shaheediyan

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Pearls of Truth by Baba Nikha Singh Ji Nirmala (Thakuran Sampardaye)

Sant Baba Nikha Singh Ji Nirmala

1. God, the Truth Eternal, is the Creator of the universe. He alone is the Supreme Master and we should have absolute faith in Him. The man who believes in Him overcomes all temptations, and attains the knowledge that is complete and perfect and brings peace, contentment and happiness

2. This world is a sea of misery only for those who know not his ways. For them it is like an ocean which cannot be crossed. But for those who have attained salvation through knowledge and with His grace, this world is God’s very own manifestation.

3. One who gets to know himself and conquers the vain desires of his heart, shall come to know and realize his true being and shall have all the material resources of this world at his Command.

4. I consider that man to be most worthy of my love and gratitude who has love for the place where my Master dwelt.

5. If you wish the world to obey you, get to know yourself and conquer all physical and material urges arising within you. What you see around you is superficial knowledge. It is your spiritual being which is true. When you overcome your worldly desires, you can be master of the situation.

6. Man finds it difficult to control his baser instincts. By prayer alone it is possible. Through God’s grace one can make an effort to meditate on His name.

7. Man, know thyself! Listen to your inner voice. Your ‘self’ is not your physical being, not the intellect; neither the body nor its organs. Your true being is the state of realization of your duty. Once you know what it is then your physical being shall accept your true and nobler self as its guide. Then your real and true being shall be in control. The body, mind and intellect will be at your command. They shall function in unison so as to bring you happiness. After this everything shall be smooth and pleasant.

8. Search for God in the forests and up in the mountains is futile, for He lives with and within you. Know yourself if you want to know God.

9. It is the sense of awareness that prompts and enables you to complete the task you take in hand. Don’t forget that when you do something wrong, it is done after due deliberation.

10. There is one God. Knowledge about God and His creation cannot be compared with anything else. God is also the name of the Knowledge Supreme. True comprehension of God is possible only when you have realised the significance of the knowledge that is Supreme.

11. God, in His mercy alleviates the miseries of His children in this world. With grace alone one can attain worldly riches and comforts. It is man’s DHARMA to pray to Him and to meditate on His Holy Name. This is possible only through God’s grace and Guru’s blessings. O’ man, this is what you are supposed to do. Leave everything to Him after doing your duty.

12. Elevation, through self-purification, for man is possible only when he has full faith in Guru. This is the way man can fulfill his ambition.

13. There is no difference between Guru and God. Guru is the embodiment of all pervading knowledge. Guru has to be perfect for he comprehends and dispenses all knowledge. He knows, understands and realizes the existence and operation of the laws of the universe as devised and ordained by God. There is only one God. There cannot be two. He alone dwells in the hearts of all. The moment true wisdom dawns on you, derive and conclude only one meaning that there is only one God and He knows no limits, neither is He bound by any limit and He always resides in every heart.

14. Guru is the true teacher. His teachings are universal and eternal. He ignores the sins of those who come to be blessed and forgives them. He rescues them of their troubles. I know it is my Guru who forgives a sinner and elevates the individual to a position where he gains his self-respect, sense of dignity and piety that Guru wants every individual to imbibe.

15. The way we are blessed by our true master, the day we come to enjoy the Guru’s grace we shall divest ourselves of all our baser instincts like jealousy and enemity. We shall start feeling the presence of God in all His creatures. Our Guru alone can elevate us to this status. I have the fullest faith in my Guru and I shall like you also to do the same.

16. All that we see is not real. All that appears to be real is bound to change. Think of what is happening within you. Your thoughts keep on changing but He is and always remains what He is. He is the truth. When you feel convinced and your intellect perceives it, you shall be part of that Immortal Truth. Truth is indivisible, so is knowledge and so is the bliss of the Joy Eternal.

17. God within you is watching and weighing every act of yours. As long as your ego rules your thinking, you shall remain ignorant of the presence of the almighty with you.

18. Lust for possessing worldly goods is like an ember that burns the good in you. The two together keep you away from true knowledge, which helps you realize the existence of God. Meditation on His name is the only remedy. But you will be able to meditate only if you realize what truth is and you concentrate fully on His name with a heart that is pure. Dishonesty, falsehood cannot co-exist with truth. The moment you have taken to truth, the two shall stand abandoned.

19. One who has attained through God’s grace, the knowledge perfect, which is true and eternal, has been set free of the cycle of birth and death. In accordance with the law of the universe, the elements get absorbed in the cosmos and the light is always a part of the Light Eternal. That is why Guru Nanak said that giving credence to the process of life and death is only betrayal of ignorance on the part of the learned. If you cannot discriminate falsehood from the truth or distinguish mortal from indestructible then you have not been able to attain the state of mind someone in possession of true knowledge has.

20. None, till this day, has been able to attain salvation, with the help of physical senses like: speech, contact, form, enjoying the faculties of hearing and seeing and smelling. Sheikh Farid says that man remains strangulated by five temptations: lust, greed, anger, sex and ego. Man can free himself of these only with the grace of God by surrendering himself before His will.

21. Contentment is a boon given by God. Without His mercy no one shall ever feel contented or happy. All wealth and realization of temptations cannot make a man feel happy. Happiness comes by overcoming temptations and cravings.

22. The moment a thought crosses your mind, He immediately perceives it. You think nobody knows about what you are considering or contemplating. It is not so for He is within you. The moment a vibration is initiated it gets registered in His system. He keeps a watch on everyone, every moment.

23. All your miseries, difficulties and troubles will come to an end the moment you are gifted with God’s name. It is He who makes the gift. You get it with His grace and there is no difference between Him and His name. You meditate on His name and your being gets submerged in Him and He takes you under His wings and protects you every moment everywhere.

