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Yogi Bhajan, Prayers Come True

Sat Nam Dear Family,

I am experiencing so much gratitude for the Miracle of this Path and the Power of Love. For me they are my Saving Grace. And for me the best part is that this opportunity is open to all! I wanted to share a story that came to me that illustrates this miracle.

There wasn’t much you could do for the flu a century or so ago. One of the few things you could do was to go to your local chemist, drugstore, as they were called back then, and ask for a bottle of Laudanum which was just tinctured opium. Times were different and back then, almost anything went and Laudanum was perfectly legal, readily available, and preferable. Jim left the chemist with bottle in hand, in a hurry, anxious to return be relieved of this incessant pain all in the surroundings of his home sweet home.

Jim was a local rancher. Even though extremely sick, he still had on his cowboy boots and ten gallon hat. Jim couldn’t wait to crack open the bottle. As soon as he hit the wagon hitched outside, he took a large swig. It tasted like bitter candy, yes, it was both. Not long after, Jim began to feel floaty, better. His sickness wasn’t capturing his full attention anymore. He could relax a bit. So, he took another swig. Felt better. He soon realized that the more swigs he took, the better he felt, until he didn’t. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

He made it home, collapsed in his bed, and slept for 12 hours straight. The next morning, he woke up groggy, not even focusing on where he was. Worse still, his misery was back, and so was his tincture bottle. Another swig in the morning and Jim was up and about. Like magic, he was his old cheerful self, and, better yet, he was devoid of his miserable pain again. This was wonderful, until it wasn’t.

All day long, Jim was sipping tincture like it was sweet jasmine tea, until it was gone. Pain returned. Jim panicked. “I need more Laudanum.” His loving son hurried to town to get. his father more.

Jim’s son soon arrived with the Laudanum and the pain of the sickness was solved once again. A day or so later, the sickness left but the habit of softening pain, physical, emotional or existential, did not. Some people have a much more sensitive addictive mode. Jim was one of them. Jim was a good man gone sour, sour to the point of no return. It’s a sad story. Unfortunately, an all too common story.

Sadly, Jims life changed. His family’s life changed. His relationships changed. His whole world changed. The pain of life and sickness the Laudanum had removed, but it had now been replaced with the greater pain of where, when, how, who, and what about the next fix. This downward spiral appeared bottomless and unchangeable.

Jim became a good-for-nothing in the eyes of the world, and in Jim’s eyes as well. For Jim, there was no way out. The only thing that mattered to him was the next fix before the anticipated unwanted discomfort of his pain became real.

Jim prayed to God for help. His prayers were answered, who knows why? It doesn’t matter. He was transported to a Kundalini Yoga class. Please, don’t get hung up on the time inconsistencies, they’re irrelevant in this story. His soul nudged this time sequence along so he could find help. A good soul can do that!

The class was hard, harder than he thought any yoga could be, but he was a rancher and could take and do much more than most people he knew. It was challenging, and Jim’s soul loved a good challenge. What a blessing. Not only had Jim been blessed with a great opportunity to change his life for the better, but the class was so powerful that it gave Jim an experience beyond himself - without Laudanum.

Jim’s experience was pure, unmixed with substances of any and all kinds. Jim fell in love with this experience. He was now focused on living in this new experience, He was now not content to just visit this space of relief and hope, he now wanted to live there. Jim attended a class every day.

The experience Jim sought had many facets, but its root was the defining factor for all. The experience of an elevation in consciousness begins and ends in love. Not the kind of love this world enjoys, but love which is Eternal, Infinite. Jim was hooked. His goals were now for this expansion of self that turned him from a taker to a giver.

He kept-up. Jim got better, and better. He got so good that he wanted to share Kundalini Yoga with the world. He did. Jim is a great teacher. Naturally, Jim loves Kundalini Yoga, and why shouldn’t he? It literally saved his life, and Jim will be the first to say so.

This Yoga is a gift, a blessing. It’s a blessing directly from Guru Ram Das. His blessings come directly from God. Sweet Devotee that he is, he always has God’s Will to administer.

The yoga brought us through Sanskrit, Punjabi, Gurmukhi, Hindi, Islam, Judaism, English, etc, and now, through China, Africa, all over. The mantra, ‘God and me, me and God are One’ is translated into many, many languages. The world over, cultures, religions, and traditions, have been blessed with Kundalini Yoga.

Chanting, meditating, and doing asanas, brings truth to the student. Our prayers, our chanting, our service, and our love have brought a truthful path to perpetually living our elevating experience.

Our experience led us to Sikh Dharma. Kundalini Yoga and Sikh Dharma fit together like the natural partners they are. Sikh Dharma is the father. Kundalini Yoga is the mother.

Kundalini Yoga gave birth to us. She’s always with us demanding discipline, but in a genuinely compassionate way only a mother can do. Encouragingly, lovingly, with tolerance, patience, and forgiveness, there’s nothing like a good mother’s guidance. The greatest gift a mother can give is to teach the child how to follow good rules, the operative word being ‘good.’

Kundalini Yoga turns over students to Sikh Dharma, the father, the rule setter. The True Guru states His will as the rules and they’re good rules. That’s the rule of a good father.

That’s the rule of Sikh Dharma. There are no better rules. I’m not saying that they are the only good rules, not at all. But, these rules, the teachings of our sacred Guru, are a true way. They are an extension of Kundalini Yoga, complementing one another unto Infinity. And, no, I’m not afraid to use the term. The Guru’s Will is, and shall remain, true

Today, Jim is a full blown Sikh. He still teaches Kundalini Yoga, does his sadhana daily, regularly attends Gurdwara, and is an intrical and formidable part of our Sikh community, and an important part of this Dharma. No, I’m not Jim, but I’ve known many, many like him who have come for many, many reasons, and who have shared Jim’s life saving experience. Jim is just one of many tens of thousands. Keep-up Jim. We love you.   

Kundalini Yoga and Sikh dharma are a marriage made in heaven. A perfect marriage, supporting one another unto Infinity. Stay Tuned,

 

In the Humility of Service and Gratitude,

MSS Hari Jiwan Singh Khalsa
Chief fo Protocol
Council General fo Sikh Dharma
Sangat Representative