Featured Community
Chilean Yoga Festival 2010
Submitted by Panch Nishan Kaur,
3HO International Community Relations,
New Mexico, USA
In January, while the Northern Hemisphere experiences the depth of winter, South America celebrates summer, and what better way to do it than with a Kundalini Yoga Festival! 3HO Chile hosts an annual yoga festival located just a few hours outside of Santiago at the base of the Andes Mountains. Over 200 3HO Community members came from all over Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Spain, United States, and more.
It was incredible and inspiring to see and hear about the growth of 3HO in many of these countries since the last time I visited 2 ½ years ago. For example, up until now Venezuela was the only country in South America where no Kundalini Yoga teachers lived. One of the three new teachers graduating from teacher training in Columbia this month hails from Venezula. His story of overcoming geo-political obstacles in Venezuela in order to take Kundalini Yoga teacher training in Columbia and travel to be with the 3HO Family gathered in Chile reflected the beauty and overwhelming love in his heart for the teachings of Yogi Bhajan and the touch of Guru Ram Das.
Argentina now has Kundalini Yoga teachers in 7 cities across the country and Ecuador has teachers in 5 cities! As a result of this growth it became clear through our conversations and meetings with participants from various countries that communities are eager for new ways of organizing and working together. 3HO Foundation International and 3HO IKYTA specifically engaged in work with 3HO Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador to support them in the organizational development of their communities.
When communities reach a certain size, creating an organization that serves the needs of the students and teachers and opens avenues for collaboration and participation allows us to excel further than working individually. 3HO Foundation International (which includes IKYTA) supports the development and growth of local communities and holds the vision for 3HO communities around the world to network with each other, share resources, learn what is working, and call on our collective strength and group consciousness as a Global Community of Living Yoga practicing Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan®.
The festival program focused on Yogi Bhajan’s Five Sutras for the Aquarian Age. Each day there were classes taught by stellar teachers in the morning and late afternoon, leaving time to enjoy the property, spa, pool, and natural mineral hot springs. The classes took people on a deep inner journey of transformation and consolidation around each sutra.
Every evening music mantra concerts took place. Chile is rich with excellent musicians such as Guru Dass Singh, Sat Shabad Singh, Guru Darshan Singh, Guru Sansar Singh, Satya Amrit Singh and were joined by international musicians such as Sat Kirin Kaur of USA and Sat Siri Kaur of Ecuador and more.
Video Clip of Shanti Shanti Kaur’s Class
Prabhu Nam Kaur’s Class participants create prayers lighting candles.
Celebration to the song Bonito (Beautiful).
Mantra with Sat Kirin Kaur & Friends: Chatra Chakra Vartee
Mantra with Guru Darshan Singh & Friends: Ong
Mantra with Gurudass Singh & Friends: Ong Namo Shivaya with Wahe Guru Interlude
A surprise honored guest appeared, Alfredo Sfeir-Younis, ambassador of peace and spiritual activist, who had a very special relationship with Yogiji. Alfredo shared stories of his experiences with Yogi Bhajan.
The community that gathered from all over South America was rich with diversity, including children, families, experienced teachers, and new students in an experience of Dharma. It felt like a New Mexico Summer Solstice Sadhana Celebration microcosm. 3HO Foundation International staff present at the event included Guruka Kaur with 3HO International Collaboration, Anand Singh with 3HO Events, and myself. On behalf of 3HO Foundation International we honored the work of 3HO Chile for their continued dedication and radiant service to the legacy of Yogi Bhajan through creating opportunity for community and serving to inspire and empower humanity to be Healthy, Happy, and Holy.
It was a blessing and inspiration for us to be a part of this community event and connect with the 3HO family in South America. As a result of the yoga festival our smiles are brighter and our hearts are warmer and our spirits are stronger!
The closing ceremonies celebrated with Bhangra and traditional Chilean Cuenca dancing.
Cuenca – Traditional Chilean Dance, Video 1, Video 2
Bhangra – Indian Folk Dance, Video 1, Video 2
Video of Yoga Festival Closing – El eterno Sol (The Long Time Sun in Espanol)
Other Happenings in Santiago:
Agni Yoga Center's Yoga Para Todos/Yoga for Everyone
Yoga Para Todos is a new program that Agni Yoga is offering to reduce the cost of yoga classes to $2 per class.They choose a theme for the month, sell advanced tickets, and host a workshop at the end of the class (for an additional fee). The classes are sold out with 30+ people in every class. The program is economically sound and more people are able to experience the technology of Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan®.
Narayan Yoga Center
Narayan is the place to be for daily sadhana. A solid group of over twenty yogis attend! Narayan also hosts frequent Gurdwara programs as well as other workshops and events.
4th Annual Indian Music Festival
Great Hindu and Sikh musicians brought their instruments and played music in traditional Indian Raag. Watch a video featuring Ragini Siri Atma Kaur from Argentina.
For more info about the 3HO Community in Chile visit:
kundaliniyogafestival.cl
comunidadkundalini.blogspot.com
And for some yummy vegetarian food in Santiago visit La Chakara
Numerology Forecast for March 2010
Service and the Power of the Word
By Akiva Satnarayan, California, USA
March brings us fluctuations between worry/insecurity and liveliness/positive projection. Ultimately it is about creating structured opportunities for the coming months. March is the 3rd month in a 10 year—the vibration of 13 is reduced to 4, the neutral mind. Circumstances may not be so neutral at this time. Be of service! Beware of rigidity and attachment to outcomes.
March provides us with the opportunity to notice our reactions to change. The goal is to put our ideas and aspirations into form and structure, planning for the changes we would like to see come our way this year. The key this month is to create a manageable working process that will motivate you in your efforts to grow and expand. Follow your process one step at a time and make sure you are not lagging behind nor rushing forward frantically—moderation is the magic key this month, the middle ground.
Be alert and be real! Put out your best efforts this month. The 4 vibration is a cycle of practicality with a touch of humility and focus. We all are going to be driven by our own various ideas of what success may look like. Try to be flexible, not too attached to your structure and plans, yet put out the effort needed to move your visions forward. Laziness and lack of focus may creep in at times. Don’t be too judgmental or hard on yourself.
We may all be a bit edgy or rigid this March. See where you can bring harmony into your life, avoid conflicts and confrontations, and do your form of meditation “religiously.” When the mind is neutral you will be able to recognize true opportunities that are available to you.
In politics and world matters rigidity will be in the air and there will not be much movement in diplomacy or policy making. You may find yourself in a stubborn place as well. Issues of security and trust will rise to the surface and relationships will be affected, especially in your home and community environment. The solution here is to assign all actions and circumstances to Divine will. Try to come to a place of gratitude and humility even when confronted with challenges. Ask yourself, “What are my lessons here? What am I grateful for?”
Reactive behavior may be associated with food—food is often a comforter. Try not to indulge too much in unhealthy junk food. Take a deep breath, go home and cook something for yourself that will bring a sense of belonging, nurturing, and empowerment to your home and your foundation.
The number 13 appears in March vibrations as a significant number. It will affect our interactions with everyone and everything. Try to be conscious of what you promise and what you say to yourself and to others. And notice your thoughts with extra care. As they arise they will have the potential to become reality. The number 13 is a Christ quality. It reflects the quality of sacrifice and contribution as well as the power of intention and of the word. When it comes to relating to your friends and significant others, avoid conflict and try to focus on the positive, on issues you can agree on, and on serving one another (4 = service). Try to be aware of the quality of people’s words—do they represent falsehood, seduction, and manipulation, or do they evoke a grounded, solid, and trustworthy truth.
March is a good time to serve and contribute, whether it is at home, work, in a social group, or spiritual community. Try to allocate some time for the activities that nurture you. Give something back, and enjoy the overall process. Trust your foundation, your home, and self-expression. Let your heart lead the way. It is all mandatory prep work for growth and expansion.
Akiva Satnarayan helps people find their true calling and true expression through the science of numerology. Looking at one’s birth-imprint, we can find the hidden advantages and pitfalls, bring clarity to purpose, revitalize the soul, and identify opportunities in all areas of life, such as relationships, money, career, and well being. For an appointment in person or by phone:
415.846.3250, [email protected]
SEVAlicious:Mujer de Luz (Woman of Light)
Healing and Uplifting Women in South America
By Nam Nidhan Kaur Khalsa, Chile, South America
To educate women in self-esteem is to heal the whole society. Yogi Bhajan insisted on the need to re-educate women under a new concept of sacredness and divinity. His vision was to inspire women to connect with their original source and their role as direct transmitters of higher values which will rule the Aquarian Age. He reminded us that women are the base of all societies, and that depending on her strength of character, integrity, and self-love, generations are built or destroyed. He told us that human exploitation can be stopped by stopping the exploitation of women in all its manifestations; and that peace on our planet would only come through respect for women and the feminine in everyone.
As we tune in to this new paradigm pulsing everywhere, we come to understand the need to “humanize” our way of living. One of the main roles of women in this new vision is to expand the meaning and concept of “family” to all human institutions, where every individual recognizes him/herself as sacred and unique, and at the same time, part of the human family. The experience of nobility, kindness of character, and sacredness in every heart are what will change history. That experience is learned and passed on through mothers and women who have recognized themselves as channels for this sacred creative consciousness.
Spiritually, this legacy is changing the old paradigm of a teacher surrounded by the students, patriarchal and linear, to the new one of the community, or sangat, ruled by the collective consciousness—feminine, interactive, and multi-directional.
Introducing Yogi Bhajan’s Women’s Teachings into Governmental Programs
Yogi Bhajan’s women’s teachings are revolutionary. When women hear them and recognize their truth within themselves, change is immediate. I have experienced this during the eleven years I have been teaching women in many countries of the world. Through this experience of teaching, the need to bring this light to many more women was instilled in me. Finally, in October, 2009, we officially created MUJER DE LUZ (Woman of Light) as a legal foundation. Only four months later, we began work with the Chilean Government (which has had a woman as a president for four years) through the National Woman’s Service Ministry. We have recently signed a cooperation contract, where our programs will be part of their 2010 schedule in the areas of domestic violence and self care programs for women working with women.
In addition, in Ecuador we have started to work with the Governmental Commission of Transition to a Women’s Council and Equality of Gender, which is the current governmental program to help women. Our participation will support their programs taught throughout the country.
Our goal is to be working actively with the governments of Perú, Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina, and Uruguay by the end of 2010. Currently our coordinators are working on making this possible.
In addition to the social support programs, our foundation has developed an educational program. In 2010 we are offering a training program based on Yogi Bhajan’s women’s teachings called Joti Sarovar (the Fountain of the Feminine Light). Some of our goals are to train Kundalini Yoga teachers and systematize the women`s teachings so they can be used in different areas of women’s lives; to help to strengthen teachers’ characters and their personal relationships with the teachings; and to create a solid international team of women working together.
If you want to know more about Mujer De Luz and Joti Sarovar, visit us at mujerdeluz.org. Mujer de Luz has its base in Santiago, Chile, and is currently directed by Nam Nidhan Kaur and Dev Inder Kaur. You can reach them at [email protected]
Nam Nidhan Kaur is a KRI Level I and II Lead Trainer and has been a pioneer in introducing the teachings of Kundalini Yoga in South America and helping to create the first communities of teachers there. She has been teaching women for eleven years throughout Latin America, Spain, and China. She is the Director of the Kundalini Yoga School, Narayan (narayanyoga.cl), in Santiago, which has been certifying teachers in Chile for nine years.
A Testimony
By Anna Arques, Tarragona, Spain
Mujer de Luz was the door which opened a new road in my life. It enabled me to recognize my addictions, unhappiness, self-destruction, and rebelliousness. It helped me to learn self-respect and to work hard on identifying my problems and let them go. I learned to take responsibility for my own actions and their consequences. Overall, I learned a concept that I had never known: commitment to myself and others. One commitment that I upheld in Mujer de Luz was the daily practice of yoga and meditation. To practice every day is a personal challenge for me to break through my laziness. After practicing I feel very satisfied. It is a gift I give to myself, and it is great to realize it is only up to me.
The first day in Mujer de Luz I pronounced the word “light” loudly and Nam Nidhan Kaur told me that I have it inside myself, and that was totally unknown for me. The next days I kept discovering, experiencing, learning, and I cried a lot. What happened in Mujer de Luz, what I felt, I can’t describe. It must be experienced, every woman should attend, at least once in her life.
SEVAlicious:Mujer de Luz
Curando y Edificando las Mujeres en América del Sur
Por Nam Nidhan Kaur Khalsa, Chile, America del Sur
Para educar a las mujeres en la autoestima es sanar a toda la sociedad. Yogui Bhajan insistía en la necesidad de re-educar a las mujeres bajo un nuevo concepto de sacralidad y divinidad. Su visión era inspirar a las mujeres a conectarse con su fuente original y su papel como transmisores directos de los valores más altos que predominarán en la Era de Acuario. Nos recordó que las mujeres son la base de todas las sociedades, y que dependiendo de su fuerza de carácter, su integridad y amor propio, las generaciones se hayan construido o destruido. Él nos dijo que la explotación humana puede ser detenida por detener la explotación de la mujer en todas sus manifestaciones, y que la paz en nuestro planeta sólo llegaría a través del respeto a las mujeres y a lo femenino que existe en cada persona.