24. He resides everywhere. He is omnipresent. He is complete, as there is nothing beyond Him. His abode is in your heart. Remember that He is with you all the time. Away from Him your existence is not possible. He is everywhere and with and within everyone. He is eternity. You will find him in your hearts. Don’t go out looking for Him anywhere for He is everywhere and with and within everyone. In order to find Him look into your heart.

25. When your heart becomes one with His name you have obtained all that you could ever yearn for. You have got peace eternal. Except His name nothing will be of any help to you and it is the name alone that will bring you peace in this world as well as the next.

26. When the heart goes with the name of the Lord the man becomes one with God. Man stands doomed when he fails to imbibe His name. When the angel of death escorted Janak(the famous king who always clung to truth and submerged his being into the Lord Eternal); to the realm of God he passed through hell and witnessed the misery of those who had not meditated on His name. When asked he was told that they were the ones who had been damned and who were in utter pain. The king was so moved that he asked the angel to set them free who in turn expressed his inability to do so. Janak said that some good could be done to them if he visited them, but his request could not be acceded to. How could he be of some help to them? To this the angel replied that only His Name could come to their rescue. Janak who had meditated with intense devotion and love to God, offered to come to rescue those unfortunate ones. As with Name so was there the Creator Himself within Janak’s soul and heart. On his intervention all those who had been condemned to pain and misery were blessed and were saved from hell.

27. To worship Him is to devote and dedicate yourself completely to Him. You say you worship Him. Ask yourself if you have been able to completely dedicate yourself to Him. Think of Him. Feel His presence within you and then dedicate and devote yourself completely to Him. Kabir and Dhanna, by placing their full faith in Him and by their complete surrender, enjoyed His bliss. But we fail to do that for our devotion is not complete. We get lost and squander ourselves in attending to the affairs of this world. We are bound to carry out our worldly duties but while doing so we must keep our inner or true self bound to Him. Then only our worship and dedication is complete.

28. The only way you get your soul liberated is by reciting His true Name. your attention may get diverted by extraneous factors but you keep concentrating and meditating on His Name. Our Guru says: He is all-pervading, omnipresent and omnipotent. There is only one force or power – the Supreme one. It knows no limits. It is complete. God is the sole Master of this universe. With His will all systems function. He alone is the Creator and preserver of all that exists. Rules governing life and nature are regulated at His command.

29. Whatever we see is false. It is not true because it all gives over to change. Only Truth is eternal because He can be perceived only in the form of Truth. Otherwise He has no appearance, neither can He be contained by time and space. If you admit the existence of the THREE then you shall have to think of the One who creates, sees and watches the three. So there is only one God. He alone is the source of all life and all creations.

30. There came the LIGHT eternal. After that, the knowledge that is complete and perfect. The light now resides in my Guru who so graciously has blessed man with it! That is how that great knowledge about the creator brought light in my life. Then only I was able to discern and realize and perceive that great, infallible and perpetual source of all the knowledge.. I felt enlightened only when I felt His presence and after that there was no scepticism, for, God was with me all the time and everywhere. The world and life thrive only because of His kindness, His mercies and His grace. His kindness knows no bounds. He is the ocean of happiness for man. You get peace of mind, all that you need and all that makes your life meaningfull and worth living.

31. Till eternity only He is the Truth. He is beyond any change and transformation and yet He appears and reappears through the change. Truth shall always be truth. Truth shall for ever be Truth. Nothing can take its place. The immortal shall never take the form of a mortal. We mislead ourselves when we confine Him within any limit of form, time or space. He is beyond all regulations- known and unknown. Man can merge his entity in Him only when man starts abiding by the regulations that sprout through His Divine Will.

32. Ask your Guru to forgive you for your foolishness in comprehending Him as finite for He is infinite, beyond all description, knowing no limit, whatsoever. Beseech your true Guru to bless you with wisdom to perceive of Him as He is. Let your Guru be kind to you and bless you with true wisdom so that you may realize the everlasting significance of his name. You may always meditate on His Name and thus your superficial identity may yield to your true and eternal entity by merging your self with Him.

33. Ask your Guru to forgive you for your foolishness in comprehending Him as finite for He is infinite, beyond all description, knowing no limit, whatsoever. Beseech your true Guru to bless you with wisdom to perceive of Him as He is. Let your Guru be kind to you and bless you with true wisdom so that you may realize the everlasting significance of his name. You may always meditate on His Name and thus your superficial identity may yield to your true and eternal entity by merging your self with Him.

34. God lives in ‘Shabd’. When you make ‘Shabd’ a part of your being you shall be one with your Creator. But it is not eassy. There will be obstacles in your way. Perhaps this is what God wills. We are distracted and get deviated from the path chosen for us by the Divine Power. We follow this to enjoy His Grace. There is no other path.

35. How can you forget Him even for a fleeting second? I tell you something from my experience. We have been living in orchards where lived some Muslims, who looked after the fruit trees. They skeaded flour in an earthern pot and added red chillies in plenty into it. After having baked the bread, when they started eating the dry bread full of chillies they remembered Allah and thanked Him for His mercies. How good of them! They remembered their Creator every time they took a breath and with every morsel they ate. Never, never allow yourself to forget Him and if you do not forget your Lord you will always enjoy His blessings and the status of a saint.

36. No one can ever give full description of the Creator. All adjectives cannot adequately describe Him. He is the truth and He sustains life in all forms and balances the movement of heavenly bodies. He knows no limits. He is all-pervading and beyond all scrutiny.

37. God forgives those who surrender themselves unconditionally before Him and seek His shelter. He may accept offenders as His owm dear ones. When Bidhi Chand, after having committed the robbery, fell on the feet of the Guru, the Guru embraced him. Though he had been a dacoit yet from that day onwards he belonged to the Guru and the guru’s image could be seen through him. So surrender yourself before the Guru if you want salvation. Beseech the Guru to put you on the right path and meditate on His Name so that you may enjoy His grace and blessings.

38. We may know that all that can possibly be comprehended and it may have nothing to do with God, yet it is God who knows us and knows all about us.

