WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:25.460 People from all over the world have come to a tantric summer camp on a farm in North Zealand. The next nine days will be about vegetarian food, tea, and tantric sex. 00:00:26.460 --> 00:00:27.879 5,000 Danes have so far 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:29.980 We are more than 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:31.719 20 years back in time. 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:33.299 In the year 2003. 00:00:34.619 --> 00:00:35.920 A documentary team from 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:38.039 DR has been allowed to follow 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:39.780 at Nathas tantra camp 00:00:39.780 --> 00:00:40.640 in Tisvilde. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:43.960 Grieg is ours. 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:45.820 Teacher. 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:47.000 And when I say guru, 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:50.280 then I know that all Danes, they immediately say, 00:00:50.500 --> 00:00:51.880 What kind of strange thing is this? 00:00:52.020 --> 00:00:52.600 and term. 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:55.899 The documentary team asks the students, 00:00:56.380 --> 00:00:57.340 if they don't want to explain, 00:00:57.520 --> 00:00:59.359 who their spiritual leader and guru, 00:00:59.659 --> 00:01:00.979 Griegorian Bivolaru, er, 00:01:01.460 --> 00:01:02.719 and what he means to them. 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:07.540 Grieg is a brand for this world. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.159 He exemplifies love and can show the way to God. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:16.739 I feel that he is somehow a representative of God, 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:20.760 just like Jesus, as Jesus is perceived in the Bible. 00:01:22.060 --> 00:01:25.760 And I love him very much, like something divine. 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:37.420 When the documentary was made, it was shortly after Mihai Stoian had come to Denmark from Romania. 00:01:38.359 --> 00:02:25.240 According to Natha itself, he has come to take over the management of the school. They will be as you want. And our expectations are not always what we need. An atmosphere of excitement spreads. 00:02:30.580 --> 00:02:32.379 The yoga followers gather in a large room, spread yoga mats on the floor and wait. 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:34.860 How do you think he's coming? 00:02:38.580 --> 00:02:39.479 I think he'll arrive a few hours before the second conference. 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:48.479 But after eight hours, during which Mihai Stoian has repeatedly announced that corona is on the way, he has not yet appeared. 00:02:55.300 --> 00:02:56.520 You can't make any precise statements about when certain things will happen about Grieg, because things just happen. 00:02:57.280 --> 00:02:57.740 And that's just the way it is. 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:03.699 But I just think the last thing we got out of it was Mihai coming in and saying he'll be there in ten minutes. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:06.199 So it was like, 10 hours just go by. 00:03:07.460 --> 00:03:07.520 So it didn't go well, we could have been told, 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:10.900 but then, Mihai probably didn't know either. 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:14.159 After 24 hours on hold, 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:22.340 Something is happening. 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:27.520 The guru enters the room, flanked by his right hand, Mihai Stoian. 00:03:28.819 --> 00:03:32.819 I remember sitting with my back close when he entered, and I had no idea he was coming. 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:38.379 All of a sudden I could just feel that he had come in, and then I turned around, and then he was standing maybe two steps inside the door. 00:03:39.620 --> 00:03:45.860 There's something familiar about him somehow. And also something unapproachable. 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:48.340 Bivularu sits down at a table. 00:03:51.419 --> 00:03:52.219 Nodding appreciatively to the supporters who look up at him. 00:03:53.719 --> 00:04:12.219 And grabs a microphone. He speaks exclusively in Romansh, so Mihai Stoian sits next to him and translates the guru's words. 00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:29.639 It is clear that the person closest to Bivolaru here is Mihai Stoian. 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:32.639 As we delve deeper into the story of Natha, 00:04:34.259 --> 00:04:36.379 it becomes clear that the image of the guru and the right hand next to each other 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:38.319 at the Tantra camp, only 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:40.139 first step towards understanding, 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:42.420 how involved Mihai Stoian 00:04:42.420 --> 00:04:49.920 is in the entire yoga movement. 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:56.560 What we know right now is that Mihai Stoian has been arrested as part of the larger criminal case in France, 00:04:57.019 --> 00:05:00.019 which, among other things, deals with human trafficking and kidnapping. 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:09.920 According to Mihai Stoian's lawyer, he is innocent. 00:05:16.899 --> 00:05:17.980 You are listening to the podcast series Vejen til Paradis from DR Dokumentar. 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:29.240 My name is Merle Barré. Episode 2. The Right Hand. 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:46.560 Just before the dramatic arrest of the guru Bivolaru, something interesting happens to Mihai Stoian. A few days before French officers in 2023 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:48.540 arrest the guru in France, 00:05:49.180 --> 00:05:52.819 Mihai Stoian resigns from a central board. 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:56.939 Board of Directors of the International Yoga Organization 00:05:56.939 --> 00:06:01.379 The Atman Federation, which Natha is also a part of. 