Normal life after Sanatan Ashram Ponda

I always wonder how will I spend the rest of my life post Sanatan Ashram Ponda? Sanastan Sanstha has filled my mind with a lot of junk. It is but natural. They controlled my mind to such an extent that for many years, I could not think of anything else.

Now, I have forsaken Sanatan Sanstha and the twisted logic of Dr Jayant Athavale.

I left behind my family, my relatives, my friends and social groups to immerse myself in spiritual pursuit. That was a mirage. I was sucked into a whirlpool of deceit.

I am coming out of it. My family is pulling me out of it.

But, I find it difficult to connect. The effects of hypnotism practiced by Sanatan Sanstha are yet to wear off. I feel like a hangover, a hangover one gets after a heavy dose of drugs.

Days pass before I can do anything. I fell so empty headed sometimes. I ask my husband (relationship yet not clear) to stay with me and not go out. My daughter always spends all her free time with me. They don't allow me to feel unwanted.

I have to shake off this feeling. I have to get out of the comfort zone. I have to break out of my shell. I have to start rebuilding my life.

I have to mend broken dreams and mend broken relationships.

Can I do it?

Yes, I can and I will.

I will not allow Dr Jayant Athavale to have control over my life, I will not allow Sanatan Sanstha to dictate to me - ever again.

Sanatan Sanstha welcomes my family

Sanatan Sanstha is keeping me so busy with different sevas that I appear to have lost count of time. I no longer remember the date or the day. There are no calendars around Sanatan Sanstha Ashram and it was really difficult to keep track of time. I had a mobile with me but I used it very sparingly, checking on it only once a day or so.

My husband visits Sanatan Sanstha

Anyhow, after about a week, I think, my husband finally came to see me at the Sanatan Sanstha Ashram. He had called the previous day to confirm if I am available. I was very excited about the visit as I would be seeing my daughter after almost a month. I could not sleep that night.

I took special care that day and woke up early at around 4 am. As per our daily schedule, we would wake up at 5 am and start the day with prayers and chanting. I woke up an hour early to thank my Guru; Dr Jayant Athavale. He had made this visit possible otherwise my husband would have never visited Sanatan Ashram Ponda. Now, he would feel the Chaitanya of the ashram and would understand my work. He would accept the sanstha totally and allow me to continue my good work and start supporting Sanatan. Maybe, he would also join me in the sanstha. I was a little bit worried that he would lose his temper and create a scene there.

Sanatan Sanstha prepares for the visit

I was assured by Sanatan Sanstha that he would not be able to force me back to my home. They counselled me that he would not join the sanstha though I wished for it. He was a total non-believer and would never support me. The sadhaks reminded me of the insults he had uttered against the sanstha. this was not correct, he had never insulted me or the sanstha, he had only opposed it. But I could not bring myself to reveal this to them. They were not willing to listen to me. They drummed up several accusations against my husband and they did it just before his visit.

I was also asked to make him wait for at least an hour before meeting him.

Sanatan Sanstha appeared to be instigating me very purposefully. I had no other option but to follow their instructions. After all, I could not think logically anymore.

As per their instructions, I made him wait for more than an hour before meeting him. I refused to meet him alone and insisted that a sadhak remain present with me always. I was very surprised to see him alone, I was expecting my daughter. He did not offer any explanations. The sadhak, I don’t remember his name, started by explaning to my husband the reasons for my flight. He heaped accusations on my husband and called him many vile names. As per the instructions, I also got into the act and accused him of gross negligence.

He was silent through-out the tirade, he did not utter anything in his defence. In fact, he was very calm and composed. Even when I refused to come back with him, he did not argue with me and neither did he cajole me to come back. After about an hour or so, another sadhak offered to show him around Sanatan Ashram Ponda. He only requested me to accompany him. I agreed as I was also emotionally drained and wanted to see his reactions. The tour ended in 10-15 minutes as he was not at all interested. I took him to the Dyan Mandir as I knew that he spent a considerable time in meditation even at home. After a couple of minutes, he left me and reached the Swagat Kaksh of Sanatan Ashram Ponda on his own.