39. Guru Granth Sahib contains all knowledge about God. When we bow our heads before Guru Granth Sahib it is not the sheath of papers we are showing our reverence to, it is the knowledge about God that earns our reverence for the Guru.

40. This world which you think you know and think that you can comprehend, is like an ocean. It is the sea of misery for the ignorant but for those who know and understand, through His grace, it is God’s very own manifestation.

41. As long as you do not know yourself your mind remains clouded with doubts. You will be a confused person. It is love that takes you nearer God. when along with love you make His Name a part of your life there remains little to do more. You shall come to realize what God means to you.

42. He is omnipresent. He watches and knows all that is going on within you. He monitors the vibrations of your heart, your mind, your thoughts, your intellect. There is nothing in or about you which God does not know. So much so that your existence is not possible because, in fact, it is He what appears to be you.

43. All praise to Him for He alone is worthy of our praise. If you were to sing in His praisse He would keep you in good care and all your sins would be erased. He would allow you to stay in His exalted presence and you would realize that through His grace alone, you live and stay in prosperity. He is the creator and it is He alone whose mercies strike a balance amongst the planets and stars.

44. Listen to me O’ brother. Life without remembering God is meaningless. Once there came a man with a request that I tell him something which may help him in life. I told him to remember God and always meditate on his Name. He confessed that he could not concentrate. When I asked him if he had forgotten about the money he was keeping in the hole dug in the earth he admitted that he had not. If you cannot forget the spot where the money was how could you forget Him who not only gave you all the worldly belongings but your very life and all its joys? O’ man it is not in your interest to forget Him who gives you all that you want.

45. This is my prayer. What Guru Arjan Dev Ji said I share the words with you: Pray to God. Speak nothing but the truth. Never think ill of anyone. Do good to all, and God almighty shall treat you similarly.

46. Your good deeds will matter more than anything else. Do recite His holy Name. You will thus attain contentment. God will be happy with you and accept you for your good deeds and for the faithful performance of your duty. There is nothing more important than His pleasure, for, once you enjoy His grace He shall forgive you for your sins and your miseries will come to an end.

47. When your inner self asserts in a pure and pious manner, you attain true knowledge. And once you do that all your miseries are gone and you enjoy eternal bliss.

48. Guru has the knowledge which is perfect and God is our Saviour and Master. God alone is the Creator of this universe. He sustains and nurtures it. His will pervades all through. Nothing is possible without His grace and will. Man must learn to live as He ordains and pay his homage and respects to the great Creator. People become good and kind only when they learn to obey Him. We should never forget Him who gives us life and all comforts. If we meditate on His Name we achieve every bliss that makes life good, meaningful and worth living.

49. Man gets attached to those objects which he would leave behind. He should not fail to concentrate and meditate on His Name. Man would enjoy the bliss if he remembers his creator and His mercies. Man’s life is a success only when he learns to enjoy His grace. This is possible when man meditates on His Name. Life for man has a meaning and is worth living only if he remembers God.

50. When man develops the ability to recognize Truth no illusion can mislead him. You give a counterfeit coin to a child. The moment he comes to know about it he will throw it away. Similarly when man is able to perceive what is true he will discard all that is false and shall enjoy His blessings. God controls the destiny of all living beings and he alone brings happiness in man’s life

None pleases God, whatever He does, we should learn to accept the same. He is the master of all of us. He is the embodiment of all that is good and noble. He is all powerful. There is nothing which man cannot get by His grace. With His benevolence we gain all that we may desire. He bestows on us all that we need or want and nothing is kept away from man. With His kindness everything turns in our favour. There is no other Power like God as He is Supreme and He does only that which is right. If a man acts in a manner that is good and noble he always enjoys His grace and kindness. And it is He who has given us all that we possess.

51. All great men like Christ, Mohammed, Kabir and Namdev, who came into the world, followed the path of truth and urged people to do the same. How much did Jesus suffer while treading on the path of truth – we know. But he put people on the right path. The so-called clergy misguided and looted common people. When the elder died the members of his family asked as to where would he go. They made the family pay heavy amounts to send the man to heaven.

52. The priests shamelessly cheated and robbed people of their money by making false promises. They divide men in the name of religion. When I first went to Kashmir people welcomed and showed all respect due to a man of religion. But on a subsequent visit we were branded as infidels. These so-called priests mislead the people. It is God and His true followers who put the people on the right path.

53. God, the Truth Eternal, is the Creator of the universe. He alone is the Supreme Master and we should have absolute faith in Him. The man who believes in Him overcomes all temptations, and attains the knowledge that is complete and perfect and brings peace, contentment and happinessBottom of Form

54. Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj has very clearly warned us not speak ill of anyone, not to use disparaging language for anyone, for, God resides within everyone. If you condemn a man you will be condemning God for He dwells in him. No man has a separate entity of his own. Man is only a part of the Supreme Being. So undue criticism of man will amount to criticism of God

55. God who is omnipresent as well as omnipotent dwells in all living creatures. He knows all and helps everyone in recognizing his or her worth. He resides within you and there is nothing hidden from Him. He is fully aware of the process of thought working within the system. He knows what your expectations are and benignly guides you in realizing your aspirations. It is He alone who always knows what is right for you. By surrendering yourself to His will you are accepted and blessed by Him because then you belong to Him.

56. When you consciously merge your being unto Him you become a part of Him and His Name. That is when you are transported into a state of ecstasy. That is the supreme moment of awakening when you attain salvation. This is the state of absolute piety. You are blessed with ‘knowledge perfect’. When you attain this state of bliss all your desires are fulfilled and you stand fully rewarded.

57. One who develops love and devotion and is soaked in His Name and able to see Him, feel Him and has intense love and Devotion for Him has achieved everything. Nothing is out of his reach. All is within his grasp. Nothing can elude him and he is in possession of all that is worth possessing. And in his company others can see God within themselves.

