Right Before Guru Jagat Died, She Called Her Mother and Said She Was Scared — What Happened?

Katie Griggs was born at the tail end of the 1970s and was raised on a farm in Colorado. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Griggs' mother said her daughter was always very spiritual, even at a young age.

When Griggs was around 7 or 8 years old, she had the family "sit around the table and look at the flame of a candle, concentrate on the flame." It's unclear what she was looking for back then but as she grew up, Griggs found something else.

After Griggs was sexually assaulted in college, she turned to drinking and drugs to escape the pain. While searching for alternative ways to get sober, she met Harijiwan who taught her the ways of Kundalini yoga.

Eventually, she opened up a yoga studio in Los Angeles but things began falling apart when allegations of abuse against another mentor came to light. Soon Griggs, who by this time was known as Guru Jagat, was trapped in a downward spiral. Then she suddenly passed away. What happened?

Per her death certificate, obtained by Vanity Fair, Jagat died Aug. 1, 2021, of cardiac arrest, caused by a pulmonary embolism following surgery on her left ankle. Jagat was in Germany when she broke her ankle. Her mother clearly remembers Jagat calling her from Europe, scared. "I told her to rest. Just rest," she said. Unfortunately, Jagat decided to fly home to Los Angeles, which doctors suspect is what caused the embolism.

When Jagat and Harijiwan met, he was looking for a charismatic face to front a yoga studio. She fit the bill perfectly.

In 2013 she founded Ra Ma Los Angeles, in Venice Beach. Soon they were attracting famous clients like Kate Hudson and Alicia Keys. Jagat used social media to build her following which led to studios opening up in other cities.

Cracks in the facade appeared when the aforementioned sexual abuse claims resurfaced.

When asked about the sexual assault, Jagat told Vanity Fair, "Yogi Bhajan is a historic figure, and he remains a historic figure. I’m not, like, spending my days trying to figure out whether George Washington was doing some things that I wouldn’t agree with in 2021."

This wasn't the only thing happening in Jagat's life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she began leaning into QAnon beliefs while acting more and more abusive towards her employees. She died before things were settled once and for all.

In August 2021, a memorial was held at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles. It was there that Jagat's husband delivered a strange eulogy. "She burns inside me now as she did before and she will continue," he said. Teg Nam, whose real name is Austin Dunbar, was 20 years younger than Jagat and might have been responsible for radicalizing her.

They met at work and got married in Scotland in 2019.

After her death, it's unclear who took control of the yoga studios. Many believed Jagat and Nam were running a cult, though nothing was ever proven.

Still, Jagat's mother was left with many questions after her daughter died, namely what happened. "I kept saying, Who is that woman? I don’t recognize her," said her mother.