6-3-98 YOGI AMRIT DESAI

This individual was one of most esteemed eastern teachers in the west prior to a fall from power due to sexual indiscretions and, even worse, his cover-up of these activities over a long course of time. He lost more than his reputation; he also lost his yoga center worth millions of dollars and a large part of his following.

I have had the opportunity to interact with this gentleman on a number of occasions and, each time, have encouraged him to resume his role as a teacher of his own unique form of Hatha Yoga. I am happy to see that he is now doing so through his center in Pennsylvania.

This is not the first Yogi to fall from power due to sexual indiscretions. The same thing happened to another Hindu teacher named Swami Rama and a number of significant Buddhist teachers. Other gurus, such as Muktananda and Swami Satchitananda, were also accused of indiscretions in the sexual arena, but managed to survive these attacks.

Unfortunately, the types of personalities who run after any and all guru figures haven't learned much from these incidents; nor the gurus involved in this misuse of power. Most of them go back and play the same authoritarian games as before. Whether this is true of Yogi Amrit Desai I do not know; I have not spoken with him for some time. The chief playing card of the typical eastern guru is his aura of power, mystique and infallibility; without that, he often feels vulnerable and even impotent. Thus, it is very hard for him to adopt the more appropriate, egalitarian-based, western-style of teaching.