Taavi Kassila claims that she, Amma, is a holy celibate whilst Amma calls him, Kassila, a "rishi" (or "seer"). But one thing which Amma, who followers believe is an incarnation of God, seems to not care about is that her holy man Kassila is a sex fiend.

Amma (Sri Mata Amritanandamayi) tour organizer and promoter, Taavi Kassila, has been publicly accused of secretly seducing young girls, spreading sexual diseases and buying prostitutes in Russia and Estonia. Several women have published their uncomfortable experiences with sex addict Kassila and are prepared to testify in court. Kassila's legal team, headed by Amma follower Kirsi Pettersson are trying to silence the women who are calling for more victims to come forward with their stories and receive counseling.

Taavi Kassila is a former film director who tried and failed to start a yoga school business. Kassila, who preaches the value of celibacy, has until now successfully hidden the damage which he has caused his sex victims.

One girl was 16 when Kassila started to invite her to meet him alone to "talk". Her mother was in the same spiritual centre as Kassila and they had both known him since the girl was child. Somehow Kassila managed to shock the girl into having sex with him when she was barely 17 after visiting her home on the pretext of discussing the making of a movie. The girl, KH, has posted her statement, giving her full name, in the comments section of a blog called The Story of the Apostle of Love (Tarina rakkauden apostolista) and written by a different Kassila victim.

Whilst some of Kassila's unholy affairs must have been known by Finland's Amma group members, Kassila was not exposed until the blog sparked a discussion on a Finnish yoga forum called "Is Taavi Kassila and ethical joga teacher?(Onko Taavi Kassila eettinen joogaopettaja?)"

Amma, who runs a multi-billion dollar religious business, has declared Taavi Kassila to be a Rishi. The title "Rishi" is an exclusive holy name which means "seer". Kassila runs PR operations for Amma, defending the Amma organization from media accusations of causing mental distress, and running aggressive street poster campaigns claiming that Amma is a humanitarian. The Amma organization, under Kassila, recruited Tanja Tellervo Karpelaa, a Finnish Member of Parliament and former Miss Finland.

Kassila once claimed in writing that he had emigrated to Amma's ashram in India to follow a spiritual life. In reality, Taavi Kassila, never became a celibate monk and had never left Finland. Kassila's real life has been quite different from the holy yoga teacher image he portrays. Working for Amma's organization has given Kassila access to money, status and vulnerable women.

Kirsi Pettersson, a lawyer who works for the Amma organization has tried to suppress internet discussions about Taavi Kassila. A Finnish yoga website, [jooga.meditaatio.fi], has published legal threats and warnings which Pettersson had asked to be keep secret. Kassila also wrote privately to the forum administrator. Kassila claimed that accusations were false and did not involve his yoga group, but he clearly indicated that he would not discuss the cases.

Taavi Kassila lectures every season at Forum Humanuum, a group which arranges weekly spiritual and new age lectures in Helsinki. Kassila is listed as the main organizer and chairman in Finland which proves that he never emigrated to India.

Kassila's obsession with young girls is so blatant that anyone who is near him can hardly fail to be feel uncomfortable. It must be asked why have the Amma Amritanandamayi group, Forum Humanuum, various yoga schools and exhibition organizers not exposed the sexual corruption of Kassila who poses as a holy yoga man but instead preys on vulnerable women?

Anyone who has information on Taavi Kassila is asked to share it on the internet to help alert unsuspecting victims women. If you are outraged then demand that the Amma group remove Taavi Kassila from all positions of power, issue a warning notice and sponsor independent counseling for those women who have been effected. We will see if Amma is a humanitarian and keeps a clean house or if she allows her organizers to sexually prey on her devotees.

