Keeping the Spirit of Cherdhi Kala
Dealing with the Aftereffects of 9-11
In order for us to be successful whenever we have a difficult problem to solve, decision to make, or action to take, we must first have the spirit, the energy, to carry through. In raising our spirit, we sense our Infinite origins and we remember. Spirit gives us sensitivity to ourselves and to our destiny; it gives us the support and strength to deliver - a strength we may not even know we need until we are faced with a great challenge. In the Sikh tradition, this spirit is called, Cherdi Kala.
In 1986, I was teaching yoga to people with AIDS in Los Angeles, when there was no medical treatment and thousands of young people were ill or dying. By then, I had been a yoga teacher and a Sikh for 15 years. Yet it was in the face of this incredible challenge that I learned the fundamental lesson of Cherdi Kala: Raise your spirit first. Even now, 15 years later, it is the first step we take at the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology when teaching the yogic approach to health recovery.
For many, the events of September 11th have left them with a lower wattage of spirit. This results in insecurity, fear, anger, depression, and a sense of loss. To be effective in the months ahead, we need to raise our spirit individually and collectively. As teachers and students of Kundalini Yoga, and as those who practice Sikh Dharma, we can give strength to the community itself, through our spirit. Let us renew our commitment to elevation of spirit. Let us ask each other, in each community, “How are we building our spirit?” and “What ways can we raise the spirit of others through our service?” How we answer these questions determines our future.
“Power is not in the person; power is in the collective spirit...that takes commitment, a decision. Decide to expand the frontiers, to reach where you have not reached before, to serve those you have not served. Decide for yourself, ‘Where expansion itself ends, I will go beyond that to fulfill the desire of my own soul.” Yogi Bhajan, April 26, 2001
What You Can Do Now:
1) Select a kriya, meditation or mantra and practice it regularly. Do what you understand to do, to keep a strong relationship with your own spirit.
2) Stay in communication with each family member, each friend, student, colleague and business associate - everyone you encounter. Speak in ways that get them talking. Even months after September 11th, people need to tell their story, including how their life is different.
3) Stay conscious of community. Consider how your programs, plans for future events, and daily activities include and affect those you know and associate with. After an event so unstabilizing as the one we experienced as a nation, people may tend to isolate. Do what you can to bring people together.
4) Expand your community. Meet new people, introduce yourself to teachers in other centers, community leaders, interfaith organizations, social service providers. If you are a teacher, teach Kundalini Yoga in places you have never taught before.
5) Lead the way with community building events in your own area, and/or participate when others host an event.
Contact the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine and Humanology at:
Tel: (800) 326-1322 [email protected]