Man to Man

Yogiji1 communicated a magnificent description of the Aquarian male, the new age man; a man who is conscious of his word, aman who is kind, generous, successful andfull of love. We had never heard these words used to describe what we could be. Gracious, respectful, contained, aware, sensitive and potent, learned, beautiful and wise. This vision of man's true Self was nowhere in the mainstream media, it was certainly not in American culture.

Sitting among the men at Yogiji's Men's Courses was completely enthralling. No one moved while he spoke. There was electricity in the air. The moments between his sentences were pregnant with concentration, every one of us waiting for the next sentence, wondering what was coming next. An entire room full of men, each one unique, with completely diverse backgrounds, sitting in awestruck silence, with eyes on him. There was incredible intensity but deep trust. There was softness of the divine behind the surface. We watched his hands and his eyes. His entire being was a living mudra.

Then he would give us a kriya. Sweat would pour and tears would drop, potential would be achieved, the infinite light would become your best friend, songs would resound in your cellular structure, and I don't think we were ever the same again.

But the most valuable thing he gave us was the yoga, which let us achieve this vision of our potential. It was not just a vision-there was a way to get there. Because this yogic methodology is available, it means that every man has the tools to achieve this vision of the Aquarian man. I don't think the men's courses were ever fully understood by us at the time. We tried to comprehend. Yet he always said that we would understand more in the future. After years of practice I still feel his teachings are as alive as ever and continue to sink in and touch me at greater and greater depths.

This volume from KRI, which compiles the courses under one cover, is a remarkable achievement. It strings the series of men's courses, which spanned decades, onto one coherent thread, linking them into a continuum of teachings, making them accessible and understandable as a life work.

Blessings,

Dharm Singh Khalsa

Studying with Yogi Bhajan in the Men's Courses was an unforgettable experience. Yogiji always knew how to communicate with his audience. He knew how to really reach the students and his language and approach reflected that mastery.

These courses were attended by young men. We wanted the information straight and we did not have the time or the patience for anything less than an avalanche of earthy practical knowledge about relationships, health, sex and spirituality. Yogiji delivered—period.

The courses themselves were very fun. I remember the very first course I attended. I was a little hesitant because I really did not know what to expect and was accustomed to the style he used in his other public lectures. I was amazed that he communicated and taught us more like he would in a private audience. He worked us hard, too. The kriyas were really challenging and being with other men really inspired us—read, competition—to do our best.

I am so glad I took these courses, Reading them again recently, I was once again shocked* confronted, uplifted, amused and inspired by the information and awed by the magnificent Teacher Yogi Bhajan was and is to this day. I am doubly grateful that my son studied these timeless courses when he was in school in India. What a wonderful thing to be exposed to this information as a teenager! He knows what it means to be a real man in the truest sense of the word.

Blessings,

Nirvair Singh Khalsa

The Kundalini Research Institute

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Yogi Bhajan rarely taught classes exclusively for men; I had the great good fortune of attending most of those precious events. I am ever grateful to him, because even the most minor application of his teachings in my life has yielded immense and wonderful outcomes.

At the time, I had to stretch very hard to grasp the meaning of his words. Our culture had rejected traditional boundaries and the search for a new model of behavior for people in love was basically a free for all. What he offered in the midst of this sea of experimentation was truly ancient wisdom with its roots in the core physical, mental, emotional and spiritual nature of the human being.

It is amazing that this man had the courage and audacity to give a message of restraint in the midst of a sexual revolution. One could only imagine which was less palatable, this or his message to reject drugs and alcohol. Considering the number of people who took his message to heart and restricted their previously unfettered sexual activity, the outcome had vast consequences. His timing was precise; at the very least, hundreds, if not thousands of people were likely spared death by AIDS/HIV, not to mention the suffering brought on by other STDs and unwanted pregnancies. And this was just the background to a much subtler body of teachings.

To my knowledge. Yogi Bhajan never made any claim or reference to this outcome. In hindsight, like with so many of his actions, we see an incredible and selfless vision spanning time and space; touching humanity in ways never imagined by the casual observer.

It is my prayer that through the application of the wisdom in this book, the reader, like many before them, may find their life's destiny changed in profoundly positive ways.

Blessings,

Sewa Singh Khalsa

an To IVIavi

Where do we go from here? What do I do? Who am I, really? Why is there a Ladies' Camp and not a men's course? In 1978 Yogi Bhajan addressed these questions by beginning an annual course for men. Believe me—these courses were for men only. He would blow in and teach with all the testosterone only a master Yogi can conjure; and, we'd wonder why we had asked for these classes.

