95-800: Vishnudevananda Saraswati (31 December 1927 – 9 November 1993, birth name Kuttan Nair ) was an Indian yoga guru known for his teaching of asanas , a disciple of Sivananda Saraswati , and founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams (ISYVC). He established the Sivananda Yoga Teachers' Training Course, possibly the first yoga teacher training programs in the West. His books The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga (1960) and Meditation and Mantras (1978) established him as an authority on Hatha and Raja yoga . Vishnudevananda
190-605: A combination of yoga philosophy , the shatkarmas or purifications, the sattvic diet , and pranayama , breath control, alongside the postures. He is credited as the asana pioneer within Sivananda Yoga. He condensed the teachings of classical yoga into five principles: proper exercise, proper breathing, proper relaxation, proper diet ( vegetarian ), and meditation and positive thinking. In the 1960s, he introduced The Beatles to yoga. He published his guide to hatha yoga, The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga , in 1960. It
285-886: A controversy amongst some who followed Vishnudevananda and the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres (ISYVC). Several former and current students criticised the ISYVC for continuous reverence of Vishnudevananda and demanded the organisation to remove his portraits from altars and yoga practice rooms. Salter's personal testimony, posted to Facebook in December 2019, detailed the long-term physical, mental, and sexual abuse she allegedly received from Vishnudevananda. The testimony prompted two other women to publish their own testimonies about abuse by Vishnudevananda; Pamela Kyssa stated on Salter's thread that Vishnudevananda had raped her in 1974. The ISYVC Board of Directors published
380-675: A disaffected faction of the PLP to form a new party, the Free National Movement (FNM), a centre-right party which aimed to counter the growing power of Pindling's PLP. The United Kingdom Government gave the Bahamas its independence by an Order in Council dated 20 June 1973. The Order came into force on 10 July 1973, on which date Prince Charles delivered the official documents to Prime Minister Lynden Pindling . This date
475-409: A focus on personal salvation to public altruism. A further radical shift was from spiritual to physical in yoga as exercise , as pioneered by Yogendra , Kuvalayananda , and Krishnamacharya . The transformed role of the guru can be seen in the case of one of these pioneers, Yogendra , who explicitly rejected the role of traditional guru for a single pupil or shishya . The physical context, too,
570-577: A local name of unclear meaning. First attested on the c. 1523 Turin Map, Bahama originally referred to Grand Bahama alone but was used inclusively in English by 1670. Toponymist Isaac Taylor argues that the name was derived from Bimani ( Bimini ), which Spaniards in Haiti identified with Palombe , a legendary place where John Mandeville 's Travels said there was a fountain of youth . The Bahamas
665-524: A political force in the capital. European Americans were outnumbered by the African-American slaves they brought with them, and ethnic Europeans remained a minority in the territory. The Slave Trade Act 1807 abolished slave trading to British possessions, including the Bahamas. The United Kingdom pressured other slave-trading countries to also abolish slave-trading, and gave the Royal Navy
760-502: A statement expressing dismay at the allegations raised by Salter. Salter reported she had brought her complaint regarding sexual abuse committed against her by Vishnudevananda to The ISYVC, but they did not accept her allegations. Following the Board of Director's first statement, a second statement admitted Salter's earlier complaint and apologised for not believing her 2007 allegations. The Board promised to run an independent investigation of
855-463: A statement stating that the suspended director still used his organisation affiliation in India and ignored his suspension. The incident caused a split between the ISYVC and its Indian division. In February 2020, Project SATYA admins launched the project satya investigation. The Project SATYA admins commissioned Carol Merchasin and Josna Pankhania to investigate the allegations independently and with
950-473: A survivor-centred approach that was meant to reduce the harm of the participants and informants. Those with allegations or information could contact the investigators via a confidential email address. The Project SATYA investigation was community funded, and Project SATYA launched a Gofund.me crowdfunding image. The investigators accepted a honorarium amounting to what the community was able to collect. The Gofundme page collected approximately 18,000 USD. Over
1045-485: A total land area of 10,010 km (3,860 sq mi). Nassau , capital city of the Bahamas, lies on the island of New Providence ; the other main inhabited islands are Grand Bahama , Eleuthera , Cat Island , Rum Cay , Long Island , San Salvador Island , Ragged Island , Acklins , Crooked Island , Exuma , Berry Islands , Mayaguana , the Bimini islands, Great Abaco and Great Inagua . The largest island
