The Bloods is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips, which dates back to the 1950s.
Swami Shyam -LRB- 1924-2017 -RRB- styled himself as a god-man -LRB- guru -RRB- .. guru. guru. Born in Chandani , Jalaun district , Uttar Pradesh , India , he was raised in the Vedic tradition of Knowledge of the Self -LRB- Atma-gyan -RRB- .. Jalaun. Jalaun. Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh. Shyam has meditated , studied and been dedicated to this tradition since his early childhood , when his father invited Swami Ramanand , a guru from Uttar Pradesh , to live in their home .. guru. guru. Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh. Ramanand. Ramanand. Swami Ramanand initiated the young Shyam in meditation , and the family home became a meeting place for satsang -LRB- the company of true knowledge -RRB- for those who lived in the region .. Ramanand. Ramanand. Ramanand taught the Vedas , the Bhagavad Gita , the Srimad Bhagavatam and other scriptures , as well as meditation .. Ramanand. Ramanand. Vedas. Vedas. Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita. Srimad Bhagavatam. Srimad Bhagavatam. In 1973 Shyam moved to Kullu , Valley of Gods , Himachal Pradesh , India .. Kullu. Kullu. Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh. Meditation and knowledge of the self are the essence of Shyam 's teachings .. He has meditated , studied and taught meditation throughout his life , and established organisations for the continuation of this work , such as the International Meditation Institute -LRB- IMI -RRB- , which he founded in 1976 in Kullu ; Shanti-Sneh Abhiyan , which he formed in 1986 in Kullu ; and the Man-Friend Association , which he founded in the early 1960s in Chandigarh , India .. Kullu. Kullu. International Meditation Institute. International Meditation Institute. Shanti-Sneh Abhiyan. Shanti-Sneh Abhiyan. Man-Friend Association. Man-Friend Association. Chandigarh. Chandigarh. In 1986 , at the First International Yog Conference in New Delhi , Shyam was awarded the Yog Shiromani Award by the President of India , Giani Zail Singh , for his work in the field of meditation and self-realization and the 1974 Integrity Award presented by Geoff Stirling on behalf of Apache Communications in Gander , Newfoundland .. Giani Zail Singh. Giani Zail Singh. Geoff Stirling. Geoff Stirling. Apache Communications. Apache Communications. Shyam has spoken by invitation to thousands of people throughout India and in Europe , North America and South America , at international conferences , organisations , universities and schools , as well as on television and radio .. The published works of Shyam include original works in English and Hindi , as well as translations with commentaries of ancient Sanskrit texts , published by the International Meditation Institute .. International Meditation Institute. International Meditation Institute. -LRB- See below for a list of titles . -RRB-. Some of these books have been translated into French , German , Hebrew , Punjabi , Norwegian and other languages .. He has written hundreds of short tracts based on his own practice and research .. In addition to prose , Shyam has seven published volumes of poetry ; he has written over 10,000 poems .. His poetry speaks of the knowledge of the universal Self , meditation and the sense of love and devotion .. It is written in classical meters , which are traditionally sung .. Lauded twentieth - and twenty-first-century Hindi poets Mahadevi Varma and Gopaldas Neeraj , as well as scholars of Hindi literature , Laxmi Narayan and Ganpati Chandra Gupta , have written introductions to his published volumes of poetry .. Mahadevi Varma. Mahadevi Varma. Gopaldas Neeraj. Gopaldas Neeraj. Laxmi Narayan. Laxmi Narayan. Ganpati Chandra Gupta. Ganpati Chandra Gupta. Academic theses have been written on his philosophy and his creative works -LRB- see selection listed below -RRB- .. The basis of Shyam 's teachings is meditation .. The core of his teachings is the vision of oneness , the knowledge of I , you , or self , which he says is `` pure , free , forever , birthless and deathless . ''. This knowledge , he says , is unfolded through the practice of meditation , study and the application of that knowledge in a person 's waking state .. His mantra , `` Amaram Hum Madhuram Hum '' , means , `` I am eternal , I am blissful . ''. It encapsulates the essence of Shyam 's philosophy and teachings .