|
 KRISHNA
KAUR
Because of her dedication,
devotion and the ever-expanding light that she
brings to the Los Angeles area and beyond; her
development of Y.O.G.A. for Youth Programs and
trainings; and her inspiration in bringing Kundalini
Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan® to West African
countries like Ghana and Togo, this year, the
Kundalini Research Institute honors Krishna Kaur for
her outstanding service to the international
community and KRI’s Teacher Training Programs.
She has been a pioneer in what we now call Reach
Out–Teach Out Training programs, bringing Kundalini
Yoga to underserved communities in the Los Angeles
area as well as abroad. She has served on the
Teacher Training Executive Board for many years and
her wisdom, experience and humor has transformed the
way we train teachers today.
For over twenty-five years, Krishna Kaur literally
studied at the feet of her
teacher Yogi Bhajan, the Master
of Kundalini and White Tantric
Yoga. She has traveled
extensively throughout Europe,
Russia, Mexico, India and Africa
inspiring and uplifting people
with the technology of yoga and
meditation
Krishna Kaur, a dynamic heart
centered Yoga teacher, has been
teaching the art and science of
Kundalini Yoga and Self
Awareness since 1970. She is
certified by the 3HO Foundation
and the Kundalini Research
Institute as a Kundalini Yoga
Teacher and Trainer of both
Level I and II. In 1971, Krishna
established and directed the
Kundalini Yoga Center in South
Central Los Angeles and
maintained an active community
outreach program for fifteen
years. A natural teacher, she
has introduced “Yoga” to many
diverse communities, taking her
classes directly to the youth at
Fremont, Locke, Crenshaw and
Jordan High Schools, as well as
therapists, entertainers,
executives, students, “at risk
youth”, teachers, seniors,
pregnant mothers, inmates, and
drug rehabilitation clients.
Krishna Kaur was recently
awarded the HERO Award for peace
by the Common Peace
organization, and given the
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
during the Malcolm X Opening
celebration this year. She is a
visionary, community activist,
and an integral part of the
healing of our people and our
community.
In 1993, Krishna founded Y.O.G.A.
for Youth, an amazing program
that takes yoga and meditation,
breathing techniques, chanting,
deep relaxation and stimulating
discussions on the philosophy of
yoga to urban youth. It is being
taught in juvenile detention
facilities, pregnant and
parenting teens, prisons and
after school programs through
out Southern California with
satellite programs in New York,
Minneapolis, Seattle, Chicago.
The program aims to give youth
practical tools to enrich their
lives and assist them in
effectively meeting life’s
challenges now and in the
future.
Krishna Kaur was a founder of
the International Association of
Black Yoga Teachers (IABYT) in
1998. The Association’s mission
is to serve the African Diaspora
by spreading the teachings of
the ancient art and science of
yoga, increase the awareness and
availability of yoga classes in
the inner cities and be a bridge
for underserved communities
around the world. With chapters
developing around the country,
IABYT sponsors a number of
events through out the year
including “Community Yoga Day”
and the annual Black Yoga
Teachers Summit and Retreat.
They sponsored the first US yoga
program in Cuba, a “Festival of
Yoga and Music –in Havana” in
1999, which sparked an ongoing
yoga exchange between Cuba and
the US. In addition, the Yoga in
Ghana pilgrimage took place in
November 2003, and provided
incredible opportunities to meet
with spiritual elders and hold
yoga conferences in both Accra
and in Kumasi. The trip led to
the development of an IABYT
chapter in Ghana that is an
official non-government
organization (NGO)
Krishna Kaur conducted yoga
teacher training courses in
Ghana in 2005 and in Togo West
Africa in 2006. The Annual
Summit and Retreat will be held
in Ghana in 2007 as part of
Ghana’s 50 year independence
celebration.
Krishna Kaur is also a member of
IKYTA, the International
Kundalini Yoga Teachers
Association, is Regional
Coordinator for Teacher Training
in Africa, and a member of
National Yoga Alliance. She has
developed a Y.O.G.A. for Youth
Training manual for yoga
teachers and artists interested
in working with troubled youth,
and is now working on her
autobiography. She left a highly
successful career in the theater
to pursue her true gift and
talent….. teaching yoga!
