ME?
How I got involved with Heather
and in Revealing the
Horrors of James SwartzIn answer to Dis-Illusioned's questions in a recent post, let me share:
Back in the winter of 2017-17 I heard through the grapevine about some very unsettling accusations regarding James Swartz. I'd never met this fellow, but some people I knew thought he was okay. The accusations, though, were very serious.
I discussed the matter with a few friends, and we began to investigate Swartz. The fact that some of us were in India helped a lot, as he was there that winter in Tiruvannamalai, a place where he'd spent much time.
Soon, with the help of friends who "Heather" trusted, I was able to contact her with only one go-between. Understandably, she at first was concerned lest I be a spy for Swartz. Along with growing trust came access to her first written account of what can only be called her "Nightmare Years" as an underage girl with this so-called "Guru named Ram." (He called himself a guru in those San Francisco days.)
What she wrote seemed very convincing, and the people I knew who knew her vouched for her veracity. Meanwhile, evidence about Swartz being deplorable as a person and as a spiritual teacher came pouring in. Evidence showed:
--Swartz lied about his spiritual history.
--Swartz, research proved, really had no clue about that which he was supposedly teaching, except from a "mental paradigm." He had never "Awakened" to a real degree, and therefore could only teach words, not "All That Is."
-- Swartz behaved abominably, including:
-- Bragging to all his buddies about his incessant shagging of impoverished widowed sewer cleaners and street sweepers.
-- Rejoicing in the poisoning to death of a neighbor's pet dog whose barking had disturbed him at night.
-- Bullying and abusing young, new seekers over the breakfast table, laughing about the crushed looks on their faces as he took a cruel and clever verbal saber to their newly constructing spiritual beliefs and understandings.
-- And more.
To me, it was imperative to get the word out about Swartz. First we-- that is, Heather and our friends -- published Heather's story in some on-line magazines. We also published articles detailing what we'd discovered about Swartz's spiritual past, distorted teachings, pet killing, and the rest.
I, additionally, found the e-mail addresses of every follower of James Swartz that I could find, and sent a message with links to the articles asking them, "What do you think of this?"
They almost universally came after me in an unfriendly, hard-core way. This I could understand, really. If I had a teacher I liked and someone called her into disrepute, my first response would be defensive, also. (Interestingly, at the time I felt that at least we had "planted a seed." Now, even the most loyal would be watching and listening to "Squirts," which was my nickname for him, more closely. And this turned out to be correct. Some contributors on this site have told me that they were, at that time, among those who sent me some very negative replies.)
Swartz himself, of course, howled like a demon with his nuts caught in a vice. He threatened libel and slander suits, threatened the on-line magazine (which, being in a fragile economic position and looking at a possible sale, did ask us to take his name out of our articles), and began the message writing to me which is largely recounted in "
Guru? The Story of Heather."
Heather's PTSD acted up. Direct abuse by Swartz, again after forty years of hiding, was a lot for her. As we always would, when she asked us to ease off, we did.
For a few months perhaps Swartz thought he had weathered the storm. However, as Heather gained strength, I proposed to her having a friend, Devon Adler, write a book modeled on her experiences with Swartz. I proposed it with a change of names and locations, and dates that were a bit vague.
Heather agreed. From this, Devon Adler's "
Guru? The Story of Heather" came forth. (As promised, Swartz got a different name and physically went from short, fat, and ugly to tall, skinny, and ugly, San Francisco became San Jose, Oregon became Idaho, Montana became Wyoming, and so on.)
The book was fine, but it didn't directly name Swartz, which was a bit frustrating, at least to me.
Then, Happy Days!, I (finally) found this site. Thank you, Mr. Rick Ross! I realized it was the perfect place to further our examinations of James Swartz, and a great vehicle with which to get the warnings out to people.
As I mentioned in another recent post, little did I know when this Topic commenced in May 2019 that eighteen months later we'd have over 470 Posts and 42,000 views.
Thanks for asking, Dis-Illusioned. And thanks even more for sharing your experiences with everyone.
*******Upon rereading this,
I see I didn't answer your "Why?" question.Why do I do what I do regarding Heather's story and the truth about the deplorable James Swartz?
--First and foremost, because what Heather claims is absolutely true and I believe that this horrible scum of a false teacher should be known for what he is.
--Second, being able to share her story and for this to help others is a very good thing for Heather.
--Third, with his insane, angry, non-reasoning attacks, blackmail attempts, and inadvertent confessions Swartz not only showed his utter guilt but also really "pissed me off."
Every time I hear of a person who was forewarned by the Heather book or the Posts on this site about the foulness that is James Swartz, and who therefore gave him a wide berth or left his presence as soon as they could (or sooner than they would have), I get a smile on my face.
It's probably not as big as the one that Heather gets, but it feels good to have helped a person while simultaneously extending a metaphorical middle finger to the rapacious, corrupt, and criminal slimeball that is James Swartz.