Musings on Kundalini and the "Breath of Fire" documentary.
I recently watched the Breath of Fire documentary on HBO and boy, did I have a bunch of thoughts. I didn’t have big feelings because I was already aware of the horrors of Kundalini yoga and Yogi Bhajan, as well as being familiar with Guru Jagat’s work. I have a lot more to say on the subject but it got me thinking on the nature of cults, why do I know so many people in them, and what do all these spiritual spaces have in common in terms of red flags.
Practice Discernment
Here’s what I’ve gathered:
Acolytes are obsessed with the leader
When devotees are buzzing around the Queen Bee of a leader, this is a giant red flag imo. Not that you can’t admire someone who is a teacher, right, but when the conversation is consistently focused on the PERSON and not the WORK then there’s something going on.
Likewise, when someone is trying to get you to come to a class - ask them “What do you like about it?” If the answer is focused on the teacher then keep digging.
The leader rambles
When you go to a yoga class, you don’t need to sit there being lectured by the person at the front of the class. Yet, this is something that happens in these kinds of closed spiritual spaces and schools of thought.
A leader invites dialogue and openness and questions. I’ve been to spaces where the teacher asks “Does anyone have anything they’d like guidance on or any questions I could answer?” ←- This approach allows for openness and allocating space to everyone. There is no hierarchy.
Do your research
Origins matter
In the case of Guru Jagat, I had no idea she was preaching Kundalini (because I never participated). However, it’s mind boggling to me that in this age of information, people don’t know who their teachers are and where they came from.
They say “I teach Kundalini”. Great. It’s up to you to look into what the f this is and where it came from. By the time Guru Jagat was a celebrity in the space, there was enough information out there about the origins (and lack thereof) of Kundalini that people could have looked into it.
If there’s no information, ask. Keep asking. If anyone becomes uncomfortable, that’s a secondary red flag that you
Leader doesn’t walk the talk
If someone is preaching on wholistic nutrition and healing and they are the opposite of that, then something is off.
If they are in support of practices but don’t actually do them and they are ungrounded AF, something is off.
If the person in charge is treating others not the same way they treat themselves or in the way they preach, something is off.
Words and actions need to match.
People dress the same/it becomes their identity
This happens in places from CrossFit to Yoga to Burning Man to Googlers (yes, that’s a term). People start dressing with the merch of the place or the particular unofficial or official uniform the cult requires. This is not problematic in and of itself. Humans associate with others in their field and clothing is one of the social cues we use to relate and classify ourselves. But when the thing becomes the entirety of their identity - what they talk about, who they hang out with, who they date, their social media presence, etc then it’s too much. Like, touch grass. Get a hobby. Get off your phone. Focus on substance over style.
Also ask WHY. WHY are we wearing turbans in Kundalini? Why are we wearing white? Why is it a requirement? Why is everyone doing it?
YOU OUTSOURCE YOUR POWER
Ok this is a big one and if you’ve been here enough you know I have a bone to pick.
ANY spiritual practice, teacher, lineage, or school of thought that does not encourage you to:
trust your own knowing
ask questions
disrupt
Is total BS. If you ask questions and people are gaslighting you by deferring to “spirit” GTFO. ANYTHING that demands your blind obedience has gots to go. There is no integrity there.
Yes, there is a requirement to believe before you see when it comes to magic and manifestation, to intention setting and universal laws but it has a different quality to it.
A healthy dose of doubt is ALWAYS encouraged in my space.
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