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"Being and Becoming a Sikh"

By Gurpal Singh

Saturday, May 03, 2003 - 07:21 AM EST

Being and Becoming a Sikh, I.J. Singh, Centennial Foundation, 2003

Age often bestows to us the “graybeard” title that some choose to call us by; it often lends gravity to oneself. Few however possess the insight and wisdom that is shown in this new book by I. J. Singh. “Being and Becoming a Sikh” is the third collection of essays that Singh has produced and it shows again the keen observation and reflection that has been the hallmark of the previous two.

The book starts off with an autobiographical essay where the author discusses his personal growth in Sikhi and how he has traveled the “inner journey”. To him it is a work in progress that gives direction to his life and he thus becomes the constant student – the real “Sikh”. From there he goes on to discuss what a “modern Sikh” is and the power of a uniform. Although he discusses what a uniform imposes on the wearer, he does not go on to discuss the unique features of Sikhism – are we unique because we keep long hair or are we unique because our set of values is so high? What should be the attributes of the “Sant –sipahi”?

There are thoughtful looks at fundamentalism and fanaticism, whether Sikhs are a different race or are they an ethnic entity, on turbans and patkas and on singing and dancing. He discusses the role of the Gurus in nation building although it seems to be a stretch. Nation building requires a code of law and Sikh jurisprudence has still to make its mark so that it can be seriously regarded. There is an excellent piece on the enemies of the cause – but instead of listing those enemies it points out how it is the enemy within that requires our attention.

The events of the modern day continue to exercise the author. He makes note of the controversy that surrounds Dya Singh, the accomplished Sikh performer and also the scandals involving Enron and the corporate greed they exhibited. There is a cautionary note about our republican origins and his hope for the future – that we will survive if we remember our role as a movement for human self-development. There is also comment on the controversy in the Catholic Church and compares it with the Sikhs who do not have an organized theological bureaucracy. In one of his concluding essays there is a hilarious speech given by an imaginary Sikh Gurdwara President who is convinced of his own righteousness. It is followed by a string of provocative questions including “What would Guru Nanak think if he came here today?”

This book makes for an excellent read for a Sikh. Its utility for a non-Sikh may be limited because of the issues peculiar to our religion that he discusses. There is also some duplication of comment and incident. These are probably appropriate for a column written over a period of time but it could have been edited out of this book. However, these are small oversights.

I found the book to be thoughtful without being trenchant, while providing a fresh and whimsical look at some venerable institutions within Sikhism. It is a “must read” for all Sikhs – particularly the young ones out on the front lines who are keeping the flag flying. Being a Sikh is the easy part – we all are- while becoming a Sikh requires the effort and the “himmat” that few of us have.

Myths About Sikh Women And Seva

By Mejindarpal Kaur

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 - 12:38 PM EST

It has been suggested that Sikh women should not be allowed to participate in certain seva. Answers from Gurmat to excuses for disallowing seva are given below.

During seva a Sikh woman would have to endure Eve-teasing, jostling, or she may indeed be involved in sexual misdemeanors.

GURMAT: A Sikh woman is less likely to be a victim of eve teasing at a Gurdwara, let alone Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, than she is at any other public place. Jostling should be brought under control by the management by hiring properly trained and polite Sevadaars who can ensure orderly conduct at Gurdwaras.

To suggest that Sikh women will indulge in sexual misconduct during seva is an insult to the devotion and integrity of all Sikh women. However, should any untoward incident take place, it will involve both a man and a woman and both parties should be appropriately dealt with. Misconduct by Sikh men should not punish Sikh women. All efforts should be taken to punish the miscreants.

A menstruating Sikh women should not be allowed to do seva and it would be difficult to establish if she is menstruating when she requests to do seva.

GURMAT: There is no prohibition in Sikhism on a woman undertaking any Seva or prayer when she is menstruating. Guru Nanak Dev Ji declared in Asa Ki Vaar: Sebho Sootak Bharam Hae….All belief in the Brahminical concept of sootak is mere superstition. Guru Nanak Dev Ji goes on to say….that the superstition of sootak can only be erased by spiritual knowledge…Nanak Sootak Aave Na Utarae Gian Utarair Dhoae.

As a woman has her periods, month after month, so does falsehood dwell in the mouth of the false; they suffer forever, again and again. They are not called pure, who sit down after merely washing their bodies. Only they are pure, O Nanak, within whose minds Vaheguru abides. || 2 || (page-472: Mehla-1)

Sikh men wear their kecchera as an outer garment during the cleaning seva in Darbar Sahib, however, it would be improper for a Sikh woman to do the same as it may be distracting for Sikh men.

GURMAT: There is no need for Sikh men and women to dress alike during seva. A Sikh woman could be asked to dress in a manner, which is respectful of her presence in the Darbar Sahib. Any tradition, which prevents a Sikh woman from exercising her right to do seva, has to be modified accordingly.

Sikh women have never done seva at Darbar Sahib, be it for cleaning the Darbar Sahib or for doing Kirtan. Why start a new tradition? Further, they may distract the Surt (spiritual link) of the male sangat.

GURMAT: There is no historical evidence to suggest that Sikh women did not ever do seva at Darbar Sahib. To the contrary, Sikh history is replete with examples of seva done by Sikh women. Further, since equality of women was recognised by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, there is no theological basis to suggest that Sikh women were prohibited from doing seva at Darbar Sahib.

Sikh women have done Kirtan at all other gurdwaras, including Takht Sahibs where the distraction to the male surt has not been an issue. Why should it be any different at Darbar Sahib Ji?

Due to the weight of the Palki Sahib, a woman would not be able to carry it on her shoulders.

GURMAT: It is ignorant to suggest that no Sikh woman would have the stature to shoulder the weight of the Palki Sahib, assisted by other bearers. It is naïve to suggest that a Sikh woman would attempt to do this seva unless she has the strength to do so.

There is always a heavy rush following the Palki Sahib seva during the Sukhasan and Parkash ceremonies. If Sikh women are allowed to undertake the Palki Sahib seva, they could be 'roughed' up in the rush and could give rise to more problems.

GURMAT: There should be no disorderly conduct during any of these ceremonies as it is unbecoming conduct at a holy place. The SGPC management should engage suitably trained Sevadaars to ensure orderly ceremonies. Therefore, if the ceremonies stewards do their job well, the question should not arise about any risk to Sikh women during these ceremonies.

Types of Seva:

1. Palki

No Sikh woman has ever done such seva previously. Why start a new tradition?

GURMAT: Equal opportunity is not a tradition but a right. We are aware of instances where a Sikh woman has done the palki sahib seva.

The Palki Sahib ceremony is a ritual and no Sikh, man or woman should do it anyway.

GURMAT: Rituals or Karam Kaand are prohibited in Sikhism. But if a Sikh, man or woman performs a religious act as an act of love for the Guru, it is not a Karam Kand. A Sikh should be made aware of this and the SGPC should not allow any act of the ceremony to take the shape or form of a Karam Kaand. If any aspect of the palki seva is ritualistic, SGPC should end it.

2. Panj Piaré

Panj Piaré seva: In 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh Ji called for volunteers to be one of the panj piaré, no woman rose to the challenge and so she should be excluded from the panj piaré seva today.

GURMAT: The social realities of 1699 were very different from today. However, it must be remembered that Mata Sahib Kaur was bestowed the custodianship of the Khalsa. An Amritdhari Sikh woman partakes amrit from the same crucible and ceases to be seen as a woman or man in her spiritual role as one of the panj piaré.

Since women were not one of the panj piaré in 1699, are Sikh women, therefore, not to take amrit today? Further, since there were no European Sikhs in 1699, should European Sikhs be disallowed from being one of the Panj Piaré too? Using historical events to distort Sikh principles is a sign of ignorance.

mÚ 1 ijau jorU isrnwvxI AwvY vwro vwr ] jUTy jUTw muiK vsY inq inq hoie KuAwru ] sUcy eyih n AwKIAih bhin ij ipMfw Doie ] sUcy syeI nwnkw ijn min visAw soie ]2] {pMnw 472}

pd ArQ: jorU-iesq®I [ isrnwvxI-nHwauxI, mwhvwrI ^Un [ vwro vwr-hr mhIny, sdw [ jUTy-JUTy mnu`K dy [ jUTw-JUTw [ eyih-Ajyhy mnu`K [ sUcy-su`cy, piv`qr [ AwKIAih-AwKy jWdy hn [ ij-jo mnu`K [ soeI-auhI mnu`K [ ijn min-ijnHW dy mn ivc [ soie-auh pRBuU [2[

ArQ: ijvyN iesq®I ƒ sdw hr mhIny nHwauxI AwauNdI hY (qy ieh Apiv`q®qw sdw aus dy AMdroN hI pYdw ho jWdI hY), iqvyN JUTy mnu`K dy mUMh ivc sdw JUT hI rihMdw hY qy ies krky auh sdw du`KI hI rihMdw hY [ Ajyhy mnu`K su`cy nhIN AwKy jWdy jo inrw srIr ƒ hI Do ky (Awpxy vloN piv`qr bx ky) bYT jWdy hn [ hy nwnk! kyvl auhI mnu`K su`cy hn ijnHW dy mn iv`c pRBU v`sdw hY [2[

If one accepts the concept of impurity, then there is impurity everywhere. In cow-dung and wood there are worms. As many as are the grains of corn, none is without life. First, there is life in the water, by which everything else is made green. How can it be protected from impurity? It touches our own kitchen. O Nanak, impurity cannot be removed in this way; it is washed away only by spiritual wisdom. || 1 ||

FIRST MEHL: The impurity of the mind is greed, and the impurity of the tongue is falsehood. The impurity of the eyes is to gaze upon the beauty of another man's wife, and his wealth. The impurity of the ears is to listen to the slander of others. O Nanak, the mortal's soul goes, bound and gagged to the city of Death. || 2 ||

FIRST MEHL: All impurity comes from doubt and attachment to duality. Birth and death are subject to the Command of the Lord's Will; through His Will we come and go. Eating and drinking are pure, since the Lord gives nourishment to all. O Nanak, the Gurmukhs, who understand the Lord, are not stained by impurity. || 3 ||

- Interpretation of a passage from page 472 of Sri Guru Granth Sahib

Law student Mejindarpal Kaur is a former journalist who has a home in the United Kingdom. Denied the right to participate in seva at the Darbar Sahib in February this year, Kaur's visit to India has turned into a campaign for implementation of the equal rights of women recognised five hundred years ago as part of the Sikh faith.

The article appears courtesy New York based human rights group Voices For Freedom who facilitated a seminar in Washington earlier this month on Sikh Women's issues. This paper was presented at the seminar on behalf of Mejindarpal Kaur, who continues to remain in the Punjab.

Women Made To Feel Inferior To Men - The Underlying Issue

USA, New York -- The five person committee set up to advise the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on the right of Sikh women to undertake seva at Darbar Sahib will not be influenced by manipulation from anyone. This is the message conveyed in a telephonic interview by committee member Kharak Singh.

"The [seva] problem has to be solved on the basis of the Sikh principles of equality," said Singh.

Kharak Singh could not comment further because he did not have first hand knowledge of the Darbar Sahib management manipulating or pressurizing people to oppose the right of women to do seva.

News reports have stated that Darbar Sahib Manager, Ajaib Singh, and Raghbir Singh, Personal Assistant to the SGPC President, invited select women's groups to a meeting of the committee on May 8, 2003. About fifty to sixty women deposed to the SGPC that allowing kaar seva by women is against tradition.

One of the two Sikhs from the United Kingdom, who has been involved in the campaign to restore Sikh women's right to undertake Seva at the Darbar Sahib, Mejindarpal Kaur says that Ajaib Singh misled her by denying that he knew about the meeting or that he had invited any opposing Sikh women jathas to the meeting.

"He told me that the Press Reports are one hundred percent wrong," she said.

According to Kiranjot Kaur, Former General Secretary of the SGPC, the women now opposing the right of Sikh women to do seva had earlier agreed to support women's rights.

"I believe that these women have subsequently been pressured by the Darbar Sahib management to say at the meeting that Sikh women should not be allowed to do certain seva," she said.

Emphasizing that this is not a numbers game, Kharak Singh responds, "Even if there is any element of manipulation, it will have no effect on the final decision because the problem has to be solved on its merits."

When asked if the committee has reviewed the petitions by Sikh individuals and organisations worldwide for allowing seva, Kharak Singh said that he had seen the petitions and "they certainly could not be ignored." But, he reiterated, the decision will be made "largely on principle."

"Supporters on both sides of the issue are responsible for manipulating opinions," says Singh.