A medida que nos sintonizamos con este nuevo paradigma pulsante en todo lugar, llegamos a entender la necesidad de "humanizar" nuestro modo de vida. Una de las principales funciones de la mujer en esta nueva visión es ampliar el sentido y el concepto de "familia" a todas las instituciones humanas, donde cada individuo se reconoce a sí mismo como algo sagrado y único, y al mismo tiempo, parte de la familia humana. La experiencia de la nobleza, la bondad del carácter, y lo sagrado en el corazón de todo es lo que va a cambiar la historia. Esa experiencia se aprende y se transmite a través de las madres y las mujeres que han reconocido a sí mismas como canales de esta conciencia creativa sagrada.
Espiritualmente, este legado está cambiando el antiguo paradigma de un maestro rodeado por los estudiantes, patriarcal y lineal, por uno nuevo de la comunidad, o Sangat, gobernada por la conciencia colectiva – femenina, interactiva y multi-direccional.
Introduciendo las enseñanzas femeninas de Yogi Bhajan en los Programas Gubernamentales
Las enseñanzas femeninas de Yogi Bhajan son revolucionarias. Cuando las mujeres las oyen y reconocen su verdad dentro de sí, el cambio es inmediato. He experimentado esto durante los once años que estoy enseñando a las mujeres en muchos países del mundo. A través de esta experiencia de la enseñanza, la necesidad de llevar esta luz a muchas más mujeres se inculcó en mí. Por último, en octubre de 2009, se creó oficialmente MUJER DE LUZ (Woman of Light) como una fundación legal. Sólo cuatro meses más tarde, empezamos a trabajar con el Gobierno de Chile (que ha tenido una mujer como presidente durante cuatro años) a través del Servicio Nacional de la Mujer. Recientemente hemos firmado un contrato de cooperación, en el que nuestros programas serán parte de su programa de 2010 en los ámbitos de la violencia doméstica y programas de cuidado personal para las mujeres que trabajan con mujeres.
Además, en el Ecuador hemos empezado a trabajar con la Comisión Gubernamental de la Transición al Consejo de la Mujer y la Igualdad de Género, que es el programa gubernamental actual para ayudar a las mujeres. Nuestra participación va a apoyar sus programas impartidos en todo el país.
Nuestro objetivo es estar trabajando activamente con los gobiernos del Perú, Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina y Uruguay para los finales de 2010. Actualmente, nuestros coordinadores están trabajando para hacer esto posible.
Además de los programas de apoyo social, nuestra Fundación ha desarrollado un programa educativo. En el año 2010 ofrecemos un programa de entrenamiento basado en las enseñanzas femeninas de Yogi Bhajan llamado Joti Sarovar (la Fuente de la Luz Femenina). Algunos de nuestros objetivos son entrenar a los maestros de Kundalini Yoga y sistematizar las enseñanzas femeninas para que puedan ser utilizados en diferentes áreas de las vidas de las mujeres, para ayudar a fortalecer los caracteres de los maestros y sus relaciones personales con las enseñanzas; y a crear un equipo internacional fuerte de mujeres trabajando juntos.
Si desea saber más acerca de Mujer de Luz y Joti Sarovar, visítanos en mujerdeluz.org. Mujer de Luz tiene su base en Santiago de Chile, y actualmente es dirigida por Nam Nidhan Kaur y Dev Inder Kaur. Se puede comunicar con ellas al [email protected].
Nam Nidhan Kaur es una Entrenadora de Cabeza Nivel I y II de KRI y ha sido una precursora en la presentación de las enseñanzas de Kundalini Yoga en América del Sur y en ayudar a crear las primeras comunidades de maestros allí. Ha enseñado a mujeres durante once años en toda América Latina, España y China. Ella es la Directora de la Escuela de Kundalini Yoga, Narayan (narayanyoga.cl), en Santiago, que ha estado certificando los maestros en Chile durante nueve años.
Un testimonio
Por Anna Arques, Tarragona, España
Mujer de Luz fue la puerta que abrió en un nuevo camino para mi vida. Me permitió reconocer mis adicciónes, la infelicidad, la auto-destrucción, y la rebeldía. Me ayudó a aprender el respeto propio y de esforzarme a identificar mis problemas y a soltarlos. He aprendido a aceptar la responsabilidad por mis propias acciones y sus consecuencias. En general, he aprendido un concepto que nunca había conocido: el compromiso conmigo misma y con los demás. Un compromiso que defendí en Mujer de Luz fue la práctica diaria de yoga y meditación. El practicar todos los días es un reto personal para mí para romper mi pereza. Después de practicar me siento muy contenta. Es un regalo que me doy a mí mismo, y es bueno darme cuenta de que sólo depende de mí.
El primer día en Mujer de Luz yo pronunciaba la palabra "luz" en voz alta y Nam Nidhan Kaur me dijo que la tenía dentro de mí. Y eso para mí era completamente desconocido. Los días siguientes seguí descubriendo, experimentando, aprendiendo. Y lloraba mucho. Lo que sucedió en Mujer de Luz, lo que sentí, no lo puedo describir. Se tiene que experimentar. Toda mujer debería asistir al menos una vez en su vida.
Eco-3HO
Respecting our Mother Earth
By Joshua Sandstrom, Oregon, USA
It is sometimes a challenge to look at the current state of our world, and imagine how it will be transformed into the vibrant Golden Era of the Aquarian Age. How must we change our culture, our household habits, and our daily lives over the course of the next decades to bring forth this age of peace?
Does the Golden Age you see have traffic jams or air pollution? Are there food shortages or malnutrition? Does it involve wars or pillaging the planet for precious resources? The Aquarian Age I envision is full of enlightened souls, clean air, healthy forests, and functional societies; people living in balance with all that is around them. It is critical that we take up our positions as keepers of the peace and raise our vibration to meet that of our Earth as she moves into the Aquarian Age. It is important that women regain their place of power as the keepers of life and help us transition into a time of balance and peace.
As carriers of the womb of life, women are responsible for maintaining the doorway into planet Earth. The first few years of a child’s life are greatly influenced by the mother. Laying the foundation for healthy new generations through the influence and exposure we give our children in early development is critical. The connection between a woman, her children, and the Earth is also critical. The quality of relationship that is built between a child and mother is often reflected in that child’s relationship with nature. Are we raising children that respect women and the Earth? Do they have a sense of place, respect, and responsibility for nature and their environment? Or are they distant and disconnected from the feminine?
The woman is often the person who buys food, clothing, and other household goods needed for her home. What she buys and from whom directly affects the long-term quality of life for everyone. What good does it do to buy chemically treated foods that aren’t good for your children, you, or the Earth; or to purchase new clothing that was made in sweatshops by women and children? What about furniture built from clear-cut old growth forests? How do actions like these affect your vision of an Aquarian future?
If, over the course of our entire lifetime, each and every action was measured for its quality of energy and level of positive impact and ecological footprint, think of how that could measure up. Now imagine passing on this wisdom to future generations—truly bringing up an Aquarian race of souls capable of harnessing the energies of this new time and bringing them to fruition. This is the task that is at hand, and of which we are all a part. Whether we want it, like it, or believe it, the Earth is in a time of great transition, a sense of balance is being restored. What can you do today to lead toward a brighter vision of tomorrow?
Joshua Sandstrom co-founded the Green Team at Summer Solstice in New Mexico and has 8 years of experience working in Fair Trade with his business Circle of the Sun. He is available for further information at [email protected]
Respecting our Mother Earth
By Joshua Sandstrom, Oregon, USA
Guru
By Sat Shabd Singh
Presented by SpiritVoyage.com
Guru is Sat Shabd Singh’s second production, after Inspirations from the Universe: Sadhana Chants from Chile, and includes mantras for meditation and instrumental music for relaxation and dance. Sat Shabd Singh would like to offer you this beautiful track, Adi Mantra, free to download from his CD Guru.
The Adi Mantra helps to connect us with our creative consciousness and the infinite wisdom within ourselves. It is a very sweet and calm melody that will guide us to chant from the heart.
Sat Shabd Singh became a Kundalini Yoga teacher in 2001 and has been dedicated to music all his life. He is a sound engineer, producer, music composer, and owner of Musicland in Chile. For the past ten years, he has concentrated on creating music for yoga, meditation, and music therapy. He teaches Kundalini Yoga in music institutes and universities and gives workshops on mantras and music therapy in Chile.
Chants for Haiti
Spirit Voyage Artists Snatam Kaur, GuruGanesha Singh, Nirinjan Kaur, Satkirin Kaur Khalsa, Mirabai Ceiba's Markus and Angelika, and Gurunam Singh have joined together to offer this beautiful collection of healing chants to help you send your prayers and your donations to the struggling people of Haiti through the incredible relief organization Doctors Without Borders. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to this organization.
spiritvoyage.com
When a Woman Falls, a Generation Falls*
By Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa, New Mexico, USA
In many ways, my generation is the one that fell. We’re the generation that was sacrificed by the Women’s Movement of the late 60s and 70s. That’s not to say that I would change what happened. The feminist movement has brought a lot of positive changes to the culture and continues to contribute to the global conversation of women’s rights; but it does mean that in the search for equality, an entire generation lowered themselves in ways they didn’t understand at the time—and my generation, the daughters of that movement, bore the cost.
What does it mean to have a generation fall? In discussions with my colleagues and friends, we agreed that in a lot of ways it simply means we were a generation in limbo—in-between. We weren’t our mothers, angry and longing for freedom, nor were we able to become the young women you see today, who clearly know what they want and aren’t ashamed to go out and get it. Unable to buy in to the traditional life of marriage and children yet unable to really own our own lives as single women either; we had very few role models of how to be modern women. I think the past ten years has brought a lot of progress in the story of what it means to be a woman and a feminist.
Chicks to Eagles
Yogi Bhajan spent the better part of 30 years trying to get women to see who and what they really are! Creative. Sacred. Invincible. He was baffled by the language used to refer to women—as “chicks”—and he turned it on its head by declaring that he was “going to turn chicks into eagles.”
My own mother was actually a conservative Phyllis Schlafly type, whose only political action in those very political times was protesting the Equal Rights Amendment, which was up for adoption by the State Senate in Austin, Texas in the 70s. Knowing me to be the feminist I am, she only recently confessed this to me a few years ago, with a sheepish grin.
You would think that growing up with a mother who protested the Equal Rights Amendment, I would have been consigned to these demeaning images of women. But you would be wrong. As much as my mother had her own issues with the feminist movement, she was no shrinking violet. She was a fighter who had a tremendous amount of self-respect. She didn’t take guff from any man—that was certain. But she also worshipped her father—and mine—and was a tremendously loyal and dutiful woman. She was the embodiment of the creative, sacred, and invincible woman Yogi Bhajan described so often. A friend of ours had the habit of calling women ‘chickies’—and my mother’s blood would boil! The issues that my mother had with feminism are many of the same problems that Yogi Bhajan addressed when he came here: Stop trying to be like a man! Don’t sell yourself! Have a little dignity! Stand up for yourself! Never be a man’s property! In my own head, I honestly can’t hear the difference between my mother’s voice and Yogi Bhajan’s anymore.
My own journey reflects the journey of feminism in a way: reactionary, angry, an imbalanced understanding of power that expressed itself in outrageous behavior, and finally a return to center, to the ideals that every woman holds deep within her—kindness, compassion, nurturing, supportiveness, creativity, and intelligence. At this point in my life, it’s all about returning to innocence—my own and everyone else’s. I was a powerhouse of a little girl: whip smart, outgoing, confident. Somewhere along the way, my internal knowing got turned upside down and inside out, and I began seeking affirmation and admiration from others. I became the all-too-familiar ‘good girl’ who just wanted to be liked, loved even, but could never quite seem to make it happen. This was the beginning of the end. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always had lovely friends, a great career, and meaningful relationships with my family, my students, and my clients. But I also spent years giving away my power to men who had no reverence for it—and why should they? I had given it away hadn’t I? I had lost the “me” within me. Fortunately, there was still that seed of longing, that aspiration toward liberation, that desire for Truth that my mother had given to me, which gave me the strength to keep searching. It was a long journey back. But in the Teachings of Yogi Bhajan I have found my voice again. I have been given the tools, the understanding, and the technology to be a woman—a graceful woman—and a leader in the Aquarian Age.
Women as Leaders
So—how do we, as women, lead? More and more, the demands of the Aquarian Age are being revealed. Whether we find it in the strain upon ourselves and our own relationships or in the daily news, we see evidence of the stress and overstimulation of the hyper-information Age in which we live. As women, we cannot settle for surviving, or just getting by. The demands of our family and our own future call for excellence, compassion, creativity and, yes, leadership. Our Sacred Circles now become the means for transformation: we are the peacemakers; we are the community builders; we are the mothers; and we are the makers of the future.
“In an increasingly polarized world, how can we hope to transform war into peace, scarcity into abundance, and hate into love? Women are the key. Mothers who’ve lost their sons to war; women who’ve been raped at the hands of the enemy; daughters who’ve witnessed their father’s powerlessness; if these women, who’ve experienced the worst that the human experience has to offer, can forgive, then there is hope. We see examples of this living hope all around the world: Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa and Central America; Palestinian and Jewish unity movements in Israel; Iranian women speaking up for political and social rights; the list goes on. These Sacred Circles of human beings reaching out to heal other human beings—even those who have harmed them—represent the transformative nature of relationships and a new culture of acceptance of the human condition.