I followed him downstairs but, in order to avoid spending time with him alone, I took another lady sadhak with me. He did not utter any words and I was waiting to see a positive reaction from him, one that would indicate that he had accepted my decision and had changed his attitude towards Sanatan Sanstha. There were no expressions on his face; neither of happiness, acceptance or even sadness. He handed me some clothes and some money. I felt like refusing him but I had little option. I was running out of money and I had no clothes of my own. He enquired about my health and asked me to take care of myself. He would always be behind me and would help me in all possible manner.

I felt like crying when he said this because I knew that he would keep his promise no matter what sacrifices he had to make. I told him that I just wanted to meet my daughter and if he could bring her to visit the ashram. He expressed some reservations about bringing her.

The visit was an anti-climax. I had tried my level best to provoke him into a fight. I had tried all my old tactics, but he refused to have a fight. Sanatan Sanstha had also provoked him and insulted him in front of me yet he refused to lose his temper. It appears that this round went to him, he succeeded and I failed. I was now afraid that Sanatan would take out their ire on me.

But for me, it was

Broken Dreams and Broken lives.

How can you save Sanatan Sanstha?

• ·         The first step in Sanatan Sanstha’s inoculation campaign is to identify gullible people like me. People who has a holier than thou approach towards themselves – like me. I was so full of myself, so taken up by my vision of the world and my exalted position in it. They start slow. The first step is to attract spiritual persons or people with a spiritual bend of mind. We attend satsangs and are told to pray for the well-being of the nation.
• ·         The second step is now to reinforce this bond. They concentrate on Hindu Dharma or Sanatan Dharma. The attacks on Hindus are highlighted. The situation in the country and the prosecution of Hindus are discussed. Followers are encouraged to speak about the atrocities. Their website is full of such articles. I remember once when riding my two-wheeler, I dashed against a person from another community and he abused me. I spoke about this in one of the satsangs and the other sadhaks treated this as an attacked on a poor Hindu woman. I also started believing this.
• ·         Sanatan Sanstha knows that the bond is still weak. They now concentrate on my mind. They talk about the guru and gurushisha parampara. The importance of guru for spiritual upliftment is stressed repeatedly. “Saints” now join in for the discourses. The header of the main page of the website shows an image of a discipline offering respects to his guru.
• ·         I am asked to do naamjap, the sanstha says that naamjap – taking the name of Gods is different from meditation. Naamjap yields results. I believe them. Today, I know that meditation and naamjap are same as per Hindu Shastra; as per Hindu Dhrama. Sanatan wants to differentiate itself and hence shows that both are different.
• ·         Stickers with Gods and Goddesses’ names are purchased by me. I stick them all around my home. I think of the sanstha all throughout the day. This leads to the first conflict with my husband. Broken Dreams and Broken Relationships. A crack is formed; waiting to be exploited.
• ·         My family, my home, my fort no longer appeal to me. I think Sanatan Sanstha, I dream about my Guru and all my actions are dictated by the sanstha.
• ·         The focus now shifts from attacks on Hindu Dharma to attacks on Sanatan Sanstha. I am asked to do naamjap at different times. Someone phones me and informs me that evil spirits will be attacking the sanstha at a particular time. I can save the sanstha through my bhakti. I have done naamjap several times during nights, waking up at 2 am, 3 am or even not sleeping throughout the night. I became so habituated that I used to get up at 4 a.m. to do naamjap for many years.

The sanstha has gained control of my mind. I am no longer thinking rationally. I am their slave. I am a sadhak. I belong to Santan Sanstha.

