10th Anniversary Celebration

​10th Anniversary Celebration
of the Life & Legacy
of the Man Called Siri Singh Sahib ~ Yogi Bhajan
October 3-6th, 2014

​By M.S.S. Krishna Kaur

It was a beautiful fall weekend in Espanola, New Mexico and there was a definite buzz of anticipation in the air. It was as if we were gathering once again after ten years to sit at the feet of our beloved teacher, The Man Called Siri Singh Sahib ~ Yogi Bhajan. In essence, that is exactly what we did for four glorious days. We sat in his gardens, played the music he loved, meditated deeply as a family, bowed to the Guru, sang stories of old times and chanted mantras in gratitude for his life and legacy.

​People came from places around the world, drawn to share the moment even though some had never met the Siri Singh Sahib. Others were attending one of our Dharmic events for the first time, for reasons they themselves didn’t totally understand. It was a calling! A calling many of us have heard and answered over the years that brought us together yet once again.

The feeling everywhere was joyous, relaxed and full of reverence and appreciation just to be a part of the celebration. Our opening presentation on Friday the 3rd was a kriya by Ardas Kaur from our Mexico community. Our Bhangra troupe led by Ravi Kaur kicked off the evening with grace and excitement to whoops and hollers from the audience followed by an evening of Oldies but Goodies by our grey bearded youngsters. Livtar Singh, Gurutrang Singh, Guru Singh, Guru Ganesha Singh, Dev Suroop Kaur, Harbhajan Kaur, Guru Sangat Kaur, myself and a host of us “Old Timers” reminisced with song and laughter during that opening night. From the stage we heard that Vietnam was getting our live feed, as was Russia, Australia, New York, India, Canada and more. The weekend was launched just the way Yogi Bhajan would have liked, and there was no looking back.

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Sadhana in the large presentation tent, and Gurdwara in his small Ranch Gurdwara planted seeds of blessings to begin each day that echoed his voice of love and devotion to the Guru. Amazing Kundalini Yoga classes, stories that kept us laughing, and meditations that continue to stabilize our communities were offerings that honored Yogi Bhajan every single day. A highlight for many was the stories of how 3HO got started in Europe with Tarn Taran Singh and Kaur and Satya Singh from Hamburg. The weekend continued to soar with the address by the Jethadar of the Akal Takht, the uplifting music of Snatam Kaur, Ajeet Kaur, Guru Ganesha Singh and Sat Kartar Singh on Sunday evening after we all joined the 40th day Spirit Voyage Global Sadhana meditation that was done live with our worldwide community.

The last day held the greatest sense of love and gratitude as we celebrated the actual hour of his crossing over. Hundreds sang and chanted in a candle light procession from the Hacienda de Guru Ram Das Gurdwara to the Dome where Siri Singh Sahib lived, loved and left his body. The vibration was incredibly high on this balmy moonlit night as we filed onto the Ranch, and settled on the mat covered ground in front of the Dome. We crossed the hour meditating with 31 minutes of Guru Guru Wahe Guru, Guru Ram Das Guru led by Livtar Singh and others. Candles still lit, decorative lights everywhere, a large photo of the Siri Singh Sahib strategically mounted so the musicians on the adjacent roof appeared to be floating on his arc line. It was magical to be there facing the Dome and feeling the power of his presence.
​(Please note: The pictures in these albums are the property of the photographers and were not taken on behalf of the SSSC.) ​

For twenty plus hours a day, there were approximately a hundred people serving the event. For several weeks prior, under the supervision of one of our second generation young adults, Simran Singh, most of the thirty areas of operation were managed by our mature and very capable young adults. That made the 10th Anniversary Celebration even more significant, since the Siri Singh Sahib always reminded us that these teachings were mostly for our grandchildren. Well, Sir, the grandchildren are showing up and doing a great job.

There was another underlying spirit during the celebration that was not overtly present, but definitely there. Over the past ten years, by the Grace of God and Guru, we learned, despite some of the initial challenges immediately following his death, that we can definitely hold the vision and mission of the Siri Singh Sahib Yogi Bhajan. There was a humble but confident sense that together we can serve all, big and small, live for each other and not just with each other, and ultimately be examples of a Healthy, Happy, Holy family of peaceful warriors.

I think I can speak for the core members of the 10th Anniversary Steering Committee, namely Gurufateh Kaur, Gobind Kaur, Amrit Singh, Satwant Singh, Gurujot Kaur, Hari Simran Singh, Simran Singh and myself, that the blessing of serving this historic event is one we shall cherish forever. We send many, many heartfelt thanks to all who served tirelessly to make this sacred event a special moment in our history. We also appreciate the selfless dedication and support from all the Non-Profits, for Profit organizations and private donors. Though the list can go on and on, we want to recognize SikhNet, LYF Foundation, 3HO Foundation, Sikh Dharma International, Khalsa Council, KRI and the Siri Singh Sahib Corporation Board of Trustees, without whom this celebration would not have had the significant impact worldwide that it did.

Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh
Blessings to All,
M.S.S. Krishna Kaur Khalsa