New York based human rights group, Voices For Freedom, has provided the SGPC with a list of the Sikh organisations worldwide that support women's right to seva, the SGPC stated simply that certain individuals and organisations have opposed the issue but has refused to name them or give their numbers.

"There are no restrictions in the Sikh doctrine on women's rights," stresses Kharak Singh. The issue before the committee is an administrative one. "We have to find ways to solve the practical problems."

The 'practical problems' are:

Time - The Sukhasan seva is performed at night, which may not be convenient for women.

Weight - The palki carried during the Sukhasan seva may be too heavy for women to handle.

Crowd - There is a lot of jostling among the men who are present to do the seva. Not a good situation for women to be in.

Long-standing ownership - Those who currently do the seva have come to feel that it is their right and they do not want to give it up.

Modesty - Ishnaan seva in the Darbar Sahib, after the Guru Granth Sahib is removed for sukhasan, is done by men in their keccheras, which women will not be expected to do.

Qualification - Keertan seva by a women's jatha (all women or mixed) is possible only when it qualifies under the same requirements as men's jathas.

"The social setup is different here," says Kiranjot Kaur, "People are bound by traditions and women, especially the older or uneducated ones, feel that they are inferior to men."

Although the women in Punjab have not been able to make a stand on the issue themselves, they blame the women from abroad for creating trouble. Kaur says that the younger generation has the awareness to make the change.

"The same situation happened with the approval of the Nanakshahi calendar," commented Kaur.

In a separate interview, author of the Nanakshahi calendar Pal Singh remarked, "The very people who opposed the calendar are now opposed to the women's seva issue. Although the SGPC approved the Nanakshahi calendar five years ago, it took that long for it to be implemented. This is now happening with the women's seva issue."

A final report is to be submitted by the committee on May 15, 2003.

With contributions by Voices For Freedom and Anju Kaur.

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/news/story...6E-50EAE34732E2

:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

Ganga Sagar

Story of the GANGA SAGAR

In 1705 Guru Gobind Singh Ji went to Machiwara after leaving Anandpur Sahib. During those severe hardship days same Rajas refused even to offer help to Guru Sahib due to the fear of death as Aurangzeb was after the life of Guru Sahib and his family. When Guru Sahib reach Raikot state, the Muslim Chief Rai Kalha welcomed him and felt honored in offering his service to Guru Sahib as his guest for as long as wanted to stay. Guru ji spent a few days with Rai Kalha.

It was in Raikot that Guru Sabib got the most tragic news of death of his two minor sons and his mother. The news was brought from Sarhind by Noora Mahi who was deputed by Rai Kalha for the seva of Guru Sabib.

Guru Sahib during his stay asked Noora Mahi to serve him milk in Ganga Sagar which was a part of his personal belongings. Noor Mahi said that this buffalo did not give milk and ever if did, the milk will not stay in Ganga Sagar as it had holes in it. Guru Sahib told him to utter the name of God and start milking the buffalo. To the surprise and amazement of Noora Mahi the buffalo gave milk and it did not leak out form Ganga Sagar. Before leaving Raikot, in recognition and in appreciation of the services and hospitality extended by Rai Kalha, a Muslim Chief, who risked his own family's lives, Guru Gobind Singh Ji presented Ganga Sagar , a sword and a Rehal at Rai Kalha as personal gifts.

How many of you attempted to take cold shower in amrit-vela??

I tried it today..so that i wont feel lazy and i wanted to test my faith towards guru...

i was about to take cold shower.. once i got in the middle..my mind thought what if i get phenuimia ??? since here in toronto even little sign of that they will quartinine afraid of its sars... and i failed my test... i couldnt even think of havin faith in guru completely and take the cold-shower instead my mind went somewhere else got insecure :cry: :cry:

then i thought if i cant even take cold-shower with full faith to vaheguroo ji how i m goin to give my head to the panth... what a loss!!! i always thought i had a strong faith in guru and.. i couldnt even take cold shower without thinkin of consquences regardless :cry: :cry: :cry:

Myths and Dreams: Hindutva Nationalism and the Indian Diaspora

Angana Chatterji

The mobilisation of Hindutva across the United States has damaging effects on the business community, academy, and society at large. It impacts how culture is shaped and community built in diaspora. It affects how decisions connected to India are made, collapsing Indian issues into Hindu issues. It influences how funding is allocated at universities, curriculum developed, temple organisation undertaken, development aid disbursed, and hate campaigns mounted against minority and progressive groups.

In the United States, funding for Hindu extremism is lavish and contentious. Amidst the recent exposure of the India Development and Relief Fund’s collection of hate money for harmful development in India, the Indian community is divided on the issue of supporting development through Hindutva affiliated organisations. Development is increasingly a vehicle through which the conscription for Hindu rightwing extremism takes place. The actions of Ekal Vidyalaya, Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad, Vivekananda Kendra, Sewa Bharati and other groups offer incriminating evidence of this. As Hindu nationalism infects the grassroots across India, Indians in the United States are questioning the consequences of financing Hindutva.

As we watch, L. K. Advani, Praveen Togadia and Narendra Modi continue their outrageous crusade, building support for an authoritarian Hindu nationalist movement. Intent on demonstrating the incompatibility of according minorities equal citizenship in India, the Sangh Parivar is popularising the contemptible idea of India as a Hindu nation that “tolerates minorities even better” than democratically challenged Pakistan or Bangladesh. In the nightmare of India’s present, secularism is fast becoming a commitment that the nation is willing to betray. It is prevalent to claim India as a Hindu nation, at least a nation of “soft Hindutva.” Hindutva, soft Hindutva, moderate Hindutva - ideologies soft on genocide. India is a secular republic, inclusive of diverse faith and non-faith groups. How can an India no longer committed to secularism remain committed to democracy?

The acceptability of a Hindu nation is predicated on the infidelity of non-Hindus, and assumptions of Muslim and Christian betrayal are imperative to legitimating Hindutva. The Sangh is assembling the political, social and economic conditions in which to be non-Hindu in India is no longer tenable, offering genocide as a “rational” response to the untruth of betrayal. What does loyalty look like when you are disempowered, afraid, discriminated against? Have we asked ourselves that as a nation?

Diaspora Indians must acknowledge the ascent of authoritarianism and tyranny in India and stop Sangh apologists in the United States from justifying hatred in the name of cultural nationalism. Organisations in the United States supporting India’s development must recognise the necessity of secularising development, and be vigilantly critical of development administered by sectarian organisations.

Development implemented by institutions affiliated with the Sangh Parivar only lays the groundwork for hate and civil polarisation. It fundamentally violates the terms on which disenfranchised communities wish to determine their right to life and livelihood. Dalits, adivasis, Christians, Hindus and Muslims across India speak of how their villages and watersheds intertwine, how crops are dependent on the run-off water from each other’s lands, and how they cannot afford to hate each other. In the guise of implementing development, Hindutva promotes malignant fictions that Christian missionary activity is placing Hinduism at risk, that Muslims are reproducing at a rate that threatens the Hindu majority of India.

Among adivasi communities, such “development” inflicts their forcible incorporation into Hinduism. This is unacceptable even if adivasis materially benefit from development because it facilitates cultural genocide. Adivasi self-determination movements have been struggling to rewrite the history of assimilation to which they have been subjected. The interpretation that they are an “underclass” of Hindus, who, with “necessary evolution”, may return to the fold is blatant ethnocentrism. Hinduisation is a ruinous process of colonisation. Such practice is unethical regardless of who undertakes it and how much economic development results.

Indians in America working for India’s development must prioritise the self-determination of local communities, and struggle against the institutionalised inequities of caste, religion, tribe, class and gender. They cannot base their aspirations for India’s future on the absurdly unsustainable development modelled by the United States or support the frameworks of cultural annihilation through which development is imagined and modernisation attempted by the Sangh. It is not a matter of building wells or developing roads, it is also a matter of deciding how needs and priorities are determined, access and decision making is enabled, how cultural difference is affirmed and identity politics supported. Development is the construction of political will toward rethinking inequitable relations of power. It is a mechanism expected to produce equity and ensure the human rights of the poor. This is possible only if we work with local movements to develop secular frameworks for change.

Those affiliated with Hindutva in the United States must be contested as they fashion an India of their imagination. The intensity and power of becoming in this new world, amidst vast differences, racism, assimilation, forces of homogenisation, is compounded by a hollow disconnection from what is most meaningful -- culture, home, identity, history. The greater the alienation, the greater the desire to grasp at fiction. In this abyss of diaspora, myths originate of an India that never was or should be. These myths nurture dreams where the Hindu prabashi (ex-patriot) can return to purge the motherland from impurities, to cleanse what is polluted, to restore honour and claim victory.

In the United States, the fervour of long distance Hindutva nationalism is intense. Dangerous stories circulate. Muslims are polygamous terrorists whose deliberate identification and massacre in Gujarat is justifiable, even necessary. The campaign for trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir is logical. Ayodhya is a defensible expression of cultural pride. In this unreflective chasm of proxy nationalism, a substantial community is supportive of Hindutva or unconcerned with its wretchedness.

Others misrepresent that support for a Hindu India is not support for Hindutva, only pride in the glory of India’s past, so from it one might craft India’s future. To rail, as so many do, against the persistence of structural inequities, of the horrors of history, of the politics of caste and cows in the present, is only to bear incriminating evidence of one’s own bastardisation, loss of purity, lack of faith and pride in “Indianness”. What is this Indianness? Indic culture, chaste, beautiful, Hindu, despoiled by conquest and colonisation. How is it manifest, fortified? A return to its origins, a proclamation of its sanctity. What is left out? The reality of India.

http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052003/images/massacre.jpg

India’s human rights abuses exceed even those of nations who have regularly hit the headlines for their violations of such rights. Augusto Pinochet, ex-Chilean dictator who seized power in 1973 and kept the country under military rule for the next sixteen years, is well known for his crimes against his people and the laws he enacted to protect himself and his henchmen. The Amnesty Law of 1978 protected persons accused of serious human rights crimes from prosecution. Nor could misuse of Anti-Terrorist Law of 1984 be challenged in a regular court. Only military tribunals had jurisdiction is such matters. The security forces in other words, were effectively insulated from the process of accountability with a servile judiciary conniving at this miscarriage of justice. Military tribunals were used to prosecute and convict ‘enemies of the State’ who were denied regular safeguards of law.

With the restoration of partial democracy in 1989 and the establishment of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation established by President Patricio Aylwin, a 1991 report of the Commission revealed that over 2100 Chilean citizens had been executed or had disappeared during the military regime. (It is worth noting that the CBI’s report to the Indian Supreme Court places the number of bodies secretly cremated by Punjab’s security forces in just one district of the state at 2097.)

The reforms that followed the publication of this report “picked up momentum after the second democratic election of Eduardo Frei in December 1993. Slowly, the judiciary began to pick up courage against the forces of impunity. In September 1994, two Santiago Court of Appeals judges applied principles of international law to strike down the 1978 Amnesty Law. They said that Chile’s adoption of the Geneva Convention and ICPR surpassed in its obligations the limitations of the domestic statutes. This decision became possible because of the 1991 Constitutional amendment that placed international obligations above domestic law.”

Pinochet, however, was not quite through with Chile. Despite the enormous power he still wielded as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, he also had himself appointed a Senator-for-Life to get immunity under Chile's Amnesty Law. But his past was catching up. Chile’s Supreme Court revoked his immunity in August, 2000 and he now faces prosecution in 171 criminal complaints filed by the relatives of his regime’s victims. The support of the military, the array of lawyers assembled by him, and the medical grounds he keeps citing will be unable to save him from the due process of justice.

In Argentina, under General Videla’s dictatorship established in March 1976, approximately 30,000 dissenters ‘disappeared’. But the totalitarian state was unable to deal with the vigil organized by the mothers of those who had disappeared. Known as Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo, their determination to keep alive the memory of their near ones forced Argentinean society - no less self-centered than India’s - to respond to their call and in the end these ‘Memory Women’, who would neither take money, nor other inducements, nor yield to threats but only wanted to know who took their relatives away and why, finally forced the military dictatorship into a corner where it collapsed under the weight of its own excesses.

In the African State of Rwanda, the International Criminal Tribunal based in Arusha, is prosecuting the country’s former key leaders for crimes committed against their own people in 1994-95. Altogether 100,000 suspects accused of genocidal crimes are in jail awaiting trial and punishment. While in Cambodia, a quarter of a century after the horrific genocide conducted under the gaze of the Khmer Rouge, “Extraordinary Chambers” have been established to bring guilty leaders to justice through a constructive Cambodian and international legal collaboration aimed at underscoring the paramountcy of human rights.

