Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa
Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh!!
Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh!!
Just to add a couple pictures!
By democratic, political, peaceful means, of course!!You might notice that one of the links is Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
I know this is a bad time for this but these things happen when they happen, not when we want them to.
It seems the owner of a blog,World 365, does not like us. Does not like us at all. In fact, is trying to get all our websites and blogs BANNED. I, with my very slow dial-up connexion was going through his list of hit-sites when, in a flash, it came to me: he was simply using my link list. He didn't even do his own research. Some of these, of course, have nothing to do with Khalistan. For example, Respect For Guru Ji is hardly a hotbed of Khalistani activism.
These ARE ALL SIKH SITES, though. Every last one of them!
I am going to try to alert everyone on the list, I think. I think Mr. Sateesh Kumar has declared war on us. And he couldn't have chosen a more, er, uh, appropriate day!
I do not want to reproduce his post here, but he is calling on the government of India to launch a protest against Google and get all of us BANNED. Please go to this link and read what he has to say.
He starts:
What is the Indian government doing?
He ends thus:
True Indians like me dont really want to destroy the identity of sikhs. No body
in India are against sikhs wearing kirpans or bracelets or other religious
signs. But in the name of Khalistan these people are displaying flags of the
republic of khalistan and other separatist stuff.
Why in the hell does
the Indian government not acting?
Even though there is no mass following
for these websites and people it is prudent to ban these websties. One notabe
fact is that these are promoted by non resident indian sikhs. So they
comfortably sit outside India and are posting these secessionist materials.
Of course! Can you imagine what would happen to anyone in India that dared to express these ideas?
I want to point out that we have never advocated violence against anyone. We want Khalistan to be established by a peaceful, democratic process, not by violence!!
I know most links are not followed. But if you want to be able to continue to read our blog and others that freely speak of not only our hopes for the future, but also our history, now is the time to act.
HAPPY GURPURAB TO ALL!!
I want to point out that we have never advocated violence against anyone. We want Khalistan to be established by a peaceful, democratic process, not by violence!!
I know most links are not followed. But if you want to be able to continue to read our blog and others that freely speak of not only our hopes for the future, but also our history, now is the time to act.
HAPPY GURPURAB TO ALL!!
google won't be banning anyone from their search results. first of all, it would be a technological nightmare for them and second, it goes against everything they stand for to censor sites like these.
ReplyDeleteEven governments don't have the power to really block access to sites. They can hunt you down for visiting them but even then you'd have to be visiting from a server hosted in India by an Indian company. The only thing he can do is speak to the ISP hosting the sites and get them to shut them down, but this is blogger, and it's hosted by google, and then we're back to the fact that google won't be doing it.
The technology to control the internet just isn't out there, thank god.
You know, of all the things in this world, censorship is high on my list of things I hate most.
Hi, serrin!
ReplyDeleteOh, I am just sitting here trembling in my boots, waiting for google, along with Homeland Security and Sonia Gandhi, to come get me. They better bring along KPS Gill, too, just to be sure!
Actually google can, and sometimes does, shut down sites that violate their rules. That happened to The Bestest Blog Of All Times a while back, but they fought it and won.
I do, however, have some concern for my Indian readers. I know they are fairly easy to trace, as their location and ISP show up on my Sitemeter stats.
My Sikh friends, who are most directly concerned with this - many on the link list belong to them - are on top of the situation.
This [person] is foolish. But fools cannot be ignored simply because they're fools. They need to be sat in a corner with a dunce hat on their head for the blogospere to see and possibly be given a good spanking.
Not from me, though. I communicated with Guru Ji last night and he seems to be advising me to take the high road.
I also - obviously - am strongly opposed to censorship. My opinions sometimes even run afoul of the laws of Canada where certain hate speech is illegal.
Thank you so much for your information and support and encouragement! It all means a lot to me! Suni just said 'Us!' OK, then us.
As an Indian citizen, even I wish that your dreams never come true. But disallowing you to publish such articles will really be an attack on freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteCannot you publish articles only about the atrocities made by Indian Govt. on Sikhs and suggesting ways on how others can help those people.
Demanding Khalistan at the same time, perhaps forbid other patriotic Indians to see the miseries and sufferings of Sikh people...
Many of us value country more than the humanity itself.
PS:Even I have emailed you earlier requesting you to discontinue such posts(through email-id:alokbakshi@gmail.com, which has been deleted now) But after getting your response, I was shocked and really didn't know, how to respond you.
May God always keep you happy in your life, except making sure that just one dream of yours(regarding Khalistan)remains unfulfilled.
Ameen...
With regards,
Alok Bakshi
Dear Alok,
ReplyDeleteI remember very well your letter. We took much care in answering it; it was totally honest and from our hearts.
We are simply unable to agree with you. We are pleased that you are willing to grant us our freedom of speech; that is more than many of your countrymen would.
I am not sure what in our letter you find shocking. Upsetting and unwanted, I can understand, but shocking?
Many of our best friends disagree with us. My best friend of 50 years, a lovely gentle Jain lady, Lilly, just shakes her head when the topic is discussed.
I don't want to write a book here in the comments, so I will repeat what we asked at the end of the e-mail we sent you:
I/We have no wish to see anyone go through what we have been through. But let me ask you a question: How would you settle this to the satisfaction of all parties?
Most sincerely,
Mai, Suni and Vini
Sounds to me like someone needs to get a serious LIFE here. That person did just copy all the links from here and put them in his post. WAY too much time on hands for real.
ReplyDeleteI agree, he needs to do his our research, not just copy mine. And maybe notice that many of these links are totally innocuous.
ReplyDeleteHi Mai,
ReplyDeleteI have removed that article from my blog that is, world-365.blogspot.com
I went through your article regarding what happened on 4th november 2007. Im sad.
In fact, I would like to support your freedom of expression. But I wish that your dream of khalistan doesnt get fulfilled.
The reason being I cannot imagine a limb being broken out of my mother India. I cannot agree to that. But apart from that I dont have any issues with your blog.
But my only concern is that your blog should not sow seeds of separation in the minds of young sikhs and lead them to disaster.
I have love for my fellow sikhs and all of you. Im not your enemy. Im your friend.
I fully agree that those who are responsible for the riots of 1984 should be severly punished. People should be careful so that such riots dont occur again.
But Im the same. Im against khalistan. I dont want to see my mother India bleed.
I wish that all of you lead a peaceful, happy and prosperous life. Just leave the past behind. Dont revisit the wounds often. It wont serve any purpose.
Your friend
Satheesh Kumar
expex.consulting@gmail.com
world-365.blogspot.com
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Satheesh Kumar.
ReplyDeleteTo begin, thank you for taking off your post. That was unexpected and most gracious of you.
I assume you mean 4th November 1984. I'm glad it made you sad. If it didn't, I'd wonder what kind of human being you were. It disturbs readers because it is disturbing.
It is fine with me that you don't want Khalistan. Some of my friends don't want Khalistan. In fact, my best friend of 50 years, a kind, gentle Jain lady named Lilly (who is standing behind me blushing) is opposed to the establishment of Khalistan. Unlike me, she believes Khalistan cannot be born without bloodshed. She is mistaken.
Now, you will probably become angry at what I say. Nevertheless it is the truth and I need to say it.
We are not sowing seeds of separation. Those seeds were sown many years ago by the nefarious lies of Mr. Gandhi, called 'Mahatma,' and Mr. Nehru, the first ruler of post-Raj India. They promised us our land in Northern India, but when the time came, all we got were words. 'Things have changed.'
We are, perhaps, aiding in the germination of those seeds, but they will grow with or without us.
I understand you don't want to see your Bharata Mata bleed. None of us wants to see our mother hurt. But Khalistan is my mother as India is yours. It pains me to see my mother in servitude to yours. Eventually she will be free. I don't know when.
In any case, the main purpose of this blog is to tell our stories and, if possible, help our sisters and brothers of the Sikh Panth heal from the very deep wounds of 1984. What you suggest, however, is impossible:
Just leave the past behind. Dont revisit the wounds often. It wont serve any purpose.
The wounds are omnipresent, from the moment I wake up in the morning with those sharp pains in my knee to the nightmares I have while sleeping at night. They are with me whether I think about them or not. All the people I love the most are missing from my daily life. This past cannot be left behind.
I have, nonetheless, built a life, a good life because I am a Sikh of the Gurus and we don't surrender to the misfortunes of life or to anything else.
A thought about friendship: Friendship is built upon honesty, trust and mutual affinity. We shall see.
Mai TI
I changed my mind and deleted the preceding comment. It thoroughly trashed the 3HO Movement. I found some of the statements made about the 3HOs to be just too much to let stand on a blog that seeks to unify Sikhs, not divide us.
ReplyDeleteWhile I admit I find their yogi a bit hard to take, I have nothing but respect for our 3HO sisters and brothers. Their dedication and 'truthful living' is an inspiration to me.
If Sikhi is to grow and help to bring peace and sisterhood and brotherhood to this planet, we must grow and heartily welcome Sikhs from beyond our little corner of the world, Punjab.
I just listened to Gurumustuck Singh Khalsa (Mr. Sikhnet) reading a poem, If Guru Nanak Were Here Today about how we divide and discriminate among ourselves. This blog will not do that.
I hope I haven't opened a whole can of worms here, but if I have, so be it! Hier steh' ich, ich kann nicht anders!' Martin Luther (Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.)
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ReplyDeleteKatherine Felt on Yogi Bhajan and friends.
ReplyDeleteYogi Bhajan Kundalini Yoga 3HO Akal Security
Officer of the Secretariat, Sikh Dharma Brotherhood and personal Secretary to Yogi Bhajan, Kate Felt speaks out about rape, servitude, torture, phoney yogi, structure and organization of Yogi Bhajan's corrupt business empire and more.
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
KATHERINE FELT,
Plaintiff,
vs.
HARBHAJAN SINGH KHALSA YOGIJI, a/k/a "Harbhajan Puri", a/k/a/ "Yogi Bhajan," a/k/al "Sin Singh Sahib", Individually, and In His Capacity as the Sole Officer and Director of the "Sin Singh Sahib of Sikh Dharma Brotherhood," a California Corporation, and in his Capacity as an Officer of the " Sikh Dharma Brotherhood, a California Corporation, and in this capacity as an officer and director of the "3H0 Foundation," a California Corporation, and the "3H0 Foundation of New Mexico," a New Mexico Corporation; and
SIRI SINGH SAHIB OF SIKH DHARMA
BROTHERHOOD, a California Corporation; and
SIKH DHARMA BROTHERHOOD, a California Corporation; and
3H0 FOUNDATION, a California Corporation Licensed to doBusiness in New Mexico;
and
3H0 FOUNDATION OF NEW MEXICO, a New Mexico Corporation; and
INDERJIT ("BIBIJI") KAUR KHALSA,
Individually, and In Her Capacity as an Officer of the 3H0 Foundation and an Officer of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood; and
Civil Action No. 0839 HB
FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT
(For Fraud and Deceit; Assault and Battery; False Arrest and Imprisonment;
Intentional Infliction of Severe Emotional Distress; Violation of the Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act; Violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act;
Violation of the Prohibition Against Involuntary Servitude Contained Within the 13th Amendment To The U.S. Constitution and Implementing Legislation; Gross Negligence;
Invasion of Privacy and Civil Conspiracy.)
SHAKTI PARWHA KAUR KHALSA, Individually, and In Her Capacity as a Director of the 3H0 Foundation, and an Officer of the "Sikh Dharma Brotherhood;" and
GURU AMRIT KAUR KHALSA, Individually, and In Her Capacity as Secretary General of the "Sikh Dharma Brotherhood;" and
GURUKE KAUR KHALSA, Individually and In Her Capacity as an Officer of the "Sikh Dharma Brotherhood."
Defendants.
___________________________________________/
Parties Before The Court
1. Plaintiff, Katherine Felt, is an adult citizen of the State of Washington. Her current address is 8325 128th Ave., Kirkland, Washington 98033.
2. Defendant Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, formerly known as Harbhajan Puri and also known as "Yogi Bhajan" and "Siri Singh Sahib," (hereinafter "Bhajan"), is an adult citizen of the State of California, with his principal residence at 1620 Preuss Road, Los Angeles, California 90035.
3. Defendant Sin Singh Sahib of Sikh Dharma Brotherhood is a corporation organized and doing business under the laws of the State of California, with its principal place of business located at 1649 Robertson Building, Los Angeles, California 90035. This corporation is of a unique type, known under California law as a "corporation sole." (Hereinafter this corporation shall be referred to as the "corporation sole.")
4. Defendant 3H0 Foundation is a corporation organized and doing business under the laws of the State of California, and doing business in the State of New Mexico under a Certificate of Authority issued by the New Mexico State Corporation Commission. The principal place of business of the 3H0 Foundation is located at 1649 Robertson Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90035. "3H0" is an acronym for "HealthyHappyHoly Organization."
5. Defendant Sikh Dharma Brotherhood is a corporation organized and doing business under the laws of the State of California, with its principal place of business located at 1649 Robertson Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. (To avoid confusion with a religious order in India called the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood, this corporate entity shall hereinafter be referred to as the "Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation.")
6. Defendant 3H0 Foundation of New Mexico is an "affiliate" of defendant 3H0 Foundation, and is a corporation organized and doing business under the laws of the State of New Mexico. The principal place of business of defendant 3H0 Foundation of New Mexico is Route 1, Box 132-D, Espanola, New Mexico 87532.
7. Defendant Inderjit ("Bibiji") Kaur Khalsa is, upon information and belief, the legal wife of defendant Bhajan, as well as an officer of defendant 3H0 Foundation. Defendant Inderjit ("Bibiji") Kaur Khalsa (hereinafter Bibiji) is a citizen of India, with her principal U.S. residence at 219 Amhurst, S.E., Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106.
8. Defendant Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa is an individual and citizen of the State of California, with her principal residence at 1620 Preuss Road, Los Angeles, California. Defendant Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa (hereinafter "Shakti") is sued in her individual capacity, as well as in her capacity as an officer and Director of the defendant 3H0 Foundation, an officer and Director of the defendant 3H0 Foundation of New Mexico, and an Officer of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood.
9. Defendant Guru Amrit Kaur Khalsa is an individual and a citizen of the State of California, with her principal residence at 8832 Pickford Street, Los Angeles, California 90035. Guru Amrit Kaur Khalsa (hereinafter referred to as "Amrit Kaur") is sued in her individual capacity, and as the chief administrative officer of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation.
10. Defendant Guru Ke Kaur Khalsa is an individual and a citizen of the State of California, with her principal residence at 1620 Preuss Road, Los Angeles, California.
Jurisdiction of this Court
11. There is complete diversity of citizenship between the plaintiff and all of the defendants in this case, and the sum in controversy exceeds $10,000.00, excluding interest and costs. Jurisdiction is therefore vested in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. S1332(a).
12. Count V of this Complaint arises under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1964 ("RICO"), 18 U.S.C. SS19611968. Jurisdiction to hear this case is therefore vested in this Court pursuant to 18 U.S.C. S1964(c) and 28 U.S.C. S1331(a).
13. Count VI of this Complaint arises under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. S201, et seq. Jurisdiction to hear this case is therefore vested in this Court pursuant to 29 U.S.C. S216(b) and 28 U.S.C. S1331(a).
14. Count VII of this Complaint is founded directly upon rights and immunities created by and guaranteed to the plaintiff under the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and implementing federal legislation. Jurisdiction to hear this case is therefore vested in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. S1331(a) and 1343(4).
Venue in the District of New Mexico
15. Each of the corporate defendants named in this case owns property and/or does business within the District of New Mexico, and each of the individual defendants named in this case resides within the District of New Mexico either fulltime or parttime. Venue is therefore properly laid in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. S1391(b).
16. In addition, the causes of action asserted in this Complaint arose primarily in the District of New Mexico. Venue is therefore properly laid in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. S1391(b).
17. In addition, Count V of this Complaint arises under the RICO statute. Because each of the defendants named in this case resides and transacts his, her or its affairs within the District of New Mexico, Venue is properly laid in this District pursuant to 18 U.S.C. S1965(a).
18. In the latter part of 1968, defendant Bhajan entered the United States from Canada. Upon information and belief, it was his intent at that time to accumulate wealth and acquire power and influence by posing as a Yoga master and religious leader, and attracting donations of money, property and labor from those he could induce to follow him.
19. The method by which Bhajan induced others to follow him was to pose as a Yoga master and teacher, and then covertly subject yoga students to a process of mental and emotional conditioning in which their personalities are disrupted and ultimately destroyed, and then are supplanted with a "reformed" personality ("reformed" in this context having its most literal meaning of "making over" or "forming again"). This reformed personality is, by design, intellectually, emotionally and ideologically committed exclusively to Bhajan and the service of Bhajan. Once a follower is in this condition, he or she becomes part of Bhajans cult following, and is invariably exploited by Bhajan for whatever Bhajan can get out of the follower, be that money, property, sex, labor, administrative or business skill or assistance, or social or political contacts, prestige or credibility. This process is, by design, carried out without the knowledge or understanding of the inductee, and was carried out upon the plaintiff in this case.
20. In order to facilitate the expansion, operation and maintenance of his cult, Bhajan has created and operated a number of corporations and associations, including but not limited to the corporate defendants named in this case. These corporations and associations are used, inter alia, as devices through which he has intentionally misrepresented his personal history and background, his education, training, abilities, goals and objectives, as well as the nature, objectives, history and purposes of the various corporations and other associations. This misrepresentation is necessary in order for Bhajan to attract new followers, maintain the loyalty of the followers he already has, obtain the money, property, sex, labor and other assistance he extracts from his followers, as well as to conceal the true nature, objectives and operations of his organization from those outside the organization.
21. In 1973 Bhajan caused the incorporation of the defendant Sikh Dharma Brotherhood Corporation to occur. This corporation was organized for the ostensible purpose of "teaching the principles of the Sikh Dharma, or way of life, in the Western Hemisphere." In truth and in fact, defendant Sikh Dharma Brotherhood Corporation was and is used as a vehicle through which Bhajan operates his cult. The Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation was and is totally controlled in every respect by Bhajan directly, and is used in every respect for Bhajans own, personal benefit. The Sikh Dharma Brotherhood Corporation was, and always has been, so dominated and controlled by Bhajan that it neither had nor has any independent personality or existence of its own.
22. At the time of the incorporation of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, and at all times material to this Complaint, defendant Bhajan was an officer and Director the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, bearing the title "Sin Singh Sahib."
23. At the time defendant Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation was incorporated, and at all times material to this Complaint, defendant Shakti was an officer and Director of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation.
24. From 1983 onward, defendant Bibiji was an officer of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, holding or purporting to hold the title "Siri Sardarni Kaur." The title "Siri Sardarni Kaur" is the female counterpart of "Siri Singh Sahib," and is a high office within the corporation.
25. From November, 1984, and continuing to the present, defendant Amrit Kaur has been the "Secretary General" of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, which is the chief executive officer of the corporation, and the leaden of the "Khalsa Council," which is ostensibly the governing body (on Board of Directors) of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation.
26. In 1975, Bhajan caused the incorporation of defendant Sin Singh Sahib of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood as a "corporation sole" pursuant to the California Corporations Code SlO,000, et. seq., for the ostensible purpose of managing the "affairs, property and temporalities of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood. In truth and in fact the corporation sole was and is used as a vehicle through which Bhajan shelters personal property and wealth from state and federal taxation and his lawful creditors. The corporation sole is totally controlled in every respect by Bhajan directly, and is used in every respect for his own, personal benefit. The corporation sole was, and always has been, so dominated and controlled by Bhajans personal interests that it has no independent personality or existence of its own.
27. Bhajan is and has always been the only officer or Director of the corporation sole. The corporation sole has no shareholders.
28. All of the acts of any of the defendants described in this Complaint were carried out using the resources, facilities, and personnel of the corporate defendants, with the full knowledge and approval of all corporate officers and directors, as part of and pursuant to an established and ongoing corporate policy of carrying out the commands and directives of Bhajan, no matter what those demands and directive may be. Each of the corporate defendants is associated in fact with each of the other corporate defendants, under the common control of Bhajan, and with the common purpose and objective of carrying out Bhajans wishes, including but not limited to the tortuous conduct set forth below.
COUNT I: FOR FRAUD AND DECEIT
29. As a complete and independent cause of action the plaintiff hereby asserts this Count against each of the defendants named in this Complaint, except defendant Guru Ke.
30. The factual averments set forth in paragraphs 1 through 28, above, are hereby incorporated into this Count by reference.
31. Beginning in the summer of 1972 (when the plaintiff in this case was eleven years old), and continuing through the fall of 1984, Bhajan, and the other defendants in this case at the behest of Bhajan, made a great number of false and misleading misrepresentations of fact to the plaintiff, and omitted to reveal a great number of material facts to the plaintiff. These misrepresentations of fact and material omissions were intentionally made by the defendants, for the purpose of inducing reliance on the part of the plaintiff, and which did in fact induce reliance on the part of the plaintiff, to her physical, economic and emotional detriment, as is more fully set forth below.
32. Defendant Amrit Kaur is the plaintiffs natural sister. In the fall of 1974 Amrit Kaur began to communicate to the plaintiff a series of misrepresentations of fact (including material omissions of fact), which were designed to entice the plaintiff into Bhajans organization. Amrit Kaur made these misrepresentations directly to the plaintiff by Bhajan, or at the direction of Bhajan. These misrepresentations were made in letters and by telephone, and were all repeated many different times to the plaintiff. These misrepresentations began in June, 1972, and were repeated on a weekly basis until the fall of 1975. They included, inter alia :
(a) Failure to disclose that martial art training was mandatory for some members of the group.
(b) Failure to disclose that Bhajan was sexually involved with Amrit Kaur and other members of the group.
(c) That 3H0 was not a religious entity, and was entirely separate from the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, when in truth they were so closely intertwined in practice as to be indistinguishable.
(d) That 3H0 was a charitable organization dedicated to "the advancement of individuals through education and science," when in fact it was an organization dedicated to the ostensibly religious objectives of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, and in reality to the personal objectives and benefit of Bhajan himself.
(e) That women involved in the 3H0 group were respected and treated with deference, when in fact they were not. In truth women in the 3H0 organization are and were relegated to inferior roles and position, acting essentially as servants.
33. Additional misrepresentations of fact and material omissions were made to the plaintiff by Bhajan and Amrit Kaur at the behest of Bhajan for the specific purpose of inducing the plaintiff to spend the summer of 1975 at the groups compound in Espanola, New Mexico, called the "womens camp." These misrepresentations were made over the telephone and in letters, beginning in March, 1975, and were repeated on a weekly basis through the first week of July, 1975. These material misrepresentations and omissions included, inter alia:
(a) That at the womens camp the plaintiffs would have the opportunity to do womens studies. In truth there were no such opportunities, nor was that the purpose of the camp. Womens studies were actually discouraged. Indeed, in 1975 the womens camp was not even for women (there were both men and women staying at the compound).
(b) That at the camp there were horses that could be ridden recreationally. Although there were horses at the camp, in truth they were being boarded there for the horses owners and were not available for recreational riding by the plaintiff.
(c) That the plaintiff would have an organized series of classes and lectures on subjects including new music, martial arts, womens studies, vegetarian cooking, child rearing and similar subjects. In truth and in fact there were no such classes and lectures available, the only lectures available being indoctrination lectures by Bhajan.
(d) That the plaintiff would be free to think and develop answers to personal and spiritual questions she had. In
truth and in fact she was not to be permitted to think or find answers to questions, "spiritual" or otherwise. Rather, she was covertly manipulated from the time she arrived at the camp until the time she became a follower of Bhajan, and was severely limited in her ability and opportunity to engage in rational reflection or independent thought.
(e) That the plaintiffs attendance at the camp would be as Bhajans personal guest, and that she would not have to pay for room or board or any other fees. In truth and in fact it was Bhajans intent to first induct the plaintiff into his cult, and then charge her fees for staying at the camp, which he ultimately did.
34. The plaintiff relied upon all of the foregoing misrepresentations and material omissions, in agreeing to travel from her home in Montana to the "womens camp," and later in agreeing to stay at the "womens camp," and to pay Bhajan money for her stay at the camp.
35. Within a week of the plaintiffs arrival at the "womens camp," in July 1975, the plaintiff was addressed by Bhajan in a private audience. At that time, and on a virtually daily basis throughout the summer of 1975, Bhajan made a number of specific false promises to the plaintiff and misrepresenta-tions of fact, in order to induce the pla intiff to remain at the womens camp until she could be indoctrinated, and to facilitate the thought reform process. Bhajan made all the false promises orally, and the other misrepresentations of fact were made both by Bhajan orally, and by Amrit Kaur and others at Bhajans direction in articles, brochures, magazines and various writings produced and distributed to the plaintiff by the corporate defendants named herein. These promises and representations were false, and Bhajan and the other defendants knew them to be false at the time he made them. They included, inter alia:
(a) That he would personally instruct the plaintiff and oversee the plaintiffs education if she remained in the group, studied under Bhajan, and became his follower.
(b) That if the plaintiff studied under him and agreed to stay with him, Bhajan would provide for all of her physical and economic needs, so that she could devote her full time and attention to learning, education and "spiritual advancement."
