THE VIDEO SHOWS THE MYSTIC 'SIMPLICITY' OF 'BOMBOM'
Ram Bahadur Bomjom was born on April 9, 1990, in the small town of Ratanapuri, Bara district, Nepal.
On the night of May 16, 2005, he disappeared. A search group was organized. Family and neighbors searched for him. He was found in a ravine near a large mango tree.
He refused to return home. "He called his younger brother and asked him to bring water, rice, his Lama robes, his string of beads and an image of Buddha. The brother obeyed. Then the young man sat in the lotus position and seemed to go into a trance." (CABUS, 2009)
Ram Bahadur Bomjom decided to embrace religious life very early. He began his formal studies with two Lamas in his own village.
Later, he became a disciple of Guru Som Bahadur Lama of Sudha. With this master, he shared the teachings with nine other students.
"When the time came for the initiation ceremony", the young man showed his first signs of doctrinal rebellion: "he refused to cut his hair, breaking with Buddhist tradition. Them, he was then sent to continue his education in Dehradun with the Lamas of Dehradun" (Idem).
Left: Guru Som Bahadur Lama. Right: Ram Bomjom, student, standing in foreground with the teacher in the background, wearing a mustache. September 16, 2010.
SOFÁ DA SALA The report found that Guru Som Bahadur Lama continued to "work" with the young apprentice and currently appears with him on a website dedicated to the doctrine of the ancient Tamang Tulku Rimpoche (Tamang is a descendant of lamas, Buddhist masters) and now: Mahasambodhi Dharmasangha Guru, among other names and titles that the young man attributes to himself.
Yes, because Ram Bahadur Bomjom changed his name and titles several times throughout his mystical journey. Today he leads former masters in his own school, Bodhi Shrawan Dharma Sangha (BSDS). A Sangha is a Buddhist community or monastery.
However, it was in May 2005 that Ram Bahadur Bomjom, at the age of 15, gained worldwide fame and, in newspaper headlines, was called Buddha Boy for the first time.
"On May 18, he arrived at a pipal tree. There he made an offering of 10 different types of fruits before the image of Buddha. Then he sat down under the tree and went back to meditating."
People began to gather before him. Disturbed, he moved to another fig tree and, once again, people made pilgrimages to see him. Many offered of food and money. Then, his family and neighbors erected a barrier of isolation that protected him from the harassment of those already devoted.
Along years, the Buddha-boy became not only famous but also powerful. A circle of "protectors" formed around him.
However, this protection did not prevent the scandals that began to appear in the media as the teenage became a man.
ARRESTED
On January 10, 2024, at the age of 33, the guru was arrested in a house in Kathmandu, suspected of attempted rape, after a police siege that lasted about 10 years.
During this time, protected by authorities, he was reported, in vain, several times, for assault, bodily harm, private imprisonment, among other crimes.
On July 8, 2024, Ram Bahadur Bomjom was sentenced by a Nepalese court to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay US$3,700 (three thousand seven hundred dollars) in compensation to the victim, a minor girl, for sexual assault. Bonjom's lawyer appealed the sentence.
"According to the police, about US$227,000 in Nepalese notes and US$23,000 in other currencies were taken at the time of the arrest.
Bomjom is also suspected of being involved in the disappearance of four of his followers. These charges are still pending" (VOANEWS, 2024).
FROM BUDDHA BOY TO PLAYBOY
It is not possible to determine when the mystic younger, who wanted to meditate alone and was concerned about the misery of the world and its people, was captured by the ambitious and corrupt adult who has allied himself with Nepali politics and bureaucracy figures, such as former state minister Mani Lama and Bhuminand Devkota, a Maoist Centre's former leader.
"Bomjon has ashrams in Bara, Sarlahi, Sindhupalchowk and Sindhuli. While the last three are privately owned by Bomjon, the one in Bara is funded by the government.
In 2014, the Sushil Koirala government granted the Halkhoriya Forest, in Bara the status of a religious forest.
When Bamjan shifted his meditation site to the forest, his followers erected a three-square-kilometer wire fence in the national forest. The District Forest Office took no action." (KATHMANDU POST, 2018)
The proximity to these authorities explains the "guru's" immunity to the complaints and police actions brought against him, without result, for more than a decade.
MARRIED
Buddha Boy has aged badly. Proclaiming himself more than a saint, presenting himself as divine, he has become an eccentric nouveau riche, a peddler of Buddhist faith and doctrine who leads a double life.
In order to maintain his aura of saintliness, he has tried to hide two marriages, lovers, the birth of his first child and other scandalous facts related to his personal life. (Details in the sources below: Rita Bot – Bomjon’s first wife have disappeared already 9 years ago ando so on.)
SOURCES
Is “Nepalese Ascetic” Tapasvi Ram Bomjon married?
HALKORIA TIMES. 11 Nov, 2017
https://halkoriatimes.wordpress.com/2017/11/14/is-ram-bomjon-married/
Rita Bot – Bomjon’s first wife have disappeared already 9 years ago
HALKORIA TIMES. 27 Feb, 2024
https://halkoriatimes.wordpress.com/2019/02/27/rita-bot-bomjons-first-wife-disappeared-already-9-years-ago/
Controversial godman
KATHMANDU POST. December 31, 2018
https://kathmandupost.com/editorial/2018/12/31/controversial-godman
Nepalese court sentences ‘Buddha Boy’ in sexual assault case
VOA NEWS, July 01, 2024
https://www.voanews.com/a/nepalese-court-sentences-buddha-boy-in-sexual-assault-case/7680881.html
Former ‘Buddha boy’ arrested in Nepal
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2721833/former-buddha-boy-arrested-in-nepal
BANGKOK POST, Janeiro 10, 2024.
RAM BONJOM: O BUDDHA PÓS-MODERNO DO NEPAL
https://sofadasala-noticias.blogspot.com/p/ram-bonjom-o-buddha-pos-moderno-do-nepal.html
Junho 12, 2023. Publicado originalmente em Novembro de 2009.
BUDDHA-BOY: O Garoto Iluminado do Nepal
https://sofadasala-noticias.blogspot.com/p/buddha-boy-o-garoto-iluminado-do-nepal.html
BSDS. Bodhi Shrawan Dharma Sangha.
School and Religious Education
https://bsds.org/en/photoalbum/2/school-and-religious-education#photo-94
acessado em Outubro 2, 2024.
https://bsds.org/en/
