English transcipt of Portugese Podcast about Natha yoga in Lisbon

 

English translated transcript of Portuguese podcast Secrets of the Yoga Sect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljuUnrHQ9-s&list=PLyhlfxnJTtZW6rkp-uOjVM9sPqnDMN4KF&index=8

Secrets of the Yoga Sect - ep.1 Sex is forbidden

presenter: Some names have been changed to protect the identities of the interviewees. In these cases, the voices have been altered using artificial intelligence.

narration: Minutes pass, one after another. Nothing happens. No one comes to pick her up. She is completely alone, more than 1,700 kilometers from home, in a country she does not know and where she does not know anyone.

She doesn't know the address of where she's going. She doesn't have a phone number to call. She just follows the instructions: Vera: "After the plane, take the bus to the airport and get off at exit X."

Narration: She's known for some time that she'll have to spend a whole week away.

"You have to find a justification for your family not to contact you for a week. That's all. Say what you want, but you won't be able to use your cell phone for a week. You won't even be able to say where you are."

narration: But she herself only found out where she was flying a little over 24 hours ago, when they finally gave her the plane ticket and she read those five letters: Paris. It's in some kind of garden, next to a busy road. She starts to panic. Did she get off at the wrong place? Did she get the bus schedule wrong?

"I can't call anyone, I can't tell anyone I'm here, and I don't know what to expect. I really don't know what to expect."

Narration: Suddenly, a car stops. A young woman gets out. She approaches her and asks: "Vera?" Vera: "Yes, it's me!" I got into the car.

narration: The first thing the woman asks you, even before the driver starts, is to give her your cell phone and passport.

Vera: You won't see them again for the next seven days. Those are the rules.

Narration: Then I move on to the next phase.

Vera: I had to let them cover my eyes. And then I was wearing sunglasses with the inside painted on and I couldn't look out the windows. So I had to keep my head down so I couldn't see where we were going.

narration: After a while, the car finally enters a garage. She goes up to an apartment, where there is another girl. Young, like her, in her early twenties, who doesn't speak a word of Portuguese. Vera has no idea where she is or how she will spend the next week. She will only know the next steps when she has to take them.

Until then, she will remain locked in a room, uncomfortably isolated and without permission to go outside.

She accepts the conditions and the surveillance, believing they are justified. After all, she is not in Paris on vacation. She is there to meet one of the most wanted men in the world: Gregorian Bivolaru.

This is the name of the man the police have been looking for years and whom Vera is about to meet in Paris. Like her, in this apartment and in others on the outskirts of the French capital, there are at that moment many other young girls, locked up, uncontactable, waiting in line to meet him.

Bivolaru is their spiritual guide, a kind of guru. He is over 60 years old, Romanian and has founded an international movement with dozens of yoga schools in various countries. Although he is wanted by the police and has been a fugitive for years, he has never stopped promoting these meetings with students. Vera is told that the stories told abroad about the guru are nothing more than unfounded and malicious rumors. And she believes it. After all, it was Bivolaru himself who chose her to meet him personally and receive a secret initiation from him. It is a privilege available only to a select few and which will make her spiritually ascend much faster and more efficiently.

Six years ago, Vera first entered one of these yoga schools. Natha was located on a boulevard right in the center of Lisbon. Everything seemed normal to her. At first glance, it was a yoga school like any other.

presenter: "Secretele sectei yoga" is a six-episode series to listen to and is part of Podcast Plus from Observador. It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, with an original soundtrack created by Benjamim.

Narration: Finally, she has finished her studies. She has spent the last few years studying and working to pay her tuition fees and has rented a room in Lisbon. She should feel happy. But instead, Vera is devastated.

And it's not just the diagnosis of burnout she received a few days ago. She has much deeper and older problems that she can't solve.

Psychologist: By God, she was trying to fill the void. She comes from a very difficult psychological environment, from a dysfunctional family.

narrative: The online spirituality forum she joins starts as another attempt. She reads about other experiences, talks to people and makes a friend. The first messages are through the forum. Then, he writes to her privately. He is a yoga teacher, teaches at a school in Lisbon and soon arranges a meeting. And then another. The main topic of conversation is always the same: the practice of yoga and the school where he teaches, in the Avenidas Novas area, near Gulbenkian. It is a small school, recently opened by a swami, a Danish master.

The Swami lives there and there are a few practitioners in a community. Her friend really wants Vera to try it, but she is reluctant.

Lara: We talked a lot about Natha, about yoga, about tantra. And I couldn't convince her to go, until she decided to talk to me, look, we have a Romanian teacher there who graduated in medicine, I'm sure of it, she also graduated in traditional Chinese medicine. She is an extraordinary example of female leadership, she is really very kind. I never got to meet her. And I felt her, I finally felt her going.

Narration: It is eight o'clock in the evening, the scheduled time for Swami Mahalayananda's lecture. The hall is small and packed. In total, there must be about 30 people in the remaining space on Avenida Poeta Mistral, in Lisbon.

They gather to hear the master ramble in English about how practicing yoga can help with productivity at work or in romantic relationships. Like Vera, the vast majority of these mostly young men and women who attend Natha's free monthly lecture in Lisbon are not students of the school. Yet.

Vera: Once a month, friends of friends, or curious people, or colleagues, could go there and see for themselves what it's all about. And the atmosphere, you see what it's all about... As soon as I walked in, I felt a lot of peace. So, the atmosphere was very peaceful and very organized. And, like me, a lot of people said that they expected anything but that. And, indeed, there is a sense of peace and balance within the organization.

Lara: There were one or two more free lectures and then I signed up for the yoga classes, which were weekly.

Narration: Lara is not from Lisbon either, but she stayed to live in the capital after finishing college. She is 26 years old, has a stable job and decided to become a vegetarian a few months ago. She will arrive at school in 2012, like Vera, through a friend she just met, also online, but through Facebook.

Vera: And she was a vegetarian like me. I didn't know many vegetarians. So we started talking and I remember telling her that I wanted to start doing yoga, because I felt like I was a very anxious person, that I needed to somehow learn how to cope and meditate. And then she said, "Look, I'm at a yoga school, I could take you there." And that was it, it was a very natural thing.

Narration: She starts going to classes with a friend, who in the meantime becomes her boyfriend. Then she enrolls as a student.

Vera: The courses always had a theoretical part and a practical part. The practical part consisted of actually doing yoga poses. It was something like this: a warm-up, then yoga poses, then relaxation. And in the theoretical part, it explained what that asana, that posture did, which chakras it awakened or harmonized and what the long-term effects were, the improvements it could provide. And then, on top of that, there was other content, about nutrition, purification techniques, things like that.

Narration: The school is growing in number of students and in facilities. When Lara arrives, Natha already occupies two eight-bedroom apartments in a residential building on Avenida António Augusto de Aguiar, right in the center of Lisbon. It is no longer just a yoga school. It is also an ashram, where dozens of students live in community. Men and women sleep separately; the atmosphere is familiar and welcoming. There are no warning signs.

Luís: If it were just about the aspect of the classes - the yoga practice, the asanas, the postures, the theory - if it were just that, it would be perfect. It was interesting. The problem is that things start to become obvious behind the scenes and not everyone knows, because not everyone is part of the inner circle.

Narration: Luís was one of the first to join Natha. He spent ten years taking classes and living in the ashram, and it took him a while to realize that not everything was right and that not everything was what it seemed. In fact, he says that it is very likely that students who only attend yoga practices never realize that there is anything wrong with the school. All the problems begin in the Tantra class. The word is in the very name of the school: Natha, Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra. And since at least the 90s, it has also been associated in the collective imagination with one of the biggest names in international music and with sex marathons that last an entire day.

Sting: I started studying yoga in 1990 and I got to a point where I realized that yoga is everything.

Narration: In 1993, in a report published in the United Kingdom, Sting spoke for the first time about tantric sex.

The technique described by Sting has a name. In fact, it has at least two: sexual continence or erotic amorous continence. And it is one of the basic rules of Tantra.

Vera: The idea behind it is that when a man starts practicing yoga and a man or a woman loses energy in sexual intercourse, they lose vital energy. Vital energy that they, instead of wasting, instead of ejaculating, could channel into improving other aspects of their lives: being more sociable, having more leadership skills, having more capacity to give or receive love, having more concentration, having more capacity to learn, having more capacity to connect with someone.

Narration: Vera is in her early 20s. Sex is still a huge taboo. Just thinking about it makes her uncomfortable. It's even harder to imagine receiving lessons on the subject. Even so, after a few months of yoga classes, she gives in to the pressure and finally enrolls in a Tantra course. For those who truly want to evolve spiritually, the teachers tell her that it's the best path to follow.

Vera: I didn't want to go. I think I was afraid of it. But then the class had nothing inappropriate, nothing uncomfortable, absolutely nothing. There was no nudity, nothing uncomfortable. There was no talk of sexual positions, nothing like that. It was about Tantra as a spiritual path, as a practice associated with yoga, about how we could direct sexual energy to other things in our lives, which is the same as in other traditions.

narration: In Tantra courses, students learn several yoga postures, many theoretical teachings, but also techniques that they will later put into practice privately with their respective partners. There are exercises to activate each of the seven chakras, the energy centers that connect the body, mind and spirit. The basic principles are transmitted right at the beginning of the course. The first rule: It is absolutely forbidden to have sex. You can only make love, that is, have sexual relations, with someone with whom you feel a connection.

Second rule: men and women should practice sexual restraint and avoid so-called explosive orgasms, so as not to waste their energy.

Vera: Every time two tantrics, a tantric couple, made love, they basically channeled that energy towards something they had previously settled on. It was a chakra. “Today we will make love focusing on the first chakra, the second chakra, the third chakra, to focus more. I was having trouble with my leadership. Let’s make love for that!”

narration: And just for the female students, another essential lesson. Women should awaken in themselves the so-called state of Shakti and become more and more feminine, sensual, uninhibited, relaxed and happy. And they should also recognize the interest of men in them as a gift from God. This happens in Tantra courses. Outside of them, the teachings are even less conventional. But these are reserved only for a few initiates. They can consist of sets of erotic positions for activating different chakras or ritual techniques for making love in a tantric way. These teachings are transmitted in so-called "initiations".

And these initiations are always preceded by a formal oath of secrecy, made on the Bible. They happen in secret and must remain secret. Lara also enrolls in Tantra classes to improve her relationship with her new boyfriend, who has been attending the school for several years.

Lara: This specific initiation into the loving positions between couples was a separate initiation from the Tantra classes, which only certain people could attend, because they had to take that vow. In other words, there were certain things that were not taught in the Tantra classes. I don't know if this is just speculation, but I don't know if it's intentional, to not expose yourself too much and teach things that might be controversial in the Tantra classes — I have no idea — or if it's about making it something very special, that only a few can have access to.

Narration: Invariably, Luís explains, only women are called to receive these theoretical initiations from the school's teachers. Men are also initiated and must swear to keep the teachings secret, but they receive the new techniques directly from their partners.

Luís: Basically, within that school, women are seen as initiators.

Narration: Often, to gain access to certain initiations, students not only have to swear to remain silent, on the Bible and on their own health, the health of their family or their spiritual future, but they also have to prove that the privilege is deserved, and this, depending on the initiation, can take months. Vera reveals that the way to act is always the same. The initiation must be very special. No one explains to you what technique you will learn, only what you have to do to be able to access it, and you obey without question.

Vera: I did tapas, which is an intensive spiritual practice, so for six months I had to do another three hours of practice, plus an hour, plus two, three hours of practice, whatever it was, every day, and if I did all that practice correctly, then at the end I signed an oath that I had done the practice correctly, that I would keep secret everything that was taught to us, and then they taught us the theory.

narration: All the students at the school follow him personally, but they may not even have the opportunity to meet him. In the yoga rooms, next to small makeshift altars with fresh flowers and lit candles, there are usually images of Hindu gods. They are not necessarily the same in all the rooms. In one room there might be a statuette of Shiva, also considered the father and creator of yoga. In another there might be Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god, also known as “The Remover of Obstacles”. What does not change and is on all the altars in all the rooms, are the framed photos of that gray-haired man, with glasses and a piercing, serious look. He is the Romanian Gregorian Bivolaru, the spiritual guide of the school, the author of all the lessons taught there and the guru of all the students. Affectionately called “Grieg”.

Vera: Slowly, slowly, we were made to believe that Grieg was a very special being. I don't want to exaggerate, but some people came to, in a way, equate him with Jesus, or at least with a very evolved master, and that we had a great divine grace, embodied in a master. It was a divine grace, we had something very special, namely the possibility of meeting the master, of seeing the master.

Narration: According to former students, they are told that when they have doubts or dilemmas, he is the one they should turn to; they are encouraged to write letters to him, which are then handed to him by the school administration.

Bivolaru has the final say in everything that happens in this school in Lisbon and others; for example, he decides which students are ready to receive a particular initiation, and he is the only one with the power to transmit this secret knowledge to them in a practical, rather than theoretical, way.

There is a problem that starts to be discussed in small groups at the ashram, but very quickly becomes known to the whole community; it is a scandal, and Lara is also in the middle of it. Her relationship with her boyfriend is not going very well; they argue and, since they all live in the same space, it is very difficult to hide that there are problems.

Swami, the Danish master who runs the school, noticed this. He called her aside and offered to introduce her to a Tantra technique that would help the couple solve all their problems. There is one problem: this would be a practical initiation, not a theoretical one. There is one problem: Lara was not the first student to whom the master had made such a proposal. And there is one certainty: Lara politely refused, but not all the others had the courage to say "no".

Lara: There were people who came to talk about it because, for example, men were kind of living on the edge of everything that was happening to girls because, everything being very secret, they didn't talk, they couldn't say, and these were people who started to become more public, then they also started to rebel against this.

narration: The rumors did not stop in Lisbon; a few days later, Advaita and Adina Stoian, the Romanian couple who coordinate the Danish NATHA, arrived in Portugal. They are known throughout the movement as the “right hand” and “left hand” of the guru Gregorian Bivolaru.

Vera: The fact that he said he was initiating someone shocked me, because the only person who could initiate was the master, so he was putting himself in the master's shoes. Advaita came here and said that this was unacceptable, that he could not do this.

Narration: Swami was reprimanded, apologized, promised not to do it again, but later left the school in Lisbon.

As for the students, this yoga school teaches them that they can only make love, never sex, but that doesn't mean they have to have only one partner; on the contrary, they also learn that they shouldn't be monogamous.

Luís: It was said that a monogamous relationship is an inferior relationship because it means that you are limited in your ability to love someone else, in your ability to love and in being able to have relationships with more than one person.

Vera: This really struck me at first, but then, well, I started hearing... The explanation is that true love is real love. And if the person we're with falls in love with someone else and I want to hold on to that person, I don't love them, I'm possessive, that's it, that's how it is. If we really love someone, we want that person to be happy.

Narration: It's not that monogamous relationships were forbidden at school, says Lara, who joined Natha de Lisbon through a friend who would become her boyfriend. They were just discouraged and seen as less important, so whenever possible, they should be avoided, either voluntarily or with a little help from other students.

Lara: There were even couples, sometimes even married people, who attended the classes, and there were always, for example, women trying to seduce a man and men trying to seduce a woman, basically trying to get her out of monogamy. I don't know if it was intentional, but what was seen was that the way monogamy was perceived was too closed, right? And so, for women to be more uninhibited and for men to be more virile, it would be good for them to be freer, essentially.

narration: In addition, relationships between women are highly encouraged.

Luís: There is a great acceptance and promotion of relationships between women and other women at that school. They see it as a way to surrender themselves and, in doing so, they become better partners for men as well, because they learn to surrender themselves, and the relationship between a man and a woman requires that she learn to surrender herself and be in that field of submission.

Narration: Relationships between men are absolutely forbidden.

Luís: Vera was demonized, but not the man, the one with the double standard.

narrative: Vera has been at school for several years. She knows that there are secrets, that there are things that are not shared and that, for the sake of everyone's spiritual evolution, it is good that it is so. Breaking an oath brings terrible consequences. All monsters and demons pursue those who break their word and unleash the evils of the world upon them.

That's why she doesn't ask questions. Every now and then, girls disappear from the ashram. One day they're there, the next they're gone. It's like they're ghosts. No one talks about their absence when, suddenly, the beds they occupied are empty. And no one throws them a party when they return, a week or even months later.

Not even the closest people. It's not a problem. Nobody talks about it.

Vera: I didn't know where they had been or what they had done. Some of them couldn't talk about it. And then they would come back defiant, more thoughtful, sometimes they would come back defiant, spoiled, strange.

Narration: All Vera can do is imagine. Maybe they went on a silent retreat.

Maybe I'm abroad, volunteering. But in reality, it was none of that.

Vera: The worst things that happen in this world start with a secret and culminate in a conspiracy. The worst.

narration: But that's a story for the next episode.

In the next episode: I see three photos and it all ties together. And I think she always told me she was there, at the retreats. And I think she wasn't at the retreats. She always tried to do that. She always had these sexual urges. But she's not stupid either. So she created a group and through that group, which is still with her today, she was able to grow. It's a porn site that has nothing to do with Tantra, nothing to do with the spiritual revolution. Nothing. Nothing. It's just about making money. Making money for the school.

Narration: The Observer contacted NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, the ATMAN Federation, which includes yoga schools around the world, as well as Gregorian Bivolaru. They were confronted with several questions related to the allegations made during this podcast. The Observer contacted Gregorian Bivolaru through his legal representatives. They did not respond. The Observer contacted NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra. The management did not agree to be interviewed, but answered several questions by email. The relevant questions and answers for this episode follow.

The Observer asks: The website of NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, in the “About Us” section, mentions Gregorian Bivolaru as a true living spiritual master. What is Gregorian Bivolaru’s connection to NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra? NATHA answers: As can be verified in its statute, NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has no connection with Gregorian Bivolaru, as he does not hold and has never held any position at NATHA, nor is he or has ever been a partner or member of its governing bodies. What we can say is that, as a publicly recognized authority in the field, with several published books, NATHA follows some of his teachings in its courses. Therefore, on our website, we present Gregorian Bivolaru as co-author of the Integral Esoteric Yoga Course, the Esoteric Yoga Tantra course offered by the Atman Federation of Yoga and Meditation, of which NATHA is an affiliated member school, and the author of numerous spiritual books and publications.

The Integral Esoteric Yoga Course and the Esoteric Yoga Tantra Course are just two of the various courses we offer at NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra.

The Observer asks: And what is the position of NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, regarding the detention of Gregorian Bivolaru on suspicion of committing the alleged crimes of rape, human trafficking, kidnapping and abuse of vulnerability? NATHA answers: The NATHA Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra unequivocally rejects any form of violence, exploitation, abuse or any type of criminal activity. It does not tolerate activities or behaviors that may constitute crimes of this nature or any other nature. The NATHA Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra is guided by the ethical principles of yoga, respect for human beings and individual integrity. It maintains that any suspicion or accusation should be properly investigated by the competent authorities, respecting the principle of justice and the rule of law.

The Observer asks: Has NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, stopped teaching courses written by Gregorian Bivolaru? NATHA answers: The answer to this question is clearly stated on our website, open to all who wish to read it: Gregorian Bivolaru is the author of the Integral Esoteric Yoga course, co-author of the Esoteric Yoga Tantra course, offered by the ATMAN Federation of Yoga and Meditation, of which NATHA is an affiliated member school, and author of many spiritual books and publications.

The Observer asks: Why is Gregorian Bivolaru still mentioned as a living spiritual master on the NATHA website, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra? NATHA answers: In the context of Yoga, the term spiritual master designates someone who, through his experience and practice, inspires and guides others on the path of self-knowledge and inner development. The reference to living spiritual masters reflects an ancient tradition present in various schools of wisdom around the world, which recognizes the importance of experienced people who transmit knowledge directly and vividly. Our mention of a living spiritual master should be understood within this philosophical and spiritual framework and not as a personal validation of behaviors or events external to the practice and teachings of Yoga.

The observer asks: "What is the connection between the spiritual school of yoga and Tantra NATHA and the Natha Yoga Center in Denmark?" NATHA answers: NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has no connection with the NATHA Yoga Center. As mentioned above, as an association, we are a private legal entity, perfectly autonomous and independent, with our own legal personality.

The Observer asks: Do the schools have a common leadership? What functions do Mihai and Adina Stoian, teachers at the NATHA Yoga Center in Denmark, perform or have they performed at the NATHA Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra?

NATHA answers: Although you have already received an answer to the previous question, we reiterate that, obviously, there is no common management with other schools, since the NATHA Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra is an association with its own legal personality and, naturally, with its own bodies, which carry out its own management. We are not aware of the functions that Mihai and Adina Stoian perform or have performed at the NATHA Yoga Center. They did not perform any function at NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra.

The Observer asks: What is the connection between NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, and MISA?

NATHA responds: NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is an association with legal personality and its own governing bodies, dedicated to teaching Yoga and Tantra in Portugal, while MISA, the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute, is a foreign organization that also promotes spiritual activities internationally. There is no legal, administrative, organizational or other relationship between them. We are aware that, individually, in the exercise of their personal and spiritual freedom, some students and teachers who are members of NATA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, participate in international events organized by this and other entities.

The Observer asks: Two female students from NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, complain that they were persuaded by their teachers to travel to Paris, supposedly to receive sexual initiations from Gregorian Bivolaru. These students accuse the school of providing all the logistics, together with representatives of MISA in Romania, and say that once they arrived at the site, they were deprived of their means of communication and their own identity documents and were kept in apartments, without permission to leave. The same students complain that they were coerced through manipulation and brainwashing into having alleged sexual relations with Gregorian Bivolaru in Paris.

How does NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, react to these accusations? NATHA's response: NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has no direct or indirect knowledge of the aforementioned accusations, nor is there any evidence that these situations occurred within the scope or under the responsibility of this association.

NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is absolutely against any practice that involves coercion, manipulation, deprivation of liberty, sexual abuse, exploitation, or violation of fundamental human rights.

