How A Renegade Kundalini Guru Changed The Spiritual Scene (and My Life)

Guru Jagat was a spiritual rock star – a teacher of Kundalini yoga and its philosophy – and a woman who made a major impact on a lot of people in a short amount of time, including me. A force to be reckoned with, Guru Jagat (born Katie Griggs) brought a punk rock flair to the spiritual community. And she became controversial figure for it. But unlike most confrontational voices today who once attacked, they backtrack, Guru Jagat did not apologize, she did not hide who she was or  how she saw things. She spoke out in a way few spiritual people do. She left a major impression on so many of us, and attracted a diverse spectrum of followers who might not look like they even belong in a Kundalini class (such as myself). Sadly, she passed away last week, at 41, from heart complications that came after a surgery. It was shocking to everyone who knew her. And I have a few things to say about her and the aftermath within the L.A. spiritual community that has ensued.

First let me take you into the world she helped create – Ra Ma Institute in Venice, California. When you walk into the kundalini yoga studio at Ra Ma, the energy is palpable. It is a serene space with hardwood floors, white columns and Hindu rugs draped on the walls displaying rich illustrations of deities from various Vedic scripture. A huge gong sits atop a small stage elevated a few feet above the floor where the Kundalini teachers lead class from. The place feels dense, directional, like a cosmic portal.

I guess I should explain Kundalini yoga to those that are still unfamiliar before I get to the woman I want to commemorate. Where hatha/vinyasa yoga is all about a flow of postures that focus on the physical exercises (asana), Kundalini focuses more on the spiritual practice of yoga. Kundalini’s aim is to help you connect deeper with your consciousness through a set of practices (or kriyas), like meditation, mantras, breathing exercises, and a set of rapid movements.

The exercises are meant to elevate the ‘kundalini energy’ in your body thought to be trapped, or coiled, in the lower spine (and lower chakras) up through your ‘third eye’ (and upper chakras). Kundalini yoga is informed by Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist yogic teachings. But esoteric Judeo-Christian-Sufi Islamic ideas are often brought up in talks and teachings as well, particularly at Ra Ma Institute. People and ideas of all world religions are represented in Kundalini. Now, you do not have to be a spiritual person to get something out of the meditations and exercises, but make no mistake about it, this is an inherently spiritual practice.

So let’s get back to the “CEO” of Ra Ma Venice – Guru Jagat. If you want the embodiment of a “strong woman” look no further than her. She had big, round, absorbing dark eyes, total “kapha” (earth and water) plus “pitta” (fire), with curly blonde hair, and “momma’s” disposition. She radiated from the moment she walked in a room, and even more so when she spoke in your direction. Guru Jagat had a mystical allure that drew men and women alike in a way I had never witnessed. She was probably the most confident person I have ever met in my entire life.

Now…Guru Jagat was stern, tough, seemingly unshakable, and yeah, a little intimidating. She could be soothing, approachable and welcoming. But…if you asked her about anything to do with improving your personal life (and not a general question that can apply to us all), you had better be ready to endure what she had to say to you, which more often than not had something to do with looking in the proverbial mirror and acknowledging where the source of your problems in life truly lay – within yourself. And sometimes, with some people, she could get pretty specific.

This was a tough-love kind of yoga teacher, and not everyone takes to it. But I have to say that it was a guilty pleasure to watch self-entitled, Hollywood brats come into her classes, sit front and center in their new Lululemons, raise their hand – with fervor – during the Q & A, to ask hyper-personal, self-involved questions about why their job is this or their boyfriend is that, and then immediately wilt as Guru Jagat broke them down, exfoliating their ego with questions or comments that forced them to look at themselves in an honest way.

For the record, I never had the balls to raise my hand and ask her a question in the middle class (and I always sat in the back and off to the side)…after class in a one on one conversation yes, but if you want to make it about you and hold an audience in the middle of class, she will break you down hard. Most people came away a better person, some found it hard to deal with. Not everyone is ready for it. Needless to Guru Jagat had me at “ohm.”

Under her guidance Ra Ma Venice quickly grew into not only one of the most successful Kundalini studios in Los Angeles, but one of the hippest (and edgiest) too, attracting a wide spectrum of attendees and celebrity followers.  Guru Jagat’s reputation as a pioneer, a disruptor, grew. She presented herself as a “5d Femme”, and who made funny Instagram videos and preached about how to use spiritual practices to succeed in practical life, including making money and expanding your professional life.

Guru Jagat and the other teachers at Ra Ma connected with the ancient Vedic scriptures and traditions, but they were also open to modernizing the practice. Certain rules that govern most Kundalini studios were fluid at Ra Ma. For instance, you didn’t need to wear all white. While it is suggested that the Kundalini tradition be observed, and many students do, if you wanted to show up in all dark colors, nobody gave you s***.

