Self-proclaimed guru Nithyananda is wanted by police in India for raping and abusing children. He then founds his own state, which does not exist. Several US cities are falling for it – and a self-proclaimed ambassador is speaking at the United Nations.
Vijayapriya Nithyananda wears her dark hair like a turban, has gold jewelry on her forehead, gold chains around her neck and wears brown and orange robes. She says she is the “permanent ambassador” representing the “United States of Kailasa,” the “first sovereign state for Hindus.” She will be speaking at a conference in Geneva on February 24 this year United Nations eventwhich deals with economic, social and cultural rights.
There’s just one catch: the “United States of Kailasa” doesn’t exist. However, “representatives” of this “state” have been able to speak before the United Nations, and cities in the US and around the world have also been fooled by “Kailasa”. The speech at the UN event made headlines in India and begged the question: How did this happen?
This ominous state was founded by Vijayapriya Nithyananda’s leader, who shares her last name: Bhagavan Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. He claims he can cows and Make monkeys talk, Heal the blind and the delay sunrise.
Nithyananda is charged with multiple criminal offenses
He is the “Avatar of Hinduism and a Supreme Pope of Hinduism”. Nithyananda “created for mankind the science of manifestation of power, yoga and temple-supported universities,” it says immodestly on the Website of “Kailasa”.
His real name is A. Rajashekaran; according to a media report, he was born on January 1, 1978. In the early 2000s, he opened an ashram near Bengaluru, according to the news site “Outlook India”.
It all sounds like spirituality, like piety. But Nithyananda is arrested for several alleged crimes by the police and also by Interpol sought.
He is accused of raping and abusing children in the Indian state of Gujarat. According to reports, an investigation by French authorities has also been launched – due to suspected fraud.
“Kailasa” wants to appear on the Internet as its own country
He was briefly imprisoned in 2010 on charges of rape. The trial was repeatedly delayed, and Nithyananda never appeared in court. He was later arrested and charged in another count of rape as well.
In 2019, the allegations came to a head once more: one of his followers accused him of rape; two administrators of one of his temples were arrested for alleged child abuse. In the same year he fled from India and founded his “state”. Amazing: His passport had long expired, the media reported.
He has not been seen in public since then.
If you believe the information provided by Website of the alleged state, “Kailasa” is “the re-edition of the ancient enlightened Hindu civilization nation being revived by expelled Hindus from around the world”. A flag, constitution and national anthem can be found on this website. There should be different ministries, as well as a central bank. The website also claims “Kailasa” is the location of the largest university in the world. If you want, you can even have one electronic citizenship apply for.
Hardly anyone knows where Nithyananda is
But where exactly the “United States of Kailasa” is geographically located, there is no information regarding it. Nor is it known where its founder is. There were reports that he lives on an island off the coast of Ecuador. However, the government there disagreed. Nithyananda is not in Ecuador, an application for asylum has been rejected. Others suspected he was in Nepal.
Although the United Nations does not recognize the “United States of Kailasa,” the fake nation’s self-proclaimed ambassador spoke at a confederation event.
How was that possible?
Vivian Kwok, spokeswoman at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, explained to the British BBCthat these discussion events are public. However, the statements and documents submitted by “Kailasa” were not taken into account. They are “irrelevant” and have nothing to do with the issues being discussed.
Vijayapriya Nithyananda at a United Nations event in Geneva on February 24
© Screenshot UN TV
But the speech at the United Nations is just the tip of the iceberg of the fake state’s “diplomatic activities”: Last year, two Conservative members of the British Hose of Lords invited a “representative” of the fictitious country to a party on the occasion of the Hindu Diwali Fixed one like that “Guardian” reported.
US city of Newark falls for fictional state
“Kailasa” even published an alleged Greetings from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Whether it is genuine might not be checked at first; a request from stern regarding this to the Prime Minister’s Office remained unanswered at the time of publication. On the Prime Minister’s website there is no such greeting.
