Congress Honors Yogi

Now, Religion in the News, a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media. This week’s item is from the Press Trust of India, May 10, 2005, with the headline, “Yogi Joins Mother Theresa, Pope in US List—The passage of a unanimous resolution by US Congress last month honoring the late Yogi Bhajan, a popular Sikh religious leader in the United States, is being celebrated this week at the Capital. Bhajan died on October 6, 2004. In the history of the US Congress, his admirers point out, only a handful of spiritual leaders have ever inspired a joint resolution from US Congress honoring their life and work. They include Martin Luther King, Pope John Paul II, and Mother Teresa. On April 5 and April 6, the US House of Representatives and the US Senate respectively passed a joint resolution praising the life and work of Yogi Bhajan. The resolution read, in part: The US Congress, One: Recognizes that the teachings of Yogi Bhajan about Sikhism and yoga and the businesses formed under his inspiration improved the personal, political, spiritual, and professional relations between citizens of the United States and the citizens of India. And Two: Recognizes the legendary compassion, wisdom, kindness, and courage of Yogi Bhajan, and his wealth of accomplishments on behalf of the Sikh community.

“The House Resolution, which passed by a voice recorded vote of 405 to 0, was sponsored by US Representative Tom Udall. The Senate Resolution was passed by unanimous consent. It was sponsored by US Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici, and co-sponsored by John Cornyn. ‘Whatever your faith, Yogi Bhajan had the right words, the right lesson, the right message,’ Udall said on April 5. ‘He spoke to us all. He inspired us. Around the world he was a powerful voice for peace. I am pleased that he has been honored by Congress today. This is a lasting tribute to an influential spiritual leader, who contributed greatly to the promotion of peace.’

“ ‘Yogi Bhajan was an inspirational figure and a proud legacy for new Mexicans, who remember his hopeful message and practice his teachings of humanity,’ Domenici said.

“ ‘The passing of Yogi Bhajan last October was a loss, not only to the Sikh American community but to the entire nation,’ said US Representative Earl Blumenauer. It was through his efforts that Sikh Dharma became a tax-exempt, recognized religion in the United States. In addition, Yogi Bhajan founded the 3HO, Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization, with over 300 centers in 35 cities. 3HO uses kundalini yoga to help people improve their physical well-being and deepen their spiritual awareness.”

Tom: Dave, I don’t know if it was in the last day or so, but there was an article in the paper saying that Congress was doing a rotten job, something to that effect. It said that people were just not happy with what Congress was doing—that 35 percent said they were doing a really rotten job. Now, I don’t know about that, but when I read an article like this—Is anybody awake, or are they all asleep at the wheel here? Yogi Bhajan is a cult leader, you know, with an ashram and a ranch in New Mexico similar to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, you know, our guru that was deported from this country by our Federal government for his shenanigans in Antelope in Central Oregon. Now, what about this?

Dave: Well, he loved to have naked massages with naked women.

Tom: Well, it’s part of Tantric Yoga—that was part of his yoga.

Dave: Right. This is what he taught, Tantric Yoga. He also taught, it says, Kundalini Yoga, and for those who are not aware, Kundalini is the serpent coiled at the base of the spine, and when you get into the proper state of consciousness it springs up, manifests itself through the “psychic centers” of the body, and psychic power. You know, “Whatever your religion, he had the right lesson for us. Whatever your faith,” says Udall—I mean, it doesn’t make sense, because you can’t—I’m sorry—it’s like Robert Schuller. Billy Graham was on with him, and he told Billy Graham that, he says, “They tell me that more than a million Muslims, thousands of pastors, and hundreds of rabbis watch this program every week, and they all love it.”

I mean, Tom, how you can present something that Muslims love, evangelical pastors love, and rabbis love? I don’t know how you can walk that tightrope. And now— “Whatever your faith….” Yogi Bhajan must have been a master at deceiving people, because if he could say something in words that would be acceptable to anybody, well, then he’s not really saying anything, but what he is saying is, as you mentioned, he is leading people into the occult. And a great voice for peace—well, it’s not as though the world has gotten more peaceful through Yogi Bhajan.

It’s like the Dalai Lama, you remember, he got the Nobel Peace Prize. He was very similar to this man, although he comes from a different tradition, the Buddhist tradition. But when you get right down to it, it’s all occultism, and he got the Nobel Peace Prize by doing what? Going around the world initiating thousands, tens of thousands of people, into the same thing, Tantric Deity Yoga, telling everybody, “you are a god—you can create reality with your own mind—you are a bodhisattva,” you know, you are a little Buddha, and if you only knew how to do it, you know, and the consciousness that you need, and so forth.

They are creating a delusion. They are turning people away from the truth, blinding people to the facts that we are physical beings. Our body is, and the body is going to die, and when it dies the soul and spirit are going to leave this body, and they are either going to go to heaven or to hell for eternity. And something needs to be done about that, and that’s why Jesus Christ came, paid the penalty for our sins with His sacrifice on the cross so that His justice would be satisfied, so that we could be forgiven on a righteous basis. And they are turning people away from this to develop some state of consciousness where they can make contact with spirit entities and feel that “self” is in control of their lives—Tom, it’s a delusion! If you went door-to-door selling vacuum cleaners with these kinds of delusions, they would put you in jail, but because this is a religion, “Oh well, you can’t say anything about it.” And people get upset because we say something about it. But we have to, for the sake of people who are being deceived.

Tom: You know, again, Dave, looking at our Congress, I mean, this is the Congress and the Senate, the passage of this Resolution—405 for, none against—unanimous in the Senate. Now I can understand, not that I go along with it, but I can understand Martin Luther King, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa—I mean, these are famous names and so on—who ever heard of Yogi Bhajan? I mean, we have, because this is what we do We look at spirituality, Eastern mysticism, and so on, and we see how it’s affecting our world, how it’s affecting this country, but Dave, come on!

Dave: Well, Tom, Congress and every one of our presidents, have praised the Eid Festival, which ends Ramadan; they have praised Ramadan. President Bush, I’m sorry, has talked about God’s Word, the Qur’an god’s word, Muhammad being inspired of God; we have a special stamp for this festival, the Eid festival. Ramadan isn’t even part of Islam; it was a pagan holiday, practiced by pagan Arabs for centuries before Muhammad was born. He just adapted it, brought it over into Islam.

So, this is the day we live in, Tom, and I hope someone hears our voice. We’re trying to help people know the truth.