Sex and the Gurus: Stock Excuses by Enabling Disciples

“We have to understand that the teacher is not bound by normal human morality.”

“He is so honest about what he is doing and so it's OK.  If he tried to hide it, that would be hypocrisy.”

“He’s from a culture completely different from our puritanical Western Judeo-Christian culture, where the expectations were completely different. We need to get over our hangups.”

“It never was about his dubious sexual activities anyway but about his wonderful spiritual teaching.”

“It was ‘Crazy Wisdom.  He wasn’t being self-indulgent. He was doing it for me. He was just trying to set me free from my ego attachment.”

“The only reason Mara has problems with the Teacher’s sexual behavior is that she is not as advanced as the rest of us women disciples.”

“When teachers and disciples enter into sexual relationships it is almost always fully consensual.”

“Yoga heightens testosterone levels, so what do you expect.”

"Hey, he's only human."  This is especially interesting in settings where reincarnation is affirmed and the teacher is regarded as a very advanced being.

"It's no worse than in other religious communities."

And then a very common excuse when a teacher is publicly exposed.  Who ever mention the problem, is told, "Oh, this is old news, everyone in the teacher's community has known about this, and hotly debating it for years, so whats's the big deal?"

On this final excuse, or at least explanation, see William J. Broad's article Yoga and Sex Scandals: No Surprise.

For a helpful recent article on psychological factors leading to enablement see Jennifer Latson, "Why Would Anyone Aid and Abet a Preditor," Psychology Today (Jan 2020).