"Peace Cereal which was sold as a " health food " by Yogi Bhajan followers for millions of dollars, used to be organic. Today all of its ingredients are conventional. Most of its " health food " products bear the mostly meaningless natural label." (And no photo revealing the Yogi Bhajan ingredient anymore, the most synthetic ingredient of all.)
Peace Cereal " health foods " is part of the package that Hearthside Food Solutions bought when Golden Temple Bakery was sold by followers of Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, commonly known as Yogi Bhajan. He is dead, reportedly.
Prior to the sale, his followers who are known as Golden Temple of Oregon LLC, were shifting the organic content of the ingredients of Peace Cereal down to zero.
The agricultural watchdog group, Cornucopia Institute, has nailed Peace Cereal for the confusion this has produced. Here's their new video from October 5, 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-sw2uEupTwo#t=152s

"The sleight-of-hand of Peace Cereal, switching from organic to conventional ingredients, in a stealth-like manner, needs to be exposed," said Mark Kastel, co-founder of Cornucopia. Golden Temple and Peace Cereal’s roots date to 1972 when local students of Yogi Bhajan, who founded his own brand of Sikhism incorporating kundalini yoga, started a bakery in Springfield.Yogi Bhajan died in 2004, and factions of the community he created now are involved in multiple legal disputes.

Yogi Bhajan's pic on the Peace Cereal box. Yogi Bhajan, the master con man even after death!

After several months of investigation in late 2010 and early 2011, the Cornucopia Institute said it found that Golden Temple failed to change bar codes on its cereal and to effectively notify retailers when it switched to nonorganic ingredients in 2008. That led many stores, including some in the Eugene-­Springfield area, to continue for months — even years — to identify Golden Temple cereals as “organic” on bulk bin labels and shelf signage, the institute said. Dan Beilock, owner of the Red Barn Natural Grocery in the Whiteaker neighborhood of Eugene, said he doesn’t recall being notified by Golden Temple about its ingredients switch. He said he eventually found out through a distributor.

Golden Temple is just the latest example of a formerly organic company switching to “so-called natural ingredients,” said Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumers Association, based in Finland, Minn. “The bottom line is you make more money on selling natural than organic, so that’s why (manufacturers are) doing it,” Cummins said. “It’s a disturbing trend because polls show many consumers are confused about the difference between “natural” and “organic,” and they see products that are cheaper and think, ‘Oh all-natural, that’s almost organic, I’ll buy that,’” he said. “Three years ago when Peace Cereal changed from organic to conventional ingredients, they did so claiming that it was because the prices of organic ingredients were too high and consumers wouldn’t pay that premium,” Kastel said. “The irony is now under its new ownership, they’re actually charging more for the cereal than a number of major brands that are certified organic.” Kastel, of the Cornu­copia Institute, said Hearth­side bears some responsibility in the mislabeling problems. “Their sales staff and brokers are in stores all the time, and they’re looking at how their products are merchandised,” he said. “Someone had to see this at some point.” “These people for years have been enjoying extra profits because of the less-than-competent approach of their predecessor and the retail community, who through their databases and everything else, were misinformed,” Kastel said. “They (Hearthside) have been riding this up escalator with the rest of the true organic players,” he said. The labeling problems came to Cornucopia Institute’s attention late last year after an inspection of a certified organic store in St. Louis, Kastel said. The inspector noticed that the label on the bin containing Golden Temple granola listed organic oats, but the boxes containing the granola weren’t stamped “organic oats.” The institute then contacted and visited other stores, from member-owned food co-ops to major national chains, and found widespread in-store labeling problems. Even Whole Foods Markets displayed inaccurate “organic” signs with the Golden Temple cereals, Kastel said. “I’m sure if we go out and do a bigger sampling of stores, we can still find this happening,” he said. As manufacturers change their products, labels may lag behind By Sherri Buri McDonald The Register-Guard http://www.registerguard.com/web/newslocalnews/25950480-57/organic-ingredients-golden-temple-products.html.csp .

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.”

3HO Sikhs are now fighting amongst themselves in a lawsuit over the millions of dollars in profits made from using the sacred Sikh religious symbols and scriptures for their own personal gain.3HO Sikhs, who follow Yogi Bhajan, funnel the money to support Yogi Bhajan's tantric cult church which 3HO Sikhs have deceptively camouflaged using names like "Sikh Dharma International", "3HO foundation", "Sikh Dharma Stewardship","SikhNet.com","Sikh Dharma Worldwide", "Unto Infinity Board","Khalsa Council" and "KRI(Kundalini Research Institute)". See "Sikhnet's" and "Sikh Dharma International's" slick new websites which were produced with the millions in ill-gained profits using the name of the Golden Temple, names and images of the Sikh Gurus, and sacred Sikh shabads for profit in commercial enterprises.

Read the full front page article about Yogi Bhajan's lust for power and greed of his 3HO Sikhs in Today's Eugene Register-Guard:

""Yogi's Legacy in Question"".[/link]

"New lawsuit hits Golden Temple with fraud!"

Read about the infighting in 3HO and Sikh Dharma--
Today's Eugene Register-Guard:

""Rift in 3HO Sikh community threatens business empire""

LETTERS IN THE EDITOR’S MAILBAG: Friday’s paper
Appeared in print: Friday, May 28, 2010

"Bhajan was a leader ‘by fluke’

Recently, a friend sent me articles from The Register-Guard on litigation involving Yogi Bhajan’s organizations in Oregon. The letters to the editor that followed, critical of the reporter, prompt me to throw some light on the subject. Bhajan was extremely good at what he did, but propagation of Sikhism he was not. Criticism of Bhajan’s cult cannot be construed as criticism of Sikhism.

Trilochan Singh, a distinguished Sikh scholar, in his 1977 book “Sikhism and Tantric Yoga,” describes Bhajan devastatingly: “Yogi Bhajan is a Sikh by birth, a Maha Tantric by choice but without training, and a ‘Sri Singh Sahib’ and self-styled leader of the Sikhs of the Western Hemisphere by fluke and mysterious strategy.” There was no mystery to his strategy. He ingratiated himself with the Sikh religious leadership in Punjab, which was more corrupt than the Vatican during the time of Martin Luther.

According to the Tantrics, the best form of worship is the fullest satisfaction of the sexual desires of man, therefore sexual intercourse is prescribed as a part of Tantric worship. In the annals of abuse of women, some had harems, others had concubines and Bhajan had secretaries. The Sikh gurus condemned the Tantrics and their practices. All the cases mentioned in The Register-Guard had merit.

Humility is the hallmark of a Sikh, and Bhajan had none of it. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, describes people such as Bhajan succinctly: “Those ... who have no virtues but are filled with egotistical pride.”

Hardev Singh Shergill President, Khalsa Tricentennial Foundation of North America Editor-in-chief, The Sikh Bulletin El Dorado Hills, Calif.

"Sikhism and Tantric Yoga"
by Dr. Trilochan Singh (Link to entire book)

"The book Sikhism And Tantric Yoga is available at: www.gurmukhyoga.com.This website which is operated by a genuine White Sikh is highly recommended. Gursant Singh was a member of the Yogi Bhajan Cult (3HO and the Sikhnet Gora Sikhs or White Sikhs) for over 30 years and has intimate knowledge about the inner workings of this cult which attempts to miscegnate Sikhism with Hindu idolatry. I downloaded the book from Gursant’s website and found it to be absolutely compelling. I read it in one compulsive and sustained draught. It is a study not only about cults in Sikhism but about the miscegenation of the Sikh Religion by Hinduism. It is a classic work rendered in beautiful English prose and it is patently the work of a profound intellectual scholar with a deep knowledge of Sikhism."
Quotation taken from: http://www.sikharchives.com/?p=5513&cpage=1#comment-2011

You may also view individual chapters to "Sikhism and Tantric Yoga" at these links:

Sikhism & Tantric Yoga A Critical Evaluation of Yogi Bhajan
http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=192

Sikh Doctrines and Yogi Bhajan's Secret Science
http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=193

Yogi Bhajan's Adi Shakti Shaktimans and Shaktis
http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=194

Yogi Bhajan's Clap Trap Theories of Kundalini Yoga
http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=195

Yogi Bhajan's Ego Maniac Utterances
http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=205

Yogi Bhajan's Seven Years in America and His Tinkling Titles
http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=206

Yogi Bhajan's Arrest and Release on Bail
http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=207

Yogi Bhajan Becomes the Only Maha Tantric in the World
http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=208

Sikh Leaders without Conscience
http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=209

Call to Truth and Authentic Sikhism
http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=210

Please read an Excerpt below taken from "Sikhism and Tantric Yoga"

The Name of Golden Temple and its Murals

"In England last year a firm advertised some blue jeans as Jesus Jeans. The whole religious world of England rose in one protest and stopped the manufacture of these jeans. The word Golden Temple has become an instrument of commercial affairs of Yogi Bhajan He has now even named shoe stores as Golden Temple. I was given a "Wha Guru Chew.""

"Yogi Bhajan is using the sacred Sikh mantras and the sacred name of Guru Ram Das as a mantle for his Tantric Sex Yoga which will inevitably lead to mental and physical debauchery of those who take his brand of Sikhism contaminated by crazy sex-energizing asanas seriously."

Read about the "war between 3HO Sikh's Unto Infinity Board and Yogi Bhajan's Sikh Dharma". Yogi Bhajan set up all these organizations and installed their leaders. Decide for yourself if the Tantric Sex Yoga which Yogi Bhajan taught inevitably leads to mental and physical debauchery.

Many of these 3HO profiteers have cut their hair and renounced Sikhi! See these pictures below of Kartar Khalsa CEO of Golden Temple Foods and chairman of Yogi Bhajan's "Unto Infinity Board" who has cut his hair and is no longer a Sikh.

(Is it any wonder that Kartar and Peraim, Controlling members of Yogi Bhajan's "Unto Infinity Board",are wearing circus masks in the above photo?)http://cirrus.mail-list.com/khalsa-council/Kartar-Peraim.2-10.jpg

See these articles in today's Eugene Register Guard which shows the greed surrounding this dispute:

"Money trail at heart of Sikhs’ legal battle."

Wha Guru being used sacriligiously for huge profits by 3HO Sikhs
"Five flavors and they're all nuts!"

"What did the magician say to the Wha Guru Chew? Open sesame."

Yogi Bhajan used the sacred name of the Golden Temple, names and images of the Sikh Gurus, and sacred Sikh shabads for commercial enterprises to make millions of dollars. Wha Guru is even used as the name of a candy bar by Golden Temple Foods!Links appearing on the internet advertise Golden Temple along with wine and alcohol such as in this Google search link: "Golden Temple Granola - Food & Wine - Compare Prices" Other internet links associate Golden Temple massage oil with sex and sensual massages as in this Google search: "Sensual Soothing... Golden Temple Soothing Touch Massage Oil."

See for yourself the pictures below of the Darbar Sahib(Golden Temple) in Amritsar and Guru Tegh Bahadar featured on yogi tea boxes:

3HO Sikhs are associating yogis, ashrams, tantric sex yoga rituals,drinking of wine and magicians of the occult with the Sikh Gurus and the Golden Temple See the Rare Photo (above) featuring the Harimandir sahib in 1908 when it was under the control of the Pundits or mahants. Sadhus and yogis felt free to sit wearing only a dhoti and no head coverings.The Gurdwara Reform Movement stopped such practices in India and gave the Gurdwaras back to Gursikhs.

Tantric Asanas taught by Yogi Bhajan for transmuting sexual energy:Reprinted from Yogi Bhajan’s official magazine “Beads of Truth” 11, p. 39

Yogi Bhajan illustrated here controlling tantric shakti "energy". Notice the depiction of Shiva,above Yogi Bhajan's head, Shiva is the god of yoga for Hindus. The illustration also shows Kundalini Yoga Asanas taught by Yogi Bhajan for transmuting sexual energy

Yogi Bhajan's students are intstructed to meditate on Yogi Bhajan's picture everyday which you can see displayed in the 3HO Espanola Gurdwara in the photo above.

