The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse has made available public submissions from its earlier hearing into historical cases relating to the Satyananda Yoga Ashram in Mangrove Mountain.
The oral hearing was held on Wednesday, April 29 and focused on the Ashram’s response to allegations of child sexual abuse by the Ashram’s former spiritual leader. The allegations called into question the behaviour of Swami Akhandanada Saraswati and Shishy, who were involved with the movement between 1974 and 1989.
Throughout the proceedings, allegations were levelled against the Swami’s personal secretary, Muktimurti Saraswati, who was believed to have knowingly facilitated the abuse. There were also allegations made against the previous business owners for their inadequate disclosure of abuse claims in 1997 and 1998.
The Commission looked into the original arrest of Akhandanada in June 1987 when he was charged with sexually abusing four children. The following year, Akhandanada was committed to stand trial on 21 counts of indecency towards a person under the age of 16 whilst they were in his care as head guru of the Ashram.
He entered a guilty plea and was granted bail before the original complainants succeeded in bringing the cases before the court again in 1987. In May 1989, Akhandananda was found guilty of three indecent acts towards children under the age of 16, and was sentenced to two years, and four months imprisonment. Later the same year, Akhandanada’s appeal succeeded in seeing his convictions overturned.
In 1992, when again the case was re-opened, the High Court found Akhandanada not guilty. The recent Royal Commission has concluded that since the time of the alleged culprit’s activity at the premises in the 1970s and 1980s, the Ashram has reformed and reorganised under new owners to become a reputable business.
“It is clear that the institution has moved considerably away from the historical stage and has sought to differentiate by substantially restructuring itself and reforming its organisational command and control processes,” the report said in its concluding statements. Submissions relating to the Mangrove Mountain business can be found on the Royal Commission’s website.
Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to
Child Abuse report,
April 29 2015
Emma Horn, journalist