Testimonials
A heavy and disheartening personal stories have been collected by numerous individuals brave enough to have come out and speak the truth in hopes of helping future families. For reasons of privacy and safety their names have been omitted, however, their stories and endurement of the malicious corruption they experienced is a testament of their true courage.
Divide and Rule
a survivor’s experience
Shree’s modus operandi is divide and rule. My daughter and I shared a strong bond until she got close to Shree Lal. My daughter and her family were in Shree’s cult for several years. While they were there, I didn’t have much contact with them. When my daughter came to visit me she looked scared and nervous. She would immediately get a call from Shree and she would leave. My daughter was told that if she didn’t listen to Shree, whom she believed to be Sai Baba at that time, then she would lose her husband and her child. I felt helpless and didn’t know how to help my daughter and her family. All I could do was pray for them.
I went to stay at her house to help her because she was in a bad state physically and mentally. During that time, I went along with my daughter to attend prayers at Shree’s house. One day, Shree’s mother gave me some sweets to eat and within a few hours my blood pressure rose to 257/160. I was shaking and I was not in my senses for several days. Shree called my daughter and told her there was no need to take me to the hospital because she was healing me. By god’s grace I survived, but I wasn’t allowed to visit my daughter’s home again.
When my daughter became suspicious of her, she secretly came to visit me and her old friends to find a way to get out of the cult. Later on, we found out about Shree’s wicked plan to take my grandson’s custody away from my daughter. We believe she was giving my daughter illegal drugs and took the support away from her so she could prove in the court that my daughter was unfit as a mother. Several years ago, Shree took another young mother’s child away from her and lied to everyone that he’s her son. She pretends that he’s an incarnation of Lord Shiva.
After my daughter came out of the cult, she opened up to me about the way Shree and her family members abused her family. I also met with tens of people that got out of Shree’s cult. All of them told me that Shree created rifts between their spouses, siblings, parents and/or relatives and created fear in their minds about the world. And that’s how she exerted control over them and extorted money from them for years.
By god’s grace my daughter and grandchild are out of the cult now. Even though it has been so many years, Shree continues to harass her, but my daughter’s a resilient person. She’s standing up for her family and other families. She’s getting a lot of support from the people and I’m happy she’s exposing Shree and her family.
I don’t wish for anyone to go through what my daughter and her family went through so it’s my plea to everyone that goes there to talk to your family members and find out what is being said about you to them behind your back. Have an open dialogue with your family members and other members of the group.
EVERYONE’S LIFE IS PRECIOUS. PLEASE STAY SAFE, STAY TOGETHER. GOD DOESN’T ADVOCATE VIOLENCE AND ABUSE.
Captive
a survivor’s experience
What Shree did to my family has left me scarred for life. When she visited Fiji, she convinced my family that she channels Baba and she has special powers. She used manipulation and fear to bring me and my two young children to the USA to live with her.
Once we got there she took all our passports. She didn’t let me communicate with my husband back home. She kept me and my two young children in horrendous conditions in her house. She demanded that I do the maid’s work at her house. My children were also asked to clean her bathrooms. I slept in the hallway with my children. All three of us were given little food to eat. She told me to do maid’s work at someone else’s house as well so I could pay for the stay and food. She kept all the money I received at the job. I was allowed to sleep for a few hours and rest of the time I was made to work.
She told my husband that he was going to die soon so he should divorce me and give the adoption of our children to her. She asked me to marry one of the members of her group. I found some way to call my husband and told him about our condition. When he bought the flight tickets for us to return home, Shree’s mother said she lost my daughter’s passport and Shree pressured me to leave my daughter behind. We got a temporary passport made for her and all of us returned back home.
Even after we left her house, she kept calling my husband and created rifts in our marriage for a year. After that my husband stopped answering her calls.
Later on I found out that this was not the first time Shree and her family tried to take someone’s child away from them. They did this to two other young women. Unfortunately, one of them lost custody of her child and the other one is still fighting her battle in the court.
Evil Puppeteer
a survivor’s experience
Shree’s my cousin. She has a bad reputation in our family. Most of our relatives keep their distance from her. I didn’t trust her either. One time, she came to Fiji when she was married to her first husband. She asked me to marry her so that I can do labor work for her. In exchange, she promised me permanent residence in the U.S. through marriage.
Later, I started hearing from some of our relatives that Baba is channeled through Shree. She came to Fiji with her mom and some devotees, she asked me to chauffeur them and I drove them everywhere. On the same trip she pushed me to sleep with one of her devotees. She said she was divorced. I believe she was trying to break that woman’s marriage.