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:08.879 Three months earlier, he had resigned from the board of directors of the foundation that owns several of Natha's premises. 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:14.199 And that's not the only change happening. 00:06:16.540 --> 00:06:26.000 For many years, Natha has been diligently posting pictures of Mihai Stoian and his wife Adina on social media. If you scroll through the posts, 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:27.959 They almost look like rock stars, 00:06:28.139 --> 00:06:30.939 that takes over scenes and attracts lots of followers. 00:06:34.899 --> 00:06:37.959 But after the arrest of Bivolaru, 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:40.740 It thins it out considerably with postings, 00:06:41.339 --> 00:06:43.459 where you can see the white-haired man. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:45.220 For almost a year, we have had difficulty with posts where you can see the white-haired man. 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:48.079 For almost a year it has been 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:49.839 It's hard for us to find any trace of him. 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:50.399 in some places. 00:06:51.779 --> 00:06:53.779 Until one day he shows up. 00:06:53.779 --> 00:06:55.819 in Georgia and gets 00:06:55.819 --> 00:06:56.579 arrested. 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:01.939 To find out more about who 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:04.019 Mihai Stoian is, we are looking for 00:07:04.019 --> 00:07:12.000 some of those who were part of Natha when the romanian came to Denmark back in 2002, and when the documentary from Tisvilde was made. 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:25.519 One of those who agrees to talk to us is Carsten. 00:07:32.819 --> 00:07:34.000 I am 48 years old, and I now live in the countryside with my three children, teenager, and my partner. 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:37.740 And I am a trained sociologist. 00:07:45.019 --> 00:07:46.120 For privacy reasons, he only wishes to use his first name. He was part of 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:48.160 Natha then, and regrets 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:50.160 today some of the things he himself was involved in. 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:51.819 Through its 00:07:51.819 --> 00:07:53.920 almost 10 years at school, he came 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:55.660 namely very close to both Mihai 00:07:55.660 --> 00:07:57.500 and the Adina Stoian. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:02.100 Here at the beginning of the year 2000 00:08:02.100 --> 00:08:03.939 Has Natha already existed? 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:05.420 in Denmark for a few years. But as Karsten describes it, there is a year 2000 in the organization Natha has already existed in Denmark for a few years. 00:08:09.379 --> 00:08:09.800 But as Karsten describes it, there is a desire in the organization, 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:13.939 that the spread of the spiritual movement needs to be accelerated. 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:17.839 It simply requires greater arm movements. 00:08:21.420 --> 00:08:22.160 So Karsten and some others from Natha are called to a meeting. 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:27.019 And we are told before that meeting that now a very great yogi is coming. 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:28.939 The very great yogi, 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:31.240 or what you could also call a kind of yoga master, 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:32.860 is Mihaly Stoian. 00:08:33.860 --> 00:08:36.240 In addition to being spiritually developed, 00:08:36.860 --> 00:08:37.600 they also get to know, 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:39.519 that he is educated in quantum physics. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:49.220 And then I come into the room like this, and I'm like, where is he, the big jerk? 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:55.019 And then there's someone, then he laughs, then he says, it's him, the Romanian in the fake jogging suit, sitting over there in the corner. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:00.960 Because Mihai is wearing some kind of hokubos, or some kind of tracksuit, which is clearly fake. 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:02.600 And that's part of the whole charm. 00:09:07.580 --> 00:09:08.559 And it also shows something about the fact that at that time there was such a very down-to-earth attitude towards things. 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:10.080 It's just a bunch of hippies there, 00:09:12.179 --> 00:09:12.320 who then gets a visit from this guy, the Romanian, 00:09:14.299 --> 00:09:16.700 in the fake jogging suit. 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:18.779 There you can hear already when you start talking, 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:20.840 that he has a way of telling stories, 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:22.700 which is a little different from the others. 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:26.100 He is very much what you call dualistic. So he is constantly 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:28.059 in between, that is, heaven and hell, 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:29.940 and good and bad, and it works 00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:32.019 and doesn't work, and so on. So he talks a lot 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:34.080 in those contradictions all the time. It's a completely different way 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:36.039 to talk about than I 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:37.159 experienced at that time. 00:09:37.940 --> 00:09:39.539 He can speak about everything, 00:09:40.139 --> 00:09:41.960 and also at that time so relatively 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:44.080 convincing, while at the same time having all that already 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:45.120 from the beginning, this is a great yogi. At the same time, there is all that already from the beginning, 00:09:46.179 --> 00:09:47.779 This is a great yogi. 