Healing A Major Crisis
In the Community
2020 was a turning point for our community as we had just celebrated the 50th anniversary of our existence,
we underwent a major crisis.
In January 2020 a Yogi Bhajan’s former staff member published a book narrating her intimate relationship with him. This was the beginning of a breaking wave of testimonies and allegations for abuse and sexual misconduct
These were followed by reports of physical abuse and bullying within our youth programs and schools in the early days of these programmes. If most of these misconducts occured in the US the ripples of these allegations were equally traumatic for our global community.
we underwent a major crisis.
In January 2020 a Yogi Bhajan’s former staff member published a book narrating her intimate relationship with him. This was the beginning of a breaking wave of testimonies and allegations for abuse and sexual misconduct
These were followed by reports of physical abuse and bullying within our youth programs and schools in the early days of these programmes. If most of these misconducts occured in the US the ripples of these allegations were equally traumatic for our global community.
Action was immediately taken and a neutral third party organization, called An Olive Branch, was hired to conduct an independent investigation and write a report, which was completed and published in August 2020. Since February 2020 The Siri Singh Sahib Corporation, 3HO International, 3HO Europe, KRI and all of our sister organisations have combined their skills and knowledge of their community to work together on the best way forward.
With the release of the report from An Olive Branch in august 2020 and its impact on our global community, the next substantive task before us was to turn our attention to the process of healing.
As stated previously, the Siri Singh Sahib Corporation and our related organizations were and are committed to taking action to address the findings in the report, to assist all reporters of harm and to promote healing in our community. We approached this huge task with an open heart and a sincere desire to reach out and move forward with the process of healing and reconciliation.
As stated previously, the Siri Singh Sahib Corporation and our related organizations were and are committed to taking action to address the findings in the report, to assist all reporters of harm and to promote healing in our community. We approached this huge task with an open heart and a sincere desire to reach out and move forward with the process of healing and reconciliation.
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We have embarked on a program of Compassionate Reconciliation based on the principles of restorative justice, mediation and other healing modalities. We place the utmost importance on three main areas: • Expertise in working with reporters of harm • Knowledge and experience in working with trauma in school and youth programs • Working with spiritual communities to heal after major conflicts Restorative justice seeks to repair harm while rebuilding a community of trust. The guiding principles of restorative justice include: • Inclusion: Adopting a participatory and collaborative approach that seeks to include all parties who wish to participate. • Repair: Rebuilding human dignity, trust and wholeness; healing trauma; acknowledging harm, taking responsibility and making amends. • Transformation: Addressing the root causes of harm and building community based on shared values. |
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Inspiration from a Teacher
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Act, don’t react. Calm yourself and claim yourself. When you reflect like a torch for a long distance, it takes away the darkness. |
Photos:
Header: Tara Kauffmann - Backgrounds: Geralt, Brit, Bob Dmyt - Illustration: Tara Kauffmann
Header: Tara Kauffmann - Backgrounds: Geralt, Brit, Bob Dmyt - Illustration: Tara Kauffmann
