The following is taken from "Sikhism and Tantric Yoga" by Dr. Trilochan Singh.

Yogi Bhajan Becomes the Only Maha Tantric
Living in the World

Not only military dictators like Idi Amin of Uganda can promote themselves to the highest positions of Field Marshal and victor of the world's highest Medals and Awards without ever winning them, but our holy men and yogis can do much better in the kingdom of God. having lost his Master Virsa Singh he and his myth makers created new ones.
In Beads 1972 Summer, Premka, Yogi Bhajan's ace writer and myth-maker, wrote: "Once upon a time, it was about January 1969, there was this big, tall, black bearded man with a turban who was known as Yogi Bhajan and he was teaching Yoga, a very special type of Yoga called Kundalini. Then he began to teach Tantric Yoga. It seems that there can be only one Mahan Tantric (Highest Master of tantric Yoga) living on the earth at any one time, and Yogi Bhajan happens to be that one right now. So he taught them Tantric Yoga . . . These exercises are done in combination of the male and female partners, thus creating a polarity of the positive and the negative energies of the male and female (sun and moon). So these couples started looking deep into each other's eyes and they found themselves reflected in the eyes of their partner." (Beads, Summer 1972, page 2)
In Winter the same year this myth not only "seemed to be" but developed further. In the Winter Solstice, Beads 16, 1972, Premka Kaur writes, "Yogiji is the Mahan Tantric of this time. At any given period of time there is only one living Mahan Tantric on the earth. Yogiji studied Tantric Yoga under Sant Hazara Singh, the last living Master, and when he died, he passed the light onto Lama Lilan Po, who passed it to Yogiji. He teaches White Tantra." (page 26)
Now that this myth was made known to 3HO yogis, it had to be given a historical garb. This was done by a number of speeches of Yogi Bhajan which his theorists have summed up in Kundalini Quarterly, Summer 1976: "Tantric Yoga was practiced in couples of male and female. It cleansed the subconscious of all phobias and psychological problems. It was practiced only under the guidance of a person called the Mahan Tantric. There existed only one such person in the world at any one time." (page 3) Natural disasters and wars took their toll. At that point in history over 26,000 years ago, many seers, scholars, yogis and their followers took materials and went into the hills of Tibet. There for 900 years they stayed with the hope of preserving that knowledge. Unfortunately they did not always practice them. . . . The original Kundalini Yoga survived, but it had become a secret oral tradition, (page 7) About 500 years ago, a stage came in India where many of the techniques were learned or rediscovered. Guru Nanak, Baba Siri Chand, Guru Gobind Singh and others reintegrated this ancient technology into their contemporary life and practices. The breath mantra, meditation, exercise and community living were all taught to everyone. This gave rise to a group of practitioners called the Sikhs, as well as to new groups of ascetic yogis who did not look down on the life of a householder. Since 1969, the West has had a unique opportunity to learn meditation techniques of Kundalini Yoga without secrecy and personality cults. Yogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga and the present Mahan Tantric has learned, experienced and mastered the ancient techniques from all these sources. He has been a recognized teacher and master of Kundalini Yoga since he was fourteen years old. He has been teaching these techniques openly in the manner compatible with the Western living pace. (Kundalini Quarterly, Summer Solstice 1976, page 8)

Author's Comments

No historical insight or hindsight is required to conclude that the whole story of Yogi Bhajan, claiming to be the only Maha Tantric of the Sikh tradition which even the Sikhs forgot, and his definition of a Sikh is a ridiculous fabrication, unbelievable on the face of it. This self-deluding fabrication is based on nothing but a chain of patent lies, less romantic than a fantasy. Yogi Bhajan fits Sikh history into centuries of history of Kundalini Yoga as a minor and unimportant episode of a group of people who forgot their traditions in their era of persecution, and had to wait for Yogi Bhajan the Messiah of Kundalini Yoga. He considers Guru Nanak and the householder Sikhs to be one group of Kundalini sect, with Siri Chand and his followers the other group. He completely forgets Guru Ram Das in this tradition. Now he is the only Maha Tantric, the Only Kundalini Expert in the world. Up till 1972 Yogi Bhajan never mentioned in the Beads, even the name of Sant Hazara Singh who was murdered at Doraha, if I am not wrong. As Hazara Singh died decades ago, the time gap had to be filled by a fictitious Mahan Tantric from Tibet Lama Lilan Po. But Yogi Bhajan does not state whether it was before or after the Chinese occupation. Did Lilan Po come to Los Angeles or he flew to Tibet with the special permission of the authorities. What surprises me is not that Yogi Bhajan can fabricate such unbelievable and fabulous stories, but that educated Americans in the proper frame of mind can believe all this balderdash. He claims that he was a Kundalini Expert at the age of 14. This must be news even to his father, who is living. None of his college mates, some of whom are in the U.S.A., will confirm any of this nonsense.

