The power of influencers over our personal lives boggles the mind. Even those who have been called out multiple times continue to amass legions of fans and followers. But most are modern-day godmen and snake-oil salesmen riding on our insecurity and peddling fake dreams.
British-Indian self-help ‘guru’ Jay Shetty is the latest to come under scrutiny, his alleged “iffy origin story” collapsing like a pack of cards. But the man who presided over Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s nuptials seems unfazed by The Guardian’s takedown. He has not issued a statement and his Instagram account is still brimming with his trademark ‘motivational posts’ that earned him millions of dollars and entry into Hollywood’s gilded circles.
In its investigative article, The Guardian reported discrepancies in Shetty’s ‘origin story’ from being a business student to listening to a monk speak and changing his path to be a monk in India for three years. And then shifting goals to becoming a ‘self-help guru’. But the report reveals he was in India only for a few months. Much of his ‘spiritual’ awakening comes from his time at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Watford, outside London— the UK headquarters of ISKCON. But Shetty has never publicly associated himself with the society’s Hare Krishna movement, only crediting the chance encounter with an unnamed monk for his transformation. It’s part of a larger thread of lies and deceit that’s paved his way to the top.
But will this be enough to end Shetty’s career? That’s unlikely given society’s need for the perfect story of redemption and nirvana. India has no dearth of godmen and influencers selling faith and making money out of it. But the preachers and the influencer have one thing in common— their story of struggle, serendipity and their encounter with mystics that changed their lives and drove them to the ultimate truth.
Shetty peddled Indian mysticism to foreigners. His story of becoming a monk in India and returning to London to share his wisdom with the world follows a similar trope.
You don’t need a cult now when you have Instagram.
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Consummate businessman
Shetty’s social media popularity as a self-help guru has earned him many celebrity fans. He has hosted several celebrities on his podcast from former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama to Kim Kadarshian. Bollywood actors are not far behind. Actors like Deepika Padukone have attended his ‘Love Rules’ tour show in Bengaluru. His Twitter bio calls him a “purpose-driven entrepreneur”.
And such revelations about his monkhood and origins don’t affect his followers. It rather bolsters them. They are out there to defend their spiritual guru, abusing everyone who speaks otherwise. For them, he is infallible.
Shetty is a consummate businessman. His followers have paid thousands of dollars, $7,400 to be exact, to get a ‘postgraduate diploma’ from his life-coaching school. Others spend hundreds of dollars on his meditation courses to make their life better. While Shetty has expanded his lifestyle. Apart from the school, he has a tea brand Juni, and is the “chief inspiration officer” of wellness application Calm—all of this by repeating the same old positivity sermons.
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Plagiarised motivation
Shetty calls himself a ‘life coach’—a Westernised self-help guru and he knows how to sell his words.
A combination of good looks, carefully chosen words and an air of confidence and spirituality are enough to get followers on social media accounts and get this title.
This is not the first time he’s been called out. Jay Shetty has been accused of plagiarism in 2019. Imagine, Shetty is even plagiarising the motivational speeches that his followers are falling for.
He knows the pulse of the social media audience and what they want. He has amassed a following of 15.3 million on Instagram. This is a reflection of ourselves as well—everyone is desperately seeking answers and deeper meaning. We want to believe and people like Shetty are more than willing to cash in on this.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)