and he often said he wanted no followers. So the Bottom Line is.we make the choice as individuals.based on Guur Jis Kirpa on us individually.to be blessed with understanding.so the first thing to do is learn GURMUKHI.to connect with the GURU PERSON to PERSON.and then proceed form there.step by step.as I have been for the past 59 years.and still progressing. People "see" what they wnat to see.even in GURBANI.so one who beleives in myths and miracles.will "see" these in Gurbani.while another who doesnt WONT SEE these even if the TUK or shabad is the SAME in Both instances.the Nirmalas and Udasis who wrote a Teeka of SGGS called the faridkotee teeka had a Hindu Background.they see Gurbani ENDORSING all the Hindu myths and miracles and shivas and ramchanders.while Prof Sahib Singh in his SGGS Darpan read the very same Gurbani and cmae to different conclusion supported by evidence from Gurbani. GURBANI instructs us to."AAkleen SAHIB aning use our own God bestowed INTELLECT.to read Gurbani.understand Gurbani via vichaar.various sources.books articles etc etc.and then make a calculated judgement. In 1952, he married Inderjit Kaur, who survives him, as do two sons, a daughter and five grandchildren.The use of words like "seems".( to talk a lot of sense.and is well versed.).in your message show that you are capable of self judgement.ĭont go for the "easy" solution.ask others opinions.and then e how many "glorify".hw many "condemn".how many agree.how many disagree.etc etc and then make up your mind.thats NOT the right way. Bhajan’s family moved to New Delhi when India was partitioned to create Pakistan in 1947, and he graduated from Punjab University with a degree in economics. Sikhs are of a non-proselytizing tradition.”īorn Harbhajan Singh Puri in a part of India now in Pakistan, the yogi was the son of a medical doctor. He also took an interest in proselytizing. “For the first time in the religion’s five centuries, we have non-Punjabi members. “Yogi Bhajan has a special place in Sikh history,” Mann said Friday. About 250,000 reside in the United States, with an estimated 100,000 on the West Coast, according to Gurinder Singh Mann, professor of Sikh studies at UC Santa Barbara. Sikhism began in northern India in the 15th century and claims 18 million members worldwide. A number of early Sikh leaders were military generals who preached self-defense and opposed military aggression, he said. Such work is in keeping with the Sikh tradition of the warrior saint, said Khalsa, a founder of Akal. One of them, Akal Security, is among the country’s largest suppliers of security officers to government sites, including federal court buildings, Army bases and airports. He was also instrumental in creating several successful businesses owned by Sikh Dharma members. His business card read, “If you can’t see God in all, you can’t see God at all.”Īfter moving to Espanola from Los Angeles in the early 1970s, Bhajan founded the Sikh Dharma community, which has grown to about 500 families, most of them American converts. He had an inclusive view of the world’s major religions and considered all of them valid. Over time, he became known as an authority for the Sikh religion in the Western Hemisphere.
In Los Angeles, Bhajan also attended interfaith forums and conferences to help establish a Sikh presence. As a young man in India, Bhajan had worked for the Internal Revenue Service and later was named head of the customs office at what is now Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi.
“Yogi Bhajan made a tremendous impact on the state of New Mexico as a religious, business and political leader,” Richardson said in a statement Thursday.Ī well-known community activist and an entrepreneur in the state, Bhajan met Richardson in the 1980s, and they discovered a common interest in government.
Bill Richardson ordered that flags in the state be flown at half-staff for two days after the death. The cause of death was complications after heart failure, according to Daya Singh Khalsa, a longtime friend. He was 75.īhajan, who also expanded the Sikh community’s membership from Indians with roots in Punjab to include Europeans and Americans, died Wednesday at his home in Espanola, N.M. Yogi Bhajan, a Sikh spiritual leader who pioneered the teaching of Kundalini yoga in the United States, starting in Los Angeles, has died.