The Blessing of Attending the 2026 Latin Yoga Festival

Guru Ram Das turned his loving glance of grace to me, and I was invited to attend the 2026 Latin Yoga Festival in Chile. I had never been to Chile before.  It reminded me a lot of New Mexico. It was early summer there and the weather was wonderful. It was warm during the daytime and pleasant at night.

Giovanna and KrishnaPreet met both Davinder Singh and me at the airport.  They took us for a wonderful stop for coffee, and then to the event site, which is about an hour outside of Santiago. These ladies extended themselves in every way to ensure that I was comfortable and had what I needed. I am deeply grateful for their selfless help.

The facility where the festival took place was conceived and constructed by a member of the community who had been to Summer Solstice in New Mexico and used Guru Ram Das Puri as his inspiration. The accommodation was excellent, with a small hotel for lodging.  From there, a lovely walk, led to a structure similar to the tantric shelter at GRDP. That structure served as the location for all the classes and further to the back of the shelter was a small kitchen where all the meals were prepared and served. A short walk across from the shelter is another building that served as the gurdwara. Every morning sadhana ended in the gurdwara with kirtan, Song of the Khalsa (that sounds so sweet in Spanish), Anand Sahib, ardas, hukam and prasad.

There was much about this event that reminded me of the very early days of 3HO and Sikh Dharma, back in the 1970’s. The spirit and the sincere desire to learn and experience are thriving in Chile and throughout South America. I was genuinely struck by the sincere devotion and thirst to learn that was present there.

I am a First Gen geezer and what I saw in Chile is the vibration of the future. They really wanted to hear my stories from the early days, and what life was like with Yogi Bhajan. They especially wanted to know what he was like, how it was to be near him, what it was like trying to keep up with him, but mainly what it was like to learn from him directly and sit in his classes.

And it was like I fell into a black hole of gratitude to have been as blessed as I was; to have served him as closely as I did; to have learned from him sitting at his feet; to have had him turn to me and say, “you want to create miracles? Then do this”. And then he gave me an amazing kriya right there in front of Guru Ram Das Ashram on Preuss Road in LA.

So, in that moment of bliss, I realized that we are not out there enough. We need to have a Geezer Dal, kind of like a Buddha Dal, but a group of respected teachers who are willing to travel and tell their stories and share their experiences and what they’ve learned, effectively growing up in this dharma. People want to hear our stories and our songs from those remarkable early days.

I taught a couple of classes at the Latin Festival. My first class was on Kundalini Yoga, Japji Sahib, and Sikh Dharma.  My translator, Atma Simran Kaur from Uruguay, was absolutely remarkable!

I would also like to recognize Rai Singh and Sat Bachan Kaur and Agia Akal Singh and Charansev Kaur who are born leaders and teachers. I also want to acknowledge Azu Seva Supreet for her virtuosity with the sound and excellent English. She made everything work. And to my joyful surprise was the amazing seva of Jagat Singh from Espanola.

I was very grateful that Davinder Singh, CEO of 3HO, was there with me. I appreciated his insights and his outreach to the students. He is especially interested in providing a class on the protocols and procedures of the gurdwara to help promote a deeper understanding and observance of the gurdwara experience.

On the last Sunday, I was invited to lead the Japji portion of sadhana, and I had them do the forward platform recitation of Japji followed by Sat Kriya in frog pose. It was a powerful experience and was very meaningful for the participants. Nam Nidhan Kaur then led the yoga and chanting part of the sadhana.

I did not teach any other formal classes, but so many people wanted to speak with me and hear my stories. They loved hearing about life with the Siri Singh Sahib, and what is was like being around him so much and learning directly from him. They were interested in Akal Security and our businesses and had some ideas about creating community businesses in Chile. I also had a few private sessions with people that were meaningful to them.

To say that I am grateful for the experience of being there doesn’t come close to how I feel. The beautiful hand of Guru Ram Das rising on the voice of Siri Singh Sahib guided me there, and I will forever be grateful!

About Gurutej Singh

SS Gurutej Singh Khalsa is a Sikh Dharma Minister, yogi, warrior, businessman, poet, healer, and teacher. For 35 years he studied Kundalini Yoga and the teachings of the Sikhs from his teacher Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, aka Yogi Bhajan (1929 – 2004). As a trained law enforcement officer, Gurutej was a personal bodyguard and aide to Yogi Bhajan and traveled the world with him. He is the Founder of Akal Security, Inc., which he grew from a small start-up business in his living room to the largest privately held security services contractor in the United States and largest provider of protective services to the U.S. Government. Gurutej is a respected and recognized teacher, speaker, healer, and counselor in his own right and has taught Kundalini Yoga, the science of meditation, and the teachings of the Sikhs all over the world. In 2001 he published a book of poetry, Children of the Cusp, about his experiences as a student on the spiritual path under the guidance of a great teacher. In 2014 he published his moving and inspiring novel RAJNI, which was awarded the Gold Seal of Literary Excellence. Drawn from myth, legend, and historical events and the first of a trilogy, RAJNI is a deeply moving epic about the powers of love, sacrifice, and the elevation of the soul. Gurutej Singh lives in New Mexico.

His book, Guru Nanak’s Call of the Soul, Japji Sahib is available in English and Spanish on our Marketplace.