Idolatry is forbidden in sikhism....why does an 8-foot high statue of the Hindu god Ganesh, adorn the entranceway to the Siri Singh Sahib (yogi bhajan) lane in espanola. This is the hindu god of "prosperity", as in the 3HO publication "prosperity pathways".Adi Shakti Chandi 3HO Tantric Deity worshipped by 3HO in songs and prayers(shown above). Read about Yogi Bhajan's Shaktiman and Shakti women.

Read these shocking fire pujas and occult numerology,(below), practiced and advertised in the latest newsletter published by 3HO Sikhs. These "kriyas" or pujas are complete rubbish,only adding to the destruction and dissolution of the Sikh faith and should not be practiced by Sikhs of the Guru. The object of these practices is to combine the Sikh faith with Hinduism; to defang, neuter and completely destroy Sikhi. The strategy is to introduce idolatry and a stratified priesthood into the Sikh Religion. Yogi Bhajan and his 3HO shakti cult followers are introducing idolatry and Hindu practices of pujas and tantra mantra into the Sikh religion. The Bhajan movement is attempting to shift Sikh worship from the commonwealth of Gurdwaras to private estates controlled by 3HO priests of Yogi Bhajan's Tantric sex cult church.

Idolatry is forbidden in Sikhism....why does a golden statue of a yogi adorn the entranceway to the 3HO Gurdwara in Espanola. This is a Hindu practise.
3-HO Sikhs demonstrate(in the photo above)their complete subservience to false worldly material power by exhibiting the Flag of God (The Nishaan Sahib) at an even level with the flag of the United States in front of the 3HO Gurdwara in New Mexico. The Nishaan Sahib, (The Respected Mark of God under the shadow of the Sikh Broadsword) should always fly higher than the flag of all the false materialists. The Flag of the Khalsa should occupy a place of exaltation above any government's flag that temporarily inhabits the material world.

Tantric Yoga asanas (above) taught by Yogi Bhajan
and practised in 3HO Gurdwaras

"Tantric doctrines involving sex-poses or physical contact poses are extremely repulsive to Sikhism. The Sikh Gurus repeatedly ask the Sikhs to shun Tantric practices because they are based on a mentally perverted outlook of life. The Sikh Gurus ask the Sikhs to shun the very presence and association of Shakti-Cult Tantrics." Dr. Trilochan Singh "Sikhism and Tantric Yoga"

Tantric Asana taught by Yogi Bhajan for transmuting sexual energy:Reprinted from Yogi Bhajan’s official magazine “Beads of Truth” 11, p. 39

See how Hindu gods and yogis are displayed in 3HO Gurdwaras, (see link in blue).

See this post which exposes the most shocking relationship Yogi Bhajan had with Jagjit Naamdhari who is considered by his disciples as the 11th Sikh Guru. The Naamdhari Sikhs keep the Siri Guru Granth in a closet while they bow to Jagjit and refer to him as "SatGuru Ji" as you can see in the photos at this link.

Read these comments by traditional Sikhs. "What better way to make money: add a religious tone to the product. All of a sudden, it seems legit."

If you want to stop these degrading and sacriligious practices by Golden Temple Foods and Yogi Bhajan's cult followers; Post a letter of support on this website or write your local food stores and demand they stop selling Golden Temple Food's products. Some of the major stores which carry these products are Trader Joes, Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats but there are many many other stores who sell millions of dollars in Golden Temple Granola, Peace Cereal, Yogi Teas, massage oil and Wha Guru Chews.

Yogi Bhajan's sacrilegious teachings in the name of Sikhism are illustrated quite distinctly by pictures of Yogi Bhajan's portrait, hindu idols being displayed in and around 3-HO Gurdwaras and the practice of kundalini and sex energizing tantric yoga asanas inside 3-HO Gudwaras by Yogi Bhajan's students.

Idolatry is forbidden in Sikhism. Why does an eight foot high image (above) of Yogi Bhajan controlling the tantric shakti "energy" adorn the 3HO Gurdwara in Espanola? You can see the menacing image of Yogi Bhajan overshadowing the Sangat on the right side of the entire Espanola Gurdwara in the photo above.

Idolatry is forbidden in sikhism....why does a golden statue of a yogi adorn the entranceway to the 3HO Gurdwara in espanola. This is a hindu practise.

Yogi Bhajan's students are intstructed to meditate on Yogi Bhajan's picture everyday which you can see displayed in the 3HO Espanola Gurdwara in these photos.


In a painting at the New Mexico 3HO Gurdwara(above)you can see the sacrilegious misrepresentation of our sacred Khalsa symbol "Khanda" with two swords around it. You may also observe in this painting how Yogi Bhajan is depicted on an equal level with Guru Ram Daas(the 4th Sikh Guru): Dr. Trilochan Singh recounts this observation in 1977 when he writes, "The other picture was the Khalsa symbol Khanda with two swords around it. The Khanda (double-edged sword) within this symbol was replaced by a picture of an American woman with Sari-like robes. The woman is called Adi Shakti. I saw this published in the Beads of Truth in London and have already commented on it in my book, The Turban and the Sword of the Sikhs. I told Shakti Parwha that this is the most sacrilegious misrepresentation of our sacred symbol. As usual she dismissed my opinion as unimportant."

The sikh code of conduct says food offerings to the GURU are forbidden, but there is a 'testimony' page over at sikhnet.com, a 3HO run site loaded with volumes of Yogi Bhajan nonsense talks. Yogi Bhajan instructs 3Hoer's to prepare meals as offerings at the gurdwara and calls this "a dish for a wish". This is nothing more than the Hindu practice of puja. The testimony states "a dish for a wish".
Please read an Excerpt below taken from

"Sikhism and Tantric Yoga"
by Dr. Trilochan Singh (Link to entire book)

"Yogi Bhajan is using the sacred Sikh mantras and the sacred name of Guru Ram Das as a mantle for his Tantric Sex Yoga which will inevitably lead to mental and physical debauchery of those who take his brand of Sikhism contaminated by crazy sex-energizing asanas seriously."

Yogi Bhajan studied and taught at the Sivananda Ashram in Delhi. This, in addition to his first Kundalini Yoga teacher Sant Hazara Singh. In the mid-1960s, Harbhajan Singh took up a position as instructor at the Vishwayatan Ashram in New Delhi, under Dhirendra Brahmachari. This yoga centre was frequented by the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter, Indira Gandhi, and diplomats and employees from a host of foreign embassies.

Here's an article on Sivananda's approach to Kundalini Yoga:

www.dlshq.org/download/kundalini.htm

These are all Hindu practices.

You can also read about the Gurdwara Reform Movement which stopped such practices in India and gave the Gurdwaras back to Gursikhs.

Gurdwara Reform Movement

A Rare Photo of Harimandir sahib in 1908 when it was under the control of the Pundits or mahants. Sadhus felt free to sit in meditation wearing only a dhoti.The Gurdwara Reform Movement (Gurdwara Sudhar Lehr) is the Legislation passed by the Punjab Legislative Council which marked the culmination of the struggle of the Sikh people from 1920-1925 to wrest control of their places of worship from the mahants or priests into whose hands they had passed during the eighteenth century when the Khalsa were driven from their homes to seek safety in remote hills and deserts.

When they later established their sway in Punjab, the Sikhs rebuilt their shrines endowing them with large jagirs and estates. The management, however, remained with the priests, belonging mainly to the Udasi sect, who, after the advent of the British in 1849, began to consider the shrines and lands attached to them as their personal properties and to appropriating the income accruing from them to their private use. Some of them alienated or sold Gurudwara properties at will. They had introduced ceremonies which were anathema to orthodox Sikhs. Besides, there were complaints of immorality and even criminal behavior lodged against the worst of them. All these factors gave rise to what is known as the Gurudwara Reform movement during which the Sikhs peaceful protests were met with violence and death and ended with them courting arrest on a large scale to gain the world's attention. Before it was all over many would fall as martyrs with some being literally blown apart while they were strapped to cannaon barrels.

‘During the Gurdwara Reform Movement, the Sikh leaders started a publication that was named Akali. From this paper and its policy the leaders began to be called Akalis, in view of which they formed the present Akali party. These Nihang Akalis should not be confused with the members of the Akali party.’ The Turban And The Sword’' , by Dr. Trilochan Singh. (Page 402)

I found this post at SikhSangat.com It exposes the most shocking relationship Yogi Bhajan had with Jagjit Naamdhari who is considered by his disciples as the 11th Sikh Guru. The Naamdhari Sikhs keep the Siri Guru Granth in a closet while they bow to Jagjit and refer to him as "SatGuru Ji" as you can see in the photos below.

The 'Namdhari' cult has been excommunicated from the Khalsa Panth. See for yourself the pictures of Yogi Bhajan depicting his close relationship with Jagjit Naamdhari.

"However their are several instances which I find questionable about Yogi Bhajan. One includes the relationship they had with Jagjit Naamdhari (http://satguruji.blogspot.com/), and the other about an occurance that occured in the late 70's between Yogi and AKJ, where Yogi criticized Jatha for trying to "steal" members."

Yogi Bhajan wore huge gemstones for their so called “yogic energy and power". Yogi Bhajan adorned himself with these yogic rings and precious gems for different days of the week. Yogi Bhajan covered up the fact that these days are represented by different Hindu deities and the practice of wearing these yogic rings is really only the Hindu idea of pacifying the various gods and goddesses. Not only this, Yogi Bhajan used astrology and numerology in choosing these yogic rings. Yogi Bhajan believed the gemstones had "energy affects" and influenced our destiny, thinking and actions.

Yogi Bhajan shown here on Sikhnet wearing a yogic ring for power

Around the year 2000, Yogi Bhajan tried to personally sell me a yogic ring for several thousand dollars. We were at Hari Jiwan Singh's house in Espanola where HJ keeps a vast collection of gems worth millions of dollars. Yogi Bhajan told me. "You're naked." And he stated I needed a ring with a particular stone to protect me.

Yogi Bhajan’s wearing and promoting yogic rings is yet another Hindu practice camouflaged in the sheep’s clothing of "Aquarian or New Age spiritual thinking”. These things should not be practiced by Sikhs of the Guru. As Sikhs we should rely on the Guru alone for strength as Guru Arjan so beautifully states:

I have learnt the technique of true Yoga from the divine Guru. The True Guru has revealed this technique with the Light of the divine Word. Within my body He has revealed the Light that pervades all the regions of the earth. To this Light within me I bow and salute every moment. The initiation of the Guru are my Yogic rings and I fix my mind steadfastly on the One Absolute God.i,

A. G. Guru Arjan, Gaudi, p 208

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

We quote Yogi Bhajan on Precious Stones and rings, which for him are his status symbol, and for possessing which he expends quite a lot of his energy and ingenuity. He says in Beads, Summer 1972, "Precious stones are not precious because the rich wear them and the poor do not. Rather, they are precious because when cut in the proper way they concentrate sun energy and can transmit to the individual through the skin. Hence most rings are worn on the ring finger. The quality of energy channeled by each stone differs and so does its effect on the individual. Stones also correspond to the planets and serve in mediating the scattered energy which comes from retrograding planets."
Yogi Bhajan has given the following comments on stones.
Ruby (Sun) concentrates the heart of the sun's rays.
Moonstone and Pearls (Moon) help balance out too much sun energy. They are commonly worn by Libra.
Diamond (Venus and practically everything) can concentrate miles of sun rays into one beam. Recently in Los Angeles someone was robbed of 100,000 worth of jewel within 72 hours.
Emerald (Mercury) has wonderful effect on the brain and is a cooling stone. Good luck for everyone.
Coral (Mars) is for balancing positive and negative forces.
Topaz (Jupiter) is a good luck stone.
Blue Sapphire (Saturn) can give so much energy to a person that he becomes negative. Those who are interested in details can read the Journal Beads, Summer 1972, p. 16. I do not know what is the opinion of the Jewelers on these statements but from the point of Sikhism these notions are worthless absurdities.
Yogi Bhajan does not wear the earrings of the Nath Panthi Yogis, but he wears precious gold rings (sometimes two and sometimes three) heavily studded with jewels, and cannot help displaying them ostentatiously, probably as a symbol of wealth acquired through the techniques of Tantric Yoga, which he sacrilegiously identifies with the techniques of Sikh mysticism. Bhai Gurdas, however, makes it clear to all Sikhs of all ages that Yoga asanas and yoga techniques are absolutely useless and unnecessary for Sikh meditations and the spiritual path of Sikhism:
jog jugat gursikh gurs am jhay a
The Guru has himself explained to the Sikhs the technique of true Yoga, and it is this: A Sikh must live in such a moral and spiritual poise that while hoping and waiting he ceases to aspire or crave for low ambitions and remains unconcerned and detached. He should eat little and drink little. He should speak little and never waste time in nonsensical discussion. He should sleep little at night and keep away from the snare of wealth. He should never crave avariciously after wealth and property.
Bhai Gurdas, Var 20 / 15

We still have very eminent scholars and saints who practice and live according to the Essentials of the Sikh Path with utter humility and devotion. They do not wear long robes. They do not wear gold and diamond rings. They do not contaminate Sikh doctrines and practices with practices of creeds and cults which are repulsive to Sikhism and strictly prohibited. There are piles and piles of correct interpretations of the Sacred Writings of the Sikhs written first by the great contemporaries of the Gurus like Bhai Gurdas, Bhai Mani Singh, Bhai Nand Lai, and our own contemporaries like Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh and Bhai Vir Singh. They not only interpreted it but lived it and suffered for it like living martyrs, never seeking anything but the Grace of God and the Gurus as a reward.
See an excerpt from a meditation taught by Yogi Bhajan listed on one of his student's websites promoting yogic gems at "YogaGems.com".

