View source for 3HO

{{Short description|American new religious organization}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = 3HO
| abbreviation = 3HO
| image = Harbhajan Singh Yogi at Khalsa Women's Training Camp, New Mexico.jpg
| caption = Yogi Bhajan at Khalsa Women's Training Camp, New Mexico
| formation = {{start date and age|1969|07|13|df=yes|p=y}} {{nowrap|[[Los Angeles]]}}, [[United States]]
| logo = 3HO official logo.png
| type = [[Religious organisation]]
| headquarters = [[Española, New Mexico|Espanola]], [[New Mexico]]
| origins = [[Kundalini Yoga]]
| affiliations = Sikh Dharma International, [[Yogi Tea]], [[Akal Security]]
| founder = [[Yogi Bhajan]]
| area_served = Worldwide
| website = {{URL|https://www.3ho.org/}}
}}{{Sikhism sidebar}}

'''3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization)''', also known as Sikh Dharma of the Western Hemisphere or '''Sikh Dharma International''', is a controversial American organization founded in 1969 by [[Harbhajan Singh Khalsa]], also called "Yogi Bhajan".<ref name="Nesbitt2016p101">{{cite book|author=Eleanor Nesbitt|title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zD8SDAAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-106277-3|pages=101–102}}</ref><ref name="britsikhsects">[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sikhism/Sects-and-other-groups Sects in Sikhism], Encyclopedia Britannica</ref><ref name="fenech8">{{cite book|author1=Pashaura Singh|author2=Louis E. Fenech|title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7YwNAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-100411-7|pages=8, 358, 515–522}}</ref><ref name="HaarKalsi2009p9">{{cite book|author1= Kristen Haar|author2= Sewa Singh Kalsi|title=Sikhism|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YOI1nB_zTyAC&pg=PA9| year=2009|publisher =Infobase Publishing| isbn=978-1-4381-0647-2|pages= 9–14}}</ref><ref name="Takhar2016p161">{{cite book|author=Opinderjit Kaur Takhar|title=Sikh Identity: An Exploration of Groups Among Sikhs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UaeoDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT161|year=2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-90010-2|pages=161–168}}</ref> Its adherents are popularly referred to as the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood.<ref name="HaarKalsi2009p9" /> While referred to as the 3HO movement, "3HO" is strictly speaking the name only of the movement's educational branch.<ref name="britsikhsects" /><ref name="Takhar2016p161"/> Scholars have defined 3HO as a [[new religious movement]].<ref>Chryssides, George D. (2012). ''Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements''. Scarecrow Press. p. 161. {{ISBN|978-0810861947}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Violence and New Religious Movements |title-link=Violence and New Religious Movements |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-973563-1 |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=James R. |editor-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |location=Oxford; New York |pages=3–5 |language=en}}</ref>

==Practices==

The 3HO movement is known for including some practices found in certain Dharmic traditions such as meditation, vegetarianism and yoga, particularly [[Kundalini yoga]].<ref name="HaarKalsi2009p9"/><ref name="Takhar2016p161"/><ref name="britsikhsects"/> 3HO also believes openness to yoga and spiritual ideas as a source of strength.<ref name="Nayar2004p127">{{cite book|author=Kamala Elizabeth Nayar|title=The Sikh Diaspora in Vancouver: Three Generations Amid Tradition, Modernity, and Multiculturalism|url=https://archive.org/details/sikhdiasporainva00naya |url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8631-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sikhdiasporainva00naya/page/127 127]–128}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Jakobsh | first=Doris | title=3HO/Sikh Dharma of the Western Hemisphere: The Forgotten New Religious Movement? | journal=Religion Compass | publisher=Wiley-Blackwell | volume=2 | issue=3 | year=2008 | doi=10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00068.x | pages=385–408}}</ref> Both men and women wear turbans and often wear white clothes.<ref name="HaarKalsi2009p9"/>