“When we drop our defenses and tune in to the essence of these teachings—“be you”—we begin to relax. In that relaxed state, we sense the limitless, infinite, creative power that lies within us as women. That power is what will change the world in the coming Aquarian Age. Yogi Bhajan said that the Aquarian Age would not manifest without these teachings. So, it is up to us as women to lead the world to prosperity and peace. It is up to us to deliver the fruits of the Aquarian Age—creativity, community, transparency, and reliance upon Infinity.
“But before we can lead effectively, we must master our own inner conflicts and duality. We must recognize that our security doesn’t come from anything outside ourselves. It can only come from within; it can only come from our connection to the Infinite. We must acknowledge that we can only contain our world—not control it. But that simple act of prayerfully holding the world together—the epitome of the Adi Shakti¹—is our greatest virtue. We must know—deep in our bones—that we are the creators. Look around; if you don’t like what you see, change! Change yourself! The fruit of that consciousness will seed itself throughout the world in peace, prosperity, and grace.
“The most profound way for a woman to lead is by simply being herself—the graceful woman she is. Yes, she is the head of state, negotiating peace. She is the president of corporations, leading business to new standards in ethical practices, green production cycles, and social progress. She is the entrepreneur, bringing agility and flexibility to the marketplace. She is the artist, transforming the way people see each other. She is the singer, opening the hearts of all who hear her. She is the architect, designing the way we live. She is the scientist, discovering new medicines, new galaxies, new formulas. She is the mother who devotes everything, selflessly, for her children. She is the sister or the daughter who holds your hand and tells you silly jokes while you wait for the doctor. She is the wife who challenges, inspires, serves, and loves you. Yes, she is; and to borrow a now-famous phrase, “Yes, she can.” Women are the leaders of the Aquarian Age not because they have finally “won” the proverbial war of the sexes, but because they have finally recognized their own true nature and decided to serve it—and deliver it—for the good of all.”²
Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa is the editor of I AM A WOMAN: Creative, Sacred & Invincible and the Creative Director for the Kundalini Research Institute.
*This title is a quote by Yogi Bhajan
¹Adi Shakti: Primal Power; feminine aspect of God that can manifest Creation
²Excerpted from Kundalini Research Institute’s forthcoming publication, Everyday Grace: The Art of Being a Woman by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa, available June 2010
Become a voice of change; participate in the dialogue of transformation; build your Sacred Circle with a community of women who serve each other and the Teachings of Yogi Bhajan, each and every day. Visit the I Am A Woman Blog today! And for more information on the Teachings of Yogi Bhajan, please visit us online at kundaliniresearchinstitute.org and www.yogibhajan.org.
Healing Wisdom: A Yogini’s Guide to Glowing Health
By Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, Oregon, USA
Yoga makes a woman strong. And yoga’s sister health science, Ayurveda, helps her stay that way. The goal of Ayurveda is to nourish, restore, and balance the body functions that have been taxed by the wear and tear of daily life. If we don’t rejuvenate consistently, our tissues become like old leaves that dry out and blow away. Yogi Bhajan’s Ayurveda and yoga practices are directed toward strengthening, purifying, and nourishing body tissues to bring back vibrancy and the glow of youth.
Ayurvedic programs enhance health, produce the finest bodily tissues, reduce senility and other diseases of old age, lengthen life, and promote memory, intelligence, and beauty. Generally, compared to men, women tend to run a bit cooler (think of those cold feet under the covers) and with drier skin and body tissues (do bottles of moisturizers come to mind?), both of which are air tattva¹ characteristics. To offset these tendencies, the goal for a woman is to stay warm, moisturized (both inside and out), and grounded over a lifetime.
Lifestyle and medicine are the two forms of rejuvenation in yoga. “Hot” activities, such as passion and anger, age the body more rapidly, so calming behavior is a key point in a healthy life. To live longer and have better health, practice meditation, speak the truth, avoid becoming angry, avoid conflict, and steer away from drugs and alcohol. The teachings of yoga take care of that. When it comes to medicine, food and herbs fill the bill.
Diet is the most basic Ayurvedic building block for long term health. It is safe, and can be used by anyone as self care. Adding herbal medicine makes it even more powerful. Women generally do better with a diet of mainly cooked, easy to digest, moist food and a consistent program of everyday maintenance herbs.
The yogic diet that promotes rejuvenation revolves around nutritious food selections, emphasizing whole grains like wheat and rice, along with seeds, nuts, milk products, and natural sugars, such as honey. Cooked, moist foods (soups) will help. A woman’s diet should be balanced to contain a broad range of tastes: sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter, and astringent. Generally, use food that is sweet, light, and easily digestible. Oh, and don’t go too far over the spicy side, because excessively pungent foods can be a little drying for women. Use less dry or raw food, and include a good quality raw vegetable oil (almond, sesame) and ghee. To these basics, add your choice of selected potent foods that help you stay in the pink for a long life.
The Purple Powerhouse
Eggplant, known in Ayurveda as “elabatu,” is a sweet, astringent, and pungent stamina builder that bumps up circulation. A warming food, it’s excellent for “cold” women—those who could use more prana. It’s one of the greatest foods for women’s healing. In fact, it’s such a good woman’s food that Yogi Bhajan liked to call it “God’s ovaries.” Along with the “trinity roots” (onion, garlic, and ginger), eggplant is an aphrodisiac.
This purple energizer helps to regulate hormone functions, and will help bring on a tardy menstrual period. It’s a diuretic food and can be helpful in chronic PMS treatment. Eggplant has not been studied much, so the way it works is unclear, but it may contain phytohormones², like those being discovered in many other foods.
Robyn Landis, in her book, Herbal Defense, talks about her experience of using eggplant to naturally stimulate the onset of menses that had ceased for over two years. Still, for amenorrhea, it needs to be eaten regularly—say half of an eggplant daily—to produce results, and it is not a great food during pregnancy. Eggplant increases appetite and, for some people, gas. It increases muscular strength, and helps with gallstones. It has been used for asthma, cough, and chronic pain.
You may want to take a walk on the wild side and give some other types of eggplant a try. Besides the familiar purple globe style, it comes in a dizzying array of colors, sizes, and shapes: little green striped ones from Thailand; “pea” eggplants the size of a grape from Southeast Asia; white walnut-sized European varieties; orange eggplants from Turkey—all will help you stay strong as a woman. Eggplant is a nightshade, related to tomatoes and potatoes, so some folks who have trouble with nightshades may have to avoid it, though this is pretty rare. Generally, eggplant is not compatible with yogurt, milk, melon, and cucumber.
How Many Husbands?
Shatavari root* (Asparagus racemosus) is the main Ayurvedic sexual rejuvenating tonic for women. The name means “hundred husbands,” so you can take the hint. This builder and balancer for the female reproductive organs is said to increase fertility and balance female hormones. The shatavari plant is a close cousin to the asparagus we eat as a vegetable, which has similar properties.
For mothers, this famous remedy increases breast milk, and for elders, it’s valuable in treating menopausal complaints, including hot flashes and vaginal atrophy. Cooling shatavari acts as a blood cleanser, assists the immune system, sharpens the intellect, and enhances digestion and physical strength. A recent study found that an Ayurvedic combination containing shatavari reduced stress effects substantially.
And it doesn’t stop there. Shatavari is a soothing treatment for dry or inflamed membranes of the lungs, stomach, kidneys, and sex organs. It’s often useful for dealing with bladder infection. Women in Asia begin using shatavari at puberty, and often take 1-2 grams per day for a lifetime to prevent disease. In many ethnic groups in Asia, menopausal complaints are almost unknown. If you missed the chance to start shatavari at age fourteen, and you are experiencing female hormonal symptoms (PMS, menstrual cramps, mood changes, menopausal hot flashes), you can safely use a much higher dose. Use it in capsules, and work up gradually to the dose that is effective, perhaps about 7 grams per day.
Ayurveda suggests preparing shatavari as a milk decoction (simmer in milk, strain), combined with ghee, raw sugar, and honey. Women can enjoy life at a level far beyond what most have learned to tolerate. Just make a start toward a yogic lifestyle and consistent health practices, and life can be a whole different ballgame. Happiness in all areas of your life, including the boardroom and bedroom, is your birthright. With five thousand years of experience in helping people stay happy, healthy, and sexy, Ayurveda can show you the way. And a little extra eggplant doesn’t hurt.
For his lifetime of study and his contributions toward the compilation and cataloguing of Yogi Bhajan’s teachings in herb technology, foods, and the healing arts, Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa is recognized as the Yogaraj Ayurvedic Herbalist in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan®. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, where he serves as Senior Research Scientist and Chief Medical Formulator for Yogi Tea. His recent book is The Way of Ayurvedic Herbs. Read his Yogi Blog at yogiproducts.com.
*Shatavari root is available from a-healing.com.
¹There are five tattvas or elements: earth, water, fire, air, and ether
²Plant hormones that regulate plant growth
Power Gems:
The Yoga of Gemstones©: The Luminescent Pearl
By Kudrat Kaur Khalsa, New Mexico, USA
Mystically, pearls symbolize moon, water, creativity, and the center of creation. In Indian mythology, pearls were thought to be heavenly dewdrops that fell into the sea and were caught by shellfish under the rays of the rising sun during a full moon. To the Chinese, pearls represent wealth, longevity, royalty, and honor.
Pearls are known to enhance and deepen meditation practice and are often referred to as “the royal warrior stone.” It is said that they bring a sense of protection to the wearer. Like other ocean stones influenced by the moon, pearls bring balance to the internal organs and calmness to the nervous system. In yogic philosophy, pearls are said to be helpful in aligning and strengthening the subtle body, allowing one to transition into a higher state of consciousness.
Pearls have been used as medicine in Europe and are ground and used in many medicines in the Orient. One can hardly walk into any modern drugstore without seeing a smorgasbord of beauty products containing crushed pearls, known to be excellent for the skin.
Natural pearls are formed by two particular species of shellfish, called pearl mollusks and pearl oysters, as an immune defense against irritants. When an irritant enters the fleshy part of the mollusk, the animal surrounds it with a secreted substance called nacre or ‘Mother of Pearl.’ Layers upon layers of nacre are deposited on the object, forming the pearl’s onion like structure. The rays of light and diffraction produce an overtone color called ‘orient.’ The finest pearls are oriental pearls which come from the Persian Gulf, and the oceans surrounding Australia and southern India.
The demand for pearls has led to their cultivation, particularly in Japan. Today high quality cultured pearls make up between eighty to ninety percent of the trade. Natural pearls and cultured pearls are very similar in appearance and hold many of the same healing properties. Cultured fresh and salt water pearls are more in demand, less expensive, and take less time to form than natural pearls. They are made by inserting mother of pearl along with a piece of tissue from the mantle of a pearl mollusk into another pearl mollusk. Cultured salt water pearls are produced in Australia and a few islands in the Pacific, where warmer waters and a larger mollusk permit the growth of larger pearls. Many of the fresh water pearls are found in the rivers of the Mississippi Valley.
Chemicals found in many cosmetics and perfumes can be damaging to your pearls. Excessive dryness or humidity in the air can also shorten the life and luster of the pearl. Since pearls are soft, putting them into a box can easily scratch them so you might want to keep them in a soft silk pouch or on your altar when not in use. When using them with other stones in your personal mala or jewelry, make sure they are strung with knots between them to prevent them from rubbing against each other (this will also insure that only one pearl will be lost if the string breaks).
The natural oil in your skin brings out the beauty, magnificence, and luster of your pearls. Whether you choose top of the line oriental pearls, cultured salt or fresh water pearls, or mother of pearl beads, they all offer many intriguing aspects in a beautiful array of colors.
Kudrat Kaur is affectionately known as "the mala lady" and can be found at her table full of beautiful malas at many 3HO events bazaars. She specializes in creating gemstone malas and teaches how to use them with mantra and meditation to enhance your personal projection and spiritual practice. To set up a workshop in your area, contact her at 505-747-8673 or [email protected]. View her custom mala designs at TheMalaShop.com.
A Woman of Wisdom: Marge Alpern, 89-year-old Kundalini Yoga Teacher
By Sat Shabd Singh (Dale Prentiss), Michigan
For many years, Marge Alpern wrote a monthly national gardening column. For most of her 89 years she’s lived in Michigan, 65 of them with her husband, Bob Alpern, who recently passed away. “Someone once said that we fulfilled each other’s neurotic needs,” she explains, probably something that could be worked into all wedding vows. She has raised four successful human beings, and has eight grandchildren.
Few knew, however, that over the past 40 years she’s developed into a devoted and serious yogini. It’s not the thing she would discuss with all of her friends or all of her relatives, but you can be sure that her students knew. She has spent long periods of time teaching Kundalini Yoga to inner-city fifth-graders, cancer patients, and suburban women. Marge has followed Yogi Bhajan’s direction to teach Kundalini Yoga wherever it is needed. Her only request now is that others continue spreading the teachings and technology that Yogi Bhajan brought to us.
Why Am I Here?
Marge attended her first Kundalini Yoga class during the early 70s at an ashram in the Detroit area. The class was taught by Guru Marka. “From the beginning,” she remembers, “I had many questions. What is an ashram? What is yoga? What is Kundalini? What kind of a name is Guru Marka? And why the turban? But the real question was why am I here in the first place?”
She would find the answer to that last question in New Mexico.
