Yogi Bhajan - Iraq War - Response to All and Goodbye for Now

[Guest guest]

This post was initially declined by a moderator. In protest I

resigned from this group. It has since been decided to let my post

stand, and I submit it here.

 

I will be leaving this group for some time after this post, as I feel

no need to participate in the level of discourse being shown towards

me the last few days, by both participants and a moderator. It is one

thing to question a person's facts, another to make aspersions on his

character.

 

Below is my original post, ostensibly a response to Krishna Singh:

 

-------

Man alive, I walk away for two days and this is what was going on?

Wow.

 

First, your personal attacks are unwarranted, ugly and border on

violence. I expect an apology. A disagreement over interpretation

is much different than the personal vitriol which you are spewing.

Your anger and attitude are unjustified, as are your questions of my

integrity or courage. I read this forum only occasionally and now I

know why - your small-minded, personally hateful rhetoric is being

encouraged by others in a mob mentality. It is sad and pathetic,

and of course shows your own internal struggle that has nothing to do

with me. I did not cause this anger, this vitriol or these personal

attacks - that was you and you alone.

 

And to those who think there is something noble in his angry,

personal attacks, shame on you. At worst, I was mistaken, which clear

communication could have elicited. Or you could present your own

set of understanding in response, and everyone else could have made

their own decision. Instead, you revert to the stereotypical tar and

pitchfork mentality of a prejudiced small town from some fictional

movie.

 

As for the people who have talked to me about Yogi Bhajan and Iraq,

you disparage them with the same viciousness that you send to me.

That says much more about you than them. At worst, they were wrong.

At best, you were cruel. You suggested that I made up the sources. I

have submitted to Charles Froman/Amar Atma, the senior moderator, the

details of that information and where it came from. I will not

release any names publicly on this forum, for reasons which I now

think are obvious. However, your implied aspersion was completely

incorrect and insulting.

 

Second, claiming that Yogi Bhajan supported the Iraq War is not an

aspersion on his character. Many Sikhs, and members of 3HO, are not

progressive, are not liberal and supported the Iraq War. Look on-

line at the publicly available list of donations to the RNC and DNC in

2000 and 2004, search for Khalsa, and see who shows up. There are 3HO

Sikhs that listen to Rush Limbaugh.

 

Your projection that Yogi Bhajan must have believed exactly as you

believed on all issues is a poor position to come from. Should all

Republican Sikhs who support(ed) the war be angry if it turns out that

he did not? Your reasoning is specious and not thought out.

 

I am personally progressive and liberal, for the record.

 

Third, these are dharmic businesses we are discussing, as you

vehemently declared. I never suggested otherwise, or that many Sikhs

(and many, many more people who were not Sikhs or part of 3HO and who

do not practice yoga)built these businesses up and were part of them.

Your outrage at an accusation I never made is ill-placed,

ill-informed and I would guess filled with your own projection.

 

The truth is that neither you nor almost no one else has any ownership

stake in these businesses. So while you feel a personal connection to

them,they are YOUR businesses in your heart but not your businesses

legally or in terms of decision making. As I understand it, and is

public knowledge, the businesses are all controlled ultimately by an

organization of five people who have lifetime appointments. I have no

judgment or negativity about this setup.

 

When many Sikhs and members of 3HO were laid off the last few years,

those were business decisions, and in my opinion, and in the stated

opinion of many members of senior management of the business, a push

to run a more professional business and a less family focused

business. Many of those people had worked for the 3HO businesses

their whole lives, and/or made financial and personal sacrifices to

stay committed to those businesses, some straight out of high school.

My guess is that you know some of them.

 

Again, I have no judgment about these decisions, but they were

clearly BUSINESS decisions, not FAMILY decisions.

 

My three year old lives full time at Miri Piri Academy, so that my

ex-wife can support the dharma there. I need no reminder that there

continue to be personal sacrifices by individuals to serve a larger

mission. That does not change the fact that ultimate decision making

authority rests in those who balance between financial concerns and

dharmic concerns. Where they lie in that balance can be seen by their

decisions - I would not deem to judge the totality of their effort.

 

Yogi Bhajan, while alive, was the Chief Management Authority (I

believe that was the title) of these businesses, and his word was

final in all businesses at all times. Although he took less and

less part in them towards the end, his word was still final.

 

These businesses, Akal of course in particular, did millions of

dollars in contracting work in support of the Iraq War effort. You

could see it displayed on the home page of their website - nothing

nefarious or untoward about this statement. This was a conscious

decision. It was support of the Iraq War effort. These contracts

started while Yogi Bhajan was still alive and CMA, and therefore the

final decision maker. This is one piece of my statement that Yogi

Bhajan supported the Iraq War - in this real, defined way, he and the

dharma did support the Iraq War. This, coupled with what I have been

told personally, led to my conclusion.

