Bangalore:
The investigation in the scandal seems to have opened a Pandora's Box. Witnesses who deposed before the CID have said that Swami Nithyananda not only sexually exploited his disciples but also subjected them to physical torture to draw sadistic pleasure.
One of the key witnesses who deposed before the CID sleuths revealed that Nithyananda used to beat up brahmacharis and brahmacharinis at the Bidadi ashram with his walking stick. The beatings were so severe that Nithyananda used to break many sticks on his disciples, stating that he was doing this to drive away any egos they had.
"Many disciples who were subjected to such abuse had trouble walking the next day, but they were ordered not to disclose anything since it was widely accepted as the master's way of removing Kama, and help progress spiritually," the chargesheet reads.
CID investigators have found that Nithyananda would tell them such action by an enlightened master is real punya and those getting beaten up by him should consider themselves fortunate, as it is also a Zen technique for enlightenment.
If his instructions were defied, the treatment would be in terms of verbal abuse, physical beating, public humiliation and spiritual demoting by removing or downgrading the sanyas level or cancelling personal service privilege.
The witness said that Nithyananda, while using her sexually, used to slap her many times. "He used to call me Daasi (slave), stating that by calling names, he is helping me shed my ego," she told the CID.
Nithyananda used one of his disciples for his sexual pleasure for around five years on the pretext of seeking spiritual enlightenment and had given her the title Maayi (mother).
"When she asked him how can he call her Maayi when they have a physical relationship, Nithyananda clarified that mother and wife are two dimensions of a woman. When she was taking care of him, she would be considered as mother and when they were physically intimate, she would be treated as his beloved wife," a CID official said.
Nithyanada explained to her that Hindu gods portrayed with two wives were in fact representing the mother and beloved energy of the same woman.
In April, officials recovered a CD with visuals of the swami using wildlife products. These included a tiger pelt, skin of a leopard, spotted deer and a wild dog.