Quaid-i-Azam (leader of the Nation) Muhammad Ali Jinnah is the founder of Pakistan

Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born in Karachi on December 25, 1876. His father Jinnah Poonja was an Ismaili Khoja of Kathiawar, a prosperous business community. Muhammad Ali received his early education at the Sindh Madrasa and later at the Mission School, Karachi. He went to England for further studies in 1892 at the age of 16. In 1896, Jinnah qualified for the Bar and was called to the Bar in 1897.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah started his political career in 1906 when he attended the Calcutta session of the All India National Congress in the capacity of Private Secretary to the President of the Congress. In 1910, he was elected to the Imperial Legislative Council. He sponsored the Waqf Validating Bill, which brought him in touch with other Muslim leaders. In March 1913, Jinnah joined the All India Muslim League.

Naib Subedar Bana Singh, born in Kadyal, Jammu on 6 January 1949, was enrolled in the Indian Army on 6 January 1969 into the Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry (JAK LI). During June 1987, the 8 JAK LI, was deployed in the Siachen area. It was then found that a large number of Pakistani infiltrators had intruded in the Siachen Glacier. The ejection of these infiltrators was considered difficult but necessary and a special task force was, constituted for the purpose. Naib Subedar Singh volunteered to join this force.

The Pakistani intrusion had taken place at a height of 6500 metres. The enemy post was virtually an impregnable glacier fortress with ice walls, 457 metres high, on either side. Naib Subedar Bana Singh led his men through an extremely difficult and hazardous route. He inspired them by his courage and leadership. He and his men crawled and closed in on the adversary. Lobbing hand-grenades, charging with a bayonet and moving from trench to trench, he cleared the post of all intruders. Naib Subedar Bana Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest wartime gallantry medal, for conspicuous bravery and leadership under most adverse conditions. Jai Hind!! Jai Jawan!!

Confrontation at Siachen - By L.N. Subramanian

Biography

Early life

Gurdas Maan was born in a Sikh Maan Jat^[1][2] family in Gidderbaha Muktsar, Punjab (India). Gurdas Maan was formally educated in Malout. After completing his education there, his parents enrolled him into a further education institute in Patiala. As a keen sports enthusiast Gurdas was fascinated by the National Institute of Sports in the city, this prompted him to join the N.I.S and gain a Masters Degree in Physical Education.

Durin

g his time in Patiala he took part in youth festivals organized by various universities and won several awards for his singing and acting. He competed in many athletic events and won medals including a bronze at the National Championship as well as achieving a black belt in judo.^[3]

Gurdas Mann is one of the best Punjabi singers right now. Many Punjabi singers admire Gurdas Mann as an Icon of Punjab.

1980s

In one of his stage plays he performed a song which he had written himself called "Dil Da Mamla Hai". The play was seen by a producer of a Jalandhar TV station, the producer who thought the song to have potential approached Gurdas with a proposition for a TV performance of the song to which Gurdas agreed. When the song was aired on December 31, 1980 it gained national attention and Gurdas Maan became a national figure. The overwhelming success of the song attracted the attention of HMV (not to be confused with the music retailer) who wanted to record and release the song. It was with HMV that Gurdas eventually released his debut album with a year later in 1981. When Gurdas began his career as a solo performer in India, the music industry was dominated by duet artists and Gurdas reportedly declined many offers to become part of a duet as he wished to perform and become a successful solo artist, since his debut Gurdas has always performed as a solo artist ^[4].

During his early career he also wrote and directed TV programs such as POP Time for the DoorDarshan Network in Delhi.

1990s and 2000s

Gurdas Maan is often credited with raising Bhangra music from a regional level mostly in the Punjab to gain international recognition. Since its release the massively popular song "Apna Punjab" has surpassed all of his other songs in terms of popularity and critical acclaim, especially at the Asian Pop and Media Awards held in Birmingham in 1998 where “Apna Punjab” won Best Song and Best Album and Gurdas himself won Best International Artist. This song was originally written by Makhan Brar of Toronto. As Gurdas Maan was performing in concert in Toronto, Makhan Brar reportedly handed the song to Gurdas where he performed it on the spot, it was received well by the audience. Following that Gurdas added a final verse to the song and included it in his forthcoming album. In addition to these awards, Gurdas more recently won three music awards of Best Lyrics (Kudiye), Best Song (Heer), as well as Best Singer of the Year at the ETC Channel Punjabi Music Awards on the March 6, 2005. During a recent radio interview Gurdas revealed to the host, Gagan Grewal, that he was and is an avid supporter of Manchester United football club^[5].

