The Contending’s Megan McLachlan talks cult documentaries and the life of Guru Jagat, the subject of HBO’s Breath of Fire documentary series, with directors Hayley Pappas and Smiley Stevens.
In HBO’s Breath of Fire documentary series, directors Hayley Pappas and Smiley Stevens guide viewers through the life of Millennial cult leader Guru Jagat, also known as Katie Griggs, as she becomes a spiritual leader and yoga master for the stars.
Audiences learn a lot throughout the four-episode series, including that, yes, even female cult leaders face their share of sexism.
HBO Breath of Fire Documentary
“On one hand, [sexism] makes Guru Jagat’s rise to the top rapid because people are so happy to cheer on this female leader and female face,” says Pappas. “And then the moment she makes it to the top and makes a misstep—and she makes a series of missteps—people are gleeful to tear her down and that feels uniquely sexist.”
The documentary doesn’t discount the harm that Jagat caused along the way. Notably, Griggs withheld payment from her employees and also spouted dangerous conspiracy theories, even going so far as to have Holocaust-denier David Icke on her podcast.
But what’s interesting is the juxtaposition of Guru Jagat next to her Kundalini yoga hero, Yogi Bhajan — a man who raped women and went on to have a road named after him.
“There was an expose on Yogi Bhajan in Time magazine and nothing happened,” says Stevens. “He had many opportunities to be canceled but that wasn’t a thing [back then]. She got canceled real fast.”
“It’s such a double standard that we all see and live,” continues Pappas. “Being able to look back at Yogi Bhajan’s various horrific missteps and abuses and wrongdoings and [the reaction is ]. . .shrug.”
In my chat with Pappas and Stevens, we discuss the genesis for the doc and its connection to the Vanity Fair article by Hayley Phelan, a similar pattern that befalls many cult leaders, and what happened to Guru Jagat toward the end of her young life.
