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GanM

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Everything posted by GanM

  1. This is my last post here. I know you're upset.
  2. Neo, do you believe in karma? May I suggest that you see your own powers in context. Here's another site you may find interesting: http://punjabi.net/ GushK has rather heavily paraphrased. The full text of what I wrote is as follows: "Guru Gobind Singh was an insurgent/guerrilla fighter. He used information and propaganda extremely adeptly (much as Sikhs and other groups continue to do to this day). The quote you cited is an example of his skill at information warfare, and his amazing ability to inspire loyalty, trust and bravery in the face of an overwhelming threat. He was from a different, much more violent and intense, time and age. Let's keep his works in the museums/places where they can be easily referred to for the purposes of historical research. They do NOT apply to today's world. We've moved on from being lions, tigers, goats, horses, donkeys, etc." I apologise if I hurt your sentiments, but for the sake of avoiding misunderstanding let me make it clear that I have no beef with the Sikhs (I'm unmoved by the fact that I was barred from becoming a Sikh by the Sikhs themselves) or with Guru Gobind Singh. However, I maintain that bearing arms (even though he commanded it for his followers in his own violent times) has no place in our pacified and regulated societies today. I make no apologies for that, and I have backed it up with some solid reasons. If you hold Guru Gobind Singh in reverence be assured that I respect your choice and do not ask you to change that. I am only asking you to change your interpretation of his religion, so that you do not have a violent or threatening outlook on life. My own perspective is that Guru Gobind Singh has passed on, and we should not take offense on his behalf for expressing our opinions (which he probably would have allowed us to have if he was still around).
  3. GushK, what are you talking about? Did'nt you understand my post?
  4. You just said that Kaal pushes everyone around. When it pushes you around, you will have to change your ways or else just fade away into extinction. I will be unmoved.
  5. Nyorai this is not my paradise. I cannot breathe clean air here (you know what I mean). If I thought it would preserve or defend freedom to inculcate 17th century warrior ways to some impressionable kids (not a condemnation - I'm a kid myself although not impressionable) I would sign on the dotted line!! But it's not like that, as we both know. It's a violent oppressive cult for which the prefix "neo" and and the word "tools" seem required in any balanced description of its followers. The blueshirts are not free - they are under the command of warlords (e.g. NNS). I have more freedom than they have, without the weapons. I can say whatever I want. I share your concerns about the actions of the pirates who seem to be in charge of the world in the 21st century. However, I believe that the way to change things is through love. No matter how powerful their armies may be, they are utterly useless if the people don't support the idea of having a particular war (say, the war in Iraq). No democratic government would risk going to war, without the population in support. Ultimately, it opens up the fear of them being dethroned, and that's the fear we have to use against them. Consider the effect of demoralising an army in any particular circumstances. Imagine if, say, the West attacks Iran but the US and British soldiers refuse to bomb the shrine of Imam Ali! Utterly disastrous for the governments concerned, and it could be the turning point vis a vis who holds the balance of power!! But you won't achieve it with your cutlass. You will achieve it by informing and educating. I am immovable. However, with your baggage you are easily pushed around. What I mean is that through the media we are always being manipulated to support the next war, sponsored by the "business" (pirate) interests behind it. Iran can't afford to channel its own CNN, Reuters and BBC through the televisions of the rednecks who populate the UK and the US. That's why pirate raids for oil can still be undertaken even today, and that's why the EICo persists (with a new name), why slavery persists, etc. Informing and educating is the biggest challenge you have to face, because you do not control the media. That makes it an uphill struggle. YOU can be defined and therefore manipulated. Would'nt it be better to be formless like water? That way, you would be free to abandon the swords and axes when they are no longer useful (like now), instead of becoming something of a museum exhibit yourself. Lions these days are kept in cages. They lost the jungle. If you want to bring the jungle back (like I do) you can make a start by accepting help from friends and allies rather than trying to undermine them.
