double_edge

Like i said, its the most realistic legal way of going about it. admittedly it has become watered down. In the first UFC's the only rules were no eye gouging, no biting and no fish hooking. They didnt even have weight divisions. now they've introduced all this other stuff. That being said, there are a whole load of free fighting circuits out there now, a great many of which stick to the old UFC system which was basically anything goes. They havent banned jointlocks as well have they?? i must admit i havent seen the most recent ones. But again, we're becoming side tracked. The thing im really interested to know is why its wrong to absorb influences from any other sources.

I wouldnt really describe the UFC as a sport.. i'd say its probably the most realistic (Legal) way for martial artists from around the world to meet and test themselves against worthy opponents. Although i do take your point. But what about the idea of adapting/absorbing from other sources? anybody have any views on that?

Yeah.. u guys could have a funky superhero group name as well.. Like Team Badlah... The League of Extraordinary Punjabis... or the Gyani Hit Squad!

This is just a general question, but im particularly interested to hear from the Brothers that practice Shasstar Vidya. First and foremost im going to say that i dont practice Shasstar Vidya myself, so i'd be grateful to anyone who could help me out with some info. I checked out the link provided by one of yourselves to Nihung Niddar Singhs site about Shasstar Vidya. I found it to be a very interesting read and the videos were really good to watch. One thing that struck me about it in particular is the fact that they seem to take great exception to the idea of incorporating any other style into what they practice. Now im a massive Bruce Lee fan, and having read some of his books i'd say he was instrumental in bringing martial arts out of the dark ages and into reality.. (Before anyone gets offended im NOT saying Shasstar Vidya is in the dark ages, everything i saw on those videos looked solid and practical). But why is it such an issue? Why is the concept that Bruce Lee made famous by saying "Absorb what is useful" something that shouldnt be applied? In a time where everyone was arguing about why their style was superior, old Uncle Bruce went round picking up all the info he could and focused on taking what worked from all those styles and fusing it into something nobody else from that time could touch, and today countless styles aspire to the same goal. He revolutionised the world of martial arts by studying new sports technology, figuring out what worked and why, and discarding that which was no longer of use. His whole philosophy was that you shouldnt become stagnant. I have heard Gurmukhs say the same thing about their Spirituality and what Sikhi means to them.. to always learn, always develop, and never become stagnant. Guru Govind Singh Ji also said, when asked what they thought of new weapons, that they saluted ALL weaponary (my interpretation of this is that they were saying that we should embrace new technology). So why does this not apply to martial arts as well? I know that there are traditions we should uphold and that Shasstar Vidya is a gift to be cherished, but is there really no space for further developement or adapting to the difference in the way people fight? I mean, surely no one system can encompass everything for all time without ever having to adapt? Once again, this is not a challenge, its a genuine question from someone who is interested to learn. As a side issue, will we ever see Shasstar Vidya in the UFC? that would really be something.. i know i'd have my front row ticket!!!

Look mate.. let me tell you from experiences that blood ties dont necesarrily mean a thing when it comes to how people will treat you. Forget brothers and sisters acting up, i've seen things happen where you'd wonder how parents could even think about treating their children that way and vice versa. Some of our blood relatives are there for us and stand by us as we'd expect. Others, it seems, are just there so that they can get their payback for whatever we "Karmicly" (not even sure if thats a word lol)owe them and sometimes it seems that they will do whatever they can to make our lives hell. And then you get the surprise packages, people that arent even your blood but are more like brothers/sisters/parents to you that your own. Its hard to deal with, and beleive me i know. But its also possible that ur sister is just a kid and will one day see the error of her ways if she is in the wrong.. i mean lets face it. we all look back and regret behaving in certain ways or doing certain things right? So just remember all the people who do care about and would go out of their way not to hurt you. as for your sister... you could give her the benefit of the doubt this time and try to talk things out... alternatively, im told that a swift Jab-Cross-Bodyhook-Uppercut combo can work wonders in showing someone the error of their ways :wink: hasseya karro

Hmmm... Well, the way i see it, and this is purely my own opinion, there isnt really anything wrong with the use of crystals and gems etc as they conduct different frequencies of energy and can help the health and state of mind in various ways (as you're finding with Reiki). I would personally say that there isnt anything wrong with using or wearing crystals etc, especially in the medical context that you mentioned. To discount something like this out of hand would be to discount a great many other related things (for example, the concept of Qi/Chi which is, from my very limited understanding, central to the concepts behind chinese medicine). I dont beleive that you're doing anything contrary to what our Gurus taught. You're learning new skills and looking after your health. You wouldnt quit learning Yoga to become Amritdhaari... nor would you quit Tai Chi, or Qi Gung... So why quit Reiki? As for wether you would wear something because you beleive it would have a positive impact on your life or help alleviate some kind of defficiency or sufferring... well, thats a very personal and individual thing. Its not a decision someone can make for you. As long as you can see things in terms of logical reasoning, i dont see why there should be a problem.

