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| Jed Geyerhahn References: |
[1]: Reference One: http://members.tripod.com/~dlane5/saiessay.html
My Sai history
By Jed Geyerhahn JGeyerhahn@aol.com
First published May, 1997, on THE NEURAL SURFER:
My Sai history is what would really be compelling about my word against Sai Baba. I have received 3 rings, many interviews and lots of personal attention. I was a very close friend of Hal Honig, an aquaintence to Sam Sandweiss and others. These names may not be familiar to you, but they are prominant names in Sai circles. My aunt is Elizabeth Elwell, a well known Bhajan teacher, who lived in the Puttaparti Ash Ram for 9 years, and is still active in the organization in New Hampshire. I have rings, a pictures of me with baba, and could get more witness accounts of sleight of hand. As I said, I just need to get this stuff together, and I am very excited for this oppurtunity...
My first witness account of sleight of hand was in Brindaven. I saw Baba come out of the personal interview room and sit down. As he was sitting there, I noticed a large gold watch under his small hand, which he was unsuccesfully trying to hide. A moment later he made the familiar circular motion with his hand as if he were materialising the object, and then gave a student the watch. On another occasion, I saw Sai Baba reach between the cushions of hischair for something, and then moments later he made the circular motion and showed everyone a small container filled with vibhuti, the gray ash. I then noticed that behind the cushion in his chair there was something shiny, and he paid careful attention to correct the position of the cushion to hide the object. Another time I saw him take a worn bracelet from a man, then with his hand cupped blew on it three times at the same time moving his hand up and down. On the final movement, he tossed the chain into the side of his chair so it slid down between the inside of the chairs large arm and his leg. He then discreetly took took something from his other hand and made the circular motion and gave the man a new bracelet. What is really funny about that situation is that Sai Baba forgot to take the old bracelet from his chair when he left, so when he got up, there it lay in plain view for everyone in the room. A student I was with, and who was very devoted to Baba, picked it up and looked at it, confirming that it was the old bracelet. When Baba returned and noticed his mistake, he scolded this student, who was sitting right at the foot of Baba's chair and could not miss the bracelet. Then Baba sat and in a flash picked up the bracelet and very discreetly tossed it into the outside upper corner of the arm of the chair. There were no visible pockets there, but there is a very large seem, and the arms of the chair are huge enough to store lots of things.
It is also well known that prominant figures in the Indian government make fairly frequent stops to visit with Sai Baba, including the president of India. (I was in India when the president came to visit Sai Baba. When this happens there is huge comotion and Indians crowd darshan to see the president, not Sai Baba). The students also know that Sai is a hoax, that he does not materialise a thing. However, they are getting a very inexpensive education, so they keep there mouths shut. The student I talked with most, would not tell me other things that he knew, but I am sure that it had to do with the students who spent the night with Baba. I know this because this is where he would no longer answer my questions. Everyone knows that Sai Baba has students spend the night with him. They stay up to "serve" him at night. It's a very well kept secret as to how they serve Sai Baba, but little will come out because no student wants to be kicked out of Sai Baba's school. As stated, they are receiving a very good educations there, very inexpensively. I say very inexpensively because many believe it to be free, but this is not the case. Students pay for room and board, which to many is rather expensive. The education part is free, but there are bills.
This brings me to my very questionable experiences with Sai Baba. On my second trip to Sai Baba I had four interviews. Each time I saw Baba, his hand would gradually make more prominant connections to my groin. The first interview was a slight swipe, the second a definite touch and the third time he grabbed me and with a very stern face looked me directly in the eye and said "you are very weak!" Needless to say, he scared and embarassed me. I was guilt ridden to have sexual passion, though I was a healthy 16 year old boy, a testosterone machine. I was not going to talk to anyone about the experience. In the final interview he asked me to take my pants down. I was totally confused, so he took them down for me. He then made vibhutti and rubbed it on my genitals. On my third trip, he did the same thing, but rubbed oil on my genitals. Fortunately, I was never taken advantage of any worse, but I was humiliated when I realised his true intentions, and I felt I had really lost an innocence that I would have cherished keeping.
