Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi

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On the big stage of this world, mortal men and women appear like actors and actresses, destined to play their assigned (roles) acts and then ultimately depart. During their predetermined and assigned stay in this universe, most of them primarily keep themselves engaged in steering the wheels of their lives for daily needs and personal comforts. There is no denial that such behaviors are essential as they cater to the fundamental necessities of our lives as well as of our families and children whom we bring in this world. Yet only a few amongst us are charismatic or disciplined enough or have the insight, courage and determination to break this mold and think beyond in reaching out to others so as to bring a change in their lives for the better. It is through the actions of such individuals, that this world is made a better place to live in for them, their future generations as well as their fellow human-beings. S. Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi also known as Yogiji was one such person.

His soul recently left for heavenly abode on Oct 6th at the age of 75 at his home in Espanola, New Mexico. He came to this earth with many extraordinary God-given gifts. After spending early life in present-day Pakistan, then a part of undivided India, he had to leave everything behind due to partition of India and migrate to New Delhi as a refugee. In 1968, he immigrated first to Canada, then to US and started testing the waters to the extent never tested before by sharing his foresight and wisdom for Sikh faith with the people of west. Apathy, lack of sincere efforts and skills as a result of cultural and language barrier of the Sikh hierarchy had kept the doors of the Sikh path locked shut to the outside world. Those responsible for the propagation of Sikh faith beyond the boundaries of India had thus far failed miserably. He ventured successfully in difficult avenues and treaded paths that were considered unsurpassable in opening these doors to the westerners.

The Sikh religion did not fall within the guidelines established by the majority faith in western countries hence it was mostly labeled alien. The misconception and ignorance about the outwardly visible unique Sikh identity didn’t help either. It kept on putting the Sikh life-style at a cross road with that of the majority people of the western world leading to an ongoing and constant battle for its mere survival. Oftentimes, the practitioners of the Sikh way of life found the attitude of their new host countries to be somewhat unfriendly. It was not unusual for many of the Sikhs to get swayed by an easy-going culture of the west while ignoring the fundamental principles of their own faith. In so doing, the short term goals appeared to them within reach and life superficially felt comfortable. In such environments, it took a great amount of conviction and strength just to survive as a complete Sikh. But kudos to this man who not only lived himself as a complete Sikh, in fact implored others to do so by providing much needed moral strength and financial support.

Not only did he persevere in believing and carrying through with the dictums established by Sikh Gurus but made them available to other western spiritual seekers beyond India who desired to follow Sikh path. At the same time he continued to teach the ancient Indian art of yoga to the seekers of higher consciousness. Many people of the west in those times had absolutely no inkling about India and Indians, not to mention the Sikh way of life. To expect from someone of western culture to trade materialist and easy-going life-style for the disciplined spiritual Khalsa values that demands maintaining highly visible “Articles of Sikh faith” with uncut beard and a turban, was to say the least, a Herculean task. To convince western-women to adopt a conservative dress that included wearing modest and mostly white Punjabi clothes with turbans was no less than a miracle, rather equivalent to “making the river run upstream”

Furthermore, he became highly successful in changing the food habits of those who listened to him, gone were the steaks and hamburgers associated with the western-lifestyle, instead vegetarian food became the norm. Interestingly, the medical profession has not been fast enough in changing the habits of many as this man was. Chanting “Satnam Waheguru” became the passion of these so-called “Western Sikhs” who came to Sikh-fold through his teachings. They continuously worked hard to learn Punjabi in Gurmukhi Script so as to understand Sikh Scriptures especially Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the “Ultimate Authority and Eternal Guru” of the Sikhs. In fact some of them easily surpassed their counterparts from India. They became so proficient in the true understanding of the message contained therein that one of the best translations in English, Spanish and other western languages comes from individuals influenced by him in adopting and practicing Sikh faith.

Several of the westerners initiated as Sikhs by Yogiji achieved great success in the field of medicine, law, yoga, business, accounting, literature and political careers. They earned prominent names not only for themselves but in doing so brought a great deal of respect to the Sikh faith the world over. They went on to establish highly successful corporations including Yogi Tea, Peace Cereals, Golden Temple Foods, Akal Security and many more. In fact Akal Security, based on the Sikh philosophy of Saint-soldier, as per a recent article in New York Times, is “wholly owned by Sikh Dharma and is one of America’s fastest growing security companies having over 12,000 employees and over one billion dollars in federal contracts. Akal specializes in protracting vital and sensitive government sites from military instillations to federal courts to airports and water supply systems.” While talking to the New York Times, the writer of that article, co-founder and senior vice-president of Akal Security made a statement truly describing the success of many Sikhs “There is no stigma in being financially successful amongst Sikhs. Prosperity does not take away from spiritual net worth. You can have both.” (N. Y. Times).

In the aftermath of 9-11 when Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh with uncut beard and turban lost his life in Arizona due to misdirected hate, it was an American-born Sikh woman inspired by S. Harbhajan Singh Khalsa who spearheaded one of the best and well organized campaigns in the entire US about the Awareness of Sikh identity and Diversity of the people of America. Under his inspiration and with the full cooperation of local dedicated Sikhs, she then launched a Sikh advisory board to help guide the local Police and law enforcement agencies in matters pertaining to the Sikhs. This step later on became a model for the rest of the country. Many of his inspired Sikhs have put their entire lives, minds, bodies and souls into spreading the Sikh faith in the four corners of the world. One of the most important, largest and sought after modern day tools for the dissemination of information about Sikhs happens to be the original Sikh website, www.Sikhnet.com. It was launched by Amar infinity Foundation supporting a young Khalsa Sikh, both under the inspiration and direct guidance from S. Harbhajan Singh Khalsa. This has put Sikhs faith on the world map in a way never done before. He was also instrumental in establishing many Sikh Gurdwaras and Ashrams all over the western countries. In order to run Sikh religious institutions in a proper way, he initiated a process of formal training for Sikh ministers, preachers, Raagis and Sikh Volunteers in this part of the world.

