Poetry excerpted from the 1976 Fall issue of “Beads of Truth”. The poems are by women who describe their experience of the first Khalsa Women’s Training Camp in 1976.
Read: "Poems and Reflections from the First Khalsa Women’s Training Camp"Categories: Our Stories, Poetry
The night wind blows in gusts so strong the earth shakes.
And my tent-home billows and wavers under its continued impact.
The darkening sky is shot with lightning and thunder shouts from the heavens.
But not even the monstrous wind beating at all of Creation
Can sweep away the kiss of God, the rainbow,
Which embraces the sky from one end to another.
It comes forth silently, gracefully, to stand immovable in the heavens, yet joined with the earth.
Ever present, it manifests and becomes known,
Only when God calls it forth to stand as an example, a thing of beauty, awe-inspiring.
The vibrant delicacy of its colors,
The purity of its radiance,
Glow as a gift from God.
Categories: Our Stories, Poetry
We want to learn Gurbani because it is one thing in the world which churns out the purity in a person. There is one purpose of Gurbani: to churn out of the person the spirit, the soul, the divinity. Minus divinity there is no such thing as dignity. They are all interrelated.
Read: "A Sikh Woman"Categories: Women's Teachings, Yogi Bhajan Lectures
Every second of the day in camp was utilized. We ended our sadhana with a mile run. We breakfasted fast and dashed off to swimming and tennis. We tilled the land in the garden that provided our food. We clambered over the five foot wall and crawled on our bellies through the dirt of our obstacle course. We learned the noble art of Gatka (Indian sword fighting). At the sound of the bell, we raced to our karate class. Muscles that hadn’t even been thought of in years were restrengthened. We were tested at every turn. The initial trauma of learning to fire the five rounds of bullets turned into a feeling of confidence and power, respect and poise.
After our physical activities, we had intensive Gurmukhi classes; each day we read our Bhanis with more speed, accuracy, and comprehension. Our daily Gurbani classes gave us time to sing and chant together. We lived together, stood together and marched in formation together, through the streets of Espanola while the populous looked on in awe and wonder. We daily marched under the rising sun, learning to command each other as well as to be commanded by each other.
Read: "The First Khalsa Women’s Training Camp in 1976"Categories: 3HO History, Our Stories, Women's Teachings