Compare the history of human rights in these countries - from careering downhill to the journey back to a just society - with the disgraceful and disgusting deeds which go unpunished in India’s ostensibly democratic society. The ultimate tragedy, of course, will be if our highest Courts - and statutory bodies like the National Human Rights Commission - start compromising with the majesty of the law they represent. At present the public looks to them for justice which it cannot get from India’s increasingly corrupt governments. Will it be wise to further alienate large segments of already disenchanted Indians ?

Even the Supreme Court’s own moves, from its prompt response to Khalra’s abduction in 1995 to its direction to the CBI and the NHRC, have - with the passage of time - shown a disconcerting indifference to bringing to justice those guilty of these crimes. When the CCDP failed to persuade the NHRC to review its order on the scope and modality of its inquiry into the disappearances and secret cremations, it moved the Supreme Court once again with the plea that the inquiry should not be confined to the limited area the Commission was insistent on, because of the evidence of illegal cremations the Committee of Disappearances had collected from six other districts in Punjab. But the Supreme Court rejected the petition in October, 1999; the same Court which four years earlier had taken such a principled stand on these inhuman crimes.

What was the nature of the new evidence and why was the Supreme Court disinterested in it ? The evidence from these six districts - other than Amritsar - proved that 934 bodies labelled as unidentified had been burnt there. In the Committee’s own words it had

“also completed a survey of 838 Incident-Reports of illegal abductions leading to disappearances from all over Punjab.

The survey showed that in 222 of the 838 incidents, one or more members of the families either committed suicide in despair or died under trauma. In 500 out of 838, family members reported morbid psychological effects, including clinical psychiatric symptoms. In 224 cases, the security forces had destroyed, damaged and confiscated family properties. In 290 cases of abductions, the persons who eventually disappeared had been seen in police custody. In 129 cases, the surviving relatives possessed sensitive information on 390 other incidents of enforced disappearance.

In 759 out of 836 incidents, the family members of the disappeared persons had also suffered brutal torture in police custody. The relatives of 149 victims incurred legal expenses to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court with petitions for writs of habeas corpus. Most of their petitions were dismissed following routine denials by the Punjab officials.”

Aren’t the above facts gruesome enough to rate the highest priority with the Supreme Court and the NHRC ? Leave aside the perverse delight the police seem to derive from torturing and painfully putting their victims to death (the detailed reports collected from Punjab make chilling reading), isn’t the trauma and psychological toll their disappearance takes of their families of any interest to these august institutions ? Or does the Court’s interest depend on who sits on the bench, and wanes with the change of justices ?

Whatever the reason, the thing to remember is that peoples’ memories are long. And as the Chilean, Argentinean, Rwandan and Cambodian examples show it does not matter how many years elapse before justice is finally delivered. If the paramountcy of law can prevail in those countries after decades of waiting, India too should be able to do it. It too should be able to bring to trial and punish those responsible for crimes against humanity, even though at present the soft and unfocused Indian state lionises such men whose hands are awash with the blood of thousands of their innocent countrymen.

Why do Indians fawn on such killer policemen who do not enforce laws but break them with their wilful ways. As Padam Rosha, whose distinguished career in the police spanned some of the most difficult postings, puts it: “A culture is being built up in India which denigrates the ‘due process’ of law as piddling constraints and glorifies officers who use force to teach lessons. But the use of force by the State, which is not sanctioned by law, can never carry the aura or justice, and this loss of legal and moral underpinning will further alienate people as the police depend on higher levels of force in dealing with them.”

How true ! In the final count the Courts of Justice and the National Human Rights Commission can either be bulwarks against wayward governments and their hitmen in uniform, or they can fall by the wayside as many other institutions in India have already done. Hopefully they will stand up to their lofty calling.

National Human Rights Commission Turns Blind Eye To Sikh Killings

The proceedings of the National Human Rights Commission’s full bench on February 15 in New Delhi could grievously damage the credibility and moral authority of the nation’s premier rights body. Presided over by its Chairman, Justice J. S. Verma, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the bench, acting on a reference by the Supreme Court, rejected arguments which could have revealed the true dimensions of the worst genocide in independent India.

By refusing to look at extrajudicial killings - despite overwhelming evidence of indiscriminate executions by the state’s security forces - which took place in all districts of Punjab instead of just one, it has shaken the confidence many people had placed in it.

It also rejected the plea to ask the Supreme Court for futher elaboration of its mandate, even though the Court’s original order of December 12, 1996 allows the Commission to come back for clarifications or difficulties.

Its stand on enforced disappearances, arbitrary executions and secret cremations in Punjab reinforces the view of those who maintain that it is meant to provide badly-needed respectability to India’s abysmal human rights record, and not to expose and punish those who think nothing of denying Indians even the right to life. This impression was again reinforced on February 15 when the Commission’s unchanging stand dampened hopes of families whose relatives had become victims of police brutalities on Punjab’s killing fields.

No doubt these hearings will continue in the months ahead, just as they have sluggishly continued for over four years which have passed since the Supreme Court first asked the NHRC to determine all the issues arising from a Central Bureau of Investigation’s report to the Court on enforced disappearances and secret cremations by Punjab’s security forces from 1984 to 1994.

Credit for bringing these crimes to the Supreme Court’s attention goes to Jaswant Singh Khalra, a tireless human rights worker from Amritsar, and a group called the Committee for Information and Initiative on Punjab. (CIIP). Khalra had in a press note on January 16, 1995 accused the state’s security agencies of secretly cremating thousands of dead bodies under the label of unidentified. He showed that those cremated were earlier picked up by the police to ascertain their separatist sympathies. Khalra’s disclosures were supported by data gathered from cremation grounds’ registers for the purchase of firewood, and also from the Registrar of Births and Deaths.

With Punjab’s High Court rejecting Khalra’s petition for a comprehensive enquiry into police killings and cremations, the CIIP moved the Supreme Court for “an impartial and independent investigation into the systematic and sustained policy of extrajudicial executions and disposal of dead bodies”.

The Court instituted two CBI enquiries after Khalra himself was abducted by armed policemen from his Amritsar home on September 6 of the same year. Despite widespread outrage, protests by Indian and overseas human rights organizations, and assurances by Punjab’s Advocate General, Khalra was never seen again nor was his body recovered which is what Ajit Singh Sandhu, Taran Taran’s Senior Superintendent of Police had predicted !

Sandhu had warned Khalra that unless he “ceased his involvement in the matter [of investigating police excesses] he would also become an unidentified body”, which in fact this courageous man did become.

Of the two inquiries assigned to the CBI, the first was to ascertain Khalra’s own disappearance, the second to establish the substance of Khalra’s accusations about “a gory tale of human rights violations”.

In the first the CBI held nine officers of the Punjab police responsible for Khalra’s abduction; in the second it fully supported Khalra’s allegations. The CBI’s investigations revealed 2097 illegal cremations in Amritsar district alone of which 585 cremations were fully identified, 274 partially identified and 1238 unidentified. The disclosure of these “flagrant violations of human rights on a mass scale” led the Supreme Court to refer the matter to the NHRC.

With the report of India’s key investigating agency before it, and a clear directive from the nation’s highest Court in its hands, how did the National Human Rights Commission go about its mandate? According to the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP) “four years after the NHRC received the mandate the matter, as we must report in great anguish, is on the brink of a dishonorable conclusion.

The proceedings have been characterized by an atmosphere of encouragement of impunity and seeming collaboration with the very same forces of injustice and violence that gave rise to the original need to move the Supreme Court. On January 13, 1999, after two years of wrangling on the preliminary issues, the Commission capitulated before the sources of impunity and decided to limit the inquiry to only 2097 cases of cremations in Amritsar district mentioned in the CBI’s report. With the crucial emphasis on cremations, the Commission deliberately shifted the enquiry from its basis in the fundamental human rights law to limited technical issues. More than anything else, the requirement that a complaint of enforced disappearance to qualify attention should first demonstrate cremation was downright absurd.

Further, by limiting the inquiry to incidents of cremation in Amritsar listed in the CBI’s report, the Commission discriminated against identically situated victims of atrocities in other parts of Punjab. It refused to extend the scope of the inquiry to cover all incidents of police abduction, forced disappearance, custodial executions and illegal disposal of dead bodies by cremation and other ways, throughout the state of Punjab.”

This curious stand of the Commission not only degrades the universality of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, it also vitiates the principal of equality before the law under Article 14. According to Ram Narayan Kumar, Convenor of the CCDP, despite all the evidence they could muster to persuade the NHRC to change its stand “the Commission remained unmoved”. This was again evident on February 15.

Kumar maintains that with a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the head of it, the NHRC should know “that all international legal instruments define enforced disappearance as an ongoing crime. The main instruments being the Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, 1992, the Inter-American Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons, 1994, the International Draft Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Forced Disappearance, 1998, and Article 7 (i) of the International Criminal Court Statute.”

Aside from internationally accepted laws framed to deal with such crimes, the Indian judiciary too is invested with wide powers to deal with violations against a citizen’s person and prerogatives. As one observer put it in context of forced disappearances and mass cremations in Punjab:

“In the beginning all seemed well The Commission’s August 4,1997 order on the preliminary issues said that it was a sui generis designate of the Supreme Court under Article 32 and its powers to fulfill the reference will not be constrained by any limiting provision of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. In September 1998, the Supreme Court upheld the Commission’s understanding of its powers in the matter against the Union government’s objections.

Four months after receiving this endorsement the NHRC capitulated before the forces of impunity and imposed technical, territorial and temporal restrictions on the scope of the inquiry, odious to the meaning of Article 32.”

What happened in those four months? Why did the NHRC climb down from its resolve to exercise its powers to the fullest, to the level of quibbling over the scope of its enquiry, and which crimes it would look into and which it wouldn’t ? Was it influenced by the Government of India through its Home Ministry which has over the years not only openly approved state-sponsored police brutalities in Punjab but has continued to give the police ever greater powers which were used with stunning savagery and impunity.

Repeated amendments of the Constitution provide evidence of the extent to which the statute was bent to bring Punjab to its knees, with 30 Punjab-related Acts, Constitutional Amendments and Ordnances promulgated between 1983 and 1989. Why? Because a small percentage of the State’s population was militating against the excesses of the government - including its savaging of the Golden Temple - New Delhi felt it was time to break the will of Punjab’s people !

The separatist movement was exaggerated beyond belief and the enforced disappearances, arbitrary executions, and secret cremations became a part of the pogrom that followed.

Source

pls discuss.. this is a serious problem we are facing...

Overcoming Exclusionary Practices and Obstacle in the Sikh Religion

Yogi Kaur

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First, I want to state clearly, my family and I are thankful to be Amritdhari Sikhs. We have no problems with Sikhism, except for the exclusionary behavior that has been witnessed worldwide. So, as you read, please don't think, we dislike Sikhism --- because that is far from the truth.

I was a Bahai, who grew up in the Christian religion. My husband was a Bahai when we met. There is much racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity in the Bahai Faith, which was founded by Persians from Iran. When I started studying Sikhism, I researched to find out if the Bab had met any of the Sikh Gurus or their followers, but they were centuries apart. You see Sikhism and Bahaism are quite similar.

Being introduced to a non-Persian and Persian Bahai is easier than being introduced to a Sikh. I just find it odd that Sikhism was out there all along. A hello, or accessible information lying around, would have ended more than 2 decades of searching, with me becoming a Sikh in the 1980s. I worshipped at the Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, Sathya Sia Baba Center, Suma Ching Hai Center, God Realization Center, and non-denominational Christian and Unity churches.

During the 1980s, I remember weekly going to the alternative bookstores looking at their places of worship boards in hopes of ending my search. At many of the bookstores I visited (regarding other religions), I was either approached by an individual, saw information on the boards, saw a booklet or pamphlet lying around, and/or just saw information on bookshelves.

No one ever tried to convert me. They demonstrated kindness and made me feel welcomed. At a Sathya Sia Baba service, some Indian females gave me Indian saris and dresses; and, showed me how to wear them. I never requested these items, they just gave them to me, even though my western clothing was suitable. Plus, they presented translated and transliterated notebooks of prayers and songs to the visitors and seekers. As a repeated seeker, I was given a notebook.

Even up to May 2002, not one Sikh had approached me. I never saw Sikhs or books about Sikhism in bookstores, on university campuses, posted information about the local gurudwaras, or pamphlets/booklets about Sikhism. A friend found out about the Sikh religion from me; and, when I described how Sikhs dress, she remembered a classmate in Chiropractic College who dressed that way. I asked her if he shared information about his religion during those years? She told me she spoke to him regularly, but he never talked about Sikhism.