In June, 1971, Marge set off alone for New Mexico to attend a White Tantric Yoga® course, “whatever that was.” One of her clearest memories of that event was hearing Yogi Bhajan say to the group of about three hundred people gathered there, “The people who are here are here because they have to be.” Marge sensed then, at that moment, that this man, Yogi Bhajan, could answer many of her most important questions.
Yogi Bhajan taught Marge to become all she was capable of becoming. She learned that she needed herself more than she needed Yogi Bhajan. “I learned to trust myself,” she says, “and I learned to be strong. I remember hearing these words, ‘You have to grow, from the inside out. No one can teach you. No one can show you the way. There is no teacher but your own inner consciousness. A teacher can awaken only that which is already inside of you, and a teacher spoils everything if he thinks he is teaching.’”
Those first seven straight days of White Tantric Yoga® were very challenging, but Marge did the best she could to “keep up,” as Yogi Bhajan constantly urged them to do. The fact that everyone was on silence for the entire week made it an even more intense experience. But the silence was another challenge that Marge welcomed. “It was almost as challenging as the tantric itself. It was demanding, but fascinating. I came to realize that we all talk too much and also think too much. I found that the silence helped strengthen my resolve to keep up.”
Summer Solstice Sagas
Summer Solstice Sadhana in those days was more primitive than today. “The physical conditions of the camp were rather rough,” she recalls. “The showers and the toilets were clean and adequate but, shall we say, quite plain. The tent area was down a steep slope that became very slippery when it rained and was rather far from the main camp area. I must have been up and down that slope three or four times a day, and it was not easy terrain.”
It was worth the discomfort and the challenge, according to Marge, and she would attend 17 more Summer Solstice Sadhanas. “The teacher and the teachings were compelling,” she says, “and the energy of the sangat (spiritual community) was almost mystical. Here I was with several hundred strangers, in total silence, in a strange place, sharing, learning, and pursuing a totally new and different way of life. I knew, almost immediately, that I was embarking on a course that was going to change not just my life, but also my most inner self and that of the people with whom I was sharing this experience.”
Marge expresses a great deal of empathy for the mostly younger people who shared her early solstice experiences. It was a time of a crisis for many young Americans who had developed crippling drug addictions, often in a search for spiritual growth. “They were bright young people,” she says, who hoped to achieve higher consciousness through a healthier path. “They were very young and, all of a sudden, they were confronted by this scary situation and they recognized it to be an enormous problem. I wasn’t sure then,” she says, “but now it is clear to me that they were coming for the peace that they had found in drugs and hoped they would find in yoga.”
For some, though, “the yogic path was harder than they had anticipated.” Marge recalls that many of the young people suffered more than she did through the tantric days. One afternoon, she says, “my young partner was shaking so hard and obviously suffering with great pain. Respecting my silence and his, I wrote him a note offering to get him an aspirin. He put up his hands and shook his head as if to say, ‘I cannot take an aspirin.’” Even a single aspirin would send him back down the road to drug use.
This fear could serve a healthy purpose. Many attended the early solstices, says Marge, “out of fear of drugs. Today,” she continues, “in 2009, we are now seeing millions of people coming to yoga. Some are desperate. In the 70s, they wanted to get off drugs. Today, people are looking for ways to find inner silence, peace, security, and sanity, to get away from the craziness out there. Many people of all ages, who have led good lives, now are frightened by job insecurity, a shaky economy, a shocking decline in morals, a general tawdriness, or to use one of Yogi Bhajan’s phrases, ‘little reverence for each other or for life in general.’ No wonder people are looking to yoga.”
As soon as she finished her summer solstice experience, she would check into a Hilton Hotel in Santa Fe and call her husband to tell him what she’d learned. “Through the years, I found I really needed a few days of easy living, hot baths, and regular food before reentry to my normal life.” And despite the hardship, her annual trips to Summer Solstice “became the high point of my calendar; it renewed and strengthened my personal sadhana.”
The Power of Practice
Marge has kept up, to this day, with a personal sadhana that gets stronger over time. “I am in good health for someone my age,” she says, and that’s an understatement. It can be intimidating to sit next to this 89-year-old yogini at a yoga class; she has more stamina and strength than some people half her age. “I also believe that my daily sadhana and powerful meditation will help me experience a peaceful death by leading me into eternal silence,” she says. “That would be a real blessing and a great benefit from my years of practice.”
It wasn’t until she reached her eighties, says Marge, that she became truly aware of the lasting benefits of yoga. “Up until then I just felt like I was growing, getting stronger, having more energy to get out in the world. It is only in recent years,” she says, “as I’ve become old, that I feel a deep need for it for self-healing, and I lean on it very heavily. Every morning I try to do fifteen or twenty minutes on the floor. If I don’t do it, I’m sorry for the rest of the day. I meditate twice a day because I need it. Since March, I have been doing the 1,000 Day meditation with the recently distributed video entitled, ‘The Meditation for an Invincible Spirit.’ It certainly helps me.”
My Teacher: When He Spoke, I Listened
Yogi Bhajan, the invincible spirit who taught this and so many other meditations, was a guest at Marge’s home on a number of occasions, and she considers him to be her teacher. “As I come to the end of my life,” she says, “I want to pay tribute to the memory of Yogi Bhajan. When he spoke, I listened and I learned. From the very beginning, I felt he was speaking directly to me. His words still resonate through me. I feel honored and blessed to have been his student.”
It would be many years after her first solstice when she would first speak with him. She recalls telling him that she wasn’t yet ready for a spiritual name or any great commitment, and he told her to speak to him again when she was ready. “Several years later,” she says, “I just knew that I was ready. I wasn’t going to put on a turban, or even a bracelet, but the second time when I approached him, I said, ‘I know I am now ready and I would like you to please give me a spiritual name.’ He just smiled at me and he gave me the most beautiful name of all, I think. My name is Daya Kaur. He said that it means the compassionate one. And then he said, with another big smile, ‘The Daya Kaur is the one who brings the chicken soup to the village.’ I just loved that and I said to him, ‘Thank you very much for that special name, but I really don’t think I deserve it. I don’t think I’m nearly as compassionate as I should be.’ And he said to me, ‘You’re not, but maybe you can grow to be.’”
Marge understood that this was her path, the one thing above all that she must strive for, to be more compassionate. “It has been a treasure for me to carry inside of myself,” she says, “where I think these teachings belong and are most powerful. It is on that level that yoga does its magic. It helps me to explore my own inner spirit, how it grows, and how I listen to it. And, so I think it has great value. Thank you, again, Yogi Bhajan.”
Carrying the Banner On
One direction for her compassion has been in teaching Kundalini Yoga to those who would not otherwise have access to it. She began to take a new approach to teaching, moving beyond her small weekly group of suburban women, first to teach underprivileged urban young people, and then seriously ill cancer patients. In the early 1990s she started to teach a small group of elementary school children from a low-income area of Pontiac, Michigan. Once a week, for many years, she taught a small group of children selected by a teacher, a new group every year, each from broken homes or alcoholic families, children “starved for personal attention, if not love,” she says. “Most of them were receptive, excited, and quite attentive to whatever I was teaching.” They learned the value of tuning in and practicing basic Kundalini Yoga breathing exercises and postures—many of them animal poses. “But,” she notes, “it was the meditation lesson that I repeated almost verbatim at every class that really fascinated them.” Marge still remembers many of these children individually, and she displays drawings and other small gifts from them with a teacher’s pride.
One day an earnest little boy named Eric told her that he had to learn more about how to meditate because he was teaching his mother how to do it. He had to listen very closely to every word, he said, so he could say the same things every day to her. Marge will never forget the children who taught her that she was a yoga teacher.
She next taught at a Detroit-area home for terminally ill cancer patients, Gilda’s Club, once a week for five years. This cancer support center had originally been established by the local comedienne, Gilda Radner, herself a cancer victim. “By the time I was teaching there,” she says, “I felt quite experienced and could confidently adjust the teachings so that they would be appropriate, authentic, and helpful. These people had been disempowered and were really living in fear and desperation from one doctor’s appointment to the next. They were encouraged and comforted with anything they could do to help themselves to relieve the tension, open their bodies, and to breathe more deeply. This is something I felt I could do. I hope I helped some of them.”
Marge points to another huge group of people who desperately need the benefits of Kundalini Yoga: senior citizens. “There is a real need,” she says, with her youthful passion, “for a program for senior citizens. I don’t know whether their needs are being met very well. Our country is having a problem with the large population of people growing old. There is not a lot of respect or interest in old people, just a lot of concern for what’s going to happen.”
Marge is especially concerned about senior men, who in her view have a great need for Kundalini Yoga, but few ways to become connected with it. “Older men are dying of overwork and exhaustion. As a matter of fact, I know ten widows and two widowers. If the men could just be taught how to quiet themselves, relax, and open themselves to Universal energy, they would feel better. I remember Yogi Bhajan saying, ‘You just sit, and God will bring his bus to you.’ Doesn’t that just sound like him?”
“Men think they’re getting their exercise if they play golf or play tennis,” she says. “They think that because they are tired when they’re finished. And then, when the men retire, they totally fall apart. Many of them fall by the wayside and have a very hard time. Others stay in front of the computer or the television and are stooped over, often sound asleep. Doing yoga would lead to other things and help them regain a life. We want to show them that yoga does not mean sitting in a cave and meditating. Certainly, that is not what Yogi Bhajan taught us. He said to be strong, to keep up, to be tough, and work in the world. Another thing that Yogi Bhajan said that has been in my mind for many years is, ‘It’s not enough to just know it; you have to do it.’ This is an activist way of life.”
When Marge Alpern, also known as Daya Kaur, talks about an activist way of life, she knows what she’s talking about.
Sat Shabd Singh is a yogi, writer, historian, instructional designer, and Communications Manager for IntellinGen, Inc. In 1990 he earned a Ph.D. in U.S. History from Stanford University; in 2004 he completed Kundalini Yoga teacher training in India, and he is a member of IKYTA.
The Eleven Moon Centers of the Woman
By Jivan Joti Kaur Khalsa, Ph.D., New Mexico, USA
I was blessed to attend Women’s Camp for many years when Yogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga, taught classes one, two, and even three times a day. Those years of camps are priceless to me because he taught us so many things about being women that we had never heard before. He impressed upon us that women are 16 times more powerful and 16 times more intuitive than men. Being in a culture where women have always been treated as “less than,” he challenged us to believe that we could accomplish anything if we tapped into our intuition and divine power and to uplift and inspire all those in our lives.
Women are natural leaders—whether we are leading in the workplace or at home, as yoga teachers or in our spiritual communities. For this reason, he taught us that we need to intimately understand our nature as women. He encouraged us to delve deeply into our own psyches and understand our hidden agendas, our strengths, and our challenges. By doing so, we understand ourselves better and are more prepared to help and lead others.
Part of understanding ourselves as women lies in the recognition of our emotional tendencies. Yogi Bhajan taught that women are also 16 times more emotional than men, which if not channeled through Kundalini Yoga, meditation, diet, exercise, or some other uplifting practice, can be our downfall. We can become victims of our own insecurity and emotional commotions, creating much pain and misery for ourselves and others around us. But, being 16 times more emotional can also be channeled into being 16 times more sensitive. Kundalini Yoga and meditation are tools to transform our emotions into sensitivity and devotion. Examining our emotions as experienced in the Eleven Moon Centers can help us to understand these centers and know how to use them to become more contained, joyous, and effective women and leaders.
Do you ever feel like an emotional yoyo? One day you feel powerful, like you could accomplish anything, and the next day you feel insecure and unsure of yourself? You are not crazy. Yogiji gave us a useful understanding and technology to deal with these natural fluctuations: the ancient yogic teachings on the Eleven Moon Centers of the Woman.
The eleven Moon Centers are sensitive physical areas on the woman’s body which are responsive to lunar energies and affect how she deals with her everyday life. These Centers activate in her body in a 28-day cycle, for 2 ½ days at each location in the body. The sequence varies with each woman, but unless there is an emotional shock, it remains constant in her. The Moon Centers do not coincide with her menstrual cycle or zodiacal mood cycle. If a woman is sensitive to her body and emotional tendencies, she can be aware of and predict her own Moon Center cycle. Woman’s emotions will fluctuate as the Moon Centers change.
Arcline: When your hairline or arcline Moon Center is activated, you are at your best. You are outgoing, centered, authoritative, sensitive, all knowing, and neutral in your communication. You are the closest to your truth. You feel confident and self-assured. Things seem to flow and fall into place perfectly. This is a good time for anything, especially making important decisions, doing presentations, and working out relationships. Too bad it’s for only 2-1/2 days. But by knowing when these days are, we can make the best of them.
Navel Center: When the Moon Center in the navel or corresponding spot on the back of the spine is activated, security is the issue. If your Navel Center is weak, you will be insecure and very vulnerable to criticism. This is a good time to strengthen your Navel Center with Sat Kriya or Breath of Fire. It is also good time to keep a diary, chant loudly for 31 minutes, go to a funny movie, or keep silence. You may be sorry if you have a serious discussion during this time. If your Navel Center is overly strong, you could be intimidating, alienating, or aggressive.
Thighs: When the Moon Center is in the lower organs or the thighs, you will be very confirming, productive, and have a high energy level. All of the details which may slip during the rest of the month seem like they have to be done, almost to the point of obsession. You may find yourself making lists of all the projects you dreamed about during the month and not be happy until they are all completed.