Such behaviors are totally unacceptable and incompatible with the ethical and spiritual principles of yoga and the values ​​of this association. NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, reaffirms its commitment to full respect for human dignity, individual freedom and self-determination of its students and teachers and, naturally, remains fully available to collaborate with the competent authorities, if necessary.

The ATMAN Federation, to which the Yoga Schools of the movement created by Gregorio Bivolaru belong, did not directly answer the questions sent by the observer, but sent a statement. In the text, the Atman Federation guarantees that it has not received, to date, any official communication from the French judicial system regarding a possible involvement in this case. It rejects all the accusations made against affiliated members, teachers and students. It recalls that the investigation is still ongoing and that there have been no charges, let alone a conviction. And it accuses the French authorities and the international media of religious persecution and of a media campaign that, over the years, has presented the school as a sexual cult, guilty of brainwashing and sexual abuse. The statement reads: What happened in France is a continuation of a long series of attacks against affiliated members of the Atman Federation and the yoga teacher Gregorio Bivolaru, by forces that consider any combination of eroticism and spirituality intolerable. In the same text, the Federation also guarantees that it is not responsible for the private lives of employees, students and teachers of affiliated schools. It states that the schools are independent and assume full responsibility for their respective decisions and activities. It also adds that it categorically condemns all types of abuse, including the abusive use of police force and unjust detentions. And, finally, it assures that teachings on sexualized behavior have not been and will never be tolerated in the Atman Federation.

"The Secrets of the Yoga Sect" is a six-episode series and is part of Observador's Podcast Plus. It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, and has an original soundtrack by Benjamin. The script and interviews are by Mariana Marques Tiago and Tania Pereirinha. The sound design and sound effects are by Pedro Oliveira.

The graphic design is by Diana Moreira. The editing is by João Santos Duarte and Tania Pereirinha.

Episode 2. There are girls who disappear

[Speaker 1] (0:00 - 5:08) Some names have been changed to protect the identities of the interviewees. In these cases, the voices have been altered using artificial intelligence.

June 1999. At this moment, there are already over 3,000 people gathered in this open field in the industrial area of ​​Bucharest. There are people of all ages, men and women, dressed in all colors. Strangely, there is no chaos. Everyone knows where to go and what to do. Wait. Everything is ready for the yang spiral meditation, one of the most anticipated regular activities by students of MISA, the yoga movement founded in 1990, in the Romanian capital, by Gregorian Bivolaru.

Everyone present practices yoga in one of the many MISA schools spread across the country. They had to register in advance, pay a small fee, and submit personal data, including date of birth, zodiac sign, and full-body photos. Now they are on the ground, holding hands, men and women alternating, forming a giant spiral and organized according to their zodiac signs, starting with Pisces, Bivolaru's sign. All that is missing is the guru so that the meditation can begin. It is a little after eight in the evening when the blue jeep arrives.

First, the back doors open and seven or eight very young girls get out, who quickly find their seats in a spiral. Then the passenger door opens. Gregorian Bivolaru is immediately surrounded by the crowd. He walks slowly, chatting with the followers. Right there, next to the event security team, is a group of men and women who are not registered, but very much want to be in the presence of the guru.

Bivolaru notices a girl who seems to be waiting to meet him. Her name is Daria. She tells him that she started practicing yoga in the province a year ago and that she really wanted to participate in the meditation, but she couldn't sign up in time. Bivolaru gives her permission to join the spiral, and does more, invites her to visit him the following week. In a few days, Daria will be living in his house. She is only 14 years old. When Daria meets him in 1999, Gregorian Bivolaru has been teaching yoga for many years. MISA, the Movement for Spiritual Integration in the Absolute, was founded in Bucharest, a few months after the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu's regime and the summary execution of the communist dictator.

But this was not the beginning of the guru. Bivolaru had already been practicing yoga and teaching in various regions of Romania for two decades. On the night Daria first meets him, the movement's expansion is only just beginning.

In the same year, she opened the first yoga school in Germany. Since then, the inaugurations will multiply throughout Europe and will reach the United States, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Thailand and even India. Before turning 18, Daria will make a solemn oath and will commit to donating all the money she receives to MISA. Then, she will be sent to Japan, along with dozens of other girls, to work in bars, strip clubs and nightclubs. Secrets of the Yoga Sect is a six-episode series that is part of the Observador Plus Podcast. It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, with an original soundtrack by Benjamim.

There are girls who disappear [narration] (5:31 - 8:56) It is 1971. For months, the population of Bucharest has been living in terror. There is a murderer on the loose, killing and raping women. All of them young, almost all of them blonde. The murders take place on rainy or stormy nights, always after midnight, and are particularly violent. The victims are killed with axe blows and then raped and bitten. There are even reports that the murderer drinks their blood.

Everyone is afraid of the vampire in Bucharest. Women start dyeing their hair brown or black, and men organize themselves into militias to try to catch the killer red-handed, who has already killed four people and attacked ten others. Meanwhile, the police investigate. First, they interrogate the mentally ill who live on the streets of the Romanian capital. Then, those convicted of murder or rape, recently released from prisons around the city, and finally, all the men who live in the areas where the crimes took place.

And here the young Gregorian Bivolaru, then 19 years old, living with his mother and working at the local post office, first entered the radar of the Romanian authorities. In fact, he entered and never came out again.

The Securitate agents, the secret police of the Socialist Republic of Romania, are intrigued by this young man. When he is not working, he is at the municipal library reading about Indian philosophy, parapsychology and telepathy, or practicing yoga.

At home, he keeps stacks of correspondence on the subject. Letters sent from inside and outside the country by young artists, intellectuals, and even illegal booksellers. And he keeps materials banned by the communist regime, such as erotic literature and explicit photographs. The authorities quickly conclude that Gregorian Bivolaru is not the vampire of Bucharest. But the secret police immediately open a file with his name.

He believes that the ideas of this young man and the contacts he has already established thanks to his work at the post office, could represent a danger to the country. During this period, Ceaușescu even tolerates the Romanian Orthodox Church, but prohibits all other religions and mystical currents. The state is atheist and also defends morality and good manners. Yoga had already been banned in Romania in the 1950s and 1960s and will soon be banned again. At this time it is tolerated, but only as a physical activity, not a spiritual one.

[Bivolaru] (8:59 - 9:26) In 1971 I already started teaching yoga.

translator: We had about 14 students. We did a course that we called Psychosomatic Yoga Gymnastics. At some point, we decided to start putting up posters for these yoga classes. The secret services, which were very active at the time, noticed this. I remember they restricted the phone lines and canceled the number that appeared on the posters.

Bivolaru: "I remember they completely blocked the phone and canceled the phone number."

[narration] (9:32 - 11:43) Despite his work at the post office, the young Bivolaru cannot avoid the censorship of the Securitate, which regularly checks his correspondence. Also in 1971, he writes to a magazine in the German Democratic Republic. In broken English, he introduces himself as a 19-year-old Romanian, passionate about German erotic articles and German frankness about sex. “Unfortunately, there are no sexy articles in Romania,” he writes, before asking them to send him a catalog of sexy photos, sexy slides, sexy films and sexy magazines in a discreet envelope, offering to pay in German marks or American dollars. But instead of receiving the German catalog, Bivolaru is confronted by the secret police and does not even try to deny anything. He explains that he is studying Tantra and that the erotic material he wants to import from abroad, like the one he already has at home, is just a working tool.

"He needs it for two things: to try to connect with the naked women in the photos, in a spiritual or telepathic way, and to practice his ability to have orgasms without ejaculation."

The answer is still preserved today in the Securitate archives.

"I used the images to practice Tantra Yoga. I would look at the images and redirect my sexual energy in order to reach a higher plane of consciousness. In this way, I could connect to the universal consciousness of humanity which is, above all, an inexhaustible source of love."

Before Yoga was banned again in Romania in 1982, along with karate and other martial arts, Bivolaru was arrested and sentenced to a year in prison for possession and distribution of obscene materials. It was only the first time.

[translator] (11:46 - 12:03) Although the classes were officially banned, I continued to meet at my home with five trusted people, who then met with over 170 people. So they continued to practice Yoga illegally, and I continued with this activity.

Bivolaru: "... still, illegally, yoga. This activity of mine continued until 1984..." [narration] (12:10 - 12:33) In April 1984, Gregorian Bivolaru was arrested for illegally distributing mystical publications and for working as a yoga teacher without a legal license. From that year, the spiritual guide would spend his life in and out of prison in Romania and abroad, until today.

[Dária] (12:50 - 13:09) He's always had these sexual escapades of his, but he's not stupid at all, he's intelligent, he reads a lot. So he created an initial group of about 20 people and, through this group that's still with him today, he managed to grow.

[narration] (13:14 - 14:13) Dária is Romanian, but has lived in Portugal for several years. She met Bivolaru in 1999, a decade after the Romanians began the revolution that overthrew the communist regime.

When Ceaușescu fell, Gregorian Bivolaru was again imprisoned. This time, in a psychiatric hospital, diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder, coupled with problems of moral masochism and inauthentic inclinations towards ethics, religion, art and spiritual professions. As soon as Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu were executed after an improvised military trial on Christmas Day, Bivolaru was released, as were thousands of political prisoners.

Daria remembers how MISA was created a few months later and how, very quickly, the guru managed to gather more and more followers.

[Dária] (14:13 - 14:56) After Ceaușescu, when people had such a closed mentality and someone open-minded appears, people immediately latch onto him, right? When it comes to sexuality or, I don't know, anything else, energies, that attracts even more. So it was simple, because if you have 20 people around you who put you on a pedestal, tomorrow you have 40, then you have a thousand, then you have 30,000, it grows. Everyone says he's a guru, that he knows the answers to everything. The people around him created everything, I think he would have been nothing on his own. He has power through the people who give him power.

[Rapcea] (14:59 - 15:02) I started practicing yoga in 19...

[narration] (15:02 - 15:26) Mihai Rapcea is one of these people. In 1991, he was 16 years old. He is, like the vast majority of Romanians, thirsty for everything that, for decades, was forbidden by the communist regime. He wants to read the books that were previously forbidden, to listen to Western music, to experience spirituality and yoga, which has simply become a kind of new national obsession.

[Rapcea] (15:26 - 15:36) Yes, Gregorian Bivolaru, he was someone who already knew a lot about this field.

[translator] (15:40 - 16:05) And that's why it quickly became very popular in this area. Plus, it had students from a previous period, from the communist era, so it already had a team to organize yoga classes. And so, in a short time, it turned into a national movement, an organization with many classes in all the big cities of Romania.

[narration] (16:25 - 16:54) Mihai is enrolling in courses in Bucharest this year. The atmosphere is effervescent, reminiscent of a summer camp.

Every day there are new books to read, knowledge to gain, and people to meet. Bivolaru holds two theoretical courses a week. He talks about spirituality, the benefits of asanas (yoga postures), and the effects of breathing exercises on health.

[translator] (17:02 - 17:17) We met with him twice a week. He would give lectures and talk about various topics, but it wasn't a sect; it was a movement of people interested in practicing something new, extraordinary, with many beneficial effects.

[narration] (17:23 - 18:19) Some time after entering university, Mihai moves to one of the movement's ashrams. He studies law. Bivolaru, who dropped out of school at the end of high school, tells him that, if he wants, he can use his personal library. It is a large room, full of books in various languages, on a wide range of subjects. There are works on Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Sufism, Western esotericism and esoteric Christianity. And works on occultism, healthy eating, homeopathy and alternative medicine. It is a library that reveals at least two things: Bivolaru is a tireless reader, and the philosophy he founded is anything but original. It is an amalgam of theories and concepts copied from religions and spiritual movements.

[translator] (18:43 - 19:26) At that time, I think by 1995, the movement had about 30,000 people, members who attended courses all over the country, in Romania. I had heard about tantric practices, but only in the sense that, yes, it was natural to practice sexual continence, to make love without losing seminal fluid. At first it was something very normal, really very normal. There was no problem, I had great trust in him, because the advice he gave was very normal and I can even say, profound, because he had this ability to communicate with people.

[narration] (19:35 - 21:57) At this point, MISA already teaches Tantra, in addition to yoga, and Gregorian Bivolaru's popularity continues to grow. Mihai Rapcea is now 20 years old. He lives in the ashram, pays for his own bed and contributes to the gas, water and electricity bills. Since he is studying law, he helps as an intern in the MISA legal team, made up of other students who are lawyers. And, like everyone who lives there, he volunteers for two hours a day. He has been placed in the guru's library. It is a privileged observation point, just over 100 meters from Bivolaru's house.

Every day, every hour, people are looking for the guru. They want to meet him personally, seek spiritual guidance, and join the community. Space must be made for them, and more ashrams and yoga halls must be built.

Labor is easy to find. New and old students do this work voluntarily. But to buy houses, land and building materials, a lot of money is needed.

Daria has just turned 18. She has been living in an ashram in Bucharest for over two years. The summer of 2002 is coming to an end, which means she should be starting her senior year of high school. But the guru has other plans.

He sends her to Japan. Daria already knows what awaits her. She is not the first MISA student to go to Japan.

Before she leaves, she must memorize a few Japanese words. She must learn to dance sensually. She must memorize the choreography. She must try on provocative dresses that she will later wear to perform on stage. And she must take a solemn oath, with her right hand on the Bible.

[Dária] (21:59 - 22:28) And all with the intention and the purpose and the vow to donate everything, including jewelry, digital devices, everything we received from customers, in that context it was a nightclub, but you could have any kind of job and the donation was the same. And everything was for donation. We were allowed to keep the equivalent of 8 dollars a day for shopping.

The rest was donated, in its entirety.

[narration] (22:30 - 22:39) In addition to handing over everything they receive, Daria and the other girls sent to Japan must promise one last thing: [Dária] (22:40 - 22:51) If we have sex, we use condoms, because many women went to Grieg afterwards.

[narration] (22:54 - 23:20) Dária estimates that by 2003, Bivolaru's movement had sent 2,000 women to Japan to work in bars, strip clubs, and nightclubs. Some of the women are sent to Tokyo or other major Japanese cities. Daria is sent to Matsumoto, over 200 kilometers from the capital.

[Dária] (23:24 - 23:40) My luck was that, being a mountainous area, neither striptease nor topless were practiced, because the mentality there was more closed. So, in that sense, I was protected because I limited myself to karaoke, serving meals, and talking to customers.

[narration] (23:42 - 25:09) She lives in a house with other girls. They all work at the same bar, in a building in the city center. The Acropolis building has Doric columns at the entrance and six floors. They are basically all nightclubs. The bar is on the third floor. It has TVs and microphones for karaoke and a bar right in the center of the room.

At this point, Mihai Rapcea is already a lawyer. He continues to live at the ashram and is part of the movement's legal team. But he begins to feel that, after all, the guru was not so perfect. He realizes that there is an ongoing operation with Japan involving several female students from yoga schools. He knows that there are Japanese businessmen who travel to Romania to choose women through castings. He knows that there are signed employment contracts. And he also knows that although the name of the yoga movement created by Gregorian Bivolaru does not appear in these documents, nothing happens without the knowledge and consent of the guru, especially since Mihai himself helps create the companies to conclude these contracts.

[Rapcea] (25:12 - 25:18) They chose some girls.

[translator] (25:19 - 25:52) They learned a little Japanese, made some dresses and learned to dance. And the Japanese businessman who came to Romania chose some girls for these contracts, and the business started. But not in the name of MISA. At that time they had a company. But with the approval of Gregorian Bivolaru, that's for sure. After a while, this became more or less normal. They recruited girls from yoga classes and ashrams.

[narration] (26:02 - 26:25) But the guru doesn't just send women from Bucharest to Japan. Over the years, hundreds of students from schools around the world will be sent to other countries. They simply disappear. From one day to the next, says Vera, who spent several years at the school in Lisbon. No one knows where they go or what they will do.

[Vera] (26:27 - 26:50) I have a beautiful, perfectly normal day. I'm on my phone, I see three photos and everything connects. And I think she always told me she was in retreat. And I think she wasn't in retreat. She always tried to do that. One day I'm in shock and I overreact.

[narration] (27:09 - 28:33) The alert arrives via WhatsApp. Years after Vera stopped exercising, she keeps in touch with very few people from her yoga school days. The photos are sent by one of them. They are screenshots of a website called Rampant TV. On the right side of the image, there is a conversation with encouraging messages in English. “Come on, girl!” Or “you are so sexy!” At the bottom, there are more photos of other women in make-up, half-naked and with suggestive names, such as Bunny, Rosy Love or Goddess. On the left, there is Esmeralda, smiling, sitting on a sofa full of pillows. In the website menu, there are six options. You can call her, you can make a video call and you can give her money. Then, for 30 credits per minute, it is also possible to activate the PervCam call, and in English, Perv is an abbreviation for pervert and Cam for camera. For 50 credits per minute, it is possible to request a private call. And, for an unspecified amount, it is possible to remotely activate a vibrator that Esmeralda uses.

[Vera] (28:33 - 28:41) I'm starting to receive the photos, but at the same time, several people at school were already sending me photos of other people.

[narration] (28:44 - 29:25) The initial discovery is made by another student, Beatriz. She spent almost 10 years at the school and lived in the ashram. She is the sender of the messages sent to Vera and other former students in Lisbon. She realizes, through a forum run by former members of the movement internationally (AtmanCultAlert, n/a), that there are women locked in their homes in Romania and the Czech Republic who work on pornographic video chat. As soon as she enters the site, Beatriz discovers several students and even instructors from the school in Lisbon.

[translator] (29:27 - 29:57) You could see a lot of things. If you wanted to interact with the person, you had to pay. But you could see her, let's say, seducing you, because she has the cameras on, she has to attract the person. Because, you see, it's a site where they have many webcams that are working simultaneously. What makes you press the buttons on the right and the left? So it has to attract and captivate. But it's a porn site, which has nothing to do with tantra, nothing to do with spiritual evolution, absolutely nothing. It's just about making money. Making money for school.

[narration] (30:00 - 30:15) Miranda Grace is English. She knows the house on the outskirts of Prague well, where the students of the Lisbon school live, making pornographic videos for the Rampant TV channel. In 2019, for six months, she also lived there.

[Miranda] (0:15 - 0:29) I didn't have my phone, I didn't have my passport, I couldn't keep my bank card, but once I had to lie to my family, I had to tell them I was somewhere else, I had to make up a story.

[narration] (0:45 - 1:17) She arrives in the Czech capital exhausted after a night bus ride from Paris. The first thing she does, even before seeing the room she will share with other girls who vaguely know her, is hand over her passport and mobile phone. For the next six months she will remain uncontactable. No one can know where you are or what you are doing. Not even your family. And you can only leave the house with permission from above.

[Miranda] (1:21 - 1:29) We do these rituals in the morning and then we work on the site. In the first few days you can just observe, looking at the other women on the site.

[narration] (1:35 - 2:01) She's there to work. Six days a week, for three or four hours a day, she's locked in a room, with a camera, broadcasting live to Rampant TV. Miranda and all the other women, including many Portuguese women, spent years on that website, being sexually exploited. But none of them were forced into those homes. They all came willingly.

[Miranda] (2:04 - 2:16) So, I was a prisoner. I was under house arrest. But from my inner perspective, I was free, because I was focused on my spiritual growth, and the external circumstances were exactly what I needed to do for that.

[narration] (2:20 - 2:26) They were convinced that they were privileged because they were entering the "Garden of Miracles".

[Miranda] (2:27 - 2:33) Bivolaru called it the "Garden of Miracles" because of the incredible transformations that took place in the women there.

[narration] (2:46 - 3:46) Karma Yoga. It's the concept that drives all these women to travel to Japan to work in strip clubs or to stand in front of cameras, participating in online sex video chats.

Karma Yoga is imported from Hinduism. The goal is to transform daily tasks into spiritual work, which the students, in a detached and altruistic way, donate to the school. But, in the movement created by Gregorian Bivolaru, Karma Yoga is just a tool of control and manipulation. With the promise that they can accelerate your spiritual evolution, these women do everything the guru asks of them. Because Gregorian Bivolaru did not just found a Yoga school or launch a movement. He created a sect.

[translator] (3:46 - 4:21) A guy in our group sent me a video explaining how a cult works, to see if I understood it or not. This cult was capable of trapping you. When I saw the first video he sent me explaining how a cult is formed, everything fell apart. Everything was so obvious, it was so obvious that it hurt.

narration: to be continued, in the next episode [female voice] (4:36 - 4:46) If I had ever told what happened, it would have meant that I was a larval, ignorant woman...

[male voice] (4:46 - 4:49) No, no, I can't say, I swear, I swear I can't.

[female voice] (4:50 - 5:02) It's very complicated to prove that we are being forced to do something when, in fact, we have been made to believe that it is actually good for our spiritual evolution.

[psychologist] (5:03 - 5:14) It's a process of deconstruction of the individual, where they reach a point where they submit without thinking. They know what has to happen, it doesn't matter WHY it has to happen.

[narration] (5:17 - 15:06) If you have heard this story and are going through a similar situation or know someone who is going through a similar situation, you can call PAV, the Portuguese Association for Victim Support, at the telephone number 116006.

Observator contacted NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, the ATMAN Federation, which includes yoga schools around the world, as well as Gregorian Bivolaru, through their legal representatives. They were confronted with several questions related to the allegations made during this podcast.

Observator contacted Gregorian Bivolaru through his legal representatives. They did not respond. Observator contacted NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra.

The board of directors did not agree to be interviewed, but responded to several questions via email.

The relevant questions and answers for this episode follow.

Observer asks: The school's instructors and students lived for months in a house on the outskirts of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. From this house, which is owned by the ATMAN Federation, these women allegedly practiced prostitution on video chats, on at least one website, called Rampant TV. NATHA responds: NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is completely unaware of the alleged prostitution on video chats.

Observer asks: Were these women sent to Prague by NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra?

Or with the support of NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra? NATHA answers: NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has not organized, promoted, supported or financed any trips for instructors or students to Prague, nor has it had any direct or indirect participation in activities outside the scope of its association functions. NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, exclusively develops activities related to the teaching and practice of yoga and Tantra in Portugal.

Observer asks: Is NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, aware of, approves of, and encourages this type of alleged sex work on the part of its teachers and students?

