This article was originally posted on https://rethinksadhguru.wordpress.com/
We received distressing news yesterday (June 21, 2025, International Yoga Day) regarding Yamini Ragani, the woman courageously fighting the Isha Foundation in a POCSO case concerning the sexual abuse of her son. She was attacked and molested by assailants at her home. Thankfully, she survived with minor physical injuries, though her heart is undoubtedly bruised and traumatized. She promptly filed a police complaint and is currently recovering.
The Attacker: Her Own Brother
Shockingly, the attacker is her own brother, Kodi Pravin Raj Kumar, with whom Yamini has an ongoing property dispute and a case pending in court. When Yamini first publicly raised concerns about the safety of children at Isha Home School in October 2024, Pravin publicly discredited her and her husband, Narendra, on X. His statement included the assessment: “I have no doubt in mind that their recent allegations come from hidden ulterior motives plotting to gain unlawfully from Isha foundation.”
It is important to note that Pravin created an X account just to post this message. He was not on X before and didn’t post anything after that. This by itself is suspicious. Yet his message was widely amplified by Isha devotees, who repeatedly cited it to discredit Yamini. Now, with her brother revealed as a perpetrator of violence, those who amplified his message should reconsider their stance. We hope that if they possess any sense of decency, they will apologize and retract their previous statements.
Horrific Details of the Attack
The details of the attack are horrifying. Her brother, Kodi Pravin, accompanied by two other individuals, criminally trespassed into her home yesterday, June 21, 2025. During the altercation, Pravin allegedly held Yamini’s husband’s neck, verbally abused Yamini with “filthy language,” and dragged her by her hair. While the other assailants restrained her hands, he slapped Yamini. She was also groped and molested by the attackers, who tore her blouse. Pravin then threatened Yamini and her family with “dire consequences” if they continued to challenge him.
There were even more ghastly details from the incident that we are not publishing to protect Yamini’s privacy and dignity. Suffice it to say, no woman should endure such an indignity. This is a highly condemnable incident, and we hope the police act swiftly to arrest Mr. Pravin.
Yamini’s Prior Silence and Subsequent Clarification
When Isha devotees initially attacked Yamini, citing her brother’s testimony on X, she chose to remain silent, despite encouragement from her supporters to respond. Her reason was a desire not to air family disputes publicly, and a concern for her elderly mother, who was already distressed by Pravin’s behavior.
However, she spoke about her brother for the first time in April 2025 during an interview with India Speaks Daily. In that interview, she clarified several crucial points:
- She suspects that the Isha Foundation exploited a pre-existing property dispute she had with her brother following their father’s death. She believes they manipulated him into posting a negative message about her on X to damage her public image and credibility.
- Her brother already had an FIR registered against him in 2022 for attempted murder, as he had brought an axe with the intent to harm her over these property issues.
Whether Yamini’s belief that Isha was behind her brother’s statement on X is true or not, the fact remains that her brother is undeniably a “crook,” which inherently undermines the credibility of his previous public statements. Despite her clarification, Isha devotees either did not believe her or chose to ignore her statements about her brother. They continued to parrot Isha’s version of events, claiming Yamini’s son was merely “bullied,” not sexually abused, despite credible proof to the contrary. When Isha allegedly leaked the application documents of Yamini’s younger son to the influencer String (an unethical and potentially illegal act for a school to disclose private information without parental consent), devotees celebrated it as a “clinching proof” that Yamini was always happy with the school. What a shame! What a disgrace!
The Nature of Cult Manipulation
This incident highlights the insidious nature of cult manipulation and its effect on otherwise reasonable people. Their intelligence appears to function primarily to defend their Guru and the organization. Many people simply do not understand how cults operate or the subtleties of psychological manipulation. They are often overconfident in their own abilities to resist such influence.
Cult research repeatedly shows that individuals who believe they are “too smart” to fall for cults are often the most susceptible. This explains why we frequently hear Isha devotees make statements like: “I am making decisions out of my own choice; Isha is not forcing me!” (which ignores the very subtle nature of psychological manipulation) or “My life has been transformed by Sadhguru’s practices, wisdom, and his grace, so I won’t trust anyone who criticizes Sadhguru” (a clear example of emotional reasoning).
Unfortunately, this lack of awareness has led many devotees to become blind followers of Sadhguru. As we have seen with Moksha’s mother (devastated by the tragic loss of her son), another mother (whose daughter suffered trauma at Isha Home School), and even Yamini herself (who initially gave Sadhguru the benefit of the doubt even after her son was sexually abused), victims of a cult often don’t realize they are victims for a significant period. If this is true for victims, imagine how difficult it is for “normal” devotees who are experiencing a “joy ride” at Isha, with nothing negative happening to them, to suspect anything wrong with Isha or Sadhguru. This is precisely why people continue to follow Sadhguru despite numerous red flags and mounting evidence against him.
Another common pattern worth highlighting is the assertion that while individuals within Isha may be fallible, Sadhguru himself is not. This was evident in August 2025 (months before Yamini went public) when several Isha Home School Alumni published an open letter raising serious concerns about shocking incidents at their school. The Alumni then attributed blame solely to the school teachers and administration, absolving Sadhguru. The underlying assumption is that Sadhguru remains unaware of these occurrences and therefore cannot be held responsible. This narrative conveniently addresses cognitive dissonance, allowing devotees to continue idealizing and dedicating themselves to Sadhguru.
A Call for Empathy and Awareness
At one level, we are angry with Isha devotees for their apparent heartlessness in blaming victims like Yamini, who have suffered unimaginable trauma. Instead of showing compassion and listening empathetically to her grievances, they closed their hearts, blindly trusted Isha’s version, and actively campaigned against her.
However, at another level, we deeply sympathize with them. We recognize that we behaved in the same way when we were devotees of Jaggi Vasudev – we argued with his critics, we justified all red flags with convenient explanations, we became angry that “enemies of Isha” were obstructing the “great work” done by Sadhguru, and we pitied those who had not experienced Sadhguru’s “grace.”
We sincerely hope that this incident serves as a wakeup call for at least some devotees. While we acknowledge that there might be some false allegations against Isha, when an individual who has sacrificed their life, money, career, and energy for Isha and Sadhguru makes an allegation, they deserve to be heard, not shunned.
We wish Yamini a speedy recovery from this traumatic ordeal and fervently hope she finds justice in her courageous fight against both her brother and the Isha Foundation.
Further Reading
- Yamini’s allegations are credible – a rebuttal to Isha devotee’s arguments
- Yamini defends her position – interview with India Speaks Daily.
- Open letter by IHS alumni – another independent data point that things are not rosy at Isha Home School.
- Open letter by Moksha’s mom – raises serious questions on how Isha handled the death of a 12th grade IHS student Mokshagna.
- Open letter by Yamini remembering Moksha – Yamini remembers Moksha and questions Isha on evading responsibility
- Yet another incident of trauma – an ex-devotee recalls the story of a girl who was deeply traumatized at Isha Home School.
