Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 119.djvu/3648

 119 STAT. 3630

CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—APR. 6, 2005

Agreed to March 21, 2005.

YOGI BHAJAN—RECOGNITION

Apr. 6, 2005 [H. Con. Res. 34]

Whereas the Sikh faith was founded in the northern section of the Republic of India in the 15th century by Guru Nanak, who preached tolerance and equality for all humans; Whereas the Sikh faith began with a simple message of truthful living and the fundamental unity of humanity, all created by one creator who manifests existence through every religion; Whereas the Sikh faith reaches out to people of all faiths and cultural backgrounds, encourages individuals to see beyond their differences, and to work together for world peace and harmony; Whereas Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, known as Yogi Bhajan to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, was born Harbhajan Singh Puri on August 26, 1929, in India; Whereas at age eight, Yogi Bhajan began yogic training, and eight years later was proclaimed by his teacher to be a master of Kundalini Yoga, which stimulates individual growth through breath, yoga postures, sound, chanting, and meditation; Whereas during the turmoil on the partition between Pakistan and India in 1947, at the age of 18, Yogi Bhajan led his village of 7,000 people 325 miles on foot to safety in New Delhi, India, from what is now Lahore, Pakistan; Whereas Yogi Bhajan, before emigrating to North America in 1968, served the Government of India faithfully through both civil and military service; Whereas when Yogi Bhajan visited the United States in 1968, he recognized immediately that the experience of higher consciousness that many young people were attempting to find through drugs could be alternatively achieved through Kundalini Yoga, and in response, he began teaching Kundalini Yoga publicly, thereby breaking the centuries-old tradition of secrecy surrounding it; Whereas in 1969, Yogi Bhajan founded ‘‘Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization (3HO)’’, a nonprofit private educational and scientific foundation dedicated to serving humanity, improving physical well-being, deepening spiritual awareness, and offering guidance on nutrition and health, interpersonal relations, child rearing, and human behavior; Whereas under the direction and guidance of Yogi Bhajan, 3HO expanded to 300 centers in 35 countries; Whereas in 1971, the president of the governing body of Sikh Temples in India gave Yogi Bhajan the title of Siri Singh Sahib, which made him the chief religious and administrative authority for Sikhism in the Western Hemisphere, and subsequently the Sikh seat of religious authority gave him responsibility to create a Sikh ministry in the West; Whereas in 1971, Sikh Dharma was legally incorporated in the State of California and recognized as a tax-exempt religious

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