Even now if we are out and see other Sikhs, we are the first to approach them and say hello. They never approach us. Now really, we have all our 5 Ks on, including turban. I just don't get it. Our friends, including strangers, from other religions tend to walk up and speak if we don't see them first. Even our Jehovah Witnesses friends knowing good and well we have decided to be Sikhs still speak to us.

When strangers ask me about my dress style, I tell them about the Sikh religion; and, where they can find information. For those interested, I hand them a pamphlet. I don't want others ending up the way I did with decades of searching for an invisible religion that has been here all along. Time would be saved for seekers if time was taken by members of the Sikh religion to present information on boards and shelves in schools and bookstores, set up tables on school campuses like the secular and religious students, and place books in major bookstores.

When one finds out about the Bahai Faith and demonstrates curiosity, people answer their questions. They tell others where their place of worship is located. They invite non-Bahais to their social gatherings for activities and fun. Guests and seekers are not ignored when they visit the Bahai place of worship. They do not mind picking up or finding a ride for the guests. They tend to speak the language of the country they visit, or live in, along with their Farsi. People don't go to a service and hear only Farsi spoken, prayed, and sung. They tend to do both out of respect for everyone present.

There is no other religion, I can think of, that has their guests, seekers, and members experiencing a 1-3 h worship service not understanding what is said, prayed, and sung. And, telling them, "No, we can't speak your language through translators or find translated books. That's against our religion and shows disrespect to the Guru Granth Sahib and members. It is wrong to translate the Bani prayers and Guru Granth. Just try to learn Punjabi? It's easy.

It is not easy to learn, especially since most seekers and new Sikhs have very little contact with other Sikhs, except when they go to the gurudwaras for worship services and activities. It is not easy if you are of a certain age and/or have little to no daily contact with Punjabi speaking Sikhs. It is agreed that it is positive for people to learn other languages; yet, there are many factors involved in learning another language. And, these need to be considered when asking others to learn a particular language.

It is a given that the original language is the best way to see every nuance of a writing, whether it be ancient writings centuries and centuries old or current writings. Yet, inhibiting, stifling, excluding, and preventing others from locating, learning, researching, utilizing, discussing, and absorbing the information in their own written and spoken language due to their not being able to read, write, and/or speak the original language centuries old is appalling, exclusionary, and demonstrating intolerance for others.

The Bab, Baha'u'llah, and Abdul'Baha, founders of the Bahai religion, also wrote their own writings and plans for the religion used by the Bahai Faith today. They experienced horrible persecution from early Muslim leaders. Like Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh, they did not refuse to help others understand, learn, and practice. Many of their writings and prayers are translated and placed in an orderly manner (with table of contents at the beginning). It is not difficult to find the writings or contact the Bahai headquarters in each country to order the books, magazines, pamphlets, videotapes, music, etc. One does not have to even buy them, because of the generosity of the Bahais.

Though, I do remember a negative incident as a new Bahai in a new city. At my first service, no one spoke to me; and, the entire service was in Farsi. No effort was made to translate for the non-Farsi speaking people. I knew nothing of what was going on or said during the service; and, I felt bad because I was stared at as well. I called my former Bahai community to speak to one of the Persian committee members and his wife. The first question they asked, "The majority of the people were Persian, right?" I said, "Yes." They heard my story and asked questions. Unbeknownst to me, they called the committee of the other community, because that week, the secretary, who was out of town during the incident, called, apologized, and asked me to return, because it was not going to be the same. He told me he was furious when he heard what happened, stating that the committee had a meeting and things were to change immediately.

Sure enough, that very month, young people translated, so that everyone could understand the service. And, when I walked in, I was welcomed and treated nicely along with the other non-Persians in the congregation. After that, I noticed the same in the other surrounding communities. Persian families opened their doors to non-Persians for social gatherings. One Persian family, living in a mansion, have Friday night discussions, music, food, and fun for new Bahais, non-Bahais, and non-Persians. Professional musicians are invited to sing as well as Bahai speakers and writers. Without anyone talking to them, guests privately ask the hosts what they needed to do to become Bahais.

There was no converting, harassing, intimidating, scaring, etc. This is called sharing, by example, with interested people and those still learning. And, this is how members of the Sikh religion can share.

Just like other religions, there were study guidebooks and groups. When I showed interest in Sikhism and asked about the study groups and Guru Granth Sahib study guidebook, I was told there were none or the group was conducted only in Punjabi. I love reading the Guru Granth Sahib (translated and transliterated). It is difficult, though, when you are new and there are no table of contents or study guidebooks for searching, researching, and learning. Plus, it is quite expensive to purchase and hard to find as well as the Banis that offer translations and transliterations. Where I live, none of the bookstores had ever heard of it; and, when they conducted a search, I was blown away by the price. The people at the bookstores said they were sorry and as a substitute, they had the Bible, Koran, Torah, etc. and asked, "Will these work?" Thank God, I found sikhnet.com and their Guru Granth Sahib online along with the Banis.

A Sikh seeker is really on their own, because very few people are willing to help. It is quite a difficult and lonely road to travel. The journey isn't easy because the resources and materials aren't accessible. Other religions do not do this to seekers. This is just not right and conducive towards helping others understand, show interest in, and/or even become a Sikh.

Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh laid the foundation and built the Sikh religion on behalf of God. It is a religion designed to draw people to God in order to live their lives as God wants. The founders of Sikhism just happened to be Punjabi. Being culturally Punjabi is not the same as being Sikhs. Sikhism is for God's purpose to draw others closer; and, give guidelines on following and serving God. It is not for becoming Punjabi.

The religion was created for humanity through humans on behalf of God to benefit all of humanity on the planet.

Members of the Sikh religion, just like the Bahai religion, Muslim religion, Buddhist religion, Christian religion, etc. live in every country for a reason and purpose. Members of the Sikh religion definitely should not convert and harass people. Yet, they definitely should not hide the teachings, writings, songs, and amrit baptism of God, inside their own culture, castes, and ethnicity. Thereby, preventing others from seeing it (Sikh religion), hearing it (Sikh religion), speaking it (Sikh religion), learning it (Sikh religion), becoming it (Sikhs), and practicing it (Sikh religion).

This means Sikhs residing in every country can readily do the same. It doesn't take months and years to change easily changeable ways of doing things inside and outside of the gurudwaras due to cultural, ethnic, and caste ideologies, considering Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh clearly wrote the Sikh religion guidelines on behalf of God. It is important to remember that the changes made on behalf of God, and out of respect for the Gurus, are for the benefit of the visitors, seekers, and new Sikhs to Sikhism.

If members of the Bahai Faith, the youngest religion (5/23/1844), and the other religions can open their homes and services to others from diverse backgrounds when they live in, or move to, other countries, then surely the members of the Sikh religion can do the same.

For God's sake, even the African-American leader of the "Nation of Islam", Minister Louis Farrakhan, overcame exclusionary practices and obstacles, allowing every racial, ethnic, and cultural group to join. He speaks and has writings many languages; thereby, allowing others in. This definitely opened the door to new seekers.

If Minister Louis Farrakhan can transform the "Nation of Islam" members to change and open their doors to every group no matter what their race, ethnicity, and culture, then surely members of Sikhism on behalf of God and the Gurus can do the same in every country they live in.

In summary, the main obstacles members of the Sikh religion worldwide must overcome are:

i. Excuses for rudeness and ignoring the curious, guests, and seekers.

ii. Believing or behaving as if the Sikh religion belongs only to and is exclusively for those who are of a particular caste and/or culturally and ethnically Indian and from Punjab.

iii. Not opening their doors and homes to non-Indian and non-Punjabi seekers and Sikhs.

iv. Telling non-Punjabi speakers that the only way to understand, learn, research, discuss, absorb, and receive God's blessings, guidance, and enlightenment in the Sikh religion is through reading the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Bani prayers in their original languages. God enlightens, blesses, guides, and transforms people as God sees fit.

v. Having their non-Punjabi speaking guests, seekers, and Sikh members sit through 1-3 h of a worship service not understanding what is said, prayed, and sung; thereby, preventing learning and participation in worshipping God.

vi. Ignoring seekers and new Sikhs requests and concerns by taking months, years, or decades to handle solvable issues and problems that are easily resolved within a week or month, because the guidelines for Sikhism were clearly written by the Gurus centuries ago.

vii. Showing lack of joy and happiness when seekers of the Sikh religion move forward towards behaving as true Sikhs and receiving amrit baptism.

viii. Not establishing, by just asking for volunteers to sign-up and join, rotational sewa subcommittees in the gurudwaras of:

* Volunteer translators made up of teens, youth, and/or adults.

* Volunteer welcomers (ushers) to greet guests and seekers.

* Volunteer information attendants to assist guests, seekers, and new Sikhs.

* Adult Punjabi school for only seekers and new Sikhs unfamiliar with the verbal and written language.

* Children Punjabi school for only children of seekers and new Sikhs unfamiliar with the verbal and written language, because Punjabi is not spoken in their households and among their family friends and members.

* Sri Guru Granth Sahib (translated and transliterated) study groups with study guidebooks for non-Punjabi speaking seekers and new Sikhs conducted in their own language.

* Volunteers of amritdhari Sikhs willing to administer amrit baptism, as well as the preparation and maintenance involved in doing so.

* Volunteers of teens and youth to oversee technical, audio, and visual matters relating to the gurudwara services. One example would consist of downloading onto a large viewing screen translated and transliterated raags/songs with page numbers, lectures by the granthic, prayers, Guru Granth Sabib readings with page and section numbers, and announcements for everyone in the congregation.

* Volunteers that oversee all types of matters that may arise in the gurudwara; thereby, freeing the gurudwara committee to focus on other important matters.

ix. Making the Sikh religion inaccessible, invisible, and hidden by not:

* Providing major and other bookstores with books about Sikhism and the translated Sri Guru Granth Sahib (which can easily be placed on shelves behind glass).

* Posting Sikhism with gurdwara information and locations on boards in alternative bookstores, on campuses, and other locations.

* Setting up information tables on campuses as other secular and religious student groups.

* Just being friendly, saying hello to non-Indian and non-Punjabi people (seekers and the curious), and allowing them to ask questions.

* Just saying hello to other Sikhs, especially the new, non-Indian, and non-Punjabi Sikhs, and providing them with assistance and guidance.

* Inviting and/or finding a ride for interested persons and seekers of the Sikh religion.

* Publicly appearing as a Sikh with both the men and women wearing their 5 Ks and turbans (men and women).

In conclusion, I am an African-American married to a Euro-American and we have a young son who is biracial. This is important to share because the journey leading to my family and I becoming Amritdhari Sikhs could have been less bumpy, but God has kept us on the path. We truly believe our race, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds have contributed to our bumpy ride towards becoming accepted members of the Sikh religion.

I look forward to presenting more in my next article. In the meantime, look around and see if there are any exclusionary practices and obstacles that can be easily changed on behalf of God.

Here the some of the questions... everyone please answer em.. doesnt matter if its wrong or right answer... we are all here to learn...............

1. Why we here in this world?????????

2. what happens when you are in your mother's womb??? what do u do then?

3. why you think you deserve to live as human... what you do for the world ???

4. what happens when you see poor child on tv??? what do u feel?? can you picture urself in that suitation??? thank vaheguroo for not being in that suitation then why we as humans always brag brag brag ?????????

5. do u beleive in hell and heaven in this earth??? why so???

6. do u beleive rebirths as animals after death?? do u believe in 8.4 million cycles of birth and death??? what do u do to prevent it????

7. why we have ego????? why we always top of each other provin each other wrong??

8. why we are soo attached with fellow human being and forget about getting attached with vaheguroo???

9. what happens when you have a bad dream ??? do u think life is a dream ???????

10. what would u choose?? Piece of mind or Materliastic things like (gals, drinks, car, bunglow, paradise, popularity, gun).. which is more valuable after all????

11. Define vaheguroo?? Define 9 doors??? Define the tenth door??

here are all the questions.. i dont expect perfect answers for anyone.. we are all here to learn... sowwie my english is not that good..

Very simple question.

Religion and politics do they go hand in hand or are they opposite forces?

should sikhs get involved in politcs? or avoid it like the plague?

what does gurbani say about politics?

did the guru's every delve into politics themselves?

Sikhs been living in canada, uk and usa more than 100 yr but our soo called gurdwara leaders has completely failed to educated western media about our relegion.. forget about other peeps but we couldnt even educate our youths?????

I was sittin down i thought... It would be really good acheivement if we can atleast produce 100 singhs/singhani's each to Police Foundation, Miltary Recruitment, Marines, Yoga-Teachers, Bus-Drivers, Teachers/Prof in schools, Banks, Reporters, NASA, NSA, , Pilots, Ceo's, Mps, Congress, Missionary Movements every year???????????

is that too much too ask for???

