Sat Naam, everyone.
If you are following the developments in the Siri Singh Sahib Corporation election, you are most likely aware that the SSSC recently had to make the difficult decision to exclude voters from the People's Republic of China from participating in the election this year. This decision was not easy to make and it took us a lot of time to come to this conclusion. There is understandably a lot of emotion, frustration and disappointment from community members about this decision.
Seeing some of the rhetoric, I want to clarify a few things.
Kundalini Yoga is taught through KRI, which is a non-profit educational institute. The relationship between Kundalini Yoga and Sikh Dharma has been a topic of deep debate for decades and will continue to be a deep debate. However, what is clear is that Kundalini Yoga as KRI teaches it draws on the Sikh tradition for its rich offerings of Naad Yoga - both mantra and Shabad. No one has to be a Sikh to practice or teach Kundalini Yoga. But the shabad guru, the sound current, is definitely a foundational aspect of this practice. However, Kundalini Yoga is not considered to be a mainstream "Sikh" religious practice.
The Siri Singh Sahib Corporation is the "Member" or "Owner" of KRI. The Siri Singh Sahib Corporation is a US religious non-profit organization. It is the umbrella under which a collection of for-profit and not-for profit organizations founded by Yogi Bhajan and his students are organized. As a US-based religious non-profit organization, the SSSC has a different legal framework than KRI. Board members for the SSSC at this point in time are, technically speaking, a religious administrative board.
This has caused problems the last couple years. There are many KRI Trainers in Europe, for instance, who do not want to have KRI be under a religious board because of the negative connotations of religion for them. I have even heard that some people would like to separate KRI from the SSSC completely. But at the moment, that is not a tenable solution.
When I ran for office for the SSSC Board, one of my commitments was to help make the electorate for the SSSC Board members more inclusive. This is the first year that Professional and Lead Trainers are going to be able to participate in the election. There was also a vaguely worded policy change that people who have been living the 3HO lifestyle for seven years or more could also vote, if they received 3 letters of recommendation. This policy change is a move in the right direction. But it has also created a lot of challenges that I would have never predicted.
One of these challenges is about how the Siri Singh Sahib Corporation can legally operate in the People's Republic of China. I won't go into as lot of detail here. But let me give a high level summary of this issue. Currently, the government of the People's Republic of China officially recognizes a handful of religions. I cannot remember the list - but it include Buddhism, Christianity, and a couple others. Sikh Dharma/Sikhism is NOT on that list. It means that any Sikh-related religious activity exists in a kind of "gray" zone within the People's Republic of China. And it is that gray zone that we are attempting to understand.
Because the SSSC is a religious non-profit and because Sikhism is not formally recognized by the PRC and because this election essentially elects a "religious administrative" body, we have to be cautious in how we proceed. In order to protect the future of KRI in China, the SSSC needs to better understand what our legal requirements are to include citizens of the PRC in an election of this nature.
This isn't about Kundalini Yoga being a religious practice. It is not a religious practice. It is a health, wellness and spiritual practice that draws on the Shabad Guru. But administratively, at the moment, it is a religious board that oversees KRI. And how to solve this issue is going to be something for the SSSC Board to continue wrestling with. This issue is creating complications not only in China but in other places as well. However, it is only in China that there are legal complications that we have to address.
The simplest way to say this is that practicing and teaching Kundalini Yoga in the PRC is not a religious activity. However, due to the unique structure of our organization, voting in the SSSC election could be considered a religious activity. And that is the conundrum.
This decision is not "against" the Chinese students at all. It is no failure on their part at all. It is our failure that we have not understood the legal complexities of being a US-based non-profit religious organization operating in the People's Republic of China. And we need to understand those complexities and deal with them appropriately so that the voters in China can be included in future elections for the SSSC Board Members.
This gets especially confusing because KRI is NOT a religious non-profit and therefore does not have to deal with the same legal complexities.
The last thing I would like to offer is this. The Board of Trustees has to regularly wrestle with challenging legal and financial decisions. We can't make these decisions based on our emotions. Emotionally, of course the Chinese students should be able to participate in the election. They are part of the global community and their voice is important. But this decision isn't about our relationships with one another on the grass roots level. It is about the SSSC as a legal entity understanding its obligations under Chinese law. And that is a very different world.
Some things just take time and this is one of those things. We need to do something unpopular in the short-term because it leads to the best chance of success in the long-term. This is how I see the situation.
These are difficult moments. The Chinese students have every right to be upset with this decision or to disagree with this decision. If I were in their shoes, I would be angry. But out of respect for the very different legal frameworks that we are coming from, we need to take the time to understand the issues fully and to resolve them harmoniously for the longevity of the organization.
If you have taken the time, thank you for reading this.
I took a break from Facebook for a couple years because the dialogue had become rather toxic from my point of view. I hope that if you have read this and you have opinion to share, that you will please be respectful and courteous in your replies. I will delete any comments that are abusive. Blessings.
Angad Kaur This is exactly correct. "As long as we comply with the law." And this is the work that the SSSC needs to do: to understand and comply with the law.
You have the right to disagree. We do disagree. But I do want to clarify that I have never claimed to be an expert on China. I have some experiences and I have a lot of affection for China. I believe that I have done some service over the years for the students there. A little bit. So maybe you can give me the benefit of the doubt that I am sincerely acting according to what I see as the best road forward for the whole community.
My view. But of course, all views are important and these debates are healthy for our future.
