Summer Solstice: Dignity

Step 3 of the 7 Steps of Happiness – Dignity

Soul Painting

The term dignity has a Latin origin. It means, nobility, valor, is the awareness of the deep meaning of your personal search. As a yogi you meet yourself every day to get to know yourself, compare yourself lighten the life of you and others, in the direction of service [SEVA]

Participating in the solstice means giving value to the nobility of your soul, sharing its vibration with that of other souls, who together exchange brotherhood, gratitude, unconditional love.

Is giving dignity to our dharma right now on your list of priorities?  How much is your personal journey worth?  What is the deep meaning of it all?

It was 1980 and we were at Ram Das Puri.  Hari Mandir Kaur tells us:

Preparations for the Summer Solstice were underway, and Yogi Bhajan decided to test our dignity.

Dignity is a Latin word, it means nobility, valor, it is the fruit of your search for a human being.

As you can imagine, life with Yogi Bhajan was not easy; every day was a new challenge.

In the Ashram there were more than 20 artists, and the request of the master this time was to create a large welcome sign for that year’s solstice.

It was a huge amount of work; mostly because the master only gave us 3 days to finish it.

The first two days were lost to purchasing the materials and organizing the installation, so only one day remained.

Just one day to put the hands of 20 artists together and create a unique work of art that celebrated the pride of being Khalsa.

There were two themes:  Sarkar and Khalsa, the meaning of which we only understood later.

The miracle we witnessed is that the work which was created in that one night was a real masterpiece.

From light/dark images, from religious symbols to calligraphy, everything was uniform and harmonious.

While at the beginning each artist had their own ideas of what should be done, in the end the commitment and the character of each person brought a dignity to the whole project – each artist recognized their inspiration in the inspiration of the other

Only those who dance in perfect harmony experience the spirit of the dance.

Before White Tantric that afternoon, the sign was hanging in its completed state.

When the Siri Singh Sahib Ji saw it, he exclaimed, “Oh God, now I can die in peace”.

We had thought we were working on a sign for the Siri Singh Sahib. But we soon realized that he was working on a nation for us. He was helping us to see our greatness and our destiny. He was helping us to build our identity as the Khalsa nation and to help us build our history. “Sarkar e Khalsa” still stands manifest as a testimony of our hope for the future and a witness of the pure Khalsa Spirit.

This is why I am writing to you, and I am sure you will understand how urgent and important it is to be part of this future generation, no matter what your current age.

The experience of the Summer Solstice is a legacy given to us.

Even today we have the opportunity to celebrate this miracle: to recognize our dignity as souls seeking our destiny.

On 25-26 / 6 we will all meet together for a new version of the Summer Solstice experience.

From all over the world: a unique sangat, made up of different cultures, different ways of living this lifestyle, will gather together to enrich ourselves with experience of the Teachings and to recognize and acknowledge each other with dignity and courage as divine beings on this path.

Being there is important for us.  We hope it is for you too.

We are waiting for you.

In the Spirit of the Khalsa

May Pure Ones always rule.

Join us.

Read the original “Painting the Future” article from the 1980 Beads of Truth.