NATHA answers: No. NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has no knowledge of, does not approve of, or encourage this.

Observer asks: Is this type of alleged sex work in accordance with the teachings of the Tantra courses at NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra? NATHA answers: Within its spiritual tradition, NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, approaches the theme of sacred eroticism as a philosophical and spiritual dimension of the human being, understanding it as a conscious, respectful and transformative expression of vital energy, without any encouragement or connection to activities of a commercial or sexual nature.

Observer asks: The NATHA website, in the “About Us” section, mentions Gregorian Bivolaru as a true living spiritual master. What is Gregorian Bivolaru’s connection to NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra? NATHA answers: As can be verified in its statute, mentioned above, NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has no connection to Gregorian Bivolaru. He does not hold and has never held any position at NATHA, nor is he and has never been a partner or member of its governing bodies. What we can say is that, as a publicly recognized authority in the field, with several published books, NATHA follows some of his teachings in its courses. Therefore, on our website, we present Gregorian Bivolaru as co-author of the Integral Esoteric Yoga course and the Esoteric Tantra Yoga course, offered by the Atman Federation of Yoga and Meditation, of which NATHA is an affiliated member school, and as the author of many spiritual books and publications.

Given that the Integral Esoteric Yoga course and the Esoteric Yoga Tantra course are just two of the various courses we offer at NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, Observator asks: what is the position of NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, regarding the arrest of Gregorian Bivolaru on suspicion of committing the alleged crimes of rape, human trafficking, kidnapping and abuse of vulnerability?

NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, responds: NATHA unequivocally rejects any form of violence, exploitation or abuse, or any type of criminal activity. It does not tolerate activities or behaviors that may constitute crimes of this nature or any other nature. NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is guided by the ethical values ​​of yoga, respect for human beings and individual integrity.

It maintains that any suspicion or accusation must be properly investigated by the competent authorities, respecting the principle of justice and the rule of law.

Observer asks: Has NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, stopped teaching courses written by Gregorian Bivolaru? NATHA answers: The answer to this question is clearly stated on our website, open to all who wish to read it. Gregorian Bivolaru is the author of the Integral Esoteric Yoga course, co-author of the Esoteric Yoga Tantra course, offered by the Atman Federation of Yoga and Meditation, of which NATHA is an affiliated member school, and author of many spiritual books and publications.

Observer asks: Why is the reference to Gregorian Bivolaru as a living spiritual master maintained on the website of NATA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra? NATHA answers: In the context of Yoga, the term spiritual master designates someone who, through his experience and practice, inspires and guides others on the path of self-knowledge and inner development. The reference to living spiritual masters reflects a millenary tradition present in various schools of wisdom around the world, which recognizes the importance of experienced people who transmit knowledge directly and vividly. The mention of a living spiritual master must be understood within this philosophical and spiritual framework and not as a personal validation of behaviors or events external to the practice and teachings of Yoga.

Observer asks: What is the connection between NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, and MISA?

NATHA responds: NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is an association with legal personality and its own governing bodies, dedicated to teaching Yoga and Tantra in Portugal, while MISA, the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute, is a foreign organization that also promotes spiritual activities internationally. There is no legal, administrative, organizational or other relationship between them. We are aware that, individually, in the exercise of their personal and spiritual freedom, some students and teachers who are members of NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, participate in international events organized by this and other entities.

The ATMAN Federation, which includes the Yoga Schools of the Movement created by Gregorian Bivolaru, did not directly respond to the questions sent by the observer, but issued a statement. In this text, the ATMAN Federation assures that it has not received, to date, any official communication from the French judicial system regarding a possible involvement in this case. The statement rejects all accusations made against affiliated members, teachers and students.

It is noted that the investigation is still ongoing and that there are no charges, let alone convictions.

They accuse French authorities and international media of religious persecution and a media campaign that, over the years, has portrayed the school as a sexual cult guilty of brainwashing and sexual abuse.

The statement says: What happened in France is a continuation of a long series of attacks against affiliated members of the ATMAN Federation and the yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru, by forces that consider any combination of eroticism and spirituality intolerable. In the same text, the Federation also states that it is not responsible for the private lives of employees, students and teachers of affiliated schools. It is specified that the schools are independent and assume full responsibility for their respective decisions and activities.

It also adds that it categorically condemns all types of abuse, including the abusive use of police force and unjust arrests. Finally, it assures that teachings about sexualized behavior have not been and will never be tolerated in the ATMAN Federation.

Secrets of the Yoga Sect is a six-episode series and is part of Observador's Podcast Plus.

It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, and has an original soundtrack by Benjamim. The script and interviews are by Mariana Marques Tiago and Tânia Pereirinha. The sound design and sound effects are by Pedro Oliveira. The graphic design is by Ana Moreira. The editing is by João Santos Duarte and Tânia Pereirinha.

The coordination is by Miguel Pinheiro, Filomena Martins, Pedro Jorge Castro, Ricardo Conceição and Sara Antunes de Oliveira.

If you have information to share about this podcast or if you know of a story that you think should be investigated, you can write to us at podcastplus.com.br. Podcast Plus from Observador is more than just a podcast.

 

Secrets of the Yoga Sect – Ep. 3. How to Create a Sect

Narration: Some names have been changed to protect the identities of the interviewees. In these cases, the voices were altered using artificial intelligence.

It is the early hours of the morning. Waiting in several places in the Romanian capital, over 300 special forces soldiers, armed with machine guns and Makarov pistols, are standing by. It is March 18, 2004, and Operation Christ is about to begin. The doors of 16 apartments linked to MISA members are broken down at the same time. Searches are carried out and dozens of arrests are made. The men and women found inside are taken for identification and interrogation. Among them is a minor girl. When questioned by the police, she reveals that Gregorian Bivolaru has been having sexual relations with her for two years. The next day, the girl retracts her statements. She says she was coerced by the authorities. The movement's public image is tarnished and worsens when the teenager's mother arrives from the province and reveals that her daughter ran away from home under the influence of people who practiced yoga. Accused of having sexual relations with a minor and of sexual perversion, the guru tries to flee to Hungary, but is caught. Two days later, he is released and is never seen again. He will only reappear two years later, almost 3,000 km away, to request political asylum in Sweden. It is a small scandal. Romania is in the process of joining the European Union, and Bivolaru says that he is the victim of religious persecution. A few months later, Sweden grants the MISA founder not only permanent resident status as a refugee, but also a new name: Magnus Aurolsson. The guru's new passport reads: valid in all countries, except Romania.

It is 2008. Gregorian Bivolaru will begin his trial in absentia in Bucharest. He is accused of the crimes of illegal border crossing, sexual perversion, corruption of a minor, sexual relations with minors and human trafficking. He is increasingly isolated. The succession of accusations by former students and the seriousness of the legal cases cause the International Yoga Federation and the European Yoga Alliance to exclude him. It could have been the end, but once again Gregorian Bivolaru takes advantage of this to start over. He will create a new federation just for himself. He calls it ATMAN, the International Yoga and Meditation Federation. From now on, the movement will grow even more and will eventually reach Portugal. Natha, the Yoga and Tantra Academy, is inaugurated in April 2009 at number 15 on Avenida Poeta Mistral in Lisbon, right next to the headquarters of the Gulbenkian Foundation. The school promises a profound knowledge of the world, love, body and spirituality. Students who attend it will discover themselves. They will learn to build true relationships and live life to the fullest. The lessons are written by a Romanian guru and there are photos of him in all the rooms. He is Gregorian Bivolaru, the founder of MISA and the recently created Atman federation, of which Natha from Lisbon is also a member.

The activities never stop. There are conferences, weekend retreats, workshops, congresses and film sessions. And an ashram, where the Swami, the Danish master in charge of the school, lives, and where some students can also move if they want to dedicate themselves entirely to the Movement. For them, there is no free time. What none of these students realize is that the excess of events, teachings and feelings has a purpose.

The goal is not to help them achieve spiritual enlightenment. The goal is that, little by little, each of them will become more and more dependent on the group and will break ties with family and friends outside the school. Over time, and always immersed in the illusion that they are making decisions of their own free will, they will move from the status of students to that of disciples. They will submit to increasingly restrictive rules, they will stop asking questions, and they will become completely submissive.

Some will need years to understand that they have been manipulated. Others do not even recognize today that this is happening to them and continue, under the influence of the teachings of Gregorian Bivolaru. They are proof that the Romanian guru has completed all the steps to create a sect, one by one.

"Secrets of the Yoga Sect" is a six-episode audio series that is part of Observador's plus podcasts.

It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, with an original soundtrack by Benjamim.

Episode 3. How to Create a Sect Luís is among the first to join the Natha in Lisbon. In fact, he does so so early that the school of yoga and tantra is not even called that yet. He was one of the earliest students, he came to Portugal and he opened a school, it was called Siddha Yoga. Siddha comes from siddhi, which means paranormal ability.

Siddha is the practitioner, the one who has achieved these siddhis. When the management realizes what “siddha” means in Portuguese, they become the target of ridicule from the other yoga schools in the city. They need to change their name immediately. Swami Mahalayananda is Danish, but he studied in Finland. In 1996 he founded the school in Helsinki, which he led until 2007. He decides that the one in Lisbon will be called Natha, like the schools that already exist in these two countries. Luís remembers a small school, with five or six students. Everyone knows each other, the atmosphere is family-like, and the members have a mission: to attract more people to the group.

When Vera and Lara arrive, brought by members who would become their lovers, the school has already grown and moved to a new location. It is located on the famous Avenida Antónia Augusta Aguiar, near Marquês de Pombal.

Vera: The atmosphere was always welcoming and friendly, we had found a place where we were treated well, where friendships seemed real, where we felt safe and there was respect for us. I felt like we had found a place like a little, not exactly paradise, but a place super different from the rest of the other places we had been; to get to school and find almost a kind of paradise, right? These were people who were there to improve themselves, to be, I know, good people, to be good to each other.

narration: Paradise, friendship. Bivolaru's disciples repeat the same words. Vera feels like she is part of a kind of brotherhood. A group of people who understand exactly what she went through, who also know what it means to grow up in a dysfunctional family. She is convinced that there she will be able to build true relationships and she feels special.

She can almost swear that every time Swami speaks, it is specifically for her.

Vera: There was always something that touched me very, very specifically, very personally, and that was experienced and felt by other people as well.

Narration: António Madaleno is the author of the book "The Universe of Destructive Sects." He explains that this sense of belonging and empathy is not a coincidence.

Madaleno: There are people who are more likely to be attracted to this type of group. For example, people who are looking for meaning in life, people who are idealistic, want to change the world, want to do something that will mark their existence. People who live, let's say, in toxic, disorganized family environments, end up feeling emotional deficiencies. And when they come into contact with a community or are presented with a community that will fill this void for them, right?, and that will offer them, basically, what they may have never had - attention, affection, care, that they have time to be with them and as if they were showing them that they really care about the person and want them to become the best version of themselves, then that, obviously, captivates a person.

Narration: What Vera and Lara are experiencing has a name: love bombing.

Madaleno: Of course this love bombing is done intentionally with the aim of attracting the person and capturing them.

I mean, the person arrives in the group and is very well received, right? The person is pampered, she feels that there is something different from everything she has already experienced in life: "here there is real love, here people really care about each other, here people want to know about each other so they can grow together." narration: Vera and Lara are convinced that they could never feel as loved and understood as there. They do not have enough detachment to understand that, in fact, this is how all sects always start. The number one step towards creating a sect has been taken.

At Natha, yoga and Tantra classes are two separate things. In theory, attending one does not necessarily require attending the other. But in practice, that is not the case. And the most dedicated students of yoga classes end up being drawn to Tantra. The structure of the classes is similar. The difference lies in the separation that occurs in Tantra: women form the Shakti group, and men the Vira group.

Nuno: Everyone knew they existed. They were kind of secret to each of the groups. I mean, the men didn't know what was going on in the women's groups, and the women didn't know what was going on in the men's groups.

Narration: Nuno has recently arrived at the school in Lisbon. He goes to classes once a week, after work.

In the group of men he is part of, nothing strange happens.

Nuno: We would get together and it basically consisted of pure yoga practice. Yoga, yoga, yoga and nothing more.

narration: But it feels like it's not exactly the same in women's groups. There are more of them, they meet more often and they keep what they do secret when the doors of the room are closed, Luís explains.

Luis: What happens in the Shakti group? They are Shakti, who are the women. I basically call them Shakti as if they were a divine feminine archetype and that women should aspire to, to follow that path. There are a series of rules, there are a series of techniques that are only for them and that they do not reveal, they do not discuss what they learn there with anyone, not even with their own partners. I had relationships within the school and none of them dared to tell me what they were doing, nor where they were going. I tried several times, several times “ah, no, I can’t say because it’s a vow, I took a vow, I can’t, I can talk very little”.

narration: Luís realizes that there is excessive intimacy between some of the disciples. Some hug each other too intensely, even kissing on the mouth. Today he knows that his intuitions were not wrong and that the Shakti groups also served for initiation into sexual practices. But, by order from above, everything was kept in the strictest secrecy.

Especially for those who live in ashrams, the rules never end.

Vera: We, as soon as we entered there, in the ashram, knew that there were five things we had to stop doing: eating meat and fish, smoking, no one asked me to smoke, coffee and drugs, none of that. And ejaculating, losing energy in sexual intercourse. For us, at least, there is a parallelism, but it's not so easy to describe. The most direct one is that men were not allowed to ejaculate. Period!

Narration: Without realizing it, rule by rule, Nuno, Vera, Lara and all the other disciples become more and more submissive and dependent. It all happens in a subtle way.

Madaleno: The person begins to believe that only that group has the knowledge that can help them grow as an individual, that can bring them salvation, for example, from a religious point of view, that can lead them to a knowledge that society in general does not have. And all this will make the person become more and more involved in the group, to the point of becoming, let's say, dependent on the leader and the group. Control does not only pass through psychological control, but even through physical control.

Narration: The indoctrination and control process is complete, step number two for creating a cult.

At first glance, anyone entering the third door from the left of that building on Avenida António Augusto Aguiar sees a school like any other. There are books on display, a reception area, and three yoga rooms. But beyond the door that says "do not enter," the ashram begins, a building with several rooms and a family-sized kitchen.

Vera will move there 3 years after Natha joins. But there are new disciples, like Beatriz, who decide to go and live in the ashram immediately...

Beatriz: ...because whoever lived there evolved much faster, had a much more intense experience because their egos were put to the test, because we lived three and four and five in the same room and then the issue of egos was constantly put to the test, which for someone who wants to evolve spiritually faster than most people, is a challenge, right? It even becomes like a calling.

narrative: Beatriz has been searching for answers and alternatives to the conventional way of life for many years: studying, working, getting married, having children. She is 32 years old and embarks on a journey of self-knowledge and spirituality. She has already been through the Buddhist community and the Hare Krishna movement and has also done yoga. She arrives at Natha essentially interested in the more esoteric side, in yoga as a spiritual path, and she likes what she finds there so much that, within a few months, she is already living in the ashram. The days in the ashram invariably start early. Vera says that otherwise the students would never manage to do everything they need to do.

Vera: There were many rules, very many rules. In fact, if a person managed to live in that ashram or in any of the ashrams, I would say that they have the potential for a military life, because the rules are immense.

Narration: In addition to the 2 hours of daily yoga practice, there are schedules for taking care of household chores and shopping, for being on duty at the school reception, and for translating books or articles. And before bedtime, there is still a group meditation. All of this is added to the jobs that some maintain outside of school and that many end up abandoning.

Vera: Most days, we ended up going to bed at one, two, three in the morning to get everything done, only to return to work the next day tired, with few hours of sleep and rehearsal.

Narration: Inevitably, Vera, like all the other students, ends up moving away from her friends and family.

Vera: I had no personal life. It was impossible to have a personal life. There wasn't much time left even for family. On weekends there was always either a retreat, or a course, or I was translating live from English to Portuguese.

narration: She believes that all this makes sense: she is working on her spiritual evolution and also contributing to the school, which offers her all this growth. In reality, what is happening, says António Madaleno, is something else.

Madaleno: The person is determined to distance themselves from the friends they had before, even from their family.

She is often invited to spiritual retreats, she is invited to isolate herself from her family, to move away from her own area where she lives, to go live, for example, with people in her group or in a community. Therefore, life revolves 24 hours around her own group and, of course, this ends up moving us away from society.

Narration: Step number three has been taken to create a sect. Social isolation is complete.

A few months after Beatriz entered the school in Lisbon, one of the yoga teachers asked the guru for a spiritual name. Through this new identity, she would come to be known in the community. The ceremony to formalize the new name, a kind of mass baptism, took place in a church in Romania not long after, and was celebrated by an Orthodox priest. By the guru's standards, Beatriz is doing everything right.

She lives in the ashram, has distanced herself from her family, who don't understand her, has good friends at school and dedicates all her time to Natha. But she still needs to take this step: Beatriz: In order to attach herself to the school and show a certain dedication to your spiritual path, you end up asking to change your name.

Narration: After the letter request is approved, Beatriz flies to Bucharest. Besides her, there are at least 100 other people in the hotel room where everything happens.

Beatriz: And from that moment on, that person would leave the name they had before and ask everyone to call them by the other name they had been given at school; it was immediately accepted, it was immediately "ah, congratulations" and so on, it was a step in evolution.

Narration: According to specialist António Madaleno, the true purpose of this change is one and only, and it has nothing to do with the elevation or evolution of the spirit. It is yet another tool of control.

Madaleno: This breaking of the person's identity is another form through which the person is manipulated, because when they break away from their past name, their real name, they don't just break away from their name, they break away from their identity, from their self. That is, it's as if their self dies and now they become a new person, a new personality.

Narration: Step number four for creating a sect has been taken. The depersonalization of the disciples is complete.

Beatriz admits that what attracts her most to Natha, besides the community spirit, is the constant learning associated with sexuality. She says that the idea of ​​being able to evolve enormously just by making love makes it all extremely seductive and she can't stop wanting to know more.

Beatriz: I can't [stop], because actually, at the beginning there are so many, a few techniques, you practice them, you see the effects, you are amazed and you want more.

Narration: Suddenly she realizes that everything she does, even the mundane acts of everyday things, like walking down the street or even how to eat, can be more intense.

Beatriz: You practice, verifying and confirming that, in fact, there is something more there that you want to achieve and then, in order to get that something more, you end up accepting to do everything, because you want to learn more. And this is where initiations come in.

Narration: To evolve, you need to learn more, and to learn more, you need to go through initiations: the way knowledge is transmitted at school by teachers or even by the guru himself. There are initiations to learn to relax or even to learn to give a hug. At first, they are always simple and done through harmless acts. The problem is the precedent they create. There are no initiations without previous oaths made on the Bible, which means that, from the first days at school, the secrets begin.

Lara: If I had ever told anyone what happened, it would have meant that I was a larval, ignorant woman, I know, and that my spiritual evolution would have stopped...

Beatriz: ...all the monsters and demons would have come after me.

Luis: Then it's all about vows. You have to make vows about this, vows about that.

Beatriz: The consequences of breaking an oath were always terrible, terrible.

Narration: As time passes and out of fear of what might happen to them if they break an oath, Beatriz, Lara and most of the school's students retreat into silence. They don't say anything or ask questions, because they don't want to put others in a vulnerable position. Again, it's not a new technique, explains the author of "The Universe of Destructive Sects": Madaleno: The people at the bottom follow the rules, right? The herd, let's say. He believes he's doing something good and that those rules that are given to him and the help that is offered to him, right?, will benefit him. Usually these groups have very strict, very well-defined hierarchical structures, in which each section of the group has the strictly necessary information that it needs to know to do its job, right? But as you climb the pyramid, that knowledge increases.

narrative: Gregorian Bivolaru is at the top of the sect's pyramid and immediately below him are some of the oldest disciples, such as Advaita and Adina Stoian, the Romanian couple who were sent to Lisbon to solve the scandal of Swami Mahalayananda's sexual initiations.

Madaleno: They control people in such a powerful way that they end up submitting to everything that is said within the group and all the rules that are implemented, so that the leader is always in a position... it's like he's God, he's there, but it's like he's invisible, right?

narration: The main tools that this "God" uses to control the disciples at the base of the pyramid are three: oaths, the normality of secrets, and initiations.

Madaleno: There are rituals that serve to integrate the person into the group. And many times these rituals are so humiliating, aren't they, that the person has to cancel themselves out in order to put these rituals into practice, because they are rituals many times in which the person has to cancel themselves out. Self-respect has to be canceled out, but that serves precisely to test to what extent the person really wants to enter the group, to what extent the person really wants to be in the group. It also serves as a filter, because if the person doesn't want to put into practice the things that the leader tells them to do, that person doesn't matter. They want obedient people, totally obedient.

Narration: The fifth step in creating a sect has been taken. The imposition of secret rituals is complete.

At the school in Lisbon there is the feeling that the guru is always present and sees everything, even in the ashram rooms. Lara has stuck a kind of A3 poster with the face of Gregorian Bivolaru on the wall in front of the bed.

Bivolaru wears a short-sleeved blue shirt, his arms at his sides. He has unkempt gray hair, almost to his shoulders, and he looks straight into the room. It is a hard gaze that conveys power and control. Students are repeatedly told that all wisdom resides in the guru. They are told that he knows everyone down to the smallest detail, even those who have never had the honor of meeting him in person or even communicating with him. Whenever someone needs guidance, support, or advice, for whatever reason, they should turn to the guru. Disciples are encouraged to write him letters, which are then delivered to him through intermediaries.

Nuno: He is a master, a guide who is there to help us on this path of spiritual evolution. And the relationship that most people had with him was to write letters, asking for guidance on this, “what I need to practice more, what I need to do to achieve certain results,” or asking, for example, “I would like to have this initiation.” He would say “yes” or “no.” Sometimes he would explain why, sometimes why not.

Narration: The spiritual master's authorization is needed for almost everything, Nuno says. A student wants to learn a new technique, he has to ask the guru for authorization. Does he want to do a training to teach yoga?

