Why does 3HO focus on Yoga? GB Yoga Fest 2016 - Q&A #1

The thing you got to remember about
what the word 3HO means

is Healthy, Happy, Holy.

It's not called Sikh Dharma,

3HO is an organization which tries
to promote a way of living.

Which is Healthy, Happy and Holy.

If you look at somebody
who's doing yoga, who's chanting,

who's trying to stay away
from drugs and alcohol

other things that are polluting
their body.

They're doing fitness,

they're meditating,

they're going to get
the Bliss of meditation if they work hard.

When you experience the Anand,

Anand meaning Bliss of
the connection to God.

You're going to know
this is the best thing ever

it's better than drugs and
anything else out there.

You gonna be healthy, happy,

and you're walking a path
of the Holy people.

All the holy people in the history of
mankind have always walked this path.

Of trying to be good and spiritual.

You're on the path.

You got to remember Yogi ji
didn't say this is Sikhi.

He said this is Kundalini yoga

We can't fault him for it.

From the angle of the Sikh philosophy,

what would the Guru say
about Kundalini yoga?

Firstly they don't criticize it,

in the sense that
they say it's pointless.

Because if you follow a philosophy,

it doesn't mean you are that philosophy.

What I mean by that is let's say
you met 100 Hindus,

you couldn't say they all believe in this.

because they might not.

One Hindu might believe in one God
another in 3, another in 100.

In the same sense you can't say
everybody in Kundalini yoga

has one view.

Nor can you say that the Guru
is going to criticize every single person

who's doing one thing.

There are certain practices that Guru
criticize, but they don't criticize people

Because you can't judge each person,

each person's an individual.

They're within it that organization or
they're doing that thing.

But that doesn't mean they have
the same belief

Which is why you've got arguments

within the Sikh Community,
Taksali/AKJ.

Somebody who is Taksali might not
have same view as another Taksali.

Somebody is AKJ might not
have the same view as AKJ.

They're arguing on philosophy,

but actually you've got people.

Guru is not interested in people.

In Guru Granth Sahib Ji-

the highest form of Yog,

Yog means Union.

Union with God.

Described as the highest Yog
is through Kirtan.

Praising God, singing God's praises,

is given the status of being
the highest form of Yoga.

If you take somebody of the street,

who has never done any
meditation before,

somebody who's never done
any kind of healthy living.

They've been told it's okay
to drink or smoke, it's fine.

You're trying to get them
to startsinging God's name.

It's going to be far away from them.

It's kind of like a yoga,

it's quite a good introduction
to the spiritual life.

Because within yoga as you
start to meditate,

you start to experience the Divine.

You also start to understand that
you got to be purifying yourself,

physically and the toxins start
to leave your body.

You'll experience a little bit about

the philosophy of Karma and reincarnation.

Once someone's gone through that
for a while,

understood how the system works in a way.

They might even be ready then,
for you to tell them actually.

It's all about chanting God's name and
experiencing God through meditation.

That is the purpose of life.

Sometimes it's very hard
to take somebody,

Because people have started
doing Kundalini yoga.

Like in Russia they use it in the prisons
for people that are drug addicts.

It's very hard to get that person
to understand.

What they've got to do
it's quite a good intro.

Also Yogi ji never said this Sikhi,

he said this is yoga.

For the people that came in for yoga
it worked for them.

Some of those guys
they became more spiritual.

And they said
I want to do something further

Now Yogi ji-

and like myself and other people

the one's that realize
that they are not Satguru.

They don't want to be Satguru.

They understand
that don't submit your ego to me.

Because I'm a flawed person.

They'll join you to somebody
who's not flawed.

Somebody better than you and them

Who is that is that? The Guru.

Yogi ji then said, you guys have started
to become quite spiritual,

you started to follow this quite a lot
and keen on progressing.

I can't take you there.

You're going to have to find Guru Ji,

he joined them to Guru Raam Daas Ji.

That is a perfect Guru.

If you give yourself
to Guru Raam Daas Ji,

you're going to be in the right hands.

If you give yourself to me,

anybody is valuable apart from
the Guru.

