Those who lost control of the group's holdings, including members of the clergy and Yogi Bhajan's own widow and children, believe they were the victims of a fraud. What Lambert says were in Yogi Bhajan's last wishes put the control of Sikh Dharma's holdings into the hands of a few men and women who have since become instantly wealthy, and who have paid Lambert handsomely to do their legal work. Yogi Bhajan's last wishes would shape the fate of thousands of people, the control of corporations worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and the future of a unique religious group with thousands of followers across the United States and the world. When Yogi Bhajan died in October 2004, Lambert asked that the safe be opened and the envelope brought to him. His square, clean-shaven face and neatly parted hair marked him as an outsider among his turbaned, bearded clients. But Lambert had come to know Yogi Bhajan in the 1990s through some legal work he had done for Golden Temple. The trusted lawyer was Roy D Lambert, a tax specialist and partner at the Portland firm of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt.
Today the group has thousands of followers around the world and hundreds in Oregon. Yogi Bhajan was often photographed looking into the distance something in his eyes revealed intelligence.īeginning in the 1970s, Yogi Bhajan helped introduce white America to Kundalini yoga, and recruited thousands of seekers into a new religious movement, Sikh Dharma. He looked the part, wearing robes and a spotless white turban, his handsome face hidden behind a long, wavy beard. Most people called him Yogi Bhajan (pronounced Budg'un). The holy man was Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji. But the holy man trusted one lawyer in particular with the most sensitive matters of money, family and legacy. More than a few of his followers were practicing lawyers.
Many of the holy man's followers were successful entrepreneurs: One founded Kettle Chips, a Salem-based company whose owners sold it in 2006 for a reported $320 million others co-founded Golden Temple foods in Eugene, a company famous for its Yogi Tea brand. Inside the envelope were the last wishes of a holy man, instructions to be revealed after his death. This safe keeps many secrets, but this story is about the disputed contents of a single envelope. Inside this building, the Pacwest Center, is a safe. In downtown Portland, across Southwest 5th Avenue from City Hall, stands a tall glass and aluminum tower.
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