The Applied Identity of Woman

By PhD Yogi Bhajan

Recognizing the need to educate women about women, Yogi Bhajan created a special summer intensive training program for women called Khalsa Women's Training Camp (KWTC). The women in training program took place in Española, NM, USA, during summer starting in 1976 and continued for twenty years. Every year he spent up to 8 weeks directly teaching

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kundalini Research Institute
• Release date: Aug 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781934532348

PhD Yogi Bhajan

Yogi Bhajan was declared a Master of Kundalini Yoga at the age of 16. He came to the United States in 1969 and openly taught this transformative technology for the next 35 years, until his last breath in Aug 2004. In the turbulent drug culture of the 70s, Yogi Bhajan first reached out to the youth. He recognized that their experimentation with drugs and "altered states of consciousness" expressed a desire to experience themselves and a longing for family, for connection to their soul and their community. In response to this innate longing, he created a family known as 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization). Soon, 3HO ashrams began springing up across the United States and throughout the world.He sparked a movement whose tendrils have woven their way into numerous aspects of our culture. Yoga and meditation have gained widespread acceptance in the West and the holistic health movement he introduced through diet, herbs, and lifestyle technologies. Born Harbhajan Singh in what is now Pakistan to a family of healers and community leaders, Yogi Bhajan studied comparative religion and Vedic philosophy in his undergraduate years and received his Masters in Economics with honors from Punjab University. Years later, he earned his Ph.D. in communications psychology from the University of Humanistic Studies in San Francisco. Yogi Bhajan emerged as a religious, community, and business leader with a distinguished reputation as a man of peace, world vision, wisdom, and compassion. He founded several food companies that manufacture and distribute natural products based on these teachings. He fostered economic development in communities around the world. He is also the author of several books on yoga philosophy, business, and communication during his lifetime.The Kundalini Research Institute continues his legacy through The Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings, the International Teacher Training in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan®, and the publications of lectures and kriyas to serve the community of teachers, students, and practitioners around the world. See www.kundaliniresearchinstitute.org to learn how you can help keep the legacy alive!

Book preview

The Applied

Identity

of

Woman

WOMEN IN TRAINING XXII 1997

LECTURES BY YOGI BHAJAN, PH.D.

Kundalini Research Institute, 1998

PROJECT SUPERVISOR

Sat Kirpal Kaur Khalsa, Ph.D

SENIOR CONSULTING EDITOR

Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa

EDITORS

Guru Raj Kaur Khalsa

Ek Ong Kar Kaur Khalsa

GURMUKHI EDITORS

Guru Raj Kaur Khalsa

Tej Kaur Khalsa

MEDITATION ILLUSTRATOR

Shabad Kaur Khalsa

TRANSCRIPTION

Tej Kaur Khalsa

Nirmal Kaur Khalsa

Guru Karm Kaur

LAYOUT & DESIGN

Guru Raj Kaur Khalsa

Copyright © 1998, Kundalini Research Institute

All rights reserved. No part of this book, text, or illustrations, may be reproduced in any form or by any means, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without permission in writing from the publisher.

eISBN 978-1-934532-34-8

Table of Contents

1    See God in All

June 29, 1997 Gurdwara Lecture

2    Act Great & Never Be Turned By Fate

June 30, 1997

3    Values & Virtues

July 1, 1997

4    Be Straight & Live at a Higher Rate

July 2, 1997

5    Recuperate the You in You

July 3, 1997

6    You Are Born to Lead

July 4, 1997

7    A Classical Way to Conquer Time & Space

July 6, 1997 Gurdwara Lecture

8    Integrated Applied Consciousness & Caliber

July 7, 1997

9    The Unknown Knows You

July 8, 1997

10  Become Priceless

July 9, 1997

11  The Integrity of a Woman

July 10, 1997

12  The Woman Within the Woman

July 11, 1997

The Meditations

Glossary

Index

Resources

Other Books

IN THE

WOMEN IN TRAINING SERIES

BY YOGI BHAJAN

See Sources & Resources on page 142 for ordering information

Notes to the Reader

• Gurdwara lectures by Yogi Bhajan are included in the Khalsa Women's Training Camp (KWTC) Lecture Notes for each year. Of interest to both men and women, these lectures usually focus on the teachings of the Ten Gurus and the Siri Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh sacred written words), providing information and depth about the Sikh Dharma lifestyle that we believe you and future generations will appreciate.