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#17327935457851140-451: A tradition. Many such gurus, but not all, teach a form of yoga as exercise ; others teach forms which are more devotional or meditational; many teach a combination. Some have been affected by scandals of various kinds. Before the creation of modern yoga , hatha yoga was practised in secret by solitary, ascetic yogins, learning the tradition as a long-term pupil or shishya apprenticed to their master or guru. The ancient relationship
1235-474: A twin-engine Piper Apache plane painted by artist Peter Max . Upon landing, he was joined by actor Peter Sellers . Later that same year, on 6 October, he took off with his co-pilot Bren Jacobson, who had been with him during the entire trip, from Tel Aviv to fly over the war-ridden Suez Canal and was buzzed by Israeli jets. The same thing happened with the Egyptian Air Force on the other side of
1330-523: A vision of a world in peril, Vishnudevananda began his peace mission. The first act was to create the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course in 1969; this is said to be the first training programme for yoga teachers . Later he conducted peace flights over the world's trouble spots, earning himself the name "The Flying Swami". On 30 August 1971, Vishnudevananda piloted his Peace Plane from Boston to Northern Ireland ,
1425-496: Is Andros . All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than 15 to 20 m (49 to 66 ft). The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia (formerly Como Hill) on Cat Island at 64 m (210 ft). The country contains three terrestrial ecoregions: Bahamian dry forests , Bahamian pine mosaic , and Bahamian mangroves . It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.35/10, ranking it 44th globally out of 172 countries. In
1520-831: Is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean . It contains 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and 88% of its population. The archipelagic country consists of more than 3,000 islands, cays , and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and northwest of the island of Hispaniola (split between the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and the Turks and Caicos Islands , southeast of
1615-575: Is derived from the Lucayan name Bahama ('large upper middle island'), used by the Indigenous Taíno people for the island of Grand Bahama . Tourist guides often state that the name comes from the Spanish baja mar ('shallow sea'). Wolfgang Ahrens of York University argues that this is a folk etymology . Alternatively, Bahama may have been derived from Guanahaní ,
1710-547: Is evidence both from research in psychology and from the recollections of former devotees like Daniel Shaw, once a senior member of staff in Gurumayi 's Siddha Yoga organisation, that even if a guru is seen to be lying, devotees will ignore the matter and "keep on believing". Bahamas The Bahamas ( / b ə ˈ h ɑː m ə z / bə- HAH -məz ), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas ,
1805-544: Is now celebrated as the country's Independence Day . It joined the Commonwealth of Nations on the same day. Sir Milo Butler was appointed the first governor-general of the Bahamas (the official representative of Queen Elizabeth II ) shortly after independence. Shortly after independence, the Bahamas joined the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on 22 August 1973, and later
1900-530: Is one of only two countries whose official names start with the article "the"—the other being The Gambia . The usage likely arose because the name also refers to the islands, a geographical feature that would take a definite article. The first inhabitants of the Bahamas were the Taíno people, who moved into the uninhabited southern islands from Hispaniola and Cuba around the 800s–1000s AD, having migrated there from mainland South America ; they came to be known as
1995-788: Is part of the Lucayan Archipelago , which continues into the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Mouchoir Bank , the Silver Bank , and the Navidad Bank . The Bahamas Platform, which includes the Bahamas, Southern Florida, Northern Cuba, the Turks and Caicos, and the Blake Plateau , formed about 150 Ma , not long after the formation of the North Atlantic. The 6.4 km (4.0 mi) thick limestones , which predominate in
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#17327935457852090-478: Is the modern-day Bahamas, lies at the northern part of the Greater Antilles region and was believed to have been formed 200 million years ago when they began to separate from the supercontinent Pangaea . The Pleistocene Ice Age around 3 million years ago, had a profound impact on the archipelago's formation. The Bahamas consists of a chain of islands spread out over some 800 km (500 mi) in
2185-567: Is the most widespread. The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy , with King of the Bahamas Charles III as head of state represented locally by a governor-general . Political and legal traditions closely follow those of England and the Westminster system . The Bahamas is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and shares its head of state with some other Commonwealth realms . The prime minister
2280-424: Is transformed along with the nature of the teacher's authority; yoga as exercise is often taught in an urban yoga studio, where the instructor's yoga teacher training stands in for the old guru-shishya relationship. The trend away from authority is continued in post-lineage yoga , which is practised outside any major school or guru's lineage. The concept of the guru, along with mantra and meditation , reached
