Sadhguru’s wife’s death – Isha’s response analyzed

I have earlier written on Sadhguru’s wife Vijj’s death and also analyzed the police reports. There are still several open questions surrounding her death though Isha seems to think that they have answered everything! I recently saw their official response – Slander sans substance. Their “fact-check” looks great to the uninformed but it fails to explain any of the key questions surrounding Vijji’s death! Let us take a look!

Isha’s response is below (copied from their website):

Fiction: There was a controversy about Smt Vijayakumari’s passing; the cremation was hush-hush

Fact: On 23rd January 1997, Vijji Maa attained Mahasamadhi—the coveted goal of many a spiritual seeker, what Gautama the Buddha referred to as Mahaparinirvana—a practice where accomplished yogis with mastery over their life process consciously choose to exit their physical body at an auspicious time. At an appointed time that she had chosen—which everyone in closer circles was made conscious of, including her own 7 year old daughter—she exited effortlessly, at will. Eight months later, those who were set against Sadhguru’s work at the time used Vijji Maa’s Mahasamadhi as an opportunity to file a police complaint, claiming that foul play should be suspected in her passing, the main accusation being that the cremation was hush-hush. The fact is the cremation happened 12 hours following her passing in the presence of over 2,000 people. To expose these shamelessly false allegations, we requested a full investigation from the police and judiciary, who found there was no substance at all in the complaint other than an intent to malign, and as per Court Order issued on 8/1/1999, the complaint was dismissed.

Isha also put a video where Sadhguru’s explains this:

All this looks quite convincing until we dig into the details- 

1. On 23rd January 1997, Vijji Maa attained Mahasamadhi…
   
   Notice how Isha glorifies Mahasamadhi and showcases it as a “fact”. In fact, this was one of the main things that was challenged during the controversy. Sadhguru says that Vijji attained Mahasamadhi and everyone at Isha keeps repeating it but there is no proof for that. Of course, Mahasamadhi cannot be proved objectively as it is a subjective experience. However, as Isha admits, only “accomplished yogis” can attain Mahasamadhi at will and Vijji is not one. To explain this, Isha says that she achieved the impossible through her intense dedication and practice. It is also claimed that she told about this to people in her “close circles”. Isha further says that she “exited effortlessly” but Isha’s own doctor who examined Vijji contradicts it and says that he saw her struggling and breathing her last through jaw-breathing. He concludes the likely cause as “heart attack”. 
   
   
2. Which everyone in closer circles was made conscious of, including her own 7 year old daughter…
   
   Ok,  let us accept that Vijji told her parents and other close family members about her plans. Then why would Vijji’s father be upset with her daughter’s death and files a police case? And why was Vijji cremated before her parents and relatives reached the ashram? Doesn’t this require some explanation?
   
   
3. Those who were set against Sadhguru’s work at the time used Vijji Maa’s Mahasamadhi as an opportunity to file a police complaint…
   
   So does Isha include Vijji’s father under people “set against Sadhguru’s work”? If they claim that the complaint was fraudulent, can they please explain how he was made to file it?
   
   
4. Used Vijji Maa’s Mahasamadhi as an opportunity to file a police complaint, claiming that foul play should be suspected in her passing, the main accusation being that the cremation was hush-hush
   
   The main accusation was that Vijji was cremated in a hurry even before her parents arrived. This is definitely suspicious. Doing a cremation instead of giving a burial as was the family custom of both Vijji and Sadhguru (and also the custom for people who attained Mahasamadhi) was even more suspicious. Vijji’s father also complained that Vijji had a troubled relationship with Sadhguru and she repeatedly complained about Sadhguru’s illicit relationships with other women. Isha chooses to ignore all these questions and claims “cremation was hush-hush” as the main accusation!
   
   
5. The fact is the cremation happened 12 hours following her passing in the presence of over 2,000 people
   
   Vijji’s cremation happened early in the morning, around 6 AM. Vijji died the evening before, around 6 PM. Isha here claims that 2000 people attended this early morning funeral in such a short notice by commuting to a remote location like Isha ashram (in 1997 Isha was far less accessible than it is now). Where is the proof for this claim? The number seems vastly exaggerated. Most likely ashram inmates and a few outsiders might have been present. But even if we believe Isha’s number of 2000, isn’t it sad that 2000 devotees could witness Vijji’s funeral but not Vijji’s own family? Can Isha please explain why it happened?
   
   
6. To expose these shamelessly false allegations, we requested a full investigation from the police and judiciary
   
   “Isha requested a full investigation?” Come on! In fact, they wanted the world to believe that it was Mahasamadhi and proclaimed that no investigation was necessary. It was the FIR filed by Vijji’s father that started the investigation. Isha should stop pretending that they are fully transparent in everything they do, when they are not. In reality, Isha behaves more like a political party and only provides partial clarifications when they are forced to do so.
   
   
7. Who found there was no substance at all in the complaint other than an intent to malign, and as per Court Order issued on 8/1/1999, the complaint was dismissed.
   
   This is incorrect. The closing report of the police didn’t say “there was no substance at all” in the complaint. It instead said “there was no evidence” to prove any foul-play. It specifically mentions that if the body was not cremated, they could have identified the cause of death via forensics. But since the body was cremated, there was nothing much they could do other than to rely on the statements by ashram inmates. Given the lack of any evidence, it was unsurprising that the court dismissed the complaint. 

So much for a fact-check! Can we call this fact-check honest and open? The key question in the whole episode is — “Why was Vijji cremated in a hurry even before her parents arrived?”. If Isha is really committed to openness, they should provide an explanation for this on their website.

Several people continue to question Isha on Vijji’s death episode. I just found a video by activist Piyush Manush who seems to have a lot of information regarding Vijji’s death. He strongly dismisses Isha’s response and claims the following:

1. 2000 people attending the cremation is a damn lie – he challenged Sadhguru that he would quit his public life entirely and delete all his Facebook posts criticizing Sadhguru, if Isha can prove this!
   
   
2. A total of 14 people from Vijji’s family arrived in a tempo van to pay their respects to her including her father, her 2 sisters and their husbands.
   
   
3. When Vijji’s family arrived and found that she was already cremated, they were so angry with Sadhguru that one of Vijji’s sisters slapped him out of anger and punched him in the nose!

Piyush offers no proof for his claims in this video but Isha also did not offer any proofs for many of their claims (e.g 2000 people attending the funeral). They also skipped answering a lot of troubling questions. Piyush is a known anti-Isha activist with a possible vested interest and should not be immediately believed. But Isha should use this opportunity to accept his challenge, prove him wrong and shut him up. Why don’t they do it?

For more details on Vijji’s death, please check my previous articles – the controversy and analysis of the police report. My other articles on Isha are here.