Several cities in the US have also fallen for the wrong state. The US broadcaster reported that 30 cities had entered into partnerships with “Kailasa”. Fox News.
One of the cities affected is Newark, New Jersey. Like the newspaper “New York Post” reported, the city invited “delegates” from “Kailasa” in January this year and signed a partnership agreement.
Shortly therefollowing, however, Newark realized who they were dealing with. City officials said the agreement lasted only six days and was then declared “groundless and void.” “This is an oversight that shouldn’t happen once more,” City Councilor Luis Quintana told the broadcaster CBS. The city had made a fool of itself. Critics accused city officials that the embarrassment might have been avoided with a simple internet search.
“Kailasa” takes advantage of proclamations from US cities
It’s not just Newark though: In fact, the shows Website of the fictitious state several purported documents that are supposed to prove relationships with several US cities. These include Concord in North Carolina, Buena Park in California and Delaware in Ohio.
“Most likely he (Nithyananda) wants to raise his profile in the United States to recruit people,” cult expert Rick Alan Ross told the “The New York Post”.
And not only cities are among them, but also US congressmen, as the newspaper further reported. Norma Torres, a California congresswoman, recognized “Kailasa” and her self-proclaimed leader.
Speaking through her spokesman, she told the Post: “The certificate (for special recognition from Congress) was presented to a local church by a former employee. Upon learning of the very serious and credible allegations once morest its leader, our office the certificate will be recalled immediately.”
Nithyananda supporters take advantage of the fact that most cities and government agencies are fairly liberal when it comes to issuing so-called proclamations, such as for public holidays or memorial days, the magazine said “Intelligencer”.
In 2021, for example, the mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, signed a proclamation establishing a “Kailasa Day” on January 3, 2022 — with much of the text of the letter authored by the “Kailasa” supporters themselves, Intelligencer writes. further. “In most cases, the requests are met,” said a spokeswoman for the local mayor’s office. These documents are not binding. On the Fall River website anyone can apply for a proclamation.
“Kailasa” denies cheating
The “UN ambassador” Vijayapriya Nithyananda defended himself once morest allegations in a video on Twitter. “Kailasa” and its “representatives” have not cheated anyone, and “Kailasa” is not fictitious either.
“Our town twinning aims to promote humanitarian aid and global peace through better understanding of other cultures. Organizations representing Kailasa have formed partnerships with major cities around the world.”
One hopes that the “independent western press” will not fall for “false narratives regarding our traitors”.
Nithyananda: “No stupid court can prosecute me”
And the “supreme pope of Hinduism”, Nithyananda himself, does not want to know anything regarding guilt. The allegations of rape are “absolutely false” and he is a victim of persecution, according to one of his tweets. US courts acquitted him and the police stopped their investigations. As evidence, Nithyananda attaches several links – but they all lead to non-working websites, some of which belong to the homepage of “Kailasa”.
Although proceedings are ongoing once morest him and the police are looking for him: Nithyananda considers himself untouchable. in one Videowhich made the rounds on social networks at the end of 2019, he said: “No stupid court can prosecute me for revealing the truth.”
As long as the authorities don’t know where he is and as long as he has many followers around the world who give him money, it’s likely to stay that way, says Dr. Robert Bunker, director of research and analysis at security consultancy C/O Futures, LLC.
“Since cult leaders usually suck the wealth out of their followers, they amass large war chests, which they use to invest in real estate and businesses, and also to bribe officials in less developed countries,” he told the magazine “Daily Beast”.
“I have no doubt that front companies will be used, travel documents will be forged and safe houses will be set up to protect him.”
Other sources: “The Hindustan Times”, “Deccan Herald”, “Times of India”, “India Times”, “Outlook India”, NDTV, “India Today”, india.com, “Republic”, “The News Minute”, “The Week”, “The Indian Express”, “The Daily Investigation”, “National Herald”, “The Telegraph”, “The Herald News”