The Bad Guru: 5. The Breakthrough

Summary

World of Secrets: The Bad Guru – Episode 5: The Breakthrough

Release Date: January 6, 2025
Host: Cat McShane
Producer: BBC

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Introduction

In the gripping fifth episode of World of Secrets Season 6, titled "The Breakthrough," host Cat McShane delves deeper into the disturbing nexus between an international yoga movement and illicit camgirl operations. This episode chronicles the harrowing journey of Miranda, a university tutor from England, who becomes entangled in the manipulative web spun by guru Gregorian Bivolaru and his London-based Tara Yoga Centre.

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The Yoga Movement and Guru Gregorian Bivolaru

Gregoravian Bivolaru, the charismatic leader of the international yoga movement, has garnered a substantial following worldwide. His teachings promise spiritual enlightenment and personal transformation, attracting thousands to his yoga schools, including the prominent Tara Yoga Centre in London.

Miranda's Entry into the Movement: In 2017, Miranda, seeking personal growth and community, joins Tara Yoga Centre. The supportive environment and the apparent care from fellow members initially make her feel empowered and loved.

Miranda [01:37]: "All of these nice smiley, shiny, happy, good looking people."

However, beneath the surface, darker motives begin to emerge as the movement's activities take a sinister turn.

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The Emergence of Camgirl Operations

The episode uncovers how Gregorian Bivolaru's movement gradually integrated camgirl operations as a means of financial exploitation.

Mihai Rapture's Revelation: Mihai Rapture, a former associate and legal advisor to Bivolaru, provides an insider's perspective on the transformation of legitimate video chat businesses into exploitative ventures.

Mihai Rapture [02:21]: "The video chat business, I think it started in 1999. It was a legitimate business in Romania at that time."

As webcamming gained popularity, members of the yoga school in Romania transitioned into camgirl work under the guise of spiritual enrichment, with earnings funneled back to the guru and his network. Despite Bivolaru's public stance against prostitution, he differentiated it from webcamming, suggesting a spiritual dimension to the work.

Mihai Rapture [03:17]: "Proclaiming that in this way they become more feminine."

However, Rapture remained skeptical of the spiritual justification, recognizing the exploitation at play.

Mihai Rapture [03:43]: "That guy who is on the other part of the camera, he's jerking off. You know, this is his main purpose. So there's nothing spiritual here."

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Miranda's Involvement and Growing Doubts

Miranda’s involvement deepens as she participates in camgirl activities, including working in a topless massage parlour in London and engaging in live online pornography in Prague.

Miranda [01:56]: "She said, look, we do camgirl work and you need to pay for your passage here."

Her mother, Penny, grows increasingly concerned as Miranda becomes more secretive and withdrawn.

Penny [05:28]: "Nobody joins a cult. You just get sucked in."

Despite these red flags, Miranda continues her association with the movement, driven by the promise of spiritual awakening.

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Attempts to Expose the Cult

As years pass, Miranda becomes disillusioned with the exploitation inherent in the movement. She reaches out to former members and decides to publicly disclose her experiences.

Laura Hancock's Involvement: Laura Hancock, an independent yoga teacher and founder of the Yoga Teachers Union, partners with Cat McShane to investigate Tara Yoga Centre. Miranda’s revelations provide the missing link in their investigation.

Miranda [13:24]: "I just knew. I knew in my heart, in my bones, in my body that I had to leave and I had to tell people."

Despite initiating contact with Thames Valley Police, Miranda's efforts initially hit a dead end as the authorities deemed there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

Miranda [21:12]: "Disappeared into the ether and there were no updates."

Unfazed, Miranda continues her mission to unveil the truth, organizing public gatherings to confront current members of the movement.

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Organizational Pushback and Discrediting Efforts

Tara Yoga Centre and the Atman Federation, the umbrella organization affiliated with Bivolaru, vehemently deny any wrongdoing. They attempt to undermine Miranda's credibility by presenting manipulated recordings and dismissing her allegations as fabricated.

Bogdan Radasanu's Tactics: A secret recording surfaces, purportedly capturing Bivolaru denouncing Miranda's account by portraying her as deceitful.

