Hello Good People,

In the late 1970s and early 80s when I was a teenager, I fell into the clutches of an unethical and abusive "guru" who used undue influence, drugs, and mind control to lure me into his cult. His name is James Swartz. Back then we called him Rama--today he calls himself Ramji.


When I met Rama I was not looking for spirituality...I wasn't a "seeker"...I didn't know what a guru was...I had no idea what a spiritual path was. I had a crash collision with this terrible man. He saw my vulnerability, he quickly discovered I was easily controlled, and that's how I became involved with this "spiritual teacher".

I was abused and traumatized by James Swartz. Today he still promotes himself as a spiritual teacher. There are 2 other threads on this forum where I've related my account...much discussion by others, and some who have recently left James Swartz's cult.

The world is much different today from when I was a young teenager in the 70s and 80s. People today have critical thinking abilities and awareness that we didn't have before. Many people have been burned by fraudulent teachers who benefit at other's expense. People are discussing the issues of ethics in spiritual communities. This is a wonderful development for all of us!

Rick Archer of Buddha at the Gas Pump leads a discussion at the Science and Nonduality Conference (SAND) on Discussion on Ethics in Spiritual Communities.


It is amazing and wonderful that people are discussing these difficult issues. Please see the youtube video:

Discussion on Sexual Misconduct, Money, Power, Trauma, & Ethics in Spiritual Communities - BatGap

[www.youtube.com]


I'm going to finish watching this and take some notes. Perhaps I will bring in some of my notes on this thread.

Let's talk about it.

Please feel free to comment...let's ask questions and talk about the issues.

--Heather

Panel Discussion included Rick Archer, Jac O'Keeffe, Mariana Caplan, Craig Holliday, and Miranda Macpherson.

They start out the discussion noting the audience has both teachers and students, and that issues of ethical parameters in spiritual communities are prescient.

Rick Archer:

"How many here in the audience have actually served in the capacity of spiritual teacher in some way shape or form?"

Show of hands...

"quite a few...okay...!"


Mariana:

"I would be interested to know how many people have been impacted by trauma and unethical behaviour on the spiritual path?"

Rick:

"again...quite a few..."

[www.google.com]


[www.google.com]

Here's their website: [www.spiritual-integrity.org]

If you look at the code of ethics for spiritual teachers and the guidelines for students they've compiled, you'll see that just about all of the problems with spiritual teachers (and their students) that have been discussed here are covered.

It would be very helpful if spiritual teachers have a look at the code of ethics and declare if they agree with it and if they're planning on following it. Students should ask this of their teachers, and if the teachers refuse, the intelligent student will know enough and drop the teacher.

Obviously, many teachers have already violated ASI's code of ethics. If they want to clean up their act, they can start with committing to following the code from now on.

Hello all,

I watched this discussion clip just the other day after Zislz shared a link to it, it is all seems great though before I go dedicating myself to it as a trustworthy source I have to point something out, didn’t one of them mention following the hugging saint, Amma? who I understand is not without many persons who have been hurt deeply by her.

I know that Rick follows Amma already from watching previous bat gaps over the years.

It doesn’t cancel it entirely for me, it’s just a standout question.

I’m sure plenty of people can come and say to me that I am negatively biased etc, however I refuse to ignore the people who speak up in their experiences that are not the the same. There’s two sides to manipulation, I’ll see them both please.

Regulation is a wonderful thing, I hope things really take off. It’s a start which I feel is hopeful.

Ps: I did a quick search of this site just to check if my memory is correct on Amma, looks like there’s enough posted on that here too. This is just one of the effects it has on a persons sense of reality. If someone has experienced abuse by someone, then a body suddenly shows up for integrity in the field, though supports an abuser, then it’s a massive gaslight for any victim.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2020 09:32PM by facet.

Quote
facet
I know that Rick follows Amma already from watching previous bat gaps over the years.

That's right, but I seem to remember Rick acknowledging the problems with Amma in a recent interview (and maybe more interviews, I haven't seen most of them).

From a quick look at the google-searches Corboy posted, I get the impression that Mariana Caplan is compromised more seriously. I didn't look into it deeply so maybe I'm mistaken, but it seems that she still defends her spiritual teacher Marc Gafni against multiple accusations of sexual abuse.

If I search "Marc Gafni" in Google, the top result is a an ad (no doubt paid for by Gafni) that leads to an article on Gafni's site that tries to clear his name by portraying the allegations as a smear campaign. The author of that article uses quotes from a book written by Mariana Caplan about how "to differentiate legitimate claims against a teacher from a potential smear."

From what I gather from my quick look at this, Gafni has made many victims. If this is true, Mariana Caplan's presence in the Association for Spiritual Integrity seriously undermines the whole thing. Fortunately she's not a founding member though.

Edited to add: From skimming this text: [integral-options.blogspot.com]
it seems that Caplan wasn't just Gafni's student but also his partner, and they had a child together.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2020 11:19PM by zizlz.

I started researching Gafni because he is one more abusive guru endorsed over the years by Ken Wilber, who celebrates rude gurus.

Here are earlier CEI posts


[forum.culteducation.com]

Sheesh, somebody pass me the bin my hope on this is going in there.

I think what Rick and the ASI panel are attempting to do is admirable. They are trying to serve the community. They are well meaning people who want to open up the discussion for truth telling, strategies, and solutions. They have an ideal of what a spiritual community looks like. It's what we all want: opportunity to learn excellent teachings from trustworthy teachers within a body that is ethical and accountable. We all want community and connection. We all want a chance to be our better selves.

These ideals, as was set forth in their opening comments, is what attracted me to the discussion.

In my personal experience I am convinced there are no good spiritual teachers...not at all! I absolutely do not trust any human to guide or lead me in the right direction. I believe there are excellent teachings, but an ethical, moral, "enlightened" teacher doesn't exist.

My personal beliefs come from a history of extreme abuse by a "teacher".

What I think we need is a way to come together as a community and share spiritual teachings without a hierarchal structure.

I believe this is what the ASI group is attempting to do!

What attracted me to the discussion was the courage shown by the panel members and audience participants. A level playing field.

Since concerns over Mariana Caplan have come up here, I would invite Mariana to also comment. These new concerns (new to me at least) should be a part of the discussion. Not that it should be the focus of the ASI panel discussions--but could be addressed here.

Birds of a feather flock together

[youtu.be]


Amma & Co - Human Worshipping Organization Unlimited