When I finally did talk about what happened to me, the first two reactions were to never speak of it with others because the whole thing would be taken out of context and misconstrued. Then I talked to others my own age and they told me of similiar experiences. I even heard terrible stories of children who would meet with Sai Baba twice a week to play "sex games" and the like. Oral sex and masturbation were common in these meetings. Many of my own friends told me about attempts by Sai Baba to touch them, but they wouldn't let him. I need to really put this together better, but this is a sketch of what I have. Any comments would be helpful, and you can do what you like with any of this material. You can also post my email address for anyone who like to contact me (JGeyerhahn@aol.com). I would be very greatful to talk with any X-devotees who have had similiar experieces with Sai Baba. It might encourage me to get this all together quicker, and they might help me put something larger together.
Sincerely,
Jed |
[2]: Reference Two: BBC Radio
BBC Radio 4 - Sunday 19th November 2000 - 7:30am
This is Sunday on BBC Radio 4; the time is now just after 7.33 am …
"He then abused my stepson, so I then knew that these stories I'd been told by the students were true. The students turned to me, and said 'Please sir, will you go back to England and help us?'
(Five minutes of other stories...)
We’ll return now to a story we reported on two weeks ago about serious allegations of sexual abuse made against Sai Baba, the popular leader of a religious organisation in India, who claims to have up to 50 million followers around the world. A campaign waged on the Internet by disillusioned former devotees is seeking to warn families of the dangers they face when visiting the Sai Baba Organisation. The allegations are hotly disputed.
Stephen Perry investigates, in this week's special report:
Sai Baba is one of the most revered gurus in India and has a following that is estimated to be between 10 and 50 million. Most of the devotees are from India, but many travel from the United Kingdom, United States and the rest of the world, in the hope of being granted an interview with the man who claims he is the reincarnation of a revered saint, Shirdi Sai Baba who died in 1918.
He is himself now worshipped as a god, an Avatar.
"I know that Baba is my saviour. I know that Baba is within me. I know that Baba will direct me. I know that Baba will protect me. I love you father. I need you Father Sai Baba."
"I believed that he was the Avatar, and I believed also specifically that he'd called me to be close to him and to be a follower of his, so I felt that there were divine forces at work in bringing me to him, and in giving me a new direction in my life."
Jed Geyerhan from Massachusetts in the United States was close to his 16th birthday when he first met Sai Baba a few years ago. Jed had travelled with his aunt to the ashram in Puttaparthi in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
In 1997 Mick Brown, the Daily Telegraph journalist, joined the 10,000 or so who regularly gathered at the small town that been formed to accommodate devotees at the Sai Baba Centre. He was there to conduct research for his book 'The Spiritual Tourist.' He became aware of the wide embrace of the leaders' influence.
"Sai Baba is without question, the most important and the most significant religious figure in India. He's also a very significant political figure in India, and his followers have included previous Prime Ministers and the present Prime Minister. Among the board of trustees of his ashram are senior politicians, former politicians, members of the judiciary, senior members of the armed forces... so on and so forth. So he is a very estimable figure in Indian public life, and a very powerful figure actually in the Hindu nationalist movement in India."
David Bailey, a concert pianist from North Wales…
(David’s music plays behind David as he speaks for a few seconds).
"When I got to India to see him, there was a fantastic moment in my life, because I believed that I was in the presence of a very great being. He was claiming to be God on earth... At that moment when I saw him... There was a huge welling up of an energy... I can only say, of love. It was a moment that made me think - am I here on earth at the same time as another figure like Jesus? "
David Bailey found favour with Sai Baba and was asked to play at music festivals in India and around the world on his behalf. He says he was granted over a hundred private interviews with the guru. Most devotees are lucky to have one such opportunity. But he claims when young students started coming up to him with tales of how they had been sexually abused, he became troubled.
"He then abused my stepson, so I then knew that the stories I'd been told were true. The students turned to me, and said "Please sir, will you go back to England and help us?"
