Madras HC wonders why Sadhguru is promoting renunciation among young females

It noted he got his own daughter married

Isha Foundation defends itself, asserts 'freedom of lifestyle'

The Madras High Court has raised questions for Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, asking why he promotes young women to renounce worldly lives and live as hermits while he had arranged for his own daughter’s marriage. The inquiry came after retired professor S. Kamaraj alleged that his two highly-educated daughters were “brainwashed” into staying permanently at the Isha Yoga Centre.

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Kamaraj, a former professor at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, filed a petition requesting the court to summon his daughters. The women, aged 42 and 39, appeared in court on Monday, affirming they are staying at the Isha Foundation voluntarily and are not being held against their will. They have previously given similar statements over the decade-old case, despite their parents claiming their lives were in turmoil after their daughters left.

Despite their testimonies, a bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam ordered a further investigation and directed the police to compile 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,” Justice Sivagnanam stated.

The Isha Foundation defended its stance, asserting that adults have the freedom to make their own life choices.

“Isha Foundation was founded by Sadhguru to impart yoga and spirituality to people. We believe that adult individual human beings have the freedom and the wisdom to choose their path. We do not ask people to get married or take up monkhood as these are individual choices.  Isha Yoga Center is home to thousands who are not monks and a few who have taken Brahmacharya or Monkhood.”