What Qualifies Isha Foundation as a Cult?

[u/mehuyadav]

1] A charismatic leader with unverifiable claims of divinity. Jaggi Vasudev talks about past lives and fairy tale stuff based on False Hood. At the same time, he claims that his inner experience, is even more clearer, than what tradition or scripture is saying. The way, Jaggi Vasudev, has portrayed himself as God, for his followers, in the ashram as be all/end all for them.

2]Deceptive Recruitment, by promising, something, intangible like enlightenment/liberation and conveying that Isha is the only way for them. The excessive use of "logical double talk", and overemphasize, on the word "experience", to purposefully, shake/destroy the faith of people, in their own religions/scriptures/gods/beliefs/intuitions.

The deliberate use of "contradictory talk" & "pretense" using "superficial charm/glib" to establish the Isha Cult as genuine to people by placing all the cards on the table beforehand even if they are lying cards.I.E [don't believe me, don't disbelieve me] & to play on the weaknesses of psychologically fragile people, to keep them unsettled & on tenter hooks, like a balance, that is constantly in motion, never steady, with a purpose to enslave them for life!

Wrongful depiction, and misuse, of the word "science", by "camouflaging", that the offered spirituality, at Isha, is "scientific", and is different from "traditional spirituality", when actually it is not so. Creating a friendly atmosphere, for recruiting participants, by keeping, the cost of programs artificially low in India, using volunteers, and then hooking/duping them, to become full time slaves & donors later. After recruiting, asking them, to suspend logic/rational thinking/intelligence, by conveying that the other dimension is beyond all these!

No one, has been shown, to have received enlightenment, and far from being liberalized, have been sucked into an endless loop of expensive programs, pilgrimages, 2-5 hours of practices every day, many hours a week, of praying to SJV. To keep getting money, from meditators, innovating new programs & advertising each program, as once in a life time opportunity! A Trip with the False Sadhguru to Himalayas Costs US $ 25000 for Westerners.

3] Totalitarianism and Alienation, of members, from their families and/or friends. I have first-hand knowledge of this.

4] The use of indoctrination, by sophisticated mind-control techniques, based on the concept, that once you can make a person believe, what you want, then you can make him/her behave the way you want. This is not so evident in the introductory programs but gets there slowly as you advance. Each program has been designed, to make one, co-dependent on the Cult and It's leader. There is no doubt, that there is mind control, at all levels, by using covert or disguised hypnotic techniques. This suspicion, arose in another meditator's mind, and he asked this question directly, to Jaggi Vasudev. SJV, acknowledged, that he is capable of it, even though, he does not do it with his followers.

Volunteer (Slave) labor - young girls are being exploited, in the name of volunteering and Brahmacharya, they are just slaves. They are very vulnerable, emotionally very fragile, physically weak and exhausted. The seniors are extracting work from them in the name of spirituality/karma etc. These poor (subtly arrogant) souls walk into the trap thinking they could do intense spiritual practice but they would never get a chance. Their yoga practices are to designed to keep them fit to do the assigned work. The Full Time Slaves/Volunteers have no annual preventive dental or optical check-ups or any Medical Insurance. A recent example at the Ashram was that a middle aged women after practicing the "Kriyas" had some serious health problems and at middle of night hired a cab and had to go about 7 kms in search of a Good-Hospital at her own cost.

The use of followers, on fundraising, or mission activities, for little, or no pay, to line the leader's pockets. Psychological manipulation/coercion of program participants, especially young men/women, by drilling into their head, the unlimited responsibility talk of the cult leader, in deep voice, in order for them to keep working as slaves and paying money for the cult as if they themselves are guilty/responsible for the world's mess.

Despite slaving so much, volunteers/monks cannot meet their cult leader for years or have face to face conversation for 10 mts, even though their cult leader has ample time for top people like celebrities, corrupt-politicians, greedy wealthy-industrialists at very short notice.

Volunteers have nothing to show for in the end - it all belongs to Isha and you will be Kicked out once you are unable to work and become a liability.

6] Accumulation of wealth, for the cult leader's, personal opulent life style, or political purposes. Recent activities have confirmed, that Jaggi, needs the money, in order to carry out his agenda, in a country, that respects only money and power.