This he did, and set up a website on the Internet, and he began to publish testimonies by those who alleged they'd been molested by Sai Baba.
What has emerged is a pattern of behaviour by the guru, leading on to sexual abuse of devotees. On his first visit to the ashram, Jed Geyerhan had several interviews with Sai Baba in the company of his aunt. At the third, he was invited into a private room, alone.
"He actually grabbed my groin direct through my clothes and in that interview he asked me to take my pants down and he materialised this grey ash called vibhuti and rubbed the vibhuti on the side of my groin."
Two years later he went back and was granted a further interview.
"But looking for some sort of explanation as to what these sexual experiences were. He asked me what I wanted and I said "I want your love" and he took it completely wrong and sort of just peculiarly advanced his body towards me and said "you know I'm all yours, take me." ah .. you know "take me" but not .. ah .. sort of in any sort of spiritual way but looking at me in a flirtatious way."
With Jed it went no further than that, but another American family who wish to remain anonymous, claimed Sai Baba had oral sex with their son and attempted to rape him. The boy's father was at the time an important official within the organisation in the United States. He himself, at the age of 18 had had similar experiences to those of Jed Geyerhan.
"What happened many years later to my son, proved to me that really what had happened to me was just the initial part of what Sai Baba does, and that it seems that that's the way he starts out with boys.
When we began questioning our son we found out that in fact Baba had been forcing him to engage in more intimate sexual behaviour than we had ever known about and when our son would refuse, Baba would get angry, and he would say "oh, you don't like me and so I'm never talking to you and your family again." and her son would say "oh please Baba don't - I .. I do love you, but not like that."
We contacted the Sai Baba Organisation in India but a senior official there made it clear they were not willing to talk to the BBC.
Ashok Baganni, a trustee of the UK organisation vigorously denies there is any substance to the allegations, and so has the anointing of the genitals of young men by Sai Baba was out of the question.
"It is not acceptable in any form of language and this sort of behaviour does not agree with spirituality. You know, Sai Baba is a spiritual leader and I can tell you categorically this sort of thing doesn't happen there. These are disgruntled people. They may have been previously Sai Baba devotees, but they are disgruntled, with an axe to grind and I welcome anyone to contact me if they've got a serious allegation, and errr ... We will talk to them."
Steen Piculeli, the Sai Baba organisation co-ordinator in the Russian speaking countries, speaking from Copenhagen in a personal capacity, says the allegations are sheer madness. But he does believe the stroking of the male genitals can be acceptable in India.
"Gurus have always, as part of their job, put some oil on the er .. upper.. er ... Part of their ... Right hand and g .. ... and gone down in the chakra be .. be .. behind the testicles to er .. er .. . adjust the .. chakra there. This is a normal thing. And this I suppose Baba has also done because this is part of his job. That's all."
and Steen Piculeli dismisses those who are organising the campaign against Baba as representing no more than a divine test, sent by God.
"Of course, they're playing the role of Judas or the 'doubtful Thomas.' I mean that they are picked to play this role, from a .. a .. d…divine play. The time of Jesus, with the doubt for Thomas, with the Judas, is repeating itself now, in this time. And they're doing a perfect... job, and Baba knows only the best ones to pick out for that ..
To date, no one making the allegations against Sai Baba has attempted to prosecute him. Mick Brown thinks the guru is in some measure invulnerable in his own country.
"I think there is a degree to which Sai Baba is a law unto himself, if you like. I think it's probably very hard for anyone to make these allegations in India, because he is a figure of... held in such high esteem."
With legal action unlikely, Jed Geyerhan and the many others who made the allegations of indecent assault and abuse of trust, are limiting themselves to warning others against following a path.
"My motive at this point is just sort of continue down that road trying to get as many people to know about it as possible, and realise that there's something terribly wrong here."
