Mehtab Singh
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Around 4600 people have died so far, but this monument stands out unaffected.
http://www.samachar.com/showurl.htm?rurl=h...amaged~in~quakeLargest Buddhist monument undamaged in Indonesian quake
Sunday, 28 May , 2006, 00:17
Yogyakarta: The Borobudur temple, the largest Buddhist monument on earth, was not affected by the powerful earthquake on Saturday that left thousands dead, local officials said.
A mass of forbidding black stone, Borobudur was built in the 7th century by the Javanese rulers of the Syailendra dynasty and is one of Indonesia's most popular tourist attractions, drawing millions of people every year.
Lying 40 km northwest of the city of Yogyakarta, which was badly damaged by Saturday's magnitude 6.2 earthquake, Borobudur appeared to escape damage, said Kuntung.
But a number of shrines in the Prambanan temple compound, 36 km to the southeast, did suffer damage, said Lt. Yulianto, a local police officer and media reports. It was not immediately clear how badly.
Borobudur was abandoned for centuries - the reasons remain a mystery - and lay hidden under layers of volcanic ash and jungle growth until it was discovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles during the English occupation of Java island.
A massive restoration was carried out in the 1970s under the guidance and financing of UNESCO. The Prambanan temple was built in 850 B.C. and is the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia. Not long after its construction, the temple was abandoned and began to deteriorate.
The reconstruction of the compound began in 1918 and is currently unfinished. Like Borobudur, Prambanan is also an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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THE ILLUSION OF REFLECTION
Once there was a king who had presented his daughter, the princess,
with a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was stolen and his
people in the kingdom searched everywhere but could not find it. Some
said a bird might have stolen it. The king then asked them all to
search for it and put a reward for $50,000 for anyone who found it.
One day a clerk was walking home along a river next to an industrial
area. This river was completely polluted, filthy and smelly. As he
was walking, the clerk saw a shimmering in the river and when he
looked, he saw the diamond necklace. He decided to try and catch it
so that he could get the $50,000 reward. He put his hand in the
filthy, dirty river and grabbed at the necklace, but some how missed
it and didn't catch it. He took his hand out and looked again and the
necklace was still there. He tried again, this time he walked in the
river and dirtied his pants in the filthy river and put his whole arm
in to catch the necklace. But strangely, he still missed the
necklace! He came out and started walking away, feeling depressed.
Then again he saw the necklace, right there. This time he was
determined to get it, no matter what. He decided to plunge into the
river, although it was a disgusting thing to do as the river was
polluted, and his whole body would become filthy. He plunged in, and
searched everywhere for the necklace and yet he failed. This time he
was really bewildered and came out feeling very depressed that he
could not get the necklace that would get him $50,000.
Just then a saint who was walking by, saw him, and asked him what was
the matter. The clerk didn't want to share the secret with the saint,
thinking the saint might take the necklace for himself, so he refused
to tell the saint anything. But the saint could see this man was
troubled and being compassionate, again asked the clerk to tell him
the problem and promised that he would not tell anyone about it. The
clerk mustered some courage and decided to put some faith in the
saint. He told the saint about the necklace and how he tried and
tried to catch it, but kept failing. The saint then told him that
perhaps he should try looking upward, toward the branches of the
tree, instead of in the filthy river. The clerk looked up and true
enough, the necklace was dangling on the branch of a tree. He had
been trying to capture a mere reflection of the real necklace all
this time.
Moral of the story:
Material happiness is just like the filthy, polluted river; because
it is a mere reflection of the TRUE happiness in the spiritual world.
We can never achieve the happiness we are looking for no matter how
hard we endeavor in material life. Instead we should look upwards,
toward God, who is the source of real happiness, and stop chasing
after the reflection of this happiness in the material world. This
spiritual happiness is the only thing that can satisfy us completely.
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Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!
Following is an article on NAAM picked up from Living Treasure forum.
======================================================================
SIX QUESTIONS
WHO AM I ?
WHERE DID I COME FROM ?
WHAT IS THE MEANING AND PURPOSE OF MY EXISTENCE ?
HOW CAN I FREE MYSELF FROM EARTHLY BONDAGE ?
WHY IS GOD SO INDIFFERENT ?
WHERE AM I GOING ?
To answer these six questions on the basis of Gurbani, basic
understanding of principle components of Sikhism ie God, Naam and
Maya is required.This will be discussed briefly below:
God is One (Ik) Supreme Being Who has manifested Himself in His
creation (akaar) thru His Shabad (Ooom). The Shabad is the Word He
uttered to create the universe. That Word is called Naam in SGGS.
"Keeta passao eko kwaao."
Thru His Naam God created the universe using five elements, which are
air, water, fire earth and space.
"Panch tutt kar Tudh shrisht sabh saaji."
God first created Himself and then created Naam and from Naam He
created the nature (physical universe) and is sitting inside each of
His creation and is rejoicing.
"Aapine Aaap saajio Aspine rachio Naam Dooey kudrat saajiey kar aasan
ditho chaao.
"Naam ke dhare sagle jant Naam ke dhare khand brahmand
"Naam ke dhare akaash pataal. Naam ke dhare sagal akaar."
Naam, when it is in our body is called Soul. When we hear it
as 'anhad shabad' is called Shabad. When we see it inside, it is
called Jot. It is to this Shabad that mind has to link toduring
meditation. It is this Shabad what Guru Nanak Dev Ji calls 'Shabad
Guru'.
The entire universe is woking or running under His order (Hukam) and
nothing is out of His control. "Hukmen under sabh ko, bahar Hukam
na koey."
His Hukam is also His Naam. "Eka Naam Hukam hai, Nanak Satgur dia
bujhaey jio."
Thus His Naam is His Word, His Powe, His Hukam, His Light(Jot) His
Intelligence, His Wisdom, His Love and everything that God is. Naam
is actually God's extension into His universe running it as per His
Will. Nature is not here forever running by itself but at God's
command. He expands it whenever He feels like and withdraws it to
Himself at His own pleasure. He has done it many a time.
"Tis bhave tan kare bisthar. Tis bhave tan ikankar."
"Kaee bar pasrio passar"
In His creation are countless number of animate and inanimate
(visible and invisible) objects, millions of species (8.4 millions in
SGGS) who are part of nature and are doing whatever He planned for
them.
"Jee jant sabh Tudh upaaey, Jit jit bhana tit tit laaey."
The whole universe is His playground and He is palying His game and
watching it and enjoying it.
"Apna khel aap kar dekhe". "Mere Thakur rachan rachaya."
The entire visible universe we are living in and made out of five
elements is His Maya. Our physical bodies are part of this Maya.
Among the creatures on this planet, human stands supreme and other
species on this planet are subservient to him. " Avar jon teri
panhaari, is dahrti mehn teri sikdaari."
All creatures are born to die under His Hukam and then reincarnate
under His Hukam. "Jamna marna Hukam hai bhaney aave jaaey."
So all beings reincarnate from one form to the next higher form as
per His will. Thus many a live could be spent as a worm, insect,
elephent, fish, deer, bird, snake, yoked as an ox or a horse till you
are ready to meet the Lord, this human body is fashioned for
you. "Kaee janam bhaey keet patanga.
"Kaee janam gaj .meen karanga Kaee janam punkhi sarap hoiyo. Kaee
janam haiver brikh joiyo. Mil Jagdeesh milan ki baria. Chirankaal eh
deh sanjaria."
Another point to observe here is that evolution is not of the body
but mind. When mind is evolved enough in one physical form it will be
given the next higher form for its further development. The ultimate
form is human where the mind is most developed and has the
opportunity to cross over to the higher spiritual side under the
guidance of Satguru who was sent to humanity by God to help it
realise the purpose of life and to achieve the goal of uniting with
the Source, that is God from where the life started. Mind is also
made out of five elements and does all the thinking,deeds and duties
during the life time of the physical body.
"Eh mun karman eh mun dharman eh mun punch tutt te junman".
It has an intoxicating love for the Maya, the world we live in. This
has led the mind astray from reality and the world becomes an end in
itself. Thus Maya makes mind forget God, produce attachment to the
world and leads to duality.
"Eh Maya jit Har visre moh upje bhao dooja laya."
Maya influences the mind in three modes: Rajas, Tamas and Satvic.
Each mode produces different thoughts in the mind.
Rajas mode creates hopes, ambitions, anxieties, worries etc. Tamas
mode creates lust, anger, greed, attachments, ego, duality, hatred,
slandering etc. Satvic mode creates kindness, contentment, sense of
duty, discipline, charity etc. Life under these modes is called life
in 'Bhavjal Sagar' or Ocean of Life. Mind under the influence of
rajas and tamas modes gets polluted and can't think of reality of its
spiritual nature. The only way to cleanse it is by Nectar of Naam.
The pool of nectar of Naam lies inside the human body.
"Bhariey mutt papan ke sang oh dhope Navey ke rang."
"Kayan under amritsar saach."
" Suniey munniey mun keeta bhao, untergutt tirath mul nhao."
The mind has to cleanse itself by bathing in this pool of nectar.
"Mael gaee mun nirmal hoaa Amritsar tirath nahey."
Now only Satguru can help us reach this pool of nectar where mind can
cleanse itself . This is done by meditating on the gurmantra under
the guidance of the Satguru. This can be discussed separately to
avoid length of this missive. Once the mind is pure it is ready to
meet with the Lord but has to await for His Grace. Once mind receives
His Grace, it gets into its own home.
'nij ghar/thir ghar' from where it can go to God's mansion, 'sehj
ghar "Nij ghar bass sehj ghar laeey."
Now I think we could be ready for the answers to the questions.
WHO AM I ?
I am a human, child of God born on this planet earth as per His Will.
Inside my body is my mind and soul housed in another subtle
body. "Sookham moorat Naam Niranjan kayan ka akaar."
