The Madras High Court pulled up spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev or Sadhguru of Isha Foundation and asked him why he was encouraging young women to live like hermits.
A bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam posed the question for the Isha Foundation founder after S Kamaraj (69) a retired professor alleged that his two daughters had been "brainwashed" into permanently staying at the Isha Yoga Centre.
Kamaraj, a retired professor of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, claimed that two of his well-educated daughters had been “brainwashed” to reside at the Isha Yoga Centre permanently.
Both the alleged detainees, aged 42 and 39 years respectively, however, said they were residing at the yoga centre in the Vellinagiri foothills in Coimbatore on their own volition, and that no one had detained them against their will.
The judges directed the cops to compile a list of all cases related to the Isha Foundation.
"We want 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," said Justice Sivagnanam.
Advocate K Rajendra Kumar, representing Isha Foundation, said an adult was free to choose their own paths in life. Justice Subramaniam said: “You will not understand because you are appearing for a particular party. But this court is neither for nor against anybody. We only want to do justice to the litigants before us.”
When the petitioner’s daughters intervened and sought to make their submissions, the senior judge in the Bench said: “You claim to be on the path of spirituality. Don’t you think that neglecting your parents is a sin? ‘Love all and hate none’ is the principle of devotion but we could see so much hatred in you for your parents. You are not even addressing them respectfully.”
The Isha Foundation asserted that the women choose to stay with them voluntarily.
"We 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," they said.
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