Inorder for us to do that.. First we need filter all our 1st generation old greedy so called president of gurdwaras... bring 2nd generation sikhs to run the show...

If we are to compare us with jews we are not even a bit close to em in terms of acheivements...

If sikhi was given to white people.. They would have saturated the media with sikhs.....look at us... we are soo busy fighting among emselves.. either its has to do with dumb caste, or either it has to do with different rehat maryada, tables and chairs ... we always fight... is that why guru ji gave us sikhi by scarificing their whole family????????????????????????

pls share view ur ideas..oh there might be some of the sikhs here might not agree with missionary movements?? i disagree with em... we have to present sikh relegion to every human being out there.. concepts and beleifs....

Atleast attempt to put choices infront of em.. rest of that is up to em.. forget about missionary movement...we cant even educate our own sikh youths???

Considering the seriousness of the youths issue we are facing right now... I beg to everyone here if you got basic understanding of sikhi ..try atleast one hour a week to spread the words of sikhi through emails or in person to ur family, cousins, relatives & freinds... just atleast make an attempt to educate em..

you gotta remember this.. gurbani is like a arrow if your heart is hard it will hit you but it wouldnt effect.. however if your heart is soft it will hit you , effect you and purify you with AMRIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

vaheguroojikakhalsavaheguroojikifateh.......... AKAAAAL HE AKAAAAL

Naam Simran is a purely spiritual experience within reach of all humanity irrespective of race creed on social status. Success varies and depends on the practitioner’s earnestness as well as the Master’s grace.

Why we must practice ‘Naam simran’? Because it brings inner tranquillity. This practice is superior to all other forms of worship. It is at the root of Gurbani. It places no restriction of time and space and does not need the help of any other person or material posture.Amongst all religious practices ‘Naam-simran’ is the simplest, a purifier for both mind and heart. It is like the all-pervasive light of the sun.

‘Naam-simran’ reins in the mind and intellect (man aur budhi) from within, order to understand the physical phenomenal word and transcend its wisdom. Naam is the holiest of the holy; practice of simran destroys the cause of our bondage, namely, our Karma (good or bad actions). Even the greatest sinner attains to the supreme position through Naam-simran. The only focus that one discovers by study of Guru Granth Sahib is that we must always and constantly meditate on Him and His Name. Just as the furnace melts gold and other metals so as to purify them, so the Name of the Lord acts as the best solvent of all problems of this world. No evil can befall one who is engrossed in Naam.

There are however some pitfalls. Sadly ‘Naam-simran’ has become a topic of discussion rather than of practice amongst our intellectuals. Argument is the antithesis of meditation. Efforts for conducting seminars on topic are merely intellectual exercises, missing the Naam - Amrit and initiation.

Internalising the Divine Spirit: The word ‘Naam’ is the object of simran (meditation) whereas the word ‘Simran’ is remembering, uttering, or Jap in meditation. Thus ‘Naam-simran’ is remembrance of God’s Name. The question arises, what or whose name? The simple answer is Satnaam Waheguru the name of True Wonderful Lord, who is All-pervading True and Eternal. The Lord is One Alone, Who Ever was, Is Now and Ever shall be, - the Akal Purukh, ‘Waheguru’. His name is True. Guru Nanak and successor Gurus, throughout the holy Gurbani, maintain that one must contemplate upon formless God, Infinite God alone, Who is Creator, and dwells everywhere.

"Life makes it opportune

To seek the glorious Divine

The Divine is within and not without

Properly attune-or One’s out".

Guru Nanak: Raag Prabhati

"niralamb nirahar nehkewal nirbhav tadi lawai" (....resting mind on the Self, Detached, Hungerless and Fearless God). In an answer to the Siddhas, Guru Nanak replies thus: "antar bahar eko janai" - focus the mind upon One Lord (who is One within and outward)

Fix thy mind on the Enternal Being, the True Purusha" sat-purkh akal murat ridai dharoh dhian".

"Ved puran jas gun gavat tako naam hiai mai dharre".

Guru Tegh Bahadar says, in Raga Gaudi. Enshrine yea His Name in thy heart Whose praise is sung by Vedas and Puranas".

Guru Arjun : Sukhmani Raag Gaudi.

"naam ke dhare sagle jant-naam ke dhare khand brahmand,

Naam ke dhare sagal akar-naam ke dhare puria sabh bhavan."

Thy Name (the All Pervading Divine Spirit) is support of all beings, O Lord.

Thy Name is the support of the worlds, verify the Universe.

Thy Name is Support of all life forms.

Yea, Thy Name is the support of all continents and spheres.

The Tenth Master, Guru Govind Singh, defined the objective as follow :

"tahi ko dhian parman hie jou tha, ab hai ar agai u jaiv hai".

A Slow Process : We must understand that if our meagre and early practice of ‘Naam-simran’ does not produce any earth-shaking result we should not lose patience. We should feel encouraged by the belief that the path has been found out, and it is only a question of time when we will reach our destination.

There are some hymns which must necessarily be taken from the Guru Granth Sahib with the help of a pious friend, or elder or scholar - Granthi. The most popular technique is the repetition and daily reciting of Gurbani. ‘Sat Naam’ or ‘Waheguru’ is very powerful jaap; several practitioners reveal that without ‘Satnm, Waheguru’ the seeker cannot achieve his purpose. For the name and the object named are not different. When the heart is purified by the practice of Pranava, or Dhun/Naad, the practice hears same sound. In the first stage, one feels a thrilling sensation in the skin, gradually passes through several stages to reach last and final (tenth) stage; that through devotion to Waheguru, the Self is known, and the difficulties are removed.

Realisation Within: By practicing ‘Naam-simran’ the seeker of Truth, or Gursikh, comes to know the secret of Gurbani within himself, in second to fourth stage he perceives the finer spring of words, hear cosmic (Naad) sound, next he starts loosening of worldly sense and at last stage the knowledge of Divine Self comes in full effulgence.

Just Because

"The Ego"

There is fine film, a curtain lies between God and us that is ego.

Ego has many many manifestations...We all love to play with it and massage each other.

SLANDER"

Is another manifestation of this enticing vice....

It thrives on other's expense.

Gossip.......

Is another manifestation of ego.

It has no respect for justice.

It injures without killing. It breaks hearts and ruin lives.

It is cunning and malicious and gathers strength with age.

The more it is quoted, the more its believed.

Its victims are helpless, They can not protact themselves against it, because it has no name and no face......

To tract it down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive it becomes.....

IT IS NOBODY'S FRIEND...

ONCE IT TARNISHES A REPUTATION LIFE IS NEVER THE SAME.......

It topples governments, religious institutions, priests, ministers, Saints,

GurSikhs(Sikh, means to seek a truth) And wrecks marriages friendship, fills one's mind with unfounded doubts.

Anyone comes in its way gets tarnished....

It ruins careers and causes sleepless nights, heartaches and indigestion.

It makes innocent people cry in their pillow. It makes headlines and headaches.....

Even its name hisses, It has no face or sound and is quite silent killer.....

And it is loved by all. The Hindu demi-gods, 33 million in all couldn't resist it, accept Vishnu.....

It has conquered them all as well.....

Its every where.....

As God is...

Before you repeat a story, ask yourself a question, Is it true? Is it harmless? Is it necessary or someone phones you think twice, am I being used.....don't act on impluses. Even you may know the person, Are you that clairvoyant, that you can read people's mind. If you have no proof or don't know the truth, don't repeat it....

People in orient call Maya, an illusion and Christians call it Mammon and Muslims call it Satan".

IT USES ALL TO FULFILL ITS DIRTY DEEDS.

IT ONLY HURTS PEOPLE. IF YOU BELIEVE OR MEDITATE ON God's NAME, THIS IS AN ASTRAL EGO, ONLY CHECKING YOU OUT

WHERE YOU STAND WITH GOD".

Be kind to yourself and with others. Don't listen to people, seek the truth instead.

We are here to seek truth on this earth...

ByJagdish Singh, who adopted Sikhism teachings and lives in California.

HAIR VS. NAILS:

It is often argued that hair and nails are similar, and a question frequently asked: "If we should not cut our hair, then why do we cut our nails?" But even a superficial study of the two shows them to be extremely different from each other. Whereas the hair grows from a tubular pit, the hair follicle, formed by sinking in of the most actively dividing layer of the skin, i.e., stratum germinativum, into the lower dermis, the nails are only modifications of the upper dead layers of the skin, i.e. stratum corneum. Further, the base of every follicle bulges out forming an inverted cup, which receives blood capillaries for nourishment and nerve fibres that make the hair sensitive to contact. An oil gland, known as sebaceous gland, opens into every hair follicle, the secretion of which lubricates the hair. A muscle is also attacked to the base of every hair for bringing about movement. Pigments are added to the shaft of the hair as it grows. None of these features is associated with nails.

Structurally also hair is extremely strong, and resists breaking due to its elasticity and flexibility. Hair is as strong as steel, if we compare the two of the same diameter. Nails, on the other hand, are very brittle and rigid, breaking off easily. Hair number in thousands, thereby increasing the surface area, as if to meet a specific requirement. Nails number only twenty.

The difference between the two do not end with the structural features. Even the body?s response towards the two is totally different. Our body, throughout life, tries to maintain a particular length of hair, and if cut anywhere along the length, responds by growing them again to the specific length. It clearly indicates the link of the body with the hair all along its length.

The body shows no such response to the nails, which grow from birth to death at the same rate, irrespective of whether cut or not. As has been mentioned earlier, even the shafts of hair, like any other living organ of the body, respond to ageing (in their length, density of growth, greying, etc.) and condition of health is reflected in the person?s hair (in their lustre, shine, etc.), whereas from the dead part of the nail, one can infer no such thing.

Practically also, hair do not interfere in any daily activity, whereas it is impossible to function at all with long nails. And even if not cut, nails generally fall off of their own easily; rather it takes great effort to maintain them, even upto a short length. In contrast to the long list of the functions of hair, only one function can be attributed to nails - that is, protection of the tips of digits.

Amritsar

By a French Sikh, Valerie Clerc

Capped with a big golden dome,

proudly erected in the heart of a miserly town,

flagship of a pitful squadron,

from the top of its bronze walls muffles the big temple

murmurs of coloured believers

and complaints of the martyrs of its faith.

Amritsar!

Gone is meditation time,

stopped are these religious moanings,

suppressed usual psalms

covering your cold obstinacy.

Open is the road for confrontations

fights, massacres of their faith.

Amritsar

Out of the fiery mouths of cannon

spitting the darkest intolerance towards you

one day shall the clouds of hope go

hoaxing liturgical fabric for ever.

Amritsar! Amritsar !

Hope and life of a sickly people

keep forgiveness in your conch

for the foe (who is) thousand times too many

who tramples on your faithful platonic lovers.

Amritsar! Amritsar!

I m very netural about khalistan(sikh-separate state) but i like to know 1947 treaty signed by jawalal nehru promising us for separate state..

does any1 know anything about it??

Sikh Youth Essay on Sikhism in Today's World

SikhNet Special Essay

Written by

Fateh Singh Bhai

14 years old

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh.

Who are we - today? As Sikhs, are we as devoted to our Gurus as our ancestors were a few hundred years ago? Are we willing to lay down our lives for our convictions and beliefs; our freedoms and rights? In the past, Sikhs have endured unspeakable torture and have drawn their swords, even against impossible odds, to defend their faith. It seems as if today, Sikhs are disregarding the words of wisdom stated by our Gurus and have dismissed the true Sikh way of life. Many of us are quick to surrender to a hedonistic illusion of temporal pleasures and self-indulgence. Instead of wanting to stand out, to be noticed, to be unique, we choose to camouflage.

Have you ever seen someone with grotesque tattoos, an outrageous hairdo of many colors, and innumerable body pierces? Why would anyone want to have this kind of appearance? It may be flamboyant or gaudy, but that’s the purpose. The individual wants to be recognized. It cries for attention, “Look at me! I’m different.” In a similar but noble way, a Sikh’s turban makes him distinct, especially in the Western world. However, there are pressures that are collateral with being different.

Because of these pressures, many Sikh children and teenagers pay no heed to their parents’ pleas to not give up on their Sikh identity. The media plays a villainous role in defiling the youth of America, and Sikh children and teenagers are no exception. We see glorifications of extravagant material wealth, sex, violence, drugs, and decadence. These vices are in direct contradiction to what Sikhism teaches. The media has the potential to deprave our minds. It’s easy to just give in to what it feeds us.

