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Theocratic states have historically been based on religions that have an inherent intolerance within them.

there is a shabad that i've heard of... i'll look for it and get back to you.

I would focus on the sound. Visualisations and stuff are not bad, but they are crutches to help with concentration, to be discarded at later stages. tbh, i feel that one need not even begin with visualisations as we can focus on the sound current. when reciting gurbani a technique i have heard of is to listen to the sound, and think of the arth at the same time. some, such as bhagat ji and sant gurbachan singh ji, would also visualise the Gurbani inside of them at the same time. the akhar for each sound made is visualised internally, this leads to great concentration.

i don't know. i happened to run across it at some obscure library in b.c. a long time ago.

listen to Sant Ka Marg Dharam Ki Pauri (both of them) http://www.gurmatveechar.com/audio/katha/01_Puratan_Katha/Sant_Kartar_Singh_%28Bhindran_wale%29 Listen to Sant Isher Singh ji's kathas, especially atmik bachan http://www.gurmatveechar.com/audio/katha/01_Puratan_Katha/Sant_Ishar_Singh_%28Rara_Sahib_wale%29/Aatamik_Bachan Parmarathak Badan Simran Dia Jugtiaa - http://www.gurmatveechar.com/audio/katha/01_Puratan_Katha/Sant_Ishar_Singh_%28Rara_Sahib_wale%29/051-100 I'm sure others can mention kathas which are just as deep or deeper that discuss the deeper aspects of this marg. Kam once mentioned Sant Waryam Singh ji ratwara sahib as speaking more openly about the deep spiritual stuff than other kathakars. I haven't listened to much of his katha. There is also Sant Gurbachan Singh ji's Guru Granth Sahib ji katha. I believe Neo translated Giani Thakur Singh ji's atam gian katha, it's on this board. less deep than sant isher singh ji's i think. Discourses on the Beyond series of books (available in english) is an excellent source of info. Atam Marg magazine is also fantastic. I don't know if any of these mention light shining from the face stage. it's a low stage, i know singhs who have that. one on this board had that. when sikhs get this stage, they do ardass to guru ji to hide the light inside so people won't try to touch their feet etc. i don't think it's regarded as necessarily any sort of important discrete stage. stages of spiritual growth book by hardial singh is amazing, and discusses stages step by step.

You're being contrary for the sake of being contrary. And by doing that you don't find truth, you only get mired deeper in negativity. How many sants have asked you for money? probably none. Why does it matter to you that so many don't practice what they preach? Bani teaches us that this is simply how people are. Sikhi is about our relationship with the Guru, not the relationship of others. having light shining from the face can happen at a pretty low stage. it's unrelated to clergy b/c various positions in sgpc have nothing to do with avastha (spiritual level). feel free to recognise humanity as the same. but an intellectual recognition is nowhere near the same as seeing God in everyone the way Bhai Ghanaya ji did, that was a spiritual recognition. He SAW God in everyone, didn't just believe that God was in everyone. It was a matter of knowing and experiencing, vs. believing. i'm not going to bother writing a detailed post on the various avasthas that come after this low level stage b/c you're just being contrary for the sake of being contrary. if you want information, the best attitude is to search with an empty cup so satguru can fill it with knowledge. you have a full cup (of your own baggage), so where is the knowledge going to go???

I'm not sure what the point of your post is in relation to the 2 posts you have written above?

I'm pretty sure people of that avastha don't spend time debating on internet message boards And since you're willing to re-examine standard interpretations of a bani, as a seeker should be, perhaps you could start by taking a look at Guru tells us to do. Learn about the Guru's teachings from the sants. Otherwise you will never reach all of those stages you mention in the above post, although you may reach a few of the lower ones.

Many asian countries have an inferiority complex and some degree of adulation for the race which has the most power. In Japan, one of the most popular surgeries is a cosmetic surgery used to widen the eyes of japanese so they look more ''American''. A friend of mine who travelled in Japan to teach English told me that white people are treated very well there, but non Japanese asians are most definitely not. Same story for a friend of mine who travelled through China. His white friend was fawned over, while he (an Indian) was treated as being far less important.

