Kundalini, 3HO & Yogi Bhajan: Predatory Behavior, Sexual Abuse, and Undue Influence

With Peter Blachly

Many schools and groups from Eastern spiritual traditions focus on the idea of an unseen but powerful force just below the navel area of the body. When said to be appropriately activated, this focal point assists an individual in attaining power or self-actualization. In Hindu traditions, this is called Kundalini energy, which is thought to travel up the spine in an awakening experience. The mystical tradition of accessing the source pool of energy thought to reside in the core is supposed to be one of the most honorable, well-controlled, selectively trained, and beneficial pathways a human can pursue. However, in many Kundalini-focused schools, the teachings are anything but safe or mystical. These teachings can become predatory and dangerous with the wrong instructor or organization.  

Despite years of controversy, 3HO is still teaching kundalini yoga today, although Yogi Bhajan, the founder and past spiritual director, is now deceased. In his lifetime, he was accused of rape, sexual abuse, and other forms of nonconsensual touch. The cult he founded has also been said to be involved in labor trafficking, keeping its students busy working for the organization while draining their pocketbooks. From speaking with Peter Blachly, who wrote the book The Inner Circle: My Seventeen Years in the Cult of the American Sikhs, Book 1, we see that the 3HO Cult is still in existence, and the philosophies continue to be practiced despite showing undue influence and harms to many over its existence.