3HO requires its members to follow a strict [[Lacto vegetarianism|lacto-vegetarian]] diet.<ref name="York 2009">York, Michael. (2009). ''The A to Z of New Age Movements''. Scarecrow Press. p. 169. {{ISBN|978-0-8108-6816-8}}</ref><ref>Fenech, Louis E; Singh, Pashaura. (2014). ''The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies''. Oxford University Press. p. 365. {{ISBN|9780191004117}}</ref> The use of [[Alcoholic beverage|alcohol]], recreational drugs and [[tobacco]] is forbidden.<ref name="York 2009"/>

==Criticism==
Despite 3HO claiming to practice Sikh teachings and values, the organization is largely condemned by the wider [[Sikh community]], with some going as far as to refer to it as a [[cult]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Before the sudden death of its leader, Ra Ma Yoga Institute was accused by some former members of being a cult. What happens now? |work=Insider |url=https://www.insider.com/followers-said-ra-ma-yoga-was-cult-what-happens-now-2021-10 |quote=Kundalini yoga was brought to the US in the 1960s by Yogi Bhajan, who died in 2004. It offered codes to live by, and Bhajan's followers — largely white ex-hippies — were thirsty for enlightenment. They called themselves  "American Sikhs," though the practice had nothing to do with actual Sikhism.}}</ref><ref name="time" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |title=The Second Coming of Guru Jagat |magazine=Vanity Fair |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/11/the-second-coming-of-guru-jagat}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Yogi Bhajan Turned an L.A. Yoga Studio into a Juggernaut, and Left Two Generations of Followers Reeling from Alleged Abuse |work=Los Angeles Magazine |url=https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/yogi-bhajan/ |quote=Bhajan was a controversial figure among South Asian Sikhs, who noted that he picked up some aspects of their faith while abandoning others. For one, Sikhs aren’t vegetarian, their religion does not include yoga, they do not revere living gurus. And they don’t wear white.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=How a Cult-turned-Corporation Hijacked American Sikhism |work=The Juggernaut |url=https://www.thejuggernaut.com/kundalini-yoga}}</ref>

===Condemnation by SGPC and Akal Takht===
In 1977, Gurucharan Singh Tohra, former President of the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] (SGPC), stated that Harbhajan Singh was not the leader of Sikhism in the Western World as he claimed and denied Singh's claim that the SGPC had given him the title of Siri Singh Sahib.<ref name="time">
{{cite magazine
 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,915413,00.html
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117091436/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,915413,00.html
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=November 17, 2007
 |title=Religion: Yogi Bhajan's Synthetic Sikhism
 |first=James|last=Wilde
 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]
 |date=5 September 1997
 |access-date=2011-01-02
}}</ref>

Sikh High Priest Jaswant Singh stated that he and his council professed to be "shocked" at Bhajan's "fantastic theories." Yoga, Tantrism, and the "sexual practices" taught by Bhajan, the council declared, are "forbidden and immoral."<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Religion: Yogi Bhajan's Synthetic Sikhism |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,915413-2,00.html |website=Time Magazine |date=5 September 1977 |quote=High Priest Jaswant Singh, a leader of the Sikhs in eastern India and comparable in status to Bhajan Backer Tohra, last week denounced Bhajan's claims. He and his council professed to be "shocked" at Bhajan's "fantastic theories." Yoga, Tantrism and the "sexual practices" taught by Bhajan, the council declared, are "forbidden and immoral."}}</ref>

===Sexual abuse allegations===
After the release of a memoir in early 2020, several victims filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles against 3HO. They claimed that Bhajan not only abused them but that members of 3HO were also aware of the abuse. As a result, An Olive Branch, a consultancy specializing in addressing misconduct in spiritual communities, conducted an investigation. Their conclusive report confirmed the likelihood of the allegations being true.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Inside The Dubious World Of A Cult That Turned 550-year-old Religion Into A Commodity |work=India Times |url=https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/yogi-bhajan-sexual-abuse-573603.html |quote=In light of the memoir that came out in early 2020, and after many of the victims filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles against 3HO, claiming that not only did Bhajan abuse them but also that members of 3HO were well aware of the abuse. Following the allegations, an investigation was opened by An Olive Branch, a consultancy that is strangely established to deal with misconduct in the spiritual community. Their final report revealed that the allegations are indeed (most likely) true.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=OIive Branch Report |url=https://epsweb.org/an-olive-branch-report/ |website=The SSSC Office of Ethics and Professional Standards}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Olive Branch Report |url=https://kundaliniresearchinstitute.org/en/timeline/report-by-an-olive-branch-issued/ |website=Kundalini Research Institute}}</ref>