A good number of western-born Sikhs have been making sure to send their children to Miri Piri Academy, a Sikh Boarding School established by Yogiji some years back in a small village of Chheherrta in Punjab close to the city of Amritsar. His purpose was simply to train the Sikh children in their formative years in the true Sikh life-style. The idea has been to teach the children first hand the Sikh traditions while living in the close vicinity of most sacred place of the Sikhs, the Harminder Sahib. By sending their children to foreign and somewhat crude environments, western parents had to make supreme sacrifices both financially and emotionally through long separations from their children lasting for decades. He wanted the Sikh children to have a practical experience of harsh life in Punjab without all the comforts of their homes in America, Canada and England. This way, he felt they would become truly ingrained in the history of their religion by living in the midst of it and thus develop the intellect of both east and the west.                                                             

Prior to arrival of Khalsa Yogiji on the western scene, there were not many individuals of other races except South Asian Indians who adopted and followed the Khalsa life style. In order to make it easy for non-Indians to embrace it, he concurrently taught them the science of yoga, meditation, yogic philosophy including Kundalini yoga. According to many Sikhs, such philosophy may not conform to mainstream Sikh Philosophy thus often putting many Sikhs from India at variance with their western-born counterparts. However, my personal discussion with S. Harbhajan Singh Khalsa and several other “western” Sikhs with whom I had the opportunity to work closely over a quarter of century convinced me that such an approach was used by him primarily to bring many amongst westerners to the experience of Sikh-fold, its life-style and values. Yogiji went on to establish many non-profit organizations with the primary being Sikh Dharma and 3HO Foundation (Healthy, Happy, Holy organization) that later on opened hundreds of branches world-wide.

I will never forget a statement made by one of my “western-born” Sikh friends in a meeting some years back when a few of India-born Sikhs tried to depart their company. He said very passionately “We left our parents, our relatives, our friends and abandoned our inherited faiths to join Sikh Dharma or religion that was totally foreign to all what we had known thus far. Now when you also have decided to abandon us, what on earth are we supposed to do?” Then he went on to say “if an American finds an Indian Sikh walking down the lane in a small town of a western country, he or she might simply ignore that person thinking, ‘Well this strange looking individual belongs to a different race, different land, different country and different culture and is beyond my comprehension’ On the other hand observing a western Sikh on the road side with a turban and other Sikh Articles of faith on his or her body often makes such an observer really confounded who might think ‘There must be some thing wrong with this queer looking soul to dress this way. Painful but true, isn’t it?’ And then he added “It hurts further when India-born Sikhs try not to mingle with us, the so called-western Sikhs and keep disowning us, their own Khalsa brothers and sisters”

Amongst the list of many world leaders, both Political and religious, that had the opportunity to meet with S. Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi, the name of Mikhail Gorbachev stands atop whom he met while establishing the treatment for drug addiction in Russia. Other dignitaries with whom Yogiji conferred at different times include President Clinton, President Bush, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama, the Archbishops of Canterbury, Swami Satchidanda, and Swami Vishnudevananda and many Indian Political leaders. Yogiji took part in many interfaith events including World Parliament of religions and served as director of several international religious bodies. In June of 1985 he established an annual International Peace Prayer Day in Espanola, New Mexico so that individuals involved in various peace movements around the globe could assemble each year under one roof. In the presence of thousands of people, volunteers who had worked tirelessly the year-past for bringing peace on earth are honored annually with hefty amounts of prizes sponsored by the proceeds of Peace Cereals and other Sikh Dharma Corporations. For these events several dignitaries are also invited from India year after year for which his estate would bear the expenses. Regardless of the status, whenever any visitor arrived at his place, he would open his ranch, personally making sure that the visitor is served and treated well not less than a king. Free breakfast, lunch, dinner and place to stay would always be upon the host, the Yogiji, who would try to shower a feeling of closeness to such an extent that one always felt at home.

His unique service in bringing many westerners to Sikh fold and its continuous propagation through modern means has elevated the Sikh image on the world scene as a religion of great richness and abundance, both spiritual and otherwise. His guidance and training of western Sikhs transformed many of them into great Sikh religious leaders. They in turn have made Gurdwaras at-par and in fact better than many other religious institutions for maintaining discipline, cleanliness and keeping atmosphere apolitical so as to avoid the conflicts that often plague many other religious places. This certainly makes our coming generation proud of their religious heritage. His continuous involvement for peace on earth and his championship of the yogic way of meditation including Kundalini will always keep on glowing in the minds of those who believed. Finally I must finish by saying that in his life time, he made many ordinary peoples rich, even super rich, some financially, other spiritually and many both. Yes Khalsa Harbhajan Singh Ji, it was a pleasure to have you amongst us and now it is our turn to pray for your soul to find peace at the feet of Waheguru and our Gurus, the mentors, spiritual guides and God-Gurus of the Sikhs, the world over.