Jeya Balu escaped from Sadhguru and Isha Foundation

The only person who managed to get a full refund from the Isha Foundation is a Swede with roots in India. Jeya Balu had to fight hard to advertise a holy stone that cost her over SEK 60,000 and it required the help of a Muslim, a Christian, a Hindu and an atheist as well as a policeman to succeed. NewsVoice has interviewed Jeya.

It started in the 80s when Jeya Balu, who was born in India, searched for his biological roots. Jeya had moved to Sweden as an adopted child and DN reported with several full-page spreads about her journey back to her former homeland where she was reunited with her father and mother. There were two trips to India and several reports in Dagens Nyheter.

In the fall of 2014, it was time to find the spiritual roots and Jeya traveled alone to the spiritual organization Isha Foundation, which she had been following for some time online. She was fascinated by the spiritual leader's wisdom. He is called Sadhguru and he lives like a movie star in a self-built community near the city of Coimbatore in southern India.

Jeya Balu describes how she became enchanted by Sadhguru and his entourage of followers. She went so far as to order a sacred stone at a price that, with today's exchange rate (March 2015), corresponds to over SEK 60,000. When the shipping cost was added to the price, the final bill ended up being over SEK 90,000.

The "holy stone" of 165 kilos was to be initiated during a mass ceremony in a huge room filled with around 200 westerners, where most of them ordered the large holy 60,000 kroner stone. They had paid in cash or by bank card.

Everything was tax-free for the Isha Foundation and the total tax-free income for a single ceremony was around 12 million kroner, not including administrative fees for carrying out the shipping of all the stones, fees which also partly meant income for the organization.

As Sadhguru in secret whispers initiated all 200 stones from his podium, Jeya began to wake up from a kind of mass hypnosis. The spell was lifted. She says there is no spirituality at all in the movement, at least not with Sadhguru and his entourage. The spiritual leader is just a clever salesman who succeeds in duping Westerners on an assembly line, Jeya Balu believes today.

“Sadhguru created his own deity called Devi Linga in the shape of an egg with ten arms and he says that the Isha Foundation is religiously unattached! People are hypnotized to worship and give money to his god. You have to lie on the ground on your stomach with your forehead to the ground and submit," says Jeya.

All purchases counted as "donations"

Now began the release from the organization and the work to get back over SEK 60,000, but it turned out not to be easy. Jeya's spiritual journey had begun for her inner strength was put to the test. Would she succeed in something that no one else has succeeded in, getting back the money she paid with her ICA card?

The way out was lined with power grabs , corrupt authorities, loyal and manipulative followers of Sadhguru. The situation was not improved by her being warned to defy the Isha Foundation. In the Indian media there are articles about followers who tried to leave sects, but who were found buried in the ground.

However, the Isha Foundation does not use such methods, but what she learned was that the movement was not at all willing to advertise the magic stone. They were met with great resistance and it was not made better by the fact that the regional police were partly bought by the movement.

Jeya became aware that all services and products purchased on the site turned out to be actually paid for as donations. This means that nothing could be advertised. The marketing is therefore false, says Jeya. You buy a product for a fixed price, but when you want to assert your right of return, the money is considered forfeited as donations. No open purchases here.

“Many Indians have the perception that he is an elaborate, clever, money-grubbing control freak who has mass-hypnotized people in the West and also Indians for many years into blindly obeying him. He is not at all as nice, good and spiritual master as he wants to give the impression of.

All devoted believers wore a copper snake ring on their left ring finger as proof that they are "married" to the master Sadhguru. For me it was all about money, selling courses, lectures, yantra ceremonies, things, books and DVDs and getting to dip in their holy waters. There's a bit of a Disneyworld feeling in there ," says Jeya Balu.

Jeya escaped on a motorcycle from the Isha Foundation

She was advised by a friend  that the only way to leave the gated sect constantly guarded by guards and various controllers was to leave everything in the room and claim that she was only going out on an errand into town. The escape on a motorcycle was successful and she only got the clothes on her body and her wallet.

Sadiq, Socrates, Sunderjii and Stahlin. Photo: Jeya Balu

Meaningful encounters

When she arrived in the city of Coimbatore, a series of meaningful coincidences took place which resulted in her being helped by the Muslim shopkeeper and aid worker Sadiq, a famous Indian film star named Sunderjii who is Hindu, Socrates who is a Christian celebrity lawyer and the atheist Stahlin, a friend of the three other men.

Together with a fearless and non-corrupt police chief, they took Jeya to the Isha Foundation to negotiate after she reported the movement to the police. The four men volunteered completely without compensation. For them, it was about honesty and the pride in helping a vulnerable person.

The strength of the group meant that Jeya ultimately won without the case needing to proceed to prosecution. She got the money back, but she received just over SEK 60,000 in cash (SEK 58,000 in currency value in the fall of 2014) and had to take it in a box.

The Indian newspaper Hindu Times wrote about the Swede in the article: " Woman withdraws complaint against foundation ".

Today, Jeya Balu lives safely in Sweden . Away is good but home is best. She hopes her experiences will serve as a warning to other Swedes considering surrendering to cults with dubious marketing methods and vague offers of happiness.

Interview and text: Torbjörn Sassersson