Bogdan Radasanu [24:41]: "Your naivety is an attempt to discredit Miranda's account."

Despite these efforts, Miranda stands firm, challenging the integrity of the organization and its leaders.

Miranda [25:15]: "I find it disturbing that they keep all of these recordings. It seems fundamentally unfair to play a coerced recording from someone's past..."

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The Arrest of Gregorian Bivolaru

The relentless pursuit of truth by Miranda, supported by Laura Hancock and other former members, culminates in a significant breakthrough.

Miranda [28:51]: "I'm totally just like, what? Not being able to quite process that he's been arrested."

On November 28, 2023, Gregorian Bivolaru is arrested, marking a pivotal moment in the investigation into the manipulative practices of his yoga movement. This arrest brings a semblance of justice and validation to Miranda and other survivors.

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Conclusion and Implications

"The Breakthrough" serves as a compelling exposé of how seemingly benign spiritual movements can harbor exploitative operations. Miranda's courageous journey from a hopeful yoga enthusiast to a whistleblower underscores the complex dynamics of control and manipulation within such organizations.

Penny's Reflection: Miranda's mother, Penny, expresses a mix of relief and horror at the extent of her daughter's ordeal.

Penny [17:57]: "They falsely accused me of making false accusations."

This episode not only sheds light on the specific case of Gregorian Bivolaru and Tara Yoga Centre but also invites listeners to reflect on the broader implications of unchecked authority within spiritual communities.

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Notable Quotes

• Penny [05:28]: "Nobody joins a cult. You just get sucked in."
• Miranda [13:24]: "I just knew. I knew in my heart, in my bones, in my body that I had to leave and I had to tell people."
• Mihai Rapture [03:43]: "That guy who is on the other part of the camera, he's jerking off. You know, this is his main purpose. So there's nothing spiritual here."
• Miranda [25:15]: "I find it disturbing that they keep all of these recordings. It seems fundamentally unfair to play a coerced recording from someone's past..."

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Final Thoughts

Episode 5 of World of Secrets: The Bad Guru masterfully intertwines personal testimonies, investigative journalism, and meticulous research to uncover the dark underbelly of a global yoga movement. Miranda's story is a testament to the resilience of survivors and the importance of accountability in spiritual leadership.

For those seeking to understand the intricacies of how spiritual exploitation can manifest, this episode offers invaluable insights and a poignant narrative of courage and revelation.

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Subscribe to World of Secrets
Stay tuned for the next episode as the investigation into Gregorian Bivolaru's activities continues. Available weekly on all major podcast platforms and BBC Sounds.

Transcript

[Kat McShane]

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[Mihai Rapture]

Yeah, yeah, I did all kind of stuff for people who were colleagues with me at the yoga classes.

[Kat McShane]

What he's about to tell us will help explain what happened to Miranda, a university tutor from England who joins a yoga school in London called Tara Yoga Centre.

[Miranda]

All of these nice smiley, shiny, happy.

[Kat McShane]

Good looking people and through a series of encounters with different bits of the international movement it's part of ends up working in a topless massage parlour in London and being taken to Prague to work in a live online pornography business.

[Miranda]

She said, look, we do camgirl work and you need to pay for your passage here.

[Kat McShane]

The women she works with in Prague are from around the world. Most, if not all of them are like her, students of an international yoga movement inspired by a guru called Gregorian Bivalaru. I've been trying to work out the relationship between the yoga schools, the guru and livestream pornography. And now someone is about to explain how it works right from the start.

[Mihai Rapture]

The video chat business, I think it started in 1999. It was a legitimate business in Romania at that time.

[Kat McShane]

Mirhai Rapture was close to the guru in the yoga movement's early days in Romania. He says he even acted as his lawyer. After webcamming took off in Romania, some individuals in the yoga school asked Rapture if he could do the legal paperwork to help them set up their own.

[Mihai Rapture]

Operations with girls from the yoga classes. You know, they met the girls there and they proposed. You can work for me. But nothing, nothing organized.

[Kat McShane]

Rapture thought he should consult their guru, Gregorian Bivalara, about this. Bivalara was against prostitution, but webcamming, the guru said, was different. In fact, he said he thought there might be something spiritual in this work.

