jaikaara

Sangat Jee please aapni sharda bachao, just don't get involved with these useless and time wasting topics, we have nothing to gain here but everything to lose here. Every amritdhari sikh is instructed during amrit sanchaar keep you faith on amrit, never doubt on it and everything that is told during the ceremony is told by Guru Gobind Singh Jee by himself. The topic is directly a slur on it. I doubt OP is amritdhari yet?. Don't create doubt, bring good topics which can be appreciated by the forum or else don't .
Are we sikhs of Guru Gobind Singh Jee Maharaj or some uninformed authors. Ask? 

so do you believe Jaap Sahib is inferior to Jap Ji? 

The universality of one and all as per the Sri Akal-Ustat.

Inscribed by Akali-Nihung Guru Gobind Singh Ji as a profound analyzation of the divine theatre, the Sri Akal-Ustat is a Bani housed in the Sri Dasam Granth which provides a spiritual perception of unity and oneness. Despite his martial and regal status, Akali-Nihung Guru Gobind Singh was foremost a divine soul and subsequently viewed creation as an extrapolation of one divine master. The latter is evident from an incident, during his battles with Aurangzeb, where captains of his forces detained and presented a Sikh named Kanihyaa before him. When he queried as to Kanihyaa's crime, he was briefed that the latter was tending to Khalsa military personnel as well as Mughals thus prolonging the war through his pseudo-humanitarian efforts. Turning to the accused the Guru requested a defence from him, and Kanihyaa in all humility replied that in both Khalsa and Muslims alike he perceived the divine radiance of the Guru; thus he was assisting none other than his master. Historians record that the Guru is said to have cried with laughter at this tenure and embraced Kanihyaa, citing that the latter truly had grasped the fundamentals of reality and transcended the superficial norms of creation itself!

Eastern mystics have evidenced that the lay cause of misery is the mind. The mind cannot be categorised as being a physical organ, but an accepted element which exists. The mind is essentially what processes varied perceptions to birth individuality and experience, it is a subtle psychological battery which consumes an individual's environment to birth unique traits. Plausibly the greatest exegesis of the mind's dichotomous nature emerges from the Bhagvad Gita, a Vedic tome which records the Athenian spirituality of Krishna, a demi-deity who fell during the bloody battle of Kurukshetra. Remonstrating with an apathetic Arjuna, who refuses to combat his own kin, Krishna spells out for him the pre-requisite of obtaining a spiritually illuminated Guru who can assist in imprisoning the mind. 'The mind if controlled is the greatest ally, but if left unchained evolves into the ultimate foe.' (1) In Sri Akal-Ustat Akali-Nihung Guru Gobind Singh Ji transcends this philosophy and instead depicts a mind which has been fully re-moulded, and a spiritually illumined being has garnered a fresh perspective on his leaden surroundings. Such was Kanihyaa's perspective.

A master of prose, Akali-Nihung Guru Gobind Singh Ji's signature style of medium yet effective statements pre-dominate the Sri Akal-Ustat. It follows the parallel principles of Sri Jaap Sahib which can be summarised via the following stanza: 'Despite being a singular being, thou appear as being many parenting innumerable forms. After indulging in this play of creation, thou will be single and the same again.' (2) The Supreme Lord Akal is above any divisions and senses. He is male, female yet neither. For him time is not an obstacle as he is not bound by it's demarcations. Time itself is a signature child of the human mind, the created entity. It can be devised as encapsulating three perpetual stages of existence. The past, the present and the future. The Khalsa ethos lays extreme emphasis upon the present which is the principle birthing point of the future. Whilst attempting any contemplation or meditative activity the mind wavers between the past and the future, it adopts events and re-structures them to psychologically effect the contemplative personality. Subsequently an individual is left feeling that his spiritual efforts warrant no merit. Yet as the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji declares, one must become a gardener to subdue the time-travelling mind. As a gardener the human being should plant the seed of contemplation and of residing in the present in his/her respective mind. 'Kabeer plant the seeds of such a plant, which shall bear fruit throughout the twelve months.' (3) Such a plant of contemplation earnestly brings results throughout the year, and perpetually ensconces an individual in the divine presence.