Reiki, from what i understand, is based on the principle that one can be a channel for the flow of energy (Chi or Qi aka life-force) that is constantly moving through the universe. Sometimes crystals are used to conduct this energy. It can be medically used as a non invasive version of acupuncture (which is the use of needles to control the flow of Chi/Qi around the meridians in the body). How does it relate to Sikhi? Well, this is just what i think from what little knowledge that i have.. I've been told that Naam resonates throughout the universe, and what we're trying to do through Bhagti/Simran etc is to tune ourselves into that frequency so that we can conduct that energy, be at one with it (just like a radio set picking up a given station). Now if that is the case, then it stands to reason that we can conduct other types of energy. It has long been known that through the study of Tai Chi and Qi Gong people have learned to manipulate the flow of Qi/Chi energy both internally and externally. So do the two relate? Well, Simran is to do with conducting energy to elevate our conscious mind, and Reiki and these other arts are to do with conducting energy for medical/health purposes. So i guess there are some parallels. But i cant think of anything deeper than that at the moment. Was there something specific that you are thinking abt?

By Reiki do you mean the eastern healing art?

LOL, sorry Sukhi! Hope ur brother isnt reading this.. hahahaha.. and ur totally right about having a sense of humor. but if all of that still doesnt work.. then its back to Operation: Silent Jutthi :twisted:

Ok, this is a contraversial one, and before anyone takes this in any way personally, i'd like to say that im just playing Devils Advocate here.. But i'd be interested in hearing your views on the following: Sikhism, from my admittedly very limited understanding, is a religion that has, amongst its countless other qualities, a strong slant towards humanity and upholding Human Rights. Amongst that, there lies freedom of choice and freedom of speech. We are given the guidlines of how to live, but these are not forced on anybody. For example, when the 40 Mukte said they wanted to leave Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Khalsa, they were allowed to go (the fact that they came back is another issue). So we have freedom of choice and freedom of speech. Our Gurus went so far as to lay down their lives, go to war, lose their families etc to face down those who would impose their thoughts and beleifs on others by force... So here comes the Contraversial bit: This play that caused such a huge fuss in Birmingham, Behzti or whatever it was called. I totally disagree with such a negative depiction of the Gurdwara envioroment, and yes im as offended as anyone else by the content and the context of the play. But, is it not the playwrites God Given right to express herself however she chooses? And before someone says that we shouldnt let anyone disrespect our faith (I agree Wholeheartedly that we should object to such things), is it not our duty as a faith to stand up and object to anything thats hurtful to anybody? We dont kick up a fuss when there are shows/movies that make fun, or take creative liberties with the scriptures of Christianity or the Church in general (Dogma, Father Ted, The Pope Must Die, The Devils Advocate, End of Days, Life of Brian, the list is endless).. Or Islam (not that they need any help, they shot the guy who made an objectionable art house film focused on Islam)... Or Hinduism (I'm not even gonna start coz theres so much of it) or any other faith for that matter. So isnt being up in arms now in some ways hypocritical? And more importantly than that, rather than calming things down and showing that we're not what was depicted/described, we've bought ourselves a whole load of bad press from it! Pick up any newspaper that covers the story and you'll see.. the play has gained notoriety, the playwrite has gone into hiding and her situation is being compared to one Salman Rushdie by the press... and naturally we're being labled fundamentalist barbarians :bling: Have we actually acheived anything positive through all this? and are we behaving as we should be from a Dharmic perspective? Your Thoughts?

Isnt raising issues about caffeine a little extreme (i know im gonna get jumped for saying that lol).. I mean, its not exactly good for you.. it can be addictive but a cup of cha or a glass of coke is hardly anything to compare to the chronic or anything harder than that! Simple solution is, if u dont like it/dissaprove of it, dont drink it!