Jed Geyerhan ending that report by Stephen Perry. |
[3]: Reference Three: Seduced Documentary
225 00:35:38:07 00:35:45:06
One of the accusers lives in Boston. His mother is a fervent follower of Baba, and he was too for six years. (JED GEYERHAHN) In 1989 when I was 15 years old I went to India for three weeks. And on that trip I had four interviews. And in the third interview he actually asked me to untie my pants. And he forcibly pulled my pants down and with his bare hand grabbed my groin and rubbed some oil on the side of my scrotum. And I went again on the following year, and on that trip when I was 16 years old, SB called me again for a private interview. At that point I was even actually more uncomfortable because it seemed like this had already taken place, there is no reason why it needed to take place again. But he asked me to take my pants down. I did and he went on and produced an oily substance and rubbed it on the side of my scrotum.
226 00:36:34:10 00:36:38:15
According to Jed Geyerhahn, he is far from being the only one. (JED GEYERHAHN) I have talked with students at SB’s school and they have had sexual relationships with SB. And it’s really common knowledge that several students stay with SB all night on an ongoing basis. And of course nobody talks about what takes place with these students with SB, but from the students I’ve talked to (it’s) clear that there are sexual relationships taking place. And in fact one student I talked to directly was a person that was staying with SB. And from the conversation it was clear that it was very difficult for him to come forward with this information, because he’d be rejected by his family and by his culture and by his people, unlike American students who have the support of their culture and society and family. They come forward and talk about the fact that they have been mistreated by SB. |
[4]: Reference Four: http://members.tripod.com/~dlane5/saidebate.html
From JGeyerhahn@aol.com Thu May 22 00:10:10 1997
Dear [deleted for confidentaility]:
I have a ring just like the one you describe. You ought to take it to a jeweler to tell you if the diamonds are real. I can assure they are not. Real diamonds are far too expensive, and I can assure you that they were bought. If Sai Baba were really materialising these rings, why wouldn't he
materialise diamonds? He told me that they're diamonds.
I'm not going to tell you that my experiences with Sai Baba were not terribly moving and often wonderful. His public agenda in India is equally as impressive. Sai Baba is, however, human. Most unfortunately he is using his popularity and power to fulfill his craving for young boys. I'm very curious as to what you have heard. I have described my experiences in the letters I wrote to Dave, so I won't repeat them.
I started to question Sai Baba during college largely because my life as a devotee was unfulfilling, and the aspects of my life that were fulfilling,
had little to do with being a devotee. I realised that being a devotee of
Sai Baba made me feel like I was someone extra special, especially with all
the attention from other devotees and Sai Baba himself. The problem was, I
was not happy being so special, and it became clear to me that being so
special allowed me to hide from the real issues in life that were making me
unhappy. So I went about making the changes in my life that made me feel a
whole lot better, even though it meant that I had to stop following Sai
Baba's teachings and follow my own reasoning, and, to an extent, the
promptings of our western culture. These things included having a
girlfriend, whom I loved dearly, enjoying food, talking to people regularly,
and allowing myself to joke and have fun and not be a super spiritual
advanced soul that devotees and Sai Baba encouraged me to be. These simple
pleasures in life made me happy, and they are precisely the pleasures, i.e.
the fulfilling of desires, Sai Baba wants us to starve. I tried, but I was
miserable, and I couldn't take it any longer. I could no longer believe that
life was all illusion, because it meant that love wasn't real, that the good
that I found in the world wasn't real. If that was the case, I didn't want
to live any more.
On my final trip to Sai Baba, I sort of anticipated his commenting on my changes, or somehow receiving some instruction on what I should do next. What I found was that Sai Baba was clueless. In interviews I gave him several oppurtunities to talk to me, but he just asked me questions that were
way off base. I guess I was sort of testing Sai Baba to see if he really had
any idea what had and was going on with me, and he hadn't a clue. It was
clear to me that I just didn't need him, and that his teachings weren't
working for me. He did ask me "What do you want?", and I responded "I want
your love". This was misconstrued by him. He sort of moved his body closer
to me all smiles and said, "Here I am, take me." If Sai Baba had known me,
he would have said with a tender face, "Jed, I love you". What came out was
something like, "Jed, here's my body." It was disgusting to see that his
intentions were really selfish. Amongst all this, it became clear to me that
he used sleight of hand. This was very upsetting, but if I had the
impression that Sai Baba actually loved me, it would have been tolerable. I
then also put my previous encounters of Sai Baba touching me into the context
of Sai Baba not being divine, and I became disgusted and very hurt.