One day, she called me crying over the phone and said Baba told her that I have 2 years of life left and I should divorce Reema so she can be happy with someone else. She told me she knew some who would marry her and take them to the U.S. to settle there. She said the adoption papers were ready and she would adopt my kids and take them to the U.S. for a better future. I didn’t trust her, but I believed Baba channeled through her. I sent my family with her. She didn’t let me talk to my wife and kids most of the times when I called Shree. Then I found out that my wife and kids were being treated badly. That broke my heart and I decided to call my family back home. Parvati had their passports but she purposely misplaced our daughter’s passport. Shree asked my wife to leave our daughter behind with them. I got a temporary passport for my daughter so she could come home. After my family came back to Fiji, Shree called me many times. I realized she was trying to manipulate me and I cut my ties with her.
Deceit
a survivor’s experience
Shree came to Fiji and stayed in my house with her family. She said that I was very close to Baba. He was very happy with my devotion and wanted me to serve him. Shree created a lot of issues between my family members and me. She made me feel no one appreciated me in my family. She gave me a lot of expensive clothes and jewelry. She took me out with her and her devotees and made me feel very special.
When I came to live in Shree’s house, she and her mother asked me to work all day long. They didn’t let me speak to my family in Fiji. They didn’t let me talk to anyone in their family or group. I had to sleep in the hallway. I could only eat after Shree ate.
Her husband gifted me a phone for my youngest son and Shree got very angry. She accused me of having an affair with her husband. She started beating him in front of me. She strangled him and dug her nails into his neck. He started bleeding. When he called the police, Shree asked her younger children to lie to the police against her husband. Shree made marks on her own body to show her husband was hitting her. Her mother locked me upstairs. The husband got arrested that day. That same night, Shree threw me out of the house. My son bought my ticket to return back home to Fiji.
Shree convinced me to get my son who was studying to become a software engineer married to her devotee who lived at her house as her daughter. We found out in time that she wanted to use my son to earn money for her so he didn’t migrate to the US. I’m heartbroken because she tried to ruin my son’s life.
When I lived at Shree’s home, I overheard her tell her mother that she loves another man in her group and she’ll break his marriage to his wife. Once their basement is renovated, she’ll make him move there. I wanted to warn the wife, but Shree and her mother wouldn’t let me speak to her.
Stolen Child
a survivor’s experience
When I was very young I was brainwashed and coerced by Shree Lal to conceive “a miracle child” for her. Ms. Lal artificially inseminated me with the sperm of her own (Lal’s) boyfriend. When I became pregnant, Ms. Lal kept me in the basement and claimed that she herself was pregnant with the “miracle child.” She wore a false prosthetic simulating her pregnancy to manipulate and fooled the other members into thinking she was the child’s mother in order to claim the child as her own.
After I gave birth, I was kept in the basement of the home. When I decided to leave the cult, I had to fight in Family Court for custody of my son. My family and I faced harassment by Ms.Lal during the custody case and I lost the case. I haven’t seen my son in five years.
Although I made a report to the South San Francisco Police Department they had a hard time believing me and were unable to proceed with charges against Ms. Lal because I was an adult at the time of the occurrence.
Abuse
a survivor’s experience
I was part of Shree’s group and unfortunately, my experiences are written in her book. In the beginning, I used to believe that Shree channels Sai Baba and I was fascinated by the whole phenomenon.
However, as my proximity grew with her, I found her behavior disturbing and concerning. Few years back, I went on a cruise with Shree and other devotees. I saw her hit her ex-husband in public. The abuse didn’t stop there, she and her mother Parvati tried to frame him in a false case of domestic violence. I gave a statement to the police so they understood he was the victim of domestic violence not the abuser and they didn’t arrest him.
Against my will
a survivor’s experience
I lived in Shree’s house for 8 years. I moved into the house because I was made to believe that Sai baba resides in that house, but after sometime I found out it was all a lie.
Shree took my entire salary. She forced me to marry twice so she could have more people that would bring a paycheck at home. I observed that Shree pits family members against one another. She tells lies to them about each other to create misunderstandings between them so she can control the family and take money from them. When she used to be angry, she used to hit me, her ex-husband and adopted children.
I was young and scared so I couldn’t think clearly. I didn’t see any way out for myself until my family and second ex-husband got me out of there. I’m married to an amazing man now and we are building our own family.
House of Lies
a survivor’s experience
Many years ago when Shree came to Fiji, I was studying to become a software engineer. During that trip, she put pressure on me through my mother to marry her so-called daughter. I agreed to get married. I believe Balwinder (fictitious name) was not ready to get married again, but she said yes under Shree’s pressure. We got married in Fiji and Balwinder returned to the U.S. with Shree. On two different occasions, Shree lied to my mother that Balwinder was outside with her boss and she was cheating on me. Both of the times I was on the phone with my ex-wife. When I came to know the extent of abuse Balwinder endured over the years, I encouraged her to leave Shree and reunite with her family.