(c) That he, Bhajan, had a quarter of a million followers, and that these followers would assist her in any way in any object she desired. As a specific example, when the plaintiff indicated she might want to become a lawyer, Bhajan promised that he had followers who were attorneys who would set the plaintiff up in the legal profession once she completed her education and spiritual training.
(d) That Bhajan had at that time ten million dollars in his personal fortune, and that he was willing to spend as much as was necessary to fulfill his promises to the plaintiff.
(e) That he, Bhajan, had numerous wealthy followers who would similarly assist the plaintiff financially.
(f) When the plaintiff indicated that she might want to go to school in Colorado or Oregon, Bhajan stated that he would pay to send her to those schools, and while at those schools the plaintiff would be taken care of by his followers, and if she went to those schools Bhajan would continue his spiritual instruction of the plaintiff through the mails.
(g) That his motivation in so extending himself so to assist the plaintiff was that she would be of great service to him and the 3H0 organization once she was educated and spiritually developed.
36. In addition to the foregoing general misrepresenta-tions, Bhajan also made a number of knowing misrepresentations to the plaintiff while she was at the womens camp that related specifically to his status as a teacher, representative and leader of the Sikh religion of India. These misrepresentations were also made on virtually a daily basis from July 1975 through September, 1975, both orally and in articles, brochures and other promotional materials produced by the defendants, and were made for the purpose of inducing the plaintiff to remain at the womens camp until she could be indoctrinated, and to facilitate the thought reform process. These representations were false, and Bhajan knew them to be false at the time he made them. They included, inter alia:
(a) That he was an "avatar," which means a reincarnation of God. Bhajan has never believed this of himself.
(b) That the form of religious practice observed by Bhajans followers was ancient in origin, and was followed worldwide by those professing to be Sikhs, including the Sikhs of India. In truth, Bhajan well knew the religious beliefs and practices espoused by Bhajan are not of ancient origin, are only superficially based upon the Sikh religion as it was practiced prior to the founding of Bhajans organizations, and are very different from or contrary to the Sikh religion as it was practiced in India prior to the founding of Bhajans organizations.
(c) That in 1971 he was appointed by the governing body of the Sikh religion at Amritsar, India (the Shiromani Gurdware Parbandhak Committee) as the "Sin Singh Sahib," and that this title and office were those of the chief religious leader of the Sikhs in the Western Hemisphere. In truth and in fact, Bhajan never did receive any such appointment, and indeed there is no body within the Sikh religion which as the power to make such an appointment, nor is there any such office within the Sikh religion as it is known and practiced in India. Moreover, the title "Sin Singh Sahib" is not a title of religious significance to the Sikhs of India, and is nothing more than a respectful mode of address used by one Sikh when addressing another.
(d) That he had studied the Sikh religion in India under a Saint of that religion for years before coming to the United States, and that as a result of his long study he was schooled in the ways of the Sikh religion. In truth and in fact Bhajan had not made any such study, could neither read nor write the language in which the teachings and scriptures of the Sikh religion are written (Punjabi), and in fact at least until he came to the United States he had never even read them.
(e) That he had over 250,000 followers, mostly of Indian birth. In truth and in fact he had never had in excess of a few thousand followers, and few, if any, of his followers were or are of Indian birth (other than Bhajans wife).
(f) That he had washed the floors of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, India for four years to "purify himself," when in fact he had never done so.
(g) That he was always faithful to his wife, and for a period of many years prior to meeting the plaintiff had been entirely celibate, when in fact he was at that time regularly engaging in sexual relations with various members of his staff.
37. At no time material to this Complaint has Bhajan entertained a sincere belief in the religion he espouses to his followers, or to the Sikh religion as it was practiced prior to the founding of Bhajans organizations. Nor .has Bhajan ever personally acted in accordance with the teachings, tenets or practices of the religion he espouses to his followers, or of the Sikh religion as it was practiced prior to the founding of Bhajans organizations. Rather, Bhajans professed religious beliefs and objectives are espoused by him in bad faith, for the purpose of bolstering his credibility with the public and potential recruits, obtaining favorable tax treatment from the government of the United States and various states, concealing the covert manipulation he engages in to effect the thought reform process to which the plaintiff in this case was subjected, and justifying to his followers some of the arbitrary, cruel, bizarre and exploitive actions he takes with respect to his followers.
38. In addition to the foregoing general misrepresentations and misrepresentations pertaining to his status and affiliation with the Sikh religion, Bhajan also made a number of knowing misrepresentations to the plaintiff while she was at the "womens camp" which specifically related to his status as a master and teacher of all forms of yoga. These misrepresentations were initially made at plaintiffs private audience with Bhajan, and also made on virtually a daily basis from July 1975 through September 1975, orally and in articles, brochures and other promotional materials produced by the defendants. These misrepresentations were made for the purpose of inducing the plaintiff to remain at the "womens camp" until she could be indoctrinated, and to facilitate the thought reform process. These representations were false, and Bhajan knew them to be false at the time he made them. They included, inter alia:
(a) That he had studied 22 years with a famous yogi in India named Drindra Brahmachari, when in fact he had studied with Drindra Brahmachari only a few days.
(b) That the forms of yoga which Bhajan taught were ancient forms of "Kundalini" and "Tantric yoga," when in fact they were a collection of exercises put together by Bhajan, sometimes literally made up on the spot by Bhajan as a yoga class progressed.
(c) That the forms of yoga Bhajan taught had physically curative and beneficial properties which they did not and do not in fact have, and which Bhajan knew full well they did not and do not have.
(d) That the forms of yoga which Bhajan taught had spiritual properties which they did not and do not in fact have, and which Bhajan knew full well they did not and do not have.
(e) That he was recognized in India~ as a master of Kundalini yoga at age l6~, when in fact he had not achieved such recognition.
(f) That in 1971 Bhajan was bestowed with unique skills and knowledge by a yoga teacher known as the "Mahan Tantric," who had selected Bhajan to be his successor and who bestowed the title of "Mahan Tantric" upon Bhajan when the former "Mahan Tantric" died. In truth Bhajan did not study under the "Mahan Tantric," nor was he ever vested with any such title by anyone previously holding the title.
(g) That forms of yoga which Bhajan told the plaintiff to perform were designed to benefit the plaintiff in various physical and emotional ways, when in fact they were designed to mentally debilitate the plaintiff and place her in a state of extreme suggestibility, which state was then exploited by Bhajan and his followers as part of the thought reform process the plaintiff was subjected to.
(h) That special diets prescribed for the plaintiff would have curative and beneficial effects upon the plaintiffs health, when in fact Bhajan knew they would not. In truth the special diets prescribed by Bhajan were designed to mentally debilitate the plaintiff and place her in a state of extreme suggestibility, which state was then exploited by Bhajan and his followers as part of the though reform process the plaintiff was subjected to.
39. In reliance upon the foregoing misrepresentations and material omissions, among others, the plaintiff remained at the womens camp throughout the summer of 1975, despite uncomfortable conditions there, and paid Bhajan money for her stay there. More important, in reliance upon the foregoing misrepresentations and material omissions, among others, the plaintiff altered her lifestyle and educational plans, and affiliated herself with Bhajans cult, thereby permitting herself, at the age of fourteen, to be subjected initially to the thought reform process perpetuated by the defendants.
40. As part of the thought reform process to which plaintiff was subjected, and continuing as a means of maintaining and reinforcing the effects of that process after the initial thought reform process was effected, Bhajan routinely prescribed numerous bizarre and unhealthful fasts and diets for the plaintiff. These fasts and diets were prescribed for the ostensible purpose of "curing" various physical, psychological or emotional ailments, real or imagined, upon the false representation that Bhajan was specially trained, as well as divinely inspired, to diagnose physical ills and ailments.
41. Similarly, Bhajan also prescribed a regimen of work, fasting, chanting, debilitating yoga exercises, and reading and listening to lectures by Bhajan, as well as long hours of prayer and repetition of his name, as a means of limiting the plaintiffs sleep and time to contemplate and reflect upon her circumstances.
42. Through this regulation and regimen, the plaintiff was kept isolated from former friends, family and outside influences, and was rendered physically and psychologically debilitated and unable to exercise normal judgment or self protective care. While the plaintiff was kept in this vulnerable state, the defendants constantly made and repeated material misrepresentations of fact and material omissions pertaining to Bhajan and his organizations, including but not limited to all of the misrepresentations set forth above. Bhajan, and the other defendants at the direction of Bhajan repeated these misrepresentations, so frequently that the number of times they were repeated cannot be exhaustively listed. These mis-representations were institutionalized by the defendants, woven into the fabric of the daily life of any member of Bhajans group, and were repeated to the plaintiff on a virtually daily basis at all times during which the plaintiff was living at any of the communal centers operate by Bhajans group. These times included, but were not limited to, the entire period from June 1978 through and including February 1985.
43. Specific examples of the times and places specific misrepresentations were made include:
(a) In a pamphlet entitled "Sikh Dharma: Another Way to Live, Another Way to God," published throughout the period from at least June, 1978 through February, 1985 by defendant Sikh Dharma corporation at the instruction of Bhajan, all of the mis-representations set forth in paragraphs 35 and 38, above are repeated.
(b) At gatherings of the group in Espanola, New Mexico on and around the twentyfirst of June, and in Florida on and around the twentythird of December, for each year from 1976 through and including 1984, all of the misrepresentations set forth in paragraphs 35 and 38, above, were repeated by Bhajan personally, as well as by the other defendants in this case.
(c) Specific misrepresentations as to Bhajans appointment as the "Sin Singh Sahib," as set forth in paragraph 36(c) above, were made in the following publications, among others:
(i) "The Sin Singh Sahib," Beads of Truth, Bead No. 36 (1977) at pages 3638;
(ii) "Time Will Tell," Beads of Truth, Bead No. 36 (1977) at pages 3941;
(iii) "Address of M.S.S. Guru Terath Singh Khalsa to Khalsa Council, Los Angeles, California, April 17, 1979" as reprinted in Beads of Truth, Bead No. 3, Vol. II (Fall, Sept. 1979) at page 36;
(iv) "Sikh Darma: Another Way to Live, Another Way to God," authored by S.S. Gurubanda Singh Khalsa, Beads of Truth, Beads No. 1 and 2, Vol. II (Apr. 1, 1979) at page 71;
(v) The Man Called the Sin Singh Sahib, (produced and published by 3H0 Foundation and Sikh Darma Corporation) (1979) at pages 15, 38, 60, 78, 86, 118, 123, 125126 and 132;
(vi) "Sikh Darma: Past, Present and Future," by Mukhia Sadarni Sahika, Premka Kaur, Sikh Darma Brotherhood (Winter, 1975) at page 4.
(d) Specific misrepresentations as to Bhajans study of Kundalini and Tantric yoga, as set forth in paragraph 38(a) (b) and (e), and his title as Mahan Tantric as set forth in paragraph 38(f), above, were made in, among others, the following publications:
(i) "The Sin Singh Sahib," Beads of Truth, Bead No. 36 (1977) at pages 3638;
(ii) "Time Will Tell," Beads of Truth, Bead No. 36 (1977) pages 3941;
(iii) "3H0s Summer Solstice," by Alan Tobey, Beads of Truth, No.s 1 and 2, Vol. II (April 1979) at page 15;
(iv) The Man Called The Sin Singh Sahib, supra, at pages 2526, 3536, 120, 141, 154155 and 157;
(v) "Kundalini Yoga," S. S. Gurudain Singh Khalsa, Beads of Truth, Bead No. 3 (Winter, March 1978) pages 2 4.
(e) Specific misrepresentations that Bhajan had over 250,000 followers, as set forth in paragraph 36(e) above, were made in, among others, the following publications:
(i) "The Voice of Prophecy,"Beads of Truth, Bead No. 14, Vol. II (Winter 1984) pages 510.
(f) Specific misrepresentations as to Bhajans washing the marble floors of the temple at Amritsrr, India every day for four years were made in, among others, the following publications:
(i) "Guru Guru Wahe Guru Guru Ram Das Guru," Sikh Danma, Vol. III, No. 4 (winter 1978) pages 89;
(ii) The Man Called The Sin Singh Sahib, supra at pages 36 and 117.
44. In The Man Called The Sin Singh Sahib, supra, Bhajan makes and publishes a number of misrepresentations concerning his education, qualifications, background and teachings. Among those fraudulent misrepresentations, are the following:
(a) That Bhajan has authored nine (9) books, as well as lectures and articles (p.4). In truth and in fact, employees of the defendant corporations have authored the books, articles and lectures.
(b) That Bhajan has given himself to the service of "God and guru" (p.10). In truth and in fact, Bhajan has no good faith belief that he is serving "God or guru," but rather is devoted to serving himself by obtaining his followers money, talents and sexual services.
(c) That Bhajans family was wealthy and the familys combined land holdings included the entire village in India where Bhajan was born (pp.19 and 35).
(d) That Bhajans birthday was a festive occasion in the town of his birth, and that baby Bhajans weight in gold, silver and copper coins and wheat was distributed to the poor of the village (p.19).
(e) That Bhajan was the only male child at the girls convent school in his village, and that he frequently "unnerved" the Mother Superior with his "profound and unanswerable" questions (p.19).
(f) That Bhajan graduated with honors from Punjab University with a B.A. in Economics and a Masters equivalent in 1950 (p.26).
(g) That Bhajan singlehandedly led his family and entire village, as well as many people from surrounding villages, to safety when the partition of India and Pakistan occurred in 1947, saving them from "roving bands of murderous Muslim bandits" (pp.2627).
(h) That Bhajan was president of the Student Union at Camp College in Delhi, India (p.35).
(i) That Bhajan organized the Sikh Student Federation in Delhi, India (p.35).
(j) That Bhajan established the Khalsa Council as the chief administrative body for the Sikh Dhanma in the Western Hemisphere (pp.120 and 126).
45. Specific misrepresentations as to the purpose and/on aim of the corporate entities 3H0 Foundation and Sikh Dharma Brotherhood, Inc. were made in, among others, the following publications:
(i) "Address of M.S.S. Guru Tenath Singh Khalsa to Khalsa Council, Los Angeles, California, April 17, 1978" as reprinted in Beads of Truth, Bead No. 3, Vol. II (Fall, Sept. 1979) at page 36.
(ii) "The Sin Singh Sahib," Beads of Truth, Bead No. 36 (1977) at pages 3638.
46. In reliance upon the foregoing misrepresentations and material omissions, the plaintiff: (1) worked thousands of hours for Bhajan and the other defendants, without minimum wage and overtime compensation required by law (as is more fully set forth in Count VI, below); (2) worked thousands of additional hours for Bhajan and the other defendants with no compensation at all; (3) paid Bhajan and the corporate defendants for various "yoga" lessons and courses which were not what they were represented to be; (4) paid Bhajan and defendants 3H0 Foundation and 3H0 Foundation of New Mexico room and board and for various trips to and from summer and winter solstice celebrations held annually by Bhajan and his organization; (5) forwent career and educational opportunities for the period from July, 1975 through February, 1985, SO that she could serve Bhajan and the defendant corporations; and (6) gave her (fraudulently induced and uninformed) consent to a variety of extreme and outrageous practices (as are more fully set forth in Counts II, III, IV, and VII, below).
47. In addition to the foregoing misrepresentations, Bhajan and defendant 3H0 Foundation made a number of intentional misrepresentations to the plaintiff in order to induce her to enter into business dealings with businesses owned or controlled by Bhajan, the 3H0 Foundation, Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, and/or the corporation sole.
48. The first such misrepresentations were made in order to induce the plaintiff to turn over formulas she had developed for hair and skin care products to Bhajan, to be in turn turned over to a Los Angeles company controlled by Bhajan. In September, 1983, Bhajan personally represented to the plaintiff that if she would turn over her formulas for shampoo, hair rinse, hair conditioner, and other cosmetics which she had developed to "Sunshine Scents" or "Sunshine Oils" (now known as Khalsa Sunshine, Inc., hereinafter "Sunshine"), the plaintiff would receive a ten percent ownership interest in a division of Sunshine which was then being created, as well as a seat on the Board of Directors of the corporation. The division was called Oriental Beauty Secrets, which was then preparing to market a line of "natural" hair and skin care products, including those developed by the plaintiff.
49. Subsequent to this promise by Bhajan, the plaintiff sought assurances from the Chancellor of the 3110 Foundation (which is the chief legal officer of the 3H0 Foundation) that her participation in such an arrangement would be legally binding, and that she would be protected financially in the event she turned the formulas over to Bhajan. The Chancellor of defendant 3H0 Foundation, at the direction of Bhajan, assured the plaintiff that she would receive a percentage of Oriental Beauty Secrets, as Bhajan had promised.
50. In reliance upon the foregoing representations, the plaintiff turned her formulas over to Bhajan on October 13, 1983. These formulas were turned over to Sunshine, incorporated into a line of Oriental Beauty Secrets cosmetics, and were marketed from early 1984 through 1985, and to the best of the plaintiffs knowledge and information are still being marketed.
51. In truth and in fact, neither Bhajan nor defendant 3H0 Foundation ever had any intention of giving the plaintiff any interest in or control over Oriental Beauty Secrets, and misrepresented the facts set forth in paragraphs 48 and 49, above, in order to induce the plaintiff to surrender her products to Bhajan. The plaintiff never did receive any interest in Oriental Beauty Secrets or a seat on the corporate Board, and Bhajan converted her formulas to his own use and benefit without remuneration of any kind to the plaintiff.
52. In December 1984, the plaintiff discovered that her products were actually being marketed, and that she was not being compensated as promised. The plaintiff protested vigorously to Bhajan and the Chancellor the 3110 Foundation, demanding that she be compensated and that the agreement regarding her formulas be reduced to writing. In response, the plaintiff was presented with documents by Bhajan and an "Assistant Chancellor" of the 3H0 Foundation, Ram Das Singh Khalsa, which they represented to the plaintiff were documents which conveyed to her an interest in Oriental Beauty Secrets, and made her an officer of the corporation. These representations were false, and Bhajan and 3H0 counsel knew they were false at the time they were made. These false representations were made solely for the purpose of inducing the plaintiff to refrain from further protests (particularly public protests), or from taking any legal or other action to obtain the compensation she was promised. In reliance upon the promises and representations set forth in those documents, the plaintiff did so refrain.
53. A second business fraud was perpetrated by Bhajan upon the plaintiff in connection with the development and marketing of candy bar recipes developed by the plaintiff. In February, 1984 Bhajan approached the plaintiff and sought her assistance in the development of unique candy recipes utilizing natural sweeteners and ingredients, which were to be sold by a bakery controlled by Bhajan, the Golden Temple Bakery in Eugene, Oregon. Bhajan, both personally and through the Comptroller of the corporate defendants, Sopurkh Kaur Khalsa, represented to the plaintiff that if she would research and develop such recipes, she would receive a salary, reimbursement for all travel and expenses, a percentage ownership interest in Golden Temple Bakery, and a royalty of three to four cents for each candy bar developed using one of her recipes sold by the bakery.
54. At a subsequent meeting, also held in February 1984, Sopurkh Kaur Khalsa reiterated the representations set forth in the next preceding paragraph, and in addition stated the plaintiff s salary as $1,200.00 per month.
55. The representations made in the nextpreceding two paragraphs were made by Bhajan and the 3110 Foundation for the purpose of inducing the plaintiff to develop the recipes in question, and then surrender the recipes to Bhajan.
56. In reliance upon the representations set forth in paragraphs 53 and 54, above, the plaintiff commenced research, and ultimately developed recipes for seven different candy bars. These recipes were then turned over to Bhajan, who turned them over to Golden Temple Bakery, and ultimately all seven of the plaintiffs recipes were used to produce and market candy bars. The candy bars produced form the plaintiffs recipes were sold throughout several states in the Western part of the United States from the summer of 1984 through and including the present.
57. In truth neither Bhajan nor the 3H0 Foundation ever had any intention of paying the plaintiff a salary or a royalty or giving the plaintiff any ownership interest in Golden Temple Bakery. In fact, other than a $300.00 per month paid for travel and expenses between February 1984 and February 1985, no payments of any kind have been made to the plaintiff.
58. Yet another commercial fraud was perpetrated upon the plaintiff by Bhajan with respect to the development of cookie recipes for yet another company controlled by Bhajan, the Nanak Cookie Company. In August, 1984, Bhajan represented to the plaintiff that if she would develop recipes for cookies which would employ natural ingredients and exotic spices, and turn the recipes over to Nanak Cookie Company, and if the recipes she produced were accepted for production and marketing by Nanak Cookie Company, the plaintiff would be made a partner in Nanak Cookie Company and receive a percentage of the profits from the sale of cookies made from her recipes.
59. In reliance upon these promises and representa-tions, the plaintiff worked from August 1984 through February 1985, developing cookie recipes and turning them over to Nanak Cookie Company. Four of her recipes were in fact produced and marketed by Nanak Cookie Company, under the names Lemon Up," "Ginger Zap," "Paradise Pistachio," and "Raisin Oaties."
60. In truth Bhajan never had any intention of giving the plaintiff any partnership interest in Nanak Cookie Company, or any percentage of the profits from the sale of cookies made from her recipes. The aforementioned promises were made solely to induce the plaintiff to develop the recipes so Bhajan could appropriate them and converted to his own use and benefit. In fact, the plaintiff has never received any partnership interest in Nanak Cookie Company or any remuneration of any kind for her recipes.
61. On the whole, the entire creation and operation of the corporation sole, the 3H0 Foundation and Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, as created by Bhajan and operated by the defendants, was all part of a unified scheme of deceit. Rather than being nonprofit eleemosynary or religious organizations, these organizations were created and totally controlled by Bhajan in order for Bhajan to obtain sex, money, property, power, constant personal attention and selfaggrandizement.
62. As a direct, proximate and foreseeable consequence of the defendants acts as set forth above, the plaintiff has suffered the following physical, psychological and economic injury:
(a) She has paid thousands of dollars to Bhajan, directly and through the corporate defendants, for various lectures, classes and stays at the "womens camp," which were not what they purported to be, and which were not only worthless, but which were actually extremely harmful to the plaintiff.
(b) She has paid thousands of dollars to Bhajan through the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation in the form of tithing and other monetary contributions and payments to an ostensibly religious or spiritual cause, but which was in fact nothing more than a scheme to defraud the plaintiff and others.
(c) She has given thousands of hours of uncompensated labor, and thousands of additional hours of labor at a rate of compensation that was less than fair market value and even than the minimum levels of compensation required by law.
(d) She developed recipes for foodstuffs and cosmetics, which she was induced to turn over to Bhajan, and for which she was never compensated.
(e) She has suffered severed emotional trauma and psychological injury, some of which is permanent, which has resulted in her suffering insomnia, nightmares, acute and chronic anxiety, acute and chronic fear, deep depression, debilitating confusion about her personal identity and at times reality itself, total loss of self confidence, self respect, self esteem, pervasive feelings of deep shame and isolation, retardation of her social growth and adjustment and similar consequences and symptoms of severe and lasting personality disruption.
(f) The plaintiff has foregone educational and career opportunities for a period of over ten years, with resultant economic injury.
(g) The plaintiff has suffered a wide variety of physical injuries resulting from her being subjected to the thought reform process ç3escribed above, and the methods employed to effect that thought reform process. These physical injuries include hypoglycemia; severe loss of weight; malnutrition; headaches; chronic exhaustion; and other psychophysiologic disorders.
(h) The plaintiff has required extensive medical treatment and psychological counseling and treatment, which medical and psychological counseling and treatment is expected to continue on into the future.
(i) As a result of the aforementioned physical and psychological injuries, the plaintiff has been limited in the kind of employment she has been able to accept since she left the defendants cult, and will continue to be so limited on into the future.
(j) As a consequence of the injury suffered by the plaintiff, the plaintiff was rendered incapable of understanding or perceiving the nature or consequences of her actions, including but not limited to her relationship with the defendants and the defendants relationship with the plaintiff. Until at least the fall of 1985, the plaintiff specifically lacked any comprehension of the type, extent or manner of her injuries, the mechanism by which the defendants caused her injuries, or even the fact that the defendants had caused her injuries.
63. As a consequence of the injury suffered by the plaintiff, the plaintiffs feared that Bhajan could and would inflict grievous physical harm upon or kill the plaintiff and members of her family through direct physical assault and through the use of magical or mystical powers, if she spoke out against Bhajan or revealed what he had done to her. This belief was the product of mental delusion intentionally induced in the plaintiff by the defendants while she was in the defendants cult, reinforced by actual assaults and threats of assault which occurred while the plaintiff was in the cult, similar threats of assault after the plaintiff left, and other forms of harassment which the defendants perpetrated against the plaintiff after she left the cult (as more fully described in Counts II, III and IV, below).
WHEREFORE, under this Count the plaintiff respectfully prays this Honorable Court will grant the following relief:
A. Entry of a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $2.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive or exemplary damages, plus interest and costs of suit.
B. Such other relief as the Court may deem to be just and equitable after trial.
COUNT II: ASSAULT AND BATTERY
64. As a complete and independent cause of action the plaintiff hereby asserts this Count against each of the defendants named in this Complaint.
65. The factual averments set forth in paragraphs 1 through 63 above, are hereby incorporated into this Count by reference.