Kabeer further provides a supporting statement in evidence of his figurative citation, 'let sincere faith be your genuflection in prayer, and let the conquering of your mind be your supreme objective.' (4) Essaying the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Bhai Gurdass judiciously concludes that, 'the lord always moves in the present and never ignores contemporary situations and incidents.' (5) To provide an essence of all these spiritual gems, and pay tribute to both the lord and his suppliants, Akali-Nihung Guru Gobind Singh Ji manifested the Akal-Ustat. Commencing with an ode to the singularity and dominance of the lord, Akal he commences to describe the latter's residence in his own creation. Arising above the conflicts of both Hindus and Muslims, he repeatedly states 'at times thou cry out loud for the Islamic prayers, and at times though observes great secrecy in reciting the Hindu mantras.' (6) The lord here is not confined to any one religious notion, nor does the Guru favour one faith above the other. His intent is to demonstrate how the lord via his own divine will manifests at times as a Hindu and at times as a Muslim. The latter notion even today is taboo for both faiths who spearhead campaigns for their own respective growths and vilify the other. But the lord is not only confined to residence in mankind alone, he also permeates nature as well. 'At times adopting the guise of a flower thou is righteously puffed up, whereas at times becoming a black bee thou is inebriated with the flower.' (7) Even in the predator and prey, flower and insect, mountain and river the lord manifests himself. Thus there is no element which is devoid of his presence. Essaying the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Akali-Nihung Guru Gobind Singh Ji adopts various quotes from the latter canon in his spiritual treatise. When the mind is restricted, when it is controlled, perception reaches such a state that duality becomes extinct for it. The Guru Granth Sahib Ji propounds 'no one is intelligent, and no one is foolish. Your will determines all and everything.' (8) Adopting the educational parameters present in the latter quote, Akali-Nihung Guru Gobind Singh Ji inscribes 'Oh lord! Somewhere you become conscious, somewhere you become careless and thou sleepest unconsciously.' (9) Acknowledging the societal gap prevalent between different castes and classes, the Guru unites each faction in a single whole via declaring 'Somewhere you become a beggar and beg for alms. Yet somewhere you become a Supreme Donor and bestow the beggar with wealth.' (10) Simultaneously the Guru Granth Sahib Ji says,'some are givers and some are beggars. This is all your wondrous theatre.' (11) It was this divine perspective which Bhai Kanhiyaa possessed and which penultimately granted him liberation, thus the Sikh should foster such divinity in his mind for liberation. Sources: (1) The Bhagvad Gita. (2) Jaap Sahib, pg. 14, Sri Dasam Granth. (3) Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, pg. 1376. (4) ibid, pg. 84. (5) Bhai Gurdas Vaars, Vaar 18, Pauri 21. (6) Sri Akal-Ustat, Sri Dasam Granth. (7) ibid, pg. 96. (8) Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, pg. 98. (9) Sri Akal Ustat, Sri Dasam Granth, pg. 36. (10) ibid, pg. 36. (11) Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, pg. 11. http://tisarpanth.blogspot.co.nz/2014/03/the-righteous-perception.html?view=timeslide

Guru's were much more progressive also when it comes to providing sexual stories and moral behind it. When people go to the doctor with their sexual organ problems, doctors talk about it, scan it, trying to find the root cause of physical sexual problem. Same thing applies if people/society have mental issues regarding sexuality diseased with lust so on and so forth Our beloved guru talks about it candidly and provides moral story behind 405 tales of men and women.
Off course you are going to have problem if you see it from juedo christian influenced singh sabha view.... see it from relative context -three gunas context with absolute underpinning-turiya...everything is fine.
 
 

i am going to start taking photos of my physique instead of checking weight...and just comparing the photo's every 2 weeks..
 
i think that might give me a better indication of my progress...especially looking at whether i am retaining my muscle mass whilst i lose fat...retaining muscle mass is important when losing weight...
to persevere is the key i think...
i've starting doing my visualization whilst i lie in bed before i fall asleep...
and usual amrit vela simran when i wake up in the early hours.

