Yoga Sex Scandals: No Surprise Here
（喇嘛性醜聞 藏密不稀奇 因系出同源）
〔轉貼來源〕2012/03/15/聯合報/G5版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS（http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=377357#ixzz1p6tU2NKv）
【By WILLIAM J. BROAD／陳世欽 節譯自2012.2.27紐約時報】
The image of yoga took a hit recently . After accusations of sexual impropriety with female students, John Friend, the founder of Anusara, one of the world’s fastest-growing yoga styles, said he was stepping down.
最近，瑜伽的形象受創。傅倫德是舉世成長最快瑜伽派別之一安努薩拉的創始人，他在受到對女學員有不當性舉動的指控之後表示，他準備退隱。
Mr. Friend preached a gospel of gentle poses mixed with openness aimed at fostering love and happiness. But Elena Brower, a former confidante, has said insiders knew of his “penchant for women” and his love of “partying and fun.”
傅倫德推行的瑜伽強調柔軟的姿勢與開放，據以產生愛與快樂。然而他的前知己女友艾蓮娜‧布勞爾指出，圈內人都知道他「性好漁色」，喜愛「派對與嬉戲」。這明顯的虛偽使許多追隨者深感困擾。
The apparent hypocrisy has upset many followers. “Those folks are devastated,” Ms. Brower wrote in The Huffington Post. “They’re understandably disappointed to hear that he cheated on his girlfriends repeatedly” and “lied to so many.”
布勞爾在哈芬頓郵報撰文指出：「這些人感到難以承受。他們得知他一再對女友們不忠，而且對那麼多人說謊。失望之情可想而知。」
But this is hardly the first time that yoga’s enlightened facade has been cracked by sexual scandal. Why does yoga produce so many philanderers? And why do the resulting uproars leave so many people shocked and distraught?
然而這不是瑜伽的開明形象首次因性醜聞而蒙塵。何以瑜伽會造就這麼多愛玩弄女性的男人？為什麼事發後出現的怒吼會使如此多的人震驚又心煩意亂？
One factor is ignorance. Yoga teachers and how-to books seldom mention that the discipline began as a sex cult.
無知是原因之一。瑜伽教練與坊間各種瑜伽入門書籍很少提到，這種運動最初是一種性崇拜。
Hatha yoga — the parent of the styles now practiced worldwide — began as a branch of Tantra. In medieval India, the rites of Tantric cults could also include group and individual sex. Hatha used poses, deep breathing and stimulating acts — including intercourse — to hasten rapturous bliss.
哈達瑜伽是目前流行全球各地瑜伽各派的源頭，最初是某密宗教派的支派。在中世紀的印度，密宗的儀式可能包括集體與個別的性交。哈達瑜伽以姿勢、深呼吸及包括性交的各種刺激性肢體動作使人加快產生近乎狂喜的極樂感。
Early in the 20th century, the founders of modern yoga devised a sanitized discipline that played down the old eroticism for a new emphasis on health and fitness.
20世紀初，現代瑜伽的創始者設計出一種經過淨化的瑜伽形式，淡化以往的性愛色彩，轉而強調健康與健身。
But over the decades, many have discovered from personal experience that the practice can fan the sexual flames.
然而此後數十年，許多人從個人經驗中發現，這種形式足以煽起性慾。
Science has begun to clarify the inner mechanisms. In Russia and India, scientists have measured sharp rises in testosterone . Czech scientists have shown how poses can result in bursts of brainwaves indistinguishable from those of lovers. More recently, scientists at the University of British Columbia have documented how fast breathing — done in many yoga classes — can increase blood flow through the genitals.
科學開始釐清內在的機制。俄羅斯與印度的科學家測到睪丸素大幅增高的現象。捷克科學家則發現，部分姿勢促成的腦波爆發，與戀人所促成者無法分辨。到了更晚近，加拿大英屬哥倫比亞大學的科學家發現，許多瑜伽課程採用的快速呼吸法會使生殖器血流量增多。
Since the baby boomers discovered yoga, the arousal, sweating, heavy breathing and states of undress that characterize yoga classes have led to predictable results. In 1995, sex between students and teachers became so prevalent that the California Yoga Teachers Association deplored it as immoral and called for high standards.
嬰兒潮世代發現瑜伽之後，瑜伽課程必有的激起情慾、流汗、沉重呼吸與裸身狀態產生了可預見的後果。1995年，眼看學生與教師之間的性行為已經非常氾濫，加州瑜伽教師協會公開譴責這種行為「有違道德」，呼籲提高標準。
If yoga can arouse everyday practitioners, it apparently has similar, if not greater, effects on gurus.