2375-674: The Enterprise , which went into Bermuda in 1835; and 38 from the Hermosa , which wrecked off Abaco Island in 1840. The most notable case was that of the Creole in 1841: as a result of a slave revolt on board, the leaders ordered the US brig to Nassau. It was carrying 135 slaves from Virginia destined for sale in New Orleans . The Bahamian officials freed the 128 slaves who chose to stay in
2470-511: The BBC journalist and Sivananda yoga teacher Ishleen Kaur. Salter stated that when she told Vishnudevananda she did not understand his instruction to lie down next to him, he replied "Tantra yoga", implying some form of spiritual sexual activity . Project SATYA was established by Angela Gollat, Antonia Abu Matar, and Jens Augspurger and primarily served as a discussion space and survivor support group on Facebook. The Project SATYA admins lamented
2565-556: The Bimini Road ("pavements of Atlantis"), limestone crust , caves due to the lack of rivers, and sea caves . Several blue holes are aligned along the South Andros Fault line. Tidal flats and tidal creeks are common, but the more impressive drainage patterns are formed by troughs and canyons such as Great Bahama Canyon with the evidence of turbidity currents and turbidite deposition. The stratigraphy of
2660-563: The Carolinas in North America. They rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, tax, appointing governors , and administering the country from their base on New Providence. Piracy and attacks from hostile foreign powers were a constant threat. In 1684, Spanish corsair Juan de Alcon raided the capital Charles Town (later renamed Nassau ), and in 1703, a joint Franco-Spanish expedition briefly occupied Nassau during
2755-527: The Confederate States . The early decades of the 20th century were ones of hardship for many Bahamians, characterised by a stagnant economy and widespread poverty. Many eked out a living via subsistence agriculture or fishing. In August 1940, the Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII) was appointed Governor of the Bahamas . He arrived in the colony with his wife . Although disheartened at
2850-583: The Cretaceous period, and perhaps as early as the Jurassic ; today the total thickness under the Great Bahama Bank is over 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles). As the limestone was deposited in shallow water, the only way to explain this massive column is to estimate that the entire platform has subsided under its own weight at a rate of roughly 3.6 centimetres (2 inches) per 1,000 years. The Bahamas
2945-671: The Eleutheran Adventurers , settled on the island of Eleuthera . The Bahamas became a British crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy . After the American Revolutionary War , the Crown resettled thousands of American Loyalists to the Bahamas; they took enslaved people with them and established plantations on land grants. Enslaved Africans and their descendants constituted
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3040-661: The Gulf Stream . This resulted in the drowning of the Blake Plateau, the separation of the Bahamas from Cuba and Florida, the separation of the southeastern Bahamas into separate banks, the creation of the Cay Sal Bank , plus the Little and Great Bahama Banks . Sedimentation from the "carbonate factory" of each bank, or atoll , continues today at the rate of about 20 mm (0.79 in) per kyr . Coral reefs form
3135-818: The Hindu and Sikh factions in Amritsar , entering the Golden Temple to speak to the Sikh leaders who had sought refuge there. Over the years, Vishnudevananda met regularly with other spiritual and religious leaders to promote interfaith dialogue and understanding; among other things, Catholic students studied Yoga at the Sivananda center in Larchmont . He organized yearly symposia on topics relating yoga to modern life. Vishnudevananda died on 9 November 1993. His body
3230-509: The Lucayan people . An estimated 30,000 Lucayans inhabited the Bahamas at the time of Christopher Columbus ' arrival in 1492. Columbus' first landfall in what was to Europeans a "New World" was on an island he named San Salvador (known to the Lucayans as Guanahani ). While there is a general consensus that this island lay within the Bahamas, precisely which island Columbus landed on is a matter of scholarly debate. Some researchers believe
3325-765: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhawanthari Ashram in Neyyar Dam, near Thiruvananthapuram in the foothills of the Sahyadri Mountains , Kerala. A small Himalayan ashram, Sivananda Kutir , was established in Netala, just outside Uttar Kashi on the banks of the Ganges. As of 2021, the organization founded by Vishnudevananda has 11 ashrams and 31 centers around the world. In addition, it has 33 affiliated centers. In reaction to
3420-735: The Spanish attacked Nassau during the War of the Quadruple Alliance . In 1729, a local assembly was established giving a degree of self-governance for British settlers. The reforms had been planned by the previous Governor George Phenney and authorised in July 1728. During the American War of Independence in the late 18th century, the islands became a target for US naval forces. Under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins , US Marines ,
