Remembering Summer Solstice 2012

By GuruPrem Singh Khalsa

That was number thirty-four for me, that is, consecutive Summer Solstices. Wow! So many. What sets this year apart from the prior thirty-three? First of all, coming annually to Summer Solstice is a lot like a long term marriage. Having been married for 22 consecutive years gives me some perspective on both. I have remained in a committed relationship to the same person and the same annual Summer Solstice. What keeps me successful in both relationships? Every year, I attend to Summer Solstice for the known and the unknown experiences. This dance of the expected and unexpected sustains my interest and feeds my commitment, both with Summer Solstice and my marriage. 

The Subtle Art of Listening

For about the last thirty years, I have served on the Sound Current Team at Solstice, which consists of about thirty-five people working together as a team to deliver the actual sound current to the many class and event venues. After so many years, I still come to honor this seva, arriving each year at the sound booth with an open heart and hopefully open mind to do this seva. I love the reunion with my annual sound current friends. Each year I renew my ongoing discussions of our Dharmic life with Hari Singh, the head sevadar of the Sound Current Team, and the more we learn about each other, the more were learn about all of us. Each year brings a new crop of “mic-adars,” our affectionate term for people brand new to this special seva. The Sound Current Team is truly an apprentice program for those interested all things audio.

On the surface, this past Summer Solstice seemed like many others before it—setting up the microphones, speakers, TV’s and dealing with the various audio problems and challenges that always occur. What keeps things fresh in any relationship is learning to experience new things from familiar things. Repetition can remain fresh if you can gain a deeper experience from the subtle. The Sound Current Team requires the ability to listen on many levels. This skill has served me well in every area of my life. We all want to be heard but few really know the art of listening. 

The new music released for this year’s Solstice included many classic mantras played and sung in wonderful new ways. Even the CD I released, Heal Me, had some of the old, done anew. To me, this is a good example of experiencing the thrill of the subtle. I am listening with a newly uncovered layer of myself.

Attitude Adjustment

If the focus was to be on the etheric, then I would have to adjust my expectations. Taken as a whole, it is a weeklong giant group sadhana—asadhana that we were privileged to practice together with 2,500 people. Each face, familiar or not, gets the same greeting, “Sat Nam” - soul to soul, two and a half thousand variations on a sacred relationship with the formless. I go to Solstice to reconnect with my soul mates of destiny. New faces, old faces—the essence of the Sat Nam is the same. The changeless, formless God of Truth connecting our changing forms. I go to Summer Solstice every year expecting changes in the Solstice and myself. These changes can be surprising, like the improvements to the site itself—the expanded Tantric shelter. More subtlely, there were slightly different decorations, the dinner lettuce became a salad, and almond milk was served with the Yogi Tea as a new offering. And what about Guru Singh’s wake up? His voice was reassuringly familiar, but the “band” was a bit different—new voices, new instruments. 

Meeting the Challenges of Solstice

This year Summer Solstice spoke from the ethers and my listening was challenged, my relationship tested. Summer Solstice 2012 celebrating the Ether element, the subtle, made its presence known in some seemingly non-etheric ways. This provided environments that were at times harsh, but I learned to be more subtle from things that were not subtle. It was hotter and more crowded, and remaining calm and graceful put many, including myself, to the test.

We experienced audio difficulties that should have been simple fixes but were not. I found myself saying, “I can’t fix this problem, Guru you do it, make theses microphones work.” Ultimately all the audio problems we faced were solved. 

Then there was the White Tantric Yoga. This year being a veteran didn’t seem to help. When my arms hurt I would pray, "Guruji, hold up my arms," and they were held. 

When the wind nearly blew our tent down keeping me awake all night with the noise and concern, a prayer from my heart to the ethers asked the Guru to please get me through this night, and I got through it. 