Constant pressure does eventually take its toll on certain people. I, for one, am infinitely proud of my heritage. I realize that I am Guru Gobind Singh’s son and lion. No amount of adversity can coerce me into giving up my religion. I look different because of my turban and I will soon have a full-grown beard like my father and my grandfather.

The illusion of maya has a tight grasp around our necks. Worldly wealth has blinded and deceived many of us into believing that it is true salvation. The only wealth that brings us happiness and satisfaction is intangible. It cannot be seen or touched. It is a close relationship with our creator and protector.

Money is essential, of course, but as Guru Nanak once stated,

“Neecha andar neech jaat, neechee haun atth neech.

Jitthe neech samaleeyan titthaay nadar teri baksees.”

“There are lower castes among the low castes and some absolutely low. Nanak seeks their company. What has he to do with the high ones? For, where the lowly are cared for, there is God’s blessing and grace.”

We believe money can bring us great happiness, but a great amount of wealth can lead us off the path of Truth and into darkness by making us disregard the one who gave it to us, Waheguru.

Today, and as it always will be, children look up to their parents. It hurts a young person deeply if their parents are acting immorally and forget that they are role models for their kids. If parents would make the effort to get in touch with their inner selves and God instead of constantly worrying about material things, they would experience harmony and their children would follow in their footsteps. Children are not as naïve as their parents may think, they learn very quickly. They can learn in positive ways or in destructive and negative ways.

Parents have an important responsibility in guiding their children on the right path. If the mothers and fathers are proud to be Sikhs, observe and follow the Reht Maryada, and educate their children about the Sikh faith, then the next generation of boys and girls will be just as knowledgeable and self-confident. They will face the world with their heads held high, instead of forgetting who they really are because of unanswered questions. While the parents do need to care for their children, we as the youth should show obedience. Our mother and father brought us into this world and it is only fit that we give them our due respect.

Guru Gobind Singh sacrificed his four sons for the Sikh faith. While he was indeed a fearless and noble martyr, his children were just as brave and expressed great temerity in the face of death. They followed the example of their father and it led them to be great figures in Sikh history. Today, we are making history as well. It is up to the parents to pass down the Sikh legacy to their children and it is the youth’s responsibility to continue it.

In the Western World, we as Sikhs who trace our roots to India need to be hypothetical “lotuses” in society. We need to be a part of the “water”, or America, but we also need to be separate from it and float above the water. We have a darker complexion of skin and this alone makes us different in America. In one essay written by Gurbaksh Singh entitled “Sonny, Tie Your Turban”, he discusses this issue.

He writes about a young man whose parents were from East India. This man had a light skin tone and European Canadians thought that he was of European descent as well. When they found out of his true Indian roots, they treated him differently and acted as if he was inferior. This East Indian’s view totally changed. At first his outlook was “Sikhs shouldn’t keep their long and shabby beards while they live in Canada. They should cut their hair and look clean, tidy, and smart-looking just like the other people in the society in which they live.” After seeing the reaction of his European friends, he told his son, “You may do anything, but you cannot change who you really are. Therefore, be a Sikh, look like a Sikh, and be proud of that. Why disrespect your faith? Even by doing so, you do not get what you want, ‘equality with the majority.’ ”

This essay taught me that no matter what, we as Indian Sikhs are minorities. There is no need to try to fit in. Instead, we need to stand out and be proud. We must respect our heritage, our religion, and ourselves in order to be respected by our peers. If you are a good person and earn an honest living, people will value your content of character and not judge you by your appearance.

“Khalsa mero roop hai khaas

Khalsa meri jaan ki jaan

Khalsa mero budh ar giaan.

Khalse ka hau dhar-au dhiaan.”

“Khalsa is my complete image

Khalsa is the very soul of my life

Khalsa gives me intellect and wisdom

Khalsa is the object of my meditation.”

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH

Given the pressures of modern societies both in the West and East (India), I often wonder if our 'feldgling' religion will be able to survive and will it be around for the next 1500 - 2000 years like Islam or Christianity.

The Sikh religion is a very tolerant religion, and there is no practice in our scriptures to convert people of other faith - as in Islam or Christianity, after all, that is one of the key reasons why and how those religions have grown so widely all over the world.

You see people of ALL races embracing Islam & Christianity. In all the years Sikhs lived in Africa, I don't think they 'converted' or 'convinced' a black person to become Sikh - why??

I don't have an answer, just a question right now

pls discuss

SATJUG SAB SANTOKH SRERAH PAG CHAREH DHARAM DHIAN JEO…..

TEATEH JUG AEAH ANTAR JHOR PAEAH JATH SANJAM KARM KEMAEAH JEO…..

JUG DUAPAR AEAH BHARAM BHARMAEAH HAR GHOPI KAAN UPAEAH JEO….

KALJUG HAR KEAH PAG TREAH KHISKEAH PAG CHOUTHA TIKHA TEAKAEAH JHIO….

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SATJUG MEAH CHARO CHARAN TREATEH THIN RHAEAH DUAPAR MEAH DHOU REAH KAAL IKH CHARAN TEKEAH

(suraj parkash)

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SATJUG SAT TREATEH JAGHI DWAPUR PUJA CHAR

THINO JUG THINO DHIRREH KAAL KIWAL NAAM ADARH

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SATJUG TEAH MANEOH SHALIO BAAL BHAVAN BHEAEOH

TRETAY TEAH MANEOAN RAAM RAGHUWANS KEHAEOH

DWAPUR KRISHAN MURARH KANS KIRDHARATH KHEOH

UGARSEANH KAU RAAJ ABEAH BHAGTAH JAAN DEOH

KALJUG PARMANH NANAK GURH ANGAD AMAR KEHAEOH

SRI GURU RAAJ ABEAHCHUL ATTAL ADAH PURKH FARMAEOH.

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SATJUG RATH SANTOKH KAH…..

TRETEH RATH JATI KAH…..

DWAPAR RATH…..

KALJUG RATH AGAN KAH KURH AGAI RATHWAI.

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SATJUG SATGUR VAYASDEV VAUVAH VISHNA NAAM JAPAVAI

TRETEH SATGUR RAAM JI…..

DWAPAR SATGUR HARI KRISHAN …..

KALJUG NANAK GUR GOVIND…..CHAREH AKSHAR IKH KAAR WAHEGURU GURMANTAR JAPAVEH.

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In the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji many a times guru ji mentions about the satjug treatehjug ,dwapurjug,and kaljug.Bani of Bhai Gurdass ji also mentiones about the four jugas.Direct translation into english it means golden age ,silver age, bronze age, iron or dark age.These present age is the age of darkness .Which accoding to some historians started on February 18, 3102 B.C according to the Gregorian calendar.

The ancient scriptures view history as cyclical in character, with vast repeating series of ages. Each age has its own particular qualities. The ancient scriptures describe a number of cycles within cycles. Discussions of these cycles can become confusing because different cycles are measured in different types of units. For example, the cycles are often described in units of deva(demigods) years, each of which equals 360 human years.

The following description starts with the smaller cycles and works up to the larger ones. The length of each cycle is given in ordinary human (earth) years, as well other units where appropriate. Large numbers are described using the conventions of American English: thus, a million is a thousand thousand, a billion is a thousand million, a trillion is a thousand billion.

This is based on numerous sources, which are given in the "References" section at the end of this document.

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Maha Yuga

The smallest cycle is called a maha yuga. A maha yuga is 4,320,000 human years. Each maha yuga is subdivided into the following four ages, whose lengths follow a ratio of 4:3:2:1:

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Satya Yuga

This first age is 1,728,000 human years. Also known as the Golden Age or age of Truth. The qualities of this age are: virtue reigns supreme; human stature is 21 cubits; lifespan is a lakh of years, and death occurs only when willed.Dharma in this age had four legs. Gurbani :”Satjug teah maneaho chaleoh balbavan beahioh.” In the satjug the supreme Lord appeared as Balbavan(dwarf incarnate) .Bhagat dhru ji Bhagat pharlad ji appeared in the satjug.

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Treta Yuga

This second age is 1,296,000 human years. Also known as the Silver Age. The qualities of this age are: the climate is three quarters virtue and one quarter sin; human stature is 14 cubits; lifespan is 10,000 years.Dharma in this age had three legs. Gurbani:” Treath teah maneaho raam raghuwans khehaeo” In the treathjug the supreme lord appeared as Sri Raamchand in the Raghu (Sun)Dynasty. note: the ten gurus are from the dynasty of Sri Raamchand ji maharaj, as stated by Guru Gobind Singh ji in the Vichatar Natak in Dasam Granth Sahib ji.

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Dvapara Yuga

This third age is 864,000 human years. Also known as the Bronze Age. The qualities of this age are: the climate is one half virtue and one half sin; lifespan is 1,000 years.Dharma in this age had 2 legs left. Gurbani:”Dawapar krishan murar kansh kirtharath kio,ugarseanh koa raaj abeah bhagtah janh deoh” In the Dvapur yug the supreme appeared as Krishan murar(Sri krishan bhagvan).

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Kali Yuga

The fourth and last age is 432,000 human years. Of which 5100 years have past. Also known as the Iron Age. This is the age in which we are presently living. The qualities of this age are: the climate is one quarter virtue and three quarters sin; human stature is 3.5 cubits; lifespan is 100 or 120 years.(this would continue continue to decrees) Gurbani:”Kaljug paarmanh nanak gorh angad amar kehaeo.sri guru raaj abeychal attal adah purkh farmaeoh”The supreme lord appeared as Guru nanak along with the ten gurus.note:guru nanak dev ji is predicted as the saviour of this age in the hindu scriptures at different places eg.bhavichat puran , simiritis etc. Dharma had one leg left in this age.”Dharm pankh kar udreaia”That also had flown away .”Sharm dharm deoeh pakh khloeah kurh fereah pardan veah lalo.”Sence of shame and religion is gone from this age.People have become shameless and irreligious.The only way to save oneself is to chant Harinaam.”Kalau meah raamnam hai saar”(more will be discussed in the topic on kaljug later) The creation disappears at the end of a maha juga and remains in seed form inside brahma.

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Brahma Days (Kalpas)note: this is refering to the brahma of this universe only.There are uncountable universes” Koth brahmand jah keah dharmsaleh” (in which there are uncountable planets and planatery systems”Patalah patal lakh agasah agas”) and uncountable Brahmas.”koth brahmeah jagh sajan laeah.”

A kalpa is a single daytime period in the life of Brahma, Japji:Ik sansari ik bhandri ik lai deban”the creator demigod. Two kalpas are a day and a night of Brahma.Each kalpa is composed of 1,000 maha yugas. A kalpa is thus equal to 4.32 billion human years.

At the end of Brahma's daytime period, the Three Planetary systems (Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka, Swarloka) and the seven underworlds (of the nagas) are temporarily dissolved (pralaya); that is, the same folks can be reincarnated when the next day of Brahma begins.Brahma creates the world again after his night.Just like one person starts his daily work after every night.Pralaya dissolves the planets until Brahma loka only.

At the end of the daytime period of Brahma, a dreadful drought occurs that lasts 100 years, (brahma’s 100 year) and all the waters are dried up. The sun changes into seven suns, and the three planetary systems (Bhurloka or solar system ,middle planetary system , Bhuvarloka or the lower planetary system , and Svarloka or higher planetary system) and the underworlds are burned bare of life. The inhabitants of Bhuvarloka and Svarkloka flee to the next higher planetary system , Maharloka, to escape the heat; and then to the next higher planetary system, Janaloka .Inhabitants of these planets or planetary systems are more advanced spiritually and materially than the middle and lower planetary systems thus with their special powers or sidhis they are able to transfer thenselfs to the higher planetary systems.Then mighty clouds form and the three planetary systems are completely flooded with water. The lord Vishnu”Ik sansari ikh bhandari” reposes on the waters in meditative rest for another whole kalpa (4.32 billion years) before renewing the creation.

The destruction that takes place at the end of a daytime of Brahma is referred to as naimittika, or occasional. The characteristic of this destruction is that the three worlds continue to exist but are made uninhabitable. The souls of individuals also continue to exist to be reincarnated in the next daytime of Brahma.

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Brahma Years

A year of Brahma is composed of 360 day/night cycles of Brahma, or 720 kalpas, or 8.64 billion human years.

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Brahma Life

The lifespan of Brahma is 100 Brahma years, or 72,000 kalpas, or 311.04 trillion human years.

At the end of the life of Brahma, all worlds are completely dissolved (mahaparloh). This is referring to only this brahmand or universe.