If only 50 pages of the Dasam Granth are to be considered the writings of Guru Gobind Singh then why werent these 50 pages included into the Guru Granth Sahib when the Guru dictated the Granth Sahib from memory in 1704? Obvisoly the Guru would not be able to add the 1300 page Dasam Granth into the existing 1400+ page Guru Granth Sahib, but a few extra 50 pages of bani would'n be a problem .Why were these kept seperate?

And is there a difference between Japji Sahib and Jap Sahib? Are'nt both to  be respected the same way?

 

we are khysatri so yyessuraj bansi. 
 
Akjs do not concern me as they are fools.

Indeed. I think Hatred is a disease as well. It is NOT dislike or preference. It's a projection of one's inner turmoil as negative energy. Disease is a good word, as hatred is rooted in the body and is contagious but it can be healed.

Satguru jee, using three Gurbanis from Sri Dasam Granth Sahib jee for amrit ceremony, is a clear indication that there is no difference between SSGGSJ and Sri Dasam Granth Sahib jee.
Choice is simple:
Sri Dasam Granth Sahib jee = SSGGSJ or Rejection of amrit ceremony?
Choose one
Bhul chuk maaf

Depends on the religion.
Brahma ji's religion has died out and those concept have been absorbed by other religions.

Check this out - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarta_Tradition

PS - Why is this not in the comparative section?

Mr. Singh got it right it is a fake samadh...constructed for money minting ..innocent villagers get trapped into false testimonies.
If this is something Sikhs were doing then the biggest challenge currently is the mazar of mastan pir in Nakodar if i get the name right ..they are inviting all the famous singers and have trapped gurdas mann who is now like there their brand administrator ..
Have the Sikhs caused any harm to Nakodar ? No. Then why should we blame such incidents ..the singhs in that video/pics are possibly from the satkaar committee .They have destroyed false mandars and samadhs and even confiscated Guru Granth sahib from such pakhandis who have asked for apologies confessing their actual motive.

a good place to work towards is dasvandh of your time...so 2.5 hours of the day...
i have been working towards that amount of time...obviously some days it is difficult because tiredness and sleep take over. but that's not a bad thing...need to listen to your body and rest...so that the next time you do simran mind is refreshed and more focused.
 
if you're doing almost 3 hours already then i think you should not really worry about the length of time you spend doing it...but rather the quality of the simran...
i have only reached greater lengths of time in Simran when i am pulled deeper within...then time doesn't seem to come up...only when i open my eyes do i realize how much time has gone...
 
some days 'IK MAN' is achieved within a few minutes...other days even after 2 hours of simran my mind is all over the place...
one thing that doesn't change is the longing deep within...as long as that is there...guru ji will come calling..
 

My understanding is that a fake cemetery samadh was newly constructed on communal village land in order to fraudulently extract donations from innocent villagers. After the land was shown not to belong to the Muslim Pakhandi who devised the fake cemetery samadh scam, I believe innocent villagers rightfully exposed the fake cemetery samadh for being what it was in accordance with the law.

See  through context/story is required in this type of videos. We can no longer walk in with sense of entitlement make these type of videos smashing property without any context or story explanation in the video. We do realize when other people or media see this, they will eat us alive (our image) with their own narratives right? cannot really blame them..there is hardly context to go by... Our people need to be reminded don't assume everything is fine and out here in media, international stage and ask them whats at stake here and to see bigger picture? Whilst, western sikhs like all of us work our asses off build a positive image of sikhs for most part away polar opposite of what american people see turban and beard associate us islamic fanatic /right wing jihadi/isis goons...these people in the video smashing properties take a imagery of peaceful sikhs turn it into violent group without context and pretty much reinforces negative stereotypes out in west many people have after seeing sikhs fighting among themselves in international media.
I understand out in india things are pretty wild as cops don't do anything, its all force and mob tyranny outlaw rule but these type of videos which are shot in india in my opinion should stay in india, problem isn't with act so much as i said things in india are pretty wild but the problem is all this shit happening in india recorded in video is flying over here via social media inadvertently advertently has a potential to radicalize youths here..Whilst we may not see direct evidence of this right now but further down in road ..we might see effects of such videos on sikh youth mind. It's always good to be proactive and preventive rather than reactive and then too after storms passes.

