Yogi Bhajan
Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, known throughout the world as Yogi Bhajan, was born on 26 August 1929 in India (now Pakistan) and left his physical body on 6 October 2004, aged 75. He was the son of a doctor. He was educated at exclusive private schools. As a young boy, he also attended a Catholic school. He began practising yoga at the age of eight under the guidance of the enlightened master Sant Hazara Singh. Yogi Bhajan’s teacher proclaimed him a Master of Kundalini Yoga after eight years of practice, when he was 16½ years old.
During the riots of 1947, at the age of 18, he took on a leadership role to guide his village of 7,000 people, located near what is now Lahore /Pakistan, a distance of 325 miles on foot to the safety of New Delhi in India. There, Yogi Bhajan went on to complete a degree in economics at Punjab University in India, after which he began a career as a civil servant.
In 1952, he married Inderjit Kaur, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. Throughout his career in the civil service, he also worked as a yoga teacher.
In 1968, Yogi Bhajan travelled to Canada, having been invited to teach Kundalini Yoga at the University of Toronto, from where he left for Los Angeles two months later. Yogi Bhajan was the first to break the tradition of silence and secrecy that had surrounded the teachings of Kundalini Yoga. He was the first to begin sharing these secret teachings with a wide group of students in the United States and Europe. During his lectures and workshops, he always emphasised that he had not come to the West to gather students, but to train teachers.
From his humble beginnings, teaching initially at the East West Cultural Centre, he was a magnet. Students flocked to his classes. He soon went on to teach at universities, including Claremont and UCLA, and accepted invitations to teach in other cities.
In 1969, he founded a non-profit organisation in California – the 3HO Foundation (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organisation). The aim of 3HO is to promote the practices of Kundalini Yoga, meditation and humanology (a healthy yogic lifestyle and the development of spiritual awareness). Over 200 books have been written based on his teachings, as well as a wealth of CDs, films, paintings and sculptures. He himself wrote over 30 books, including *The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan*, *Furmaan Khalsa*, *Master’s Touch* and *The Mind and Its 81 Aspects*. In 1980, Yogi Bhajan was awarded a doctorate in psychology for his academic thesis entitled „Communication: Liberation and Condemnation”.
Having become a Mahan Tantrik in 1971, he taught White Tantra Yoga as the sole living Master in cities around the world. In 1987, these events were recorded on video cassettes, and the programme continues in this form throughout the world today. In 1973, Yogi Bhajan founded 3HO SuperHealth, an extremely successful programme for combating drug addiction, combining the time-honoured ancient yogic wisdom of the East with modern Western technology. SuperHealth was accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organisations and received the highest accolade. In 1973, it was recognised as one of the top 10% treatment programmes in the USA.
A fervent advocate of world peace and religious unity, Siri Singh Sahib met with world leaders of all faiths to encourage dialogue, including Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama and two Archbishops of Canterbury. In 1971, at the Celebration of Life Music Festival in New Orleans, he shared the stage with Swami Satchidanda and Swami Vishnudevananda. He took part in numerous interfaith forums and conferences, including the World Parliament of Religions.
A deeply devoted Sikh, his inspiration and example motivated thousands to embrace the Sikh way of life. Thanks to his personal efforts, Sikh Dharma was legally recognised and officially acknowledged as a religion in the USA in 1971. In that same year, in recognition of his extraordinary influence in spreading the universal message of Sikhism, the President of the SGPC (the governing body of the gurdwaras in India) named him: Siri Singh Sahib, the chief religious and administrative authority in the Western Hemisphere, and in 1974 he was honoured with the title of Bhai Sahib by the Akal Takhat in Amritsar, India. .
He became a trusted management consultant to 14 corporations around the world, representing various industries. He was a pioneer in the field of women’s rights and believed that women are the backbone of society.
His motto: "If you cannot see God in everything, you cannot see Him at all." His credo: "It is not life itself that matters, but the courage you put into it." His challenge to his students: "Do not love me; love my teachings, and become ten times better than me.".
Source: http://fateh.sikhnet.com/YogiBhajan