Life coach and bestselling author Jay Shetty is under scrutiny over alleged dishonesty regarding his personal history. According to a report by The Guardian, Shetty, who presided over the marriage of actors Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck in 2022, has been accused of falsely stating that he spent three years as a monk at an Indian temple.
What is the whole controversy about?
Jay Shetty’s official website asserts that during his school breaks, he resided with monks in India, engaging deeply in their teachings and philosophy. Shetty, who has shared his life story across various media, maintains that he lived as a monk in a Hindu ashram in India from 2010 to 2013. In his book 8 Rules of Love, he writes, “When I was 21 years old, I skipped my college graduation to join an ashram in a village near Mumbai.”
Shetty claims that his decision to relocate to Mumbai came after attending a lecture by an International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) monk named Gauranga Das at his business school in London. He asserts that this lecture triggered a significant spiritual awakening, prompting him to depart for Mumbai, where he resided for three years before eventually returning to England.
The Guardian report highlights inconsistencies in Shetty’s account, noting that he provided varying ages — 18, 20, or 21 years old — to different news sources regarding when he attended the transformative lecture. The monk, Das, informed the British daily that the lecture occurred in 2007 when Shetty would have been just 19 years old.
Despite Shetty’s assertion that he spent three years in Mumbai, individuals previously associated with him suggest otherwise. Chaitanya Lila, a member of ISKCON and Shetty’s former partner, informed the British newspaper that his stay in India during that period was much shorter. She also mentioned that Shetty was involved with ISKCON before 2007.
According to The Guardian, Shetty may have had a “spiritual epiphany” in the summer of 2006 while visiting France with the youth group of the organisation, Iskcon Pandava Sena (IPS).
The article also suggests that Shetty primarily lived as a monk between 2010 and 2013 at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Watford, a town just outside London, visiting India only occasionally during that period.
Shetty’s legal representatives informed The Guardian that he embraced monkhood in May 2010 and resided at Bhaktivedanta Manor. After three months, he relocated to India.
The lawyers stated that Shetty primarily stayed in India, occasionally returning to Bhaktivedanta Manor, following encouragement from his mentors in Indian monasteries to engage in community service in his hometown. Additionally, he travelled to Europe and the US as part of his service.
Contradicting this explanation, Shetty’s previous blog posts indicate that he considered Bhaktivedanta Manor his main ashram during his monkhood. Despite his monastic lifestyle, Shetty remained connected to society and even created several viral YouTube videos filmed on the streets of London. “I saw him wearing sweatpants more often than robes,” a former ISKCON devotee remarked, as quoted by The Guardian.
The British newspaper also raised doubts about Shetty’s academic background, highlighting inconsistencies in his resume, such as a degree from a business school that doesn’t offer the course he claimed to have completed.
The report mentioned that while Shetty is not the first self-help guru to exaggerate his spiritual background to attract followers, he charges significant fees for his guidance. He has utilised his spiritual standing to introduce various subscription and educational services, such as a life-coaching school that charges $7,400 (Rs 6,13,559.90) per term for Postgraduate Diploma (Level 7) qualifications, which is comparable to a master’s degree.
Shetty, known for hosting prominent figures like Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian, and Matt Damon on his ‘On Purpose’ podcast, has also faced accusations of plagiarism in the past.
According to The Guardian, social media influencer Nicole Arbour accused the self-help guru in 2019 of using content from others without proper credit. Following Arbour’s video, Shetty deleted over 100 posts. Although he now attributes content to its original creators on his Instagram, it is alleged that he does not seek permission or compensate them for its use, as reported by the British daily.
Meanwhile, the responses on social media to the allegations against Jay Shetty have been varied. Take a look at a few of them below:
Why doesn't this surprise me?
“Shetty avoids mentioning Iskcon, instead describing himself as a Vedic monk, stated the report."The drama within the "spirituality" market is likely to persist for a few more decades I think, until the market becomes saturated.#JayShetty #vedic pic.twitter.com/KaUM0ZKNML— Sadanand (youtube @stopitsada) (@MrSadanand) March 5, 2024
why are people actually surprised by jay shetty lying about his past and plagiarising content? have y’all learned nothing from every single public figure/influencer who claims to be “enlightened” and shares cheesy quotes and pop psychology “facts” on their spiritual mission
— guillotine girl (@guill0tinegirl) March 5, 2024
it's so funny that the western world needed an article to figure out that Jay Shetty was a fraud like what part of him screamed he was legit????anyone who calls themselves a "life coach" or a "spiritual guru" is a fraud, end of
— phenyl degrasse tyson (@imajokin) March 4, 2024
I used to always listen to #jayshetty motivational speeches and he turned out to be a fraud 😭😭😭
— Mohammad Haris Khan (@Mohamma81833960) March 5, 2024
This is so disheartening. I have heard a few of Jay Shetty's podcasts, the pop psychology, the secular spiritualism, hints at Krishna consciousness, his soothing manner of speaking, can quite understand the mass following. Whether he wore sweatpants & not robes when he was a…
— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) March 5, 2024
LOL. Been waiting for this day. Obviously @jayshetty is a scam artist and a snake oil salesmen. Honestly when I see people who follow him on instagram non-ironically, I immediately loose respect for them and their intelligence (or lack thereof) pic.twitter.com/3zXf4AvTwn
— TheArmchairAnalyst (@Sitting_Analyst) March 3, 2024
omg you're telling me jay shetty is actually a grifting con-artist?
shocked, absolutely shocked. https://t.co/NSp3ms5xp9— Shiladitya Pandit (@mistershila) March 2, 2024
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
First Published: Mar 5, 2024 3:59 PM IST
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