How does Sanatan Sanstha handle criticisms

A spiritual organization like Sanatan Sanstha should not be bothered about criticisms. We are taught to let go of our ego during the personality defect removal process or PDR. Yet, Sanatan is very sensitive towards any negative publicity.

Sanatan Sanstha tackles negativity

Sanatan Sanstha uses two methods to tackle negative stories. It uses social media very effectively, it has well-maintained accounts on Twitter as well as Facebook. These accounts are used to tweet, retweet or post spirituality related news and announcements. Negative comments are handled by the sadhaks, they use multiple accounts and bombard such comments. They also retweet very aggressively. The commentator is bombarded with negative comments and name calling. These sadhaks cannot be traced back to Sanatan Sanstha. The media wing is very active in this regard. The first line of defense is to call such a person anti-Hindu, Hindu hater, and similar words. That is the reason we do not see any real experiences from real persons. I have built up the strength to write, I am also using Twitter.com to show the world what Sanatan really stands for.  I am not promoting my blog; I don’t want to sell anything and I am definitely not anti-Hindu. I support spirituality; in fact, I ran away to Dr Jayant Athavale to get spiritual knowledge.

The social media route in one way to stifle negative news. It is used extensively by commercial organizations. Spiritual organizations should not use it; in fact, they don’t require it. A person should be able to handle such criticisms proactively. The reason Sanatan Sanstha cannot digest negativity is because it is not a spiritual organization. It has a hidden agenda and that agenda is not related to Hindu Dharma or Hindu Rashtra. It is connected directly with the aspirations of Dr Jayant Athavale.

Legal notices by Sanatan Sanstha

Sanatan uses a very traditional method to stifle media and its critics. It slaps legal notices on such organizations and individuals. The compensation demanded is quite large and many individuals cannot even dream of such sums of money. They prefer to withdraw their remarks and offer an apology to Sanatan Sanstha. Organizations are similarly targeted. Defamation cases can be filed anywhere, Sanatan uses this lacuna to flood anyone with litigation.

In spite of all such strong-arm tactics, most of the media organizations carry on their work and give a factual report. Many individuals also carry on their fight; many times their personal fight. A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in Bombay High Court by four different families containing serious allegations.

Why does Sanatan resort to such strong-arm tactics to silence its critics? Does a spiritual organization require such tactics? Why cannot it handle criticisms? Maybe, because they are true. And the sanstha and Dr Jayant Athavale knows that if they are exposed for what they really are, the sadhaks will leave them.

It seems to be happening. It is only a small tickle, but I can see the small tickle. A small tickle can easily convert into a torrent. Nothing can stop it; nothing should stop it. People will realize the truth of Sanatan Sanstha and leave it; whether government bans it or not.

Building trust at Sanatan Ashram Ramnathi

Though I felt betrayed when the Swagat Kaksh at Sanatan Ashram Ramnathi did not pass information about my father’s illness, I did not assume the worst. I rationalised that they may have forgotten. Initially, I had doubted them but one sadhak approached me a couple of days afterwards and apologised for not passing the information.

Sanatan Sanstha rebuilds trust

She said that she had forgotten to do so and this was her personality defect. It had to be removed. She also mentioned this during the personality defect removal session in my presence. The other sadhaks took her for task and told her the seriousness. Because of her, I had been hurt, I had started doubting the sanstha. She was asked to do penance. I was also asked about my father’s health and told that Sanatan could provide good medical care at Sanatan Ashram Ramnathi. It would combine spiritual treatment as well and hence recovery would be fast. I should call up my parents immediately. I could not go personally as my education was in a critical phase and such disturbances would affect it. They had also information that my father was recovering and the critical phase had passed thanks to my devotion to the Guru; Dr Jayant Athavale.

Such good thoughts; such affection. Sanatan Sanstha was really full of people giving selfless service. Look at the strength of spiritual practise, my father was responding to the positive vibes generated by my devotion to spirituality. I was now fully convinced that I was on the right path.

I phoned up my parents immediately and after apologising, asked them to bring father to Sanatan Ashram Ponda for treatment. My mother said that he was not able to travel and I should visit him. I obviously could not do so and could not understand their insistence. Sanatan Sanstha was going to such trouble and they were not cooperating? I was sure that this was the effect of evil spirits.