In 2019, Yogi Bhajan's former secretary Pamela Saharah Dyson published the book ''Premka: White Bird in a Golden Cage: My Life with Yogi Bhajan'', reporting that she and other women had sexual relationships with Harbhajan Singh.<ref name="Dyson 2019">{{cite book | last=Dyson | first=Pamela | title=Premka: White Bird in a golden cage: my life with Yogi Bhajan | publisher=Eyes Wide Publishing | publication-place=Maui, Hawaii | year=2019 | isbn=978-0-578-62188-3 | oclc=1142816131 }}</ref>

=== Scholars' views on 3HO and Yogi Bhajan ===
Scholars including Verne A. Dusenbery and [[Pashaura Singh]] have concurred that Harbhajan Singh's introduction of Sikh teachings into the West helped identify Sikhism as a world religion while at the same time creating a compelling counter-narrative to that which identified Sikhs solely as a race with a shared history in India.<ref>Verne A. Dusenbery (1999). "'Nation' or 'World Religion'?: Master Narratives of Sikh Identity" in Sikh Identity: Continuity and Change. Pashaura Singh and N. Gerald Barrier, editors. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers. pp. 127-139; Pashaura Singh (2013). "Re-imagining Sikhi ('Sikhness') in the Twenty-first Century: Toward a Paradigm Shift in Sikh Studies" in Re-imagining South Asian Religions. Pashaura Singh and Michael Hawley, editors. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill NV. p. 43; Opinderjit Kaur Takhar (2005). Sikh Identity: An Exploration of Groups Among Sikhs. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 172-77.</ref>

Sikh historian Trilochan Singh offered a contrasting perspective in his critical work entitled "Sikhism and Tantric Yoga." "I am extremely worried about the manner in which Yogi Bhajan teaches Sikhism to American young men and women whose sincerity, nobility of purpose, and rare passion for oriental wisdom and genuine mystical experiences is unquestionably unique. I do not care what fantastic interpretations of Kundalini Yoga he gives, the like of which I have never read in any Tantra text, nor known from any living Tantric scholar. I am not prepared to take seriously his newly invented Guru Yoga in which his pious and uncritical followers must concentrate on a particular picture of Yogi Bhajan, which practice is called mental beaming."<ref>{{cite web |title=Sikhism and Tantric Yoga |url=http://www.gurmukhyoga.com/forum/index.php?mode=page&id=1 |access-date=May 26, 2020 |publisher=The Gurumukh Yoga Forum}}</ref>

Philip Deslippe, a historian of American religion, wrote a 2012 article, "From Maharaj to Mahan Tantric: The Construction of Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Yoga", using 3HO source archive material and news articles to reveal how Harbhajan Singh recreated his own story after his first trip back to India:<ref name="Deslippe 2021">{{cite journal |last=Deslippe |first=Philip |title=From Maharaj to Mahan Tantric: The Construction of Yogi Bhajan's Kundalini Yoga |date=2012 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271568190 |journal=Sikh Formations |access-date=March 2, 2021 |doi=10.1080/17448727.2012.745303|s2cid=144988035 }}</ref>
{{blockquote|I set out to answer the question "where did Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan (KYATBYB) come from?" and not much else. I tried to support my findings with as much evidence as possible, and for that evidence to be as clear, specific, verifiable, and close to the source, such as interviews with first hand witnesses (Pamela being one of them), quotes from Yogi Bhajan, contemporary newspaper accounts, and exercises taken from manuals. I concluded that in the early years of 3HO, Yogi Bhajan was using the physical yoga of Swami [[Dhirendra Brahmachari]] and the persona and mantra of Baba Virsa Singh, and that the figure of Sant Hazara Singh only became prominent after the first trip to India in 1970-1971 when Yogi Bhajan had a falling out with Virsa Singh.|source=Philip Deslippe.<ref name="Deslippe 2021"/>}}