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Note :This is the life of the 4 ages which accepted by all major Sampardas of Sikh Dharma,like the Nirmalas from which Nanaksar sampardah,Rarehweleh sampardah,Mastuanehwaleh sampardah of Baba Attar Singh ji and many such shakhans of Nirmala Sampardah, Uadsis sampardah,Baba Deep Singh Sampardah of Dhamdami thaksal,Bhai Mani Singh Sampardah

REFERENCE:

- Talks of Baba Sadhu Singh ji Maharaj Nanaksar waleh(at katong temple singapore)

- Tikah of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji by Baba Kirpal Singh ji satoh wali gali

- Faridkotiah tikah.

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BELOW IS SOME OF THE TERMS USED TO MEASURE IN ANCIENT INDIA,SOME OF WHICH ARE USED FREQUENTLY IN THE GURBANI.

6 an.uh. (atoms) = 1 trasaren.u

3 trasaren.u = 1 trut.i (1687.5 trut.is = 1 second)

100 trut.i = 1 vedha

3 vedha = 1 lava

3 lava = 1 nimes.a

3 nimes.as = 1 ks.an.a

5 ks.an.a = 1 kaas.t.haa

15 kaas.t.h.aa = 1 laghu(2 minutes = 1 laghu)

15 laghu = 1 naad.ikaa or 1 dan.d.a

2 dan.d.a = 1 muhuurta (48 min?)(1 ghat.ikaa = 24 minutes)

6 or 7 dan.d.a = 1/4 of a day or night

4 yaamah. or prahara = 1 day or 1 night

15 days and nights = 1 paks.ah. (fortnight)

2 paks.ah. (white and black) = 1 month (1 day and night for Pitaa planets)

2 maasah. (months) = 1 r.tuh. (season)

6 maasah. (months) = 1 solar movement (south<->north)

2 solar movements = 1 day and night for the demigods = 1 year for humans

12000 years of demigods (YOD) = 1 catuh. yuga = 4,320,000 years

4800 YOD = Satya yuga = 1,728,000 years

3600 YOD = Tretaa yuga = 1,296,000 years

2400 YOD = Dvaapara yuga = 864,000 years

1200 YOD = Kali yuga = 432,000 years

1000 catuh. yuga = 1 kalpa = 1 day of Brahmaa = 1 night of Brahmaa

14 Manus = 1 day of Brahmaa

50 Brahmaa years = 1 paraardha (currently in 2nd paraardha)

2 paraardha = lifespan of Brahmaa = 1 nimes.a of Mahaa-Visnu

There are 13 months in the Indian(vedic)calendar. The 13th month is called adhi-maasa or mala-maasa and is added ever 3rd year. (SB 3.21.18)

6*3*100*3*3*3*5*15*15*(6,7)*4*2*15*2*6*2*4320000*1000*2*15*2*6*2*100 = 293,865,615,360,000,000,000,000,000 atoms (2^26*3^14*5^16*6) to 342,843,217,920,000,000,000,000,000 atoms (2^26*3^14*5^16*7)

Assuming there are 365.25 days per year, it would mean that 5.25 days are unaccounted for per year using 6 dan.daa = 1/4 of a day. 252 dand.aa is equal to 5.25 days and in 360 days there are 360*24*2 (17,280) dand.aa.There should be 17532 dand.aa if 365.25 is an accurate term for a solar year.

Thus, multiply the first term of number of atoms by 1.0145833 or 487/480. This gives approximately 3.0*10^26 atoms. It seems that 1/2 hour should be added to the day every 10/7 of a day to keep in sync with the sun. Notes: Planets, stars, atoms, etc. all rotate in their respective orbits.

Waheguru created the creation out of his own free will. Countless great men, scientist and intellectuals have tried to explain it, but Waheguru Ji alone knows for purpose the world was created. There is the commandment of Guru Maharaj thus:

For the sake of the Saints, the Lords has installed the three worlds. He who comprehends his ownself comes to know the Reality.

For the flowering of the Saints this world of countless kinds and colours of human beings was created. Innumerable living beings, such as the gods and the demons humans beings ghosts and sprits, also limitless undeveloped classes were created out of all these classes human beings were given the pride place and man was designated as the lord of the creation, because this is the only birth in which one can attain God-the Creator and the Master. In the human race there are men of varying natures, which can be divided into various categories such as Pamar (lowest beings), Bhogi (those given to sensual enjoyments) and seekers and realized souls. The Pamars and the Bhogis live at the level of flesh and blood; they live their life operating within the circle of the mind. After having suffered for their past actions, they once again enmesh themselves in the web of new actions and thus they go on making rounds of the new births, to undergo the fruits of their actions. This process of these beings goes on forever. This class has neither any faith in the Maker of the universe, nor do they get any respite for the physical enjoyments. Their goal is to amass wealth, to gain power, by means fair or foul. Their whole life is passed in practicing enmities, opposition, sex anger, illusion, pride, jealousy, hatred and censuring others. Since they have no inclination for the service of other, for remembering God, or for doing good acts, they generally waste their life uselessly. Since their mental state and their intelligence resembles that of animals, they are no better than animals themselves.

The other category is the best and is termed as seekers. In them there is the awakening of the consciousness to find out the purpose of life: have we got this life only for eating and drinking, for play and for practicing enmity and opposition, or is there any higher purpose of this life?

In order to teacher wisdom and awareness, God has created saints, God sends these self-realized souls, at different times to banish darkness from the world. They confer true knowledge on the whole world, by means of their life of light. They have always been showing the path of riddance from suffering. They act their part in the play of life and set their example, before the world. It is the Grace of God, that he manifested such saints in order to show the right path to His own created beings. Their exalted message are eternal (timeless), the truth of their statements is immortal.. By meditation on their thoughts, one is able to discover the path of supreme bliss. For the uplift of humanity, there have been created in the world, men of God, sacred sports, places of pilgrimage and other sacred centres. At these places, men of true knowledge come and show the right path to people. There is also the second king of men of God-saints, great souls, apostles and wandering monks, who in the guise of the Sadhus travel from place to place bestow on ignorant folks, who have forgotten their way, the knowledge of the path of Truth and how to be united with their God.

One among such exalted saints is the great soul, Sant Attar Singh Ji of Reru Sahib. He was born in 1867 A.D., in the month of March, in Loppon village in Ludhiana district. At the time, Baba Ram Singh, the world-famous chief of the Namdhari sect was very popular in this area.

The residents of Lopon Village too were fully impressed by his knowledge of Gurbani. He also crated a lasting impression on Baba Takhat Singh, by influencing him with the Guru's ideology of God's Nam and Bani. It was in this religious atmosphere that Sant Attar Singh of Reru Sahib was reared. At the age of five he was sent to receive instruction in Punjabi from the Granthi of the town, Bhai Gurmukh Singh Ji, who was a devotee of Guru's faith. In those days, the priests who served in the Gurdwara, used to be far superior to saints of today, in life's virtues, in adopting the way of Guru's teachings and in possessing complete faith in their religion. They did not accept any money for reciting the Holy granth; they had no interest in their hearts for money matters. They were true men of Gurus, the true servants of the Gurus' house.

Impressed by their way of life the Sikh faith flourished in the countryside. This child (Attar Singh) received knowledge from such men of the Gurus. He used to get up at 2:30 A.M. in the early dawn. At that time, he made readings of the Holy scripture, he devoted time in remembrance of God, he contemplated on the Bani. From his teacher, he learnt the way of life and used to practice that. His father commanded respectability in the area, being a Numberdar and Sufaidposh (two titles during British rule). When he had leisure from the programme of studies, he sought to have practical experience of the Bani that he studied. He sat under the shade of tress, closed his eyes and used to enjoy internal bliss, like the ascetics. When he was 18, he was inspired by the patriotic sentiments to serve his motherland. He was recruited in Platoon No. 36, which had produced some outstanding saints. That platoon was the pride of the Sikhs. It was June 8, 1887 and he was twenty years of age. His handsome physique, well-filled height, broad chest and fortunate forehead attracted all, who saw him.

Baba Karam Singh of Hoti Mardan- a very honourable soul used to reside very near him. This young man at that time posted in Noshehra cantonment. The Sikh soldiers used to go to Hoti Mardan to have the darshan of Baba Karam Singh and many Sikh soldiers whose life was influenced by Baba Ji got into the habit of getting up at dawn and engaging themselves in prayer. When Attar Singh met Baba Karam Singh face to face, he saluted him by laying prostrate before him, with the greatest earnestness. When his forehead touched the feet of Baba Ji he felt a strong electric current thrill in every fiber of his body. He was completely influenced by the programme of other worldliness (indifference to the world, offering complete devotion to God). The Saint made him get up and said 'Get up dear brother. Meet the holy congregation restrain you feeling of love. Sant Ji patted him on his forehead and on his back. Baba Attar Singh made this petition from the deepest recess of his consciousness. "Baba Ji, shower you grace on me, so that my human birth achieves its true purpose." The great man (Baba Ji) said, Attar Singh, the mission of your life with which Guru Kalgidhar Maharaj, the Tenth Master blessed you, has been lying safe as a trust with me. Now spread you cloths to receive your due and take care of it. You yourself practice spirituality and spread it (the Guru's message) in the world.

After meeting Baba Karam Singh Of Hoti Mardan, his life was completely changed. At all times, he went on doing Jap of Gur Mantar by his tongue, and in his body, it flowed nonstop in his life; it went from his tongue to his breath, from his breath to the unspoken speech and from the silent speech into his heart, from the entering the Agya Chakkar via sphere of limitless sound and the passing through the thousands-petalled lotus (top of the head) entered the tenth gate. He heard the harmonies of Nam from all nature, as is the Commandment of Guru Maharaj:

Whatever the deer, the fish and the birds utter; without God they speak not of another.

Even getting more than this, he saw the perfection of the Nam from the insensate objects of the entire nature:

The earth, nether-world and firmament, O my soul, all mediate on the Lord Master's Name.

He began to feel such consciousness and with nonstop concentration he reached the state about which the Gurbani ordains as under:

They, who remember God, become like God and the playful and sportive Lord meets them.

When one successfully achieves such a state, one gets the right to instruct others to the method of the Nam-Simran. Guru Maharaj ordains thus intimating us about the honour of that Gursikh.

Servants Nanak ask for the dust of the feet of that Sikh of the Guru, who himself contemplates on God's Name and makes other contemplate thereon.

Thus making spiritual practices he retired from the army at the age of forty and reached the abode of Reru Sahib. Here stood the holy land of Reru Sahib, which stands there, keeping alive the remembrance of Guru Kaligidhar, the True Emperor. It was waiting for some realized soul, who with his own hands should discover this holy spot and who should thereby immortalize the memory of the Tenth Master.

When it was time for him to take leave of Baba Karam Singh Ji, the great saint said, "Go and yoke the plough; go on doing service of the Guru's house hold all your life and in your inner mind, the Jap of Guru will also go on in your inner consciousness for all the time. You are blessed with he service of the Guru's mission." Thus he began this career of service with the effect from 18th October, 1907. To finance his own maintenance, he had his pension from the army.

His was the life of service and of remembering God, Miracles and riches and successes and many other powers were extremely anxious to serve him as his maids, but he did not even cast a glance on them. The frame of his dedication in the service of the Guru's cause, like a strong scent spread far and wide; it spread among the rich and the poor, among the places of kings and the queens. The Maharaja of Patiala came to have his darshan in Cognito. At that time, he had retuned after the ploughing fields. Just then, he began to cut the fodder for the animals with the cutter with his own hands, which were all besmeared with dust and dirt. The Maharaja of Patiala thought that some servant wrapping a shawl around him was cutting the fodder for his bullocks with his owns hands. He was much impressed with his face that was glowing radiant. To remove the doubt of his mind he enquired thus, "I have come from afar to have the darshan of Sant Ji. Kindly tell me when and at what place can I meet him." At this the great saint signaled the Maharaja to take his seat on a bed nearby and with extreme humility he said, "You have come from a long distance. Do have food in langar before you go see the saint."

If you wish the food can be served here itself. Pointing towards a room, he said, kindly wait a little. The saint whom you have come to meet will be here soon. After finishing his work, he washed his feet and hands. When he was proceeding towards the room, a servant informed the Maharaja that the saint was coming. The Maharaja was wonderstruck to see that while the saint was cutting fodder for the cattle, he (Maharaja) was sitting on the bed. He fell at the feet of the saint and made this submission with the great love, dedication and with all earnestness, 'Honoured sir, I have committed a big blunder; namely I made the mistake of sitting on the bed. Today really I am face to face with a God-realized person.' He revealed his identity and with full faith, he heard the words of the saint and after getting his blessing, he departed.