66. During the period between June, 1978 and February,1985, the plaintiff was repeatedly struck or touched in a manner which any person of ordinary sensibilities would find to be highly offensive, and which caused the plaintiff pain and physical harm, as well as fear, apprehension and resulting mental and emotional harm. These incidents include, but are not limited to, beatings; involuntary sexual intercourse, sodomy and other sexual attacks; administration of ostensibly medical treatments; administration of bizarre rites; urination upon the plaintiff; and other particulars.
67. At the time of the initial sexual attacks upon the plaintiff by Bhajan, the plaintiff was a virgin, had never had a sexual relationship of any kind with any man, and had intended to remain a virgin until married.
68. From approximately 1980 through at least August 1985, the plaintiff lived under the constant threat, fear and reasonable apprehension of physical injury or death if she left the 3H0 organization or failed or refused to obey the directives and commands of Bhajan, or maintained any outside relationships that were not specifically approved by Bhajan.
69. From December 1980 through May, 1985, the plaintiff also lived under the constant threat, fear and reasonable apprehension of physical injury or death if she resisted the sexual assaults of Bhajan.
70. From December 1980 through August, 1985, the plaintiff also lived under the constant fear and reasonable apprehension of physical injury or death if she revealed to any person her experiences while involved with the defendants cult or Bhajan.
71. In carrying out his sexual assaults, Bhajan was at times physically assisted by defendant Amrit Kaur and at times physically assisted by defendant Guru Ke, who would physically restrain the plaintiff.
72. None of the physical touching or other acts described in This Count were done with the voluntary, free or informed consent of the plaintiff, nor were any of the defendants privileged to carry out any of the acts described in This Count.
73. All of the acts of the defendants described in This Count were done willfully, wantonly and with conscious disregard for the rights of the plaintiff. The defendants conduct in This regard was outrageous, and shocking to the sensibilities of ordinary people.
74. As a direct, proximate and foreseeable consequence of the defendants acts as set forth above, the plaintiff has suffered the physical, psychological and economic injury set forth above at paragraphs 62 and 63, above. In addition the plaintiff suffered severe infections of her bladder, kidneys and other internal organs; injury to her rectum and colon; loss of hair; bloody noses; split lips; bruising over her entire body; swollen tongue to the point where she could not take solid food for several days; soreness and misalignment of her jaw; contraction of herpes simplex and lesser venereal diseases; two abortions; permanent scarring of her internal sex organs and her back; and the tearing of a mole from her back.
75. As a result of the aforementioned emotional trauma and psychological injury, the plaintiff has required extensive psychological counseling and treatment, which psychological counseling and treatment is expected to continue on into the future.
76. As a result of the aforementioned physical injuries the plaintiff has required treatment from a variety of medical doctors and specialists, which treatment is continuing to date and is expected to continue on into the future.
77. As a result of the aforementioned physical and psychological injuries, the plaintiff has been limited in the kind of employment she can accept since she left Bhajans cult, and will continue to be so limited on into the future.
WHEREFORE, under This Count the plaintiff respectfully prays This honorable Court will grant the following relief:
A. Entry of a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $2.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive or exemplary damages, plus costs of suit.
B. Entry of a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Bhajan, any of the other individual defendants in this case, any officer of employee of any of the corporate defendants in This case, and any other person acting as the agent, employee or accomplice of any of the aforementioned people or entities, from having any contact or communication of any kind with the plaintiff, directly or indirectly, except through the plaintiffs undersigned counsel.
C. Such other relief as the Court shall deem just and equitable after trial of This case.
COUNT III: FALSE ARREST AND FALSE IMPRISONMENT
78. As a complete and independent cause of action the plaintiff hereby asserts This Count against each of the defendants named in This Complaint.
79. The factual averments set forth in paragraphs 1 through 77 above, are hereby incorporated into This Count by reference.
80. From the fall of 1978, and continuing until March 4, 1985, the defendants held the plaintiff in a state of involuntary captivity through a combination of mental coercion, false promises, threats of damnation and unspeakable spiritual torment which defendants knew to be false, and threats of public humiliation, grievous physical injury or death to the plaintiff and her family if she attempted to leave the physical confines of the defendants various compounds where Bhajan directed she live. Any one of the foregoing threats was, by itself, sufficient to constrain the plaintiff.
81. From January, 1981, and continuing until approximately April, 1983, the plaintiff was watched constantly by members of the defendants cult who wou ld report her every move to Bhajan, and telephoned and checked on nightly by Bhajan or another at the direction of Bhajan. This watch was to prevent her from leaving the ashram at Espanola, New Mexico without the permission of Bhajan, or to report her situation to anyone outside the cult.
82. From April, 1983, until the end of October, 1984, the plaintiff was at all times held under armed guard, and was in addition watched constantly by members of the cult, who would report her every move to Bhajan. This guard and close watch were to prevent the plaintiff from leaving the ashram at Espanola, New Mexico without the permission of Bhajan, or to report her situation to anyone outside the cult.
83. At the end of October 1984, and continuing until July 1984, the armed guard placed upon the plaintiff was relaxed somewhat. She was sometimes unaccompanied by armed guards during the day, but was still guarded at night, and still telephoned nightly by Bhajan or someone at the direction of Bhajan. Members of the cult, who would report her every move to Bhajan, also still watched the plaintiff constantly.
84. From July, 1984, until March 4, 1985, the armed guard on the plaintiff was relaxed still further. Armed guards did not accompany her during the day, and the guard on her at night consisted of the two guards stationed outside her home at the Espanola, New Mexico ashram. The plaintiff was still watched constantly by members of the cult, who would report her every; move to Bhajan, and was still called nightly by Bhajan or someone at the direction of Bhajan.
85. All of the aforesaid acts were carried out at the direction of Bhajan, using the resources of the defendant corporations and outside agencies controlled by Bhajan, by Amrit Kaur and others, for the purpose of restricting the personal liberty and freedom of locomotion of the plaintiff.
86. At no time did any of the defendants named in this Complaint have reasonable cause or justification to so restrain the plaintiff, nor did the plaintiff in any way or at any time give her voluntary, free or informed consent to such restraint.
87. On March 4, 1985, the plaintiff was able to evade the defendants guards stationed outside of her home at the Espanola, New Mexico ashram, and fled the cult to her parents home in the State of Montana, still fearful for her life and safety, and of spiritual damnation and torment.
88. The defendants actions as described in this Count were willful, wanton, outrageous, illegal and totally without justification or authority.
89. As a direct, proximate and foreseeable consequence of the defendants acts as set forth above, the plaintiff has suffered the physical, psychological and economic injury set forth above at paragraphs 62, 63 and 74, above.
WHEREFORE, under This Count the plaintiff respectfully prays This honorable Court will grant the following relief:
A. Entry of a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $2.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive or exemplary damages, plus interest and costs of suit.
B. Entry of a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Bhajan, any of the other individual defendants in This case, any officer of employee of any of the corporate defendants in This case, and any other person acting as the agent, employee or accomplice of any of the aforementioned people or entities, from having any contact or communication of any kind with the plaintiff, directly or indirectly, except through the plaintiffs undersigned counsel.
C. Such other relief as the Court shall deem just and equitable after trial of This case.
COUNT IV: FOR INTENTIONAL INFLICTION
OF SEVERE EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
90. As a complete and independent cause of action the plaintiff hereby asserts this Count against each of the defendants named in this Complaint.
91. The factual averments set forth in paragraphs 1 through 89 above, are hereby incorporated into this Count by reference.
92. During the period in which she was a member of the defendants cult, the plaintiff was systematically subjected to a variety of extreme, outrageous practices by the defendants, which were designed to cause her severe emotional distress. These practices included, but were not limited to:
(a) Subjecting her to the rapes, beatings, involuntary sexual contact and humiliation described in Count II, above.
(b) Subjecting her to the confinement and mental coercion described in Count III, above.
(c) Forcing the plaintiff to adhere to a regimen of yoga exercises, prayer, meditation and long hours of work which left little time for sleep, and which, when coupled with an extremely poor diet and bizarre fasts, had a mentally debilitating effect upon the plaintiff, leaving her confused, demoralized and unable to clearly think or reason.
(d) Harassing the plaintiff by telephoning her nightly and sending a guard to awaken her if she unplugged the telephone.
(e) Causing the plaintiff to be the subject of scorn and ridicule within the group in order to upset her and cause her anguish and humiliation.
(f) Repeatedly telling the plaintiff that she was now "useless" to men other than Bhajan, and that no other man would find her in any way attractive or desirable or wish to marry her.
(g) Telling the plaintiff that Bhajan saw in her "aura" that it was her "destiny" to be sexually attacked and die in an auto accident if she left the "protection" of Bhajan, and that she would wind up as a prostitute, and ultimately an accident victim, if she left (all of which "predictions" Bhajan knew to be groundless when he made them).
(h) Knowingly and intentionally subjecting the plaintiff to the aforementioned thought reform process which, by design, undermined and eventually completely destroyed the plaintiffs selfrespect, selfesteem and that concept of self and selfworth known by mental health professionals as "ego". As an integral and necessary part of This process, the plaintiff was constantly harassed, ridiculed, threatened, berated and humiliated publicly and privately any time she attempted to assert her personal rights or independence, and was made to feel wrong, inferior, sacrilegious and spiritually bankrupt for even thinking about deviating from the behaviors prescribed by Bhajan. Any human faults or failings that the plaintiff had were emphasized and exaggerated, and the plaintiff was constantly under pressure to "confess" her inadequacies and "surrender" herself to Bhajan through the group.
93. All of the acts of the defendants described in this Count were carried out by the defendants without privilege, justification or the consent of the plaintiff.
94. The defendants conduct as described in this Count was willful, wanton, extreme and outrageous, and was carried out by the defendants with a corrupt motive, for. the purpose of causing the plaintiff extreme mental and emotional distress.
95. The defendants conduct as described in this Count did, in fact, cause the plaintiff extreme mental and emotional distress and anguish, and physical harm resulting from the emotional distress.
96. As a direct, proximate and foreseeable consequence of the defendants acts set forth above, the plaintiff has suffered the physical, psychological, emotional and economic injury set forth in paragraphs 62, 63 and 74, above.
WHEREFORE, under this Count the plaintiff respectfully prays this Honorable Court will grant the following relief:
A. Entry of a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $2.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive or exemplary damages, plus costs of suit.
B. Entry of a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Bhajan, any of the other individual defendants in This case, any officer of employee of any of the corporate defendants in This case, and any other person acting as the agent, employee or accomplice of any of the aforementioned people or entities, from having any contact or communication of any kind with the plaintiff, directly or indirectly, except through the plaintiffs undersigned counsel.
C. Such other relief as the Court shall deem just and equitable after trial of This case.
COUNT V: FOR VIOLATION OF THE RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND
CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS ACT OF 1964, AS AMENDED,
18 U.S.C. SS19611968.
97. As a complete and independent cause of action the plaintiff hereby asserts this Count against all of the defendants named in this Complaint, except Guru Ke.
98. The factual averments set forth at paragraphs 1 through 96 above, are hereby incorporated into this Count.
99. False and fraudulent pretenses, promises and representations made to the plaintiff in this case by Bhajan, and the other defendants at the direction of Bhajan, (as more fully described in paragraphs 3538, 42, 43 and 4659, above) were also made to thousands of other individuals throughout the United States through the U.S. mails, by telephone and by radio and television broadcasts from June 1976 to the present, in violation of 18 U.S.C. S1341 (pertaining to mail fraud), and 18 U.S.C. S1343 (relating to wire fraud).
100. Because it is the very purpose of each of the corporate defendants in this case to disseminate the false and misleading information Bhajan gives them and perpetrate the myths Bhajan has created, virtually every use of the mails by the corporate defendants in this case constitutes the use of the mails for the purpose of executing Bhajans overall scheme to defraud. Specific instances of the use of the mails to transmit the foregoing false and fraudulent representations include:
(a)The mailing of numerous publications containing these false and fraudulent misrepresentations from New Mexico and California to every state in the Union and to Canada, including but not limited to the publications described in paragraphs 43, 44 and 45, above. These mailings were made by the publishers of those publications, which are the corporate defendants in This case, at the direction and under the control of Bhajan. These mailings occurred on or about the dates of their publication.
(b) The mailing of the false and misleading promises and representations designed to induce the plaintiff to travel to the "womens camp," as more fully described in paragraphs 32 and 33, above. Defendant Amrit Kaur, at the direction of Bhajan, made those mailings.
(c) On or about April 23, 1973, defendant Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation mailed an application for exemption from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code from Los Angeles, California to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C., which application (including the supporting exhibits) materially misrepresented Bhajans position with what was described as the "parent body" of the Sikh religion in India, as well as the nature, objectives and purposes of the organization, the date of its creation and the particulars of its operation. Similar misrepresentations were made in subsequent correspondence between Internal Revenue Service representatives and defendant Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation pertaining to the same request for tax exempt status. All of these mailings were carried out at the direction of Bhajan.
(d) On or about February 27, 1978 defendant Sin Singh Sahib corporation mailed an "Application for Certificate of Authority" from Los Angeles, California to the New Mexico State Corporation Commission, in order to obtain a certificate of authority to operate in the State of New Mexico. In that application the purposes which the defendant proposed to pursue in the State of New Mexico were materially misrepresented as being "to administer and manage the affairs, property and temporalities of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood religion," when in fact the purpose was as is set forth above. This application was signed by Bhajan, and was mailed at his direction.
(e) On or about April 10, 1973, Articles of Incorporation for defendant Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation were mailed from Los Angeles, California to the Secretary of State of California in Sacramento, California, for the purpose of establishing the defendant corporation. This application materially misrepresented the nature and purpose of the defendant corporation, as well as its governing structure. This application was mailed at the direction of Bhajan.
(f) On or about March 25, 1978, Articles of Incorporation for defendant 3H0 Foundation were mailed from Los Angeles, California to the Secretary of State of New Mexico, for the purpose of obtaining a certificate of authority to operate in New Mexico. That application materially misrepresented the nature and purpose of the defendant corporation as being "for educational purposes by engaging in the instruction and/or training of the individual for the purpose of improving or developing his capabilities," when in fact the purpose was as is set forth above. This application further misrepresented the governing structure of the defendant corporation, in that it was represented there were Officers and Directors who governed the organizations, when in fact Bhajan and Bhajan alone governed the organization. This application was mailed at the direction of Bhajan.
(g) From time to time, including but not limited to June 9, 1978, the office of the Chancellor to the Sin Singh Sahib corporation in Los Angeles, California, mailed specific instructions to various offices of defendant 3H0 Foundation, as well as to separately incorporated chapters of the 3H0 Foundation in various states, with instructions on how to incorporate the chapters and obtain tax exempt status. Such status was obtained for the purpose of placing privately owned property in the name of the corporation, with private parties, including Bhajan, to enjoy the use of the property taxfree, and Bhajan to ultimately control the property.
101. Because it is the very purpose of each of the corporate defendants in this case to disseminate the false and misleading information Bhajan has generated, virtually every use of the telephone in the operation of the corporate defendants, and every use of the radio and television by Bhajan to promote his organizations and his private yoga lectures, constitutes a use of the wires and electronic media for the purpose of executing Bhajans overall scheme to defraud. Specific instances of the use of the telephone and electronic media to transmit the foregoing false and fraudulent misrepresentations include:
(a) The transmission by telephone, between Espanola, New Mexico and Kalispell, Montana, of the false and misleading promises and representations designed to induce the plaintiff to travel to the "womens camp," as more fully described in paragraphs 32 and 33, above. Those transmissions were made by defendant Amrit Kaur and by Bhajan.
(b) Employees of the 3H0 Foundation regularly used the telephone throughout the relevant time period to make arrangements for the offering for sale by Bhajan of private yoga classes in various states. This promotion of Bhajan as a Yoga master by 3H0 staff was fraudulent as to the misrepresentation of Bhajans qualifications, the misrepresentation of the purpose of the courses, and as an intentional misappropriation of the resources of an allegedly charitable organization. The yoga courses arranged by 3H0 staff themselves promoted the overall scheme by affording the opportunity for Bhajan to attract new students and induct them into his cult through the covert thought reform process described above.
(c) Employees of the 3H0 Foundation regularly arranged radio and television appearance for Bhajan throughout the relevant time period, each time Bhajan was to give private yoga lessons in various states. These promotions, and accompanying radio and television interviews and broadcasts made by Bhajan, were fraudulent as to the misrepresentation of Bhajans qualifications, the misrepresentation of the purpose of the courses, and because they were arranged using the resources of an allegedly charitable organization. The yoga courses which were promoted by the broadcasts themselves furthered and promoted the scheme by affording the opportunity for Bhajan to attract new students and induct them into his cult through the covert thought reform process described above. These broadcasts accompanied virtually every appearance by Bhajan, and in each of the broadcasts in question, Bhajan would repeat the misrepresentations about his personal history, qualifications, purpose and religious office, set forth above. Although the plaintiff has no independent recollection of the specific dates of these broadcasts, such information is known to the defendants, and, upon information and belief, contained without records maintained by the defendants.
(d) Every year from 1976 through 1984 Bhajan made a television address on Channel 7 television in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as part of the annual summer solstice celebration on or about June 21.- Each of these addresses contained, inter alia , the misrepresentations pertaining to Bhajans personal history, qualifications as a yoga master, overall purpose and religious office, which are set forth above. Again, this publicity was arranged using the staff and resources of 3H0 Foundation. Although the plaintiff has no independent recollection of the specific dates of these broadcasts, such information is known to the defendants, and, upon information and belief, contained within records maintained by the defendants.
102. In addition to the mail fraud and wire fraud described above, since 1970, and specifically including the period between June, 1976 and the present, Bhajan has obstructed and affected interstate commerce by extortion and threats of physical violence, and has attempted to do so, and has conspired with the other defendants named in this case to do so, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1951 (pertaining to interference with commerce through extortion or threats of violence). This extortionate activity included, but is not limited to, the use of the threats of death and grievous bodily harm to the plaintiff and the plaintiffs family if she did not continue to serve the 3H0 Foundation, 3H0 Foundation of New Mexico, and the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, as are more fully described in Counts II and III, above.
103. The use of extortion and threats of physical violence to affect commerce is a standard practice of Bhajan, and is accepted without protest among Bhajans followers, including the other individual defendants named in this case. Specific examples of the use of extortion and threats of physical violence by Bhajan in order to affect commerce, assisted by the other defendants, include:
(a) In November, 1979, in Berkley, California Bhajan threatened a follower with death if he did not move from the San Francisco area to Los Angeles and work as a messenger and assistant to the "Secretariat" (body of secretaries) of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation.
(b) In the winter of 1979, in Los Angeles, California, S. Premka Kaur Khalsa, then a secretary and assistant to Bhajan, later to become the "Secretary General" of Bhajans organization, was threatened with death by Bhajan if she ever left his service (hence, the service of the 3H0 Foundation, the Sikh Dharm a Brotherhood corporation, and the Sin Singh Sahib corporation).
(c) In May, 1985, in Los Angeles, California, Steven Epstein of San Antonio, Texas, was a follower of Bhajan, and was contributing large amounts of money to businesses controlled by Bhajan (including real estate ventures and Khalsa Sunshine, Inc.), and was receiving neither promised remuneration nor proper legal documentation in connection with the transactions. Epsteins wife, Carol, was demanding proper performance by Bhajan and the companies into which Steve Epstein was putting his money and time, and was threatening to divorce Steve Epstein if the matters were not straightened out. Bhajan responded by threatening Steven Epstein with death if he ever "quit working for" Bhajan, and threatening Mr. Epsteins wife that Bhajan, through his organization, would retaliate against Mrs. Epstein if she attempted to divorce her husband. The retaliation against Mrs. Epstein ~would take the form of harassing lawsuits so that Mrs. Epstein "would never have any peace," the hiring of psychologists to testify that she was an unfit mother for her children and a suit for custody over her children, and Mrs. Epstein being "thrown out into the street with nothing."
(d) In Tucson, Arizona in 1984 Mr. Brook Webb and three others involved in a landscaping company controlled by Bhajan were dissatisfied with the manner in which the local head of the 3H0 ashram was running the business. Mr. Webb and the others threatened to quit and leave the company, taking a number of customers with them. Bhajan flew to Tucson and confronted Webb, threatening, inter alia, to kill Webb if he left the company.
104. The corporate defendants named in this case are one collective "enterprise," within meaning of the R,I.C.0. Act.
105. Each of the corporate defendants named in this Complaint are enterprises engaged in interstate commerce, and the activities of which affect interstate commerce, and collectively the corporate defendants are engaged in interstate commerce and their activities affect interstate commerce.
106. Bhajan has used and invested a substantial portion of the funds which he derived directly and indirectly from the mail fraud, wire fraud and extortionate activity described above to operate the defendant corporations, in violation of 18 U.S.C. S1962(a). These funds were used to buy equipment and supplies used by the corporations, pay salaries for corporate employees, and generally fund corporate operations.
107. Each of the individual defendants named in this Count used their respective offices within the corporate defendants to facilitate Bhajans operation of the corporate defendants through the use and investment of funds acquired by Bhajan through the mail fraud, wire fraud and extortionate activity described above. The individual defendants knew of Bhajans illegal activity and, as corporate officers and directors, condoned it and knowingly accepted on behalf of the corporations the funds that Bhajan was providing them. Each of the defendants has, inter alia, personally participated in the preparation and distribution of the fraudulent mailings described above, and each has personally transmitted threats at Bhajans direction in order to extort cooperation from a current or past follower of Bhajan.
108. Bhajan maintains control over the corporate defendants, through the mail fraud, wire fraud and extortionate activity described above, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. S1962 (b). His control is maintained by his power to allocate and distribute funds, as well as by extorting the cooperation of his followers on those occasions when they hesitate to provide him with money, labor or some other service or assistance he desires. In addition, the mail fraud and wire fraud enable Bhajan to recruit new adherents, avoid the scrutiny of the public or authorities, and discredit his opponents and critics both inside and outside his organization. By extortion Bhajan is able to silence his critics within the organization, both while those critics are still in the group and after they leave.
109. Each of the individual defendants named in this Count used their respective offices within the corporate defendants to facilitate Bhajans control of the corporate defendants through the use of mail fraud, wire fraud and extortionate activity, as described above. The individual defendants knew of Bhajans illegal activity and, as corporate officers and directors, condoned it and knowingly accepted on behalf of the corporations the funds that Bhajan was providing them. Each of the defendants has, inter alia, personally participated in the preparation and distribution of the fraudulent mailings described above, and each has personally transmitted threats at Bhajans direction in order to extort cooperation from a current or past follower of Bhajan.
110. The foregoing conduct of Bhajan and the individual defendants named in this Count constitutes participation in the conduct of the corporate defendants affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. S1962(c), and a conspiracy to violate 18 U.S.C. S1962(a), (b) and (c), all in violation of 18 U.S.C. S1962(d).
111. As a direct and proximate result of the foregoing violations of the RICO Act, the plaintiff was injured in her business and property. Specifically, the plaintiff suffered the economic harms set forth in paragraph 62(a), (b), (c), (f), and (i) above.
112. In addition, Bhajan and the corporate defendants as an entity have used and invested funds obtained through the mail fraud, wire fraud and extortionate activity described above to acquire an interest in and control over a number of outside commercial enterprises engaged in interstate commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. S1962(a). These enterprises include, but are not limited to, Khalsa Sunshine, Inc., Nanak Cookie Company and the Golden Temple Bakery, discussed above.
113. Bhajan and the corporate defendants as an entity have also acquired an interest in and control over those outside commercial enterprises through the mail fraud, wire fraud and extortionate activity described above, in violation of 18 U.S.C. S1962(b).
114. Bhajan and the corporate defendants as an entity have also directly and indirectly participated in the conduct of the affairs of those outside commercial enterprises through the mail fraud, wire fraud and extortionate activity described above in violation of 18 U.S.C. S1962(c). This participation has included obtaining funds to capitalize the operations of these commercial enterprises, directing business policy and direction, and demanding services and favors from those commercial enterprises.
115. As a direct and proximate result of the aforesaid violations of the RICO Act by Bhajan and the corporate defendants as an entity, the plaintiff has suffered the economic harms described and set forth in paragraphs 51, 52, 56, 57, 59, 60 and 62(d), above.
WHEREFORE, under This Count the plaintiff respectfully prays the Court will grant the following relief:
A. Entry of a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against defendants Bhajan, Amrit Kaur, Bibiji, Shakti and the corporate defendants, jointly and severally, in an amount equal to three times the actual commercial injury which the plaintiff proves at the trial of this case, plus costs, interest and plaintiffs reasonable attorneys fees.
B. Entry of a permanent injunction, enjoining Bhajan and any person acting in concert with Bhajan from making any of the false or misleading statements described in this Complaint,and ordering the dissolution of the 3H0 Foundation, the 3H0 Foundation of New Mexico, the corporation sole and the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation.
C. A declaration that Bhajan and the other defendants named herein are trustees ex malificio of all of the money and property taken or accepted from the plaintiff by the defendant corporations on their own account or on the account of Khalsa Sunshine, Inc., Nanak Cookie Company, and the Golden Temple Bakery, with imposition of a constructive trust. over such money and property, and an Order requiring the defendants to make an accounting for such money and property.
D. The appointment of a receiver to manage the corporate defendants and the assets of the corporate defendants pending an accounting and dissolution, and to oversee and carry out the fair and orderly dissolution of the corporate defendants.
