energy as cults will, by keeping them dependent on the cult. He 'awards' spiritual titles as they are somehow achievements, which they are not. And then he will take them away when they try to resist his controlling behavior.

Vedanta is about being self-satisfied. About not needing anything, including Vedanta. However, Shiningworld have a God-complex in regard to JS, and now Isabella. You are expected to do as you are told by them. This goes way beyond Vedanta. These people think they have some kind of authority over the students private lives. They give 'advice' which you are expected to follow.

They have created a form of teaching that does not deliver freedom properly. Rather, it makes one dependant on them for ones happiness. And that, is a very dangerous power to have gave away to someone. Or put better, that is a dangerous power that has been took from people.

Heather, your background when you went trusting to him, it is a similar background with many in Shiningworld. Because many have had troubled pasts, this makes them more susceptible to needing praise, belonging, and some sense of being important. It's how cults operate, right?

So, what Shiningworld has done is create a spiritual movement that centers around managing the traumas in life. At best it is merely a band aid. Only a glimmer of the independence one actually is. Yes, it is really appealing to people. But they becomes stuck in that. In needing the great Ram to bestow sattva on people.

The thing is, Vedanta is most certainly not about being sattvic. It's about not being impacted by anything. Ever. No matter what. These teachings that merely manage life, they keep the students in Shiningworld.

When we look at it, they cant even keep five teachers at any one time. They are always throwing teacher out. It's ridiculous. My point though, is that there is a definite sense of being vulnerable that is at the highest levels in Shiningworld. They cant hold on to teachers, so they have this fear they wnt be able to keep their cult going, so they try to hold onto students. Hence this controlling and taking peoples power.

Anyhow, here is one other thing to do with Vedanta that shows how JS doesnt come up to scratch...

Saha nau bhunaktu - the teachings are not for academic purpose, they have to transform ones life.

Samatvam - This is equanimity of mind and is called jnanamphalam.

Between Jnanam and phalam are many obstacles. They are: lust, anger, greed, delusion, arrogance and jealousy.

If these exist, then the knowledge wont be able to impact the personality emotionally. And this is not the fruit of enlightenment.

A response from Heather to Earthquake, and for us all.

Yes Earthquake, I can relate to how you describe Swartz as presenting himself as God…what a terrible joke he is!

Adding on to my description of the energy system in our bodies…and how Swartz steals our energy…what I left out before is the most important (of course!) and that is the Heart center! By stealing our power from our 3rd energy center…he deformed the flow of energy that would normally go into the heart. For years after I endured abuse by Swartz…I found it challenging to trust or love people…and of course I could not love myself…part of this was because of the cruel thought reform that he implemented upon us…and part of it was because, after that horrific encounter with him & the ensuing disillusionment, I found it impossible to trust anyone.

So in essence…what Swartz is doing is exactly the opposite of Vedanta!

You wrote: Vedanta is about being self-satisfied. About not needing anything, including Vedanta.

BBeing self-satisfied, in my experience, is being directly connected into the heart center…knowing oneself…self-referral…it is a felt-sense, and very real! From there…one can truly love others and have a real appreciation for all of life…and our experience in this world. It is very much “Christ-like” if you will…that to me is Vedanta.

Mathew 6:28

And why take ye thought for raiment?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;

They toil not, neither do they spin.

Seems to me…that a teacher of Vedanta should be an arrow pointing the way…the way…the light…but what Swartz has done, and is doing, is he is using these spiritual teachings as a cheap storefront for his despicable conman game of thievery.

He is SO not God…he is SO not enlightened! He is the dirty, grubby, little worm that he falsely accuses others of being.

Just a worm.