A spiritual leader in Nepal known as 'Buddha Boy' arrested on charges of rape and kidnapping

Bamjan is expected to be taken to a court in southern Nepal, where the alleged crimes occurred, to appear before a judge there.


Binaj Gurubacharya
Religion News Service
January 10, 2024

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A controversial Nepalese spiritual leader known as “Buddha Boy” was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a minor and involvement in the disappearance of at least four of his followers from his camps, police said Wednesday.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan is believed by many Nepalese to be the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal some 2,600 years ago and became revered as Buddha. Buddhist scholars have been skeptical of Bamjan’s claims.

Bamjan was arrested late Tuesday from his house in a suburb of Kathmandu, the country’s capital, according to Nabaraj Adhikari of the Central Investigation Bureau.

Police brought him before the media in handcuffs on Wednesday and said that he had tried to flee by jumping two floors from a window when the officers arrived but was unsuccessful and was taken into custody.

Officials also displayed a stack of Nepalese banknotes they said was equivalent to $227,000 and other foreign currencies amounting to $23,000 seized from the house at the time of the arrest.

Bamjan is expected to be taken to a court in southern Nepal, where the alleged crimes occurred, to appear before a judge there.

Several dozen of his followers gathered later Wednesday outside the Central Investigation Bureau offices in Katmandu where Bamjan was being held but were pushed back by riot police.

Bamjan, also known as Buddha Boy, became famous in southern Nepal in 2005, when many believed he was able to meditate without moving for months while sitting beneath a tree with no food or water. He has remained popular despite accusations of sexually and physically assaulting his followers.

His popularity has since declined but he still maintains camps in southern Nepal where thousands of his followers come to live and worship him or to visit.

Buddhism, founded in India around 500 B.C., is considered the world’s fourth-largest religious tradition after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.

https://religionnews.com/2024/01/10/nepals-spiritual-leader-known-as-buddha-boy-arrested-on-charges-of-rape-and-kidnapping/

Police reach ascetic Bomjon’s ashram to arrest him

Khabarhub
February 7, 2020


SINDHULI: A team of Nepal Police has reached the Sindhuli ashram of ascetic Ram Bahadur Bomjon to arrest him Friday morning.

Bomjon, who has been accused of rapes and murder inside the Sindhuli-based ashram, is at large.

Bomjon, however, has absconded, police said adding that they have continued the look for him in and around the ashram and the surrounding forest.

Sources said that the main building of the ashram, where Bomjon stays, is locked, according to police sources. The police went into action after taking permission from the Sindhuli District Court on Thursday to arrest Bomjon.

He has been accused of murdering one of his disciples and raping a nun.

https://english.khabarhub.com/2020/07/73850/

Polygamy to incur up to five years in jail

Ashok Dahal
My Republica
February 21, 2017

KATHMANDU, Feb 21: If a draft of the Criminal Code revised by a parliamentary panel is endorsed by the full House, a polygamous man or a polyandrous woman could get a jail term of up to five years and a fine of Rs 50,000.

Removing the existing six grounds for a man to get married for a second time, the revised bill has proposed criminalizing polygamy or polyandry except in the case when one of the couple is already separated and has received his or her share of the ancestral property.

Section 175 of the bill has also proposed punishment for a woman if she is found to have married a man knowing that he is already married.

Earlier, in the original draft of the bill, the government had proposed allowing a spouse for a second marriage if his/her couple is suffering from an incurable sexual disease. But the parliament’s legislative committee removed this provision. The committee has on its part endorsed the bill and is all set to forward it to the full House for final approval.

The Criminal Code bill is one of the five bills, which will replace the 160-year-old Civil Code (Muluki Ain), enacted by the then Rana Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana. The civil code had provided various excuses for a husband to get married for a second time such as when his wife is suffering from incurable sexual diseases, is mad, is incapable of giving birth or is unable to walk or is blind.

“The existing act has accepted polygamy on various grounds but the revised draft has barred polygamy and polyandry under any pretext,” said lawmaker Krishna Bhakta Pokharel, the coordinator of the sub-committee under the Legislative Committee tasked to revise the bill. He says once the bill is endorsed, any spouse can’t get married for a second time unless he or she is already divorced.

The bill has also proposed significant changes to other existing laws including provisions related to rape, life time sentence, cyber crimes and treason.

Adding a new clause to the bill, the parliamentary committee has proposed penalty for taking pictures of any individual without prior consent and distorting and tampering those pictures. This section was added to the bill following concerns of lawmakers over increasing trend of distorting pictures of leaders in the social media.

Likewise, making significant changes in the legal definition of the crime of rape, the bill has defined ‘any act of penetration into the vagina, anus or mouth of a woman with a part of a man’s body or any other object or sex toys without conscious consent of the woman as rape.’ The existing law defines rape only as penetration of male organ into the vagina of a woman without conscious consent of the woman.

Likewise the bill has criminalized the act of match fixing in any sports.