LINKS
------------

"Tarina rakkauden apostolista" blog:
[rakkaudenapostoli.wordpress.com]

Yoga forum discussion "Is Taavi Kassila and ethical joga teacher?(Onko Taavi Kassila eettinen joogaopettaja?)":
[jooga.meditaatio.fi]

Blog post about Taavi Kassila by ex-Hare Krishna:
[kirjailijablogi.blogspot.com]

Taavi Kassila, Forum Humanum contact:
[www.forumhumanum.fi]
"Järjestäjä: Forum Humanumin hallitus, Taavi Kassila, puheenjohtaja, Palokellonkuja 5 D 120, 00750 Helsinki, puh. 044 0452286"


Taavi Kassila Amma contact:
"General Information & media :
Rishi Taavi Kassila
Phone : +358 440 452286
E-mail : taavi.kassila@suomi24.fi"

Taavi Kassila wikipedia:
[fi.wikipedia.org]

Discussion about Amma:
[www.feelgoodgirl.com]

Laywer and Amma organizer
Kirsi Pettersson,
kirsi.pettersson@welho.com, p. 0400 425 590.
Helsinki
[www.pettersson-law.fi]

Finland Amma Contacts:
Suomen Amma-Keskus R.Y. (Ammacenter Finland)
Jarmo Tupamäki, Torivoudintie 12 B 8, Helsinki 00640 Finland, Phone: (int+358) 41 528 3588.
Tour Organisation, Br visits & Shop:
Prana Kirsi Salo
Kangastie 4, Helsinki 00630 Finland
Phone: (int+358) 9 752 0182, (+358) 400 525005 (GSM)
Fax: (int+358) 9 752 0182
E-mail (official email for all issues): ammacenter@amma.fi
Website: www.amma.fi

Amma's Tour Information, general activities and satsang group information:
Saranya Maija Leinonen
Phone: (+358) 400-53 1608
E-mail: ammacenter@amma.fi or maijasleinonen@gmail.com

IAM-courses: Kerttu Hannula and Suvi Stenbäck-Jääskä, Phone: + 358-40-505 1067, E-mail: iam@amma.fi

Timo Hallenberg, timo.hallen-
berg@gmail.com, p. 044 547 7048

Tiedustelut: Timo Hallenberg 044-5477048, timo.hallenberg(@)gmail.com
tai Janne Näätänen 044-5348889, janne.naatanen@helsinki.fi

Amma organizers in Finland:

* Hämeenlinna - Arja-Liisa Landen
045-679 0550, arjaliisa.landen(@)gmail.com
* Jyväskylä - Nina Laurila
040-5259 746, nina(@)mandalatalo.com
* Kuopio - Sirkka Kurppa
050-367 4925, 017-363 2790, sirkka.kurppa(@)luukku.com
* Lahti - Jarmo Kukkonen
040-769 7611, kalyaniyogesh(@)phnet.fi
* Pori - Mervi Kinnunen
050-595 5095, mervikin(@)gmail.com
* Porvoo - Ritva Kärkkäinen
0414-695184
* Rovaniemi - Mira Tornikoski
050-3430 812, mira.tornikoski(@)pp.inet.fi
* Tampere - Leeni Rauta, Kerttu Hannula
040-570 8870, 040-505 1067 kerttu.hannula(@)uta.fi
* Turku - Virve Forsman
050-531 1532, virveforsman(@)suomi24.fi

This post is full of lies and deceptions, even to the extent that it could be illegal by Finnish law.

Some examples of incorrect or deceiving statements:
* "Rishi" is just a spiritual name given to him, no-one considers him to be a holy man.
* He did not manage to get the 17 year old girl to have sex with him, according to her story.
* A clarification: Kassila's lawyer is indeed involved in the organisation, as a lawyer she does not represent them
* There's no doubt that he has migrated to India, however he visits Finland quite often.

Just like you I hope that his position within Amma's organisation gets questioned, but I really dislike the unjust way in which you picture Amma's organization. It's still to soon to tell how well they're handling the situation.

Quote
Amritanandamayi.Scam
One girl was 16 when Kassila started to invite her to meet him alone to "talk". Her mother was in the same spiritual centre as Kassila and they had both known him since the girl was child. Somehow Kassila managed to shock the girl into having sex with him when she was barely 17 after visiting her home on the pretext of discussing the making of a movie. The girl, KH, has posted her statement, giving her full name, in the comments section of a blog called The Story of the Apostle of Love (Tarina rakkauden apostolista) and written by a different Kassila victim.