I am a Sikh of Satguru Guru Granth Sahib and am trying to understand
life, its mission, and make the best of this opportunity under His
Guidance.My body has nine openings which deal with outside world but
there is an invisible mental door which opens to the higher spiritual
world of God to which I really belong. My mind is personification of
Soul which is part of God inside me.
" Mun toon Jot saroop hain"
WHERE DID I COME FROM ?
This body I have was gifted to me by God thru the union of my father
and mother. "Maat pita sanjog upaaey rakat bind kar pind keeya,"
My mind and soul which were also gifted to me during my first ever
birth on this planet have moved thru millions of other species as
part of creation process of God and finally been awarded this human
form, which is the supreme physical form on this planet.
WHAT IS MEANING AND PURPOSE OF MY EXISTENCE?
The purpose of life in the human body is to reunite with God. The way
to achieve this goal is by remembrance of His Naam in the company of
sadh sangat. Nothing else is of any avail to us. One has to prepare
to cross this 'bhavjal'-the ocean of Maya, otherwise the life is
getting wasted being involved in the lure of Maya.
"Bhaee prapat manukh dehuria, Gobind milan ki ehei teri barai. Avar
kaaj tere kite na kaam, Mil sadh sangat bhaj kewal Naam. Saranjam
laag bhavjal taran ke, Janam birtha jaat rang Maya ke."
A simple guidance to lead this life purposefully and successfully is
to live it with positive initiative, earn your living honestly and
enjoy the comforts and boons of human life and at the same time meet
the Lord thru remembrance of His Holy Naam, which will take all your
worries away
" Uddam krendian jio too, kmanvdian sukh bhunch. Dhiandian too Prabhu
mil Nanak utri chint."
HOW CAN I FREE MYSELF FROM EARTHLY BONDAGE?
Earthly bondage is the bondage of Maya on the mind with thoughts
of 'raj gun' and 'tam gun'.So we have to ferry across the 'bhavjal
sagar' with the help of meditation on gurmantra provided to us by
Satguru. This will take our mind to where there is no air, fire,
water and earth which means no Maya (at this stage, mind stops
thinking and this state is called 'sunn' in SGGS).There lies the true
Naam of the True Lord which will pull the mind out of this ocean of
Maya.
"Satguru hai bohitha shabad langhavanhaar. Tithai pavan na pavko na
jal na akaar Tithe sacha sach Naey bhavjal taranhaar."
His True Naam cleans up the mind and makes it ready to meet the
Lord .When union is achieved with His Grace; the shackles of Maya are
permanently broken.
WHY IS GOD INDIFFERENT?
It is not God who is indifferent, but our mind who does not think
about Him because it is engrossed in Maya and seeking happiness
there. When the problems come because of of its doings (karams), then
it starts praying to God and when things don' go its way, it starts
complaining and thinks God is indifferent. God still hears the
complaints and prayers but let the mind go thru its own created
problems for its learning. God is sitting inside everybody as Soul
and watching the mind's actions and even providing guidance from time
to time but mind does not pay much attention to it. Then it receives
happiness and grief for its own good and bad karma.
Manda changa aapna ,aapey hi keeta pavana."
WHERE I AM GOING?
Life on this planet is given to us for fixed time .God gives us
counted number of breaths and days and cannot be changed even by a
fraction.
"Gin ghale sab divas saas Na badhan ghatan til saar."
When life is given to us, the destiny is already written downland
Dharam Rai, the judge on our karmas is also sent with us.
"Nanak jee upaaeike likh naaven Dharanm bahaliya."
Along with Dharam Rai is Chittar Gupt, who checks on our thoughts and
actions in every breath we take, keeps account of it and submit a
report to Dharam Rai. Then there are 'Jumdoots ' whose job is to pull
our subtle body out of our physical body after we take the last
breath and presents it to Dharam Rai who has our report card from
Chittar Gupt. A judgment is pased on our karmas and next life form is
decided for some immediately and some have to wait and suffer in hell
before are given another chance. There are innumerable sufferings in
terrible hells, which are places for the ungrateful people.
"Narak ghor bauh dukh ghane akirtghana ka thaan."
Those who commit sins are definitely robbed, Azrail or Jum seizes
them and tortures them, the creator Lord put them in hell and the
judge asks them to render the account.
"Paap krendar sarpar muthe. Azrail phare phar kuthe. Dojak paaey
sirjan hare , Lekha munge baniaa"
For those who had tried very hard to reach God but could not win. His
grrace though their minds had become clean, they become angels and go
to what we call heaven. The angels don't have to get born but they
are stuck in that place and cant meet the Lord and are praying to God
again to let them have the human body so that they can do
enough 'bhagti' to be lucky enough to be with the Lord .
"Is dehi ko simrai dev,so dehi bhaj Har ki sev."
However Gurmakhs who had been lucky during their life time and with
their 'bhagti' and were able to win the Grace of God, became 'jivan
mukat' are escorted to 'Sehaj Ghar',God's Mansion. Dharam Rai
welcomes them, their accounts already settled (no files). For them
this ardous journey comes to an end and they achieve permanent peace
and bliss in the presence of God. This is what Guru Ji recommends to
his Sikhs: Dont seek 'raaj' or 'mukti'.but the love of God in His
presence.
"Raaj na chahon mukat na chahon Mun preet charan kamlan re."
For a manmukh however, the cycle of birth and death continuesand he
suffers great punishment on this long journey.
"Jam jam marey marey phir jamey. Bauht sajaaey paiaa des lammey."
Seeking forgiveness for errors in quoting gurbani and gurmat.
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http://www.samachar.com/showurl.htm?rurl=h...t'~is~in~Africa
NRI woman claims she is Lord Jesus
Indo-Asian News Service
Durban, May 24, 2006
A Hindu woman here has said she is Jesus Christ and claims to have the "stigmata of Jesus" on her palms, feet and stomach, as well as the power to heal the sick.
Katherine Jhawarelall, 35, who has a degree in criminology, said on Tuesday that she was born with the stigmata and also claimed that Hebrew scriptures and religious symbols from the Bible appear on the walls of her home, the Post newspaper reported.
Stigmata are marks or sensations in locations corresponding to the crucification wounds of Jesus Christ.
Jhawarelall claimed she did not know the significance of the stigmata until two years ago.
When reporters from the Post visited Jhawarelall at her home, she pointed out sketches of angels and a cross on the walls.
A sign, which she claimed was written in Hebrew, was also etched in her front lawn, the report said.
Jhawarelall told the Post that on the morning of her 33rd birthday on May 15, 2004, she woke up with a swollen arm and realised a message was written on her skin: "Happy birthday Katherine. God gave you life."
She was quoted as saying that she was initially startled "but eventually came to realise and accept who she was".
"People have condemned my claim. Some have even called me a fake and Satan. However, I believe this reaction is attributed to the fact that I am female and a Hindu. Jesus Christ is universal irrespective of race, colour or creed," she told the Post, adding: "I am now the child of God."
Jhawarelall said her family was forced to flee their Kharwastan home when word about her powers got out and she began receiving death threats.
The family then moved to their current residence in the Seaview area "where the miracles have continued to happen".
Religious leaders in Durban have condemned Jhawarelall's claims and have warned people to be "wary of her revelation", the Post reported.
Kingdom Network International founder Bishop Johnny Frank said: "In the Bible there is no talk of reincarnation and certainly not of Jesus Christ being reincarnated as a woman in this life.
Jesus is God and He will come to us in the same form as when he was resurrected. I pray that accuracy and clarity will be revealed to Katherine through the Holy Spirit."
Jhawarelall, however, is unfazed. "I carry the legacy that Jesus Christ is the Archangel Michael and He is universal. In Judaism he is Mikael, in Hinduism he is Shiva, Saraswathie, Luxmi, Lord Krishna and Shirdi Baba, in Christianity he was Jesus Christ and in Islam he is Hasrat Mikael," she was quoted as saying.
Jhawarelall's parents, Jay Hiralall, 63, and Thara, 60, told the Post that they had accepted their daughter's calling and believed she was Jesus because they had seen the miracles in their home.
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----- Original Message -----
From: Harkinder Singh Chahal
Life of an Akali Singh......Inspiring Episodes
Durrat-Nivaran, Dushat-Daman, Gyan-Saroop, Meharvaan,
Parm-Poojjaye, Prem-Moorat Sri Khalsa Ji Sahib:
Waheguru ji ka Khalsa Waheguru ji ki Fateh:
It was month of winter year 2001. I visited Damdama
Sahib with my old mother and my son. There I met this
old Nihung Singh who was well educated and knew
English as well. He lived on very bare minimum, and
slept on Parali spread on the kacha floor of a room
without any doors. He was expert in folk
medicines (Desi Dawaees). He was well travelled a
store house of knowledge and passion for serving
humanity. I listened to him in complete raptness for
about two hours. At one point I mentioned to him that
my mother was suffering from some breathing
irregularities.
He prepared a medicine right before my eyes and
recommended that it must be given with hot water. I
told him that we have hot water from geyser in the
room but he ran at full speed towards Langar fire pit
to heat some water and brought it back in very short
time. I wondered what was the difference between
electrically heated water or the Langar Hall's deg
heated water. Only the compassion in Nihung Singh ji's
deep penetrating eyes, and his body's erect thin old
frame knew the secret to my question. I never dared to
ask him the question: "What is the technical
difference in this hot water of the geyser and that
hot water of Langar's degcha?"
He did this all without any consideration for any
compensation whatsoever. I asked him his name. He said
there is nothing in NAMES. "Navaan vich ki piayaa
hai?" But upon more insistence he wrote in the dust of
the ground, in English letters: "Pattiaan Wala Vaid" -
Perhaps pointing to the fact that "From dust we came
and to dust we return. He murmered in soft voice that
he is only Guru Gobind Singh's son.
