Xylitol

I second what the above poster mentioned about personal rahit being very different from panthic rahit. We can keep as much or little (to a point) of personal rahit as we like. Panthic rahit we don't have the right to alter.

The issues you have mentioned N3O are not exceptions to rahit. Having hair shaved during delivery is wrong and totally not required, this is the manmat of nigura doctors who have no respect who promote this.
As for removing kirpan during air travel - Guru ji never gave us a minimum kirpan length so it's ok to do ardass, wear a small kirpan around the neck for a brief period. Sant Jagjit Singh ji told me that Guru ji knew the panth would go through hard times and that this kind of thing is ok. Also, I believe the Akaal Takht also gave the ok for this.
Kirpan accidentally touching arse ?? - weird example, but no, beadbi like this is not allowed. If it happens it's not a big deal, just do ardass for maafi.
Mistakes happen, Guru ji is our father, we can just do ardass for maafi and it's ok. He'll forgive us. This doesn't mean that we can just leave maryada behind when it suits us.

These examples don't seem to stand up to scrutiny.

And one further point, Gyani Thakur Singh ji in katha said that Amrit Sanchar form punj with a Singhni in it is invalid.

"Guru Gobind Singh is even clearer:

Those who call us the Supreme Lord (Paramesar) shall all fall in the realm of hell. Know me as his servant and do not think of any difference between me and Him. BN VI: 32 "

Giani Takhur Singh ji, in his katha, said that this was a test of faith. Many times in Gurbani the Gurus are called God very directly by successors. It is crystal clear. It would make no sense that the Tenth Guru would then go and say this unless it was a test of faith.

sant ka marg dharm ki pauri katha discusses this (by Sant Kartar Singh). You can get this from www.gurmatveechar.com.

stages, as far as I'm aware, can be sliced up in different ways for explanation purposes. For example, sunnai (listening), mannai (obeying), mastering, and then bhramgyan is one way of looking at the stages.

You already have started off, just Amrit, rahit (incl nitnem kakaars naam simran amritvela) good sangat etc.

On the right path? IF you're increasing in bani/rahit etc, like over time you notice you're getting more kirpa on you, I think those are solid signs of being on teh right path. A decrease signals a withdrawal of grace, means that you may have made a mistake but may still be on the right path overall.

Darshan of Guru in dreams means you're out of chaurassi lakh joons (lower janams - but doesn't mean you won't come back as human). I don't know what partakh (like in person, real life in front of you) darshan means, just that it's kirpa.

When you're stuck you can always do ardass and open up a tika of Gurbani to a random ang with your question in mind. Just start reading from there. Or go to the gurdwara and sit by the stage with the question in your mind and listen to katha. There are also lots of kathas by powerful sants available, I think Das posted a list of Baba Isher Singh ji's kathas with the topics of all those kathas listed.

He is referred to as Baba as a term of respect, b/c he is most likely a sant.

Age has nothing to do with kaam to some extent. Very old men sometimes fall prey to kaam, and young men sometimes conquer it. To assert that he feels kaam is really specious. there is no way that anybody can know that.

As for him being a sant, I do think that he is. I know the singh whose home he stays at when comign to Canada, that singh is a jeevan wale singh, not a normal person. He would not have any pakhandi stay at his home.

So far, all of the above ''issues'' that people seem to raise about him haven't the slightest grounding in any fact. I find this very surprising given the generally open minded nature of this forum.

I don't know him personally, but what I do know of him is reliable, so if you have questions feel free to ask.

Sorry if it sounds like I have a harsh tone in this message, that is completely unintentional and meaningless I assure you.