  6. According to your own doctrine, smoking is verboten and your weapons are the bees' knees (so to speak). Where's the wisdom in such a skewed philosophy? Why are you following it? When you call a piece of metal "Goddess", why? Are you being completely honest with yourself as to why you are carrying that thing? Why do you attach religious connotations to the most deliberately-harmful things in your possession? Is it because it enables you to silence your own conscience about the dreadful harm you KNOW it can do? Are your elaborate justifications simply a way to cheat your own conscience? You say you are not the Doer, but you are. You are the Doer who will hurt your victim with your weapon, and the courts will put you on trial as the Doer when you do so. Your victim's family will see you as the Doer too, and whatever consequences YOU or US have as a result of any violence you inflict will not affect the imaginary or otherwise entity that is not yourself that you blame for everything. I am pleased that you are not following in the footsteps of NNS. Nobody else should either. There's clearly something wrong (based on insecurity) when someone makes becoming a threat to others one of their goals in life. Is paradox for you food for thought or a way to find comfort when flummoxed by your own choices? Why do you say you "like" it? It does'nt make any sense when you say you like paradox.
  7. I am not trying to get you to convert to anything. I want you to be a Sikh. I am only asking you to rationalise and moderate your interpretation of what it means to be a Sikh. Smoking is evil and your pesh kabz is good (so good that it's god)? Just think about it (don't let NNS do your thinking for you).
  8. Lalleshvari/Nyorai I read your posts and I am convinced now more than ever that your armed-warrior-ism is pure evil. If only you could understand - your notions about Kal Yug could easily be a self-fulfilling prophecy when you accept them as true. You seem to have chosen to believe a series of medieval prophecies that say: these days are'nt like the good ol' days, and they're going from bad to worse. That's your choice to believe that. I'm asking you to change your choice. You really have no idea how redundant your ways with weapons are. There is no love without trust, and carrying weapons "just in case" in times of peace and where there is no particular threat against you is a symptom of a serious lack of trust (i.e. paranoia). You have crafted a whole religion around your paranoia. The ways of 17th century militant religionists are not 21st-century ways suitable for adoption in today's pacified world. This fact is obvious to people who don't identify themselves as feudal warriors. Guru Gobind Singh's ways and habits (i.e. being armed and ready for a ruckus) were meant for his guerrilla struggle in the contemporary Punjab. That struggle is over, much as you seem to want it to continue, with your romanticisation of the killers of those days. Your ideas are way out there and have nothing to do with how the non-Sikh world thinks, but they will win you friends here on this internet forum. Unfortunately your lack of trust in others reaps its own reward for you (i.e. you will not be trusted yourself) and your being tooled up does'nt exactly emanate good vibes for everyone else as you seem to think. That's why I'm asking you to disarm. For your good and everyone else's.
  9. Apologies if I misunderstood. I can be slow at times. We can discuss these things again soon, maybe?
  10. Mugermach, how can I force you to adopt my maryada? That does'nt make any sense. And I don't have any agenda apart from the one I declared. It's honest of you to mention it, because I would expect a warrior to anticipate an ATTACK whenever someone comes with a message to disarm (I've read Clausewitz). However, there is no incoming attack. Your distrust is what I want to address. I also want to open your eyes to the damage you are causing. It's for you. I've got no use for weapons.
  11. Mugermach, on reflection I was being rude (in the way I expressed my point) and you're not. However, it's a different mindset altogether. That's what I'm saying. To arm yourself and to embed your weapons in your religious life to such an extent that you carry weapons outside every day is so far removed from how the ordinary non-Sikh people think. They simply could not understand such behaviour. Mainstream political interests are interested in the opinions (mostly irrational) of the greater number (the mob). They are the mob themselves, who express with one voice (Parliament) and weapons (modern armies). They are scared of difference. You protect yourself from them by self-preservation (in a complete form) rather than adaptation. Wearing jeans is'nt an adaptation, if you still carry weapons. The spiritual climate is changing, and there is a violent malevolence everywhere. The kind of malevolence you can't protect against with weapons, only with the power of the human heart. The weapons seem to be aggravating/causing trouble, and making it difficult for people to trust each other. I was thinking that changing the world to bring about world peace should begin at home. We should move on and defend ourselves with love, to protect against enemies that are now so clever that NONE of them are vulnerable to shastars. These days, even if you kill the weakest of them (e.g. a drunken racist yob) in self-defence, you can lose the fight in the end. It won't stop with imprisonment - the violence will escalate. Because the machinery is all in place for some serious conflict. I just want to take serious conflict out of the equation as an option. If we start with our immediate localities, making those safer by coercing the authorities to do a much better job would be a much better plan than preparing for the worst possible outcome (which I believe becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, because we are in charge of reality although you might not think so and hence carry a shastar).