• In quotations from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, Sanskrit scriptures, or verses in Punjabi or Gurmukhi, where possible, the author's name and page number of the source follow the quoted material. For example, "Guru Arjan, Siri Guru Granth Sahib, page 467." Please note that in certain instances, we have included the name of the familiar prayer in which the quotation appears (e.g., Guru Nanak, Siri Guru Granth Sahib, page 2 (from 2nd pauree of Japji). This means that it appears in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib on page 2, within the prayer called Japji, not on page 2 of Japji.

• You may come across unfamiliar terms. You will find an extensive Glossary at the end of the book.

• Always consult your physician before beginning this or any other exercise program. Nothing in this book is to be construed as medical advice. The benefits attributed to the practice of Kundalini Yoga come from the centuries-old yogic tradition. Results will vary with individuals.

Invocation

Blessed is my identity which is visiting the planet Earth for reality.

Blessed is my reality which gives me the identity to recognize all there is.

In this universe of ours, in individual, and total sum,

blessed are those words which are spoken with love and affection.

Blessed are those acts which serve and inspire others.

Blessed are those humans who feel the light to remove

the darkness in the lives of others.

Blessed are those virtues which make you trustworthy.

Blessed are those values which make you bright, beautiful, and bountiful.

May the creative consciousness of God carry you each day

into the life which has the height, width, depth, and length,

so you can walk the distance of your destiny with pride and grace.

Woman in grace is a living goddess of the time.

Woman with service and with a mission is the divine soldier of God.

May you understand this planet is based on your creativity, sensitivity, and intelligence.

May your consciousness guide you to perfection.

Sat Naam.

1

JUNE • 29 • 1997

See God in All

Gurdwara Lecture

Wahe Guru ji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru ji ki Fateh!

We were very happy when we discovered that we had found a jewel when, with God's Will, we founded Hacienda de Guru Ram Das. This was six acres of land and a house. We were only eleven people, and we could be accommodated very easily. Over the years, we did what we did. Some of us left; some of us fought for it; some stayed. But the Hand of God, as destiny took it, worked it out.

At one point that house which used to hold the Guru was too small for us, so we expanded it. At the time we expanded it, we were thinking, My God, we have made such a beautiful, big Gurdwara with our own hands, we should be very happy and proud of it. We put gold on it with our own hands. Lightning came, but it didn't burst it. Oh, it's a miracle, miracle, miracle!

And today the sangat is so large that half of the sangat is sitting outside, half is sitting inside, and the same rule applies to everybody: one by one the courtiers of the Guru come and bow, and ask for blessing.

That's fine. Had you been Indian Sikhs, it would be enough. But for you, each one still has to go out with all their weaknesses—mental, spiritual, physical—and take the light of the Guru—the Shabd Guru—and reach the world. There is nothing in between. I want to tell you, if anybody has a misunderstanding of this mission, they will be missing something great. Because the tragedy is for three thousand years the pandits in India told the people of India not to cross the ocean. And that impact has become a culture. The cultural impact has made Sikhs slaves. It's not their fault. They are all stuck.

I was talking to some Indian Sikhs this morning, asking them to come out and deal with the mission. Many well-to-do, educated Gursikhs told me, Yogiji, why did you have to drag yourself all this way, this six thousand miles?

I said, What is six thousand miles? You should be going around the world every day. I was telling this man. If I understand correctly, you are worth four hundred million dollars. You should not sit home. You should go out to every place. You are a perfect example of a householder and a Sikh. Why aren't you doing that?