You are grossly misinformed. I am assuming you been victim of propaganda from gursant singh. What a petty points to make a issue.
1. Whilst they do have white tantric session / camp every year, white tantric hocus pocus stuff is not a integral part of their 3HO. In order to proof white tantric yoga is integral part of 3ho, they have to do it in daily lives which they don't, let me refresh your memory- they get up amrit vela at 3 am, do japji sahib and do kundalini yoga, and many also in kirtan jatha, so they do kirtan bhagti which is very much part parcel of sikh dharam.
2. Kundalini yoga/even hatha yoga incorporated with sikh mantra is done by udasis and nirmale- sikh order in the panth prior to 3ho, there is evidence kundalini yoga is done traditionally so its not a new thing. In fact, many nirmale and udasi intially use hatha yoga/kundalini techniques to do sukhmani sahib other gurbanis for example- do one asthpadi in one breath to enhance concentration as traditionally breath follows consciousness, consciousness follow breath wherever the breath is that's where our concentration/chit would be. One can actually try this practically even now just hold your breath for 20 secs you will see your consciousness locked in cannot wonder anyway. There is nothing hindu about it, many buddhist monks used kundalini techniques as pointers to transcend. It's science of human body subtle energies, energy points, consciouness, mind, soul
3. What yogi bhajan is and wasn't its open to interpertation by all. I trying avoid talking about personalities. He was given sri singh sahib title by sri akaal takh jathedar and same intuition which is bestowed title of bhai sahib to bhai sahib randhir singh.
4. You making it sound greeting satnaam is anti sikh or something, let me make it clear Vahiguru ji ka khalsa Vahiguru ji kifateh is not replaced by satnaam, these are two separate greetings they consider it two separate greeting, 3h0 never replaced it. In fact i hear them using both. Satnaam is part of mool mantra, and great shabad on its own- Sat-true pure existence, naam - name.
5. Whilst i agree yoga is been commercialized traditionally yoga term is pure union, real meaning of yoga is yoga chit birthi nirodha as per sant gyani gurbachan singh bhindranwale uphold traditional meaning which means any technique which helps bring consciouness one pointed.
Anyway, here is the real true essence meaning of yoga in three words:
Yoga Chit Vrithi Nirodha - Yoga Sutra -Patanjali- patanjali is consider gurmukh as per bhai gurdas ji.
yogaḥ = (nom. sg. m. from yoga) yoga
citta = (iic.) all that is mutable in human beings; thoughts
vṛtti = (iic.) thought-wave; mental modification; mental whirlpool; a ripple in the chitta. A vritti alters perception like a misconception, or as waves on the surface of a pond obscure or distort our view of the bottom. 
nirodhaḥ = (nom. sg. m. from nirodha) to find tranquility; to control/Ceasation of chita vrithi(thoughts/mental thought waves) leaving one in yoga- absolute union 
6. There is no evidence of 3ho sikhs opening up their kesh infront of sri guru granth sahib ji, if there is then please show it. I be first one to condemn it. Thats indeed bad. I am not questioning this incidence but i like to point i wouldn't believe what gursant singh has to say as in the past there are instances he twisted many things even to this day.
7. You obviously haven't been around old traditional sikh school of thoughts, they all do. In fact many sikh saints do- fruits is as natural satogun food nature has to offer, sant jagjit singh harkhowale, rara sahib, nanaksar they all give fruits when karah parsad is not available.
So this is most nonsensical petty argument. What a lame arugment.
8. Yes i have seen them around hindu idols outside some are in interfaith and other around retreats either way its wrong.
9. Simran to yogi bhajan, what a non sense allegations, none of them are simran to him rather than creating space within for meditation. Paying respect to him as saint just like other sikhs pay respects to sikh saints. Yes there is evidence of robotic kundalini sessions to get certifications and thats wrong. .
10. Yogi bhajan teacher was udasi sikh saint from sikh order- sant hazara singh. Whilst he did changed terminology of terms, readjusted yoga to suite western needs but essence of yoga is not changed. 
 
