Transcription
Many people have just been shocked to find out that the Dalai Lama has recently been mentioned over 150 times in the Jeffrey Epstein related documents released by the US Department of Justice. Somewhat surprisingly though, he's been beaten by well-known spiritual guru and author Deepak Chopra. And you might be surprised to learn he has over 3,000 mentions. One quite notable email from Deepak Chopra to Epstein included the line, "God is a construct. Cute girls are real." What the hell was that about and why is a prominent spiritual figure emailing with a convicted pedophile?
The Dalai Lama, though, he's not completely new to scandal. A video clip from a live event went viral in early April 2023 and it shows the then 87-year-old Dalai Lama interacting with a young boy when he suggests he should suck his tongue. Now, this was kind of laughed off at the time, but it's not something you're really going to expect from somebody whose title is "His Holiness." And honestly, I think it's time to take a look behind the curtains and examine what is really going on in our worldwide spiritual community. Today, we're going to take a look at not only the Dalai Lama and Deepak Chopra, but also some very influential figures like J. Shetty, [music] spiritual teacher Mooji, and probably it's worth mentioning a couple of well-known people like Wim Hof and Teal Swan. And honestly, I think that you're going to be really surprised when you hear what's been going on.
Before we dive in, I want to be very clear why I have put this together. Because my motivation doesn't come from a cynical place. Sometimes people like to tear down and criticize leaders and public figures simply because they're taking action and being visible. Some people don't want you to step up because they then themselves will be called to a higher standard, and they'd rather pull down people to be in the mud with them.
So, let's return to the 14th Dalai Lama. Born on July the 6th, 1935, in the small village in the Amdo region of northeastern Tibet. He is the current incarnation of the Dalai Lama lineage. He's authored over 100 books on Buddhism, ethics, and science. In 1989, His Holiness won the Nobel Peace Prize. Here though, is where his story takes a very unexpected and somewhat dark turn. Last year, in 2025, journalist Michael Walsh recounted in a Daily Beast podcast episode that he encountered the Dalai Lama at Epstein's New York townhouse during one of his visits sometime around 2014-2015. Walsh described it as part of a salon where high-profile figures, particularly people like the Dalai Lama, would drop by. Drop by? Why would the Dalai Lama just be dropping by? Why on earth would he even be there? A specific email from October the 21st, 2012, in the files shows Epstein informing a contact that he planned to attend an event on Ireland because the Dalai Lama is coming. What?
Now, I want to be clear that while there is no concrete evidence of the Dalai Lama meeting with Jeffrey Epstein, it still smells pretty bad. Especially when you consider that it was way before these dates, already in 2008, that Epstein had pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution. Now, you may well think that someone whose life is supposed to be about emphasizing ethics and compassion might want to avoid potential connection with a pedophile and child trafficker, right? So, we have these possible meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, the scandal in 2023 where His Holiness suggests on camera that a young boy should suck his tongue. It's not a great look. But did you know that for more than 15 years, the Dalai Lama received an annual subsidy of no less than $180,000 a year from the CIA? Yeah, you heard that right. The Dalai Lama, who has consistently positioned himself as a global advocate for nonviolence, has been more than happy to take money from a clandestine organization known to give guns and cash to many a random dictator as part of their regime change playbook. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not sure if all of this deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for lifelong commitment to non-violent struggle and advocacy for peaceful solutions. I really think we should expect better.
Now, let's look at someone that I used to think of as a kind and loving spiritual teacher, author, and guru, Deepak Chopra. Now, a decade after Epstein's conviction, Deepak Chopra and Jeffrey Epstein met. They initiated a friendship that involved frequent emails and in-person encounters. Between 2016-2018, there were many interactions, including emails, shared news articles, event planning, and discussions on spirituality, finance, as well as personal matters. Chopra sought Epstein's financial advice and even asked for social introductions, for example, to celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio or Marla Maples, who was Trump's ex-wife. In a February 2017 email, Chopra invited Epstein to Israel. "Come to Israel with us," he said. "Relax and have fun with interesting people. If you want, you can use a fake name. Bring your girls. It'll be fun to have you."
