guru

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India Has a Bizarre Stock Market Scandal

Former head of largest exchange is accused of being a 'puppet' of a Himalayan yogi

(Newser) - This might be the most unusual financial scandal in a while: The former chief of India's biggest stock exchange is accused of sharing sensitive financial data with a Himalayan yogi and relying on the guru for major decisions, reports the BBC . The Securities and Exchange Board of India leveled...

'Heaven Is Shining' With B. Smith There
B. Smith is Dead at 70
obituary

B. Smith is Dead at 70

The lifestyle guru and restaurateur battled early onset Alzheimer's disease

(Newser) - Model, restaurateur and lifestyle guru Barbara "B." Smith has died at her Long Island home, her family announced in a statement on social media. She was 70, the AP reports. Smith died Saturday evening after battling early onset Alzheimer's disease, which she was diagnosed with in 2013....

'Uncle for a Movement' Is Dead at 88
'Uncle for
a Movement'
Is Dead at 88
obituary

'Uncle for a Movement' Is Dead at 88

Baba Ram Dass, spiritual guru and LSD pioneer, has died

(Newser) - Baba Ram Dass, the 1960s counterculture spiritual leader who experimented with LSD and traveled to India to find enlightenment, returning to share it with Americans, has died. He was 88. Dass' foundation, Love Serve Remember, announced late Sunday that the author and spiritual leader died peacefully at his home earlier...

Billionaire Guru Gets Life in Prison for Teen's Rape

Asaram Bapu expected to appeal amid fears of violence

(Newser) - An Indian city is bracing for violence after a spiritual guru with millions of followers was sentenced to life in prison for rape on Wednesday. Asaram Bapu, who claims to teach meditation and yoga at 400 ashrams in 19 countries, was sentenced in Jodhpur, Rajasthan state, for the 2013 rape...

Police in India on High Alert After Guru Jailed for 20 Years

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted of raping 2 followers

(Newser) - The "guru of bling" is going to jail for 20 years for raping two women, and police in India are on high alert in case his followers revolt. A judge sentenced Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to the prison term on Monday, after his conviction for raping two followers at...

Guru's Rape Conviction Leads to 12 Deaths, Fire Everywhere

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh found guilty of rape, his supporters aren't happy

(Newser) - Mobs rampaged across a north Indian town, leaving 12 people dead and 100 injured, after a court declared a quasi-religious sect leader guilty of raping two of his followers, per police and a hospital doctor. More than 15,000 paramilitary troops and police officers, some on horseback, were deployed in...

Court: Frozen Guru's Followers Can Wait for Him to Wake

They insist Ashutosh Maharaj is meditating, but son wants to bury him

(Newser) - Good news for followers of an Indian guru who fought to keep his body on ice: A court on Wednesday ruled that the remains of Ashutosh Maharaj can remain in a freezer, Agence-France Press reports. Punjabi followers of Maharaj dispute the idea that he died of a heart attack in...

All You Need in Life? 15 Things, Guru Says

James Altucher says homeownership is a 'total scam'

(Newser) - James Altucher makes a rather incredible claim: All you need in life are 15 things, give or take, the New York Times reports. What’s on his list? All that he can fit in a black shoulder bag, namely a laptop, a few pairs of khakis, some T-shirts, and cash...

Cops Battle 20K to Arrest Indian Guru

Rampal Maharaj wanted for alleged role in 2006 murder

(Newser) - An Indian guru was arrested yesterday after a 10-day standoff during which at least six people died. Police say up to 20,000 followers of the guru Rampal Maharaj, who is wanted in connection with a 2006 murder, battled police at his ashram, a 2.5-acre religious complex in Hisar,...

Neighbors Give Cold Shoulder to 'Hugging Saint'

New Mexico residents don't want Indian spiritual leader to have facility for gathering

(Newser) - It sounds like a plan that should be met with warm fuzzies and hugs—literally. Devotees of India's Amma, or the " Hugging Saint, " want to build a facility outside Sante Fe to house thousands of admirers for one week each summer, but neighbors are turning a cold...

Sathya Sai Baba Dies: Hindu Guru Dead at 86
 Hindu Guru 
 Sai Baba 
 Dead at 86 

OBITUARY

Hindu Guru Sai Baba Dead at 86

Worshipped as a god by millions

(Newser) - Hindu guru Sathya Sai Baba, worshipped as a god by millions of followers worldwide, died this morning in a hospital near his southern Indian ashram. He was 86. Sai Baba had spent nearly a month on breathing support and dialysis while struggling with multiple-organ failure. Hundreds of thousands of devotees...

That Eat, Pray, Love Spiritual Retreat Will Not Save You
That Eat, Pray, Love Spiritual Retreat Will Not Save You
bogus trends

That Eat, Pray, Love Spiritual Retreat Will Not Save You

Many return broke, or at least bored

(Newser) - Just in case you read Eat, Pray, Love and now believe spending a month (and $19,795) at an ashram will change your life, the New York Post is here to tell you…it probably won’t. Thanks to the book, spiritual retreats are incredibly trendy, but many who take...

Sweat Lodge Guru Sat in Shade as Victims Roasted

'You are not going to die,' James Arthur Ray told those inside

(Newser) - James Arthur Ray sat outside a sweat lodge in a shaded chair as the guru’s adherents died inside, and even discouraged onlookers from aiding those struggling with the intense heat, say newly released police documents. It would be “sacrilegious” to disassemble the structure, he told one woman who...

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