Our Views on Yogi Bhajan

(Originally posted in February 2020 after the first wake of allegations. Later reflections added at the end.)

Our Kundalini Yoga community is having a challenging situation to face and understand.

We are saddened to hear about the allegations against the one who has brought Kundalini Yoga to the Western world.

Recent testimonies about Yogi Bhajan’s sexual conduct have challenged us all. Hence, we have carefully read the book of “Premka”, written by Pamela Dyson, the chief secretary and student of Yogi Bhajan in the 70’s and 80’s.

We feel compassion for her and all those women who experienced abuse or any other traumatic events and we feel compelled to support and help to heal this in our community.

On a personal level, the current situation affecting the Kundalini Yoga community feels disappointing, painful and sad, but at the same time it is an opportunity to grow and become more authentic, truthful and compassionate. We, as so many other people, are learning from this situation that affected our understanding of authority and what was really going on behind the scenes. It is time to see through the illusions of masks, sensationalism, and misinformation.

And even though applying a critical mind is something we have been doing even before, as we have been improving our trainings and classes, avoiding the incorrect or the inconsistent in the materials of the institutions created by Yogi Bhajan, now it is time to do even a deeper review of what we teach.

Definitely, these are times to trust God within and do what it takes to experience that connection… your own sense of Infinity, guiding you from within. These are times to experience a connection to your spiritual network, creating healthy communities with healthy values, linked to your higher astrals, your angels, spiritual ancestors, spirit guides or “Golden Chain”.

We believe this shocking news about Yogi Bhajan comes with a responsibility for one’s own path and those who serve on this journey of being a teacher.

We welcome the purification, the change and the evolution that these painful revelations trigger in us and our work.

And we wish to keep the equilibrium and discernment to also preserve and transmit the pure energy and the pure content that we have received from all our teachers, experience and study.
 
Jivan Mukta, Sat Darshan & Team

Updated Reflections

Over the years, so much more has come to light about what went on within Yogi Bhajan's inner circle and among his closest and most intimate followers. Bit by bit, this information has surfaced, becoming part of his biographical legacy, as well as shedding light on the dynamics at the U.S. headquarters of 3HO and the boarding school in India. The recent HBO documentary The Breath of Fire compiles some of the most harrowing accounts and presents them in a series that is both brief and deeply shocking.

For us, this has reinforced the importance of relying on our own connection to Spirit, the timeless and universal teachings within Kundalini Yoga, and—most importantly—our personal experiences of what truly works. Since these revelations emerged, we have shifted our focus to supporting people in healing and connecting to their inner selves. Whether through teaching Kundalini Yoga, Shakti Dance, healing practices, astrology, or therapy, our mission has evolved to reflect these priorities.

We want to be clear: we do not minimize or deny the abuses that have been publicly documented. The same man who created a revolutionary yogic system, Kundalini Yoga, was also capable of profoundly misusing the power that this system grants its practitioners. We have long been critical of the “Bhajanism” that emerges in certain semi-conscious beliefs embedded at multiple levels. This goes beyond simply being “different” or “weird,” as some bystanders and scholars have described the ecosystem surrounding Yogi Bhajan, often noting its “cultish” undertones.

We refuse to look away or remain silent. This journey has led us into another level of shadow work, self-healing, and discernment. Through our classes, workshops, and trainings, we continue to aim to empower others while acknowledging a fundamental truth: power magnifies both the light and the shadows within the subconscious. And for those in positions of empowering others, this awareness is not optional—it is essential.

We have come to 4 lines of action that we are currently focused on:

  1. Completing the reconfiguration of our mindset, emotional, and operational dynamics to teach and serve others. We have cleared the illusions that once clouded our understanding about Yogi Bhajan and some of his teachings.

  2. Further integrating the light and shadow aspects of this spiritual lineage while reconciling the history of Kundalini Yoga with its most popular iteration through Yogi Bhajan in the 20th century.

  3. Keep developing a thoughtful and critical reinterpretation of Yogi Bhajan’s message in the light of empirical, experiential, historical, astrological, multicultural, and universal laws and truths. We seek to hold the space of our work on more solid fact-based grounds in order to elevate and serve others pursuing the aim of all yogas and this system as well (liberation).

  4. Translating these experiences and teachings into Western culture and language—positioning them within the broader context of the philosophical, technological, scientific, logical, psychological and astrological structure of the West and modern world. And we keep our mind open to best apply this unique yogic protocols in today’s diverse multicultural world.

 

Watch Jivan Mukta’s reflection to the book of Premka. Feb 2020.