They have to ask the guru's permission. You want to meet someone, you have to ask the guru's permission. The guru controls everything, even the appearance of the students.

Lara: Being thin was out of the question, because they explained that the body also manifests the harmony of the chakras, right? And that, for example, a harmonious heart chakra means big breasts. Essentially, what was said was that a woman with a harmonious body was a woman with full forms.

narration: Lara tells the story that women are asked to radiate happiness, to be a manifestation of positive energy, to be sensual and to dress sensually, but to also know their place.

Lara: The man is the one who has to make the decisions. Well, we women can give suggestions and then the men decide.

Narration: To guarantee that no one fails in their respective obligations and because the idea is conveyed that individual mistakes affect the so-called egregor, the collective energy of the group, the students control each other.

Vera says there are to-do lists posted on the ashram walls and a notebook in which everyone must write down how many hours of yoga they practiced that day.

Vera: Everyone knew when I wasn't doing a task, so there was peer pressure, and a lot of it was based on peer pressure. Because if the group finds out that I wasn't doing a task, they'll know what kind of yogi you are.

"No, no, you don't deserve this. I think even our worth was measured largely by our spiritual practice. And all the people who weren't doing the practices, who were still eating meat, were doing a lot of harm. First of all, it affects the egregor of the group, not just you, but also others.

Narration: Because no one wants to harm the group or be marginalized, people follow the rules.

Madaleno: This is studied in psychology. We don't want to confront the group we're in. And what also happens in these types of situations is that people's critical sense starts to decrease, critical thinking starts to decrease, starts to diminish. Why? Because the person is taught that the leader has the power, the wisdom, the knowledge, and that if the person doesn't respect everything the leader says, everything the leader teaches, all the rules followed by the group, the person will lose something. They may lose salvation, they may lose knowledge or enlightenment, they will start to feel marginalized or suffer reprisals within the group.

Narration: The students feel compelled to be like everyone else. Over time they lose all individuality and eventually even lose the ability to think for themselves. The sixth step towards creating a cult has been taken. The subjugation to the interests of the group is complete. There is only one more step left.

It is no coincidence that this is the last phase. For a disciple to show that he is incapable of thinking independently and to accept going through situations that contradict his own habits and values, something very important is needed: time.

Madaleno: It's a process of deconstruction of the individual, where he reaches a point where he listens without thinking. He knows he has to listen, it doesn't matter why he has to listen.

Narration: This is what happened to Dária when she was taken to Japan to work in strip clubs and to the Portuguese trainees who spent months working in porn films; they were given a task and they carried it out.

Worse, they were made to believe that this was for their benefit, when in fact they were being exploited, says António Madaleno. This is what is happening now in Lisbon. But at this moment, Lara is unable to understand.

It's already afternoon. Lara is in the ashram, ready to fall asleep, when she sees a few of her friends leaving the house. They are well-groomed, made up and wearing sensual clothes. They say they are going to work, but they don't reveal what they will be doing or where. When they return, Lara can smell tobacco on their clothes and in their hair, although she is sure that none of them smoke. Cigarettes are forbidden in the ashram. She suspects that her friends spend their nights working in strip clubs; she cannot confirm this, but she knows that the Swami encourages them to do so. Lara has always believed that she does not fit in with the teachings of the guru, which prohibits alcohol, tobacco and sex without love. But if her friends do it voluntarily and with permission from above, who is she to judge? Today, a few years after dropping out of school, she realizes that, in reality, these women never wanted to do this work. They were just made to believe that they did.

Lara: It's very complicated to prove that we are being forced to do something when, in fact, they made us believe that what we are doing is actually good for our spiritual evolution.

narration: António Madaleno says that, once again, this is a common trait of most sects.

Madaleno: People are manipulated to do what the leader wants, when he wants, right? Because it's a form, to get free work, right? And to make people live just to serve him. People's behavior, emotions, thoughts and everything that surrounds a person's life, he can make the person what he wants. Therefore, the person is completely in the hands of the leader.

narration: Volunteer work, also known as Karma Yoga, involves a lot of things, and this applies not only to female disciples, but also to male disciples. Luís, for example, helps build yoga schools and ashrams in different countries in Europe. He works on construction sites, laying tiles and bricks, all in the name of the common good. Nuno does not leave Lisbon, but he also ends up volunteering for work.

It all takes place in an innocent apartment on São Sebastião da Pedreira street, in the Avenidas Novas area. The space operates by appointment only and behind closed doors. It's called the Tantric Temple of Lisbon and, at first glance, has nothing to do with Natha.

Nuno: At first, when we enter the school, you don't necessarily know that it's related. Then, when we start to get more involved, there's talk about the Tantric Temple and then I found that interesting and asked if I could participate in the project and do massages and everything related to that. I learned to do massages and I started.

Narration: On paper, “The Tantric Temple is a non-profit association dedicated to bringing tantric wisdom to all who are ready to receive it.” In practice, it’s a multi-room apartment where semi-nude disciples give erotic massages to men, women, and couples for prices that can range from €140 to €360.

Nuno: The tantric temple here in Portugal wasn't very active. There were few massages for women, because women don't look for that kind of thing that much. Men look for it more, but men look for these things in search of sex, and there it wasn't.

Narration: Being a man, Nuno can only massage women. Men cannot massage other men. It is another of the rules of the Movement, which disapproves of male homosexual relations. When he is in the massage room, he only wears boxers. The client is naked. Before starting, Nuno explains to her what will happen. Her erotic energy must be awakened and her sensuality as well. At the end, she must be in a state of mental peace, unless she prefers to take advantage of another exception granted only to women. Unlike men, they can request a massage in the genital area. There is no touching in any intimate area. We are talking about the vagina.

Nuno: If there was no express permission, I would explain at the beginning and say: "The massage lasts an hour and a half. If she wants vaginal massage, if she feels the need to experience everything, with men, the direction was clear, at least when I was there. There is no penis massage." Narration: Even though he does this as karma yoga, Nuno receives money for the work. A €140 massage brings him €40. The rest, he is told, serves to cover the expenses of the Temple and the school. The work in the Temple will be one of the main sources of funding for the yoga school.

Every year there are two big meetings in Romania, where students from all over the world associated with the Gregorian Bivolaru movement gather. The first takes place in the spring, at the thermal resort of Băile Herculane. The second is considered the event of the year. It is in Costinești, a town on the Black Sea coast, and lasts the entire month of August.

Beatriz never misses the summer camp in Costinesti, but this time it will be different. She decided to compete for the title of Miss Shakti, a contest that ends with the election of the most feminine and sensual woman in the Movement. She has always heard that participation offers a faster spiritual evolution and she knows that if she wins, she will climb even higher.

Beatriz: Women are very privileged in that school, because they have faster ways of evolving spiritually.

Men suffer a lot, it's very difficult. They have to work a lot. Women participate in Miss Shakti and burn karma of 50 lives, advance 50 lives to reach enlightenment. Everything happens very quickly.

narration: She shares her decision with one of the tantra teachers, who competed the previous year. She congratulates her, says wonderful things about the process and gives her one piece of advice: “Just say YES to everything.” Say “YES” to everything.” It could have been a warning sign, but Beatriz either doesn’t understand or prefers not to understand. She will participate in the competition and say “YES” to everything. But that’s a story for the next episode.

The next episode is very impactful. Six people believe in this man, he must be genuine.

"There was a room that we were told was his room and that because he stayed there when he was free, it had a more intense energy. Because I wanted to go further, for these reasons, I accepted to make love to people I knew more or less or to be involved in an orgy with people I knew more or less. What was I doing? What was I doing there? Why didn't I leave?" If you have heard this story and are going through a similar situation or know someone who is, you can call PAV, the Portuguese Association for Victim Support, on the phone number 116006.

Observador contacted Natha, the spiritual school of yoga and tantra, the ATMAN Federation, which includes yoga schools around the world, and also Gregorian Bivolaru, through their legal representatives. They were confronted with several questions related to the allegations made throughout this podcast. Observador contacted Gregorian Bivolaro through his legal representatives. They did not respond. Observador contacted Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra. The management did not agree to be interviewed, but responded by email to several questions.

Following are the questions and answers relevant to this episode.

Observador asks: "The website of Natha, the spiritual school of Yoga and Tantra, in the section "Who we are", refers to Gregorian Bivolaru as a true living spiritual master. What is Gregorian Bivolaru's connection with Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra?" NATHA answers: "As can be verified in the respective statutes mentioned above, Natha Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra has no connection with Gregorian Bivolaru, as he has no function within Natha and has never been a member of the respective social bodies." We can say that, being a publicly recognized authority in the field, with several published books, with his courses, Natha follows some of his teachings, which is why on our website we present Gregorian Bivolaru as co-author of the integral esoteric yoga course, the esoteric tantra yoga course, offered by the ATMAN Yoga and Meditation Federation, of which the school is an affiliated member, and author of numerous spiritual books and publications, the integral esoteric yoga course and the esoteric tantra yoga course being just two of the various courses we offer at Nahta, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra. The Observer asks: "What is the position of NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, regarding the arrest of Gregorian Bivolaru on suspicion of alleged crimes of rape, human trafficking, kidnapping and abuse of weakness?" NATHA replies: "NATHA, the spiritual school of yoga and tantra, unequivocally rejects any form of violence, exploitation or abuse or any type of criminal activity. It does not support activities or behaviors that could constitute crimes of this or any other nature." NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is guided by the ethical values ​​of yoga, respect for the human being and individual integrity. It maintains that any suspicion or accusation must be properly investigated by the competent authorities, respecting the principle of justice and the rule of law.

Observator asks: "Has NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, stopped teaching courses written by Gregorian Bivolaru?" NATHA replies: "The answer to this question is clear on our website, open to all who wish to read it.

Gregorian Bivolaru is the author of the integral esoteric yoga course, co-author of the esoteric tantra yoga course offered by the ATMAN Yoga and Meditation Federation, of which Natha is an affiliated member school, and author of numerous spiritual books and publications."

The Observer asks: "Why is the reference to Gregorian Bivolaru as a living spiritual master maintained on the website of Natha, the spiritual school of Yoga and Tantra?" NATHA answers: "In the context of yoga, the term spiritual master designates someone who, through his experience and practice, inspires and guides others on the path of self-knowledge and inner development. The reference to living spiritual masters reflects a millenary tradition present in various schools of wisdom around the world, recognizing the importance of experienced people who transmit knowledge directly and vividly. Our mention - living spiritual master - must be understood within this philosophical and spiritual framework, and not as a personal validation of behaviors or events external to the practice and teachings of yoga." The Observer asks: "What is the connection of Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra with MISA?" NATHA answers: "Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is an association with its own legal personality, with its own social bodies, which is dedicated to teaching yoga and tantra in Portugal, while MISA, the Movement for Spiritual Integration in the Absolute, is a foreign organization that also promotes activities of a spiritual nature at an international level, with no legal, administrative, organic or other relationship. We are aware that, on an individual level, in the exercise of personal and spiritual freedom, some students and teachers who are members of NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, participate in international events organized by this and other entities." Observator asks: "How many ashrams does Natha, the spiritual school of Yoga and Tantra currently have in the Lisbon area?

How many people currently live in these communities?" NATHA answers: "NATHA, the spiritual school of Tantra, does not own any ashram." Observer asks: "In addition to the ashram in Alenquer, does Natha Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra have any other property or representation outside of Lisbon?" NATHA answers: "NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, operates in Lisbon, where regular courses and events are concentrated. The purpose of Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is to transmit yoga teachings through courses, retreats and events that take place in different locations, according to logistical and pedagogical needs, property not being the central objective of its activity." Observer asks: "What is the connection between Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, and the Tantric Temple of Lisbon?" NATHA answers: "NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has no connection with the Tantric Temple of Lisbon. Natha is a non-profit association, completely independent, without excluding the possibility of joint members." Observator asks: "What is the connection between NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, and the Natha Yoga Center in Denmark?" NATHA answers: "Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has no connection with the Natha Yoga Center. As mentioned above, as an association, we are a legal entity under private law, perfectly autonomous and independent, with our own legal personality." Observator asks: "Do the schools have a joint management? What functions do Mihai and Adina Stoian, teachers at the NATHA Yoga Center in Denmark, have or have had in Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra?" NATHA answers: "There is no joint management with other schools, because NATHA, the spiritual school of yoga and tantra, is an association with its own legal personality and, of course, with its own bodies that manage its activity.

We have no knowledge of the positions that Mihai and Adina Stoian had or have at Natha Yoga Center.

They did not hold any position in Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra." The ATMAN Federation, which includes the yoga schools of the movement created by Gregorian Bivolaru, did not directly respond to questions sent by the Observator, but sent a statement. In the text, the ATMAN Federation assures that, to date, it has not received any official communication from the French justice system regarding a possible involvement in the case. It rejects all accusations brought against affiliated members, teachers and students. It recalls that the investigation is still ongoing and that there have been no accusations, let alone a conviction. It accuses the French authorities and the international media of religious persecution and of a media campaign that, over the years, has projected the image of the school as a sex cult guilty of brainwashing and sexual abuse. The statement states: "What happened in France is the continuation of a long series of attacks against affiliated members of the ATMAN Federation and the yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru by to forces that consider any combination of eroticism and spirituality intolerable”. In the same text, the Federation guarantees that it is not responsible for the private lives of employees, students and teachers of affiliated schools. It says that the schools are independent and assume full responsibility for their own decisions and activities. It adds that it categorically condemns all types of abuse, including the abusive use of police force and unjust arrests. Finally, it assures that teachings about sexualized behavior have not been and will not be tolerated in the Atman Federation.

"Secrets of the Yoga Sect" is a six-episode audio series and is part of Observador's Plus podcast.

It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, and has an original soundtrack by Benjamim. The script and interviews are by Mariana Marques Tiago and Tânia Pereirinha. The sound and sound design are by Pedro Oliveira. Graphic design, Diana Moreira. The editing is by João Santos Duarte and Pereirinha. The coordination is by Miguel Pinheiro, Filomena Martins, Pedro Jorge Castro, Ricardo Conceição and Sara Antunes de Oliveira.

Episode 4 – A Secret Night

This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence that some people may find disturbing. Some names have been changed to protect the identities of the people interviewed. In these cases, the voices have been altered using artificial intelligence.

There is a registration fee of over €500. But paying it does not guarantee admission. To participate in the annual summer camp of the Gregorian Bivolaru Movement in the Romanian seaside resort of Costinesti, it is mandatory to meet other requirements. Along with the registration form, photos must be sent, but they are not passport-style photos. The rules require full-body, profile and frontal images. Women must be in bikinis and men in thongs. In one hand, the people photographed must hold a piece of paper with the current date to guarantee that the photos are current and correspond to reality. According to the organization, the guru himself decides who can or cannot participate in the camp. And for this, Gregorian Bivolaru must have access to relevant information: the photos.

Lara: We were told that through these photos they were able to see our aura, our state, in order to be able to enter or not the initiations in the camps.

narration: This is not the first time Lara has been here. Since she entered the school in Lisbon, she has come to Costinești several times. She is one of the thousands of students and teachers: Lara: Hundreds, hundreds of people, I don't know exactly how many, but hundreds, maybe thousands. Because people came from all over the world, there were Romanians, there were Portuguese, people came from the school in Germany, from the school in Sweden, they came from everywhere. There was a time when I met people from other parts of the world, who were also studying tantra, so it became a kind of exchange of experience.

narration: But photos in a bikini or thong aren't enough to guarantee entry either. There's one last requirement missing. You'll need to show test results for sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis and HIV. As soon as she arrives at the camp, she's handed her regular identification card. Alongside the participant's name, the card features the image of a brunette woman in a lascivious, topless position. Shortly after, she receives a second, special card. This year, Lara's experience in Costinesti will be different. She's been assigned to join the guru's chosen ones.

The annual camp at Costinești is the movement's most important event and lasts a whole month. It is presented to the disciples as a moment of exchange of experience and accelerated spiritual evolution. There are several special initiations that are only given here. There is a highly contested beauty contest for the election of Miss Shakti and there is even the guru himself, who cannot be present but is said to always want to visit the place telepathically. At Costinești, during these 30 summer days, the most extreme techniques of the Movement are put into practice, including an obscure tantric ritual that, according to the guru's theory, should be reserved for intimacy with a beloved partner and which is here done in a group and recorded on video, so that Bivolaru can later see and review it.

Secrets of the Yoga Sect is a six-episode audio series, part of Observador's Podcasts Plus.

It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, with an original soundtrack by Benjamim.

Episode 4: The Secret Night

There are hundreds of things going on at the same time. When they register for camp, in addition to their ID card, the students are given a program. There are two books with 500 pages in total and various photos of naked women on the cover and inside cover.

Inside, in addition to the complete agenda of activities and several images of naked women, there are recommendations and practical instructions. Some are more specific. Anyone who wants to can practice nudism inside. But to practice yoga on the beach, where there are also people from outside, it is necessary to wear a swimsuit.

Others are quite general. Between noon and three o'clock, it is more prudent not to expose yourself to the sun. The program also includes texts by Gregorian Bivolaru and other authors, on topics as diverse as meditation, trance states, bioenergy, anticancer supplements, or the civilization that exists at the center of the Earth and that NASA hides from the rest of humanity. And then there are a few warnings that highlight that there is more than just peace, yoga, and love in Costinești. Students are advised to politely refuse any questions asked by journalists and are encouraged to immediately denounce "any perverse and insidious manifestation of people who, saying they are acting for your own good, actually sow in your soul malice, poisonous rumors, and slander of all kinds."

Lara: Sometimes, when we were sitting, for example, in front of the stage, before Miss Shakti or before any activity like that, they would sometimes hear on the loudspeaker talking about people who left the school and who did something bad. But since most of the things were in Romanian, I didn't understand. Some people would translate for me. If the person is someone who had a certain importance there, within the school, and there were rumors about the person leaving for a certain reason, they go so far as to try to criticize the person internally, so that others would believe that, after all, that person left and not because they did something bad.

narration: For decades, there have been people leaving the movement and trying to warn those still in yoga schools about the abuses that are being committed there. And the leadership's reaction is always the same, to deny and discredit the detractors. But this year, Lara will not sit in the middle of the crowd to listen to accusations in Romanian. She has just been invited to move into a room in the Shakti villa, the house reserved in Costinesti for the guru's chosen ones.

Lara: In the Shakti villa, you don't go to conferences and all those things that are on the program so much, because inside the Shakti villa there is a more specific program, right? And they also give us some herbs, some things that we want to take. It's not luxurious, it's not a big house because there are a lot of people inside, but the house had a kind of closed gate. No one can enter who is not there for a reason. There is always someone at the door who controls who comes in and who goes out.

Narration: Luís has only heard rumors about what is happening in Vila Shakti. Men are not allowed to enter.

Luís: Only women go in, there are special rituals, special initiations. The only men I've heard of who go in there are plumbers and electricians, in case something breaks down there. Otherwise, there are no other men who go in there.

narration: The women who have the privilege of staying in the Shakti villa are not prevented from leaving the house and participating in the camp's activities, but they have a different schedule there, so they rarely go out. When she is in the house, Lara listens to lectures and practices yoga. But that's not all.

Lara: Well, there inside we have access to other content, we're just women, right? And then there's the teaching for awakening the state of Shakti, this kind of thing that you see there, inside.

Narration: To achieve that state of sensuality they call Shakti, part of the program is to watch films. Some are erotic and produced by the Movement itself. The goal is for the disciples to feel more uninhibited and learn to interact sexually.

Beatriz has never been invited to move into the house reserved for the guru's favorites, but this year she will participate in the contest to choose Miss Shakti and gain the privilege of being seen as one of the most special women in the camp.

Beatriz: Miss Shakti is the center of the whole story. I remember a guy, I think he was from New Zealand or Australia, I don't know, who said that when he talked to women who had participated in Miss Shakti or were participating at that time, he said he felt like he was talking to a celebrity. It's like talking to a rock star, because they're so cool, they're so upscale, they're so brave, they're so evolved, and they're so well treated, they're so flattered, everyone helps anyone who's on that stage with anything during the camp, I don't know, they take them everywhere, they do everything for them, they're treated like a Hollywood star just for being there, just for participating in Miss Shakti.

narration: The contest has several elimination phases. In total it lasts two and a half weeks. One evening on, one evening off. Participants at the Costinești camp are called to assist. On stage there are swimsuit parades and talent and general culture tests, adapted to yoga and tantra. But this is no ordinary beauty contest. And Beatriz will understand this even before the show begins.

Beatriz: You know that this is going to be a lot of work. You're there at a yoga vacation camp, but you know that you're going to run out of time, because there are a lot of rehearsals, there's a special program, there's a lot of things going on. So you go, you sign up, the first phase is signing the contracts and, right after that, photos.

narration: It's the first time that the contestants are all together in the same space, but Miss Shakti is not yet about to start. There are about 200 women of different nationalities, almost all young. Some have participated in other editions of the contest. Others, like Beatriz, are there for the first time. There are three or four makeshift photo studios in a hall. It's like an assembly line. The women go in turns and have to take a different picture in each one. To accompany and record the process, there are cameramen. They are the so-called media teams of the camp, the only ones authorized to capture photos and video of what happens there throughout this month.

Beatriz feels uncomfortable, she is completely naked, but the truth is that she is not alone. All the contestants are completely naked. This is how they will be photographed in what is the first act of Miss Shakti, still backstage.

She remembers at that moment the message the Tantra teacher sent her when she told her she would be entering the competition: "Just say yes to everything!" She calms down and cooperates. It's okay. They're all in the same situation, but she's not prepared for what will be asked of her next.

Beatriz: You have to take pictures with all the media teams and the first pictures are of your yoni, that is, your vagina. You have to sit with your legs spread, the photographer is right in front of you and takes the picture, right? Of your whole body, for identification and all that, but also of your vagina, which at school is called by the Sanskrit term yoni, so we always use the term yoni.

narration: At that moment, the same arguments that she used so many times at school in Lisbon to justify situations in which she did not feel comfortable run through Beatriz's mind. She tells herself that participating in Miss Shakti will make her evolve spiritually. She already knew that she would have to do uncomfortable things. And that's not the problem, because the most important thing comes after that. She focuses on that goal.