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:49.139 It could be that someone was joking and said, 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:50.860 that it was a Romanian in a fake suit, 00:09:53.419 --> 00:09:57.220 But first and foremost, it is a great yogi who sits here now. 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:05.960 Mihai Stoian will come to Denmark with his wife Adina Stoian, who, according to our sources, will also play a central role at the school. 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:08.899 And not long after their arrival, 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:14.600 It is announced that Mihai Stoian has now officially taken over the management, says Carsten. 00:10:16.139 --> 00:10:17.179 And then he becomes, like, a leader. 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.519 And then some things get turned up, 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:27.360 because he has a completely different, much more ambitious mindset. 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:28.879 So it doesn't take very long, 00:10:30.179 --> 00:10:31.159 before Natha moves. 00:10:32.360 --> 00:10:32.659 And many things are being done, 00:10:35.100 --> 00:10:37.299 which expands and widens the whole. 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:39.460 There are no official figures on 00:10:41.659 --> 00:10:42.279 How many members are there in the yoga movement? 00:10:44.220 --> 00:10:44.379 But in several articles you can read, 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.559 that the movement internationally has around 40,000 members during this period. 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:50.639 Schools around the world 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:51.820 have different names, 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:53.799 but falls under the parable designation 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:55.559 The Atman Federation. 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:58.100 With the new management 00:10:58.100 --> 00:11:00.120 under Mihai Stoian there will also be a period 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:02.100 with more hierarchy, says Carsten. 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:04.059 One of the ways, 00:11:04.100 --> 00:11:08.799 One way you can see it is that what you could call an inner circle is starting to take shape. 00:11:09.620 --> 00:11:13.519 In other words, a group of people who invest more in the project than others. 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:17.120 A group that Carsten himself will also be a part of. 00:11:18.019 --> 00:11:19.820 It just gets more and more closed over time. 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:28.960 For Carsten, there is one event in particular that really changes the dynamics of the organization. 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:37.320 In 2004, Gregorian Bivolaru was accused of sexually exploiting a student in Romania, 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:40.460 who was a teenager at the time. 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:46.500 And it's a new chapter that begins there. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:48.659 I remember that exact day. 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:53.820 I have been on a course with my work. 00:11:54.500 --> 00:11:56.580 I call and talk to Mihai, and then he says something like this, 00:11:56.679 --> 00:11:58.700 Haven't you heard what happened? Are you completely crazy or what? 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:00.840 And then everything changes. 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:04.879 Now it suddenly becomes completely political. 00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:10.860 And then there are those conspiracy theories that used to be something you just sat around and enjoyed, 00:12:11.580 --> 00:12:14.019 and thought it was very exciting and stuff, then suddenly it becomes very real, 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:16.820 Oh my, there's actually someone here who's being persecuted. 00:12:17.980 --> 00:12:21.460 Suddenly, things start happening around the Freemasons, and Mihai starts a story about, 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:28.720 that we are being monitored like this, liberals, which is just increasing. 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:34.460 In the yoga movement, there is an ancient story about the guru being persecuted. 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:45.899 On an earlier version of Natha's website, you can read that Bivolaru began teaching yoga in Romania in 1978. Under Ceausescu's 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:47.899 communist regime becomes 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:50.120 who cracked down on dissenters. 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:51.940 Also Bivolaru. 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:53.740 That story 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:55.500 about the persecuted guru 00:12:55.500 --> 00:12:57.820 so there will be in 2004 00:12:57.820 --> 00:12:59.720 set fire to the new 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:00.360 accusation. 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:04.200 I feel like 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:08.159 the day Natha lost her innocence. 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:25.679 Carsten will now be responsible for the press and will conduct interviews in international media, 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:29.440 where he talks about the persecution of the guru and the yoga movement. 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:37.220 After the accusation against Bivolaru in Romania, the guru flees to Sweden. 00:13:38.059 --> 00:13:41.879 And here he actually ends up getting political asylum. 00:13:42.820 --> 00:13:45.980 The reason for not extraditing him to Romania 00:13:45.980 --> 00:13:49.080 believes that he is at risk of being persecuted 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:52.039 because of his religious beliefs. 