LOL... im sorry mate, im not laughing at you, im laughing at the innapropriate humor of the Giani.. But at the end of the day people are people and they're gonna say things. It happens to all of us at some point for one reason or another. Either ur getting told ur too fat or ur too thin.. i think its just a desi thing :roll: Well, it has been 2 years.. a little late to track him down for badlah lol. But like the Infernal Monk says.. tackle the root of the problem. If your weight is an issue, then work on it. Being and feeling healthier would probably help deal with alot of other problems you've mentioned in your other posts.

Resort to violence. LOL, im just kidding... It really depends on the family. "problem children" can be dealt with.. But it takes patience and UNANIMOUS effort from the entire family to deal with the situation by making adjustments. Example. One such little 4yr old nephew of mine that i dont see very often is a little terror. The last time i saw him, he was acting up because someone wanted to change the channel from what he was watching to check the news. While he was building up to a tantrum, i interrupted his flow by asking "Dharam, dyou know what patience means?" He stopped mid flow as his intellect was being put to the test. he didnt know what the word patience meant. So i explained: "Patience is when we wait a little while for something we want.. if you were abit more patient, everyone would think: Isnt Dharam a good boy? hes so patient. he waits and doesnt get angry". To the surprise of his parents, the kid sat and waited while we checked the news on the other channel. his dvd was waiting for him paused at the same spot. sitation diffused. During another visit, he was refusing to comply with another request (something like go and bring the cordless phone from the other room) and was being told he was a bad boy. he didnt care. why should he? he is a bad boy after all.. he has a rep to uphold! Again, i interfered and said "no, i dont think thats right. I think Dharam's a good boy.. I'll bet you if he's asked nicely he'd go and get the phone." "no he wont" answered his mum, who was beginning to get my drift. "no, i think he will.. lets find out: Dharam, will you please go and get the phone for your mum?" The "little terror" got up and went and got it. Then his mum told him what a good boy he was and gave him a hug etc, while i re-affirmed that he was indeed a good kid. This kind of thing works, and can have startling results very quickly.. but ONLY if handled correctly and ONLY if the whole family plays ball consistantly. unfortunately, most families lack the patience and opt straight for the time honoured tradition of Desi Beats (volume one). Kid got an attitude? slap him/her... unfortunately it doesnt tend to work very well and is often counterproductive. Likewise, being overprotective and letting kids get away with too much doesnt work either. again, its counter productive. The Key words are Balance and Patience. A child is really a little learning organism, and from birth onwards it absorbs everything that it sees and hears. its learning at a phenomenal rate, and the foundations for its behaviour are set between birth and the age of about 6. Behaving/Misbehaving, telling lies, being manipulative etc are all experiments that children conduct in order to find what society is about and what they can get away with/what is acceptable in terms of their behaviour. Your little brother is cheeky because experience has taught him he doesnt need to have manners to get by. experience has also taught him the worst that can happen is someone will give him a slap. but so what? all he has to do is cry really loud and mum will come and rescue him. So its a trade off that he's happy to live with. its a system, a mechanism. as long as it works, he'll carry on. but what if the responses to his behaviour changed? what if he didnt get a slap? but something else happened instead? what if the whole family was unanimous in saying what was acceptable and what isnt? if mum, dad, brothers and sisters all had a behavioural standard and he had to aspire to be the same because thats how it goes in ur family? It would throw his world off balance, and he'd have to make adjustments to fit into the new family mechanism. keep in mind this sort of thing cant be done drastically. it needs to be dealt with one point at a time. one lesson at a time. each thing needs to become the norm (For example, patience.. work on that till its no longer an issue.. then move onto something else). The theory is sound and it does work.. i've seen it work. the hard part is keeping it going, because you'll all find that there are things that everyone needs to change.. where does the kid get his temper from? where did he learn to use that tone of voice? who taught him those words? what made him think that its ok to treat other people that way? His enviroment did, and his family. Because children are a product of their envioroment. THAT is the bit that parents (especially desi parents) have a huge problem with. they'll say: "oh we dont have time for all this... my parents used to beat me and it never did me any harm... kids should be tough... who are you to tell us how to raise our children.. blah blah blah" (read, Hankaar, Hankaar and MORE Hankaar) If thats the case, then i guess your gonna have to try to establish an individual relationship with him on that level: "If you wanted more why didnt you just ask? i would have made them for you? i was hungry.. i cooked for everyone else and just put two aside... if you'd done that, dyou think i would have eaten yours without asking? if you'd asked i would have shared them with you.. or made more so we could eat together.. now im still hungry.. plus my feelings are hurt (emotional blackmail )" It'll be alot easier if your family backs you up. but if they dont, and the individual thing isnt working coz mummy dearest keeps jumping in and further spoiling the kid.. then use ur imagination.. im sure u can think of a hundred ways of getting him back and not getting caught! if not, PM me and i'll help you cook up a plan of action: Operation Silent Jutthi *evil laugh*