E. Such other relief as the Court may deem to be just and equitable after trial of This case.
COUNT VI: FOR VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT
116. As a complete and independent cause of action the plaintiff hereby asserts this Count against defendants Bhajan, Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, Bibiji Kaur Khalsa, Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa and Guru Amrit Kaur Khalsa.
117. The factual averments set forth in paragraphs 1 through 115 above, are hereby incorporated into this Count by reference.
118. From March 1981 through March, 1984 the plaintiff was paid as an employee of the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, an enterprise in interstate commerce with the title of "Manager," receiving a salary of $350.00 per month.
119. During that period of time she worked an average of twelve to eighteen hours daily, and at no time was she paid any overtime for any workweek in which she worked in excess of forty hours for the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation.
120. Dividing the number of hours the plaintiff worked during most work weeks in that period into her weekly salary for that period, the plaintiff was usually, if not always, paid less than the minimum wage required by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act during the entire relevant period.
121. A substantial portion of the total business conducted by the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood between March, 1981 and March, 1984 was carried out in interstate commerce.
122. At all times material to this Complaint defendants Bhajan, Bibiji, Shakti and Amrit Kaur were corporate officers and directors responsible for compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act by the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation.
123. The failure of the defendants to compensate the plaintiff at a rate of not less than one and onehalf times her regular rate for the overtime hours she worked during the relevant time period is contrary to the requirements of S7(a) of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. S207(a).
124. The defendants failure to compensate the plaintiff at a rate of at least $3.35 per hour during the relevant time period is contrary to the requirements of S6(a) of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. S206(a).
125. The defendants failure to comply with SS6(a) and 7(a) of the FLSA was part of a general pattern of predatory and unfair employment practices, and was in willful disregard of the rights of the plaintiff under the FLSA.
126. It is necessary for the plaintiff to have the services of an attorney to institute and prosecute this action against the defendants, and the plaintiff has retained the undersigned for this purpose. The plaintiff will thus be required to expend reasonable attorneys fees, plus costs in prosecuting this action.
127. The plaintiff is entitled to recover unpaid overtime wages, unpaid minimum wages, and the costs and fees she will incur in bringing this action, pursuant to S16(b) of the FLSA, 30 U.S.C. §216(b).
WHEREFORE, under this Count the plaintiff respectfully prays this court will enter a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against defendants Sikh Dharma Brotherhood corporation, Bhajan, Bibiji, Shakti and Ainrit Kaur in the amount of all unpaid overtime, all unpaid minimum wages, times two, plus costs of suit and a reasonable attorneys fee for instituting and prosecuting this action, plus such other relief as the court may deem just, equitable and proper after trial of this case.
COUNT VII: VIOLATION OF THE PROHIBITION AGAINST
INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE CONTAINED WITHIN THE 13TH AMENDMENT
TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION
128. As a complete and independent cause of action the plaintiff hereby asserts this Count against each of the defendants named in this Complaint.
129. The factual averments set forth in paragraphs 1 through 127 above, are hereby incorporated into this Count by reference.
130. During the time she was involved in the defendants cult, the plaintiff was forced through coercion and intimidation to labor directly for Bhajan and his corporate entities for several thousand hours without compensation, and was forced to provide sex and companionship to Bhajan as set forth in Count II, above.
131. The plaintiff labored and endured Bhajans verbal, physical and sexual attacks because her will was completely overborne, and she was literally unable to perceive any alternative whatsoever to doing the bidding of Bhajan and his staff, and was convinced that there was literally no way to avoid continued service except death. These beliefs had been induced in her due to a combination of mental conditioning and coercion, posthypnotic suggestion, threats of severe emotional harm and mental anguish, all in an atmosphere of physical assault threats and intimidation which lead her to reasonably believe that she and members of her family would be seriously injured or killed if she disobeyed Bhajan or his staff.
132. This state of mind was deliberately induced in the plaintiff by the defendants, individually and collectively, and was actively exploited by Bhajan whenever the plaintiff would complain or suggest that she had a desire to leave.
133. The plaintiff was thus held in a condition of involuntary servitude from approximately June, 1976 through and including March 4, 1985.
134. To hold the plaintiff in such a condition is prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as 18 U.S.C. §1584, and resulted in the injuries set forth in paragraphs 62, 63 and 74, above, as well as that loss of dignity and humanity which is unique to slavery.
WHEREFORE, under this Count the plaintiff respectfully prays that this Court will exercise its power to vindicate her federally protected interest in remaining free from involuntary servitude, and grant relief for the defendants individual and collective violations of the aforementioned federal statute and provision of the U.S. Constitution, by entering a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $2.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive or exemplary damages, plus costs of suit and such other relief as this Court may deem just and equitable after trial of this case.
135. As a complete and independent cause of action the plaintiff hereby asserts this Count against each of the defendants named in this Complaint.
136. The factual averments set forth in paragraphs 1 through 134 above, are hereby incorporated into this Count by reference.
137. On numerous occasions between 1976 and 1984 Bhajan practiced medicine upon the plaintiff. The various medical treatments and procedures that Bhajan prescribed for the plaintiff and forced upon her included various diagnoses of medical ills and prescriptions of drugs, diets, and use of medical devices.
138. These diagnoses, diets administration of drugs and prescriptions for treatment were made without any training or qualifications to make such diagnoses or prescriptions, were medically incorrect and harmful to the plaintiff, were entirely selfserving, and were made with willful, reckless and wanton disregard for the health and safety of the plaintiff.
139. The diets, procedures and devices that Bhajan prescribed were administered to the plaintiff by and through the other defendants named in this Complaint. The plaintiff was disciplined and coerced by the defendants whenever she would resist following Bhajans medical advice.
140. These diets, prescriptions and t1treatments" directly, proximately and foreseeable caused and contributed to the psychological and physical injuries sustained by the plaintiff, as more fully described in paragraphs 62, 63 and 74, above.
WHEREFORE, under this Count the plaintiff respectfully prays this honorable Court will grant the following relief:
A. Entry of a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants, jointly and severally in the amount of $2.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive or exemplary damages, plus costs of suit.
B. Entry of a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Bhajan, any of the other individual defendants in this case, any officer of employee of any of the corporate defendants in this case, and any other person acting as the agent, employee or accomplice of any of the aforementioned people or entities, from ever again undertaking to diagnose or treat medical ailments or conditions without first obtaining proper license or certification to practice medicine from the appropriate state authorities.
C. Such other relief as the Court may deem just and equitable after trial of this case.
COUNT IX: INVASION OF PRIVACY
141. As a complete and independent cause of action the plaintiff hereby asserts this Count against each of the defendants named in this Complaint.
142. The factual averments set forth in paragraphs 1 through 140 above, are hereby incorporated into this Count by reference.
143. The constant observation, surveillance and monitoring of the plaintiff described in the foregoing Counts during the time the plaintiff was in the 3H0 cult constituted an invasion of her rights to be left alone and was an invasion of her privacy.
144. After the plaintiff left the cult on March 4, 1985, Bhajan, Amrit Kaur, and others at their direction, repeatedly telephoned or personally contacted Plaintiff at the plaintiffs home with threats and warnings of dire consequences if she did not return to the cult or if she disclosed to anyone the events described in this Complaint. These calls were made despite repeated requests by the plaintiff and members of the plaintiffs family that neither Bhajan nor anyone else associated with the cult telephone write or otherwise contact the plaintiff for any reason.
145. In addition to the aforementioned telephone calls and personal contact, Bhajan, Amrit Kaur and other members of the defendants cult attempted to continue to monitor and intimidate the plaintiff after she left the group. These efforts included surveillance; interference with plaintiffs mail; attempts to obtain medical records of the plaintiff through false representations; harassment of plaintiff, her friends and family; and defamation of plaintiff. All of the aforesaid acts constituted an invasion of the plaintiffs privacy.
146. The aforesaid acts were done by the defendants willfully, maliciously, and without privilege or justification.
WHEREFORE, under this Count the plaintiff respectfully prays this honorable Court will grant the following relief:
A. Entry of a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $2.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive or exemplary damages, plus costs of suit.
B. Entry of a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Bhajan, any of the other individual defendants in this case, any officer of employee of any of the corporate defendants in this case, and any other person acting as the agent, employee or accomplice of any of the aforementioned people or entities, from having any contact or communication of any kind with the plaintiff, directly or indirectly, except through the plaintiffs undersigned counsel.
C. Such other relief as the Court may deem just and equitable after trial of this case.
COUNT X: CIVIL CONSPIRACY
147. As a complete and independent cause of action the plaintiff hereby asserts this Count against each of the defendants named in this Complaint.
148. The factual averments set forth in paragraphs 1 through 146 above, are hereby incorporated into this Count by reference.
149. All of the acts described in each of the foregoing Counts were carried out at the direction of Bhajan, with each of the individual defendants help and participation, with the shared objective of carrying out the will and directives of Bhajan. The will and directives of Bhajan, so far as they are material to this Complaint, were always directed toward obtaining from the plaintiff money and services for the defendants, and sex, money, services and companionship for Bhajan personally, and to conceal the events described in this Complaint from the plaintiff, state and federal authorities and the general public.
150. The defendants actions in this regard constituted a civil conspiracy against the plaintiff.
151. All of the defendants acts described in this Complaint were willful, wanton, outrageous and totally without privilege or justification and caused the plaintiff the emotional, physical, economic and psychological damages set forth above at paragraphs 62, 63 and 74, above.
WHEREFORE, under this Count the plaintiff respectfully prays this Honorable Court will grant the following relief:
A. Entry of a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $2.5 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive or exemplary damages, plus costs of suit.
B. Entry of a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Bhajan, any of the other individual defendants in this case, any officer of employee of any of the corporate defendants in this case, and any other person acting as the agent, employee or accomplice of any of the aforementioned people or entities, from having any contact or communication of any kind with the plaintiff, directly or indirectly, except through the plaintiffs undersigned counsel.
C. Such other relief as the Court shall deem to be just and equitable after trial of this case.
Respectfully submitted,
Signed
Gordon Reiselt, Esq.
Singer, Smith and Williams
P.O. Box 25565
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87125
(505) 247-3911
Signed
Peter N. Georgiades, Esq.
Robert S. Whitehill, Esq.
Rothman, Gordon, Foreman and Groudine, P.A.
300 Grant Building
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
(412) 281-0705
ATTORNEYS FOR THE PLAINTIFF
Encyclopædia Britannica Article
ReplyDeletePage 21 of 27
Sects and other groups > Sects
In addition to the orthodox, there are several Sikh sects, four of which are particularly important. Two sects, the Nirankaris and the Nam-Dharis, or Kuka Sikhs, emerged in northwestern Punjab during the latter part of Ranjit Singh's reign. The Nirankaris were members of trading castes and followers of Baba Dayal, who had preached a return to the doctrine of nam simaran. With the advent of the Tat Khalsa this goal was largely achieved, and today the Nirankaris differ from orthodox Sikhs only in their recognition of a continuing line of Gurus. The Nam-Dharis also recognize a continuing line, believing that Guru Gobind Singh did not die in Nander but lived in secret until he passed the title to Balak Singh. Under the second Nam-Dhari Guru, Ram Singh, the movement's centre moved to Bhaini Sahib, where trouble with British authorities led to Ram Singh's imprisonment in Rangoon, Burma (Yangôn, Myanmar). Almost all Nam-Dharis are from the carpenter caste, and most adult male Nam-Dharis are easily recognized by their white homespun turbans, which they tie horizontally across the forehead.
The third sect, the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, emerged during the early 20th century. The members of this group are distinguished by their divergent interpretation of one of the Five Ks. Instead of accepting the kes, or uncut hair, they maintain that the command really stands for keski, which means a small turban that is normally worn under the main turban. In this group, men and women must wear this variety of turban. The group is strict in its beliefs, attaching great importance to kirtan, or the singing of hymns, and frequently devoting the whole night to the exercise. Leadership of the sect is now largely in the hands of the trading castes, though it originally comprised followers of Randhir Singh, who was a Jat.
Another group that requires women to wear turbans is the Sikh Dharma of the Western Hemisphere, founded in the United States in 1971 by Harbhajan Singh, who was always known as Yogi Bhajan. It is commonly known as the 3HO movement (Healthy Happy Holy Organization), though this is, strictly speaking, the name only of its educational branch. Most of its followers are white Americans who lay considerable emphasis on the discipline of meditation and who practice what they call kundalini Yoga. The Sikh Dharma's relations with the orthodox Khalsa are distinctly mixed, with many other Sikhs questioning both its teachings and its economic activities. The group's observance of the Rahit is, however, generally acknowledged to be of a very high order.
PART FIVE CONFLICTING EMOTIONS IN CROSS-CULTURAL CONTEXTS
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PART FIVE
CONFLICTING EMOTIONS IN CROSS-CULTURAL CONTEXTS
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Nine
On the Moral Sensitivities of Sikhs in North America
Verne A. Dusenbery
This pride or izzat is one of the Punjabi's deepest feelings, and as such must be treated with great respect. Dearer to him than life, it helps to make him the good soldier that he is. But it binds him to the vendetta.
—Malcolm Lyall Darling, Wisdom and Waste In the Punjab Village
The assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, allegedly at the hands of her Sikh bodyguards, provoked mixed reactions from Sikhs in North America. News reports immediately following the assassination included pictures and accounts of Punjabi Sikhs celebrating her death in the streets of New York.[1] Nevertheless, the CBS Morning News, on the day following the assassination, was able to find Sikh representatives who, although upholding the legitimacy of Sikh grievances, were willing to condemn Mrs. Gandhi's murder. Thus, viewers of CBS Morning News were presented the comments of Harbhajan Singh Purl (the "Siri Singh Sahib" or self-styled Chief Religious and Administrative Authority for the Sikh Dharma in the Western Hemisphere) and one of his Gora (literally, "white," i.e., Western) Sikh followers.
At the time of the CBS broadcast I was outraged that the media should once again have constituted "Yogi Bhajan" (as Purl is also known) and one of his few thousand Gora Sikh followers as representative of the tens or hundreds of thousands of Sikhs (overwhelmingly of Punjabi ancestry) residing in North America. If CBS considered itself obliged to find a "moderate" Sikh to condemn the murder, I felt it could have found a more representative Punjabi Sikh than Harbhajan Singh Purl, a former Indian customs official who founded the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization in 1969 shortly after his arrival in the United States; and CBS certainly need not have included one of his non-Punjabi followers as a spokesperson for the Sikhs of North America.[2]
Subsequently, I have come to rethink my position. In fact, it now seems to me quite appropriate that a Gora Sikh—a North American Sikh "convert"—should have made the most unequivocal repudiation of the murder by a Sikh that I heard in those confused and emotionally charged moments following the assassination. The different moral sensitivities displayed
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by the Punjabi Sikh celebrants outside the Indian consulate in New York and by the Gora Sikh spokesman in the CBS studios provide the outlines of what I consider a cross-culturally illuminating morality play.
But before exploring this morality play, let me recount another that came to mind often both in the prelude and aftermath of Mrs. Gandhi's assassination. This one concerns an earlier assassination of a public official by a Punjabi Sikh acting, as apparently were Mrs. Gandhi's assassins, "to preserve the honor" of the Sikh community.
The scene is Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In 1914, the South Asian community in Vancouver—overwhelmingly Punjabi and Sikh—was a mere ten years old. Nevertheless, it was already a community externally beseiged and internally factionalized. Canadian immigration regulations were being manipulated to keep South Asians out of the country and to deport as many immigrants as could be shown deportable. Activities of the Ghadar (Revolution) Party were particularly worrisome to British, Canadian, and Indian authorities. To provide information on the immigrant community in Vancouver, the Canadian Immigration Department had employed W. C. Hopkinson, a Punjabi speaking Anglo-Indian and former Calcutta policeman.[3] To further his investigations, Hopkinson recruited to his service members of one of the community's factions. One informer subsequently became involved in a shootout in which he killed two and wounded four other Sikhs within the precincts of the local gurdwara (temple).[4] Although most Vancouver Sikhs regarded the shooting as an unprovoked and inexcusable sacrilege, Hopkinson was prepared to testify that the man had acted in self-defense. As Hopkinson waited in the courthouse to testify, Mewa Singh, a recent immigrant forest worker and sometime granthi (one who reads from and cares for the Guru Granth Sahib [Guru Granth Sahib], the Sikh "holy book" regarded as the reigning Sikh Guru), shot him dead. Mewa Singh surrendered immediately, pleaded guilty, and was quickly sentenced to death. In a letter to Hopkinson's widow he "ask[ed] her forgiveness and stat[ed] that he had not acted out of hatred... but to wipe off the insults hurled at his countrymen and to preserve their unity" (K. Singh 1964:6). Mewa Singh was hanged on January 11, 1915.
Nearly sixty-five years later, when I came to do fieldwork with the Vancouver Sikh community (a community not merely still extant after decades of isolation but much grown and diversified through recent immigration, natural increase, and even conversion), shahid (martyr) Mewa Singh was still an exemplar to the community. His death was commemorated annually; his name was attached to halls and rooms in the local gurdwaras and invoked in the congregation during the saying of ardas (literally, petition, the communal prayer that includes the remembrance of significant Sikh martyrs); his martyrdom was appropriated by various groups and attached to various causes.[5]
One group that did not invoke Mewa Singh's example to the same degree
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as others was the group of a dozen or so Gora Sikhs at the local Guru Ram Das Ashram. My distinct impression was that these new North American Sikh converts preferred to celebrate the more socially and temporally distant and morally unequivocal heroic martyrdoms of the Sikh Gurus, and other early exemplars, as these are recounted in the Sikh hagiographic tradition. Recent historical figures, whose political and personal motives were perhaps more transparent and, thus, morally more complex to North Americans, seemed to provoke ambivalence. In any case, my Cora Sikh informants repeatedly emphasized that they were a "religious" group and, therefore, did not involve themselves in Indian "politics." As later would be the case in their response to Mrs. Gandhi's assassination, their actions indicated that, despite affirming Guru Gobind Singh's teachings that "when all else fails, it is right to draw the sword," they were not totally comfortable resorting to murder to avenge the "insult to the Panth" suffered as a consequence of Hopkinson's perjured testimony or Mrs. Gandhi's desecration of the Akal Takht.
In this essay I want to draw out the implications of these two morality plays—and others involving actions considerably less extreme (from the Western Judeo-Christian point of view) than murder—to suggest that the moral sensitivities of Gora Sikhs and Punjabi Sikhs (and, in this regard, particularly those of the dominant Jat Sikhs) not only differ but also differ in culturally specific ways. In particular, I want to suggest that the notion of izzat (honor), apparently so central to Jar Sikh "moral affect," is not shared by Gora Sikhs.[6] As a consequence, as I will show, Gora Sikhs are largely insensitive to the role of izzat in the lives of Jat Sikhs, that is, as it informs both Jat Sikh actions and Jat Sikh reactions to the actions of Gora Sikhs. And this difference in moral affect, I argue, enters into the active estrangement of Gora Sikhs and Jat Sikhs and their (mis)apprehension of one another.
Following Michelle Rosaldo, I use the term "moral affect" to indicate "emotions that involve dear conscious, social, and cultural components (and attendant questions of judgment and morality)" (1983:136, n. 4). A Western focus upon, and valorization of, rationalized, readily codified systems of knowledge—was apparent in the anthropologist's search for the norms or rules of an alien culture as in the convert's search for orthodoxy in an adopted religion—has for too long led to inattention to the affective dimensions of other peoples' experience. Yet, ironically, it is precisely in the area of "emotions," less amenable to direct personal articulation and formal codification than are "beliefs," that culture shock and cross-cultural tensions are most likely to be experienced and least likely to be reconciled. Yet, because the language of the emotions so often partakes of what Pierre Bourdieu (1976:118, n. 1) has called "the discourse of familiarity," outsiders, whether anthropologists or converts, find it difficult to experience and represent the affective world of others. Moral affects like izzat, because they "involve clear
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conscious, social and cultural components," are perhaps easier to gain access to with our everyday or conventional social scientific vocabularies than are emotions like fear, anger, or sadness (although these, too, involve moral appraisals of social situations). At the very least, the former are more likely to emerge as overt issues in cross-cultural interaction. This fact leads Rosaldo to argue that anthropologists interested in emotions "might do well to work from instances like these, where the relevance of culture is clear, towards cases where it is more problematic" (1983:136, n. 4; emphasis in the original).
But what does this mean operationally? Recent criticism of the classical "cultures of shame" versus "cultures of guilt" analyses, such as Ruth Benedict's (1949), has gone beyond contesting the empirical generality of the opposition between the two (Piers and Singer 1953) to emphasizing not only the different kinds of shame and guilt encountered in different cultures (Geertz 1973) but also the different kinds of "selves" to which these terms can appropriately be applied (Rosaldo 1983, 1984). In the shift from "culture and personality" to "concepts of the person" and "ethnopsychology," "shame" and "guilt" have gone from being explicans to being explicandum. Anthropological attention has correspondingly shifted from using (Western) psychological idioms to characterize cultural differences toward understanding the social and cultural construction of emotions themselves through various culturally constituted social "selves." Thus, for example, M. Rosaldo's (1983) insightful account of "shame" among Ilongot headhunters, with its exploration of the very different cultural conception of the self that "shame" presupposes among the Ilongot and among Americans, stands as an exemplary analysis of the social construction of "self" (as moral agent) and "emotion" (as moral affect).
As might be expected of a moral affect, izzat is a multivocalic term defying simple translation.[7] Conventionally it is glossed in English as "honor," but it is central to a whole complex of emotionally charged values including honor, respect, reputation, shame, prestige, and status.[8] The term derived from Arabic and Persian is tied to very similar concepts among Muslim groups of Southwest and South Asia;[9] but it has also gained wide currency in the languages of the non-Muslims of North India. It infuses Sikh culture to the extent that, since the seventeenth century, the landholding Jats of Punjab, for whom izzat is a particular concern, have come to predominate within the Sikh Panth.[10]
It is also a deeply-rooted, affective concept that informants have a hard time defining and discussing, especially with an outsider. In attempting to make the concept intelligible and palatable to this Western researcher, informants often spoke in moral platitudes: "izzat means 'honor thy father and mother.'" Or "izzat means 'looking out for the good of the family.'" More revealing than direct discussions of it in the abstract, therefore, were after-
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the-fact discussions of events in which informants asserted that izzat had been involved.
Retention, acquisition, or reacquisition of izzat is apparently a common motivating force in Jat Sikh social action. From undertaking migrations, employment, or marriages to seeking retribution (or, in less morally loaded terms, rebalance) for wrongs and injustices (or, in less morally loaded terms, defeats, slights, offenses) suffered at the hands of others, informants see izzat serving as both impetus and rationale for social action.
Joyce Pettigrew has written in some detail of the role that izzat plays in rural Jat Sikh sociopolitical life in the Punjab. I quote at length from her monograph:
Relationships of extreme friendship and hostility between families were actively involved with the philosophy of life embodied in the conception of izzat—the complex of values regarding what was honourable. If ajar achieved power for his family he automatically enhanced family honour. Power was honour and honour was power. In a situation where a family had no power it was inconceivable that it could have "honour," as it would not be able to defend the content of that honour from another family. The rise to power of a family into an "honourable" position was inevitably accompanied by threats and litigation, and sometimes also by violence and murder.
That aspect of izzat according to which the relationships between families were supposed to be ordered emphasized the principle of equivalence in all things, i.e., not only equality in giving but also equality in vengeance. Izzat was in fact the principle of reciprocity of gifts, plus the rule of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Giving was an attempt to bring a man of another family into one's debt, and acceptance of the gift involved the recipient in making a return, not necessarily in kind or immediately, but at the moment appropriate to the donor. Not making the return could break the relationships and develop further hostility. Izzat enjoined aid to those who had helped one. It also enjoined that revenge be exacted for personal insults and damage to person or property. If a man was threatened he must at least threaten back, for not to do so would be weakness. The appropriate revenge for murder was likewise murder. Izzat was also associated with sanctioned resistance to another who trespassed into what was regarded as the sphere of influence of one's family. This "other" might be other Jats belonging to the opposing faction; in the past it also applied to the state and foreign powers. (Pettigrew 1975:58-59)
Pettigrew's account touches on a number of concerns central to izzat: power, reciprocity, protection of one's social domain. The last lines of her account even suggest the way in which outsiders, such as Mrs. Gandhi or Hopkinson, may become parties implicated in the pursuit or defense of izzat. In a footnote Pettigrew notes other crucial aspects of izzat: for example, that for Jat Sikhs izzat is attached to landholding and to such occupations as military and administrative service and that it is tied to "a multitude of rules concerning the behaviour expected of men in relation to women, and vice
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versa" (1975:240).[11] Although these aspects are perhaps less directly relevant to her concern with political factions, they are crucial to understanding izzat in the migrant situation.
