The press office of self-styled godman Nithyananda’s ‘United States of Kailasa’ on Sunday responded to various queries regarding its controversial existence. In a Q&A session on Twitter, the press secretary of ‘Kailasa’ clarified various details about the so-called nation’s location, its constitution, philosophy and more.
Swami Nithyananda, whose mind-bending spiritual homilies wrapped in a sheen of pseudo-science has provided much mirth on social media, claims to have formed the ‘United States of Kailasa’ in 2019.
Answering one of the most frequently asked questions of ‘where is Kailasa located’, the press secretary said they were a ‘borderless’ and ‘service-oriented’ nation, formed in the same spirit as the Sovereign Order of Malta.
According to Malta’s website, it is a lay religious Catholic order and an independent subject of international law, with medical and humanitarian projects in 120 countries. It also has permanent observer status at the United Nations. It is "neutral, impartial and apolitical".
“We are a revival of the ancient enlightened Hindu civilizational nation and operate through a group of NGOs, recognized by the United Nations, operating from multiple countries across the world. It was established much in the spirit of a country like the Sovereign Order of Malta, a borderless service-oriented nation,” the press secretary said.
On being asked about the agreements with 30 US cities and Newark’s allegation of a ‘scam’, the secretary asserted that they “have not scammed anyone” and have established sister-city relationships with many cities around the world.
“It is important to reiterate that Kailasa and its representatives have not scammed anyone, nor are we “fiction”. We are a legitimate organization established on the principles of Sanatana Hindu Dharma, and the Ancient Hindu Enlightenment Science in pursuit of serving humanity. We remain committed to our purpose towards global peace,” the secretary wrote.
The United Nations does not recognise ‘Kailasa’ as a country and to date, there is no clarity if the country is fictional or actually exists. However, Nithyananda's followers keep on posting videos on social media, suggesting there are developments going on in the country.
The Kailasa office also denied reports about their guru Swami Nithyananda being an Indian fugitive. “This is absolutely false,” the press secretary said. “Many prominent human rights advocates have given independent reports and legal opinions attesting to this,” the office said citing Queen’s Council from the UK Mr Geoffrey Robertson.
Robertson, according to them, had said that the charges arise from the “demonization of their leader and guru by the media and state government officials as a result of false sexual abuse charges first levelled against him in 2010 and pursued in a manner that amounts to an abuse of process.”
Swami Nityananda is a ‘wanted’ man in India on several charges of rape and sexual assault – allegations he continues to deny.
