Yogi's review"Sikhism and Tantric Yoga"

by A Yogi, Monday, December 28, 2009, 21:27 (5229 days ago)
edited by Gursant Singh, Monday, June 13, 2011, 09:29

I am a yogi. I was actually certified as a Kundalini yoga instructor at Yogi Bahjan's house in Anandpursahb India. I chant mantras from the sikh gurus and had an amazing experience dipping in the nectar pond at the golden temple in Amristar, but I am not a sikh. I like to wear a kara, but I cut my hair, shave my face and do not wear a turban.

I respect sikhs and the sikh faith and have friends and teachers who are sikhs, but I am critical of all organized religions and their dogma. I never met Yogi Bahjan personally and I am critical of many people in 3ho who worship him. There definitely is a core faction in 3ho that is cult like in it's worship of the personality of Yogi Bahjan.

What I do know is that practicing the kundalini yoga and white tantric yoga that Yogi Bahjan taught makes me feel good--really good! It makes me feel so good that I do my sadhana everyday and I am healthier and happier for it. It makes me feel so good I have quit smoking marijuana and drinking coffee--unhealthy habits I had for decades.

One reason I am not a sikh is because of sikhs like the author of this interesting article who claim "real sikhs" don't do yoga. Why would I want to belong to a religion that condemns yoga when yoga makes me feel so good and does not harm anyone or anything?

My question to the author, who claims that yogic asana and pranyama are utterly "useless" is: Has he ever tried it? Has he ever he done a kundalini yoga class? Has he ever done an all day White Tantric Yoga meditation workshop? Has he ever come to Espanola, New Mexico for the annual summer solstice celebration and done 3 days of white tantric yoga with 2,000 people from all over the world chanting the names of God and the words of the sikh gurus in unison for hours and seen the seen the clear desert sky turn to a hale storm within a few minutes?

The fact is the main focus of Yogi Bahjan's teaching is meditation on the word, chanting the names of God and the words of the sikh gurus. The practice of asana and pranyama simply prepare one's body and mind to experience the bliss of the word. I challenge the author to come down from his ivory tower and directly experience kundalini yoga and white tantric yoga and then respond.

One thing I like about the sikh religion is that, unlike those annoying Jehova's witnesses and Mormons, it is not missionary. You will never have to deal with guys in turbans and beards knocking on your door and trying to convince you that if you don't convert and believe in their one true religious dogma you will burn in hell for all eternity.

In my training as a Kundalini Yoga instructor it was emphasized that Yogi Bahjan came to the west to teach kundalini yoga and train kundalini yoga instructors because he believed that this ancient, secret technology was desperately needed at this critical time in human history.

Yogi Bahjan never intended to convert anyone to become a sikh. Many of his early students, however, idolized their teacher and wanted to be like him. Many of them were hippies and already had long hair. They started growing their beards and wearing turbans and asking Yogi Bahjan to teach them to be sikhs.

Yogi Bahjan also repeatedly said that he came not to gain students but to train teachers. He succeeded in this, but many of the students he trained to be teachers did idolize their teacher and become sikhs.

I have mentioned earlier that I was critical of a core group in 3ho that is cult like in it's worship of the personality of Yogi Bahjan. I would just like to clarify that I have been around 3ho for years and I can tell you that it is definitely NOT a cult. Nobody has ever tried to convert me to be a sikh, and since the passing of Yogi Bahjan fewer and fewer kundalini yoga students and instructors are becoming sikhs. Every year I go to summer solstice there are more younger people and fewer beards and turbans.

See more photos and discussion on facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=108156&id=1214270541&l=5a22781e63

“Amid the legal infighting following Yogi Bhajan’s death, critics are offering another portrait of the Sikh leader.”