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  • 2 weeks ago
Ex-members of a tantric yoga school speak out about how they went from searching for wellness and community to fearing they'd joined a cult, and seeking justice for alleged abuse and manipulation at the hands of a self-styled guru.
Transcript
00:02I was just telling myself surrender, just surrender.
00:09I started to get interested in yoga, so I signed up for classes.
00:14In this yoga school, they were all around the world.
00:17You really did feel like you were part of something grand.
00:20In the school, some people are invited to take extracurricular classes.
00:25They took my passport, they get a Bible out, and you have to say,
00:32I swear on my health and my spiritual evolution that I will not reveal any of the secrets
00:37or anything that goes on here.
00:42I have been looking into this story for years now.
00:47There was much more than some normal yoga classes.
00:53Gregorian Bivalaru, the spiritual guide.
00:55People didn't speak about him as a human being, almost as if he was Jesus.
01:01Young women were taken to Bivalaru.
01:04I didn't know that sex was involved until I had been locked in a house for five days.
01:09Something snapped.
01:11I need to go. I need to get out of here right now.
01:16They are going to say that no crime occurred.
01:18We refute all of these allegations which are made with no evidence.
01:22The accusations include rape, kidnapping, human trafficking, and the accusation of mind control.
01:31Do you think he's a criminal guilty of those crimes?
01:36The story's complicated.
01:39It was easier to not question and just trust.
01:42Trust that I was where I was meant to be.
01:45This person is very powerful.
01:47All of them were just so devoted.
01:50This can't be real.
01:51It has to be a nightmare.
01:58How do I wake up from this?
01:59And we'll keep up.
02:05The story's complicated.
02:11It has to be real.
02:13Obrigado.
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