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The Absolute Spiritual Integration Movement (MISA) is a non-governmental association founded on January 23, 1990, in Bucharest, Romania by Gregorian Bivolaru. Several other founding members include sisters Mihaela and Gabriela Ambăruș, Eugen Mârț, spouses Viorel Roșu and Camelia Roșu and Groza Petre.

MISA’s mission is to promote the authentic spiritual values ​​of the millennial yoga tradition and embrace the essence of these teachings in a spirit of mutual understanding and acceptance. MISA structures the teachings on the traditional principles and methods described in the ancient yogic texts of India.

The spiritual mentor of the Absolute Spiritual Integration Movement is yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru. He is the one that had a considerable contribution to lay the foundations of MISA Esoteric Yoga School, one of the largest yoga schools in Europe. It was founded in 1990 as a public organization, but has its roots in the communist period, when yoga was practiced in small circles and had a simpler structure compared to today’s form.

They spared the knowledge in the fields of oriental spirituality, traditional Ayurvedic medicine, alternative medicine, oriental philosophy and culture, Shivaism, parapsychology, astrology, alchemy, frontier sciences, religion, spiritual symbolism, esoteric sciences. These techniques are approached both theoretically and practically.

They also do an effort to collect, translate, edit and publish information related to the mentioned fields. MISA prepares individuals interested in holding training courses, organizing conferences, workshops, seminars, and spiritual camps.

History
Psycho-sociological scientific study on MISA - Journal of Social Research 1997

Research organized by sociologist Carmen Mărcuș was published in the Social Research Journal no. 3/1997 confirming the positive effects of Yoga practice within MISA.

Excerpt from the Helsinki International Federation's Annual Report on Human Rights Violations – 2005

The Social Democratic Party imposed control on most sectors of political, economic, social and cultural life. Some minority religious groups have been considered dangerous "sects" by the authorities and have been targeted for harassment. In March 2004, more than 300 police, Romanian Service of Information agents and prosecutors entered 16 locations of MISA members.

At the end of 2004, the matter remained unresolved from a legal point of view. No action was taken in opposition to the agents for their violent behavior. Confiscated personal belongings were not returned to the owners. The spiritual leader MISA was the only one detained shortly before leaving the country.

Report by Swedish expert Karl Erik Nylund on MISA and Gregorian Bivolaru

This report was one of the main pieces of evidence of the defense in the extradition process tried by the Supreme Court in Stockholm on October 11-12, 2005. The final and irrevocable decision of the Supreme Court in Stockholm was to reject the extradition request made by the Romanian state on the name of Gregorian Bivolaru.

Report by Swedish sociologists from Skop-Research on MISA and NATHA

The MISA yoga movement in Romania, through the Delphi & Co law firm in Stockholm, has hired SKOP-Research to study the Danish yogic movement in the NATHA yogic centers and their collaboration with the MISA. Presented in this report were the conclusions obtained from interviews with Gregorian Bivolaru, and one of his students, the head of the NATHA Center in Copenhagen. Also, there were interviews conducted with former yoga practitioners in Copenhagen. Some of them were Romanians living temporarily in Denmark. The head of research on MISA and Natha was the scientific leader of SKOP, Dr. Örjan Hultåker.

In May 2008, the organization's mentor, Gregorian Bivolaru, recommended that supporters vote with the National Initiative Party (PIN), led by Cozmin Gușă. Some of the PIN members were practicing yoga at MISA at the time. Cozmin Gușă, then showed his sympathy for MISA followers, because "they are anti-homosexual and anti-Masonic"

Human Rights Without Frontiers International report on the MISA / Gregorian Bivolaru case

In 2013, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Without Frontiers Int'l conducted research in Bucharest to investigate the wide range of issues facing yoga practitioners in Romania.

Bivolaru’s judicial harassment with countless accusations, questionable proceedings, and the attitude of the Romanian media are a matter of serious concern to HRWF Int'l. The conclusion was that the problems encountered by MISA yoga practitioners have been caused by the mass panic caused by television, radio, and print media.

An objective analysis of the abuses against MISA presented by Soteria International at the OSCE meeting

Soteria reports from the OSCE meeting show that Romania has requested the extradition of Gregorian Bivolaru three times since 2005, but the Swedish authorities have excluded the request three times. They considered that the fundamental rights of the MISA founder would not be safeguarded in the justice system of Romania. In June 2013, the Romanian state requested once more the surrender of Gregorian Bivolaru, but this time they used their position as a member state of the European Union. This time they requested his extradition through a European arrest warrant. Members of Soteria said there were a number of legislative contradictions between the power of a European arrest warrant and the protection of political asylum offered by an EU member state to the legislation of a country that is also an EU member.

Activity
Since 1990, the MISA Yoga School has opened yoga classes in over 250 localities in Romania and 33 other countries. It is said that the framework offered by MISA has been followed by about 35,000 meditators in the past years.

Yoga instructors are recruited based on exams, both theoretical and practical. In addition, they receive special trainings for the yoga exercises. The yoga tradition followed is in line with the Gupta Maha Siddha Yoga line, the esoteric tradition of high spiritual perfection and deep, ineffable communion with God. Implementation is done by those yogis who are able to control and ascend willingly the energy of Kundalini Shakti. Only then they are able to transfer the spiritual state to other practitioners.

The types of yoga MISA offers are:

-       Hatha Yoga

-       Raja Yoga

-       Laya Yoga

-       Tantra Yoga

-       Bhakti Yoga

-       Karma Yoga

-       Mahavidya Yoga

-       Svara Yoga

-       Jnana Yoga

-       Kundalini Yoga

-       Kriya Yoga

-       Maha Siddha Yoga

-       Yantra Yoga

-       Yoga Nidra

Controversies
Gregorian Bivolaru was accused for encouraging practitioners to consume urine.

In 2008, MISA and all its international subsidiaries were excluded from the International Yoga Federation and the European Yoga Alliance for reasons of using Yoga as a cover for illegal practices.

In 2011, Monica Dascălu, MISA instructor, who leads the organization, and Crina Calek, MISA spokesperson, admitted in a documentary broadcast by TVR 1 that four "erotic" films belong to MISA.

After all the scandals, many MISA members have been affected, judged and some even received penalties or lost their jobs because they were practicing yoga.

MISA stated on their official page that over 99% of what was written about MISA in the press is a lie.

Related Movies

 * The dark side of a tantric cult, documentary realized by the public Finnish television
 * The one who thinks differently (episodes 5 and 6), documentary made by the director Cornel Mihalache for TVR 1
 * Denmark according to Bubber - A sect? (Danmark ifølge Bubber – Sekten?), made by the Danish public television 2 TV about Natha Yoga Center
 * The call of a tantric guru (Tantragurun kutsu), realized by the jurnalist Riikka Kaihovaara from the public Finnish television

Related Books

 * "Repression of the yoga movement in the 1980s", Gabriel Andreescu, Polirom publishing house, Iași, 2008
 * "MISA. Radiography of a repression", Gabriel Andreescu, Polirom publishing house, Iași, 2013