No, no, no, first you come.

I said, I'll come. That's all right. I'll come. But what about you?

Guru has given you a mission. That's what they tell me. Guru has given you a blessing.

What's wrong with you guys? Guru has not given you a mission? You are here because this lifetime you found this. You are not here because you just found something to do. No. You have been here for centuries and centuries, and infinity to infinity, and your soul has been seeking, circle by circle.

Once we were getting ready to land at the Chicago airport. They had told the pilot, You are number forty-eight for landing. Forty-eight planes were circling around, landing, and our number was forty-eight.

So they told him, Circle around until your turn for landing comes. Each time drop one thousand feet. I saw that; I thought you should all have seen that.

You have taken many, many circles, with all your ego and mess-up, calling me names and telling me I am a pusher. Yogiji? Oh, we should not go and see him; he tells something new.

What am I asking you? I am asking you nothing. I am asking you, Learn the definition of a Sikh.

Honee naal jo lenday mathaa sikh akhaavan so-ee

Kaa-ee vaar has kay ronee ant na honee rohee

- Punjabi poem

Those who fight misfortune and calamity are called Sikhs.

Many times the calamity smiles with its victory, but in the end it always loses.

Those who face calamity with smiling faces are called Sikhs. Many times the calamity feels that it has won. In the end calamity is always defeated. This is the progression of a Sikh.

What are you talking about? This sensual, sexual, social, economic life you have shall go away unknown. Nobody will ever know that you were born. Nobody would have ever known me, how many students I have got, what kind of yogi I am. Don't worry, that's not important. It was not important, it is not important, it shall not be important.

But those who will put on their cummer kasaa¹, who tighten their belts and carry the mission shall be remembered and never forgotten.

That's why you were born, actually. The problem is that you waste most of your time on neurological thinking. It is called mental thinking. Even though the first thing Guru Nanak said was:

Sochai soch na hova-ee jay sochee lakh vaar

-Guru Nanak, Siri Guru Granth Sahib, page 1

(from the 1st pauree of Japji Sahib)

By thinking, thinking a hundred thousand times, God cannot be realized.

He is saying: Don't think. Thinking won't do. You may think a hundred thousand times.

Because the question is, between any object and subject there is ten percent plus ten percent—twenty percent known. Eighty percent is unknown.

You know Dr. Harijot and Seva Kaur? They went to a restaurant yesterday. They ordered those big paranthas, but forgot them there. The guy drove all the way here to deliver the paranthas. Peraim Kaur was bringing them in.

I said, What is it?

She said, It's not for you.

I said, Well, then, it's for me. And I knew that it was wrong to eat those paranthas but still I ate them. And everybody else ate them.

This morning we sent for Seva Kaur and I told her:

Nak nath khasam hath kirat dhakay day

Jahaa daanay tahaa(n) khaanay, naanakaa sach hay

-Guru Angad, Siri Guru Granth Sahib, page 653

The string through the nose is in the Hands of the Lord Master; the mortal's own actions drive him on. Wherever his food is, there he eats it.

O Nanak, this is the Truth.

Those paranthas must be very attractive. Now, this is how I look at it: if a parantha can find its way to the Ranch (laughter!), and it can just feed Siri Singh Sahib, what are you? Dead? If a parantha can find a way to my heart, are you worse than paranthas or better than paranthas? At least think about it. I want to leave you with that thought.

But I asked the parantha, Why should I eat you? My blood sugar will rise horribly, they are going to curse me, and they're not going to give me any food tomorrow.

And the parantha said, I don't have an ego. Eat me. And I ate the parantha. And this morning I was afraid to measure my blood sugar, because I knew it would skyrocket. But still the joy of eating that parantha who came in submission and humility, and in taste, is a memory to me.

