Gregorian Bivolaru

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For criticism see Criticism of Gregorian_Bivolaru
See also Gregorian Bivolaru (Română)

Gregorian Bivolaru (nicknamed Grieg, Grig or, by the press, Guru)(born 12 March 1952) is the founder of the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute (MISA), a member of the International Yoga Federation. In 2005, the Supreme Court of Sweden agreed to grant political refugee status to Bivolaru in response to his claims and clear evidences of persecution in Romania.

Contents

Early life

Gregorian Bivolaru was born in Tărtăşeşti, Ilfov County, (now in Dâmboviţa County), Romania. He studied at a high school in Bucharest and in 1971 he started to teach his first yoga courses. The Securitate (Romanian State Security) began watching him due to his correspondence with Mircea Eliade a historian of religions, philosopher and writer who was considered to be a "public enemy" by the communist regime.

In 1977, he was charged with distribution of pornographic materials by the totalitarian communist regime (a typical cover-up accusation for political repression) and sentenced to one year in prison, but he did not complete it due to an amnesty granted by Nicolae Ceauşescu.[1]

His home was searched and all his books of Eastern and esoteric philosophy, all his personal correspondence and notebooks were confiscated.

Bivolaru started teaching yoga in Bucharest in 1978, allegedly collaborating with the Ministry of Health and the Association of Psychosomatic Medicine in Bucharest.

In 1982, after the Trancendental Meditation Scandal, the Yoga courses were banned by the communist regime (this also happened to martial arts and to all forms of esoteric or spiritual practice, even the Faculty of Psychology was closed down), however he continued to teach yoga illegally. He had at that time more than 170 students, even though the risks for both the students and the teacher were significant. All those who were attending at that time professor's Gregorian Bivolaru yoga courses were arrested and agressed by the Secret Services agents.

Gregorian Bivolaru continued to teach illegally. In the following years, he was watched by the Securitate, his residence was constantly searched. On 17 April 1984 he was arrested and charged with conspiracy against Ceausescu. He spent two years in jail for escaping from Rahova prison.[2]

In 1989 he was arrested again, although there were no charges against him. The communist regime put him this time into the High Security Mental Hospital of Poiana Mare - a place used to “make lost” political dissidents - with the recommendation to be put under strong medication, together with prisoners with real mental diseases, with a diagnosis of having a "personality which has a paranoid developing, with obsessophobic elements on a psycho-schysoid background". We have to mention here that despite the risk of opposing a despotic order, dr. Leonard Hriscu, refused to give him the respective medication considering the diagnosis to be made up (see doctor statement in the movie “Who is afraid of Gregorian Bivolaru?”). This diagnosis was revoked in January 1990 and Bivolaru was freed.

File:Yogic Yang Spiral.jpg
Helicopter view of a yogic yang spiral of approximately 3,500 people, Costineşti, Romania, 27 August 2005

MISA

After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, practicing yoga became legal again and Gregorian Bivolaru founded the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute (MISA). MISA came to be the largest yoga school in Romania, reportedly with more than 30,000 followers.MISA opened yoga classes and holds also lectures on related disciplines such as kashmirian philosophy, and ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine). Also, the movement proved to contribute at the enhancement of moral and cultural values of the Romanians (see the official web-site of MISA, www.yogaesoteric.net).

The yoga courses opened first in Bucharest spread soon all over the country. Competent teachers were trained under the guidance of Gregorian Bivolaru. Based on the ancient yoga knowledge and also on his own reach experience, he succeeded to found an extensive and integral yoga system.

Due to its effectiveness, this yoga system was implemented in a similar manner in more than 20 countries in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, even Australia . This is how The International Federation of Yoga and Meditation, ATMAN, was created. It is an organisation that brings together spiritual movements from different parts of the world having as their main goals the awakening of the spirituality on Earth, the reconsideration of the fundamental truths, the reorientation of the humanity towards the highest possible aim of a man's life, spiritual liberation. Mr. Gregorian Bivolaru is the spiritual mentor of this federation.

He published over 38 books, translated many others, signing also more than 200 articles. He has also became famous for introducing tantric sexuality in Romania. At Gregorian Bivolaru's suggestion, new and original ways of practicing group meditation have been introduced, such as the Yogic Yang Spiral, a group meditation where hundreds or thousands of people meditate while holding hands, arranged so they form a spiral. The spires are made by a certain pattern: men and women alternate, in the logical order of the zodiacal signs, forming a spiral with an anti-clockwise rotation by holding hands.

In November 2005 Gregorian Bivolaru, the spiritual head of MISA has been elected full member for life in the International Senior Yoga Teachers Advisors of World Yoga Council, within the International Yoga Council, the highest board of the International Yoga Federation. (International Yoga Federation - a federation of 300 yoga schools around the world).

External links

References

  1. ^  Romanian 16 April 2005, "Guru Bivolaru are mandat pentru crima organizata" (Evenimentul Zilei)
  2. ^  Romanian 5 April 2005, "Gregorian Bivolaru a fost arestat in Suedia" (Ştiri România On-Line)
  3. ^  Romanian 6 April 2005, "Cum a trecut Guru granita?" (Evenimentul Zilei)
  4. ^  Romanian 21 April 2005, "Guru Bivolaru a iesit ilegal din Romania" (Evenimentul Zilei)
  5. ^  Romanian 27 March 2004, "A evadat in '84 din arestul Securitatii" (Jurnalul Naţional)
  6. ^  Romanian "DECIZIA Nr.211 din 1 noiembrie 2000" (Legile Romaniei)
  7. ^  Romanian 1 April 2005, "Gabriel Bivolaru si Gregorian Bivolaru sunt frati" (stiri.kappa.ro)
  8. ^  Romanian 21 October 2005, "Guru mediteaza in libertate" (Evenimentul Zilei)
  9. ^  23 October 2005, "Gregorian Bivolaru became a free man as per the ruling issued by the Swedish Supreme Court of Justice" (Evenimentul Zilei)
  10. ^  Romanian 17 December 2005, "Macovei cere verificarea cazului Gregorian Bivolaru" (Evenimentul Zilei)
  11. ^  Romanian 3 January 2006, "Suedia îi acordă azil politic lui Gregorian Bivolaru" (BBC Romanian)
  12. ^  Romanian 8 February 2006, "Doua condamnari pentru orgii sexuale" (România Liberă)
  13. "APADOR-CH Annual Report 2004"
  14. "APADOR-CH Annual Report 1997"
  15. "Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Romania Report 2005 (Events of 2004)"
  16. "CONCERNS IN EUROPE Amnesty International - January - June 1997"
  17. "Amnesty International - Report 2005"
  18. "SOJUST - Independent Report on the Justice System in Romania - Cap. V. HUMAN RIGHTS IN ROMANIA"
  19. "U.S. State Department’s 2006 International Religious Freedom Report - Romania"
  20. "Public instigations to persecution by High Officials against Gregorian Bivolaru and Yoga practitioners"
  21. "Mass media campaign against Gregorian Bivolaru and MISA, 1990 - 2004"
  22. "Mass media campaign against Gregorian Bivolaru and MISA starting with 18 March 2004"
  23. "Articles regarding the Gregorian Bivolaru case in the international media"
  24. "The Decision of The Supreme Court of Justice in Stockholm"
  25. "Swedish expert, Karl Erik Nylund’s report on MISA and Gregorian Bivolaru"
  26. "The Report on MISA and NATHA of the Swedish Sociologists from Skop-Research"
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