Remembering Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan on the 14th Anniversary of His Death

Remembering Siri Singh Sahib Ji

(August 26, 1929 - October 6, 2004)

Today, we celebrate the 14th anniversary of the death of Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan. Through his amazing teachings, he has touched the lives of tens of thousands and it is with great gratitude that we remember his legacy. His life was truly, an amazing journey.

Below we share Shanti Kaur Khalsa's experience of the day he passed from his physical body (October 6, 2004) and an excerpt from a biography of his early years of life.

Shanti Kaur's memory of the day the Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan passed:

Fourteen years ago in the afternoon of October 6th, Yogi Bhajan breathed his last breath. At home on his Ranch, surrounded by family and students, he made that final journey and crossed into the subtle realm of spirit. For as long as I live, I will not forget the sounds, sights and sensations of that day.

Yogi Bhajan had been ill for a long time and was bedridden. The week before, he had his students push his wheelchair around the ashram to look at and touch each and every thing along the way... this rare excursion from his Dome had the joyous feeling of a blessing and the somber weight of a last goodbye.

On Monday, October 4th he started the process of withdrawing into that state of consciousness between life and death. Dark clouds gathered, and the afternoon was battered with thunderstorms. While that is a normal occurrence in summer monsoon season, by fall, New Mexico is usually graced with clear skies. But those three days in October, the sky roared and boomed like I had never seen before. On Wednesday afternoon, there was a wild, whooshing wind that ripped through the ashram with crashing thunder. I was not surprised when the phone call came that Yogi Bhajan had passed....

A brief excerpt from his biography which covers the early years of his life:

An outstanding pioneer in many fields, with a deep and compassionate insight into the human condition, the Siri Singh Sahib, Bhai Sahib, Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji established permanent institutions, created spectacular events, and produced a prolific body of teachings.

The first to publicly teach Kundalini Yoga, when he arrived in the West in 1968, he announced he had come to the West "to create teachers, not to gain students."

Born Harbhajan Singh Puri on August 26, 1929, in the part of India that became Pakistan in 1948, he was the son of a medical doctor. He spent his youth in privileged environments in private schools and his summers in the exclusive Dalhousie mountain region of Himachal Pradesh. As a young boy, he attended a Catholic convent school.

When he became a United States Citizen in 1976, Yogi Bhajan changed his name legally to Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji.

When he was just eight years old, he began his yogic training with an enlightened teacher, Sant Hazara Singh, who proclaimed him to be a Master of Kundalini Yoga when he was sixteen and a half.

During the turmoil of partition in 1947, at the age of 18, he led his village of 7000 people, near what is now Lahore Pakistan, 325 miles on foot to safety in New Delhi, India. He arrived in New Delhi with only the clothes on his back. Displaced Indians were given houses in India and soon he was able to continue his education at Punjab University where he excelled in debate and was a star athlete, playing both hockey and soccer and earning the name "China wall" from his opponents.

After graduating with a degree in Economics, he began Indian government service with India's Internal Revenue Department and supervised the creation of the IRS building in New Delhi. Shortly thereafter he moved to the Customs Service and became head of Customs at Palam International Airport (now known as New Delhi's Indira Gandhi Airport)....