Transparency and clarification of every kind of abuse in yoga!

Published on 14.02.2021 from Finde Dein Yoga

Yoga knowledge

Abuse can take many forms: physical, verbal, emotional and sexual; and since the cases can occur in all aspects of life, they also occur in yoga.

In recent years, more and more sexual abuse cases by yoga greats have come to light, such as Bikram Choudhury (founder of Bikram Yoga), John Friend (founder of Anusara Yoga) or K. Pattabhi Jois (one of the fathers of Ashtanga Yoga) , in whom thousands of yoga students have previously placed their trust. Some time ago it became known that Swami Vishnudevananda (one of the spiritual fathers of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta organization and Yoga Vidya) is said to have coerced people into sex.

Wake up, educate, support the victims and push the perpetrators off their pedestals! It's about credibility, it's about trust and it's about the reputation and prestige of yoga.

A call from Sandro Schott, former operator of Find Your Yoga

More and more people from all parts of the world are finding a spiritual home in yoga. A home that supposedly can be a journey to peace, harmony, happiness and health, away from egoism, capitalism, oppression, hatred and envy. Every system, every approach, every idea needs charismatic people who carry it forward, who inspire other people and develop the idea further. In yoga, these people are called gurus (teachers, spiritual guides; “gu” = “darkness” and “ru” = “eliminate”).

When I began my four-week yoga teacher training in 2010 at one of the world's largest yoga schools, the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Organization, I was amazed at how easy it can be to find yourself. There was a huge toolbox of methods, techniques and approaches hidden behind the little word yoga that helped me to become mentally and physically calmer and to find my inner peace.

During the training I was advised not to take my ego so seriously, to let my mind calm down and to trust. To trust the path, to trust the techniques, and also to trust the gurus. With my East German communist biography and German National Socialist history in mind, I had particular difficulties with “blind” trust.

At the center of all teachings during the training were two gurus in the Sivananda tradition:

Swami Sivananda (1887 - 1963), Indian doctor who healed many poor people for free, spiritual master who wrote over 200 books.
Swami Vishnudevananda (1927 - 1993), who was sent by Sivananda to America as a young man to spread yoga. Vishnu Devananda not only made a name for himself as the “Flying Swami” with his hippie airplane. He understood early on that the more people practice yoga, the fewer people would pick up a weapon. That's why he simplified and standardized the training to become a yoga teacher.

These two gurus were not only present as images in all rooms, but actually hovered above everything - in mantras, stories, as role models. They were actually more gods than men. This felt strange to me, but the two of them really seemed to have achieved something big and done something good for people.

The path, the techniques, my trainers and the role models convinced me. I was and am always amazed at how this path and the various techniques of yoga can benefit me. Even with most of the gurus, my trust was not disappointed. I met people who dedicated their entire lives to the idea of yoga, who renounced all worldly things such as money, family, love, sex, physical closeness, etc. in order to create inner and outer peace.

I first realized in 2018 that not all yogis felt this way. Over dinner during a yoga retreat at the Sivananda Ashram in Austria, I learned about Swami Akhandananda Saraswati from the Australian Satyananda Ashram in Mangrove Mountain. He was charged with 35 counts of sexual abuse against four girls and sentenced to several years in prison. It was also reported that ashram residents viewed the abuse as a privilege rather than a crime. A female victim explained during the hearing that she had not spoken about the sexual abuse because, in the ashram's understanding, she would have been viewed as the criminal.

Something like that didn't fit into my yoga world and I was deeply shocked. Sexual abuse, yogis who cover up the perpetrator and where the victims are viewed as criminals. But it was very far away, in Australia. For us and in my yoga tradition, something like that was impossible. It wasn't just me who thought that.

After that, more and more cases of sexual abuse and abuse of power by many yoga greats became known, until in 2019 the cases of abuse by Swami Vishnudevananda - who is revered as a great master in my yoga tradition - came to light.

Today I think we are at a crossroads

We should finally start caring about the people who, like me, have trusted, opened up, and been abused, humiliated, or suffered in other ways. We should focus on teaching yoga and stop cult of personality. We should stop thinking in terms of traditions and directions that compete with each other.

Yoga is based on trust! How am I supposed to let go and overcome my ego if I can't trust that it won't be taken advantage of or if I can't get support from the people around the abuser in an emergency? How can I trust when pictures of a rapist continue to hang on the wall or laugh at you on a website.

Yoga has so much good to offer and can help us all go through life more consciously, healthily and happily. It takes people who can further develop methods and techniques and adapt them to the current lifestyles of the respective people. But there is no need for glorification of people, no absolute role models, no power of individuals.

Please stop trying to downplay sexual abuse in relation to the rest of the gurus' life's work. It is not for nothing that non-injury (ahimsa) is the first rule of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra. This rule applies to all people, including gurus.

Please stop a personality cult that damages trust in yoga. Don't put the gurus on pedestals that you as humans cannot live up to. Let's find a healthy way of appreciation and recognition. Let all spirits be quiet.

What we can do?

We would like to use the Find Your Yoga platform to help educate people about yoga. For us, this also includes dealing with the dark side of yoga. A first step has been taken and I have written about my personal confrontation with the serious allegations. Now it's your turn to send us experience reports, blog articles, links or even newspaper articles that are of interest to everyone. We collect these in the list below. This is not just about sexual abuse, but all types of abuse (verbal, physical, emotional, abuse of power, etc.).

We have also created a collection of what we believe to be problematic yoga offerings in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. You should not find profiles from these yoga providers on Find Your Yoga. If you do see one, please report it to us immediately. This list is not exhaustive and is based on our selection. If we should add additional providers, please let us know. You can find the article on “ Problematic Yoga Providers ” here.

Here is our appeal to you: always be careful and pay attention to your feelings. If you feel uncomfortable or are told to say, do or think things you don't want to, then leave!

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Sources

Swami Vishnudevananda

We have focused on Swami Vishnudevananda here because over the years more than 64,000 people have been trained at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta organization and Yoga Vidya alone with the image of Swami Vishnudevananda on the wall.

accusations

His likeness is revered , Die Zeit (June 11, 2020)
What came to light , Die Zeit (November 5, 2020)
Abuse of Guru's Grace? - How yoga students fight for enlightenment , radio feature BR (November 7th, 2020)

Handling

International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers (since 1969, over 46,000 certified yoga teachers have left the Teacher's Training Courses - around 1,000 graduates join each year)