Now it's Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

When you look at yoga
in Guru Granth Sahib Ji

it's not described in negative ways.

It is described

as that it's not as high in terms
of meditation.

As singing God's name

you got to understand is some people
don't come

into yoga to find God.

It's the truth in it,
some people just come to get a bit fit,

to get a bit of mental peace.

If you said to them to become
religious and believe in God

they're going to say
I don't want that.

Because in their mind they've already
got the concept of religion

and they are fed up of it.

The people on the street shouting,
arguing each other

People that are fighting with each other,
with guns

and saying in the name of God.

They've already ruined
the name of religion.

Out there religion isn't very well
regarded.

If you tell them to become religious,
God is the truth,

they're going to ignore.

If you say to them let's find
a bit of mental peace

let's meditate you will feel better.

They'll think, I can deal with that
I need some peace.

Ultimately it's same as experiencing
God is the only way.

To lose-

to feel the best you can ever feel
because that is your essence.

Essence is the one.

But the word God has got a bad rep.

And the word religion has got a bad rep.

Sometimes people can't cope with that,
you got to remember that as well.

Getting upset and annoyed with people

that are doing things differently
to what we're used to.

To be honest if you went to Udasi Dera

you'd be quite surprised.

They will call themselves Sikh Udasis.

You might not even heard them.

If you go to Nirmala

and see the Nirmala how they live
you'd be quite surprised.

The people living in the west,

they've got a very limited understanding.

How wide Sikhi is in India.

Sikhi is quiet wide in India.

But when it comes to Devi-Devte
Shiva and all

Guru Granth Sahib Ji is very clear.

They are not the people
to submit your ego to.

Guru Granth Sahib Ji and Guru
Gobind Singh Ji they're both very clear

they're both very clear Shiva Brahma

Vishnu these deities they have still got

ego and if you read their stories with

in the Hindu grants you understand they

still act from ego I give you an example

yeah this is a true one Shiva got

punished to many many years of coming to

Earth and walking the Earth wandering

the Earth yeah the reason

being uh he was having a chat with

Vishnu and he said who is the greatest

Shiva said I'm the greatest Brahma goes

no I'm the greatest so there's ego

straight way and then Shiva got annoyed

with Brahma and cut one of his heads

so for that he got punished cuz you

can't kill a Brahman within the Hindu

scriptures Brahma is is the original

Brahman so you can't kill one without

getting punished so he had to come to

Earth for many many years and this just

one of a totally this not it's nothing

biased it's just every Hindu will say

that's what happened yeah so they they

were not free of ego another example is

um Vishnu to to get the umit from the

demons he assumed the form of beautiful

woman called moini he became a beautiful

woman and he enticed the umit from the

demons when Shiva heard the story from

Vishnu about how he'd become a beautiful

woman and the demons had lost their

sense and run after him and and and he

taking the he stolen it um he said show

me what you look like

then Vishnu said no I can't show you you

won't be able to cope he goes no no let

me let me and so um so Vishnu then

turned into MO just for a little while

to show him how beautiful he looked and

then Shiva lost it he ran after her yeah

um and that that all happened in front

of his wife so he lost even the sense of

behavior in front of his own wife so

they they have got ego yeah and gurj

does not give them the status of satguru

so gur is higher than Brahma Vishnu or

Mahesh because they haven't got ego but

let's say somebody is an expert in

martial arts yeah yeah you don't make

them doesn't make them perfect doesn't

mean she give you ego to

them but you could learn the martial

arts from

them so Shiva had this skill of yoga and

he seen his Yogi he's covered in blue

okay and he used to live as a yogi but

interesting enough as a yogi he still

had hair you know he had a beard as well

lot of the times you don't see sh with a

beard but the original pictures they

draw him he always had a big beard and

he had a top knot on his head they're

not the SAT Guru they can't level up to

somebody who is pure of ego that's it

and g go in writing

sh they make reference to um Brahma

vishu and Mah and they

say

they said that all these Brahma vishu

and Mahesh the Brahma vishu and Shiva

they all going to die CU they haven't

become free of ego so they they they're

still subject to life and death they're

not Immortals because they haven't freed

themselves from

[Music]

ego