Brotherhood of the Sikh Dharma 3HO/Sikh Dharma Brotherhood Yogi Bhajan developed a modern religious movement with two titles that represent different emphases in Yogi Bhajan's teaching periods.
His first teachings were conventional hatha yoga and kundalini yoga disciplines, with his followers grouped as the Happy, Healthy, Holy Organization (3HO).
Hatha yoga is a religious discipline (yoga) based on a sequence of body postures known as asanas.
It is commonly thought that this practice provides a variety of physical advantages, including enhanced bodily flexibility and the potential to treat chronic diseases.
Kundalini yoga is a religious practice whose main goal is to awaken the kundalini, a dormant spiritual power found in everyone's subtle body.
The kundalini is supposed to be awakened by a mix of yoga practice and ritual action, and it is said to provide greater spiritual powers and soul liberation (moksha).
Yogi Bhajan claims to be a master of tantra, a hidden, ritual-based religious practice, and these two disciplines remain a significant element of his teachings.
In the 1970s, he expanded his teaching to incorporate traditional Sikh symbols and beliefs.
The most visible of these symbols are the "five K's" that all Sikhs are expected to wear: uncut hair (kesh), a comb (kangha), a bracelet on the right wrist (kara), shorts (kacch), and a ceremonial sword (kirpan).
Many of Yogi Bhajan's followers adhere to Sikh symbols considerably more rigidly than most individuals born as Sikhs, yet there are two major differences between the movement and the traditional Sikh society.
One of them is its concentration on tantra, which isn't very popular with Sikhs.
The most notable distinction, however, is Yogi Bhajan's religious authority over his followers, which is considerably different from the traditional Sikh community's decentralized, essentially democratic structure.