My son was messmerized listening him talk for about
two hours and then give medication to my mother in
such a dramatic manner in the end.....Dhann Guru,
Dhann Guru Piarey.
Harkinder Singh, London ,Ontario Canada
-- -----------------------
My 16 years old son sent me the following story today
that reminded me to pen down the above episode
briefly. Please share the following with others in
Name of Satguru Nanak, Akaal-roop Gur Gobind Singh:
"I have come across an amazing life of a nameless
Akali Singh whose jeevan I feel very compelled to
share with all of you. Akali jee was 81 years old in
1973, when his life was first written. Akali jee
instructed the original author to withhold his name as
he did not like to advertise his greatness.
Akali jee always stayed in Akali baana and was never
seen without shaster (weapons). He led a very simple
life and was a great rassiya of Gurbani and
Naam. His humility was unmatched and his speech was
sweet as honey.
He was arrested by the British government in 1916 and
till 1932 he stayed in jail for playing part in the
independence of India. After getting released, he went
to jail many times and in 1942 he was in jail with
Jawahar Lal Nehru; the first prime minister of India.
After the independence of India, Akali jee stayed
fully independent of worldly responsibilities and led
his life helping out others. He forever stayed merged
in the Naam of Vaheguru. He would stay in one place
for few months and then move on. He did not have any
attachments in the world and had no belongings to
worry about.
In 1962, he came to the Sipri town of Madhya Pardesh
(largest state of India). Sipri town of Madhya Pardesh
was greatly infected with crime at that time. There
was a small Gurdwara Sahib in the town and Akali jee
stayed there during his stay in this town.
One evening, Akali jee finished doing his Rehraas
Sahib paath and went out for a walk. While he was
coming back from the walk and was walking by a
water tank, he heard the moaning of a woman that grew
in a loud scream as if she heard someone walk by.
Akali jee stopped and started walking towards the
back of the water tank and saw about 8-10 men removing
the clothes and jewelery of a struggling woman. He
also saw a young man tied to a tree.
Akali jee tried to stop the thugs from committing this
crime but they did not pay any attention to a old
person. How could Akali jee tolerate such
cruelty on a helpless woman right in front of him? He
did realize his age which was about 71 years at that
time, and that he was against about 10 badmaashs
(thugs). He briefly closed his eyes and remembered
Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee and reminded him of his
bachan of Sava laakh se ek laraayoon i.e. I will make
my Khalsa fight with 125,000 persons. Akali jee
felt immense power at the end of the ardaas and he
took his 2 feet long stick and started beating the
thugs with it.
When the thugs got hurt with the stick, they all took
out their Rampuri knives and attacked Akali jee. Akali
jee who was an accomplished player of gatka,
immediately changed his paintra and took out his
kirpaan. He played gatka in such a way that no badmash
could even come near him, let alone hit
him. Many of the badmashs got severely injured with
his attack. They could not believe that they were
being beaten by a 70+ years old man. They tried
to subdue him but all in vain. Eventually they all ran
away.
Akali jee opened the ropes of the tied young man. He
then tried to lift the half unconscious young woman,
who was constantly repeating, bachaayo bachaayo (help
me, help me). Akali jee took her head in his two
hands, brought her near his heart, like a father would
do to his distressed daughter, and said, Beta, oh
chale gaye hunn. Chal ghar chaliye. (O daughter, they
are gone now. Let us go home). Hearing his comforting
voice, she regained her consciousness and the three
started walking back to their house. They went to the
Gurdwara Sahib but the doors of the Gurdwara Sahib had
been locked and the sewadaars did not open the doors
even after heavy knocking. At this the three of them
walked towards the couple house. The relatives were
anxiously waiting for the couple as they had been gone
for a long time. When they heard how Akali jee had
saved their honour, they wanted to thank Akali jee,
but Akali jee had left for the Gurdwara Sahib by then.
He stayed outside the Gurdwara all night as the doors
were closed.
The girl belonged to a very influential family in the
town. At the rise of the day, when everyone found out
about the incident, they all came to the Gurdwara
Sahib to get the darshan of Akali jee. The Police
chief himself came with a lot of people and the press
to see Akali jee. The girl who was saved by Akali jee
too was along with the huge crowd that came to the
Gurdwara Sahib.
The police chief asked the girl about the person who
had saved her honour and life. Hearing this the young
woman, moved forward and tearfully hugged Akali jee
and said, Yeh mere baapoo jee hain, Inhon ne meri jaan
bachaayee thee (He is my father who saved my life and
honour). This is all that the girl could say and then
she burst into tears. The whole atmosphere became very
emotional and Akali jee comforted the girl by slowly
patting her back.
The people gathered a large amount of money and
presented to Akali jee but Akali jee refused to accept
it. When they persisted, Akali jee took the
money and then in front of them placed the money in
front of Siri Guru Granth Sahib jee. The police chief
asked Akali jee to stay in the town and that he would
ensure that Akali jee got pension for life. Akali jee
politely declined the offer saying that after taking
the amrit of Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee he has done
naukri (job) of only Panth and did not want anything
in return.
Hearing such high ideals of Akali jee, the whole crowd
started praising him. How could a singh of Guru Gobind
Singh jee hear his praise. The newspapers
wrote about him too. He left the town and moved on to
another unknown destination after that. This story was
originally written by Sardar Chanda Singh Bareli and
published in 1973.
-
Interesting Article-
Gurfateh
It has been found that at around 3.00am the body is at its coldest,
and the conditions are ideal for the production of DMT (N,N-
dimethyltryptamine), a chemical that appears to be produced/used by
our pineal gland (Pineal gland is situated traditionally where the
3rd eye or Anja Chakra is considered to be). Additionally, darkness
is also a requirement for the production and utlisation of DMT within
the Brain, therefore, rising early would comply with these two
conditions, providing optimum conditions for inducing Mystical
experiences.
The very interesting findings about DMT and Pineal gland is that DMT
appears to induce states very similar to those described by Mystics,
Deep Meditation, NDE's, even child birth and ingestion of certain
plants and fungi, such as the south american sacred mushrooms,
Teonanactal, or psilocybin etc.
There appears to be increasing evidence to suggest that production of
DMT is essential for the brain to experience certain mystical states,
this does not take anything away from Dhyan /Simram, but in fact
provides scientific evidence for physiological changes taking place
within our brains as a direct result of Dhyan/meditation. In fact,
correlation of a the development of the pineal gland in a feotus
happens around the 49th day of conception, (the exact number of days
stated in the Tibetian Book of the Dead), that takes for a soul to
enter the feotus, from the 3rd Bardo (The word "Bardo" comes from the
Tibetan words "bar" meaning "in between"; "do" meaning "island"
or "marking point."). At the same time, the first production of DMT
within the mass of cells. Interestingly its only after the 49th day
that the gender of the feotus can be determined too.
For those who may be interested in such things,ref below:
Rick Strassman, M.D. is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at
the University of British Columbia. author The Spirit Molecule.book
describing his psychedelic drug research with DMT,
Graham Hancock - Supernatural ["Supernatural: Due to or manifesting
some agency above the forces of nature, outside of the ordinary
operation of cause and effect."]
http://www.grahamhancock.com/supernatural (This chap wanted to settle
some issues with his deceased father, and discovered that through
ingestion of a certain plant he was able to meet his father in the
land of the dead, DMT being a feature in this)
Sacred Mushroom of visions (Teonanacatal)
Joseph Cambell - excellent background to world religious thought
evolution, Transformations of Myth Through Time
S Singh
UK
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Yes indeed...its official and it has been published in a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle...tinent&col=
Pakistanis top list of people seeking access to sex web sites
From our correspondents
18 May 2006
ISLAMABAD — Google, the world's most popular Internet search engine, has found in a survey that residents of mostly Muslim states seek access to sex-related web sites and Pakistanis top the list.
Google found that of the top 10 countries — whose residents search for sex-related sites — six were Muslims, with Pakistan on the top. The other Muslim countries are Egypt at number 2, Iran at 4, Morocco at 5, Saudi Arabia at 7 and Turkey at 8. Non-Muslim states are Vietnam at 3, India at 6, Philippines at 9 and Poland at 10.
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Javanmard veeray, I think somewhere on this forum I read that Gurujee said that the one who doesn't believe in or follow Imam Ali isn't a true Muslim. Where has Gurujee said so if I am not wrong?
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Anyone else? Javanmard veerji I am sure you could shed some light on this subject.
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My response to this...modified and pasted from HERE
Based on my life-long experience, I can assure you that nothing can be done to silence or convince these people. Its a waste of time. Our best bet is to teach our youngsters the beauty of Sikhi and to beware of such predators. If we try to answer them in a negative way, we will end up doing ninda of Islam, and that will include the ninda of the good things of Islam as well. We will end up doing ninda of Muhammad Sahib, and that will be offensive to moderate Muslims also who are not fanatics and respect Sikhs. We can only play defensive in this matter, rather than getting offensive.
They can make as many websites as they want, but the truth will always remain intact. We are well aware of the different aspects of Islam and Sikhi, and any human being with a sane mind will know which is more closer to God. We may respond to their articles daily and find flaws, but these guys have some weird debating skills, which includes going off-topic and off-track without letting the other person know, and then making him/her think about something else so that he/she doesn't realize that those fanatics don't have an answer. They do it so discreetly in their communication that you won't even notice it and will continue to debate towards a no-ending situation. I don't say that we shouldn't do anything, but then lets do something ONCE AND FOR ALL and end this menace for good. Can we do that?