Film

Gurdas starred in the hit film "Shaheed Udham Singh", in which he portrayed himself as a Sikh man with no prejudices based on religion, caste or creed to which many of his fans and friends testify he is in real life. As a singer Gurdas Maan has worked with music directors such as Laxmikant Pyarelal, Bappi Lahiri, Anu Malik, Nadeem Sharvan, Amar Haidipur, Charanjeet Ahuja, and Jaswant Bhanyra .

He also recently starred alongside Juhi Chawla in the epic "Des Hoyaa Pardes". An emotive film illustrating the tragedies faced by the people of Punjab in the 1980s. He adopted the role of a son of a well-respected Jatt (farmer) Gurdev Singh Somal. He falls in love with a high ranking police officer’s daughter. Before the wedding, the father is murdered by separatists. This tale soon twists in to the inevitable demise of Gurshaan (Gurdas Maan). This movie was based on actual events.

Aside from singing in Punjabi, he is fluent in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Haryanvi and Rajasthani. As an actor he has performed in Punjabi, Hindi and Tamil movies, most recently "Waris Shah - Ishq Daa Waaris," a depiction of the Punjabi poet Waris Shah's during the creation of his epic poem Heer Ranjha, again co-starring Juhi Chawla and Divya Dutta. He also made a special appearance in Veer-Zaara with Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta.

Car Accident

In Karnal, Haryana, India on the 20 January 2007 Gurdas was involved in a car accident in which his imported Range Rover SUV was hit and severely damaged by a truck near the town of Madhuban in Haryana. Gurdas escaped with minor injuries on his face, hands and chest. He was subsequently admitted to a Mohali hospital where he was examined by doctors who announced to the press that other than these minor injuries he was unharmed and fully fit.

This is the second car accident Gurdas Maan has been involved in and has escaped with minor injuries. The first accident was a head on collision between Gurdas’ vehicle and another truck on the 9 January 2001 at a village near Rupnagar, Punjab. Unfortunately, in this accident Mann's driver was killed. Gurdas Mann later admitted that his driver asked him to wear seat-belt minutes before the accident. Gurdas Mann believes that if it wasn't for his driver, he would have been dead aswell.

Family life

Gurdas is married to his wife Manjeet Mann and has one son, Gurik Mann who studied at Eton College in Eton, Berkshire and introduced the Indian game of Kabbadi and actually taught Prince Willam how to play ^[6].

Discography

• Boot Polishan (2008)
• Vilayatan (2005)
• Heer (2004)
• Punjeeri (2003)
• Pyar Kar Lai (2001)
• Jaadugarian (1999)
• Dil Hona Chahida Jawaan (1998)
• Yaar Mera Pyar (1997)
• Chaklo Chaklo (1996)
• Ishq Na Dekhe Zaat (1995)
• Aaja Sajna (1994)
• Ishq Da Giddha (1994)
• Ghar Bhulgi Morh Te Ake (1993)
• Than Than Gopal (1993)
• Larh Geya Pecha (1992)
• Dil Da Badshah (1991)
• Mohabbat Zindabad (1990)
• Akhiyaan Udeek Dian (1989)
• Chugliyaan (1988)
• Wah Ni Jawaniye (1988)
• Geetan Bhari Patari (1987)
• Nacho Babeyo (1986)
• Chakkar (1985)
• Kurian Ne Judo Sikh Lai (1985)
• Peer Tere Jaan Di (1984)
• Masti (1983)
• Dil Saaf Hona Chahida (1982)

Music:

• Heer (2006)

Filmography

• Yaariyan
• Waris Shah - Ishq Daa Waaris
• Mamla Gadbad Hai
• Long Da Lashkara
• Chhora Haryane Da
• Ki Banu Duniyan Da
• Qurbani Jatt Di
• Ucha Dar Babbe 'Nanak' Da
• Kachahri
• Pratgiya
• Wanted Dead or Alive - Gurdas Maan
• Dushmani Di Aag
• Gabroo Punjab Da
• Baghavaat
• Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai
• Shaheed-e-Mohabbat (Boota Singh)
• Shaheed Udham Singh
• Des Hoya Pardes

Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji (born as Harbhajan Singh Puri) ^[1] (August 26, 1929–October 6, 2004), also known as Yogi Bhajan and Siri Singh Sahib, was a charismatic and influential proponent of Kundalini Yoga and Sikh Dharma. He is best known as the spiritual director of the 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization) Foundation, which today is one of the world's largest yoga-teaching bodies, and for his outspoken defense of the holistic doctrine of Sikh teachings. He was widely known as a master of Kundalini Yoga and taught thousands to be teachers and spread the teachings.

