E-Paper
US House honours Sikh American leader
A resolution honouring the life of Sikh American leader Yogi Bhajan has been passed unanimously in the US House of Representatives.
A bipartisan resolution honouring the life of Sikh American leader Yogi Bhajan has been passed unanimously in the US House of Representatives.
The resolution, introduced Jan 26 by Representative Tom Udall (Democrat from New Mexico), gathered 37 co-sponsors between the day it was sponsored and when it was passed April 5.
House Concurrent Resolution 34, "honouring the life and contributions of Yogi Bhajan, a leader of Sikhs, and expressing condolences to the Sikh community on his passing," needed a two-thirds majority and was passed by a vote of 405 to 0.
The Sikh holy leader died of complications due to heart failure on Oct 6 last year at age 75.
The same resolution had been introduced Jan 26 in the Senate by Senator Jeff Bingaman (Democrat from New Mexico) and co-sponsored then by two other senators (John Cornyn (Republican from Texas) and Pete Domenici (Democrat from New Mexico). It was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and is yet to return to the floor to be passed.
Among the 37 co-sponsors of the resolution in the House are Representatives Gary Ackerman [Democrat from New York), Joseph Crowley (Democrat from New York), Frank Pallone(Democrat from New Jersey) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican from Florida).
The resolution described Yogi Bhajan as a pioneer, a champion of peace, and a compassionate human being.
The text of the resolution details the history of the Sikh faith starting in the 15th century in India and lays out its basic beliefs as it tracks the life of Yogi Bhajan or Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, who was born Harbhajan Singh Puri on August 26, 1929, in India.
During India's partition, when he was just 18, Yogi Bhajan led his village of 7,000 people 520 km on foot to safety in New Delhi, India, from what is now Lahore, Pakistan.
He served in India's civil and military service and visited the US in 1968, after which he founded the `Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization (3HO)', a nonprofit private educational and scientific foundation which expanded to 300 centres in 35 countries.
In 1971, the president of the governing body of Sikh temples in India gave Yogi Bhajan the title of Siri Singh Sahib, which made him the chief religious and administrative authority for Sikhism in the Western hemisphere.
It was also the year that Sikhism was legally incorporated in the State of California and recognised as a tax-exempt religious organization by the US.
In 1972, Yogi Bhajan founded the ashram Sikh Dharma in Espanaeola, New Mexico. In 1973, he founded `3HO SuperHealth', a successful drug rehabilitation programme that blends ancient yogic wisdom of the East with modern technology of the West.
The resolution also extended its condolences to Inderjit Kaur, the wife of Yogi Bhajan, his three children and five grandchildren, and to Sikh and 3HO communities.