And I said to my soul, "My soul, if you do not match up with this parantha, you are going to go around nine hundred sixty million times, around and around, baby; and you are not going to find shelter. That's what I thought; that's what I was contemplating. Otherwise, you would have missed me. Sant Saroop came to give me light healing, and he knocked me out into deep sleep. Luckily, the Guru was good enough to wake me up, so I am in a position to call on you.

I call on you. Doesn't matter what you are. It is called selective act. You, being a Sikh, are a selective act. And in this selective act, those who shall act, become the leaders of the Age of Aquarius. Nobody counts handicaps.

How many of you have read how many times Guru Nanak had health problems? Bolo. Bolo! (Speak. Speak!) Look at the entire history. Has anybody written anything about that? It is only about Guru Hargobind when that cheechak (smallpox) came, and he did sitalee² and got rid of it. Because his father, Guru Arjan, was Guru, he referred to it in a shabd³

S: What about Guru Har Krishan?

YB: No, no. Guru Har Krishan took away the entire disease of Delhi. Yet sometimes even those things are not even mentioned.

All right, how many turbans did Guru Hargobind used to wear? Oh, you are Sikhs—you should know about your Guru. You know about every actor—who divorced who, who's running around with who. Even the TV Guide cannot tell as much as you. Why don't you know how many turbans Guru Hargobind used to wear?

S: Six.

YB: Six is the correct number. How many swords did he used to wear?

S: Two.

YB: Wrong. Four. He wore two swords and two sabres called kataars. Okay. How did Guru Hargobind used to wear his shield—his daal?

S: On his back.

YB: Right shoulder. On his left shoulder he used to have arrows. His dress was so complete, convenient, and so perfect, that even when he was imprisoned at the fort of Gwalior, Emperor Jahangir said, You can make him a prisoner but do not touch his dress.

Now answer truthfully—how many of you feel you are sitting in the presence of Siri Guru Granth? Don't lie about it. How many honestly feel that Guru Ram Das dwells around you? You do? Then for God's sake leave everything to him. It is bad to mix oil and water. It's not good. If you by mistake, or by conviction, or by faith, or by understanding, feel that Guru Ram Das is with you, let's put it this way, then:

Jee kee birthaa ho-i, so gur peh ardaas kar

- Guru Arjan Dev, Siri Guru Granth Sahib, page 519

When you feel hopeless, then turn to the Guru in prayer.

Then tell your story to him. Let him guide your boat of life. If he wants you to fail, there must be a reason. If he wants you to pass, there must be a reason. Because he is the Lord of Miracles and Lord of the Unknown. And you will never regret it.

All your actions should be endorsed. That's why we are very grateful to our father Guru Gobind Singh. He said, Wahe Guru ji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru ji ki Fateh! That means, "My purity as a Khalsa belongs to Wahe Guru, and my victory as a Khalsa belongs to Wahe Guru". Then what do we have? We have only one thing: Serve all with an open heart.

You are very, very, very, very, very cruel people when you close your heart to anyone. Even to your enemies you must be open. You are not what you think you are. You have to act as a selective act. Forgiveness is your virtue. Kindness and compassion are your guides. Caring is your act. That's how we are going to be. Nine hundred sixty million we have been promised.

Hey! All fruits do not ripen. All ripe fruits do not go to the king's table. Not all on the king's table are eaten. Do you know what is eaten? Those which are like those paranthas. They forget they are energy; they find their way. You must also find your way to the heart of people, and you must bow your head and bless them—they will always love to serve you. Seva is such a creative friendship, and it is such an applied consistency of life, that nothing can match it. The Guru has given you a lot of things. Two of the things he gave you are simran and seva.

Simran is nothing but a way to utilize your lost energy and become perfect. The only reason Sikhs in India are suffering is that they have lost simran. They have lost the value. You have simran.