Sanatan Sanstha – Propagating Myths

Mythological Santan Sanstha

Sanatan Sanstha has propagated several myths, all aimed at creating a distinct image about it. They use all resources at their hand. They produce newsletters – Sanatan Prabhat, Weeklies, fortnightlies, and monthlies. These are available in different languages – Marathi is the main language, but these are available in Hindi, Gujarati as well as Kannada. They conduct satsangs at all their kendras and upkendras. These are spread across mainly Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Gujarat. Satsangs are a good medium to propagate myths, Santan Sanstha has a docile and captive audience. They also conduct sabhas, dharmavargs and balsanskar vargs. They have a good presence across social media, they are on FaceBook, they are on Twitter and other social platforms. Their sadhaks – followers, write several blogs, they use their own Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote the sanstha.

Why are myths important to Sanatan Sanstha?

Sanatan Sanstha projects a bigger image than the reality through myths. It has created an Aura around itself; a sort of a halo under which many non-religious activities can flourish. A sanstha can operate only if it gets financial support. Dr. Jayant Athavale knows this, his spiritual aim is to create a name for himself. He wants his name to be written in history books, possible only through financial backing. Possible only if he can build an army of followers.

The second myth is about spirituality. The sanstha wants to show that it is providing spiritual education. It has been established to show the path for spiritual upliftment. Such lofty ideals, such lofty objectives. Their activities; their website, the satsangs, the dharmavargs and the periodicals propagate this myth. This provides them with a steady flow of manpower – in terms of followers, financial backing – donations, advertisements, government aid.

The third myth and equally important is that they are the underdogs. We, Hindus, get united when we see Hindu institutions being attacked. We rally ourselves behind such an organization; that time we do not look at the faces behind the veil. This is important to bind the sadhaks to a common cause and equally important to bind in such a manner that they stick together. Sanatan Sanstha uses the tag of attacks to rally their forces behind them. Do they lead from the front? No, not at all, the guru; Dr. Jayant Athavale remains behind the veil, behind the protective cover. The sadhaks are in the forefront. They carry the baton; the guru wants only the fruits.

The fourth myth is about invincibility. They cannot be touched by anybody. To the followers – sadhaks; they say that the guru is protecting them (Should it not be GOD? For the sanstha, the guru is everything). Any small incident is blown out of proportion. They hold demonstrations in front of police stations and hold dharnas. They give memorandum to the police, the collector and any other politician and publish the photos and articles in media as well as their website.

Sanatan Sanstha creates an impact:

There are several such myths. I have taken only those that were used to influence me and to convince me that Sanatan Sanstha is under attack. Yes, you are right. The focus has now shifted from attacks on Hindu Dharma to attacks on Sanatan Sanstha. This is drilled into my mind, the sanstha is under attack.

Do something to save it. You can do something to save it. You can save Sanatan Sanstha.

Why does Sanatan Sanstha follow you?

Sanatan Sanstha enters your mind

The slow burning candle technique uses another strategy, one perfected by Sanatan Sanstha. They need to control your mind as well as your body. I am attracted by the sanstha and its preaching, I feel attracted and attached to them. The next step by Dr. Jayant Athavale is to reinforce these feelings and imprint them strongly in my mind. Again, the start is slow, remember time is on their side.

They have these harmless slips of paper with the names of Gods and Goddesses. I am told to stick them on all the walls of my home and look at them while doing everyday chores. Very harmless but very effective. Dr. Athavale has not missed a single trick in human psychology. He is really an expert in this field. He should use such knowledge for the good of people, instead he is misusing it on people like me and destroying our lives. Broken Dreams and Broken Relationships. What did he attain by breaking my life, my home, my peace of mind?

Why did he break me?

Slips of paper to slip in your mind

Yes, that is right. I purchased these slips of paper and stuck them all across my home. Their cost was very small I thought and the amount was insignificant. These slips of paper were everywhere, in all rooms except washrooms. I always looked at them throughout the day and whenever I used to look at them, I used to think of Sanatan Sanstha, Dr. Jayant Athavale and the sadhaks.

