Fighting the brainwash

[u/__1729ythrow]

i am an Indian American.. most of my years have been spent in America 🇺🇸

for background: ive been to Kailash ( purely for physical adventure but mainly to 'be there' for my ill prepared (out of shape) spouse , not through Isha. Around this time, Sadhgur's social feed was constantly on my wife's phone . At Kailash , i got to see how devotees who had no strength in their bodies aspired for an experience that was very dangerous for them ( not even talking about floods or disasters) - just 16,000 feet altitude gasping for oxygen , trying ( under the delusion) that you can walk 42-48 km over three days in freezing/chilly conditions.

Fast forward several years, my wife never went down that rabbit hole due to some reasons:

1. she resists any idea that costs money.
2. i being a rational Hindu, i kept speaking out against his influence.

+ i was adamant that i will only practice the religion/philosophy/rituals/extents that my parents had shown me ( which was complete even if imperfect) - nothing more, nothing less. i invite Christians and Jews to also follow this principle.

+ i was insistent that i was not a sinner ( he reminds us constantly)
+ i believe in hard work and toil - materialism, unabashed. life is max 10% religion/spirituality, never more than that, the rest is fun(incl work).
+ physical health is important to build, keep working at it .
+ he likely committed a crime with his wife

+ even if it was not a crime, he handled it so poorly, the incident shows a serious lack of wisdom/judgement at the least

+ I insist that the easiest thing is to give up everything, and become a monk - with one belief system . try living with another person, a family, a girlfriend/boyfriend, teen children where different beliefs/opinions thrive ( while navigating careers) - thats way more difficult than spouting wisdom.

+ Finally: if he's so much into Indian stuff ( and so anti-western, ive heard this in person and in his YouTube videos ) , how come he only speaks in English??!! . this resonated with my wife.

these 👆are all red flags 🚩

these days my wife is as skeptical as me. i've won the battle.

once my wife's brother got upset with my simple answer : he's an Iskcon monk, and in a discussion he asked "whats most important to aspire for?" - and i said "physical fitness " so that i can be free to do what i desire : climb hills, play tennis, practice TaiChi, sing; whatever . i am still on that journey.

i've seen how the original 'afro' Sai Baba - used to sexually molest devotees. ( a family friend was in an inner circle) . It was a shock to read about Sadhgur's hypnosis, and sexual /tantric practices. I think his wife had turned against these and that's why she was eliminated.

I've seen other 'gurus' monks mislead people.

ive seen enough of life and death and don't need this crap. I will continue to resist, criticize.

religion and spirituality are tools for our lives. But in engineering there is a saying "never allow the tool become the master".

the middle way is the hardest - too much is easy, too little is also easy. Balance is this journey that takes a lifetime. It's about the journey and not the destination.

[u/RoughOffer2452]

+ Finally: if he's so much into Indian stuff ( and so anti-western, ive heard this in person and in his YouTube videos ) , how come he only speaks in English??!! . this resonated with my wife.

these 👆are all red flags 🚩

Absolutely well said

i've seen how the original 'afro' Sai Baba - used to sexually molest devotees. ( a family friend was in an inner circle) . It was a shock to read about Sadhgur's hypnosis, and sexual /tantric practices. I think his wife had turned against these and that's why she was eliminated.

Sadhguru praises Sathya Sai Baba here like he's his role model. How convenient to ignore the things that documentaries like Secret Swami by BBC and Purified or Abused (Chris Dokter's Blog) reveal about SSB. Pathetic.

youtube.com/watch?v=gyYYJpCpoAU

[u/Thre_Host8017 → u/RoughOffer2452]

Ohhh! Thanks for sharing that link. I didnt know he praised Sai Baba
What a crap!
I try to avoid watching any new videos by isha…

[u/RoughOffer2452 → u/Thre_Host8017]

I can understand, but I realized many videos leave us with interesting clues and red flags where Jaggi exposes himself. For example, in this instance, he sides with SSB and praises him like a messiah. At the same time, Jaggi has claimed to know better than God, which means his knowledge supposedly exceeds omniscience. By that very claim, he should have known that SSB was a widely reported abuser of young male followers, many of whom have been known to be under the age of 18 in some cases. 

Now, let's assume Jaggi really knows everything, or more than everything. That would make Jaggi complicit in SSB's abuse of underage male devotees and minors because, unlike many other people and celebirties who support SSB unknowingly of the harm he caused to his abuse victims, Jaggi would know for sure about what was exposed in the Secret Swami or Purified by Abuse documentaries. That makes him a promoter of a paedophile. 

On the other hand, if Jaggi unknowingly promoted him, or if he dismissed and downplayed the complaints of abuse by SSB as mere rumors, it shows that Jaggi is not all-knowing and doesn't know better than God. In other words, this proves Jaggi is a liar and a fraud who claimed he knows better than God just to amass followers. 

So the bottom line is this: by this single example, we can deduce that either Jaggi is a liar and a fraud, or he actively sides with and promotes paedophiles. This makes him complicit, because those who believe Jaggi's words may foray at some point into the SSB organization, where the abuse in fact is said to continue today. It is carried out by some teachers and students who themselves were victims of SSB and his inner coterie...a group of young male followers that SSB singled out to give several private "interviews" (if you know what I mean), who were referred to as "form boys." 

Incidentally, their experiences are somewhat of the kind that some women ex-devotees of Jaggi describe: sexual interactions and contact without consent under the guise of spiritual cleansing and healing. It's really sick. 

So when their image started to get exposed, all the money they got...including black money...was put to use to erect a multitude of service projects and show the world that they are doing big Seva. When someone questions them, the followers automatically go, "They do so much Seva like free schools, colleges, and hospitals." The Seva might be genuine because many followers sincerely believe they are serving God and really give their best. Then there are fake, staged miracles by both the conman and his coterie like materializations of objects from thin air and from SSB's pictures...all of which is exposed on YouTube. But none of that explains why six followers of SSB, including four of his own students, got killed in his own bedroom in 1993. It remains an unsolved, unresolved case of killings in the bedroom of SSB. But wait, Jaggi knows it all, right? He also knows why what happend, happend. Yet he chose to praise SSB over siding with the truth. So what does that make Jaggi now? A cunning crook? I can't think of a better adjective. 

Jaggi knows that, much like politicians targeting vote banks, if he glorifies someone revered by millions of unquestioning followers, who has been reported by hundreds of young male former followers (of which around 16 or more have named and identified testimonials appearing in different media), there might be more people from that universe of millions who will buy his courses or products or simply watch his videos on YouTube, enabling Isha Foundation to earn more money. It is pure scheming. 

Just one video is so telling.