Now the Hazoori jatha⁴ of Amritsar has come here. Whose will is it? It is the Will of God. Can you imagine that? Do you understand how much the Guru loves you? You don't need a certificate. You are a certified missionary of an executive act to uplift humanity. It doesn't matter what the opposition is. Make up your mind.

As wide as you are, as deep as you are, as high as you are, that's all you are. The longitude and latitude decides the journey of the destiny, and the distance of destiny has to be covered. You have to cover it as a dead person or you are to cover it as an alive person, with the blessing of the Words of the Guru in your heart. That is what the story is all about.

I would like to let you know that if anybody ever tells you, Yogiji has done a great job, he is your enemy. Understand it in my way. One who tells you that Yogiji is great also at the same time is telling you, You are small. Do not bear that insult. People talk in many ways which look very commercially correct. The person might say, Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yogiji's our teacher. He's very good. No, there's a teacher in each of you. The faculty of prevailing is in each of you. You have a soul in you that is part of the Infinite Soul, Wahe Guru. So have no misunderstanding whatsoever that Yogiji has done a great job. You are Sikhs of Guru Gobind Singh. He said to his Sikhs,

In hee kee kirpaa kay sajay hum hai nahee mo say gareeb karor parai

-Guru Gobind Singh, Sarb Loh Granth

I am exalted because of their kindness.

Otherwise there are many like me, poor, wandering around.

That man gave his four sons in sacrifice, and then he could say this.

I know your earthly values sometimes bother you. What will happen to me? What will happen to you? What is the worst that can happen? That you die? Big deal. What you leave behind is the strength of the Khalsa.

Don't count how many times your wife or your husband fights with you, or how many children have gone astray, and how many have not. That's not our problem. Our problem is, whosoever we are, we should work to elevate anybody and everybody. Yes, you should have done with your children the same thing. That is what, as a Khalsa, is our basic concept. Our father is Guru Gobind Singh, and our mother is Mata Sahib Deva. We belong to no other relationship. See how free you will be. And if you train your children in that way, there will be no depression, no orphans, no smallness or crudeness. You'll save the whole thing. There is still time, if you have forgotten. Today is a day to remember and to remind you.

We have a father forever, and we have a mother forever, and then on the infinite scale, we have a Heavenly Father, and Mother Earth. We are servants of humanity, and we are friends of every soul. If you cannot see God in all, you cannot see God at all. When people see you, at first glance they must say, Oh, he's very divine.

The best divinity is that at the moment of your duality, you still maintain your divinity. That is the only mental practice you need.

Yesterday somebody called me, he's our brother from Punjab and he was extremely abusive.

And I said, Thank you very much. I am very grateful that at least you remembered me.

He said, God, you know this, you know that.

I said, "I know everything. But today I am very happy. You took away all my karma, and I am so pleased. Today God might have done something to punish me in a worse way. Instead He gave you the telephone, and you called. The first punishment is that you have to pay the bill.

Secondly, you do not know what you are talking about, but you are saying something. You think you are speaking in a very ugly way; I think all that ugliness is within you, so I have recognized you thoroughly well. Now, I said, can you do me a favor?

He said, What?

I said, Repeat what you said. All what you have said so far, now repeat it.

He couldn't speak three words. In the end he said, Well, I, I, I…

I said, What? Are you going to say you are sorry? Don't. Repeat all that dirt you have laid out.

He said, Why do I have to say it a second time?

I said, To have a second layer on you. Because abuse is in you, you throw it at others. Neglect is in you, so you throw it at others. Insecurity is in you, so you throw it at others. There is no solution to all this.

Gaavee-ai sunee-ai man rakhee-ai bhaao Dukh parhar sukh ghar lai jaa-i

-Guru Nanak, Siri Guru Granth Sahib, page 2

 (5th pauree of Japji Sahib)

Singing the praises of God, let your heart be filled with love.

You will then obtain joy in your mind and throw away your pain.

Give all your worries, miseries and misfortunes to the Guru, and take happiness home. These are the words of Nanak and believe me, he works.