The whole world knows the truth. Look all around you, who is responsible for global terrorism? Its a fake and made up story that so-and-so religion is the fastest growing one. Its done to make you feel "Oh no! Others are benefitting and I am lacking behind". All we need to do is take one good look at our history and the sacrifices of our shaheeds. Thats enough to make us realize which is the true religion of God. They can beat drums all day that Mughals were not proper Muslims, but then these people hold Mughals in a high esteem as well. So how and who do you trust? Pakistan promises so much to India about defeating terrorism, yet its their trained terrorists who bomb streets in Delhi and temples in other parts of India like Benares. Can we trust such people? Or anything they say or claim? Can we forget stories of our sisters we've read over and over again on these forums who thought they were in "love" with one of them and ended up in a place worse than hell itself?
Everyone knows these facts, and the reason they make such websites is for people to believe in their fairy tales and disregard the harsh reality around them. They can make 25000 websites daily, but all sane human beings know the truth.
Here are a few questions that can be put to them:
1.) No religion in the world has a rule that if its follower converts to another faith, he/she should be killed. So why do they have such a rule? When a non-Muslim accepts Islam, he/she is called "blessed" and "saved". Why then order the death of a Muslim who chooses another faith? Isn't that hypocrisy? Just like your faith is the ultimate for you, so is others' for them.
2.) Why do they circumsize male babies? If they follow a religion that is defined as "submission" to God, why do they tamper with what God has created/given? Why not submit? Do they believe God is not perfect and made a mistake which they have to correct?
3.) No scripture in this world was written by the founder of that religion except the Sikh scripture. So how do they claim that their book is the only true one?
4.) The revelation of Quran was through an angel Gabriel. Does a prophet need a middleman? Why not communicate to God directly? The Gurus did, so now who is more authentic?
5.) Why do they totally cover their women and not teach the males to control lust? Lack of self-control?
6.) During their holy month when they fast, why are non-Muslims forbidden to eat/drink in public places (this happens in Islamic countries)? Lack of self-control?
7.) Why are terms like "Kafir" used to denote those who practice a faith different to theirs? Can a religion called "true religion" discriminate one human from another?
8.) They don't believe that God is omnipresent. So is their god limited to space? Still they say they are the true ones?
9.) They go on and on about Sargun/Nirgun to brainwash Sikhs. Do they even know how to define Sargun/Nirgun in terms of Gurbani before preaching to Sikhs?
I can't come up with more questions for now, although there are loads more than creep up every now and then. For the time being this dose should do. Shall come up with more in future.
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I thought Semitic faiths were the ones like Judaism, Christianity and Islam that began in the Middle East.Sikhism is a semtic faith. -
http://www.samachar.com/showurl.htm?rurl=h...st~Sikh~officer
Ist Sikh officer commissioned into Pak Army
[ Sunday, April 16, 2006 03:58:00 pmPTI ]
ISLAMABAD: After a Hindu created history by briefly becoming the Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court last year, a youth hailing from the birth place of Guru Nanak near Lahore has earned the distinction of being commissioned into the Army as the first Sikh officer.
Last year, Judge Bhagwan Das briefly became the Chief Justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court when the incumbent Iftakar Muhammad Choudhary went on a foreign tour.
Hercharan Singh, a Sikh youth hailing from Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak, on Saturday made the history by becoming the first Sikh to be commissioned into Pakistan Army.
The Pakistan Army had a few Christian officers in its ranks in the past.
Wearing a turban and sporting a beard, Singh marched to the military tunes at the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) where Prime Minister Shakat Aziz commissioned a large batch of cadets at a ceremony on Saturday.
Singh dressed in the military uniform shaking hands with Aziz after the ceremony was featured on the front pages of all Pakistani newspapers today.
"I am proud to be a Pakistani and of joining Pakistan Army. Being the first Sikh cadet, I wish and pray also to be the first one to be a 'shaheed' (martyr)," he said.
Singh being the eldest son, his mother was initially hesitant to send him for military training. "But now she is proud of me," he said smiling.
Cadet Singh has a young brother and regularly writes home about his daily routine.
He had joined the National College of Arts, but opted to serve as an officer in the Army, which in a military-dominated Pakistan offered a lucrative career and lifestyle.
Pakistan has a few dozen Sikh families scattered in Punjab and North West Frontier Provinces (NWFP). The Sikh and Hindus live in close proximity in these provinces.
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http://www.valleyindiatimes.com/noqnews/nn....php?ArtID=1434
January 03, 2005 - 22:15
Concept of Karma in Sikhism
Mohinder Kaur
Theory of Karma: Actions of human beings are of paramount importance in determining their destiny. Therefore, deeds good or bad write the script of a person’s future. The effects of a person’s behaviour are operative not only in this life but in life after death also. He is slave to his past. Our present existence has resulted from what we did in our previous lives and what we do now, will regulate our next life. From doctrine of Karma originates the theory of rebirth of the soul. Karma of a person is based on the assumption of continuity of the soul after death. It is a continuous cycle of rebirth and death. The ephemerality of a single span of life is too inconsistent to give any person a chance to attain perfection and spiritual excellence. Closed road for the soul and limiting it to one life would mean religious ventures and endeavors of humanity are all meaningless and absurd. According to dictum, 'As you sow, so shall you reap,' Karma alone is ultimate and its retribution never fails. God cannot interfere in the working of its mechanism. Existence or non-existence of God has no significance.
This is associated with the atheistic school of thought. Such a belief reduces the functioning of an individual to a mere mechanical model. Human being with all the mental faculties cannot pull himself up by his own bootstraps and is not free to work towards salvation of his own soul. Wicked deeds of his previous life stand in the way of his freedom. This concept of retribution strikes a chord of dark pessimism in human heart because the soul finds no opportunity to get out of its present predicament.
Sikhism believes in the concept of continuity of the soul after death in different forms, human or animal. It accepts the theory of law of Karma along with the idea of retribution. But it is not taken to be absolute or inexorable. The rigidity of Karma is repulsive to Sikh thought as it does not recognize the merciful trait of Almighty God. He, being Absolute Arbiter may write off the effects of all malicious actions of a person thereby asserting His supremacy over everything. According to Sikh faith though Karma is potent force in life, its web is not so intricate as to exclude the possibility of redemption of human soul. To obtain celestial peace Sikhism demands strict observance of all its prescriptions. It offers happy immortality and life without despair and melancholy to its faithful. Singing the Glory of God erases the blot of thousands of evil deeds of the past and present life. Repeating God’s Name can redeem a repentant sinner. Bhagat Ravidas in one of his devotional hymns so eloquently expressed his thought which is registered in Guru Granth Sahib, 'Were we not sinners, how would Thou then be called redeemer of the fallen!' God’s Word is like a lamp which when lighted inside human heart, gives the light by consuming the oil of suffering. Such is the Splendor of God’s Grace and Compassion. Therefore, according to Sikh Scripture the law of Karma ceases to operate.
In Sikh monotheistic concept Absolute and Supreme power is held in highest reverence. Theory of Transmigration: It is the rebirth of human soul in descending order. Because of moral failings of an individual in previous life, the soul passes through various animal lives suffering untold miseries. It is a punishment and a curse for a person’s wicked deeds in previous human birth. In Sikh scripture these sinister actions are compared to chains around the neck, fetters on the legs and to hangman’s noose. The soul carries the load of its sins from one lower life to another and groans under its own burden. It is an intense agonizing ordeal. Sikh Religion refers to it as hell. No researcher, explorer nor any scientist with their accumulated knowledge can bring an emancipation of the soul from this continuous cycle of suffering. If the law of Karma was absolutely inexorable, human soul would have been eternally doomed and would have no chance of extricating itself out of the cycle of transmigration. Sikhism offers annulment from transmigration of the soul through repeating God’s Name in all awareness in this life and by leading a sublime and truthful life. Guru Nanak says, 'Truth is high but higher still is truthful living.' Practice of praising the Glory of the Lord is the highest of all practices and in return it purges out all sins of human beings.
Reincarnation: According to Sikh creed a soul before getting this human body has passed through several lives of lower species. Therefore, this life is precious and a gift of God. It means God out of compassion and mercy has given the soul one more chance to improve itself spiritually and terminate the bondage of transmigration. It is an opportunity to attain union with God which is the mission of Sikhism. If a soul fails to obtain liberation in this life then in accordance with its good deeds, it will be reborn in human form.
Reincarnation is rebirth of human soul in ascending order. It passes from one human life to another in its spiritual and moral progress. Soul is reborn for its further development. It goes on acquiring human births till it eliminates rebirth completely and attains eternal peace. To get incarnated is to lead this life without sin and with full devotion to God. The doctrine of incarnation is considered to be too individualistic because a person is determined on achieving emancipation of the soul no matter what happens to his family and community in the process. Individual works towards his own spiritual perfection only.
Sikh divine ordinance does not establish a person’s destiny but only lays down moral laws and human being’s actions are measured accordingly. Daily conduct and performances decide how a person stands in the ultimate count with the Creator. God is responsible for the existence of evil by the side of good. These are part of His Creation and are governed by the rules created by Him. But he is not responsible for moral anarchy in an individual’s life. Poverty of moral values leads to impurities in mental state resulting in spiritual degeneration. This will generate evil and moral crisis in an individual’s life. People suffer for their evil actions because evil is negation of God’s Will and are rewarded for their good behaviour in the court of His Kingdom. Human being is an epitome and crown of His inventions and is the only creature in this cosmic existence who is capable of conscience volition and can organize his daily activities to attain good over evil. Therefore, a person is accountable for any lapses from morality. Because of his mental capabilities he is considered to be the sovereign and sufficient in his powers and is expected to advance to the loftiest speaks of spiritual glory which is the goal established by Sikh divinity for its followers.
Sikhism aims at spiritual evolution.
