About Us: Our Story...

It was Guru Ram Das' birthday in October 1986 and it was my blessing to teach the first Kundalini Yoga class especially for people with HIV. 1986 is the same year that AZT went into clinical trials and many of the students in the class found themselves more sick from the side effects of the medication (the kinks had not yet been worked out in the dosing) than from any opportunistic infection. Teacher training prepares us to teach healthy people, not people with life-threatening health conditions. Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo came through and Guru Ram Das gave the students what they needed.

Over the next few months under Yogi Bhajan's guidance, classes were formed to meet the wide range of needs for people in all stages of HIV disease, and thus our service to people with illness began.

Twenty years later, the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology continues to pioneer the instruction of Kundalini Yoga for health recovery for a variety of health conditions. We provide an integrative program for the whole family, from newly diagnosed, through the rigors of medical treatment and the recovery year following treatment. In addition, we train and assist yoga teachers and health professionals the world over.

Classes may be held at support groups gathered in private homes in the Hollywood Hills or the high-rise hospitals of New York City, or in a clinic in the township of Soweto, South Africa, or in Bangkok, Mexico City, Moscow and dozens of other places world wide. Because of this outreach, thousands of people have personally experienced the practice of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation as a powerful approach to help get well, stay well, and live well.

Guru Ram Das – A Story of Love and Selfless Service

Guru Ram Das, known as Jetha before he became Guru, was born in 1534 in Lahore, in what is now Pakistan. He was very devoted, and as a young man, he loved nothing better than serving in the court of Guru Amar Das, who was third in the lineage of Sikh Gurus. 

Guru Amar Das saw the humility, devotion and selfless service displayed by Jetha, and married him to his daughter.  Eventually, Guru Amar Das bestowed on him the mantle of Guru after he had passed a test of endurance and humility.  He was given the name Ram Das, which means Servant of God. 

Before he became Guru, Jetha especially loved serving in the Guru’s kitchen which was a free kitchen and provided meals for many each day. He loved doing this particular seva (selfless service) so much that he wanted to continue even after he became Guru Ram Das.  However, he found it became impossible because all the other sevadars would stop working and just wanted to be in his presence and hear his words of wisdom.  His heart longed for a way to serve the people.  So late one night, he disguised himself in poor man’s clothing and a cloak and went out into the streets.  There he served the poor and the tired by bathing their feet using a bowl of water and his own very long beard. The sweet gentleness with which he washed their feet was felt deeply by those he served.  Their spirits were nourished by his loving kindness and they wondered who he was. 

After continuing this seva for a period of time, the people Guru Ram Das had served in disguise eventually recognized him when they saw him in daylight dressed as Guru Ram Das.  They were astonished that the Guru would perform such a humble act as washing their feet, and were transformed through his devotion and spirit of selflessness.

Guru Ram Das founded the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, where people come from all over the world to be healed. The universal healing sound current, Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung originates in his Name. Guru Ram Das represents the 4th chakra, the heart chakra.  His longing for the Beloved as well as his kindness continue to be an inspiring example of Love and Compassion for us at Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine and Humanology.

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