[Mihai Rapture]

Because the girls have this kind of power of transmitting something spiritual. And he. He was very, very categoric on this, that it's prostitution only if you are physically involved in a relationship, sexual relationship with somebody, and nothing wrong if you are making video chat. And I think he encouraged the girls to. To do this, proclaiming that in this way they become more feminine.

[Kat McShane]

Mihai was doubtful.

[Mihai Rapture]

That guy who is at the other part of the camera, he's jerking off. You know, this is his main purpose. So there's nothing spiritual here.

[Kat McShane]

And he says that as the years went on, he saw women from the yoga school being financially exploited in businesses where they did erotic performances. I had wondered if Gregorian Bivallaru owned these businesses, but Mihai is sure no.

[Mihai Rapture]

No, no, no, no. He was involved only in writing books, studying, and having affairs with girls.

[Kat McShane]

So Bivalaru doesn't own these businesses, but he encourages members of his international yoga school to work as camgirls, and they donate their earnings back to the guru and his network. Rapture thinks it helped the movement grow internationally. Rapture was concerned about what it had become.

[Mihai Rapture]

It's already a cult, he says.

[Kat McShane]

In 2009, he told the guru it was time to get out of the sex business.

[Mihai Rapture]

Maybe we can go back to only simple yoga. We have enough. We have everything we need only to do yoga, and that's it, you know?

[Kat McShane]

We wrote to the Romanian yoga organization mesa, which was founded by Gregorian Vivolaru. They told us that Mr. Rapture has long been a fierce enemy of their school and of Grigorin Bivolaru, and accused him of making false accusations. We also wrote to Grigorian Bivolaro through his lawyer. We did not receive a reply. Mihai Rapture left the movement in 2011. He wasn't able to stop the sex businesses from operating, which is one of the reasons why, in 2019, Miranda, a university tutor from England, was working as a cam girl in Prague. But she's starting to have the same doubts as Rapture.

[Miranda]

Oh, God, maybe this is a cult.

[Kat McShane]

This is World of Secrets Season 6 the Bad Guru Radio 4 Investigation Episode 5 the Breakthrough.

[Miranda]

We should put on one of these pairs of dark glasses, which had masking tape on the inside so that we couldn't see where we were going. You wouldn't be let out of the car. This is really, really, really big.

[Kat McShane]

After Miranda has done six months in the Kamgirl House, she goes to live in Hungary, in a commune of Bivolari's followers, where she'd spent some time before. Although she's dared to think that maybe she's in a culture, she hasn't decided yet. And this movement is still her whole life. In February 2020, she takes a trip back to London to help out at an open day at the Thara Yoga Centre. But then the Prime Minister has announced.

[Penny]

A series of restrictive new measures to try to curb the spread of coronavirus.

[Kat McShane]

Lockdown. Overseas travel is banned. Yoga classes are off. Miranda decides to stay in London for a few months and then she moves to Oxford, just a few miles away from her parents. For Miranda's mother, Penny, it's a sign of hope that she might get Miranda back.

[Penny]

She was back here. She wasn't talking about going abroad again, and she seemed happier. So I thought, okay. I think things are normalizing.

[Kat McShane]

I've heard that sometimes when people decide to leave a cult, they have a light bulb moment where everything clicks into place. That wasn't the case with Miranda. Although she's having doubts, she can't fully admit them to herself or leave the community of Grigorian Bvolari's followers. So she starts attending the Tara Yoga Centre in Oxford. One of the people she meets there surprises her one night when they're having dinner and they start talking about Gregorian Bivolaro, or as Miranda now calls him.

[Miranda]

Gb and he said to me, at some point, GB is always calling other people demonic. He's calling everyone else demonic and awful. What if he's the demonic one?

[Penny]

What if.

[Miranda]

What if he's the awful one? And to me, that phrase was just sacrilege. I could barely, you know, comprehend that he had said that. And I was really angry. And then he went on to say, you know that it's a cult, right? You know, that you're brainwashed. And again, I was extremely annoyed and angry. It took me quite some time to process that, I think. I didn't talk to him for a few days, but on some level, I was beginning to be ready to hear it. And gradually, over the next few months, it did start to sink in.