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http://www.valleyindiatimes.com/noqnews/nn....php?ArtID=1458
January 03, 2005 - 22:52
Democratic Ideals; Preached & Practiced by Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Dr. Jaswant Singh Sachdev
Aurangzeb, the last powerful Mogul Emperor of India unleashed a state-sponsored horrible terror upon the majority Hindu population by which he continuously plundered their fundamental human rights while denying them the freedom to practice of their own religion. He used torture as a vehicle of coercion to convert Indian population into Islam. In order to seek protection from these relentless atrocities, a delegate of Kashmiri Pundits, under the leadership of a Brahmin, Kirpa Ram Mattan arrived at the court of the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Teg Bahadur. Upon listening to the details of torture being perpetrated upon Hindus, Guru Teg Bahadur became very contemplative. Once Kirpa Ram
Mattan finished his heart piercing story, Guruji mentioned to his son Gobind, that in order to thwart such nefarious designs, a courageous and spiritual soul was needed to stand up to Aurangzeb. And this might entail a personal sacrifice. Child, Gobind innocently suggested back, 'There could not be a better suitable person than you, my father to put a halt to this torture'. It was a statement of great moral conviction uttered by a child who was born with a divine awareness of human rights. The possession of such spiritual wisdom at a very early age later on showed up again in the creation of 'Khalsa' or the pure ones. The Sikhs all over the world will be celebrating his 338th Birthday in the later part of December.
Guru Gobind Singh’s reaffirmation of his own commitment to democratic ideals of openness and accountability, so dearly sought in this modern day and age, becomes very obvious through two letters 'Fatehnamah' and 'Zafarnamah' or epistles of victory that he wrote to Aurangzeb circa December 1704. These letters, written in Persian language truly describe his beliefs about the behavior that a ruler must follow. Very openly and without any fear he told Aurangzeb: 'Your name does not become you, Aurangzeb, since your ways are deceitful' (Broadly translated, Aurangzeb means 'pride of throne'). (1) Further in the letter, he underscores the necessity for the rulers to abide by the same moral principles that they expected from the ruled. 'Transparency or openness in actions and integrity of purpose are ethical convictions that must be adhered to, both by the ruler and the ruled'. (2). Guru Gobind Singh did not hesitate slightly in calling a spade a spade when he said: 'He alone is a cultured man, he alone is worthy of being called a human being, whose ‘yes’ is a ‘yes’ and whose ‘no’ means ‘no’. He, who says one thing but means and intends another one, is sub-human.' (3). In fact these letters publicly indict and admonish Emperor for his misdeeds and evil ways. He goes on further, 'You believe neither in God nor the Prophet. You do not keep your word; you lie; you keep your faith in worldly weal and not in God. You know not the value of an oath on the Quran'. (4)
Most of the human beings depart this earth after having a mere existence in which they primarily keep their focus on their own needs. Many live for their families, friends and relatives. One might occasionally come across a few personalities, in the pages of history who truly live by morally correct and spiritually uplifting ways to uphold democratic principles. In doing so, at times, they had to undertake the challenge of liberating their countrymen from the clutches of unjust rulers who seek to trample and plunder the existing indigenous faith, culture and history. These unjust rulers often use all available means including torture and death to convert the poor, the helpless, the week and the meek. It was such a point in history when a Godly man, Guru Gobind Singh appeared at the Indian scene. He first offered resistance through peaceful negotiations to those who, instead of following true codes of ruler-ship, used vehicles of torture to decimate everything Indian. As a last resort, when all peaceful measures failed, only then he opted for the use of unavoidable force through open battles to uphold and reaffirm democratic ideals.
To establish a morally correct democratic society in order to protect his birth land and the human rights of its people as well as their culture and faiths, he not only made personal sacrifice but also that of his entire family including his great-grand father, father, mother and four little children. 'It is through such sacrifices that this mortal became immortal yet he maintained extreme humility and avoided the trap of a personality cult. He was a true nationalist of India, catering only to God Almighty, his country and its people. He created a pure and fearless group of followers, the Khalsa, from amongst the ordinary downtrodden people of India who had lost hope, courage and their country to the invaders of the middle-east. He was Guru yet declared Himself a Chela or disciple and behaved like one to his followers, a true philosophy of democratic ideals never seen before nor will ever be.'(5)
It fills me with great pride to repeat here what has been so eloquently stated by Dr. Gopal Singh; 'He abolished privilege and raised the lowest, equal in all ways to the highest and restored to man his manhood, to woman her woman-hood. To him temple and mosques were one and same. Freedom, freedom, freedom resounded from every where, freedom from foreign tyranny as much as from what drags man down: superstition, hypocrisy, ego, self-pity and covetousness, and worst of all, the joyless round of a living death. He only lived for mere two scores and two years but in this short span of life he changed the map of India and world' (6). It was he, who over three centuries ago, started liberating his motherland from the clutches of foreign invaders and initiated the true process of democracy. Yet his followers unfortunately failed grossly in not fully informing the people of India and the world about his extraordinary role in history. As a consequence a few of his own countrymen in their naivety and ignorance labeled this true servant of God a ‘misguided patriot’. Obviously those who said so, perhaps did it without knowing the full story.
'Had this morally correct revolutionary at the mere age of nine not implored his own father to lay down his life at Chandni Chowk in Delhi for pursuit of liberty and for the protection of religious freedom for the people of India in letting them keep their ‘Tilak and Janehoo’-the sacred forehead mark and sacred thread of the Hindus, the religious landscape of India would have been entirely different than what we have today. (7) Through his unparallel sacrifices, Guru Gobind Singh sowed the seeds of freedom and democracy so that the people of India could enjoy its glow for generations to come. He knew that as time passes, people will collect enough strength to choose and follow their faiths without any fear or favor, thanks to the divine foresight of this great man of God. That is why historians and writers glorify this King of Kings, Guru Gobind Singh Ji as 'Mard Agammrah' or 'the un-fathomable man beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals. In the middle of a vast ocean, under a dark and starless night, his democratic ideals now and forever will stand firm like a beacon, unaffected by dangerous tides of hurricanes and typhoons, always imparting the message of democracy through its penetrating rays of hope-filled light.
References:(I, 2, 3) Patwant Singh 'The Sikhs, published by Alfred A. Knopf 2000
(4) Dr. Santokh Singh, published by Spiritual Awakening Studies Canada
(5, 6, 7) Dr. Gopal Singh quoted in a pamphlet 'Darbar-E-Khalsa 2003
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http://www.valleyindiatimes.com/noqnews/nn....php?ArtID=1407
January 03, 2005 - 15:57
Interfaith and Baba Nanak
Dr. Jaswant Singh Sachdev
The interfaith movements usually play a significant role in countries where multiculturalism and multiple faiths exist side by side. In the minds of public at-large, these movements tend to thwart and negate 'hate' and 'intolerance' against people belonging to minority groups. Whenever the dangerous and dark clouds of religious intolerance show up hovering upon the horizon, the far-sighted and open-minded individuals prepare themselves to accept such challenges. They are always aware of the fact that hate often tries to loosen the grip of secularism on the rational minds of people irrespective of their backgrounds. And they understand that the hate is the manifestation of moral bankruptcy having a sinister outcome that is basically destructive to the very roots of human superiority over the rest of animal kingdom. To them the lessons learnt from the history of world religions are far too obvious in relation to the horrendous damage that is slapped on the face of humanity by this hitherto low-profile poisonous hate. Unfortunately the people with a limited view of the world, on the other hand, still perceive such movements a kind of trendy fad.
India with history of diverse faiths and cultures holds a singularly unique experience of such trials and tribulations under its belt. Historically the time honored civilization of India and its people have been witness to two inimitable phenomena. On one hand it is the only country in the world where many of the so-called eastern religions took their first breath and saw the light of the day. While nurturing these multitudes of faiths and their specific cultures, it also happened to be a signatory to the significant numbers of upheavals. As a by-product of this strange prodigy, it ended up earning the dubious distinction of harboring many inter-religious rivalries, discriminations, persecutions and open riots. The mayhem caused by the partition of 1947 with its consequent toll of deaths and destruction, the riots of 1984 as well as ongoing trouble between Hindus and Muslim that often sprouts up like a spontaneous yet forceful lava, all bespeak of such reprehensible and repetitive occurrences. Unfortunately till today these painful sagas keep on plaguing India in some shape or form.
History is witness to this fact that whenever religious intolerance and persecution starts showing its ugly head anywhere on the face of this earth, the true Men of God simultaneously appear on the world stage to undo the damage. Such great souls are propelled by their inner strength to stand up to this nuisance. They try to put their lives on line in trying to face grueling challenges to counter-act such nefarious activities often perpetuated against mankind by those intoxicated by their power, numbers and richness. Through a process of dissemination of knowledge about the fundamental gift of God-given equality to all mankind, such moral men attempt to set the record straight beyond the boundaries of their own faith. And they do so irrespective of who they were and where they lived. Baba Nanak, the founder of Sikh faith whose birth day is being celebrated all over the world in the month of November was one such 'Man of God.'
Baba Nanak had a philosophy and message that was truly Inter-faith in nature. It transcended well beyond the closed boundaries of the prevalent faiths of India at a time when the situation, to say the least, was morally despicable. His emphasis on universality and secularism had an inviting appeal to all regardless of their personal beliefs. In order to deliver his message of inter-faith tolerance and love for humanity, he traveled to where ever the so-called religious hierarchy of diverse faiths resided. He emphasized his message through simple practical examples much akin to that of a physics teacher who performs scientific experiments in presence of its pupils to highlight or prove a point. To eighty four reclusive Yogis and Siddhas who had forsaken the suffering humanity below and turned into hermits in the snow-capped peaks of Himalayas, he was simply direct and blunt in explaining them that the God they are looking for resides within them. He told them unhesitatingly and in no uncertain terms that instead of providing much needed help and guidance to their fellow human-beings, they have become oblivious to their duties. Rather than searching salvation in the remote recesses and high uninhabitable peals of mountains, they need to find the same very God by serving its needy creation below. To the Purohits at the banks of Holy Ganges in Haridwar he claimed that mere throwing of the water towards the Sun without good deeds is a mere ritual and would not be of much avail to their dead ancestors.