58. It is He who fulfills all desires. He gives all comforts and pleasure. No one else can do that. He is the ONE. He, who brings happiness to all, resides within everyone. Have faith in Him. Enjoy His mercies and blessings. Repose faith in Him. All your sublime cravings will be realized. He shall grant you absolute peace of mind.

59. There is nothing like ‘Name’ in the world. Tulsi Das Ji placed Name above the Creator. It is Name that takes us to Him. It is Name that brings salvation to man. But it is with the help of the Guru. It is Guru who is the real God. Guru is the light of the world. Guru has the key that God blesses him with. No one except the Guru has the key.

60. Name is the only means that can take you to God. There is no distinction between the Name and the ONE who bears it. God’s Name alone leads you to know God and to be part of Him. Once you have concentrated on Name you will find Him. The moment you have realized what Name is you will realize and perceive what God is. The only way to know God is through His Name. As long as you do not identify yourself with Name you cannot reach Him or be one with God.

61. Whosoever loved his Creator attained salvation. All those who gave themselves up to His love and true devotion became free of all bondage. They were blessed as saints.

62. There is no place where God may not dwell. When you take gold out of a bangle made of gold there remains nothing – no bangle. It is God who is everywhere. There cannot be a place where there is no God. The famous episode from Ramayana: When Rama went to meet Rishi Balmiki he asked to show him a secluded place where he could meditate without any disturbance. Balmiki told him that he could suggest such a place only if Rama named a place where He was not present. So there is no place where God may not be present.

63. Ye good people, my brethern! Always sing the praises of the Lord. Till such time that you feel the presence of God within and without you keep meditating on His Name. Don’t you ever give up repeating His Name. If you stop reciting His Name you will not be able to meditate. Give yourself up on His lotus feet. You shall find him if you keep repeating His Name. It is His Name that shall help you reach and find Him.

64. You see all that surrounds you. You are bestowed with all knowledge. Peep into your inner self. You know as well as you see when an idea is born within you. You are not the thought, for it has no physical existence. Idea is your being – there is no doubt about it. That is why God is complete. He sees all. He is indivisible and cannot be destroyed.

65. Truth is the religion. A man who is truthful merges into the truth. You shall find God only when you completely identify yourself with the truth. Being clever or by deploying clever tactics you cannot attain the truth. My Guru blessed me with knowledge and put to an end all ignorance. And knowledge has brought within me the light – the light that enables me to tread the path that He chose for me.

66. One day a saint recited in a manner, most beautiful, the following line of Nam Dev:

Haath paon kar kaam sabh cheet Niranjan naal.

I was with him. We had gone to attend the bhog(conclusion ceremony of the continuous recitation of Guru Granth Sahib). He said nothing , only recited the line Cheet Niranjan naal and made the congregation do the same. What a wonderful experience it was!

67. The martyrdom day of Shri Guru Arjan Dev Ji was being celebrated at Bara Pind. As usual I performed katha- explaining and elucidating Gurbani(Guru’s word) and asked him to address the gathering. He recited the following line in an inimitable way:

Dukh mein Sukh manaie, Dukh mein Sukh manaie.

Such was the effect of the recitation that many among the congregation were moved to tears. The saint said, ” This was his (Guru Arjan Dev Ji) day who while suffering extreme physical agony had not complained at all and had accepted it as one would accept a boon because it had come from Him?

68. Great and holy men come to this world to defend Truth and religiousness. There is no need to think about their safety or security for they are the incarnations of the almighty. This is what God wills. He descends upon the earth to save the world. Think of the sacrifices made by our Gurus. The entire family of Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj – father, mother and the four sons – attained martyrdom. It is not possible to enumerate what the tenth Master did for mankind. Similarly Christ expounded the truth after eliminating all that was false. That is why he is so widely respected and revered especially in the west. Find within yourself God, the formless one, whose part is your being. Where and why do you go to find him? You aimlessly wander in the jungle and desire to possess various objects. What for? God is infinite and without any form. It is not the matter. No idea. No object. It is your being. You are part of Him. He is all and everywhere and sees and perceives all.

69. Mirabai, as is well known, was from a princely family and married to a prince. She had developed intense devotion for Lord Krishna. She would go to the temple and dance in a state of ecstasy. She was a disciple of Ravidas. Her father and father-in-law thought that by dancing in the temple and singing the praises of her Lord she lowered the prestige of the two royal families. They decided to poison her. Her sister-in-law was asked to give her poison as prasad from the gods. Meera was indifferent to all this, accepted poison which turned into elixir. If you remember God and surrender yourself to Him He shall always be with you and poison will turn into Amrit.

70. Man goes astray and remains in wilderness for ages. It is God alone who, through His grace, brings man on the right path. Man can find God within himself and be one with Him only through His grace. Without His grace man can never find Truth which is yet another name of God.

71. Ego and desire are the two ailments man suffers from and they go on increasing with the passage of time. These two can be countered by truth and meditation on His Name. As long as man finds himself unable to meditate and has not developed absolute faith in Him he will remain in wilderness and far from being happy.

72. One, who has comprehended the truth of his existence and has realized the truth of his own being, is blessed with enlightenment. All those devoid of the two remain deprived of all light that makes life meaningful and worth living. This is possible only with the blessings of the Guru. Man attains salvation and comes out of the cycle of birth and death and of misery when he becomes one with his creator and self-realization dawns on him.

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The Khalsa must be Autonomous and Self-Respecting

Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Sikh warriors.

The highly respected Itihasik granth “Sri Gur Panth Prakash” (1841) also known as “Prachin Panth Prakash” written by Bhai Rattan Singh Bhangu, is a treasure chest of Sikh history and kathavachaks (Sikh preachers) continue daily to share the stories contained within this text in Gurdwara’s around the world.

Rattan Singh Bhangu came from a lineage of Sikh warriors, and had first hand knowledge on many historical and religious practices of the Sikh nation.