After a hot and dusty day when my only thought was a shower, I found the showers not working! That was the moment when my misery meter started rising high, and I thought briefly about ending my faithful relationship to Summer Solstice. Instead something spoke to me from the ethers and I was reminded of the power and protection of the covenant I made with my commitment to annually attend Summer Solstice. I came to realize that missing a shower was a blessing so the dust of Ram Dass Puri could remain a bit longer, allowing a deeper healing. 

People have been coming to this sacred land for thousands of years to experience something timeless and immortal. My annual pilgrimage to this sacred land has enabled me to better experience the timeless, formless truth of my own soul. This experience helps me to sustain and nurture my other commitments year after year. In other words I have a covenant with Ram Dass Puri and the Summer Solstice Sadhana, which I attend every year to serve, honor and enjoy, and every year the energy and experience I have from this practice carries me through my other challenges and commitments.

So when I am asked “How was Summer Solstice?” It was, as it has always been—Great!

P.S. For many of us, summer may be a financially, familial or mentally challenging time. Here is a meditation to do that will allow us to listen, prosper and project unto Victory from whatever we are challenged by:

Lotus Prayer for Prosperity & Projection unto Victory https://www.3ho.org/articles/lotus-prayer-prosperity-projection-unto-victory

My Musical Collaboration with Yogi Bhajan and the Making of "Heal Me"

By GuruPrem Singh Khalsa

I have been blessed in many ways through the course of my life. One of the most lasting blessings began in 1976. That was when I began my spiritual journey in earnest. This journey ultimately led me to become a student of Yogi Bhajan and a Sikh of the Guru. The miracle of my growth continues to this day as the Siri Singh Sahib’s (Yogi Bhajan's) teachings and the Guru’s wisdom continually bring new challenges and understandings into my life.

The student/teacher relationship has many facets, some of which are tests and challenges and ultimately successes. Yogi Bhajan provided me with numerous tests and challenges, as he did for many of his students. Of those challenges, one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling was our musical collaborations. This musical partnership began in 1988. I was fortunate to live in Los Angeles and in the same neighborhood as Yogi Bhajan. This afforded me many opportunities to be with him personally.

At the time, I was experiencing difficulties in my personal life, so to distract myself, I decided to start a new hobby: the art and science of audio recording. I started by making simple recordings of other people's music, mantras and meditations. As these efforts began to circulate around our community, they eventually found their way to the ears of Yogi Bhajan. He inquired about these recordings and how I made them. I explained that I was studying recording as well as practicing piano and guitar. I also informed him that I had built a small recording studio in the garage of the ashram where I was living. His interest increased regarding my hobby andits potential.

The Making of Ong Namo

A short time later, in his living room, he sang the melody for 'Ong Namo Gur Dev Namo.' He only sang it one time but the template was captured on a small cassette recorder. I was instructed to make a 31 minute version of the Ong Namo mantra. He requested that I use Nirinjan Kaur, one of his senior staff, to sing the vocal. So, I went home and made a simple recording with a few instruments and Nirinjan Kaur added her voice. Soon after, I brought a cassette back for his comments. At first listen, he seemed delighted with the results. Our first recording is still being used today in White Tantric Yoga® courses and by Kundalini Yoga teachers.

A Continuing Collaboration

Thus began our musical collaboration. It continued for about five years, from 1988 until 1993. With his guidance, I recorded over thirty poems and mantras. These collaborations gave me numerous opportunities to speak directly with Yogiji. Often I would ask for clarification and even make suggestions such as adding extra verses or a mantra to his poems. With few exceptions, Nirinjan Kaur sang the lead vocals on what became known as: The songs for the Aquarian Age.

Nirinjan Kaur continued to bring me more of his poems and mantras, often with very specific instructions. Truly a lifetime of creative output was waiting for me. In addition to his very specific arrangement ideas, he often wanted me to write, record and deliver a finished cassette tape to him, in as little as a day! The song Tantric Har, is an example of a one day production. It was a great privilege to work so closely and creatively with Yogi Bhajan. I truly treasure these memories.