Beatriz: It's just a photo. In that one, your face doesn't even appear, in the other one, from before. You're there, but that one looks like a game. But it's not even about that. And I have to do this, to get to a stage further, because the good things come later. This is just the first level, it doesn't matter at all. The good things are later. Do you want to get as far as possible, and further? "Just say ”Yes! - You just have to say ”Yes!”. Now you have to do this and then you see more. There are women who have been participating in this for years and years. Then you see all the older ones doing this and you start looking back and you see, ”ok, they do this, and I will do it too, because they have evolved a lot, they know everything”. So you have to do what is necessary, so stand there, spread your legs, expose yourself, be photographed. ”Ok, I can do this! Yes, go ahead! I can do this!” narration: Gregorian Bivolaru may not be physically present in the Costinești camp, but he is everywhere. There are spaces equipped with loudspeakers and headphones with simultaneous translation, where thousands of disciples gather to listen to old recordings of the guru's voice.

Vera: Imagine what it means to go to another country and see 4, 5, 6 thousand people at a conference, all listening to the same thing as you or all doing the same meditation with you.

Narration: Vera attends some summer camps. She remembers a very strong sense of belonging and an environment of true adoration for Bivolaru. There, it's them against the world.

Vera: It has a very big impact. Those people believe in this man, he must be authentic. And we are not talking about bad people. All the people inside had higher education, we are talking about people who came from the best faculties and universities in the country and who gave up everything for this.

narration: Inside the Shakti Villa, the devotion is the same. Briton Miranda Grace says that inside the house, all the meditations, initiations and practices were dedicated to Gregorian Bivolaru. She remembers the queues that the disciples would form to enter the room that was the guru's, but which at that time was empty. He was still being sought by the police.

Miranda: There was a big emphasis on Bivolaru as a guru. We had to do meditations to connect with him.

We had to take pictures without clothes on, which were sent to him to read our auras. There was a room that we were told was his room and that because he had been there when he was free, it had a stronger energy. Some women were chosen to spend a night in that room. Women would line up to go and meditate in there. They said the energy there was stronger.

narration: When the show begins, these women already know every inch of the stage very well. They know exactly where each one should stand at each moment. For days they have been practicing the choreography, the smiles, the sensual positions, trying on dresses, makeup, earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Now, finally, the Miss Shakti competition will begin.

Lara: It was like an entertainment show for those in the audience.

narration: Lara is one of the hundreds of people in the hall. She is excited about the show, the bikini parades, the dances in pairs or individually, and even the quiz, in which the contestants stop, paper and pencil in hand, to answer questions about yoga and tantra. The mechanism is well-oiled. Miss Shakti has been organized for years in an almost professional manner. There are even interludes, with artists performing between rehearsals.

Lara: There are also people at the school, who in this case were Romanians, who are even comedians, actors, and they were involved every year in putting together the show and doing all kinds of things. We had simultaneous translation, it was very well staged.

narration: Beatriz is on stage.

Beatriz: You have bikinis that keep falling off. They're a nuisance, they're constantly falling off, they're tiny.

narration: There are many contestants who are eliminated from the very first night and the following ones. Beatriz is not among them. She remains focused on the goal, to go as far as possible to reach enlightenment and evolve spiritually. If she fails to stay in the competition until the final phase, she wants to at least reach the mysterious secret night. She has already heard about this challenge. Of the initial 200 candidates, less than 20 will reach that moment and she is willing to do absolutely everything to be among them.

Beatriz: The youngest ones, who are doing this for the first time, learn to do this together with the others. Because you want to show a state of openness, you want to show that you are not closed, that you have no blockages, because if problems arose in that phase, everything would be interpreted as "it's her blockages, it's her tests, she's very complex, very closed", right? Be very open, so you're not like that, no, "I'm super open! Come on!" narration: There's just one more detail. Just before the secret night, she will have to go through another even more demanding test. It's outside the program and doesn't take place in front of the public, but it's videotaped so that, later, a very important spectator can see it.

Beatriz: The schedule is so intense, you want to participate in the meditations, they start right in the morning and you want this and you want to learn that, receive initiation and also participate in the Miss Shakti program. You are actually very tired.

narration: Beatriz has been sitting in a meditative position for a long time. She has no idea how many hours have passed, nor how many times she has fallen asleep, woken up, and fallen asleep again. The room is not completely dark, but almost. There are only a few small flashes of reddish light. When she opens her eyes, she manages to distinguish the silhouettes of the other candidates, but no more. She is exhausted. It is the fourth night of the Miss Shakti competition. Or the fifth? She can't know that for sure either. And on top of that, no one has explained to her what will happen that night.

At this point, almost all the contestants have already been eliminated. There are about 15 or 20 left. And Beatriz is one of them. They are practically empty. In addition to the women, there are a few teachers in the room who have guided their meditations, and there is no one to assist. This Miss Shakti night is closed to the public. I have been there for hours, oscillating between states of consciousness. The music is getting more and more intense.

In addition to the flutes, sitars, and other instruments used for meditation, another type of sound is now heard. Sexual sounds. Beatriz distinguishes the voices of women moaning and screaming in ecstasy. She recognizes some of them.

Beatriz: I even spoke to a student at the school who was recorded making love to her classmates.

I know that in this meditation there are sounds made by her..

Narration: She opens her eyes again when she feels movement in the room. A man hands her a bottle of water and orders her to drink. Then she realizes that only she and the other three or four contestants remain motionless in the same place. The other contestants have split into small groups. They kiss and touch each other. The shock is inevitable. Nothing that is happening there matches the teachings that Beatriz has been hearing for years in school. None of this makes sense.

Beatriz: There's one thing that was taught at school that made sense to me from the beginning, and that was, only make love to someone you love. And for me, love is something that builds. I already knew those people, but I didn't know them well. You get to know them. I know they're from school, I know they have classes here, I know I went to camp this year, but I didn't know them well.

narration: She looks around and sees a Czech girl who is also there for the first time. She has moved away from the other women. She touches herself, but she is alone and seems to want to stay that way. Beatriz has already decided that she will do the exact same thing, but is approached by another contestant, a Finnish woman she had met before.

Beatriz: Suddenly, because I believe and because I wanted to go further, for all these issues, I was accepting to make love to people I know more or less or to be involved in an orgy with people I know more or less. And that's where maybe the state of dementia comes in, the state of suggestion of the group, that I've already done I don't know how many meditations just listening to orgasms, and you yourself are already extremely aroused.

narration: There are several men with cameras in the middle of the women filming everything that happens. Then others arrive with rolls of thick waterproof plastic that they spread on the floor and with large transparent pots that they distribute around the room. At the school in Lisbon, Beatriz has seen pornographic films with something like this. At that moment, she realizes what is about to happen.

One of the guru's most bizarre teachings is based on a theory developed by a Japanese pseudoscientist.

Beatriz: Water is the element that absorbs the most energy. When you say words of hate, the water becomes all scattered, it becomes all full of thorns and all kinds of things. Now, if you use words of love, words of beauty, of spiritual elevation, suddenly the water becomes an extremely beautiful or extremely purified crystal and that helps you to rise. Then, you drink this, you stay in better moods, more beautiful things happen to you in life.

narration: It is possible that Gregorian Bivolaru started from this principle to develop the theory of urine therapy, which is transmitted to the movement's disciples and which is part of what the guru calls the ritual of making love, says Miranda Grace.

Miranda: The theory is that when you make love in this special tantric way for at least an hour, the water in your body changes, it stops being urine and starts having different qualities. And when you drink it, when you drink another person's urine, you absorb the positive qualities of that person to become a more complete person. And you also absorb all the spiritual states that they had during that act of love.

Narration: According to the guru, there is a greater goal in this orgy, which she and Bivolaru's other disciples were led to participate in, explains Beatriz.

Beatriz: Urine is the water inside you, which is collected inside you, and if you are in a very high state of consciousness, of meditation, with good practice, the water, the urine comes out extremely purified, but there what is said is that your own body transmutes the water and what comes out is the purest part, it is what you have best in you and that that is a form of collecting the best from each other and using the best of each so that everyone can evolve and to gather together. This is, in short, the theory behind it and that the best urine that can be used in purification, in your spiritual evolution, is the one that is collected during an orgasm.

narration: When the cameras stop, Beatriz doesn't even want to think about what just happened. Another phase has passed. She repeats it as if it were a mantra: "Good things will come later, good things will come later!" And the long-awaited secret night is already coming. Not everyone in the camp can attend. Each contestant is allowed to bring two guests. Otherwise, only teachers and members of the organization can enter the room where the secret night is about to begin. The candidates for the title of Miss Shakti will go on stage completely naked. But behind the scenes, one of the most important moments of the competition takes place. Each of them receives a bottle with the liquids collected the previous night, diluted in seven parts of water, at the guru's direction.

Beatriz: It's considered a superfluid, a superpower. It's the superfood of Costinesti. And you drink that water and you invoke that, by drinking that water, you bring all those very high states of the women who were involved in those days that passed and who were in a very high state, who went through I don't know how many phases, you invoke that state and you transmute all the energy in you, it's a superfood of spiritual evolution. That's how it's presented.

narration: For the secret night, there are no rehearsals. The musical pieces are chosen at random by the organization, and the choreography is improvised. First solo, then in pairs or in groups. When her music starts playing, Beatriz dances in an erotic way on stage and, now in front of a small audience of guests, simulates sexual acts with other contestants. After this, the grand finale of Miss Shakti follows. But Beatriz will not be among the finalists. When this night reaches its end, the Portuguese contestant will be eliminated. Years later, she only regrets that she was not able to understand what was happening and that she did not have the ability to counter the advice of the teacher who encouraged her to say "YES" to everything.

Beatriz: What was I doing? What was I doing there? Why don't I feel like leaving?

Narration: Being eliminated, Beatriz did not win the prize reserved for the top five, chosen remotely by Gregorian Bivolaru: a meeting with the guru. In the Movement, this is one of the greatest blessings a disciple can receive. We are told that it is an honor accessible only to a very small group of chosen ones.

But it's not just the Miss Shakti winners who are called to be in Bivolaru's presence.

Beatriz: It brings a great divine grace. And so, slowly, over the years, I came to realize that some shaktis, some girls, had the opportunity to know it, right? But that this was something very, very special, very secret, that they couldn't talk about and that it only happened to the most special. Right? It was only for those who did all the yoga practice and who were really worthy of it, it wasn't for everyone. So, we had to make it so that we deserved it, right?

narrative: Vera spends her first years at school in Lisbon wishing to be chosen by the guru.

Vera: When everything in our lives revolves around spiritual evolution through yoga, what greater spiritual evolution could we have than hearing things directly from the master, right?

Narration: One day, the senior teacher of the school goes to her ashram. Finally it happened. Guru wants to see her.

But that's a story for the next episode. In the next episode: Vera: Every day you think: "When will they call me into his room?" I thought these initiations involved a sexual relationship with him, but he didn't tell me that.

Psychologist: That proves what? It proves that people can be manipulated and led to do unthinkable things.

Vera: It wasn't about making love, it was sex in the positions and in the order it was supposed to be, it was awful.

narration: If you have heard this story and are going through it or know someone who is going through a similar situation, you can call PAV, the Portuguese Victim Support Association, on the phone number 116006.

Observador contacted Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, the Atman Federation, which includes yoga schools spread around the world, as well as Gregorian Bivolaru, through their legal representatives. They were confronted with several questions related to the accusations made throughout this podcast.

Observador contacted Gregorian Bivolaru through his legal representatives. They did not respond.

Observador contacted Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra. The management did not agree to be interviewed, but responded to several questions via email. The following are the relevant questions and answers for this episode.

Observador asks: “And what is the connection between Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, and MISA?” Natha answers: “Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is an association with its own legal personality, with its own social bodies, which is dedicated to teaching yoga and tantra in Portugal, while MISA, the Movement for Spiritual Integration in the Absolute, is an organization from abroad that promotes activities also of a spiritual nature at an international level, with no legal, administrative, organic or other relationship.

We are aware that, individually, in the exercise of their personal and spiritual freedom, some students and teachers who are members of NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, participate in international events organized by it and other entities.”

Observador asks: “Have the teachers and students of NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, stopped participating in international events organized by the Atman Federation and MISA?” Natha answers: “Both Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, and its members are free and independent, so each member, teacher or student, is free to participate in any external activities in a personal capacity.” Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, does not have and does not believe that it should have control over this, as it values ​​the freedom of individual choice of each person and does not monitor the personal life or how each person decides to spend their free time. Participation in events organized by other entities is therefore a strictly individual decision.

Observador asks: “The NATHA, Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra website, in the “Who We Are” section, refers to Gregorian Bivolaru as a true living spiritual master. What is Gregorian Bivolaru’s connection with Natha, Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra?” Natha answers: “As can be verified in the aforementioned statutes, Natha, Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has no connection with Gregorian Bivolaru, he does not and has never held any position within Natha. He is not and has never been a member or part of those social bodies.” We can say that, being a publicly recognized authority in the field, with several published books, in his courses, Natha follows some of his teachings, so that on our website we present Gregorian Bivolaru as co-author of the integral esoteric yoga course, the esoteric tantra yoga course, offered by the Atman Yoga and Meditation Federation, of which the school is an affiliated member, and author of many spiritual books and publications. The integral esoteric yoga course and the esoteric tantra yoga course are just two of the various courses that we make available at Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra.

Observador asks: “And what is the position of Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, regarding the detention of Gregorian Bivolaru on suspicion of the alleged practice of the crimes of rape, human trafficking, kidnapping and abuse of vulnerability?” Natha answers: “NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, unequivocally rejects any form of violence, exploitation or abuse or any type of criminal activity. It does not support activities or behaviors that may constitute crimes of this or any other nature. Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is guided by the ethical values ​​of yoga, respect for the human being and individual integrity. It maintains that any suspicion or accusation must be properly investigated by the competent authorities, respecting the principle of justice and the rule of law.

Observador asks: “Has NATHA, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, stopped teaching courses written by Gregorian Bivolaru?” Natha replies: “The answer to this question is clear on our website, open to all who wish to read.

Gregorian Bivolaru is the author of the integral esoteric yoga course, co-author of the esoteric tantra yoga course offered by the Atman Yoga and Meditation Federation, of which the school is an affiliated member, and author of many spiritual books and publications.”

Observador asks: “Why is the reference to Gregorian Bivolaru as a living spiritual master maintained on the website of Natha, the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra?” Natha answers: “In the context of yoga, the term spiritual master designates someone who, through his experience and practice, inspires and guides others on the path of self-knowledge and inner development. The reference to living spiritual masters reflects a millenary tradition present in several schools of wisdom, present throughout the world, which recognize the importance of experienced people who transmit knowledge directly and vividly. Our mention of “living spiritual master” must be understood within this philosophical and spiritual framework and not as a personal validation of behaviors or events external to the practice and teachings of yoga.” The ATMAN Federation, to which the yoga schools of the Movement created by Gregorian Bivolaru belong, did not directly respond to the questions sent by Observador, but sent a statement. In that text, the ATMAN Federation guarantees that it has not received any official communication from the French justice system regarding a possible involvement in the case. It rejects all the accusations raised against affiliated members, teachers and students. It recalls that the investigation is still ongoing and that there have been no charges, let alone a conviction. And it accuses the French authorities and the international media of religious persecution and of a media campaign that, over the years, has projected the image of the school as a sexual cult guilty of brainwashing and sexual abuse.

The statement reads: "What happened in France is the continuation of a long series of attacks against affiliated members of the ATMAN Federation and the yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru by forces that consider any combination of eroticism and spirituality intolerable." In the same text, the Federation also guarantees that it is not responsible for the private lives of employees, students and teachers of affiliated schools. It says that the schools are independent and assume full responsibility for their own decisions and activities. It also adds that it categorically condemns all types of abuse, including the abusive use of police force and unjust detentions. And, finally, it assures that teachings about sexualized behavior have not been and will never be tolerated in the ATMAN Federation.

Secrets of the Yoga Sect is a six-episode audio series and is part of Observador's Plus Podcasts.

It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, and has an original soundtrack by Benjamim. The script and interviews are by Mariana Marques Tiago and Tânia Pereirinha. The sound design and sound design are by Pedro Oliveira. The graphic design is by Diana Moreira. The editing is by João Santos Duarte and Tânia Pereirinha. The coordination is by Miguel Pinheiro, Filomena Martins, Pedro Jorge Castro, Ricardo Conceição and Sara Antunes de Oliveira.

 

Episode 5 - The Guru's Room.

Narration: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence that some people may find disturbing. Some names have been changed to protect the identities of the interviewees. In these cases, the voices have been altered using artificial intelligence.

April 23, 2010 is a good day for Gregorian Bivolaru. Two years after the start of his trial in absentia in Bucharest, he is acquitted of charges of sexual perversion, human trafficking, and sexual relations with a minor.

For the first time in 6 years, the guru is free from lawsuits. He still lives in Sweden, which granted him political asylum, and continues to lead an organization that never stops growing. He even decides to sue the Romanian state and demand compensation of €20,000 for moral damages. He has never been so good, but that will last very little. In Finland, in the fall of 2012, after a raid on the ashram in Helsinki, the authorities accuse Gregorian Bivolaru of abuse of spiritual authority, sexual abuse of women and human trafficking.

And in Romania, on the second attempt, the Public Ministry manages to have an appeal against the decision of the Court of First Instance admitted. The state will not pay him any compensation. And in June 2013, the guru is finally found guilty of one of the crimes he was accused of, maintaining sexual relations with a minor.

Gregorian Bivolaru is serving a 6-year prison sentence. But for the sentence to be carried out, the police will have to find him.

There has been a European arrest warrant issued by Romania for Gregorian Bivolaru for more than 2 years.

But that doesn't change anything. Nothing will stop hundreds of female disciples from schools around the world from continuing to be regularly taken to the guru's room to be initiated. At the Lisbon school, the students are told that all initiations are a form of spiritual progress, but those given by Bivolaru are the most special. They are different from all the others for several reasons. First, they are practical, not theoretical initiations. Second, they are exclusively for women and, third, they only take place for those who really deserve it. In a first phase, while still in the classes, the disciples receive initiation into erotic positions, a kind of instruction manual on how to proceed when they are going to make love in a tantric way. Then, some are chosen to receive what they are told is a deepening of these techniques. But this must be done personally, with the guru himself, and must be kept secret. Those chosen cannot tell anyone, neither inside nor outside the school. And, for Bivolaru's safety, they don't even know where they are going. They are taken to him and, when they arrive at their destination, they hear repeatedly that they are there because they are special, that the guru has chosen them carefully and with a purpose, and that they are better than all the others. That is why hardly any of them refuse that spiritual blessing. I convince them that if they say NO to the guru, they will regret it.

Secrets of the Yoga Sect is a six-episode audio series, part of Observador's Plus podcasts. It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, with an original soundtrack by Benjamim.

Episode 5. In the Guru's Room When one of the principal teachers at the Lisbon school told her she had an invitation to meet the guru, Vera resisted: "What if I don't go?" The answer wasn't the one she wanted to hear. It was a gift that few women had access to. If she refused, she would suffer a very deep spiritual break.

Vera: Out of the blue, I received a phone call from abroad, and after a few days, the professor spoke to me, and I listened carefully. On the other end of the line, they told me it was to confirm that I would be there on certain dates, and first I asked: "But I have a problem! I have to justify to my family why I will no longer be able to be contacted! What do I tell them?" I called Kai.

narration: Vera should have known by now: the guru doesn't like to be asked questions. When he calls them, the disciples go without asking questions. In this case, there was another reason why the call could not be prolonged. If the call lasted too long, he could be followed by the authorities, and Gregorian Bivolaru was a wanted man by the police. The invitation was immediately canceled. She was told at school that she would most likely never be called to meet the guru in person again. Indeed, a long time passes, but the phone rings again, and when it does, Vera is ready.

Vera: I had to be careful and do things right, otherwise I wouldn't have been entitled to any initiation. I would have had problems on my spiritual path, I would definitely have been looked down upon by my family, because once again I hadn't done things right.

Narration: It's 2016. Gregorian Bivolaru was sentenced to a prison sentence almost 3 years ago. He moved to France and lives in hiding.

Vera landed in Paris just a few hours ago. She waited for someone to pick her up near a garden. She got worried that they had forgotten her or that she had misunderstood the instructions and was in the wrong place. But eventually a car showed up. After handing over her phone and passport to the woman who came to pick her up, Vera had to put on sunglasses with tinted lenses on the inside. She was taken to a house and locked in a room. There she cannot be contacted. She is allowed to go to the bathroom and nothing more, but she does not feel mistreated. On the contrary: Vera: As soon as we arrived, the idea was reinforced many times that "You are so special because you are here! You are so special, you were chosen to be here! You are very special!" narration: She does not stay in this house for long. Once again, Vera has to put on her tinted sunglasses and is taken to another location. But now she is not alone. There are many, many female disciples in this house, all waiting to be taken into the presence of the guru. It is a normal, women-only ashram.

The few men who are allowed to enter do so with their heads down, avoiding any interaction, and rush to complete tasks, whether it's taking out the trash or delivering food. In this house, Vera begins to prepare for what she will have to do when she finally meets the guru.

Vera: I even started watching videos every day with testimonials from girls who had met Grieg and who said that it had been blissful, divine, the greatest love experience they had ever had in their lives, that being with him was a divine grace. And so, on that videotape, everyone was saying the same thing, and the message was reinforced over and over again.

Narration: Every time one of these videos ended, another one began, but with pornographic content. For several hours, Vera is forced to watch scenes of group sex and urine therapy. And when the video ends, she has to listen to a new testimony.

She is the victim of psychological conditioning, explains psychologist António Madaleno, author of the book "The Universe of Destructive Sects".

Madaleno: And this psychological conditioning, this brainwashing that she underwent during that period of time, made her permeable to accepting this practice that she would never normally have accepted, if it were in a normal case, a normal experience, right? But here's what it proves? It proves that people can be manipulated and made to do unthinkable things.