Rattan Singh’s grandfather was the renowned shaheed singh Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji, who beheaded Massa Rangar for the desecration of the Harimandir Sahib at Amritsar. Rattan Singh’s father was Bhai Rai Singh Ji, who as a child survived an attack by the Muslim Government, which left his whole family dead. Bhai Rai Singh Ji later joined the Karora Singhia Misl of the Budha Dal.

Below is a passage from Prachin Panth Prakash where Bhai Rattan Singh Ji is answering questions from Captain David Murry of the British East India Company, regarding the purpose of the Khalsa :

Dohra : Then Captain Murry made further enquiries from me, That I must narrate the account of the Sikhs in minute detail. How did the Tenth Guru create the order of the Khalsa Panth? What kind of strategies did he employ to promote this order? (1)

When the whole populace of India constituted their subjects, How did the Sikhs manage to expand their influence? (2)

How did the subjects of this region (Punjab) put up a defiance to their rule? Where had the Mughal’s Army disappeared to allow this defiance? (3)

Were the Mughals not well informed about the Sikhs? Were they ignorant about the hostility between them and the Sikh Gurus? Had they reached some kind of settlement with the Sikhs? Had they accepted the Sikhs as the third religion ? (4)

Wasn’t there any politically shrewd person among the Mughals, Who could pinpoint the rising power of the Sikhs? Did the Khalsa Panth not stake their claim to sovereignty? Did the Khalsa Panth remain unnoticed by the Mughals? (5)

Dohra : The way I answered these questions put forth by Captain Murry, My Gursikh readers must listen to the same account. The Khalsa Panth was as sharp and marked since its inception, As tender thorns are sharp and pointed from their budding stage. (6)

Chaupai : How could the Khalsa Singhs remain existent in isolation and secrecy? How could the Khalsa Panth remain hidden from the public gaze? The Singhs’ organisation was created to wage a war, As the Khalsa Panth was anointed with the touch of weapons. (7)

The Khalsa Panth was initiated (Baptised) with the ceremonial sword as, The Khalsa Panth was administered the first draught of the sword immersed in elixir. With iron rings and sword on their headgear and slung across the shoulders, How could they remain unnoticed like the sharp-nailed lions in a jungle? (8)

The perfect Guru the Tenth created the Khalsa Panth in this manner, So that they must wage a war against oppression. Since no body achieves sovereignty without waging a war, The Tenth Guru had decided this strategy from the very beginning. (9)

Dohra : There had developed a great hostility and conflict, Between the Sikh Gurus and the Mughal emperor. Since Guru Tegh Bahadur had sacrificed his life for this reason, How could the Sikhs let the Mughals get away with it? (10)

Chaupai : Guru Tegh Bahadur, by making the Supreme sacrifice at Delhi, Had uprooted the Mughal Emperor’s roots from Delhi. Guru Gobind Singh had made a proper assessment that, The roots (foundations) of the Mughal empire’s had completely withered. (11)

But even an old tree does not fall down without its roots being cut, Or else a mighty storm could bring it tumbling down. Now the Mughal empire needed to be stormed with an armed attack, This was the only way to bring this crumbling empire down. (12)

So Satguru Guru Gobind Singh himself decided to pick up the sword, And bring about the destruction of the Mughal empire. But then Guru Gobind Singh felt in his heart of hearts, That he himself had no need for a worthless royal power. (13)

Sri Guru Nanak had blessed him with such a great divine seat, That all of Temporal royal power was subservient to it. Since he did not care for such an inferior temporal power, He must pass on this kind of political power to his followers. (14)

Dohra : Thereafter it occured to Satguru Guru Gobind Singh’s mind, That the reign of Mughal rulers must be replaced. For this purpose, all the chiefs of the hill states, Must be made to pick up the sword against the Mughals. (15)

Chaupai : But then on a second thought, Guru Gobind Singh thought, That these hill chiefs had never been his followers. Why should he invest them with rare power without any service? Why should he embrace these outsiders at the cost of his own followers? (16)

They are as indifferent as the stone idols that they worship, And they had always been ungrateful to the House of Nanak. (17)

As they called themselves soldiers and as belonging to martial races, They would never acknowledge that the Guru had conferred power on them. He would confer power and sovereignty on the poor people, Who would gratefully acknowledge his (Guru’s) contribution. (18)

Dohra : The needy alone deserve to be endowed with rare gifts, What is the use of empowering those who are already powerful. The House of Nanak is known for its compassion and generosity, And known as the saviour and protector of the poor. (19)

Chaupai : Those who belong to the various offshoots of lowly twelve sub-castes, And who know nothing about the game of power politics. Who are contemptuously known as rustic peasants, in the society, or known as traders, small time shopkeepers and petty fighters. (20)

Those who belong to the low castes of blacksmiths and carpenters, And the lowly placed tailors and wine-venders would receive his benediction. This fraternity will also include the low caste cattle grazers, rustics, and cow herds, And the ignoble vegetable growers and scheduled castes. (21)

Water-carriers, Barbers, small venders, potters will also join this community, Sainis, goldsmiths, sweepers and cobblers will form a part of this brotherhood. Ballad-singers, priests, and mendicants will also be the alliance partners, Salt-traders, potters and artisans will also share power. (22)

I shall confer sovereignty on these poor and needy Gursikhs, So that they may remember my patronage and benediction. Saying this Guru Gobind Singh challenged his followers, That they should pick up swords and attack the Mughals. (23)

Dohra : The Sikhs did not agree to Guru Gobind Singh’s proposal, Since they were highly scared of the Mughal empire’s power. The Mughals had a large and powerful army, When would they relinquish power and their hold over India? (24)

Chaupai : So the Sikhs did not accept Guru Gobind Singh’s advice, As they felt that they would not be able to defeat the Mughals. The Sikhs were just timid sparrows as compared to the Hawk like Mughals, Or The Sikhs were just lambs against the lion like Mughals. (25)