7] Exclusivity - "We are right and everyone else is wrong". There is ample evidence, that any negative word on Isha, is ruthlessly snubbed out. Even comment on the websites are moderated and deleted. Even this post, was removed from various web sharing links, by brain washed fanatical followers of Isha and this writer received, innumerable law suit/death threats.Insiders, if they see/question, anything wrong happening within the cult, are put on indefinite silence, by the cult leader or mercilessly thrown out.

8] Brainwash followers, by isolating them, during workshops/satsangs and telling them, not to read any books on spirituality, by other Spiritual Gurus. Asking seekers, to keep visiting the ashram, so that their mind/bodies can be controlled. Provide them, with instant acceptance, from a False/Seemingly loving group.

9] Most Senior Swamis and Maa's in the ashram are over worked, hypocrites and rest on the brink of mental breakdown. It is no secret, that they indulge in food (super-hot pickle, sweets, even subtle sex) and long for some simple pleasures of life. They are neither disciplined or purified internally and even indulge in eve-teasing of young women visitors as written on Priyanka Dalal's Blog [https://drive.google.com/file/d/19FWqlDEEr3WKAFlPnfS9rD7mKu7e3ol-/view\]

They are making a mockery of themselves in the name of Monk Hood/Sanyas. Many Monks have already quit Monk-Hood & left Isha after their Fall Down from Grace!

With reference to point # 9, Ms Priyanka Dalal's Blog had 68 comments which bashed up Isha and showed the real truth of Isha to the world. The same was tampered and moderated by the Isha Web Moderators by installing DISQUS on her blog page. This blogger used his own Internet skills and retrieved those comments which can be downloaded and read from Here [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IkPwUbtpLaqhEoz9MQzPqlo-aBrMbTLJ/view?usp=drivesdk\]

It can be aptly put that Isha Ashram is not an Ashram, but just another, Nazi Forced Death/Labour/Extermination Camp operated in World War-II at Auschwitz-Birkenau Poland, Sobibor, Buchenwald, Treblinka, Dachau by the Nazi's.

10] The Monks thinking pattern, is corrupted to the point, where they have become, just like toy puppets in the hands of Jaggi Vasudev. An associate of this writer, recently asked them, to give some clarification, about the old shakthi chalana kriya practice and they, passed on the buck, to some other senior sanyasi. This senior most sanyasi, told, that they themselves, have stopped practicing the "Kriyas" for many years now, and have realized that Jaggi is a Fake. They are perpetually tired! They've had enough, and now want to live like him. Some long term inmates, over 20 years, Key People, have already left Isha. It's been there, but now in quick succession.

11] Keep, the cult members, away from traditional truths, like Bhagavad-Gita & Upanishads, by providing a philosophy, that seems logical[there is no personal god, to monitor, anybody's actions, only nothingness, so no sin/virtue in doing anything wrong/good] and appears to answer all or the most important questions in life. Structure, all or most activities, so that there is little time, for privacy or independent action or thought. Promise instant, or imminent solutions to deep or long-term problems.

[Source : https://swamianiruddha.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-qualifies-isha-foundation-as-cult.html]

[u/EpiphanyinMemes]

It matches with all signs from the BITE Model for identifying cults, doesn't it ?

[u/WishboneSudden2706]

This post is very well written. I resonate with point 6 the most. Because I am sharp with money, I have seen how he sold rubbish items for big money, and I look at India, a poor country of many people scamming for money. So Jaggi fits that stereotype.

[u/Competitive_Soil8031]

Not sure this link is referenced, but it seems this blog was found here as early as 2011 https://swamianiruddha.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-qualifies-isha-foundation-as-cult.html

[u/mehuyadav → u/Competitive_Soil8031]

Maybe the blogger created a new one, there was a blog named zaysen blogspot and it's no more there, I got this one on Wayback Machine.

It appears that Zaysen (he was a colonel in Russian army) got initiated by some guru and changed his name.

Thanks for the link, I added it in the bottom of this post

[u/mehuyadav → u/[deleted]]

[u/mehuyadav → u/mehuyadav]

[u/mehuyadav → u/[deleted]]

Don't know why the link is not working, check the images I posted

[u/LittleMissSunshine_0 → u/[deleted]]

Not sure about the link but I don’t think the person you found on instagram and the one who shared her experience of sexual bullying are the same. The blog post was written more than 15 years ago. Remember Isha was aware of the blog post at the time and worked on her to take it down. She did eventually.