You are misquoting KH: she clearly says she never had sex with him. So far, no real victims of a sex crime of any sort have come forth and the biggest noise has come from a disappointed lover. Dishonesty regarding the teaching of celibacy vs. the lifestyle of the teacher still does not constitute a crime.

'Dishonesty regarding the teaching of celibacy vs. the lifestyle of the teacher still does not constitute a crime.'


Maybe not a crime but it is still a clear indication of dishonesty, as you seem to admit.

Now why would you want to give credibility to a teacher who has amply demonstrated his dishonesty to you?

[www.thefreedictionary.com]


cred·i·bil·i·ty (krd-bl-t)
n.
1. The quality, capability, or power to elicit belief: "America's credibility must not be squandered, especially by its leaders" (Henry A. Kissinger).
2. A capacity for belief: a story that strained our credibility.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
credibility
n
the quality of being believed or trusted

Thesaurus Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun 1. credibility - the quality of being believable or trustworthy
believability, credibleness

quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare

authenticity, genuineness, legitimacy - undisputed credibility

rigour, validity, cogency, rigor - the quality of being valid and rigorous

plausibility, plausibleness - apparent validity

cred, street cred, street credibility - credibility among young fashionable urban individuals

incredibility, incredibleness - the quality of being incredible



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2011 07:50AM by Stoic.

Quote
Stoic
'Dishonesty regarding the teaching of celibacy vs. the lifestyle of the teacher still does not constitute a crime.'

Maybe not a crime but it is still a clear indication of dishonesty, as you seem to admit.

Now why would you want to give credibility to a teacher who has amply demonstrated his dishonesty to you?

FYI, I have personally never thought of Kassila as a credible teacher :D
Cult-like behavioral patterns in people are interesting, but equally interesting is the strategy of shouting "CULT" to smear reputations. The original post is clearly an example of stretching facts beyond recognition to get a smear-job done.

No one here has yet shouted 'CULT', yours is the first mention.
Bit of a straw man, that.

Dishonest teachers who use their position as spiritual leaders to gain advantage over their followers and exploit that advantage are of great interest here, though.

Quote
Stoic
No one here has yet shouted 'CULT', yours is the first mention.
Bit of a straw man, that.

Dishonest teachers who use their position as spiritual leaders to gain advantage over their followers and exploit that advantage are of great interest here, though.

Oh, I just consider coming to a cult education forum to post this stuff as an act of shouting 'cult', that's all. You may disagree and even talk of straw men, but the fact remains this case has been exaggerated and twisted in every possible way to suit an agenda.

This is a discussion board, perhaps you'd like to make your case for the 'exaggerations and twistings in every possible way' that are so far only an unfounded assertion by you, not a matter of fact.

The OP has asserted that this particular teacher is dishonest and takes sexual advantage of his students, you agree he is dishonest and not a credible teacher. The point of contention is the 'sexual advantage taking.'
Does he or doesn't he?

I can't be the only one who would like to know.

Quote
Stoic
This is a discussion board, perhaps you'd like to make your case for the 'exaggerations and twistings in every possible way' that are so far only an unfounded assertion by you, not a matter of fact.

Please refer to the first posts of Subudhinath and myself. What is unfounded is the topic starter saying "Somehow Kassila managed to shock the girl into having sex with him when she was barely 17", when just the opposite was stated by the lady telling her story in the blog comment. You can verify with Google Translate, if you want.

Quote
Stoic
The OP has asserted that this particular teacher is dishonest and takes sexual advantage of his students, you agree he is dishonest and not a credible teacher. The point of contention is the 'sexual advantage taking.'
Does he or doesn't he?

The blog creator was not a student of Kassila when she entered into a relationship with him. She has never claimed Kassila took advantage of her (if we don't count cheating). The main point is teaching celibacy while secretly having an active sexual life. Sure, we can speculate all we want about possible cases of actual abuse of the student-teacher relationship, but we also know students were not an exclusive "target".

Ah, so he is a equal opportunity sexual predator---everyone is fair game, students, children of students, the public at large.
Just what you want in a spiritual teacher preaching celibacy for everyone else.

Has Amma, 'the world renowned saint whose extraordinary acts of love and self sacrifice have given rise to a vast network of spiritual and charitable activities' really nothing to say on this?