"Each finger represents a planet, whose energies we imbue with grace within ourselves and through our projection:

The little finger is Mercury, enhancing communication.

The ring finger represents the sun, empowering our physical bodies with healing and grace of motion.

The middle finger stands for Saturn. We strengthen virtues of patience and self-discipline.

The index finger is for Jupiter. We enshrine the light of wisdom within us.

The thumb represents the earth, ego, “dragons head and dragons tail.” We bring grace to the ego, so it supports our spirit.

I brought this realization of grace through the beautiful Light that had descended with me, wherein I experienced each finger’s cosmic connection—to the planet Mercury, the shining Sun, ringed Saturn, luminous Jupiter, and lastly, Earth—wherein dragons symbolize the spiraling DNA of creation, all these energies equally a part of my soul."

See these links by Yogi Bhajan's students promoting "Power necklaces".

Please read an Excerpt below taken from

"Sikhism and Tantric Yoga"
by Dr. Trilochan Singh (Link to entire book)

"Yogi Bhajan is using the sacred Sikh mantras and the sacred name of Guru Ram Das as a mantle for his Tantric Sex Yoga which will inevitably lead to mental and physical debauchery of those who take his brand of Sikhism contaminated by crazy sex-energizing asanas seriously."

The Register-Guard
http://www.registerguard.com/
Yogi’s legacy in question |
Former followers say he abused his position for power, money and sexBy Sherri Buri McDonald

The Register-Guard

Posted to Web: Sunday, May 9, 2010 12:14AM
Appeared in print: Sunday, May 9, 2010, page A8

A slow, painful awakening led Premka Kaur Khalsa, a top secretary in Yogi Bhajan’s Sikh organization for almost 20 years, to leave the religious group in 1984, she said.

Premka Khalsa, 66, said she could no longer participate because of the inconsistencies she said she had witnessed between the yogi’s behavior and his teachings — the deception and abuse of power.

In 1986, she sued Yogi Bhajan and his Sikh organizations, settling out of court. In court papers, she alleged that the married yogi had sexually and physically assaulted her, that he was sexually involved with other secretaries and that, as the head of his administration, she worked long hours for little or no pay.

The organization’s religious leaders vehemently deny those allegations. Its business leaders did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Kamalla Rose Kaur, 55, another former member of Yogi Bhajan’s 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization) who wrote for a grass-roots newsletter in the community, said a light switched on for her when she was researching and writing about religious groups and thought, “Hey, we’re acting a lot like a cult.”

Former member Guru Bir Singh Khalsa, 60, who had been appointed a “lifetime minister” by Yogi Bhajan, said he received a wake-up call in the early 1990s, when Sue Stryker, then an investigator with the Monterey County District Attorney’s office, laid out evidence linking members of his spiritual community to criminal activity. Stryker, now retired, said a member of Yogi Bhajan’s Sikh community pleaded guilty and served time in prison for a telemarketing scam that bilked seniors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

These and other ex-members of Yogi Bhajan’s organization say they aren’t surprised by events unfolding now, six years after his death. Legal disputes threaten to splinter the community. Allegations of the yogi’s past wrongdoing are resurfacing. And the future of the Sikh organization’s businesses are in question.

The outcome will ripple far beyond the religious group, whose companies have become intertwined with the local economy and business community.

In Multnomah County Circuit Court, the group’s religious leaders are suing the group’s business leaders over control of the community’s multimillion dollar businesses, including Golden Temple natural foods in Eugene and Akal Security in New Mexico.

“Organizations/cults that have charismatic leaders and their followings, once their charismatic leader dies, this is generally the kind of thing that occurs,” Premka Khalsa said.

“It’s the meltdown of a cult,” said Kamalla Kaur, who spent nearly 20 years in 3HO, and now runs an Internet forum for ex-members. “They actually kept it together longer than we expected.”

Steven Hassan, a Massachusetts-based author, counselor and former leader of the Moon cult in the 1970s, said he has counseled about two dozen former 3HO members, including leaders, over the years.

“The group, from my point of view, was always about power and money,” he said. “(Yogi) Bhajan is the consummate … cult leader. By not specifying someone to take over, there often are these kinds of political battles and meltdowns — people basically being greedy like Yogi Bhajan was and wanting more of a slice for themselves.”

Attorney John McGrory, who represents the religious leaders in the Multnomah case, said his clients strongly disagree with the description of their organization as a cult. They “believe very strongly that it’s a religion,” he said. “They practice and follow it, and they are ministers.” The proof, he said, is in the thousands of adherents who still practice it.

McGrory said the real source of the discord in the community appears to be that the assets Yogi Bhajan built up over the years are being taken for private use, with the blessing of the managers the yogi appointed to safeguard them.

Gary Roberts, attorney for the business leaders, has said they’ve done nothing wrong and have acted in the interests of the Sikh community.

When a founder of an organization, or the head of a family, passes away, disputes among successors are common, said Krishna Singh Khalsa, a Eugene Sikh for 40 years.

“There’s nothing spiritual or charismatic or cultlike about that,” he said. “It’s simply where interests clash.”

Religious leaders voice concerns

A year before he died, Yogi Bhajan established the “Unto Infinity” board to oversee the network of businesses, property and educational and spiritual nonprofits. Members include Golden Temple CEO Kartar Singh Khalsa and three of the yogi’s former secretaries: Sopurkh Kaur Khalsa, Siri Karm Kaur Khalsa, and Peraim Kaur Khalsa. Kartar Khalsa and Peraim Khalsa are domestic partners.

In the years leading up to the Multnomah lawsuit, the group’s religious leaders expressed concern that the business leaders, the Unto Infinity members, had abandoned the group’s orthodox beliefs, which include not cutting one’s hair, eating a vegetarian diet and abstaining from alcohol.

In court documents, the religious leaders allege that the Unto Infinity members acknowledged in 2008 that they no longer practiced those core beliefs.

Unto Infinity members did not respond to Register-Guard interview requests. But in March 2009, when the Khalsa Council, an international group of Sikh ministers, asked them whether they had cut their hair, were no longer vegetarians, and drank alcohol, the business leaders responded by letter, according to the Khalsa Council.

The letter said, among other things: “The questions raised are irrelevant to our roles and responsibilities in the organization. We are not the religious leaders of the organization; we were given administrative and financial authority and responsibility.”

The Unto Infinity members wrote that they had made many sacrifices while the yogi was alive and that now they’re applying “more kindness into our personal lives.”

“We have learned the importance of factoring back into our lives more joy and balance as we continue to serve this mission for the rest of our way home,” they wrote.

The Unto Infinity members wrote that if the religious authorities decided to narrowly define what a Sikh Dharma minister is, “we may not continue to qualify.”

However, they noted, “many current ministers in Sikh Dharma have broken their Sikh or minister vows, marital vows, and the laws of our country and have remained ministers,” adding that that had been true even while Yogi Bhajan was alive.

Watching the business leaders back away from the group’s religious practices, some former members said, reminds them of what they experienced when they decided to leave the group.

“You go through stages of discovery of how you gave away your power and were deceived,” Premka Khalsa said.

“Once the person who is defining your reality — the charismatic leader — once he’s not there continuing to enforce the beliefs, then your eyes start to open,” she said. “You see things in a different way, and it can be disillusioning.”

Premka Khalsa said that’s especially true for the yogi’s secretaries, such as herself, who sacrificed much of their lives to serve him.

“I met him at 25,” she said. “I was 41 by the time I left, so my life of family, child bearing and (being) productive in the world, that whole piece was gone. Nothing was put into Social Security, and I walked out with the clothes on my back.”

The women in his inner circle “were denied having a personal relationship with any other men,” she added. “Some of us wanted to get married and have children, but we got sidetracked into agreeing to forego that with the intention of serving something bigger than us. Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice.”

Flaws noted by former members

The group’s publications and Web sites praise Yogi Bhajan as an advocate for world peace and as a spiritual teacher who has helped improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

A resolution passed by Congress in 2005 after his death recognized the yogi as “a wise teacher and mentor, an outstanding pioneer, a champion of peace and a compassionate human being.”

But Yogi Bhajan also had flaws, former members said.

“He was a phenomenal yoga teacher, a phenomenal spiritual man,” said Guru Bir Khalsa, the former “lifetime minister” who left the group after 18 years. But the yogi “sabotaged his own dream,” he said.

Imposing at 6 foot 3 inches and 250 pounds, Yogi Bhajan claimed humility, but had a weakness for expensive jewelry, luxury cars and custom-designed robes, former members said.

“He was a big dichotomy,” Premka Khalsa said. “He was tremendously charismatic. It just drew you in. You felt held and you felt loved and you felt embraced and felt part of something that was magnificent and bigger than you, and always yummy.”

“On the other side, he could be devastatingly harsh and make decisions that seemed so contrary to what he would preach and teach,” she said.

“He was all about power and he became a victim of that experience,” she said.

Lawsuits on assaults, inheritance

With his long white beard, white turban and white robes, Yogi Bhajan advocated for world peace, founding an annual Peace Prayer Day in 1985. But his saintly public image contrasted starkly with his private behavior, Premka Khalsa and other former secretaries said.

In her 1986 lawsuit, Premka Khalsa alleged that Yogi Bhajan repeatedly physically and sexually assaulted her from November 1968 to November 1984.

McGrory, the religious leaders’ attorney, said his clients deny all the allegations in Premka Khalsa’s lawsuit, which “were never verified or substantiated.”

In court papers, she alleged that the yogi was sexually involved with various female followers, and that he ordered her to coordinate his sexual liaisons, including orgies, with other secretaries, which she refused to do.

The head of Yogi Bhajan’s administration, and an editor and writer for his publications, Premka Khalsa said she worked on average 10 hours a day, five days a week. She alleged that she was paid $375 a month — only in her last three years with the group.

“It was another part of how he kept us bound,” she said. “We didn’t have independent resources. He had a fleet of cars — one of which was mine to drive. And he had properties to live on, but they weren’t mine. You had few independent resources, so it made it hard to live out on (your) own. He did that with lots of people.”

Premka Khalsa alleged in her lawsuit that Yogi Bhajan called her “his spiritual wife, destined to serve mankind by serving him in a conjugal capacity.” He said if she did so, he “would care for her for all of her natural life,” she alleged.

When Yogi Bhajan died in 2004, his wife Bibiji Inderjit was to inherit half of their community property, and he designated that his half go to Staff Endowment, a trust to support 15 female administrative assistants. To receive her share, each assistant had to live in accordance with the yogi’s teachings and the Sikh Dharma Order, according to court documents. If she didn’t, her interest would be cut to 2 percent, the court papers said.

