Maha Singh

Pritham Singh learnt from Baba Gyana Singh for 3 weeks, although he may have legitimately learnt, it is definitly not going to be enough to set up an Akhara. The traditional babas have a great disregard for people who train for a short while and then set themselves up as Gurdevs. Nihang Niddar Singh learnt and practised for a total of 11 yrs before they even showed any vidiya to anyone. You must question if Baba Gyana Singh was from the Baba Darbara Singh Akhara, why would they give aagiya to a student who learnt for 3 weeks to set up his own akhara with a totally different name. Regardless of anything else, Vidiya cannot be copied, frauded or paraded as something it isnt, Gatka and stick spinning is still stick spinning even if it is called Shastarvidiya. You only have to look at the shenanigans of this Akhara at demonstrations that it is nothing different from any other Gatka Akhara.

The serenity of Sri Darbar Sahib in olden pictures is amazing, where the people in the pictures seem in perfect harmony with the surroundings.

A short clip of one of last years demonstrations can be viewed here: Loh Mushti was shown in the workshop last year also, most people who attend these events are sensible mature martial artists, anyone who does seem dodgy will obviously be denied.

Any reason why they were shot? or just an over zealous fanatic?

Its more about awareness and showing that Singhs have more than just Gatka. If the Khalsa is to uphold its reputation of martial prowess, then it would be neccessary to show it in this way amongst other martial artists. Niddar Singhs philosophy is that, even though many people will not be able to learn, the fact that they knew that this art existed and that Singhs took their Vidiya to these heights is enough. Niddar Singh doesnt care who learns the vidiya as it is open to all, they believe that everyone has the right to learn how to defend themselves, and whoever is capable of taking the Vidiya higher should be given the chance to learn it. If everything was kept gupt, then I wouldnt have had the opportunity to learn, and people like you wouldnt have had the chance to delve into FMA etc. As the art is in a revival stage, it is neccessary to participate in such things, in the future the vidiya may go gupt again, and those who know it will pass it on again as per traditional maryada. You will know yourself how hard it is to just see and copy the vidiya or higher levels of other martial arts, it is not soemthing you can copy over a weekend and adopt into your own style. If it was so easily copied, we would all have it by now Niddar Singh will show close to the pinical of the Vidiya, those who have the true Yudh Gyaan will be able to deciper the subtle concepts of what is happening, those who dont will just see a person engaging and then another dying.

Its this weekend folks!

OP = Original Poster

Why not just move to another Gurdwara which appreciates them?

No, onions are used in the Dal You can buy livestock for Chatka in your own home if you wish, if you do a goat you can spread it between a number of Singhs or cut into portions and freeze

The gunshot was definitly Chatka and it killed the goat instantly, the beheading was obviously multiple hits. The bone of contention is obviously with the Nihangs who feel that anything that isnt beheaded in a single strike is not considered as Chatka and therefore not consumable. As Shaheediyan stated, hunting, spearing and shooting is not the common type of Chatka. Even whilst hunting a wild boar/deer it is unlikely that you will kill it instantly, it will most likely take a serious injury to the vital organs and run, and will collapse and die from blood loss, this will be the case with most wild game which is not reared in the home like for example a chicken or goat. I doubt puratan Singhs put as much ritual to hunting as modern day Nihangs do, they ate to live and survive, even Panth Parkash states an episode where the Singhs ate Halal meat in the sakhi of Kirpan Bhet (this would obviously not be the common practise) This will bring up the question that, if a goat isnt Chatka'd in one go, do they give the meat away to someone else?

Doing Chatka doesnt mean the person has to go to war, Chatka is part of martial training, allowing the Chatkai to practise various sword strikes and acknowledge their effectiveness. In modern day, this is more of a ritual to ensure that the head comes off by bracing and pulling the goats head with rope and holding its legs, only ever using the one style of overhead strike with force over technique. True Chatka is done by letting the Chatanga walk free and not waiting for ages until its neck alines, using various types of cuts and strikes from different angles, contemplating the battlefield and techniques and then delivering the blow. For those Singhs who train on a daily basis, the meat of the Bakra will provide the neccessary protiens and nutrients to recover and grow strength in order to train up to 10 hours a day. Although I believe modern day Nihangs are holding onto the more traditional maryada of the Khalsa, there is allot which they dont hold. If Nihangs are the vanguard of the Khalsa, their martial prowess should be second to non, but most are overweight, unfit and never engage in actual training apart from a quick sword spinning demo at Hola Mohalla. You just have to read some portions out of old texts to appreciate how much physical excercise and swordsmanship the Puratan Singhs engaged in, and how much emphasis the Guru put on the Singhs who would do it with pure concentration. The discussion of whether Nihangs should wage a Dharam Yudh upon all those who are unjust in the world is for another thread, however protection of your own Dharam, Life and Honour is closer to home and if you cant protect that you wont be able to protect anyone elses.