Reflections

I recall the whole incident very clearly. I remember meeting the friend, the news about my father’s illness, my self-doubts and Sanatan’s generous offer. I realised the inconsistencies very late. The story built up by the sanstha had several glaring inconsistencies. I should have realised them sooner, but my mind was under their control. The major inconsistency was; how did they come to know that I was aware of my father’s illness? I had only told my rakshak and as subsequent incidents proved, she never shared such personal confidences with Sanatan Sanstha. Why did the sadhak apologise after several days. My father had suffered from stroke two months before I knew, so my brother had visited about two months back. Why was this brought up after such a time difference?

My parents had stopped communicating after this incident and my offer for treatment at Sanatan Ashram Ramnathi acted like salt on a wound. I thought it was a generous offer but they took it in a totally different angle.

I was beyond any rational reasoning. Sanatan meant such a lot to me, my Guru; Dr Jayant Athavale, meant a lot to me. Anything else was irrelevant.

Sanatan Sanstha does not trust me

Some of the changes were subtle, but I got a feeling that Sanatan Sanstha does not trust me. I had tried to hide my true feelings, but they had read them. I could not meet my rakshak alone, nor could I call anybody without someone within earshot. My privacy was being invaded and I could do nothing about it.

Life goes on

I decided to shake off the feeling and continue with life. The next time my husband called me up, I was in Sanatan Ashram Ponda. I spoke normally with him; I knew that some sadhak was trying to listen to our conversation. I did not leave the room. I did not question him about my father; in fact, I did not speak to him about my father. Let him and the sanstha think that I am still unaware of my father’s condition. I had to think this out; I had to seek answers to several questions, I was still unaware of the questions.

The nights used to be spent in thinking; in compartmentalizing my doubts. Two important questions were

• Why did my husband not tell me about my father’s condition?
• Would Sanatan Sanstha stop me from visiting my father?

I had no idea what was going on; I was boiling inside but still the show had to go on.

I confront my husband

Things slowly started reverting back to normal once again at Sanatan Ashram Ponda. Sadhaks lost interest in me. I was becoming my old self again and had put the news behind me – or had I? Outwardly, I became normal, went out every day for prachar seva; attended all personality defect removal satsangs, spent time in chanting, would praise the Chaitanya of the ashram.

Inwardly, it was different.

I got an opportunity to speak to my husband from outside the Sanatan Sanstha Ashram. I used to call him only at night. This would ensure that we could speak freely without any disturbance and for a long period of time. But, one day, I called him from the bus stand. My minder had wandered off somewhere and I made sure that he was not nearby.

I called my husband. He picked up after many rings. I asked him straight away why had he hidden my father’s illness from me? What right did he have to hide such things from me?

He did not speak for quite some time, he allowed me to cool down. He offered no excuses, he just said that they thought that I did not care. I did not care about my family. I was beyond caring. They had called, my brother had called me as well as the swagat kaksh at Sanatan Ashram Ramnathi. I had not responded to either call. He had come to the ashram; he was told that I was not interested in meeting him. He had told the sadhaks at the counter that my father was hospitalized. They refused to let him meet me.

This was another shock. My husband does not lie. He must be speaking the truth.

I remembered that my brother had tried to meet me at the Sanatan Sanstha Ashram. I was busy in some work and I did not meet him. I remembered that he had called me several times. I was busy and had not responded. But, the ashram had not passed on the message about my father’s illness. They had not told me that he was hospitalized.

My rakshak was right after all. I could not trust Sanatan Sanstha. 

Morning routine at Sanatan Ashram Ponda

My day at Sanatan Ashram Ponda starts at 6.00 am officially as decided by Sanatan Sanstha. I usually get up early at around 5.00 am and do some surya namkaskar. I have been facing turbulent times owing to the negative energies unleashed by my family and Surya Namaskar helps me to negate the effect. This has been prescribed by the sanstha as naamjap is not helping me much.