 

Real world problems are very different . I asked my uncle who is Gurdwara president in small town  i north east state of india that why poor people are shunned from langar. He said that many of them steal utensils and sometimes do also pick pocketing . He also said that they are not shunned but always given langar may be slightly later. He even said that in 1984 many who used to eat langar attacked gurdwara's .
 
BTW please ask your friends what Hindu mandirs are doing for poors. Sikh Gurdwara's may have lot of bad points but they are doing 100 times more social work than mandirs.
 
One of he main problem with sikhs is that due to propaganda and theory  the image of sikhs is larger than life and 99.99% of sikhs  do not match that image.

Diet is VERY IMPORTANT brother.
Try a low carb diet for a while, most people I have know have lost weight this way. 
 
Obviously couple this with exercise. What type do you prefer?
To the OP, I've always found Jaap Sahib helps me when I feel weak. 

How much you want to bet that with likes of him, Sant Samaj etc if they try to rewrite it, I can see it now, women will be declared as impure and barred from any seva of SGGSJ.  (because you know, women can menstruate at any time - that's what he auggested).  And guaranteed they will push for women to be removed from Panj Pyaras.  Singhnis may as well go back to being Hindu women, because they will be treated like them.  Relegated to the kitchen serving the men only and kept from any seva that involves any sort of authority in Sikhi. It would be a sad state of affairs...

This reminds me of a play vagina Monologues :)
We talk of brahmgyan in the brain and ultimately reach from where we started the journey ...! cant stop laughing ....:)

Bhaa ji both difficult ..sometimes i feel its better we keep them separate in boongas which can be constructed nearby..the way the Panth fights over it ..its not worth..the biggest complex i feel is people feel these are animist beliefs .

I came across several families whose grandfathers and forefathers were Sikhs ..currently they follow Hinduism . Got a colleague with a Sikh lineage is a hardcore smoker and a strong congress loyalty ..had tried to talk to him and the answer was what sewa do sikhs brag about ..the langar halls are full of fat punjabis instead of poor and needy.
I couldnt argue further.

N30 Paji even though the UK and Canada are held us as the two diaspora strongholds for Sikhs (which is demographically true) the reality is that Sikhs account for 0.7% of the UK population whereas Canadian Sikhs at 1.4% have double the population strength on a percentage basis within Canada. Obviously in BC Sikhs compise 5% of the population which enabled a Sikh premier. Sadly the UK has zero number of Sikh MP's (out of 650) whilst the Muslims have 13 MP's. The Pakistani's whose population is about double the number of Sikhs in the UK have 10 MP's and the Bangladeshi's have three female MP's despite the Bangladeshi population only recently having overtaken Sikhs.
What this shows is that UK Sikhs need to ditch jathebandi politics, abandon biraderi affiliation, end matrimonial apartheid, merge Gurdwara's so that we united saanjha Sangat in every locality. UK Sikhs need to focus on expanding Sikhi via grass roots action for Sarbat da Bhala rather than expenditure upon brand new places of worship with biaderi-based golak control and where minor theological differences over issues like meat or what is authentic Dasam Bani take precedence over Panthic Unity.
 

Islam too has very strict Rehat. Beard Namaz, Roza  hijab etc . But musl;ims are very practical they don't call anybody who is not adhering these as non muslim. . They even accepted pork eating alchohol drinking Jinnah as their leader. For them one can be a good muslim or not so good muslim. Sikhs on the other keep saying he is not a sikh that is not a sikh result many people whose ancestors were sikhs or closely associated with sikhism are now fully Hindu

ਗੁਰਮਤਿ ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮ ਗਹੁ ਮੀਤਾ ॥ ਪ੍ਰਣਵੈ ਨਾਮਾ ਇਉ ਕਹੈ ਗੀਤਾ ॥੫॥੨॥੬॥
The humble Namdev ji says, "My friend, through the Guru's teachings and techniques, meditate on the name of Ram. This is what the Bhagwad Geeta teaches as well"

Amazing translations of Bhagwad Gita with commentaries by four saintly scholars right available in one place on one page! Priceless!
http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-01-07.html

 

I wonder how they are going to fit nihang puratan maryada of jhatka and sukha in new maryada in akaal takth.?