00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:57.019 Only many years later will a verdict be reached in the case 00:13:57.019 --> 00:13:59.200 with the teenager from Romania. 00:14:00.899 --> 00:14:04.379 The evidence consists of, among other things, the girl's diary entries. 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:07.620 and telephone conversations between her and the guru. 00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:15.460 The girl herself denies that the healer had sex with her, but Bivolaru is found guilty. 00:14:20.179 --> 00:14:27.879 During the period when Bivolaru is accused and when, according to Karsten, conspiracy theories really take hold, 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:32.820 Karsten begins to look up to Mihai Stoian more and more. 00:14:33.500 --> 00:14:37.779 And also copies some of his methods at some point. 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:41.399 And I don't think I was always a nice guy either. 00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:43.000 If I'm being completely honest. 00:14:44.019 --> 00:14:44.960 Why do you think that? 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:46.379 Because I think I was tough. 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:48.799 That's how I remember it, that I got such a hard edge. 00:14:49.820 --> 00:14:50.840 Not that that's any excuse, 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:52.200 but I had Mihai as an ideal. 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:55.179 For example, something like this, 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:56.899 which I took to myself, 00:14:56.980 --> 00:14:59.220 and which I just had to use to let go again. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:00.460 It was something like, 00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:03.039 that people came in to talk to someone, 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:05.419 and then Mihai sat and typed on his computer, 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:07.259 while someone was sitting and talking. 00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:09.919 He does it quite deliberately. And then he looks 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:12.139 a little at a time between us, and then he sat and wrote like this. 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:14.259 And I took that one myself, too. 00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:15.860 because I copied it directly from someone. 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:17.879 And that's such an extreme 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:20.000 arrogant way of being with someone else, and a way of holding 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:20.940 them down. 00:15:23.100 --> 00:15:24.179 But that's what he can do. 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:26.159 So, he knows all those things. 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:28.139 games, also in relation 00:15:28.139 --> 00:15:30.240 to the other schools. So he can 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.139 position oneself as the one who 00:15:32.139 --> 00:15:34.159 is at the top of this page, just below 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:35.620 Greig 00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:42.220 What Carsten tells about 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:43.779 Mihai Stoian and his role, 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:46.980 is supported by several of the sources we speak to. 00:15:48.299 --> 00:15:51.779 People treat him almost the same way as Grieg. 00:15:51.879 --> 00:15:56.620 His entire body language is very much made of authority. 00:15:56.620 --> 00:16:01.320 He's a big man with a good hand and has this energy. 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:04.580 He has a major role in the organization. 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:11.759 Those we speak to are very explicit about the role he has played. 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:15.220 Both at the Danish school. 00:16:17.379 --> 00:16:22.539 And in the international movement. 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:26.019 He really had such a mentor role. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:32.539 So it wasn't really what he couldn't do. The largest base outside Romania has been in disrepair for decades. 00:16:32.700 --> 00:16:36.960 Instead, he is the second most capable man under the Grieg. 00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:50.360 When we reached out to Natha, they wrote in a response to us that Mihai Stoian is a former part-time employee, 00:16:50.899 --> 00:16:54.379 and is neither a leader nor a spokesperson for their yoga school. 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:59.879 But when we go into the archives and find old versions of Natha's website, 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:03.279 His role is described somewhat differently. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:10.460 They write that he came to Denmark in 2002, as Carsten tells us, 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:16.099 to begin a new spiritual mission as leader of Natha. 00:17:21.380 --> 00:17:22.680 In interviews in Danish media, he has also appeared several times as the leader of Natha. 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:26.500 Later, Natha calls him our beloved mentor, 00:17:28.299 --> 00:17:30.220 and right up until 2023 he is described as 00:17:30.220 --> 00:17:31.759 the coordinating teacher 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:34.240 at the Danish and Swedish schools. 00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:42.720 Besides that we have 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:44.859 Stoian's role in the organization, 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:50.619 There is also something else that many at Danish schools notice. 00:17:53.380 --> 00:17:54.779 This is something that Sofie is starting to wonder about. 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:02.319 So far, her experiences at school have been positive, developmental, and sometimes downright magical. 00:18:06.059 --> 00:18:08.140 But there is one thing about Mihai Stoian that she finds difficult. 