Agama Yoga Center in sexual assault scandal reopens on Koh Phangan

Agama Yoga leader Swami Vivekananda Saraswati, a Romanian whose real name is Narcis Tarcau, accused of misconduct has returned to Agama Yoga Center on Koh Phangan island and report into school has not been published.

The world’s biggest tantric yoga school, which closed after multiple women alleged rape and sexual assault, has reopened with the accused leader back in charge and amid accusations that management suppressed an investigation into the abuse.

Agama Yoga, which is located on the island of Koh Phangan, shut down for “restructuring” in September after the Guardian published allegations by 14 women accusing the yoga school of facilitating rape, sexual assault and misogynist teachings at the hands of its leader, Swami Vivekananda Saraswati, a Romanian whose real name is Narcis Tarcau, for 15 years.

Sixteen former pupils and staff told the Guardian they thought a “sex cult” was operating inside Agama, and two formal accusations of rape against Tarcau were filed, though the three-month statute of limitations on rape cases in Thailand meant they could not be investigated by Koh Phangan police.

Tarcau was also accused of using his influence to promote “dangerous” health theories, which allegedly contributed to at least two women not seeking treatment for cancer with “devastating consequences”. The school remains stripped of its Yoga Alliance certification.

Tarcau left Thailand when several of the victims went public. The school apologised for “any harm that any Agama teacher may have caused” and pledged they were “dedicated to change”, hiring a consultant to carry out an independent investigation, before closing down operations to carry out a “restructuring”.

Tarcau has since returned to Koh Phangan island and reopened Agama Yoga Center, where he is once again teaching female pupils in classes and workshops …

Read the full story @ theguardian.com which was brought to us by Google Alerts.

Photograph: Facebook/Agama Yoga