Shasterkovich

Who knows the whys, wheres and hows of Mahadev? Right now, he may be a Nihang Singh.

There is no real evidence to suggest that it is. Plus, this is'nt the only myth regarding the Kaaba. Militant Shaivites (Gosains) believe sincerely that the Kaaba contains a very important Shiv-ling.

You mean: the Imam Mehdi? "Even if the entire duration of the world's existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before Doomsday (Day of judgment), Allah will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of my Ahlul-Bayt who will be called by my name. He will then fill out the earth with peace and justice as it will have been full of injustice and tyranny before then." (Sahih Tirmidhi, V2, P86, V9, P74-75) http://www.shia.org/mehdi.html

According to the Koran, the world will end in a very vioent, terrifying way. Everyone will be filled with dread, and will be very well aware of what's going on. The bodies of the dead will be re-formed again (literally) out of the particles they were made of in their lives, and everyone will be judged according to their deeds, which are recorded in a Book that is presently not revealed. The Koran is very detailed about the end of the world, and the Day of Judgement. I don't see a strong similarity to Eastern beliefs about the end of the world. How would you draw an analogy between the day of judgement and Shivji's Tandav dance, for instance? The ending of the world from the Koranic perspective has much more in common with the Jewish and Christian (i.e. Semitic) beliefs than with Indian religious traditions.

Good question Hari. I believe that perhaps we are applying the wrong frame of reference to this question. In Islam, what sets Mohammed (PBUH) apart is the belief that he was the last ever Messenger of God, or Prophet. He is believed to have been a Messenger in the literal sense - i.e. he was alleged to have heard Gabriel speak the actual words of the Koran to him. As such, his claim to religious authority is substantially different to that of the Brahmgianis of the Indian religious tradition. In other words, he is considered to have been a Brahmgiani, but not because he was in a state of sehaj or samadhi (even though he may have been), or because he experienced Union with the divine (even though he may have done), but rather because the Book was allegedly spoken to him in Classical Arabic by Gabriel.

I'm sure you're right. But I bet the right shaster helps a lot. In some situations you might be better off with a hidden straight razor than an ek-hath short sword. My ekh-hath shaster will swipe great chunks out of tress, with light-to-moderate club-like hits (i.e. without any sort of technique). Having said that, this particular shaster is very very hard to come by, and its power as a weapon is probably greater than or equal to a machete. I've worn the roughly-ekh-hath shaster (a bit longer than ekh-hath actually) around with me from day to day, and I was'nt happy with it. I found that if I positioned it right, the draw speed would be fine but it would not be possible to conceal it, even under clothes, without a conspicuous lump sticking out. Position it so you can conceal it better under your clothes, and you could'nt access it fast enough if you were surprised/ambused. Hence I'm back to my (very heavily adapted and modified) 9-incher, which can be out and ready in a few hundredths of a jiffy.

I've got a shaster exactly this length. From a fighting perspective, it feels as if it would be absolutely OK to use pure aggression and nil tecnhique with it, if you were to hack away with it like a machete. Any shorter, and you're into knife-fighting territory. A totally different animal.

GUNS 'N' ROSES Used To Love Her I used to love her But I had to kill her I used to love her, Mm, yeah But I had to kill her I had to put her six feet under And I can still hear her complain I used to love her, Oo, yeah But I had to kill her I used to love her, Oo, yeah But I had to kill her I knew I'd miss her So I had to keep her She's buried right in my backyard Oh yeah, Oo yeah, whoa, oh yeah I used to love her But I had to kill her I used to love her, Mm, yeah But I had to kill her She ****** so much, She drove me nuts And now I'm happier this way, yeah Whoa, oh yeah I used to love her But I had to kill her I used to love her, Mm, yeah But I had to kill her I had to put her, Oo, six feet under And I can still hear her complain

Most annoying are the English know-it-alls who think they have the right to tell you that you should have an arch over your forehead if you're a Sikh, otherwise you're a Muslim, whatever you say. Pig-headed ignorance and stupidity are rife. Therefore wear a round turban, if only to irritate the morons. Now, if you wear a rounded and messy dastaar, everyone will stare at you and walk away from you (including Sikhs)!

Kirtan Sohila is the last thing you should recite/read before going to bed. Sorry for the reaction. I was too overwhelmed by the brilliance.

