I remember it like it was yesterday. Actually, it was forty years ago. The Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan, and I were sitting in a small restaurant, Jasons, in Westwood in late spring of 1979 enjoying a falafel. Jason’s was a small but famous stop in LA because their middle Eastern food was rockin! This was back in the days when the two of us ventured out alone each afternoon. We were just leaving a movie from around the corner and the falafel hit the spot. “Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, what changed your life. You’ve told me many times about your earlier life, and you have hinted that is was not always a pretty picture. What happened?”
Read: "Yogi Bhajan: I Can’t Get No….Satisfaction"Categories: Our Stories
This Dharma is where our teacher sharpened his iron. And, it sharpened just fine, thank you. Our teacher transitioned from Yogi Bhajan to the Siri Singh Sahib through ‘keeping-up’ in sharpening his iron through his service and devotion to Guru Ram Das’ Will. We became his duty, his service. We scored, and, yet how many of us really understand the blessing we lived under? We lived under the blessing of seeing an example of how iron sharpening iron leads to God’s Mercy. ‘Keep-up’ practicing the blessed standard we’ve been given and see what happens. Remember, there’s no time limit, so you can’t be the judge.
Read: "Yogi Bhajan: Surreal Steel"Categories: Our Stories
On this occasion, we were discussing change. Specifically, the time it takes for individuals to change. It’s an interesting topic, especially from our beloved teacher, Yogi Bhajan, the Siri Singh Sahib’s perspective. His perspective was always unique.
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“Obedience to the true Guru is the real path to Infinity. All others are a gamble. I can’t take the risk. Obedience to the will of Guru Ram Das is my only desire, truly the only one that is left. And that’s the only desire which remains appropriate.”
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The teacher I served was and is so right that he left a teaching so all who come can still serve him. It’s available to all. Study his teachings; practice his way; experience his help. It turns out, he’s the real deal. He can and did deliver what he promised. His way is not only helpful, but beautiful as well. His way is Guru’s way. Stay tuned,
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The ‘promises’ held out by all-time honored religions and/or lifestyles are enough to elevate the disgruntled to a less disgruntled state. These ‘promises’ can be defined as follows: If the spiritual aspirant accepts the teacher, the teachings, and/or God as the provider, protector, and grantor of salvation in his or her life, life will gain happiness, relevance, and liberation. The more the spiritual aspirant can be in ‘devotion to’ and ‘trust in’ this concept, the more content life becomes.
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We were seated around a large table in the back of the Estates in New Mexico several decades ago. It was Solstice time, so many students were seated with our beloved teacher. Some old, some new, all subject to his truth. It was a time for him to expand himself and teach both intimately and universally at the same time. It was a time for his duty and his enjoyment. It was the season of grace.
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“You are his boss, you must act like it.”
“If you’re his true boss, then you must do what’s right in spite of what you believe, or he believes. You must be flexible; you must be compassionate; you must be obedient to the teachings. That usually means you must bend and that’s painful. I know that. A boss is willing to go into the pain to come out the other side. Otherwise, he’s just a sucker, energy sucker, moneymaking sucker, and something that rhymes with it.”
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Yes, living in the Now is living in the moment, enjoying life as it comes. But, there’s more. Our beloved teacher began to respond to this question, “You’re right, but living in the Now is not what you think. One of the grand rewards for sincerely living the teachings is the awareness that you’re just a vessel and a servant: A vessel in sharing the teachings; a servant to everything good in you and also to everything that needs to be better. This is dictated through the teachings. Following the teachings will remove the “needs to be better” issue and replace it with devotion.”
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The Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan, used to say, “To be, to be. Not “to be or not to be” as Shakespeare said. To be, to be was a statement, a mantra, related to the truth and his teaching of – I am, I am. The first ‘I am’ is finite, the next ‘I am’ is Infinite. ‘I am’ my own person, and ‘I am’ the personification of God. ‘I am’ represents ‘to be’ in this world and the next; to master both.
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…”If God blesses you with a Teacher who provokes you to give, to extend yourself more than normal, do you see the blessing or the pain it may cause? If I requested you to go to the counter and pay for all these drinks, would you see it as a blessing or a curse? The answer is it can be either, depending on your viewpoint. And, if you take advantage of seeing something about yourself which you had never seen before and match up to the duty that comes with it, you’ve met half the challenge. And that’s good. When you also see it all as a blessing, requiring gratitude to the Creator, then the challenge is complete, and more blessings will come your way so long as you don’t judge when or how they come…”
Read: "A Coffee Shop Chat with the Master"Categories: Our Stories
I’ve had three great teachers in my life: my birth father, the Siri Singh Sahib, and Guru Ram Das. Many times the lessons they all taught me were the same. Let me give you an example.
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“Destiny is granted to you by God, and fate is also given to you by God, to test you.
As we were speaking, Fate said a wonderful thing to me. She said, ‘Yogi, count the basic steps to God.’
I said, ‘Saram pad, karam pad, shakti pad, sahej pad, sat pad.’
She said, ‘I am the master of the shakti pad. That realm belongs to me, so don’t challenge me.’
Read: "He Fell in Love with Fate"Categories: Our Stories
The Master used to say, ”The power to obey is the power to command. Here in the West, to surrender, to be humble, to obey is considered to be slavery, but actually it is the power of the self. Only the most exalted, most powerful character can surrender.”
Read: "Yogi Bhajan, Obedient is not Lenient"Categories: Our Stories