Among the trust beneficiaries are Guru Amrit Kaur Khalsa, a plaintiff, and Sopurkh Khalsa, a defendant, in the Multnomah clash between the religious and business leaders, according to court papers.

McGrory said his clients deny that the Staff Endowment was in return for anything relating to Premka Khalsa’s allegations.

Yogi Bhajan’s estate still isn’t settled. In legal proceedings in New Mexico, the yogi’s widow argues that she was not aware of large gifts and expenditures her husband made while he was alive, and she wants an accounting of them, which could result in a determination that she is entitled to more of the remaining estate, said Surjit Soni, the widow’s attorney.

He said the yogi’s widow “does not begrudge or resist in any shape or form the bequest of Yogi Bhajan to his assistants … We just have to figure out what’s hers and what’s his and move on down the road.”

Soni declined to comment on the sexual abuse allegations.

Responding to the unpaid labor allegations, he said that many people volunteered their time to build the organization.

“It started with little or no sources of income and took the effort of a lot in the community lovingly coming together to provide their services,” he said. “They were doing it voluntarily. Nobody held a gun to their head.”

Another sexual abuse case against Yogi Bhajan, also settled out of court, was filed by the younger sister of Guru Amrit Khalsa, one of the yogi’s long-time secretaries.

Today, Guru Amrit Khalsa is one of the group’s two chief religious authorities, as well as one of the religious leaders suing Golden Temple CEO Kartar Khalsa and other business leaders.

Through McGrory, her attorney, she denied all allegations in her sister’s complaint.

The Register-Guard’s policy is not to name sexual abuse victims without their permission. Guru Amrit Khalsa’s sister’s whereabouts are not known, and she could not be reached for this story.

In court documents, she alleged that Guru Amrit Khalsa began trying to “entice” her into Yogi Bhajan’s organization when she was 11, and succeeded when she was 14.

She said she was with the group from 1975 to 1985. In her 1986 lawsuit, she alleged that starting in 1978, Yogi Bhajan repeatedly physically and sexually assaulted her.

The lawsuit alleged that the yogi was sexually involved with Guru Amrit Khalsa, as well as various other members of his administrative staff.

Guru Amrit Khalsa’s sister also alleged that Yogi Bhajan did not compensate her for skin and hair care products and snack foods she had developed and turned over to him in 1983 and 1984, after he had promised her an ownership stake or other payment.

“Truth is your identity”

The allegations in these lawsuits contrast with the public image of 3HO Sikhs in Eugene, who are widely regarded as devout, hard workers who have built a successful company that is a cornerstone of the natural foods industry here.

Firsthand knowledge of the abuse was confined to the yogi’s inner circle, Premka Khalsa and other former members said.

“The Eugene community, in general, is innocent and quite well intentioned,” she said.

Premka Khalsa said she sued Yogi Bhajan to try to expose what she called his lies and force him to change his behavior.

“The greeting we all have is Sat Nam, ‘Truth is your identity,’ and I wanted him to stop lying,” she said.

Premka Khalsa said she also wanted the rest of the community to know about the abuse, and she wanted to lend credibility to the complaint filed by Guru Amrit Khalsa’s sister because she said she was appalled by how badly she had been treated.

The suits were settled for undisclosed amounts, and they didn’t surface again until Guru Bir Khalsa, who had become disillusioned after learning of the group’s ties to telemarketing fraud, retrieved them from the archives of a New Mexico courthouse and put copies on the Internet in 2002.

“Sikh means seeker of truth and therefore I was just a seeker of truth,” he said. “The reason I wanted to put those documents on the Internet was to just turn the light on in the closet.”

“Yogi Bhajan had a dark side, and I think a lot of people don’t want to see it because of what that means about him,” Guru Bir Khalsa said. “I know, for myself, I wasn’t ready and didn’t want to see it. It’s kind of tough when you think you’ve invested as much as you have into something.”

Most of the former members quoted in this article asked to be referred to by the names they were using at the time they were part of the Sikh community.

“You go through stages of discovery of how you gave away your power and were deceived.”

— PREMKA KHALSA, A FORMER top secretary to Yogi Bhajan (SHOWN IN A 1973 PHOTO)

The Register-Guard
http://www.registerguard.com/
Rift threatens business empire
Posted to Web: Saturday, May 8, 2010 11:55PM
Appeared in print: Sunday, May 9, 2010, page A9

When India-born Yogi Bhajan came to the United States in 1968 to teach kundalini yoga, a revolution was sweeping the nation. Young people were rebelling against the status quo, protesting the Vietnam War, and experimenting with free love, psychedelic drugs, Eastern religions and communal living.

(Entire article continues below)

Idealistic young Americans flocked to Yogi Bhajan’s classes. Ashrams focused on his teachings began to pop up across the country, including in Eugene, Los Angeles, and Espanola, N.M. — the group’s main compound.

Soon after his arrival, he founded a nonprofit group 3HO (Happy, Holy, Healthy Organization) and began blending in Sikh teachings and practices.

In 1972, members of the fledgling Eugene ashram launched a tiny bakery in Springfield, which they later donated to the Sikh community. It grew into Golden Temple, an anchor of Eugene’s natural foods industry, and a major local employer and charitable donor.

The Eugene ashram grew steadily, becoming the Northwest hub for Yogi Bhajan’s brand of Sikhism. His adherents, with turbans, flowing robes and leggings, became a common sight.

Over the years, members of the ashram married, bought homes, sent their children to local schools and became part of the larger community.

In 2004, Yogi Bhajan died after devising a succession plan that split control of the community’s religious life and its business life — including Golden Temple, now a lucrative international producer of natural cereals and tea based in Eugene.

Six years later, a dispute over who owns and controls the multimillion dollar businesses has erupted into a court battle that is fracturing the community. The fight in Multnomah County Circuit Court has centered around the shift in ownership of Golden Temple.

In 2007, CEO Kartar Singh Khalsa and five other Golden Temple managers became majority owners of the company, which previously had belonged to the larger Sikh organization.

Last week, sources confirmed that Kartar Khalsa and the other owners plan to sell the cereal business to a Chicago company.

Compounding the woes of the community — and its businesses — are legal claims by the yogi’s widow that have delayed the settling of the yogi’s estate and that threaten Golden Temple’s continued use of the “Yogi” brand.

Amid all the rancor, many wonder whether Yogi Bhajan’s brand of Sikhism will survive, and what will happen to the businesses it spawned.

Membership declining

At its peak in the 1970s, the Sikh community that Yogi Bhajan inspired had up to 10,000 members, according to published reports. Eugene was the Northwest hub of the community, although smaller than other centers in New Mexico and Los Angeles. Today, although down from those peak numbers, it still has several thousand members worldwide, the group’s religious leaders estimate in court papers. The group has about 100 adherents in the Eugene-Springfield area, one local member estimates.

Connie Elsberg, a sociology professor at Northern Virginia Community College who studied 3HO and wrote a book about female members, said the court battles now being fought are a turning point for the community and its businesses.

If Unto Infinity, the community’s board of business leaders, maintains control of all of the businesses, then “I think there will be a great deal of bad feeling and little willingness to compromise on either side,” she said. “There will not be much funding for the religious arm, and the religious branches will dwindle.”

But if Unto Infinity agrees to provide sufficient funding to the other branches, the organization may continue relatively unchanged, with some decline in numbers, Elsberg said.

Krishna Singh Khalsa, a longtime Eugene Sikh, said Sikhs are learning from this experience.

“We’re developing new approaches and new methods of governance,” he said. “This won’t happen again, and we’ll continue to develop and create success. There’s no question about that, and there’s no fear about that.”

Things were much simpler when Yogi Bhajan first gathered his American flock, many of them hippies engulfed in the drug culture.

“We stopped smoking marijuana and started getting high on breathing,” wrote photographer Lisa Law, whose exhibit of ’60s photos at the Smith­sonian includes a shot of Yogi Bhajan teaching yoga outdoors in New Mexico. “Enough of being potheads. Now we could be healthy, happy and holy.”

Yogi Bhajan’s converts were attracted to a variation of Sikhism that he created, incorporating kundalini yoga and vegetarianism — typically Hindu practices. He taught them how to do a form of yoga and meditate. He gave them Sikh names — “Singh” the middle name for men, “Kaur” for women, with the last name of “Khalsa.” He encouraged them to start businesses and “work by the sweat of their brow.” In some cases, he told them where to live, arranged their marriages and named their children.

His 3HO foundation describes its mission as to “practice and share the teachings of Yogi Bhajan so that they may serve, inspire, and empower humanity to be healthy, happy, and holy.”

Yogi Bhajan’s charisma and the teachings he brought from India were “very appealing an

"We (FDA) may take further action if you (Golden Temple Foods) do not promptly correct these violations. Such actions may include the initiation of a seizure action against your products." "...Your "Joint Comfort" and "Breathe Deep" products are not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above referenced uses...."

Golden Temple of Oregon, LLC - Tea Facility 11/10/11

Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service
Food and Drug Administration
Seattle District
Pacific Region
22201 23rd Drive SE
Bothell, WA 98021-4421
Telephone: 425-486-8788
FAX: 425-483-4996

VIA OVERNIGHT MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
November 10, 2011

In reply refer to Warning Letter SEA 12-04

Mr. Kartar S. Khalsa, CEO
Golden Temple of Oregon, LLC
121 SW Morrison Street, Suite 925
Portland, Oregon 97204

WARNING LETTER

Dear Mr. Khalsa:

Unapproved New Drugs

Your "Joint Comfort" and "Breathe Deep" products are promoted for conditions that cause the products to be drugs under section 201(g)(1)(B) of the Act. The following claims that promote these products as drugs were observed on your website:

Turmeric, Your Medicine Cabinet in a Curry Bowl

• "Recent scientific research is showing that turmeric [an ingredient in your Joint Comfort product] ... looks like the most potent remedy ever tested against Alzheimer's disease."

• The main active constituent, curcumin, the pigment that gives turmeric its distinctive yellow color, has profound anti-inflammatory effects for inflammatory skin disease (eczema, acne)."

• "Turmeric is extensively used as medicine in Ayurveda, and to a lesser extent in Traditional Chinese Medicine, where it is used to treat everything from indigestion to toothache."

• "Turmeric zaps a wide variety of infectious bugs. Ayurveda recommends it as an antibacterial for chronically weak or ill folks."

• "Turmeric reduces blood cholesterol .... "

• "Turmeric reduces blood cholesterol .... "

Your website also contains disease claims in the form of personal testimonials, including:

Breathe Deep

• "I have chronic asthma, which has been a bear lately and nothing else aside from stimulants or nasty chemicals has helped. I grabbed this tea last night in desperation, not having had much big success with other teas for lungs or breathing but this opened me up within about 15 minutes and I slept like a baby! I am stunned by the difference, from one cup of tea.''

• "I got this tea to try because I have asthma and have had it for years. I had been using an albuterol inhaler every day and sometimes more than once. Since I started drinking this tea daily I have only used the inhaler one time in the past 3 months."

• "From my experience, Breathe Deep tea is Clearly beneficial in assisting prevention of cold related symptoms."

• "This tea relieves my asthma for a few hours so that I can delay using my inhaler."

Your "Joint Comfort" and "Breathe Deep" products are not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above referenced uses and, therefore, these products are "new drugs" under section 201(p) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 321(p)]. New drugs may not be legally marketed in the U.S. without prior approval from FDA as described in section 505(a) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 355(a)]. FDA approves a new drug on the basis of scientific data submitted by a drug sponsor to demonstrate that the drug is safe and effective.

The above violations are not meant to be an all-inclusive list of violations within your facility. It is your responsibility to ensure that all of your products are in compliance with all of the requirements of the Act and FDA regulations. We may take further action if you do not promptly correct these violations. For instance, we may initiate regulatory action without further notice. Such actions may include the initiation of a seizure action against your products and/or an action to enjoin your firm from operation.

Why does a Yogi Bhajan health foods recipe contain an ingredient on the US Food and Drug Administration's database of poisonous substances?