Mind control, nothing but pure mind control.

I had the first serious difference of opinion with my husband. He objected to them, he said that they spoilt the look of the home. It made him feel awkward. He asked me to remove them. I felt bad, very bad. My husband could not even tolerate such small things; he could not even understand me and did not even try to understand me? How could I call him a life partner?

I ran to Sanatan Sanstha and asked for their advice. I still remember the day, the time and the conversation. A senior person, we called them saints -  Sanatan Sanstha has already many saints, more than 60, advised me. She told me very strongly that the small and insignificant slips were already doing their work.

Tamasic forces at work

The saint -  I will not name her, said that they were attacking the tamasic nature of my husband. He was a tamasic person though on the face of it, he was also into spirituality and appeared to be religious minded. The names were creating an Aura around my home. However, my husband will not understand. As he is my husband, I should respect him and try to explain their importance to him. He will understand; he should understand. The other sadhaks now played their role. They said that how could my husband object to such small things; their husbands never objected, they supported them.

Sanatan Sanstha had opened a crack in my relationship with my husband. They would now work on making it deeper and deeper.

Broken Dreams and Broken Relationships.

Lies lies and more lies

Broken Dreams and Broken Relationships

This is the start of the end. Lies lead to mistrust. Mistrust in the persons who love you the most. People who really care about you. Mistrust leads to broken dreams and broken relationships. This is the beginning of the end. Sanatan Sanstha knows this, understands this, and most of all wants this. There is nothing spiritual about this, nothing religious about this, there is no linkage between Sanatan Dharma or Hindu Dharma. It is all about mind control.

Human beings are social animals, right. They want the company of others, others who are like them, who think like them, who act like them. The social acceptance theory comes into play. I started seeking others like me. More importantly, I left those who were not like me. It started with my friend circle. I saw them as inferior beings, engaged in futile pursuits. I was a superior being. I lost contact with them, I broke contact with them. My closest friends, some of them so close that they knew all about me. I did not keep in touch.

I had a friend, she was facing a crisis in her life, I went to her and told her to embrace Sanatan Sanstha. She was shocked, her husband had just died and she was worried about making ends meet, and I was advising her to leave everything behind. I was so inconsiderate. Today, she is helping me to live again, helping me to come to terms with life and to start a new life. She did, she fought against odds, she took risks. She is my helping hand, my guiding star.

Lying is a sin:

All religions including Sanatan Dharma or Hindu Dharma teaches us that lying is a sin. Yudhishthira, the Dharmaraj, uttered just one lie in his lifetime and still he had to offer penance before he got an entry in the Heaven. He had performed innumerable good deeds and accumulated good karma. Yet Sanatan Sanstha directly or indirectly motivates its sadhaks to tell lies or to speak untruths. Spiritual upliftment should start with honesty and truthfulness, the sanstha on the face of it, shows that it does not support such misdemeanors. Then why does it motivate people to speak lies? It is not only about mind control. They tell people like me that whatever you do in the sanstha, it is acceptable if it is for the good of the sanstha. The guru; HH Dr. Jayant Athavale is there to protect you.

Nobody can share one’s sins. Remember the story about Maharishi Valmiki? Maharishi Valmiki was a notorious bandit, he used to rob innocent people of their wealth. Once a saint asked him the reason for such evil deeds. Valmiki replied that he robbed so that he could feed his family. The saint then asked him whether his sins would also be shared by his family? Valmiki decided to ask them and was very much surprised by the answer. His family out rightly rejected him and told him that they would not share his sins. He realized his mistake and changed his path and took to spiritual pursuits and became the great Maharishi Valmiki.

Lying is a sin, no matter what is the outcome. And yes, nobody can share your sins, you have to carry the burden yourself. Even Sanatan Sanstha cannot change this, this is as per Sanatan Dharma. 