When the Mullahs of Kaaba, the most sacred place of Islam became irate to his sleeping posture with feet towards Kaaba, he simply asked them to turn his feet to the direction where they thought God was not to be found. On being asked by religious leaders of Muslims to attend Nimaz with them, he readily joined but after it ended, he informed them that the mind of their religious leader was wandering somewhere else at the time of Nimaz. 'A Nimaz or prayer without full concentration and without putting full mind into it was no more than a mere show and had no meaning' so he said. 'All mankind and its different religions are equal in the eyes of God' was the message he delivered to the Mullahs and Kaazis of Mecca, Medina and Baghdad as well as to the high priests and Brahmins of Hindu hierarchy at Haridwar, Kashi as well as to the Siddhas and the Yogis retired on the high mountains. Baba Nanak felt equally at home with the poorest of the poor as he was with the Emperors, Kings and Nawabs. He brought the dangerous thugs and hardened criminals to the right spiritual path by making them abandon the crimes against humanity and then turned them into saints. He did not hesitate in telling the rich people that their religious celebrations and offerings for the poor are filled with blood if the money used for their noble deeds is gotten by ill-means.
Baba Nanak’s interfaith philosophy and outlook brought the people of India together in accepting him as their religious guide. In a symposium held sometimes back in Punjabi University in celebration of 500th year birth day of this great prophet, Prof. K. A. Nizami of Aligarh Muslim University reminded the audience about a saying that was quite popular in undivided Punjab of pre-partition days 'Baba Nanak Shah Faquir; Hindu Da Guru, Musalman Da Peer' meaning while Baba Nanak was a Guru for the Hindus he was equally a Peer for the Muslims. He said further 'Baba Nanak belonged to the category of those great men who are not the monopoly of any particular sect, creed or religion but are common to all human races and his philosophy acted like a bridge.' (1). It was only Baba Nanak who had the courage to make statements that could put many in hot waters 'There is neither Hindu nor Musalman'. What he meant was that in the court of God there is nothing like Hindu or Musalman, rather all God’s creation irrespective of faith is equal and what truly matters is the deeds of a person.
Inspired by the Baba Nanak’s philosophy, Urfi a well known poet in the court of Akbar, the Mogul Emperor of India, stated 'Oh Urfi ! Live in such a way with the good and bad that when you die, the Musalmans may wish to wash you with the Zam-Zam water and Hindus may wish to cremate you. (2) Precisely this is what happened at the time when Baba Nanak left for heavenly abode at Kartarpur where Hindus and Muslims both wanted his body to be put to rest in accordance with their own religious traditions. In fact this last incidence of Guru Nanak’s life was looked upon by Akbar, the Mogul emperor of India as the highest achievement of religious toleration and goodwill (3). Professor DeSmet describing the similarities between Guru Nanak and Jesus Christ says 'The distance that separates Guru Nanak and Jesus Christ appears great in time and the cultural origin. Yet there is a remarkable convergence of their teachings and it is a rewarding study to explore and expose their more outstanding affinities' (4).
Baba Nanak yearned for a society where a thought of the common heritage of all faiths of the world would be celebrated and not merely tolerated (5). Many religious intellectuals of the modern day world have tried to compare his philosophy with the fundamental principles of other major religions. All have come to the same conclusion that what Baba Nanak preached many centuries ago, still holds true as the basic interfaith reality and truth. His philosophy truly stands like a beautiful fragrant rose amongst the bouquet of flowers belonging to many faiths. In this day and age, like in the years past, while celebrating Baba Nanak’s birthday, if his followers and others could simply act on the single page from his teachings pertaining to interfaith tolerance and respect, it could become the most befitting tribute to the legacy of this great Baba. And there could not be any better birthday gift that we the mortal beings could ever offer to this Universal Prophet.
References: (1); (2); (3); (4); (5):- Perspectives on Guru Nanak (1975) Published by Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab India.
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sampooran saadh sangat nu vasakhi diyaan lakh lakh vadhaiyaan
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Although his family says that all this is false and that he has a strong belief in Sikhi
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This article was published in the United Arab Emirates' most pretigious and liberal newspaper, Khaleej Times. The writer of this article Irfan Hussain is an eminent author and is hated by hardline Muslims for his moderate views.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle...pinion&col=Trial by faith
BY IRFAN HUSAIN
6 April 2006
THE ongoing furore over the arrest and threatened trial of Abdul Rahman in Afghanistan for the alleged ‘crime’ of converting to Christianity has puzzled and alarmed many in the West. Newspapers have been full of reports and op-ed articles about the case, and everybody from President Bush to the Pope has pleaded for the accused.
Most people cannot understand what the fuss is about: in the last census in the UK, tens of thousands of people filling in the form put ‘Jedi’ in the religion column, a reference to the ‘Jedi knights’ in the Star Wars films. Millions said they were agnostics or atheists.
In a society where religion plays an increasingly marginal role in everyday life, it is incomprehensible that the state can dictate a citizen’s belief and even execute him for changing his faith. It is all the more puzzling when Muslims routinely proselytise all over the world, converting thousands to Islam every year. Why, people ask, do Muslims not have the same freedom themselves?
Fortunately, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, succumbed to pressure and his government has dropped the trial. Nevertheless, the case has opened an important debate. After all, Afghanistan (like most Muslim countries) is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man which guarantees freedom of religion and conversion. So on what grounds was Mr Rahman being charged in the first place?
When the Danish cartoons caricaturing the Prophet of Islam erupted on the scene, many thoughtful Westerners condemned them as an unacceptable provocation to Muslims. A number of politicians condemned the publication of the cartoons, and many editors ran strong leaders denouncing their Danish colleagues. But when news about the unfortunate Afghan’s ordeal appeared, the same people expressed their condemnation of his incarceration and horror over the death sentence he faced. Even after the case has been dropped (on grounds of ‘insanity’), many Afghans have threatened to kill him and he has been offered sanctuary by Italy.
In the eyes of the world, Muslims are practising a double standard whereby they insist on the right to spread their religion aggressively, while preventing other faiths from evangelising among them. And while they too often treat non-Muslims living in their midst as second class citizens, they demand that they be allowed to build mosques and run madressahs in non-Muslim countries.
Writing about the Abdul Rahman case in the Observer of March 26, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali says: "Again and again, Muslim scholars assure us that there is no compulsion in matters of religion and that Islam upholds fundamental freedoms. Yet it remains the case that all the existing schools of law prescribe the death penalty for apostasy..."
The good Bishop goes on to suggest: "Such matters are of universal concern. Surely, the general idea of maslaha, or the common good, should now be used to promote an understanding of Islamic law that is both rooted in the Quran and open to interaction in a wholly new set of circumstances. If a clash of civilisations and clashes within civilisations are to be avoided, the Shariah, or Law of Islam, must be shown to be flexible and adaptable..."
Whether or not the Muslim world follows this advice, the fact is that over the last 50 years, millions of Muslims have migrated to the West, and their children and grandchildren are now struggling to make a living and find recognition in non-Muslim milieus. Never an easy task at the best of times, they are hampered by the post-9/11 tension that now separates Muslim from non-Muslim.
Muslims who live in the West are now constantly on the defensive, having to explain to their local friends and colleagues that Islam is a religion of peace and that the terrorism around us is the work of a handful of extremists. But when churches are attacked in Pakistan or a priest is killed in Turkey or an Afghan faces the death penalty for converting to Christianity, it is hard to maintain that all is well in the Islamic world.
While sane and moderate Muslims naturally believe that these excesses arise from a misinterpretation of the faith, non-believers see things differently. When suicide bombers and terrorists spread death and destruction in the countries that give them shelter, they too often blame the faith that drove them to these moments of madness.
Habib Johnson, an American reader with whom I have been in correspondence before, writes: "A few months ago, I wrote to you about my plight having converted back to Christianity after my family embraced Islam. As an African American I wrote about the problems I faced from mostly Muslims of Asian origin in my mosque area (most of them Pakistani) who made life hell for me. It convinced me Muslims will never assimilate and become moderate ... even if they are living in a country that gives them everything, including the licence to preach and build mosques...
"How can Muslim leaders who ad nauseum say ‘there’s no compulsion in Islam’ sit quiet when a man is sentenced to death for the simple reason he changed his religion? Every day I read newspapers in Muslim countries shamelessly tom-tomming the conversion of Christians (especially whites) to Islam. Isn’t this hypocrisy of the highest order...?" He concludes by asking: "Should you write a column about this?" And he answers his own question: "Hell no; I care for your well-being."
The writer makes some deeply troubling points. Indeed, the Abdul Rahman case encapsulates the entire conflict between Islam and modernity. Can we really believe that we should have the right not only to practise our faith in non-Muslim societies, but also to convert others, while we deny others the same right in our countries? More to the point, will we be allowed by others to continue with these double standards indefinitely?
The truth is that for years, Muslim immigrants have been exploiting Western liberal attitudes that have made it possible for them to get jobs, an education for their children and health care for their families. All this while the majority have chosen to maintain their distinctive lifestyle that Westerners often find offensive. Their attitude towards women, for example, flies in the face of the same liberalism that Muslims use to spread their faith. But now, terrorism has exposed the faultlines between the two civilisations, and an increasing number of Western voices are saying enough is enough to this one-way traffic.
