About Yogi Bhajan

Harbhajan Singh Puri was born on August 26, 1929 in Kot Harkarn, in what is now Pakistan, into a professional, land-owning family. His upbringing was spiritually eclectic, with a Hindu mother, Sikh father, and early education at a Catholic girls’ school. His teacher, Sant Hazara Singh, declared him a master of Kundalini Yoga at age 16. With India’s partition in 1947, his family fled to New Delhi where he earned a Master’s Degree in Economics followed by government work in Revenue and airport Customs.

He married and had 3 children, and continued studies of yogic disciplines at a variety of ashrams with many teachers/swamis. In 1968 he emigrated to the West, based primarily in Los Angeles, and later in Espanola, NM.

His teachings which melded Kundalini Yoga, Sikh traditions and a vegetarian lifestyle resonated strongly with the spiritual aspirations of the youth culture of the time. For the next 3-1/2 decades, he traveled the US and world delivering his teachings thru thousands of lectures, yoga classes, and meditations, which have since been digitized and preserved in the Yogi Bhajan Library of Teachings.

He created a series of non-profits to foster the growing global community and oversee and serve a growing body of teachers (See Resources), as well as numerous for-profit companies, some of which continue to thrive today, including East-West Tea/Yogi Tea in Eugene.

Yogi Bhajan died of complications of heart failure on October 6, 2004.

Allegations, Investigations and Amends

Fifteen years after his passing, allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power arose. The non-profit organizations formed the Collaborative Response Team which commissioned professional assistance from An Olive Branch for the inquiry, and when claims were verified, Just Outcome for the Compassionate Reconciliation phase and making amends.

While this has been a traumatic process for the Kundalini Yoga community, it was carried out with respect, diligence and commitment to transparency. Here at Yoga West, we continue to honor the power and effectiveness of the teachings that reach beyond the human failings of “the Postman” who delivered them.