Guru Jagat’s classes were often filled with humor, jokes, and yes, the occasional foray into mysticism, esotericism, and even (dare I admit) conspiracy theories. Some of it was serious and some of it was done with tongue-in-cheek. In fact, Guru Jagat would often poke fun of herself for “going down the rabbit hole on Youtube” and would be the first to describe some of her ideas as “sounding crazy”. yeah, she brought up the Mandela Effect in class once, get over it. I have never attended a class of hers where she and the whole class didn’t bust out laughing at some point. But that’s what made her classes different, unpredictable, and fun! She would start many talks with a disclaimer that you need not buy into any of this, but “here’s some food for thought.” She questioned everything (god forbid), and she did it with a sense of humor and self-awareness that you do not find in most spiritual teachers. She was an out-there and colorful person. Are those people still allowed to exist?

Guru Jagat always instructed that you come to class and take what works for you and leave the rest behind. There is no insistence that you believe any of the new age notions and far out ideas discussed in class. Nobody at Ra Ma is ever asked to leave their family or hand over their bank account information. In other words, it’s not a cult. But in the last few months the spiritual scene at Ra MA has been trolled as “cultish” in social media, and Guru Jagat the focus of the haterade.

Apparently, the softer side of the spiritual community and a few embittered, former associates felt the call to dedicate themselves to “exposing” (poopooing) Guru Jagat (and any independent mind spiritual person) the way haters do these days: through cancel culture, anonymously, on social media. They launched an Instagram page under the name “Ra MA Wrong” attempting to humiliate her by “outing” her as an “abusive cult leader.” They released some of her leaked text messages to her assistants. Turns out (get ready for this) Guru Jagat was a difficult and demanding boss…yes, really. In some of the texts, she was berating her employees about how crappy some photos look in a manner that surely could use some softening, but is still in the realm of run-of-the-mill crap your boss throws at you when you are falling short on a job.

And with that they try to take her down? Weak.

Then came a hit piece, published three weeks in Vice magazine by Cassidy George, which used the Ra Ma Wrong page and the hidden figures behind it as a major source. In it, Cassidy tears into Guru Jagat through the perspective of only those who have negative things to say about her. Not one person who had something positive to say was interviewed even though you can toss an empty matcha tea cup anywhere in Venice and hit at least five people who think Guru Jagat is the bomb. There are a number of celebrities who have worked with Guru Jagat, including Kate Hudson, Demi Moore, Jennifer Aniston, and former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson.

I messaged Cassidy and asked why Guru Jagat was not even interviewed for the piece. I felt it was slanted and one-sided, and frankly unfair. To Cassidy’s credit, she responded: “Hi there! First she responded and expressed interest in talking, then her assistant asked if the piece was ‘friendly.’ when I said we don’t classify pieces, she stopped responding. I sent GJ and her team a full list of allegations in the story and gave her over a week to respond — and sent multiple follow ups, but I sadly heard nothing back!”

Fair enough…but I can understand Guru Jagat seeing this hit piece coming from a mile away and not wanting to feed into this kind of mudslinging “journalism.” As a writer, I can bet this Vice contributor had made up their mind about the narrative before she even reached out to Guru Jagat. Cynicism and the false notion you are nobly exposing something fraudulent is pervasive in media today. I work the media, after all, and I can attest to this. We all want that accomplishment of bringing down some evil villain, and even better if it’s someone nobody knew was an evil villain to begin with. I have fallen trap to it myself in the past, but thanks to the spiritual practice I implement in my life (via vessels like Guru Jagat) I’m trying to be more truthful, or at least not put out a one-sided hit job for the sake of a viral story that might further my career. I hope Cassidy – who is an incredibly talented writer and I urge everyone to read her other (more positive) pieces – finds the same light at some point that I did, and uses her potent pen to build up others, especially other women, instead of trying to destroy them in a game of gotcha’.

So I felt compelled to write this column (which is my opinion and does not reflect the opinion of this network or anyone else), because what I gained from Guru Jagat’s teachings in the year that I  knew her is first and foremost to seek the truth, no matter where it lies, or how it affects me. Yes, sometimes truth can affect you negatively. Sorry ya’ll. The hard truth often takes you to your edge, because the frontier is where a person faces a fact. And facts can be very hard to deal with. Answers to questions like, who are you really? What can you be doing better? The true answers to those questions – and not the fraudulent, comforting ones – are difficult to deal with. But I deal with them better now, braver than I had before because this woman crossed into my life.

For Guru Jagat, I pray ‘akal,’ the Sikh chant that aids the dead into the next world. I will never forget how powerful it felt to talk to her after class, her eyes like deep wells dropping straight into the ether. She made her mark, in me, and in a lot of us. No hater is going to take that away. Nobody is perfect, and many (probably all) of our greatest heroes have resounding flaws… (which can be especially evident if you steal their private text messages to leak onto social media). But I counter the small band of assuredly and legitimately hurt human beings who attack this woman’s reputation, and instead celebrate Guru Jagat’s positivity, her life, her thoughts, and her energy. It was infectious and exhilarating to be around her. I’m a better more spiritual man because of her, And she gave a great hug too.

Rest in Peace, love and light.

Sat Nam.