Sanatan Sanstha is not Sanatan Dharma. It can never become one, it can never come close to the Eternal Truth.

Attack against Hindu Dharma and Sanatan Sanstha

Evil spirits attacking us

The die is cast; the actors are ready and the main character is me. Sanatan Sanstha has identified a gullible candidate. I start believing that everyone is attacking Hindu Dharma, everyone is after Sanatan Dharma. Small incidents; say a person attacked in a remote place, is made out to be a part of a conspiracy. I do not question them, others in the group do not question them.  Their newsletters are full of such stories. This is spiritual human psychology at its play, the one propagated by Dr. Jayant Athavale. Who are they? You may question them; they will tell you THEY are everyone who does not believe in Sanatan Sanstha. They are evil spirits; evil spirits that chase you when you try to do meditation - they call it Naamjap, evil spirits chase you when you go about your daily work. These evil spirits try to disturb you because they know you are doing something good. I used to yawn when meditating, I was told that this is again the work of evil spirits, they are trying to disturb you, do not get disturbed, our guru; Dr. Jayant Athavale, will protect you.

Santan Sanstha and Social Acceptance theory:

There is a concept in psychology, it is called the social acceptance theory. We look around us before deciding on a course of action. If others are doing something, we tend to follow them, even if we know it is wrong. The scientific reasoning is too detailed to be understood. But Sanatan Sanstha uses this theory in captivating their audience. All of us – the seekers as we were called, used to be asked about our thoughts while doing naamjap. Some of the experiences, there were always a couple of them during all discussions, were out of the world and all were focussed around Dr. Jayant Athavale. A sadhak would say that she felt that Guruji (he is referred as ParamPujya – PP in short) came on a garuda and took her away so she could fly away from her troubles. Others would not join in with more and more outrageous stories. Initially, I would give a lame story and everyone would give me a black eye, but through experience and with a need to belong to this group, I also concocted such experiences.

I started lying. The main point is that I started telling lies.

Lying is Good if the objective is good:

This is the mantra of Sanatan Sanstha, if you lie for doing work of the sanstha, it is not a lie. Nothing bad will happen. Dr. Jayant Athavale is there to protect you.

Broken dreams and broken relationships. 

I started lying to my family. Small lies, insignificant lies, needless lies. An important laxman rekha was crossed, the sanstha made me cross the rekha. The explanation to justify such lies was also implanted in my mind. Remember auto-suggestion therapy. Slowly and steadily, I was made to change my beliefs. Till this time, I never used to tell lies to my husband. Now, I lied to him because I felt that he was opposing me, he was part of the evil system, Sanatan Sanstha made a devil out of me. I broke the trust of my family, not once, not twice but repeatedly. Day in and day out.

The evil spirits had taken control, Sanatan Sanstha had taken control of my mind. All in the name of spirituality, all in the name of God.

The slow burning candle

Sanatan Sanstha and its long-term goal

Burn them on both sides, this is the strategy of Sanatan Sanstha. It has time on its side and hence it starts slowly and steadily. A perfect way to ensure that the results are permanent, or rather, long lasting. This is a two-fold strategy, attract people towards the Sanstha on one part and create differences in their personal life. At a point in time, the person in question – that’s me, will see only one way out of the situation that is created and run away to one of the ashrams. Broken dreams and broken relationships. 

Done very subtly and with extreme finesse, I did not realise what was happening. How did my loving family suddenly change colours and started opposing me? Why and when did they become demons and evil spirits?

Now I realise, they did not change, they remained the same. Became more confused and concerned about me. The change happened in me, I was changed by Sanatan Sanstha. It did not happen overnight, took some years to happen. But the effect was so deep, I thought that the world was against me, against my guru – yes, the one and only one Dr. Jayant Balaji Athavale; a hypnotherapist par excellence, against Sanatan Sanstha and also against Hindu Dharma. My mind was being manipulated by them, they had gained control of my mind to such an extent that I was brainwashed, a zombie. Ready to do what they wanted, when they wanted and in the manner that they wanted.