[Mihai Rapture]

Feel free to either write in the.

[Miranda]

Chat or even better, to unmute yourself.

[Kat McShane]

And ask directly Miranda's journey to the heart of Gregorian Bivolari's international movement started with the yoga classes she attended at Tara Yoga Centre. I've spent hours watching the center's video lectures and webinars like this one, entitled the Transforming Power of Pleasure, hosted by Maria Pausewelt, then one of Tara Yoga's directors in London. There's a clue in her talk about why so many people like Miranda might find it difficult to break away from spiritual organisations, even if they go on to be treated badly. It's the promise that if you stay, life will be amazing.

[Miranda]

Ecstasy is not so difficult with a little bit of training coming with many more benefits than you can anticipate.

[Kat McShane]

The lecturer, Maria, is a blonde, radiant Dane who looks younger than her 40 years. As I stare at her, smiling sweetly and talking gently, it's hard to believe that that she could ever be connected with anything sinister. And as for having anything to do with the Camgirl business, well, exploring erotic pleasure without a partner, she says, is just not the Tantric way.

[Miranda]

From a Tantric perspective, in order to really have these profound experiences of orgasm, you do need someone else there. I just want to mention that we are a charity and donations, however big or small, are always very warmly welcomed.

[Kat McShane]

You might assume from Maria's slightly disapproving tone about solo sex that she'd want nothing to do with the sort of webcamming business that Miranda and other followers of their guru ended up working in. But in December 2023, something comes to light that directly links a house once used for webcamming in the Czech Republic with with Maria and another senior figure at Tara Yoga. An investigation by the Czech newspaper says Namza Pravi, uncovers a webcam house 80 kilometers north of Prague. And like the house Miranda lived in, most, if not all, appear to have attended yoga schools affiliated to the Atman Federation. The newspaper's reporter, Kristina Tsurikova, gets hold of the purchase agreement for the house. Unlike the house that Miranda lived in, this house is actually owned by the Atman Federation. The agreement is dated September 2020, and the two people who have signed the purchase agreement on behalf of the federation are two senior teachers from the Tara Yoga Centre in London, Maria Pausfelt and Bogdan Radasanu. Both were directors of the Atman Federation when the webcam house was bought. As the guru Bivallari's former lawyer told us at the start of this episode, the sex businesses are usually owned by followers of Bivallaru, not owned by Bivallaru himself or by the yoga schools. For a house like this to actually be owned by the yoga school's umbrella organisation is surprising and, you might think, revealing. We asked Yatman Federation to tell us what they thought the house was being used for. They didn't answer this question directly, but they did say the Atman Federation categorically condemns any kind of abuse. We also asked Maria Pausewelt and Bogdan Radasanu what they thought the house was being used for. Neither replied.

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[Kat McShane]

It's New Year's Eve and instead of going to a party to welcome in 2022, Miranda is at her parents house in Oxfordshire in her bedroom watching documentaries about cults.

[Miranda]

I just knew. I knew in my heart, in my bones, in my body that I had to leave and I had to tell people. It wasn't an easy thing to admit. It was very difficult. It's very difficult to admit to yourself, let alone admit to your friends and family and others that you made a mistake.

[Kat McShane]

The next morning on New Year's Day 2022, Miranda sends a message to a friend of hers who was in Torra.

[Miranda]

But left and she put me then in touch with some other people who had left and and I knew. I mean I knew even before I spoke to her, but once I spoke to her it was confirmed that I had to leave.

[Kat McShane]

Miranda also called her mother Penny.

[Penny]

She invited me to come and have a coffee at a cafe in Oxford.

[Kat McShane]

On Winter's Day in January 2022. Penny navigates her way through the tables and jolly groups of people peeling off their coats, ordering coffees and hot chocolates. Penny sits down at a table opposite Miranda. Penny likes to think of their relationship as close, but the truth is that she knows very little about Miranda's life over the past four years. She doesn't know the full story of why Miranda abandoned a career as a university lecturer in London to seek spiritual salvation. She doesn't really know much about what Miranda was doing when she lived in Prague and why she really heard from her. All she knows is Miranda joined a yoga group in Clerkenwell, central London called Tara Yoga center and then became involved in the international movement of which it is part.

