Volume 13, Issue 2, 2022
John Paul Healy
Pages 240-255
Water off the Guru’s Back
A Personal Reflection of Swami Shankarananda’s Secretive Sexual Behaviour with His Female Devotees
This article is a personal reflection on Swami Shankarananda’s secretive sexual behaviour with female devotees within his Mount Eliza Ashram, and the Guru-disciple relationship. Shankarananda developed his own Shiva Yoga in Melbourne after being a senior disciple in Muktananda’s Siddha Yoga. As his Ashram grew, so did his notoriety, and eventually he was accused by some of the female devotees of sexual abuse; a situation reminiscent of his own guru. Shankarananda admitted the harm he had caused; however, he rationalised it with his notion of secret Tantra initiation within Kashmir Shaivism. At the time, in 2015, Mount Eliza was a successful meditation centre and residential retreat. When the news broke, the Ashram was reported to have lost two thirds of its followers and was described in the media as a ‘Guru sex scandal.’ Today the Ashram is flourishing as Shankarananda seems to have moved on, continually attracting new followers; however, allegations persist.