After many, very strenuous yoga sets (as if he were saying, 'you asked for it, now take it'), our energy would rise to a level at which we could begin to match his. This quasi­ balance in the aura would call for his lecture to begin. And, begin it did; for it has never ended. I still carry teachings from thesecourses with me today. Manytimes, at innocuous moments, some mundane thought or action will remind me of what he taught at one of these courses. They have grown deeper and been understood at different levels at the appropriate times in my life. For this, I am forever grateful. These teachings are sacred, blessed and infinite.

If there was one word I'd use to describe Yogi Bhajan it would be: intuition. Man to Man reflects the progression toward becoming a man of intuition. To quote Yogi Bhajan in all his humility, "In this world, all you need to be is just to be a man." A "man" possessing all the qualities of an elevated being, and of course, all the qualities attributed to reality are included in this concept. For the blessed practitioner, these teachings progress from understanding to acceptance; from memorization to coalescence; from integration to intuition.

Man to Man offers great insight into the relationship men have with themselves, their partners and others. Our habits are a product of our subconscious mind. The result is a continuum that our memory has created. Developing an awareness and understanding of this history, this circle of memory and action, leads to change. To have the courage and discipline to move out of this limiting cycle creates a new, elevating reality. These notes lead one to face the truth so that relationships and life itself change in a positive manner.

These Men's notes are offered here for your perusal, enjoyment and elevation. Yogi Bhajan's distinct style of candor and humor offer the reader infinite understanding and also entertainment. Take them for what they are; be who you are; and receive them for who and what they will lead you to be. I can only express my personal experience: these teachings are the essence of totality, Godliness brought to the Earth. They have blessed my life. They are offered to you in the prayer that you, too, will be blessed in the same way.

Blessings,

Hari Jiwan Singh Khalsa

In a rapidly changing world, full of turbulence and crises, how do we experience fulfillment as a Man? How do we define our identity, our sense of belonging, our meaning and purpose, and our social roles and gender? Our minds don't help: we are filled with ideas and impulses that often cloud our direct perception and understanding of what it means biologically, mythically and functionally to be a man. Add to this our constant fascination with our polarity—the feminine—and you can see that there's lots of room for guidance.

The dance of men and women has gone on from the beginning. So we can call on the wisdom of the ages, but of course, that wisdom is overlaid with just as much fantasy, fear, desire, culture and phobias as well. In tribal cultures, there is ritual—rites of passage—where elders help the younger men sift out the wisdom from the whimsical and preparethe boy to be aman, to handle himself and his duties rightly, along with this "other creature," the woman, who holds such a central place in his subconscious. We have largely lost this place by the fire; this sincere appreciation of our masculine nature and this clarity in relation to the feminine. In our globalized networked environment and the fluid interaction of cultures, it feels like we have lost our compass, our common ground, our North Star—-what does it really mean to be a man? Instead, it all seems to be cultural history or religious narratives, not relevant to contemporary life and lifestyles.

Yogi Bhajan gathered men together and challenged them with straight talk and hard exercise. He shined a strong light on our individual nature, our shared natures and our universal nature. He discussed being a man from so many different facets. How do we think about being a man? What is our fundamental nature as man and woman? How do we communicate and acknowledge our basic tendencies? How do we learn to express our unique attitudes and personalities? What are the pitfalls in malefemale relationships? What are our common distractions? What are the fundamental tendencies and differences in the masculine and feminine experience? How can they work well together?

In these discussions he engaged and embraced us—just as men. He was not a professor. He did not proceed along a careful linear path of points and propositions. Instead, we traversed a long and twisting mountain path, fraught with dangers but leading to unexpected vistas. He did not hold our hands like children. He walked with us side by side as men. He leapt ahead and challenged us to prove ourselves to our Self—our own potential and grit. He asked each of us to pause on our path, to break our hypnotic march through life and resist the steady beat of impulse and defensiveness. He woke us up and asked us to understand

the nature of being a man and what it takes to walk on the path as a man.

Yogi Bhajan said that if we would just be who we are as a man there would be no problem. Love your design as a man. You are built to defend. You are designed to be steady. You are crafted by nature and time to be direct and think in terms of action and strategy. Sure you tend to act with half a brain—that's called cutting to the chase! What would it look like if you could stand with dignity? If your word was your law? If you understood the polarity of the feminine? If you recognized that she read your subconscious not just your conscious projection, with all its spectral flashes of bluster?