Sai Baba has been tender and loving to me in person. This was how I, and
many others, became attached to him. But the way of life he advises is
cruel. When you begin to see that he is not divine, it puts so much more
into question. When you then approach him as a being that is not divine and
is without power over you, it is apparent that he doesn't have that power.
He really sort of squirmed in front of me when I looked at him straight on
in the private interview room and waited for him to tell me what was going
on. He just had no idea, and we both new it. When he asked his typical sort
of questions like what are you studying, what do you want to do, I didn't
tell him and his guesses were way off the mark. He asked me what was wrong
and I didn't respond. He then said "You have spiritual problems." This is a
typically vague remark that he makes that could be taken as right on. But
really, who doesn't go to Sai Baba that couldn't be said to have spiritual
problems? Isn't that the point? It sounds good in retrospect, and it may
even sound like Sai Baba knew what was going on then, but I needed to here
something more specific so that I knew he knew what was happening to me. At
the moment, spiritual matters weren't on my mind, the only thing on my mind
was that I no longer trusted him. He probably should have known that I was
questioning him from the tone of the conversation, but he said nothing of it.
He just wrapped the whole thing up quickly and we were out of there.
Another thing he always says to people is, "You have problems with your
mother". Now, who does not have some problem with their mother?!
Writing these letters is a big help to me because every time I think about
the whole experience I remember and record more espects of the whole ordeal.
I will later take these letters and really organise the whole thing for
Lane's websight, and one day my own web page. I would love any comments of
yours or further questions. This sort of correspondece is fun and fulfilling
for me, so don't feel your bugging me or anything.
Just so you know, I am now 24. I was a devotee from ages 14-20. I have a degree from Fordham University in philosophy.
Sincerely,
Jed R. Geyerhahn |
[5]: Reference Five: http://members.tripod.com/~dlane5/saidebate.html
From JGeyerhahn@aol.com Thu May 22 23:58:56 1997
Dear Bon Giovanni,
Your comments are very helpful. It would be best that I relate my own experience and be more specific about that experience. My own experience, without the stories I heard from others, was enough to convince me to leave Sai Baba. However, when I have heard the allegations of others, my
experience has made it easy for me to believe them.
The letter you responded to was emotionally charged. I am furious with Sai Baba and with Sai Devotees. My experience with Sai Baba is very upsetting to me.
I am very happy that you are couciling people to not hide such experiences.
Yes, at the time this was very embarassing, because I felt that Sai Baba was
unhappy with me, and that was embarrassing. It was also embarassing that I
had sexual desire. Sai Baba denounces sexual desire, and I was working hard
to rid of it. Now it does not bother me because I know that it was natural
that I had sexual desire, and I see that it wasn't out of the ordinary. I
see that Sai Baba wanted to make me feel that I was bad and embarrassed for
having normal youth sexual desire, by doing this I would be embarassed to
relate the means by which he told me this. However, it seems to me there
could have been a less scandalous way of telling me that I had sexual
passion. Now I understand that he wanted to touch and look at me.
I didn't keep Sai Baba from touching me because I trusted him and believed
that his intentions were good. During these situations I was confused
because I felt that he was breaking that trust, however I had faith, and I
seem to have let him do as he pleased. I realise his true intentions now,
because I see that there is something very strange about the situation. With
all Sai Baba's supposed powers, he could have done whatever he needed to do
to me without touching or exposing me. I realise his intentions when I see
that he is not divine, and that he is human. (This I realised when I saw him
use sleight of hand, on occasions I've named in other letters on or soon to
be on the web page, and when I realised he did not know my thoughts in
occasions described in letters on the web page). We don't wonder what the
intentions are of someone we don't trust when he asks a youth to pull down
his pants to touch him. I don't trust Sai Baba because I found he lies about
his powers and who he is. I realise his intentions when I think about the
time that it seemed very strange to me that Sai Baba was breathing very
heavily as he pulled me close to hug and then kiss him. He turned his head
for me to kiss him on the cheak, but it was nonethless very awkward to me,
and I had never heard of and was not prepared for such situations.