As Pettigrew notes, one aspect common to all these concerns is freedom from the constraints and demands of others and a concomitant ability to put others in one's debt or under one's dominion. Pettigrew's own study focuses upon political leadership, and she has therefore stressed aspects of the sociopolitical domination of individuals by other individuals; this is exemplified in the book's title, Robber Noblemen. But as a moral affect, izzat is preeminently a concern for the honor and reputation not of individuals per se but—insofar as personal prestige is subordinate to the collective evaluation of the group—of groups (the family, faction, lineage, village, caste brotherhood, religious community, etc.). Moreover, it is a fluid and relative rather than a fixed and absolute attribute of persons. By this I mean both that it is gained and lost in the give and take of social life and that one may act in the interest of any collective of which one is a part with the honor redounding to all the collectives.[12] Punjabis thus speak of izzat as a quality of certain persons that must be zealously guarded and continually expressed in agonistic pursuits.
Migration has long been one way through which Jat Sikh families have sought the means to maintain or raise family izzat. By sending away "excess" or "wayward" sons (that is, those whose inheritance would otherwise cause fragmentation of family landholdings or whose actions might undermine the family's reputation) and by using migrants' remittances and connections in military or administrative circles, Jar Sikh villagers have sought to further or maintain izzat in the ancestral village.[13] Foreign migration, especially to countries in the West, is, however, thought particularly risky. On the one hand, it has been seen as presenting unparalleled opportunities through which a Jar Sikh family might (im)prove its izzat. Thus, for example, by frugal living abroad, the migrant will ideally be able to remit large amounts of capital to the family back home for investment in land and farm implements, a pukka house, expensive doweries, maintenance of retainers and clients, and conspicuous philanthropy. At the same time, however, foreign migration presents considerable temptations to individuals to pursue actions with negative effects on family or group izzat. Thus, it is feared that the migrant may forget his responsibilities to his family by, for example, not saving and sending money home or by engaging in inappropriate sexual or marital relations abroad. A real ambivalence is felt about the risks and benefits of sending family members abroad. Most Jar Sikhs are not, however, averse to taking risks.
Moreover, in most situations of foreign migration, izzat is an important concern for Jat Sikhs in both the migrant setting and the home village. That is, accounts of the migrants' actions abroad circulate both within the migrant
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community and back in the village at home and affect the family's izzat in both places. Jat Sikh children living in Western countries thus continue to be socialized in sensitivity to actions that might bring their family or community into disrepute. And, because izzat is crucially entailed—and becomes relationally indexed—in political contests and marital matches, much emotional energy in migrant communities continues to be put into intracommunity factional politics and in arranging proper marriages for family members. Consequences of this continuing concern for izzat include not only the high degree of Sikh endogamy among Punjabis settled in Western countries but also the apparent willingness to forgo status gains (in Western terms) to ensure the continued good reputation of the family.[14]
Arthur W. Helweg, in his study of migrants from the Punjabi village of Jandiali living in the English town of Gravesend, not only notes the two communities of significant others, villagers at home and fellow-migrants, but also points to a presumed third audience. In his interesting chapter on the role of izzat in the lives of his informants (1979:10-19), he writes:
In Gravesend the Punjabis are deeply concerned about their izzat or mann as evaluated by three different audiences: (1) villagers in Punjab, (2) Punjabis in England, and (3) the English host community. The first two categories have the strongest influence on their behaviour but it is interesting to note how the Punjabis have projected their own culture onto the host group. According to their self-assessment of izzat, esteem in the eyes of others is not dependent upon another group sharing a similar concept. Izzat is so entrenched in Sikh Jar culture that an appreciation of it can be projected onto outsiders. Both in England and India, Punjabis are concerned that they and their fellows exemplify honourable behaviour. In effect, this projection of their own values on the British serves primarily to rally their own sense of superiority over the host population. (Helweg 1979:11)
This Jat Sikh projection of sensitivity to izzat onto Western society is also an important factor in understanding Jat Sikh and Gora Sikh misunderstandings and conflicting moral sensitivities. I will return to this point shortly. First, however, I will discuss briefly the Sikh population in North America.
Impelled by various push-pull factors (drought, epidemics, rural indebtedness in Punjab; the prospect of ready jobs and cheap passage to North America), Punjabi migrants first settled in Canada and the United States during the first decade of the twentieth century. From that point until the late 1960s, the overwhelming majority of Punjabis in North America were Jat Sikhs from Doaba (the plains area of Punjab between the Beas and Sutlej rivers). The original Sikh immigrants were predominantly male laborers and farmers who had served in the British Indian army. Most came to North America as sojourners, intent on making their fortune and returning home to the Punjab to retire in comfort and honor on the family farm. Although many
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of these early immigrants returned home within a few years, either through deportation or voluntary repatriation (in fact, a number returned as Ghadarite revolutionaries), the vast majority of those who stayed eventually settled in either British Columbia, where they became concentrated in lumber and lumber-related industries, or in California, where they pursued the traditional Jat occupation of farming.
After long and arduous struggle, the early immigrants were finally permitted to sponsor for immigration their Jar Sikh wives, children, and relatives. Although the relatively few non-Jats among the early migrants apparently mixed freely with their fellow Punjabi Sikhs, the overwhelming preponderance of Jats meant that Doabi Jat Sikh practices largely defined the Sikh identity as it developed in North America.[15] Only since the liberalization of Canadian and American immigration policies in the mid-1960s have significant numbers of non-Jats been a part of an extensive Sikh immigration coming not only from India but from the United Kingdom, East Africa, East and Southeast Asia, and Fiji as well. As I have discussed elsewhere (1981, 1988), this new influx not only has led to establishing new Punjabi Sikh communities, especially in the larger metropolitan areas where Sikh professionals have found employment, but it has also had significant repercussions in the long-established communities of British Columbia and rural California.[16] Nevertheless, within most Punjabi communities in North America, as within the Panth in India, Jat Sikhs continue to (pre)dominate.
If Jat Sikhs in North America are increasingly confronted by other kinds of Punjabi Sikhs (i.e., Sikh migrants of other castes), these are at least kinds of Sikhs with whom they are familiar from Punjabi society. The unprecedented "conversion" of thousands of Westerners to Sikhism is quite another matter. Making sense of the heretofore anomalous category "Gora Sikh" has and is taking some effort.[17]
In 1968, Harbhajan Singh Purl, whose refugee Khatri Sikh family had come to New Delhi from Pakistani Punjab at partition, quit his job as a customs official at Delhi's International Airport and left for Toronto to become a yoga instructor. However, the Canadian who had recruited him for the position had died in the interim. Puri was, thus, without job or sponsor. Fortunately for him, he soon secured sponsorship from a Punjabi Sikh in Los Angeles where he settled and began teaching yoga courses (at the East-West Cultural Center, at a local community college, and out of a storefront). Now calling himself "Yogi Bhajan," Purl proved a compelling teacher. Having found a receptive core of students (initially middle-age, female, "spiritual seekers"; subsequently young, white, middle-class refugees from the "counterculture"), he soon established for them an ashram, a "spiritual commune," as his students would have it. There he taught his "Kundalini Yoga: The Yoga of Awareness," offered occasional "Tantric Yoga Intensives," and imposed upon his followers the structure and disipline of what he called "the
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healthy, happy, holy way of life." In 1970, the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization (or 3HO) was formally incorporated as a tax-exempt educational organization. By then, Puri was already sending his newly trained "student teachers" to other cities in North America to teach Kundalini Yoga and to establish additional ashrams. During the early 1970s, the organization primarily sought to recruit new members through yoga classes and establish new ashrams where, Puri now claims, members were being purified and prepared to accept their calling as Sikhs. At this point, however, Puri "continued to teach about Sikh Dharma in an indirect way" (Khalsa and Khalsa 1979:119).
Puri had, however, slowly begun to disclose his own Sikh background and to introduce Sikh teachings to his closest followers. In 1971, he took eighty-four of them to India where they visited the Golden Temple and surrounding shrines. At the Akal Takht, the highest scat of Sikh spiritual and temporal power, the group was cordially received, and Puri was honored for his missionary work. Returning home with what he represented as a mandate to spread the message of Sikhism in the West, Purl began to supplement and supplant his primarily yogic explanation of "the healthy, happy, holy way of life" with a more explicitly Sikh account. Purl also began to use the title "Siri Singh Sahib," a title which, he claimed, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (the organization legally empowered to control the historical Sikh gurdwaras in the Punjab) had given him and which he rendered, liberally, as the "Chief Religious and Administrative Authority for the Sikh Dharma in the Western Hemisphere." In 1973, Puri was successful in having the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood (later recast in nongender specific language as, simply, Sikh Dharma) officially registered as a tax-exempt religious organization legally empowered to ordain Sikh "ministers" who would have the authority to perform marriages, to provide the last rites, and to administer the amrt[*] pahul.[18]
Puri's own transformation from "Yogi Bhajan" to the "Siri Singh Sahib" corresponded roughly to a change from a yogic to a Sikh identity on the part of 3HO members. The change did not take place overnight; but once convinced by Puri that his "healthy, happy, holy way of life" was an orthodox Sikh one, most 3HO members did not hesitate to make a formal commitment to their new religion. And Purl provided unprecedented opportunities for 3HO members to express their commitment, not merely holding the traditional amrt pahul ceremonies but introducing Sikh "initiations" and "minister ordinations" as well. Members' change from yogic to Sikh identity also corresponded to a change in emphases within the organization from recruiting new members and founding additional ashrams to maintaining the established group, raising a second generation, and gaining credibility as upholders of Sikh orthodoxy in North America.[19]
Today, three to five thousand Gora Sikhs live with their families in or near
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the approximately one hundred 3HO ashrams in North America (and in scattered cities abroad). Their visibility (e.g., their distinctive white uniforms and Indian-sounding names), their aggressive pursuit of "religious rights" (e.g., exemptions from dress codes and saftey rules that would require their giving up turbans and other external symbols), and their frequent critical commentary on the practices of Punjabi Sikhs in North America (see Kaur 1973, 1975) have made them known beyond what their numbers might otherwise warrant. Punjabi Sikhs in North America, in particular, are well aware of their existence. And this is particularly so in places, like Vancouver, where Gora Sikhs have attempted to become involved with the local Punjabi Sikh gurdwaras.[20]
The contrast between Jat Sikh and Gora Sikh moral sensitivities has emerged at various points in their social interaction in North America. I focus first on two cases from my fieldwork in Vancouver; each suggests different Jat and Gora perspectives on the unfolding interaction. Each case is simultaneously an instance of the Gora Sikh failure to appreciate the considerations of izzat that underlie the actions of Jat Sikhs and of the Jat Sikh projection of izzat concerns onto the actions of Gora Sikhs.
One Gora Sikh complaint about Punjabi Sikhs in Vancouver is their factionalism—or, as the Gora Sikhs put it, "East Indian politics." They express despair and frustration over the factionalism within the Punjabi Sikh community and regard the bitter and often violent struggles for control of the local gurdwaras (and other community institutions both in North America and in India) as incompatible with the practice of the Sikh religion. By the time of my fieldwork in 1978-79, most members of the local 3HO ashram had withdrawn from all but very limited involvement with the management committees of Vancouver's Punjabi-run gurdwaras.
Such had not always been the case. Soon after the founding of a 3HO ashram in Vancouver (ca. 1972-73), Gora Sikhs attempted to become actively involved with the two preexisting Vancouver Sikh gurdwaras, both dominated by Doabi Jats. Their motivation was largely ideological. Convinced by Puri that they were the true upholders of Sikh orthodoxy in North America, Gora Sikhs had become highly critical of certain changes that had crept into local gurdwara protocol in the years since the early migration. Especially egregious to them was the practice of appearing bareheaded in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib. In pursuing efforts to ensure that this sacrilege not continue and that headcoverings be made mandatory in the main gurdwara, the Gora Sikhs became involved in an escalating conflict between local Sikh factions.[21]
During previous research with 3HO, I had been present in Vancouver during the summer of 1974 when a pitched battle, provoked in part by the Gora Sikhs' attempt to force those entering the gurdwara to cover their heads,
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erupted at the Khalsa Diwan Society's gurdwara in south Vancouver. In the course of this encounter, both Cora Sikhs and Punjabi Sikhs were assaulted: turbans were pulled off, several people were roughed up, and police were ultimately called in to restore order.[22] The incident included a reported threat in Vancouver on the life of Purl, who was accompanying visiting Punjabi Sikh dignitaries on a North American tour.
The Gora Sikhs' despair and incredulity (and, ultimately, their incomprehension) over the whole situation is well summed up in the title of a letter—"What are the Sikhs doing in Vancouver?"—that the head of the local 3HO ashram wrote to the English-language section of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee's journal, Gurdwara Gazette (G. R. Singh 1975). Subsequently, the Gora Sikhs grew so frustrated with the factional politics surrounding the gurdwara management committees in Vancouver that they withdrew from the arena.[23] Instead, they chose to continue to spread their version of proper Sikh practices by urging Punjabi Sikh participation in the Sikh Youth Federation of Canada (which they had established with sympathetic Punjabi Sikhs to proselytize among Punjabi Sikh youth and to provide legal support of Sikh "religious rights"), by attempting to establish an alternative place of worship at the short-lived Siri Guru Sadan (a gurdwaracum-community center, also known as "New Age Community Centre," located in the "alternative lifestyles" section of town), and by inviting sympathetic Punjabi Sikhs (both local residents and visiting musicians and "preachers" brought from India) to services held in the gurdwara that they maintained at their own Guru Ram Das Ashram.
Although local Gora Sikhs viewed their withdrawal as principled (i.e., eschewing divisive politics in favor of concentrating on practice of the Sikh religion), many Jar Sikhs interpreted the Gora Sikh withdrawal as retreat in the face of a public humiliation suffered in the arena of gurdwara politics. Misunderstanding the Gora Sikhs' motivations to enforce the practice of orthodox ideology, Jar Sikhs misinterpreted their estrangement. For Jar Sikhs, izzat rather than ideology provided the explanatory framework.
The Jar Sikh feeling of moral superiority over a potential challenger was reinforced soon thereafter. In attempting to fund their "Siri Singh Sadan" as an alternative place of worship, the Gora Sikhs twice went before the sangat[*] (congregation) at the Akali Singh Society gurdwara to ask for donations. Jar Sikhs were surprised that the Gora Sikhs would so shamelessly solicit and accept charity—in effect, "lowering themselves" by coming not simply once but twice to ask for assistance and then, in the end, failing in the endeavor anyway. Informants were even more incredulous that, having put themselves in debt to the congregation, Cora Sikhs would dare to continue to voice criticism of Punjabi Sikh practices. Several times informants cited this incident to suggest that the Gora Sikhs knew no shame (i.e., were lacking in izzat). Their reactions seemed to indicate clearly that Punjabi Sikhs were
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content to judge the situation morally, using the familiar emotion term of izzat, whether or not the converts shared their moral sensitivities.
From the Gora Sikhs' perspective, in attempting to establish the Siri Guru Sadan, they were simply offering to create another public setting for the reading of the Guru Granth Sahib; and by collecting from the congregation, they were offering other Sikhs the chance to contribute toward this religiously meritorious cause.[24] Because they neither consciously related to those at the Akali Singh gurdwara along group lines nor saw this as a matter of collective prestige, they apparently did not feel that success or failure would redound to them as Gora Sikhs. They were disappointed that in the end they did not have the financial wherewithal to keep open this place of worship; but, without a Jat Sikh sensitivity to izzat, they never felt humiliated by receipt of Punjabi Sikh largess and subsequent failure of their project. In fact, I think that they never appreciated the negative implications of this incident for their reputation in the local Punjabi Sikh community.
Very briefly, let me add two other examples of public actions that provoked very different reactions from Gora Sikhs and Jat Sikhs. Although the first incident predated my arrival in Vancouver in 1978, it was still actively discussed. In a nearby community a Jat Sikh man had murdered his wayward daughter, who had apparently run off with a gora (white man) and was living openly with him. Rather than continue to suffer this humiliation of his family, her father had killed her in a reportedly brutal manner. Gora Sikhs, like Canadians generally, condemned unconditionally the killing and evinced horror at the very thought of filicide. My Jat Sikh informants, though by no means condoning to me the man's actions, nevertheless evinced sympathy with his predicament and recounted other similar stories. In fact, such situations of unapproved, mixed relationships have increasingly arisen in the migrant setting. Other parents have handled the dilemma of wayward children in ways that sought to remove the source of their humiliation by social rather than physical death. Thus, ostracization and outright denial of the wayward family member's existence are common responses to izzat-threatening deviance.
The second case, arising subsequent to my departure in 1979, involved the defection of the local 3HO ashram's head and his wife's decision to stay on without him in Vancouver. When the publically recognized leader of the local Gora Sikhs quit the group, took off his bana[*] (the Khalsa uniform), left behind his divorced wife, child, and "students," Gora Sikh detractors widely represented this as proof of the superficial nature of Gora Sikh "conversions." Even among those generally sympathetic to the Gora Sikhs, the defection dealt a severe blow to the Gora Sikhs' reputation.
Even more illuminating were responses to his wife's decision to stay. No doubt the Gora Sikhs considered the defection of their local leader an unfortunate event, one that their detractors in the Punjabi Sikh community would
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probably use against them. The leader's wife—whose marriage had been arranged by Puri who had sent them to Vancouver in 1972 to found an ashram—felt torn between her desire to save her marriage and family and her responsibility to the ashram and its projects in the wider Vancouver Sikh community. She represented her ultimate decision to stay as a sign of her commitment to the Sikh dharma (moral duty).[25] In effect, she would sacrifice her marriage to remain a Sikh and provide service as well as leadership to her community. Fellow Gora Sikhs applauded her choice which, they hoped, would show the local Punjabi Sikhs that, even though one of their number was an apostate, the rest were steadfast. It is not clear that this was how Punjabi Sikhs responded. Although they told me that her commitment to Sikhism impressed them, even as they expressed shock at her husband's lack of commitment, it is doubtful that many Jat Sikh women would have acted the same. Because the family is a repository of izzat, izzat suffers when marital discord becomes public. Indeed, Punjabi Sikh families go to great lengths to keep others from learning about the family's intimate life. Women, in particular, have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the family's reputation, even where this might mean maintaining a public fiction. In this instance, informants suggested that a wife's duty would be to follow her husband and, if possible, to work quietly to bring him back into the fold.
I hope by now that my point is clear. The difference between Jat Sikh and Gora Sikh moral sensitivities in North America might well be summed up by suggesting, as did one of my reflective Jar Sikh informants, that the Punjabi Sikh community in Vancouver is, in his terms, "pre-ideological" but highly sensitive to izzat in social relations. In contrast, the Gora Sikhs are highly ideological but operate entirely without recognition of or sensitivity to izzat as moral affect.[26]
Let me return, at last, to the different responses of North American Sikhs to the news of Mrs. Gandhi's assassination. My point is, of course, not that no Jar Sikhs were willing and able to condemn the assassination or that no Gora Sikhs felt that she had, in some sense, brought her death upon herself. Rather, my point is that most Jar Sikhs (including such "moderates" as Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, the Akali Dal leader who was subsequently assassinated for negotiating an accord with Rajiv Gandhi) felt the destruction of the Akal Takht as a humiliation inflicted upon the Panth, a humilation demanding some counteraction to restore Sikh izzat. In contrast, the Gora Sikhs regarded the destruction of the Akal Takht as a desecration but the ultimate unfortunate consequence of "Indian politics." They responded by urging a cessation of the politics that threatened the religion and demanding a return of Sikhs to their dharma.
If the dominant moral sentiments expressed in Gora Sikh pronouncements at the time were righteous indignation and exasperation, those of Jat
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Sikhs were humiliation and vengefulness. Thus, in the months between Operation Bluestar and the assassination of Mrs. Gandhi, Punjabi Sikhs spoke of the needs to remember those Sikhs martyred by government troops, to avenge the death and desecration that occurred in the assault on the Akal Takht, and to restore the honor of the Sikh Panth.[27] At the same time, Gora Sikhs (in such contexts as Beads of Truth, the semiannual organ of 3HO), also spoke of the "martyrdom of Akal Takhat" but argued for a "negotiate-for-solution and do not be revengeful" posture.[28] If most Jat Sikhs felt that the "martyrdom of the Akal Takht" was occasion for a pledge of vengeance and retribution, the Gora Sikhs felt that it was occasion for a pledge "to improve any aspect of our individual performance as gursikhs" (H. S. Khalsa 1984:44).
Reminded by Michelle Rosaldo (1983, 1984), Catherine Lutz (1983, 1986), and Owen M. Lynch (this volume) that emotions are culturally constructed moral affects constitutive of the self, I am now in a position to pose two questions: What are the different moral affects experienced by Punjabi Sikhs and Gora Sikhs? Moreover, what within the different social selves makes izzat such a key moral affect for Punjabis but, in the same social situation, elicits no comparable emotional response from Westerners?[29] To ask the latter question is not to suggest that Punjabis are somehow inherently more emotional and less rational than Westerners. Indeed, the benefit of looking at moral affect is that one need not oppose the emotional and the rational. As long as their socialization experiences continue to differ, Jar Sikhs—raised sensitive to the variable reputations of the collectivities of which they are a part—and Gora Sikhs—raised sensitive to their personal integrity as individuals—will differ in their emotions as appraisals of common situations. But Gora Sikhs can be said to be as emotional as Jat Sikhs; however, the moral affect with which they appraise these contexts is not izzat but indignation and exasperation at failure to live up to one's religious duties.[30]
Although the dominant Euroamerican ethnopsychology and ethnosociology may continue to regard emotion as antithetical to morality, moral judgments are clearly central to the sorts of appraisals of social situations crucial to a moral affect like izzat. This should lead us to rethinking further the classic analytical oppositions between emotion and moral code, sentiment and structure, individual and society, personal experience and cultural construct. As I have suggested, concepts like izzat are particularly good candidates for analysis because they so clearly involve both moral and affective dimensions. Yet, the very centrality of izzat and related concepts in peoples' emotional lives commonly leads those who experience a particular moral affect to assume its universality (rather than to reflect upon its relativity) and
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thus to make familiar moral appraisals in new settings and to project a similar moral sensitivity onto others.
But clearly izzat is not a universal emotion; rather, it is a socially learned moral appraisal with attendant affective dimensions. The same situation, as I have shown, will elicit very different emotional responses from different persons, depending upon their prior socialization.[31] Moreover, situations as such do not elicit certain kinds of emotions; rather, it is the appraisal of them that is different, and this is identified by an emotional term. We must necessarily be alert, therefore, to the ways in which people of different cultures are socialized into different universes of moral affect. However, because we live in a world of interacting cultures—where, for example, young North Americans are being asked to present the Sikh reaction to major Indian sociopolitical events—it no longer makes sense to content ourselves with drawing out contrasts between, for example, Ilongot "shame" and American "shame" or Jat Sikh "honor" and American "honor" as if they were analytic specimens of emotions existing only in separate social universes. Instead, we must also recognize and interpret those instances where cultural differences in moral affect express themselves in mutual (mis)apprehensions of social actors in shared interaction. With Gora Sikhs and Jat Sikhs attempting to incorporate each other in a common moral universe, we can thereby investigate "moral affect" in the breach. And, because these situations of cross-cultural estrangement will be patterned, knowing the particulars about how, say, izzat is entailed and indexed in social life will help make public events—such as the differing Punjabi Sikh and Gora Sikh reactions to Mrs. Gandhi's assassination—intelligible. That has been the intent of this analysis.
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Ten
Hare Krishna, Radhe Shyam
The Cross-Cultural Dynamics of Mystical Emotions in Brindaban
Charles R. Brooks
Introduction
In the North Indian pilgrimage town of Brindaban (Vrndavana[*] ), the epicenter of Krishna devotion (Krsna-bhakti[*] ), residents are familiar with the Bhagavata Mahatmya of the Padma Purana[*] in which the personification of devotional Hinduism (bhakti) recounts her birth and development.[1] One informant, an ascetic holy man, summarizes part of the text:
Bhakti says that she was born in the Dravid country and came to maturity in Karnataka. Later she was respected in Maharashtra and grew to a ripe old age in Gujarat, but there she became weak and sluggish, and was hated by the heretics due to the arrival of the Kali age. This is an account found in the scriptures of the actual history of bhakti religion. But then she says that when she came to Brindaban . . .. Brindaban made her fresh and beautiful again.[2]
Indeed, Brindaban's importance to devotional Hinduism, especially for those sects that worship Krishna as the supreme god, exists on several levels. Not only does the name refer to the town located along the banks of the Jamuna (Jamuna) River in the southwestern corner of present-day Uttar Pradesh, but it is also the name of the highest celestial realm, or dhama, where Krishna eternally conducts his lila (lila, sports, playful activities).[3] For the Krishna devotee (bhakta), the phenomenal earthly Brindaban and the spiritual Brindaban are identical. The terrestrial Brindaban, therefore, is considered more than just a sacred place of pilgrimage (tirtha) where the devout person can find a bridge to the spiritual world; it is fully the spiritual world already. Additionally, Brindaban names the ideal state of mind that is the goal of every Krishna devotee (De 1961:223, 249; Dimock 1966:165-170; Kapoor 1977:108-113; Kinsley 1979:112-121; Hardy 1983:567).[4]
While emphasizing the significance of Brindaban for the medieval renais-
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sance of a Krishna-centered devotional religion, the ascetic continues the story of Bhakti by pointing out that she is not content to reside only in India once her rejuvenation has taken place:
Bhakti continues with an important prophecy, well-known by most Brajbasi [residents of Braj], by saying that she will leave this country and go abroad. It is dear that her use of the word videsam [foreign place] in the text indicates a country other than India. Within India she is careful to list by name all the places. So she is definitely making a prophecy about bhakti's spread outside India.[5]
In 1965, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, a sannyasi (monk) of the Bengal Vaishnava sect (gauriya[*] vaisnava[*] sampradaya),[6] journeyed from India to the United States to fulfill a mission that he perceived Krishna gave through his own guru:[7] to spread Krishna devotionalism to the West in the English language. For ten years prior to his journey, Bhaktivedanta Swami had lived, studied, written, and meditated in Brindaban, planning how this indigenous Indian religion might be spread outside India, especially to the United States.