Irfan Husain is an eminent Pakistani commentator based in London. He can be reached at irfan.husain@gmail.com
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I think you are responding to a question with a question. I never said anyone/anything was right or wrong. Nor did I offer a solution. I am just curious as to how do you see a Sikh marrying a non-Sikh and still not breaking the above mentioned clear and direct Hukams of Gurujee. I wouldn't be surprised if someone came up with "Those are not Gurujee's Hukams. They were drafted centuries after Gurujee left His physical body".
You can and should. But practically speaking, the question is how long can this mutual respect for 2 different religions last? Check this out :Could you not follow Sikhi and also respect your partner’s religion.http://www.realsikhism.com/testimonies/amanpreet.html - Amanpreet Kaur Marries a Hindu
One has gotta make up one's mind who one's master is. If one is ok with 2 masters, go ahead by all means. Tomorrow one may say "Whats wrong in having a Sikh wife who I married in a Gurdwara and a Christian wife I married in a church?" There is no end to such "WHYs" ?Why cant you marry in a church then also marry in a gudwara
Thats perfect, but I am really interested to know how it would work out when one parent tells the kid "Woman should wear hijab", and the other says "Wearing veil is forbidden".is it not best to teach the kids about all religions and let them make the choice?
Perfectly said. Now which religion is the one that this kid will adopt? The mom's or the dad's ? I had a friend whose dad was Sikh and mom was Punjabi Hindu. The result was that she was an agnostic, meaning she knew that God is there but thats it. She never felt the need of God beyond that.I believe you cannot force religion on anyone and your not born into a religion unless you adopt the characteristics?
No, but they may expect you to bow before idols, and as a Sikh you aren't supposed to do that. You could offend them by sticking to your faith, or go against your faith to impress them. The choice is totally yours. Although I wouldn't say "Don't go to the Hindu mandir" if it was only a social or friendly thing, and you can maintain yourself as a Sikh there. In the end, its all your choice buddy. Its a free world and no one is gonna take u to court juz coz u married into another faithDoes that mean when my Hindu friends have a religious event at the mandir I am committing a sin?
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http://www.sikhawareness.com/sikhawareness...light=52+hukams : 52 Hakums oF Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj
14)Anand Viah bina grahist nahi karna - Do not start married life without Anand Karaj (Sikh ceremony of marriage).
If u marry a non-Sikh following their customs, what then?
38)Sir munae noo kanaiaa nahi daeni. Uos ghar daevni jithae Akal Purukh di sikhi ha, jo karzaai naa hovae, bhalae subhaa da hovae, bibaeki atae gyanvaan hovae - Do not given a daughter's hand to a clean shaven. Give her hand in a house where God's Sikhi exists, where the household is not in debt, is of a good nature, is disciplined and knowledgable.
I don't need to explain this one
42)Darshan yaatraa gurdwaaraa di hi karni - Make pilgrimages to Gurudwaras only.
Your non-Sikh spouse wants to go elsewhere, what do u do?
47)Sikhi kesaa-suaasa sang nibhaaouni - Live as a Keshadhari Sikh.
Your non-Sikh spouse asks u to give up ur Sikh identity. What do u do?
I am not suggesting a solution. I am just curious. If you do marry a non-Sikh, how do u fulfil these hukams? You would probably violate them. Or do u have a midway? By the way I am not least bothered about anyone's personal life and who they marry. I just want to know how would u, if u believe urself to be a Sikh, respond to Gurujee's clear and given hukams.
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u gotta read the whole book for thatwhat's so "special" about this book...
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United Arab Emirates
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I got this in an email just a while ago. It is pretty long, but definitely worth the read.
A son questions his father, and the father respondsJaskirat was from a fairly affluent family of Panjab and had been
residing in a hostel for eleven years. His friends did not consider
him to be 'hip' (westernized) enough, and this was certainly a
drawback. Being 'hip' provided the key to the all-night parties and
was a measure of the upward social mobility among the student
community. Jaskirat's flowing beard and his refusal to join his
friends in drinking bouts and smoking joints of marijuana earned him
the nickname of "Sant Maharaj Ji." "Don't you smoke?" was the usual
query. "Come on, you must be smoking in your room, all Sikhs do. Go
ahead, we are not going to write to your old man."
When Jaskirat told his friends that he did not smoke, they were not
pleased with him and were not ready to take his word. They called him
a hypocrite behind his back. But his ostracism on campus did not end
there; the pressures were increasing every day. Amrita Kaur, a popular
classmate and good friend of Jaskirat, was unwilling to accept his
invitation to a party because he insisted on carrying a Kirpan with
him. For her it was a sign of cultural shallowness and crudeness of
the mind. Such behavior was certainly an obstacle in her endeavor to
be one with the 'in-crowd'. She was in no mood for a compromise this
time and was determined to put him on the spot. In her intellectual
anger, she tersely told him, "You claim to be progressive in your
views, but you still carry a sword like a feudal hero. If it is for
self defense and honor, which you are so fond of claiming, then a
machine gun would be more efficient to do the job. Live in the
present, do not be a priest of the past." She slipped a note in
Jaskirat's room in the hostel, offering him a job as a "moral science
teacher in a convent school."
Unable to carry on with the ever-increasing pressure of his tightrope
walking, Jaskirat decided to write to his father, who was keen to see
his son as a Guru ka Sikh. He was fortunate to have as his father a
famous poet - who had been a guest lecturer at Cambridge, Harvard, and
Michigan, and had spoken before various international associations and
institutions.
Letter of the Son
My dear Dad,
Sat Sri Akal.
1. It is with extreme pain, conflict, and misery that I resolved to
write to you about my inability to accept the 5 K's. I have no
question about the efficacy of these symbols three centuries ago. They
were essential in times of war to maintain the identity of Sikhs and
give them a common denominator of unity. It was a good strategy for
fighting against an enemy bent on destroying the very seeds of
Sikhism. But for the present, these symbols have no justification, no
meaning or any convincing explanation. Sardar Partap Singh wrote a
five-page article on the utility of the 5 K's, but when I met him at
the club last month, he was definitely not carrying a Kirpan. He is no
exception in these double standards.
It is not me alone who has felt this lacuna, but most Sikh boys in my
college are also unable to accept these symbols and their validity for
everyday life.
They can establish no coherent connection between a Kirpan and the
human effort for the communion with God. In no way can I convince them
that these symbols make me more of a Sikh than them. They are
recognized as much Sikh as I am. In fact more so because they are seen
in tune with the modern times, I as an idiot who sees in a set of 5
symbols a stepping stone for my liberation in the future. The belief
in God, the harm in smoking, the ill effects of drinking, the daily
reading of the Japji - all these I have no objections to accept; but
the 5 symbols do not fit into any logical framework. A happy life and
the 5 symbols seems to me to be an absurd and illogical equation.
2. As beliefs shape experience, these symbols become an inescapable
reality. Once the mind has experienced the pleasure, which
identification through these symbols brings, the mind is firmly
entrenched in this deceptive pleasure and nothing can shake it. The
end result is that we are slaves of this false identification. We do
not want to question them because that would not be honorable. And the
older generation does not want us to inquire; they do not have the
courage to face our questions. The acceptance of these symbols with
them has become the means for gaining status in society. But Dad,
there must be freedom to grasp our own instincts and act accordingly.
Why can't I free myself from this structure of imitation? It is
constantly building up fear in me and this fear is further
strengthening this structure. To be my own self, I must break these
imposed symbols.
3. My belief in God is not bound to my hair. These symbols are not
religion, they are only the result of being forced to conform to war
conditions. Is not religion something, much purer, and much deeper
than these symbols? We must learn to live without these symbols and
face reality. These signs have to be discarded and life has to be seen
as it is.
We are told that cultural, military, psychological, social, political,
economic, spiritual, physical, and sexual factors were the main
considerations, which made Guru Gobind Singh endow the Sikhs with the
5 K's. If I accept one set of these explanations, the next set
contradicts the former. The explanations for the 5 K's are a paradise
of pick and choose. One may choose the one, which fancies an
individual the most, very much like a nice trouser in a show window.
It is not strange if some think that the choice is still not wide
enough to appeal to their senses. So they come out with the choice of
discarding these symbols.
If I take the view that the Kirpan is for self-defense, can I discard
it if I have twenty bodyguards with all the latest equipment for my
protection? Similarly, I can question the necessity of the other K's.
Daddy, I am utterly incapable of understanding the value, the
justification and the imposition of these symbols. I am prepared to
take the challenge and I give you my word that in case you can show me
the way and the significance of these symbols, I will enjoy living the
life of an Amritdhari Sikh.
Your loving son,
Jaskirat
Reply from the Father
Dearest Jaskirat,
Sat Sri Akal. It is a pleasure to hear it all, so plainly stated. I
understand your feelings and I hope to be able to calm your mental
anguish.
1. When you leave the university and face the world it seems to me
that what is crucial in life is not to succumb to various pressures,
but to understand and feel them as they are. You may questions what is
given to you or what many of your age assert, is being forced upon you
- but this also means that you must question yourself. It is only with
such an integrated total approach, that you will understand not only
the Kakaars, but also appreciate the agonies, the joys, the pain, the
pleasure, the vanities and the hope of living.
Over and over again, you want to know the significance of the 5 K's?
In our efforts to be practical individuals, we want to imbibe only
what is of utility and significance, the rest we want to discard. The
search for significance in everything is a curse of the present
century. It is a form of self-killing and therefore it breeds the fear
of living. The whole world, all your friends, your relations, everyone
is struggling for significant and useful things. But what might be
significant for you, might not be so for your friends.
If you go to a man who has ill health, he will undoubtedly say, what
is significant is good health. If you go to a mother, she will say the
significant thing is to have a son. This is the reason you find an
intricate web of explanations, for the significance of the 5 K's.
2. The first step in your questioning of the 5 K's should be to get
free of this yoke of significance. It is this illusionary search for
significance, which has made many youth and their seniors to discard
their articles of faith. They see no value in them. A Briton was
asked, "Why do you wear a turban? Is it not enough for you to practice
the philosophy of Guru Gobind Singh in your social and personal life?"
