Sexual abuse in the sannyas world

This page is under construction

Rumours of sexual abuse of children by adult sannyasins have swirled about for many years but a real airing of the subject has not happened. Thus, the extent of it has not been explored, nor the damage acknowledged and addressed. In Sep 2021, some survivors of this abuse began telling their stories in quasi-private Facebook groups, in the name of clearing the air.

Wiki editors managed to get access to some of the stories and discussions posted in Fb but were unable to get those involved to share directly with us and so, since the groups are not really accessible by everyone, we decided to wait until more public sources became available.

The first such arrived a year later in Sep 2022, when the Times of London put together a major article on the subject. While the over-riding tone of the article is anti-cult, ie condemning every aspect of Osho and his people, it will still be useful to refer to this article, to at least get the ball rolling on this long-overdue reckoning ....

In the Times article, four girls-now-women tell their stories. All four describe conditions in general in Pune One, the Ranch, Medina and Ko Hsuan School as very lax and permissive regarding anything to do with sex, and thereby conducive to abuse. Students and staff in the two British schools were said to have showered together, and so on. The Times says sexual abuse of children in all these sannyasin commune situations was "rife".

The testimony of two of the women goes into their personal experience, at times involving particular men, two of whom are named, and one who is only described, though he was named in the Fb group. Perhaps he declined to speak to the Times. The two who WERE named offered apologies, acknowledging their own inappropriate actions, the harm they caused and their regrets. They were Sw Anand Milarepa and Sw Deva Mutribo. It must be said that their apologies have been deemed inadequate by some in the kid community, details of this still to be sorted out, see discussion.

Besides pointing to particular men, these two women also explore their personal suffering and some of the circumstances of the sannyas milieu which they felt contributed to the climate of abuse. Sarito Carroll was ten years old the first time she was abused. The Times article says that she "believes that the wider community is still in denial", saying that "Each individual was responsible for their behaviour, but the culture certainly made it permissible". She is now writing a book about it all. Other survivors are said to be creating a documentary directed by Maroesja Perizonius, herself a "sannyas kid", who also made an earlier film about her own life with Osho, see below.

Some of the most shocking testimony is given by Rosalind Keefe, who was fourteen at the time of her abuse at the hands of "a respected leader at the ashram". She says that he asked her whether she had started menstruating yet. This might appear to be the question of a man concerned whether she might be "too young" for him, but, tragically, the question is the hinge for a more contemptible decision, in exactly the opposite direction. When she replies that she hasn't started her menses, he is happy that he can go ahead and not get her pregnant. She is young ENOUGH.

Keefe's words also comprise the last paragraph of the article:

Keefe says it has taken her years to recognise what happened to her as rape. “You have to understand the impact of all the psychological coercion,” she says. Bhagwan taught his disciples to act on impulse and the children internalised that. It was an atmosphere where people were constantly violating physical boundaries, she says. If she didn’t enjoy what was being done to her, Keefe says, “I assumed that was just my problem.”

There is much to consider in this. The ability of children to protect themselves from predators, as in the larger societies sannyasins come from, was and is limited, by social norms and status and a kid's less developed autonomy, emotional maturity and just plain size. As well, there were circumstances unique to sannyas that contributed to their vulnerability.

We in the wiki want to explore this phenomenon in some depth, as many sannyasins who have participated in communal life where kids were around may have been at least passively complicit in what does appear to have been widespread abuse. This is the downside of the rare freedom sannyasins were given by Osho to explore life beyond social strictures. Other kinds of spiritual paths have come with rigorous disciplines and rules, with sex at or near the top of the list.

So let's explore. Readers are invited to send relevant material to the editors. And please be patient.

While we're waiting, it is worth noting that there have already been a number of books published from (former) sannyas kids that either mention this pattern of abuse or go deeply into it. Here are some:

My Life in Orange, subtitled "Growing Up with the Guru", by Tim Guest, first published in 2005, one of the earliest of the books from former sannyas kids. It was republished in 2018, after Wild Wild Country came out.

Insektenglück, by Leela Goldmund, available in German only, published in 2020

Insektenpech, also by Leela Goldmund, available in German only, published in 2021

Sins of My Father, subtitled "A Daughter, a Cult, a Wild Unravelling", by Lily Dunn, published in 2022

De droom van mijn moeder, ("the dream of my mother"), subtitled "Leven in de Bhagwan commune" ("life in the Bhagwan commune") by Maroesja Perizonius, published in 2006, in Dutch, translated into German as

Der Traum meiner Mutter, published in 2008, subtitled "Meine Kindheit in einer Bhagwan-Kommune" ("my childhood in a Bhagwan-commune")

more will be coming ....

Remarkably, these books were preceded by a film on an apparently similar theme, Communekind ("child of the commune"), released in 2004 by Maroesja Perizonius. It too was in Dutch but with French and English subtitles to make it more accessible. It won two Dutch film awards and was shown in a number of film festivals.