Kaljug

Now, that would be a really interesting question to discuss. It seems clear from Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Udasis onwards that Sikhs were not shy about spreading Sikhi as a superior way of life to some other schools of thought. It would be quite enlightening to determine why modern day Sikhs are so politically correct and unwilling to share their faiths in the same way. I don't really see opting out, as you put it, as less proactive than other means one could adopt. After all, not owning a TV or buying literature that supports the objectification of women as sex-objects is a direct means to influence the financial backing of such ventures. I don't believe that one is any worse than the other, but I believe that women in the West have a greater ability to challenge prevailing social norms about the way women should dress or look, whether through dressing modestly ot through more subversive means. It's much more difficult to battle such ideology when it is portrayed as God's Will which must not be questioned. I would be interested to hear what other ideas you have about proactively challenging Western objectification of women, though. Strategy aside, I find changing the views of one's quom is best begun at home and within one's family. One can ensure that girls recieve as much attention as boys, and that they have the same freedoms as boys. ONce this is the norm within your own family, I can guarantee that you will positively influence the Sikh families in your circle of friends and family. K.

Pictures of the Singh Sahib: Sukhwinder Singh, 1 Sukhwinder Singh, 2 A message from someone who knows the Singh on SikhSangat: Remember him and his family in your ardasa today, Khalsa Jio. K.

We are interpreting the sakhi quite differently I guess. I see principles like langar seva and the equality of women to extend beyond the doors of Guru's Darbar. I was under the impression that the Sikh practice to avoid kaam and to treat women other than one's spouse as sisters and mothers addressed the issue with which you are concerned. I exercise my ability to do this by not owning a TV and not purchasing the latest copy of Loaded magazine, ;-) Well, mate, I am prepared to speak out about selective abortion of female foetuses in another thread, if you wish. K. K.

I don't believe that an individual Muslim woman's choice in the West to wear a burqa can be divorced from the original practice of the burqa being a symbol of male domination over women in the East. It's just not that simple. I don't for a second believe that there are not many Muslim women in the West who are forced by their husbands to wear the burqa, and legitimising this form of dress will just make the problem worse. (This is a far different problem to parents forcing their kids to wear kesh and dastaar.) As a kind of aside, I have a family member in the West Mids who counsels battered Asian women. The major problem that she encounters is with Muslim women of Pakistani descent who have been subjected to physical abuse. When they are in counselling they do everything in their power to resist the suggestion that men in her life have no right to dominate or abuse them. It is very difficult (and unfortunately usually impossible) to break them of the belief that they are second-class citizens, even when they have come to believe that they are not somehow to blame for being beaten and abused by their husbands/fathers/brothers, precisely because they are conditioned to believe that it is somehow God's law that women are just not on par with men in His eyes. At the end of the day, while I believe that the State should not interfere with one's dress and religious beliefs, certain humans rights have to take precedence over religious beliefs, and this is the case even if people choose to believe that it is God's law that they are treated unequally. Yep, at the end of the day, ideally no one should interfere with another's religious observances, but I do not believe in supporting such a longstanding symbol of the degradation of women (even if you chose to ignore the history of this practice) is going to lead to a pleasant place. I also personally don't buy the idea that women somehow feel that they should become shadows in the world to feel closer to God. There are a million ways to do this (including wearing a nun's habit or modest dress and a headscarf that doesn't cover your face). Prem Sumarag has some pretty weird practices in it, and our grandparents and parents probably practised even weirder things, but we should always choose the Guru's teachings over such cultural accretions. In addition, I don't believe that the uncritical acceptance of others' religious beliefs is a particularly Sikh belief - Gurbani and many Sikh sakhian are testament to the fact that the Gurus questioned many ignorant beliefs disguised as religion. K.

Be prepared to eat very watery daal for the next few days! It stings like hell, I'm told, but the pain is not too bad. You'll probably be given anti-inflammatories so you should be fine. K.