Narration: Up until this point, Vera has taken refuge in the idea that her encounter with the guru might not be a sexual initiation, but as she sits in front of the television, she finally begins to accept that this is what will happen. Even so, she still wants to believe that she will be given a choice.

Vera: In my naivety, I thought: "No, but I'll have time to meet him, to talk, so I can choose whether I want to or not. I'll have time."

Narration: Vera has been watching testimonies of women who were initiated by Bivolaru for almost 48 hours, when she is told that she will be making another journey. In that third house, she will finally meet the guru. She is emotional.

She has been waiting for this moment for a long time. She is told that she can only take a toothbrush and the clothes she is wearing, which must be as sexy as possible. They give her a coat and a hat to cover herself up. She gets in the car and, once again, puts on some tinted sunglasses. She must keep her eyes closed for the duration of the journey. It is explained to her that everything is to protect the guru, who continues to be unjustly sought by the police. When the car finally stops, Vera is taken to the basement of what appears to be a villa and, once again, she is locked in a room even smaller than the previous one and where she is not even alone. The room is the size of a closet and does not even have windows, but over the next few days several women will sleep and live there. At times there will be four of them at the same time. They all come from different countries and are all subject to the same rules. I can only leave the room to go to the bathroom. The wait is not over yet.

Vera: I stayed for almost three or four days in a room that was 2 by 2, so 4 m2. It wasn't much bigger than that.

It fit a 1.40 by 2 mattress and only bookshelves around it. There was barely room to put one foot outside the bed.

Narration: As soon as Vera settles in, they hand her several files with what they say are secret teachings. She must study them to prepare for her meeting with the guru. They are books with parables and lessons drawn from several religions, documents on esoteric and spiritual foundations, and texts on the importance of to drink her lover's urine as a way to achieve immortality and spiritual elevation. With nothing else to occupy her time, Vera reads through all the files and when she's finished, she starts over.

It has been four days since she arrived there. She is growing increasingly impatient and frustrated. Several women have been called into the guru's room. Some have spent hours there, others only a few minutes. Every time the door to the room opens, Vera thinks it will be her turn.

Vera: Every day I thought: "When is he calling me to his room?" And I could hear the other girls going to his room, there was no sound, no sex, so to speak, there was always music playing. I didn't know exactly what they were doing in there. But after these four days, I was counting the minutes until my flight.

narrative: Vera reaches her limit. The next day she has to take a plane and return to Portugal. The flight is scheduled for 9 am and Bivolaru keeps calling everyone except her. She remembers her mother, she didn't tell her she would be out of the country. She made up a lie, a silent retreat somewhere in Portugal, but she guaranteed she would call her as soon as she got out of there.

Vera: I know my mother. My mother, if she hadn't spoken to me that day, at a certain time, she would have moved mountains, but she would have found me and called the police if necessary.

Narration: Missing the return flight to Lisbon is out of the question. Vera will not stay even one more day in that house, even if it means not being initiated by the guru.

It's 5 am. Vera is fast asleep. She went to bed angry. The trip to Paris was a waste of time and now she just wants to take the flight home. But someone opens the door to the room where she has been locked up for the last 96 hours and calls out to her. The moment has come. She crosses the corridor sleepily and finally opens the door to the guru's room. Gregorian Bivolaru is an old man, with long, unkempt gray hair. He sits on the bed, asks her to come in and close the door. Since she arrived, Bivolaru has passed by the tiny room where she was with other women two or three times, but he has always been very quick. He introduced himself, made a few jokes, on another occasion, he got angry with one of the disciples for not being feminine enough. Now Vera is finally alone with him.

For the first time, he stands face to face with the guru, the spiritual guide he has been following for almost 6 years, the founder of the movement that completely changed her life.

Vera: I was expecting to look at him and feel something like Jesus. And there was none of that. He was just an old man. He was just an old man in a messy room. There were 4 hours left before I had to leave and I wanted to leave.

Narration: They exchange casual greetings. Then the guru tells her what she already knows: "You will have an initiation."

He asks her if she has already learned the positions for making love in tantric style in theory. She says yes. And the guru gives her a bottle of water. Vera has to drink that liter and a half in one gulp. And if she fails, it means she has evil spirits in her, Bivolaru tells her. Vera drowns a few times, but she doesn't stop. She has no more doubts. The initiation will be sexual.

Vera: In theory, the ritual of making love is like this, it starts like this: you drink I don't know how much water. We start with a certain position, this is the sequence, ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. And this is only done with someone you really love, with your partner.

narration: Gregorian Bivolaru is not her partner. There is no love involved. But Vera continues to listen.

Vera: I thought that if I had been invited to an initiation with him, I would have had time to get to know him, to spend time with him, to decide whether I wanted it or not, to decide whether there was love or not. I was getting what I wanted.

I had written I don't know how many times that I agreed. If I didn't want to, I was a free being. Therefore, whatever the initiation was at that moment, I already wanted to do it quickly, so I could go to Portugal.

Narration: The initiation begins. Vera has no idea how long they spend in each position.

Vera: It wasn't about making love, it was sex in the positions and in the order it was supposed to be.

Narration: Both are silent, until she makes a mistake and Bivolaru scolds her. Vera got confused when switching between two sexual positions. The guru is furious. He accuses her of not being ready to receive the knowledge he was willing to share with her. He tells her that they cannot continue. The initiation is over.

Vera: And I remember sitting in my seat on the plane and thinking, “That was horrible.” That was horrible!” It was nothing like I had imagined and I thought I couldn’t talk about it with anyone, but was it like that for the others? It wasn’t divine at all, or mystical, or anything like that.

narration: Vera is already seated on the plane, about to take off, when she finally manages to calm down, to think. It is 9 am. She spent the last hours running, put her sunglasses back on and got into the car where her suitcase was already. Before dropping her off at the Paris airport, they finally returned her mobile phone and passport. In 2 hours she will be back in Lisbon. The guru, whom she had been waiting for so long, had only disappointed her.

When she arrives in Portugal, Vera feels deeply humiliated, sad and alone. She prayed to God 7 times, for her mother, for her family, for her own life and for her future spiritual evolution. She was not going to tell anyone what had happened with Gregorian Bivolaru. But as the days pass, her despair grows. She needs to talk about what happened in Paris. She asks for help from a teacher, tells her what she did and how she felt.

And the teacher tells her that if anyone was wrong, it could only have been her. Never the guru.

Vera: She tried to avoid the conversation as much as possible and said: "Look, maybe you did something wrong or maybe it's a blockage of yours."

narrative: "It is one of the most common characteristics of cults," explains psychologist António Madaleno.

"The one who makes the mistake is always made to believe that the problem is with him."

Madaleno: The person, when they make mistakes or when they have doubts, when they have questions or when they start to ask themselves "what am I doing here, what am I doing, why am I doing this?" is taught within the group that the problem is never the leader's, never the group's, the fault is always the person's. The person is the weak one, the person is the one who doesn't have the level of spirituality or enlightenment or evolution that they should have.

Narration: For the first time in almost 6 years, Vera begins to have doubts. It doesn't seem to her that the teacher is right. What happened in Paris simply doesn't fit with the theories and teachings she has been hearing for years at the Lisbon School. Psychologist António Madaleno explains that there is a name for this process. Vera is going through a phase of cognitive dissonance. She has finally realized that there are many contradictions in motion and that neither the teachers nor the gurus are concerned with her spiritual evolution.

Madaleno: These are very big internal struggles that people suffer when they are in these groups and it is not easy for a person to manage to get out. It is very difficult to manage to get out of a structured sect.

narrative: February 26, 2016. Vera is at the ashram alone, experiencing this inner struggle, when she receives the news: Gregorian Bivolaru has just been arrested. The yoga guru, sought for years, has finally been caught by agents of the National Fugitive Investigation Brigade, a department of the French Judicial Police. He was walking at a book fair in Paris. In 5 months, when the guru will be extradited to Romania and will begin serving his sentence in Bucharest, Vera will no longer live at the ashram in Lisbon. She wants to have a relationship, start a family and be a mother. She breaks ties with the school and all the friends who remain there. She is happy for the decision she made and for the arrest of the guru. But only one of these two feelings will last. In less than 13 months, Bivolaru will be free again, return to Paris and summon disciples for initiations again.

narrative: Lara can't take her eyes off her watch. She has to wait a few minutes until she can clear up all her doubts. And when the time finally passes, it's confirmed: she's pregnant. She's 31 years old, she lives at the ashram in Lisbon, and her boyfriend, with whom she has a turbulent relationship, isn't even at the yoga and tantra school. A baby comes to ruin all her plans. She feels restless. She didn't try to get pregnant and even insisted that her boyfriend practice sexual continence. But she's against abortion. She claims that you have to assume the consequences of all your actions. Distraught and not knowing what to do, Lara turns to the guru.

Lara: I thought, "Okay, I'm here now, in this school, he's supposed to be my master. Maybe I don't fully feel like my master yet, but maybe he can still offer me some support." And I think it was kind of out of desperation that I tried to ask him for help or guidance. That's why I ended up sending him a letter.

Narration: Shortly after, a student at the school calls her aside, tells her that the guru has read the letter and wants to meet her in person.

Gregorian Bivolaru was released on parole on September 7, 2017, and immediately left Romania. Exactly 11 days later, Finland issued an arrest warrant for him and the guru fled again. He is being investigated for five counts of aggravated human trafficking in Finnish and French territory and has been put directly on Interpol's most wanted list.

Lara arrives in the French capital a year and 2 months after the guru took refuge again in Paris. It is a cold November night. She is scared and gets even more scared when the driver she picks up from somewhere in the city center orders her to put on sunglasses with the lenses painted on the inside, but she doesn't complain or ask questions because she is there for a purpose, to confide in the guru and listen to the advice he has for her. And for that, she will do whatever it takes.

Lara: There it's like a house with a garage. The van stops in front of the garage and in that garage it's like a kind of checkpoint. That's where they get the ballots, the people's documents, everything stays there, they have a computer and they have written sheets, they go there and write down various things. And the mobile phone, I always hand over the documents and mobile phones.

We weren't allowed to have cell phones.

Narration: When she enters the house, Lara finds several women of various nationalities and another Portuguese woman, with whom she is still trying to make friends, but without success. They hardly even speak. The girl seems to be always busy with something. They sleep in separate rooms and, a few days later, the Portuguese woman disappears. Lara will never see her again.

Time passes slowly in the house in Paris and Lara is becoming increasingly impatient. Bivolaru is the only person who knows that she is pregnant and Lara has many things to organize in Lisbon. She has no time to waste. Without a watch and without a mobile phone, she does not know how many days she has been waiting for Bivolaru to call her. She spends her time restless and bored, doing yoga, reading and writing. She has a notebook with a pink cover, the only object she was allowed to keep. She got into the habit of writing down everything in the classes at the school in Lisbon. There was so much information that she had to write it down so she would not forget anything. And in this notebook she will write down everything she sees and everything she is told. Tired of waiting to be called, she decides to act. She writes a new letter to her guru. It is November 2, 2018 and on the paper you can read that she does not feel comfortable in the house where she is being held.

Lara: I don't know how to process everything that's going on in my life right now. I'm trying to stay calm, but I can't stop crying. I hope I can meet with you and get some guidance as soon as possible. I also want to go home and talk to my mom. Thank you for having me here. I wish I could be more present and mindful of all the blessings I've received, but I don't feel well.

Narration: The letter yields results and, shortly after, Lara is finally called. She is taken to the garage, gets in the car and puts her glasses back on. A few minutes later she arrives at her destination. The house where the guru is hiding is small. It has a main corridor full of shelves against the wall. On the shelves are meditation and yoga books, but also DVDs with pornographic films. The shelves make the corridor so narrow that it is almost impossible for two people to meet face to face. Lara enters the first door on the left and there Bivolaru is waiting for her. There is no natural light in the room, but there is a lamp on.

Lara: When I walked in, specifically, I remember noticing the smell of the room, which was a sex smell, meaning a smell that lingers in the room when people have sex. A strange smell.

narration: The space is not welcoming and is messy. There is trash, leftovers from the guru's meal, several books and another large stack of DVDs. Everything is scattered on the floor. There is only one piece of furniture: the bed, and there Lara sits next to Bivolaru. The guru begins by asking him several personal questions.

Lara can't believe it.

Lara: He asked me things several times, as if he didn't know anything about me, but what was said at school was that he was a person who knew everything, that he looked at us and always knew everything we did, what we said about him, what we did, well, everything. And I noticed in his presence that this wasn't true, because he asked me many things about me that he didn't seem to know.

narration: "When he touched me, I didn't feel the energy circulating through my body, I felt repulsion."

Lara: I also noticed that he had a very strange appearance, he had enormous toenails and a very unpleasant appearance.

Narration: At the tantra classes in Lisbon, Lara learned the concept of transfiguration, a technique that allows you to see others beyond their physical appearance. To put the teaching into practice, she just has to look into Bivolaru's eyes very hard, as if she wanted to see his soul. But she doesn't even try. She doesn't like the way he talks to her. She has already been told that the guru treats people the way they need to be treated, but Lara is sure that she doesn't need that. Bivolaru wants to convince her to abort the child. The guru gets straight to the point. He tells her that her lover is impulsive and susceptible to the influence of satanic entities and that he is not in love with her.

Lara writes everything down in the notebook with the pink cover, she doesn't want to forget any detail.

Lara: So, in this notebook, I wrote what I felt when I was in front of the guru and the things he told me and he told me that what had happened; in this case, the fact that I got pregnant was a mistake, that it was not divine, that it was irresponsible on his part and that it was stupid on my part, that the only solution was abortion.

narration: Bivolaru believes that children steal a woman's aura and take her away from the spiritual path, and says that if Lara doesn't follow his instructions...

Lara: ... I was going to have a tragic life, to be left alone with my baby and that men would hardly choose to come near me again. He told me that he had a lot of knowledge of biology and that, because of my structure, I had to have a cesarean section. And that would bring me complications and irreversible pain every time I made love again, that I would be left with a scar that would bring me inferiority complexes when I was naked again, then he talked about financial matters, that I needed money to have a child and that I would not be able to be absent, I had to be with him all the time.

Narration: If Lara makes the wisest decision, Bivolaru tells her, she will have a way to purify her body and mind.

Lara: He said that if I had an abortion, there was a special Tapas to burn the karma of that action, which lasted 3 and a half years.

narration: A Tapas is a commitment that is assumed and that requires intensive spiritual practice and great discipline. Depending on the situation, a ritual is defined that must be strictly carried out. On the sheet written in Romanian that Bivolaru puts in her hands, the four yoga positions that Lara must do every day, during that entire period, are described. There is also an indication written on the paper: "Massage your breasts with a special oil to harmoniously develop their volume. We can provide you with a very special recipe of herbs to promote harmonious growth. We wish you much success". Lara hoped that her guru would support her and tell her what she should do so that her lover would change his attitude. She assured that abortion was not at all what she wanted to do.

She is unhappy with the way the meeting goes and later writes in her notebook that, unlike what she should have been, she did not feel happy being with him.

Bivolaru gives her one last indication. In a few days and before having the abortion, Lara must return to that room to be initiated by him. And then he told me that I would receive three initiations: one for sexual continence, another for the love positions on the chakras, which were also sexual positions, right? But each position activates a chakra.

Narration: Lara says she no longer remembers the content of the third initiation, but she always knew exactly what would happen if she returned to the guru's room.

Lara: Of course these initiations involved having a sexual relationship with him, but he didn't tell me that. I knew because everyone already knew that it was like that.

narration: At that time, she says, everyone knew that meeting the guru was synonymous with sex. It was not explicitly said, much less written, but it was discussed among the women in the movement. Just before Lara leaves the room, the guru gives her three DVDs, telling her that she must watch them to prepare for the initiations. What he doesn't explain to her is that there are several pornographic films, some amateur, with very young actresses. And they are full of explicit scenes of urine therapy.

Lara: At that moment, I had the certainty of many doubts that I had, because until you see it, many more doubts can arise, right? And then when I saw it, when I heard it and when I saw that whole scenario, etc., no more doubts arose in me, even though I was in a situation that was a little delicate for me and I wasn't very emotionally stable, but inside I was sure that I didn't want to do any of that and I just wanted to leave.

Narration: Lara is determined. She will not return to the guru's room, she will return to Portugal, but she cannot simply open the door of the house where she is being held and take a plane. She is not allowed to go out into the street. Since they took her mobile phone, she cannot communicate and she does not even have any documents. Therefore, she decides to write a third letter.

Lara: I just wrote that I didn't feel well there and that I had a lot of things to do and I wanted to get back to Portugal as soon as possible, that I didn't want to be there and I didn't want to receive the initiation. I was probably very grateful because I was always saying thank you, as if what they were offering me was wonderful, but I wanted to leave.

Narration: The decision is not well received. The atmosphere becomes oppressive in the house. The disciples who prevent her from leaving, listen to Bivolaru. And only when Lara raises her voice and makes it clear that keeping her there against her will is illegal, do they decide to consult the guru. Final verdict: Lara can return to Lisbon, but there are two conditions. She must pay for her return trip and she will have to record a video.

Lara: I had to read, I mean, some papers that they gave me, like if I ever told what happened, I'd be an ignorant woman and I don't know what else and that my spiritual evolution would stop and I'd have health problems, all that kind of stuff. I mean, what I read was written by them and not by me.

Narration: It's another vow like so many others she's already made. The only difference is that this one has been recorded. Lara returns to Portugal and, a few months later, her daughter will be born.

There is no way to know how many disciples Gregorian Bivolaru initiated, either before or after Lara managed to leave Paris. What is known is that the guru's activity continued even during the pandemic, when practically everything stopped. During this period, the British Miranda Grace is still part of the movement. She has already been sexually initiated by the guru in Paris, has done massages in the Tantric Temple in London and spent half a year in the Czech Republic, half-naked in front of a webcam, broadcasting live on the Internet, but she is still far from understanding that she is part of a sect.

Miranda: Around August 2021, the man I was in a relationship with started saying things like, “What if it’s not the others who are bad? What if Bivolaru is the bad guy?” He also said, “What if you’re being manipulated? This is a cult!” I got really angry with him. I got angry and said those usual things, that he wasn’t evolved enough, that he didn’t understand, that he wasn’t spiritual.

Narration: Everything will change at the turn of 2021 and 2022. Miranda is at home, does a search on her computer and enters for the first time a forum that collects complaints from former students of Bivolaru's Movement. It is a banned site. The teachers of the London school have already warned the students several times. Everything that is said there is a lie and the Movement will sue anyone who dares to defame the school and the guru.

However, Miranda explores the site, reads some texts, watches some videos, and in one of them, she finds a familiar face. She knows that girl, she was with her in Paris and Romania.

Miranda: I thought, "Wait a minute, this is not spiritual, this is not true spirituality. And I know something else, I know this woman, I know she's not a liar." So I thought, "OK, if everyone is saying that she's a liar and that's how Gregorian Bivolaru treated her, then they're the liars." And suddenly everything fell apart.

Narration: In the coming days, Miranda will start to connect the dots. First she talks to Ashleigh, the Australian girl in the video, then to other former members of the sect, and then to the French biologist, founder and president of the study group for the sectarian phenomenon (MIVILUDES), who for almost 10 years has been investigating Bivolaru's Movement worldwide and gathering evidence against him. It is the beginning of the end.

Miranda: Hugues Gascan asked me to write a kind of summary of what happened and that was sent to the French authorities, because they asked me if I would be willing to testify. On November 28, 2023, Gregorian Bivolaru will be arrested again in Paris and now the guru will really remain in prison.

News: And that brings us to this vast police operation in France: an international yoga sect has been dismantled; its Romanian-born guru has been arrested and detained; he is accused of human trafficking, kidnapping and indoctrination within a sect.

Narration: But otherwise, nothing has changed. Yoga schools continue to have classes. Ashrams continue to receive disciples who want to live in community. The Tantric Temple continues to sell sensual massages and lectures continue to be organized to recruit new students. All of this continues, including in Lisbon.

But that's a story for the last episode.

In the next episode: "Lie. Lie. In everything there is a small altar with a picture of Grieg. So, don't come up with stories that he was just a teacher! This is a lie from beginning to end!" No one has the right to exploit in the name of divinity or ask you to undress!

"The goal here is really to explore the whole body and understand how eroticism can be developed." School is an octopus with many tentacles. If you cut one, the others continue. The car doesn't stop because it's not there.

If you have heard this story and are going through a similar situation or know someone who is, you can call PAV, the Portuguese Victim Support Association, on the phone number 116006.

The Observer contacted Natha - the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, the ATMAN Federation, which includes yoga schools spread around the world, and also Gregorian Bivolaru, through their legal representatives. They were confronted with several questions related to the allegations made during this podcast.

Observator contacted Gregorian Bivolaru through his legal representatives. They did not respond.

The Observer contacted Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra. The management did not agree to be interviewed, but responded by email to several questions. The following are the relevant questions and answers for this episode: The Observer asks: "The Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra website, in the "Who we are" section, refers to Gregorian Bivolaru as a true living spiritual master. What is Gregorian Bivolaru's connection with Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra?" Natha answers: As can be verified in the aforementioned statute, Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra has no connection with Gregorian Bivolaru, because he has not held and has never held any position within Natha. He is not and has never been an associate or member of the respective social bodies.

"Having published several books in his courses, Natha follows some of his teachings, which is why on our website we present Gregorian Bivolaru as the co-author of the integral esoteric yoga course, the esoteric tantra yoga course, offered by the Atman Yoga and Meditation Federation, of which the school is an affiliated member, and the author of numerous spiritual books and publications, the integral esoteric yoga course and the esoteric tantra yoga course being just two of the various courses we offer at Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra.

Observer asks: "What is the position of NATHA - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, regarding the arrest of Gregorian Bivolaru on suspicion of alleged crimes of rape, human trafficking, kidnapping and abuse of vulnerability?" Natha answers: Natha, The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, categorically rejects any form of violence, exploitation or abuse or any type of criminal activity. It is not complicit in activities or behaviors that could constitute crimes of this or any other nature. Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra is guided by the ethical values ​​of yoga, respect for the human being and individual integrity. It maintains that any suspicion or accusation must be properly investigated by the competent authorities, respecting the principle of justice and the rule of law.