This 7-Year-Old Nepali Girl Is Worshipped as a Living Goddess on Earth

·        ABC News

·        By TERRY MORAN

·        JACKIE JESKO

 

Sep 8, 2016

·         

On a bustling street in Patan in Nepal, a small hand-painted sign announces the residence of a living goddess.

 

A goddess who is only 7 years old.

Her name is Yunika. She is a Kumari -- one in a centuries-old tradition of living, breathing child goddesses. It’s considered good luck to merely lay eyes on her.

“Nightline” was granted special access to see this Kumari prepare for a day of receiving worshipers. Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 12:35 a.m. ET

“When my daughter was selected as a Kumari, I felt very happy,” her father, Ramesh Bajracharya, said through a translator. “It’s because Kumari is hugely regarded and respected living goddess in Nepal.”

The Kumari lives with her mother and father, who left their jobs to become her full-time caretakers. The Kumari is not allowed to leave her residence except for holy festivals, and her feet are never supposed to touch the ground. Even inside her home, she is carried everywhere. As for the meticulous customary makeup, her mother had to learn it through practice.

When asked about her daughter’s unusual childhood, her mother, Sabita Bajracharya, said through a translator, “I feel little sad that other children play outside, but her friends do come to play with her inside. Whatever she demands, dolls or any plaything, we fulfill her demands.”

The word “Kumari” means "unmarried girl" or "virgin." She is worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists alike. To be chosen as a Kumari, a young girl, typically around 2 to 4 years old, must meet amazing specific standards.

First, her astrological chart must be considered favorable to the King of Nepal’s. Then, the girls are tested for 32 very specific physical attributes, including “eyelashes like a cow,” “thighs like a deer,” and a “voice as clear as a duck.” She is also put through a secret test for signs of fearlessness and serenity.

 

Once a girl is chosen, she is considered an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga.

Most people have heard of the Dalai Lama, the living deity of Tibet. It’s said that the Dalai Lama’s soul is reincarnated into a new male child at death. Similar to the Kumari, finding the new Dalai Lama involves extensive tests.

 

But there is a big difference between the Dalai Lama and the Kumari because the Kumari are not Kumaris for life. Once they hit puberty, the young girls are forced to return to life as a mere mortal.

Rashmila Shakya served as a Kumari from age 4 to 12. Now 32 years old, she said, “When I was a Kumari, [I was not] allowed to walk outside. So it was a little bit uncomfortable when, after I retired from the Kumari house, a little uncomfortable walking on the road.”

Along with the challenge of having to learn how to walk as a teenager, there is another hurtle for former Kumaris -- an old Nepali superstition that says men who marry ex-Kumaris are destined to die young.

“This is only a superstition -- that if the Kumari marries a guy, the guy will die. This is only a superstition,” Shakya said, laughing. “All of the ex-Kumari are married. And I just married six months ago. This is only a rumor.”

Some activists inside Nepal have criticized the Kumari tradition, calling it child labor. But in 2008, Nepal’s Supreme Court overruled a petition to end the practice, citing its cultural value.

In April 2015, Nepal was struck by a catastrophic 7.8 earthquake and 8,000 people were killed. Entire villages were destroyed and famous historical landmarks were flattened.

 

As a result, people in Nepal say that the Kumari became more important than ever and there has been an uptick in visitors seeking the luck of her blessings. At the recent Hindu festival of rain, thousands came out to pay respects to 7-year-old Yunika, including one major VIP: the Prime Minister of Nepal.

Life as a Kumari can seem surreal and strange, but according to those who have lived it, this extraordinary childhood is a privilege. Ex-Kumaris enjoy prestige their whole lives, as well as a lifelong pension from the Nepali government.

But former Kumari Rashmila Shakya said the greatest honor is continuing the ancient tradition -- it is a sacred duty.

“Best thing about being a Kumari [is] I protect my culture,” she said. “Nepalis do [this] as a living goddess Kumari.”

Watch the full story on ABC News' "Nightline" TONIGHT at 12:35 a.m. ET.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/year-nepali-girl-worshiped-living-goddess-earth/story?id=41803837

 

Importing And Marketing Culture

Prem Khatry

The Rising Nepal

October 4, 2015

There is a feeling in Nepal – we are one small but important market for Indian products – and these products are coming to Nepal in different forms, shapes and denominations. An open Nepali mind is fundamental and more receptive than our open borders. This is the main reason why such products make an easy entry and stay here. The flow of many products discussed here as cultural products has a long and steady history in Nepal whereas some have made recent but successful inroads. They have survived, thrived and sustained in the hands and purses of the highly receptive Nepalis.

Let us begin with the producers and go on to production. Nepal has old and strong cultural links with India through various aspects of the Vedic culture – polity, law, faiths, sacraments, education, arts, health and economy, to name the most important aspects. In historical times, beginning from the Maurya-Kirata to the modern times, great teachers, their missions and visions, the court regalia and the like have always left their mark in the process of urbanisation, political development and culture.

The Buddha and Emperor Ashoka took the opportunity to send their men and mission to Kathmandu for the propagation of Buddha's timeless teachings. Nepalis not only gave the visitors a green signal to do so, they also promoted Buddhist thoughts and practices at times when they had difficulty in India.