At the age of seventy he arrived in New York after a long voyage on a freight steamer, and within one year had formally incorporated the international Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), to become widely known as the Hare Krishna Movement, one of the many "new religions" spawned during the culturally productive period of the late 1960s.[8] Although in the American context this religion was new and mysterious, in India it represented a tradition dating back to the founder of Bengal Vaishnavism, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Caitanya Mahaprabhu), an ecstatic saint who lived from 1486 to 1533 (Dimock 1966:30).
Over the next twelve years until his death in Brindaban in 1977, Bhaktivedanta gradually transformed his disciples into Vaishnavas according to the strict tradition of his sect. Eventually, as was his plan all along, he brought American disciples back to Brindaban where they were received · with curiosity and tactful respect.[9] Some local inhabitants also interpreted the swami's success in America as fulfilling the scriptural prophecy.
The projects that Bhaktivedanta and his disciples undertook in India firmly established them there, and large temples built and staffed mainly by the foreign Vaishnavas now exist in Mayapur (near Ghaitanya's birthplace in Bengal), Bombay, and Brindaban, with small centers spread throughout India. But undoubtedly for Bhaktivedanta, the Brindaban temple was symbolically most important. There the Krishna-Balaram (Krsna-Balarama[*] ) temple complex was opened in 1975,[10] and since that time an entourage of ISKCON devotees has lived in the town.[11]
For sixteen months during 1982 and 1983 I conducted anthropological fieldwork in Brindaban to discover what types of interaction were occurring
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between the foreign devotees and Indian pilgrims and residents and to determine what impact these interactions were having. From this research it is clear that the effect has been significant. Not only is ISKCON now considered a legitimate branch of Bengal Vaishnavism (Brooks 1985), but the temple of Krishna-Balaram has also become an integral part of Brindaban's sacred pilgrimage complex.[12]
Nonetheless, although ISKCON devotees are considered legitimate Vaishnavas in the Bengal tradition, some Brindaban residents perceive that ISKCON Vaishnavism is somehow different from their own. This perception is not a simple recognition of obvious ethnic differences, now largely overcome by ISKCON's behavioral presentation and arguments from traditional texts, but rather an intangible feeling revealed in various comments: for example, "indeed they are very good Vaishnavas, perhaps the best in Brindaban, but their mood is different from ours"; and "their understanding is not yet complete—they are only beginning along the path of deep mysteries of Krishna in the madhurya-rasa [erotic emotion] of Braj."[13]
In this chapter I explore the dimension of contrast to which these statements allude. By examining the emotional components of Krishna-bhakti in the Brindaban context, two areas are highlighted that aid in understanding mystical devotion in action: (1) the empirical range of variation existing in the practice of Krishna-bhakti by a committed Indian population; and (2) the symbolic importance of mystical emotions in everyday interactions between foreign and Indian bhaktas in Brindaban.
Devotees of ISKCON and Indian residents of Brindaban interpret and practice devotional mysticism differently. These distinctions are subtle and complex, yet they can be understood by considering the interrelationships between Bhaktivedanta's transmission of Krishna-bhakti ideals to his disciples and the processual dynamics that have taken ISKCON from a liminal phenomenon of revitalization to the highly bureaucratic institution that it is today. This historical context helps to explain why ISKCON has developed emotional attitudes that contrast with the attitudes of the local population— attitudes that ultimately function as contrasting ideologies to help define the separate groups operating within a common cultural domain. At the same time, however, enough symbolic agreement exists for the interactive situations between foreign and Indian actors to be integrative events. Practically, this results in the cultural construction of an essentially new emotional reality in Brindaban that recognizes and incorporates the differences.
Emotional Components of Krishna-Bhakti: The Ideal
Perhaps in no other religious system have human emotional potentials been so considered, categorized, and sacralized than in the codification accomplished by the Bengal Vaishnavas. Although many Brindaban residents are
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not Bengal Vaishnavas, this sect has been a dominant force in patterning the town's culture; the vocabulary and attitudes of Bengal Vaishnavism infuse every sphere of Brindaban's sociocultural environment. This is not surprising because those disciples of Chaitanya who produced the sect's literary classics while living there in the late fifteenth century also simultaneously and overtly initiated Brindaban's development from wilderness retreat to pilgrimage town. Moreover, the same pervading concern for an individual's emotional relationship with Krishna exists in a majority of Brindaban's other Vaishnava sects, though not in such a systematic, Sanskritized form.
The full content and development of the tradition's "science" of devotional emotion (bhakti-rasa-sastra) are beyond the scope of this essay but a simplified depiction of its ideals will still frame the situations where mystical emotions are employed in the everyday life of Brindaban, especially in the interactions between Western devotees of ISKCON and native residents and pilgrims.[14]
The person of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu symbolizes for many devotees of Krishna the perfection of spiritual love. His own followers consider Chaitanya to be an avatara (incarnation) of Krishna himself who descended to earth in order to experience first-hand the perfection of love that a person may have with the deity.[15] Although sectarian accounts posit that Chaitanya personally expounded the tradition's complex philosophy and theology, he left little writing.[16] Through his inspiration, instruction, and delegation of responsibilities, however, Chaitanya's immediate disciples produced a monumental literary corpus that the devout consider to be revealed scripture.
The specific task of defining and elaborating upon religious emotions was given to Rupa Goswami, one of the "Six Goswamis" (Gosvamis) Chaitanya sent to Brindaban to codify the religion and establish its organizational headquarters.[17] In two systematic Sanskrit works, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu[*] and Ujjvala-nilamani[*] , Rupa outlines the ideals and potentials concerning man's emotional relationships with the divine.
The terms most commonly associated with mystical emotion by the Indian laity, bhava and rasa, are often used interchangeably, although Rupa explains them in such complex categorical detail that only the adept religious specialist or scholar of Sanskrit poetics can appreciate his precision. As De points out, "the terms Rasa and Bhava are difficult to translate, but they have been rendered respectively by the terms 'sentiment' and 'emotion.' . . . The question whether Bhakti is Rasa or Bhava is more or less academic" (1961:168 n.). It becomes clear, however, from the works of Rupa Goswami and his commentators, that in the religious context bhava indicates a predisposing emotion that one has toward Krishna which becomes rasa only when it is highly refined and integrated into the devotee's entire being through experience.
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Rasa (literally juice, sap), which can be glossed as the full appreciation of an involvement in an emotional state, is derived from Sanskrit drama and poetics. In the poetic sense rasa refers to "the supreme relish of literary enjoyment" (De 1961:166). The combination of Rupa's knowledge of rhetoric and his sincere devotion to Krishna made him uniquely qualified to transform the poetic rosa into a mystical one.
The rasas, elevated for the first time to the realm of sublime mystical sentiments by Rupa, are patterned primarily upon the emotions that result from various dyadic relationships common to all humans, and these serve as paradigms for the mystical variety. They are specifically based, however, upon Krishna's relationships with the inhabitants of Brindaban during his descent to earth, who are believed to eternally exist in the heavenly Brindaban.
Five rasas—santa, dasya, sakya, vatsalya, and madhurya—develop out of corresponding bhava of the same name. These bhava are dominant feelings or root emotions that the bhakta recognizes in his own personality which propel him toward a particular type of relationship with Krishna.
One can summarize the rasa: Santa-rasa is a quiet, peaceful devotion between man and Krishna who is conceived as an omnipotent, benevolent god. The next, dasya-rasa, occurs when Krishna is viewed as master and the devotee as his servant. Sakya-rasa considerably escalates the bhakta's intimacy with Krishna because it results from treating him as a friend or companion. This is followed by vatsalya-rasa, the consequence of adopting a parental affection for him. The highest rasa, and the one most elaborated by the Vaishnava writers, is madhurya-rasa, the passionate, all-consuming pleasure that comes only when Krishna is taken as one's lover.
Krishna and members of his celestial entourage that incarnated some five thousand years ago, according to his devotees' firm belief, enacted each of these relationships, and each actor in this sacred drama is worshiped as an emanation of Krishna's own sakti (energy). His relationships with gopis (gopi, cowherd girl of Brindaban) and especially Radha (Radha), his eternal consort and the personification of his pleasure-giving energy (hladini-sakti), however, symbolize the religion's summum bonum. In the forests of Brindaban and nowhere else, the village girls steal away under the light of the full moon to be with Krishna, their beloved. Disregarding their husbands and familial responsibilities, they cannot resist his powerful charms, and together they take part in the mystical circle dance, rasa-lila. In this dance, Krishna expands himself so that each maiden—and there are thousands—experiences Krishna as her own. Still, he is at the center of the circle with Radha as the others dance around him, absorbed in the absolute bliss of divine love.
For the Brndabanbasis[*] (residents of Brindaban), all other emotions pale in comparison, and they are reminded of it in every aspect of their daily lives. As they greet each other on the street salutations of "Jaya Shri Radhe".(Jaya Sri Radhe), "Radhe Radhe" (Radhe Radhe ), or "Radhe Shyam" ( Radhe-Syama )
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are exchanged, each directing the mind to Radha and the ultimate relationship that she shares with Krishna. In shops, tea stalls, and homes, lithographs depicting the circle dance are prominently displayed and attended with devotion. The image of Krishna rarely appears without Radha by his side in the temples of Brindaban. It is not Krishna who is worshiped, but Radha and Krishna together.
Local residents often say that "Brindaban calls"; if a person is in Brindaban for any reason it is because he or she has heard the music of Krishna's flute, although no one may be consciously aware of it. Some will say that anyone who walks upon the dust of Brindaban is an eternal actor in Krishna's cosmic play. But other permanent residents of Brindaban possess an attitude narrower than this. Although they speak of themselves as bhakta, they see no need for the effort of ritual; they claim to experience constantly and spontaneously the emotion of mystical, passionate love with Krishna, the most sublime emotional state that can be humanly achieved. Some are merchants, some are priests, and some mendicant widows, but regardless of social position they see other devotees as inferior. They possess the unique inheritance of Brindaban's madhurya-rasa, and herein lies a principal clue to understanding the difference between the Vaishnavas of Brindaban and the Vaishnavas of ISKCON.
Iskcon and Madhurya-Rasa
For a full week in March of 1982, loudspeakers atop the temple of Radha-Shyamsundar (Radha-syamasundara) blared in all directions day and night, broadcasting the great chant (mahamantra).[18] The amplified singing, however, did little to suggest what was actually going on in the temple below. Inside, in the large courtyard before the deities' inner sanctum, hundreds of pilgrims and Brindaban residents sat tightly packed around a square clearing where the performers sang, danced, and played various musical instruments. More than one hundred young men, members of a professional troop from Bengal, alternated in small groups to keep the mantra from dying. Quite apart from their musical abilities, these men were skilled actors, capable of invoking intense emotions from their audience, and many worshipers wept unashamedly.
During one session I attended, two other Westerners were among the worshipers. One, standing near the entrance barely inside the temple, was recognizably an ISKCON devotee; the other's clothing distinguished him from ISKCON, and he had slightly different forehead markings (tilaka).[19] But most noticeable about this second foreign Vaishnava was that he was the center of attention, rolling on the floor in a tight embrace with one performer, tears streaming from his eyes. Members of the crowd jostled to touch his feet and rub onto their forehead the dust in which he rolled.
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The Hare Krishna devotee expressed to me the disgust with which he viewed the entire event: "These are sahajiyas, members of a heterodox Chaitanyaite sect which uses ritualized sexual intercourse as a primary practice, and Prabhupad [the name by which ISKCON devotees call Bhaktivedanta Swami] warned us that in Brindaban they arc the most dangerous to our spiritual progress. I shouldn't be here at all, even if they are chanting 'Hare Krishna' constantly." Later I spoke with the other Westerner, a thirty-two-year-old Dutchman, and discovered that he had once been in ISKCON himself, having left over a year earlier to pursue aspects of bhakti that were, according to him, not permissible in ISKCON. He explained:
I came to Brindaban in ISKCON, and I owe it a lot, but ISKCON cannot give you Brindaban. In ISKCON Brindaban is actually a bother, but now Brindaban is my salvation. Prabhupad was my diksa-guru[*] [giver of the mantra], but now my siksa-guru[*] [teacher] is Tripuri Baba. I was filled with desire for the madhurya-rasa and now I can practice the proper sadhana [spiritual practices]. In ISKCON there is no madhurya-rasa, no rasa at all.
These two individuals personify the struggle that ISKCON has had in understanding and codifying its doctrine concerning the practice of bhakti, especially the dimensions of mystical emotion. The Hare Krishna devotee was expressing his organization's official attitude that for the vast majority of people the proper practice should be disciplined ritual activity, vaidhi bhakti; his former "god-brother" was happy that he could now indulge in an unrestrained, spontaneous emotional relationship with Krishna, raganuga bhakti. Dimock notes,
Vaishnavas of all sorts consider that there are two general types of bhakti. The first is an external, ritual activity based on the injunctions of the sastras (vidhi) and is called vaidhi-bhakti. The second is the internal, passionate relationship of the released jiva [soul] to Krsna[*] and is called raganuga-bhakti. Vaidhi-bhakti is for that great majority of persons who are neither by nature in direct relationship to Krsna[*] nor yet released from maya [illusion] by completion of the disciplines. (Dimock 1966:183).[20]
Reflection upon Bhaktivedanta Swami's career and his interactions with American devotees, makes apparent his possession of both theoretical and practical understanding of the details of bhakti in all its variety. Yet as ISKCON was institutionalized, a trend developed toward ritual practice and away from spontaneous emotionalism, especially in interpreting passionate love with Krishna.
In his early writings in the United States, Bhaktivedanta Swami shows a professional understanding of the emotional theory's complexities ex-pounded by Rupa Goswami. In the first book published by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Teachings of Lord Ghaitanya, he repeatedly
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refers to both the title and content of Rupa's Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu[*] and Ujjvala-nilamani[*] .
The introduction of that book is a transcript of lectures given in New York on April 10-17, 1967, and in it Bhaktivedanta refers to all the potential relationships between Krishna and his devotee, concluding that "above all you can treat Krishna as your lover" (1968:6). In the same lecture series, however, he admonishes his disciples that this stage can be obtained only after much study and practice: "Unfortunately, people of less intelligence turn at once to the pleasure potency sports of Krishna." This "is not understood by ordinary men, because they do not understand Krishna. . .. These people. . . think that this is a kind of religion where we can indulge in sex and become religionists. This is called Prakriti Sahajia—materialistic lust" (Bhaktivedanta 1968:8).
Already at this early stage, Bhaktivedanta has introduced the basic distinction between vaidhi and raganuga bhakti, though not by name, and he specifically warns about sahajiya. In the following chapters, however, he becomes specific and precise, detailing the types of emotions by their Sanskrit nomenclature. In the concluding pages he summarizes:
There are sixty-four kinds of devotional service, and by performing these regulative principles one can rise up to the stage of this unconditional devotion of the Gopis. Affection for Krishna exactly on the level of the Copis is called Raganuga, spontaneous love. In the spontaneous loving affair with Krishna, there is no necessity of following the Vedic rules and regulations. (Bhaktivedanta 1968:279)
One can only wonder what his new disciples were thinking as Bhaktivedanta discoursed upon a strict system of rules they were expected to adopt on the one hand and the erotically-tinged, rule-free model of the advanced bhakta's relationship with God on the other. Many had been recruited from the counterculture, and their joining with "swamiji" was a symbolic rejection of their own culture, complementing their spontaneous spiritual adventurism; few had any idea of the radical transformation that their guru had in mind for them.
But whatever starts out as a revitalization movement must become routine and institutional if it is to survive the excitement of the formative period, and this was no less the case for the Hare Krishna Movement.[21] From devotee accounts, from the thorough biography of Bhaktivedanta Swami by one of his early disciples (Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami), and from the writings of Bhaktivedanta after his arrival in the United States, a picture emerges of the difficulties and conflicts to be confronted and resolved if the movement were to survive. Always in the background was a sense of urgency prompted by the tacit understanding that at any time the elderly founder-
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guru could leave the scene. Two cases in particular are revealing. One illustrates how the bureaucratization of ISKCON was initiated; the other provides insight into the institutional emphasis of vaidhi over raganuga bhakti.
In the Indian context, the practice of bhakti is highly individualized, structured primarily by an intimate personal relationship between devotee and guru. Subsequently, standardization is minimal; each individual develops his own style of practice over time. As the number of Bhaktivedanta's Western disciples increased, however, he realized that the intimate style of devotee-guru interaction was impractical. Instead he decided to "be present" in his books and in the developing organization. As ISKCON grew, he eventually wearied of the demands of personally managing increasing assets and making every decision, no matter how trivial.
This resulted in the formation of the "Governing Body Commission" (GBC) in 1970 and a decision to allow more disciples to become sannyasis, two critical steps toward generally decentralizing power in preparation for his inevitable demise. The first gave decision-making authority to a larger group; the second provided a mechanism for promoting "advanced" devotees to a higher status. The sannyasis in effect became a body of renounced teachers not bound to a single temple but charged with traveling throughout the ISKCON world to insure standard doctrines and practices.
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami (1982:79-116) details a series of events during the first half of 1970 that Bhaktivedanta perceived as a threat to ISKCON, culminating in these two decisions. As the guru and his disciples established the new Los Angeles temple, the plan was not only to develop the Los Angeles center as the movement's world headquarters but also to turn it into an ISKCON showplace, and Bhaktivedanta personally supervised the details. Furthermore, he stayed there and himself instructed devotees in the proprieties of ritual worship and spiritual practice, asking individuals from other centers to visit and observe the standard expected in every temple.
As the center developed, however, Bhaktivedanta became angry over mistakes in ritual practice and a general laxness in the daily practices that he had prescribed, especially in the requirement of chanting daily sixteen "rounds" of the mantra (one round equals a completed rosary of 108 beads, the mantra said on each bead). He was displeased with the devotees' retention of details from his lectures and their apparent failure to read the books already published. But more than that, he was seriously troubled over incidents that indicated his disciples' misinterpretations and reinterpretations concerning his own status as guru.
Seeing the need to take matters in hand before they got out of control, and before internal politics resulted in competition for power among the managers of various temples, he called a meeting of his senior disciples in order to legally institute the Governing Body Commission. By doing this he felt that it would free him from management and allow him to concentrate personally
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on expanding the movement in India. On July 28, 1970, the GBC became a fact, composed of twelve members, each responsible for a different "zone" into which the world had been divided. They would make all decisions except the most major ones, and, after Bhaktivedanta's death, as a body, they would be the last word on matters of doctrine and practice.
In effect, forming the GBC determined the organizational structure of ISKCON for the movement's future. This ecumenical body would share the power of the guru, institutionalizing Bhaktivedanta's unmistakably clear order that no one person should be appointed to a supreme position of power after his death. By forming the GBC, he assured decentralized power, standardized doctrine and ritual, and prevented anyone who maintained allegiance to ISKCON from practicing bhakti that deviated from specifications. Clear by this point was that the style of bhakti upon which Bhaktivedanta insisted—and the style that ISKCON would institutionalize—was vaidhi, not raganuga. The GBC would have to insure that devotees understood it was their duty to observe the rules and regulations rather than attempt prematurely to imbibe the madhurya-rasa.
Those scholars who have studied Rupa Goswami's works agree that he elevated the topic of madhurya-rasa to a supreme importance, and that ragsnuga bhakti of madhurya-rasa was the principle path leading to realization. Madburys also was a dominant theme for Bhaktivedanta during his early lectures, but, as ISKCON developed, it was definitely deemphasized in favor of the techniques of vaidhi bhakti.
Initial support for this conclusion comes from Bhaktivedanta's book, Nectar of Devotion: The Complete Science of Bhakti Yoga (A Summary Study of Srila Rupa Gosvami's "Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu[*] "), first published in 1970. Although this work is structured according to Rupa's original text, the topic of vaidhi bhakti receives the most detailed treatment. The title itself is revealing because he uses the "nectar of devotion" rather than the precisely complete translation, "the sea of the nectar of devotional emotion." Perhaps this was not an intentional omission of the word "emotion" (rasa), but several of his early disciples have indicated that this very well could be the case.
More telling, however, is the scant treatment of madhurya in the book. Although passing references are made throughout, two chapters treat the subject directly: Chapter 33, "Conjugal Love," consists of only three pages; Chapter 44, "Devotional Service in Conjugal Love," contains five. In practically every chapter Bhaktivedanta admonishes the reader that this type of bhakti is very esoteric and achievable by only the most advanced devotees. Introducing the chapter on conjugal love, for example, he states:
Although such conjugal feelings are not at all material, there is some similarity between this spiritual love and material activities. Therefore, persons who are interested only in material activities are unable to understand this
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spiritual conjugal love, and these devotional reciprocations appear very mysterious to them. Rupa Gosvami therefore describes conjugal love very briefly. (Bhaktivedanta 1970: 360)
Similarly in Chapter 34, "The Nectar of Devotion," the author writes:
Such loving exchanges should never be considered to be material.... Actually the transactions of the spiritual world are inconceivable to us in our present state of life. Great liberated souls like Rupa Gosvami and others have tried to give some hints of transcendental activities in the spiritual world, but on the whole these transactions will remain inconceivable to us at the present moment. (Bhaktivedanta 1970: 286)
Informants who were near Bhaktivedanta during the first five or six years also note a shift of emphasis in his lectures and writings· One female disciple still active in the movement explains:
At first I think Prabhupad thought the disciples who came to him would be already advanced due to many past lifetimes of devotional service. But then he saw that we were not.... I think he had to reevaluate his opinion. Then he knew he had to emphasize the basics, drill us with the regulations, and if ISKCON was to survive, it had to be based on the fundamentals. It became considered a great offense to suggest we had any spontaneous love for Krishna.
Another ISKCON devotee writes in response to my inquiry on the subject:
Prabhupada... frequently warned against what he viewed as the deception of illicitly bypassing the basic rules of purification and putting on pretentious displays of madhurya-type sentiment while indulging in sex. It is genuine disgust for this sort of fakery (which apparently is quite widespread), coupled with his realization of the neophyte (and thus vulnerable) status of his western disciples, that led Prabhupada to strongly emphasize the basics. The point wasn't to confine his disciples to the lower rungs of the ladder of bhakti, but to carefully and systematically prepare them for a genuine and secure ascent. Sahajiyaism ...is the result both of impatience and of pride: an impatience with the usually gradual nature of spiritual progress (resulting in premature adoption of the external behavioral characteristics of advanced bhaktas), and the desire to be regarded and reverenced as a saint.[22]
If there were any question among devotees concerning the path Bhaktivedanta wished them to pursue, it was unequivocably resolved in 1976. At the Los Angeles temple a group, known within ISKCON now as the "gopi-bhava clique," began meeting to specifically research Bhaktivedanta's teachings concerning madhurya-rasa. Bhaktivedanta became furious when he learned about the group's activities. As a result, he directed GBC representatives to send a letter to all temples in an effort to provide a conclusive statement regarding the matter. An excerpt of that letter is revealing:[23]
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Srila Prabhupada was disturbed to find that a group of devotees in Iskcon were misreading his books, and making a special attempt to fix their minds on Krsna's confidential pastimes with the gopis, so that they can be elevated to the position of gopis after they quit their present bodies. This unauthorized hearing attempt greatly angered His Divine Grace..'.. So we feel it necessary, in order to please Srila Prabhupada, to make available some of Prabhupada's recent statements.
Enclosed in the same letter were questions posed by devotees concerning the "sahajiya tendencies in ISKCON," with Bhaktivedanta's responses. His adamant position that ISKCON devotees were not ready to partricipate in the madhurya-rasa via raganuga bhakti had been exhibited before and would continue to be until his death in Brindaban the following year, but these answers left little room for interpretation:
Q: The gopis are pleasing Krsna the most.
A: Gopi is the highest stage, but you are on lowest, beginner, rascal stage, so how can you understand. Don't become monkeys, jumping over to the gopi's rasa lila. There are already enough monkeys in Vrindaban, we don't need any more.
Q: If this is not to be discussed, why is it in the books, and why are we selling these books?
A: Everything, all subjects, must be in the books. That is another thing. But different sections are meant for different stages .... You have introduced some new thing, studying so much about the gopis, without taking permission from your spiritual master—where is the evidence that you have come to the fool stage! Follow Lord Chaitanya's example first—don't jump over like monkeys to rasa ilia. Do you think you're better than Lord Chaitanya?... Why did Vyasadeva place Krsna's confidential pastimes in the loth Canto [of Bhagavata Purana[*] ]? You must approach Krsna by going through the first nine cantos, step by step.
Q: To develop our ideal spiritual body in the next life, we should have a strong desire for thinking of the gopis.