The Yogi Bhajan health foods recipe which uses one Whole Nutmeg is taken from the 3HO Weekly Newsletter. I did some research on the internet and found that one whole nutmeg is about 5 to 7 grams. 10 grams of nutmeg can kill you! Several sources said that "Nutmeg contains an essential oil called myristicin that has hallucinogenic properties"
I have recently been discussing on the internet with a former student of Yogi Bhajan who claims that Yogi Bhajan took one whole nutmeg every day! This would certainly explain Yogi Bhajan's bizarre ideation, unstable moods, and word salad 'lectures.'

Let's say you owned a health food business that used a spice with known toxicity at high doses. Would you include the portrait and words of wisdom of somebody who recommended abusing the " health food " spice on your boxed products? Yogi Bhajan's Yogi Tea and " health foods " Peace cereals come to mind.
There's a Food and Drug Administration database for all kinds of poisonous substances. Nutmeg is on that list. Bhajan should be, too.

http://www.3ho.org/enewsletter/e-news12-20-06.html
Healing Recipe

Banana-Nutmeg Ice cream

Nutmeg, taken alone, is a very intoxicating food. It can make you totally disoriented. Dried powdered nutmeg can cause severe dizziness and should not be eaten except in minute quantities. Fresh whole nutmeg taken with banana, however, is a tonic, especially for men. It can keep a normal person young for a long time.

1 Cup Milk
3 medium-size ripe Bananas
1 whole Nutmeg, ground
1 fresh Apple, peeled and cored
1/3 - 1/2 cup Honey

Grind nutmeg with mortar and pestle or using a grinder. Blend ingredients until smooth. Then serve hot or pour into ice-cream maker and churn until ready. To make "ice cream" without an ice cream maker, pour mixture into a flat tray. Set in freezer until almost frozen solid. Puree in blender. Then freeze again. Puree a second time. Freeze once more and serve. This recipe can be served as a hot drink or as ice cream. Makes 1 pt.

From Food for Health and Healing based on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan
© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan

Nutmeg High | The Trip That Could Send You To The Hospital
http://nutmeghigh.com/

What are the Nutmeg Side Effects?
by Billy T on December 23, 2010

There are many nutmeg side effects that can be caused from a high level of nutmeg intake. Usually this high dosage is taken in an attempt to get high off of the spice. Nutmeg contains an essential oil called myristicin that has hallucinogenic properties. Many choose not to pursue a nutmeg high due to the intense hangover and nasty side effects that include:
*Fever
*Palpitations
*Hallucinations
*Dry mouth
*Nausea
*Abdominal spasms
*Convulsions
*Dizziness
*Body Pain
*Dehydration
*Constipation
*Insomnia
*Vomiting
*Irritation of the skin
*Lack of energy and mortor skills
*Lack of speaking skills / Social withdraw
*Seizures
*Contains safrole, a carcinogen that is bad for the liver.

And most importantly DEATH!

Some websites will tell you that 10 grams of fresh-whole nutmeg, not ground, can give the user a nutmeg high. This gives you the feeling of about 1-marijuana cigarette, not really worth it if you ask me. It is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that someone takes no more than 2 grams of nutmeg or it could end up very badly for them. Even consuming 2 grams of nutmeg is probably too much. For example 10 grams of nutmeg could even poison you and kill you

If it doesn’t you will mostly likely just want to be dead because the nutmeg side effects are so horrible. Most users have found that fresh nutmeg gives more desirable effects than powdered nutmeg, but this isn’t proven. I’ve actually seen reports of the opposite being true, but in my opinion it appears that fresh whole nutmeg is a better way to get high with the stuff. Not that I endorse getting high with nutmeg at all, in fact I think it is extremely dumb.

The nutmeg side effects can have different effects from person to person. It may produce serious effects in some cases while it can be produce nothing in others but a bad taste. There could also be serious long term health risks that come from using nutmeg in excess.

If parents would like to protect their children from this possible fate, there are many substitutes to compensate. Pumpkin pie spice is a great nutmeg substitute. The most common substitute for nutmeg would probably be cinnamon though. Some have even used cloves, mace, or ginger in place of a nutmeg when they run out. If you ask me, I find it a little sad if you cant keep your kids from raiding the cabinet for nutmeg. Restricting the nutmeg from them probably wouldn’t do much considering its legality and low cost.

Recently I’ve had a unique opportunity to meet with leading Psychiatry Medical Doctors over the last year or so. I have to thank my wife who being a Psychiatrist here in London has made this interaction with such experts in the field of Psychiatry possible.

Did Yogi Bhajan exhibit delusions of religious grandeur? During my 30 years with Yogi Bhajan and his Kundalini/tantric Yoga cult, Yogi Bhajan continually told us how we (White 3HO Sikhs) would lead humanity into some kind of “Blissful Aquarian Age”! We certainly had delusions that Yogi Bhajan would be remembered as the great “guru” who gave us Kundalini Yogic power to lead the world.

Find more discussion on my facebook page.

The conclusion I reached from my conversations with these mental health experts was that Kundalini Yoga practitioners develop psychotic behavior with delusions of religious grandeur which seem to get worse and worse as the length of time practicing KY becomes greater. For example, People like Guruka Singh and Hari Jiwan Singh who have practiced Kundalini Yoga for 40 years make more outrageous delusional statements than a novice KY Teacher Trainer practicing Kundalini Yoga.

If you watch the videos of Guruka Singh and Gurmukh Kaur you’ll readily see how they appear to be almost in some kind of hypnotic trance, they just don’t sound like normal well balanced people. Does Kundalini Yoga create delusions about “Magic Aquarian Age energy" beaming down from Jupiter to instill yogic superpowers solely in Yogi Bhajan devotees so they can lead humanity into some kind of “Blissful Aquarian Age”?

Guruka Singh of SikhNet at Sikh Missionary Society in Southhall UK promoting Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Yoga.Cult expert Rick Ross cautions: "..if you see some guru's picture on the wall, or religious statues in the entrance area or practice room, something more than yoga might be lurking within the instruction...A group with a hidden agenda can use meditation to download its program"

I submit that Kundalini Yoga is like an addictive drug which may seem to help people out of their depression and alcohol addictions but after time it acts in producing mental and physical side effects. Kundalini Yoga practitioners develop psychotic delusions about "Magic Aquarian Age energy" beaming down from the stars. These Yogi Bhajan cult followers then fantasize they’re super heroes leading and liberating all those who do Kundalini yoga into some kind of “New Age of Enlightenment”!
See this video of Gurmukh kaur Khalsa "Liberation Kriya" which shows clear delusional behavior. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2RCNS1qvb8&feature=share

http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=336

In my experience,the Yogi Bhajan way of smashing everyone into altered states by piling on more and more exercises, meditations and perhaps a gong meditation leaves people spacey and prone to induction into his cult. That’s probably why he (Yogi Bhajan) did it and why Kundalini Yoga teachers keep on doing it. The heavy breathing (breath of fire as Yogi Bhajan called it) techniques, loud gong sounds ringing in your ears and hours of Yogi Bhajan mantra chanting, sometimes in front of his picture, put unsuspecting people into an almost trance like state, making students more susceptible to induction into the Yogi Bhajan cult. Yogi Bhajan would have us hold our arms up for hours in some “kriya” he made up. We were so exhausted after several hours that we’d believe or accept anything Yogi Bhajan said. http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=317

Yesterday I was talking with a UK Medical Doctor about Kundalini Yoga and its effects on the human body. The Doctor explained how any exercise will make you feel happy with a sense of well-being because endorphins, namely adrenaline and nor-adrenaline, are released by the brain during heavy exercise. Doctors call these “Happy Hormones”. When Kundalini yoga practitioners say they experience an exalted sense of well-being they are merely feeling the effects of these “Happy Hormones” which are released by the brain after running or any other heavy exercise.

I ask SikhNet's Guruka Singh, "Why risk the many physical, mental and spiritual side effects of Kundalini Yoga when you can get the same benefits from other sports activities?"

Another serious side effect seems to show up in the large amount of criminal activity by Yogi Bhajan Kundalini Yoga devotees. See these links for details:

http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=302
http://www.rickross.com/reference/3ho/3ho84.html
http://www.rickross.com/reference/3ho/3ho59.html
http://www.rickross.com/reference/3ho/3ho21.html

As a practicing Sikh, I can now clearly see why the Sikh Gurus NEVER taught Kundalini or Tantric Yoga and there was a definite reason for it!! Traditional Sikh faith offers a complete spiritual path and a complete way of living a human life through recitation of Gurbani and meditating on the name of God.
http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?mode=page&id=1

Yogi Bhajan drastically diverted from the teachings of the Sikh Gurus with his clap trap theories of Kundalini and tantric Yoga and now he and those who practice under Yogi are suffering for it!
http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=305

Dr. Trilochan Singh, an eminent Sikh scholar and historian, after spending many months with Yogi Bhajan, revealed Yogi Bhajan’s delusions of religious grandeur as early as 1977 with his book “Sikhism and Tantric Yoga”; “He (Yogi Bhajan) sincerely believes that he can fool the ignorant American Sikhs to believe that he is the Super-Messiah of the Age, and they at least must believe that he is greater than the Sikh Gurus, and he has done what the Sikh Gurus were unable to do. We will study in detail how he (Yogi Bhajan) has built himself as the Western Pope of the Sikhs, the only Mahan Tantric in the World, and perhaps the only person who could tell so many lies about himself and make every American follower of his believe it.” http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?mode=page&id=1

Review the quotations given below from Yogi Bhajan’s lectures and read recent statements along with reviewing videos produced by Yogi Bhajan’s 3HO Kundalini Yoga disciples and decide for yourself if Kundalini Yoga produces delusions of grandeur.

Pritpal Kaur ~ "How do we use simple techniques(Kundalini Yoga)to take me quickly to my intuitive mind?" 3HOer for 40 years and lead Trainer for Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Research Institute, Pritpal Kaur is doing yoga & katcha mantras during the whole video with her back turned to Guru Sahib! She abruptly ends" with "OK" showing no respect for Wahe Guru! If this is not bad enough, She uses sacred symbols of the Sikh religion for profit & promotion of Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Yoga training nonsense. See 2:16 in the video. http://media.causes.com/1099087?s=c_feed

Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa ~ Yogi Bhajan "Liberation Kriya" “Let’s channel energy from Jupiter to our moon centers”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2RCNS1qvb8&feature=share

Harijiwan Singh Khalsa who boasts attending more Tantric Yoga classes with Yogi Bhajan than anyone else; convicted of criminal fraud in US Federal Court~ “As the Master, Yogi Bhajan tells us: “The gong is God. So it is said; so it is.” Regular listening to the gong will re-pattern your magnetic field, open you to the vastness of your own psyche, and release you from all that prevents you from living a life of complete and utter happiness.” http://www.harijiwan.com/yoga.htm
http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=302

Yogi Bhajan's Chief of Protocol: MSS Hari Jiwan Singh Khalsa.The US Federal Trade Commission filed charges against Hari Jiwan for misrepresenting value, appreciation and liquidity of gemstones~ "The Master(Yogi Bhajan)later explained to me that was the way it was supposed to be as it was the beginning of the switch in Sikh leadership from the Indian community to the American Sikh yogis – recognized or not." ~ MSS Hari Jiwan Singh Khalsa in a letter to the American Sikh community dated 06/24/2011
http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=324

Yogi Bhajan on the Sensory Human in the Aquarian Age: “The entire power of the human is its connection to the Universe through the psyche and the sixth sense. This is the basic point from where the Kundalini rises.” ~ Yogi Bhajan

Guruka Singh~ "Kundalini Yoga is natural. Sikhs are yogis & don’t even know it". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6C8S5XPbVU
http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=341

Guruka Singh~ “The Aquarian Age isn’t just something that we started singing about in the sixties! It’s an actual measurable time period. It is an astrological age, i.e., a time period that parallels major changes in the development of the human race. Each astrological age roughly corresponds to the time taken for the vernal equinox to move through one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. As I write this, we are now less than 1000 days away from the true beginning of the Age of Aquarius.” http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=339

Guru Singh~ "Oneness awakening, your hair is like an electric circuitry."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=IH4N0NjOlzg

Yogi Bhajan declares he is greater than Sikh Gurus:"Guru Gobind Singh forgot somewhere to write that the Khalsa shall do Pooran praan tapaa. That’s the only way I can figure it out." ~ Yogi Bhajan
http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=332