Youth and schooling

Harbhajan Singh was born on August 26, 1929 into a Sikh family in Kot Harkarn, district Gujranwala, in the province of Punjab (British India). His father, Dr. Kartar Singh Puri, served the British Raj as a medical doctor. His mother was named Harkrishan Kaur. Theirs was a well-to-do landlord family, owning most of their village in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Most influential of Harbhajan Singh's relations in his early development was his maternal grandfather, Bhai Fateh Singh. Fateh Singh taught him the essence of Sikh teachings and instilled in him a respect for all religions and an awe of the silent mysteries of life. As a teen, Harbhajan Singh spent several years under the tutelage of Sant Hazara Singh, a strict practitioner of Sikh Yoga. Sant Hazara Singh declared his favored student a master at the young age of sixteen.

Harbhajan Singh's schooling was interrupted in 1947 by the violent partition of India, when he and his family fled to New Delhi as refugees. There, Harbhajan Singh attended Camp College – a hastily put together arrangement for thousands of refugee students – and organized the Sikh Students Federation in Delhi. Four years later, he graduated with a Master of Economics.^[2]

Indian Civil Service

In 1953, Harbhajan Singh Puri entered the Indian Civil Service. He also married Inderjit Kaur in that year. They were soon to have three children, Ranbir, Kulvir and daughter Kamaljit.

Harbhajan Singh served in the Revenue Department, where his duties took him all over India. Eventually, he was promoted to the post of customs inspector for the country's largest airport, outside of Delhi. ^[3]

Yogic study in India

Throughout his life, Harbhajan Singh continued his practice and pursuit of yogic knowledge. His government duties often facilitated his traveling to remote ashrams and distant hermitages in order to seek out reclusive yogis and swamis. Sometimes Yogi Bhajan would find them to appraise their worth, for India always had a surfeit of supposed "holy men." At other times, he would sincerely go to learn the specialized knowledge possessed by this or that sadhu.

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.^[4]

Migration to North America

In New Delhi, Harbhajan Singh was faced with a stark choice: to serve his government by joining the Soviet military's psychic research program in Tashkent or leave the country. The Canadian High Commissioner, James George facilitated his immigration to Toronto, Canada in 1968.

Although a promised university position as director of a yogic studies department did not materialize because of the death of his sponsor, Harbhajan Singh the Yogi made a considerable impact in the predominantly Anglo-Saxon metropolis. In three months, he established classes at several YMCAs, co-founded a yoga centre, was interviewed for national press and television, and helped set in motion the creation of eastern Canada's first Sikh temple in time for Guru Nanak's five hundredth birthday the following year.

Late in 1968, bearded and turbaned Yogi Bhajan went to visit a friend in Los Angeles, but ended up staying to share the teachings of Sikh Yoga with the already longhaired members of the hippie counterculture of California and New Mexico. In effect, he had found his calling.^[5]

Sikh Yoga teachings

Yoga practice and philosophy is generally considered a part of Hindu culture, but Yogi Bhajan distinguished himself as a teacher and practitioner of the yoga of the Sikh gurus. This was not nearly as difficult for Hindu yogis to accept as it would prove difficult for many Sikhs who assumed yoga to be an un-Sikh practice leading to eventual absorption in the sea of pan-Hinduism.

While adhering to the three pillars of Patanjali's traditional yoga system: discipline, self-awareness and self-dedication, Sikh Yoga does not condone extremes of asceticism or renunciation. Yogi Bhajan encouraged his students to marry, establish businesses, and be fully engaged in society. Rather than worshiping God, Yogi Bhajan taught that a Sikh should train their mind to experience God.^[6]

Yogi Bhajan became known as a master of Kundalini Yoga, but it was actually Raj Yoga, the yoga of living detached, yet fully engaged in the world that typified his life and teachings. Sikh scripture offers no higher praise than to say that Guru Nanak had mastered Raj Yoga.^[7]

Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization

In 1969, Yogi Bhajan established the 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization) Foundation to further his missionary work. It served his premise that every human possessed the birthright to be healthy, happy and holy. It was only a matter of unlearning one set of habits and replacing it with a kinder, more uplifting routine.

