Celebrities and shady spiritual leaders have always gone hand in hand. Hollywood and cult practically grew up together.
‘Faith Healer’ Amy Semple McPherson’s LA Church was founded just as the film industry was moving west, with silent age figures like Charlie Chaplin and Clara Bow, the star who invented the word ‘it girl’ fascinated the
Since then, Hollywood’s list of weird spiritual groups has grown from NXIVM to the Kabbalah Center and, of course, to a particular church that Tom Cruise loved.
Now, a whole new genre of very strange and possibly malevolent Hollywood psychic factions seem to have arisen in recent years. It’s a celebrity yoga cult.
Delve into the brooding world of celebrity yoga cults
These gurus have charmed everyone from Russell Brand and Kate Hudson to Will Smith and Tony Robbins, often just before being exposed as frauds and criminals.
Another guru is on the rise in their wake, and even attend a party for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak despite being wanted by Interpol on gruesome criminal charges.
Katie Griggs, aka Guru Jagat, has charmed top stars like Alicia Keys and Kate Hudson.
Griggs, a turban-wearing, QAnon-following, COVID-denying white woman who claims to be of Indian ancestry and is a follower of Yogi Bhajan, a guru at the center of dozens of sexual assault allegations It is said that it was
Bhajan’s followers include Russell Brand, Demi Moore and Jennifer Aniston. Griggs is a convicted felon, a pedigree that she harnessed to create Los Angeles hotspot RA MA Yoga with her spiritual advisor, Harijwan.
RA MA Yoga has captivated Kate Hudson, Alicia Keys, influencers Shiva Rose and Amanda Chantal Bacon with their claims about “health” and “healing” and that yoga comes from the Bible.
Former members and employees say RAMA is a cult that operates on Griggs’ demand for “extreme devotion” and the notion of “us versus them” yoga superiority.
They also urged followers to avoid medical treatment and warned them not to spend time with their families.
They also accused her of emotional and verbal abuse and refusal to pay employees, and her investors sued her in 2016 for mishandling funds.
In 2020, Griggs began to voice public support for QAnon’s conspiracy theories, claiming that COVID-19 was a hoax and that it also had ties to other far-right ties.
She passed away in 2021. Neither Hudson nor Keys, who publicly supported Griggs in the press, have commented on the allegations against her.
Yoga guru Sadhguru, beloved by celebrities like Will Smith and Tom Brady, has also made shocking allegations against him.
Sadhguru, beloved environmentalist and ashram owner of Tom Brady and Will Smith, claims ‘human suffering’ like COVID-19 comes from lack of spiritual development have been accused of
He has also voiced support for violent political extremism in India and is even suspected of murdering his wife, whom he claims chose to die while practicing yoga.
And in 2018, he objected He argued that 2018 would see tougher penalties for rapists, resulting in more victims being killed.
And then there’s the ‘Godman’ Paramahansa Nityananda, a yoga guru who was loved by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Claiming to be the physical embodiment of the Hindu god Shiva, Nityananda doesn’t have as much of a celebrity lineage as some others, but anyway.
Nithiananda, who says he can teach cows Sanskrit and can see through walls, is currently on the run after being accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting an underage girl.
However, this did not stop the British politician from inviting his representatives to the 2022 Diwali party in the British Senate.
The party included pamphlets with words of support for Nityananda by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and former Interior Minister Priti Patel.
Hopefully, the allegations against Nityananda keep him out of celebrity favors.
But given Hollywood’s track record with problematic yoga gurus?
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer covering topics of pop culture, social justice and human interest.