I should have heeded the warning signals, I should have listened to my parents, my in-laws and my husband. My daughter also tried to tell me, she has learning disabilities but apart from them she is very sensitive and loves me with her heart, her pure heart.

Slow and steady:

Slow poison is said to be the most dangerous. We do not realise that we are being poisoned, we may even drink it thinking that it is nectar. Sanatan Sanstha dishes out such type of slow poison. I drank it thinking that it was nectar.

The start is slow. They talk about Hindu Dharma – Sanatan Dharma. 

Get the link, the name is the key. They associate Sanatan Dharma with Sanatan Sanstha. Only the name is common, calling somebody Krishna does not make him Shri Krishna, does it...

They talk about the need to defend Hindu Dhrama from attacks taking place from all sides. 99% Hindus will agree to this, Sanatan Sanstha is aware of it. They publish daily articles in their dailies, weeklies and monthly newsletters. It is published very prominently on their website. They repeat it every day during their satsangs and dharmavargs. Topics are all generalised. A small attack is given communal feel. Issues like Kashmir are touched upon. They do not go into any deep details, they don’t have such details. They raise an issue for the sake of it. They don’t allow any questions to be asked, they cannot be questioned, they are above questioning. 

They are the Sanatan Sanstha, they are Sanatan Dharma they cannot be questioned. If I question them, I am not a true Hindu.

The die is cast.

Am I alone?

Are there any others like me?

A married woman runs away from home leaving behind a broken home and broken relationships. Did it happen to me only or does it happen to others? Was I deeply brainwashed by Sanatan Sanstha or is it a regular occurrence?

After my return from the clutches of Sanatan Sanstha, I spent a lot of time on this question.

To be truthful, the sadhaks always told me even before I ran away that the ashram had several inmates, mostly women who had run away. Had forsaken their lives and near and dear ones for seeking spiritual upliftment. Many of them were married, but the sanstha preferred that married women to stay behind and take care of household responsibilities. I should look at this as a seva towards Guru and should look at my family as sadhaks. Warning bells still did not go off, after all this is logical.

But their treatment with unmarried young girls is different, very different. They are actively motivated to leave behind their homes and flee to one of the Sanatan Sanstha Ashram. As a senior “sadhak” commented in a very off-hand manner – a married woman with children always has a soft corner towards her children, she will feel the pangs of love; if not for her family, her husband than for her children and will seek to return home. And when that happens, she will leave Sanatan Sanstha. Unmarried young women are a different case; they stay longer, and also manage to rope in their families into the sanstha. Logic, pure simple logic. Or is it a deep understanding of human psychology? Has this strategy been defined as a policy after studying human psychology? After all, Jayant Athavale is a clinical hypnotherapist and has spent most of his life with psychologists.

The real experience:

I experienced this first hand at Sanatan Sanstha Ashram. You can look up all such cases in the newspapers. In fact, four families from my home state, Maharashtra have petitioned the Bombay High Court alleging that young female members have been brainwashed. I was not alone at the ashram, there were scores of females like me, some young and unmarried while others married. Married with children and loving husbands. Broken dreams and broken lives.

Why is the ashram full of women; run away women? Do men not run away? Don’t they leave everything behind to seek Mooksh? The answer is simple; if any men run away from home to join the ashram, they have to manage on their own. Sanatan Sanstha will not provide them the full facilities provided to women. They have to make their own arrangements for lodging and boarding. The unwritten rules can be broken only if he is well connected and has ample funds under his control or is a foreigner. Sanstha knows how to extract maximum mileage. It squeezes out the last drop from men and women, all in the name of spirituality. This is a difference between Sanatan Sanstha and other spiritual and religious organizations.

Think about it, chew it over and draw your own conclusions.