Ear lobes: This is a time when you are the most analytical. You want to discuss values and what is important to you. It is a good time to work for a cause, join a political rally, or discuss what values you want to employ at work or at home. You need to be careful though, because you may be over critical of both yourself and others. It is not a good time to make final decisions.
Clitoris: When the Moon Center is in the clitoris, a woman is charming, talkative, sociable, and outgoing. This is a good time to wear a new dress to a party, make new friends, network, make telephone sales, or go to a meeting—anything in a social setting. You need to watch out for being cliquish by keeping your efforts inclusive and for the good of the whole. It is not a good time to balance your checkbook or figure out what is wrong in relationships at home or the workplace.
Vagina: When the Moon Center is in the vagina, you may have the tendency to be social, but it will have a deeper quality to it. You will want to connect in a more intimate way, perhaps with a small group of people or with one other person. Some women don’t want to be social at all. You may have feelings of emptiness and want to be alone. It is a good time to meditate, go within, and feel the Shuniya or zero-point. It is a good time to take a ‘time out,’ a break in the action, realizing that endings and beginnings are the same.
Back of the Neck: When it is at the back of the neck, you are very romantic, like Valentine’s Day for 2 ½ days. One flower can make you go crazy. You will take risks, be flirtatious and whimsical. It is a good time to try out new things; it is not a good time to make important decisions—the days when the Moon Center is in the arcline or thighs are better for that.
Breasts: When it is in the area of the breasts/nipples you are compassionate, heart-centered, intimate, and giving to the extent of foolishness. You may want to watch out for boundary issues, because you will have a harder time saying “no.” It is a good time to throw a party or visit an ill friend. It is not a good time to make important personal or business decisions.
Lips: When in the lips, a woman’s communication goes to the extremes. It can be either very effective or very ineffective. Your diet and spiritual practice are especially important at this time, to keep you in balance. If you tune into yourself, you can determine if it is a good time to speak up or to keep silent. Your words may uplift and inspire or alienate and destroy. You need to use your sensitivity and be cautious. If you feel insecure, angry, or resentful, it’s better to keep silent. If you feel expansive and heart-centered, it’s probably safe. If in doubt, be silent and meditate on more before speaking. During love-making, your lips may be very sensual.
Cheeks: The “pinks of the cheeks” can be a most dangerous time because this is the time you will have a tendency to be emotional, commotional, and out of control. This is a very important time to eat well, do yoga, meditate, and pray for God’s mercy. Don’t say anything or do anything that could alienate those in your important relationships. Just when you want to go out of control, you need to use your discipline to be in control. Most likely whatever you feel at this time is an illusion. It will pass. It’s not a good time to make important decisions.
Eyebrows: The Eyebrows are a most sensitive part of the woman’s body, because they are the most subtle part of the parasympathetic nervous system. When the Moon Center is in the eyebrows, you are very imaginative and illusionary. This is a good time to write a poem, play with a child, and brainstorm new ideas. It is a time of expansion, sowing seeds to sprout, and going beyond the ordinary. It is a good time to imagine a new business or plan of action. It is not a good time to make decisions or go on a shopping spree (you’ll buy out the store).
If you watch your diet, practice yoga and meditation, and maintain a positive attitude, you can observe your emotional tendencies at each Moon Center and not be a victim to them. You can study them to better understand your personality and then use them for your benefit. An added benefit is that stimulating your active Moon Center can be very sensually erotic in love-making.
How to Find and Chart the Moon Centers
Some women can sense which Moon Center is active without help. Except for the cheeks and navel, they are too subtle for me. I use a pendulum;¹ some people like using muscle-testing. If you don’t know how to do this, find someone to help you who does know.
First, make a list of all the Moon Centers. Touch the first one on your list with your non-dominant hand. Holding the pendulum with your dominant hand, ask if this is the Moon Center that you are presently in. Go down the list until you get a “yes,” and number it “1.” Next, ask which one is next, and go down the list until you get a “yes,” numbering it “2.” Continue down the list in the same way, asking which is next, until all of the Moon Centers have a number next to them from 1-11.
Next, chart your Moon Centers on a calendar. It’s useful to know what Moon Center is coming up during the week. Remember, you are in each Moon Center for 2 ½ days, so you have to find out which day you are in with this first Moon Center. To determine that, point to it on your list and ask if you are in the first half of the first day. If you get a “no,” then ask if you are in the second half of the first day, the first half of the second day, the second half of the second day, or the first half of the third day. When you get a “yes” then you know where to begin. Begin counting from there. For example, let’s say you are in the first half of the second day of lips. You will have 1 ½ days left of that Moon Center. Then, go to #2 on your list and count out 2-1/2 days for that one and continue with all of your Moon Centers—approximately 28 days. You can count out as many months as you want.
It can be very useful to keep a journal of your experiences in each Moon Center. Not every woman will be exactly the same. What I described are just tendencies. Yours may be slightly different. Do this with a friend or group. It could be a fun email support group; compare experiences. You can share this information with other women and with men as well if you like.
Jivan Joti Kaur Khalsa, Ph.D. (Counseling/Psychology) is a Level I and II Kundalini Yoga Teacher Trainer. She is a Level III Candidate in Sat Nam Rasayan and has written three books, The Art of Making Sex Sacred, Editions One and Two and Dying Into Life: The Yoga of Death, Loss and Transformation. This article was based on Chapter Three in The Art of Making Sex Sacred. She invites readers to email her with questions and share experiences. For copies of her book, a phone consultation, or to schedule a workshop in your area: [email protected]
¹Using a pendulum is not something taught by Yogi Bhajan
Meditation for Balancing the Moon Centers
(for women only)
This meditation balances the woman's moon centers, her menstrual cycle, and her zodiac moon cycle. It also balances the glandular system. It is one of the most creative and highest meditations for a woman. If practiced for 40 days or more, she can break any habit.
POSTURE: Lying on the stomach, place the chin on the ground, and keep the head straight. The arms should be along side the body, with the palms of the hands facing upwards.
MANTRA: The Panj Shabad, SAA-TAA-NAA-MAA, is the mantra used for this meditation.
Chant silently:
SAA: infinity, cosmos, beginning
TAA: life, existence
NAA: death, totality
MAA: rebirth, resurrection
EYES: The eyes are focused at the brow point. Meditate on the sound current coming in through the crown of the head and flowing out through the third eye point, creating an "L."
MUDRA: As you mentally repeat the vibration of SAA firmly press the tip of the index finger to the tip of the thumb; on TAA press the tip of the middle finger to the thumb; on NAA press the tip of the ring finger to the thumb; and on MAA press the tip of the little finger to the thumb. The breath will regulate itself. Continue in this manner from 3-31 minutes.
"The base of society ever was, is, and ever shall be woman. Therefore, each woman has to turn her own values towards gracefulness. She has to live it, and then she has to share those values with the coming generations. That is the only way we can change life from one generation to the next." ~ Yogi Bhajan
Art work 'The Chakras' by Mukhtiar Hector Cabo
Reprinted with permission from The Art of Making Sex Sacred
Aquarian Women
By Guru Amrit Hari Kaur Khalsa, Grade 12, Miri Piri Academy, India
Yogi Bhajan’s dream was to inspire people to learn and teach how to transition to the Aquarian Age with grace and ease. Our job as women in this Age is to be the support, to inspire people in the direction of a world that doesn't live in maya (illusion) or anger, but instead, a world that channels these energies to further our collective growth as human beings. The Aquarian woman is a woman who lives with strength, compassion, and grace, no matter the circumstances. These are the women we are trained to be.
We are living in a wild world, with every reason to want to give in and give up, but we also have the technology to get through it. I am only sixteen years old, but in the few years I have lived, I watched and learned from the graceful, successful women around me. They all seem fully aware and at ease, knowing that they are always taken care of. They have no doubt in their mind that what is meant to be will be. This attitude is so inspiring. It gives me faith that there is a change coming. The more women that live with this unwavering faith, the faster we will all achieve the mindset of the Aquarian Age. As more and more women stand up and take the responsibility to lead the world, we will start to see a difference in the people around us.
From the age of seven I have been living in a dorm full of Aquarian women. These strong women don’t believe in giving up or failure. One of my biggest inspirations was one of the senior students. She, along with every one else, went through her changes. She had a family that was less than supportive and other challenges that did not help her chances, but despite all, she became a leader of the student body and she pushed through her challenges with such grace—she made it look easy. She used Yogi Bhajan’s teachings to help her better understand herself and get through tough times without letting it become an excuse to slack off. She was my big sister and was always there for me.
This is the caliber of women that the coming Age needs. They will start to emerge more and more as we enter the Aquarian Age, to lead our communities and homes. These women are already around us, supporting us and pushing us forward to help us be the best people we can be. If we just take a minute to look around us, we will see them in the people closest to us: our mothers, sisters, and friends, strong and intuitive, ready to make a difference.
“It will fall on your shoulders to carry on the teachings, the practices and the practical. That day you will be very proud to be women. That day when you commit your character, dignity, divinity, and grace will bring you the total polarity: to be top priority in your life, and your purity will touch your heart. That is the way you will become a Khalsa woman and be the pride of the planet Earth. That will be the era of peace.” - Yogi Bhajan
Guru Amrit Hari Kaur Khalsa is the daughter of Guru Gun Gian Singh Khalsa and Sat Hari Kaur from Los Angeles, California. She has been a student at Miri Piri Academy since 2000, when she was seven years old, and is the Squad Leader for the Blue House girls.
Womanheart: Shaping the Leaders of the Aquarian Age
By Jai Inder Kaur, Arizona, USA
It’s that special pre-dawn time known by yogis as the Amrit Vela. A group of 39 women sit steadfast in meditation during another morning sadhana.
As they chant the Wahe Guru mantra, the stars, so clear in the Arizona desert sky, start giving way to a few golden rays of sunlight that glint over the red buttes in front of them. After several minutes of meditation, one of the women slowly opens her eyes and the beauty of the desert becomes as blinding as the glowing sun that illumines her face. She is moved to tears of joy and gratitude.
This beautiful scene set the stage for last year’s Womanheart retreat, “Meditation and the Mind of Woman,” nineteen years after its founder, Sangeet Kaur Khalsa, woke up with the title of the spiritual retreats in her mind on New Year’s Day of 1991.
During the two weeks that followed that morning, materials for the women’s course poured out of her in an almost magical stream of consciousness that stemmed from many long years of studying Kundalini Yoga, meditation, and women’s wisdom with Yogi Bhajan. "Womanheart is a state of being,” Sangeet says in her book Womanheart – Healing our Relationships, Loving Ourselves. “It is being kind and compassionate, courageous and conscious. It is a way of life, a path we as women walk—the way of excellence and grace.”
As a student of Yogi Bhajan since 1978, Sangeet heard many times of the importance of helping women walk such a path during the final years before the dawning of the Aquarian Age. “The pressures on us from this energy shift are growing, the stresses are accumulating, requiring us as women to achieve even more meditative calm and radiant leadership,” she said in a letter to last year’s Womanheart retreat participants.
Having worked for 25 years in New York as an executive of Fortune Top 50 corporations, Sangeet says her experiences in this stage of her life helped her realize the essential role women were to play as nations shifted out of the fear-filled Piscean Age. However, women need to lead as women, with the unique grace and ability for compassion God has given only to them. “For centuries men have been trained in leadership skills, but they could not deliver the world to peace and harmony, and certainly not by working alone,” Sangeet wrote in Womanheart. “Now it remains for us as women to also take up the lead—not as pseudo-men, but as women trained to lead from the heart as well as from the head, from compassion as well as from consciousness.”
An Atmosphere to Uplift and Heal
As Sangeet continued to gain experience as a Reiki Master Trainer, spiritual counselor, numerologist, and senior Kundalini Yoga teacher trainer, the course’s program evolved considerably. Last year’s course mixed numerology basics—10 energy bodies and the 3 minds—with simple Kundalini Yoga and meditation techniques to bring mental and emotional balance.
From leading everyone in spirited Breathwalk¹ to several releasing meditations while playing the symphonic gong, Sangeet immersed the women in healing experiences. Along with that, outdoor activities included hiking to petro glyphs, kayaking, and horseback riding as well as sumptuous vegan meals.
For many of the women, their experiences releasing old blockages were evident. Lilian Borges-Zeig, a first-time participant, said the gong sessions targeting traumas of the past helped her transform attitudes toward her mother, who had passed away five years before the retreat. “My mom came to me in a dream the night after the retreat,” Borges-Zeig said. “She hugged me and told me she was there for me. That was so powerful because in some ways I felt like I did not have a chance to really get to know my mom when she was alive.”
It is the opportunity to open up to a heart-to-heart connection with other women that has kept Jennifer Powell coming to the retreats year after year. It was also what prompted her to make the trip to Arizona from Texas to attend last year’s “Womanheart Spiritual Immersion” at Saguaro Lake, in the Superstition Mountains just East of Phoenix. “I look forward to feeling that sense of community, of camaraderie and sisterhood,” she said. “It is very uplifting and motivating; it’s the boost that I need for my own spiritual practice.”
