© Daily Life, Australia
The 'G' word has long become obsolete in the yoga world. We're much too smart to fall for 'gurus' and their connotations of sex cults, brainless devotees and robes so fugly they need a whole new colour wheel to describe. Besides, we don't need gurus when we now have 'super teachers', 'head of lineages', and 'founder of X-style yoga'.
The terms may have changed, yet the game remains very much the same. Match a charismatic teacher with eager and often vulnerable students, add a touch of human ego and just enough mysticism that students won't question any dodgy practices too closely. Wait a few years, then watch the whole thing end up in court cases and recriminations.
The latest 'don't call them gurus' to end up in hot water are Bikram Choudhury, head of Bikram yoga, and John Friend, the founder of Anusara yoga, one of the fastest growing styles of yoga in the west. Last year
five separate cases were filed against Bikram by former teachers, accusing him of rape, harassment, assault, discrimination and false imprisonment.
In the Anusara case, John Friend has been accused of mismanaging company finances, using tantric sexual practices to order to 'heal' a student with whom he was having a relationship, and misusing his power in creating a Wiccan coven (which he named 'Blazing Solar Flames') with three female employees. The coven's practices involved 'sexually charged rituals' which were meant to serve as a 'battery' powering up the Anusara enterprise.
"It was certainly never the way that I had experienced Wicca," former coven member 'Melissa' told Daily Beast.
Comment: Different animal species are going extinct every day because the agricultural industry wants its profits above their - and our - lives; the greed of conscienceless scientists is causing the death of animals due to the GMOs; Hollywood is killing animals for entertainment; sadists kill animals because they have the opportunity and they want to.
In all times through history, the respect humanity showed to the animals who cohabit our planet reflected the health of the society as a whole. News as the above and
Barbarians! Shameful! Marius the giraffe killed and dissected at Copenhagen zoo despite worldwide protests
Second giraffe named Marius at risk of being put down in Denmark
tell us that our current society's sickness has reached very dangerous levels. Read a very interesting discussion on the subject that is taking place in our forum.