[Penny]

And she told me in broad brush terms that the organization was a cult.

[Kat McShane]

Miranda takes the gulp of her drink and starts telling her mum the full story. Miranda tells her mum everything, even about her so called initiation with the spiritual guide Gregorian Bivolaro, who Miranda now calls gb. The initiation was in fact a really traumatizing sexual encounter. Miranda has no idea how her mum will react to her revelations.

[Miranda]

And it was difficult, it was painful, it was embarrassing, it was vulnerable. Not least because everything that I'd believed in so much and preached to other people about how wonderful it was and even tried to get other people involved in there I was admitting that it was a cult and a sex cult and that they abused me and you know, to admit that to my mum, to someone who I even invited to attend events there was, yeah, it was awful, it was horrific, extremely, you know, painful and embarrassing.

[Penny]

And I just sort of listened and said, uh huh. I mean it's such a mixture of emotions. I mean there's such relief that she saw the light. But what parent in particular, what mother, would not feel in the very core of her being some of the emotional stuff that her daughter has been through and you know, as a parent, especially when they're very small, you want to protect them, you wish you could keep them in that bubble that they never have to deal with the crap in the world, but of course they do. But you still retain, even when they're in their 30s, some of that desire, that wish that they didn't have to go through. Tough stuff. Now this is beyond tough.

[Kat McShane]

And what was it like for you as a mother, hearing her talk about going to Paris and gb?

[Penny]

That really shook me actually, because I had no inkling about all that. I was horrified, absolutely horrified. A shock that it can happen to your daughter with all the advantages that she's had. We somehow think that those advantages should protect someone from having to experience that. Well, the fact is they don't. Nobody joins a cult. You just get sucked in so gradually and it's done so skillfully that you don't realise.

[Kat McShane]

How do you feel towards the organization now?

[Penny]

Absolute revulsion. I couldn't despise them more. I think to hide behind something as ancient and spiritual as yoga is particularly reprehensible.

[Kat McShane]

How would you describe gb?

[Penny]

A complete shit.

[Kat McShane]

Elsewhere in Oxford, Laura Hancock, an independent yoga teacher and founder of the Yoga Teachers Union, has spent years investigating Tara Yoga Centre and the wider international movement it's part of. Miranda hears that she's working with a journalist called Kat McShane. That's me. And as I explained in the first episode, Laura is the person who got me started on this investigation. Laura and I have exchanged hundreds of messages and spent hours on the phone together investigating everything we can about this yoga network.

[Miranda]

Good morning, Kat. I just wanted to say that I've updated the small spreadsheet with a few more links. I'm feeling a little bit unsettled about the.

[Kat McShane]

We did calls with people from Australia and Denmark as well as the uk, but we hadn't spoken to anyone from Britain who had the whole story and was willing to go on the record. We didn't know about Miranda. Now, just a couple of weeks after Miranda had stayed up on New Year's Eve watching cult documentaries, I get this voice note from Laura.

[Miranda]

Sorry, a slightly urgent message coming through. I got a message from Miranda late last night.

[Kat McShane]

Miranda had decided that the best way to stop other people being exploited in the same way she had been was to talk publicly about her story.

[Miranda]

It'd be good to get your thoughts before I reach out to her. Cheers, Kat.

[Kat McShane]

A few days later, Laura and I have a zoom chat with Miranda. We learn the true scale of exploitation. It's the story that you've just heard. There is a psychological reckoning for ex members who have to reconcile all the good they think they experienced in the movement with what they know now. Some people I've spoken to still speak of their time in the movement lovingly. One person, even with tears in their eyes, the community had become their family and sometimes they still miss it. Yes, they might feel that they had been manipulated, but many of the people they might now see as the abusers or the enablers were or are themselves victims too. Miranda wants to ensure that nobody else is manipulated. Going public will be part of that. But she also wants Laura to help her get the police involved.

[Miranda]

When I heard Miranda's story, for me that was like, I cannot justifiably not take this to the police. This has to go to the police.

[Kat McShane]

So Laura talks with Miranda and other former members and then goes to Thames Valley Police.

