sherni_ke_dil

My question is though, what difference does it make? does it make me a better Sikh or for that matter a better person?

What difference does it make though? If you were to live a life where you worked to better humanity, lived an honest and decent life, led a spiritual life, what difference then would amrit make? Is it a neccesity in this life?

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! The Gurus were against performing miracles. As all this did was increase a person's ego. None of the Guru's ever performed miracles. You have to remeber that the Janam Sakhis are not real events. They are not fact at all. They have meaning to them, but to believe them as they are would be foolish on our part. The only thing which is true is the Guru Granth Sahib. The Bhai Bala Janam sakhis are the ones which mention miracles, but these are not accepted anymore. These were in fact written by a sect called the hindalis who did it for their own purpse. I think it was to discredit sikhi is some part and to sway some followers. I don't have my work to hand so i don't know the full reason why. Bhul chuk marf karne Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!. The Radhasoamis often talk about meditation. When they are iniated they are given a word to meditate on. According to them the word given to them by their Guru has a certain sound current. Does anyone know what the sound current is? Apparently, there is a reference to it on the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. I've never heard of it.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! I understand what you are saying, but Guru Dev Ji saw religion as being internal. The rejection of the Janeu was also also because wearing the thread did not constitute a religious act in itself. All the exterior things that people had did not help them in their path. Then how can, the 5 kakkars help us in our path?. Most of us, from when we are born wear a kara and some of us have our kesh. But when we take amrit we take on the rest of the kakkars. But isn't this like a religious act in itself? Isn't this what Guru Nanak Dev Ji tried to furthur us away from. As i said before. . By wearing the 5 kakkars do we not know ourselves in the religious way and identify ourselves this way? Hence, preserving our ego?

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! This is a question which i have wondered about. Even though i believe in the panj Kakkars and i understand the importance of it, sometimes questioning oneself allows for a stronger faith. Guru Nanak Dev Ji rejected the wearing of the janeu. Most of us know the sakhi. It was for twice born hindus to wear at initation which allowed them to hear and read the scriptures. Guru Nanak Dev Ji disputed the fact that wearing the janeu constitued a religious act. It was a formalistic way to religion. Guru Nanak Dev Ji rejected outward and exterior symbols to religion. As a religious person would be able to know himself or identify himself in relation to proper practice. Thus, if a religious person performs these acts, he will know himself in a religous way. But, they would not be orientated to know God but oneself. And thus, their self identity. This would be a preservation of the ego or I, in it the social structure which supports it. By rejecting the Janeu, religious ideology was based on questioning of self identity. This self questioning erased the ego/I. Whereby, we become open to new possibilities and be filled by the Divine. My question is, if Guru Nanak Dev Ji rejected the outward symbols of religion, why is there an importance on the 5 kakkars? Thus, are the thoughts of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji in opposition to each other? I'm only playing the devil's advocate here. I do not profess to know the answers but i hope to learn from others, and come to be stronger in my faith from the sangat. Bhul Chukk Maf Karni Ji

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! I read a recent post about books on sikhi and people have referred to the Bala Janam Sakhis. From my understanding, the Bala Janam Sakhis were discredited by the Singh Sabha Movement. This is thought is now widely accepted in the sangat. for the reasons as follows: The evidence of Bhai Bala being a companion to Guru Nanak Dev Ji comes only from the Bala Janam Sakhis. He is not heard of in any other Sakhi tradition/cycle. Whereas, we know that Bhai Mardana was with Guru Nanak Dev Ji as he is mentioned in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The Sakhis With Bhai Bala are chronologically incoherent. The do not follow any 'rhyme or reason'. Whereas again, the Bhai Mardana Sakhis follow each other logically in date. The Bhai Bala Sakhi content consists primarilary of miracle stories which appealed to the popular mind. However, Guru Nanak Dev Ji was strongly against any forms of miracles and would not perform any. As these were only there to inflate some peoples ego. This is only as much as i know about this. I never had heard of Bhai Bala but many friends and family members had. But the thought is coherent and valid. Bhul Chuk maf karni ji