How could the Guru expect deer-like Sikhs to vanquish the lion-like Mughal forces? How could a downward flowing rivulet flow back towards the high-sloped mountains? Their forces consisted of veteran soldiers and warrior Pathans. While the Sikhs Constituted poor unskilled rustics, barbers and carpenters. (26)

They told the Guru that he had selected all the low-caste people, Who were completely defenceless and unarmed. He should throw this challenge before the martial royal chiefs, As they were the right persons who could serve his purpose. (27)

Dohra : Then Sri Guru Gobind Singh felt anguished and thought, That his followers did not wish to achieve anything in life. He had wished to confer power and sovereignty on them, But they were repeatedly refusing to accept this honour. (28)

Chaupai : Sri Guru Gobind Singh, being the knower of all hearts, Had diagnosed the root cause of his Sikh’s psychic malady. Since these Sikhs had been peaceful followers of a Charan Pahul tradition,There was no spark of self-assertion and retaliation in their psyche. (29)

Dohra : They had been used to wearing a black woolen silken cap as head cover, As they had been indoctrinated to call themselves as servants or slaves, They being grounded in excessive compassion and humility, It would be futile to ask them to pick up swords. (30)

Chaupai : He should first bring about a transformation in their character, And make their appearance formidable that evokes fear and awe. He should give his organisation a charismatic nomenclature, And administer a heavy dose of powerful elixir to them. (31)

So Satguru Sri Guru Gobind Singh arrived at a firm resolution, And made efforts to implement it after deep contemplation. They must adopt the dress code of a martial warrior race, And grow hair and wear turbans on their heads. (32)

The warrior Kshtriyas had been suffixing the title “Singhs”. The same name “Singh” would suit his followers’ names as well. He resolved to administer to them the “Khandey-ki-Pahul”, In order to make the Khalsa formidable and resolute. (33)

In this way, they would learn the art of wielding power, And develop a feeling of having become rulers and sovereigns. From people weak as straw and reeds, he would turn them into men of steel, After partaking of sword-initiated elixir, they would not be scared to pick up swords. (34)

Dohra : The Khalsa must be as autonomous and self-respecting, As embodiment of all the Divine attributes in plenty. Never submitting to the sovereignty of anyone else, Except the sovereignty and autonomy of God alone. (35)

Chaupai : From then on, the Khalsa would not worship any spirits and graves of Pirs, Nor would they be worshippers of “Gugapir Sultan”. They would no longer wear saffron mark, sacred thread or lose apparel (dhoti), Eliminating all caste distinctions, they would dine together. (36)

Great skills, especially groundfighting, and impressive (intelligent) confidence.

Hope he continues to train hard and stick to his game plan, and not get carried away with the hype (as majority of apnay do).

Vaheguru ji ka Khalsa Vaheguru ji ki Fat-heh

Firstly, vadiyan sare sangtan nu – on the auspicious occasion of the creation of the Khalsa – the servants of humanity.

To celebrate Vasakhi this year with true purpose, I kindly ask you all, in the true spirit of preserving the meaning of Vasakhi, to actually help the poverty and drug stricken Punjabi youth by sponsoring a poor Sikh child with a regular monthly donation.

This will help pay for a stable education, keep them away from the drugs epidemic and provide an opportunity for the child to help lift his uneducated and poor family out of poverty and out of an adharmic lifestyle.

In reality, there is no point in us celebrating Vasakhi if we can’t even look after Guru Gobind Singhs struggling Khalsa families in Punjab. The projects are very sensibly put together, families are expected to keep to a contract to live Gursikh jeevans and their child is to attend Gurmat classes 2-3 times a week, being taught by Khalsa Aid employed Sikh Missionary to ensure that they are receiving a spiritual education as well as an academic one.

Please see the below links, and also consider donating to Khals Aid world wide disaster projects in the spirit of Bhai Khanaya.

I would advise calling or e-mails Khalsa aid to get more details re sponsoring a poor Sikh child so you know exactly how it works and can be confident in your help.

Contact details: http://www.khalsaaid.org/contactus.html

Khalsa Aid - http://www.khalsaaid.org/contactus.html

Focus Punjab (Poor Punjab Project) - http://www.focuspunjab.org/

Please donate generously and regularly to this amazing charity, and PLEASE forward this e-mail to all your Sikh family and friends.

Vaheguru ji ka Khalsa Vaheguru ji ki Fat-heh

I attended a talk by Harvinder Kaur yesterday, and have to say she was a breath of fresh air. she comes across as very spiritual, very calm/collected, sees the beauty in Sikhi that most of those born into don't (no cultural and emotional baggage) and giving gret examples of how she uses Gurmat in day to day life. Yes, very typical 3HO mentality, but from personal experience of having quite a few good Yogi friends, their personas are very similar, they create a calm and peaceful environment through their rehni behni, speech and actions, probably due to their great amritvela saadhana culture.

I would recommend attending a talk if you haven't, great for all, but especially cool for bibiyan.

Her Nihang Singh husband is obviously a great influence on her and very supportive of her, nice to see such a great mutually respectful relationship, especially in these times of high divorce and lack of understandnig of how to create and maintain a solid foundation for a marriage.

Yes, divine indeed. Today the whole world including our kaum chant mehi, mehi, mehi or asi, asi, asi or sada, sada, sada... Our panth has become diseased with so many divisions, jathai, sampryada all shouting these words. Amongst all the chaos exist a few rare little known reflections of Dasmesh Pita...

In memory of the amazing 5 who decided to heed the call of the true one and find life eternal, rather than die another death... Some universal wisdom:

"Cowards die many times before their deaths"

The Bard, William Shakespeare

These people are deluded. The majority of people from these countries simply want a job, food, a roof over their head and dignity.

