21 Facts About Nithyananda

Nithyananda is the founder of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, a trust that owns temples, gurukulas, and ashrams in many countries.

Nithyananda is the subject of a court-issued non-bailable warrant relating to the allegations.

Nithyananda is wanted since 2019 for unrelated fraud charges in France.

Nithyananda was born Arunachalam Rajasekaran in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, to father Arunachalam and mother Lokanayaki.

Nithyananda was first noticed at the age of three by Yogiraj Yogananda Puri.

Nithyananda says that this name was given to him by Mahavatar Babaji in a mystical experience during his monastic wandering days in the Himalayas.

Nithyananda was formerly a chairman of Florida-based Hindu University of America.

In 2012, Nithyananda was recognized as one of the "100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People" by Watkins' Mind Body Spirit magazine.

Also in April 2012, Nithyananda was appointed the 293rd pontiff of Madurai Adheenam.

Nithyananda has given discourses on various scriptures like Brahma Sutras, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Shiva Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

Nithyananda has claimed to have discovered over 400, or paranormal abilities, expressible by humans and alleges having initiated his disciples into 60 such powers including and third-eye awakening.

Nithyananda has since asserted he would open the third eye, for anyone, free of charge by 2021, claiming that the person would be able to see through smog and walls.

Nithyananda has claimed that he and his followers were able to perform activities like extrasensory perception, materialisation, body scanning, increasing height, and remote viewing, and that they had the ability to find lost objects.

In 2010, a United States citizen who was a disciple of Nithyananda accused him of raping her in the US and in India repeatedly over the course of five years.

Nithyananda filed a complaint with the police department of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who did not commence any formal investigation.

Nithyananda filed a complaint with the Karnataka Police in India.

Nithyananda was the subject of the 2022 Discovery+ docu-series My Daughter Joined a Cult, streamed internationally.

On 20 November 2019, the Gujarat Police issued a statement that Nithyananda fled India after choosing not to appear at several court hearings.

Nithyananda wrote to the United Nations in 2021, claiming persecution and seeking recognition of his new "Hindu nation" Kailaasa.

Nithyananda claimed attempts at mob lynching and assassination as reasons he was forced to withdraw himself from Indian society.

In December 2019, Nithyananda claimed that he had created a new "Hindu nation" microstate called Kailaasa and claimed to issue passports, currency, and other documents.