The routine at Sanatan Sanstha

The day at Sanatan Ashram Ponda starts at 6.00 am when all the followers of Sanatan Sanstha get up to start their daily routine. We offer thanks to God for allowing us one more day in which we can provide service to our Guru, Dr Jayant Athavale. Then we get busy in cleaning ourselves. Sanatan has prescribed the ideal way for these activities and these have been ingrained by us totally. There is a different system of taking bath, we are advised to take bath without removing the clothes. This has to be done so that the positive energies accumulated during the night stay at the ashram are not washed away. I think, this rule has been implemented as bathing space is restricted and there is no privacy. But, I cannot question the rule otherwise I will be called a non-believer and will again have to undergo penance.

Once these activities are completed, we can proceed to have our breakfast. This is referred as Nahari in our parlance. We communicate through special words; this makes us feel important and part of a group. There are many such words and phrases and these are not known to others; not even by ordinary sadhaks. Breakfast is simple and wholesome and consists mainly of upma or any other Indian preparation. Tea, coffee or any other preparation is available as per requirement.

Chanting and PDR process

Immediately after breakfast, we start the naamjap at the meditation room. Generally, a small Pooja is held every day; but this is not elaborate. The Chaitanya at the ashram is at such a high level that such traditions need not be followed there. I found this difficult to digest as a ritual like the Morning Pooja is practiced everywhere. But I could not question, I had no right to question my Guru, Dr Jayant Athavale. The naamjap or chanting sessions would last for almost 2 hours followed by at least one hour for in-depth analysis of personality defects. Inmates in teams of 20 each would gather around a coordinator and identify the defects identified during the previous day. These would be analyzed by the group and the coordinator would identify the correct process to rid them.

Both these sessions used to tire me out as I noticed that much of the time was taken up in identifying my defects. I assumed this was because the others were participating for many years and had rid themselves of their personality defects. Sanatan Sanstha attributed the tiredness to the negative energy within me and I would be advised to attend a satsang for the next couple of hours.

As I was involved in samashti seva and would have to leave immediately, I would have to attend the satsangs late in the evening.

The morning sessions were packed back to back with little time gaps in between. This was done to take advantage of the positive energies of the environment and to charge us up for the daily routine. However, these left me feeling very tired.

Life at Sanatan Ashram Ponda

Sanatan Sanstha immediately made it clear that it was displeased with the results of my husband’s visit to Sanatan Ashram Ponda. They had expected me to either make him join or provoke a fight. Neither happened despite the sanstha’s and my best efforts. I pointed this out to the sadhaks, but they were not pleased. They said that this was due to my emotional attachment with my family. I had not yet surrendered myself in spirit, mind and body to my Guru, Dr Jayant Athavale. I had to learn to let go and as part of the process, I was instructed to spend more time to remove personality defects. The personality defect removal process is the cornerstone of spirituality practise at Sanatan Sanstha. As it becomes clear later on, it is also a very powerful psychological tool in the hands of some selected sadhaks.

Sanatan reworks my schedule

The pain at having failed my Sanatan during a critical process weighed heavily on my mind. I also agreed with them that I was at fault, my emotions had got better of my devotion towards my Guru and hence I had failed. I agreed to spend more time to remove the personality defects. This would lead to less time for other activities; sevas as well as less free time.

Sanatan Sanstha also asked me to switch off my mobile for some time and not to meet any visitors. As such I had only one visitor during the previous month, so I agreed with them. Switching off the mobile was a difficult decision as my family was my only contact with the outside world. I had started to miss them so much that I could not sleep without speaking to my husband during the night. But, perhaps they were right. I needed to be emotionally detached from my family so that I could follow my Guru’s, Dr Jayant Athavale’s instructions and embark on the true path and discover the spirituality within me.

Family loses touch

The decision by Sanatan Sanstha to make me switch off the mobile resulted in my family losing touch with me. I now started devoting more time for personality defect removal process. The auto-suggestion sessions now took up most of my time. Though the sanstha recommended only 3-4 sessions per day, I was made to undergo 8-10 sessions for the next 10 days. I lost any interest in food and would only eat very meagre food.

Such intensive sessions and loss of touch with the outer world made for a very heavy cocktail and I fainted during one such session.

