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Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi Ji
Yogi Bhajan
Yogi Bhajan was born on August 26, 1929 into the Sikh faith in the area
of Punjab, India, and was named Harbhajan Singh Puri. He was the son
of a medical doctor. He spent
his youth in Catholic convent schools and private schools, and when he
was just
eight years old he began his yogic training with an enlightened
teacher, Sant
Hazara Singh, who declared him to be a Master of Kundalini Yoga at the
age of
16.
During the turmoil of the partition
of India in 1947, Yogi Bhajan, at the age of 18, led his
village of 7,000 people 325 miles on foot to safety in New Delhi,
India. He soon
established himself in Delhi,
and, after graduating with a degree in Economics, he began service with
the
Indian government and married Bibi Inderjit Kaur in 1952. In September
of 1968, he left India to begin teaching in North America, particularly
in Canada and the United States, where he ultimately founded 3HO, now
based in Espanola, New
Mexico.
Yogi Bhajan and Kundalini Yoga.
Yogi Bhajan is credited with
bringing the sacred and secret science of Kundalini Yoga to the public’s
attention. Kundalini Yoga is considered
the most comprehensive of yogas, combining meditation, prayer, and physical movements,
use of sacred sound, or mantras, and breathing exercises. “Kundalini” literally
means “the curl of the lock of hair of the beloved.” This metaphor is said to allude to the flow
of energy and consciousness that exists within each individual, and enables individuals
to merge with the universe and with their authentic self. Practitioners of yoga believe that fusing
individual and universal consciousness creates a divine union, called
“yoga.” The Upanishads – the Hindu
religion’s sacred scriptures – describe and recognize the existence and
practice of Kundalini Yoga in the 5th Century B.C. Because of the oral tradition associated with
Kundalini Yoga, practitioners believe that it reaches back even further into
history. For thousands of years, this
sacred science and technology was veiled in secrecy, passed along verbally from
master to chosen disciple.
Yogi Bhajan’s actions of bringing
Kundalini Yoga to North
America broke the
centuries-old tradition of secrecy surrounding the science of Kundalini
Yoga by
teaching Kundalini Yoga publicly. During
the late 1960s and early 1970s, Yogi Bhajan’s efforts to teach
Kundalini Yoga
and meditation offered an effective alternative to the prevailing
drug-based
culture facing many youths and young adults in North America at that
time. Thousands of youth of that generation successfully stopped
recreational drug use and substance abuse. Yogi Bhajan recognized that
their experimentation with drugs and altered states of consciousness
expressed
a deeper desire to experience a holistic, liberating sense of
awareness. Yogi Bhajan traveled extensively in the 1970s
and 1980s to educate, uplift, and enlighten everyone he met through
Kundalini
Yoga and the tenets of 3HO’s (happy, healthy and holy) lifestyle.
In addition to his efforts with 3HO,
Yogi Bhajan was an ardent advocate of world peace and religious unity. Yogi Bhajan was recognized as the “Siri Singh
Sahib”, or the Sikh leader in the Western Hemisphere. The title “Siri Singh Sahib” was bestowed on Yogi
Bhajan by Sikh authorities in Amritsar, India – the spiritual home of the Sikh religion, which is
currently estimated to be the 5th largest
organized world religion with a following of approximately 23 million. During his lifetime, he met with world leaders
of all faiths to encourage dialog, including Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II,
the Dalai Lama, two Archbishops of Canterbury, and other notable spiritual and
secular leaders.
Yogi Bhajan authored and published
more than 30 books on topics ranging from spirituality and consciousness to
communication and psychology. He also founded
several food companies that manufacture and distribute natural products based
on these teachings.
Yogi Bhajan passed away on October 6, 2004 at the age of 75.
Despite Yogi Bhajan’s passing, his teachings continue throughout the
world. Currently, it is estimated that
there are approximately 300 3HO-associated centers or foundations operating in
35 countries.
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