For some of the free-spirited hippies, the Yogi Bhajan's discipline was more than they could take. Others, however, took to it almost naturally. Most of them were already longhaired. Many were already vegetarian. They liked to experience elevated states of awareness. They also deeply wanted to feel they were contributing to a world of peace and social justice. Yogi Bhajan offered them all these things with vigorous yoga, an embracing holistic vision, and a spirit of manifest destiny.

By 1972, there would be over one hundred yoga ashrams mostly in the U.S., but also in Canada, Europe and Israel. Student-teachers would rise each day for a cold shower and two-and-a-half hours of yoga and meditation before sunrise. Often, they would spend the rest of the day at some "family business" be it a natural foods restaurant, or a landscaping business, or some other concern. A Sikh was supposed to earn honestly "by the sweat of their brow" and many did just that. ^[8]

By the 1990s, there was a culture shift. There were few communal businesses left, and rising early and overtly being a Sikh was considered more of an option than an implied directive. This period also saw an increased interest in yoga world-wide. To serve the changing times, Yogi Bhajan created the International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association, dedicated to setting standards for teachers and the propagation of the teachings. ^[9]

In 1994, the 3HO Foundation joined the United Nations as a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, representing women's issues, promoting human rights, and providing education about alternative systems of medicine.^[10]

Aquarian age timeline

In spring of 1969, soon after Yogi Bhajan had begun teaching in Los Angeles, a hit medley "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was topping the music charts and being played everywhere. It happened to be produced by one of his students, musician and entrepreneur Johnny Rivers.

Like great teachers everywhere, Yogi Bhajan used any material that came to hand to good purpose. In this case, he incorporated the story line of the dawning new age into his teachings, a case of melding Western astrology with Sikh tradition. "Guru Nanak," proclaimed Yogi Bhajan, "was the Guru for the Aquarian Age." It was, he declared, to be an age where people first experienced God, then believed, rather then the old way of believing and then being liberated by one's faith. ^[11]

The timeline for the arrival of the Aquarian age varied over the years, but in 1992, Yogi Bhajan fixed it at 2012 and gave his students a set of morning meditations to practice until that date to prepare themselves. ^[12]

Aboriginal connections

Some of Yogi Bhajan's earliest students in Los Angeles had spent time in New Mexico influenced by aboriginal, especially Hopi teachings. To fulfill their wishes, Yogi Bhajan accompanied them in June, 1969 to their summer solstice celebration at the Tesuque Indian reservation outside of Santa Fe. ^[13]

At the next year's celebration, a delegation of Hopi Indian elders arrived. They spoke of their ancient legend that before the end of present age of darkness, a white-clad warrior would come from the East and create an army of white-clad warriors who would rise up and protect the "Unified Supreme Spirit." A sweat lodge ceremony was held and a sacred arrow given in trust to Yogi Bhajan. The elders explained that they had determined he was the white-clad warrior of their legend.

Seven years later, Yogi Bhajan purchased a large parcel of land in the San Juan Mountains where the Hopis had indicated sacred gatherings had taken place for thousands of years. The elders had said this land needed to be prepared so "the Unified Supreme Spirit can once again be experienced by the great tribes and spread through all the people of the world." The land was named "Ram Das Puri" and annual solstice prayers and festivities celebrated there every summer since. Since 1990, these have included a Hopi sacred prayer walk. ^[14]

Pilgrimage to Amritsar

For Yogi Bhajan, the greatest test of his teaching came in the winter of 1970-71, when he brought an entourage of eighty-four Americans on a pilgrimage to Amritsar in India. It was a hard, grueling trip. The Punjabi Sikhs had never seen Westerners in turbans before. At first, they were suspicious.

For their part, once Yogi Bhajan's students had overcome their hardships, they felt a real kinship with Sikh culture and embraced it. Twenty-six of them took vows to join the Order of Khalsa as full-fledged Sikhs.

The Sikh administration in the holy city of Amritsar was in a turmoil. Once they understood that the devotion of the Westerners was genuine, they reflected on the best way to honor Yogi Bhajan for his most unexpected harvest.

