The
Kundalini Yoga Festival in Asia, held in Thailand centered on the
theme: The Invincible Human - Celebrating the Emergence of Our Innate
Human Excellence. It drew over 70 participants from across Asia -
including students from Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Vietnam, Australia,
Malaysia and China. The event was led by senior teacher Sunder Singh
Khalsa, who has been coming to this part of the world for the last 10
years to share the teachings of Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan
Singh Khalsa Yogiji. Other teachers who participated included: Nirvair
Singh Khalsa, CEO of KRI
and his wife Nirvair Kaur; Kartar Singh Khalsa of Herndon, Virginia;
Dr. Kartar Singh Khalsa of Espanola, New Mexico; Suraj Kaur from
Australia, who also was the general manager of the event; Prof.
Surinder Singh, world-renown for his kirtan; Angad Kaur, one of the KRI
Teacher Trainers from China; Tonie Nooyens who helped found the Wat
Opat Project in Cambodia; and myself (Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa, Creative
Director for Sikh Dharma International.)
The festival took place in the tranquil and serene Baan Phu Waan
pastoral retreat center, about 45 minutes outside of Bangkok. In the
words of Sunder Singh, "The intent of the festival is to create a sense
of community or common unity among the kundalini yoga practitioners in
Asia." It was fascinating to see how dedicated and devoted these
students are. For me, it was also a tremendous gift to be able to sit
and share the teachings of Guru Nanak with people from so many
different countries. The experience reinforced in my own heart how
universal Guru Nanak's Japji Sahib is - how it speaks to the common
humanity in all of us - no matter what country or background we come
from.
The
festival also gave us an opportunity to hear about what types of
activities various communities are doing in their own countries. One
program in particular touched my heart. In Cambodia, there are young
people in their late teens and 20's, who have taken the spirit of seva
- of selfless service - to heart. 
They have created a program through
which they travel to the poor areas of Cambodia and teach Kundalini
Yoga and meditation to children who are affected with HIV/AIDS. The
original purpose was to help the children with stress and trauma
release. Since that time, they have also begun to teach the children to
teach other children simple yoga and meditation. The name of this
project is the Wat Opot Project, and they are actively seeking
donations to continue this and other outreach projects. To connect with
them, you can visit www.kundaliniyogacambodia.org. To read more about other Dharmic-related events in that part of the world, visit: www.kundaliniyogaasia.org.
After
a beautiful and satisfying week at the Yoga Festival in Thailand, it
was my blessing to travel to Kuala Lumpur and spend time with the Sikh
community there. Rajveer Singh and Guru Jaswant Kaur Khalsa have opened
a delicious vegetarian cafe and tea house called Chayo - and above the
café is a welcoming and heart-opening yoga center. For three nights
from Nov 3rd - 5th, approximately 40 members of the Sikh community in
Kuala Lumpur gathered at the Chayo Yoga Center to chant, meditate and
discuss the meaning of Guru Nanak's Japji Sahib. It was a deep and
powerful experience for all of us. There was such a depth of love that
the students have for meditating on the Guru's words. It was especially
inspiring to see families do the course together: husbands and wives,
mothers and children meditating and opening their hearts with each
other.
In addition to a 3-night course on Japji Sahib, there were many other things to do. On Guru Nanak's birthday, November 2, Rajveer Singh and I had the blessing to speak at the Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya about the Mool Mantra, and how to apply it to your own life. Another morning, Dharamjot Kaur, the manager of the Chayo Yoga Center, and I visited the children of the Gurpuri Foundation. The Gurpuri Foundation in Kuala Lumpur is a home for the underprivileged, orphaned and neglected children of Malaysia. It is the first Sikh-run welfare children's home in the world outside India.
There are about 55 children who live in this home, and they range in
all ages. Dharamjot Kaur and I led the children with some easy yoga.
And then we chanted and did Celestial Communication together.
(Celestial Communication is the art of adding simple gestures to sacred
chants and songs.) We had a wonderful time, and ended the class by
having the children give a blessing to themselves. To learn more about
the Gurpuri Foundation, visit www.gurpuri.org. To keep in touch with the events at the Chayo Yoga Studio in Kuala Lumpur, please visit: www.chayostudio.com.my.
Every
day when we wake up, we are faced with terrible stories of negativity,
economic hardships, human suffering and war. But what this two-week
trip to Southeast Asia reminded me is that there are so very many
people in the world with good hearts, who are reaching out to each
other in simple ways to help heal the planet. 
These are the secret
heroes of our times, and there are so many of them at work around the
clock, in every country, in ways that we see and in ways that we do not
see. It is in the name of those secret saints that Sikh Dharma
International continues to grow, and to serve, so that one day the
positive truth and Divine Light that lives in all of our hearts will
have a chance to shine forever.