The fragrance of his name fame reached Baba Partap Singh Maharaj of Bhaini Sahib, He along with the Sangat of Namdhari sect came to meet the saint, reciting the words of Gurbani all the way. At that time, the saint was sitting in the congregation, wrapping himself in a sheet and in inner contemplation. Just then, the great man Baba Partap Singh was reciting these lines- Bhag Jage Aj Sathe Bhag Jage, Guru Ji Ne Sant Milae. (With the kindness of Guru Ji, our luck has wakened up today, and we have met the real Saint.

When this Shabad (holy words) was completed, then the old ladies from the sangat who had come with him from Bhaini Sahib passed their hands on the sant's back and gave their benedictions thus- Dear son. Blessed are you, the son of the Guru. we feel blessed with meeting you.

These ladies, the two holy mothers were incarnations of dharam, cool-hearted, simply dressed, their sweet words, noble nature, they at all times did service of others with their own hands. They were the honourable visible embodiments of the goddesses.

He often used to go on a pilgrimage to visit Saidhu Sahib where in the Lunda river the body of Sant Baba Karam Singh had been immersed. Here religious folks used to worship Sant Attar Singh, taking him to be the incarnation of Baba Karam Singh. People got fulfillment of their wishes by receiving his blessing. During his pilgrimage to Saidhu Sahib, he used to rest at night at the edge of the well of a Pathan named Ajim Khan. He was a rich Pathan & was devoted to Sant Ji.

He had a friend named Nijula Khan, the Nambardar of the area who was a well-known Rais (rich man) and also a military pensioner. He had three wives, but in the absence of a child, his house was covered with darkness. This man heard about the glory of the great Saint from Azim Khan (his friend). Azim Khan told his friend that this divine faquir, who is a true lover (of God), and true disciple of Guru Nanak sits in the contemplation of God throughout the night at the edge of his well. The fraternity of Guru Nanak is said to be a house that can confer great blessing. A Musalman like Mardana became his supreme disciple and spent his whole life, singing the praises of Guru and God. I have heard the story even up to this extent, that when Guru Nanak left the world, both Hindus and the Musalmans consider him to be one of them (each); the Hindus owned him, the Muslims said, he is one of us (Muslims). In order to put an end to this dispute, the great prophet (Guru Nanak) made his body disappear. Sant Attar Singh is also one in the tradition of Guru Nanak. I am 100% sure that house (of Sant Attar Singh) will fulfill your wishes. Nijula Khan was mortally afraid of the Muslim Holy Writ. Inspite of that, greatly pressed by his need (to beget a son), he stood with folded hands before the great Saint (Sant Attar Singh Ji) at 11 o'clock. in the darkness of the night (lest anyone should see him doing this). He submitted, most respected Saint! you are the beloved of God and are the disciple of Guru Nanak, the Prophet of all Prophet. At his door, no supplicant has ever returned with his wish unfulfilled. I have come to your court to beg the gift of a son. O you helper of the poor, I have large land. I am getting handsome military pension. I have three wives, but in the absence of a son, I feel no ties with the world. You have the capacity to turn the dry ones into green. Two of my wives have gone to God (died). When Sant Ji enquired about his age, he replied it is 90 years. Two of my wives have died and three are still living. The great man (Sant Attar Singh) closed his eyes (to see the future) and pronounce this; Khan Sahib Almighty has showered his blessing on you. Next Year, a son would be playing in the lap of your eldest wife. But you should look at Hindus and Musalmans with an equal eye. Run a langar (community kitchen) in your house. Regularly say your prayers five times in a day. God will surely fulfill your desire. Next year, that Pathan was blessed with a son. As a thanksgiving he came to Sant Ji, along with a band and accompanied by his fraternity.

At dawn, the Sant after taking his bath, sat at the edge of a thatched cottage, in solitude, immersed in the memory of God. It was the month of Bhadon (August). There were crops on all sides. Day and night, the landlord used to irrigate his land. Nearby there was the well of Chanchal Singh. As the well giving out water, the machine of Persian-wheel kept on making a sound as an indication of its continued working. Chanchal Singh thought lest this sound of the well, might be disturbing the meditation of the Sant Ji, he took away the sound-making element and put it aside. When on waking from his meditation. the Sant did not hear the sound of the dog, he enquired of Chanchal Singh. The saint said that the shoulders of bullocks get tired (by going round and round, beating the yoke) and the landlord gives them rest after sometime. Those bullocks are put to great trouble for my sake. The peasant replied, I used to stop the wheel with my thighs and these bullocks felt no trouble. Just then the following words escaped the saint, almost spontaneously, 'you put the element back on the circling wheel; it will never produce sound again after today.' During the life of the saint, that Persian wheel never made any sound. The blessing of the (God's) Nam are infinite. Even nature, wind, water and river too obey the orders of the saints, because these (saints) are not separate from God. This Saint Ji spiritually uplifting countless souls. His drama of life taught to people the way of service, and remembering of God.

He had a meeting with Sant Attar Singh Ji, Mastuane-wale (who belonged to a place named Mastuana). At that time, he was sitting among the congregation, engaged in devotional singing. He in a loud voice told the devotional audience to go and have the darshan of Sant Attar Singh Ji of Reru Sahib, who is a Sadhu in the real sense & who has achieved and is a God-realized persons. There are so many saints; the world terms us also as a saint. In Sukhmani Sahib, praises & glories have been sung about such true saints. Thus he passed through life distributing treasures of the blessings (of God). Maharaj Sant Ishar Singh Ji of Rara Sahib and Baba Kishen Singh of Rare Sahib also came into his contact and with the touch of his alchemy themselves were changed into alchemy. All his life, Sant Ishar Singh Ji spread the message of Guru Granth Sahib in many foreign countries and converted persons to Guru's ideology. He baptized more than a million persons. Such Sikhs of Gurus are called pillar of light. The memory of such saints give inspiration to people to perform prayer and worship.

Sant Baba Attar Singh Ji was conducting Kirtan (holy singing) at the house of a Sehajdhari Sikh at Doraha. At that time, an inquisitive Gyani Ji asked, "Why are you chanting so loudly the hymns about otherworldliness when you yourself live at Transcendental stage? Why don't you preach the message of the knowledge about God?" The great saint said, 'you wait for three more days, you will get the answer.' It was the 5th Magh Samvat 1983. (17th January 1927 A.D.) There was a big wallow land. The whole day he kept standing there and changed it into a road. He said large crowds would feel inconvenience. This (sentence) seemed like a puzzle, which nobody could understand. A few days after this on 9th Magh 1983 Samvat (21st January 1927 A.D.), he proclaimed at 1 A.M. after midnight, "I am ready to go into the court of Kalgidhar Emperor (Tenth master). No one should shed tears on my passing away. But who could stop the grief of sangat? (all began to weep) After sometime, he bade the final Waheguru Ji di Fateh to the world and shuffled off his mortal coil. He, a light, merged in the supreme of the Guru.

In this month of 19th January, a great soul, Sant Attar Singh Ji Mastuane wale also left his body and rested at the feet of the Gurus. We can never forget the great campaign that he waged to purify and reform the fallen Sikh Community. These two great saints greatly loved each other. The great work in the field of education which Sant Attar Singh Ji Mastuane wale did create in our hearts firm faith, and has left lasting memories.

It was in this very month of January, when the great saints and God-realized soul Sant Baba Kishan Singh Ji left his body five elements and went and rested at the feet of the Gurus.

Pakistan Sikhs Taking holy book from Afghan Sikhs from Pak/Afghan Border

Afghan Sikhs seen in Pakistan

Kenyan Sikh man walks under a purple haze of jacaranda trees in bloom in downtown Nairobi

Chris Money Singh, a Raab Raagi and the First Non-Sikh to ever sing hymn in Golden Temple

Sikh Lady Khalsa Camp in BC

Sikhs in Canada

Singh In Oregon football Team

Senator and Sikh Members in Washington DC

Sikh youth doing Gatka, Martial arts

Sikh youth doing Gatka

Doing Prayers

Sydney 2000

SOURCE : http://www.sikhpride.com

I think those words of gurbani says it all

Sirgun- Guru/bhramgyanis in that form (Human Form)

Nirgun- Non-existent form

what happens in the spirtual journey???

Soul and body aproaches in sirgun form while body is alive. after body is dead...Body turns into mitti and soul merge with nirgun(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Vahegurooooooooooooooo))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) Anand da sagar(ocean)..that stage you get porma anand...thats why gurbani says..

"Jis Maran Jhagat Daraie, Mera mann anand, Maran hi paie pooramanand"

This world who is afraid of death, my mind is happy. Death is the only way to get infinity of piece of mind---- :wink:

akal he akal .. vahegurooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ardaas:

Prayer

ik onkar, waheguru ji ki fateh

O formless One. Victory be to the wonderful Lord

sri bhagauti ji sahaye

May the Divine spirit help us

vaar sri bhagauti ji ki patshahi dasme

We recite Vaar Shri Bhagauti Ji ki by the tenth Guru (Guru Gobind Singh)

paritham bha-gauti simar ke, gur nanak le-yee dhi-aaye

To begin with we remember the Divine Spirit and we think of Guru Nanak.

pher angad gur, te amar das, ram das hoe sahaye

Then we pray for the blessings of Guru Angad, Guru Amar Das and Guru Ram Das.

arjan, hargobind no, simro sri har rai

We also remember Guru Arjan, Guru Hargobind and Guru Har Rai.

sri har krishan dhi-aayai, jis dit-he sabh dukh jaa-eh

Let us think of Guru Harkrishan whose sight gets rid of all sorrows

tegh bahadar sim-reyai, ghar nau nidh-aavai dha-eh

Let us remember Guru Tegh Bahadar and the nice treasures of life will come to our homes

sabh thaa-ee hoe sahaye

May God and the Gurus help us everywhere.

patshah sri guru gobind singh ji maharaj, sabh thaa-ee hoe sahaye

May the Tenth Master Guru Gobind Singh help us everywhere.

dasaa patshahian di joth, sri guru granth sahib ji de paat deedaar da dhian dhar ke bolo ji: waheguru!

Turn your thoughts to the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib in which, is enshrined the spirit of the Ten Gurus and say: Waheguru

Remember the Panj Piare - the Five Beloved Ones

Remember the four Sahibzade - sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji

Remember the Chaalee Mukte - forty redeemed Ones

And remember those who remained strong in suffering; always remembered God, Those who gave up worldly pleasures; Those who worshipped on the Name of God, shared their earning with others, fed the hungry, protected the weak with their sword, saw other’s faults but overlooked them.

Think of the good actions of all such pure and true devotees, O respected Khalsa Ji say: Waheguru!

Remember those Singh and Singhnian who sacrificed their lives for religion, Those who underwent sufferings of being cut to pieces from join to joint, scalped alive, who were broken into pieces on rotating wheels, sawed alive; who made sacrifices to protect the honour of Gurdware;

Remember the achievements of those brave Sikhs who never gave up their faith and remained strong in the cause of Sikhi to the last hair on their bodies and to the last breath. O Khalsa Ji say: Waheguru!

Think of the Panj Takhat – the five seats of power in Sikhi and all the other Gurdware and say: Waheguru!

Now, the prayer of the whole Khalsa is: “Let the entire Khalsa remember in their mind the Name: Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru.”

Then through this, let everyone be happy.

Grant them the power to feed the hungry, protect the helpless and give them victory; May the royal title of the Khalsa be known throughout the world and honoured; May the be the Panth be victorious in all things it does; By the blessings of the Lord, may the Order of the Khalsa achieve ever expanding progress; And say: Waheguru!

Grant the Sikhs, the gift of Sikhi, the gift of keeping our Kesh – uncut hair, the gift of discipline, the gift of knowledge, the gift of confidence, the gift of faith and biggest gift of Naam – God’s Name. Also the gift of taking a dip in the Holy Tank at Amritsar

May the Sikh choirs, banners and mansions remain forever and ever; May justice triumph; say: Waheguru!

May the minds of Sikhs be humble and may their wisdom and knowledge be high; Waheguru, you are the protector of wisdom.

Waheguru Ji, you are always the Helper of the Panth, kindly bless us with the gift of visiting freely, doing sewa and the control of the Gurdwara of Nankana Sahib and all other Gurdware, which the Panth has been deprived of.

O True Father, Waheguru! The honour of the meek, shelter of the shelterless and the helper of the helpless, we pray to you that… [reason for Ardaas]

Kindly excuse our errors and faults while reciting Gurbani and doing Ardaas.

Kindly fulfil the needs of everyone.

Kindly give us the company of those Godly people who always remember You.

nanak naam chardikala, tere bhaane sarbat da bhala

Nanak, may the Name of God flourish and everyone prosper by your blessings

waheguru ji ka khalsa

the khalsa is the almighty’s

waheguru ji ki fateh!

the victory is the almighty’s