Sat Nam from The Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings,

 

Every year in August, we celebrate the birth of our beloved teacher, the Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji (Yogi Bhajan). 

 

Born in Gujranwale, once in India but now in present-day Pakistan, at the age of 16, his teacher declared Yogi Bhajan had become a Master of Kundalini Yoga.  

 

But teaching yoga and meditation was not the only thing he was doing at this time in his life. He led the people of his village to safety across the India-Pakistan border into India during the India-Pakistan Partition in 1947, and later served as an Officer in the independent Indian Armed Forces. He was a dedicated Sevadar at the Golden Temple for many years while stationed near Amritsar with the military.  During those years, he went to the Golden Temple every morning to help with the Ishnaan Seva, washing the marble floors of the Golden Temple.

 

He was a family man, a Yogi, and a devotee of his Guru.

 

In 1968, he followed the call to serve in the West.  He was offered an opportunity to teach Kundalini Yoga at a Canadian college, but upon arriving in Canada discovered his contact there had passed away suddenly in an automobile accident.  Stranded in Canada for several days, a contact in the United States came to the rescue and he was brought instead to California. In California, Yogi Bhajan met many people searching for spiritual teachings and so began his teaching in the West.

 

He had a special spiritual connection with Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh guru.  Once, in a very challenging time, he meditated deeply and asked Guru Ram Das to provide him with a mantra to help him through. This is how the mantra "Guru Guru Wahe Guru Guru Ram Das Guru" came to be.  Yogi Bhajan said that it is a mantra of protection and guidance.

 

We chant this mantra every year for thirty one-minutes on each of the 11 days leading up to Yogi Bhajan's birthday - from August 15th to August 26th - join us this year.  We will be featuring special content on our website (http://www.kundaliniresearchinstitute.org/) and on Facebook to make this a true celebration of our teacher.  Meditate with us, share your experiences on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/KundaliniResearchInstitute), and stay tuned for featured videos and articles from long-time students of Yogi Bhajan.

 

This year we are also preparing to launch The Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings (LOT), a project that will make thousands of Yogi Bhajan's recorded (audio and video) teachings available for free online for teachers, students and seekers to access. Bringing this project to fruition comes at a cost and donations are generously funding the online library project. View this quick demo for a pre-launch peek at the online Library of Teachings: http://public.nwp.us.root.s3.amazonaws.com/Quick%20Site%20Demo.mp4.  

 

Honor Yogi Bhajan's birthday this year by making a contribution to this project that is making his teachings widely and readily available. Make one donation for his birthday present or make 11 donations, one on each day. Make a playful contribution, such as $11 on each of the 11 days prior to the birthday. Whatever you decide to do for the birthday celebration on August 26th, we hope you will join us in gratefully acknowledging Yogi Bhajan's contribution as a teacher and spiritual leader, a contribution we hope to keep alive for many generations to come.

 

In Service,

 

Siri Sadhana Singh Khalsa

Kundalini Research Institute

The Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings

lakshmi@kriteachings.org

Donate today - www.yogibhajan.com