Most youth from these countries couldn't give a rats about Shariah, nearly all are westernised and treat their faith as a culture (as in most other faiths, including ours) and pick and mix what suits their understanding/desires. Religion/tradition/devotion generally survives amongst the rural folk, whose population is decreasing day by day (as in most countries) as the youth are tempted by the lures of TV and the big Cities.

Also funny how these Sunni fanatics forget to include the Bahrain uprising! I bet they would applaude the same leaders they are now showing photos of if they kept the Shiite under wraps!

They also forget to say how appreciate the Libyans are of the 'Kufr' help!

Just another bunch of minority idiots sitting abroad with no idea of the truth, and trying to do their seva for creating/promoting further trouble.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/mother-jailed-for-killing-son-with-bleach-2259270.html

Mother jailed for killing son with bleach

By John-Paul Ford Rojas, PA

Friday, 1 April 2011

A mother was today jailed for killing her autistic 12-year-old with bleach - after social services allegedly failed to address her mental health problems.

Satpal Kaur Singh, 45, struggled to cope looking after son Ajit and feared he would be taken away, the Old Bailey heard.

Her "obvious" mental health problems were recognised yet she was "allowed to resist help", the court was told.

David Hislop QC, defending, said: "Neighbours knew, school teachers knew, social services knew, but the tragedy for Ajit was that nothing was done."

Singh made her son drink a cup of Domestos in February last year, just hours after she refused to co-operate with council staff at a meeting over his care.

She also drank some herself and in a suicide note said she had done it after being "scrutinised and hounded by social services".

Singh, of Lambourne Road, Barking, east London, was jailed for seven years today after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at an earlier hearing.

Judge Peter Beaumont, the Recorder of London, told her: "I recognise how difficult Ajit was to care for.

"Your deteriorating mental health robbed you of proper insight into what was going wrong and erected real obstacles between you and people and the agencies that were trying so hard to help you."

Barking and Dagenham council said a serious case review was expected to be completed in the next few weeks.

“The water of Fukushima Nuclear Plant,

we are sorry to make you suffer.

Please forgive us.

We thank you,

and we love you.”

(Masaru Emoto, Oponopono)

A Sufi once said:

Kisai patha poochai(n), manzil-eh jaana, jis ko khabbar thhee teri, woh beh-khabbar mila.

Yes Mithar it's true. Bhai Ajit Singh who runs the Swindon and Southall Diwans has said the same.

I don't think it's fair to say her book is rubbish, she clearly sets out her objectives and meets them quite well. I respect that she has genuinely tried to digest the depth of the massive area of research that is Sri Dasam Granth, and has chosen to tackle specific areas rather than pretend to be an expert on everything and give a '100%' right opinion. I think her perspective and approach is very honest, refreshing and highly intelligent. she covers all debate and research to date quite well (both sides) and tries to remain unbiased. May be you should try reading it again Amerdeep, but this time, without prior expectations. In my view, this kind of reseach is excellent and more than welcomed.

Some of the Pro-Dasam Granth literature can be as bad as the anti literature, purely because the academia is so weak. In the academic arena, there are many areas which can be used to test authenticity rather than just 'some historical references'. This is what the author tries to do.

personally, I think its good to financially support good unbiased research, it will simply create demand for more of the same!

http://www.kundaliniyoga.org.uk/downloads/20110409_kamalroop%20singh_chandi%20di%20vaar.pdf

Alongside other endangered cats like the Siberian Tigar, Sumatran Tiger, Chinese Tiger, Snow Leapord our very own Scottish Wildcat and rarest of them all the Amur Leopard, will disappear in a decade or 2 if corridors joining up seperate populations are not created and enforced (to ensure a healthy breeding population).

All Asian countries except for Bhutan (which is excellent on many levels) couldn't give a rats about their own people, let alone wildlife, it's simply a handful of passionate people in each country with some tiny support from WWF and other wildlife charities which are doing some good work. Soon as a big money gets involved i.e. mineral extraction, you can forget about the wildlife.

it will take a miracle to change the flow of extinction (3 sub species of Tiger already extinct in the past century). More importantly than even saving the animals, is the issue of saving the habitats, which the Chinese are doing an excellent job of eradicating worldwide (spearheading it to a whole new level compared to previous big consumers like Europe, USA etc).

What pearls of wisdom from the genius and legendary Master of Arts Tagore Sahib.

Thanks for sharing Singh, glad to see you are taking your search for divine music seriously ;-)

Shere group on sikh channel now.

Lol, trust you to defend your Southall homies.

I suppose the accusations of missing £Ms and gunda ghardi were also figments of my imagination, wasn't it convenient to blame those ex committee members that weren't there to defend themselves. Everyone knows what the committees @ the Gurdwara are like and have been up to, you can polish it up how much you like. I can see where you get your mannerisms, Gurmat and debating skills from!

I would worry about a few of Suryadevs mates, I am sure there were plenty of other people from a variety of nationalities and faiths that were haveing an amusing time.

To not even address the lack of civil behaviour on a public platform, including totally ignoring the host for over one hour during his repeated attempts to guide the discussion is not suprising at all coming from you. To look at our weaknesses is a good thing, it will eventually help people to accept and believe there are problems, the 1st step in addressing them. To keep pretending we are fantastic and everyone else is pathetic is the reason Punjab and our people in general are in a totally dismal state.

If I address our weaknesses, not because I have an agenda.

On another note, I would agree with you Gurpreet Singh was defo the best out of that bunch, but I believe some things should not be televised - this same discussion could have/should have been held at the Gurdwara in the presence of an open sangat. That the committees may not have agreed to do this says it all about their mentality.

Whats needed is people with Gurmat to run our Gurdwarai, not fast talking, scheming mantris. Otherwise it will simply be a matter of replacing Tony Blair with David Cameron.

Did anyone watch the Southall Singh Sabha elections debate?

What a joke and embarrassment to the Panth!