Observer asks: "Has Natha - the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra stopped teaching the courses written by Gregorian Bivolaru?" Natha answers: The answer to this question is clear on our website, open to all who wish to read.

Gregorian Bivolaru is the author of the integral esoteric yoga course, co-author of the esoteric tantra yoga course offered by the ATMAN Yoga and Meditation Federation, of which the school is an affiliated member, and author of many spiritual books and publications.

The Observer asks: "Why is the reference to Gregorian Bivolaru as a living spiritual master maintained on the Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra website?" Natha answers: In the context of yoga, the term spiritual master designates someone who, through his experience and practice, inspires and guides others on the path of self-knowledge and inner development. The reference to living spiritual masters reflects a millenary tradition present in several schools of wisdom around the world, which recognizes the importance of experienced people who transmit knowledge in a direct and living way.

Our mention of "living spiritual master" must be understood within this philosophical and spiritual framework and not as a personal validation of behaviors or events external to yoga practice and teachings.

Observator asks: "Two students of Natha - the Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, complain that they were convinced by their teachers to travel to Paris to receive alleged sexual initiations from Gregorian Bivolaru.

These students accuse the school of having provided all the logistics together with MISA representatives in Romania and say that, once they arrived at the scene, they were deprived of their means of communication and their identity documents and that they were kept in apartments without permission to leave. The same students complain that they were forced, through manipulation and brainwashing, to have alleged sexual relations with Gregorian Bivolaru in Paris. How does Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra react to these accusations? Natha responds: Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra has no direct or indirect knowledge of the aforementioned allegations.

There is no evidence that these situations occurred within or under the responsibility of this association.

Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, absolutely opposes any practice that involves coercion, manipulation, deprivation of liberty, sexual abuse, exploitation, or violation of fundamental human rights.

Such behaviors are totally unacceptable and incompatible with the ethical and spiritual principles of yoga and the values ​​of this association. Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, reaffirms its commitment to full respect for human dignity, individual freedom and self-determination of its students and teachers and, of course, maintains its full availability to collaborate with the competent authorities, if necessary.

The observer asks: "What is the connection between Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, and MISA?" Natha answers: Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is an association with its own legal personality, with its own social bodies, which is dedicated to teaching yoga and tantra in Portugal, while MISA, the Movement for Spiritual Integration in the Absolute, is a foreign organization that promotes spiritual activities internationally, without any legal, administrative, organizational or other relationship. We know that, on an individual level, in the exercise of their personal and spiritual freedom, some students and teachers who are members of Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, participate in international events organized by this and other entities.

The ATMAN Federation, which includes the yoga schools of the Movement created by Gregorian Bivolaru, did not directly respond to the questions sent by the Observator, but sent a statement. In this text, the ATMAN Federation guarantees that it has not received any official communication from the French justice system regarding a possible involvement in the case to date. It rejects all the accusations brought against affiliated members, teachers and students. It recalls that the investigation is still ongoing and that there have been no charges, let alone a conviction. And it accuses the French authorities and the international media of religious persecution and of a media campaign that, over the years, has projected the image of the school as a sexual sect guilty of brainwashing and sexual abuse.

The statement reads: "What happened in France is a continuation of a long series of attacks against affiliated members of the Atman Federation and the yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru by forces that consider any combination of eroticism and spirituality intolerable. In the same text, the Federation also guarantees that it is not responsible for the private lives of employees, students and teachers of affiliated schools. It says that the schools are independent and assume full responsibility for their respective decisions and activities. It also adds that it categorically condemns all types of abuse, including the abusive use of police force and unjust arrests. And, finally, it assures that teachings on sexualized behavior have not been and will never be tolerated in the Atman Federation.

Secrets of the Yoga Sect is a series of six audio episodes and is part of the Observador Plus podcast.

It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, and has an original soundtrack composed by Benjamin.

The script and interviews belong to Mariana Marques Tiago and Tânia Pereirinha.

 

 

Secrets of the Yoga Sect, episode 6 – The Machine Doesn't Stop

narration: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence that some people may find disturbing. Some names have been changed to protect the identities of the interviewees. In these cases, the voices have been modified with the help of artificial intelligence.

generic reality show: "Your midnight secrets, I want to see them on my screen.."
narration: 2014. A new season of the show Casa Secretelor will start on TVI.
Agnes: I'm Agnes, I'm 30 years old, I was born in Transylvania, Dracula's Land, Romania.
narration: Among the contestants of the reality show, there is a blonde, Romanian woman.
reality show: Oh, who knows, today, the one who is nominated and can leave, will reveal her secret to us. And what is your secret, dear? Do you want to tell us?
narration: Her secret: "I was kidnapped and exploited by a sect."
Agnes: I was kidnapped and exploited by a sect, a religious sect.
reality show: "I was kidnapped and exploited by a religious sect." And Agnes will tell us details about this secret. She will share it with us.
narration: She says she was forced to work in a bar in Japan without being paid.
reality show: What really happened?
Agnes: First of all, I want to clarify that yoga is not a bad thing, it is a good thing, it is a good practice, it has nothing to do with what happened in Romania. And my kidnapping was of a mental and indoctrination and psychic nature.
narration: Her name is Agnes Arabela Marques, she is 30 years old and she says that everything happened in the movement of Gregorian Bivolaru.
Agnes: There was an organization called the Movement of Spiritual Integration in the Absolute, in a word, MISA.
narration: This is the first time in Portugal that the testimony of someone who was a victim of this guru is heard.
Agnes: I have always heard of a leader in Bucharest who is the leader, our leader, the yoga leader, his name is Gregorian Bivolaru.
narration: The denunciations quickly reach the disciples of the school in Lisbon. During this period, Vera is already living in the ashram, she has not yet met the guru and is fully convinced that everything Agnes says is a lie.
Vera: An opportunistic woman who is after money and to make her own, to gain fame at the expense of Grieg. She is just another one of those.
narration: "Bivolaru's enemies are everywhere", they say at school. "They want to discredit him and spread lies about him". That is why those who live in the ashram cannot watch television or read newspapers.
For Vera, Beatriz and Lara, like the other disciples, they are forbidden to consult a certain website. It is called ExMisa and its objective is to expose Gregorian Bivolaru, the movement he created and all those who work with the guru. It is a Romanian blog where you can read several testimonies and denunciations of men and women who have gone through the sect.
Vera: While we are inside, we are told that all those people on ExMisa are all opportunists, full of demons, people who do not believe in anything, look, they have fallen on their spiritual ladder.
narration: Although it is forbidden, Vera continues to read the website. But she is not the only one. Lara and Beatriz do the same, as does Miranda, in London. Also on this blog she found the video of the Australian girl she had been with in France and Romania. They all choose to break this rule for a simple reason: as they read, they realize that there is a lot of information and accusations that coincide. Sometimes, I come across stories that mention sex chat and sex work in bars, abroad, but I don't think it's true.
Agnes: I tell others, other colleagues of mine, other people who are there, many deny those things, they say that it's not really like that, that those are people who left the school and who want to attack the image of the master, that everything is like a kind of Cabal against him to close the school, to put an end to all the good he does for humanity.
Narration: Only a few years later and already after they have left the school, Vera, Beatriz and Lara will realize that, after all, the one who was lying was the guru.
The beginning of 2023. Vera's phone rings. She opens WhatsApp and there is a message from Beatriz with several photos of a former classmate from the school in Lisbon. They called her Esmeralda. That was the name Bivolaru chose for her. The moment she sees the images, everything makes sense. In the end, the contestant from the House of Secrets was telling the truth.
While they were at school, Vera and Beatriz convinced themselves that Esmeralda was on a retreat or doing translations, but in reality she was being sexually exploited in a house in the capital of the Czech Republic. Vera and Beatriz had already left the yoga school for almost 10 years. At the time, they left quietly. They did not press charges, they did not even write a testimony for the whistleblowing website ExMisa. But now, they decide that it is finally time to act. Vera and Beatriz want to save Esmeralda and bring her back to Portugal.
Secrets of the Yoga Sect is a six-episode audio series that is part of the Observator Podcast Plus. It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah, with an original soundtrack by Benjamim.
Episode 6. The Machine Doesn't Stop Narrative: November 28, 2023. In Paris, 175 agents of the French Judicial Police are hidden, armed and in an attack position, waiting for the green light to advance. The authorities have been planning this moment for a long time. They have interviewed several witnesses, collected many testimonies and conducted a thorough investigation. Almost a year and a half has passed since the French Agency for Combating Sectarian Deviations received 12 complaints against the guru and the movement. For more than two decades, France has made surveillance of intolerance or extremism a priority. Today, the French judicial police will not let Gregorian Bivolaru escape.
Police agents will invade eight locations simultaneously. Two in Paris, the others in the suburbs. All of them are members of the movement. The main target is the guru himself. An armed team is advancing. It is a few minutes after 6 am and they enter a modern building in a neighborhood 11 km from the Eiffel Tower. They look for apartment 228. It is a two-room apartment on the ground floor. They force the door, enters by surprise and moves along the narrow corridors. Some disciples are already awake. They are caught in the kitchen making tea, but most of the occupants of the house are still asleep. In one of the bedrooms, the agents, heavily armed and with their faces covered, find Bivolaru. Hidden in the house is €300,000 in cash. The operation is a success. 41 people are arrested. In addition to Bivolaru, 11 men and four women are accused of human trafficking, kidnapping and abuse of a vulnerable person. The guru is also accused of several rape crimes. The others are considered accomplices. In these eight properties, the French authorities also find dozens of women. Of the 58 disciples rescued, only seven are not Romanian. They live in difficult conditions, of proven promiscuity and without any privacy. The police have no doubt: these women are victims. However, none of them want to file a complaint.
A few days after Bivolaru's arrest, all the disciples of the Movement disappear from the pornographic website Rampant TV.
One of them is Esmeralda. 10 months before the guru was arrested, Beatriz and Vera had already tried to save her. It is January 11, 2023. Beatriz registers on Rampant TV and pays €5. She must see with her own eyes whether the colleague she met at the Lisbon Yoga School is really there, on that site. She chooses her webcam and clicks on Join Show. Esmeralda appears large on the screen. She is wearing only a white, almost transparent top, a skin-colored thong and some long earrings. Dance to the rhythm of the music playing in the background.
A provocative French song, which tells a story of a failed love. In the chat, several comments appear in English from users praising her dancing or her beauty.
Esmeralda reads and smiles until, suddenly, a message appears in Portuguese. Do you need help?
Beatriz is the one who sends it, although Esmeralda doesn't know it. She doesn't receive a response. She continues to write: "If your sexuality is sacred, your body is your temple. There is no karma yoga that justifies selling it." Everyone in the chat can see. Esmeralda becomes visibly agitated. And Beatriz insists, writes a new message in which she calls her by her real name and tells her that what she is doing is not spiritual evolution.
Vera: I wrote in Portuguese so that the person would understand that it was someone from Portugal who recognized her. I tried to say: "This is not spiritual evolution. Are you deceived? Look where you have ended up." I tried this approach, I really tried to make it clear that I wasn't kidding, that I was someone who knew her, who knew exactly who she was and knew that she wasn't that kind of person.
narrative: Esmeralda blocks Beatriz, kicks her out of the sex chat and cuts off communication there.
Vera: It's not necessarily the best approach. For someone who has reached this level, the best approach is not to say something like "leave it, not like that!", it was the worst approach I had, but at the time that's what I did, it was the only way I had to communicate with that person at that moment.
narrative: António Madaleno, a cult specialist, agrees: "Beatriz made a big mistake".
expert: You should never attack the leader of the group. That is, the person must use empathy towards the other person, try to understand why they are involved in that group, gain the person's trust without attacking them and then, gradually, if possible, start giving them information, but as if they were curious about the group and, at the same time, introduce information that can help the person become aware of what the leader is teaching them.
narrative: Esmeralda continues on the sex video chat and now Beatriz can no longer re-enter. Her profile has been blocked, but the episode has consequences. Images of Esmeralda and other Portuguese disciples who are also on Rampant TV begin to circulate in a small group of former students of the Lisbon Yoga School. Lara, Luís and Nuno join Vera and Beatriz. They all meet for the first time since they left the Movement.
Vera: We start to get together and set up meetings and we start to understand the magnitude of the situation.
narrative: They decide to try again to remove Esmeralda from Rampant TV. They create new profiles, send her more messages in Portuguese, but the result is always the same. She doesn't even answer them, she just kicks them out of the chat. Vera tries a different approach. She has known Esmeralda since she moved to the ashram in Lisbon, a month before her 18th birthday. That's why she decides to take drastic measures. She gets in touch with her mother. She writes her an email. She doesn't give details about what her daughter is doing or send any photos. She just tells her that she needs help, but even then she doesn't get any response.
A few months later, and only because Gregorian Bivolaru is arrested, Esmeralda disappears from Rampant TV, but she doesn't leave the Movement. She currently continues at the School in Lisbon. In a video clip published in May 2025 on a Romanian channel dedicated to yoga practice, she is interviewed under her real name: TV show producer MISA: How did you find the school? - Cum ai găsit școala?
Esmeralda: ”So I found the school, I was 18. At that time I was with my my boyfriend and she was searching for Tantra and for some for some knowledge about this part of our life” - ”Asa că am găsit școala, aveam 18 ani. Pe attiecă eram cu baibutul meu și ele săcăre Tantra și nițte gnănce despre acel aspect al viești noastre”.
narration: She appears as a Tantra Yoga instructor, Shakti group coordinator and psychologist. She says that this school transported her to a better world and that she cannot imagine her life without it.
Esmeralda: "I can't imagine my life without having now this school. Really, it's... I'm super-grateful"
narration: Gregorian Bivolaru has been in pretrial detention since he was re-arrested in Paris in November 2023.
The authorities do not want to take any chances. The guru has already fled too many times. The arrest is such a big scandal that it makes the front pages of several countries. That is why the Movement issues a statement. The document recalls the 2004 operation in Romania and guarantees: "The guru is again the target of persecution." The statement reads: "The absurd accusations broadcast by the French press and taken over by the Romanian press are similar to those made in 2004." These are very serious crimes: rape, kidnapping, kidnapping and human trafficking. But Bivolaru's Movement says that these are topics with a guaranteed audience and that is why the authorities always mention them. And they also say that the accusation that the guru exercises some kind of mental control over his disciples is comical or ridiculous: "We consider it necessary to recall that Gregorian Bivolaru has been the target of media campaigns designed to discredit and defame him since the 1990s. Those who know him can testify that Gregorian Bivolaru has always been a model of uprightness and has never deviated from his spiritual principles." At the same time, several schools feel the need to distance themselves from Bivolaru. They assure that he is just another teacher associated with the ATMAN Federation and not the leader of a spiritual movement. The Natha School in Lisbon is one of them.
A statement is published on the official website explaining that the authorities' target was a yoga school in France, which has no connection with the school in Lisbon. They claim that they are independent entities. It can also be read that yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru is just one of the 23 founders of the Esoteric School of Integral Yoga MISA in Romania.
“Mr. Bivolaru does not maintain any contact with Natha and does not lead it. It is important to note that Natha is not responsible for the private lives of its students, volunteers and teachers. Being a Natha member is a completely voluntary commitment that can be canceled at any time.” But there are three points that question this attempt to distance the school from the guru.
First point: In 2017, after Bivolaru was first arrested in Paris, Natha in Lisbon joined forces with 11 other yoga schools of the Atman Federation. Each wrote a letter demanding the release of the guru, who was then sentenced to 6 years in prison for having sexual relations with a minor. All of them guaranteed that Bivolaru was an extraordinary person, who posed no danger to Romanian society or to any other society. In the letter sent to Bucharest, the Lisbon school clearly revealed the relationship of dependence it had with Bivolaru: "The teachings of the school are largely based on his courses, teachings, conferences and guidance. Since the beginning of our organization, they have been carried out in close collaboration with Mr. Bivolaru, who regularly sent us the weekly courses, as we taught them in Portugal. Since his arrest, this collaboration has been interrupted, with great prejudice to our teachings and to our school." In 2017, these letters contributed to the release of Gregorian Bivolaru from prison on parole. The judge himself said so, in the decision that was made public.
Second point: And today, on the Natha website, the guru is the only teacher highlighted. In the section where the school in Lisbon is presented, there is a text entitled “About Gregorian Bivolaru”, where an old photograph appears in which he meditates in the lotus position. “A genuine spiritual master in life.” This is how the leadership in Lisbon identifies him. He is described as a kind of enlightened being.
“Since childhood, Gregorian Bivolaru’s life was marked by the exceptional and mysterious. And from a very young age he received the call of cosmic consciousness”. The school leaves no doubt about his influence: “Hundreds of thousands of people have discovered spirituality and enriched their lives, following his teachings and advice, deeply and radically transforming their lives in a positive way.”
The third point: former students guarantee that Bivolaru was never just a simple teacher, neither before nor after the arrests.
Vera: Lie, lie. In all the yoga rooms there was a photo of Grieg. In all the yoga rooms there was a small altar with a picture of Grieg, so don't come up with nonsense that he was just a teacher. That's a complete lie. He remains the spiritual leader, but since they don't want to be tarnished and people to leave because of that, they try to make it seem like he has no say in the Portuguese school, but that's not the case. Inside, they do spiritual programs to support him and they still have his picture in the classes.
Contacted by the Observator in November 2025, the Natha management says that it has no connection with Gregorian Bivolaru. It assures that it does not collaborate with him, but admits that some of the courses it teaches are written by the Romanian. It guarantees that it unequivocally rejects any form of violence, exploitation or abuse or any type of criminal activity and that it does not tolerate activities or behaviors that may constitute crimes of this or any other nature. On the other hand, it claims that any suspicion or accusation must be properly investigated by the competent authorities, respecting the principle of justice and the rule of law.
Gregorian Bivolaru is not the only target of the authorities. August 26, 2024, 9 months after the operation that led to the arrest of the guru in Paris, Advaita and Adina Stoian, the couple who function as Bivolaru's right-hand man, are traveling again. On the agenda, the teachers always have a workshop, retreat or training. The destination is Georgia, but when they try to enter the country, Advaita and Adina are arrested. There is an international arrest warrant for them. A spokesperson for the Study Group for the Sectarian Phenomenon in France will explain that several testimonies indicate that the couple is involved in sending female disciples from Denmark to Paris for meetings with the guru. In statements to the press, the Copenhagen school says that the arrest of the couple is unfair and took place on the basis of serious accusations, which endanger their freedom and even their lives.
At the same time, the Danish Natha also guarantees that the Stoian couple do not have any position of responsibility in the school. They are only former teachers employed part-time. On May 15, 2025, Advaita and Adina Stoian are extradited to France. There they await the start of the trial. In addition to them, six of the other 15 investigated by the French justice system continue to be in pre-trial detention.
Vera: The school is an octopus with many tentacles. If you cut one, the others continue. Now, if we start to see the larger tentacles being held back, then we start to have hope that this will really be unmasked and will end.
narrative: Gregorian Bivolaru has never been officially investigated in Portugal, but the judicial police have collaborated with the Finnish authorities after the international arrest request. Since Bivolaru's arrest in Paris, the Finnish Public Prosecutor's Office has tried four times to obtain his extradition to that country, but without success. In June 2025, it withdrew the charges against the guru and decided to transfer the case to France. If he ends up being tried and convicted of the crimes he is suspected of, Gregorian Bivolaru risks a total of 30 years in prison. But Lara believes that even this may not be enough to stop the Movement founded by the guru.
Lara: As a result of all this, it still hasn't stopped. The machine doesn't stop just because he's not there.
The school didn't stop without him, without Adina and without Advaita, right? So it's a, I don't know, a money-making machine, I guess. And that's enough for it not to want to stop, especially because there are a lot of people who dedicate their lives to that school, right?
- Hello? Good morning.
- Hello, good morning. I'd like to talk to the Tantric Temple.
- Yes. Good morning.
- Good morning. Look, I'm calling because I found your website online and I saw that you also do tantric massages. I'd be interested, for starters, in getting more information about what this is, how it works.
narration: This call takes place in September 2025, almost two years after the guru's arrest in Paris. In Lisbon, everything is working as usual.
- You have several options here...
narrative: The Tantric Temple, where several disciples offer erotic massages, continues to receive clients.
- I mean, how does it start?
- We have three types. We offer 2-hour, 2.5-hour, 3-hour experiences, because the tantric massage, in this case, is 1 hour, 2 hours, 2.5 hours and then there are extensions of the experience from the beginning and a moment and an initial phase where we explain what tantra and tantric massage are. We don't do that, in this case, there is no type of sexual involvement with the therapist. There is no massage of the lingam, in this case, of the penis to... - well, I was talking about the Sanskrit term - there is no direct massage. The objective here is to explore the whole body and understand how eroticism can be developed.
- And tell me something, I was also looking here on the site, so for this massage we are naked, we are completely naked or we have a towel like in the other salons, for example?
- That's always an option we offer. You can be naked or you can be in boxers. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable.
- Ok. Ok. Okay. Look, and ... and where is it? Actually, I didn't understand very well.
- It's in the Lisbon area, in Picoas.
- Ok. Ok. But it has the address here on the website, right?
- It's not here. We always send the address after the appointment.
Narration: The school is operating normally, but in a different location, near Quinta das Conchas, in Lumear. In September 2025, new yoga and tantra groups opened. Events for old and new disciples continue to take place. Every Tuesday and Thursday, at the end of the day, a free common spiritual practice takes place at the Lisbon school. And during a weekend in November 2025, Astra Medenquer hosted the usual Natha autumn retreat. Registration costs between €75 and €140. Various ArtExtasia events still take place in Lisbon.
This Academy of Erotic Arts (https://artextasia.com/) is the artistic arm of the Movement created by Gregorian Bivolaru. Miranda, who attended the London school, was part of the English ArtExtasia and there she met and ended up having a relationship with several Portuguese disciples.
ArtExtasia is coordinated by Aghora Vidya, an Argentinian artist and director. Miranda explains that Vidya is considered a kind of number two of the Movement, somewhere between Bivolaru and the couple Advaita and Adina Stoyan.
Miranda: They believe that she has a unique artistic vision in the world. I think that their mission is to save people's souls through art. They say that not everyone wants to practice yoga or meditation, but everyone likes to watch movies. So if they manage to touch people's hearts and souls through movies, they will help them get closer to God. They believe that she is divinely inspired and has a divine mission, but in the end all the decisions come - or at least, while I was there - came from Bivolaru.
Narration: ArtExtasia is mainly dedicated to making erotic and pornographic films, works that, according to the Movement, will be a means to achieve an erotic revolution capable of making the whole world make love instead of sex.
But the academy is also an easy way to recruit new disciples, says Miranda. And that recruitment is mainly done through festivals that also take place in Portugal.
Miranda: They had the ArtExtasia festival in Portugal and, at the time, they were also going to a kind of sex festival in Porto, where they were doing live shows. The idea was that through these two things they would bring people to the school.
narrative: ArtExtasia disciples live in their own ashrams and only meet other students at specific events, like workshops. But the rules are the same for everyone, whether they are in the ArtExtasia arts or at the yoga and tantra school. The women have to be feminine, polyamory is almost mandatory, and nudity is encouraged. Miranda spent a few months at the academy in London.
Miranda: I was on stage in a bra and a see-through skirt that showed my panties, and that was already outside my comfort zone. It's like every time you do something that pushes your limits a little more, your comfort zone gradually expands.
narration: It was at one of the festivals organized by ArtExtasia in Portugal, when Miranda met a Portuguese guy, an actor in several Aghora Vidya films, who is also the coordinator of the events that take place in Lisbon.
- Welcome. Is this your first time?
narration: It's a night in September 2025. Several people enter the ground floor of a building in the Sete Rios area of ​​Lisbon. They leave their shoes, bags and coats at the entrance. Some have never been there before, but they are welcomed, like everyone else who has already been students of ArtExtasia for several years, with smiles, long hugs and cups of tea. There is a strong smell of incense in the air and oriental music is heard. The women are wearing makeup, various accessories and tight, long dresses, mainly in shades of red. They have long, voluminous hair, left loose or braided in ponytails. They are always smiling. A man arrives, he is tall, has long, slightly graying hair and is wearing a dark shirt with half of the buttons undone. It is the actor Miranda met in Portugal. He introduces himself, gives hugs to everyone and announces: "We can go downstairs!" The free conference "The Tantric Art of Living" will take place in a kind of basement with carpet and no windows. The space is illuminated by red lights, which in the meantime reduce their intensity. There are cushions placed in a circle on the floor. "Men and women must sit alternately for a matter of polarity," explains the host and tantric therapist. The guided meditation will begin. With the group with their eyes closed and sitting on the floor with their legs crossed, he gives instructions on breathing. The music increases in tone, becoming almost epic (R. Armano Morabito – Angel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlS37832o2M) The conference begins immediately afterwards. They talk about Tantra, what it is and what it is used for. And they also talk about the most effective and fastest way to reach what the therapist and actor calls “the top of the spiritual mountain”. It must be done with the help of a teacher or a guide and it must be done through love. He speaks intensely. He looks each of those present in the eye while repeating: “Making love is the best form of spiritual evolution”. Only one person is not sitting on the floor: a woman in her twenties.
It's her first time at an ArtExtasia event. And because she didn't feel comfortable on the cushions, they brought her a chair. The conference continues as a student approaches her, sits on the floor and starts caressing her feet. She tells her they're cold, so she warms them with her own hands. Shortly after, she kisses them.
The woman doesn't seem bothered, not even when the student touches her feet. First she places her right hand on one of her knees. Then she slowly slides down to her groin. She's on her knees, her eyes closed. She places her left hand on the woman's chest, above her heart. She doesn't react, she just keeps looking ahead. They'll stay like this for almost 3 hours of the conference. Before concluding and after a final meditation, the tantric therapist issues a challenge. All participants must give three hugs before leaving. And they must do it in a specific way. The embrace should be given by raising the left arm so that the two people join heart to heart. This, he announces, is the first initiation of new participants.
In Portugal, ArtExtasia seems to be more active than ever. It organizes weekend activities, conferences on conscious relationships and introductory courses in Tantra. In October 2025, it announced to its students the launch of a new website.
It is a streaming service for people over 18. It has several erotic and pornographic films in its catalog. On the website registered in Budapest, there is no reference to ArtExtasia, to Aghora Vidya, nor to Bivolaru's Movement. But the actors in the films are members of ArtExtasia and many of them are Portuguese.
Bivolaru's movement is organized in the same way all over the world. Where there is a yoga school, there is also a Tantric Temple and there is also an Academy of Art. Miranda Grace says that ArtExtasia is the most exclusive branch of this tree.
Miranda: We were told that the people who were attracted to ArtExtasia were because they had artistic sensibilities and were able to feel spiritual things when they connected to art. So, in a way, they made us feel like a kind of elite within the sect.
narrative: Vera, Beatriz and Lara, these Portuguese women spent many long years in Bivolaru's Movement.
They broke ties with their family and friends. They got used to following rules and losing their critical spirit, they became financially dependent and dedicated themselves entirely to the school in Lisbon, in a constant struggle for perfection and spiritual evolution. For all of them, it was difficult to leave the school.
Lara: It is much more comfortable to stay [inside].
Vera: Outside, it's much worse. The readjustment to being here again, outside, was very difficult. People don't want to have contact with us anymore, even if they might be our friends, but there's always this idea that the person has failed a spiritual test, and since they themselves don't want to be dragged down by those who fail spiritual tests, they prefer to break off the relationship so as not to have to deal with, I don't know, demonic influences that the other person has, something like that. The biggest trauma that I brought with me from Natha, besides the fact that things don't go well, is that when we are victims, our mind tries to justify: it was my fault, I made a mistake, I went because I wanted to, it was a great blessing that I received and I didn't even appreciate it.
Lara: First you have to admit that you've made a lot of mistakes. It's a terrible swallowing of pride. I look at some teachers who are there, who I really think are people with a minimum of reason, and who disagree with many things, but who end up staying because they don't know where to go, like "I'm leaving and what am I going to do? What's going to happen to me?" narrative: Getting out of a cult is never easy and even less quick. The emotional shock and interrogation phase can be long, says specialist António Madaleno.
expert: It's just that sometimes the exit is not immediate, sometimes it takes time, right? Because normally, when we are inside these very closed groups and they are very hermetic and in which you build all your social relationships, because you have abandoned the others, the ones you knew before. Then, everyone who is there is your friend. Maybe you even married people from within the group, you started a family within the group, right? So, your whole life is there, it revolves around that thing. Therefore, when the person wants to leave and is in such a situation, it is not easy to abandon, because they will lose many things.
narrative: Daria left Bivolaru's Movement in the early 2000s. She was only 18 years old. She had been in the sect for a little more than three years.
Daria: It took me months thinking "will it be like this, will it be different? I was 15 years old when I was without underwear in Grieg's house, I was basically between 14-15 years old. And it took me a long time to make the transition in my mind and realize that "no, this is not divine, this is not right".
narration: Daria knows that at first it is almost impossible to have the detachment to see clearly and have the courage to break this cycle of abuse. And that is precisely why she wants to speak directly to the women who continue in Bivolaru's Movement. She knows that most likely they will not listen to her. Those who live in the ashram cannot read the news and she also knows that even if the information reaches them, they will say that she is lying, that she is opportunistic, that she has demons, but even so I want to try.
Daria: No one has the right to exploit you in the name of divinity or to ask you to undress. You need to think a little about what contradiction there is here and this is my advice to you. No, don't take my hand, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and life can be beautiful. You can be successful, you can regain your dignity, you can have a family, a future. All is not lost. You, most importantly, can be spiritual and have access to God without a guru, without intermediaries, without anyone. Think, but think for yourself. This is my call to you, that this podcast is for you.
narration: If you have heard this story and are going through or know someone who is going through a similar situation, you can call PAV, the Portuguese Association for Victim Support, at the telephone number 116006.
Observator contacted Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, the Atman Federation, to which yoga schools spread throughout the world belong, and also Gregorian Bivolaru, through legal representatives. They were confronted with several questions related to the accusations made throughout this podcast.
Observator contacted Gregorian Bivolaru through legal representatives. They did not respond.
Observator contacted Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra. The management did not agree to be interviewed, but responded by email to several questions. The following are the relevant questions and answers for this episode.
Observer asks: "The Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra website, in the "Who we are" section, refers to Gregorian Bivolaru as an authentic living spiritual master. What is Gregorian Bivolaru's connection with Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra?" Natha answers: "As can be verified in the respective statutes mentioned above, Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra has no connection with Gregorian Bivolaru, as he does not and has never held any position within Natha. He is not and has never been an associate or member of the respective governing bodies.
We can say that, as a publicly recognized authority in the field, with several published books, in his courses, Natha follows some of his teachings, which is why on our website we present Gregorian Bivolaru as co-author of the integral esoteric yoga course, the esoteric tantra yoga course offered by the Atman Yoga and Meditation Federation, of which the school is an affiliated member, and author of many spiritual books and publications, the integral esoteric yoga course and the esoteric tantra yoga course being just two of the many courses we offer at Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra." Observator asks: "And what is the position of Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra regarding the arrest of Gregorian Bivolaru on suspicion of allegedly committing the crimes of rape, human trafficking, kidnapping and abuse of weakness?" Natha answers: "Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, unequivocally rejects any form of violence, exploitation or abuse or any type of criminal activity. It does not support activities or behaviors that could constitute crimes of this nature or any other. Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra is guided by the ethical values ​​of yoga, respect for the human being and individual integrity. It maintains that any suspicion or accusation must be properly investigated by the competent authorities, respecting the principle of justice and the rule of law." Observator asks: "Has Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra stopped teaching courses written by Gregorian Bivolaru?" Natha answers: "The answer to this question is clearly on our website, open to all who wish to read it.
Gregorian Bivolaru is the author of the integral esoteric yoga course, co-author of the esoteric yoga tantra course offered by the Atman Yoga and Meditation Federation, of which Natha is an affiliated member school, and author of many spiritual books and publications.” Observator asks: “Why is the reference to Gregorian Bivolaru as a living spiritual master maintained on the Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra website?” Natha answers: “In the context of yoga, the term spiritual master designates someone who, through his experience and practice, inspires and guides others on the path of self-knowledge and inner development. The reference to living spiritual masters reflects an ancient tradition present in various schools of wisdom, present throughout the world, which recognize the importance of experienced people who transmit knowledge directly and vividly.
Our mention of “living spiritual master” must be understood within this philosophical and spiritual framework and not as a personal validation of behaviors or events external to the practice and teachings of yoga.” Observator asks: “And what is the connection between Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra and MISA?” Natha answers: “Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is an association with its own legal personality, with its own governing bodies, which is dedicated to teaching yoga and tantra in Portugal, while MISA, the Movement for Spiritual Integration in the Absolute, is a foreign organization that also promotes activities of a spiritual nature at an international level, with no legal, administrative, organic or other relationship. We are aware that, individually, in the exercise of their personal and spiritual freedom, some students and teachers who are members of Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra participate in international events organized by this and other entities.” The Observer asks: "Do the schools have a common management? What functions do Mihai and Adina Stoian, teachers at the Natha Yoga Center in Denmark, perform or have performed in Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra?" Natha answers: "Although the previous question has already been answered, we emphasize again that, obviously, there is no common management with other schools, since Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is an association with its own legal personality and, naturally, with its own bodies that manage its own activity. We have no knowledge of the functions that Mihai and Adina Stoian perform or have performed at the Natha Yoga Center. They did not perform any function in Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra." The Observer asks: "The teachers and students of the school lived for months in a house on the outskirts of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. From that house, which is the property of the Atman Federation, these women carried out an alleged sexual activity on video chats on at least one website called Rampant TV.” Natha replies: “Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has absolutely no knowledge of the alleged sexual activity on video chat.” Observator asks: “Were these women sent to Prague by Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, or with the support of Natha?” Natha replies: “Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, did not organize, promote, support or finance any trips of teachers or students to Prague, nor did it have any direct or indirect participation in activities outside the scope of its functions as an association. Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, carries out exclusively activities related to the teaching and practice of yoga and tantra in Portugal.” Observator asks: “Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has knowledge,sanction or encourage this type of alleged sexual activity on the part of its teachers and students?" Natha replies: "No, Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra has no knowledge, does not sanction or encourage such a thing."
Observer asks: "Is this type of alleged sexual activity in accordance with the teachings taught in the tantra courses of Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra?" Natha answers: "Within its spiritual tradition, Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, approaches the theme of sacred eroticism as a philosophical and spiritual dimension of the human being, understanding it as a conscious, respectful and transformative expression of vital energy, without any encouragement or connection to activities of a commercial or sexual nature."
Observator asks: "In August 2017, the leadership of Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, sent a letter requesting the release of Gregorian Bivolaru, who was being held in Romania. Why?" Natha answers: "The current leadership is not aware of the specific letter you refer to in your question, as it is certain that Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, is guided by the principles of respect for human rights and trust in justice and publicly assumes this through letters or other means. The current governing bodies do not comment on specific judicial processes or individual situations, but, obviously, they defend the universal right of all people to fair, dignified treatment in accordance with the values ​​of justice and the rule of law." Observator asks: "In that letter, Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, claimed that the school was suffering great damage from the arrest of Gregorian Bivolaru, and also mentions that most of the courses taught at Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, were not only written by him, but were held in close collaboration with him. What did this collaboration consist of?" Natha answers: "The current bodies of Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, are not aware of the specific letter you are referring to. We are a non-profit association, totally independent, which does not work in collaboration with Gregorian Bivolaru; some of the courses we teach are inspired by his teachings." The Observer asks: "In 2023, when Gregorian Bivolaru was again detained, but in Paris, Nahta - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, issued a public statement distancing itself from Gregorian Bivolaru. In that text one can read that Gregorian Bivolaru is only a yoga teacher, unrelated to Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, and also that the school operates completely independently in all aspects from MISA and the other schools associated with the Atman Federation. Does it maintain this position?" Natha answers: "Yes, according to what was previously stated, Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga is an association independent of MISA and other schools or organizations affiliated with the ATMAN Federation." The Observer asks: "What is the connection between Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, and the Tantric Temple of Lisbon?" Natha answers: “Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has no connection with the Tantric Temple of Lisbon. Natha is a non-profit association, completely independent, without excluding the possibility of possible joint members.” Observator asks: “And what is the connection between Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, and the ArtExtasia Arts Academy?” Natha answers: “Natha - The Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra, has no connection with ArtExtasia. Natha is a non-profit association, completely independent, without excluding the possibility of possible joint members.” Observator asks:“How many ashrams does Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra currently have in the Lisbon region? How many people currently live in these places in the community?” Natha answers: “Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra does not own any ashrams.” Observator asks: “In addition to the ashram in Alenquer, does Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra have any other properties and/or representation outside of Lisbon?” Natha answers: “Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra operates in Lisbon, where regular courses and events are concentrated. The purpose of Natha - Spiritual School of Yoga and Tantra is to transmit yoga teachings through courses, retreats and events that take place in different locations, depending on logistical and pedagogical needs, and owning properties is not the central objective of its activity.”
The Atman Federation, which includes the yoga schools of the movement created by Gregorian Bivolaru, did not directly respond to questions sent by the Observator, but did send a statement. In that text, the Atman Federation guarantees that it has not received any official communication from the French justice system regarding a possible involvement in the case to date.
It rejects all accusations made against affiliated members, teachers and students. It recalls that the investigation is still ongoing and that there have been no charges, let alone a conviction. And it accuses the French authorities and the international media of religious persecution and of a media campaign that, over the years, has projected the image of the school as a sexual cult guilty of brainwashing and sexual abuse. The statement reads: "What happened in France is the continuation of a long series of attacks against affiliated members of the Atman Federation and the yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru by forces that consider any combination of eroticism and spirituality intolerable."
In the same text, the Federation also guarantees that it is not responsible for the private lives of employees, students and teachers of affiliated schools. It says that the schools are independent and assume full responsibility for their own decisions and activities. It also adds that it categorically condemns all types of abuse, including the abusive use of police force and unjust arrests. And, finally, it assures that teachings with sexualized behavior have never been and will never be tolerated in the Atman Federation.
Secrets of the Yoga Sect is an audio series in six episodes and is part of Observator's Plus podcasts. It is narrated by me, Daniela Ruah and has an original soundtrack made by Benjamim. The script and interviews are made by Mariana Marques Tiago and Tânia Pereirinha. The sound design and sound design are made by Pedro Oliveira. The graphic design is made by Diana Moreira. The editing is made by João Santos Duarte and Tânia Pereirinha. Coordination is provided by Miguel Pinheiro, Filomena Martins, Pedro Jorge Castro, Ricardo Conceição and Sara Antunes de Oliveira.

