Breath of Fire

I don't usually write reviews on here but after watching the 2 episodes that have been released so far (out of 4, that haven't all been released yet..) i think the series is great so far! Its highly entertaining, very well produced, and they are talking with the people who were closest to Yogi Bhajan and "Kundalini Katie", aka Guru Jagat..

As someone who taught hatha and vinyasa yoga for 12 years myself and dabbled in kundalini from time to time i'm very familiar with the yoga world, although i didn't know the full story of the background of the origins of kundalini yoga, and Yogi Bhajan himself, i'm not too surprised.. it does seem like most people who desire to become 'gurus' and amass a following have a certain personality type, and are often followed by scandals and controversy when put under further investigation.

It seems that the other reviewers have taken this obviously completely objective documenting of this story personally?.. which would only lead me to believe they have adopted the system being shown and discussed in this series as their own personal belief system?..

anyways i've always believed the most profound and truthful spiritual teachers live pretty humbly and don't necessarily desire the attention, following and acclaim that many who have created cult like communities and followings seem to desire. I heard someone discussing this topic recently saying be weary of anyone who physically elevates themselves over others, ie. Sitting above their 'students' or followers.. obviously to be taken with a grain of salt, but i have to agree some of the greatest teachers have lived simply and their life and their actions themselves were their teaching/message..

that said i also think people need to give up this idea of trying to find someone to follow and learn that the greatest wisdom is within ourselves; of course we can learn so much from others and we can have many teachers and find truths everywhere and from everyone, the point being not to follow another person or elevate them above yourself in importance or it starts to become a form of idolatry.

Breath of Fire takes on the daunting challenge of trying to convey the dysfunction, enabling, and vast criminality of a man named Harbhajan Singh Puri, who later re-imagined himself as Yogi Bhajan.

The focus of Breath of Fire is Katie Griggs aka Gurujagat Kaur, who was emblematic of many of Yogi Bhajan's manipulative techniques, which they both used effectively to dupe their followers. Her teacher, Harijiwan Singh is mentioned only briefly, and is another nefarious "guru" who is still leading what remains of Gurujagat's followers.

I would have preferred to hear more of the stories of the victim/survivors and far less from talking-heads who had only a peripheral knowledge of the community.

Katie Griggs mother, Nansy Steinhorn-Galloway, was especially heartbreaking to witness as she comes to terms with all that transpired.

The early followers of Yogi Bhajan, Peter Blachly and Leah Lamb-Allen were particularly compelling, painting a rich picture of the early days of the 3HO organization and what they found attractive about this new lifestyle that Yogi Bhajan was offering.

Mahani Khalsa's story was gut-wrenching to hear. So many of the children, born to the first wave of devotees, were brutally harmed. They deserve their own documentary to begin to adequately tell the world what happened to them.

At times, the use of weird, circus-like music, screaming yogis with horror music, and glib commentary, was strange and unnecessary. The stories held their own without all that nonsense.

I recommend this documentary for its truth-telling and for its exposure of the hypocrisy and grift that is rampant in "new age-well-being" spaces.

It has reached a worldwide audience, which is cause for celebration.

This series covers both the Bhajan Cult and the RA MA Subcult very well.

In 2017 I was happily doing Iyengar yoga and was a Hatha teacher. I just wanted my spouse to do it with me. When she discovered RAMA and Katie Griggs ( AKA Guru Jagat ) she suddenly wanted to do yoga. I regrettably did not do any research as I usually do. So we were sucked into this Bhajan yoga cult big time. I was happy to be practicing yoga with my spouse ... Granted gfs and her elitist style and better than you attitude appeals to my spouse ...

I was attracted to all the great ordinary people practicing ...

This series really covers the bases well and i recommend people also check out the companion podcast temple of steal. It will prevent you and others getting sucked into this cult. I still teach yoga but not Bhajan yoga...

Thanks to the producers the crew and all the people who shared their experiences in this series ... amazingly well done... most of the negative reviews are posted by cult members so use your critical thinking... there are things one could critique about the series but I believe it gives a great general overview in a well produced way. Thanks.

I am a kundaliniyoga teacher but I had already left the Yogi Bhajan strict style of yoga around 2015-2017. Living in Sweden I was far from the toxic ashram environment but it was very informative to see the documentary. I would have liked more about Yogi Bhajan and less about Guru Jagat but I understand she was also a charasmatic leader and that for many viewers she is more interesting since she was active more recently.

I am currently foing Relgious Studies at a university in Sweden and I think it is important to know the history of some of these "cults" (cult has a specific definition within academic studies but here I refer to the more generic meaning).

I recommend the documentary.

This series is extraordinarily well done and manages to avoid the usual sensationalism that is a standard feature of most documentaries about cults. In large part this is due to the interviewing style of Hayley Pappas, whose compassionate and empathic approach elicited heart-felt and deeply moving responses. There were a couple of things that might have enhanced the series. I thought the "comic relief" of the bit explaining Kundalini Yoga was a bit silly, and the use of models and dancers dressed up to look like female yogis struck me as odd and unnecessary. The producers also left out a huge piece of the Kundalini Yoga culture, which was the music. Granted, the musical sound track was quite good, but for many in the cult, the music was a large part of the appeal. Overall, however, I give the producers high marks.