Now, if you're asking what girls Chopra was talking about, well, Epstein had a well-documented habit of traveling and surrounding himself with young women, many of whom were later identified as victims or recruits in his sex trafficking network. And based on extensive court records and survivor testimonies, some of these girls were as young as 14. And there's much more, really, at least a dozen documented meetings. But really, this is inexcusable for a spiritual teacher, don't you think? So, what has his response been? On February the 4th, 2026, so just a few days before this recording, via a statement on his Sherpa, addressed the backlash. He wrote, "I am deeply saddened by the suffering of the victims. I unequivocally condemn abuse and exploitation in all forms." He goes on to say more, but honestly, I can't bring myself to read it out. Am I shocked? No. I mean, I've seen so many spiritual teachers and leaders fall over the years, but it's pretty sad, don't you think? I mean, Chopra's got three grandkids, and he frequently posts about how grandfatherhood has brought more presence and joy compared to his earlier years of parenting. You know, look, I'm a spiritual guy, so I'm not supposed to judge, right? You know, Namaste. But I'm not quite sure what to think of all of this. I think you deserve better. I think we all deserve better. Don't you long to hear something from somebody authentic, you know, like an inspiring, impassioned speech from Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela, something? I mean, I look around these days and I wonder, does anybody let that exist anymore? I feel like we're kind of surrounded by fake influences everywhere.
Okay, let's move on from Epstein. Let's have a look at this fellow Sadhguru, born Jagadish "Jaggi" Vasudev on September the 3rd, 1957, in India. He's an Indian yogi, mystic, author, and he's founder of the Isha Foundation, which was established in 1992. So, it's a nonprofit organization that promotes yoga, inner well-being, environmental initiatives, as well as global outreach programs. Now, he is a prominent spiritual teacher with over 13 million followers on Instagram and over 12 million followers on YouTube. Right? So, he's got a big reach. He's influential. Now, in 2019, he spoke at the World Economic Forum, the WEF Indian Economic Summit, where he said, "All of the religious spiritual groups, they're all against me at the moment because I'm talking about population. They want more souls, but I want less on the planet." Now, between you and me, I think that's not a good look these days. Many people criticize him for being a globalist, WEF puppet, and I get that criticism. Now, he's responsible for the Isha Foundation, and there have been multiple complaints from parents, former staff, and ex-followers alleging sexual abuse, um, rape, and harassment, right? Not small stuff. Um, both women and students, both at his school and at the ashram there, have been multiple habeas corpus petitions that have alleged that women were brainwashed into monastic life at the ashram, restricted from family contact, and confined against their will. Now, I want to state that these allegations and police investigations were not made against him personally. But let's be real, he's on top of all of this. So, the buck has to stop with him. These cult-like traits are very bad practices.
Okay. Here we have Mooji. Do you know him? Born Anthony Paul Mu Young on January 29th, 1954, Jamaica. He's a renowned spiritual teacher in the Advaita tradition of non-duality. Now, he currently resides in Portugal. He offers Satsang retreats and claims to help people go through self-inquiry to awaken to their true nature as pure awareness. I hope I'm not coming across as too cynical here. Now, he may well do all of this, but many ex-members of his cult-like environment have accused him directly of gross sexual misconduct, things like sleeping with or preying on vulnerable female students. So, sounds like there's quite a price to pay for your spiritual awakening with him. But in dollar terms, too, critics accuse Mooji of leveraging his spiritual authority to extract financial resources from them. And volunteers at the ashram pay up to $600 monthly for SA, right, service. That means they're working 10 hours a day without any compensation. Now, this one made me laugh. Mooji and his team allegedly smuggled over $200,000 in cash from London to Portugal over a period of 6 years to fund his purchase of land. Former staff admitted to hiding cash in luggage which exceeded the EU limits of moving $10,000 per person. One of them was caught by police, uh, and he lied about the source of the money.