3515-820: The United Bahamian Party (UBP) representing the English-descended Bahamians (known informally as the "Bay Street Boys") and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) representing the Black-Bahamian majority. In 1958, the first marine protected area in the Bahamas, the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park was established. A new constitution granting the Bahamas internal autonomy went into effect on 7 January 1964, with Chief Minister Sir Roland Symonette of
3610-574: The United Nations on 18 September 1973. Politically, the first two decades were dominated by Pindling's PLP, who went on to win a string of electoral victories. Allegations of corruption, links with drug cartels and financial malfeasance within the Bahamian government failed to dent Pindling's popularity. Meanwhile, the economy underwent a dramatic growth period fuelled by the twin pillars of tourism and offshore finance , significantly raising
3705-557: The War of the Spanish Succession . During proprietary rule, the Bahamas became a haven for pirates , including Blackbeard ( circa 1680–1718). To put an end to the " Pirates' republic " and restore orderly government, Britain made the Bahamas a crown colony in 1718, which they dubbed "the Bahama islands" under the governorship of Woodes Rogers . After a difficult struggle, he succeeded in suppressing piracy. In 1720,
3800-557: The standard of living on the islands. The Bahamas' booming economy led to it becoming a beacon for immigrants, most notably from Haiti . In 1992 , Pindling was unseated by Hubert Ingraham of the FNM. Ingraham went on to win the 1997 Bahamian general election , before being defeated in 2002 , when the PLP returned to power under Perry Christie . Ingraham returned to power from 2007 to 2012, followed by Christie again from 2012 to 2017. With economic growth faltering, Bahamians re-elected
3895-475: The "retaining walls" of these atolls, within which oolites and pellets form. Coral growth was greater through the Tertiary , until the start of the ice ages , and hence those deposits are more abundant below a depth of 36 m (118 ft). In fact, an ancient extinct reef exists half a kilometre seaward of the present one, 30 m (98 ft) below sea level. Oolites form when oceanic water penetrate
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3990-625: The Atlantic Ocean, located to the east of Florida in the United States, north of Cuba and Hispaniola and west of the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands (with which it forms the Lucayan archipelago ). It lies between latitudes 20° and 28°N , and longitudes 72° and 80°W and straddles the Tropic of Cancer . There are some 700 islands and 2,400 cays in total (of which 30 are inhabited) with
4085-446: The Bahamas forest cover is around 51% of the total land area, equivalent to 509,860 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, which was unchanged from 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 509,860 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 0 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 0% of
4180-405: The Bahamas a warm and winterless climate. As with most tropical climates, seasonal rainfall follows the sun, and summer is the wettest season. There is only a 7 °C (13 °F) difference between the warmest month and coolest month in most of the Bahama islands. Every few decades low temperatures can fall below 10 °C (50 °F) for a few hours when a severe cold outbreak comes down from
4275-469: The Bahamas from Florida. Bahamians were even known to recognise the freedom of enslaved people carried by the ships of other nations which reached the Bahamas. Today Black Bahamians make up 90% of the population of 400,516. The country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1973, led by Sir Lynden O. Pindling . It shares its monarch with the other Commonwealth realms . The Bahamas has
4370-525: The Bahamas from outside the British West Indies would be manumitted." This led to a total of nearly 300 enslaved people owned by US nationals being freed from 1830 to 1835. The American slave ships Comet and Encomium used in the United States domestic coastwise slave trade , were wrecked off Abaco Island in December 1830 and February 1834, respectively. When wreckers took the masters, passengers and slaves into Nassau, customs officers seized
4465-423: The Bahamas, date back to the Cretaceous . These limestones would have been deposited in shallow seas, assumed to be a stretched and thinned portion of the North American continental crust . Sediments were forming at about the same rate as the crust below was sinking due to the added weight. Thus, the entire area consisted of a large marine plain with some islands. Then, at about 80 Ma, the area became flooded by
4560-510: The Bahamas, including 2,000 from New York and at least 1,033 Europeans, 2,214 African descendants, and a few Native American Creeks from East Florida . Most of the refugees resettled from New York had fled from other colonies, including West Florida , which the Spanish captured during the war. The government granted land to the planters to help compensate for losses on the continent. These Loyalists, who included Deveaux and also Lord Dunmore , established plantations on several islands and became
