 European Sangat Tidbits  |
European Sangat Tidbits
In Amsterdam there are three Khalsa-run businesses Golden Temple Kitchen, Nanak’s Natural Foods and Khalsa Natural Foods. The combined effort manufacture cookies, cakes, snacks, frozen meals and a variety of pita breads which are distributed throughout Holland and Internationally. They are presently review how to better coordinate their efforts. The last remaining Golden Temple Restaurant is in Amsterdam and they provided delicious meals for all of the Khalsa Council meetings. There is a healing and massage business plus a teacher’s training program. There are a variety of courses that are offered at the Yoga Center in the Ashram as well as classes throughout Amsterdam. The sangat hosts Sunday Gurdwara each week. The council system is struggling with its inception.
The British Sadh Sangat is growing and each area is working with the Guru in their own special way. In London plans are underway to start a regular Gurdwara. The Lotus Healing Centre is running numerous courses in 1994 and is expanding to new premises, sharing a building with the Dalai Lama’s London base, an energetic embrace of two Dharmas. Throughout the country Kundalini Yoga Teachers are starting new ventures, and expanding existing programs. Teacher’s Training is underway in London and similar plans are made in Chester area. The Sadh Sangat as a whole is busy, but is very much missing a group sangat meeting and a permanent meeting place.
The most interesting development within Germany 3HO - community in 1993 was the effort to reorganize 3HO as an association and thus revitalize membership and administrative structure. As the activities of the association are ever growing and more people are more directly involved in teaching and organization; it was decided on more transparent working structure. These shall be established through rules of procedures and working guidelines. The discussion is on going as to who actually is and has to be a member of the 3HO -association. Now every yoga teacher automatically becomes a member at the day of his/her Teacher Training exam. Now they want to make it a more conscious and active step in order to have more conscious and active members. Also the cooperation of Sikhs and Non-Sikhs on all levels of the association has been discussed. Right now there are about 350 trained Kundalini yoga teachers of which approximately one third are actively teaching.
About 40 Sikhs from the Germany community and people interested in Sikh Dharma gathered in Berlin for Sikh Dharma Days, for three days around the New Year. The key topics for development were Sahaj Path, Gurdwara, Sadhana, Sikh Teachings, children’s Dharmic activities and visions for the New Year.
The Golden Temple Naturprodukte, Hamburg, has been very successful this year and was very proud to present employees a bonus this year. Profits were up! Golden Temple is closely working with other European and American Khalsa business which means pooling ideas and products onto the market.
The Italian Sadh Sangat is proceeding slowly with a Gurdwara project. They are in the process of strategically expanding the group’s involvement. The Administrative Council structure has been studied, translated and will be enacted this spring with the goal of bringing new strength and vitality to the sangat.
Report from Scandinavia was that 1993 was an exciting year for the northerners. There was a White Tantric course in Stockholm. There is regular teaching going on in Oslo and Bergen Norway and even in Karasjok which is in the polar circle; an area were teaching yoga and being vegetarian opens a new perspective in a very traditional hunting region. In Sweden many yoga classes are taught every week in Stockholm at the Deva Center. They have also started teachers training courses with participants from all over Sweden.
The French yoga and teacher’s training courses are growing and expanding. Numerous workshop support groups are being offered that target specific focal areas with great success.
The general feedback from the 1993 Yoga Festival in France was very positive, a number of people saying it was the best Yoga Festival they have ever attended. Other comments were that the staff seemed relaxed and organized, and that the program was interesting and inspiring. The attendance at the Yoga Festival was slightly higher than last year, with 500 people registered, including 83 children.