The image is not working, veer ji. Any chance you could scan that pustak in and out it online? Regards, K.

Let's all keep a grip on our tempers, Khalsa Jio. I think the main point we need to determine first whether Sikhi's emphasis on the equality of women is more important than the right to religious beliefs that dismiss women as being the property of men. My view is that the purdah sakhi illustrates that our Gurus believed in equality and would not tolerate those religious practices that demean women. The sakhi was not simply about asking Hindus to reject Muslim customs, but about valuing women as independent beings in their own right. This is further illustrated by our Gurus rejecting the notion of the Hindu practice, Sati, and urging Hindus to abandon this custom of theirs. It is true that some schools of Islam believe that the burqah is part of their maryada, but then some also believe that stoning women for alleged adultery and keeping them secluded is an essential part of their religion - and I am quite certain that the Gurus would not have tolerated such abuses. As to Dalsingh's claim that the burqa prevents objectification of women, I would argue that the burqa actually makes women into objects who are to be treated as outcasts from humanity and as existing solely as the property of her husband or father. The largest part of communication is through body language, and a great part of body language is down to facial cues, which women in burqas are prevented from displaying through their veil. Yes, there are women who will submit themselves to an interpretation of Islam where they are but chattel, but I certainly do not believe this should be encouraged either through arguing it is a matter of freedom of religion or a personal choice. Where security is an issue, I don't believe that women in burqas should be allowed to remain in a veil covering their face when they are having passport or driving licence pictures takens or when they are trying to be identified by police or border control. FWIW, I don't have any problem with people wearing crucifixes, headscarfs, turbans or whatever in school or outside of it. K.

I don't agree with the French government's decision, but it's simply wrong to suggest that the Gurus would have approved of a practice meant to force women to completely wipe out their individuality by making them invisible to the rest of the world. The objection of the Gurus to the purdah is clear in this sakhi: http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Purdah Regards, K.

The difference between the dastaar and the burqa is that the burqa is no part of anyone's religion. It's simply a tool used in predominantly tribal and patriarchal Arab societies to suppress their women. Given that thousands of women in the Muslim world are regularly raped and subjected to sexual harrassment for not wearing a burqa, I hope that those of you who are so swift to ensure these women are kept dressed in binbags will act with equal righteous indignation for the rights of those who do not want to be subjected to such revolting customs forced upon them by the Muslim world. Regards, K.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8450052.stm A man was stabbed to death while chasing thieves who had snatched a woman's handbag in east London. Sukhwinder Singh, of Barking, was attacked while pursuing two men who mugged a 28-year-old woman near Barking station in east London on Friday night. Mr Singh, 31, had chased the men along Victoria Road, into Uphall Road, where he was stabbed at about 1900 GMT, the Metropolitan Police said. He was taken to the Royal London Hospital where he later died. Police have set up a cordon around the murder scene and officers have been searching bins in Victoria Road. The two suspects were described as black, aged in their 20s to 30s, and both were about 5ft 7in to 6ft. Detective Inspector John Sandlin said: "This is a tragic death of a man who was killed for attempting to stop others committing crime. "I am appealing for anyone that knows who committed this crime, or who has any information about those who committed this crime, to do the right thing and come forward and contact police." He also urged anyone who had seen the robbery, the following altercation or people fleeing the area to come forward. "It is also possible that the suspects may have abandoned the bag stolen and I appeal to anyone who may find a brown leather shoulder bag, to contact police," he added.

Er, that's what Neo's email said it was. Perhaps he can enlighten us. Edit: Bikrami dates for Gurpurbs are on page 2. K.

http://www.dtfbooks.com (UK) K.

Bikrami Sikh Calender 2010 K.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! Does anyone know where I can get a CLEAR copy of Baba Santa Singh Ji's katha on Pracheen Panth Parkash or where I can buy the full CD set? The ones I've found online are all very unclear and it is difficult to make out what he is saying because of the background noise even at high volume. Thanks, K.