From the first Ong Namo to this day, the spirit of our collaboration continues. I feel very blessed to have completed our latest project, Heal Me.

The Genesis of Heal Me

Having just completed the recording of Suite: Kirtan Soheila at the end of 2011, I thought a hiatus from musical creativity would be good idea. As I lay in bed one night in December 2011, a voice came to me. This was the voice of the Siri Singh Sahib, my spiritual teacher. Hearing my teacher’s voice has been a very common experience for me, having spent thirty years in his physical presence. In addition, I have continued reading his books, listening to his lectures and teaching the wisdom he shared so freely with all of his students. Throughout these 36 years as his student, I continue to maintain a close relationship with his spirit.

So, as I lay in bed that night, trying to fall asleep, I heard him clearly demanding that I should begin a new album. This command was from his subtle body, but felt real enough that I committed myself to act on it. This was to be an album for healing—healing on multiple levels. The healingswould encompass the physical, mental, financial, spiritual and creative realms, and even our Dharmic community.

The Agony and Ecstasy of the Creative Process

I committed myself to begin this album, but I felt anxious about starting a new project so close to having just completed Kirtan Soheila. For me, musical creativity can be an endeavor that is both agony and ecstasy. Recording Kirtan Soheila, was a great blessing but was physically and emotionally exhausting, as I wrote in my earlier blog posts. Between the two albums, I have spent nine months focused on the recording process.

And recording the album Heal Me coincided with my own health challenge. In January 2012, I developed a very stubborn respiratory virus that took about three months to heal. So making Heal Me was really intertwined with healing myself. Recording this album brought me into a new depth in my own spiritual development and allowed me to experience a profound sense of trust and renewal. I am most grateful to God, Guru and the Siri Singh Sahib for guiding me through this challenge.

Putting music to words that come either from the Guru or my teacher is exciting and at times exasperating. Getting what I hear in my head and heart into a finished recording takes time, skill, money and a bit of “fairy dust,”—some unplanned magic. Then there is the concern that my efforts might not turn out as well as hoped for. To achieve success on this project I had the very good fortune to again work with Randy Emata, the album's producer, as well as my wife, Simran Kaur. Together, I believe we have created something very special. A big part of the magic of recording Heal Me was Simran's singing. Her voice brought life to the Siri Singh Sahib’s words. Simran sang all but one of the main vocal tracks. In addition we had great musicians contributing their special talents to the recording of the album's songs.

The Songs of Heal Me

Deciding what material to use was a meditative and intuitive process for me. By ‘material’ I mean the poems and mantras that are the essence of these compositions. Most of the poems used on the album can be found in Yogi Bhajan’s book, The Game of Love. Individually the songs have their own stories and/or meditative experiences, but taken as a whole the album becomes greater than the sum of individual songs. The songs are meant to be experienced as a connective story that moves the listener to wholeness.

Creation

The album begins with “Creation.” The soundscape invokes the beginning of creation, with the first primordial sound of Ek, the One projecting itself, and thus creation unfolds into the vastness of time and space. The listener hears the sound Ek Ong Kar Sat Nam Siri Wahe Guruas it morphs from one sound into two, then three, four, and ultimately five. These voices represent the five tattvas, the elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. With the manifestation of the elements, God reveals Himself through his Mantra.

One Vibration

The Mantra is explained and restated in the song “One Vibration,” which ends with the sound of the Shaman voice proclaiming the human spirit on Earth.

Heal Me

Next, the journey moves to "Heal Me." The central theme of "Heal Me" is the chorus: Kurdat khavan kaha vichar. Human birth is the opportunity to experience God’s love as the true power that moves the Universe. Only by acting in a way that allows us to receive God's love is any real good done. Our healing becomes pleasing to God, as we move closer to His true nature and embody the form of the formless. The more we embody the form of God, the deeper and more complete the healing. The challenges of being on Earth and in this body often cause the human spirit to lose its way and forget its purpose. Sadly, this often leads to despair. Heal Me is a plea, a prayer for our restoration and redemption so we may become whole.