Keeping Up
More than one-time, feel-good experiences, Womanheart was designed to bring lasting changes to women’s lives through Kundalini Yoga and meditation techniques. Jaap Kaur, who made a pledge to herself never to miss a retreat, said she comes to soulful realizations every course. During one specific retreat, she realized the power of mentally repeating the mantra Wahe Guru when in trouble. She was walking and tripped on someone’s sheepskin. “I was two-thirds of the way to the floor and, quickly chanting Wahe Guru under my breath, I immediately stopped falling,” she recalled.
Patricia Mindorff, who attended her first Womanheart retreat in the early 90s and returned again in 2008, said the numerology materials explaining about her soul’s purpose in this lifetime served as a supplement to her spiritual practice. “I love using the music and meditations specific for me and my birth numbers,” she said. “Each retreat was so impactful and helped me restructure my life in a meaningful way.”
“Some people wonder why so many women come back each year,” Sangeet notes. “And they ask me, 'Why? Didn't they get it?' And I tell them, ‘Yes, they did. That’s why they’re coming back'.” So whether you make it to Womanheart or not this time, Sangeet says, for mankind’s sake, keep up! As she often tells her students: “It's the inspiration and grace of women that help put the kind in mankind.”
Jai Inder Kaur (Amanda Soares) is a multimedia reporter covering the state Capitol for the political news service The Arizona Guardian. Originally from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Jai Inder is also a Kundalini yoga teacher and currently teaches kids and adults in both English and Spanish.
Sangeet Kaur Khalsa, founder of The Healing Source and Womanheart Retreats®, has been working as a numerologist and counselor since 1988. Her newest book, The Blessings Code, features her vast experience with the Starcode of Destiny™ numerology, a system based on ancient Indian numerology brought to the West by Yogi Bhajan. Sangeet is also a teacher trainer of Kundalini Yoga and a Reiki master trainer. Visit the Healing Source at www.healingsource.com or call 602.265.9096 for more information.
¹The science of combining breath patterns with walking and meditative attention
Looking Forward to Next Year’s Retreats
Last year’s October Womanheart Retreat drew 39 women from states around the country including Michigan, Texas, Alaska, Connecticut, and California. One woman drove all the way from Alaska to get to the retreat. Sangeet has scheduled two retreats in 2010. The first, in May, will be on sacred relationships. The second, in October, will focus on the subject of death and dying.
Reflections on Women’s Yoga Camp in Minnesota
By Patricia Guru Gopal Nolin, Minnesota, USA
Anyone living in “the northland” can tell you that the unpredictable weather is popular conversation amongst us Minnesotans, especially when planning an outdoor event. For our second annual Summer Solstice Women’s Yoga Camp, the forecast was for rain, but instead we enjoyed three glorious dry days of warm sunshine! This makes two Summer Solstice Women’s Camps in a row with perfect weather.
Women began arriving on Friday afternoon, looking for their tent sites. Some had never done yoga, others weren’t sure what brought them here, however a couple dozen women gathered together on forty acres of wooded land with a wildlife pond and island for camping. Each morning we rose early for sadhana (spiritual practice) to the gentle sound of a Tibetan singing bowl. The large garage had been converted into a beautiful sanctuary where yoga classes were held three times a day. We had palm reading, mehndi art,¹ and EFT training.² We chanted Narayan, ate delicious vegetarian food, read aloud, relaxed in hammocks, and went swimming at a nearby lake.
On Saturday we gathered for yoga class on the grass under a tree. We chanted Wahe Guru for 11 minutes, and the music during our deep relaxation came from the song birds and the gentle breezes moving through the trees.
The final night we danced around a campfire with bells, drums, and rattles, and sang and chanted under the stars to high energy Bhangra music. It was a freeing moment; everyone dressed in festive scarves and flowing skirts, and the energy was unbridled and free-spirited. Over the course of the weekend stories emerged of pain, fear, and frustrations held for years in their bodies. Many of the women found they were now ready to make changes in their lifestyles, in their communication styles, and in how they were relating to their spiritual path. When it was time to leave, there was not a dry eye anywhere. We hugged and hugged again with open hearts; love filled the whole place. The uncertainty evident on some faces when arriving, had turned into full and beautiful smiles as we parted.
Yogi Bhajan came to America to train Aquarian Age teachers so that we may teach others to move into this new Age with grace and wisdom. We need to embrace the changes that are coming our way, embrace our fears and disillusionment, and stand in the light of God. Yogi Bhajan was felt to be very present at our gathering, leading each step of the way.
The Minnesota Summer Solstice Yoga Camp began with a dream when it became difficult to travel to New Mexico for Solstice gatherings. (For many of us the time away from our work and financial considerations kept us away.) I shared this vision with my brother who suggested we gather on his property. Thank you Bill Rodgers, for allowing us to take over your beautiful property for Solstice. Also, thank you everyone who so graciously pitched in to help whenever necessary. Next year, 2010, we gather again under the full force of a Solstice sun to work on the “Fire” element, “The Spiritual Warrior.”
Comments from SSWYC:
“I don’t know what really brought me to camp. I had been living in a very abusive relationship, and by the end of camp I had made the decision to leave it. I felt clear and without fear. It changed my life!”
“I didn’t know what people do at Summer Solstice camp but I wanted to meet some powerful women and to be open to new experiences. It was wonderful and I will be back next year with friends.”
“I have never chanted before. I loved it! I am very grateful that I chose to attend this life-changing event.”
Patricia Guru Gopal Nolin resides in Duluth, Minnesota, where she teaches Kundalini Yoga. She owns White Dharma, a clothing company that provides natural hand-made clothing for yoga and casual wear. A new collection, Boho Love, carries eclectic, colorful pants and turbans. If you are interested in attending the 2010 Summer Solstice Women’s gathering in Minnesota, or to order clothing visit whitedharma.net or call 218.525.2544.
¹Temporary body art using henna
²‘Emotional Freedom Technique’
Salt Lake City Sunflower Seed Sauce
Salt Lake City, Utah, is the center of Mormon country, and in the 1970s, a 3HO ashram was thriving there. We practiced Kundalini Yoga and everyone did morning sadhana together in the ambrosial hours. We had a cleaning business in which many of us worked. We sincerely tried to ‘live for each other’ but, as you know if you’ve tried it, it often felt like we were living ‘at’ each other, bumping into each other’s egos at every turn. It was like trial by fire, as we were being polished and honed by ashram life and transformed by the technology of Kundalini Yoga.
Each week we set up the requisite karma yoga chart, signing up for various household tasks, including the preparing of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I always did a good share of the grocery shopping and cooking.
Over the years, members of the ashram came and went, but those who are still part of our Dharmic family remember the scrumptious and healthy Sunflower Seed Sauce we made to pour on top of mixed steamed vegetables and Basmati rice, one of our standard weekly dinners. We also used it as a hearty salad dressing.
I remember making the biggest pot of steamed vegetables you can imagine, whether it was for six or sixteen people. New vegetarians are often concerned about getting enough food. We steamed lots of broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, potatoes, carrots, yams, onions, and whatever else was in season.
Sunflower Seed Sauce
I don’t recall who invented this recipe; I know I didn’t create it. The ingredients are approximate and require some experimentation until you get it the way you like it best.
Ingredients:
1 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds (you can add or substitute sesame seeds – raw
unhulled sesame seeds are a great source of high quality calcium)
Juice of 1-2 lemons
1 garlic clove
Sea salt, Bragg’s aminos, or Tamari to taste
Fresh ground black pepper
1 - 2 cups water
1 – 3 tablespoons of your favorite healthy oil (I use olive) (optional)
This recipe makes about 3 cups of sauce.
Put everything in the blender except the olive oil, and blend until smooth. If it’s too thin, add the oil. If it’s too thick, add more water. Taste it, add salt if needed, and adjust everything to your liking. For gourmet variations, try adding onion, parsley, cilantro, jalapenos, or roasted garlic…how about sun dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers? Back in the 70s, we loved it just plain, perhaps you will, too!
Submitted by Guru Tera Kaur Khalsa, Aquarian Times Managing Editor, New Mexico, USA
Disclaimer
Meditation to Develop the Power of Prakirti
"This breath will relax you very quickly, so keep your spine very straight, and don't fall asleep. It is not a small exercise. Test your grit. Hammer the breath in and out very powerfully, keeping a rhythm. Feel you are riding a horse after a while, and begin to move your spine a bit with the rhythm of the breath. This is one of the most powerful cleansing breaths you can do. Open up and use your diaphragm. It is important to keep the spine straight, because otherwise your body can go into spasms.
“Remember one thing in life: that as a woman you are a Prakirti¹-all will come to you. Your powers are reduced by emotional nonsense, commotional thinking, and spaced out fantasy, which is never a reality.
“If you contain yourself and you are content, you will continue in life as the most successful in business, at home, and in life. You are here to represent and reflect the light of the sun. As the moon in the Heavens is cool and flexible, waxes and wanes, but is there to reflect the sunshine to the Earth, that is your criteria. For that achievement of that character of yours, we are doing this very simple exercise." ~ Yogi Bhajan
PART I
Mudra: Sit with a very straight spine. Grasp the elbows in front of the chest; the right hand grasps the left elbow from below, while the left forearm lies on top of the right forearm, and grasps the right elbow.
Breath: Make an "0" of the mouth, and in a very fast, short, and powerful sip, drink in the breath. Then through the same "0," blow the air out very fast. Make it a rhythmical in and out breath. Use the power of the diaphragm. As you get into the rhythm of it, you can use the mantra Sat as you inhale, and Naam as you exhale. Powerfully hammer the breath in and out, and begin to slightly move the spine in rhythm with the breath.
Eyes: Unspecified.
Time: 7 minutes.
To end: Inhale deep, tighten the grip across the chest, and tighten the ribcage. Hold 10-15 seconds. Cannon fire the breath out through the mouth powerfully. Inhale a second time. Squeeze your ribcage a second time, and hold 10-15 seconds. Exhale. A third time, hold and squeeze for 10-15 seconds. Relax.
PART II
Sing along with the song Nobility.²
"Those who have really done it for these seven minutes must be in ecstasy. Those who have even cheated for two or three minutes will still have enjoyed it. Those who just sat there and never did a thing are still blessed because their companions were doing their work."
Nobility
Noble is a virtue of the presence of God.
Greatest virtue that can be expressed.
Noble through every one, whatever they may be.
Before the one God equality.
Noble is a virtue that affects every Soul,
As innocence affects the heart.
Woman has one virtue to be noble till death.
Living nobly is very blessed.
Living your Truth is happiness.
A noble woman gives birth to a noble life.
Noble children and surroundings be.
A noble woman looks and lives nobility
Even if she lives in poverty.
And like a mirror distorted when it is cracked,
Noble habits are a noble life.
Don't barter character values for benefits,
Noble one of God does not forget.
¹ The basic nature of intelligence by which the Universe exists and functions; primal motive force; the essence of matter, that aspect of the Absolute which underlines all the objective aspects of Nature
² Cassette is available through a-healing.com. An alternate version, “Living Your Truth,” can be found on the CD, Blessings of a Woman at spiritvoyage.com.
Sahibi Kriya to Master your Domain
When you control your domain you act from the center of your being. In the realm of mind it means you can hold and project an important thought. In the realm of body it means you are able to circulate blood from the core to the outlying limbs and glands. This kriya gives you that command in both realms. The deep muscular tension released through these exercises enables the blood to flow freely to all parts of the body, feeding the cells with oxygen and nutrients, and flushing the body of toxins and the byproducts of normal metabolism.
- Lie on the back with the feet together. Flex the feet toward the head.
- Make a firm circle of the mouth and begin Breath of Fire through the mouth.
- Continuing with Breath of Fire, raise the legs straight up to 90 degrees and lower them to the ground keeping the feet and toes flexed and the knees straight. Move rhythmically with the breath for 5 minutes. Inhale and hold the legs up briefly. Slowly lower the legs to the ground as you exhale.
- Resume the exercise raising alternate legs to 90 degrees. Breathing in the same manner, move rapidly for 2 minutes.
- This is a two-part exercise done in Cow Pose.
- First extend alternate legs up and back as high as possible. Begin Breath of Fire through the circled mouth raising and lowering the legs rapidly in rhythm with the breath. Continue for 4 minutes.
- Remain on the hands and knees. As you raise the right leg up and back, simultaneously extend the left arm straight out in front of the body. Lower them and raise the opposite arm and leg. Continue alternating the arms and legs, moving rhythmically with Breath of Fire through the circled mouth for 2 minutes. Inhale, exhale, and relax onto the heels.
- Come into Frog Pose. Squat down on the toes, knees wide apart. Heels are touching, and raised up off the ground. Place the fingertips on the ground between the knees. The face is forward. Inhale as you raise the hips up, keeping the fingertips on the ground, heels up, knees locked. Exhale down, face forward, knees outside of arms. Continue moving rhythmically and rapidly
52 times. - Sit in Easy Pose with the navel pulled in and chest out. Tuck the chin in to form a straight line from the base of the spine to the top of the head and lock yourself in this posture. Extend your arms up to 60 degrees with the palms facing each other. Keep the arms straight with no bend in the elbows.
Inhale and extend the arms up to 90 degrees, then exhale and lower the arms to 60 degrees. Continue for 5 minutes taking one complete breath every 2 seconds. The recording of Jaap Sahib by Ragi Sat Nam Singh is used. Extend the arms straight up to 90 degrees on the first accented beat—Namastang or Namo, then back down to 60° on the second beat. Do not move at all during musical phrases. Do this as a perfect drill through verse 28 ( Chaachree Chand). Move in perfect rhythm with the music. To end, inhale, exhale and relax.
