LIGHTTRAVEL.ORG
A principle in life to remember is to travel light.
You are traveling all the time.
Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light.
– Yogi Bhajan
Kundalini Yoga Ashram Life:
Teachers in the Making
by Nirvair Singh Khalsa
It was written for the Yoga X-Press's book as intro
"The creative flow is the purpose of life. We create flows; whether the flow leads to corruption or ends up in disaster, all flows are ours. But there are flows through which we create identity crisis and there are flows through which we create identification. Sometimes we create such a powerful identity that we create the trends, we create the flows, we become the source. And that is what life is all about."
Lecture 'Identity and the Creative Crisis'
Yogi Bhajan, May 28 1984
The quotation above is from the series of lectures compiled in "Identity & Identity Crisis." It really defines the amazing experience of the living and refining experience of Ashram life in the 70's and 80's. Yogi Bhajan came to the West to create Teachers and the crucible for that purpose was the Ashram.
There were hundreds of ashrams around the world during this period of time. They were places where men, woman and children lived together, lived with each other, lived at each other and, more often than not, lived for each other. We lived in group- living houses and communities. Yogi Bhajan talked about the natural movement of consciousness from individual to group and ultimately to universal consciousness. He talked about the value of living for each other as opposed to living with or at each other.
Every day started in the early morning hours. There would be someone that would wake every one else up at 3:30 AM. These wake ups were sometimes angelic; music was played and sweet words spoken. Other times, the words and actions of the wake up person were harsh and confronting. It was not an option to miss the early morning Sadhana unless you were so ill that you could not rise from bed. There was also someone that would make Prasad. Prasad was a simple mixture of whole-wheat flour, ghee, honey and water. Chanting Japji Sahib, or the Mul Mantra during the cooking process infused the food with a divine vibration. Another crew would make their Sadhana a service to the Ashram. They would make breakfast for everyone else. Oatmeal, home made Yogurt, baked apples, oranges, bananas and potato Solstice recipe soup was a typical morning meal. Another person would be in charge of waking, bathing and dressing the children, at a later time in the morning, for their abbreviated and age appropriate Sadhana. All children loved the Prasad that was served during the Gurdwara Service that ended each morning Sadhana.
We all took turns at these various jobs including all other food preparation, cleaning and maintenance of the ashram. 'Karma Yoga' was an integral part of Ashram life and instilled responsibility, service and community in all the participants. Consistency in the food, the standard of cleanliness, and the relationships with the children varied widely. This was cause for some contention, disagreements, resolutions and a rounding of personalities into more accepting and neutral mind attitudes of life.
It wasn't all work however; we had a lot of fun. A large part of the fun stemmed from a certain soul satisfaction. Having a path, living a path and being with like-minded people that had a unified purpose of spiritual upliftment is very fun. There was a large amount of horsing around, music and laughter as well. We took turns leading early morning Sadhana. This was a training ground for teaching Kundalini Yoga. A pre -designated person taught the kriya and led the chanting meditation. It was a great experience in leading a group, and holding the space of a group of people. In addition, we took turns teaching each other Kundalini Yoga classes in and out of the Ashram.
In the early days, the chanting was purely acapella. We chanted the Adi Shakti mantra "Ek Ong Kar Sat Nam Siri Wahe Guru" for one hour after the kriya. In later versions of the Sadhana, there were musical renditions played by performing musicians, in the community, or on tape machines. One morning, our Sadhana leader fell asleep while leading the chanting. This was his habit, so my good friend, Nirbhao Singh and I looked at each other and changed the chanting to a different mantra. Our leader eventually woke up, experienced a disorienting moment, uttered "Oh God" and we all broke into laughter.
We all could not be with Yogi Bhajan all the time so we really looked forward to any news, new meditations, Beads of Truth newsletters, music, manuals and collections of transcribed lectures. Every word was devoured and discussed. Every new piece of music was listened to over and over again. When Yogi Bhajan would visit the Ashram it was an amazing and life changing event.
A visit by Yogi Bhajan created huge shifts in lifestyle and consciousness for everyone in the Ashram. Lives were transformed and changed. His counseling brought moves to different cities, jobs, engagements, blessings and corrections.
The preparation for a visit was hard work. The cleaning and refurbishing of the environments were exacting, detail oriented and very thorough. After all, Yogi Bhajan represented your own exalted consciousness in an externalized form and besides which, he was very critical Saturn teacher. A Saturnian teacher will engage you in a deep experience of transformation with a direct opposition to the sleeping part of your consciousness. It is an ancient form of transmission of wisdom that manifests through observation and correction of physical, mental and emotional habits. It was terrible, delightful, painful, uplifting all at the same time. One time I was visiting an Ashram with Yogi Bhajan. The community cleaned and prepared but forgot to wash the windows. Yogi Bhajan did not let the oversight pass and reminded them all many times of their oversight during the visit.
In retrospect, Ashram life created a powerful identity. Yes, there were regional and territorial identifications with specific Ashrams. This is a natural human activity. The commonality in all the experience of Ashram living was the creation of the Teacher; the divine identification was recognized, refined, reinforced and, with good karma, realized. It was not just about the relationship with Yogi Bhajan either.
As he said, "It is not me. I am not teaching you. I am trying to connect you with the service of that divinity, and dignity in absolute identity where you recognize your own projectivity, which is the basis of your personality. And that is Dharma and that is religion, and that is God and this is everything. There is no difference. You have to be extremely kind and extremely compassionate. Kindness and compassion." Clarity of Identity and Conflicting Identity Yogi Bhajan May 15 1984.
Bless you and Sat Nam,
Nirvair Singh Khalsa
October 2005.
design © Yoga X-Press
redesign, April 2007
sponsored by the Yoga X-Press Publishing House, Russia www.yxp.ru