I am an admirer of Kamalla Rose's columns. Her passion is infectious as she captures the joy of sikhi and shares it with us. She also invigorates us by challenging us from time to time on issues often taken for granted and neglected by the community and its leaders. It is a thrill to read her column regularly.

But, I feel compelled today to express some concern over her recent column, "Lapis, Carnelian and Jade" which appeared in on Feb 18, 02.

I am cognizant, by way of her writings, of the personal difficulties she has experienced with the 3HO and/or some of its members, of which she was part for several years, and from which she parted company. I am also aware of concerns and allegations raised by many against Yogi Harbhajan Singh and the 3HO Sikhs through the decades, some serious and noteworthy, others spurious and misguided.

I have known the 3HO group in various locations for three decades now. I have been a critic of a number of their practices and I have had the pleasure of seeing them change many of them to conform to the highest ideals of Sikhism.

Like all of us, they have had their fair share of problems and shortcomings.

But I can tell you this much without even the least amount of hesitation: that many I know who have found sikhi under the tutelage of Yogi Harbhajan Singh are unequivocally better Sikhs than I and most I know within the community at large.

I believe that we have much to learn from 3HO Sikhs and they have much to give, and have selflessly given, to the community and the world at large.

However, I also do not mean to be an apologist for the 3HO Sikhs. I have no reason to be one. Indeed, I could find a few criticisms at any time and substantiate them without difficulty. Just as they could easily find many more criticisms with respect to me and back them up without difficulty.

The problem I have with Kamalla Rose's column is that it tarnishes, unwittingly or otherwise, an entire community. She thoughtlessly and willy-nilly bandies around words like "cult" and "crime" and their various permutations and combinations. Allegations against individuals may or may not be true. But to extrapolate from them and define an entire community by those allegations is unconscionable, unethical and unacceptable.

I fear that Kamalla Rose has dropped her journalist's hat (or turban, If you may!) and any semblance of objectivity. She may have good reason to be emotional about the 3HO - it appears that she may indeed have encountered grief during her relationship with the group.

But that very fact should ring loud alarm bells in her journalistic mind. A personal involvement in an issue creates a clear conflict of interest. Which means that Kamalla Rose cannot use her column to pursue her ire against the 3HO if she wishes to maintain or protect her professional integrity.

I am a lawyer/attorney by profession and I can tell you that there are two sides to any and every story. Thus, for example, if Kamalla Rose feels that 3HO is a cult - and I should add here that I firmly believe that it isn't by any intelligent interpretation of the word - then, pray, who else is to blame than those who switched their brains off voluntarily and blindly flocked behind the yoga teachers of 3HO. I distinctly recall that, in the 70's, many of us spent a lot of energy trying to explain to these new "converts" the unique dynamics of Sikhism and the correct role of God, the Guru (Nanak, et al) and the Yoga teacher (Yogi Harbhajan Singh, et al) in the practice of the faith.

All our attempts to guide and clarify fell on deaf ears, including the admonishments I personally heard Yogi Harbhajan give to these good souls looking for salvation in a hurry. The difficulty lay in that many of those who had thus entered the halls of sikhi had yet to shed the baggage they had naturally brought with them, which included a mindset that was pre-programmed for cultist behaviour.

I am not, even for a moment, suggesting that Kamalla Rose falls into such a category. All I am doing is citing to you an example, which shows that there is more to the analysis of the strengths and failings of 3HO than meets the eye.

In the meantime, if there are personal demons to be exorcised from the past, then a journalist's column is not where it ought to be done. If there are unresolved disputes and conflicts to be addressed, a journalist's column is not where you should do it. There are other and more appropriate and useful fora available to achieve these results.

That doesn't mean that the 3HO issues shouldn't be aired on . Of course, they should. But by people who are free from conflict of interest and personal involvement, and who can be objective and offer thoughts free of bias and prejudice, both perceived and real. Submissions from both sides of each issue should be invited and welcomed. Certainly, the 3HO should be given an opportunity to participate. Nay, they should be encouraged and urged to do so.

In the meantime, I look forward to continue being inspired by other columns by Kamalla Rose Kaur.

T. Sher Singh