Sikh Dharma Community
Moscow Yoga Festival - September 1999
Sikh Dharma Community Part 2
Moscow Yoga Festival - September, 1999
Hari Kaur Khalsa, Amsterdam
What an experience going to Moscow for the Russian Yoga Festival! I feel so blessed to have had the ten day opportunity to experience the beauty of enthusiastic Russian students and see the universal appeal and healing impact of our precious teachings.
Amrit Vela in Estra, Russia. I felt so human and happy walking through the beautiful Russian woods with my new women friends from Moscow to take a dip in the pristine, freezing lake at 4 a.m. I listened to Japji translated into Russian and watched the sun come up and the seagulls fly through the mist as we sat on the beach of the lake and chanted long Ek Ong Kars.
The Russians are Kundalini Yogaholics. There were 75 people participating in the festival about an hour from Moscow in the beautiful, sunny woods. Karta Singh from France was the main teacher. He has been devotedly and consistently teaching the teacher training courses and working with the students in Russia for the past four years. He is such a sensitive and inspiring teacher, really helping people discover their own excellence, making the classes fun and challenging. We all cried with pain and joy during the incredible heart opening and healing classes he taught.
I still feel high from teaching these incredible students. I taught the women to be their own psychiatrist, and taught a special yoga set on forgiveness to everyone. We had a lot of fun learning how to
write “Ek Ong Kar Sat Nam Siri Wahe Guru” in Gurmukhi. The biggest hit was the mala making class, where I talked about stones and using different fingers and mantras, and they each made their own personal mala. Even the most macho Russian guys made the most beautiful malas (especially using amber from the Baltic Sea) and were walking around at breakfast chanting their mantras and showing off their creations. We tied a lot of turbans on the women. Even one of the cooks who were making the “Solstice Diet” every day wanted a turban!All the students and teachers are so dedicated to the teachings. They love the yoga and are very grateful to the Siri Singh Sahib for giving them a technique that brings hope and happiness to their lives.
About 30 of the participants were also part of a residential drug rehabilitation program. They, in particular, have made spectacular changes from practicing Kundalini Yoga. They were wonderful young men and women and added lots of zest, humor, and keep-up energy to the festival.
The Center is called The Kundala Institute. It is a beautiful and very professional residential facility which can hold 30 people who stay for three weeks. Kundalini Yoga is one of the main techniques used to help them get rid of their drug addiction, plus drinking lots of Yogi Tea!
We went and taught at the Center one day. I had tears in my eyes watching these young kids with track marks on their arms from heroin needles chanting to Guru Ram Das with all their hearts and filling their lungs with breath of fire, giving them new hope and a desire to live.
Guru Jiwan Singh from Moscow AKA Dr. Jacob Marshak is the main force behind this incredible center. He has dedicated himself to sharing the teachings and has touched and helped hundreds of Russian people’s lives for almost twenty years. He is becoming a very famous medical doctor and scientist and is on Russian television practically every day.
There are people calling him from other parts of Russia and surrounding countries to start centers in their cities. They are in the process of starting a center in the middle of Moscow to teach more classes and have support groups for those who have finished the residential program and are integrating into society.
He is also working with the government on drug prevention programs in Russia, including the idea of having conscious dance and disco clubs for young people, which would incorporate not only music and dance, but also mantras and healthful healing foods and drinks.
We are very grateful to Guru Jiwan Singh for his humility and kindness and for the strength to keep up through all the challenges he has met in creating and maintaining this center as a place of teaching, healing, and inspiration for all. There are many people working with Guru Jiwan Singh, dedicated to making this Institute a success.
I didn’t know anyone when I first arrived in Moscow. On the last night, I felt like I had an incredibly bright, warm and loving family in Russia. My heart was touched deeply by these incredible, soulful people. I am so grateful that I had the chance to be with them and had the opportunity to see how the Siri Singh Sahib’s dedication and work is saving hundreds of people’s lives every day. I feel very blessed to be part of this hope for the future.