Heal My World

From Heal Me the journey moves to “Heal My World.” This song the calls for the collective healing of all of us. Healing must start with the individual but must move to and through the whole world. Through faith, the Divine is realized, as we sing and chant the primal sounds of Ha, Ma, Ra, Ya, Sa. From our collective oneness, we call through Thy Word to restore and heal the world for each individual and all of humanity.

My Song

“My Song” takes the listener into the mind of Yogi Bhajan. This song is his personal prayer for those who are committed to living for each other, as siblings of destiny. The poem tells his story of his challenges that he faced as a spiritual teacher. “My Song” clearly states the purpose of the Siri Singh Sahib ji’s (Yogi Bhajan’s) mission. This song simply and eloquently describes his hopes and prayers for all of his students to live and become “holy, happy and bright” and that our legacy, and ultimately our individual and collective destinies, will live on in our smiles and our songs. This is a song for our collective healing as a body of righteous living humans. To me it is the “theme” song for our spiritual community, the “siblings of destiny.”

Prosperity Hymn

For a conscious community to grow, we must prosper, and this prosperity must include the physical, mental, spiritual and financial realms. The song “Prosperity Hymn” provides a healing for our individual and collective pro-spira (for the breath). To know God inside and out we must open our hearts as well as the smallest cells of our bodies. Thus our total being is able to receive the needed resources and we become prosperous. Even our cells can heal and prosper as we sing the chorus ofAng Sang Whahay Guru: “Every cell of mine is filled with love and light.” This song states the essence of Yogi Bhajan’s teachings on prosperity.

Inahee Kee Kirpa

The student on a spiritual path will always be tested and challenged. It is only by the Grace of God that we are truly successful and saved from suffering. Trust in God and Guru heals all doubt, which then allows His grace to deliver us from our limitations and weaknesses. This is the essence of the song "Inahee kee kirpa.” This type of music is known as Gurbani Kirtan, meaning song of the Guru. This shabad was written by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. It speaks the Guru’s wisdom to give an understanding of how, through God's Grace, we are blessed, and by his Grace we receive all we need to fulfill our destinies. Receiving God’s Grace bestows a special healing that protects, nurtures, educates, and allows us to share without fear and insecurity. Singing God's praise deepens the relationship between our souls and the One who created us. The gratitude we share in our songs keeps the bonds of God’s love flowing to and through us.

Siri Simrity

I believe there can be no peace on Earth until there is grace on Earth. ‘Siri Simitry’ is a special mantra for healing the grace of all women. Grace on Earth can only be achieved when women know that their true strength and power lie in their ability to live and act gracefully. It is only through graceful women that our future will be secure with the birth of heroes, givers and saints. Unfortunately, many women have been damaged by circumstances and their dignity, divinity, and ultimately their grace has been compromised.This mantra can heal the damage by experiencing the affirmation that it affords. Siri Simitry translates as: Great meditating princess, Great goddess of good fortune, Great Undying, Wow! The experience of Infinity guided by the Guru. Creativity, Great Creativity, Wow! The experience of the Infinite, guided by the Guru.

Time and Space

To live in the ease known as Sahej, is the antithesis of disease. To be one with God within time and space as the song proclaims, is to be free from cause and effect, traumas and dramas. To affirm that, 'I am the star of the human race,' is a confirmation of the pure light radiating without the karmic shadows. The 'great wonder of life' is the Grace of God that keeps the world from total chaos and sufferings. That is the essence of the healing. Through God’s pure light and our human experience we can share this consciousness. As we share it, we heal and become spiritual sons and suns. This song represents both a completion of healing consciousness, and also a new beginning as healers who deliver the world from the sufferings of time and space.

