08/28/2026
In May, my Reiki Master, Sangeet Kaur Kalsa, passed. I would like to share a tribute to her written by another one of her students and friend, Amar Atma. He was able to say many of the things that those who knew her and loved her carry in our hearts. May her legacy continue to be honored by those she touched.
"��Blessed with Bliss
Honoring the Life, Legacy and Lineage of Sardarni Sahiba Sangeet Kaur Khalsa
"What is needed? And how can I serve?"
These were two questions Sangeet Ji invited me to return to again and again. She initially shared them with me at a crossroads in my own life as I wrestled with leaving a successful acupuncture practice to follow an uncertain calling into hospital chaplaincy. It felt risky, impractical, even irresponsible. She simply smiled and said, "Go touch the hearts of people.” Only years later did I realize she was offering more than career advice; she was inviting me into a way of living.
Blessed with Bliss was the title of one of three albums Sangeet recorded with Liv Singh in Phoenix, Arizona. More than an album title, it became a fitting description of the life she lived — a life profoundly rooted in love and gratitude, where service was as natural as breathing and faith was embodied through an ever-deepening closeness to the Divine.
For more than three decades, Sangeet taught Numerology, Reiki, Kundalini Yoga, and Sikh Dharma. She served as a lead trainer for teacher trainings, a senior minister within the Khalsa Councils, and contributed to the development of KRI curriculum. During the aftermath of the 1984 attack on Sri Harmandir Sahib, she became a trusted voice for the Western Sikh community, helping national and international media understand Sikhism and the profound impact of the tragedy on Sikhs around the world.
Her signature offering was WomanHeart, an annual retreat and later a book devoted to awakening the spiritual heart. While her students arrived to learn many different subjects, they often discovered that beneath every teaching was the same invitation — to cultivate a living relationship with Divine within. Whether during monthly full moon ceremonies in her home, Brahm Prakash meditations, or simply sharing yogi tea after class, Sangeet created spaces where people could soften into themselves. There was an unmistakable coziness to being with her. She often said that God lived in a cozy home, and somehow, whenever you were with her, it felt true. Sangeet made God feel close.
Her counseling and healing practice reflected the same spirit that shaped her teaching. Rather than solving problems or fixing ailments, she helped countless people discover the same Source from which she drew her own strength. She listened deeply, tuning in to the depths of the soul and gently guiding others toward what she often called “the highest healing in the easiest possible way.”
She was, like every true saint who chooses the householder path, wonderfully and fully human. Her journey held its own tangles, and I had the privilege of seeing the human behind the teacher. In the quiet moments between classes, Sangeet delighted in simple joys. She occasionally treated herself to a vegan ice cream she affectionately called “frozen,” and we might find ourselves gathered around a Disney movie as Harinam set up the projector in the main teaching space of their home. We’d cheer on our favorite sports team, passionately protesting the referees like any devoted fans. Then, I’d catch her with her hands facing the screen as she’d quietly send Reiki to the game. I caught her one time and she said, “it’s not for one team over the other, but for everyone on the field/court” with a twinkle in her eye. Those ordinary moments carried the same warmth, humanity, and generosity of spirit that infused her ministry.
When difficult decisions arose within her own life, she turned toward Guru. I watched her, time and again, sit before Guru Sahib in quiet conversation. Like a child kneeling before a kind and loving parent, Sangeet brought her sincerity rather than perfection. Instead of seeking simple answers, she engaged in an intimate conversation with Guru Sahib - asking a question, receiving a Hukam, sitting with it, asking again, waiting, listening. I watched as her bhakti melted the fear of uncertainty, how her humility relaxed the grips of control. Her disciplined, courageous listening made her counsel all the more trustworthy. It gently softened the barriers many of us felt between ourselves and the Divine. She helped make a relationship with God feel not only possible, but deeply personal.
In the final years of her life, even as illness and chronic pain reshaped her body, her orientation never changed. She often shared in her own preparation for death, "I'll know my time here is complete when I can be of greater service on the other side." One of her guiding shabads was the 33rd Pauri of Japji Sahib, Aakhan Jor — surrendering all personal power to the Divine. For Sangeet, this became the way she lived.
As I reflect on twenty-two years of learning from Sangeet, I find myself returning to those same two questions: What is needed? How can I serve? They’ve become a kind of spiritual re-orientation. They steady me, soften my tendency to grasp for certainty, and gently center me back in conversation with God and Guru.
Perhaps that was her greatest teaching. She taught us not only how to listen, but how to trust what we hear when we listen. Listening became trust. Trust became surrender. Surrender became service. Service became love in action. That was the quiet thread woven through her life — a life truly blessed with bliss.
May we continue the life she so faithfully embodied.
For decades, Sangeet closed her letters with the same blessing. It feels only fitting that this remembrance of Sardarni Sahiba Sangeet Kaur Khalsa should close with her own love and prayer:
Bless you in all ways, always."
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