Yoga is of interest to a minority of people, and within that minority there is an organization called Anusara. It is run by a man named John Friend.
Friend is currently in the midst of a multi-faceted scandal he brought upon himself, and one after another the high-profile teachers that have worked for years under the Anusara credential are renouncing their relationship with his organization. If you are in the yoga community it’s a juicy bit of news, and even if you are not, there are lessons to be learned.
Friend built a sizable organization over a period of 15 years, and he assembled a robust network of people willing and eager to respond to him in a variety of ways. His fame brought him a large following of people willing to pay the price of admission to his elaborate yoga-themed events. He also became the object of gushing praise for his supposed virtues from many of his most enthusiastic students.
He did not, however, abandon the traditional management methods so common to business today. By all accounts I’ve read (there is plenty of news and first-hand testimonials among my Facebook friends) Friend ran a command-and-control organization where he was noted for not listening to advice or counsel. His website is lavish with praise for him personally and for his accomplishments. He presents himself as charismatic, and highly respected.
John Friend, the founder of Anusara yoga, is widely recognized as one of the most charismatic and highly respected hatha yoga teachers in the world. —From the Anusara website
One of the remedies he has proposed to restore his organization to credibility is to create an ethics committee to oversee conduct within his organization. Is there irony here? Doing yoga poses is one element in a larger code of behavior that is completely dedicated to living a harmless, reverent life. To call for an ethics committee in this context is further evidence of his inability to read his environment. He is what is commonly referred to as tone deaf.
It is worth noting in passing that J. Krishnamurti, an iconic teacher, dissolved the organization that was designed to serve and promote him. He warned repeatedly of the dangers of systematizing spiritual instruction. He is one of my heroes.
In my view, we can learn several things from Anusara’s failures. The first is to revisit Krishnamurti and his guidance about avoiding structure where it is not appropriate to have structure, and to avoid hero worship. Another is that even if you go into yoga as a career, you are still going to encounter the burdens and challenges of business management. You still face choices ranging from Krishnamurti’s warnings about systematizing inappropriately and the traditional command-and-control approach that dominates business activities. Even yogis have to pay the rent and manage cash flow.
It also reminds us of the dangers of self-flattery, not only to the person being flattered, but to the gullible. When a self-proclaimed charismatic teacher fills a large hall with students, I think that says a lot about the students, and perhaps about their willingness to be sold on another person’s idea.
Teaching yoga as a career choice does not free a person from the challenges that one encounters in any business context. Teachers can fall prey to their own flattery, they can misuse their influence over fawning students, they can convince themselves that they live in a bubble where they can conceal their sins. It’s a challenge, and I’m grateful to know so many yoga teachers who are real. I’ve been blessed.
For me, the most interesting part of this story is not that another guru has gone off the rails. Those stories are all too common, and not just in the domain of yoga and/or eastern spirituality. For me, the most interesting (and inspiring) part of the story is how many of John Friend’s senior teachers refused to drink the Kool-Aid. For all of the concern we hear about the pitfalls of guru devotion, the lesson I take from the Anusara meltdown is that the yogic path, rather than making its followers more susceptible to being manipulated by an unscrupulous teacher, instead offers serious students the resources to recognize when a teacher stops practicing what he’s been preaching, and the strength to call bullshit. In a loving way, of course. Robert
Well said, Robert.
Upon reflection – and since you’re so generous with space in your blog comments – I think it’s also important to point out that John Friend’s recent abuses of power don’t invalidate his years of good work. As Yogi Berra, or someone like him, once said, the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones. The universal principles of alignment continue to work for me, and I owe John Friend a debt of gratitude for teaching them to those who passed them on to me. I hope he comes to his senses and makes peace with himself and those he’s wronged. Robert
He also served as a focal point for wonderful teachers who I would otherwise probably not meet. He set up good fortune for me by doing so.