Available now to listen or buy at: http://simran-kaur-khalsa.bandcamp.com/ Also at: www.SpiritVoyage.com and iTunes

Guru Prem Singh Khalsa was named 'Posture Master' by Yogi Bhajan. He is a Master Yogi and he has been practicing and teaching Yoga for over 30 years. He is certified K.R.I. Kundalini Yoga teacher trainer and an advanced Kundalini and Ashtanga Yoga practitioner. An expert on body awareness in relation to personal growth, he travels all over the world teaching the tools and rules of Divine Alignment and having your Heart Rule.

GuruPrem has had an active practice at the World famous Khalsa Medical Clinic in Beverly Hills as a structural, breath, and Yogic and Massage Therapist for over 28 years. He understands the body, and can read its patterns of tension and breathing. The author of three books, The Heart Rules, Divine Alignment and the new Everyday Devotio, GuruPrem is also a musician, producer and composer. He has produced and arranged more than twelve albums of Mantra music, Chanting, Kirtan, Gurbani and Spiritual Songs including the new Suite: Kirtan Sohila, The Heart Rules, Tantric Har, Aquarian Sadhana, The Therapy Series with Nirinjan, and more.

Becoming the Posture Master

By GuruPrem Singh Khalsa

I often get asked, “Just exactly what is it that you do?"  As in, what is my day job? 
 
In a very simple sense I could answer that I am a 'Posture Master' and I teach people how to use their bodies and minds to live a calm, contented and comfortable heart centered life. In reality I am Kundalini yoga teacher, both in a classroom and as a therapist. I use a variety of techniques both verbal and tactile to assist people in achieving a healthier relationship with their body, mind and spirit. 
 
I have worked for the last 30 years at the Khalsa Medical Clinic in Beverly Hills, CA with my colleague and good friend, Dr. Soram Khalsa.  It is my goal for myself and others to be able to carry our heart consciously, as well to embody the virtues and qualities within our hearts. In doing this, all our physical, mental and divine alignments improve. This is the work of a posture master. 
 
Here is how I became a posture master.

In 1997 Yogi Bhajan bestowed on me the very unexpected title: Posture Master.  Being so titled came about during one of my regular visits to his home in Los Angeles where I went to treat his various aches and pains that developed from the challenges of his work. I had been blessed with the special privilege of treating him for about twenty-five years, starting in 1980 while I was traveling with him during his European teaching tour. I was enjoying the beach at a hotel outside of Barcelona when he called me back into his hotel room where he was lying in bed. He asked me help his back, which was causing him a great deal of pain.  At first this was quite intimidating, receiving his trust to help improve his physical comfort, but over the years it became one of the great joys in my life. The following day he asked me to help one of his administrative assistants with her physical challenges. From that time forward until right before he passed away, Yogi Bhajan would send people to me for anything from aches and pains to sophisticated yogic guidance. For many years he referred to me as the, 'technician.'  That too changed over time as, with his guidance, I became less technical and more compassionate and intuitive. That transformation continues today as the Kundalini science of “angles and triangles” requires very exact technique but also compassion and intuition. Over time I have learned to use my technique as a tool to serve the spirit and soul of others as well as myself.
 
A bit of my background may help to explain my technical nature. Starting at an early age I studied piano. I learned from a strict Russian teacher who paid a great deal of attention to how I sat at the piano: spine straight, shoulders back and relaxed, hands curved in the proper fashion. It was all about the proper relationship to the instrument. Although he never stated it, I was being trained to put my heart into my hands. The goal was to learn the technical and then to transcend it. In other words I was being trained to eventually play the music by heart.  Not an easy thing to do, leaving the “head” and just playing in the flow of the moment, but that was the goal. Because of my “karma” it was not easy for me to transcend my intellect and the domain of thinking.
 