 

At the very worst - I was wrong. I do not believe that I am wrong,

but that is the worst I can be accused of. What I can not be

accused of is a personal attack on the dharma or an attempt to

disparage Yogi Bhajan. Neither would be remotely true.

 

I await your apology for your personal attacks, Krishna Singh. Your

actions weer not brave, nor did they protect anyone's honor -

certainly not your own based on the manner in which you approached

me.

 

I await the apology of all who decided to release their own

frustrations at the world by deciding it was enjoyable to jump on

those attacks.

 

As I am leaving this forum for the time being, you can respond to me

directly if you actually wish to communicate.

 

Goodbye and good luck.

[Guest guest]

The following statement Dharam Singh wrote is not true. He is

mistaken.

 

" These businesses, Akal of course in particular, did millions of

dollars in contracting work in support of the Iraq War effort. "

 

I have worked in Akal Security since 1981, shortly after its

inception, and am actually married to Akal Security. Akal Security's

primary contracts and income, since 1987, are derived from the

Department of Justice, protecting our federal courthouses across the

United States. We work directly under the U.S. Marshals Service. For

a short time, we held contracts under the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air

Force, and our duties on those contracts were to provide access

control at the gates of U.S. Army posts and Air Force installations.

 

We also currently hold a contract protecting the U.S. Embassy in

Sierra Leonne.

 

All of our training of security officers, originally developed by

Gurutej Singh, is modeled upon Guru Gobind Singh's precepts

that " when every peaceful means has failed, it is pious and just to

raise the sword. " Guru Gobind Singh taught the path of Miri Piri or

to live as a soldier, first live as a saint. We are pacifists, we do

not believe in killing or in allowing others to be killed. To achieve

this, you have to be a practiced and skilled diplomat, capable of

peaceful negotiation to resolve conflict, and trained in the martial

arts. Therefore, only when Akal officers achieve training to

demonstrate skill and capability in conflict management and peaceful

negotiation to resolve of conflict, including the ability to remain

calm and neutral and not react with anger under verbal attack, are

they then eligible to progress to learn self defense using weapons.

 

We teach our officers that 99.99 percent of the time, we can find

peaceful resolution of conflict without the application of the use of

force.

 

Our country did not exhaust peaceful means of resolution before our

attack of Iraq.

 

Neither Yogi Bhajan or Akal Security as a company or anyone I know in

Akal Security supports our action to attack Iraq or made any dollars

from that attack. Volumes would be filled with Yogi Bhajan teachings

and prayers for peace, not war. He did not support war.

 

 

Gurumeet Kaur Khalsa

Create Inner Peace

505-753-6866

gurumeet

www.createinnerpeace.com

www.gurumeet.net

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam, Dharam Singh,

 

Regarding your statement,

 

" I have been told of this support for the war by people I trust, who

are in positions of authority in 3HO organizations, exactly as I

relayed it. "

 

I find this so curious, Dharam. Despite my disagreement with some of

the decisions of those people who now have controlling authority over

3HO, Sikh Dharma, and our business, still, in all of my most intimate

conversations, I have never heard this sentiment even remotely

intimated.

 

I cannot imagine who these people are, who apparently do not wish to

be named, however, I question why they do not openly state what they

believe about Yogi Bhajan's views. He was so public, so often under

camera, so his views were very well known. He not only publically

disavowed war and violence, but taught the most effective ways I have

ever learned or heard of in the teachings of every great teacher who

has ever lived, as to HOW we could achieve PEACE WITHIN and PEACE IN

THE WORLD in our lifetime.

 

To say that he privately told certain people that he really believed

in and supported the Iraq war is so incongruous; I cannot fathom the

logic in any sense. If he told certain people this privately, which

he obviously did not say publicly, do you think there is any chance

they could be mistaken or have misunderstood him? And is it so easy

for you to believe them over all of his public statements and

teachings? Did they give you any evidence whatsoever?

 

Thank you.

 

Gurumeet Kaur Khalsa

Create Inner Peace

505-753-6866

gurumeet

www.createinnerpeace.com

www.gurumeet.net

[Guest guest]

You certainly don't need to go away; just because some (some

respectfully, some possibly in nasty emails), have disagreed with

various portions of what you've said, whether or not you (this is a

plural YOU, as in any of us) happen to be wrong once in a while! As YB

said, " Your commitment is all you have " .

[Guest rs1]

I recall reading in the news a comment made by Yogi Bhajan. It was about supporting the US troops headed off to Iraq, at the start of the war. I still haven't found that quote again...anyone have it?

It wasn't necessarily a comment about the war itself. but about supporting the troops, as far as i recall.