My Daughter Joined a Cult

 My Daughter Joined a Cult is an attempt to shift the conversation towards the survivors of self-styled godmen, turning the focus towards their experiences and trauma.

Before we begin to discuss his experience of filming the docu-series My Daughter Joined a Cult, centered on the survivors of rape-accused self-styled godman Nithyananda, director Naman Saraiya observes that India is home to cults of many different kinds, not just the religious sort. It’s just that the word ‘cult’ is not part of our lexicon, he says. I joke that the IIT and UPSC subcultures that have emerged in the last two decades could be termed cults, too — cottage industries driven by coaching institutes, pop culture, and the sheer number of people who dream the same dream.

The ex-devotees featured in the docu-series outline a life event that caused them trauma and despair, which led them to seek out the god-man while being in a vulnerable emotional state. Saraiya remarks that the regimented life in the ashram was an escape for those who felt trapped in their lives. Nithyananda allegedly singled out individuals to make them feel like they were the “chosen” few. Those who gained proximity to power or positions of power would ultimately become the cult’s footsoldiers.

The second and third episodes in the docu-series are a study in absurdity. Rather conveniently, Nithyananda dismisses the notion of ‘karma’ as being legitimate: “Karma means that the effect of our actions will come back to us in the future, is a myth. There is no CCTV recording going on in the cosmos… where your actions will be bringing suffering to you in the future. God is not playing the game of judge.” In the series, we also learn that a summons from the court does not reach the godman, because his security team quite literally does not allow it to pass. When a TV journalist attempts to be a medium for the summons by carrying it with him at a press conference held at the ashram, he is chased out before he can even finish reading it.

Nithyananda’s two-faced ways are revealed best by Sarah Landry aka Sudevi, his social media manager, and Jordan Lozada through their recollection of goings-on in the ashram, which include verbal abuse and beating of disciples as well as demands to ramp up the videos propagating his teachings and increase the enrolments for his inner awakening programme. Landry and Lozada do as the boss orders with a video segment called “Keeping up with the Kailashians”, in which they dress up in saffron robes and chronicle their lives in the ashram.

Nithyananda is not the only one missing. The series begins with footage of Janardhan Sharma and his wife searching for their two daughters, who they believe are held against their will by the swami at his ashram in Ahmedabad. "I am very happy here. I am not kidnapped,” says Nanditha in a video call with the media, rejecting her parents’ claims. Sharma’s two daughters are yet to be found. While most of his former followers are busy critiquing him, Jansi Rani is one of the few to call out her own follies. Rani’s 24-year-old daughter died of a heart attack in the ashram under mysterious circumstances. “He told us the sun rose because he appeared,” she says. “All of us were crazy.” Many continue to be under his sway watching his videos and supporting him as he hides in Kailaasa, a place few can pinpoint on a map and where the self-proclaimed ‘Paramashivam’ continues to preach.