The following predictions are excerpts from lectures by Yogi Bhajan. http://www.rickross.com/reference/3ho/3ho18.html

Beads of Truth, 1972, "The Aura or Magnetic Field" lecture.
"Those who tune into him are tuned into HIM in return and this union is the Yoga of Awareness called Kundalini Yoga. Those who practice this will stand liberated."~ Yogi Bhajan

May 24, 1976

"The time is short; there is a lot to be done; our preparation is not adequate. I know that insanity is going to catch us. I know that humanity is going to be chewed up by the jaws of insanity and I know that I am a failure...soon brakes will be used as gas pedals; knives used to chop vegetables will commit a crime. Insanity doesn’t need a tool. Insanity is a tool. What a failure I am! I know the knowledge of Kundalini Yoga, the science of being, and what have I done? A couple thousand people is not enough. So what is left for me but to pray." ~ Yogi Bhajan

January 27, 1977

"The moon is an ethereal, auric living organic situation. There is life on the moon. They exist. They have their government and they work. But you can’t see them or feel them. One day, you will develop a sensory system and then you will feel them, and you will communicate with them, and they will communicate with you. You will say "Ahh, we came here twenty years ago and never these guys!" ~ Yogi Bhajan

" Now you say there is no life on Mars? Mars is populated...it is over-populated. The rate of production and sensuality is so heavy, and the beings--they grow so fast that they have to go and make war on all the other planets." ~ Yogi Bhajan

" There are beings on Jupiter. There is a hierarchy. Their energy and our energy interexchange in the astral body and it is highly effective." ~ Yogi Bhajan

"Sun flares-when they go backwards-are safe, but when they are pushed toward the Earth, it's like a bombardment which the Earth has to withstand." ~ Yogi Bhajan

"It is not a mystery, it's not imagination-it will come upon us soon, the flare of the sun is going to disturb the magnetic field of the Earth. You will find your hair starting to react differently&"~ Yogi Bhajan

"You will get stuck in thought. The heat form the sun flares is going to wipe out a lot of things. This will happen in the next 18 months & Humans will find it difficult to find the way." ~ Yogi Bhajan

Yogi Bhajan speaks

"What is happening is a slow, steady change in the atmosphere. Your endurance will be very low. Whether you are a yogi or not, you'll go berserk. It happened 136 years ago." ~ Yogi Bhajan

"Venus and Mars are going to be affected, so there can be misunderstandings. Don't pick these fights-they are useless, they waste your human body energy, they will make your mind impure and they will give you a lot of pain. A lot of pain." ~ Yogi Bhajan

"It will change you. Don't be surprised at people’s behavior& Don't doubt your friends, don't doubt your enemies. Don't trust your patients, don't trust your doctors & Do not depend on tomorrow. Period." ~ Yogi Bhajan

December 31, 1995 Espanola, NM

"We have from the past exactly 2000 years going through the process of impulse. The whole humanity is equal to 5.5 billion and it looks like it is going to increase...the terminal diseases have already gripped or are likely to grip one third of the total society...That’s a crushing wheel of time in which people will leave because they did not make it right to begin with." ~ Yogi Bhajan

"Now looking at life as you look at it today, 1996 is not a happy year for those who do not have spiritual discipline. Watch my words. I am saying it with very clear consciousness. I don’t want to say anything...It will have no place for people who have no spiritual discipline, and those who have spiritual discipline, they shall be rewarded as per percentage. Fact is right before our eyes, the percentage of your spiritual discipline will be your personal security and guarantee in 1996. So if we live to talk again next year, we’ll see. I do not know what will happen to you..." ~ Yogi Bhajan

"It is not that you have to worry about what I am saying, I’m telling you what is going to be. It is all beyond you. It is the time now...Anybody who lives, thinks, acts, the limited shall be limitedly suffocated to death..." ~ Yogi Bhajan

"Personal mediation, folks, is nothing but daily compound interest on the principle. You default in payment, there will be penalties. You can’t escape it." ~ Yogi Bhajan

"So, 1996 is not a bad year for spiritual people. But those who cheat shall retreat into their lower self and they shall suffer and this planet earth has nothing to offer." ~ Yogi Bhajan
Kundalini Lectures by Yogi Bhajan.

May 5, 1976

"The generations to follow those who do not seek now will seek and shall be free. This is the written destiny of God. I cannot change it, because I have not written it. Who am I to change the words of the great being? I am just a humble being." ~ Yogi Bhajan

June 6, 1976

"Sometimes you may see me look worried. When I see all of you, I do worry because I value you. You have invested 8.4 million existence’s to get this human body And then before you were allowed to be in this human body, you were purified in the third layer of consciousness of blue ether, which runs by light years. God knows how many years you were there. Then, finally, you got this human body." ~ Yogi Bhajan

January 27, 1977

"I was talking to a doctor today...and I said to him, "We are not going to cure people in the future because of medicine. Actually, a person is going to look at a person, and with mental frequency, he is gonna’ cure him." ~ Yogi Bhajan

September 19, 1977

"There is going to be a huge situation to face. November 11, 1978 is going to set the time. You will realize, people from that day on, fearfully experiencing the insanity. For those of you who do not have a systematic system to cope with themselves, there will be nothing on earth they can do." ~ Yogi Bhajan

November 30, 1977

"The majority of the people coming in the next 25 to 30 years will be totally perverted...They will undermine themselves to the extent that they will not be in a position to create balance between the two hemispheres of the brain. Forty years from now our entire medical science is going to depend on this: Is he on a gamma, on a theta, alpha, or beta wavelength of the brain, and, which is the predominant wavelength. We can then determine how to reorder the immediate recovery of the person. We can immediately understand the capacity of the person and we can also understand the consciousness of the person." ~ Yogi Bhajan

Beads of Truth, 1972, "The Aura or Magnetic Field" lecture.

"Those who sleep North-South, their electric magnetic field and the magnetic field of the earth are one. They lose their initiative, they become zero. Their magnetic field and the earth’s magnetic field are one, thus, they cannot hold the pressure of the earth’s field. Their nerves become weak. That is why you should sleep East-West." ~ Yogi Bhajan

"Those who tune into him are tuned into HIM in return and this union is the Yoga of Awareness called Kundalini Yoga. Those who practice this will stand liberated." ~ Yogi Bhajan

"A Date with Yogi Bhajan" lecture Beads of Truth 1972

"The coming children in 90 years from today will have a brain with a special development around the point of the pineal gland. They will have small cells which shall be known by the knowledgeable people as vibratory centers through which ordinary men shall communicate at long distance at the same time without physical, with their psyches and shall have effect and the reverse effect of all the knowledge of the mental process at different frequencies to relate to that great human vibratory level on which the future consciousness man shall talk and communicate. I am making a statement. You can mark it down." ~ Yogi Bhajan

Yogi Bhajan Kundalini yoga teachers will tell you false statements like "You have thousands of people practicing Kundalini Yoga with no side effects, only positive benefits."

More scientific evidence that your statement is false!

yoga & psychosis- Google search

Kundalini Yoga Psychotic Episode
www.visionandpsychosis.net/Kundalini_Yoga_Psychotic_Episode.h...Cached - Similar
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17 Sep 2010 – Kundalini Yoga and Qi Gong prove a 3000-year history for it. To understand the power of this phenomenon remember the paranoid psychotic ...

1.Yoga Dangers: Yoga, Kundalini Awakening and Transcendental ...
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"One often hears and reads about the dangers of Yoga, particularly of the ill- reputed Kundalini Yoga. The deliberately induced psychotic state, which in certain ...

2.When Yoga Causes Psychosis - Furious Seasons
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7 Nov 2007 – In it, a Los Angeles doc reports on a 33-year-old man who experienced psychosis apparently related to Bikram yoga (aka "hot yoga"). ...

3.Psychotic Episode Associated With Bikram Yoga -- LU and PIERRE ...
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by JS LU - 2007 - Cited by 1 - Related articles
However, intensive yoga and meditation have been reported in association with altered perceptions and full-blown psychotic episodes (2–4). Bikram yoga, also ...

4.1761 Psychotic Episode Associated With Bikram Yoga
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Psychotic Episode Associated With Bikram. Yoga. TO THE EDITOR: Yoga is a ...

Show more results from psychiatryonline.org5.Yoga and Psychosis - what is IPI?
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1 Oct 2002 – Yoga and Psychosis: Risks and Therapeutic Potential. K.V. Naveen & Shirley Telles Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation ...

6.Kundalini syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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4.1 Sign of spiritual emergency; 4.2 Psychosis; 4.3 Problems .... Teachers of Yoga familiar enough to guide students through the completion of Kundalini karmic ...

7.Dangers of Yoga: Side effects - Scientific articles
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(2003). Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation. Yoga and Psychosis : Risks and Therapeutic Potential. Journal of Indian Psychology. Vol. 21 (1). ...

8.Yoga Meditation in Severe Psychosis & Autism
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7 Aug 2010 – A caution from one alternative medicine site warns that meditation instruction can cause physiological or psychological harm - such as: mania, ...

9.Yoga and Exercise in Psychosis - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov
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16 Sep 2010 – Yoga and Exercise in Psychosis (YEP). This study is currently recruiting participants. Verified on August 2011 by The University of Hong Kong ...

Kundalini Yoga: Just a Harmless, Physical Exercise?
Article from the Illinois Family Institute
6/7/2011 4:30:00 PM
By Claris Van Kuiken

