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A tangent but I thought others would find this interesting... The image at the top is related to Kundalini per the caption. This form of yoga seems to be synon

by 83457 6y ago

A tangent but I thought others would find this interesting... The image at the top is related to Kundalini per the caption. This form of yoga seems to be synonymous in my area of the US (DC) and probably others with a group termed "white sikhs". They originate from a 60/70s group started by an Indian guru. Sikhism traditionally does not involve yoga but the guru that started the US Sikh group had a background in it so yoga was an integral part of his teachings. The group became ~~somewhat of~~ a cult and guru investigated for abusive practices, but they now seem to just be devout Sikhs with slightly different traditions and organization than Indian counterparts. They seem to be shunned by some Punjabis as not "real" Sikhs while other Punjabis have joined them. I am caucasian with a non-practicing Indian Sikh wife and did a project on Sikhism when I went back to school years ago, which is where I learned about them. Not long after, a temple we visited with my wife's family turned out to be one started by white sikhs, with Kundalini yoga studio underneath. It was very interesting seeing caucasians in full Sikh garb and small sword, including women which is not common with Punjabi Sikhs. I saw an older caucasion lady with sikh turban some years later leaving my office building and I said "sat siri akal" which surprised her, then she returned the greeting with a huge smile. I find their story fascinating and I hope I haven't offended anyone here that is part of this group. For some reason I can't find the pages and videos I used for research a decade ago. Here are some that I found though... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epQhHjf8pTs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epQhHjf8pTs https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/yogi-bhajan/ https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/yogi-bhajan/ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-disturbing-mainstream_b_667026 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-disturbing-mainstream_b_6... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3HO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3HO

selimthegrim 6y ago
My understanding (speaking as someone with Muslim Punjabi background from Kapurthala and Qadian) is those guys got involved with security contracts with INS/ICE in recent years. I met an adult child of people in that group in New Orleans a few years back.
- 83457 6y ago
  Yeah. I've heard they have been big in security for a long time. I think one of the issues with the group at least early on was their starting of businesses, in particular in security, where they were not paying followers for their work. I'm not super knowledgeable about them, so it's entirely possible there are still some sketchy practices by parts of the group that I thought had ended. I have added a huffpost article that states "Akal Security, the largest judicial security contractor in the United States, has been awarded at least $3.5 billion in Federal contracts since the year 2000, and its clients include the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Defense. "

by 83457 6y ago

selimthegrim 6y ago

My understanding (speaking as someone with Muslim Punjabi background from Kapurthala and Qadian) is those guys got involved with security contracts with INS/ICE in recent years. I met an adult child of people in that group in New Orleans a few years back.

83457 6y ago
Yeah. I've heard they have been big in security for a long time. I think one of the issues with the group at least early on was their starting of businesses, in particular in security, where they were not paying followers for their work. I'm not super knowledgeable about them, so it's entirely possible there are still some sketchy practices by parts of the group that I thought had ended. I have added a huffpost article that states "Akal Security, the largest judicial security contractor in the United States, has been awarded at least $3.5 billion in Federal contracts since the year 2000, and its clients include the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Defense. "