“TIMES” Hired For A Hit Job

The Times, London has published an article targeting Isha Foundation with the same baseless allegations that had been previously debated in length on social media.

There are three cases mentioned in this article. Let’s decipher them one by one.

(1) First is the case of the young American woman who alleges rape by a teacher at Isha Home School.

Let’s look at the facts in this case.

It is true that the girl studied in the school till 2009. There is no denying that.

But in 2009, her mother withdrew her from the school, citing financial reasons. Isha has clear proof for that. There was no reason cited that she was abused or molested at the time of her withdrawal from the school.

Surprisingly, between 2011 and 2014, the parents repeatedly requested re-admission through emails sent to the Isha school management. The daughter herself had written to the school expressing her desire to return, calling Isha “challenging, fun and full of new things” as compared to her “boring” U.S. school.

The last communication was in 2014 when re-admission was declined because the school admits only a few children every year, and they could not accommodate more children, especially in higher classes.

The hard-hitting questions we should ask are:

• Why would the parents repeatedly request re-admission if they were unhappy with the school?
• Why would the daughter write to the school saying that she wants to return to the school if she was abused there?
• Why should the girl call the place as “Challenging, fun and full of new things” if she was abused there?
• What were the parents and the girl doing between 2009 and 2024? Why did they not raise the issue of abuse during that time?

The article says that the girl leapt at a chance of being taken out of the school in 2009, but the facts show that she was withdrawn by her parents, citing financial reasons only, and that she wanted to get back to the school.

Also, the article says that the parents were told about it in 2013, but they continued to write to the school requesting re-admission for their daughter till 2014!?

The article also cites that the girl tried to talk to Sadhguru himself directly, but that this meeting happened has been denied by the foundation. Here, one can only go with one person’s word against another’s.

The fact is that no abuse was ever reported during or after her time at the school, till recently, after the parents were expelled from the Isha US ashram premises for conduct reasons.

The article cites, rather cunningly and in a pity-inducing manner, the parents’ version that they decided to sever the ties with the foundation only because they came to know of this abuse incident.

However, the same article says that the parents came to know about it in 2013 itself. Yet, no one asked why they did not bring it out till 2024, after they were expelled from the Isha US ashram premises!

What has the Isha Foundation done?

Isha has filed a defamation and breach of contract suit against the parents recently, and a Temporary Restraining Order has been granted by the court.

(2) Now, let’s look at the second case of the boy who alleges he was indecently assaulted by a fellow pupil at Isha Home School in 2019 and there was no action taken by the school.

Again, the facts are clear in this case.

In 2019, during vacation time of the school, a bullying complaint was raised and was promptly acted upon by the school expelling the alleged bully from school. All this is documented in school-parent email exchanges. It was not registered as a sexual assault case.

The complainant’s son continued to study at the school for the next 3 years, had requested recommendation letters, submitted a positive testimonial upon coming out of the school, and even returned as a volunteer later for a few years to the same school.

Three months after the alleged incident was reported by the parents and action taken by the school, the same parents had applied for admission for their younger son.

The mother volunteered at the school from June 2022 until her association was terminated in March 2024 following multiple complaints, including by students.

Once she was sent out, she held a press conference in October 2024 and filed a complaint six years after the alleged incident.

The key questions to ask in this case are:

• Why would the parents seek admission for their second son in a school where they claim their first son was molested?
• Why would the complainant’s son continue at the school for 3 years and request recommendation letters if he felt unsafe?
• Why would he submit a positive testimonial and return as a volunteer for a few years to the same school if he was molested there?
• Why would the mother volunteer at the school for two years if she felt that her son was molested there?
• Why would she hold a press conference six years after the alleged incident, only after her association with the school was terminated?

This is clearly a case of a disgruntled parent who has been sent out of the school for misconduct and is now trying to malign the reputation of the school and Isha Foundation.

Isha has now filed a police complaint against the parents, for spreading misinformation and other offences. The mother has made five contradictory versions of the story in her different public statements.

(3) Now, let’s look at the third case of a volunteer yoga teacher at the ashram, now living in Australia.

He apparently reported to Isha that he had been inappropriately touched by a swami (monk) in 2016 and was then bombarded with sexually inappropriate messages and emails.

What is the proof offered for this in the article? Nothing! Do we need to say more about the credibility of this allegation?

I do not have an issue with somebody bringing out allegations of misconduct and abuse, but should that not be thoroughly investigated before being published in a reputed newspaper or magazine like THE TIMES?

On top of a shoddy investigative journalism, there is a casual mention of a fourth case of a doctor with Isha Outreach who was accused of misconduct in 2023.

This is a completely unrelated case. When the so-called misconduct incident surfaced, the doctor was immediately put on suspension by the organization.

The matter is sub judice and Isha Outreach is not a party to the case in any way.

The Times has tried to link this case with Isha Home School, which is completely wrong as the doctor is not a teacher at Isha Home School, nor is he associated with the school in any way.

Just to make things clearer, Isha Foundation has a zero-tolerance policy towards any kind of misconduct or abuse.

There are clear safeguarding measures in place already, which are being followed at Isha Home School and Isha Foundation.

• Isha Home School strictly follows the POCSO Act and Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act.

• Students undergo regular safety awareness sessions each term, and annual POCSO training is conducted for senior students and teachers.

• Safeguarding bodies include:

• Student Safeguarding Advisory Committee (SSAC)

• Anti-Bullying Committee

• Internal Complaints Committees

• Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)

To me, this appears more as a deliberate attempt to malign the reputation of Sadhguru, the Isha Foundation, and the Isha Home School.

I am not surprised at the timing of this article though, as Sadhguru has recently launched a global campaign for making more people meditative and his free mobile app — ‘Miracle Of Mind’ — crossed a million downloads in just 1 day of its launch.

If I have to take a guess, this hitjob of an article by The Times is just part of the series of attacks happening on Sanatana Dharma and anyone who stands for it.