SUNDER
SINGH
The Kundalini
Research Institute honors Sunder
Singh Khalsa for his devoted
service to the emergence of the
Teachings of Kundalini Yoga as
taught by Yogi Bhajan® in Asia.
He brought the first Yoga
Festival to SE Asia, which has
become an annual event in
Thailand, and has helped the
emergence of Kundalini Yoga as
taught by Yogi Bhajan® in
Thailand, China, Cambodia,
Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam,
Singapore and Sri Lanka, and
continues to plant the seeds of
the future through Teacher
Training. Sunder Singh oversees
Teacher Training programs in
Thailand, China, Cambodia, Sri
Lanka and Singapore, with
additional programs in Japan,
Malaysia and Taiwan scheduled to
begin in 2009. He serves as the
KRI Coordinator for Teacher
Training in Asia and also serves
on the KRI Board of Directors
and the Teacher Training
Executive Council.
By the grace of the Master he is
touching the hearts of all those
he meets on this journey of
life. He lives in Virginia with
his wife Sunder Kaur and owns
Khalsa Jewelers, a fine jewelry
business with multiple stores.
They have four daughters and
three granddaughters.
Sunder Singh Khalsa was born in
Taiwan. His given name is Tzu
Ping, which in Chinese means
compassionate peace. Ever since
he was a young child he was
attracted to and had an affinity
toward spiritual teachings. He
was told by two teachers that he
had traveled the path of Dharma
before. The first was Yogi
Bhajan who told him that he was
a saint in his past life, or as
Yogi Bhajan put it, “You know
what your problem is? You
weren’t just a saint, you were a
big saint and everything you
ever did wrong you have to pay
off, for this is your last
lifetime.” The second was Taoist
Master Ni, who told Sunder that
he was a Taoist and although in
this life his form is different,
he carries the essence of the
Taoist teachings with him.
Sunder came to the United States
at age 11 and moved with his
family to Portland, Oregon. At
age 18 he began his spiritual
awakening, which culminated in a
near-death experience at the age
of 19. The experience gave him
the certitude of the Oneness of
God and initiated his serious
journey toward finding a
Teacher. By the Grace of the
Guru he finally met Yogi Bhajan
at Summer Solstice in Paonia,
Colorado. Since then life has
been full of both magical
moments and challenges. Two
defining moments in walking this
path of service follow in
Sunder’s first person accounts:
In 1971, I was living in the
Tucson ashram and in the winter
of that year I was sent out to
start an ashram in upstate New
York. Prior to my journey to New
York, I had an experience during
my meditation that impacted me
deeply. That experience was a
vision or darshan of Sri Baba
Siri Chand Ji. While there are
too many details to go into
here, I came out of that vision
knowing I had agreed to
something, what it was, at that
time I had no idea. All I
remembered was what Babaji said
at the end of the vision, “It
will be difficult, but you will
come through it.” Then he
touched me on my forehead and
everything dissolved into a
white light. Almost immediately
afterwards, in both my
meditation and my life, I
experienced a major shift, as if
all the pain and hurt of the
world was going through me. This
dark night of the soul went on
for a few months, until it was
too much for me to bear. I
decided then to leave this
Dharma.
Because I was a young man of 21,
I foolishly thought if I left
and found a different yogic path
everything will magically revert
back to how it was and I could
just stay in my meditative
bliss. So one night I packed all
my belongings and was prepared
to leave the next morning
without telling anyone. At two
in the morning I was awakened by
the most beautiful music. I
remembered opening my eyes and
just listening to this celestial
sound. In the center of the
sound was the mantra, “Har Har
Ram Das Guru Hai,“ being
repeated over and over. Needless
to say, I decided to stay and
used this mantra.
More than 15 years later, I was
with Yogi Bhajan and told him my
experience with the mantra minus
the part about almost leaving.
He looked deep into me, closed
his eyes, and meditated. Finally
he told me that Guru Ram Das Ji
has given me a personal mantra
and I should use it.
Only in the last few years have
I started telling this story,
because I feel it is time to
share the grace of Guru Ram Das.