4655-456: The Canal. He continued eastward, "bombing" Pakistan and Bangladesh with flowers and peace leaflets. On 15 September 1983 Vishnudevananda flew over the Berlin Wall , from West to East Berlin , in a highly publicized and dangerous mission to promote peace. In 1984, he and his students toured India in a double-decker bus, conducting programs to awaken the Indian people to their ancient tradition of yoga. In February he tried to mediate between
4750-444: The FNM in 2017, with Hubert Minnis becoming the fourth prime minister. In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian struck the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama at Category 5 intensity, devastating the northwestern Bahamas. The storm inflicted at least US$ 7 billion in damages and killed more than 50 people, with 1,300 people missing after two weeks. The COVID-19 pandemic reached the Bahamas on 15 March 2020. In September 2021,
4845-431: The ISYVC and its staff, written in first-person narratives by the respective complainant. These statements were compiled by Josna Pankhania over the duration of the investigation. Pankhania also discussed the impact of institutional betrayal and abuse, the nature of an apology and wider implications of abuse in the third report. In respect to the four allegations against Vishnudevananda that were investigated and corroborated,
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#17327935457854940-445: The North American mainland, however there has never been a frost or freeze recorded in the Bahamian Islands. Only once in recorded history has snow been seen in the air anywhere in the Bahamas. This occurred in Freeport on 19 January 1977, when snow mixed with rain was seen in the air for a short time. The Bahamas are often sunny and dry for long periods, and average more than 3,000 hours or 340 days of sunlight annually. Much of
5035-456: The Taíno died from smallpox alone. As a result of these depredations the population of the Bahamas was severely diminished. The English had expressed an interest in the Bahamas as early as 1629. However, it was not until 1648 that the first English settlers arrived on the islands. Known as the Eleutherian Adventurers and led by William Sayle , they migrated from Bermuda seeking greater religious freedom. These English Puritans established
5130-418: The U.S. state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys . The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence . The Royal Bahamas Defence Force describes the Bahamas' territory as encompassing 470,000 km (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space. The Bahama islands were inhabited by the Arawak and Lucayans , a branch of the Arawakan - speaking Taíno , for many centuries. Christopher Columbus
5225-403: The UBP becoming the first Premier. In 1967, Lynden Pindling of the PLP became the first black Premier of the Bahamian colony; in 1968, the title of the position was changed to Prime Minister . In 1968, Pindling announced that the Bahamas would seek full independence. A new constitution giving the Bahamas increased control over its own affairs was adopted in 1968. In 1971, the UBP merged with
5320-425: The US Navy occupied Nassau in 1776, before being evacuated a few days later. In 1782 a Spanish fleet appeared off the coast of Nassau, and the city surrendered without a fight . Later, in April 1783, on a visit made by Prince William of the United Kingdom (later to become King William IV ) to Luis de Unzaga at his residence in the Captaincy General of Havana, they made prisoner exchange agreements and also dealt with
5415-423: The United States argued that the United Kingdom should not treat its domestic ships that came to its colonial ports under duress as part of the international trade. The United States worried that the success of the Creole slaves in gaining freedom would encourage more slave revolts on merchant ships. During the American Civil War of the 1860s, the islands briefly prospered as a focus for blockade runners aiding
5510-442: The West in the 1960s with The Beatles' trip to India , for a Transcendental Meditation training course at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 's ashram in Rishikesh . Modern gurus since then have used the divine status of the traditional guru to claim that they were gods or goddesses. Some asserted they were avatars , earthly incarnations of a god, fulfilling the prophecy in the Bhagavad Gita that Vishnu would take on earthly form when
5605-446: The action of rainwater, called eolianite . Most islands have ridges ranging from 30 to 45 m (98 to 148 ft), though Cat Island has a ridge 60 m (200 ft) in height. The land between ridges is conducive to the formation of lakes and swamps. Solution weathering of the limestone results in a "Bahamian Karst " topography. This includes potholes , blue holes such as Dean's Blue Hole , sinkholes , beachrock such as
5700-474: The allegations made by Salter and others. The investigator, Marianne Plamondon of Langlois in Montreal, declined to comment on whether the results of the investigation would be made public. In February 2020, the investigation was suspended, only hours before Salter and other women were scheduled to speak to the investigator. The organisation stated financial reasons for their decision. Salter and 14 other women described their experiences, including alleged rape, to