==Governance and control==
[[File:Yogi Bhajan 1985.jpg|thumb|Yogi Bhajan (1985) founder of 3HO]]
Yogi Bhajan formed Sikh Dharma International as a California nonprofit religious corporation "organized to advance the religion of Sikh Dharma and as an association of religious organizations teaching principles of Sikh Dharma, including by ordination of ministers of divinity and operation of places of worship." During Yogi Bhajan's lifetime, Sikh Dharma International, along with related legal entities Siri Singh Sahib Corporation and Unto Infinity LLC, were held and controlled by Siri Singh Sahib of Sikh Dharma, a California "corporation sole" of which Yogi Bhajan was the only shareholder.<ref name="9thCir">{{cite court |litigants=Puri v. Khalsa |vol=844 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=1152 |pinpoint=slip op. at 5-9, 33 |court=9th Cir. |date=2017 |url=https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/01/06/13-36024.pdf |access-date=2018-11-08 }}</ref> Following the Yogi's death in 2004, a dispute ensued over the governance of those entities and assets. Yogi Bhajan's wife, Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Puri, alleged that she had been appointed to the board of Unto Infinity, and that she and their three children were appointed to the Siri Singh Sahib of Sikh Dharma board of directors (and thus in a position to exert significant control over all of the Sikh Dharma legal entities); but that following Yogi Bhajan's death the other board members of those entities improperly prevented them from taking part in governance. In January 2017, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the lawsuit was not on its face an ecclesiastical dispute.<ref name="9thCir"/><ref name="death">{{cite news |last=Pein |first=Corey |date=2011-08-24 |title=Death of a Yogi |url=http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-6242-death-of-a-yogi.html |newspaper=Santa Fe Reporter |location=Santa Fe, New Mexico |access-date=2017-01-17}}</ref><ref name="pein">{{cite news |last=Pein |first=Corey |date=2010-07-07 |title=Khalsa vs. Khalsa |url=http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-5502-khalsa-vs-khalsa.html |newspaper=Santa Fe Reporter |location=Santa Fe, New Mexico |access-date=2017-01-17}}</ref> However, in April 2018, Chief Judge Michael Mosman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon dismissed the case.<ref name="bernstein">{{cite news |last=Bernstein |first=Maxine |date=2018-04-27 |title=Judge dismisses lawsuit over rulership of Sikh business empire |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/04/judge_dismisses_lawsuit_over_r.html |newspaper=[[The Oregonian]] |location=Portland, Oregon |access-date=2018-11-08}}</ref> Judge Mosman concluded that there was significant evidence that the 3HO corporate entities were religious in character and thus that the dispute could not be adjudicated in civil court.<ref name="bernstein"/>
[[File:3HO Summer Solstice 1970.jpg|left|thumb|3HO summer solstice 1970]]

==Business ventures==

According to anthropology professor and Sikh diaspora researcher Nicola Mooney, 3HO Sikhs have combined "ethic and capitalism" to their spiritual pursuits, with Sikh Dharma International and its associated corporate entities and directors creating and controlling the [[Yogi Tea]] and [[Akal Security]] brands with a worldwide presence.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Mooney | first=Nicola | title=Reading Weber Among the Sikhs: Asceticism and Capitalism in the 3Ho/Sikh Dharma | journal=Sikh Formations | publisher=Taylor & Francis | volume=8 | issue=3 | year=2012 | doi=10.1080/17448727.2012.745305 | pages=417–436| s2cid=145775040 }}</ref>