Now, meet Teal Swan, born Mary Teal Bosworth on June 16th, 1984, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. If you don't already know her, she is an American spiritual influencer, author, public speaker, and self-described New Thought leader. She specializes in human development, trauma healing, relationships, and emotional authenticity. Teal claims to have endured severe childhood trauma, years of ritual, sexual, and physical abuse by a satanic cult starting at the age of six. Uh, she said it involved mind control, child sacrifices, and she said that she was groomed as an oracle or future leader. She claims that the memories were repressed but later recovered through therapy, and these claims were reported to police in 2006 by her therapist, Barbara Snow. They were investigated, but investigations were closed due to lack of evidence. Now, look, if all of that did actually happen, then really, she has my deepest sympathy. If you've watched any of her videos, you'll see she projects quite a strong and authentic persona. But here's what I think you should know about. She is not without casualties. Former members and a private investigator who was hired by her own manager described her inner circle as cultish, with intense devotion, dependency on her guidance, isolation from outsiders, and pressure to align fully with her teachings. She's quite the charismatic figure.
Now, importantly, she has been heavily criticized, and in my mind, rightly, of mishandling suicidal people. Swan frames suicide in a way critics consider unsafe by primarily describing it as a safety net or some kind of reset button that is always available. Now, she suggests that acknowledging suicide as an ever-present option can paradoxically reduce immediate pressure and allow people to focus on alleviating present pain instead of acting on it. She often encourages suicidal individuals to vividly visualize their own death or suicide in graphic detail. This, she claims, helps them realize that they don't truly want death, but rather an end to their suffering, ultimately reinforcing a commitment to life. But mental health experts and critics argue that this rehearsal of suicidal ideation can be triggering. I mean, makes sense to me, you know, because it kind of romanticizes or normalizes the act. So, let me tell you about Leslie Wanggard. She was an early follower and supporter who helped sponsor one of Teal Swan's first workshops in Salt Lake City in the late 2000s. Sadly, she died by suicide in 2012 after engaging in Swan's trauma processing techniques, which reportedly uncovered repressed memories of sexual abuse by her father. In interviews featured in the Gateway podcast and the Deep End docu-series, Swan described a final conversation in which Leslie expressed being done with life. And this led critics to link the tragedy to Swan's controversial framing of suicide as a potential safety net. Now, Swan expressed feelings of guilt about this, but she insists that her methods were not responsible. Leslie, unfortunately, is not alone. There is at least one other specific case where a follower deeply engaged with Teal Swan's teachings reportedly died by suicide. Now, I should probably state here for legal reasons that no direct causation has been legally established and no criminal charges have resulted for Teal Swan, but I think that this is a powerful illustration of the real responsibilities that spiritual teachers have.
Now, maybe not a spiritual teacher, but otherwise, this chap is pretty influential. You might know Wim Hof, right? Famous Dutch man. He's known as the Iceman. Now, I met him a few years back, and he didn't much care for me, to be honest. But that's not my reason for calling him out. It's because people have died. Thousands of young men and women practice his breathing technique, right? Ice bath plunges, and they report benefits like reduced inflammation, boosted immunity, improved mental health, enhanced athletic performance, right? All the good stuff, overall resilience. But he has been heavily criticized for presenting his techniques in an extremely unsafe way. No less than 34 deaths have been linked to Wim Hof. When I first heard this number, honestly, I was shocked. Investigative journalist Scott Carney, who was actually close to Wim Hof and he wrote a book about him, has closely tracked these numbers through public news, police and coroner reports, family tips, and watchdog sources. And what's very sad about this is that Carney says these tragedies could have been avoided. So, what has been happening is that in YouTube videos and social media videos, Hof is shown taking deep breaths and then plunging his head underwater for breath holds. And here's the problem. Because you shouldn't do this kind of breathing in or near water, what happens is people get enthusiastic, they do the breathing, and they black out, right? And they fall underwater. I mean, it's really two plus two. So, Hof denies any responsibility, and yet no criminal liability has been found. But what if this was your son or daughter?