Subaig Singh The man looks like a Lion. K.

I think any method performed with ekagrata and sharda will work. I feel the Sant Jagjit Singh Ji method is best used in conjunction with reverse breathing (it happens naturally with this method) which the Taoists believe is the way that we breathe when we are in the womb: http://internalart.tripod.com/the%20art%20of%20meditation/breathing.htm http://www.breathing.com/articles/reverse-breathing.htm It's a form of breathing used in internal martial arts as well as Taoist yoga to send energy into and up the spine. You should use whatever method your Panj Piaray or a Mahapurush has personally taught you. K.

It's similar also to the method described in Sant Baba Jagjit Singh Harkhowale's autobiography. In that method one exhales while saying Wah, and inhales while sayinh Hi Gu Ru (the association with the chakras is identical in both methods). Harbhajan Singh Yogi also taught a similar method called Sudarshan Chakra Kriya with manipulation of the navel/perineal pump to force kundalini to rise. K.

Here's a passage from Suraj Pratap Granth that describes Shastar Puja translated by our very own Jvala Singh here: http://sikh-reality.blogspot.com/2009/10/worshiping-weapons-passage-from-suraj.html K.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! A brilliant Singh called pjs on SikhSangat has scanned in the first volume of Baba Santa Singh's Sarbloh Granth Steek here: http://cid-82c0567cdccc028e.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Public/Sarbloh%20Granth%20Sahib%20Ji%20Sampooran%20Steek%20Part%201%20of%202.pdf Enjoy! K.

Veer ji, I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I don't suggest abandoning our historical granths, I merely propose putting them all side by side and determining where they agree and disagree with each other, and then comparing recorded history with the bachans of our Gurus as recorded in Gurbani. It's a fact that the earlist historical source Sri Gur Sobha does not mention this havan of Chandi and, according to the views of many, such a ritual is not in accord with Gurbani. However, I am still all for attempting to understand why later Sikhs would have believed that this event actually took place. The sentence of mine that you quote is my current personal belief based upon my understanding. It was not meant to somehow summarise your views. I hope you continue to post often here, Singh. K.

Chandi represents the mythological ideal of a just war to defend virtue, not just technological and tactical superiority on the battlefield. It's a pretty important concept for those whom war against adharam was a religious duty and not just a job, because it acts as a preventative to things which might otherwise be done on the battlefield by a fauji in a state of bloodlust or by those looking for a quick and decisive victory with no consideration for right and compassion. I don't think anyone except perhaps the regular closet Hindus on this forum are going to be suggesting some kind of engagement in devi worship. K.

You know that Chaupai Sahib is the last portion of Charitarpakhyaan in Sri Dasam Granth, right?

I may have been misinformed, but I was always under the impression that you could drink something beforehand. I know some Nihangs who drink sukhnidhaan before nitnem. I usually drink a hot glass of milk with some black pepper, tumeric, honey and cinnamon in it. If you get cold in the mornings, try brushing the skin on your body with a stiff brush or loofah until it gets a little red (this opens up the pores) then take a cold shower. I find this helps a lot in winter. Congrats on keeping your nitnem. May Guru Ji bless you with success in your bhagti. K.

To be honest, I am beginning to wonder whether some Singhs like the author of Suraj Prakash Granth believed that, like the archetypal Warrior King of Indian religious tradition, Arjun, Dasmesh Pita did Pargat of Devi because it gives the Khalsa Panth a mythological and magical beginning and explains Sikh victory over insurmountable odds. However, I do like Pal 07's explanation. Because Faujan naturally do puja of the "Goddess of War" by training for and engaging in war itself. That's why weapons are worshipped as being the real Goddess of War in Shastar Nam Mala and other Dasam Bania. Shastar Puja for Sikhs is more than just waving some incense sticks around a tulwar - without knowing how to use the weapon one is doing puja of, one is just performing idol worship. K.

What the raasclat is going on in this thread? K.