He replied, "The people accept me as the son of Guru Gobind Singh. Is
it not enough reason to wear the turban?" This can be understood when
we see many people, particularly the youth, having clothes and shoes
bearing brand names. The Sikhs are similarly proud to wear the brand
name of Guru Gobind Singh. It is a pity that we want to reduce Sahib
Guru Gobind Singh Ji, to our own mundane level of thinking and view
all his actions in light of practical utility. If he was in search of
merely objects of practical utility, he could have made a truce with
Aurangzeb, when the latter made the offer. If the Guru wanted the 5
K's to be reflections of practical use values, he could have very well
added not only more weapons, but instead of a sword, he could have
given us a gun, as guns did exist at that time. But he was not
inspired out of a hunt for weapons of self-defense or practical value,
as we would make it out, reflecting our own thinking backwards in
history. The sword, anyway, in the battlefield would have been useless
without a shield.
The Kanga, the Kesh, the Kara, the Kirpan, the Kachha, were all
delicate gifts of love and beauty to the Khalsa from a man who desired
nothing for himself, but everything for the Khalsa. These gifts were
from a Guru who totally surrendered everything for the cause and
unique love of the Khalsa. "If thou art zealous of playing the game of
love, then enter upon my path with thy head on thy palm." It was out
of such love that these gifts were presented to the Khalsa and not out
of any attempts to carve out soldiers.
When there is total love, there is action, there is sacrifice, is
there not? The love of the Guru for the Khalsa was not the result of
mental vibrations. In his life, there was no gap between love and
action, as there is between our thinking and action. It is only we who
want to be one-sided in our love and make claims of loving the Guru in
our ideals. Consequently we reason out that we don't have to express
our love for Him in action, in the Kesh. But can there be love without
total commitment and action? No. The total love of the Guru for the
Khalsa becomes apparent in the book titled the Sarbloh, where, He
becomes one with the Khalsa and portrays the Khalsa as his highest
love:
Khalsa is the breath of my body,
Khalsa is the very soul of my life.
...
Khalsa gives me intellect and wisdom,
Khalsa is my object of meditation.
The mind that lives the Sikh way of life can know what is the beauty
of the gifts the Guru gave to us. The 5 ornaments that we wear are the
gifts, from the Guru whose whole family was sacrificed for the total
love of the Khalsa. Could such a Guru be looking for practical
utilities of an animal existence? He was not the person to endow us
with gifts of mere practical value, but gifts of love, which knew no
questioning, no bartering, no deals, and no betraying. His was a total
sacrifice and a total love, in both thought and action, for the
happiness of the Khalsa. These gifts had their pangs of birth in a sea
of human blood. It was not out of any practical benefit that the evil
genius of the Mughal government announced awards for the hair of the
Sikhs. It was because they knew that, the Khalsa, deprived of these
gifts (the Guru's love), would disintegrate.
3. The Kirpan is a gift from Guru Gobind Singh Ji to the Khalsa. It is
not to be judged and measured as a weapon of war or peace, it is a
gift activated by the love of the Guru. Even a whole army of
bodyguards or the best police state in the world cannot make it
redundant. It shall always remain attached to me. The sword is the
love wherein the Guru resides.
You say it is inconvenient, frustrating, and impractical to grow our
hair long. But more frustrating is an existence of no inspiration and
no effort. Our superficial hollow life is no way less discouraging.
The day to day fragmentary living, the everyday struggle for food, the
daily pain, suffering, distress, torments, and headaches are in no way
less discomforting. But in spite of all this, do we cease to exist?
4. The Kara has to be received by us as a present with the message,
"Guru loves me. He made me His own." You want to question the utility
of the iron bangle of the Guru, but not of the gold bangle which is so
much in vogue at Sikh engagement ceremonies today. You are ready to
discard the Guru's bangle for the yellow metal. Kara comes to us as a
manifestation of His love and benediction. From the day we put it on
our wrists, the Kara was forever ours; no one could separate it from a
Sikh. And we still want to find reasons for wearing it.
Jaskirat, do not make our presents into dead symbols, they are the
gorgeous ornaments of the living. We are the 'wedded devotees' of God.
They are the wedding gifts from our Bridegroom. He gave all of them to
us and they are God-sent, imperishable, indispensable, and
indestructible. You may object and say all this is irrational,
unacceptable, superstitious, and fatalistic. But the waves of pure
love always have their own logic, irrationality and fatalism. I love
the Guru's irrationality - if you want to call it so. "To serve them
pleases me." I don't have the courage to reject such devotion.
Does a would-be-wife question the intrinsic value of the engagement
ring she is gifted by her husband? No, never, even if it is made of
copper or a shell. Today, you want to discard these gifts, because
gold has more value. The choice is yours, the consequences are yours.
The bliss of love is yours, the solitude of separation is yours. These
gifts are not to be stored in the darkness of cellars; drink deep into
them, if you want to live in spiritual grandeur.
5. The head of a Sikh, (the Kesh of a Singh) having been once offered
to and accepted by the Guru, is in unceasing trust with Him. It is,
therefore, imperative for a Sikh to carry his head high and not to bow
it before a mortal barber. It shall only bend and bow before the Guru.
Every day we recite in our prayer, "Nanak das sada kurbani." "Nanak
thy servant is ever a sacrifice to Thee." But instead we sacrifice our
5 K's. Shocking is our spirit of sacrifice. Are we the worthy
inheritors of this heritage? After drawing on his blood, now by
discarding our 5 K's, we want to stab him in the back!
Jaskirat, one kilometer from the Lahore railway station stands a
gurdwara, sacred to the Sikhs in the loving memory of Bhai Taru Singh
Ji. It bears the name of Shaheed Ganj, the Abode of Martyrs. The
governor said to him, "Somehow my heart does not permit me to have you
killed, but you must cut and present me your tress-knot."
Taru Singh replied, "The Sikh and his hair are one. I will be pleased
to give you more than you ask me, my head with my tress-knot. These
hairs are the eternal gift of love, they cannot be separated from a
Singh's head without separating his head." Hearing the offer of a high
office and an estate for his tress-knot, the Singh continued, "Neither
my life, nor my hair are for bargaining in your court which views
beauty, life, and religion in weights of gold. The value and beauty of
our hair cannot be measured in terms of luxuries and jagirs."
Thakur Rabindranth Tagore, a great mystic-poet of Bengal and a Nobel
laureate, has beautifully sung of this episode: "More than asked for."
Jaskirat, if Bhai Taru Singh had looked for practical utility,
significance and relevance, wouldn't he have exchanged his hair for a
jagir, for beautiful women, and the power he was offered? But all
these he regarded as worthless when he weighed them with his way of
life. If the hair were mere symbols for him, would he have staked his
life for them? We find not only Bhai Taru Singh, but a whole galaxy of
martyrs in our history, all playing with their lives, which appears to
us so irrational and fatalistic.
6. Knowledge is like a kerosene lamp; on a dark night, it can
illuminate only so long as it has fuel. Life is much vaster and
deeper, it cannot be lived with the aid of an extinguishable lamp.
Knowledge is essential to everyday existence, as money is to buy your
food, but it cannot grasp the reality of love, of God, of living. Love
is not to be hooked in the net of intelligence; if you use knowledge
to grasp love, it will die as a fish does out of water. After the
victory of the battle of Bhangani, Guru Gobind Singh Ji blessed Pir
Budhu Shah with no treasures and no elephants for his services, as was
the custom of that time. However, the Guru gave him the gift of a
Kirpan and a comb with some broken hair of his. This very 'jewelry',
he presented to all of us, in spite of the fact that our lives were
not wrought in the furnace of sacrifice; a jewelry which no craftsman,
no intellectual, no jeweler is capable of imitating.
Jaskirat, ask not from me, the significance and the value of our
tress-knots, for I am incapable of describing it. In our mystical
tress-knots, insipid mankind is inspired. People build monuments for
the dead, you want to uproot the living monument the Guru gave to you.
If you want it to disintegrate you may, but you shall forever be
buried under it. The beauty and the love can never be dissected and
summed up. What would the cuckoo's song mean to you, if you want to
take down its notations and analyze them? What would your mother's
love be for you if you want to know her by analysis?
In the end, let me conclude that the Kesh, the Kachha, the Kara, the
Kanga, the Kirpan, are the gifts, chiseled out for the Khalsa by the
Divine Artist. These are the gifts endowed to us forever, by the
Divine Bridegroom, on the day of our 'marriage' to Him on Baisakhi in
1699. We will carry His gifts of love, in honor, purity, and splendor.
Our love will blossom in all climes, in all times and in all
continents.
Your loving father,
Harcharan Singh
Later, Jaskirat Singh served with the Indian Diplomatic Corps in
Germany. He sponsored several study circles on the Sikh way of life in
London, Geneva, Berlin, and Delhi. With his inspiration, twenty-five
Sikh boys in Germany, who had under environmental pressures cut their
hair, very lovingly took the Amrit.
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By Gurujee's grace everything worked out fine and now I am studying what I likeMehtab - What did you end up doing? Has everything worked out for you now?I am scared guys
. Don't get scared you'll be perfectly fine. Just resolve to work harder. Before being honest to anyone else, you have to be honest to yourself. Most importantly, never trust such so-called friends who help you out in a way thats gonna destroy you in future. Temporary success is really sweet, but diabetes is a cruel killer as well 8) .Once again, all the very best brother.
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Largest Buddhist monument undamaged in Indonesian quake
in General Discussion
Posted
Singh47 veerjee, we had a discussion on this issue in the past. Buddha was not an atheist.
Taken from The True Name by Osho, posted here by Pheena jee.