Sat Nam,

It has been some time since we reached out to the global Sangat through the vehicle of this newsletter.  As you can see we have a new format for our newsletter and we have launched a public Siri Singh Sahib Corporation website.

With the recent formation of an SSSC Sangat Communications committee, we expect to communicate more regularly with our global Sangat.  

The Siri Singh Sahib created a vast organization of for profit and non-profit corporations whose reach touched people around the globe.  The responsibility to oversee that organization lies with the Siri Singh Sahib Corporation in partnership with the boards and employees of the various organizations the Siri Singh Sahib founded.  The growth of Kundalini Yoga and Sikh Dharma is phenomenal, and we are just at the beginning of this expansion.  It seems, wherever you go in the world, you are likely to have someone come up to you and say Sat Nam.  The energy of the various local, national and international events (yoga festivals, Solstices, Baisakhi Day, Sat Nam Fests) is increasing and we are all privileged to be in the forefront of this change in human consciousness.

​In March of 2016, while meditating at the Golden Temple, I received a phone call from the Prime Minister’s office.  Given that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was recently elected along with 17 Sikh MP’s, there was going to be a large celebration for Vaisakhi on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada.   I was requested to sing Kirtan and do the Ardas for the Diwan.  I was honored and felt very grateful to the Guru that I had been asked to participate in such an important day for Sikhs in Canada. When I contemplated the Shabad that I would sing that day, I realized that the specific tune had come to me unexpectedly one Sunday evening after teaching yoga class several years prior.  Jetlagged and just 2 days after arriving back from India, I found myself on a flight to the Canadian capital.

The following day, I briefly met the tabla player.   We only had enough time to sing 2 lines of the Shabad acapella while he practiced the tabla taal on the MP’s office desk. 
   
​The Akhand Paath had already started on Parliament Hill and the Bhog and celebration of Khalsa Day program was to be on April 11th.  Although Akhand Paaths had been done yearly for Vaisakhi since Sikh MPs had been elected, this year was special given the scope of the celebration of Khalsa Day.  Gurdwara Presidents from across Canada were invited to attend, and the entire program was being broadcast live by the media to India and worldwide.  It was a very special program and I could feel the excitement, and the pressure building.  To me, it seemed like the vision of the Siri Singh Sahib ji of Sikhs being integrated within mainstream Canadian Society was coming to fruition for Canadian Sikhs.

This past January I had the privilege to travel to Santiago, Chile to meet the Chilean Sangat and attend the International Yoga festival in Chile. It was a beautiful and uplifting journey.

First, I flew non-stop from LAX to Santiago Airport. The ten-hour flight was comfortable. I took exactly 1 nap and watched 2 movies. I was met at the airport by SSSC staff member Amrit Vela Kaur, her dad Guru Dev Singh from Mexico (who was there to attend the festival) and Amrit Vela’s (fiancé). We drove to Amrit Vela’s home for a refresher stop which involved a shower, change of clothes, rest and a delicious snack. We then jumped into our Chilean SUV for the trip to the yoga festival in Constitución, Chile. The trip took four hours and was quite scenic and educational.
As we got closer to the site I learned about the fires, earthquake and tsunami which have devastated the area in the past several years. In fact, on the day of our arrival, the festival participants held a beautiful memorial service for those who died suddenly in the 2010 tsunami.