The sweetness of Amrit russ comes before opening of the dasam dwar. It's normal and happens when a person meditates for a long time. It can go away if a person leaves meditation. It's definitely not metaphorical.

btw, the ruhani satsang website is a radhasoami site. before i came into sikhi i read a fair bit from that site. a lot of the teachings are correct and a lot of them are wrong. i would advise that you stay away from that site. if you want more information than i recommend the katha and books of sant waryam singh ratwara sahib, and atam marag magazine, and katha of sant baldev singh ji balandpuri. any mahapurkhs katha is helpful really, but these tend to focus more on naam than most.

seems awfully convenient. if a person starts hearing voices, or begins feeling paranoid from cannibus use, it's definitely not b/c they are getting in touch with higher realities. i'm aware that cannibus can open up a persons creative side and get them in touch with their subconscious mind, but that's hardly worthwhile given the side effects over a prolonged period of time.

a healthy mind is required to reach higher mystical states, and over a period of time all these shortcuts slowly destroy the health of a persons mind. of course, that doesn't mean that they lack the ability to open up the subconscious etc., but there are other safer means.

the use of drugs to reach higher realities is a fallacy. the american mystic Emerson warned against them, claiming they are always a dead end. Even on this thread, the extremely limited rational spiritual use of cannibus, to help deal with pain of prolonged meditation or settle the mind at early stages, does not allow for cannibus to be used to take us to higher levels. instead it's simply another thing that helps stabilise the mind, like diet, and the helps the body deal with pain, like advil.

i'm not saying you are seeing it this way, but too many people see drugs as some sort of magical key.

My understanding is that it women could have been part of the punj, but no woman stood up during the first Amrit Sanchar, only men, and it was set from there. 
Whether the above is true or not, the bottom line is that It's Hukam. As sikhs we are required to accept Hukam. We know it is Hukam b/c the panth has historically accepted women as administrators of provinces and as military leaders, but never as part of the punj piare. The various traditional orders of the sikh dharm that carried forward Maharaj's teachings universally agree on this point. 
Bani gives us further guidance, teaching us to learn about the Gurus teachings from the sants. The sants also unanimously agree on this point. This includes female sants as well. 
 ‘He, in whose heart Nirankar has taken residence, the entire world is delivered through his teaching’ (269:9)”
 
 

No, there are in fact women sants in Sikh dharam as well. 
 

Great post. 
 
When I go to the Gurdwara I focus on the relationship between Maharaj and me. I don't worry about the mistakes or wrongs that other people are doing, that is between Maharaj and them. Obviously we are talking within reason here, not saying to ignore very serious things. 

all who profit earn the karma, including the butcher, the owner, and the eater, and the farmer. taken from a sant's katha, don't recall who.
 
 cut it down, you have to protect your family's health and safety. i'll give an example, if i see a spider  in the house i'll gently pick it up and put it outside. i don't want to unnecessarily kill living things. but if I saw a cockroach I would kill it b/c they carry disease. it would be  a greater wrong to let it live and expose my family to disease. btw, there are no roachs in my very clean house, just an example :)
 

i think the heavy amount of nervous system activity uses up a lot of the fatty acids in the body. Those same fatty acids help keep the skin moisturized. 

current format of theory of evolution involves random chance leading us to the end result. It makes no sense and has no scientific evidence backing it up. Other versions of evolution involve the idea of a divine Will guiding evolution, this makes sense as Gurmat teaches that ALL is within His Hukam.
 
For a very thorough critique of the nastik version of the theory of evolution by a scientific mind, I refer you here: http://fredoneverything.org/darwin-unhinged-the-bugs-in-evolution/

Bani Guru, Guru hai Bani ...

current format of theory of evolution involves random chance leading us to the end result. It makes no sense and has no scientific evidence backing it up. Other versions of evolution involve the idea of a divine Will guiding evolution, this makes sense as Gurmat teaches that ALL is within His Hukam.
 
For a very thorough critique of the nastik version of the theory of evolution by a scientific mind, I refer you here: http://fredoneverything.org/darwin-unhinged-the-bugs-in-evolution/

current format of theory of evolution involves random chance leading us to the end result. It makes no sense and has no scientific evidence backing it up. Other versions of evolution involve the idea of a divine Will guiding evolution, this makes sense as Gurmat teaches that ALL is within His Hukam.
 
For a very thorough critique of the nastik version of the theory of evolution by a scientific mind, I refer you here: http://fredoneverything.org/darwin-unhinged-the-bugs-in-evolution/

we did not evolve from apes. 
 
also, not too long ago, scientists found a humanoid skeleton that was so old they concluded that humans cannot have evolved from apes, but instead evolved from other humanoid ancestors. you won't hear much about this b/c many scientists promoting evolution are nastiks and use it to attack christianity. they hold numerous aspects of it that re meant to be theoretical as if they are fact. not a very scientific approach. 