A few years later I also began to train in gymnastics. Gymnastics followed a similar pattern of learning basics then building skills until becoming technically adept. Of course technique is needed to express oneself, whether tumbling on the floor or engaged with gymnastic apparatus. Both music and gymnastics have their own unique languages for communicating through technique. Music and gymnastics were the two disciplines that taught me to appreciate the value of technique.
 
When I was 11 years old and in the fifth grade another event occurred which provided me a great opportunity to begin learning about posture and spinal alignment. My elementary school gave basic health exams which included an assessment of our standing posture.  Those who were considered to have poor posture were offered a special corrective class to improve their alignment. Twice a week a special teacher taught various corrective exercises. Because I didn’t care much for my fifth grade teacher or perhaps because I was just curious, I made a deliberate effort to purposely fail the posture evaluation. Having succeeded at failing the exam, I began a twice-weekly posture improvement program. I don’t recall all the details of the class other than the therapist’s deep devotion to teaching correct alignment, and that she used many exercises and techniques to help us improve our spinal alignment. Many of the exercises and therapies were similar to basic yoga. These special classes provided me with an early understanding of why good posture is important as well as my first experiences of awareness through movement.  Although I never let anyone in on my ruse, it can be safely stated that I became her most improved student.
 
At the age of 16 I got a a summer job teaching gymnastics at a local YMCA. This is when I formally became a teacher. I knew immediately that my calling was to share the unique skills and knowledge I was acquiring.
 
Starting then and continuing now, I am filled the greatest joy when I teach from my own experiences.
 
After high school I attended the University of Southern California on a full athletic scholarship for gymnastics. Interestingly, my college gymnastic experience was not very joyful. It was performed out of an obligation to keep the scholarship. I had lost interest in competition, but I continued to love the learning and the mastering of the skills and techniques.
 
Academically, I focused on my major in economics and social science. These were the studies of how social political and economic energies moved and circulated. This was particularly true with economics.  Studying the flow of capital in the various systems throughout the world would lend itself well to my future studies on how the various systems of the body circulate energy. After college I began to work for my mother who was doing research in the neurosciences at UCLA and elsewhere. This was quite a different direction from my earlier studies but would offer me an ideal preparation for my future interests and occupation.

Fast-forward 21 years to 1998.

One dayI received a call to come over and treat the Siri Singh Sahib.  I arrived at his house and walked into his living room where he sat in his usual chair surrounded by about twenty people. I greeted him in the usual respectful manner and before I could even sit down Yogi Bhajan announced that I needed a title. No one there knew exactly what he meant, but he suddenly conferred upon me the rather unique title of, 'Poster Master.'  This was both amusing and humbling. To be on any path of mastery is a great undertaking, but to be told you already are a master was difficult for my mind to accept.  So as I’m standing before him somewhat shocked, Yogi Bhajan asked how I felt. I responded with a bit of humor, I promised not to slouch.  As a devoted student of my spiritual teacher I was committed to the disciplines he put before me. Being given the title of ‘Master’ seemed to put a new standard of consciousness upon me.

In our community news travels fast, and for the next few months people I knew and didn’t know wanted an explanation of what this new title meant.  I wasn’t completely sure myself and I tended to be somewhat dismissive about its importance when asked.  But in my heart I knew this to be a serious elevation of my relationship to my teacher, my destiny and myself.

Now what? What actuality is a posture master? And what changes should I expect from such a mastery? Although I was blessed with the ability to speak personally with Yogi Bhajan on a regular basis, I never asked him directly about the title.

In my earlier blogs I have written about my musical collaborations with Yogi Bhajan.  By 1997, I had recorded at least 40 songs and mantras from his direct request and inspirations. This relationship trained me to listen to his words in a very special way.  By listening deeply to his poetry, I usually understood how he wanted the musical versions arranged. This form of deep listening would prove invaluable on my new path of “Posture Master.” 

