Breath Of Fire: A Harrowing Story of Yet Another Abuse of Power
HBO
TRIGGER WARNING: MILD TALK OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND PEDOPHILIA
Breath of Fire is a riveting new documentary directed by Hayley Pappas and Smiley Stevens, based on a Vanity Fair article written by journalist Hayley Phelan.
In a four part series, it tells the story of how Kundalini Yoga was started by cult leader “Guru” Bahjan, a supposed spiritual leader, and one of his students “Guru” Jagat, aka Katie Griggs.
Like most “spiritual” leaders, who claim to be called by God, The Universe, or whatever title they wish to embody, the documentary is another fervent reminder that these leaders are, almost always, not what they claim to be.
The setup
Yogi Bajhan was a Pakistani man who, apparently, brought to India a supposed “ancient “ form of Yoga called Kundalini. He had set up a very strict set of rules that students were to follow, from physical movements and breath, to how they should eat, toilet, dress, have sex and more.
He brought himself into prominence in the 1960’s, a time of cultural shift and change, and took advantage of a time where spiritual leaders were gaining attention in the United States. Speaking about peace, love and female empowerment, he took it upon himself to hire a group of white people, as he thought they would bring him more influence and prestige.
He also created a system within the community of all young females to be his “secretaries”, using that as a means of showing others what female empowerment looked like. As the film moves on, we see that it is just a front to blind his followers to his true intentions, which was absolute power, deception for personal gain and a deep seated toxic rage.
As his notoriety rose, he was able to fool large communities of people (mostly white) to start to build communities, businesses and wealth. He convinced people that he was the only one who knew what was right, while also separating children from their parents very early on, and sending them to a school in India, where they were subjected to horrific corporeal punishments and sexual abuse.
He met with international dignitaries and presidents, and was considered by those who weren’t aware, as a “Guru” of modern spirituality. He was able to amass a vast fortune on the backs of others, while teaching that, if you also weren’t rich like him, you weren’t doing Kundalini right.
The only way to do it right, he taught, was to submit fully to him and give everything in service to him. He promised, in return, that his followers, were chosen people who would inherit the Earth for the next five thousand years.
Kundalini Katie
HBO
The documentary weaves throughout, the story of a young woman named Katie Griggs. She was born in a middle class, suburban family and lived with her mom and stepdad in an artistic and unconventional way to most children of the time.
She carried the pain and burden of being abandoned at a very young age by her birth father, and, by the time she was a young adult, managed to get caught in a cycle of depression, alcohol and drugs. The regular twelve step programs didn’t vibe with her, so she set out on finding a way to heal with more unconventional means and spirituality.
She found Kundalini Yoga online, which promised that their moves and mantras could heal depression and addiction. She learned the teachings and movements from taking classes at the studio built by two of Bahjan’s supposed students, Golden Bridge, and later started private classes of her own.
She was noticed by a prominent Bahjan student, Harijiwan Khalsa, aka Steve Oxenhandler, another white man donned in the turban and beard style of Sikh men, who claimed to have spent years with Bahjan in training. He ultimately helped her open a studio called the Ra Ma Institute, and Kundalini Katie took the name Guru Jagat, as she herself rose to prominence.
The studio and techniques were lauded starting around 2007 and plenty of stars and influencers, the likes of Madonna, Russell Brand, Orlando Bloom and Rachel McAdams, were among Kundalini’s followers.
On the surface, Guru Jagat was the star of a movement of “wellness” and ultimate healing, but as the film speaks to former workers, we find the true story behind it, like Bahjan’s, was much darker and wrought with hypocrisy.
Interwoven, is also the theme of cultural appropriation, with white people taking on the guise of Sikhism, in a way that suited Bahjan’s flawed vision, but was used primarily as a front to gain the tax subsidies that the religions in the United States benefit from.
The series takes great pains to provide a fully detailed and immersive experience in a way that people can easily understand.
in all honesty…
HBO
It’s time to rethink buying Yogi Tea! Yogi Tea is just one of Bahjan’s corporate entities umbrellaed within his original company 3HO, which is also discussed in this must see series.
Pappas and Stevens have put together a documentary series that is chock full of information that flows effortlessly and is both entertaining and enthralling.
They have masterfully created a series with a subject that spans decades, into bite-sized, mesmerizing pieces that audiences are sure to lap up.
I want to salute them and Bahjan’s survivors, who bravely stepped up to tell their stories, so we could know the truth about someone who was so prominently praised in the past, and his students who continue to use appropriated culture to scam others while making themselves rich.
Yogi Bahjan was nothing but a con, a brute, and a consummate liar full of greed and avarice, who took advantage of impressionable young people, especially women, looking for personal healing. Predators like him are everywhere in business, where big money can be seized for one’s self, at the expense of other people’s hard work.
We see that in billionaires all over the world who are lost in endless greed that cannot and never will be satisfied. Our capitalistic system takes any ideas from race, religion, culture, or gender and exploits it for profit. This is part of the long history of colonization, “royalty” and a system that glorifies all the wrong people, in places of admiration and devotion.
The people featured were either raised in Bahjan’s system of oppression, or were highly susceptible due to being inexperienced, lost, and confused. This man and his higher level followers took full advantage of them with malicious intent.
Guru Jagat upheld Bajhan’s system, influenced by Harijiwan, another convicted criminal and fraud, but it’s unclear how this all happened as we don’t get access to much of Jagat and Harijiwan’s intimate conversations. She may have also fallen victim to he and other’s manipulation and deception.
HBO
What is clear about her, is that she did embrace a false facade to make the studio and herself a lot of money. Several of her assistants and co-workers throughout the series make claims that who she appeared to be and what she taught, was not practiced behind closed doors.
Breath of Fire shows us why we need to be wary of people who call themselves Master’s and Guru’s. In my experience with the spiritual world, those who call themselves either, generally aren’t, because a true devotee to clarity, love and light knows that there is always more to learn.
It is always a gamble entrusting people and businesses, even when they have popular studios, or are an advisor of any sort to the “stars”. It’s smoke and mirrors with people like this and none of them are any better than anyone else.
At the end of the day, those who live through light and love would never charge you for advice or exclude those who couldn’t afford it. True masters know how insignificant and transient Earthly “power” and money is, and understand that deception and ego is what is behind accumulating vast amounts of lucrative anything.
We are born into these systems where the rich have purposefully blinded us so they can gain. If there is insecurity of any kind, there are always going to be “snake oil” salespeople with a “perfect”, fast “cure” for what ails you.
There is nothing you can buy to quickly gain clarity and awakening about anything. The truth is always waiting to be found, but, for the most part, clarity is found through diligence, education, bravery and hard work.
We can also learn from each other by listening to the stories of brave survivors like these, and also people who have personally been through the subjects we talk about, but we also have to do the long and often difficult work to unlearn the manipulation that was piled on us at birth.
As we are all different, not one thing or system is ever going to work for everyone. It is up to us to find what works best for us and create our own paths towards healing. Don’t ever hesitate to ask questions or challenge long standing beliefs on anything that directly affects human rights, health, and peace of mind.
Episode one of Breath of Fire airs on HBO Max October 23, 2024.