Physically this exercise stimulates the heart circulatory system and glandular system. It works powerfully on the mental realm as well, training you to concentrate and gain control of your mind and 'sahibi' or control over your domain.
- Remain in Easy Pose. Breathe long and deep and meditate to the music for 5 minutes. (The song Himalaya by Sat Peter Singh was played in the original class. You can select any uplifting and relaxing 3HO music.)
- Lie down on the back with the legs crossed at the ankles and hands crossed over the heart. Relax in this position and breathe long and deep for 5 minutes. (The song Promises by Sat Peter Singh was played in the original class. Select any uplifting and relaxing 3HO music.)
This exercise is said to help correct menstrual irregularities.
¹ Available in cassette at a-healing.com. An alternate version by Sat Nirmal Kaur is available at spiritvoyage.com
© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan
Fire Kriya: 2010 Meditation
Beginning in 2008, we entered a 5-year sequence, featuring the tattvas so that we could balance them as we entered the Aquarian Age together. This year we are exploring the Fire Tattva. The Fire Kriya shown below creates tapa (internal “heat”) which purifies so that your energy is clear, your body fit, and your eyes bright. In the spring of 1978, Yogi Bhajan said that the Fire Kriya, “is a powerful, absolutely sacred, secret meditation. It will take you as far as you take it.”
Click here to read more about the Fire Tattva.
View Fire Kriya in:
English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish
Posture: Sit straight in a meditative posture with neck lock.
Eye Focus: Eyes are closed except for small slit to let in some light (99% closed).
Mudra: Reverse Finger Lock—interlace the fingers so that both the fingers and the palms point toward the chest. Keep the fingers as straight as you can; bring the fingers together so that the pads of the fingers are touching. Right index finger on top; left little finger on bottom, the thumb tips touch lightly.
The mudra is held with the elbows at natural shoulder level so that the fingers point toward the body, at the level of the throat, above the heart. The shoulders should feel relaxed as you keep the elbows, forearms and hands parallel to the ground.
Mantra: Inhale deeply and chant four times on the breath in a steady tone.
Sat naam sat naam sat naam sat naam sat naam sat naam whaa-hay guroo
Click here to purchase and download the Fire Mantra ($5 US).
Produced and Engineered by Ram Dass Khalsa, Narayan Khalsa, and Simrit Kaur
Written by Simrit Kaur, Jai Dev Singh, Ram Dass Khalsa
Arranged by Simrit Kaur, Jai Dev Singh, Ram Dass Khalsa, Narayan Khalsa
Vocals: Simrit Kaur, Jai Dev Singh
Percussion: Ramesh Kannan
Keyboards: Ram Dass Khalsa
Mastered at Epiphany Studios by Ram Dass Khalsa and Narayan Khalsa
Time: 11-31 minutes.
Originally, the practice was given through number of cycles. That is, practice this for 108 breath cycles. You can practice longer if you gradually increase in increments of 27 breaths.
You can also start with 27 breaths and perfect the mantra and concentration before progressing to the full 108 cycles.
Comments: This kriya's powerful tapas will elevate, purify, and empower you and your victory in excellence.
“It is a powerful, absolutely sacred, secret meditation. It will take you as far as you take it.”
~Yogi Bhajan
© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan
Celebración del Solsticio de Verano 2010
Únete a la Comunidad Mundial de Yoga Vivo para celebrar el Solsticio Veranal en el hermoso norte de Nuevo México con el poder del Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan® y White Tantric Yoga®.
Junio 17-26 incluye 5 días de Kundalini Yoga, el Congreso de Maestros IKYTA, Día Internacional de Oración por la Paz, Sadhana diario, ¡y más!
Junio 22 - 24 incluye 3 días de White Tantric Yoga®
Maestros confirmados (y muchos más por venir):
Gurucharan Singh, Oregon, USA
Gurmukh Kaur, California, USA
Gurudhan Singh, California, USA
Guru Singh, California, USA
Harijiwan Singh, California, USA
Krishna Kaur, California, USA
Nirvair Singh, New Mexico, USA
Intérpretes de Sadhana confirmados:
Cheri Kala Jatha, India and New Mexico, USA
GuruGanesha Singh, Virginia, USA
Mata Mandir Singh, New Mexico, USA
Mirabai Ceiba, Mexico and USA
Prabhu Nam Kaur, California, USA
Sat Purkh Kaur, New Mexico, USA
Snatam Kaur, New Mexico, USA
Inscríbete
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Celebración del Solsticio de Verano 2010
Únete a la Comunidad Mundial de Yoga Vivo para celebrar el Solsticio Veranal en el hermoso norte de Nuevo México con el poder del Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan® y White Tantric Yoga®.
27 de junio – 4 de julio en las Montañas Jemez del norte de Nuevo México, EE.UU.
Comparte y gana con mujeres de todas partes del mundo creando juntas el Campamento Internacional de la Mujer 2010: Viviendo las Enseñanzas con Compasión. La compasión se comprende como el resultado directo de una bondad intensa y permanente hacia uno mismo, al igual que una no dualidad tan profunda que muy sencilla y naturalmente hace que uno se extiende hacia los demás en un gesto humano de honestidad, bondad y genuinidad.
“La única cosa bella que te hace humano es la compasión.” ~ Yogui Bhajan
Maestras confirmadas (y muchas más por venir):
Deva Kaur, Florida, USA
Dev Suroop Kaur, New Mexico, USA
Ek Ong Kar Kaur, New Mexico, USA
Kirin Kaur, New Mexico, USA
Krishna Kaur, California, USA
Pritpal Kaur, New Mexico, USA
Siri Gian Kaur, New Mexico, USA
Músicas confirmadas (y muchas más por venir):
Dev Suroop Kaur, New Mexico, USA
Sat Purkh Kaur, New Mexico, USA
Snatam Kaur, New Mexico, USA
Cliquea aquí para el horario de ‘Las Tardes con Yogui Bhajan’.
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Fire Kriya: 2010 Meditation
Beginning in 2008, we entered a 5-year sequence, featuring the tattvas so that we could balance them as we entered the Aquarian Age together. This year we are exploring the Fire Tattva. The Fire Kriya shown below creates tapa (internal “heat”) which purifies so that your energy is clear, your body fit, and your eyes bright. In the spring of 1978, Yogi Bhajan said that the Fire Kriya, “is a powerful, absolutely sacred, secret meditation. It will take you as far as you take it.”
Click here to read more about the Fire Tattva.
View Fire Kriya in:
English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish
Posture: Sit straight in a meditative posture with neck lock.
Eye Focus: Eyes are closed except for small slit to let in some light (99% closed).
Mudra: Reverse Finger Lock—interlace the fingers so that both the fingers and the palms point toward the chest. Keep the fingers as straight as you can; bring the fingers together so that the pads of the fingers are touching. Right index finger on top; left little finger on bottom, the thumb tips touch lightly.
The mudra is held with the elbows at natural shoulder level so that the fingers point toward the body, at the level of the throat, above the heart. The shoulders should feel relaxed as you keep the elbows, forearms and hands parallel to the ground.
Mantra: Inhale deeply and chant four times on the breath in a steady tone.
Sat naam sat naam sat naam sat naam sat naam sat naam whaa-hay guroo
Click here to purchase and download the Fire Mantra ($5 US).
Produced and Engineered by Ram Dass Khalsa, Narayan Khalsa, and Simrit Kaur
Written by Simrit Kaur, Jai Dev Singh, Ram Dass Khalsa
Arranged by Simrit Kaur, Jai Dev Singh, Ram Dass Khalsa, Narayan Khalsa
Vocals: Simrit Kaur, Jai Dev Singh
Percussion: Ramesh Kannan
Keyboards: Ram Dass Khalsa
Mastered at Epiphany Studios by Ram Dass Khalsa and Narayan Khalsa
Time: 11-31 minutes.
Originally, the practice was given through number of cycles. That is, practice this for 108 breath cycles. You can practice longer if you gradually increase in increments of 27 breaths.
You can also start with 27 breaths and perfect the mantra and concentration before progressing to the full 108 cycles.
Comments: This kriya's powerful tapas will elevate, purify, and empower you and your victory in excellence.
“It is a powerful, absolutely sacred, secret meditation. It will take you as far as you take it.”
~Yogi Bhajan
© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan
The Power of a Noble Woman
Excerpts from ‘Virtue of Virtues,’ a lecture by Yogi Bhajan, July 2, 1978, Khalsa Women’s Training Camp (KWTC)
To be very honest with you, a woman who is not a noble woman and who does not talk through her radiance, is not a woman. The greatest decoration a woman can have is nobility. She should not only look noble, she should live nobly. Nobility is a virtue and it is a living virtue. Some people think if they know manners, can talk mannerly, and act and pretend to be noble, they are noble. No, nobility is character in a woman. A noble woman will give birth to noble environments. A noble woman will give birth to nobility in all areas of life.
The sign of nobility is that it has a deep effect in relationship with any person one comes across. They say nobility is a virtue which affects every soul. It is a virtue which affects every soul just as innocence affects every heart. Woman has only one virtue: she is noble in the beginning and noble until her death. People do hanky-panky along the way, thus they pollute their virtue of nobility. If nobility is ever precious to a person, that person will never, ever put himself or herself down the tube for any reason, for any argument, concept, thought, or feeling whatsoever. Because nobility is like a mirror; once a crack is in it, the entire image is distorted. Noble habits, noble language, noble behavior, noble posture, and a noble way of communication are so powerfully impressive that even an enemy's heart can be melted.
The soul is always noble. When the mind relates to the soul, the mind becomes noble. When the body relates to such a mind, the body becomes noble. Nobility is the outcome of divinity in equilibrium.
Nobility is the foundation of every grace. Somebody once asked, "Define a noble person." The definition came and the answer was: "Noble is noble in the beginning, in the end, and remains noble through time and space, beyond and within. There is no area which is left. Nobility is a virtue; it is a fountain from which grace springs."
Nobility is cultivated only when one consciously relates to one's spirit and flow of the soul and one feels the total divinity within. It is a manifestation of divinity. Nobility takes one away from temptation, anger, lust, greed, unvirtuous and unrighteous living. It gives one a qualifying factor to impress everybody without impressing. That is the beauty of nobility. The way one talks, walks, sees, deals, serves, and gets served is a total sum of one's living behavior. There is a tremendous flow of spirit in a noble person. A noble person is a very powerful individual.
Everyone must remember that there are certain characteristics of a noble person, a noble woman. A noble person is noble through all time and space. A noble person is constant and consistent whatever the time and space. Some people behave differently with rich relatives as compared to poor relatives. That is not nobility. Nobility teaches one equality before God. So under any circumstances, one can find a noble person through their constant behavior which is absolute in equilibrium through all pressures and all shortcomings. That is one great sign. Constant continuity of equilibrium of any kind of behavior is the first sign of a noble person. A noble person is one who will not barter, who is not even tempted to barter, the values of character for benefit. Noble people are those who will not forget the presence of God within a person. And most importantly a noble person is a dedicated person, like the Infinity of God. God is Infinity. There is no shortcut, and people who try to shortcut will always end up adopting ignoble ways and means. It requires an infinite endurance to live within the range and the circumstances of one's nobility.
Student question: What can a woman do to protect her nobility during social and political changes?
Reply: In social and political changes, a woman must understand that whenever a woman becomes power hungry she becomes a monster. The Chinese dragon is a monster. It is a very beautiful view of such women who instead of flowing with the flow of noble tradition, become possessive monsters. I have seen in practical life, a noble mother becoming a possessive monster and ruining the future of her children because of her social, psychological, and personal handicaps. There is nothing more noble than the relationship of the mother, but in that same relationship, she becomes a destructive monster when she becomes possessive. A mother becomes possessive because of her social, economical, and personal handicaps.
Nobility has many, many facets and many, many virtues. It can be done in many, many ways. But nobility need not be ordained by the king touching a two-edged sword to your shoulder. All those rituals and things were ceremonial. Basically, nobility is the living character of dignity and divinity in a person. Nobility walks in one as dignity and divinity. We have to be noble because the time is going to test us. Times are going to be very negative. Therefore, it is my humble request and prayer that we must not let go of our devotional nobility of character, behavior, and personality and revert to our basic personality.
Student question: You said that nobility is like a mirror; when it is cracked it distorts the image. If one appears ignoble in front of a person, will one's nobility be distorted forever in the eyes of that person?
Reply: It may get healed but there shall be a scar. Nobility is like a trust; once it is broken, one has to rebuild it. It is like a credit report, therefore it is not very fair to discredit yourself.
Student question: What if our parents are not noble?
Reply: Forgive them.
Student question: Our forgiving is our way to be noble?
Reply: Yes. If one won't forgive the parents, one is not going to act nobly, because then one acts in vengeance.
Student question: What is an example of how to react in a noble way when people ridicule and slander you?
Reply: Have you not seen me acting? I am the most slandered person in the United States of America. The noble way to act towards a slanderer is to ignore him. It is the greatest punishment one can award to anybody.
Student question: If someone is walking down the street and someone yells out a name, does that mean one shouldn't react at all?
Reply: Do you know how bad you feel if someone doesn't even look at you? You should not lose your merits in contrast to someone's demerits.
Student question: How do we handle it when our personal friends resent it when we act nobly?