Yogi Bhajan Becomes Siri Singh Sahib

In the year 1972 not only did Yogi Bhajan suddenly emerge as the one and the only Mahan Tantric in the World, he also mysteriously became the Siri Singh Sahib and Self-appointed Spiritual leader of the Sikhs of the Western Hemisphere, and yet it is his misfortune that besides his 3HO followers no Sikh worth the name acknowledges him to be a really religious and spiritual man. In 1972 he announced that a year earlier when he went to India with 84 Americans (out of which 80 left him as soon as he came back), he was made the Siri Singh Sahib by a special honor from the Akal Takhat, Amritsar. Why did he wait for this announcement for over a year is difficult to guess. On page 32, Beads, Summer, there is the following announcement:
In March of 1971, Yogi Bhajan was ordained as Minister of Divinity for the Sikh Dharma by the highest Seat of Authority in the Sikh Religion, the Holy Akal Takhat (which means Guru's Throne) at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India. At that time he was granted the authority to ordain others as Ministers, and to perform the Amrit Ceremony which is the sacred ceremony of initiation into the Khalsa, the Brotherhood of the Pure Ones. He is the only Sikh Minister thus empowered outside of Amritsar.
The implications of this statement are: (1) He was made Minister of Divinity for Sikh Dharma from the Akal Takhat in March 1971 at the Golden Temple Amritsar. (2) He was granted the authority to ordain others as Ministers and to perform Amrit Ceremony of initiation into Khalsa. (3) He is the only Minister of Divinity thus empowered outside Amritsar.
Four years later this very statement is put in Sikh Dharma Brotherhood Journal Winter issue 1975 in a more sophisticated form, thus:
Since coming to this country, Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Yogi has himself visited India with groups of student teachers, Sikhs of the Guru, to visit the land from which the message had come first. They have gone to visit the Golden Temple of Amritsar and it was on the first visit, in early 1971, with a group of 84 Americans, that the Siri Singh Sahib was presented with the title and responsibility for serving as the Chief Religious and Administrative Authority for the Sikh Dharma in the Western World. He has been thus empowered, to instruct and initiate new members into the Sikh Dharma, to instruct and ordain Ministers of Sikh Dharma, to perform marriage ceremonies and to administer final rites, as well as to organize and give the proper form to Sikh Dharma throughout the Western Hemisphere by serving as a Guide to determine policy and to assist people in understanding and abiding by the instructions of the Gurus, as conveyed through the Siri Guru Granth Sahib.
In the Letterheads of the Secretariat of Siri Singh Sahib Yogi Bhajan it is printed that he is the Spiritual Authority over the Sikhs in the Western Hemisphere and represents Sikh Dharma in the following countries: U.S.A., Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, Europe, Japan, Asia Minor. God alone knows how Japan comes in his Western Hemisphere. He tactfully excludes U.K. and Iran because people there are a bit too conscious of the doctrines of their faith to be able to swallow so much nonsense which Americans are blindly accepting and Indian Sikhs in the U.S.A. callously ignore, cursing the Sikh leaders who are responsible for all this. The implications of the second statement are: (1) that he has been made a mini-Pope of the Sikhs of the West, an idea which is extremely repulsive to the Sikhs; (2) except England, Iran and Southeast Asia, every land is his Ecclesiastical domain, and he is supposed to rule and direct their policy; (3) he says this authority has been given to him by the Akal Takhat Jathedar early in March from the holy seat of Akal Takhat; (4) that he can initiate disciples and perform baptism and other rites.