Bani relaxes us so much it's very easy to fall asleep. 
 
Are you sure the pains are not from postural issues?
 
As for clearing blockages just continuing with gurmantr jaap, mool mantr, and bani will clear them over time. 

It's hard to share the experience as they are very mustana, but can come out of their masti to speak normally if they wish. Their partaap was immense, I've had darshan of a lot of sants but their partaap pales in comparison to Baba ji's. He is mentioned in the DMROG series of books, apparently sant Naranjan Singh ji (one of the sants pictured in the sant samaj photo) stated that this current sant would lead the panth one day. Sevadars told me he is called President Saab b/c of his immense tap. My time with him was very short, but b/c of the feeling I had from his darshan, and the additional boost from the amazing DMROG books, it was not difficult to believe such things about him. 

Baba Mohinder Partap Singh ji may fit the bill. He is a mastana mahapursh residing at Guru Nanak Ashram in Patiala. I think few people know about him outside of his area. 

for both men and women kesh is the kakaar, not keski. However, right from the beginning there was hukam to keep the head covered for both genders. This is passed down orally from that time to now, and is seen in all different lineages of teachers that came from that time. It is also written in various rahitnamas written by contemporaries of Guruji

WJKKWJKF
You have been blessed and Guru ji is waking you up to the Truth. Be grateful and keep up on this path. Remember, our motivation goes up and down in life, taking the shelter of the sadh sangat is very important. 
As for your worldly peers, they will not take the things they gain in this world to the next world. You will take your seva and simran with you to the next world, unless you finish the game in this world! It still is important to work and support ourselves though. Otherwise if someone else has to support us they take seva from us. I know it's probably the least attractive thing, but that's also part of this game. If I was in your shoes I would  try to do my kirt kamai (job) while trying to increase my simran as time goes on. Giving dasvand also helps on this path. 

WJKKWJKF
You have been blessed and Guru ji is waking you up to the Truth. Be grateful and keep up on this path. Remember, our motivation goes up and down in life, taking the shelter of the sadh sangat is very important. 
As for your worldly peers, they will not take the things they gain in this world to the next world. You will take your seva and simran with you to the next world, unless you finish the game in this world! It still is important to work and support ourselves though. Otherwise if someone else has to support us they take seva from us. I know it's probably the least attractive thing, but that's also part of this game. If I was in your shoes I would  try to do my kirt kamai (job) while trying to increase my simran as time goes on. Giving dasvand also helps on this path. 

everyone is at a different spiritual state. most people are not yet spiritually ready to accept bhana so the ability to improve their daily life situation through Bani helps them to come to a space where they can focus more time on Naam, which enables them to reach that state of being where they can accept Bhana. It also increases faith in Sikhi as they see the results of the jaap in their daily life. 
This is similar to how people go to sants and ask for worldly thing. many times the sants help them remove those worldly distractions by helping them take care of the problem. this makes it easier to live near the core of Sikhi. 

everyone is at a different spiritual state. most people are not yet spiritually ready to accept bhana so the ability to improve their daily life situation through Bani helps them to come to a space where they can focus more time on Naam, which enables them to reach that state of being where they can accept Bhana. It also increases faith in Sikhi as they see the results of the jaap in their daily life. 
This is similar to how people go to sants and ask for worldly thing. many times the sants help them remove those worldly distractions by helping them take care of the problem. this makes it easier to live near the core of Sikhi. 

everyone is at a different spiritual state. most people are not yet spiritually ready to accept bhana so the ability to improve their daily life situation through Bani helps them to come to a space where they can focus more time on Naam, which enables them to reach that state of being where they can accept Bhana. It also increases faith in Sikhi as they see the results of the jaap in their daily life. 
This is similar to how people go to sants and ask for worldly thing. many times the sants help them remove those worldly distractions by helping them take care of the problem. this makes it easier to live near the core of Sikhi.