Many of us who chose not to live “in the Dharma” left on our own accord, and are quite happy forging our paths as we see fit. We enjoy autonomy, anonymity, freedom of expression, freedom in our attire, dress, hair, the freedom to consume anything we want to consume, etc, etc. But it’s possible that …
Continue reading “Response to “Sikh Dharma Next Generation” (2010)”
They pimped us out
In the time between school in India and my leaving 3HO for good, I lived in the Española ashram, and briefly worked for the Khalsa companies. This was the most difficult time in my young 3HO life. By order of the Siri Singh Sahib (aka Yogi Bhajan), I was ordered to leave college, and told …
Library Point
Indiakids: Are we “Third Culture Kids”?
I was spending time recalling the many boarding schools in Mussoorie (Waverly, Wynberg-Allen, Woodstock, Mussoorie-Modern just to name a few) and came across this term on Wikipedia: “Third Culture Kid” Third Culture Kids or Trans-Culture Kids, (abbreviated TCKs or 3CKs,) whom are sometimes also called Global Nomads, “refers to someone who, as a child, has …
A brief summary of the India program
The boarding schools I went to were GNFC school in Mussoorie and GRD Academy in Dehra Dun. At first GNFC was the school all the parents collectively sent us to, until about 1989. It was a traditional Sikh boarding school that had a British influence, and had separate campuses for boys and girls. The majority …
On Consensus and the Bully Pulpit
Normally when we think of consensus, we think of it in a positive, unifying kind of context – like solidarity. But growing up in 3HO, and having left when I was 18, I’ve developed a different kind of outlook toward consensus and consensus-building. I wasn’t granted an opinion or a voice once I left 3HO. …
On punishment
We were punished a lot. Even before India, at children’s camp, we were often given very unreasonable and bizarre punishments. I’ll go into those children’s camps again soon… Sometimes I think GNFC was actually a haven from those camps – once we were sent off to school, we didn’t have to go to camp anymore. …
On Vegetarianism
Growing up in 3HO I was raised a vegetarian. We ate dairy and cheese, but no eggs and we avoided any food with other animal by-products like lard or chicken stock. I’d say that our diets were very strict, health food diets, but not vegan. Yogi Bhajan often instructed his students to go on fasts, …
Found an interesting blog post by a Kundalini Yoga practitioner. 3HO – Cult or Spiritual Environment? I’m frankly a bit relieved by the writer’s awareness of this issue, because it’s rare that someone deeply engaged in the 3HO or Kundalini Yoga community would ever even use the word “cult” in reference to one’s self. If …
I found this quote on Rick Ross’ website and it struck a chord: “I was researching 3HO for a friend who was asking me about it, and I found this site. I found it interesting, and I’m glad you have it. The group needs to be exposed for what it really is, and not many …
On Given Names
I can’t believe I haven’t yet written about the broad issue of the given name. It’s an issue that I know plagues a number of young adults born and raised in 3HO Sikh Dharma. Sikh Dharma/3HO converts are given a “spiritual” name, with roots in sanskrit and gurmukhi. My given name was three syllables, plus …
Video and the Cult Leader
There are thousands of hours of videotape of Yogi Bhajan’s lectures. Every single lecture I ever had to sit in, there was a video camera on record. When I saw the PBS documentary called Jonestown, the reels and reels of raw footage of Jim Jones reminded me of Yogi Bhajan’s own narcissism, and I hoped …
Pilgrimage to Hemkund, elev. FIFTEEN THOUSAND FEET
View GNFC to hemkund in a larger map My first trip was in 1985 when I was 11. The trip from Mussoorie consisted of two full days on a bus, mostly along a mountain precipice that may or may not have had several land-slides blocking the way, followed by two full days of steep uphill …
Continue reading “Pilgrimage to Hemkund, elev. FIFTEEN THOUSAND FEET”
at GNFC: the teachers
In my years at GNFC school, I and my classmates were routinely harangued by our teachers. They did not understand that we children had just been dropped into a foreign culture, a society with very different rules, behaviors, conventions, languages, and politics. For instance, as American we were accustomed to raise our hand if we …
Cartwheels in a Sari
Listening to the author of “Cartwheels in a Sari”, Jayanti Tamm on NPR this morning. I’m gonna grab a copy for myself, and if you were raised in 3HO or any other high demand religious group, where your spiritual teacher claimed to have a direct connection with God, maybe it’s worth a read. The parallels …
Yogi Bhajan on Wiki
Yogi Bhajan’s page on Wikipedia has some GEMS. For example, he was “the son of a graceful mother”. Who knew? An excerpt on his attitude toward homosexuality reads: “…Yogi Bhajan at first was shocked by the phenomenon. Through the 1970s and early 1980s, Yogi Bhajan taught that the condition could be cured through intensive yoga …
So, because of the nature of my gmail name, I get targeted banner ads that Google thinks are customized to my profile. I don’t know why, I don’t have anything set. I guess it’s just the nature of my goofy email address: sat gur schnrub I’ve gotten yoga ads, spirituality ads, kirtan and other devotional …
Kinda like Harry Potter, but not…
I remember my first day at GNFC very well. We arrived at lunchtime, after a grueling train, bus and taxi ride up to Mussoorie. They were serving Rajmah Dal, chapatis and rice in the upstairs, well-lit senior dining hall. The food was good – I made burritos out of the beans and chapatis and thought, …
Don’t Nettle
This morning I was chatting with someone about nostalgia. It’s so hard not to get a bit nostalgic about India when confronted with cute kid pictures, mostly of us posturing or posing and having fun, or like the silly one above. But still, the letters of the not fun times come in to me steadily …
Dirty Socks
What kind of sadistic (and moronic) fuck would punish kids by making them stuff filthy socks in their mouths and then TAKE A PICTURE OF IT? Nanak Dev Singh, that’s who! After seeing this photo I am of course reminded of my own filthy condition as a kid at GNFC, and how humiliating it often …