  12. Let the words of our mouths And the meditation of our hearts Be acceptable in thy sight, O FarI
  13. Nihal Kaur, I appreciate your comments. However, we are ALL responsible for the cycle of violence. The most likely people to bring about change in this ill society we live in are not people who have already been brainwashed into becoming terrorists/fanatics though. You lot are ideally placed to change things for the better. What do I have to do to make ordinary Sikhs give up violence? I'm getting really tired of letting the elders (who should know better) turn ordinary Sikh kids into tools. It should'nt be happening like this. In 2004, American, British and Canadian Sikh youth should be CHALLENGING the violent traditions of the past like carrying medieval knives and swords!! Not trying to continue them, in circumstances where there is NO threat to them whatsoever. It seems that shastardhari Sikhs live on a completely different planet to the rest of us. I just want them to catch up, and see the bigger picture so they can compete in the real world of the 21st century. For the sake of peace. Hari, I don't want to proselytise at all. It would be nice if you could reassure me that you are doing what you can, in the way you know best, to disarm the Sikhs. You are in a better position to do it. Don't be alarmed, I want to disarm EVERYONE, not just Sikhs.
  14. You are a very thoroughly indoctrinated product of the American "educational" system. Don't the feds have a duty to "serve and to protect"? Who appointed you as anyone's defender or protector? Did you appoint yourself? And also, I take it from your comment that you regard the weapon itself (not the wielder) as the thing that allegedly defends and protects. Correct! Things were made to dismember, disembowel, terrify (in a terrorist sense), cripple and kill ANYONE who's targeted by their owner (whether the owner is right or wrong). You see beauty in a thing that's designed to cut PEOPLE down like hay? Where's the beauty in watching someone's entrails spill out in front of you? I'm at a loss to understand where that beauty is. If you can see that beauty, I can see that there is a very serious problem here. I refuse to see weapons independently of their intended purpose, unless they are safely locked away in a vault or museum. Someone who carries them around as "tools" is not interested in their "beauty", so please don't try to con me. Besides, you admit that you carry them not as jewellery but in case you need to use them. That's a "butt-ugly" philosophy. A moment ago you stated that the function of a weapon is to "defend and protect". YOU tell me who should be punished: people who want to use them or the weapons themselves? If this is a silly argument, perhaps you should consider just dumping them somewhere and not waiting for someone to do something that warrants punishment? If you're saying that compared to an atom bomb, a knife may be a lesser evil then I am inclined to agree with you. But only because we can STOP you (if you were a crim, and I'm not saying you are) if/when you go berserk with a knife. This will be after you have hurt someone or some people a lot more than you could have done with your bare hands. If you're saying that your sword or rifle or whatever is a lesser evil, then you're acknowledging that it is a force for evil. If we agree on this, who the hell is making you keep that thing? Let me talk to them. Changing the US Constitution to take away people's right to carry firearms is a realistic possibility. Is "force" the only language you understand? What if someone comes to take them by LOVE? Will you shoot them? By definition, if someone is a street thug (i.e. a violent and criminally-intentioned individual) then they are not lawfully allowed to carry weapons, wherever they are. The laws of the State you live in will be construed against someone who walks around on the street with a gun and a provable intention to use it criminally. You brought up the subject of alleged defence and protection a moment ago. I therefore fail to understand why street thugs carrying weapons is something you are comfortable with. Who are you defending or protecting, and from what threat? If you explain what your concern is, I could suggest a non-violent way to allay it. Most humans (even some who have learning difficulties) can teach themselves how to use a gun. Even chimps can do it, when they have a little instruction. Is your "skill" at pulling a trigger, sticking ammo in a clip and switching off safety what makes you a "warrior"? Obviously your answer will be "no". But then could you be a warrior without that thing? If not, so what? Medieval weapons are the traditional weapons you carry on your person and make excuses based on religion to explain your carrying them. I'm talking about any kirpans, khandas, chakkars, etc. I did not imply that it was "all of a sudden". I mean that they are a product of the turn to violence and the threat of violence in the Sikh religion that was adopted by Guru Hargobind. Where were they before that? Why are they still around? There is no reason you should be feeling unsafe. You live in the most protected country in the