Reply: When a dog is on a chain, and the master walks with him in the street, all the stray dogs start barking. The only lesson we can learn from that is to keep going. Ignoble people will act very aggressively toward noble people, because they want to test whether they are really noble or are phony. The insecure person will always try to make a secure person insecure to test his security. That is the law.
Student question: Is there a difference between being noble and being true?
Reply: Truthfulness has three virtues: individual truth, circumstantial truth, and Infinite Truth. Nobility has only one virtue; it is true now, it is true ever, and ever it shall be true.
©1978 The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan
Nobility: The Song of the Noble Woman
By Dev Suroop Kaur Khalsa, New Mexico, USA
Excerpted from I am a Woman, p. 36-37
In all those wonderful years with Yogi Bhajan at Women's Camp, singing was a common thread. He would arrive at the Big Top to give a lecture and, invariably, we would end up singing. We were taught to use singing as a meditation, an antidote to depression, to inspire and reach people, to build and sustain the spirit of a nation. We practiced how to sing from a place of inspiration and joy; we were encouraged to sing with conviction and strength. He said that singing songs would bring a woman to her grace, strength, purity, and destiny.
"Make the songs, make the music. Reach every heart. Open up every heart. Bring to the consciousness of the people the message of tranquility, grace, nobility, and peace. " ~ Yogi Bhajan, Summer 1984
There were many songs that defined Women's Camp. The one that we all probably remember the most—and sang most regularly—was Noble Woman. Here are the words to that most noble song, Nobility: The Song of the Noble Woman. We hope these words continue to uplift you to your highest destiny, so that you can deliver the radiance and the grace of the noble woman to your daughters and their daughters and all those who come after you.
Nobility: The Song of the Noble Woman
Lyrics taken from a lecture by Yogi Bhajan, music by Wahe Guru Kaur
Noble is a virtue of the presence of God,
Greatest virtue that can be expressed.
Noble to everyone whoever they may be
Before the One God, equality.
Chorus:
Noble is a virtue that affects every soul, as innocence affects the heart.
Woman has one virtue, to be noble 'til death. Living nobly is very blessed.
Living your truth is happiness.
A noble woman gives birth to a noble life.
Noble children and surroundings be.
A noble woman looks and lives nobility.
Even if she lives in poverty.
(Chorus)
And though a mirror's distorted when it is cracked,
Noble habits build a noble life.
Don't barter character values for benefits.
Noble one of God does not forget.
(Chorus)
Nobility is manufactured inside,
Training of exerting self-esteem.
To see herself confirms a virtuous face,
Selfless living grace through time and space.
(Chorus)
El poder de una mujer noble
Extractos de "Virtud de virtudes", una conferencia de Yogi Bhajan, 2 de julio de 1978, de Campamento de Formación de la Mujer Khalsa (KWTC)
Para ser muy franco, una mujer que no es una mujer noble y que no habla a través de su resplandor, no es una mujer. La mayor decoración que puede tener una mujer es la nobleza. Ella no sólo debería parecer noble, sino debe vivir noblemente. La nobleza es una virtud y es una virtud viviente. Algunas personas piensan que si conocen las costumbres, que si saben hablar con educación, y actuar y fingir ser nobles, que son nobles. No, la nobleza es el carácter de una mujer. Una mujer noble dará a luz a los ambientes nobles. Una mujer noble dará a luz a la nobleza en todos los ámbitos de la vida.
El signo de la nobleza es que tiene un efecto profundo en relación con cualquier persona con quien se encuentra. Dicen que la nobleza es una virtud que afecta a todas las almas. Es una virtud que afecta a todas las almas tal como la inocencia afecta a todos los corazones. La mujer sólo tiene una virtud: ella es noble en el principio y noble hasta su muerte. Las personas hacen chanchullos a lo largo del camino, por lo que contaminan su virtud de la nobleza. Si alguna vez la nobleza es preciosa para una persona, esa persona nunca jamás se iría a pique por ninguna razón, por argumento, concepto, pensamiento o sentimiento alguno. Debido a que la nobleza es como un espejo, una vez que éste tiene una grieta, se distorsiona toda la imagen. Los hábitos nobles, el lenguaje noble, el comportamiento noble, la postura noble y una manera noble de comunicarse son tan poderosamente impresionantes que incluso el corazón de un enemigo puede ser derretido.
El alma es siempre noble. Cuando la mente se relaciona con el alma, la mente se hace noble. Cuando el cuerpo se relaciona con una mente de este tipo, el cuerpo se hace noble. La nobleza es el resultado de la divinidad en equilibrio.
La nobleza es el fundamento de toda gracia. Alguien preguntó una vez, "Cuál es la definición de una persona noble". Llego la definición y la respuesta fue: "Noble es noble en el principio, al final, y sigue siendo noble a través del tiempo y el espacio, fuera y dentro. No hay ninguna zona donde no está. La nobleza es una virtud, es una fuente de la cual brota la gracia".
La nobleza se cultiva sólo cuando uno se relaciona conscientemente con su espíritu y la corriente del alma y se siente en sus adentros la divinidad total. Es una manifestación de la divinidad. La nobleza saca uno de la tentación, la ira, la lujuria, la avaricia, de una vida sin virtud e injusta. Le da a uno un factor de calificación para impresionar a todo el mundo, sin impresionar. Esa es la belleza de la nobleza. La forma en que uno habla, camina, ve, se ocupa, sirve, y se sirve es una suma total de la propia conducta de vida. Hay una enorme corriente de espíritu en una persona noble. La persona noble es una persona muy poderosa.
Todo el mundo debe recordar que hay ciertas características de una persona noble, una mujer noble. Una persona noble es noble en todo tiempo y espacio. Una persona noble es constante y coherente sea cual sea el tiempo y el espacio. Algunas personas se comportan de manera distinta con los parientes ricos que con los parientes pobres. Esa no es nobleza. La nobleza enseña una igualdad ante Dios. Así que, en cualquier circunstancia, se puede encontrar a una persona noble a través de su comportamiento invariable, que es absoluto en su equilibrio a pesar de todas las presiones y todas las deficiencias. Esa es una gran señal. La continuidad constante de equilibrio de cualquier tipo de comportamiento es el primer signo de una persona noble. Una persona noble es aquella que no hace trueques, que ni siquiera tiene la tentación de hacer trueques, de los valores del carácter por ventaja. Los nobles son los que no se olvidan de la presencia de Dios dentro de una persona. Y lo más importante, una persona noble es una persona dedicada, como el infinito de Dios. Dios es infinidad. No hay un atajo, y las personas que tratan de tomar un atajo siempre terminan adoptando formas y medios innobles. Se requiere una resistencia infinita para vivir dentro de la gama y las circunstancias de la propia nobleza.
Pregunta de una estudiante: ¿Qué puede hacer una mujer para proteger su nobleza durante los cambios sociales y políticos?
Respuesta: En los cambios sociales y polítocos, la mujer debe entender que cuando una mujer se hace ávida por el poder, se convierte en un monstruo. El dragón chino es un monstruo. Se trata de una hermosa vista de esas mujeres que en lugar de fluir con la corriente de noble tradición, se convierten en monstruos posesivos. He visto en la vida práctica, una madre noble convertirse en un monstruo posesivo que termina arruinando el futuro de sus hijos, debido a sus propios dificultades sociales, psicológicos y personales. No hay nada más noble que la relación de una madre, pero en esa misma relación, se convierte en un monstruo destructivo cuando se hace posesiva. Una madre se hace posesiva, debido a sus perjuicios sociales, económicos y personales.
La nobleza tiene muchas, muchas facetas y muchas, muchas virtudes. Se puede hacer en muchas, muchas maneras. Pero la nobleza no tiene que ser decretada por un rey tocando tu hombro con una espada de doble filo. Todos aquellos rituales y sus cosas eran ceremoniales. Básicamente, la nobleza es el carácter vivo de la dignidad y la divinidad dentro de una persona. La nobleza camina dentro de uno como la dignidad y la divinidad. Tenemos que ser nobles, porque el tiempo nos va a probar. Los tiempos van a ser muy negativos. Por lo tanto, es mi humilde petición y oración que no debemos soltar nuestra nobleza devocional de carácter, de comportamiento y personalidad y así volver a nuestra personalidad de base.
Pregunta de una estudiante: Usted dijo que la nobleza es como un espejo, cuando tiene una rotura se distorsiona la imagen. Si uno se le parece innoble frente a una persona, ¿será su nobleza distorsionada por siempre a los ojos de esa persona?
Respuesta: Es posible que lo curaran, pero quedará una cicatriz. La nobleza es como la confianza, una vez que se rompe, hay que reconstruirlo. Es como un informe de crédito, por lo que no es muy justo desacreditarte a ti mismo.
Pregunta de una estudiante: ¿Qué pasa si nuestros padres no son nobles?
Respuesta: Hay que perdonarlos.
Pregunta de una estudiante: ¿Nuestro perdonar es nuestra manera de ser noble?
Respuesta: Sí. Si uno no va a perdonar a los padres, no se va a actuar con nobleza, porque entonces uno actúa con venganza.
Pregunta de una estudiante: ¿Cuál es un ejemplo de cómo reaccionar de una manera noble, cuando la gente se burla de ti y te calumnia?
Respuesta: ¿No has visto mi comportamiento? Yo soy la persona más calumniada en los Estados Unidos de América. La manera noble de actuar hacia un calumniador es hacer caso omiso de él. Esto es el mayor castigo que uno puede brindarle a uno.
Pregunta de una estudiante: Si uno va caminando por la calle y alguien le grita un insulto, ¿quiere decir que uno no debe reaccionar en absoluto?
Respuesta: ¿Sabes lo mal que te sentirías si alguien ni siquiera te miraba? No debes perder tus méritos en contraste con los deméritos de otro.
Pregunta de una estudiante: ¿Cómo hacemos frente a nuestros amigos personales cuando se molestan porque nosotras nos comportamos con nobleza?
Respuesta: Cuando un perro está en una cadena, y su amo anda con él en la calle, todos los perros callejeros comienzan a ladrar. La única lección que podemos aprender de esto es de seguir adelante. La gente innoble actuará de forma agresiva hacia las personas nobles, porque quieren poner a prueba si realmente son nobles o si son falsas. La persona insegura siempre tratará de hacerle insegura a la persona segura para probar su seguridad. Ésa es la ley.
Pregunta de una estudiante: ¿Existe una diferencia entre ser noble y ser veraz?
Respuesta: La veracidad tiene tres virtudes: la verdad individual, la verdad circunstancial, y la Verdad Infinita. La Nobleza sólo tiene una virtud: es cierto ahora, es cierto para siempre, y siempre será cierto.
© 1978 Las enseñanzas de Yogi Bhajan
Nobleza: La Canción de la Mujer Noble
Por Dev Suroop Kaur Khalsa, Nuevo México, EE.UU.
Extraído de Soy Una Mujer, p. 36-37
Durante todos aquellos maravillosos años con Yogui Bhajan en el Campamento de la Mujer, el cantar era un hilo común. Él llegaba a la carpa para dar una conferencia y, invariablemente, acabaríamos cantando. Se nos enseñó a utilizar el canto como una meditación, como un antídoto para la depresión, para inspirar y llegar a la gente, para construir y mantener el espíritu de una nación. Practicábamos la forma de cantar desde un lugar de inspiración y de alegría; nos animaron a cantar con convicción y fuerza. Él nos dijo que el cantar canciones traería una mujer a su gracia, fuerza, pureza, y su destino.
"Hagan las canciones, hagan la música. Lleguen a cada corazón. Abran todos los corazones. Lleven a la conciencia de la gente el mensaje de tranquilidad, gracia, nobleza y paz".
~ Yogui Bhajan, verano de 1984
Había muchas canciones que distinguían al Campamento de la Mujer. A lo mejor, la que todas más recordamos – y cantamos con más frecuencia – era Noble Mujer. He aquí las letras de esa canción más noble, Nobleza: La Canción de la Mujer Noble. Esperamos que estas palabras sigan elevándote hacia tu destino más alto, de modo que puedes ofrecer el esplendor y la gracia de la mujer noble a tus hijas y a las hijas de ellas y a todas aquellas que vendrán después.
Nobleza: La Canción de la mujer noble
Letra tomada de una conferencia de Yogui Bhajan, música de Wahe Guru Kaur
Noble es una virtud de la presencia de Dios,
La mayor virtud que se puede expresar.
Noble, a todos quienes quiera que sean
Delante del Único Dios, la igualdad.
Estribillo:
Noble es una virtud que afecta a toda alma, como la inocencia afecta al corazón.
La mujer tiene una virtud, de ser noble hasta la muerte. Vivir noble es muy bendecida.
Vivir tu verdad es la felicidad.
Una mujer noble da a luz a una vida noble.
Hijos y un ambiente nobles.
Una mujer noble luce y vive la nobleza.
Incluso si vive en la pobreza.
(Estribillo)
Y aunque el espejo se distorsiona cuando está roto
Los hábitos nobles construyen la vida noble.
No hagas trueques de tu carácter por las ventajas.
La noble de Dios no se olvida.
(Estribillo)
La nobleza se fabrica en el interior,
Formación de ejercer la autoestima.
Verse a sí misma confirma la cara virtuosa,
Desinteresada vida de gracia a través del tiempo y espacio.
(Estribillo)