giani_g

I'd say the biggest problem I face is peer preasure/teasing from "Sikhs". White guys and non-Sikhs respect the fact I got facial hair but monay can be annoying and not so understanding. Otherwise I don't face any problems as a Sikh.

"But we need to make sure that we don't let translator distort the meaning of Gurbani while he/she are doing it." - truthsingh Well if any translating is to be done then it would obviously have to be done under supervision and must be approved by a Sikh commitee who have to be completely satisfied with the translation. That way any distortion would be prevented.

I disagree with a few of the points mentioned. "1) Instead of making Gurudwara buildings of marble make it more enviromental friendly like trees, grass etc." That point is quite vague but im assuming that it either means converting existing buildings (old industrial buildings, pubs etc) into Gurdwaras which doesn't waste any natural resources and makes use of limited space which I think is isn't the right approach as it has a detrimental effect on the impression the Gurdwara gives and is less enticing for non-Sikhs to enter. It could also mean for Gurdwaras to have their own gardens and trees, I think this is all good but sign posts should be available for explanatory purposes otherwise it would just be a cosmetic feature for ignorant eyes. And finally if this could also mean that the Gurdwara is energy efficient (using renewable energy resources and conserving energy), it would be great and should be practised by everyone but is irrelevant in trying to help people understand Gurbani, people would just take it for granted, imagine if a Gurdwara was suddenly labelled as being environmentally friendly would it create enough impact to convince someone into attending sangat more regularly knowing that the Gurdwara has less maintenance costs? Of course not, what matters (in my opinion) is that the Gurdwara has the facilities to accomodate the local community and that it also organises functions or sporting activities which is a form of seva. What I'm trying to say is that the Gurdwara should be there to preach Gurbani but should also try to serve the community other purposes so as not to appear cold and usurious (the Vatican is critiscied for this). "7) Siksh history must be taught in schools. Aquiring land by political pressure will not help future sikh children in future to know their identity. Sikhs must come in TV Serials/ Movies to tell what the sikh is. My ancestors have give their life for the India but in the result i have got humiliation from Indian peoples. Golden Temple must pass budget of atleast one movie once a year instead of spending lavishly on other items." I think Sikh religion should be taught rather than history, the teaching of history in my opinion has only re-inforced hatred towards Islam whilst making it appear as though Hindus are our bethren. Whilst in Punjabi school we had discussed the wrongs that Muslims had carried out but had never discussed what the brahmins had done. Also much of Sikh history emphasises on resistance to oppression and the fight against evil invaders but there is little emphasis on moral issues such as drugs and sexual conduct (though I believe this isn't intentional!). There already are programs about Sikhs and there's even a Gurbani program but unfortunately arn't on the main stream channels and are limited to obscure overpriced channels. Even then these can not compete with kind of trash that is on the mainstream channels so unless we censor the filth on television, many young Sikhs would just detract from religion as its' values would conflict with popular culture. There is one point I strongly agree on: "5) distribution of Gurbani Meaning in Hindi, Local Languages, English by e mail, classes in all gurudwara, Don't remain stick to punjabi language. Be global and broadminded to adopt all languages. All persons of various religion has got right to know about our Guru Granth Sahib." Guru Ji rejected the idea that ANY language is sacred so it is very important (to me at least) that there should be translated scriptures as there are Sikhs who do not know Punjabi who are being alienated from religion just because of a communication barrier. The word of God is just as relevant in English, French, German etc as it is n Punjabi.

Did anyone of you read the issues section of Kathuria's campaign site, so what if he agrees on tax cuts, what about his other policies on health, immigration and family values. What makes you believe that Democrats are any better? By the way I'm centre-right in the politicial spectrum, I have socialist beliefs but I put religious/traditional values as my priority.

It's about time they found him, I think it should be up to the coalition forces to punish him, U.N would have left him in power if it was up to them. "I personally think he should be taken to an international court system and not have the biased Americans involved in it, but i doubt that'll happen..... " :roll: How can you not get any more biased towards a man who is responsible for driving 4 million people out of their homes, razing 6 thousand villages to the ground and for at least 1 million deaths (600,000 if you exclude the first Gulf War and the war with Iran). I for one am glad that the U.S had the guts to sort him out. Plus ultra

This the government of Iran according to Encarta: Iran’s constitutional monarchy, founded in 1906, was ended in 1979. In the same year a new constitution, approved by referendum, established an Islamic republic in which the principles of Islam were to be the foundation for social, political, and economic relations. It gives supreme authority to the Spiritual Leader, or wali faqih, making the country a theocracy. This position was held by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini until his death in 1989. He was succeeded by Ayatollah Ali Khaman’i. The constitution was amended in 1988 to restrict the powers of the Council of Guardians (which advises the wali faqih), which oversees the operations of the government. The principle of uelyat-e-faqih, or the guardianship of the wise, is Ayatollah Khomeini’s legacy to Islamic government. Microsoft® Encarta® Premium Suite 2003. © 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. And this what Encarta says about religion in Iran: The official religion of Iran is Ithna-Ashari (Arabic, “Twelverâ€) Shiism, a major sectarian division of Islam, which is followed by more than 90 per cent of the population. Some of the most sacred Shiite places are in Iran; the city of Qom, south of Tehran, is a noted place of pilgrimage. Sunni Muslims form about 9 per cent of Iran’s population, and the country also has dwindling communities of Christians and Jews (0.5 per cent together), as well as followers of Zoroastrianism and Bahai. Except for the followers of the Bahai faith, these religious minorities have inferior, but protected, status in law. As a Muslim reformist sect, those admitting to Bahai sympathies are subject to the death penalty. Microsoft® Encarta® Premium Suite 2003. © 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Where you get the idea about Iran being mainly Bah'ai I don't know :roll: but let's stick to the question at hand: "Should we legislate morality?"

Since no-one else has asked this question, I thought this would make a good discussion. Many Christians think so, Iran (Islam) is an example of this, the Chinese (Communists) have done so (the Cultural Revolution) so what do Sikhs think?