Now, there are so many more people that I could mention, but let me show you one more before I make my point and you can understand where the hell I'm going with all of this. So, meet J. Shetty. He is a British Indian podcaster, author, motivational speaker, and supposed former monk who gained his fame through viral wisdom videos, bestselling books such as "Think Like a Monk," and his podcast called "On Purpose," where he shares insights on mindfulness, purpose, and relationships drawn from his experiences with the Hare Krishna movement and time he says he spent in ashrams. Out. With more than 18 million followers on Instagram, Shetty has a worldwide reach, attracting people with his romantic origin story and his wonderful celebrity interviews. His big claim is that he spent three years living as a monk in an Indian ashram after a transformative encounter with a monk during university. But this cool story has been debunked by a 2024 Guardian investigation, which found inconsistencies in his timeline. Evidence that he spent most of his 2010 to 2013 period actually at the UK-based Bhaktivedanta Manor, which is an ISKCON temple, where he was making promotional videos. Oops. His time in India was more likely a series of vacations, but he exaggerated or fabricated key elements of his former monk backstory to build his very successful self-help brand. Now, tell me if you think this is a scam. The J. Shetty Certification School, which costs $7,400 per term, markets a master's degree in life coaching. Oh, yes, life coaching. It has implied official UK credentials, but investigations reveal no direct Ofqual approval, only loose ties to a private certifier, and that lacks any regulatory oversight. So, Jay was in fact overpromising unregulated qualifications. When contacted by Guardian newspaper journalist John McDermott, the University of Derby, Anglia Ruskin University, and the University of Buckingham all denied any affiliation or link with J. Shetty's programs, and as a result, he was forced to remove all of this fake information from his website. So let me ask you, would you buy a life coaching course from this chap? I wouldn't.
Now, in the 30 years of being in the spiritual scene in all kinds of ways, unfortunately, none of this surprises me much. Even though it does sadden me and even angers me, especially in cases where people have died. But you might well ask, why am I bringing all of this up? Firstly, what I want to say is, in an Instagram-perfect world of glamorous and beautiful teachers and coaches, watch out. Watch out for your soul. Really, I mean it. And watch out for your wallet. This is quite a messy planet. There are far more wannabes here than people actually living a truly authentic life. It's just the way it is. Trust me, I've sat with many teachers all over the world. And just because someone presents themselves as a teacher, um, a coach, or a guide doesn't mean that they're trustworthy. We really have to be critical and careful, right? I'm not cynical, right? I believe that a lot is possible. Really, and there are some amazing people out there. But if you're interested in following a teacher, really check them out. Don't assume anything. Some of these people are really charismatic and charming. Really, they sweep you off your feet, but they're going to have their hooks and claws in you before you know it. It's totally okay to ask questions. Uh, it's totally okay to request someone's qualifications in whatever field. This is your life. This is your soul. It's the most precious thing you have. And I want you to be careful with it. Please only entrust it with people that are going to care for you and will uplift you.
Now, what I also want to say, and I think this is important, and maybe this is the good news, is that in my 13-year quest to understand the nature of self and the nature of the universe, what I have found is that spirit, creator, or God deeply supports you in your quest for self-realization. And the reason I can say this confidently is because the very nature of the universe is God looking for God in and through you and me. Right? It's that simple. So, do look and inquire, and you shall find the truth that you're seeking, and you will find actually that you are much more capable than you might even believe of yourself at this moment. A true teacher or guru is someone who themselves has walked up that tough path up to the mountaintop. They know the way, and their desire really is to help you find yourself. Their motivation is going to be heart-based.
Now, thank you so much for listening, and if you want to give me a like and a subscribe, I will be super grateful. And if you want to know about our online community, check out the link below in the description.