[Miranda]

Didn't like, end the meeting and be like, right, we're launching to investigation right now. Which I think a part of me was kind of hoping they would do.

[Kat McShane]

Thames Valley police do an investigation. But then it goes quiet. Thames Valley police told us that they had done a thorough investigation but concluded that no offenses had taken place in their area. So the case was filed like it.

[Miranda]

Disappeared into the ether and there were no updates. We knew that, yeah, that wasn't going to be an effective route.

[Kat McShane]

In summer 2022, Miranda is being driven by a friend to Glastonbury. The atmosphere in the car is slightly awkward because one of the other passengers is someone who is very involved with Thara Yoga Centre. The other passenger doesn't know Miranda's story and so goes on about how wonderful Tara Yoga Centre is and starts pulling, praising one of the teachers.

[Miranda]

I could just feel this anger bubbling up inside me.

[Kat McShane]

Eventually Miranda can take no more. So she tells the other passenger her whole story.

[Miranda]

And she had the strongest reaction to it of anyone still in the organization. I'd told up until that point the most humane and compassionate reaction. She was genuinely shocked and upset. And she said almost straight away, I want to help. I feel that I need to do something about this. I felt this, like, sense of solidarity from her that I hadn't felt from anyone else still in the organization up until that point. And a few weeks later she told me that she'd been talking to a few of her friends and she was going to organise a meeting in Hyde park. And if I wanted, she could tell my story secondhand or if I wanted, I could go there and tell it firsthand to still current students. There was a group of, I don't know, about seven or eight people when I arrived. And then more people came.

[Kat McShane]

Miranda decides she's going to address the group herself.

[Miranda]

So whenever you get in a car, you have to wear dark glasses with tape on the inside and wear a hat and pull it down over your eyes so that you can't see where you're going. I started to share my story and to speak. Most people were respectful and understanding. Maybe we do questions up until now. How does everyone feel about that? There was one person who wasn't understanding.

[Kat McShane]

One of the teachers from Tara Yoga has turned up. He has a camera around his neck.

[Miranda]

It was horrible. It felt very intimidating speaking to people who are still within the doctrine that I was speaking about, most of whom were completely clueless of what was going on, others of whom may have been complicit. But quite a few people after that challenged the teachers. Quite a few people left.

[Kat McShane]

Maybe she doesn't realize it, but Miranda has declared war on Tara and they are about to fight back.

[Mihai Rapture]

We will start now with the presentation about Miranda.

[Kat McShane]

This is a secret recording we've obtained. It's from one of a series of meetings Tara Yoga held about Miranda. It's the recording you heard right at the beginning of this series. One of the teachers, Bogdan Radhasanu, reads out a letter. At the time, Bogdan is a director of the umbrella organization that Tara Yoga is affiliated to, the Atman Federation. He is also one of the people I mentioned earlier who signed the purchase agreement for a camgirl house in the Czech Republic. The letter he reads out is apparently written by Grigorian Bivolaro himself, the former.

[Mihai Rapture]

Student Miranda has cleverly taken advantage of.

[Kat McShane]

Your naivety is an attempt to discredit Miranda's account.

[Mihai Rapture]

In order for each of you to be edified, we suggest you attentively listen to a recording in which you will hear what Miranda was saying four years ago about the experiences she has had and which are of a completely different nature when compared to the statements she is now making.

[Kat McShane]

A recording is played. The audience is told it was recorded on Miranda's trip to Paris to meet the spiritual guide in the house. I feel very wonderful.

[Miranda]

And I feel like I'm stepping beyond the normal limits of time and space. I'm just very, very grateful. And I feel in that the lover.

[Kat McShane]

Miranda has heard this recording of herself.

[Miranda]

One of the things that always makes me cringe when I listen back to myself is the intonation and the accent. And I can hear it there how I sounded like the teacher sound and how I sounded like this kind of prototype, this cult personality, kind of robotic prototype.

[Kat McShane]

I will never forget this experience. And if I do, I will then fit into the category of the superficial.

