Our History

1968 From the beginning… Any complaint about a Kundalini Yoga teacher was personally addressed by Yogi Bhajan.

 

1972 KRI Established: Serving as a resource for Yogi Bhajan’s teachings, KRI launched its first publication, The Journal of Science and Consciousness. A standardized methodology for training teachers and awarding certification started in 1996, with KRI’s Aquarian Trainer Academy.

 

1984 IKYTA Established: IKYTA began serving Kundalini Yoga teachers through programs, resources, benefits, and educational offerings.

 

1999 IKYTA Ethics Office: Led by Guruka Kaur, a formal process to receive and address complaints was begun. Under her leadership the IKYTA ethics office focused on helping people.

 

2002 Complaint Procedure: A formal Complaint Procedure was established. All decisions in an EPS complaint procedure were now made by an ad hoc EPS committee of at least five members.

 

2009 KRI Code of Ethics: Developed by a team of Kundalini Yoga trainers led by Guruka Kaur, the first Code of Ethics for Kundalini Yoga Teachers was established.

 

2014 3HO Office of EPS: The Office of Ethics & Professional Standards and Conscious Conflict Resolution (EPS) moved to 3HO.

 

2018 SSSC Office of EPS: A motion was approved by the SSSC Board of Trustees to establish this new Office of the SSSC. Championed by Guruka Kaur, the move allowed the SSSC Office of EPS to serve the Sikh Dharma Ministry and all the SSSC nonprofits.

 

2019 10 Rights of a Kundalini Yoga Student: Envisioning ethical guidelines for the entire community, EPS collaborated with teachers and trainers to establish the 10 Rights of a Kundalini Yoga Student as a message to students about their rights in relation to KRI’s Code of Ethics for Kundalini Yoga Teachers, with the goal to keep all safe

 

2020 EPS Global Ethics Commission: This international and diverse body, comprising at least 13 KRI Teacher Trainers and/or SDI Ministers, was formed to adjudicate complaints with greater cultural sensitivity and variety of perspectives. 

 

2021 A Change in Leadership: Siri Ved Kaur became the new EPS Executive Director with Guruka Kaur’s retirement. Her 5 decades within the Sikh Dharma-Kundalini Yoga community and 15 years’ professional experience in Risk Management and Compliance brought a new level of professionalism to EPS, with improved information management systems and policies and procedures for EPS and the Global Ethics Commission.

 

2023 Our First Online Ethics Training: The EPS Ethics & Anti-Harassment Training was developed over a span of three-plus years, led by Guruka Kaur, Dr. Krishna Kaur and Siri Ved Kaur. This comprehensive online course was rolled out at last in 2023.

 

2023 A New Generation of Leadership: Manjot Singh Khalsa becomes the new Executive Director for EPS with Siri Ved Kaur’s retirement in April of 2023. Manjot previously served on the EPS Global Ethics Commission for three years and as the EPS Grievance Enquiry Lead for one year.