Yogi Bhajan Mission on the March
Yogi Bhajan Mission on the March
It has been almost 12 years since Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi Ji left his physical body. From 1969 when he came to the West until 2004 Yogi Ji served humanity and the Sikh community with every breath he had. I had the privilege to come close to Yogi Bhajan in 1952 when we both were in All India Sikh Student Federation. I observed his work in India as a Govt. of India official and later on when he went to America where he established the first yoga centre in L.A in 1969. I have been attending many International Conferences he organised in U.S.A , Africa and Europe where he taught the message of Guru Nanak. A large number of foreigners accepted Sikh Dharma through these camps and he organised Yatras to Amritsar of these Sikhs annually.
Along with Mother Teresa, Reverand Martin Luther King Jr. and Pope John II, Yogi Bhajan is only the fourth person to be recognized in the US Congress for his service to humanity. That is a great honour to an Indian born person. A state highway has been named after him in the State of New Mexico.
Since his passing away, there has been tremendous expansion of the teachings of Yogi Bhajan both in the realm of Sikh Dharma and Kundalini Yoga throughout the world. In most situations when a strong central figure is no longer there it becomes very natural for everything that person built to diminish over time, but in the case of Yogi Bhajan, and all that he created, it is just the opposite.
There are more than 8,000 lectures on Sikh Dharma, Kundalini Yoga and Humanology by Yogi Bhajan. Most of these are freely available on the Internet through the Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings website.
Today there are several hundred centres of Kundalini Yoga and the teachings of Shabad Guru. The outreach of these has gone far beyond North America, Southeast Asia and Europe – it has reached China, South America, Russia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Over the past nine years China has created several hundred teachers of Kundalini Yoga where thousands now practice the ancient science of breath and meditation including chanting Japji and Sat Nam Wahe Guru. Moreover, hundreds of these students come to Amritsar every year to visit the Golden Temple and pay their respects to Guru Ram Das. Dozens complete the 84 steps of Gowindwal and have made yatras to Anandpur Sahib. Anandpur Sahib is where Yogi ji built a large residential complex near Takht Keshgarh Sahib. Currently there are eight outstanding Chinese students who study at Miri Piri Academy, a Khalsa boarding school founded by Yogi Bhajan 20 years ago in Amritsar.
Recently, in China thousands participated in BREATHE, the 3rd Great Asian Tour on Kundalini Yoga for Health, Happiness and Harmony. They are following the teachings of Yogi Bhajan. Once Yogi Bhajan was asked about the prophecy of Guru Gobind Singh that there will be 960 million Khalsa. He said that they will come from China and Russia.
Russia has seen tremendous growth in the technology of Kundalini yoga and the expansion of Sikh Dharma over the past decade. Even though Russia began its journey with Yogi Bhajan in 1985, thousands there now participate in their Kundalini Yoga Festivals, yatras to India, hold langars and offer gurdwara services.
The Middle East and Africa are also continuing to grow at a very steady rate. Ghana, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, South Africa, Isreal and many others have all expanded in the teachings offered by Yogi Bhajan.
Perhaps one of the larger areas of expansion in the western hemisphere is Central and South America. Chile has now legalized Sikh Dharma as a recognized religion. Amrit Prachar, Gurbani Kirtan, Kundalini Yoga Festivals, Gurdwaras , Langar programs and many other forms of seva are well placed in their society. Langar Chile, which serves food to the homeless in the streets of Santiago, has just celebrated 10 years of National Service. Chile, and seven other countries throughout the world including China, have requested the Women of Light Foundation to become part of the governmental programs offered to their citizens. Founded by Nam Nidhan Kaur Khalsa, Women of Light is a program developed to serve all women with the technology of Sikh Dharma and Kundalini Yoga. Moreover, Crecer Consciente Foundation which is based on Yogi Bhajans teachings for children and developed by Prabhu Nam Kaur Khalsa is widely accepted on a governmental level by many South American countries. For the past two years, Gurubachan Singh Khalsa has been invited to teach in the National Congress of Chile. He has been the first person in Chile who has had this privilege that is otherwise reserved only for the President of the country. In 2016 he is additionally invited to the National Congress of Argentina. Gurbachan Singh received the BASTON of Honor from the National Police of Bolivia, the highest honour given to a civilian. See video below:
Now Siri Guru Granth Sahib ji has been installed in all the countries of South America. Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, El Salvador, Argentina and Colombia have accepted Kundalini Yoga and the teachings on stress reduction for thousands of their National Police force. Sometimes as many as 1,200 policemen meditate together while listening to Gurbani Kirtan.
Throughout South America many banks, corporations, hospitals, universities and military forces are practicing the teachings of Yogi Bhajan. The relevancy in times of stress, chaos, confusion and extreme social problems has brought thousands to the feet of Guru in one way or another.
Brazil, through the tremendous efforts of a Brazilian woman named Guru Sangat Kaur Khalsa and the sangat there, have created Miri Piri School of Brazil. It is the first school in the Americas that is patterned after Miri Piri Academy in Amritsar – all based on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan and Shabd Guru. Even the successful Catholic School systems in Brazil want to emulate and incorporate into their educational systems many of the programs that Miri Piri School is offering. MPS has now expanded beyond it’s Belo Horizonte campus to Uberlandia and the capital city of Brazilia.
If you review the hundreds of seva programs that are being offered worldwide through the followers of Yogi Bhajan and his teachings your eyes cannot remain dry. The compassion and kindness in our seva to humanity emulates the great work Yogi Bhajan has inspired. One man, as a humble Sikh leaving a Govt. job in India in 1970, came to U.S.A and started the Sikh Dharma in the western hemisphere and now thousands worldwide have joined as practicing Sikhs wearing turbans.
By grace of Guru Ram Das, Yogi Bhajan’s legacy is guiding the American Sikhs to spread the message of Sikh Dharma all over the world and hundreds and thousands are attending yoga classes chanting Sat Nam.
Sardar Tarlochan Singh,
Ex-MP Government of India
Personal Assistant to President Giani Zail Singh
Former Chairman National Commission for Minorities.
In Paraguay, plans are now being developed to build the first Sikh Gurdwara, not only in that country but also as major centre of spirituality for the continent. The Langar Paraguay program, now in its 6th year feeds more than 200 indigenous street children every day. The teachings of Shabad Guru and Kundalini Yoga are an everyday reality for many of the countries of the five million strong Catholic population. In Argentina there is a growing population of Sikhs both western and South Asian, dating back to the time the British build the railroad between Argentina and Bolivia with the help of Sikh workers because of their English language skills and work ethic.