Hmmm.. i guess there isnt really a conclusive answer. sounds like its one of those "wait and see" type situations.. or the ever infuriating "You'll understand one day". I mean, there was alot of interesting theories in the link that Pheena provided (thanks very much for that by the way!), but once again, it sounded alot like theory.. one persons opinions from what they understand from a number of sources. I guess the kind of answer i was hoping for was to the effect of "Bani says this:..... therefore the answer is:....." But i guess maybe we're not gonna find anything like that coz again, there will be other quotes and interpretation that will just compound my confusion. To be honest im starting to tend towards the prewritten destiny theory at the moment. Because it seems that sometimes, no matter how hard you try to avoid a given outcome, it just seems that ur inexplicably dragged towards it no matter how hard you try or how many different ways you come up with to avert it. Often it seems that we really have very little control over the direction life takes. Well, if anyone comes up with any other theories, please post them! im here to learn

Sukhi, if what ur saying is correct.. then the ideas of Karam, Destiny and Choice are all redundant because Hukam overrides all of the above and we're just a bunch of puppets on strings playing to whatever script the almighty has written for us.. And if thats the case.. then i really doesnt matter what we do because our very thoughts and the resulting actions would all be the result of Hukam.. So it cant be that (at least not totally), because we're told "Karmi Aapo Aapni".. Before you all get really annoyed with me, i'll tell you that the reason i raise these points is because recently i read some really interesting books on motivation and realising ones potential. The concepts seem really sound but its all based on the concept that you can be the archeitect of your own destiny and theoretically acheive anything. BUT, if our destinies are pre-written, and theres nothing we can do about them, then that would render all this "Think Positve" stuff redundant cos ish is gonna happen regardless of whether we're positive or not... am i still making sense? lol

Forgive me if im repeating things that have already been discussed.. I've been having some interesting discussions with some Gurmukhs recently.. well they were more like debates really, about the concepts of Karm, Fate/Destiny/Kismet etc, Vs the concept of making your own destiny, ie life being what you make it. On One hand we're told to accept and infact embrace our circumstances (be they financial, to do with status, to do with external circumstances such as our families etc) and we're told not to fight "nature" because Mahraj put us here and we are reaping the fruits of our own past deeds. This ties into your Destiny/Kismet being pre-ordained and all you can do about it is Pray that Mahraj will be merciful and minimise your sentence/suffering. (and this, so far as i can reason, validates things like palmistry and astrology, clairvoyants etc etc as they can tell what is pre-ordained) On the other hand, the very same people have been saying that life is what you make it.. you make your own destiny. I.E, be proactive, be optimistic, be positive etc etc. You can acheive anything if you put your mind to it etc etc. (effectively saying there is no fate) Now maybe im just nitpicking but the two concepts seem mutually exclusive to me, and the people coming up with this stuff ended up tripping over themselves and not really being able to pick which side of the fence they wanted to stand on. Then they start talking abt exceptions to rules and divine intervention etc which frankly just does my head in. Im not a fan of moving goal posts lol.. So what do you guys make of all this? are the people telling me this stuff as confused as i am? lol

I think its just a cultural thing and i do beleive it has to do with the female biological clock, the fact that they biologically mature at an earlier age, and of course like its already been pointed out, the traditional role of the man being the one in the drivers seat. we may disagree, but those are the cultural reasons so far as i know. Personalli i dont think theres anything wrong with the girl being abit older than the guy. as long as they can communicate well and they compliment each other in terms of their levels of maturity, theres no reason why a few years either way should be an issue. That being said, it can become problematic when the age gap becomes such that one partner has already "been through that phase" and the other is going through it (might be in terms of the attitudes to social life, spending habits, how you deal with people, take ur pick). I have seen couples pulling rank and calling seniority on one another "you dont understand yet.. i do coz im older and have more experience". That kind of thing causes problems. Ultimately both partners should be able to join together, become better people together and grow and develope together. As long as that is possible, then it really doesnt matter.

