Bhakti Marga (religious community)

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Bhakti Marga ( Sanskrit , "way of devotion, Bhakti ") is a Hindu-syncretistic religious community based in Springen (Heidenrod) in the Taunus . It is directed by Mahadeosingh Komalram, who is venerated by his followers as Paramahamsa Swami Vishwananda.

Bhakti Marga propagates:

criticism

Various newspapers in Switzerland (Tagesanzeiger, Basellandschaftliche Zeitung) reported that Guru Vishwananda stole relics from 25 churches and monasteries with two women who were his disciples.

There are known allegations of abuse by previous followers of the guru's homosexual activities with students, etc. a. Brahmacharis of his organization. Sect representatives of the EZW are aware of this and have reported sexual assault, ranging from voluntary consent and forced obedience to rape. This led to the dissolution of his organization's national branches in the US and UK in 2008.

Vishwananda refers to various traditions that he claims to represent. He claims to be in the tradition of Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya and to carry out initiations in their name. Officials of the Sri Vaishnava, however, state that he is not authorized to teach in the name of this tradition. An online petition has been launched to remove the term 'Sri Vaishnava' from the Bhakti Margas website.

Vishwananda also pretended to be the bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. Bhakti Marga, for example, maintains a chapel in the Russian Orthodox style in Springen, which also contains a box with relics. In fact, Vishwananda was originally ordained as Priest Michael by the Apostolic Orthodox Church (AOC). In the meantime, however, he has been excommunicated by the mother church, the Catholic Orthodox Apostolic Church (COAC).

On March 17, 2018, Bhakti Marga carried out a group chanting in the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial , which led to political protests in advance.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bhakti Marga opens spiritual center in Springen / Taunus. Website of the Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauung questions. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  2. ↑ Om Chanting website of Bhakti Marga. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  3. ↑ Tagesanzeiger.ch in the Internet archive : 'Bones stolen in churches'. November 8, 2010, accessed November 29, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauung questions: Bhakti Marga opens spiritual center in Springen / Taunus. Retrieved November 29, 2019 .
  5. ↑ EZW: Bhakti Marga under criticism. Retrieved August 16, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Swami Vishwananda's website : Sri Vaishnava Acharya. Retrieved August 16, 2020 .
  7. ^ Website change.org : Remove Sri Vaishnava reference in Paramahamsa Vishwananda's web site. Retrieved August 16, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Website COAC : Notification for Europe. Retrieved August 16, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Neo-Hindu ritual in the Buchenwald memorial website of the Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauung questions. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  10. ↑ Spiritual group wants to "heal" the concentration camp memorial with ritual . In: Die Welt , accessed on October 28, 2019.