Golden Temple of Oregon, a natural foods company that built the Peace Cereal and Yogi Tea brands, was owned by a corporate entity controlled by Yogi Bhajan, and was estimated to be worth around $100,000,000 at the time of his death. The company was transferred to Kartar Singh Khalsa for $100, sparking lawsuits over improper disposition of the assets.<ref>{{cite news |last=Culverwell |first=Wendy |date=2012-02-24 |title=Schwabe Williamson sued for $230M in Yogi Bhajan-related suit |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/2012/02/suits-fly-when-100m-company-sold-for.html |newspaper=Portland Business Journal |location=Portland, Oregon |access-date=2017-01-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Buri McDonald |first=Sherri |date=2010-12-14 |title=Yogi's widow sues managers |url=http://projects.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/business/25663938-41/golden-temple-infinity-khalsa-lawsuit.csp |newspaper=The Register-Guard |location=Eugene, Oregon |access-date=2017-01-17 |quote=The widow’s lawsuit, which was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland, alleges that Unto Infinity authorized raises and perks for its members, including boosting Khalsa’s salary from $125,000 in 2002 to $850,000 in 2008. . . Hers is the third lawsuit to accuse Unto Infinity members of breaking their fiduciary duty to safeguard the Sikh Dharma community’s assets and of personally profiting instead. The other two lawsuits — one filed by Sikh Dharma ministers and the other by Oregon Attorney General John Kroger — were consolidated earlier this month.}}</ref> Golden Temple's cereal division was sold to Hearthside Food Solutions in May 2010 for $71 million; the executives were later ordered to return more than half of the sale price to a court-appointed receiver. Hearthside was later acquired by [[Post Holdings|Post]]. Golden Temple was renamed East West Tea Company after that sale.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2012-06-19 |title=Golden Temple execs must return $36 million |url=http://www.oregonbusiness.com/article/item/7603-golden-temple-execs-must-return-36-million |newspaper=Oregon Business |location=Portland, Oregon |access-date=2017-01-17}}</ref>

Another SDI-related company, [[Akal Security]], initially hired 3HO members to guard shops and restaurants. It grew into a $500 million-a-year company with federal contracts to protect numerous government buildings in Washington, DC and elsewhere, including courthouses, airports, and embassies. The founders donated the company to the church in 1980.<ref name="death"/>

Following the death of Yogi Bhajan, control over Golden Temple and Akal Security was contested in a series of lawsuits in Oregon.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bernstein |first=Maxine |date=2017-01-09 |title=Long court battle over Sikh business empire takes another turn |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2017/01/can_a_dispute_over_management.html |newspaper=The Oregonian |location=Portland, Oregon |access-date=2017-01-17}}</ref>

=== Popular culture ===
In October 2024, [[HBO]] premiered the series [[Breath of Fire (TV series)|Breath of Fire]], which talks about the mental and sexual abuse of Yogi Bhajan, and 3HO.

== List of child organizations of 3HO ==

* [[Akal Security]]
* [[SikhNet]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=VanderBeek |first=Conner Singh |title=The Sikh World |publisher=Routledge |year=2023 |isbn=9781032488110 |editor-last=Mandair |editor-first=Arvind-Pal Singh |pages=507–509 |chapter=The Sikh Internet |editor-last2=Singh |editor-first2=Pashaura}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Pashaura |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies |last2=Fenech |first2=Louis E. |date=27 March 2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780191004117 |pages=473–474 |chapter=Sikhi Through Internet, Films, and Videos}}</ref>
* [[SikhiWiki]]<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />
* [[Yogi Tea]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Elsberg |first=Constance Waeber |title=Graceful women: gender and identity in an American Sikh community |date=2003 |publisher=Univ. of Tennessee Press |isbn=978-1-57233-214-0 |location=Knoxville}}
* {{cite thesis |type=Dissertation |url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/161022/3hointhe.pdf?sequence=1 |title=3HO in the Light of Experience |first=Juan F. |last=Lafontaine |place=Finland |publisher=Department of World Cultures, University of Helsinki |year=2016 |isbn=978-951-51-1973-5}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.3ho.org/ 3HO Foundation]
* [https://www.sikhdharma.org/ Sikh Dharma International]
* [https://www.abuse-in-kundalini-yoga.com Abuse in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan]

{{Sikhism|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:3HO}}
[[Category:Religious belief systems founded in the United States]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1969]]
[[Category:Sikh organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Sects that require vegetarianism]]
[[Category:Sikh groups and sects]]
[[Category:Tantric sects]]
[[Category:New religious movements established in the 1960s]]
[[Category:Religious organizations based in New Mexico]]