During these collaborative years recording Yogi Bhajan's poems I often stayed up late and as a result my yoga practice suffered. It is very easy to get out of a regular yoga practice and ultimately out of shape. That is how I found myself in 1994. My wife was pregnant with our first child and I was definitely in need of more exercise. In addition to being out of shape, aches and pains were becoming all too familiar for me. Even though I spent my days working at Khalsa Medical Clinic helping people with their individual health problems, I was ignoring the state of my own health. That was about to change. Becoming a first time father to my daughter, Harisimran Kaur, inspired me to take better care of myself. I set about making an effort to practice Kundalini yoga every day as well as engage in cardio exercise, my favorite pastime became in-line skating. Within about six months I was feeling much better and I started to practice some very challenging Kundalini Kryias. 

At the age of forty-one I discovered I could not bend and twist as easily as I used to. Kriyas that included challenging postures such as Wheel pose and other deep backbends held a great interest for me. The problem I faced was that the years I had spent sitting around and doing little serious yoga had weakened my spine, making back bends difficult. I refused to accept that I would have to retire from the more advanced kryias. What I needed was a “coach” to give me some technical guidelines. Having been a competitive gymnast and coach myself years earlier, I understood what coaches do. I realized I would need to seek that type of guidance outside of the Kundalini Yoga spectrum. So I began to visit other styles of yoga to find the technical guidance I was seeking.

What I found was, in many ways, more than I expected. Some ways were very useful and some were quite problematic. All in all, studying Yoga asanas from the various schools was quite an education. What I appreciated through all my peripheral studies was the level of consciousness that was always there in the world of Kundalini yoga.  However, I was on a mission to learn what I could about technique, form, and alignment wherever that mission took me. Yoga became my hobby and profession as well as my great spiritual resource. My goal was to learn all 84 major yoga asanas. This I did, along with a lot more.

I would often talk with Yogi Bhajan about my experiences. He was both encouraging, and at the same time he challenged me about my deeper interest and my motivations. It was during this period that I was able to have numerous conversations with him regarding yoga. This was also the first time I had the courage to offer some disagreements regarding the teaching protocols of Kundalini yoga. These discussions usually centered on topics such as whether it was acceptable to use props or use hands-on assistance for the student. I was for them and he was often against their use. It was about this time that he insisted that I become less technical but at the same time continue my studies. It seemed to me like a contradiction, he was giving me more direct orders to improve the teachings of Kundalini Yoga yet telling me not to be so technical.

And this brings me full circle back to how I became the posture master.

In 2001 Yogi Bhajan requested that I write a book about the postures and Kriyas and about how to do Kundalini Yoga correctly. This took much longer than I ever expected, but finally in April of 2004, I personally presented the book Divine Alignment to Yogi Bhajan in Espanola, New Mexico. At the time he was very sick and near the end of his life, but on that particular day he was in good spirits and quite talkative. As I sat with him in his room we had a very different conversation from any we had ever had before. He wanted me to tell him about my life, my family and all about the Los Angeles community with as much detail as I could elaborate. Then we talked about the new book Divine Alignment It had been two years since I received his assignment to write the book and he originally asked me to complete it in a couple of weeks. Now it was two years later and I was finally delivering it. He insisted that I read him portions from the new book aloud, and so I began reading, thinking a few paragraphs would be enough, but he kept on insisting that I continue. After about ten minutes of reading I paused and looked at him for a sign of approval. What I received were the last words that I would ever hear him speak from his physical body, “That is very good. Now I can sleep.”

Now it is eight years later I still strive to continue to improve myself, both as a student as well as a teacher. Any mastery I have comes from my master, who I serve and will continue to serve. That is my Guru, the master of my heart.

Sat Nam

GuruPrem Singh Khalsa is the Author of 3 books related to Kundalini Yoga: Divine Alignment , The Heart Rules and Everyday Devotion - The Heart of Being He continues his practice at Khalsa Medical Clinic, as well as teaching in Courses and Teacher Trainings around the World.  For more information on his teaching schedule visit www.DivineAlignment.com