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:17.400 The way he sits back after a lecture and is surrounded by a group of women, 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:21.440 who you quickly find out has a sexual relationship with him, 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:33.819 and then sits there almost on the floor around him. It becomes clear to Sofie that Mihai Stoian and his wife Adina live in an open relationship. 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:41.539 And that Mihai Stoian has a sexual relationship with many of the female, often younger, students at the school. 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:46.700 But it's not just a choice the powerful couple has made in their marriage. 00:18:47.339 --> 00:19:13.079 It's an idea that is open-ended. 00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:15.740 Is something that Mihai Stoian teaches. 00:19:15.740 --> 00:19:45.859 In one of the several internal videos we have seen in a context, which is a clear context, it is just a perception from teachers at the school that is being encouraged. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:49.039 At school, there are many people who are in relationships with someone else. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:51.640 Sofie has also become friends with an older teacher. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:56.079 And I get recommended 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:58.099 of several. The conditions, 00:19:58.099 --> 00:19:59.259 I own, am 00:19:59.259 --> 00:20:01.920 monogamous, and 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:03.960 I'd like to keep it that way, but I feel 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:06.880 very pressured to open it up. 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:11.839 And there's an astrologer at school who looks at my horoscope and says, 00:20:12.059 --> 00:20:15.339 that something that would be of great importance to my spiritual development, 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:18.920 So that was becoming polyamorous. 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:21.859 And I kind of have a blockage there. 00:20:22.660 --> 00:20:24.779 This puts Sofie in a dilemma. 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:29.380 On the one hand, she doesn't want to be in an open relationship. 00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:36.039 But on the other hand, she is told that if she is not, it could negatively affect her spiritual development. 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:45.380 Natha denies to us that they encourage students to have a specific kind of love relationship. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:47.740 They say it's a personal thing. 00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:48.500 and free choice. 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:53.660 But the thing about open relationships is 00:20:53.660 --> 00:20:55.619 actually not the only thing, Sofie 00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:57.779 has started to drop by the school. 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:02.059 When you go to 00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:03.799 retreat, then you must have taken a picture. 00:21:03.859 --> 00:21:04.940 This applies to both women and men. 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:07.839 In underwear. Picture in underwear. 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:11.759 The picture in underwear acts as a kind of admission ticket, 00:21:16.099 --> 00:21:17.000 when you go on a retreat, says Sofie and other sources we speak to. 00:21:26.819 --> 00:21:30.500 It has also been documented in the old DR production from the tantra camp in Tisvilde. Here the documentary team is inside a low-ceilinged room, 00:21:30.859 --> 00:21:35.640 where a large floral carpet in green and pink colors hangs on a wall. 00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:38.039 Up towards the abyss there. 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:42.779 In the middle of the blanket is a piece of white paper with black block letters, 00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:45.000 where the day's status is written. 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:47.880 June 21, 2003. 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:51.839 The participants at the tantra camp take turns entering the room. 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:53.019 and stands in front of it. 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:57.500 In the documentary you can see a man fully undressed, 00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:00.460 trying to find his way into a pose. 00:22:05.539 --> 00:22:08.059 A person from Natha, like this day 00:22:08.059 --> 00:22:10.039 acting photographer, printing 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:11.380 on his digital camera. 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:13.940 Thank you. 00:22:13.940 --> 00:22:15.920 In an adjacent 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:18.119 local sitting other Natha members 00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:20.279 around a table and organize 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:21.640 the pictures that have been taken. 00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:29.339 The idea with the pictures, says Sofie, is, 00:22:29.859 --> 00:22:32.200 that they should be sent to Guru Bivolaru, 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:34.680 so he can read the students' auras. 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:39.160 And he can only do that if they are in their underwear or naked. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:49.700 I wonder about that, but it's because he can read aura, you're told 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:53.599 and then he must assess whether you have great potential. 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:02.400 It's not something that is suggested that you have to go back and forth on an assessment, but at least to know that then he can kind of see what kind of people there are, 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:04.519 so he can look after his flock. 