Yogi Bhajan

“Kundalini”literally means “the curl of the lock of hair of the beloved.” This poeticmetaphor alludes to the flow of energy and consciousness that exists withineach of us, and enables us to merge with – or “yoke” – the universal Self.Fusing individual and universal consciousness creates a divine union, called“yoga.” The Upanishads, Hindu’s sacred scriptures that date back to the fifthcentury B.C., describe Kundalini, although the oral tradition reaches back evenfurther into history. For thousands of years, this sacred science andtechnology was veiled in secrecy, passed along verbally from master to chosendisciple.

Yogi Bhajanbroke with this long-held tradition of silence. A master of Kundalini by the ageof 16 – itself a rare feat – he held his first class at a Los Angeles highschool gym on January 5, 1969. Then a 39-year-old recent émigré from India, hehad left behind a lucrative governmental career with the vision of bringingYoga to the West. No matter that not a single person was present that evening;he proceeded to teach to the empty hall.

In theturbulent, drug culture of the 60s, Bhajan first reached out to the youth. Herecognized their experimentation with drugs and “altered states of consciousness”expressed a deeper desire to experience a holistic, liberating sense ofawareness. Soon realizing that pharmaceuticals provided, at best, a cheapimitation to the peaceful, inner euphoria they could get naturally fromKundalini, and at worst, had debilitating physical and mental side effects,young people began flocking to his classes, arriving by the busloads. Soon 3HOteaching centers began springing up across the United States and thenthroughout the world.

He sparked amovement whose many tendrils have wound their way into our culture. Through3HO, Yogi Bhajan blazed a trail. Today, after more than 30 years of determinedeffort on the part of this organization and others, yoga and meditation havegained widespread acceptance in the West. Witness the frequent feature articlesthat grace the covers of such publications as Time, Newsweek and The WallStreet Journal. This popular attention speaks not only to the proven benefitsof yoga and meditation, but to the increasing public interest in spiritualityand a healthy diet.

Born HarbhajanSingh in what is now Pakistan to a family of healers and community leaders,Yogi Bhajan studied comparative religion and Vedic philosophy in hisundergraduate years, going onto receive his Masters in Economics with honorsfrom Punjab University. Years later, he earned his Ph.D. in communicationspsychology from the University of Humanistic Studies in San Francisco.

Over the past 40years, he has emerged as a religious, community and business leader with adistinguished reputation as a man of peace, world-vision, wisdom, andcompassion. He has authored and published more than 30 books on topics rangingfrom spirituality and consciousness to communication and psychology. He hasfounded several foods companies that manufacture and distribute naturalproducts based on these teachings. He has fostered economic development inevery community in which he participates, annually conducts business seminars,and has authored several books that provide guidance to both the aspiringentrepreneur and seasoned business executive alike. As the Siri Singh Sahib, orthe Sikh leader in the Western Hemisphere, he has met with Pope John Paul II todiscuss inter-religious dialogue and worked side-by-side with the Dalai Lamaand the Archbishop of Canterbury to foster world peace.”