[Miranda]

Shifting and stupid women. I find it disturbing that they keep all of these recordings. It seems fundamentally unfair to play a coerced recording from someone's past, to somehow suggest that they are lying in their present, that they think they have that level of ownership over my story, my reality, my voice. That was one of the hardest times of my life when those meetings were happening. You know, having this sense that people are sitting for hours talking about you behind your back and lying about you. It was extremely disturbing. It felt like a personal attack. It felt like a witch hunt.

[Kat McShane]

We wrote to Tara Yoga center and Bogdanradasanu. We put it to them that the way Miranda was denounced added to the picture of their organisation as a cult. They did not address this issue. Tara Yoga Centre told us they unequivocally condemn all forms of abuse. Miranda wanted Gregorian Vivolari to be arrested. She wanted no one else to go through what she's gone through. She's decided to sue Tara Yoga Centre. Miranda has reported her concerns to Thames Valley police. Local yoga teacher Laura Hancock has also spoken to Thames Valley police about her concerns. She feels frustrated that more hasn't been done.

[Miranda]

It's really hitting home, like, I just need this out in the open and for, like, stuff to be done today. Change it.

[Kat McShane]

Beck, another former follower of Gregorian Bivolaro, is in London for a few days and I suggest we meet up for a walk in the park. Beck's the Australian who we met earlier. She went to Romania for the yoga festival and had an initiation with Gregorian Bivolaro in Paris. She's trying to persuade the French police to investigate. Miranda is helping her, but Beck is finding the process frustrating.

[Miranda]

While a lot of women have spoken out, I mean, it's completely mind blowing. And when someone says to me, you know about this organisation, and I say, you know, women are held without their passports, in houses, without mobile phones, without Internet access, for weeks at a time. Someone says, why is something not done? Well, good question. Hi, Kat. I'm dying lighted. It's huge.

[Kat McShane]

It's huge. On the evening of 28th November 2023, my phone starts blowing up.

[Miranda]

I'm kind of in shock and I'm full of relief and I'm kind of crying.

[Kat McShane]

The spiritual guide Gregorian Bivalaru is arrested.

[Miranda]

I'm totally just like, what? Not being able to quite process that he's been arrested. I'm just like, I can't. I can't believe he's arrested. This is like 10 years of my life. I mean, I'm just. I don't know how I feel. I just feel, like, joyful and also, like, it's like a relief, but it's also like, yeah, it's just like being heard.

[Kat McShane]

We approached Grigorian Vivolaro through his lawyer for comment, but did not receive a response. Misa, a yoga organisation associated with Mr. Vivilaro, strongly defended him, stating that he has been the victim of political persecution and false allegations and that his teachings are followed by more than 40,000 people around the world. Next time on World of Secrets, the Bad Guru.

[Miranda]

That's the house and there's someone in that house. I can't. I'm kind of shaking a bit.

[Kat McShane]

World of Secrets, the Bad Guru is a BBC Studios audio production. It's presented by me, Cat McShane, and produced by myself and Emma Wetherell. The Executive producer is Innes Bowen. Subscribe to World of Secrets. Episodes will be released weekly wherever you get your podcasts, but if you're in the UK, you can listen to the full series right now. First on BBC Sounds.

[Glenn Patterson]

In 1984, an IRA bomb planted under a bath in Brighton's Grand Hotel came close to killing Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. It was the biggest direct assault on a British government since the gunpowder plot. From BBC Radio 4, I'm Glenn Patterson and in the Brighton Bomb I tell the story of the deadly attack, unraveling the threads that brought all involved, often by heartbreaking chants to that place and time. 2:54am on the morning of the 12th of October and I reveal how the police only just evolved converted a follow up bombing campaign aimed at England's beaches. To hear the Brighton Bomb and many other great history documentaries, search for the History podcast on BBC Sounds.

[Kat McShane]

Step into the world of power, loyalty and luck.

[Miranda]

I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

[Kat McShane]

With family. Cannoli and spins mean everything.

[Miranda]

Now you want to get mixed up in the family business.

[Kat McShane]

Introducing the [e-mail] test your luck on the shadowy world of the Godfather slot. Someday I will call upon you to.

[Miranda]

Do a service for me.

[Kat McShane]

Play the Godfather [e-mail] Welcome to the family. No purchase necessary. VGW group void. We're prohibited by law. 18/ Terms and Conditions apply.