Big names in Nepal

History says from another angle Shankaracharya was doing his best to stop the popularity of Buddhism in Nepal and asserting on the establishment of the Vaishnava school of thought. He is said to have created a spiritual wave against Buddhism. This wave, it is said, was felt very seriously by the Buddhist monks and laity in Kathmandu. It took a long time for the Buddhist faith and practices to raise their heads and steer their right paths. And, in less than one hundred years, Nepal was recognised as the home of Tantric Buddhism after the fall of the faith in the north and east Indian plains.

Whether it is Hindu or Buddhist, the spiritual waves from the south have always been influential and strong on the soils of Nepal. During the time of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu of Bengal and Goswami Tulsidas of the northern region, and afterwards the Vaishnava faith and practices became almost a household culture and conduct in Hindu Nepal. Pilgrimages in India became common and regular routine work of Nepali devotees. Sanskrit language and literature also influenced the courts and middle class society of Nepal.

In more recent times, saints, gurus and their missions have been creating visible and lasting impression on the culture of recent Nepal. From Sai Baba to controversial figures like Asaram to Nirmal Baba, they have their strong followings here. The most famous Vaishnava saint Jagatguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj and/or Shree Shree Ravi Shankar have the largest number of followers in Nepal. Similarly, the healer-yoga teachers like Ramadeva or Pilot Baba or Mantra teacher Kumaraswami of Prabhukripa Nivaran family have been raising their following in more recent years.

There is a rumour building strongly in Nepal that even the ruling government of India is planning to work closely with the Hindu fundamentalists of Nepal to restore Hinduism as the state religion that was in pre-2007 Nepal. But these are unsubstantiated statements.
The promotion of Hindu faith and practices through several cult figures and their preachers has been mostly one-way traffic as our own saints like Bhikshu Amritananda, Shree Khaptad Baba, Dr. Swami Prapannacharya, Kamalnayanacharya Dr. Ramananda Giri and several others have very little or no following in India.

It is now strongly felt in Nepal that the south-north traffic of faiths and practices is not only limited to holy men, their missions and the goods that accompany them. Now there are other commercial items, too. Like the faiths travelling north as spiritual commodities, there are actually different forms of commodities coming to Nepal and creating small to medium to big dents in the body-culture of Nepal. Just a few items would be sufficient to substantiate the writer's analysis.

Take Mehendi (a herbal paste with long lasting designs painted on hands) for example. Until some years ago, this colourful paint was shown on the hands of the Marwari and other upper class ladies of the plains during some festivals and ceremonies at home. Today it has hit the market. From the Terai, this colour has been making its entry into cities like Kathmandu, attracting females of all castes and ages. Even elementary level female students want to have this paint on their tiny hands to mark the coming of a festival at home and the community.

One can only guess, as the Mehendi cone goes to many hands at a fast rate, its business could be rated into millions per week, if not per day. Such a business certainly brings the entrepreneurs as business promoters and add to the already saturating population statistics. And, this is just an example of a new addition in popular culture.

Take another example from Janai Purnima and Rakshyabandhan. The traditional Nepali belief held that the holy thread is to be renewed every year on this auspicious day by the thread holder castes. Similarly, the colourful thread is to go to the wrist through the family (in cities the temple) priests as marks of 'protection', hence the name. This is fine and good. But lo and behold! A 'Rakhi culture' has now come all the way from the plains through Hindi serials and migrants.

Now a sister is taught to tie this colourful, expensive and laboriously made thread around her brother's hand as another kind of protection and welfare of her sibling/s. Now almost every corner of the city has this temporary stall with hundreds of varieties of this thread. Earlier it catered for the migrant Terai-Indian population, but now it has infected the Pahadi and valley population of youngsters.

Flourishing business

Finally, one writer suggested rather jokingly how our 'Fagu' has been 'Holi' and added new features and soon the wife could be 'bibi ji'. It is not just a change of a name; it has also changed the earlier character and added new paraphernalia. A business is flourishing in these names and taking a big amount of money out of the country just for the sake of imitation of a neighbourhood culture. One must say – Nepalis are very innovative and change-seekers but have no or little thought about how new inventions can come heavy on our own traditions that are simple, inexpensive and carry history as well as meaning.

http://therisingnepal.org.np/news/6290

NEPAL: A Muslim family rendered homeless after converting to the Wahhabi sect

September 4, 2014
Asian Human Rights Commission

The Terai Human Rights Defenders (THRD) Alliance in Nepal has informed the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that a Muslim family of the Sunni faith, residing at the Gauri Village Development Committee in Kapilavastu District have been forced to flee their home as a result of converting to the Wahhabi sect on or around the 10 June 2014. Reports state that local Sunnis have destroyed their farm lands, their crops and their home and looted their property. Following the incident the family was forced to flee, in order to avoid further attacks.  They have sought assistance from the District Police and the District Administration Offices; however the police have downright refused to provide any assistance to them. Today despite an order from the Court, to restore their land and their freedoms to practice a religion of their choice, have not been able to return to their home and remain as refugees.