Sanatan Sanstha took this as evidence that evil spirits (read my family) was trying to entice me back to the materialistic world and were interfering with my sadhana. I was given any treatment nor shown to any doctor.

My “rakshak” came to the rescue. I was in a catch 22 situation; but she deftly handled the situation for me. She talked to the sadhaks who mattered and asked them to put me under her. She would supervise my activities and my behaviour. They agreed.

The impact of my husband’s visit and inability to provoke him had very negative impact on my life at Sanatan Ashram Ponda. I had to undergo sustained sessions of personality defect removal process and also stop contact with my family. My rakshak came to the rescue once again.

What is Personality Defect Removal Process at Sanatan Sanstha

Sanatan Sanstha asks me to remove Personality Defects

Sanatan Sanstha is now dictating all my thoughts. Their process of personality development is through the removal of personality defects. They assume that once such defects are removed, positive personality traits will take their place. I have identified several such personality defects and freely share them with the sanstha. I do not feel ashamed about sharing my inner feelings with them; frankly, I have never shared such feelings with even my husband and mind you, we were quite open with each other. I suddenly start feeling liberated, I feel that I have been repressed throughout my life.

I am asked to write down all defects. I write down two complete pages. Ego is identified as my biggest personality defect. All sadhaks agree and I am asked to with them; I don’t think ego is the biggest one. They convince me that I don’t agree because of my ego.

The personality defect removal process is referred to as PDR in short. It is a very important part of our sadhana. We spend about 60 to 70% of our time in this. Due to this, we become convinced that we are full of defects and only the Guru, none other than Dr. Jayant Athavale can rectify these defects. We are also told that during this process, we should always ask for directions from God and our Guru.

The Process of Personality Defect Removal

The personality defect removal process is very simple and elaborate. It consists of the following steps:

• Identify our own personality defects and write them down. Write down the corresponding positive trait in front of each one.
• Make a chart of auto suggestions. A chart is provided for ready reference.
• The process of framing auto-suggestions and the frequency of auto-suggestion sessions is decided by the kendra in charge, a person who oversees the kendra. He will consult the zila sevak, if required.
• Sanatan Sanstha has recommended that I do between five to ten sessions daily. Each session takes about 30 minutes. My personality defects are very deep rooted and will take many such sessions to be removed.
• Take a pledge that such defects will not be repeated in future.
• Do atonement if the defect occurs again. Atonement can be done by sacrificing things one likes the most. I like to eat good food and interact with my daughter. I reduce my interactions with my daughter. I rarely speak to her. This is my atonement.
• Report the progress every day.

The process is now taking up most of my time. I hardly get time to complete household chores and my family suffers. During arguments, I tell them that the fruits of my sadhana will benefit the complete family. My good deeds will benefit the complete family. So what if they remain hungry once in a while or if the home becomes dirty and disorganized? These are all external issues; they do not matter to the self. I forget that once upon a time, I had told the family that Karma cannot be shared with others.

The family is now in a total state of disarray. My husband and my loving daughter are aliens to me and I am an alien to them. I do not bother. I am removing all negative energies from me; I am one with Sanatan Sanstha.

Sanatan Sanstha teaches me about personality defects

Personality defects and Sanatan Sanstha

Suggestions are an old weapon in psychology and Sanatan Sanstha uses them very effectively. They are a very powerful tool and have been studied in detail in 1900s. “Suggestions and Auto-suggestions” by William Atkinson, published in 1909 was the first definitive book studying the impact of suggestions on human psychology.

I have studied these techniques during my graduation and still did not realise that the sanstha was using them on me. If these were so effective on me, how could they not be effective on others? The technique used is not hypnosis, but mind control and to achieve this, Sanatan uses many techniques of human psychology, Dr Jayant Athavale has many tricks up his sleeves.

What are personality defects?

Sanatan Sanstha has published extensive material on personality defects and personality development. These appear to be very much in keeping up with spiritual development. After all, one of the main aims of spirituality is to gain control of one’s mind and to let go of all personality traits and become one with God. Sanatan wants one to merge with Guru and not God – this is dangerous as it becomes a cult, a fanatical cult.