On March 3, 1971, outside the traditional seat of Sikh temporal authority Akal Takhat, Sant Fateh Singh and Sant Chanan Singh bestowed on Harbhajan Singh a ceremonial sword and a robe of honor and a unique designation. They had reasoned that Yogi Harbhajan Singh had indeed created "Singh Sahibs" (noble lions), and to continue in his work he would need a higher designation. For this reason, they gave Yogi Bhajan the unprecedented title of "great, noble lion": Siri Singh Sahib. ^[15]

Inter-faith work

In the summer of 1970, Yogi Bhajan participated in an informal "Holy Man Jam" at the University of Colorado at Boulder with Swami Satchidananda, Steven Gaskin of The Farm in Tennesee, Zen Buddhist Bill Quan-roshi, and other local luminaries. A few weeks later, Yogi Bhajan carried that inspiration forward and organized a gathering of spiritual teachers as an opening act for the 200,000 attendees of the Atlanta Pop Festival. ^[16]

These seminal events served to awaken interest in inter-faith discussion such as had not been seen since the 1920s. In 1972, Yogi Bhajan participated in religious panels at Harvard University, Cornell University, Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That same year, Yogi Bhajan visited Pope Paul VI and advised him to convene a gathering of friendship and understanding for representatives of all religions. He reminded Paul VI that catholic meant "universal" and suggested that, as head of the world's largest religious organization, he would be the most suitable leader to host such a meeting. ^[17]

Yogi Bhajan maintained his relationship through Pope John Paul II. In 1983 and again in 1984, they met. When the Golden Temple was damaged in Operation Blue Star in Indian Army's attack on Sikh separatists, the pontiff offered his official condolences.^[18]

During the United Nations Year of Peace 1986, Yogi Bhajan instituted a yearly Peace Prayer Day for people of all denominations at the Summer Solstice near Santa Fe.^[19]

In that same year, Pope John Paul II convened a gathering of religious representatives of the world such as Yogi Bhajan had proposed fourteen years earlier. Unable to travel to Italy for the event, Yogi Bhajan participated in a ceremony held the same day in Los Angeles. ^[20]

All though the 1970s and 80s, Yogi Bhajan actively engaged in and chaired numerous inter-religious councils and forums, including the Inter-Religious Council of Southern California, the World Conference for the Unity of Man, and the World Parliament of Religions. ^[21]

Gender relations

Yogi Bhajan, the son of a graceful mother, was deeply shocked and offended by the exploitation of women in America. In 1971, he taught a gathering of his female students that they were the "Grace of God." Thus began the Grace of God Movement for the Women of America. Strip clubs in Hollywood and Washington were briefly picketed, but Yogi Bhajan's real emphasis was on re-educating America's largest exploited class.

This work began in earnest in the summer of 1975, when Yogi Bhajan held an eight week camp in New Mexico where he taught the psychology of a successful woman. Successive camps included subjects including martial arts, rappelling, fire arms training and healing arts to build the character and confidence of the women in training, which is why the camps were designated "Khalsa Women Training Camps." ^[22]

It may or may not have been a coincidence that within a couple of years of Yogi Bhajan's bold assault on the psychological defects within the typical American gender imbalance, a best-selling book called Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus came out which popularized many of Yogi Bhajan's distinctive and, until then, original teachings.

Although Yogi Bhajan did teach a few weekend courses for men, his emphasis was on women because he recognized in them the foundation of any society, and he wanted to fundamentally end the disempowerment of Western women and the destruction of families. In his words: "God lives in a cozy home."

While encouraging his female students to practice natural childbirth and to breast-feed (practices which were not widely adhered to in the early 1970s) Yogi Bhajan also revived the ancient Indian custom of celebrating the arrival of the new soul at the one hundred twentieth day of pregnancy. This laid emphasis on the dignity and divinity of motherhood. By adhering to this historic custom (in Catholic tradition, which is very significant to this issue, this would be pre-Pius IX), Yogi Bhajan also encouraged his women students in family planning. They should only embark on motherhood if they were fully prepared to accept the responsibilities – and if they were not, then to terminate a pregnancy before the second trimester was far preferable (and certainly not a sin) to bringing a soul into ungraceful circumstances.

