When spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev had himself married off his only daughter, why is he encouraging young women to tonsure their heads and renounce worldly life to live like hermitess, the Madras High Court has questioned.
A bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by retired professor S Kamaraj who alleged that his two well-educated daughters had been "brainwashed" and were being held captive at the Isha Yoga Centre run by Jaggi Vasudev. Kamaraj also pointed out that the daughters were now refusing to even meet the parents.
The two women, aged 42 and 39, who appeared in the court on Monday, said they were staying at the Isha Foundation of their own volition and they were not being detained.
However, the judges decided to probe the case further and directed the police to compile a list of all cases related to the institution.
"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," the Bench emarked.
The Isha Foundation asserted that the women choose to stay with them voluntarily.