Author's Comments

(1) I met a very prominent sitting member of S.G.P.C. who is touring the U.S.A. and Canada for an undeclared mission. I showed him all the documents quoted in this chapter and asked him how on earth could the S.G.P.C. do such an absurd thing. He admitted that the S.G.P.C, being composed of more politicians than religious men, has in the past committed some serious errors which when pointed out by theologians and scholars have been corrected, but as he had attended all the meetings in 1970-1974 no such title was ever sanctioned by S.G.P.C. Executive. All S.G.P.C. resolutions are published in Gurdwara Gazette. A Robe of honor was given to Yogi Bhajan in 1974 on the recommendation of President Taura, but a Robe of honor does not carry any title with it, nor does it give authority of any kind. If Yogi Bhajan had been made any such Chief of the Western Sikhs in 1971 then a Robe of honor in 1974 was meaningless. He is however making inquiries, and will inform me of the result by the end of August. U.S.A. Akali Dal leaders have also taken up the matter with the present President of Akali Dal.
(2) There is no such Ecclesiastical title as Siri Singh Sahib, and others ridiculously created by Yogi Bhajan, such as Mukhia Singh Sahib, and Khalsa. The Head Priest of Golden Temple and the Jathedars of the Four Takhats are called Singh Sahib (without the prefix Siri) only as long as they are serving these institutions. Giani Bhupinder Singh was called Singh Sahib as long as he was Head Granthi of Golden Temple (about 12 years) and when he entered politics he is simply called Giani Bhupinder Singh and never Singh Sahib. When any person is installed as Head Priest or Jathedar of Takhat there is a special ceremony performed for it. No such ceremony was performed for Yogi Bhajan. No Singh Sahib can be called a Yogi or by half name as Bhajan signs himself, nor can he ever put any other surname except Singh. There cannot be a Singh Sahib without the suffix Singh as the final surname.
(3) Only such a theologian or a learned man can be installed Singh Sahib who can interpret Adi Guru Granth, Bhai Gurdas, Suraj Prakash; and they have to deliver sermons on the basis of the interpretations of these works every day. Yogi Bhajan cannot read correctly or interpret any thirty pages of these voluminous works. Nor does he keep Rehat (the Essential Sikh Code of Conduct as the Khalsa should do). On the other hand he has installed more Singh Sahibs among his followers than have been created in 200 years of the history of Amritsar. Everyone who becomes his follower is given the certificate and title of Khalsa. Khalsa is not a title that can be doled out as Yogi Bhajan is doing to his Tantric disciples. The only Indian Sikh whom he has favored with the title of Khalsa is Mahinder Singh Secretary, S.G.P.C. who has done more undesirable and sacrilegious acts for him than any Sikh living in India or the West. I had the good fortune to see this silly certificate myself.
(4) Premka's assertion that Yogi Bhajan is the only Minister empowered to initiate Sikhs (give them Amrit) outside Amrit, is a statement, every word of which is as white a lie as Premka's complexion if not more. Akal Takhat has never appointed Ministers in this manner throughout history. Every Sikh who lives the fully disciplined life of a baptized Sikh and says his prayers daily is entitled to join the Five (Panj Pyaras) to conduct baptism, marriage ceremony or any other ceremony. Guru Gobind Singh made it a Law that after his death no single person could be authorized, or could on his own initiate or baptize anyone. To suggest that Yogi Bhajan has been given such an authority is unbelievable. If anyone has done so in any way we shall see that not only these persons are justly punished and their misdeeds thoroughly exposed but such a thing is not repeated in our history. He who breaks any of these fundamental laws of Guru Gobind Singh ceases to be an authentic disciple of the Guru. If the unscrupulous Secretary of the S.G.P.C. Mahinder Singh has procured him some fake paper permission, unauthorized either by S.G.P.C. or Akal Takhat, then it is inauthentic (and sacrilegious forgery which can be legally challenged).
Premka's statement gives the impression that no marriages have been performed so far in the West which were legal from the Sikh point of view. Even Yogi Bhajan performed marriages much earlier according to Anand marriage. May I know under what authority? Any baptized Sikh can perform the marriage ceremony so long as it is performed in the presence of the Guru Granth and in the Congregation which is a witness to the marriage. Perhaps the first Sikh Saint scholar to come and baptize the Sikhs through the Panj Pyaras who accompanied them was Sant Tej Singh M.A. (Harvard) who built the first Stockton Gurdwara, and the Yuba City Gurdwara. Sant Basakha Singh and other eminent Sikhs were here before 1914. They did not require anyone's authority or sanction. If one can say on Oath in the Presence of Guru Granth and in the Congregation that he lives according to the Khalsa discipline of Guru Gobind Singh, he is competent to join the baptism ceremony as one of the five who administer it. The five are selected by the Congregation and not by any individual.
(5) Premka states that Akal Takhat gave him this authority early in March 1971. In the first week of March Yogi Bhajan, Premka and 84 American Sikhs were in Patiala region seeking police protection from people who were offended by Yogi Bhajan (not by the innocent Americans). In the second week he was in Delhi and warrants of his arrest issued by Indian government on 18th March. He left two or three days later after being bailed out. Which day in March was it when such an august position was given him. Why did not the S.G.P.C. come to his rescue?