He filled his talks with simple classical metaphors—man is the sun, woman is the moon, and earth is the realm of action, material things and money. The masculine-feminine dance is as orchestrated and polar as the approach of the spermatozoa to the ovum. It is driven by cellular rituals and attended to by the handmaidens of smell, vision and touch. On top of this infrastructure of simple metaphors, he layered practical knowledge: herbs and food for health and potency, techniques for self-discipline to give us strength and awareness as men, and nuanced wisdom to see beyond surface judgments and primal impulses.

There is a historical context to this universal wisdom. When he came to teach in the United States, it was in the midst of a "sexualrevolution” that was part political and part radical, questioning the norms and strictures of sexual choice. It was also a time that pushed the proposition that men and women were not different, as the Women's Movement fought for equal rights under the law and equitable economic practices. Yogi Bhajan did two things. He started a small women's movement to raise the consciousness and the dignity of women so that they would recognize their powerful creative energy. As many women challenged the status quo and dressed provocatively, he asked these women to dress themselves in a royal manner that communicated self-contentment, self-esteem and selfrespect. As part of this effort he began the women's camp experience to get women together to learn the technology of the feminine and to discuss and bond with each other. Second, he elaborated the differences between men and women and taught men to be men. This flew directly in the face of the times.

Overthe years, his teachings have spread and become more accepted, incorporated by other authors and vindicated in their practical usefulness. Science has also moved ahead. We now know that 2% of our genes are linked to gender differences that affect the metabolism of 40% of our body's tissues and organs. This has profound implications, from

n Ia IV To Man

the cellular level to the individual personality; Yogi Bhajan explained that men are 40% feminine; and we all start from an egg, that is, a woman. Although that difference may seem small, it is profound and Yogiji1said that the best way to perfect the essence of being a man was to be in a male body. His concept contains two primary thoughts: First, sexuality exists in men and women on a spectrum that is determined by the hormonal actions of the pituitary, androgens and other glands. He taught that the balance of these hormones was both genetic and influenced by experience and the environment of the womb. So he was open to the individuality of gendered experience and sexual choice. Second, he understood that as the sexual "temperature" increases it goes through a phase shift. Think of the temperature of water increasing from -2C to +2 C. The water suddenly shifts from ice to liquid. A small change in temperature changes the form, function and possibilities of the water. So he would say if you are 1% more man, then be 100% man. Cultivate and excel in the character and accomplishments of being a man.

Yogi Bhajan's perception was nuanced. We are both individually crafted in our proportion of masculine and feminine energy—our gender expression—and we get the best out of our self when we recognize the impersonal patterns of our masculine energy and consciously optimize them. To continue with the metaphor, we get the best

experience of ice if we recognize it is different from water. We can walk on ice across the lake, skate at high speeds, keep our drinks cold or sculpt ice castles. So as a man, if we recognize and cultivate the shift in form and phase that attends it, we can realize and optimize our innate potential. This conversation is important. And to have it from a spiritual perspective laced with the practical technology of exercise, nutrition, relationships and meditation is unusual. You will find in the many dialogues with his students that the men ask direct and frequently blunt questions; and he answers in kind. Yogi Bhajan invites us to explore our self as a human and as a man.

I had the blessing to go through these courses with him. I recommend that you read it once through from beginning to end. Get the whole vista he described. Don't stop at a point of interest or contention; don't pause at what attracts you, or stop at what challenges you. Take it all in like a gift. Recognize the conversation as a living document— the legacy of interaction and communication between a Master, Yogi Bhajan, and a community of men—then go back and pick through the pbints of interest. Try the meditations. Explore the impact of the diets. Explore what disciplines and perspectives serve you as an individual to experience and deliver your excellence as a man. Forge from this raw steel a tempered sword of clarity about how to be a man.

Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, PhD

Director of Training

Kundalini Research Institute

“Ifman is man, there cannot beanyproblem...r Woman has to be woman and man has to be man. Ifman is not man it starts a chain reaction.”

“Each maleandfemale relationship is notphysicalataU. Thephysicalrelationship is theculmination ofthe relationship. It is initiated by invocation through theauric body.”

“After a manpresents himself, he must communicate.. .. Whenyou communicate, the onlyfriendyou have is the art ofcreative dialogue. That is what establishesyou asa man,”

“Ypumustunderstand, thoroughly understand, one thing: this energy, thispsyche, this creative energy, this sexualenergy is totallyyours andnobody can share it.”

Man To Man

Man To Man

“Ifyou can nurse, nurture, love, take care, makeapersongrow, andfrom the heart, theperson says “thankyou,”there is no more blessing than that, there is no moreprayer than that, there is no moregoodwillthan that. ”

Man To Man