Yogi Bhajan and 3HO in the early 70s

March 19, 2009

I too have read some of these alarming posts and was very troubled by them,

However It is difficult not to notice just how many movements and leaders have

been implicated by these websites that specialize in " cult-watching " . One of the

most famous " cults " in history is Christianity. Whenever something new comes

along it is labelled by the powers that be and often the leadership of the group

comes to a difficult end. Yogi Bhajan was honored by the United Nations as well

as the United States Congress and was on wonderful terms with many statesmen and

politicians as well as many famous Indian yogis who followed different paths,

The technology speaks for itself with remarkable results for thousands of

people. Since he is no longer in his body we do not have to worry about becoming

immersed in this " cult of personality " and can instead savor the changes that a

dedicated sadhana can produce within us from in an objective way. Don't let

negative

press keep you from enjoying this process, Yogi Bhajan always said " don't love

me, love the teachings " . I think that is great advice.

Hope this helps a bit!

Jane Bentley

--- On Thu, 3/19/09, Sacha <nanamin wrote:

Sacha <nanamin

Kundalini Yoga Yogi Bhajan and 3HO in the early 70s

Kundaliniyoga

Thursday, March 19, 2009, 11:36 AM

Hi all,

I was always very interested in Yogi Bhajan because of the amazing things I have

heard about him from my KY teachers. He seemed to be a great source of spiritual

knowledge. In my research in an effort to get as close to his teachings as

possible, I came across something concerning however (and I bring this up in

only the utmost respect to gather opinions on it).

There seems to be a number of court records, legal documents, etc as well as

statements from a very large number of 3HO members over the years documenting

alleged emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of members of Yogi Bhajan's inner

circle by YB himself. Similarly, there are entire websites dedicated to ex-3HO

members to talk about their experience in it as a " cult " (may of whom were

members for 20 years before coming to the conclusion that it was a cult of

personality and then leaving). The number of members and posts on these websites

and the amount of time they've been posting (and the court documents) seem to

suggest that it's more than a mere person or few people with a grudge/grudges

that are out to slander someone (there are THOUSANDS of long detailed posts of

people who seem traumatized) .

Once again, I don't bring this up to offend anyone, I'm just concerned as I've

been practicing KY for a while now and am *loving* it, but I don't know if I

could continue to practice something inseparable (since he allegedly revealed it

to the public and quite possibly invented it as a synthesis from other yogas --

and nobody else is teaching it in any other form that I'm aware of) from someone

who -may- have been an abusive cult leader. Any evidence to the contrary or

insights would be appreciative, since I'm somewhat heart-broken over this.

And yes I realize that you could type anything in with the word " cult " probably

and find *something*, but this seems to be considered " well known " information

online and is coming from some reliable sources in some instances.

Would definitely be interested in hearing from Guru Rattana (in addition to

anyone else) as I hear she had some interaction with Yogi Bhajan and I believe

thinks highly of him. Who better to inform me? :-)

Thanks all, and once again I really don't mean any offense and I hope nobody

misunderstands my intentions.

March 21, 2009

there are words that i live by, whether it pertains to experience with yogi gi,

or with the experience of kundalini yoga itself........... " ye shall KNOW the

truth; and the truth will set you free " i live by this..go inside yourself and

find YOUR truth........everything else DOES not matter.i never had the pleasure

of meeting the man; but his words ring TRUTH for me.

namaste.

Julie

MODERATOR: please, no more posts on this thread, the list owners

have decided to end it. Please see Guru Rattana's last post.

Further messages replying to this thread will not be posted.

Blessings from the Board owners and moderators

--- On Thu, 3/19/09, Linda Callanan <annaicenter wrote:

Linda Callanan <annaicenter

Re: Kundalini Yoga Yogi Bhajan and 3HO in the early 70s

Kundaliniyoga

Thursday, March 19, 2009, 4:13 PM

Hi Sacha,

I've seen some of these postings, also had the good fortune to meet with Yogi

Bhajan a few times and have been practicing Kundalini Yoga for over 15 years.

This information does not match either my experience with Yogi Bhajan or the

truth of the teachings themselves. When one meets a 3HO teacher one sees the

strength and energy of these teachers. When one meets someone who is part of a

cult one does not see strength, energy or clarity in the followers.

What is interesting to me is the long list of yogis who have had the same

charges leveled at them: Osho, Gurumayi, Swami Muktananda, Govindan, Nityananda,

Swami Satchinananda, Maharashi Yogi, Yogiar....only one--Amrit Desai was proven

to act in such a manner--he confessed. Somehow, it seems irrational to me that

Yogi Bhajan and all of the others did the exact same things to their followers.

Finally, the truth lies in the teachings--if they help you get strong and help

you to discover your true self it seems to me that should be your criteria.

All the best,

Deva Kaur (Linda)

" Life and living is a flow, and if we accept that flow and get into that flow,

life can be tremendously simple. " Ramesh S. Balsehar

-

Sacha

Kundaliniyoga

Thursday, March 19, 2009 11:36 AM