Legacy, the feature length film, will be further developed into a 9 part DVD series that will enlarge the scope of the theatrical documentary to give fuller depth to the stories that will be told. This will be called the Nine Treasures Collection and will serve as an educational series for future generations. The series will include the following chapters:
- Legacy (the feature length documentary)
- Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan
- Sikh Dharma in the West
- The History of the Sikhism
- The Businesses: Yogi Tea, Akal Security, etc.
- Naad Yoga: Kundalini Mantra Music
- 3HO and the Solstice Experience
- White Tantric Yoga and Sat Nam Rasayan
- Miri Piri Academy, the Present, and the Future
Chapter 1 is a feature length documentary about the Siri Singh Sahib and the community he inspired. This film is an expansion of the Yogi Bhajan Documentary project which began a few years ago. Yogi Bhajan's Legacy will open up the world of 3HO and Sikh Dharma, to share with everyone who is interested in consciousness and this dharmic way. We will speak with his family and his students who have known him throughout the years, listen to his own stories that have been archived, and gather clips and photographs throughout the years. We will show him as a teacher, a businessman, and a diplomat. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the spiritual revolutionary, Yogi Bhajan.
Chapter 2 will briefly cover the history of Kundalini Yoga and then go on to explain how YB became a yoga master. We will see how his program of teachings developed from an antique store on Melrose into a worldwide phenomenon that has transformed the lives of thousands of people, and continues to grow after his years on earth. This chapter will look at the teachings themselves, and will require extensive support from the Kundalini Research Institute, the International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association, and the teachers and students themselves, to discuss how the practice has, and continues to enrich their lives.
Chapter 3 is the story of Sikh Dharma in the West. The Siri Singh Sahib may ultimately be remembered most as the man who introduced Sikhism to a people that were in need of a spiritual path that incorporated the perfect blend of Saint and Warrior. This chapter will discuss the origins and development of this new religion / way of life, speaking to the teachers that recall the first turban, Akhand Path, Gudwaras, as well as the initial trip to India and the Amrit Ceremony. We will see how Sikh Dharma and the Sikh religion of India have collided, contrasted, and complimented each other over the years. Western Gudwaras will be visited, and leaders of the community will be interviewed. We will discuss the origins and the present state of affairs with leaders within Sikh Dharma International, the Khalsa Council of Ministers, and the Sikh Community as a whole. Many children of the Sixties were looking to ground their spiritual adventures into a lifestyle that combined their Aquarian ideals with a disciplined practice, forming them into people that would be able to do the work needed to transform the world. Yogi Bhajan offered this to a group of students in the late 1960’s, and then sent them throughout the country, and eventually the world, to start Ashrams, sell healthy vegetarian food, and teach Kundalini Yoga. He was exporting a lifestyle that included a daily spiritual practice, community, and a vision of a world that was loving, caring, and self-supportive. This chapter takes an in depth look at the Sikh Dharma lifestyle, how it started with community ashram living and now continues in the homes of 3HO families. Our team will explore archives of footage and photographs, and speak to the people that were sent out to build a peaceful work, within and without.
Chapter 4 goes back to discuss the history of Sikhism, from the time of Guru Nanak and its beginnings. It will tell the stories of the 10 Gurus, Baisakhi, and the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. It will cover the history of the Sikh development, the fight for independence, and the victories and defeats on and off the fields of battle. Our hope is to honor Sikhism with a piece that elevates and brings to life the glories of the Sikh history and lifestyle. Our research unit will compose a narrative based on histories, archival footage, photographs, works of art, and interviews with scholars, religious historians and Sikh leaders.
Chapter 5 starts off by looking at a box of Yogi Tea sitting on a shelf in the neighborhood grocery store, then looking at the man on the box, reading the quote, seeing the yogic posture, and wondering what it is all about. Thus begins our story. Yogi Bhajan told his students not to make a living off of the back of their students, but to start new businesses that employ others, to prosper. In this chapter we look at Yogi Bhajan, the businessman. Yogi Tea is one of the most popular teas in the market today. Another one of his successful enterprises is Akal Security, which has been responsible for guarding politicians and dignitaries for decades. Additionally, Yogi Bhajan had a great love for food. Some of the products on the grocery store shelves that we eat all the time were inspired by him. When he came to the US he had $20 in his pocket, but he built an empire. This was an important aspect of his teachings and legacy.
Chapter 6 will be the Kundalini music segment, and will look at the tradition of the Shabd. Kirtan is a fast growing form of music that is being embraced today throughout the world, and the Kundalini community offers some of the most beautiful, and popular, kirtan available. Interviewing each of our wonderful musicians, we will look at its history and development, and why it continues to grow. We are in contact with Spirit Voyage; they have offered their support for this vital segment of our series, and we hope to license much of the music that is used throughout the documentary from them.
Chapter 7 looks into the beginnings of 3HO. Yogi Bhajan asked Shakti Parwha Kaur to help him start a non-profit called Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization (3HO), to inspire the basic characteristics of a yogi in all. In this chapter we will explore the foundation of the teachings, his principals for living, and how Summer Solstice, Women’s Camp, and later Winter Solstice, helped form a society from a dream into an international reality. This segment will look at many of the individuals that rose to prominence, under his tutelage, to become great teachers and leaders themselves.
Chapter 8 seeks the evolution of White Tantric Yoga and Sat Nam Rasayan. Yogi Bhajan, the Siri Singh Sahib, became the Mahan Tantric: the teacher and facilitator of White Tantric Yoga. Chapter 8 will examine the origins of White Tantric Yoga, how YB developed this program, and how it changes the ways that we perceive ourselves, each other, and the Universe that connects us all. We will talk to current facilitators and those who have been practicing for decades, as well as those who are just discovering breakthroughs with this technology for the first time. This chapter will also study the origins and practice of Sat Nam Rasayan, a Yogic practice of healing introduced by Yogi Bhajan, and later taught the world over by the master Guru Dev Singh.
Chapter 9 concludes the series with the history, and a day in the life of the students of Miri Piri Academy, a school set up by Yogi Bhajan in India, to teach young people how to become more than good citizens and good students, but Warrior Saints. The students of Miri Piri Academy will be encouraged to create much of this segment themselves, and to be our filmmakers on location in the homeland of Amritsar and Anandpur Sahib. This chapter will also include a look at Sikh Dharma and Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Bhajan’s legacy today. It will travel to the four corners of the world, everywhere that our Khalsas stand, to take a peek into the world of 3HO. We will reach out to every Sangat, Kundalini Yoga Center, and 3HO community that we can and have them submit a video piece that we will include in this film. It will truly be a living testament to a man that had the capacity to teach the world it’s humanity and it’s divinity.