 

How "Secrets of the Yoga Sect" was made
- Hi, my name is Tânia Pereirinha!
- And I'm Mariana Marques Tiago.
We're here to tell you how we wrote the podcast "Secrets of the Yoga Sect".
In November 2023, Observador published the news that the leader of a yoga and tantra sect had been arrested in Paris.
 
https://observador.pt/2023/11/28/organizacao-de-yoga-tantrico-atman-policia-francesa-prendeu-40-pessoas- eo-guru-da-seita-por-exploracao-sexual-de-mulheres/
Gregorian Bivolaru had been wanted by Interpol for years, suspected of trafficking in women, kidnapping and rape. A few days later, our colleague who had signed the article received an email from a former student of the Lisbon school: “We see many people with whom we made friends and created relationships, who are still trapped in this cycle of slavery, which is not only sexual in nature.”
 
This was the starting point for an article with a slightly more in-depth investigation, which Observador published in December 2023,
https://observador.pt/especiais/yoga-alunas-levadas-de-lisboa-para-paris-sem-documentos-nem-telemovel- para-encontros-sexuais-com-guru-romeno/
but we were left with the feeling that the subject still had a lot to explore, that this story deserved to be told in a different way. Therefore, the first step to making this podcast was to resume the contacts made in that report and start researching and reading about this Movement. From there we reached out to several people in Portugal and abroad. In total, we spoke to more than a dozen people and recorded interviews with eight of them. The interviews were not easy. We had to convince some of these people. Many have sensitive stories that still cause them suffering and they did not want to talk. They did things they regret and not even their own families and friends know what really happened when they were at school.
Vera: You have to find a justification for your family to be absent for a whole week.
narration: Vera has no idea where she is. She will remain locked in a room for a week and not allowed to go out. She accepts the conditions and the surveillance. She believes they are justified. After all, she is not there, in Paris, on vacation. She is there to meet one of the most wanted men in the world.
Lara, one of the victims we interviewed here in the newsroom on Saturday night, brought a cardboard box that had not been opened since she left the sect. Inside the box were several things, several photos of her in a bikini, holding cards with the date they were taken, entrance tickets and programs for the camps in Costinești, a poster of Gregorian Bivolaru that, for years, had been stuck on the wall of her room, a letter written to the guru in Paris, in which Lara revealed that she was pregnant and wanted to return home, and several DVDs that they gave her during that stay, to prepare for an initiation with the guru. Lara never got to see them, but we did. They are pornographic films, some obviously amateur and others more professional.
Lara: In my naivety, I thought: “No, but I will have time to meet him, to talk, to decide if I want to or not.
I will have time.” Narration: As I talked to these people, I understood how the Movement works, which will be the same all over the world and which is not limited to yoga schools. It is a kind of triangle. ArtExtasia is an erotic arts academy that would have two purposes: to produce erotic and pornographic films and to recruit new disciples by promoting meetings, festivals and courses open to the general public. I went to one of these events in September, in the Sete Rios area of ​​Lisbon, and I found out about this event through the academy’s page and I knew that it was open to new members. First it was a social meeting. That day, there were three new people. The others either already belonged to the Movement or had been to other meetings and it was noticeable from the very beginning that there was a lot of physical contact between people, both with new members, through hugs, and between people who already knew each other. The women were all very well-groomed and wore provocative clothes. We sat in a circle for a guided meditation that ended with a lecture on the topic of "The Tantric Art of Living", and the man leading it was one of the Portuguese actors who participates in the erotic films of ArtExtasia. The event lasted about 3 hours and ended with another meditation and a kind of initiation on the correct way to give a hug. The call for people to join the Movement is made in a subtle way. They try to attract people to future courses and other meetings, but they do everything to make them feel welcome and want to come back.
At the other end of the triangle is the Tantric Temple, which, unlike the academy, would not be used to recruit people. It is a place in Lisbon where tantric massages are performed. "The money obtained from this service" - say the people we interviewed - "would be used to finance the school". We had already managed to obtain some information about these massages through a former student who spoke to us and who had worked in the Temple, but we needed more details. That is why we asked a colleague to call there.
- I am... Good morning.
- Good morning. I am calling for the Tantric Temple.
- Yes!
- I saw that you do tantric massages. I would be interested, to begin with, in obtaining more information about what it is and how it works.
- The tantric massage, in this case, is 1 and a half hours, 2 hours, 2 and a half hours and there are also extensions of the experience. There is usually an initial phase in which we explain what tantra and tantric massage are. We don't... in this case, there is no sexual involvement whatsoever.
- And where is this? I didn't quite understand.
- It's in the Lisbon area, in Picoas.
Obviously, we tried to interview the school officials, but we didn't get a response. It wasn't until we were almost in the final phase of reviewing the scripts, after a second attempt, that we received an email from Natha, informing us that they wouldn't give us an interview, but that they would respond in writing. Since the podcast started airing, we've received emails from several people telling us that they had been to the school and that the reality was exactly as described.
 
Some of these people have even offered to give their testimonies, and we've also received other types of emails, from people who say they're worried.
 
"What I heard on your podcast is true. A person who was once my friend, worked in strip clubs and on pornographic websites. I have detached myself from everything related to the school and I don't know anything about her anymore, whether she is here or somewhere else, alive or dead.
" "Secrets of the Yoga Sect" is a six-episode audio series that is part of Observador's Podcast Plus.