world, and you have all your freedoms there. You adopted the violent form of Sikhism out of choice, in a peaceful environment. If you tell me you had no choice but to be a self-appointed neo-Singh, I will disagree, VEHEMENTLY. It would be easy to prove you wrong. If I may suggest: there is a strong case to be made that you are merely making excuses for your preference to rely on violent instincts (the easy way out) rather than try the much harder approach of actually reaching out and embracing your own and others' humanity. ANY human being can revert to savagery and resort to violence. There is no special breed reserved for that particular "talent". It's the choices YOU make in your life that determine whether you create violence (as you are doing, by carrying a weapon) or quell violence. OK. I can see that you have become hostile. That's what I mean by the easy way out of things. Anyone can lose their temper. I have no wish to encourage your hostility. I only wanted you to awaken to the understanding that if you're packing, you're doing it out of choice and you're making the situation worse. If you don't want to, that's fine. But I reserve the right to prove you wrong here on this forum in front of everyone, so that others are shown a clear choice not to follow in your footsteps. It's not democratic to want to suppress these arguments. As for insulting great Sikhs who fought for causes, you must be joking. I have not referred to any great Sikh of the past. Furthermore I don't know which cause or causes you are referring to (feel free to be more specific), but I do not respect any cause that wants to perpetuate the cycle of violence. If you're not angry, please consider this. Why is a MAN respected when he is dead? Should'nt that respect be paid to the LIVING instead???
  15. You are wrong. They are something very damaging to the human body, refined over many thousands of years. What, you think we have a time machine?
  16. If you were living under a brutally oppressive Moghul dictator, being dragged around by the ear could have happened to you whether you had a shastar or not. Guru Gobind Singh was an insurgent/guerrilla fighter. He used information and propaganda extremely adeptly (much as Sikhs and other groups continue to do to this day). The quote you cited is an example of his skill at information warfare, and his amazing ability to inspire loyalty, trust and bravery in the face of an overwhelming threat. He was from a different, much more violent and intense, time and age. Let's keep his works in the museums/places where they can be easily referred to for the purposes of historical research. They do NOT apply to today's world. We've moved on from being lions, tigers, goats, horses, donkeys, etc. As I said before, if you believe ANYONE is going to drag you ANYWHERE by the ear, discuss it with me first before tooling up. These days there are laws, which can be made to protect you. And having the shastar won't protect you, if a government official wants to haul you away by the ear.
  17. I reckon you could take a joke. No malice intended dude. I prefer drums to windchimes. Reckon you do too.
  18. You can add one more means to your list. I can communicate and mediate.
  19. Rakash, conquering your mind is extremely tough for all of us. I wish you could do it in a way that does'nt involve hurting people. Better yet, perhaps you could ask yourself the tough question: why are your endeavours to conquer your mind all related to violence and the desire to harm people? Or go the extra hog, and ask whether you could be a non-warrior who practises Muay Thai, boxing, etc. for sport and exercise? Is that possible? Can you win a Muay Thai match without desiring to hurt your opponent? And is that desire a help or hindrance in conquering your mind? YOU are in the best position to answer this (to yourself, not us). I am satisfied that your fighting arts are bad for you and bad for the entire world. You are merely normalising a DEVIANT behaviour (the desire to inflict injury). Just because society accepts it, it does'nt mean that it's right. Why act like a tiger, when you a man? You are BETTER than a tiger, because you can choose to override your instincts. You can think for yourself, and decide what you want to be. If you died by accident right now, what would you be reborn as? What shape have you made your consciousness take? Think about it. This is your human life, not to be wasted. I don't know where this rosy upbringing thing comes from. Why are you blaming your environment for the way you have YOURSELF shaped your consciousness?? I thought YOU were in charge of your mind (or you want to be)!! Or should I be addressing your weapon? You stated that your weapons are your "peer". OK, but all I'm saying is that that is YOUR choice. YOU decided to take Guru Gobind Singh's poetry as a rule to live your life, 300 years after. It's your decision to place bits of metal ABOVE your own position as a human or demonic life form. It does'nt seem rational to me, but it's your life and you have to live with the consequences of that choice. I urge you, for your sake and mine and for everyone who is too proud to say it's for their