00:23:06.380 --> 00:23:08.299 So there is also some feeling of, 00:23:08.660 --> 00:23:10.099 It's also a way to protect 00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:11.559 and pay attention to us, 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:14.759 to go and assess where we are. 00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:19.099 Although Sofie can find some meaning 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:20.799 with the justification for the pictures, 00:23:21.299 --> 00:23:23.660 Does she still have some questions? 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:25.380 to that very part. 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:29.880 One day she will 00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:31.700 a message from Mihai Stoian's personal 00:23:31.700 --> 00:23:33.880 assistant, who announces that he 00:23:33.880 --> 00:23:36.099 has invited Sofie to a private 00:23:36.099 --> 00:23:38.000 meeting him in Paradise 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:38.799 Retreat center. 00:23:41.900 --> 00:23:43.819 Mihai Stoian has such a mentor role 00:23:43.819 --> 00:23:44.880 for everyone at school. 00:23:45.859 --> 00:23:48.759 Sofie therefore thinks that the meeting is a golden opportunity. 00:23:49.339 --> 00:23:53.799 Because now she can discuss her reflections and questions about the photo series with him. 00:23:54.539 --> 00:23:58.299 And hopefully get answers to a lot of other questions too, 00:23:58.299 --> 00:24:02.700 she has for her spiritual development and for her new self. 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:07.640 Do you think it's cool to have this position? 00:24:07.640 --> 00:24:09.759 That's a huge compliment. 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:11.799 Somewhere. And a 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:13.960 opportunity, it's a bit of a rarity 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:15.859 career, as you do it, and there are probably 00:24:15.859 --> 00:24:17.720 also something social in being a part of 00:24:17.720 --> 00:24:19.740 the inner circle. So 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:21.700 to have the opportunity to get closer 00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:23.980 on someone who can help you on your way, 00:24:24.140 --> 00:24:25.900 So, that's what you're interested in. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:36.759 At Paradis Retreat Center in Stortorø, Mihai Stoian is the only one who has made his own house available. 00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:39.940 Natha calls it a guesthouse. 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:43.140 And then I arrive at Advaita's house. 00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:46.240 Just a quick note here. 00:24:47.019 --> 00:24:52.000 Sofie mentions his spiritual name, Advaita, but it's the same person we're talking about. 00:24:52.720 --> 00:25:12.900 Which has the same style as the yoga school, lots of colors and pictures of gods and goddesses and cozy furniture and thick carpets. I sit on a couch in the middle of the room, and he sits at the end of the room at a desk five meters away. 00:25:14.599 --> 00:25:27.259 Sofie says that she is sitting on the couch while Mihai Stoian is focused on typing on his computer, without realizing her presence. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:32.640 After a few hours, Sofia has become increasingly confused about the situation 00:25:37.500 --> 00:25:39.460 and why he invited her if he's just sitting and working anyway, 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:43.180 He looks up from the screen. 00:25:47.940 --> 00:25:49.220 He leaves his desk and sits down next to her on the couch, she says. 00:25:50.380 --> 00:25:51.779 At one point, then 00:25:51.779 --> 00:25:53.920 does he say something about that 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:58.079 You never know what might happen. 00:25:58.619 --> 00:25:59.900 It could well be that I 00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:01.819 and him in reality 00:26:01.819 --> 00:26:03.819 were made for each other. 00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:05.880 And something special about being with him, that they were really made for each other. And something 00:26:05.880 --> 00:26:08.279 especially by being together 00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:09.960 with him, it's that I 00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:12.240 I think he highlights a lot. 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:14.119 benefits and privileges. 00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:15.940 I can get out of 00:26:15.940 --> 00:26:18.140 acquaintance with him. I will go with 00:26:18.140 --> 00:26:19.900 there, and he knows a very special place. 00:26:20.200 --> 00:26:22.119 And when there's a retreat there, I'm going with you, 00:26:22.299 --> 00:26:23.480 and he will take me there. 00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:27.599 So you are very drawn to all the possibilities and places he can show you. 00:26:27.700 --> 00:26:30.400 So he's kind of on a magic carpet. 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:40.000 She says that Mihaly Stoian has encouraged her to open up sexually several times that day. 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:42.019 In relation to having multiple partners. 00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:45.079 So she can develop spiritually. 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:49.720 But that doesn't change the fact that it's not something she wants. 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:56.960 How do you feel in the situation where he tries to persuade you into something that you don't really want to do? 00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:01.880 Well, I'm starting to wonder why I don't want to join. 00:27:02.619 --> 00:27:08.319 And whether it's okay that I don't want to be there, and whether it's okay that I don't want to be there, and whether there might be something in that unwillingness to do so, 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:10.380 which it would be healthy for me to break with. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:14.700 So you actually become a little doubtful about your own gut feeling. 