After finding everything out, I didn’t want to come to the U.S. My ex-wife went into a deep depression and our marriage fell apart. After our divorce, Shree asked me to marry her adopted daughter who was a minor at the time. I was very uncomfortable with that and I said “no”. I believe she wanted me to come to the U.S. so I could work and bring her money. Shree uses and fools her devotees.
When Shree came to Fiji, I heard from my family members that she beat her husband in front of them. She then instigated my Uncle to hit her husband. When my mother went to the U.S. Shree hit her husband and told the children to lie to the police and he was arrested.
Enslavement
a survivor’s experience
I was married to Shree Lal for six years. She physically assaulted me in public many times, but she blamed me instead. Two times she and her family falsely testified against me and I was jailed. She created extreme fear in me about her influence in the community and her ties with the police authorities. I was an immigrant. I wasn’t fluent in English. I had no relatives or friends in the US. I couldn’t fight against her in the court because I didn’t earn a lot of money.
Sita (fictitious name), Shree’s devotee told me Shree shredded my OCI card (Indian passport) in front of her. My job’s security badge from England went missing. One time, my suitcase with all the legal documents went missing and then reappeared a couple of days later. She jeopardized my permanent residency in the U.S. by refusing to go to a marriage green card interview with me.
She forced me to get a million dollar life insurance policy under my name and to make her the beneficiary. Then I found out that she was putting Visine eye drops in my juice every morning. I believe she had plans to kill me and claim the insurance policy money.
When I filed for the divorce, she threatened to kill me if I went against her. She gave a death threat against me to my mother. After the divorce, she called me on the phone and accused me of stealing $35K worth of jewelry from her house. She threatened to imprison me, with false allegations, for molesting her daughters unless I gave the $35K by the next day. She told me that she falsely accused her first husband of child molestation and sent him to jail. If I didn’t pay her the whole amount she’d send me to jail for an even longer time. I got scared and left for India that same night.
She’s married again to a young man who is 27 years old, but she persistently messages me. When she went to meet her husband in India, she wanted to make a stop where I’m living and spend a few days with me. When we were married, Shree asked me to call her devotees’ wives because they suspected that she was having an affair with their husbands. I knew Shree was an imposter, but I kept quiet for years. I knew no one would believe me. Shree and Parvati have broken a lot of families for money. It seems Shree wants to hoard children in her house so she can use them for her own benefit.
Single Mother’s Battle
a survivor’s experience
My husband and I are spiritual people. We had a happy marriage with great future prospects. After the loss of my husband’s mother, Shree Lal incessantly called me every week and volunteered to provide guidance and support to our family. In return, she asked us for financial support because she claimed she didn’t have funds to pay her bills. We reluctantly sought spiritual guidance and support from Shree Lal, which quickly turned into manipulation of our emotional state in an attempt to control and eventually part us.
After a couple of years in the cult, Shree chose us as her “special” devotees. Then, before and during my pregnancy, Shree asked me many times if I would give my child up for adoption to her. I thought she was joking, and I refused. My husband started trusting her blindly, and she started imposing her decisions on us about our marriage, future, and finances. She did that by initially gaining our trust and devotion and then methodically worked to drive us apart through lies and misrepresentation. I started seeing more red flags, and I wanted to distance myself from her, but I stayed in the marriage to keep my family together. Shree always knew about my whereabouts and I didn’t know how to get my family out of the cult. At this point, Shree started telling everyone that I was mentally unstable, not fit to be a mother, and should not have custody of my son. I suffered from depression and panic attacks. My son was born in 2016. We were manipulated into paying over $300,000 for her expenses to pay her back for her spiritual services for saving our marriage and child.
My husband was told to work out of her home. He started taking our child to the cult leader’s home against my wishes. When I noticed signs of physical and emotional abuse, I brought it to my husband’s attention, but he was blinded by his faith. I was not willing to let my child suffer, so I decided to break apart from the cult to keep my family safe and intact. This fractured our marriage. I tried everything to rescue our relationship, but Shree manipulated my husband to file for dissolution two weeks later. He told me that after the divorce, he and Shree Lal would raise our son together. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Once I started talking to other victims, I found out that Shree had taken or attempted to take children from other young mothers in the past on more than one occasion. After leaving the cult, I started recovering slowly, with the help of family and friends.
Currently, I’m fighting for my only child’s custody. I had his custody for three straight years. Recently my husband got shared custody, even though he lives with the cult leader and takes my child there while also brainwashing my son against me. He has threatened to take my child away and made several attempts to gain sole custody by framing me for being uncooperative.
My husband was a loving and compassionate person until he came under Shree Lal’s influence. He and I have not spoken since he moved into her home almost four years ago. What happened to my family can’t be undone, but I hope that my story will help other families to not fall prey to people who use religion for their personal gains and break families apart.