瑜伽若能使一般練習者產生情慾，對大師顯然也有類似，甚至更大的作用。
Swami Satchidananda (1914- 2002) was a superstar of yoga who gave the invocation at Woodstock. In 1991, protesters waving placards (“Stop the Abuse,” “End the Cover Up”) marched outside a Virginia hotel where he was addressing a symposium.
瑜伽超級明星沙奇達南達（1914-2002）曾經在伍德斯托克親自示範這種儀式。1991年某日，當他在維吉尼亞一家飯店舉行的座談會中演說時，一些人在飯店外示威，揮舞寫有「停止性欺凌」、「別再掩飾」等字樣的標語牌。
“How can you call yourself a spiritual instructor,” a former devotee shouted from the audience, “when you have molested me and other women?”
一名曾經師事沙奇達南達的婦女在席間高叫：「你曾經騷擾我和其他女性，怎能自稱精神導師？」
Another case involved Swami Rama (1925-96). In 1994, a woman filed a lawsuit charging that he had initiated abuse when she was 19. In 1997, shortly after his death, a jury awarded the woman nearly $2 million in damages.
另一案例涉及拉瑪（1925-96）。1994年一名女子控告他在她19歲時對她性侵。拉瑪死後不久的1997年，陪審團裁定該女子應獲將近200萬美元的賠償。
Swami Muktananda (1908-82) had thousands of devotees . In late 1981, a senior aide charged that he was in fact a serial philanderer. Mr. Muktananda defended himself as a persecuted saint, and soon died of heart failure.
穆克塔南達（1908-82）曾經擁有成千上萬的狂熱追隨者。1981年底，一名高級助理指稱，他其實是玩弄女性的連續犯。穆克塔南達自稱受迫害的聖人，不久之後死於心臟衰竭。
But perhaps if students and teachers knew more about what Hatha was designed to do, they would be less prone to surprise and unyogalike distress.
然而如果學員與教師對哈達瑜伽的原始用意瞭解更多，他們可能比較不會震驚，也比較不會陷入與瑜伽初衷背道而馳的沮喪。
【英文全文】
Yoga and Sex Scandals: No Surprise Here
© The New York Times, February 27, 2012
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
The wholesome image of yoga took a hit in the past few weeks as a rising star of the discipline came tumbling back to earth. After accusations of sexual impropriety with female students, John Friend, the founder of Anusara, one of the world’s fastest-growing styles, told followers that he was stepping down for an indefinite period of “self-reflection, therapy and personal retreat.”
Mr. Friend preached a gospel of gentle poses mixed with openness aimed at fostering love and happiness. But Elena Brower, a former confidante, has said that insiders knew of his “penchant for women” and his love of “partying and fun.”
Few had any idea about his sexual indiscretions, she added. The apparent hypocrisy has upset many followers.
“Those folks are devastated,” Ms. Brower wrote in The Huffington Post. “They’re understandably disappointed to hear that he cheated on his girlfriends repeatedly” and “lied to so many.”
But this is hardly the first time that yoga’s enlightened facade has been cracked by sexual scandal. Why does yoga produce so many philanderers? And why do the resulting uproars leave so many people shocked and distraught?
One factor is ignorance. Yoga teachers and how-to books seldom mention that the discipline began as a sex cult — an omission that leaves many practitioners open to libidinal surprise.
Hatha yoga — the parent of the styles now practiced around the globe — began as a branch of Tantra. In medieval India, Tantra devotees sought to fuse the male and female aspects of the cosmos into a blissful state of consciousness.
The rites of Tantric cults, while often steeped in symbolism, could also include group and individual sex. One text advised devotees to revere the female sex organ and enjoy vigorous intercourse. Candidates for worship included actresses and prostitutes, as well as the sisters of practitioners.
Hatha originated as a way to speed the Tantric agenda. It used poses, deep breathing and stimulating acts — including intercourse — to hasten rapturous bliss. In time, Tantra and Hatha developed bad reputations. The main charge was that practitioners indulged in sexual debauchery under the pretext of spirituality.
Early in the 20th century, the founders of modern yoga worked hard to remove the Tantric stain. They devised a sanitized discipline that played down the old eroticism for a new emphasis on health and fitness.
B. K. S. Iyengar, the author of “Light on Yoga,” published in 1965, exemplified the change. His book made no mention of Hatha’s Tantric roots and praised the discipline as a panacea that could cure nearly 100 ailments and diseases. And so modern practitioners have embraced a whitewashed simulacrum of Hatha.
