Editing Yogi Bhajan (section)

== Biography ==

=== Early life ===

Harbhajan Singh Khalsa was born on August 26, 1929 into a [[Sikhs|Sikh]] family in Kot Harkarn, [[Gujranwala district]] in the [[Punjab (British India)|province of Punjab]] (now in Pakistan). His father, Dr. Kartar Singh Puri, served the [[British Raj]] as a medical doctor. His mother was named Harkrishan Kaur. His father was raised in the Sikh tradition and young Harbhajan was educated in a Catholic school run by nuns. Singh learned the fundamentals of [[Sikhism]] from his paternal grandfather, Sant Bhai Fateh Singh. Theirs was a well-to-do landlord family, owning most of their village in the foothills of the [[Himalayas]].<ref>Sardarni Premka Kaur Khalsa,''The Man Called Siri Singh Sahib'', Sardarni Premka Kaur Khalsa and Sat Kirpal Kaur Khalsam (editors), Los Angeles: Sikh Dharma, 1979, pp. 18-24.</ref>

Singh's schooling was interrupted in 1947 by the violent [[partition of India]], when he and his family fled to [[New Delhi]] as refugees. There, Harbhajan Singh attended Camp College – a hastily put together arrangement for thousands of refugee students – and was an active member of the Sikh Students Federation in Delhi.<ref>Shamsher Singh, "The Fruits of Inner Searching ''The Man Called Siri Singh Sahib'', Sardarni Premka Kaur Khalsa and Sat Kirpal Kaur Khalsam (editors), Los Angeles: [[Sikh Dharma]], 1979, pp. 44-46; Harbans Lal, "Celebrating the Life of Yogi Harbhajan Singh Ji", ''The Sikh Review'', October 2007, p.&nbsp;52.</ref> Four years later, he graduated with a master's degree in economics.<ref>Shanti Kaur Khalsa, ''The History of Sikh Dharma of the Western Hemisphere'', Espanola, New Mexico: Sikh Dharma, 1995, pp. 3–4; Gurcharn Singh Khalsa, ''The Man Called Siri Singh Sahib'', Sardarni Premka Kaur Khalsa and Sat Kirpal Kaur Khalsam (editors), Los Angeles: Sikh Dharma, 1979, pp. 34–35</ref>

In 1953, Singh entered the service of the Government of India. He served in the Revenue Department, where his duties took him all over India. Eventually, Harbhajan Singh was promoted to a customs inspector at [[Indira Gandhi International Airport|Delhi Airport]].<ref>Gurcharn Singh Khalsa, p.&nbsp;36</ref>

In his final years in India, he also learned from Baba Virsa Singh at Gobind Sadan Institute.<ref name="Deslippe-2012">{{cite journal |last=Deslippe |first=Philip |title=From Maharaj to Mahan Tantric: The Construction of Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Yoga |date=2012 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271568190 |journal=Sikh Formations |access-date=March 2, 2021 |doi=10.1080/17448727.2012.745303|s2cid=144988035 }}</ref>

In 1968, Singh emigrated to [[Toronto]], Canada equipped with an endorsement from that country's High Commissioner to India, [[James George (diplomat)|James George]], who was also a student of his.<ref>Sardarni Premka Kaur Khalsa,''The Man Called Siri Singh Sahib'', Sardarni Premka Kaur Khalsa and Sat Kirpal Kaur Khalsam (editors), Los Angeles: Sikh Dharma, 1979, p. 33.</ref> Harbhajan Singh made a considerable impact in the predominantly Anglo-Saxon metropolis. In three months, he established classes at several [[YMCA]]s, co-founded a yoga centre, was interviewed for national press and television, and helped set in motion the creation of eastern Canada's first Sikh temple in time for [[Guru Nanak]]'s five hundredth birthday the following year.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hampton |first=Edna |title=Yoga's Challenges and Promises |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=November 28, 1968 |page=W11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Edmonstone |first=Wayne |title=Sikhs open first temple in Toronto |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |date=August 25, 1969 |page=B5}}</ref>

=== Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization ===

{{Main|3HO}}

[[File:3HO Summer Solstice 1970.jpg|thumb|1970 gathering at Santa Clara Canyon, New Mexico]]

In 1969, Singh established the 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization) Foundation in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] to further his missionary work. His brand of Sikhism appealed to the [[hippy|hippies]] who formed the bulk of his early converts. The Sikh practice of not cutting one's hair or beard was already accepted by the hippie culture. Singh encouraged [[vegetarian]]ism even though Sikhs are traditionally meat eaters. Singh called the hippie youth 'searching souls' who wanted to experience elevated states of awareness and wanted to feel they were contributing to a world of peace and social justice.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-10-09 |title=Yogi Bhajan, 75, 'Boss' of Worlds Spiritual and Capitalistic, Dies (Published 2004) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/us/yogi-bhajan-75-boss-of-worlds-spiritual-and-capitalistic-dies.html |access-date=2025-08-27 |language=en}}</ref> He offered them all these things with vigorous yoga, an embracing holistic vision, and an optimistic spirit of sublime destiny.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cowley |first1=Susan Cheever |first2=Martin |last2=Kasindorf |first3=Laurie |last3=Lisle |title=Sikhdom, U.S.A. |journal=[[Newsweek]] |date=April 21, 1975 |page=65}}</ref>
Interest in yoga increased worldwide at this time.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Corliss |first=Richard |title=The Power of Yoga |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=April 15, 2001 |volume=157 |issue=16 |pages=54–63 |pmid=11330024 |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,999731,00.html}}</ref> To serve the changing times, Singh created the International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association, dedicated to setting standards for teachers and the propagation of the teachings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ikyta.org/ikyta-history|title=IKYTA History &#124; IKYTA - International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association|website=Ikyta.org|access-date=December 15, 2021}}</ref> 