A: First there must be no lust or sex desire, otherwise you go to hell. To think of Krsna while lusting for sex is sahajiya life. This contamination comes from the babajis in Vrindaban. No devotee should wander around Vrindaban apart from our organized program. If this sahajiya nonsense continues, then all preaching will stop.
Mystical Emotions in Interaction: The Brindaban Context
When ISKCON devotees come to Brindaban on pilgrimage, they may try to heed Bhaktivedanta's advice, but to isolate themselves totally from encounters with the Indian population is impossible. Even if a visiting devotee
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never left the Krishna-Balaram temple, he could not escape interaction, for thousands of Indian pilgrims visit there daily. And for the nucleus of devotees who live in and around the temple, some for as long as nine years, involvement in the community is considerable. As Shibutani has pointed out, "those who occupy the same habitat... sooner or later become involved in a common web of life" (1967: 572).
All that I have said in the previous sections has been necessary to frame the interactions that I now consider. I hope at this point that both the similarities and contrasts between the Vaishnavas of Brindaban and the Vaishnavas of ISKCON arc dear. Brindaban residents see themselves as purer, or more advanced than their Western counterparts. They either perceive themselves as raganuga bhaktas, or more ethnocentrically, believe their human bodies arc identical with their spiritual bodies (siddha-deha), making them transcendental lovers of Krishna by birth. They are always "in the bhava," in a constant state of the mystical emotional rapture of madhura-rasa.
Although ISKCON devotees will admit that this is possible, especially in Brindaban, they see the vast majority as not true bhaktas at all. Rather, they evaluate many Brindaban residents as poseurs who present themselves as advanced devotees without the credentials to do so. Furthermore, they interpret, as the most perverted, those whose claim to the madhurya-rasa rests in a sexually oriented ritual practice—justified as an enactment of Krishna's erotic behavior with the cowherd girls. These, of coursc, are the sahajiyas, and they represent a threat to all sincere, orthodox bhaktas.
The path of vaidhi bhakti is visible in the public behavior of all ISKCON members in Brindaban. Wherever the devotees go, their right hand is constantly fingering beads, and their mantra is constantly being uttered. They initiate and conclude encounters with exclamations of "Hare Krishna" rather than "Radhe Shyam" (Radhe Syama) as the local residents and pilgrims do. Although Brindaban is the place of Radha, they generally avoid mention of her name in greeting. Shouts of "Radhe Radhe" (Radhe Radhe) go on all around them, but few will join in lest they be seen as violating their organization's ritual policy. The ISKCON temple itself symbolizes this contrast with its central deities of Krishna and his brother Balaram instead of Radha and Krishna whose images occupy a side altar.
This is not the case in most ISKCON temples, for they too are usually Radha-Krishna temples. But as if to say that madhura-rasa is too dangerous in Brindaban, Bhaktivedanta deemphasized Radha in the movement's ritual worship there. In the majority of Brindaban's indigenous temples Radha and Krishna are central; worship of Krishna without Radha is unthinkable. For ISKCON, worship of Krishna in a manner not prescribed by Bhaktivedanta Swami is unthinkable.
Such symbolic contrasts lead some Brindaban residents to conclude that
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the Western devotees are of a different "type," and in these ways they are. Yet each side is justified and sanctioned by different aspects of the same tradition. Through the practical activities that occur in the everyday life of Brindaban, these differences are confronted, the vocabulary of mystical emotion is used, meanings are altered, and new levels of understanding concerning each side's interpretation and legitimacy are achieved. In short, interaction implies change.
Denzin (1984:54, 58) writes that "emotionality is a circular process that begins and ends with the transactions and actions of the self in the social situation interacting with self and others." Although Denzin is not speaking of mystical emotions, his analysis still applies; the perception and evaluation of any emotion is ultimately the result of an individual's self-reflection. Whether or not the object of stimulation is real or imagined, human or divine, the emotional experience is similar.
Although social interaction in any context has the power to transform, Brindaban especially is a place where norms of social structure and established meanings of symbols and objects are open to change. It is a place existing outside or between the usual states of time and space, a place that is indeed "liminal," to use Victor Turner's term (1974:166). Brindaban is not just a sacred place; for Brndabanbasis, pilgrims, and Hare Krishna devotees alike, it is a celestial place.
Even by more mundane criteria, Brindaban must be seen as a place apart from other social arenas. Here the egalitarian ideals of bhakti religion predominate, assigning a person's status more by his or her level of devotion than by social position. As a place of pilgrimage, it exhibits a spirit of "communitas" wherein a "direct, immediate, and total confrontation of human identities tends to make those experiencing it think of mankind as a homogenous, unstructured free community" (Turner 1974:169). And Brindaban hosts a large population of sadbus (mendicant ascetics, holy men), individuals who have accepted the renounced order of life, sannyasa. Divested of all social restrictions, they are free to pursue their personal goals of spiritual perfection, no matter how idiosyncratic, without concern for norms of the dominant society. These attributes combine to create an environment with great transformative potential for the daily encounters between Western and Indian devotees. Here exists a cross-cultural "conjuncture," to use Sahlins's (1982) term, which can also be informative concerning the dynamics of social life in general. Sahlins comments that at such conjunctures
the relationships generated in practical action, although motivated by the traditional self-conceptions of the actors, may in fact functionally revalue those conceptions.... Entailing unprecedented relations between acting subjects, mutually and by relation to objects, practice entails unprecedented objectification of categories. (Sahlins 1982:35)
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Only individual inclination and imagination limit the types of bhakti practiced in Brindaban. One sadhu Keeps his image of the infant Krishna (Gopala), in a birdlike cage so that he will not crawl away and get into trouble. A teacher worships a similar image with parental affection (vatsalyarasa) by bathing and powdering her image before she gently rocks him to sleep with a lullaby. The emotions of friendship (sakya-rasa) are cultivated by a cloth merchant who imagines both he and Krishna are cowherd boys, and he sometimes accompanies his image into the fields to find fresh pasture for their cows.
But the emotions associated with intimate, conjugal love (madhurya-rasa) predominate. In one temple a young priest confided that his guru was teaching him the most esoteric practice, and he reluctantly showed me the sari he would sometimes wear in order to more fully experience the love that Radha has for Krishna. Another ascetic residing along the banks of the Jamuna River rarely speaks, but when he does it is with a gentle feminine voice, the result some say of his constantly imagining himself as a gopi sporting with her lover, Krishna. These practices, though not necessarily prescribed by sectarian traditions, are part of Brindaban's everyday reality.
This reality confronts devotees of ISKCON full force as they venture into the social world there; their only alternative is to retreat behind Krishna-Balaram's high walls, a choice that few make. The three following examples illustrate how their confronting this reality ultimately leads to its transformation. In these situations of interaction focusing upon mystical emotion, both Indian and foreign actors alter their conceptions of each other, and in the process they create a new reality that includes ISKCON as a significant clement in Brindaban.
Ratin, a British devotee, has lived in Brindaban for nine years. During 1982 he was revising a manuscript about the sacred sites of Brindaban which he hoped to publish. Some local residents even considered him an authority on the indigenous dance-dramas about Krishna, rasa-lila;[24] he knew when and where the most obscure troops would perform and was often a guest in homes of some of their leaders (rasadhari). Ratin had documented the best known pilgrimage locations, and he was now searching for lesser-known places by spending time with some of the town's sadhus. Throughout his research he strictly followed the rules and regulations prescribed by ISKCON and would regularly participate in the ritual at Krishna-Balaram temple. Other devotees, however, considered some of his activities "unauthorized" and suggested that he was putting himself in spiritual danger.
One hot afternoon Ratin invited me to accompany him and a sadhu he had met to a site called Radharani, and it required a trek of four kilometers across the river in the blazing sun. As we walked, the sadhu explained that the significance of Radharani was in its transformative power. The place was a deep pond surrounded by desert, and many varieties of waterfowl came there
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from the nearby Bharatpur bird sanctuary. There we would also find, the sadhu informed us, other renunciates who would welcome us. "They arc there for one special reason," he said. "A bath in the Radharani pond [kunda[*] ] will give you the body of a gopi so you can love Krishna like Radha. Even Lord Shiva came here so he could take part in rasa-lila [Krishna's circle dance with the goals]."[25]
At this point Ratin stopped and announced that he could not go through with the visit to Radharani, feeling that he was in danger of violating ISKCON doctrine. As he put it, his "delicate creeper of bhakti would be wilted by the fire of unauthorized madhurya-rasa." The sadh, insisted, nevertheless, that Ratin must go. It was a holy place and very good one for chanting (japa), even if Ratin did not desire the body of a gopi, and our guide said that he would be personally offended if we turned back now. "Babaji, you arc a devotee of Krishna and I cannot commit an offense toward you, so let's continue," was Ratin's reply.
Arriving at Radharani wc found an oasis. Palm trees surrounded the large, cool pond, and giant cranes walked lazily about. Naked sadbus stood neck deep in the dark green water, motionless, oblivious to our arrival. Our guide also walked immediately into the water, but Ratin sat down upon the steps leading into the pond and refused to enter. "What is this?" the ascetic yelled. "You are afraid of seeing Krishna? You are a devotee and will not see Krishna?" For half an hour the taunting continued until Ratin finally relented but only to please the sadhu. After an hour of listening to the legends about Radharani and songs the mendicant sang about its wonders, we returned to Brindaban as the sun was beginning to set and the temple bells beckoned the faithful to evening worship.
The next day I met Ratin with a group of ISKCON devotees, headed again for Radharani. Later he told me that he had been overcome with mystical emotion there, and he would not deny the experience. "I cannot tell many people about this or I will be ostracized," he explained, "but I cannot feel threatened by this babaji; I cannot see him as dangerous. I had a true experience of madhurya-rasa at Radharani, and this can only help my practice. I can't be obsessed with paranoia about these sacred places around here. I have to take advantage while I have the chance."
The sadhu also experienced a change in attitude about ISKCON: "When the videsi [foreigner] comes with me it is a good thing. Before I thought these videsis were all bad, but not now. Ratin had the hardest heart and Radha has softened it. So she can soften all videsi hearts. Ratin is now a Brajbasi because he can feel. Now I know they are not all bad."
It may not be surprising for a sadhu to accept the legitimacy of an individual from ISKCON because he himself makes a statement concerning the importance of his own individuality by virtue of the life he has chosen. A more striking example, however, is the case of a Loi Bazaar merchant, a
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dealer in general goods who dramatically altered his opinion of ISKCON. This merchant initially told me that foreigners could never become devotees because they felt no rasa: "Only Indians can be bhaktas. ISKCON people are just salesmen. They come to sell cameras and videos to us poor people, and then they buy cloth and silver here and there. It is the decline of Brindaban. They should all go back."[26] Perhaps these comments reflected to some degree the merchant's anger over his not sharing in the profits from ISKCON's presence in Brindaban, and others had obviously become wealthy because of it. A year later, however, this same merchant displayed in his shop photographs of the Krishna-Balaram deities, Bhaktivedanta Swami, and Kirtanananda Swami, one of the present ISKCON gurus who comes to Brindaban regularly; the merchant's attitude had apparently changed.
I asked the merchant why he displayed these pictures if he felt ISKCON signaled dark days for Brindaban, as he had said previously. He replied, "No, no, they arc gopis." Sensing my astonishment, he called me into the shop to discuss his change of mind, or rather, as he put it, his change of heart. Several months before, by the force of karma, he suggested, a new devotee family had moved into town, and they were buying all their supplies from him. Soon other devotees began to patronize his store, improving his financial situation dramatically. "They buy big things: stoves, lanterns, pots, so many things. And every day they come for soap and biscuits." The merchant insisted that his new appreciation for ISKCON was not simply economic.
Through a series of encounters, he had begun to notice the sincerity and perseverance of his new ISKCON patrons, especially their perpetual chanting. Moreover, he was impressed with their dedication to Bhaktivedanta, whom he had known slightly as a "sadhu baba" years before his success in the West. "Prabhupad was a mahatma [great soul], but I felt his disciples were just hippy fools. Now my friends [the devotees] worship him and the new guru Bhaktipad [Kirtanananda]." The merchant continued to explain that his own guru, an old man whom had not seen for many years, was also a mahatma. As his attitude toward the devotees began to change, he learned that Kirtanananda was coming to Brindaban, and a meeting was arranged.
Kirtanananda finally arrived and spent one full day in a cloth shop across from the merchant's general store, purchasing a year's supply of cloth to outfit the entire population of New Brindaban, ISKCON's West Virginia farm community which he heads. The merchant explained:
He spent lakhs (one lakh equals one hundred thousand) of rupees just sitting there, and all the time he spoke only of Krishna. Then he came to my store and told me that my friends were his disciples, and that they gave him a good report about me. He made some small purchases and then asked me about Krishna, and I told him my guru also had instructed me since I was a small boy, and that always I think of Radha. He told me that was very good, but sometimes I should also chant Hare Ram, Hare Krishna. Then he gave me a tulasi mala
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[rosary made from wood of the sacred basil plant], a very old one from Radhakund. Since he was very nice to me, I started to think about my guru who is in Kosi now, and I started to feel that this ISKCON guru has love for Krishna like a Brajbasi. He was so soft in his heart, and then I thought about seeing my own gum maharaja [great king].
My guruji read my thoughts about ISKGON people being demons [asura], and told me this was not good. He told me they are not demons; they are gopis reborn as videsis which is why they always chant "Krishna, Krishna." Now I have some dreams also that these people are really gopis. So of coure they must stay. ISKCON devotees are not just Brajbasis, they are gopis.
An ascetic holy man who discovered that foreign devotees were capable of experiencing mystical emotions and a merchant who changed his opinion of them from materialistic "demons" to reincarnated gopis represent two examples of attitude transformations by Indian residents toward ISKCON members. On the ISKGON side, Ratin demonstrates a trend of lessening antagonism toward the local population, especially the ascetics who are often stereotyped as sahajiya. Both cases show that group boundaries created by differences in interpretation of similar dogma are weakening, leading to a greater potential for further incorporation of ISKCON into the town's sociocultural system.
Another change in ISKCON's attitude is shown by the devotees' willingness to seek information concerning details of ritual from local temple priests. A particularly revealing case involves a priest from the temple of Radha-Vallabha (Radha-vallabha) whose theology emphasizes the worship of Radha.[27] This priest, recognized as one of his sect's "experts," had always considered the ISKCON phenomenon as part of Krishna's plan and had been anxious to help when some devotees began to inquire from him about details of deity ' worship.
Although ISKCON devotees considered the deity worship at Radha-Vallabha to be of a high standard and were prompted to seek information from the priests there for that reason, they still felt that the sect's emphasis of Radha over Krishna was dangerous and unauthorized, and therefore devotees were warned to avoid being influenced by the priests.
One ISKCON temple priest in charge of deity worship (pujari) explained that he now considered the movement's official attitude toward Brindaban priests to be unwarranted; instead of viewing them with disgust, they should be treated with respect, and he cited a personal example:
I used to think Jai Goswami represented everything dangerous about service in Brindaban. He would talk about himself as gopi and would tell me about the secret meetings he planned with Krishna where Krishna wouldn't show, and how he would hurt so badly about being stood up by Krishna. I thought he was really crazy, but sometimes as he talked about missing Krishna, tears would pour down his face and he couldn't talk, and I would find myself choking up too.
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I watched gosvamiji in the temple also and saw his affection for thakurji[*] (deity's image), and the painstaking, loving care he would give to him. I eventually began to see this man is really a saint, not someone to avoid, but someone to desire the association of.... He never tried to make me change, but just showed me how to feel the rasa by his own example. He would tell me to keep doing my own sadhana faithfully because it would lead me directly to the ocean of Krishna's love, and he would always glorify Prabhupad for his success and praise him for making us such good devotees. Maybe Jai Goswami is not typical, but he shows me that ISKCON must take the Braibasis one by one, not just say they are all dangerous, and be arrogant and aloof with the other people of Braj. We must mature in the way we treat people outside the movement, and especially in Brindaban cooperate with the Brajbasis to form a solid foundation for the future of Krishna Consciousness in the world.
Conclusion
In this chapter I have discussed the ideals of Krishna-bhakti as they relate to the individual's experience and expression of mystical emotions; and as they are embodied in the dual paths of Krishna devotionalism, represented by the practices of vaidhi bhakti on the one hand and raganuga bhakti on the other. Although these two complementary components of the same religious system idealize the achievement of mystical emotional states, they have practically functioned as divisive ideologies between ISKCON and Indian devotees of Krishna in Brindaban.
Neither side fully embodies the emotional ideals as explicated in the religion's texts. Brndabanbasis claim a natural inheritance of spontaneous love for Krishna, and ISKCON officially does not admit to a range of possibilities outside the boundaries of Bhaktivedanta's instructions, which are extensive but by no means exhaustive. However, in actual situations of interaction between devotees from both groups, an approbation is being achieved through the processes of conflict resolution and meaning negotiation that occur in the practical enactment of their cultural ideals; a new cultural reality, particularly in the domain of mystical emotions, is being constructed.
Social boundaries, no matter how inflexibly conceived, are never impenetrable. The traditional Indian concerns for status by birth and for an individual's inherent state of purity or pollution, although not absent in Brindaban, are considerably deemphasized. The Vaishnava ideal that a person's status should be determined not by birth, but by qualifications as evidenced in daily behavior, is being approached more closely due to the dynamics of interaction between the Western and Indian residents there. In these situations changes in meaning and attitude are accomplished, affecting the entire range of social and cultural forms; at the same time the cultural importance of emotional experience is reaffirmed.
As ISKCON continues its tenure in Brindaban, and as both Indian and
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Western actors learn more about themselves and each other through interaction, conflicts continue to be resolved, subtle differences in interpretation of doctrine are deemphasized, and the social ideal of equality based upon love for Krishna, regardless of how it is achieved, becomes more and more the norm.
For many residents of Brindaban, the phenomenon of ISKCON confirms a belief that their culture offers a solution to problems confronting modern man. The baba quoted at the beginning of this essay may again serve as their spokesman:
All men can experience rasa. Intimate love for Godhead is the secret for peace—personal peace, world peace. It is the message all poets and saints of Brindaban have given through the ages. This is the message of our culture which must be preserved, then sent out to all places: Everyone can experience the rasa and it automatically brings peace. ISKCON is helping with this message. In their society even former hippies find peace. This should give us all some hope.
References Gited
Bhaktivedanta, A. C.
1968 Teachings of Lord Chaitanya. New York: ISKCON.
1970 The Nectar of Devotion: The Complete Science of Bhakti Yoga. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
Brooks, Charles R.
1985 A Unique Conjuncture: The Incorporation of ISKCON in Vrindaban. Paper presented at Conference on Krishna Consciousness in the West: A Multidisciplinary Critique. Moundsville, West Virginia, July 23-25, 1985.
De, S. K.
1961 Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Beogal. Calcutta: Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay.
1963 Sanskrit Poetics as a Study of Aesthetic. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Denzin, Norman K.
1984 On Understanding Emotion. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.
Dimock, Edward C.
1966 The Place of the Hidden Moon. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Gelberg, Steven J., ed.
1983 Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. New York: Grove Press.
Gerow, Edwin
1977 Indian Poetics. A History of Indian Literature Series, Volume 5. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
Goswami, Satsvarupa Dasa
1980 A Lifetime in Preparation. Srila Prabhupad-lilamrta[*] , Volume 1. Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
1982 In Every Town and Village. Srila Prabhupad-lilamrta[*] , Volume 4. Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
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1983 Uniting Two Worlds. Srila Prabhupad-lilamrta[*] , Volume 6. Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
Goswami, Shrivatsa
1982 Radha: The Play and Perfection of Rasa. In The Divine Consort: Radha and the Goddesses of India. John Stratton Hawley and Donna Marie Wulff, eds. Pp. 72-88. Berkeley: Berkeley Religious Studies Series.
Hardy, Friedhelm
1983 Viraha Bhakti: The Early History of Krsna[*] Devotion in South India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Hawley, John Stratton
1981 At Play with Krishna: Pilgrimage Drama from Brindavan. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hein, Norvin
1972 The Miracle Plays of Mathura. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Kane, P. V.
1971 History of Sanskrit Poetics. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Kapoor, O. B. L.
1977 The Philosophy and Religion of Sri Caitanya. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
Kinsley, David R.
1979 The Divine Player: A Study of Krsna[*] Lila. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Sahlins, Marshall David
1982 Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities: Structure in the Early History of the Sandwich Islands Kingdom. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Shibutani, Tamotsu
1965 Ethnic Stratification: A Comparative Approach. London: Macmillan.
Turner, Victor
1974 Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human Society. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Vidyarthi, L. P.
1978 The Sacred Complex in Hindu Gaya. Delhi: Concept Publishing Co.
Wallace, A. F. C.
1956 Revitalization Movements. American Anthropologist 58:264-281.
Wilson, Bryan R.
1982 The New Religions: Some Preliminary Considerations. In New Religious Movements: A Perspective for Understanding Society. Eileen Barker, ed. Pp. 16-31. New York: Edwin Mellen Press.
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PART FIVE CONFLICTING EMOTIONS IN CROSS-CULTURAL CONTEXTS
3HO Healthy, happy, holy organization is a cult in the U.S. that pretends to be Sikh.
ReplyDeleteIt was started by Yogi Bhajan but his real name is something else. He was a small time criminal until he was hired by the Indian government to start a cult and dress it up as Sikh cult to break the Khalistan movement up (divide and conquer) in 1980s. Anyway he converted a few thousand white (Gora) cult members who treat him as the their unofficial 11th Guru. He gave them amrit but they don't keep all the 5 Ks or do 5 bani the pray everyday(which mandatory) and they believe in yoga and other hindu beliefs. They are considered a dangerous cult that is trying to change the Sikh religion into Hinduism by trying to become its leadership. During the 1980s they were very hostile and negative against the Khalistan movement for a independent Sikh state Khalistan (because they were & are funded secretly by the Indian government to break the Khalistan movement up (divide and conquer).
They run:
http://www.sikh.net/index2.htm
http://www.sikhsangat.com/
http://www.sikhsangat.org/
If you post anything about Khalistan in the Sikh.net or sikhsangat forums they delete it (because they funded secretly by the Indian government to break the Khalistan movement up (divide and conquer).
CHECK THESE LINKS OUT
http://www.rickross.com/groups/3ho.html
http://www.factnet.org/discus/messages/3/66.html?1101310715
http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/h/3ho/
[ Edited by CharismaticDhillon on 2007/12/3 4:15 ]
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"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
THE TIME AND CNN
ReplyDelete> http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,915413-1,00.html
>
> The leader of 3HO inspires devotion-and hostility
>
> Nine years ago, he was an anonymous yoga teacher who owned little but a suitcase full of beads. Today he earns over $100,000 a year in lecture fees as Yogi Bhajan, the "Supreme Religious and Administrative Authority of the Sikh Religion in the Western Hemisphere." Thousands of American disciples in his Healthy-Happy-Holy Organization ("3HO") revere the robust, bearded Bhajan as the holiest man of this era. With equal fervor, opponents denounce him as a charlatan and a heretic.
>
> The kind of Sikhism preached by Bhajan, 48, an Indian born in what is now Pakistan, is far different from that practiced by 10 million Indians. Sikhism, a blend of reformed Hinduism and Islam, is practical-minded, allows democratic election of its priests, and abhors personality cults. Bhajan's powerful personality is central to his sect, and ambition has driven him far since his days as an unknown customs officer at the Delhi airport.
>
> In 1968 Bhajan emigrated to Toronto, later that year moved to Los Angeles and eventually started his own ashram-spiritual commune-in a garage. Although India's Sikhs are renowned as meat eaters, Bhajan has insisted that his followers be strict vegetarians. While yoga is not part of Sikhism, Bhajan teaches the practice, and not the mild form widespread in the U.S. but Tantrism, a strenuous, mystical variety practiced by men and women in pairs. Claiming to be the only living master of Tantrism, Bhajan stresses Kundalini yoga, which supposedly releases secret energy that travels up the spine. He reveals breathing and massage techniques said to improve sexual performance. And he preaches: "The man who ties a turban on his head must live up to the purity of the whiteness and radiance of his soul."
>
> Undeniably, Bhajan has struck some kind of chord. There are now 110 ashrams of various sizes in the U.S., Canada, and overseas. The yogi claims to have won some 250,000 followers, but a more realistic estimate would place the number of zealots at several thousand, although many more flock to his meetings. Bhajan's base is a well-groomed 40-acre ranch near Espanola, N. Mex., where his quarters are said to feature a domed bedroom and a sunken bath. Neighbors are nervous about 3HO's expensive land purchases in the area.
>
> Less visible than the cymbal-clanging Hare Krishnas, the 3HO disciples rival them in devotion. Men and women alike follow the Sikh traditions of not cutting their hair and bearing symbolic daggers, combs and bracelets. Ashram members rise at 3:30 a.m. to practice yoga and meditate, sometimes while staring at a picture of Bhajan. They often work twelve hours a day on low salaries and skimpy diets at 3HO small businesses, such as landscaping companies, shoe stores, and quality vegetarian restaurants. Full-fledged initiates follow Bhajan's every dictum on diet, medical nostrums, child rearing, even orders to marry total strangers. Guru Terath Singh Khalsa, who is his lawyer and spokesman, says that Bhajan is "the equivalent of the Pope."