sake, to follow another path. You've written off every human being "peer" without proper investigation and research, and made an instrument of death your spiritual teacher. If weapons are your peer, you have GIVEN UP the idea of mastery over them. How does that fit in with such things like making weapons and practising techniques? These are man-made devices made in the WORST possible spirit. The spirit of wanting to inflict harm/hurt/injury/death. If I saw a peer who advocated that doctrine, I would warn his students against him. Akali Sodhi, you say that you keep weapons in order to keep the khalsa spirit alive. I'm sure you are tough enough without those things, so just leave them somewhere. If the khalsa spirit cannot persist where there are no weapons, let this khalsa spirit go, because it sounds no good. Your bravery comes from YOU, not from the tools. You've got to understand, it's just metal. The "khalsa spirit" you refer to is a symptom of dependency upon a mundane material object. Your OWN spirit is much tougher than steel. If you lost the weapons, would you wet yourself in a fight? I don't think you would. Why do you say the khalsa spirit is outside you, in a thing like a knife or sword? I can't understand why you would try to mislead me like that. Surely the khalsa spirit is inside you, and not outside? Palm_w1, it's true that there are violent people in all societies. This is more a symptom of the times than a universal truth. For instance, if the New World had not been "discovered", there would be no black-on-black violence in suburban American ghettos. If you look at things in context, you will see that violence is totally unnecessary. Furthermore, YOU are in charge. If YOU will it, the violence can stop. All of the violence can be driven out, if we love ourselves. Anticipating that the other guy will be violent, and then preparing for it by carrying weapons, is a step too far. There cannot be love, unless there is TRUST. Trust, without any good reason. That's strength. Someone has to be first to disarm. Who will it be? Hari, addictions are hard to break. It's possible to become addicted to the FALSE persona that one can assume, under the shelter and eaves provided by weapons. I do not believe that NNS is willing to emerge from the illusion of protection afforded by religious constructs. I listened carefully to his BBC radio interview, and I read the MAI mag article. I am truly astonished that he has become so vulnerable to political attacks that are so clearly telegraphed. It's easy to misquote and undermine him, thanks to his OWN words. One day, there may be a govt in the UK that decides to charge him with inciting terrorism or something, if there is any sort of outcry against Sikhs. I can help him personally, but I don't know whether he already knows better and simply does'nt care about the consequences of preserving the vidya at this time. The gist from the website is that he is absolutely determined to preserve the gruesome violent "science" in people, not books or museums. "Awareness" is what's needed. Why should he listen to me?? He trusts me so much he will not talk to me (a harmless nobody) unless he is tooled up to the teeth. The point about self-defence has been made a number of times. I will keep my word and try to make peace where I can. The offer's open. I could try to mediate/propose solutions. In the meantime, self-defence is not a reasonable excuse for carrying dedicated weapons. Nobody else is doing it apart from the bad guys (crims) and Babylon. You are expected to practise self-defense ALWAYS by avoiding pubs and clubs at closing time, and running like hell. Your testicles will not drop off. See the BIGGER PICTURE than a drunken ruckus.
  20. Just trying to make sense of it all, for my own understanding's sake. I'm not saying I believe or disbelieve any of it, but as a rational being I need a proper understanding of these concepts, hence the discussion. On the subject of efforts, don't you think it would be a travesty for the prostitute to achieve so much with so little effort (i.e. making the supplication to the guru in real or symbolic terms)?
  21. If a prostitute goes to the guru's darbar looking for peace and the Truth, that's the same as saying that she is going there looking for absolution. If the guru is capable of offering that sort of instant elevation, does'nt that make our own efforts ABSOLUTELY worthless?
  22. I meant for all who consider themselves Sikh warriors and who carry weapons. I believe that your Shastarvidya Gurdev is doing much more harm than good. I would meet with him and discuss it, if I thought that actually proving him wrong would make him stop teaching his skills altogether. But it's likely he will carry on regardless. Because his skills are what he does best. He wants to preserve them, and I want them to disappear forever. Play-acting a la SCA or HACA would be preferable. The evidence for the harm he creates are his students. You will see a lot of problems in a couple of years, and GanM will be here saying "I told you so". He nurtures bad seedlings, which are often hydro and not bio (e.g. Rakash).
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