KRI 2014 Honorees

The Kundalini Research Institute is pleased to announce the recipients of our 2013 Outstanding Achievement Awards for their contributions to the legacy of The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan:  Shiv Charan Singh Khalsa and Nam Nidhan Kaur Khalsa

Shiv Charan

Shiv Charan Singh Khalsa – UK and Portugal

KRI honors Singh Sahib Shiv Charan Singh Khalsa for his exemplary life of service and impartial teaching of Kundalini Yoga and Sikh Dharma.

A native of Scotland, he met Yogi Bhajan for the first time in Amsterdam in 1980 where he worked at the Golden Temple restaurant. In 1982, during his first conversation with Yogi Bhajan, he received his spiritual name and was told that he is a teacher, which surprised Shiv Charan at the time since he had only attended two Kundalini Yoga classes. After this, he spent some time living and studying at the ashram in Copenhagen and working at the Golden Temple restaurant there. Returning to the UK in 1984 he became involved in work with the Sikh community in Birmingham, and in 1987 he married and moved to London where he started a family and completed a degree in Humanities.

Eventually, in 2000, he and his wife, Satya, opened the Kriya Centre in London and began offering Level 1 Teacher Training. Four years later they were offering Level 2 Teacher Training, and also started the Guru Ram Das Project (www.grdp.co.uk), which brings the teachings of Kundalini Yoga to a wide range of individuals with special needs. In 2008 the dynamic couple moved to Portugal where they opened the Quinta do Rajo ashram and retreat space (www.quinta-do-rajo.pt) where they offer Level 1 and 2 Teacher Training, The 21 Stages of Meditation, and other courses and workshops. Following the success of the Guru Ram Das Project in London, the couple also recently started a similar charitable project in Portugal called Association Guru Ram Das.

Shiv Charan


The Kundalini Research Institute recognizes and honors SS Shiv Charan Singh Khalsa for his dedicated and inspirational service, his capacity and caliber to penetrate the hearts of his students, and his love of the Shabd Guru, the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, and the teachings of Yogi Bhajan that are so evident in his classes and counseling sessions.

Nam Nidhan Kaur Khalsa – Chile

KRI recognizes Sardani Sahiba Nam Nidhan Kaur Khalsa for her commitment, steadfastness, and devotion as a dedicated Teacher and beacon of healing and light in her home country of Chile and several other countries since she began practicing Kundalini Yoga in 1993. Just a short time after completing Teacher Training in 1995 she began making periodic visits to Española, New Mexico to study under Yogi Bhajan. Moving to Santiago in 1997, where she still resides

Continuing her journey as a teacher, Nam Nidhan completed her studies to become a Teacher Trainer in 2002 and began bringing Kundalini Yoga for the first time beyond her home country and into the Andean countries of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. She has fostered a solid base of teachers in each of these countries who are bringing the science of Kundalini Yoga to a wide range of public and private institutions. She has continued to travel and teach as a Lead Trainer of the KRI Aquarian Trainer Academy across all of South America, El Salvador, Mexico, the United States, Spain, India, and China.

Notably, Nam Nidhan is the founder of a yoga program for women called Mujer de Luz. Since 1998 she has traveled the world offering this transformational program to women, inspiring them to embrace their dignity, self-respect, and grace. www.mujerdeluz.org


The Kundalini Research Institute is proud to honor SS Nam Nidhan Kaur Khalsa for her accomplishments as a yogini and a teacher, her devotion to the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, and her dedication to integrating Kundalini Yoga into social structures and institutions.