But over the decades, many have discovered from personal experience that the practice can fan the sexual flames. Pelvic regions can feel more sensitive and orgasms more intense.
Science has begun to clarify the inner mechanisms. In Russia and India, scientists have measured sharp rises in testosterone — a main hormone of sexual arousal in both men and women. Czech scientists working with electroencephalographs have shown how poses can result in bursts of brainwaves indistinguishable from those of lovers. More recently, scientists at the University of British Columbia have documented how fast breathing — done in many yoga classes — can increase blood flow through the genitals. The effect was found to be strong enough to promote sexual arousal not only in healthy individuals butamong those with diminished libidos.
In India, recent clinical studies have shown that men and women who take up yoga report wide improvements in their sex lives, including enhanced feelings of pleasure and satisfaction as well as emotional closeness with partners.
At Rutgers University, scientists are investigating how yoga and related practices can foster autoerotic bliss. It turns out that some individuals can think themselves into states of sexual ecstasy — a phenomenon known clinically as spontaneous orgasm and popularly as “thinking off.”
The Rutgers scientists use brain scanners to measure the levels of excitement in women and compare their responses with readings from manual stimulation of the genitals. The results demonstrate that both practices light up the brain in characteristic ways and produce significant rises in blood pressure, heart rate and tolerance for pain — what turns out to be a signature of orgasm.
Since the baby boomers discovered yoga, the arousal, sweating, heavy breathing and states of undress that characterize yoga classes have led to predictable results. In 1995, sex between students and teachers became so prevalent that the California Yoga Teachers Association deplored it as immoral and called for high standards.
“We wrote the code,” Judith Lasater, the group’s president, told a reporter, “because there were so many violations going on.”
If yoga can arouse everyday practitioners, it apparently has similar, if not greater, effects on gurus — often charming extroverts in excellent physical condition, some enthusiastic for veneration.
The misanthropes among them offer a bittersweet tribute to yoga’s revitalizing powers. A surprising number, it turns out, were in their 60s and 70s.
Swami Muktananda (1908-82) was an Indian man of great charisma who favored dark glasses and gaudy robes.
At the height of his fame, around 1980, he attracted many thousands of devotees — including movie stars and political celebrities — and succeeded in setting up a network of hundreds of ashrams and meditation centers around the globe. He kept his main shrines in California and New York.
In late 1981, when a senior aide charged that the venerated yogi was in fact a serial philanderer and sexual hypocrite who used threats of violence to hide his duplicity, Mr. Muktananda defended himself as a persecuted saint, and soon died of heart failure.
Joan Bridges was one of his lovers. At the time, she was 26 and he was 73. Like many other devotees, Ms. Bridges had a difficult time finding fault with a man she regarded as a virtual god beyond law and morality.
“I was both thrilled and confused,” she said of their first intimacy in a Web posting. “He told us to be celibate, so how could this be sexual? I had no answers.”
To denounce the philanderers would be to admit years of empty study and devotion. So many women ended up blaming themselves. Sorting out the realities took years and sometimes decades of pain and reflection, counseling and psychotherapy. In time, the victims began to fight back.
Swami Satchidananda (1914-2002) was a superstar of yoga who gave the invocation at Woodstock. In 1991, protesters waving placards (“Stop the Abuse,” “End the Cover Up”) marched outside a Virginia hotel where he was addressing a symposium.
“How can you call yourself a spiritual instructor,” a former devotee shouted from the audience, “when you have molested me and other women?”
Another case involved Swami Rama (1925-96), a tall man with a strikingly handsome face. In 1994, one of his victims filed a lawsuit charging that he had initiated abuse at his Pennsylvania ashram when she was 19. In 1997, shortly after his death, a jury awarded the woman nearly $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
So, too, former devotees at Kripalu, a Berkshires ashram, won more than $2.5 million after its longtime guru — a man who gave impassioned talks on the spiritual value of chastity — confessed to multiple affairs.
The drama with Mr. Friend is still unfolding. So far, at least 50 Anusara teachers have resigned, and the fate of his enterprise remains unclear. In his letter to followers, he promised to make “a full public statement that will transparently address the entirety of this situation.”
The angst of former Anusara teachers is palpable. “I can no longer support a teacher whose actions have caused irreparable damage to our beloved community,” Sarah Faircloth, a North Carolina instructor, wrote on her Web site.
But perhaps — if students and teachers knew more about what Hatha can do, and what it was designed to do — they would find themselves less prone to surprise and unyogalike distress.
William J. Broad is the author of “The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards,” published this month by Simon & Schuster.
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