See yourselves as parents. If a child is good, you are very happy and good. Similarly, if a human is good, God is very happy and good. God dwells in you. You don't trust Him, that is your problem. That's why they say, In God we trust. Right? But the final line which they forget is that, In God you dwell. God in you dwells. So when you abuse, just remember, He's listening. The Guru says,

Chit gupat tayray sang basaaee

- Punjabi saying

The recording angels of the conscious and subconscious are always with you.

The known and unknown are with you. They are on you, sitting with you, all the time. Your known is not unknown, and your unknown is not known.

I don't want to take much of your time because karah prashaad, what they call guru prashaad, (it is still karah prashaad until it is in the Ardaas) is there for you.

Never, ever, forget three things: First, never, ever, when somebody gives you guru prashaad, just say this. (YB holds up his thumb and index finger to indicate someone asking for a ‘very little’ prashaad). In that way we shorten the blessing. You have a very old habit. When you diet, I have seen you eat chocolates, or you eat that energy bar which is nothing but a mess, and when it comes to guru prashad you do this. (YB repeats the demonstration of asking for very little prashaad)

Second, when you come to the Gurdwara and you cross the threshold, remember you are the courtiers of the Guru's house. You are not a person.

And third, when you go out in the world remember, for every Sikh, Ang Sang Wahe Guru. These are five sounds. There is nothing more or nothing less.

Panch parvaan panch pardhaan

Panchay paa-veh dargeh maan

Panchay soheh dar raajaan

Panchaa kaa gur ayk dhiaan

- Guru Nanak, Siri Guru Granth Sahib, page 3

(from the 16th pauree of Japji Sahib)

Saints are supreme and are approved by God.

Saints gain honor in the court of God.

God's saints look beautiful in God's court.

Saints concentrate their minds on the Guru alone.

When a person takes these five aspects, and the idea that "with me and with every limb of me Wahe Guru is," then Wahe Guru is bound by this celestial sound to be there.

Therefore Khalsaji, make a resolution in your mind. Work hard, serve well, carry the weight of the world, and be in bliss that the Lord God, through His mercy, has selected you to be the Khalsa, to be members of the Panth Khalsa, to be the Sikhdharee of the Khalsa in the West.

It is a joyous day, that even this Guru's house has become too small for us. It is the most wonderful day that we have joined together in our faith. It's a most marvelous stage of history that in twenty-five years we have become a spiritual, sovereign, Khalsa nation.

Remember one thing in history. Guru Arjan Dev had an older brother—Prithi Chand. He did everything to insult him, to debar him and to slander him. But God wanted Guru Arjan to sit on the gaddee, on the throne. Guru Ram Das knew that Guru Arjan was the only one who had the strength to sit on a hotplate and still feel Wahe Guru.

You are sons and daughters of the Guru. Understand that your Guru knows it. What you go through, go through with smiling grace. If you ever remember me, remember me by these my lines:

Honee naal jo lenday mathaa sikh akhaavan so-ee

Kaa-ee vaar has kay ronee ant na honee rohee

- Punjabi poem

Those who fight misfortune and calamity are called Sikhs.

Many times the calamity smiles with its victory,

but in the end it always loses.

He washes all the truth, he washes all the facts. He does it all.

Wahe Guru ji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru ji ki Fateh!

---

1 cummer kasaa. A phrase meaning to square up; to get ready; to bring out one's courage. Literally, a waistband.

2 sitalee. The breath exercise called sitalee pranayam which helps to bring fevers down and rid the body of diseases.

3 He is referring to the shabd from Siri Guru Granth Sahib, page 626. In this shabd, Guru Arjan, in Raag Sorath, says:

"The Perfect Guru has dispelled the fever.

The trumpets of spiritual bliss play.

All the comforts, the Lord has blessed me with.

Extending His mercy, the Lord Himself has given them to me.

The True Guru has himself dispelled my distress.

All the disciples