I got this email from the Weat Midlands Sikh Society and thought it was pretty amazing Salok Mahala 9 and The Pursuit for Happiness Salok Mahala 9 is one of the final compositions in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and is one of the most relevant writings to the world we live in today. With well-paid jobs, fast cars, and Eastenders, we could almost be forgiven for thinking that we dont need anybody else-including God. Few will admit to this view, but this is evident from the way we live our lives today. From grabbing an express langar, to the performance of an emergency ardas the day before your exams, we are losing touch with the gift of Sikhi that we have been blessed with from ages past. But if you think that this problem didnt exist in ages past you are severely mistaken. Partly to address this problem, Guru Tegh Bahadur (Brave Sword) wrote his great masterpiece, the Salok Mahala 9. At times it can seem very scary, as it warns you of the consequences of not remembering God for the life yet to come. But think of it as an admonishment that a patient teacher may give to a pupil. dhhun dhaaraa su(n)path sugul jin apunee kar maan || Your wealth, spouse, and all the possessions which you claim as your own ein mai kushh su(n)gee nehee naanuk saachee jaan ||5|| - none of these shall go along with you in the end. O Nanak, know this as true. ||5|| Many of you will think- so what? Ill become a born again Sikh when I see the white hair coming. Now is the time for me to drive around in my flashy car, and to chill with my crew. To this end, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji says- thurunaapo eio hee gaeiou leeou juraa thun jeeth || Your youth has passed away like this, and old age has overtaken your body kuhu naanuk bhuj har munaa aoudhh jaath hai beeth ||3|| Says Nanak, meditate, vibrate upon the Lord; your life is fleeting away! ||3|| We are not in control of our own destiny. We can be called upon at any moment of our lives. When you become before God, what will you say? Sorry sir, I didnt really get around to doing the charity work that I promised to do. My mates kept ringing to ask if I wanted to check out the latest Film down at Park Royal. Serving God is not just a question of sitting down and doing paath for hours on end. Those amongst you who classify himself or herself as being non-religious may be delighted to know that perhaps without knowing it, you already are performing this service. Guru Nanak Dev Ji placed great importance on living honestly, and sharing with others by donating your time and finances to worthy causes. Why remember God? Whats he ever done for me? Ive got my friends, family, big house, etc. I dont need anyone else! Well, think about this one- if tomorrow you friends suddenly decided you werent cool enough for them, and then you committed an act so despicable that your family stopped talking to you, and then you lost your job and the house was repossessed, what are you going to do? Who will be there for you? sukh mai buhu su(n)gee bheae dhukh mai su(n)g n koe || In good times, you have many friends, but in bad times, there is no one at all. kuhu naanuk har bhuj munaa a(n)th sehaaee hoe ||32|| Says Nanak, vibrate, and meditate on the Lord; He shall be your only Help and Support in the end. ||32|| It doesnt matter what youve done- God will always be there for you, ready to help. It doesnt matter how long its been since you talked to the Lord, or that in fact only the last week you were using all the insults you knew to denigrate the Lord. Is there anybody else who would do this? But thats enough of the scary stuff. Now to the next point- Ask yourself one question. What is the most important thing you want in your life? A loving spouse, happy family, secure job? Thought of something yet? - good. Now ask yourself this question- why do you want it? This last point is extremely important. Everything we try to do in our own lives is through our pursuit of happiness. So whether its socialising with friends, or getting hammered every Friday night in the bar (I hope these people are in the minority!), we are trying to convince both ourselves and other people of our happiness. Guru ji is quite explicit on how this state of happiness can be achieved- jo such ko chaahai sudhaa suran raam kee laeh || If you yearn for eternal peace, then seek the Sanctuary of the Lord. God doesnt promise you the latest Ferrari, the biggest house, or the latest Nokia handset. The Akaal Purkh (the Immortal One) promises you the reason behind all your desires- contentment.

As far as i understand this, the Gurus only had one wife. There is a misconception thats the Gurus had more than one. This is because, The Gurus wife's name would change after marriage as was the custom then. Books refer to the wives by either name, the maiden one or the married one. This confused most people as they thought the Gurus had more than one wife. If i have misunderstood this, then sorry Btw, is there something special about Gits Rasmalai that we don't know about? :wink:

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! Harps Bhaiji, i have to agree with you on Bhai Roop Singh! Went to one of his talks and he was, inspirational! Straight to the point with no namby pambying around certain issues. We attatch ourselves to the punjabi culture, absorb this into sikhi and say, well its all part of being sikh. The heavy drinking, the bhangra, things which have nothing to do with sikhi. On Vaisakhi, you see them running around with flags, beeping thier horns and remembering they are Sikh for a day. Yet, some people you see, have the jhanda in one hand and a fag in the other. Vaisakhi for some, has been stripped down into something which has go nothing to do with sikhi, but attaches it to cultural practices. Does being Punjabi makes us Sikh? If you look at those people who have chosen sikhi as their path, the ones who have converted, they do not have the culture attatched to them. They practice Sikhi in its whole essence. They, i feel, are better off and probably stronger sikhs than most, including me. The idea of castes, the idea that loving bhangra for some reason makes you more sikh and other things are of no consequence to them. lol, i think i went a tad off the topic, not unusual for me!! My only excuse is that its late at night

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! Sounds like the back of the Vaisakhi card we recieved from Ramgarhia Gurdwara! However, i do have one thought though. Many people who actually do call themselves Ramgarhia do so in reference to the 'caste', rather than in rememberance of Maharaja Jassa Singh Ramgarhia. Most Ramgarhias you ask, would not be able to tell you much about him nor what he did.