Again, that is not a unique Sikh tradition. I have come across it personally in Borneo (Head Hunter decendants) and Indonesian marital circles. I am pretty sure the Samurai have a similar philosophy. The Borneons believe the sword has its own spirit and the more blood it tastes (the more it craves). The real swords to resect are those that have a tally! Nepalse and Filipino also have a culture of 'baptising' every weapon upon completion by taking a life with it (animal sacrifice).

At the most practical level, a weapon should be respected for it's purpose, hence the saying. Aside from training and maintenance, there is no need to keep dwawing a shastar from its sheath i.e. for fun/entertainment etc. These practices were made to create respect, today we laugh at them, which is not surprising, as most people have no idea how to use their kirpan/shastar (or items from personal collections), hence have no idea of their capability.

Dastaar (Persian word last time I checked), is sign of respect and stature in many cultures including Indonesian, Malaysian, Iraqi, Iranian, Afghani, Rajputs, Even Native American Indians! None of these cultures sees it as 'polite' for anyone to touch the insignia of their respectability, what makes you thinks Sikhs (who are probably the last people to adopt this rivaaj) should be/or have been, any different?

"Also when doing parkarma circunambulation you keep the object of respect to your right and walk clockwise."

Nihangs do the opposite :-) probably because the kirpan is worn on the left, they do parkarma anti-clockwise. This is not really behm, more a sign of respect.

I remember some of those also Tony, I think they are Punjab wide, man, I thought I was the expert!

I still insist left palm itch is money gained! That may just be unique to me lol

Daughters - don't drink water with your head uncovered - it will cause our Father to go in debt!!

Akaal Takht are just jumping on the band wagon as they seem to do with everything else nowadays.

I would urge people who really care about the environment to donate to Baba Balbir Singh Ji Nirmala - they are the true champion of environmental change in India - their contrinution is beyond measurement.

http://www.nirmalkuteya.com/index.asp

Baba Ji is sprear heading the fight against the pollution of Punjabs waters, creating an effective sewage facilities, promoting oragnic farming, planting trees etc etc. This only makes up one dimension of the hundreds of areas they do seva in.

Being left handed is a sign of 'evil' to varying degrees in most historic cultures in the world. I know this via martial arts circles - where old school Indonesian, Filipino, Chinese Masters didn't take on lefties (or required them to learn right handed only), I think the same was true of Indian martial Akharas too.

I remember the fish and milk one, that might be something more traditional medicine (scientific) reltated possibly...

There is also the one about eyes twitching (bad luck), and scratching your left or right hand, right looses money and left gains... that one actually works lol! Also, black cat cutting your path (turn back). Not washing hair on Tuesdays... put something black on anything that looks beautiful (buri nazar etc)... dogs howling at night> someone is going to die (not sure if thats Indian or European actually).

I'm not an expert on this subject or anything :-0

Another one was loha nahi kharkhona, bad to hit metal on metal... I used to have a bad habit of jingling my keys whe I was a kid. Nowadays I take that to mean never strike a sword with another sword, only the hand/arm that controls it etc.

This is actually a very serious topic which always gets brushed under the carpet, you will notice our usually vocal members will stay quiet on this one.

Drinking bakwaas culture is actually the main reason many youth (esp) girls, find people from other faiths a more attractive and intelligent life partner choice. It is also the reason why so many youth have zero or little interest in our beautiful dharam, because they associate the actions/culture of their parents and wider community with the faith. Which is hard to differentiate on a typical wedding for instance - where after having Gurus pavitar darshan and cleaning our minds with the Laavan and taking karah Prasad, everyone goes to a hall to get drunk, and watch their womenfolk dance to pervy songs amongst other drunkards (balance off the morning spirituality overload).

I have 3 times in my life (as an Amritdhari) been quizzed by different Muslims when I have told them that I don't drink and nor is drinking a part of the faith. They were shocked to say the least. The same is true for a few gorai, although gorai seem to be better informed as the same amount of ignorance exists towards Sikhs from Muslims as vice versa.

Drinking i.e. men get ratted whilst the ladies stay sober (although this is rapidly changing from what I have observed in teh last few years) and drive their drunk bum husbands back home after the various parties, isn't considered highly 'equal', even though we shout the loudest about our equality.

Sadly, as is the case with the perception of Musalmaan in many ways (not all), our rvaaj will never be seperated from our dharam in the worlds and our childrens eyes. The only way to bring respect back to sikhi is to change our rvaaj. There are many beautiful aspects in Punjabi rvaaj, but sadly, most are near extinction, and drunkedness, fighting, being clueless about our dharam etc etc seems to be what we are becoming famous for.

Other serious issues are domestic violence, which I know 1st hand still happens amongst many Punjabi families where drinking is a daily routine. What parchaar, kirtan, simran, amritvela, education or success of any kind can there be in a household where pooja of sharaab is done...?

Although the stereotype of certain jaaths being famous for retaining this tradition still hold true - today there is no differentiation. Jatts, Lohars, Thrkaans, Chumaars, Shimbai what have you - all have the same rvaaj. Maybe the only exception are Kabuli Singhs - who although coming from a Muslim country, still hold strong to their Sikhi in many ways. Same way devout Sikhs today are not limited to certain jaaths, they can be found anywhere and everywhere. The sad truth (which I have seen 1st hand with many friends who 'converted to Sikhi) - is that Punjabi parents would rather their kids be 'normal' and kao peeyo ash karo mitero, than take amrit. In many, many households, a child growing a daara and adopting a spiritual lifestyle is looked at as a sign of parental failure and embarresment, same goes for girls.

For anyone interested in this amazing tradition, which had and still does have(amongst Nihangs) relevanc in puratan Khalsa Rivaaj.

A real bargain, educational experience and great day out! You need to buy your vouchers today however (7th February)!!

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/london-special?nlp=&CID=UK_CRM_45_0_0_0&utm_source=Deal_general_newsletter&utm_medium=All_Cities&utm_content=Initial_Version&utm_campaign=Varies

Let me know if anyone here decides to go, PM me :-)