Buddh dharm is different. Buddha searched intensively for truth, rejecting all accepted truths as a starting point. In Sikh dharm, Guru Nanak sahib is sargun avtar of Waheguru himself. From the moment of his unveiling on the worldly plane (and even before), he was awake and aware. He kept a veil of maya on the minds of others, none recognised him until it was time. He played the game of seeking to teach us...but the main central truth and way in this dharm is: "Jo to praym khaylan ka chaao, sir dhar talee galee mayree aao." (Those who wish to play the game of love (follow Sikhism), come to me with your head in your palm.) "It maarag pair dhareejai, sir deejai kaan na keejai." (If you wish your feet to travel this path, don't delay in accepting to give your head.) There is no point in Bani of disbelieving anything in Bani.

there's a balance point that i feel is ideal, when a person does not indulge in ridiculous liberal wishy washyness and remains firm in advocating proper sikhi but also is tolerant and not overbearing. such firm views delivered with prem and without a judgmental attitude won't ostracise others, and will eventually help in bringing many into the fold. naturally, those people with a chip on their shoulder would stiff have problems with this approach like the socalled ''modern sikhs'' who think amrit is unnecessary.

I heard in katha that Bhai Mardana ji asked to be cremated and not buried in the Muslim style.

If you let us know where you live, sangat may be able to inform you of sadhus in your area. Although whether or not you get to meet them depends on karams and divine grace. If it is not in your karam you can do ardass for it, and sharda pooran granth has sadhanas so that you can gain this.

wasn't he supposed to release leaks on India??

This doesn't mean that it's appropriate for Sikhs to follow Muslim dharm, it means that it's appropriate for Muslims to follow Guru Nanak's teachings.

umm... we have been going around in circles about this for a few days now. If you mean rape, then yes it happens in all societies including punjab. If you mean rape gangs preferentially targetting people outside of their community, no - i don't see that happening among punjabis or most other communities. We see a very high amount of this shit coming from pakistanis though. lets try to be real about this. just b/c we acknowledge this fact doesn't mean that all of a sudden we deny that rape occurs from other quarters as well.

you're comparing apples are oranges. A very high prevalence of organised gang out to rape is VERY different from individuals doing the raping. Both are reprehensible, but both are also separate topics. As far as I understood, the topic here was about organised rape. The kind that has caused so much concern in the UK for non-pakistani muslim communities. The same kind of thing which prompted websites to be put in place warning of rapes targetting sikh girls. So it seems we have 2 closely related phenomenon, a culture which turns a blind eye to rape allowing for many random rape attacks; which is facilitated by targetted rape attacks against outsiders to that community.

Nobody is doubting that this stuff happens in all communities. And that some non-pakistani communities are also involved in a disproportionately higher number of sex crimes than other communities. But, Has anyone here considered that the reason a disproportionately higher number of sexual assaults are committed by pakistani men has something to do with promptings from radical Muslim organisations to engage in this kind of behaviour? Once people become used to doing this kind of thing for a "cause", it's not hard to see how they could get used to doing it as part of their lifestyle, or how an atmosphere of looking away could develop. I remember threads on this not too long ago.

With Maharaj ji's infinite Kirpa, Bhagat Jaswant Singh ji has finished the seva of writing the vishraam pothi for all of Guru Granth Sahib ji. The pothi also includes santhya instructions. Download pothi(FYI: this is not the final file so thats why it has been copyrighted) The website also contains mp3 files for learning santhya of the entire Guru Granth Sahib ji!! Please spread the word about this seva!

Okay, so what is a warrior in terms of Gurmat? Like, what constitutes a sipahi according to the Guru's definition?

thanks for the detailed answer. What time do you recommend as the latest for a pre-pooranmashi nap??

I've heard that Baba Nand Singh ji gave bachan that those who remain awake the amritvela of pooranmashi will gain the merit equivalent to 1 year worth of amritvela. This is for the pooranmashi of Guru Nanak Sahib's prakash diharra. For other pooranmashi's the laaha is equal to the merit of one month of amritvela. I would like details and elaboration from anyone who can provide any info.

Sant Gurbachan Singh ji taught that the greater the warrior, the greater the stillness of their mind and control over their vikaars.

Namdharis were not the only ones to keep this vidya alive... Close relations could be because namdharis were once a samprada. Over time (and with British help) they acquired a schismatic character. Just like a wave rises up out of a river only to ultimately convalesce back into it, the Namdharis and other schismatic groups will one day return to Sikhi.