Even though this mantra came to
me, I feel it is for all of us,
it is in that spirit I am
sharing this. In the many years
of teaching, I have only
suggested the use of this mantra
to one person. It was a Gurusikh
in Singapore. He was the manager
of a Sikh Center at that time
and because of politics left his
job. In the following months he
could not find a job because of
his long beard. He was told to
either trim his beard or roll it
up, neither of which, was an
option for him. Finally he
emailed me and said, "I am at
the end, I have no money,
creditors are knocking on my
door, I have a wife and two
small children, I will do
whatever you tell me." I gave
him this mantra among other
suggestions and in five days of
his using it, his life turned
around. Today he is a prosperous
businessman. The point of this
story for me is that in the
darkest night, the grace of Guru
Ram Das manifested with this
mantra.
During Summer Solstice 2004, I
walked into Yogi Bhajan’s room.
It was something I had done
numerous times, but this time
was different; I felt like
crying. It felt like it could be
the last time. I decided then to
ask Yogiji for a hukum. I
figured he would give me
something that would take me
years to accomplish. In some
ways I felt the hukum will be a
guiding light for me when Yogiji
left his body. He looked at me
and said, “Make me a mala.”
Because I am in the jewelry
business, this was relatively
easy for me. Even though the
mala was going to be special, I
could have it made in one month.
It took me until right before
Khalsa Council to finish it. I
didn’t really want to finish it
because my intuition told me
that when the mala was finished,
Yogiji would also be leaving his
physical body.
When I arrived in Espanola for
Khalsa Council I heard Yogi
Bhajan had toured the grounds
the day before. Feeling slightly
apprehensive that I might have
missed my opportunity to see
him, I waited every day to see
him and was not able to. On
Sunday I was waiting outside his
room before Gurdwara and was
finally able to see him.Yogi
Bhajan was lying on his back
with his eyes closed when I
walked in. The attendant and I
stood in front of him holding
the mala together. I had made a
gold mala approximately 12 feet
long. As we stood, the attendant
said to Yogiji, “Sir, Sunder has
finished his assignment and is
here to honor you with this
mala.” With his eyes closed, his
hand came out of the bedcover
and grabbed the mala like a
striking snake. Later on I
thought, How did he know where
the mala was? His eyes were
closed and also, during the last
few years, whenever I had seen
him his hands always shook. This
time his hand was totally
steady. The attendant said, “we
will put the mala on the altar.”
Instead, he held on to the mala
and wouldn’t let it go. Then he
spoke a few words to me, which
the attendant had to translate
because his words were slurred.
Then he opened his eyes and
looked straight into my eyes. I
swear there was no pain, no
weakness, no sickness in his
eyes there was only the Master—
100%. After a brief moment,
which felt like an eternity, I
said, “Sat Nam” with folded
hands and walked out of his
room.
The next few days felt like a
dream. Monday the storm started
and that night I could not go to
sleep at all. I spent the whole
night doing the Ra Ma Da Sa
meditation for Yogiji. I felt
like I was cradling his head in
my arms throughout the night.
Tuesday we had the Teacher
Trainer Forum and for me it was
pretty normal. Wednesday was the
last day of the Forum and I had
planned to fly out after lunch.
However, after lunch I just
couldn’t leave and decided to
wait until after dinner. When
dinner was over I still couldn’t
leave and decided to stay the
night. That evening I went out
to Ojo Caliente to relax and
soak in the hot springs. Around
7:30 it started to storm and we
had to come out of the water. As
I sat there waiting for the
storm to pass, suddenly I went
into a deep meditation. It was
the meditation to connect to the
subtle body of the Master.
Because I had no intention of
meditating, I knew it was
telling me that it was time. So
when I came out of the
meditation, I immediately
returned to where I was staying
and changed into my bana and
went over to the Ranch. A few
minutes after I sat down with
Bibiji and Kulbir, Yogi Bhajan’s
wife and son, they were called
into his room and Yogi Bhajan
left his physical body. This is
a true account of my experience
of the passing of my Master and
True Friend. |
Kundalini
Research Institute's 2009 Honors