I was never erect with Sai Baba and I never ejaculated. I also did not check
him out, and I'm glad I wasn't thinking to. I don't think that this is
necessary to discern this situation. I disagree that Sai Baba has to have
been "all hot and heavy pawning at the boy like some street hooker." The
fact is that what his intentions were is not even necessary to pinoint Sai
Baba's wrongdoing. Sai Baba exposed and touched a minor without the
discression of his gaurdian. This is a crime. I wish I still had that
innocence.
The question of my consenting is more complicated. I would say that I did not consent, but I must admit that I didn't try to stop him. Sai Baba did not ask if he could touch me, and I did not consent to taking my pants down.
I didn't fight him off, which perhaps I should have, but that would have
been sort of strange to see a boy running out of Sai Baba's room fighting him
off. The main point is that anyone that understands the guru devotee
relationship knows that saying no to the guru is not an option. To that
extent, I certainly did not consent. Given the choice at the time, I would
not have wanted Sai Baba to touch or expose me if it could have been avoided.
It seems to me this whole argument hinges on whether Sai Baba is divine or not. If he is divine, I am completely discredited. If he is divine then his intentions could only be good and this fiasco is some lesson to me. For, I
am certainly not divine and far too human. If Sai Baba is fallable, i.e.
human, than my story should sound very suspicious. Perhaps on my final trip
I had decided that Sai Baba was human and that is exactly what I saw. This
does not seem to me a very good argument. I may be convinced that a circle
is square, but that does not make a circle square. This is similiarly a
question of truth.
I will not expose those who told me to keep my mouth shut. They know who they are, and your advice to them affirms their error.
The truth is what matters, I'm glad we are agreed on that. I should have been less emotional and gossipy in my first letter. You want to discredit me for this, the reader can decide for his or herself.
As a note: I am concerned that I did not receive all of part one of the
letter. I have until the 5th paragraph "Jed shoed in his letter w..." and
noting more until the beginning of part two. Would you please foward me
anything I might have missed.
Regards,
Jed R. Geyerhahn |
[6]: Reference Six: http://members.tripod.com/~dlane5/saiessay.html
Author: Jed Geyerhahn
Publisher: The NEURAL SURFER
Publication date: May 1997
Dear Prof. Lane,
I was a Sai Devotee for about 4 years. In that time I had several interviews with Sai Baba. On my final trip to Sai Baba, I began to question his philosophy and powers. On that trip, among other things, I examined closely the proscess which he "materialised" objects. It soon became clear to me that he used sleight of hand. He hides rings between cushions, etc. It is not hard to recognise, if you want to see the truth in the situation. I soon left the organisation. I am interested in finding more people like myself.
Unfortunately I had experiences similar to those described by Tal Brooke. I have unsuccesfully tried to contact him. Do you have any advice for me?
Regards,
Jed Geyerhahn |
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El texto del corte y la pasta para traducir - Le texte de coupure et pâte pour traduire.
Schnitt und Pastentext, zu übersetzen. - Il testo di taglio e pasta di tradurre.
O corte e texto de pasta traduzir. |
I am in no way associated with the Sai Organization, nor do I belong to any Sai Group/Center. I alone decided to make these pages with no external prompting or guidance. All the material on these pages are the sole and original opinions of me, Gèrald Morèno. Copyright 2004: This page may be duplicated and distributed freely, as long as it is done so in its entirety or you may quote from it as long as you provide a link back to this page and you inform me of the site on which it is being placed. Other uses are prohibited. Please feel free to Contact Me to make suggestions or comments. |
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