This summer, classes in Kundalini Yoga have been made available through the New Lenox Community Park District to members of the growing Illinois community. The ad in the park district's brochure assures the participant that through the use of movement, sound current, breath and meditation, Kundalini Yoga "brings a greater feeling of well-being and happiness" and can "heal your mind and body." While the mission of the New Lenox park district Board of Trustees is to provide "safe recreational opportunities" for residents, the ad does not make one aware of the potential physical, mental and spiritual dangers many yoga instructors warn about.
Such a promise of healing carries great responsibility and necessarily raises a few questions. What is Kundalini Yoga? Where did it come from? Why is it used? What are the risks involved? Who is the instructor?
Yoga is an ancient Hindu/occult spiritual discipline that can be traced back to the Indo-European people who lived in India during the 2nd millennium, B.C. Their religion was Vedism, which evolved into Hinduism. The Vedic sages have been credited for the development of yoga. The practice can be found in the Upanishads, which comprise the last part of the oldest religious Indian writings recorded, the Vedas, and in the Hindu favorite, the Bhagavad Gita, composed by the revered sage, Vyasa. These writings are claimed to have been "channeled" by the sages who were considered "seers," god-men with super-human powers capable of dematerializing and shape-shifting. It's assumed that masters of yoga possess occult powers such as telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, levitation, and mediumistic abilities.
Hinduism made a splash in the United States at the 1893 World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago, IL where Swami Vivekananda extolled its virtues as he called for the religions of the world to unite under its philosophy. In the 1920's, the Theosophical Society, co-founded by the famed Russian occultist, Helena P. Blavastky, based its headquarters in Wheaton, IL making a combination of Hinduism and other occult/mystical Eastern religious literature more available to Westerners.
During the 60's and 70's, a surge of gurus (men claiming to be gods) traveled from India to America on a mission to convert the West to Hinduism. Along with its companion, Transcendental Meditation, taught by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, yoga was quickly sold to Westerners as a great way to reduce stress, build self-esteem, heal the mind and body, and experience the interconnectedness of all creation.
Gurus know yoga is much more than a physical exercise. Those unaware of the spiritual nature of yoga, however, have often been subtly initiated into Eastern/occultic mysticism. Over a period of time, their world-view begins to change, and gradually, a different view of who God is, begins to emerge. As former Indian guru Rabi Maharaj explained, "There is no Hinduism without Yoga and there is no Yoga without Hinduism."
The Sanskrit word for yoga is "yuj," meaning "union." It's through the practice of yoga that Hindus believe they can experience their own divinity (called Self-realization or God-realization) as they unite with Brahman - the universal, divine, energy force found within all creation they call "God." Our problem, complains the guru, is that we forgot who we are. Yoga is the path used to remembering, and eventually becoming, our Higher Self (god), breaking a continuous cycle of karma (cause & effect) and reincarnation (deaths & rebirths).
So what is Kundalini Yoga? Often associated with Tantra Yoga, Kundalini Yoga is considered the fast way to enlightenment (becoming "god"). Laura Kalinski, yoga instructor for the New Lenox Park District, follows the teachings of the now deceased guru, Yogi Bhajan, who considered Kundalini Yoga a Raj Yoga (a royal path), because it combines all the traditional "eight limbs" of yoga together. The eight limbs are: moral restraint, self restraint through study and devotion to "God," postures, breath control, sensory inhibition, concentration - "fixing one's attention upon a selected object, whether a mantra or graphic representation of a deity," meditation - a "deepening of concentration marked by a progressive unification of consciousness," and finally, ecstasy - "one's complete merging with the object of meditation" (Tantra, The Path of Ecstasy, Georg Feuerstein, Shambala Pub., Inc., Boston, MA. 1998, pg. 124).
Kundalini (Sanskrit-kund), means "coiled" or "serpent" and represents divine, psychic energy called "serpent power." It is seen in the form of a coiled, female snake (the goddess aspect of the Divine) nestled at the base of the spine. For Hindus, who worship over 300 million gods, the aim of Kundalini Yoga is to reunite the goddess Shakti with her lover, Lord Shiva, god of destruction and creation, bringing about a state of bliss and enlightenment. This is the "bliss" the yoga practitioner is said to experience after raising the kundalini energy through seven chakras (energy centres) located from the base of the spine up the spinal column to the crown chakra, the top of the head. Psychic powers are purportedly acquired when a person opens their sixth chakra, the third eye-just above the middle of the eyebrows.
The body and hand positions (asanas & mudras) performed during yoga also have significance behind them. For example, the Cobra asana is taken from the movement of the snake which is revered in India. The Eagle asana is used to focus on the sixth chakra, helping one to attain psychic/occult powers. The Garuda mudra, "mystical bird," is used to enable communication with the spirit world. The Mantangi mudra represents the Hindu Goddess of Peace, and so forth.
Instructors use "sound current" in the form of mantras--chants said repeatedly to bring about a "higher" state of consciousness. The Adi mantra, Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo, is chanted a number of times to "tune in" oneself at the beginning of each Kundalini Yoga class. Ong Namo means, I bow to the subtle divine wisdom. Guru De Namo means, I bow to the Divine or Infinite Teacher within. Yogi Bhajan taught, "God is your inner consciousness." In a real sense, you are worshiping yourself. Chanting mantras are said to have penetrating power in the Cosmos connecting you to the deceased Bhajan and past Master Teachers in what is called The Golden Chain, providing divine guidance to the practitioner.
The chanting of mantras, breathing techniques, deep concentration and meditation in Kundalini Yoga brings one into an altered state of consciousness. This is a form of self-hypnosis, the roots of which lie in the occult.
The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis lists over fifty possible dangers from hypnosis in their American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis (Volume 31, Number 1, July 1988, pg. 46). It's no coincidence that many listed are the same risks yoga instructors warn about. Dangers of these practices include: severe headaches, depression, uncontrolled weeping or laughter, spasmodic jerking, feelings of intense heat or cold, electricity passing through the body and itching or crawling sensations, memory impairment, hallucinations, identity crisis, mental illness/insanity, suicidal thoughts/suicide, anxiety/panic attacks, heart palpitations, heart attack and death. On the other hand, one may experience intense feelings of a beautiful oneness with the universe, infinite love, and ecstatic bliss.
In his book, The Awakening of Kundalini," Gopi Krishna warned that prana (energy or life-force), can lead to blissful experiences, but if it isn't "properly attuned" can lead to feelings of fear, depression, anxiety and even "horrors of madness." He attributes years of unbearable, burning physical pain and mental anguish, to the practice of Kundalini Yoga and revealed: "I have passed through almost all the states of different mediumistic, psychotic and other types of mind; for some time I was hovering between sanity and insanity" (E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York, 1975, pgs. 96, 97, 124).
Writing about Kundalini Yoga, Theosophist/occultist/medium, Alice Bailey, noted in her work, A Treatise on White Magic, that "only one in a thousand aspirants" are at the stage to begin such a practice and that may be "too optimistic." She warned it could "produce insanity" and made clear "it is a most dangerous undertaking when induced before the mechanism is ready to deal with it" (Lucis Publishing Company, New York NY, 1951, pgs. 590-591).
Well-known spiritual teacher, Jiddu Krishnamurti, suffered for years with excruciating headaches, visions, convulsions, shuddering and moaning, "much as a person possessed" - but called this "an inward cleansing" (Guiley, Rosemary Ellen, Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience, Harper SanFranciso, 1991, pg. 318).
Properly practiced or not, these and many other dangers exist, including spiritual ones. Besides the possibility of having one's worldview and definition of God altered, there is also the very real possibility of seeing, being oppressed by, and/or possessed by dis-embodied spirits (Christians call them demons). This is a well-known phenomenon and frequent occurrence to those deeply involved in the occult.
El Collie, a widely-recognized practitioner of Kundalini Yoga, wrote of her experiences with "outrageous telepathy, clairvoyance, and visitations from entities from other realms" in her online book, Branded by the Spirit. Collie, who saw herself as a shaman/priestess (witchdoctor) and a "conduit for the Spirit," described Kundalini as the Goddess who came to her when she "least expected it, pouring herself into her "through megavolts of energy" that turned her body into an "electrified living temple" (http://www.elcollie.com/st/chap1.html). Brilliant flashes of white light are common during a Kundalini awakening, said Collie, and are "often perceived in the presence of spirit guides or during divine visitations" (http://www.elcollie.com/st/light.html).
While some practitioners claim to see "Christ" or other "angelic" spiritual beings, others have had haunting, terrifying experiences they probably wish they could forget. Carole, a friend of author John Weldon, took up Hatha yoga for health reasons. "The night after receiving her mantra, Carole was visited by a spirit being who claimed to be the spirit of Swami Rama himself...She experienced wonderful powerful forces and energies, while thoughts entered her mind with a magnetic-like force." Carole believed she was communicating with the spirit world and had found God. But, after two weeks of meditation, "Carole became engulfed in a nightmare of utter dread and terror." The beings she thought were angelic turned demonic and viciously attacked her (see http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/new-age/NA1101W1htm).
There are many accounts like the ones I've provided above by those who are both for and against the occult practice.
New Lenox yoga instructor, Laura Kalinski (given the spiritual name, Balprem Kaur), is a member of 3HO - the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization founded in 1969 by Yogi Bhajan, a guru from India who called himself the "Lord of the Heavens." Bhajan boasted about his occult powers and expertise in the occult practices of numerology, astrology, tarot cards, and more. He called for 3HO members to bring in the New Age of Aquarius saying, "The time has come not to search for God, but to be God." New Agers believe the Age of Pieces (the Judeo-Christian age of the West) must die out in order to bring peace and wholeness to the earth they worship.
While a Sikh by birth, Bhajan was denounced as a heretic by orthodox Sikhs for incorporating Hindu idols, occult numerology, fire pujas (sacred rituals making offerings to an image of a deity), and deviant sexual practices (Tantric Yoga) into the Sikh religion, all of which are strictly forbidden.
Some see the late, white-bearded, white-robed Bhajan as a great spiritual Master, but former members of his inner circle, including his top secretary, accused him of being a cult leader who had dictator-like control over his followers using psychological techniques, manipulation, fraud and deceit for money, power, and sexual favors.
Longtime member of 3HO, Gursant Singh, wrote these revealing words about Bhajan: "In his Journal Kundalini Research Institute of 3H0 and a number of his other papers, he leaves his followers in no doubt that he is the prophet of the new age with such mighty spiritual powers that he controls their destinies, their auras and their magnetic fields. He is their Master, their Spiritual Guide and their Guru. Without a living guru they cannot know the truth, and out of all the living gurus, he can reveal the truth best; and out of all his pictures, they must meditate on one picture of him..." (http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?mode=thread&id=225). Bhajan requested his devotees to meditate on his picture from 15 minutes to 4 hours a day.
On her Manhattan, IL website, Kalinski admits: "Kundalini Yoga is the yoga of awareness as taught by Yogi Bhajan, Ph.D, Master of Kundalini Yoga." It's not surprising to see statutes of a Hindu deity inside the Yoga 360 Studio and Spa in Frankfort, IL where Kalinski also works with Ram Nam Kaur. The instructors at the Studio acknowledge: "Yoga is a gift from ancient India, embraced by the West" and "is a practice which has the potential for deep transformation that both includes and extends beyond physical fitness" (http://www.yoga-360.com/aboutus/yogagivesback.html).
Cult expert Rick Ross cautions: "..if you see some guru's picture on the wall, or religious statues in the entrance area or practice room, something more than yoga might be lurking within the instruction...A group with a hidden agenda can use meditation to download its program" (http://www.cultnews.com/?cat=2).
Claris Van Kuiken is an author, researcher, free-lance writer and speaker. She has been a guest on Christian talk radio and lectured around the country, including Canada.
3HO is increasingly trying to make getting certified as a Kundalini Yoga teacher a more and more costly and drawn-out process. Level I begets Level II which begets Level III (where I believe according to them do you only began to be able to call yourself a "yoga teacher") which will certainly beget a Level IV, bleeding you out of tens of thousands of dollars and months and years along the way.

http://www.yogadangers.com/
According to renowned psychoanalyst Carl Jung:
"One often hears and reads about the dangers of Yoga, particularly of the ill-reputed Kundalini Yoga. The deliberately induced psychotic state, which in certain unstable individuals might easily lead to a real psychosis, is a danger that needs to be taken very seriously indeed. These things really are dangerous and ought not to be meddled with in our typically Western way. It is a meddling with Fate, which strikes at the very roots of human existence and can let loose a flood of sufferings of which no sane person ever dreamed. These sufferings correspond to the hellish torments of the chönyid state..." C. G. Jung, Introduction to The Tibetan book of the Dead *
The purpose of this website is to provide information and links to articles and websites that describe the many physical, psychological, and spiritual dangers associated with Yoga, Transcendental Mediation (TM), and especially practices that are used to bring about a "Kundalini Awakening." As you investigate the sites and articles referenced on this website you will see that the purpose of yoga is not physical exercise but a path to spiritual "awakening" and "enlightenment" through union with the "divine." In order to bring about this "enlightenment" the overarching goal of yoga is to prepare oneself for the awakening of the spiritual energy or "kundalini" that supposedly lies dormant at the base of the spine. When the awakening of kundalini or "serpent energy" occurs, the consequences can be perilous and last for years.

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

Before addressing Gurumustuk Singh of SikhNet’s comments I’d like to say I’m eternally grateful to Guru Sahib for directing Dr. Trilochan Singh to write “Sikhism and Tantric Yoga” which helped open my eyes to authentic Sikhism after lying in slumber for 35 years under the influence of Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini & tantric yoga spell.
http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?mode=page&id=1

I pray to Wahe Guru that my comments here may also help my brothers and sisters still in 3HO to see the truth and enter the mainstream of life as authentic Sikhs.

Find us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128819930547728

Kundalini Yoga - Against my Religion? (SikhNet Video)
http://www.sikhnet.com/video/kundalini-yoga-against-my-religion

Wajinder Singh says:
bhai sahib jeeo.
your interpretaton of Gurbani to validify the use of yoga in Sikhism is WRONG.

Gurumustuck says:
"Kundalini Yoga is a very positive tool that anyone can use (Sikh or not). Countless thousands of people have come on to this spiritual path as a result of starting to practice this....,"

Gursant Singh:
If Gurumustuck is referring to people coming to Yogi Bhajan's spiritual path as a result of Kundalini Yoga then maybe we can say that at most five thousand people have adopted a form of Sikhism which in many ways is contrary to the teachings of the Sikh Gurus. From my 30 years’ experience in Yogi Bhajan's form of Sikhism, I found it to have some good results but to a large degree produced greed, lust, anger (mostly of the passive aggressive form) and selfishness in the 3HOers who practiced it. Look at the current situation in 3HO where they are fighting now over the millions made by Yogi Bhajan's use of the sacred Sikh symbols and Shabads to sell breakfast cereal and Yogi Tea. You must agree that if you look at one side of 3HO in this dispute you see greedy people and on the other side you see angry closed minded individuals.