The website lists 54 personality defects, it reads more like a lesson in antonyms in English. A step by step guide is also provided in a downloadable pdf format. In fact, a book on “Hypnotherapy for happiness” is also listed on Sanatan Shop though it is no longer available for sale. The main reason is the controversies surrounding the use of hypnosis by Dr Jayant Athavale. ABN News has done a two-part series titled Operation Sammohan (Part 1 and Part2) and the series has won a national award as well.

I do not believe that the Sanstha has to use hypnosis for attaining mind control over its followers. Auto suggestions is a more potent weapon and some specially trained sadhaks are well versed in it.

Personality defects create negative energy and need to be eliminated in order to progress in spiritual life. I agree totally, however, it should not be used to control another person.

Use of Auto Suggestions

Sanatan Sanstha has listed the process of auto-suggestion on its website. This is shown practically during their satsangs. We are encouraged to write down our personality defects and a regular follow-up is taken on the progress. Surprisingly, once I mentioned lying to my husband as a personality defect. Immediately I was asked to remove this and told that this is not a defect, I lie because my husband does not support me. The others also suggested that this was not really a defect – the impact of social acceptance was very strong on me. I was now convinced that it was an acceptable fact.

I was very diligently recording all my personality defects and the remedial methods. After some time, the discussions started gravitating towards ego. I was told that ego was my most powerful personality defect and I should remove it to achieve spiritual upliftment.

Seriously, I never had ego issues. I take pride in my work as it makes me do things perfectly. But, I never think that only I can do it and others cannot do it. Pride in work and ego are different things.

But, before realization hit me, I had gone too far. I had crossed several boundaries; I had reached a point of no return. Sanatan Sanstha had taken over my life, my mind, and my body.

Sanatan Sanstha controls my life

Sanatan Sanstha 24X7

I am no longer in control of my life as Sanatan Sanstha has total control over it. The sanstha has started dictating each minute of my day and night, I wake up when I am told to do so; I eat as per Sanatan’s wishes, I even alter my relationships as per their wishes. The website; www.sanatan.org contains instructions on each and every aspect of life and they say that these are as per our purans and holy books. They have done a lot of research on these subjects. They have instructions on how to bathe, how to comb hair and even on how to urinate. These are taught to us during the daily satsangs. My mind accepts them as if these are the words of God, no questions asked.

Time is of the essence now; the twenty-four hours of a day are insufficient for me. This has been drummed into my mind and it has found easy acceptance. A “saint” spent many hours with us explaining the importance of time. He said that if we are doing sadhana for 2 hours, we should do for 4 hours, if we do for 4 hours daily, we should increase it to 8 hours and if we do for 12 hours, we should spend the entire day in doing sadhana. This is possible only at the Sanatan Sanstha ashram.

I used to do sadhana for 16 hours; practically I spent all my waking hours with Sanatan Sanstha. The saint just smiled and replied that I should do more. All the sadhaks agreed with him, I also promised that I would do so.

Personality defect removal

The sanstha also taught me the use of auto-suggestion as a means of removing personality defects. I was overawed by the feeling of spirituality flowing over me. I felt Chaitanya. The sanstha was taking me on a higher plane of sub-consciousness. I do not realize that the use of suggestions is a very old trick of hypnotists like Dr Jayant Athavale. I now know that once you start accepting suggestions from a person or a group of persons, they can use it to change your behaviour, change your opinions and beliefs and ultimately control your body and soul. I have sold my soul to Sanatan Sanstha.

An educated sane woman with a very loving family and stable background has become a walking zombie.

Broken dreams and broken relationships.

The personality removal process is a very elaborate one and central to the sanstha’s activities. I learn about its importance during my stay at the ashram and also understand the devious means the sanstha uses it. But, for now, I am sold on the sanstha.

I use the techniques taught during personality defect removal process on my family. But, I am a novice. Now I understand that only “saints” of Sanatan Sanstha are trained in this key psychological process. This must be handled carefully otherwise results are disappointing. I know because I was taught this at the ashram, I was an expert in the process.

The psychological methods and techniques are generally used for the benefit of mankind. In the hands of a skilled hypnotherapist like Dr Jayant Athavale, they take on a sinister form. Nothing good can ever come out of it.