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Summary of Question:	Attatchment And Yogi Bhagan
Category:	Sikh Practices
Date Posted:	Tuesday, 2/08/2005 11:46 PM MST

Dearest Sikhnet:

As we as Sikhs know well, Sikhs are not to be highly attatched to worldly things, like money, material goods, and people. This is especially true with people, and it has even been said on this fourum:
"The Guru makes it very clear that the family that we have does not go along with us after death. We want to love them, care for them, enjoy them while we and they are alive, but when anyone dies, we chant AKAAL so that the soul is released from the bondage of human form and can return Home -- expand into the infinite bliss of Akal Purkh. It's undrstandable to want to hold on to the ones we love, but that's not really love, it's attachment. If/when we truly love someone, we want the best for them, and that means to let go when it's time to let go!"
My question is this: Why can't people let go of Yogi Bhagan? Of course, he was a great leader who did a lot for our community, but aren't people hanging on too much to his memory and works? Was he not just another one of our Sikh Family and we must move on? It seems to me that we are valuing one man's work/life than the countless others who die every day. Please help me to understand...
(REPLY) Sat Nam. If you had heard Yogi Bhajan teach, and had practiced the technology he taught; if you had meditated in his presence, you would not wonder why people are remembering him with such reverence and gratitude. It is not him as a person (although he was absolutely magnetic in personality, and dynamic in his impact) but the higher consciousness that he embodied that uplifted and served to elevate others. He told his students, "Be ten times greater than me." He never took credit for any of the outstanding accomplishments that he achieved during the 35 years he worked after leaving India, always saying it was Guru's grace, and that he was only the mailman, delivering the message. And the message was what Guru Nanak through Guru Gobind Singh and embodied in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib taught as well as the technology of Kundalini Yoga, to enable people to live to their highest potential as Sikhs -- or in any other religion, because, as Guru Nanak taught, he never tried to convert anyone. His faith, his devotion to God and Guru was contagious, and he inspired millions of people. Believe me, he told me personally from the very beginning, "Don't love me, love my teachings." But how can you not be grateful to the person who introduced you to the Guru, who gave the means and method to live a healthy, happy, holy life? All of us have God living and breathing within us. But Yogi Bhajan, the Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, had consciously REALIZED and experienced this consciousness. That's what made him "different." He was a Teacher, not a Preacher! He was able to bring out the best in people. It is a matter of energy. Spirituality cannot be taught, it has to be caught, and he had it, and he shared it. He loved all of humanity. Sacrificed his personal comfort and convenience, and even his health, to serve. The number of people who have had vivid experiences of his presence since he left his body is quite remarkable. I don't think anybody is trying to "hold on" to him as a "person." I hope this helps to clarify, but if you have not experienced him or his teachings for yourself, I don't know that my "testimonial" will make any difference. He never asked anyone to believe in him, or follow him. He brought the teachings of Sikh Dharma to life for us, and encouraged us to experience reading from the Guru, taught us how to set up a Gurdwara, had us learn to sing Gurbani Kirtan, etc. He said, "Doing is believing." It is only because of his teachings that Sikh Dharma exists as it does in the West. I could go on and on! Get the next issue of the magazine, "Aquarian Times" which is devoted to Yogi Bhajan's life and teachings as experienced by many many people, and you may get some idea of the greatness of this spiritual giant who walked humbly among us. SP