If you are following the developments in the Siri Singh Sahib Corporation election, you are most likely aware that the SSSC recently had to make the difficult decision to exclude voters from the People's Republic of China from participating in the election this year. This decision was not easy to make and it took us a lot of time to come to this conclusion. There is understandably a lot of emotion, frustration and disappointment from community members about this decision.
Seeing some of the rhetoric, I want to clarify a few things.
Kundalini Yoga is taught through KRI, which is a non-profit educational institute. The relationship between Kundalini Yoga and Sikh Dharma has been a topic of deep debate for decades and will continue to be a deep debate. However, what is clear is that Kundalini Yoga as KRI teaches it draws on the Sikh tradition for its rich offerings of Naad Yoga - both mantra and Shabad. No one has to be a Sikh to practice or teach Kundalini Yoga. But the shabad guru, the sound current, is definitely a foundational aspect of this practice. However, Kundalini Yoga is not considered to be a mainstream "Sikh" religious practice.
The Siri Singh Sahib Corporation is the "Member" or "Owner" of KRI. The Siri Singh Sahib Corporation is a US religious non-profit organization. It is the umbrella under which a collection of for-profit and not-for profit organizations founded by Yogi Bhajan and his students are organized. As a US-based religious non-profit organization, the SSSC has a different legal framework than KRI. Board members for the SSSC at this point in time are, technically speaking, a religious administrative board.
This has caused problems the last couple years. There are many KRI Trainers in Europe, for instance, who do not want to have KRI be under a religious board because of the negative connotations of religion for them. I have even heard that some people would like to separate KRI from the SSSC completely. But at the moment, that is not a tenable solution.
When I ran for office for the SSSC Board, one of my commitments was to help make the electorate for the SSSC Board members more inclusive. This is the first year that Professional and Lead Trainers are going to be able to participate in the election. There was also a vaguely worded policy change that people who have been living the 3HO lifestyle for seven years or more could also vote, if they received 3 letters of recommendation. This policy change is a move in the right direction. But it has also created a lot of challenges that I would have never predicted.
One of these challenges is about how the Siri Singh Sahib Corporation can legally operate in the People's Republic of China. I won't go into as lot of detail here. But let me give a high level summary of this issue. Currently, the government of the People's Republic of China officially recognizes a handful of religions. I cannot remember the list - but it include Buddhism, Christianity, and a couple others. Sikh Dharma/Sikhism is NOT on that list. It means that any Sikh-related religious activity exists in a kind of "gray" zone within the People's Republic of China. And it is that gray zone that we are attempting to understand.
Because the SSSC is a religious non-profit and because Sikhism is not formally recognized by the PRC and because this election essentially elects a "religious administrative" body, we have to be cautious in how we proceed. In order to protect the future of KRI in China, the SSSC needs to better understand what our legal requirements are to include citizens of the PRC in an election of this nature.
This isn't about Kundalini Yoga being a religious practice. It is not a religious practice. It is a health, wellness and spiritual practice that draws on the Shabad Guru. But administratively, at the moment, it is a religious board that oversees KRI. And how to solve this issue is going to be something for the SSSC Board to continue wrestling with. This issue is creating complications not only in China but in other places as well. However, it is only in China that there are legal complications that we have to address.
The simplest way to say this is that practicing and teaching Kundalini Yoga in the PRC is not a religious activity. However, due to the unique structure of our organization, voting in the SSSC election could be considered a religious activity. And that is the conundrum.
This decision is not "against" the Chinese students at all. It is no failure on their part at all. It is our failure that we have not understood the legal complexities of being a US-based non-profit religious organization operating in the People's Republic of China. And we need to understand those complexities and deal with them appropriately so that the voters in China can be included in future elections for the SSSC Board Members.
This gets especially confusing because KRI is NOT a religious non-profit and therefore does not have to deal with the same legal complexities.
The last thing I would like to offer is this. The Board of Trustees has to regularly wrestle with challenging legal and financial decisions. We can't make these decisions based on our emotions. Emotionally, of course the Chinese students should be able to participate in the election. They are part of the global community and their voice is important. But this decision isn't about our relationships with one another on the grass roots level. It is about the SSSC as a legal entity understanding its obligations under Chinese law. And that is a very different world.
Some things just take time and this is one of those things. We need to do something unpopular in the short-term because it leads to the best chance of success in the long-term. This is how I see the situation.
These are difficult moments. The Chinese students have every right to be upset with this decision or to disagree with this decision. If I were in their shoes, I would be angry. But out of respect for the very different legal frameworks that we are coming from, we need to take the time to understand the issues fully and to resolve them harmoniously for the longevity of the organization.
If you have taken the time, thank you for reading this.
I took a break from Facebook for a couple years because the dialogue had become rather toxic from my point of view. I hope that if you have read this and you have opinion to share, that you will please be respectful and courteous in your replies. I will delete any comments that are abusive. Blessings.
Angad Kaur This is exactly correct. "As long as we comply with the law." And this is the work that the SSSC needs to do: to understand and comply with the law.
You have the right to disagree. We do disagree. But I do want to clarify that I have never claimed to be an expert on China. I have some experiences and I have a lot of affection for China. I believe that I have done some service over the years for the students there. A little bit. So maybe you can give me the benefit of the doubt that I am sincerely acting according to what I see as the best road forward for the whole community.
My view. But of course, all views are important and these debates are healthy for our future.