The Financial Express: Article on Bhai Sahiba Bibiji

[Guest guest]

Faith

 

A portrait of strength and grace

 

Recognised by the Akal Takht for her work in spreading the message of

Siri Guru Granth Sahib, Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Khalsa is also New

Mexico's ambassador to India

 

Huma Siddiqui

 

On March 6, 2007 Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico and US

presidential candidate for 2008, appointed Dr Bibiji Inderjit Kaur

Khalsa as representative and ambassador to India.

 

This is the first time anyone has been appointed as an ambassador

from New Mexico to India. Affectionately known as Bibiji, she is the

wife of the late Yogi Bhajan, (Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa) who

was the Sri Singh Sahib of Sikh Dharma.

 

Recently in India, leading a high-level business delegation from New

Mexico, Bibiji says the main objective is scouting for joint ventures

in defence, R & D in bio-technology, besides promoting New Mexico as a

tourist destination.

 

But Bibiji is known across the world for another reason too. Starting

1975, she was the first Sikh woman to leave India in order to spread

the teachings of the Sikh gurus, and the first woman to head an

organised Sikh ministry in modern times.

 

She is also the first ever woman to head an NGO body 3HO1 to the

United Nations and last, but not the least, the first ever woman to

be formally recognised with the title `Bhai Sahiba' from the Akal

Takht, the highest seat of religious authority among the Sikhs.

 

In 1990, she was recognised as the `Outstanding Woman in New Mexico'

by the then governor Bruce King's commission on the status of women,

following which, she was inducted into the New Mexico Hall of Fame.

In 2006, Bibiji was named New Mexico's ambassador of peace by senator

Shannon Robinson. It will be worth mentioning, here, that the first

session of every newly elected assembly of New Mexico province begins

with the Sikh Ardass and it is performed by Bibi Inderjit Kaur

Khalsa.

 

In 2006, Bibiji was recognised by the Akal Takht at the 300th

anniversary of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib as one of ten Sikh

religious leaders — and the only woman — who have helped to spread

Guru Nanak's teachings around the world. Says she, " In fact, it was a

great honour to get that respect and position in the Akal Takht.

Though the members in the Akal Takht are often addressed as `Bhai

Sahib' I was not sure if I would be comfortable being addressed

as `Bhai Sahib' but then it was decided to address me as `Bhai

Sahiba'.

 

Talking about her life after she got married, Bibiji says, " When I

got married I was a simple woman, fond of makeup and colourful

clothes. It was my husband who encouraged me to go in for higher

studies and then gradually my life started changing. "

 

On why she dresses only in white today, Bibiji says, " When I was

young I used to wear very colourful clothes. All colours blend

together to turn into white. And once you start wearing white, you

start loving wearing white. It's so pure in its serenity. "

 

A strong advocate of world peace, integrity of the family and

preserving the dignity of women and children, Bibiji has taken the

teachings of the Sikh gurus across the seas and shared them with the

Western world. More than the Indians in the US and around the world,

people from other cultures have embraced Sikhism, she says adding

that it's rather surprising how they have quickly spread the Guru's

word.

 

She has counselled not only in the US, but in Canada, Mexico, South

America, Europe, Russia and her native land India.

 

How did the Sikh Dharma come to be located in New Mexico? " This is a

long story. My husband was living in Los Angeles and one of his

students was from Santa Fe. They were searching for a place to have

the yoga centre. Yogi Bhajan told them to go to the north and said

there they would see the light shining through the clouds. Look where

it falls and ask if the property is available, he said. They asked,

and the owner said yes, and that is where the temple is now. "

 

The chief minister of Sikh Dharma of the West, as she is called, is

also an International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association (IKYTA)

certificate-holder and a certified member of the Yoga Alliance RYT.

She also serves as a minister of divinity of Sikh Dharma, offering

marriage, birth and death/transition counseling.

 

" Kundalini Yoga and meditation are taught to help in our individual

and collective transition to an open heart world, realise our

timeless connection to our eternal, sacred being and develop the

power to co-create a world of peace and prosperity for all people

now, " she explains.

 

Bibiji has authored numerous famous books including Siri Guru Granth

Sahib Darshan, an analysis delving into the complex and beautiful

organisation of the raags, pauries, slokas and authors of the Siri

Guru Granth Sahib, Living Reality? a book of questions and answers

about Sikh Dharma from children around the world, Psyche of the Soul,

Successful and Troubled Marriage Relationships, Stories to Win the

World, and A Taste of India.

 

 

 

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