São Paulo

Two female disciples of Sri Prem Baba, 52, say the spiritual leader sexually abused them.

Their former husbands made the accusation during a meeting with the Hindu master with 30 other people, who gathered on Sunday (26th) with him to discuss the allegations.

Prem Baba doesn't deny that he had sexual relations with both women.

Guru Sri Prem Baba

In a video disclosed only to his followers, two days after the meeting, he acknowledged a love affair with "a married person" between 2008 and 2010 and a second relationship.

Prem Baba's publicist rejects emphatically the abuse accusations, and says the spiritual leader never denied he had love relationships in the past.

His disciples are perplexed by the allegations. Prem Baba, who several Brazilian celebrities like Bruna Lombardi and Reynaldo Giannecchini call their guru and has thousands of followers around the world, has declared to be celibate in several prior media interviews.

According to the account of one the ex-husbands, the master would have abused his power and the man's trust to have sex with his wife. He said the couple was going through a marriage crisis in 2008, when his then wife decided to ask the guru's help to save their relationship.

Fabio Toreta, a member of Prem Baba's community who is in charge of institutional relations, says he never denied to have had love relationships in the past. The guru has a 15-year-old daughter.

"He never denied having several relationships. What happened now was the disclosure of an intimate moment, something that happened almost ten years ago," he says. "[Sunday's] meeting was a catharsis. But it's not appropriate to use the word abuse."

"Celibacy is one of the possible translations for brahmacharya [concept that connotes a person who transcends sexuality]. But it doesn't necessarily means an eternal celibacy," he says. "Until 2010, Prem Baba was searching."

Translated by NATASHA MADOV

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