5795-474: The condition of Government House, they "tried to make the best of a bad situation". He did not enjoy the position, and referred to the islands as "a third-class British colony". He opened the small local parliament on 29 October 1940. The couple visited the "Out Islands" that November, on Axel Wenner-Gren 's yacht, which caused controversy; the British Foreign Office strenuously objected because they had been advised by United States intelligence that Wenner-Gren
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#17327935457855890-575: The course of the investigation from February 2020 to November 2020, the investigators received dozens of complaints and information and interviewed more than 60 people. The complaints that were investigated referred to a time frame from 1969 to 2001. During the investigation, the investigators provided three interim reports that were published by Project SATYA immediately. The third report was published in November 2020 and included four allegations of sexual abuse against Vishnudevananda, as well as 31 allegations of sexual abuse and other types of abuse against
5985-452: The first Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Montreal, Quebec , Canada , in 1959. He set up the first yoga vacation in Val-Morin , Quebec , (on 11th Avenue) in 1961; this has since become a tradition in the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams. In February 1962, Vishnudevananda saw the present site of the Yoga Camp in Val Morin, and chose to settle in the dense forest area near the Laurentian Mountains . The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre
6080-408: The first permanent European settlement on an island which they named Eleuthera , Greek for free . They later settled New Providence , naming it Sayle's Island. Life proved harder than envisaged however, and many – including Sayle – chose to return to Bermuda. To survive, the remaining settlers salvaged goods from wrecks . In 1670, King Charles II granted the islands to the Lords Proprietors of
6175-464: The forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 80% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership , 20% private ownership and 0% with ownership listed as other or unknown. According to the Köppen climate classification , the climate of the Bahamas is mostly tropical savannah climate or Aw , with a hot and wet season and a warm and dry season. The low latitude, warm tropical Gulf Stream , and low elevation give
6270-425: The fourteenth-largest gross domestic product per capita in the Americas . Its economy is based on tourism and offshore finance. Though the Bahamas is in the Lucayan Archipelago, and not on the Caribbean Sea , it is often considered part of the wider Caribbean region. The Bahamas is a full member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) but is not part of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy . The name Bahamas
6365-430: The guru in the modern world is radically transformed. Globalisation has extended the guru's reach into environments where they may be a stranger, and where the religion, purpose, and status of the guru is poorly understood. Modern yoga practices are often open to everyone, without any sort of initiation into any organisation or doctrine. The modern guru Jaggi Vasudev explicitly rejected "all that traditional whatever"; all
6460-418: The islands consists of the Middle Pleistocene Owl's Hole Formation , overlain by the Late Pleistocene Grotto Beach Formation, and then the Holocene Rice Bay Formation. However, these units are not necessarily stacked on top of each other but can be located laterally. The oldest formation, Owl's Hole, is capped by a terra rosa paleosoil , as is the Grotto Beach, unless eroded . The Grotto Beach Formation
6555-614: The islands for the Crown of Castile , before proceeding to explore the larger isles of the Greater Antilles . The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas theoretically divided the new territories between the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal , placing the Bahamas in the Spanish sphere; however they did little to press their claim on the ground. The Spanish did however exploit the native Lucayan peoples, many of whom were enslaved and sent to Hispaniola for use as forced labour. The slaves suffered harsh conditions and most died from contracting diseases to which they had no immunity ; half of
6650-457: The islands. The Creole case has been described as the "most successful slave revolt in U.S. history". These incidents, in which a total of 447 enslaved people belonging to US nationals were freed from 1830 to 1842, increased tension between the United States and the United Kingdom . They had been co-operating in patrols to suppress the international slave trade. However, worried about the stability of its large domestic slave trade and its value,
6745-406: The lack of clarity and transparency in the ISYVC approach, including their initial reluctance to provide information on the investigation process. The ISYVC later only investigated claims against the then director of the Canadian and Indian ashrams. The director was suspended as a reaction to the allegations, but the results of this investigation were never published. In 2022 the organisation published