>
> For most of the converts, the discipline of Bhajanism seems to have rilled a deep spiritual vacuum. Many are in their mid-20s and come from upper-middle-class homes. A number had been dependent upon LSD and marijuana; the movement claims that all have broken the habit.
> The adherents are flushed with the rosy beauty of new faith. "We got involved in Sikhism so we could re-establish a direction in our lives based on real principles," a young Jewish woman at a Los Angeles ashram told TIME Correspondent James Wilde.
>
> Chimed in an ex-Catholic who misses the Latin Mass: "The demystification of the church turned me off." Even a Massachusetts girl who has broken with the movement says wistfully, "At the ashram we had the nucleus of a real family. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced."
>
>
> Bhajan has important backers in India. High Priest Guruchuran Singh Tohra, president of the management committee for northern India's Sikh temples, confirms that his council has given "full approval" to 3HO and recognizes the yogi as a preacher. Tohra, however, says that this does not mean Bhajan is the Sikh leader of the Western Hemisphere, as he claims. The Sikhs do not create such offices. Nor, Tohra adds, has the committee given Bhajan the rarely bestowed title, Siri Singh Sahib (the equivalent of saying "Sir" three times), which he uses.
>
> Bhajan has his critics-and they are severe. Many traditional Sikhs insist that yoga has no place in their religion. Sikh Historian Trilochan Singh says Bhajan's synthesis of Sikhism and Tantrism is "a sacrilegious hodgepodge." Far more important, High Priest Jaswant Singh, a leader of the Sikhs in eastern India and comparable in status to Bhajan Backer Tohra, last week denounced Bhajan's claims. He and his council professed to be "shocked" at Bhajan's "fantastic theories." Yoga, Tantrism and the "sexual practices" taught by Bhajan, the council declared, are "forbidden and immoral."
>
> There are more delicate matters at issue, many raised by people who knew Bhajan when. Judith Tyberg, respected founder of Los Angeles' East-West Center, where Bhajan briefly gave courses, questions his knowledge of Kundalini yoga. She fired him from her faculty after three months for another reason -which she refuses to divulge.
>
> Bhajan has repeatedly been accused of being a womanizer. Colleen Hoskins, who worked seven months at his New Mexico residence, reports that men are scarcely seen there. He is served, she says, by a coterie of as many as 14 women, some of whom attend his baths, give him group massages, and take turns spending the night in his room while his wife sleeps elsewhere.
>
> Colleen and her husband Philip, Bhajan's former chancellor, who quit last year, say they could no longer countenance Bhajan's luxurious life-style when so many of his followers had to scrimp along. Filmmaker Don Conreaux, an early apostle, says that originally the yogi was "against titles, against disciples. Now he teaches only obedience to him." When Philip Hoskins quit last year, he says, Bhajan told him he would suffer 84 million reincarnations and be "reborn as a worm for betraying your teacher."
> The current chancellor insists that Bhajan "lives in a moderate manner," and asserts that reports of illicit affairs and of women in the yogi's bedroom are "absolutely untrue." Yogi Bhajan himself was unwilling to grant TIME an interview until he visits India this month with a group of disciples for a Sikh festival. When he arrives there, the "Supreme Authority" of the Sikh religion in the Western world may have to answer a few questions from his fellow Sikhs about the kind of religion he is preaching-and practicing.
>
Written in an appealing, readable style
ReplyDeletePuneet Singh Lamba, a Boston-based software engineering manager, is founder of The Sikh Times, a major online source of news and commentary on a wide variety of issues related to Sikhism. His writings are meant to arouse much-needed debate and discussion. The five essays in this, his first book, Five Myths: Musings on the Sikh Condition, are no exception. They were originally published in The Sikh Times, The Sikh Review and The Sikh Bulletin. N. Gerald Barrier, professor emeritus in the social sciences at the University of Missouri, has provided a very informative introduction.
The first piece, 'Permeating the Wall of Separation - I,' commemorates the 20th annniversary of Operation Blue Star. It gives an in-depth summary and analysis of articles, editorials and letters to the editor appearing in The New York Times regarding the Indian Army's devastating attack on the Golden Temple in June 1984.
Lamba captures the change in tone of these Times pieces. Although initial reporting of Sikh grievances was evenhanded, later it changed, and the Sikh uprising was cast as a 'two-year-old Sikh terrorist movement,' with little recognition of its peaceful roots. Lamba parses the coverage - how the catalysts for Operation Blue Star were described, the circumstances surrounding Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's death, estimates of casualties and arrests, and the role played by Indira Gandhi. This piece ends with a well-documented assessment of Sikh reaction both in India and abroad.
The second piece, 'Accountability, Impunity, and Governance in India: A Conference Report,' is a well-rounded assessment of this conference, organized jointly by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), in November 2003.
When it comes to human rights, India, as the world's largest functioning democracy, has a poor record. However, because of its growing economic and military might, especially vis-a-vis China, the world has been very forgiving of its sins. Lamba thoroughly explores this issue of accountability, and its lack in India. The conference featured a panel discussion on the issue of accountability by five specialists, and, according to Lamba, provided a balanced assessment of it.
The third piece, 'Permeating the Wall of Separation - II,' details one session of the International Youth Symposium Finals, held at the Milford, Massachusetts gurdwara in August 2004.
This session was a debate on 'Church and State - Religion and Politics.' While discussing 'separation of church and state,' the young participants often argued for equal influence of all religions upon the state, rather than favoring a 'wall of separation' between church and state. The contestants went on to explore the concept of miri-piri, the role of religions in war and peace, the role of politics in gurdwaras, the idea of a theocratic Khalistan, and related issues. Lamba gives a large and well-deserved measure of credit to the Sikh writer I.J. Singh in his role as moderator, for his 'masterful job of prodding the discussion along with incisive questions and critical remarks.'
This piece brought to the fore how Sikh youth perceive their traditions and the issues facing the Sikh community, in the context of their lives in the diaspora.
The fourth essay, 'Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale: Five Myths,' perhaps the most provocative of this book, was written on the 20th anniversary of the death of Bhindranwale. Although his admirers before he rose to prominence may have been few, what was perceived as his 'return to basics' on Sikh values enjoyed tremendous popular appeal, and his martyrdom has elevated him to iconic status.
In this article, Lamba undertakes a debunking of five myths surrounding Bhindranwale's life and death. They are dealt with in reverse order.
The fifth myth is the assertion that he is still alive, due to the sketchy reports on the circumstances of his death.
The fourth handles his claims that he was not interested in political power. Lamba asserts that he did indeed have political aspirations. His power lay in their covert nature, as many political players curried his favor and considered his potential responses when planning their own actions.
The third myth, that Bhindranwale did not demand Khalistan, Lamba argues, is also not true. He suggests that Bhindranwale indeed felt that accepting anything short of a separate state would be tantamount to disaster for the Sikhs.
The second myth, that he is revered as a martyr by only a few is shown to be equally false, as Lamba thoroughly documents his well-accepted status as a martyr, both in India and abroad.
The first myth, that Bhindranwale was not a terrorist, Lamba contends, is also untrue. He did, Lamba concludes, incite violence by his many bellicose statements encouraging the use of illegal, often lethal, force against those who disagreed with him. Lamba reasons that those closest to him could not have perpetrated their own violent acts without his consent.
Lamba depicts Bhindranwale not only as possibly 'the most polarizing figure in Sikh history,' but emblematic of the paradoxes facing Sikhism today.
The fifth piece, 'Vaisakhi 2005 in New England,' is a report on the Nagar Kirtan organized by New England Sikhs in Milford and Millis, Massachusetts in April 2005. It ably portrays the interactions of Punjabi Sikhs with the followers of Yogi Bhajan's 3H.O. organization. Along with different perspectives on culture and ideology, women enjoy equal participation in 3H.O. The 3H.O. gurdwara is adorned not only with images of Sikh Gurus, but of Yogi Bhajan. It uses guitars and sitars in its kirtan and even cooks up a 'health food' version of karah parshad.
Lamba gives two major participants in this event especially thorough treatment. One is the chief official of the Millis gurdwara, Hanuman Singh, a follower of Yogi Bhajan. He reads a bizarre poem referring to Guru Nanak as God's incarnation and the Guru's two sons as manifestations of Shiva and Vishnu. Equally offensive to traditional Sikh sensibilities was Hanuman's bowing to a near lifesize idol of Sri Chand. The other is 'Raja' Mrigendra Singh; according to Lamba, his impassioned speech not only was almost totally unsupported by Gurbani, but also advocated the 'worshipping' of the Gurus. Throughout, Lamba offers the reader an analytic and entertaining look at what was undoubtedly an action-packed event.
The book ends with an original poem composed by Lamba, amusingly recapping, in rhyming verse, the events of the Sikh world in 2005.
Although Lamba's essays deal with different events, the Sikh experience in the diaspora is a unifying theme throughout the book. Both as individuals and as part of a greater community, diasporan Sikhs of Punjabi background must struggle with finding an appropriate degree of connectedness to their roots half a world away. Many attempt to shed the 'cultural baggage' of Punjab, while keeping the Sikh religion relevant in their lives. As the two are closely intertwined, this proves to be a difficult undertaking.
Moreover, a younger generation of Sikhs, born and raised far from their Indian roots, perceives this question of connectedness to Punjab very differently. They, as well as Sikhs of non-Punjabi descent, must also find ways of formulating their own decisions about how their religion defines their identity and integration in North American society.
Puneet Singh Lamba's book is written in an appealing, readable style, and is well documented. It does not hesitate to approach and explore many controversial issues. These essays are very successful in stimulating discussion and debate on a wide variety of topics that urgently need to be addressed by the Sikh community.
The major drawback of this book is actually quite a small one - its title. Perhaps the work should have been called Five Myths and Other Musings on the Sikh Condition. The title was a bit difficult to understand and somewhat obscured, at least initially, the purpose of the book.
Apart from this minor point, I agree with N. Gerald Barrier that this provocative collection has too few essays. Lamba obviously has much to say and certainly knows how to get his point across. He should have indeed written more - let us hope that in the future, he will!
Jathedars and SGPC reps avoid Sangat, attend anti Akal Takhat establishments
ReplyDeleteSunday 23rd of April 2006
EXCLUSIVE : Panthic Weekly News Bureau
Selma, CA (KP) - The Jathedars of three Takhats along with the SGPC secretary, and Darbar Sahib manager became embroiled in another controversy when they avoided Panthic Sangat and Gurdwaras, yet visited institutions that did not follow the maryada implement by Akal Takhat Sahib and violated Hukamnamas barring tables and chairs from Langar halls.
When they did visit a Gurdwara Sahib where Panthic maryada was followed, they declined to intermingle with the visiting Sangat. On April 20th, Akal Takhat Sahib Jathedar, Joginder Singh Vedanti, Takhat of Sri Keshgarh Sahib Jathedar Tarlochan Singh, Takhat of Sri Patna Sahib, Jathedar Iqbal Singh along with SGPC secretary Dilmegh Singh, Darbar Sahib Manager Roop Singh, and Granthi Ranjit Singh from Delhi visited the newly built Gurdwara Kalgidhar Sahib in Selma. It was their first stop on this trip at a Gurdwara where Akal Takhat Sahib maryada was actually being followed. All of their previous stops were at private deras and institutions, such as the 3HO and Nanaksar.
Despite the evidence of Idol Worship, the Jathedars stayed quiet
Nanaksar 'Gurdwara' in Fresno where Vedanti and Jathedars Visited
Upon arriving, they gave their usual standard speeches, and spiels of, "Support Akal Takhat Sahib, do Sikhi parchar…..". Waiting for them were anxious local Sangat members, sevadars from as far as Los Angeles, Sacramento, and the Bay Area, some having driven several hundred miles so they could meet with Jathedars and discuss critical issues of importance. They included Bhai Bhajneet Singh, Bhai Prabhsharandeep Singh, Amardeep Singh and many others.
Their questioned included:
Why was Baba Daljit Singh of Chicago let off so easy and not instructed to retake Amrit?
Why hasn't Jathedar Vedanti taken any action against Badal's wife for visiting Ashutosh?
Why haven't they taken actions against SGPC and DSGMC members that associate with RSS and attend their anti-Sikhi functions?
Why haven't they taken action against publishers such as Chatter Singh Jiwan Singh who are publishing and selling saroops of Guru Granth Sahib Ji against Akal Takhat Sahib Maryada?
Why do they attend functions organized by deras that do not recognize the Maryada of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib?
Why are the Jathedars attending 3HO functions, and addressing Yogi Bhajan with the "Sri Singh Sahib' title?
After some short speeches by SGPC secretary Dilmegh Singh, and Darbar Sahib manager Roop Singh, Jathedar Tarlochan Singh, Granthi Ranjit Singh of Delhi, Bhai Prabhsharandeep Singh spoke from the podium and welcomed the Jathedars. He then stated that the Sangat here is fully supportive of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, and that of the actions taken against Gurbaksh Kala-Afghana, and the Joginder Singh, editor of Spokesman.
Jathedar Vedanti listening to Prabhsharandeep Singh
Video of Prabhsharandeep Singh's Speech
These are good steps Prabhsharandeep Singh indicated, but questioned why more was not being done in isolating those who continue to support Kala-Afghana and the Spokesman editor. He also questioned why the Jathedars attended a function organized by the 3HO, which he stated was as a cult. "During the function, which was broadcast by SikhNet, Jathedar Sahib referred to Yogi Bhajan as 'Sri Singh Sahib'", Prabhsharandeep Singh strongly protested. "How can the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib refer to anyone with that title? There is no precedence of it in Sikh history for anyone having such a title" he later added. Not expecting this line of questioning, the Jathedars were taken aback. Out of embarrassment Jathedar Vendati kept his head lowered when questioned.
Several other speakers had also given their names so that they too could address the Sangat, but the Jathedars by now had become nervous, and immediately signaled to the management committee that they were not comfortable with this venue and that no one else should be allowed to speak. This move irritated the rest of Panthic individuals who wanted to be heard, but Jathedar Joginder Singh Vendati then pre-empted the time from the other speakers and walked to the podium to speak, causing some minor commotion amongst the committee members and the visiting Sangat.
Out of respect, the rest of the sevadars sat back down quietly in the Sangat to hear what Jathedar Vendanti had to say. Instead of answering the queries put forth by Prabhsharandeep Singh, he digressed into other unrelated topics. The visibly shaken Jathedar claimed that "…this was not the setting to discuss such issues, and that if a discussion was to take place it must be done after the completion of this diwan". He them implied that he was willing to sit down with anyone and entertain any and all questions from the Sangat.
Afterwards, one of the sevadars from Los Angeles, Bhai Jhalman Singh, spoke from the podium and confirmed with Jathedar Vendanti that… "…..if they (the Jathedars) sit down afterwards then they would not ask for time in the diwan." Jathedar Vendanti along with others agreed and gave their commitment to sit down after the diwan. This move was endorsed with a loud Jaikara from the Sangat. The diwan then concluded with the recitation of Anand Sahib, Ardas, and the reading of the Hukamnama.
In the conclusion, the head Granthi of the Gurdwara spoke and suggested that the Jathedars only visit those Gurdwara Sahibs where Panthic maryada is followed and that instead of making their accommodations at people's homes, they should stay in the Gurdwaras so they would be more accessible to the general Sangat.
It needs to be noted that though the Jathedars do stay at the private residences of questionable wealthy individuals, such as liquor store owners, deradars and rich landlords has been criticized by many, their response is always, "They are the ones who pay for our tickets, so we stay with them." As recently as last year, all the Jathedars were being entertained by Baba Daljit Singh of Chicago of 'Motel Wakunda' fame.
The Jathedars would not answer queries about why they made so many trips to Baba Daljit Singh's dera when they were warned by the Sangat on multiple instances not to associate with him.
Breaking their word to the Sangat
Once outside, the Jathedars quickly backtracked on their commitment to sit with the Sangat, and began walking towards their cars. "Aren't you going to sit with the Sangat now?", one sevadar asked. Jathedar Vedanti was hesitating, but quickly SGPC secretary with others began to frisk him away pushing sevadars aside. This followed to a momentary confrontation between one of the young sevadaars and the secretary Dilmegh Singh, which was promptly brought under control.
As tempers continued to rise, the Jathedars were now scattered throughout the front parking lot and surrounded by various Sangat members questioning why they are running away.
Jathedars Vedanti, Iqbal Singh, and Tarlochan Singh being escorted away from Sangat
Video of Jathedar Vedanti and Sangat
One of the trip organizers mentioned that they had a prior engagement in the North Stockton-Lodi area.
Amongst the chaos, Jathedar Vedanti and others were whisked into a minivan and escorted off the property but then quickly pulled off the road when they realized that their companions Dalmegh Singh and Roop Singh were left behind. The two were still being questioned and chastised by the angry Sangat as to why the SGPC was controlling the Jathedars to be used as puppets for their own selfish means.
Panthic Weekly along with sevadars of the Khalsa Alliance approached the vehicle in which Jathedar Vedanti had 'escaped' from the questioning Sangat. The driver tried to roll up the windows and leave, but Jathedar Vedanti stopped him and allowed Panthic Weekly's Amardeep Singh to ask several questions. These were Jathedar Vedanti's responses:
PW: Why was Baba Daljit Singh not instructed to take Amrit again?
Jathedar Vedanti: Daljit Singh said he committed no kurehet, so why would we have punished him for something he did not admit to? We punished him for staying all night with another woman other than his wife, so he was absolved."
PW: Why aren't you taking action against SGPC and DSGMC members that associate with the RSS?
Jathedar Vedanti: We will take action. Give their names to us in writing, and we will take action.
PW: What about publishers Chatter Singh Jiwan Singh who are publishing and selling saroops of Guru Granth Sahib Ji against Akal Takht Sahib Maryada ?
Jathedar Vedanti: …….(does not answer question, his minivan sped off)
The Jathedars were to attend the foundation laying ceremony of a new Gurdwara site in Lodi California. As one of the Singh's questioned: "The new Gurdwara in Lodi? You mean that place that is run by 'communists', and supporters of Shergill's brother?" referring to Hardev Shergill, a staunch supporter of Kala-Afghana, who was excommunicated from the Panth by Sri Akal Takhat Sahib. Hardev Shergill is rumored to also be involved with the same group since he had closed his dera in Roseville. In 2004 Shergill along with Gurtej Singh IAS, presented a 'gold medal' to Gurbaksh Kala-Afghana in Roseville for challenging the authority of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, and the Panth.
The Lodi group was the same anti-Akal Takhat Sahib crowd. They had originally tried to overtake Gurdwara Sahib Stockton, which is the oldest Gurdwara Sahib in America, founded by the Ghadarittes who were also known as 'Ghadari-Babays'. Since Gurdwara Sahib Stockton followed Panthic Maryada of langar pangat, the Lodi group split off after an unsuccessful takeover attempt.
Jathedar Vedanti attending a Gurdwara that blatantly violates Akal Takhat Maryada & HukamNamas
Nevertheless, it did not matter to the Jathedars regarding their questionable destination nor that they were backing away from their commitments to the Sangat in Selma. They were more than anxious to leave the Sangat's questions unanswered. Stated one Sangat member, "This instance only provided more evidence to fuel growing resentment in Panthic circles concerning the activities of the Jathedars and the SGPC officials' abroad. We fully support the actions taken against Kala-Afghana, and the Spokesman editor, but why be silent on other issues such as Badal, derawadis and those who violate the Hukamanamas?"
Editors can be reached at: editors@panthic.org
Dr. Paramjit Singh Ajrawat
ReplyDeletePresident
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Khalistan.net TO
Dear S.Harbhajan Singh,
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa
Wahe Guru ji Ke Fateh
It appears internet is working no less than a Genie,
bringing together peers and people of same concern just
with the press of a button and one day may be with a mere
verbal command.
Thanks for the second email and the attachment.
I must tell you that because of ongoing professional
and Panthic projects my responses are rather short and brief.
But the crossroads Khalsa Panth is at the moment, we must
understand our disposition and responsibility to take actions
when things are not going right.
Sikh relgion is great religion not because we believe so but
because of its ecumenical nature and the correct and
universal principles it teaches. It is its uniqueness which
has become the envy of others and there are and will
be assaults to neutralize it.
First of all, I am very proud of all Sikhs and consider myself
very lucky to be part of a modern and scientific divine order.
I feel specially proud of brothers who have consciously decided
to embrace Sikh religion for their own betterment and consciousness.
Sikh religion does not believe in conversion or intrusion into
other peoples faith. Sikhs do not believe in surrendering to
an individual or personality. A Sikh bow his head only to
Guru Granth where all principles are enshrined to glorify God
and his creation - the human beings and every thing else.
Gurus have uttered everything to empower the human mind
rather than to enslave it. Khalsa came into existence to assert
equality of all mankind and the empowerment of mind.
" In Hee Ki Kripa Ke Saje Hum Hain, Nahe To Moh Se Garib Karor Pare"
" Sudra se sardar sajaon, Chirion se meh Baaj taraon, Sava laakh se ek laraon, Tabhi Gobind Singh naam Kahaon"- Guru Gobind Singh
Where we must rerspect all are brothers and sisters and not be condescending and judgemental, we must empathize with the dilemma of our new Sikh brothers and sisters regarding Yoga. Yoga was initially introduced to the west by Paramhansa Yogananda who very cleverly incorporated Lord Jesus Christ's name in Yogic meditation to impress and influence the westerners who were mostly Christians. That Brahmanical trick paid off very well, and rest is history. That subtle intrusion has gone on to the present day.
Patnjali was a great scholar and expressed his views about human consciousnees and I appreciate his ingenuity but it is just one view.
Gurus have presented a rather practical view of life, correct principles and consciousness.
" Aap pachaane mun nirmal hoye, Jeevan mukta har pave soye"
There is no need to compare. Sikhs are very comfortable with GURU'S word.
If a Hindu wants to practice Yoga for merging with God, to practice vibhuti, mind control as a part of his faith, We have no problem. In Yoga, Lord Ganesha is the master of Mantra. Hindus or any other want to use self hypnosis or Mantra to merge with God, wehave no problem. If Hindu religion advocates cast system and condemnation of the the downtrodden it is their faith and not ours. And hence every body is entitled to practice their faith good or bad according to their wishes and religious doctrine.
Gurus path is of Simran, practice of correct principles, hard work, equality, empowering of self and others and no Ridhi -Sidhis (No miracles or Mind control), no superstitions and staying away from Brahmanical practices and not be mislead by personalities. I was born in Amritsar and have historic relations to important places and people in Sikh religion where there never was or is any advocacy of practice of Yoga in any shape and form. I have never seen Sikhs practice yoga. Exercise and martial arts-yes.
Any faith who does not protect its correct principles and tradition and define its fine boundaries will become extinct.
New assaults on Sikh religion by cults like Nirinkaris, Radha Soamis, Sant Samajaists, Deraites likes of Sacha Sauda & others supported byRSS are yet some overt and covert examples of subtle yet carefully planned attacks to neutralize and damage Sikh religion. Yoga and recital of mantra OM though just an exercise in appearance is one such intrusive but a subtle tactic.
Exploitation of others weakness and vulnerability is not a Cobra or Viper tactic but a Pythonean one. Python is very gentle and flirtatious with its prey and the prey being careless walks the fault line. It is only when prey start to choke, then only realizes that it is all over with, as it cannot get out of those one directional fangs and strangulating coils which has made it into a mortal while unwittingly treading the quicksands of the twilight zone.
Budh and Jain religions in India are examples of such enigma, treachery and onslaught.
But not this time! Gurus principles are too endearing and towering and Sikhs safeguarding them with heart and soul. Python will be either deterred or crushed.
Much propaganda has gone against lost Sikh sovereignty and its reclamation by Indian government and its stooges. Sikhs have been labeled and defamed as terrorists and separatists. Why?
Remember Sikh sovereignty was given to Sikhs by Guru Gobind Singh-The Tenth Nanak in Nanded in 1708 and Sikh established their rule twice following that command. I have encountered
much opposition at the hands of some Sikhs including our American Sikh brothers in the Sikh temples. Why such contempt against the word of the Guru? Freedom is our birthright and gift not only from God but our wonderful and wise Gurus. We must reclaim our lost sovereignty and we shall.
I rsepect Christianity, Judiaism and other faiths and their quest to survive.
Jews suffered a Holocaust- A darkest chapter in the history of mankind.
If Sikhs had the power, this would not have happened. Sikhs being the liberators of victims of Nazi Germany would have taken on that tyrant who murdered not only six milions but milions more.Where is the Kevalya or salvation according to one's faith, perhaps no where. It was not until reclamation of the holy land and the creation of Isreal, the Jews feel secure. Sikhs recognized Israel as a state as early as 1949 and India not untill 1992 and that to under pressure.And now because of lack of our own land we have suffered the Sikh Holocaust from 1984 onwards.
It is time to learn from history and be the beneficiary and wise scholars.
In conclusion we must safeguard are religion, identity and must reclaim our lost sovereignty, Khalistan so Sikh Nation can feel proud, standing tall and not giving an inch at all. SONG OF THE KHALSA will be most befitting under NISHAN SAHIB flying high in the blue skies, in a sovereign
and independent KHALISTAN.
May God Bless the Sikh Nation.
Khalistan Zindabad
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa
Wahe Guru Ji Ke Fateh
Dr. Paramjit Singh Ajrawat
President
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