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3HO SuperHealth: A De-Addiction Project in Punjab

03/04/2005

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    The Punjab government entered into a collaborative effort with 3HO SuperHealth to provide a 90 day pilot program for de-addiction. The Amritsar Mental Health Hospital was selected as the site for 10 male clients and a separate wing was given for the project. The program was from early October 2004 – early January 2005. Yogi Bhajan, Ph.D. was founder of the SuperHealth program based in the United States. The program has been classified as receiving the highest commendation with a rating in the top 10% of all de-addiction programs by the Joint Commission on Healthcare Organizations. SuperHealth is a perfect blend of East and West. It incorporates the ancient wisdom of the East with the innovations and technology of the West.

    A team of experts from the United States, Europe and India volunteered to serve in the program. Upon arriving, we witnessed the cry of the human spirit addicted to drugs. The problem is of epidemic proportion and family after family is being torn apart due to this infestation. The availability of drugs is rampant in Amritsar and the cost is cheaper than alcohol since it is closer to its source of the Golden Triangle. Purity of smack is at its finest, and pills are easily accessible almost anywhere.

    The program had many hardships. We worked through a translator since hardly anyone spoke English. But the love and genuine support the staff shared with each client and their family was overwhelming. Clients participated in three Kundalini Yoga classes every day with meditation, herbs and counseling. The yoga helps deal with the physical addiction and strengthens the nervous and glandular system which have broken down through the use of drugs. Meditation is effective with the psychological addiction. To learn how to focus and control the mind rather than be a slave of it is also a learning process. Clients experienced strength in self-confidence, inner security and insight into their own self. This, complemented by the support and expertise of staff, gave clients an opportunity to create a future for themselves. Family meetings were held with counseling intervention. Some family members traveled by bus 5 hours each way to attend the one-hour meeting. There was no hesitation about coming or complaint in so doing.

    Yogiji had been offering this addiction treatment service to the government of Punjab for the last 12 years. It was only until this year that we received an official invitation. As part of aftercare, we have ongoing yoga classes each week for the client, their families and the public at large. This is the first time, Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, is being offered in Amritsar. We realize 90 days in a sequestered environment is only the beginning. Through a strong aftercare program with ongoing counseling, job placement and vocational training, clients can experience a new beginning in their lives. Perhaps timing is everything. Maybe these are the souls that have come to us today to be the leaders of tomorrow in the sacred land where the Gurus once walked.

    There are many stories that would make you laugh, cry, or scratch your head and wonder, “what just happened”? There are so many cultural variances, language translation oddities and environmental differences. Yet among the mix, there are the youth of Punjab who have a love in their heart for God and Guru. Their families are filled with despair and see us as a hope for their tomorrow. Slowly, they are recognizing the greatness of the teachings that Yogi Bhajan first taught in the West. Today, he fulfills a promise once made…to return to his homeland in India and serve the people who carried the Guru on their backs for a beautiful today. We are grateful to him and his mission to bring this technology to those who desperately need it. All we can do is make ourselves available. They must take the first step. As Guru says, walk even one step toward the lotus feet of the Guru and the True Guru will walk millions of steps to welcome you.

    Mukta Kaur Khalsa
    Secretary of Foreign Affairs
    (505) 367-1316 tel
    (505) 753-0537 fax

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