Yogi Bhajan also encouraged mothers to swaddle their infants and families to sleep all together, another traditional practice, although he afterwards stated that he lost nearly a third of his students over this one teaching. ^[23]

As far as homosexuality was concerned, Yogi Bhajan at first was shocked by the phenomenon. Through the 1970s and early 1980s, Yogi Bhajan taught that the condition could be cured through intensive yoga and self-analysis. By the late 1980s, however, Yogi Bhajan resigned himself to the conclusion that "sometimes God goofs" and puts men into women's bodies and vice versa.^[24]

During the Punjab insurgency

When the peaceful campaign of civil disobedience waged by Sikh activists against the central government turned violent, Yogi Bhajan advised the leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to call it off and resume another day, which he did not.

Several times in the early 1980s during the Punjab insurgency, Yogi Bhajan went and tried to mediate peace between the members of Indira Gandhi's government and the Sikh leadership in Punjab, which he was uniquely positioned to do. He knew them all, but his efforts were in vain.^[25]

After the Operation Blue Star (in which the India Army damaged the Golden Temple), Yogi Bhajan uniquely advised that the Akal Takhat had martyred itself to awaken the Sikh nation.^[26] While urging Sikhs in the West not to lose hope or descend into wanton violence, Yogi Bhajan attempted to organize relief supplies for victims and still to conciliate the opposing sides, which both included Sikhs. He especially encouraged the Sikh President, Zail Singh, not to resign in protest at the sacrilege committed by the Prime Minister. This, Yogi Bhajan believed would only further isolate the minority Sikhs and lead down a widening spiral of bitterness and bloodshed.

Despite rising calls for the creation of a separatist Sikh homeland, Yogi Bhajan continued throughout the crisis, from 1984 to 1993, to press for justice, forgiveness and reconciliation.^[27]

Work for nuclear disarmament

Beginning in 1982, with the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. launched on an expensive, risky and seemingly endless arms race, Yogi Bhajan began to join other civil leaders in demanding mutual nuclear disarmament.

Yogi Bhajan's efforts took the form of his speaking at a number of disarmament rallies and his mobilization of his students, encouraging them to talk to their friends and relatives about the dangers of nuclear war. ^[28]

Shortly after Yogi Bhajan began his activism again the U.S. government's defense policy, the special Sikh exemption which allowed Sikh males to serve wearing their distinctive turbans and beards was disallowed. ^[29]

Sikh unity

Even as he ventured out of familiar territory, expanding the reach of Sikh teachings and calling reprobates to task, Yogi Bhajan also kept an eye on Sikh unity. While some in Punjab criticized his efforts – particularly his administrative titles, structures and symbols - as heterodox, others toured the domain and offered their generous approval. This happened once in 1974 when the delegation of Gurcharan Singh Tohra, President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Mahinder Singh Giani, Secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Sardar Hukam Singh, President of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Shatabdhi Committee, and Surjit Singh Barnala, General Secretary of the Akali Dal, came. ^[30]

In 1979, the official Professor of Sikhism, Dr. Kapur Singh, came from Amritsar and addressed the Khalsa^[31] Council, Yogi Bhajan's governing council, and assured them they remained well within the fold of Sikh tradition.

In 1986, as the Khalistan movement exerted an increasingly divisive role in the Sikh community, Yogi Bhajan appointed Bhai Sahib Bhai Jiwan Singh of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha as Jathedar (Secretary) of Sikh Unity.

Although he was instrumental in creating a new culture of Sikhs in the Western Hemisphere – Gursikh yogis speaking English, Spanish, German and Italian – Yogi Bhajan did not appreciate artificial divisions dividing Sikhs from one another, whether they be based on caste, race, nationality or any other grounds. He valued Sikh unity and always considered himself a Sikh first and last. This was ably and aptly reflected in the new media of Sikhnet.com begun by students of Yogi Bhajan while the internet was still in its infancy – and grown now to be the biggest, multi-layered Sikh resource in cyberspace. ^[32]

Political influence in U.S.

Yogi Bhajan was not in the least naïve about the importance of being politically connected if one wanted to succeed in the United States and did not shy from political functions. While he deplored the Republican domestic policy, especially during the Reagan era, he appreciated strong foreign policy and especially U.S. efforts to dislodge the Soviet Union from Afghanistan.