Hmmm... I was previously under the impression that who u marry is pre-ordained, and ur already bound to one another by your Karm.. ie ur together because u owe one another whatever you happen to owe, or you need to share certain things. If that is the case then our Karm are already linked with those of our spouse from previous lives. But im sure we're judged ultimately as individuals... Take this shocking, but true story for example.. This uncle and his wife were having long running problems.. and at some point during or after a heated argument, the wife, for reasons only she must understand, took some scissors, grabbed her husbands kesh and cut them off. (i know ur gonna want to know what he did.. he left home and spends all his time at the Gurdwara). Now if their Karm are linked the way it has been suggested, then it stands to reason that HE would have to answer for that. to me that would be contrary to common sense. "Karmee Aapo Aapni, Ke Nehre Ke Door" Our own deeds decide wether we move closer to God or further away..

Lol, thanks Sukhi... as for wether there are "Places" such as heaven and hell, i beleive so... there is a quote i once heard from SGGSJ that says something to the effect of "Thappo Raj, Rajjoh Nark" which means that through Thappasseya (ie, seva, simran, baghti etc), we can reach a stage where God actually says "Alright, so you've earned this ammount... now what do you want?". The obvious thing to ask for is all the Maya in the world.. i mean, hes offering u anything, so why not??? lol.. So people ask for that, which is effectively Raj (being royalty, ruling over others.. be that by way of being Royalty, being famous, being a business tycoon, take ur pick). So what happens when u have Raj? well, u probably dont have much time for any more Thappaseya since ur too busy living large, and chances are ur getting dragged into bad karm in the process as ur now drenched in maya. So where do the bad karm take you? to NARK! And what exactly is it? by definition Nark (hell, whatever u want to call it) is where there is no Sukh (So im sure ur safe Sukhi lol).. and Heaven is where there is no Dukh. This goes with another Sakhi where a Charrdi Kalaa Gurmukh, having left this world was being escorted to Sachkhand. Being of an elevated level of surrti, they heard screams and wails of agony and despair. So they asked where it was coming from. One of the Devteh with them said "oh, thats hell.. those are the screams of the damned. But u neednt worry about them, lets continue to Sachkhand". The Gurmukh was adamant that they wanted to see hell.. and so the Devteh had no choice but to take them there. They were warmly greeted by hells Guardians, who were happy to see someone with so much kamaee as in their line of work they never really got to see many Charrdi Kalaa people. So the guy in charge asks what seva they could do of the Gurmukh. The Gurmukh, in his compassion, asked that everyone be released. The guardians were confused and explained that these people had to stay in hell until their debts were paid through their sufferring. And so the Gurmukh asked what was owed. The exact ammount of Bhagti required to dispell all their sins was told to the Gurmukh. He sat down and did that ammount of Kamaee in a miniscule ammount of time, and handed it over, effectively bailing everyone out. damn.. hell is now empty! The guardians looked around and asked what they were meant to do now? They were told not to worry.. those who hadnt learned their lessons would be back. So, in conclusion i'd say that there are such "places", in whatever plane of existence or dimension... but your times there are limited.. they are not permanent.. as eventually we must all complete the journey and become one with Mahraj. final thought: "Please Mahraj give me the opportunity to prove that having loads of maya wont change me!" lol

Fearless Warrior, i wasnt saying u were rallying a fauj, sorry if it sounded that way. but im sure we've seen people try to do things to that effect and its not usually a good idea. But im totally with u when u say we shouldnt stand by and watch someone get jumped. strictly speaking, we shouldnt really let that happen anywhere to anyone if the odds are uneven. Things like this, as i've noticed, seem to flare up every few years and then die down again.. its as if every few years, another bunch of kids hit a certain age, become culturally aware to whatever extent, hang out with other kids of the same background and then the "Us and Them" thing comes into it. conflict becomes inevitable, and then before u know it everyones saying "look how they're attacking our kids..." and before u know it the dominoes have started to fall and we end up in that oh so familiar place. Thats why i stress education.. the only way to break a repeating pattern is to change some contributing factor. We cant change anyone else.. so we should try to change ourselves first. Once our own foundation is solid, we probably wont have to spend half as much energy worrying abt the rest of the world.. or maybe im talking complete bakwaas lol.. more than probable in my case!

Slighty off topic.. and im not trying to be funny.. But u se pictures of some of these Singhs wearing huge tall dastaars, and some are, without meaning to sound disrepectful, just plain disproportionate. Martial arts in general, and from what little i've seen Shaster Vidya has alot to do with swiftness of movement and agility and so on. How would these Singhs move swiftly under any circumstances? Even if we look at it on the most basic level, could the Singh in Sikh Fauj's avatar duck out of the way of an incoming punch? again, im not taking the p*ss, its a genuine question that i've wondered abt for a while...

