Shanti talks about the time leading up to the Siri Singh Sahib’s cremation

Shanti Kaur, formerly the head of Yogi Bhajan’s security came through town the other day. She stopped by the house to share with us her experience of his death and the time shortly thereafter.

She said that his passing was very peaceful. He hadn’t spoken that last day, though he was awake and alert, making long eye contact with his wife, Bibiji during the day. His breathing had shifted. As described by the attendant, “it seemed like a yogic breath; in a particular rhythm, inhales and exhales sequenced, precisely, but difficult to determine exactly how. At some point he simply exhaled. There was no noise, no holding on, no movement, no rattle, no resistance; he simply exhaled and didn’t inhale again. I wasn’t sure he has passed; he was so peaceful.”

About an hour before he passed, a huge thunderstorm passed through Espanola. It was such a big storm, it made the front page of the Santa Fe newspaper. It had 5 & 6 bolts of lighting coming down at one time. The hail associated with it caused 6 million dollars worth of damage. When this storm went through, Shanti thought this would be his last day.

Shanti, by prearranged plan was to guard the body. She had been his body guard for many years. When she first saw him, it was clear to her that he was dead. He looked like other dead bodies she had seen. “There was no one home. His cheeks were sunken, his skin was grey; the blood had flowed out.”

By his will, he was not to be embalmed. His body was taken to the mortuary in Santa Fe. He was placed in the cold room. Over the course of the next few days, his body began to change. His flesh became soft and pliant, his skin became pink and moist. “He looked better than he had in 2-3 years.” “The mortuary people were ‘freaking out’. The other bodies in the cold room were sunken, blue and their skin was cracking. Yogi Bhajan looked so alive; there were some who wanted to postpone the cremation, believing that he must still be alive. There were guards posted just outside the room. Part of their job was to reset the mp3 player every three hours to keep the chanting / kirtan going with the body. They were reporting that every time they went in there, he looked better. The guards were stationed right next to the furnace where the cremations took place. When the ovens fired up, they could feel an increase in heat, but there was no noise and no odor.

As part of the will, Yogiji wanted his 5 K’s on his body during the cremation. The 5 K’s were given by Guru Gobind Singh several hundred years ago as symbols for all Sikhs to wear. They are Kesh – uncut hair; kuches – underwear; kunga – comb; kirpan – sword; and kara – steel bracelet. The mortuary was fine with these being worn, but said that the furnace was so hot that the steel would melt, leaving the kirpan and kara a pool of melted metal. That was fine with everyone, even though the sword was a beautiful work of art with inlaid precious stones and beautiful engraving; so they were included with the body. During the cremation, there was a strong smell of sandalwood filling the room and adjoining areas. As described by Shanti Kaur, (who points out about herself, “I’m not a woo-woo person.” - not flakey, down to earth, not into paranormal experience, etc.), “It was not a subtle odor; it was a VERY strong, very beautiful fragrance of sandalwood. Everyone attending smelled it.. Also of note, the kirpan and kara survived the intense heat with out any melting whatsoever. Again, the Mortuary people were “freaked out”.
There is much more to her story, about the ashram in Espanola and his passing’s impact on the ashram members. She also showed a DVD of the cremation and some of the ceremonies surrounding it. I imagine that she will give this talk in other places, perhaps the Summer Solstice celebration. I recommend you hear it first hand.