'Why Sadhguru Asks Others To Live Like Hermits When His Daughter Is Married, Settled': Madras HC
While hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a retired professor from Tamil Nadu, S Kamaraj, the Madras High Court questioned the famous Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, asking why the founder of the Isha Foundation, motivates young women to live like hermits when his own daughter is married and leads a “well-settled life.”
The bench led by Justices SM Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam was hearing the petition alleging that the professor’s two daughters were brainwashed by the Isha Foundation founder, who is famous for his motivational speech, to live at the Isha Yoga Centre in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore for the rest of their lives.
Notably, the two daughters, aged 39 and 42, had appeared before the court, expressing their will to reside at the Isha center out of their choice.
When Justice Sivagnanam asked the court to know why a person who had given his daughter in marriage and made her settle well in life is encouraging the daughters of others to “tonsure their heads and live the life of a hermitess,” the foundation contended, it did not understand the court’s concern when two independent adults are ‘free to choose’ their own path in life.
Responding to the argument, Justice Subramaniam said the founder will not understand because it is appearing for a particular party. “But this court is neither for nor against anybody. We only want to do justice to the litigants,” The Hindu quoted the judge.
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According to the professor’s petition, his daughters have been given some types of food and medicines, which made them lose their cognitive abilities. It was his elder sister who first began to attend the yoga classes at the foundation after her divorce in 2008. She was an M.Tech graduate from a university in the UK and was employed by the same institution for a salary of around Rs 1 lakh in 2004, according to her father, who was served as lecturer at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore. The parents approached the court claiming their lives became hell” since the daughters left them, as per a report by NDTV.
However, the foundation has insisted that the women chose to live in the center and said they believe that adult individuals have the freedom and wisdom to choose their paths. “We do not impose marriage or monkhood, as these are personal choices. The Isha Yoga Centre accommodates thousands who are not monks, alongside a few who have embraced Brahmacharya, or monkhood,” the foundation said.
The court has decided to investigate the case further.