I think Beast has summed it up perfectly. This kind of thing is kicked off by the ignorant and the innocent suffer. Real life example: Two brothers i know got home one day to find some guy JUMPING up and down on the bonnet of their sisters car, while she was inside, too terrified to get out. Naturally they chased him down the street and gave him some Desi Beats (Volume 1) him for terrorising their sister and left it at that. The guy eventaully picked himself up, dragged himself back home and proceeded to tell everyone "these two guys beat me up coz im Muslim". Result? it sparked off what effectively became a gang war and as always, the innocent suffered the consequences. My point being, no matter how righteous the initial cause (protecting ur sister from some nutter jumping on her car is pretty damn righteous so far as im concerned), the eventual result was that the innocent suffered. wether it was because they became victims of the violence or wether it was because they were too scared to go to certain parts of the neighbourhood coz they'd be invading "Their Territory". Ultimately, we should all do what we need to when the situation calls for it.. but im always wary of people trying to rally their own little fauj to dispense justice. I think the emphasis should be on education. same thing i say when people start kicking up a fuss abt conversions etc. the answer isnt to go out and kick off with whoevers convenient. its in educating ourselves and our loved ones as to how we should behave and where we should draw our lines. Thats where we often fall short as a community, and that, in my opinion, is what we need to work on.

I once heard a lecture given by a Charrdi Kalaa Gurmukh. One of the questions they were asked was: "Where is Heaven, and where is Hell?" The answer they gave is "In you". what i got from that is that heaven and hell are concepts unique to each individual. A bit like that movie "Flatliners", where when the people in the film die the things they face are specific to them and their individual Karm. I guess it also means that you can experience a taste of either of the above right here while ur alive. For manmukhs like me, heaven would probably be not having to worry about money so i could focus on the things in life im passionate about... but then there are people who have that side of things sorted, live lavish lifestyles and end up depressed, dependent on drink or drugs and some have ended up committing suicide. take ur pick of the endless list of celebrities that are in the news going into drug rehab and having nervous breakdowns. So my idea of heaven on earth has become their private hell. i guess whatever awaits on the "Other Side" is probably also tailored specifically to our individual Karm. ok, i think im rambling now, time to shut up!

LOL, the Milkshake remix was hilarious.. As for the Dastar question.. for starters i dont know very much in depth, but this is my general understanding: The dastar is worn for several reasons. Lookin after ur Kesh is the obvious one. Also, culturally, covering ones head is a mark of respect and respectability (although we all have our own ideas as to whats respectable.. but thats a whole different thread) Then theres the status symbol. The dastar is analogous to a crown. To slightly paraphrase the themesong from the Highlander TV series, "We're the princes (and princesses) of the universe". So we wear it in honour of our spiritual ancestory. (I hasten to add thats not to denigrate anyone else or any other faith) But if our Guru is our Father, and he is also the King of Kings (the same King of Kings that is worshipped by every other faith by whatever name) then it stands to reason (i hope it does anyway, feel free to kick my butt if it doesnt lol). Further to all of that, its a part of being battle ready. Im not a Nihung Singh and im sure the veterens of the site will be able to go into alot more detail, but the Dastar was the precursor of the modern day protective headgear worn by law enforcement agencies and the armed forces. also, as previously pointed out, it makes Singhs look more chissled and brings the gals to the yard lol Im sure there are countless more indepth reasons as to why we're meant to wear a Dastar, but that will hopefully be enough for a start!

I dont think Astrology/Palmistry can be entirely discounted. All of this stuff has some basis somewhere, and im sure there are people out there who can accurately predict things and seem to know things that they'd have no way of knowing. Surely it wouldnt have survived for thousands of years if there was nothing to it. Another thing i have heard of is people that say they can see your aura and make predictions and deductions from that. Sounds strange, but if you ask Tai Chi practitioners, they say that they get to a stage where they can see auras and to some extent read them. So it cant all be B.S. But like the sangat has already said, its one thing having the power to know something, but having the power to change something is another story altogether, and ultimately thats in Gods hands. Question is: are there people that can influence these things one way or another? Once again, would all this have survived for thousands of years if nobody was benefitting from it? (Besides the guy making predictions/offering solutions)..