Throughout 2022, as we look towards the future of the Sikh Dharma Ministry, our quarterly newsletter will be exploring what unites us and what we hold sacred. What can help to foster unity? What will allow us to remain relevant and responsive to the demands of the times? To begin this journey, for the first quarterly issue we asked Sikh Dharma Ministers to write an article in response to the following questions: “What are the core values you rely upon in your service individually as a Minister? What values do you look to the Ministry as a whole to uphold? Furthermore, what do
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Archives for newsletter
#83 – 2022 Newsletter (First Quarter)
Minister News & Notes (2021 Fourth Quarter)
On September 11, 2021, new Sikh Dharma Minister SS Sukhdev Kaur Khalsa was ordained in a virtual/in-person vow ceremony. The vows were administered via Zoom by Secretary of Religion SS Dr. Sat Kaur Khalsa (assisted by Executive Assistant SS Sarb Nam Kaur). The ceremony was held in a beautiful countryside gurdwara at the Rajaama Ashram in Harjumaa, Estonia. The gurdwara space beautifully reflected the sacred and solemn vow ceremony, attended by students of Sukhdev Kaur at her ashram retreat, as well as family and friends who attended virtually via Zoom. Following the administration of the Sikh Dharma Minister’s vow and
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#82 – 2021 Newsletter (Fourth Quarter)
With this fourth and final issue of our 2021 newsletter, we begin to move from honoring our past. Throughout this year, we explored the past 50 years of service as Sikh Dharma Ministers (from 1971 through 2021) in our first three quarterly newsletters. In this fourth issue, we present essays written as part of the New Minister Candidate process in answer to the question: “What does it mean to be a Sikh Dharma Minister?” We share these essays with permission from the authors, who are some of the individuals ordained as Sikh Dharma Ministers within the past five years. Their
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Ministering to the Ministers
by SS Sarb Nam Kaur Khalsa, Espanola NM 2021 (Third Quarter) In early June 2004, after completing a nine-month Journey into the Heart of Sikh Dharma course, I received a phone call from the Secretary of Religion informing me that the Siri Singh Sahib had approved my application to become a Sikh Dharma Minister. I felt excited and joyful. I believed this was my “spiritual destiny” and that, twenty-four years after my first Kundalini Yoga class and having taken Amrit vows, I was stepping into a new role I felt ready to undertake. Early Beginnings The Guru had swept me
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#81 – 2021 Newsletter (Third Quarter)
The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Sikh Dharma International Ministry. As we contemplate the future, it is also worthwhile to review our past. Our previous two issues looked back at the decades spanning the 1970s through the 1990s. In this third issue, we explore the past two decades (2000-2019). During this time, our 3HO/Sikh Dharma communities and the world faced many changes and challenges, including the attacks on September 11, 2001, and the passing of the Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji on October 6, 2004. We invited Sikh Dharma Ministers
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#79 – 2021 Newsletter (First Quarter)
The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Sikh Dharma International Ministry. We are witnessing a time of great change both in the world and in our Dharma. As we contemplate the future, it is essential in this process that we also honor our past. In our first quarterly newsletter of this year, we reflect on the history of our humble beginnings as pioneers in the dawning of the Aquarian Age. By honoring our past as Ministers we acknowledge and embrace the varied experiences that have brought us to where we are now. The foundational building
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A Ministry of The One
by SS Siri Akal Singh Khalsa, Espanola NM Winter 2020 “What’s so funny?” my wife Hari asked, looking up from her book. “I just got an e-mail inviting me to contribute to the next Sikh Dharma Ministry Newsletter,” I replied. “And that’s funny because…?” “…Because the editors are obviously thinking of someone else.” “What do you mean? They invited you, didn’t they?” “Yes, but we’ve been quarantined since March. I hardly go out, except to shop, and when I do, I’m all masked up and social-distancing from everybody. And even before the Coronavirus isolated us, ever since you were diagnosed
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#78 Winter 2020 Newsletter
Throughout this year we have been exploring the qualities of Guru Ram Das and the Neutral/Meditative Mind and how these qualities are fundamental to our ability to serve one and all as Ministers and leaders in the Aquarian Age. The theme for the Winter issue is Standing Under Those We Serve: Vision or Division? At the memorial service of John Lewis, the legendary Civil Rights leader who passed away this summer, a minister said: “It is a matter of vision or division.” This speaks to where we are in our world right now. How can we deliver this vision of standing under all whom
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Ministry News and Notes (Fall 2020)
In this time of quarantine, the Secretary of Religion wanted to ensure that individuals seeking to become ordained Sikh Dharma Ministers would have the ability to take their Ministerial vows in a timely fashion. With the advent of online meeting spaces, the Office of the Secretary of Religion (with approval from the Sikh Dharma International Board) made an historic decision this summer to offer “virtual” Minister vows. Traditionally, Sikh Dharma Ministers have been administered their ordination vows at our Winter and Summer Solstices, as well as at the European and Chilean Yoga Festivals, and—in some rare cases—within their local sangats.
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#77 Fall 2020 Newsletter
Throughout this year we have been exploring the qualities of Guru Ram Das and the Neutral/Meditative Mind and how these qualities are fundamental to our ability to serve one and all as Ministers and leaders in the Aquarian Age. The theme for this Fall issue is Self-Reflection: Fostering it in Ourselves. These are challenging times. Standing under those we serve—especially during times of great stress and transformation—is predicated on being able to stand by one’s self. It is important for each of us, as Ministers, to do our own internal work in order to then bring kindness, compassion, authenticity, and
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