by SS Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa, Assistant Secretary of Religion
“Strong as Steel, Steady as Stone: The Sikh Dharma Ministry Enters the Aquarian Age”
The fall semester 1972, I started a course at Phoenix College entitled “Kundalini Yoga for Women in the Aquarian Age.” The course continued seven years with that name until a new chair of the Physical Education Department came on board and dropped the “in the Aquarian Age.” “Who knows what that means?” he asked rhetorically. Should I tell him? Naah, I thought. He’ll find out in another 32 years.
The Siri Singh Sahib had spoken about the dawning of the Age of Aquarius as soon as he arrived in Los Angeles in January 1969. It seemed a long time away, yet he told us we were the pioneers, that what we were doing at that time would lead the way for generations ahead. He revived the Sikh Dharma Ministry established by Guru Amar Das 410 years earlier to give us a venue for service. We didn’t know what was to come, but we were sure excited about it.
Now we are here, about to step over the threshold into the Age of Aquarius. In the history of Sikh Dharma there have been many such thresholds, or “dangerous crossings” in the Jungian language of The Hero’s Journey. As in The Hero’s Journey, this is the time of vital, compelling transition we have waited lifetimes for, have taken birth for and have given lifetimes to prepare. The journey includes tests, challenges, treachery and ever-growing wisdom, depth, purpose and meaning.
“The Aquarian Age is your time. You are just pioneers. You have to go through a lot of hardships. I understand that. Oh, what is the matter? I have gone through those hardships much more than you have. So it is a matter of pleasure that you are on the path. Therefore remember, raise your consciousness, put your guts into it, and share your grace with people. You will be the most successful. All the knowledge you have is more than anybody else can have. It is all with you. Therefore, I’d like to ask you to enjoy this opportunity on this planet Earth at this time, so that you can leave your mark deep on this Earth for generations to come.”
—Siri Singh Sahib, March 2003
Making the Sacrifice
The Hero’s Journey is not taken alone. We face the dangerous crossings together, and not all make it. The Siri Singh Sahib spoke of our lost peers. Sixty thousand of us died in the Vietnam War. Six hundred thousand were lost to HIV/AIDS in the United States alone, 10 times the number of lives taken in Vietnam.
Those lost to drugs, more than 20 million by the Siri Singh Sahib’s count, far outnumbered any other cause. Our collective sacrifice includes those who wandered from the Dharmic path itself, even though they gave much when they started out.
The Hero’s Journey is taken on behalf of others. For all our sacrifice, the Siri Singh Sahib told us we are not even the foundation of the Aquarian Age; we are the rocks under the foundation. No matter what our chronological age—22, 62, 82—nor how long we have been Sikh Dharma Ministers, at this time of crossing the threshold, we are all first generation, the rocks supporting those who come after us.
Youth is a given in The Hero’s Journey; maturity, however, is achieved. Now is a time for our maturity, a time for us to slow down amid the accelerating times and deepen into the Shabad Guru as never before.
As we deepen and expand within, we accommodate greater ambiguity, absorb what is unseen and unsaid, trust the unknown. We rely on our silence, our stillness, so we may more accurately experience what is emerging. We feel the Divine timing of our participation in the uniqueness of each moment. We move with the flow of our infinite spirit.
Entering the Aquarian Age
Our core relationship to the Shabad Guru, our consciousness of service and our collective unity create the frequency we bring as Sikh Dharma Ministers entering the Aquarian Age. He told us that it is not how spiritual we are that matters, it is how spiritual we are when facing calamity. These are the values we share with the world.
Forty-two years after the Siri Singh Sahib arrived in the West, the Sikh Dharma Ministry enters the Aquarian Age. Whatever thoughts we have about our own personal pluses and minuses, let us know this: Together we are gems that have been pressured to clarity and cut and chiseled so our facets sparkle.
From the Air Came the Beginning. This is the Age of the True Guru. As we enter the new era of frequency, we are Sikh Dharma Ministers, Teachers, Healers, Leaders and Humble Servants of those yearning for the experience of the Guru. Come on in, Age of Aquarius. We are ready.
About the Author
SS Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa was ordained as a Sikh Dharma Minister in 1973 and has served as Assistant Secretary of Religion of Sikh Dharma since 2000, supporting the Office of the Secretary of Religion in building a global grassroots Ministry. She travels and works with Ministers around the world and is a member of the Sikh Dharma Ministry Newsletter team. She is also a member of the International Khalsa Council and an Officer of the Sikh Dharma International Board. She serves as Executive Director of the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology, founded by the Siri Singh Sahib to bring Kundalini Yoga into healthcare. She is a charter member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and serves on its Advisory Board.