Yogi Bhajan's Knowledge of Sikh Scriptures

Yogi Bhajan feels that the Americans who are following him will believe everything
unbelievable and stupid he says so long as he convinces them that he is the only man with this knowledge in the world. As there is a lot of talk of Gurbani and Sikh scriptures he sometimes gives definitions and interpretations of words commonly known and even understood by the Sikhs. But Yogi Bhajan's interpretations always highlight his ignorance in the eyes of those who know the subject, and his divine wisdom in the eyes of those Americans who have taken a vow that everything that Yogi Bhajan says must be accepted as Gospel Truth even if they are sure it is nonsense. We give Yogi's interpretation of three words: Rahao (Refrain); Mundavani (Mystery or Seal) and Simrin (Remembrance of God's Name).
Rahao (Refrain): The whole of the Adi Guru Granth is in poetry most of it strung to music and is meant to be sung. Each hymn has one or two Refrains consisting of about two lines which are repeated after every verse of the hymn. In Hindi versions of the hymns of the medieval saints it is called Tek which also has the same meaning. Here is what Yogi Bhajan says about it, "In Siri Guru Granth Sahib there's a very good word: "Rahao." Rahao means the Guru is saying, "I am going to give you a turn in analogy, 180 degrees. I am going to take you from this to that." The word "Rahao" means it will give you other side of the coin. Therefore you have not to interpret it like symbology. There is no symbolism in it. That is why it looks very real and it acts very positive, because it is you and the other side of you." (K.R.I., Issue 6, p 23)
Mundhavani, Mudhavani: There is one word in the Adi Granth which is written in two forms. It occurs first in the middle as Mudhavani, which means an unsolved mystery. It also occurs in the end where it means the Seal, the Closing Hymn. See Adi Granth Dictionary by Hazara Singh, Kosh by Pundit Tara Singh Nirotam, and Mahan Kosh by Kahan Singh). Yogi Bhajan confuses these theological terms with a third commonly known Punjabi word Madhani (a wooden churner) used by Punjabi peasants to churn curd (yogurt) and take butter out of it. There is a world of difference between the two words. Here is his definition given in Beads, 32, Fall 1976: "Some of you wonder why to do Path (reading of Scriptures) every day. Path is Mudhavani. Mudhavani means churning. It is a process of churning your meridian points and turning your instruments the body and mind into the dignity and divinity." He gives this definition while lecturing on "Woman." (page 9)
Simrin and Satnam: The word Simrin means "Remembrance of God's Name, Contemplation, Meditation." But this is how Yogi Bhajan defines it and makes it a mystery revealed to prophets like him alone: "The science of Simrin has not yet been taught on this earth. It was maintained as a mystery and today we are opening an unread chapter. It has always been taught on a one to one basis but we have recognized that we must progress on the oneness of that basis. . . . The raising of consciousness through the chakras to the ultimate chakras is the science of Kundalini and it is also known as the science of Simrin." (Beads, Simrin and Seva by Yogi Bhajan)
Sa—infinity, Ta—life, Na—death, Ma—rebirth. This is Satnam. (K.R.I., 6, p 41) In the dictionary of no Indian language can one find the meaning of these syllables Sa— Ta— Na— Ma— as Infinity-life-death-rebirth. Yogi Bhajan has specially invented for his American followers, and wonder of wonders they believe it and are prepared to believe any other balderdash in the name of unknown mysteries of Kundalini Yoga.