This story is part of our series: The Spirituality Industry: A Deep Reporting Project, in which we will look at various religious cults in the country, where they get their funds from, their secrets and why they are attractive among certain age groups, communities, etc.
Deepika* has been a follower of ‘Sadhguru’ Jaggi Vasudev since 2014. She and her husband Vallabh* have attended several yoga programmes organised by the Isha Foundation, and she even worked as a teacher at the Isha Home School (IHS) in Coimbatore for two years. But on October 17, 2024, Deepika and Vallabh sat in front of a host of cameras and declared they wanted to “expose the Isha cult.” The reasons, Deepika says, are many.
Deepika found out that another student had died at the school and a couple living in America had alleged that their daughter had been sexually assaulted at the school by a teacher. But the biggest reason, according to Deepika, is that she wanted justice for her son.
Deepika’s son Sagar* is 21 years old. When he was a student at IHS, he was allegedly sexually assaulted by a classmate. Deepika and Vallabh found out in 2019, and they approached the school. The offending boy was initially removed from the school, but brought back soon after, the couple say.
“I initially believed my son’s case was an isolated incident,” Deepika said in her press conference, explaining why she didn’t go to the police when she first found out about the harassment. However, she chose to go public after learning about the other allegations, she says. This was seven months after she was fired from her job as a teacher at the IHS.
What emboldened the couple to hold the press meet was also the events playing out in the Madras High Court. The court had just ordered a police search of the spiritual trust’s premises in Coimbatore while hearing a high-profile case.
Now, at least two sets of parents and a handful of former ‘Sadhguru’ followers are demanding accountability from Jaggi Vasudev, Isha’s founder. Two police complaints have been filed, and a foreign volunteer has approached Isha with a complaint. Initiators of this fight against Isha are scouting for more evidence. However, already, there are many challenges.
Isha is pushing back with all its might. It has questioned the version presented by Deepika, and has also gone to court against well-known Tamil journalist Nakkheeran Gopal and his publication Nakkheeran as well as YouTuber Shyam Meera Singh for their coverage targeting Jaggi Vasudev. Isha has called it a series of “coordinated, vested, and failed attacks” against them.
Added to the mix is a right-wing influencer who has been attacking the parents and defending the Isha Foundation.
NRI couple alleges sexual assault of daughter
Towards the end of Deepika and Vallabh’s press conference in Hyderabad, Vallabh pulled one of the mics close to his phone. An anonymous female voice informed the journalists present that it was her daughter who faced sexual assault at IHS when she was seven years old.
The voice belonged to Nandini*, who lives in the US along with her husband Vinayak*. Over a series of calls with TNM, Nandini and Vinayak alleged that their child did not get justice when they raised the issue with Isha.
Nandini’s daughter Anu*, from her first marriage, was a student at IHS between 2007 and 2010, and was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Physical Training (PT) teacher at the school over a period of two years, when she was between seven and 10 years old.
Nandini and Vinayak tell TNM that it was only when Anu was 14 years old that she opened up to them — and even then, she didn’t reveal the full extent of the assault.
According to a police complaint filed online by Anu recently with the Tamil Nadu police, she was enrolled at IHS for two years, when she was 7-8 years old. She was sexually assaulted by a teacher multiple times at secluded places, and she was not able to communicate this properly because she couldn’t speak Tamil.