00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:17.960 and your own understanding of... 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:21.460 Yes, because that's what's gradually disappearing. 00:27:21.940 --> 00:27:27.119 It is the belief in my own intuition and ability to reflect on, 00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:29.480 what I want and who I am as a person. 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:32.940 Because I, like everyone else, would like to 00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:35.980 I want to develop myself spiritually. 00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:38.480 and I get very scared for myself too. 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:45.420 Faith in one's own intuition. 00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:48.240 That's the one Sofie is talking about here. 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:52.619 Gradually disappears the longer she spends in Natha. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:54.859 She is not alone in this. 00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:02.259 Several sources say that it is difficult to ask critical questions at school. 00:28:02.259 --> 00:28:05.819 or say no to certain things, events or exercises. 00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:07.940 If you try anyway, 00:28:08.059 --> 00:28:10.160 The answer is often that it's something in you. 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:11.819 ego that holds one back 00:28:11.819 --> 00:28:14.079 from surrendering to the higher 00:28:14.079 --> 00:28:14.779 purpose. 00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:24.599 And that there is always this, 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:26.839 that your ego will just hold on to what you know. 00:28:32.220 --> 00:28:34.960 To break with some part of my ego that's holding me back. 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:43.579 You're blurring the person in all those little rituals you do all the time. 00:28:43.900 --> 00:28:45.279 And thus also the person's judgment. 00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:47.519 And thus also the person's belief that I can speak out. 00:28:49.420 --> 00:28:55.059 Sofie says that today she sees the experience with Mihai Stoian as manipulative. 00:28:57.240 --> 00:29:01.900 We have presented her description of the incident to Mihai Stoian's lawyer. 00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:06.400 But the lawyer has not returned with an answer. 00:29:08.140 --> 00:29:08.279 Natha writes that they are saddened by, 00:29:11.220 --> 00:29:11.880 that there are people who have had bad experiences with speaking out. 00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:16.200 But they don't think it reflects a general pattern, 00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:35.859 because challenges with speaking out create a strong community. 00:29:38.140 --> 00:29:44.299 A community where there is a strong narrative that it is a special school that cannot be found anywhere else. 00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:47.599 A school for the specially initiated. 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:49.940 Several of the previous 00:29:49.940 --> 00:29:51.799 members of the school also have, like 00:29:51.799 --> 00:29:53.819 Sofie, had some strong 00:29:53.819 --> 00:29:55.119 spiritual experiences. 00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:42.640 The guy you're hearing here is Ziggy Drostik from Australia. He describes the spiritual experiences as a form of addiction. 00:30:45.799 --> 00:30:46.420 Once you've experienced it once, you'll want more. 00:30:48.099 --> 00:30:49.799 And you are ready to turn a blind eye to a lot to get there. 00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:53.819 But Ziggy is not only good at putting words into words, 00:30:54.059 --> 00:30:56.059 how strong spirituality can be. 00:30:57.019 --> 00:30:58.220 He is also one of the sources 00:30:58.220 --> 00:31:00.519 as until quite recently 00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:02.579 was part of the inner circle 00:31:02.579 --> 00:31:04.519 in Natha in both Denmark 00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:05.259 and Sweden. 00:31:07.640 --> 00:31:08.220 Ziggy is content 00:31:08.220 --> 00:31:10.079 not by taking yoga classes first, 00:31:10.180 --> 00:31:11.380 then go on retreats, 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:14.079 but actually also ends up moving into something, 00:31:14.180 --> 00:31:15.640 Natha calls an ashram. 00:31:16.440 --> 00:31:17.900 It is a form of spiritual 00:31:17.900 --> 00:31:19.900 collective for students and teachers at 00:31:19.900 --> 00:31:21.819 the school, which is located at 00:31:21.819 --> 00:31:23.420 several addresses in Denmark. 00:31:24.740 --> 00:31:27.339 And here it becomes even clearer, 00:31:27.880 --> 00:31:32.319 how involved Mihai Stoian is in every detail and corner 00:31:32.319 --> 00:32:03.000 of the school and the students' lives. The Ashram, Ziggy moves into, is located in Copenhagen. 00:32:03.720 --> 00:32:07.420 In a large, red brick villa with white, barred windows. 00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:26.339 According to Ziggy, about 25 people live in the brick villa. 00:32:26.859 --> 00:32:46.660 And for a period of spiritual community in an ashram in a fantastic place like Copenhagen. 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:50.559 I would live in a broom closet 00:32:50.980 --> 00:32:54.839 It's all about the experience, instead of bells and whistles. 00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:05.759 One of the people Ziggy gets to know here in the ashram is Danish Amanda. 00:33:09.420 --> 00:33:13.279 I meet Ziggy very spontaneously. 00:33:13.900 --> 00:33:19.299 I think I'm sitting in the kitchen chatting with someone who's visiting. 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:25.619 And then the doorbell rings, and it's Ziggy. 00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:29.660 They quickly become good friends. 00:33:30.859 --> 00:33:38.099 And then we start taking yoga classes together, and we're both like, we joke a little about how we're like half in, half out. 00:33:38.099 --> 00:33:44.599 We're kind of like the bad students who drink coffee when we could be outside or have a beer or a glass of wine. 00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:46.680 We just get along so well. 00:33:47.940 --> 00:33:49.960 She currently has a job in the public sector. 