YOGIJI, Harbhajan Singh Khalsa 1929-2004

(Yogi Bhajan)

OBITUARY NOTICE— See index for CA sketch: Born August 26, 1929, in Kot Harkan, Tehsil Wazirabad, India (one source says Gujrawala, Pakistan); died of complications following heart failure October 6, 2004, in Española, NM. Religious leader, businessman, and author. Yogiji, born Harbhajan Singh Puri but later changing his name and commonly known as Yogi Bhajan to his followers, was a Sikh spiritual leader who introduced Kundalini yoga to the United States. After graduating from Punjab University in 1954, he worked as a customs officer. In 1968, he immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he was a yoga teacher for a year before moving to Los Angeles. Here he founded the 3HO Foundation, an organization that taught yoga, meditation, and community service to its members. But Yogiji was not just a spiritual leader; he was also a successful businessman, founding and operating several companies, including a highly profitable security guard company, real estate operations, yoga schools, and the natural foods company Golden Temple. A somewhat controversial figure, he was criticized by Sikhs for teaching vegetarianism and yoga, two subjects that ran contrary to Sikh beliefs; he was also attacked by the media, which suspected that Yogiji was abusing his adherents with overwork and little pay. On the other hand, he was a respected religious figure who consulted with highly placed colleagues, such as the Dalai Lama and the archbishop of Canterbury. Yogiji was the author of several books, including The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan (1977) and The Golden Temple Vegetarian Cookbook (1979).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

periodicals

Los Angeles Times, October 10, 2004, p. B18.

New York Times, October 9, 2004, p. B13.