I submit that Kundalini Yoga is like an addictive drug which may seem to make people better but after time it acts in producing mental and physical side effects like delusions about the " Magic Aquarian Age energy" beaming down from Jupiter and the stars to liberate people who do Kundalini yoga on the banks of the Ganga river! See this video of Gurmukh kaur which shows clear delusional behavior.

The fact is there was every reason why the Sikh Gurus designed Sikhism in the way they did, as a complete spiritual path and a complete way of living a human life. Yogi Bhajan diverted from the teachings of the Gurus with his clap trap theories of Kundalini Yoga and now he and his 3HO cult are paying for it!

Gurumustuck says:
"Kundalini Yoga is a very positive tool that anyone can use (Sikh or not). Countless thousands……. overcome addictions, healed themselves, lifted their spirits and become more healthy happier people."

Gursant Singh:
Well NO, if you examine the actual hard numbers of people who claim to have benefited from KY then we must acknowledge that maybe a few thousand “THINK” they've seen health benefits and feel their life is happier as a result of practicing Kundalini Yoga. It may appear there are large numbers of Yogi Bhajan KY beneficiaries but this is deceptive because 3HO members have high skills in technology and marketing, therefore their numbers seem larger. Witness the SikhNet phenomena. I would also say that Kundalini Yoga can be dangerous and many many people have actually reported on the internet that their lives have been affected in a very negative and destructive way by Yogi Bhajan and his Kundalini/Tantric Yoga, but of course Gurumustuck and SikhNet refuse to address this and only block people who want to discuss the issue. I ask Gurumustuck "What about the thousands who became disenchanted with Yogi Bhajan's form of Sikhism and left the Sikh faith completely?” Many people in 3HO who could afford to leave, left Yogi Bhajan and his KY cult, while the ones whose livelihood depended on teaching Kundalini Yoga and the 3HO business's like SikhNet, Golden Temple foods and Akal security stayed with the appearance of wearing Sikh Bana but many only attached to Kundalini Yoga for money: Witness Kartar Khalsa and this whole group of 3HO leaders whom Yogi Bhajan trusted above all. This group of 3HOers are now cutting their hair and leaving Sikhi for another guru. Out of the thousands that left 3HO, the fact remains that a mere hand full (maybe 10 people) remained Sikhs! Remember Yogi Bhajan's favorite saying "Fake it and you'll make it." This statement tells all there is to say about the benefits of YB's Kundalini Yoga!
The fact remains; there was every reason why the Sikh Gurus designed Sikhism in the way they did, as a complete spiritual path and a complete way of living a human life. Yogi Bhajan diverted from the teachings of the Gurus with his clap trap theories of Kundalini Yoga and now he and his 3HO cult are paying for it!
http://gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?id=305

I have been participating in a forum with many former and current followers of Yogi Bhajan at these links:

They ask some very good questions about Yogi Bhajan and his style of Kundalini Yoga:

http://forums.delphiforums.com/Kamallarose/messages?msg=1299.37

Discussion on facebook too:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=202926366399312

"does not mean that Kundalini Yoga is fake"

Tell you what, show me a history of YB style Kundalini Yoga that has a source other than YB himself and I will personally apologize to you on this forum or any other of your choice. It's not KY that is the issue. It is the many, many untruths that surround it including the well publicized lie that it came from the Sikh Gurus.

"You cannot take that away from YB or 3HO"

I can't speak for anyone else here but I know that I am not trying to. All I am asking for is truth. Truth about the sources of KY; truth about the Mahan Tantric nonsense; truth about YB and his activities with women other than his wife; truth about the fact that few if any of those in 3HO who carry the last name Khalsa are truly Khalsa.

"They have come to heal the planet."

Well, no. They may claim that but, in actual fact, 3HO exists to promote the myth of YB as an all powerful entity.

KY and the entire 3HO body of teaching and the YB cult are inexorably entwined. Few have even bothered to try and separate them; it is just assumed that they are mutually empowering.

How can the earth be healed when the dysfunctionality of 3HO is what sustains it? In order to progress spiritually (according to them) it is necessary to surrender to the Bhajan cult.

This projection - "They have come to heal the planet" - is along the same lines as "the USA will be fine just as soon as everyone votes liberal (or conservative). It's based in wishful thinking and not reality.

"God is the only one you should be worshiping."

Again I cannot speak for anyone else here but I believe that most, if not all, of the regular posters here who believe in God worship Him/Her; certainly not a corrupt hypocrite.

BTW I have been spending time with a brother who was with "The Master"
for several years. He tells me that one day he was alone with YB and YB said "I am the most corrupt man on this planet". Nothing like truth to set you free.

It is the 3HO people who are worshiping YB. The proof is readily available on the internet and Gursant has done an excellent job in posting the pictures to prove it.

"Has the acid fried your brain so much that you have no beauty left in your heart to appreciate the grace that God has granted you through YB and Kundalini Yoga? How sick and victim-like is it for you to come on here and whine and complain about a man who brought peace, love, and happiness to your dark world?"

Any Grace that has been granted by the Akaal Purkh to me has come through Guru Nanak Sahib, his successors and of course, my Guru, Siri Guru Granth Sahib.

I have said here before and I will say again: I believe in truth. Why do 3HO people not allow free discussion about YB, the history of KY and the nature of YB style Sikhism? It is because they do not want the truth to come out.

"man who brought peace, love, and happiness to your dark world?"

You forgot hypocrisy, megalomania, serial abuse of women and a lot of other things.

And my world is not dark because I have the light of Guru Nanak Sahib embodied in SGGS. I need not worship any man

1440.6 in reply to 1440.5
The hardest thing to fight is the Kundalini Crack effect. Have you ever chanted or sung songs full out for a couple of hours straight? It gets you high - not a bad thing by itself. But when you add in the Kundalini Crack, heavy yoga exercise, and when you hook people's yearnings and prayers and desperation so that they are crying out to God...it is easy to induct them into the Gurunam cult.

They believe they are having all sorts of wild and wonderful experiences because of him.

1299.39 in reply to 1299.34

"Projecting your own insecurities of lack onto YB is pitiful. Have some respect for someone that introduced you to Guru Nanak and helped you stop smoking dirt grass and dropping acid tabs all day long. Has the acid fried your brain so much that you have no beauty left in your heart to appreciate the grace that God has granted you through YB and Kundalini Yoga? How sick and victim-like is it for you to come on here and whine and complain about a man who brought peace, love, and happiness to your dark world? Now that he is gone, you have nothing to show for but bitterness and blame. Keep up or stay wacko..."
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I'm an outsider, have never attended an ashram , belonged to a religious group, etc -- I read the reference Gursant gave to you. I have read the public accounts of yogi bhahan's empire and its ongoing dissolution. What it boils down to is FOLLOW THE MONEY. YB died a billionaire. He accumulated that wealth thru other's hard efforts and sacrifices. He profited immensely from the only resource that many of his disciples were able to to give- Time. He lived and leeched off the kindness of others. .... "I have your children".
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Appears to me you may be the one doing the projecting. Those are serious claims you introduced to disparage Gursant. Did you learn that from your controller? Do you have any admissible evidence for those claims? So far, none of my inquiries into the more serious assertions of true-believers from the yogi camp have been answered with verifiable replies.

There is a wealth of information on this forum. I encourage you (if you haven't already) to go wandering through the archives here and take some time to read through parts of them. What we often discuss here are serious matters relating to YB and 3HO. In my opinion "being human" and "not being perfect" are appropriate terms for many things, but not the things which are amply documented to have been done by Yogi Bhajan such as sexual assault, physical assault, breaking up families and couples, and making money by instructing those devoted to him to commit felonies.

These things do matter. As you learn more and more about the "inner history" of 3HO, you will see that more often than not, those closest to YB were the most corrupt, and the current scandals and lawsuits have erupted as a result of YB's corruption, not as some aberration.

These things are not in the past. Many women sexual assaulted by YB are still around today, damaged by their experiences and also damaged by the truth not coming to light and not having their stories acknowledged. There are many people who have not spoken to their children, former spouse, sibling, or parent, for years or sometimes decades because YB split them apart, or they were so blindly attached to 3HO that they were willing to cut ties with their families.

These things do not need to be "let go of." Many of YB's senior students are now making themselves out to be gurus in their own right, setting the stage for many of the same abuses that occurred in the 1960s-1990s to happen all over again with a new set of faces.

I have no doubt that you have had positive and wonderful experiences. In my opinion, the similar experience I myself have had with Kundalini Yoga were caused by the same thing that made so many 3HO'ers "high" with the experience of living in ashrams in the late 60s and early 70s. The earnest desire of a spiritual seeker is a powerful force, made more powerful when many seekers of a like mind and intention get together.

Unfortunately, this desire is also very easily and cruelly exploited by flawed humans who put themselves out to the public as spiritual masters. The experiences we talk about on this forum have their parallels with many other groups. If you are interested, the memoir "Cartwheels in a Sari" by a former member of Sri Chinmoy's group, is a wonderful place to start with gaining comparisons and context.

To say that problems with YB and 3HO were problems with "personality" are missing the point.

There's no need to repeat the laundry list of things YB did, but I will add this. When students of YB got close enough to see what was really going on behind the curtain, one of three things happened.

1. Many people were disgusted with the hypocrisy and lying, and got out and left. (This is why you had a mass exodus of people from 3HO in the early 80s and the Premka scandal came to light.)
2. In a classic display of cognitive dissonance, many people ignored the troubling things they saw and doubled-down on their zealous commitment to 3HO and YB. (And to be blunt, if your family were true-believers and you had already lost decades of your life, you may have had your reasons to ignore everything.)
3. Many of those close to YB saw the corruption and hypocrisy of YB and took it as a license to stay on the inside and start acting corrupt themselves (often with YB's encouragement and twisted logic).

This is why several of the male KY teachers you mentioned in LA are notorious for cheating on their wives and/or sleeping with students. Hey, if The Master® cheated on his wife and had his harem, why not you? After YB used his students as unpaid grunt labor in his businesses to make his own fortune, it's no surprise that a place like Golden Bridge will fill its staff with doe-eyed "seva" people who work normal jobs there for no money because it's all, you know, so spiritual, and when they're no longer useful, they get dumped out by Golden Bridge for a fresh batch of people who think they are getting some karmic benefit by sweeping the floors and manning the cash registers of a for-profit business.

You may have had your own experiences with many people in 3HO, but they are just that, your own experiences. They are not many experiences or most of the experiences that people have had, and certainly not enough to make a claim at the true nature of it.

Mhan Kirn's miraculous "Kundalini Yoga" healing was a hatha yoga posture known as Yoga Mudrasana, an asana practiced commonly with many different schools of hatha yoga for a long time before YB invented Kundalini Yoga.

But perhaps that is the real miracle of Kundalini Yoga: shoplift enough breathing techniques and postures from hatha yoga, take Sikh scriptures and history drastically out of context, add New Age language and dysfunctional and abusive power dynamics, and you miraculously end up with a style of yoga that people buy as ancient, sacred and all-powerful.

We have several threads in the "Kundalini and Tantric Yoga" folder (scroll down menu on left) attempting to piece together how Yogi Bhajan came up with Kundalini Yoga.

I'm wondering who taught YB "Faint Yoga" and thinking it may be key to understanding the whiz-bang side of Kundalini Yoga.

In the very early days, "Faint Yoga" was taught at most every KY class. It gave practitioners extreme "kundalini" experiences! But by the time I arrived in YBism at age 18, in 1973, YB had forbid KY teachers from doing it. I believe there had been a scary incident with a yoga student that led to this change.

So I wasn't taught Faint Yoga, but I got the head of the ashram to explain it to me. You do snake breath for a few minutes, or breath-of-fire for a long spell. Then inhale and arch backwards stretching your belly ala cobra pose, or camel... Hold and.... jerk around...fall over...jerk some more... and maybe even FAINT.

I noticed while watching a Christian faith healer on video that she would push those who came up to her on their foreheads, they would arch back as they fell into assistant's arms, an