00:33:50.579 --> 00:33:51.799 That's why she wants to be 00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:53.880 anonymous. We have veiled 00:33:53.880 --> 00:33:55.859 her voice and given her another 00:33:55.859 --> 00:33:57.799 name. But I don't have 00:33:57.799 --> 00:33:59.019 desire to 00:33:59.019 --> 00:34:01.880 colleagues or partners 00:34:02.700 --> 00:34:03.680 would be quiet 00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:05.339 questions my judgment. 00:34:06.119 --> 00:34:11.159 Because I have been part of a community, 00:34:11.340 --> 00:34:14.760 which has permitted such activities. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:22.920 Back at the ashram, she is assigned a room. 00:34:24.400 --> 00:34:28.719 I'm going to live at the top under the roof with a bunch of other women. 00:34:29.659 --> 00:34:32.239 She is quickly introduced to the basic house rules. 00:34:32.900 --> 00:34:35.280 No meat, coffee or alcohol. 00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:50.360 Then we also have to do a certain amount of yoga and meditation. I think it's an hour and a half of yoga and 30 minutes of meditation every day. 00:34:51.780 --> 00:34:53.659 In addition, there are also some other rules. 00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:56.860 Rules that Mihai Stoian is responsible for enforcing. 00:34:57.820 --> 00:35:02.119 Like many others from Natha, Amanda also uses his spiritual name, Advaita. 00:35:02.619 --> 00:35:09.119 But it's the same person we're talking about. 00:35:17.900 --> 00:35:18.760 When we are going to travel, we must ask Advaita for permission through our ashram leader. 00:35:26.340 --> 00:35:26.440 So if I want to go on vacation or visit some family in another country, I should write to my ashram leader, 00:35:34.820 --> 00:35:34.980 I would like to travel from April 15th to April 31st, 00:35:35.579 --> 00:35:37.119 that it's okay. 00:35:41.199 --> 00:35:42.719 Then we also had to ask permission to have people visit. 00:35:46.900 --> 00:35:47.940 And there I experienced rejection.  00:35:47.940 --> 00:35:49.860 It sounded like she had asked for too many 00:35:49.860 --> 00:35:51.539 guests approved, she says. 00:35:52.420 --> 00:35:54.119 But when I look back on it, 00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:55.760 so I think that 00:35:55.760 --> 00:35:57.440 it has 00:35:57.440 --> 00:35:59.539 a certain degree of control. 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:10.559 Natha denies to us that it is a single person who determines the rules in their ashram. 00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:16.460 They write that it functions like other housing communities with regular rental contracts. 00:36:17.179 --> 00:36:29.599 And that there are some house rules, but that theirs are relatively flexible. 00:36:32.820 --> 00:36:33.679 Many of those who live in the ashram also work for Natha. 00:36:34.559 --> 00:36:37.079 Zigge does that too. 00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:39.420 He has a craft background, 00:36:42.760 --> 00:36:43.739 so he starts driving around faster and renovating several of the buildings that Natha lives in. 00:36:44.639 --> 00:36:46.059 But he doesn't do it as a 00:36:46.059 --> 00:36:48.079 typical job. He does it as 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:50.440 a part of what Natha calls karma yoga, 00:36:51.019 --> 00:36:52.179 which actually means 00:36:52.179 --> 00:36:53.360 voluntary work. 00:36:58.119 --> 00:37:00.059 For Ziggy it starts with him 00:37:00.059 --> 00:37:01.780 is asked by a senior teacher, 00:37:02.139 --> 00:37:04.340 whether he will work 20 hours a week 00:37:04.340 --> 00:37:06.579 and then stay in the ashram for free. 00:37:07.139 --> 00:37:27.239 But it's developing quickly. about why I don't get a real salary. Why have you agreed to it? 00:37:29.300 --> 00:37:31.340 Because that was just the way they pitched it. 00:37:31.880 --> 00:37:34.280 It made sense why you would do this job, 00:37:34.280 --> 00:37:36.179 and that it felt good to do 00:37:36.179 --> 00:37:41.179 a form of work in a volunteer capacity. 00:37:41.960 --> 00:37:54.780 Because at that time I was very financially stable and secure. That's what I felt was a greater purpose and meaning. 00:37:54.780 --> 00:37:56.420 behind the work. 00:38:02.460 --> 00:38:07.000 Karma yoga in Natha could be what Ziggy does here, that is, craft work. 00:38:07.659 --> 00:38:10.739 Others sit at the reception, cook or clean. 00:38:11.880 --> 00:38:17.380 Several people at the school have also been given a small booklet called Karma yoga, written by Bivolaru. 00:38:18.260 --> 00:38:23.139 Here you can read that karma yoga is doing something without expecting anything in return. 00:38:23.500 --> 00:38:28.739 And that karma yoga helps support and accelerate spiritual development. 00:38:30.019 --> 00:38:33.219 But soon several of the members of Natha find out, 00:38:33.539 --> 00:38:36.940 that there is also a very special form of karma yoga. 00:38:39.139 --> 00:38:43.679 Some even call it a fast track or a highway to spirituality. 00:38:45.159 --> 00:38:47.219 It is a road that goes through 00:38:47.219 --> 00:38:48.780 erotic work. 00:38:54.800 --> 00:38:56.300 Natha writes to us, 00:38:56.400 --> 00:38:57.860 that in 2023 they 00:38:57.860 --> 00:38:59.920 stopped the photo procedure 00:38:59.920 --> 00:39:01.699 in connection with retreats. 00:39:02.440 --> 00:39:04.159 They say they never have 00:39:04.159 --> 00:39:05.780 used the images in a way that 00:39:06.179 --> 00:39:08.679 that had not been agreed upon in advance with the participants. 00:39:09.119 --> 00:39:11.800 And that they have granted exemption to persons, 00:39:11.900 --> 00:39:14.059 who either did not want to have their photos taken, 00:39:14.579 --> 00:39:16.840 or wanted to get them dressed. 00:39:17.820 --> 00:39:21.039 Furthermore, they say that karma yoga and volunteer work 00:39:21.039 --> 00:39:22.599 are two different things. 00:39:30.019 --> 00:39:30.659 The Atman Federation writes that they have been advised not to comment on matters surrounding Mihai Støjern, 00:40:04.639 --> 00:00:00.000 before there is a decision in the case. Danish texts by Jesper Buhl Scandinavian Text Service 2018