IKYTA Organizational Principles

For YF Teacher Summit 2006

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Notes

Principles apply to the whole and to “each and every part.”

Principles must be taken as a set; you can’t “pick and choose” among them, observing only those that you like.

Principles should be an expression of – or, at the very least – consistent with the Teachings.

Principles are only useful if they are actually practiced.

Potential principles

1. Ek Ong Kar Sat Nam Siri Wahe Guru

2. Ground behavior, relationships, and systems in the core spiritual values reflected in the Teachings of Yogi Bhajan.

3. Maintain the purity and spread the legacy of the Teachings of Yogi Bhajan as part of the Golden Chain.

4. Strive to create nurturing environments in which each human being can grow to their full potential, fulfill their destiny and develop in relationship to their Soul.

5. Recognize we each have a personal destiny which is integrated and aligned with our collective destiny. The decisions we make and the processes we use to make those decisions are made from an elevated consciousness which serves, aligns and integrates our individual and collective destinies.

   • Listen deeply to self, other, and the Guru from the state of Shunia

   • All have opportunities to express themselves and make their unique contributions

   • Work together in ways that honor personal strengths

6. Make decisions in ways that meaningfully involve everyone who is directly relevant to or affected by the decision.

7. Policies and guidelines have no intrinsic advantage and no intrinsic disadvantage for any individual or group.

8. Foster free, full and transparent flow of information (unless this violates confidentiality or would cause a loss of grace) globally among all individuals and all parts of the organization.

9. Maintain the highest standards of personal and professional integrity, accountability, and performance

   • Work to clarify agreements and standards

   • Honor obligations

   • Accountability to Core Spiritual Values and to future generations

10. Recognize and honor wisdom and expertise of “earned leadership” as well as all thoughts and actions grounded in higher consciousness and selfless service.

11. Welcome, orient, and nurture new: people (of all ages, from all cultures and social statuses), ideas, activities, and connections that the Legacy. (“If you can’t see God in all, you can’t see God at all.”)

12. Encourage and foster sharing, mutual support, and collective enrichment. Affirm and work to embody a trust in abundance

13. Nurture Self-guided independence and healthy interdependence of individuals, organizations, and communities in our global family.

14. Vest authority, exercise power, and use resources in the smallest or most local part that includes all relevant and affected parties to provide the greatest good in alignment with the collective mission of the whole.

15. Promote development and growth of the collective community. Work to assure the integrity and coherence of the whole. Everything done locally serves globally and everything done globally serves locally.

16. Find resolution that serves the needs of all parties through deep listening, and loving and honoring communication.

Notes on leadership

These are not exactly principles, but they are key ideas that could be part of a “provocative proposition.”

• Oriented to service

• Enabling of the community they serve

• Are a bridge (between spiritual principles and embodiment in the world; between different parts of the organization; etc.)

Notes on organizational structure

• Global community is a distributed system with a spiritual core and a few key centralized elements.

• Centralized elements derive their legitimacy through the ways they serve the whole. Ideally they serve an enabling function.

• (Some?) Centralized elements focus on the preservation and advancement of the Teachings.

• Key to success of central enabling entities is fostering active, sustained, and direct engagement with people in the field.