6840-509: The majority of the population from this period on. The slave trade was abolished by the British in 1807. Although slavery in the Bahamas was not abolished until 1834, the Bahamas became a haven of manumission for African slaves, from outside the British West Indies, in 1818. Africans liberated from illegal slave ships were resettled on the islands by the Royal Navy , while some North American slaves and Seminoles escaped to
6935-422: The modern era that there are many incompetent gurus, and that a true guru should understand the spirit of the scriptures, have a pure character and be free from sin, and should be selfless, without desire for money and fame. Following the downfalls of several gurus accused of misconduct, practitioners have publicly debated whether gurus are still necessary. As for how gurus can get away with abuse for so long, there
7030-526: The natural vegetation is tropical scrub and cactus and succulents are common in landscapes. Tropical storms and hurricanes occasionally impact the Bahamas. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew passed over the northern portions of the islands, and Hurricane Floyd passed near the eastern portions of the islands in 1999. Hurricane Dorian of 2019 passed over the archipelago at destructive Category 5 strength with sustained winds of 298 km/h (185 mph) and wind gusts up to 350 km/h (220 mph), becoming
7125-462: The preliminaries of the Treaty of Paris (1783) , in which the recently conquered Bahamas would be exchanged for East Florida , which would still have to conquer the city of St. Augustine, Florida in 1784 by order of Luis de Unzaga; after that, also in 1784, the Bahamas would be declared a British colony. After US independence, the British resettled some 7,300 Loyalists with their African slaves in
7220-434: The report concludes that the allegations are 'credible'. Modern yoga gurus Modern yoga gurus are people widely acknowledged to be gurus of modern yoga in any of its forms, whether religious or not. The role implies being well-known and having a large following; in contrast to the old guru-shishya tradition , the modern guru-follower relationship is not secretive, not exclusive, and does not necessarily involve
7315-577: The right to intercept ships carrying slaves on the high seas. Thousands of Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy were resettled in the Bahamas. In the 1820s during the period of the Seminole Wars in Florida, hundreds of North American slaves and African Seminoles escaped from Cape Florida to the Bahamas. They settled mostly on northwest Andros Island , where they developed
7410-481: The ruling Free National Movement lost to the opposition Progressive Liberal Party in a snap election , as the economy struggled to recover from its deepest crash since at least 1971. On 17 September 2021, the chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Phillip "Brave" Davis was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Bahamas to succeed Hubert Minnis. The landmass that makes up what
7505-456: The same, some yoga traditions still emphasise and respect a teacher's lineage ( parampara ). For example, Gurumayi 's Siddha Yoga pays careful attention to her predecessors, Muktananda and Bhagawan Nityananda . Another major change was introduced by Vivekananda; his Ramakrishna Mission set the example of public service in education and medicine, something now practised by many other Indian religious movements. These religions thus shifted from
7600-500: The shallow banks, increasing the temperature about 3 °C (5.4 °F) and the salinity by 0.5 per cent. Cemented ooids are referred to as grapestone. Additionally, giant stromatolites are found off the Exuma Cays . Sea level changes resulted in a drop in sea level, causing wind blown oolite to form sand dunes with distinct cross-bedding . Overlapping dunes form oolitic ridges, which become rapidly lithified through
7695-448: The site to be present-day San Salvador Island (formerly known as Watling's Island), situated in the southeastern Bahamas, whilst an alternative theory holds that Columbus landed to the southeast on Samana Cay , according to calculations made in 1986 by National Geographic writer and editor Joseph Judge , based on Columbus' log. On the landfall island, Columbus made first contact with the Lucayans and exchanged goods with them, claiming
7790-773: The slaves and British colonial officials freed them, over the protests of the Americans. There were 165 slaves on the Comet and 48 on the Encomium . The United Kingdom finally paid an indemnity to the United States in those two cases in 1855, under the Treaty of Claims of 1853, which settled several compensation cases between the two countries. Slavery was abolished in the British Empire on 1 August 1834. After that British colonial officials freed 78 North American slaves from
7885-495: The strongest tropical cyclone on record to impact the northwestern islands of Grand Bahama and Great Abaco. It was generally believed that the Bahamas were formed approximately 200 million years ago, when Pangaea started to break apart. In current times, it endures as an archipelago containing over 700 islands and cays, fringed around different coral reefs . The limestone that comprises the Banks has been accumulating since at least
7980-610: The village of Red Bays. From eyewitness accounts, 300 escaped in a mass flight in 1823, aided by Bahamians in 27 sloops , with others using canoes for the journey. This was commemorated in 2004 by a large sign at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park . Some of their descendants in Red Bays continue African Seminole traditions in basket making and grave marking. In 1818, the Home Office in London had ruled that "any slave brought to