Basically, Yogi Bhajan was known as a Democrat. Since 1980, he was both friend and advisor to Bill Richardson, who served variously as New Mexico governor (2002-present), U.S. Energy Secretary (1998-2001), U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (1997-98), and member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1982-97). Bill Richardson is currently a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination to run for the office of U.S. President. ^[33]

Healing arts

When U.S. President Nixon called drugs America's "Number one domestic problem," Yogi Bhajan launched a pilot program with two longtime heroin addicts in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The next year, a full-blown drug treatment center known as "3HO SuperHealth" was launched in Tucson, Arizona. The program distinguished itself by using Kundalini Yoga, diet and massage therapy to cure the addicts. It distinguished itself in 1978 as being among the top 10% of all treatment programs throughout the United States, with a recovery rate of 91%. ^[34]

Early on, when the term "stress" was still practically unheard of, Yogi Bhajan warned his students about a tidal wave of insanity that would soon engulf modern industrialized societies. As a remedy, Yogi Bhajan taught hundreds of techniques of yogic exericise and meditation. Many have been catalogued by their traditionally known effects in calming and healing the mind and body. Some of those techniques have been scientifically studied and applied in clinical practice with favorable results. ^[35]

The most noteworthy success has been achieved by Dharma Singh Khalsa, whose holistic treatment of Alzheimers disease using yoga with other therapeutic modalities has been lauded by the U.S. Surgeon General. ^[36]

Business success

Yogi Bhajan encouraged his students to go into business and served as a trusted advisor to a number of successful enterprises. The best known of these are the Yogi Tea Company which packages and markets his unique tea formulas, Golden Temple Bakery which specializes in natural cereal products, the Soothing Touch health and beauty care products company, Akal Security and the Yoga West Center in Los Angeles. ^[37]

Peace Cereals hold a unique place in this array of business success, as 10% of its profits support the annual Peace Prayer Day, held at Ram Das Puri, near Santa Fe, New Mexico. ^[38]

Miri Piri Academy

In 1998, Yogi Bhajan founded the Miri Piri Academy a short distance outside of Amritsar, India. The distinctive boarding school offers studies in a regular curriculum, plus Sikh heritage and a daily Gursikh Yogi regimen of exercise, meditation and service. Currently, students of seventeen nationalities are enrolled. ^[39]

Death

Yogi Bhajan died at his home in Española, New Mexico on October 6, 2004. His relentless schedule had taken its toll on his body. He was 75. He is survived by his wife, Inderjit kaur; his sons, Ranbir Singh and Kulbir Singh; his daughter, Kamaljit Kaur; and five grandchildren. ^[40]

Honors

As well as his title "Siri Singh Sahib" awarded to him at the holy Akal Takhat in Amritsar in 1971, Yogi Bhajan was also designated "Bhai Sahib" in 1974. ^[41]

In 1999, at the three hundedth anniversary of the founding of the Order of Khalsa in Anandpur Sahib, India, Yogi Bhajan was awarded another rare honorific, the title "Panth Rattan" – Jewel of the Sikh nation. ^[42]

At his passing, Yogi Bhajan joined a select few – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, and Pope John Paul II – in having members of the U.S. Congress pass a bipartisan resolution honoring his life and work. ^[43]

In April 2005, New Mexico Highway 106 was renamed the Yogi Bhajan Memorial Highway. ^[44]

Impact on popular culture

One of Yogi Bhajan's biggest impacts on popular culture has been his propagation of the expectation of "great." Back in the 1960s and 70s, even before the invention of the ubiquitous smiley and "Have a nice day!" Yogi Bhajan never settled for "nice." Yogi Bhajan always spoke of "great." He counseled greatness. He encouraged greatness. He expected greatness, no less.

In their turn, his students naturally passed on that same effusive spirit whenever they wished anyone a "great day!" Year by year, what was once a fringe notion penetrated to the core of our cultural mindset, so now it is not at all uncommon for someone to wish another "a great day," even "a great year!"

Publications

• Yogi Bhajan, The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan, Pomona/Berkeley, Arcline Publications, 1977.
• Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji (Yogi Bhajan), Furmaan Khalsa: Poems to Live By, Columbus, Ohio, Furman Khalsa Publishing Company, 1987.
• Yogi Bhajan with Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, The Mind: Its Projections and Multiple Facets, Espanola, New Mexico, Kundalini Research Institute, 1997.
• Yogi Bhajan, The Game of Love, A Book of Consciousness: The Poems and Art of Yogi Bhajan, Sikh Dharma, 2007.