In 1994, the 3HO Foundation joined the United Nations as a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, representing women's issues, promoting human rights, and providing education about alternative systems of medicine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.3ho.org/yogi-bhajan/about-yogi-bhajan/yogi-bhajans-biography|title=Yogi Bhajan's Biography|work=3HO - Happy, Healthy, Holy |date=December 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102082829/https://www.3ho.org/yogi-bhajan/about-yogi-bhajan/yogi-bhajans-biography|access-date=15 December 2021|archive-date=January 2, 2017}}</ref>

=== Other activities ===

[[File:Harbhajan Singh Yogi with Sant Fateh Singh and Giani Mohinder Singh 1971.jpg|thumb|With [[Sant Fateh Singh]] 1971]]

Singh incorporated the storyline of the dawning new age into his teachings, a case of melding Western [[astrology]] with Sikh tradition. He proclaimed that "[[Guru Nanak]] was the Guru for the [[Age of Aquarius|Aquarian Age]]." It was, he declared, to be an age where people first experienced God, then believed, rather than the old way of believing and then being liberated by one's faith.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kaur |first=Sardarni |title=Guru for the Aquarian Age: The Life and Teachings of Guru Nanak |publisher=Spiritual Community |location=San Rafael, California |year=1973 |isbn=978-0-913852-01-9 |oclc=1382622 |page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Piccalo |first1=Gina |title=A Yogi's Requiem |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-oct-23-et-yogi23-story.html |access-date=4 March 2021 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=23 October 2004}}</ref>

[[File:Harbhajan Singh Yogi with Swami A.C. Bhaktivedanta and Jain Muni Shushil Kumar San Francisco 1975.jpg|thumb|With [[A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]] and [[Sushil Kumar (Jain monk)]], San Francisco 1975]]
[[File:Yogi Bhajan and John Paul II.jpg|thumb|Meeting Pope [[John Paul II]] at the Vatican, 1984]]

In the summer of 1970, Singh participated in an informal "Holy Man Jam" at the [[University of Colorado at Boulder]] with [[Swami Satchidananda]] (another Eastern yogi who has been accused of sexual abuse of his students), [[Stephen Gaskin]] of The Farm in Tennessee, Zen Buddhist [[Jakusho Kwong]], and other local spiritual leaders. A few weeks later, he organized a gathering of spiritual teachers to engage and inspire the 200,000 attendees of the [[Atlanta International Pop Festival (1970)|Atlanta International Pop Festival]] on the stage between the performances of the bands.<ref>{{cite book |first=Lisa |last=Law |title=Flashing on the Sixties |location=San Francisco |publisher=[[Chronicle Books]] |pages=102–107}}</ref>

When U.S. [[Richard Nixon|President Nixon]] called drugs America's "Number one domestic problem", Singh launched a pilot program with two longtime heroin addicts in Washington, D.C., in 1972. The program attempted to treat heroin addiction through the practice of yoga and the consumption of [[garlic]] juice.<ref>{{cite news |last=Claiborne |first=William L. |title=Heroin Treatment: Garlic Juice, Yoga |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=March 22, 1972}}</ref>

In 1984 he started the [[Yogi Tea]] brand.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Douglas |title=Yogi Bhajan, 75, 'Boss' of Worlds Spiritual and Capitalistic, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/us/yogi-bhajan-75-boss-of-worlds-spiritual-and-capitalistic-dies.html |accessdate=17 October 2018 |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 9, 2004 }}</ref>

=== Death ===

[[File:Tom Udall and Bibiji.jpg|thumb|Congressman [[Tom Udall]] with Harbhajan Singh Khalsa's widow, "Bibiji"]]

Harbhajan Singh died of complications of heart failure at his home in [[Española, New Mexico|Española]], [[New Mexico]], on October 6, 2004, aged 75. He was survived by his wife, sons, daughter and five grandchildren.<ref name="Martin-2004">{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |title=Yogi Bhajan, 75, Worlds Spiritual and Capitalistic |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 9, 2004 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E2DB123BF93AA35753C1A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |access-date=September 18, 2008}}</ref> Obituaries appeared in ''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'',<ref>{{cite news |title=A Yogi's Requiem |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-oct-23-et-yogi23-story.html |date=October 23, 2004 |work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> the ''[[Times of India]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last=Rajghatta |first=Chidinand |date=October 10, 2004 |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/880032.cms  |title=The Capitalist Yogi |work=[[Times of India]]}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref name="Martin-2004" /> and ''[[Yoga Journal]]''.<ref>Phil Catalfo, "[http://www.yogajournal.com/article/philosophy/yogi-bhajan/ Luminaries: Yogi Bhajan]", ''[[Yoga Journal]]'', Jan/Feb 2005, p. 144 (republished 2007).</ref> Khalsa's passing was noted by the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]], which closed its offices to commemorate his death.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041008/punjab1.htm
 |title=SGPC condoles Yogi's death |work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |date=October 7, 2004}}</ref>

The [[State of New Mexico]] honoured him by renaming State Highway 106 as the Yogi Bhajan Memorial Highway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/may/12yogi.htm |title=Highway named after Yogi Bhajan |work=Rediff.com |date=May 12, 2006 |access-date=May 26, 2020}}</ref> The New Mexico Government flew its flags at half-mast for two days (Oct 7–8) in his honour after his death on Oct 6, and declared Oct 23 "Yogi Bhajan Memorial Day".<ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=October 25, 2004}}</ref>