8075-434: The world was threatened by evil. The potential for abuse in the transformed guru-follower relationship is large, and there have been multiple instances of apparent or proven sexual, mental, and emotional abuse by gurus. Anthony Storr has documented, for example, the excesses of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh ; Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad have examined the betrayal of trust that is involved. Swami Vivekananda said early in
8170-470: Was a peace activist who rode in several "peace flights" over places of conflict, including the Berlin Wall prior to German reunification . In 2007, his long-serving assistant, Julie Salter, reported sexual abuse against her by the guru ; she published details of her experiences in 2019, leading at least 3 other women to report their experiences of similar abuse by Vishnudevananda. Vishnudevananda
8265-555: Was a "full-scale riot". Ziegler said that the Duke blamed the trouble on "mischief makers – communists " and "men of Central European Jewish descent, who had secured jobs as a pretext for obtaining a deferment of draft". The Duke resigned from the post on 16 March 1945. Modern political development began after the Second World War . The first political parties were formed in the 1950s, split broadly along ethnic lines, with
8360-677: Was a close friend of the Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring of Nazi Germany. The Duke was praised at the time for his efforts to combat poverty on the islands. A 1991 biography by Philip Ziegler, however, described him as contemptuous of the Bahamians and other non-European peoples of the Empire. He was praised for his resolution of civil unrest over low wages in Nassau in June 1942, when there
8455-738: Was appointed the first professor of hatha yoga at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy. In this capacity, he trained many students in the Pacific Rim area in 1957, and became a recognised yoga guru . Vishnudevananda arrived in San Francisco in December 1957, and began to teach yoga ; he moved to New York to teach hatha yoga in 1958. The practice he taught, which he named Sivananda Yoga after his guru, consisted largely of asanas , yoga postures, but rather than emphasising yoga as exercise , he taught
8550-829: Was born Kuttan Nair in Kerala , South India , on 31 December 1927. During his short career in the Indian Army in 1944, he was inspired by a pamphlet, Sadhana Tattwa , written by the yoga guru Sivananda , founder of the Divine Life Society . He entered the Sivananda Ashram by the River Ganges in Rishikesh in 1947 at the age of twenty. He took sannyas , becoming a monk, in February 1949, and
8645-474: Was one of the first reference books on asanas; it was illustrated throughout with 146 large monochrome studio photographs of Vishnudevananda, wearing swimming shorts, demonstrating the poses. It has been translated into at least thirteen languages, and was said to have sold over a million copies by 1989. The book took Surya Namaskar , the salute to the sun, which Sivananda had promoted as a health cure , and presented it as fitness exercise. Vishnudevananda founded
8740-858: Was opened there on 19 September 1962 by Marcia Moore, an American trained by Vishnudevananda a few years earlier. Vishnudevananda founded the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat on Paradise Island in the Bahamas in 1967. He established the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm in 1971 in Grass Valley , California . In 1974, Vishnudevananda inaugurated a fourth ashram, in Woodbourne, New York , near the Catskill Mountains , and in February 1978, he inaugurated
8835-510: Was the first European to see the islands, making his first landfall in the " New World " in 1492 when he landed on the island of San Salvador . Later, the Spanish shipped the native Lucayans to Hispaniola and enslaved them there, after which the Bahama islands were mostly deserted from 1513 until 1648, as nearly all native Bahamians had been forcibly removed for enslavement or had died of diseases which Europeans had brought with them from Europe. In 1649, English colonists from Bermuda , known as
8930-430: Was the primary means by which spirituality was expressed in India. Traditional yoga was often exclusive and secretive: the shishya submitted to and obeyed the guru, understanding that lengthy initiation and training under the guru was essential for progress. So strong was the guru-shishya relationship that Vivekananda stated that "The guru must be worshipped as God. He is God, he is nothing less than that". The role of
9025-557: Was then placed into the Ganges at the Sivananda Kutir, and the rite named jalasamadhi was performed, merging the abandoned body with the water. Julie Salter worked for 11 years as Vishnudevananda's personal assistant, until his death in 1993. In 2019 in a public Facebook post, Salter stated that she was continuously overworked and sleep-deprived, and that she became dependent and unable to leave. She stated that for three years Vishnudevananda abused her sexually . Her post sparked
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