I believe Nihang Major Singhs reason for wearing such a big dastar is in order to inspire the youth to wear even a small dastar, in times where many younger generations are cutting their kesh or shyin away from wearing a dastar. Traditionally large turbans were never worn by Nihangs, apart from in defiance of the British when they came to Punjab. This can be seen by several photographs of Babas with tall dumallas with huge gajgas on them.

I use kettlebells and they are a great, just be sure you get the right weight bell for when you start, have a go with a number of weights to see which is best for you to push yourself but not sacrifice your form.

Shouldnt the focus really be repitition with focus and thought upon the Shabad rather than just making up numbers? I personally would do as much as possible but the focus on atuning to the shabad and feeling the rass, rather then repeating just to get to a target. Ultimately when your at such an avasta, you could do it without thinking, without counters, without malas and without targets.

Sant Kirpal Singh Boparai was my Thaiya Ji. Some of their Kathas I recorded and uploaded on Gurmatveechar a long time ago. There are also a number of books published by them if you want to read them.

Gurfateh For those with interests in Martial Arts, there will be a 2 day Martial Arts Show in May at the Birmingham NEC. Nihang Niddar Singh and the Baba Darbara Singh Akhara will be attending to demonstrate Shastarvidiya and also provide workshops in Loh Mushti over the weekend. Website: www.themartialartsshow.com

In my opinion the sikheya you get at home at a young age paves the way for your life, good bachans passed through knowledge, pyar and understanding by parents stick in the minds of children more than any thrashing with a danda. There are always two parties in the "sulla traps apni kuri" situation.

Life in the pind is the best! One day (15-20 yrs) hope to sell up everything and move to the Punjab for good.

Dosas are nice and are worth a try if youve never had them, its basically aloo filling with different types of veg, in a thin pastry, with a coconut dip and a chilli soup. I think Ill try making kerele one day and see how they come out, when i tried them as a kid they were very bitter, had some jungli kerele once in india also and that made my opinion of them even worse lol.

As you get older you appreciate certain foods more then when you was a child, I used to hate pindiya, saag, gobi, mulli, tindeh, thaniya, basically everything apart from meat and a few types of daals. Now I enjoy eating them and experiement with different types of food and ingredients. The only thing which I have and probably never will eat is KERELEH! With okra, wash them and dry them properly when u start off, dont cut them until the last possible moment before you put them into the patila as the water and natural condensation will make them start oozing. When cooking if they start to go snotty then add a bit of vinegar or lemon juice.

My mom puts nuts into some dishes but I personally dont like them in sabzi. The key to any daal sabzi is the mehnath you put into the thurka, normally I "punn" just onions for over an hour, and add a good amount of mirch and salt to taste. Lassan and tomatoes depending on the daal sabzi. I rarely use any masalas, maybe just a pinch if I feel like it. Dont add anything to the onions until your happy with how much they are cooked, once you add lassan or mirch to the onions they will stop browning. To cut down the time you need for the onions to cook add salt when you start cooking the onions, this absorbs the natural water in the onions and reduces cooking time. Add your haldi into the thurka before putting in the main sabzi, this allows it to cook fully through and will avoid the taste of raw haldi coming into your food.

For the murder of 4 members of Balbir Bazigars family

The mind is a better opponent

Got his albums

I dont really care for this bloke nor do i take notice of what his views are, as those who are against Sri Dasam Darbar cannot be changed regardless of how much debate is entertained with them, but those who protest and lobby against "anti sikhs" may be interested to know that he is in the UK. http://www.sikhsangat.com/index.php?/topic/51394-ragi-darshan-lal-in-uk