"Oh Shaster, you do have such a wonderful way with words ..." Thank God for razor-sharp Shaster, winging the chun around the boxed earth and wrestling the wyrm into oblivion - the supreme gift.

I don't think Neo could help you with this question, man. If Japji Sahib and Kirtan Sohila are'nt enough for you, you could always try counting SHEEP. Besides, if you look at my Uriah Heap post, you will see that there is a strong case for the motion that doing any prayer as a sort of surrogate nightcap is wrong-minded.

Just that there's nothing wrong with a bit of egotism and selfishness and arrogance. It's a part of the natural human drive to be ambitious and to spread your genes as much as possible. The Will to Power is the motivating force behind ALL human action. Men especially are hardwired to take risks and push the boundaries. This is how human progress is achieved - by competition and Darwinian natural selection. The false interpretation of religion that has been adopted by many religionists (especially Sikhs in recent years) has meant that turning oneself into a doormat and eating humble pie has come to be seen as the "Sikh" way of life. Hence exploratory behaviour is instantly pointed out by the mediocre drones of Sikhs as evidence of haumae, and ambition as arrogance. I see this a lot because I live in the UK, where the Sikhs are mostly 3rd generation British equivalent of guest-workers. Anything to dull the monotony of their existence is welcomed, because they are basically drones (worker bees). Completely unrepresented in Parliament, the armed forces and the police. Absolutely no voice, and no way to influence decision-making. A subjugated people. Subjugation is'nt offensive in itself. The balance of power always changes hands eventually. The crime, in my opinion, is contentment with one's lot in life and lack of vision or ambition and not hating the conquering force (i.e. having a conquered mind) and being able to sleep at night because self-hypnosis has been mistaken for simran . Simran is about the awakening - the quickening. Not a soporific. Hatred as well. Hatred is regarded (wrongly) as a sort of disease, rather than what it is: the revolt of the soul against injustice, and the power behind all [b/] other weapons.

False Humility is the blood that flows through the veins of tomorrow's tyrants. Genuine Humility is the poison that flows through the veins of pointless drones.

... mad mullahs of mindless mediocrity.

Hari, it would be nice to have a referenced perspective on Tantrik in Dasam Granth and Sarbloh Granth.

Mr Singh, you have'nt been Doomed yet. Acquire Doom 2 and Ultimate Doom. Then get the DCK (Doom Construction Kit), and construct your own levels. You can also change the music in the game, and change the monsters. You can even get the Wolfenstein 3D Nazi characters in there (in Hell, where they belong)! All of this software should be downloadable from somewhere.

The game engine looks very sharp - looks like it's from Hitman or Hitman 2. Images look a bit too crisp though. I just wonder if you will need the NASA mainframe to have the processing power to run this game. I don't like the total absence of hellish/occult imagery in the screenshots. They might have turned this into a kids' game - more unrealistic monsters than anything else. The monsters are not scary - killing them would seem like a merciful act to put them out of their misery. Also, there is NO screenshot of any space trooper or realistic human (for you to attack with a chainsaw) on that website. Not freaky, terrible or evil enough. Looks like it's been designed by sheeple, not to offend sheeple's mothers.

Princess Gina, Will you let me have more details about the story of the father killing his daughter by throat-slitting for wanting to run off with a boy? I would appreciate it if you could post a link to a news article, or else give me some pointers (like roughly how long ago this happened) so that I can do some research to find the news articles relating to this story myself. Any more details you can remember about the story would be appreciated. Thanks!

Baba, It's true to say that I have my own angle on these matters, and that it's not necessarily the same as the nihangs'. Interpretation always has a part to play, so knowing the black letter rules is unlikely to be the be all and end all. As I've mentioned I cannot speak for the nihangs or what they do. NNS probably could, if you asked him.

Happy New Year to everyone! From the guy with only one resolution. Waheguruji, with your grace........ £

Good points, man.

Perhaps I should say: a clear lesson not to trust the content of MacAuliffe's book. Including dodgy "prophecies" such as these seriously undermine his credibility. Although a wise man would extend that to not trusting the English, looking at the purpose for why the book was written. Besides which, he starts off the book by saying that he wants to set right the insults and offence levelled at Sikhism by some German swine who made derogatory comments about SGGS. While a laudable aim in itself, it also goes to show that the book is not an objective or unbiased analysis. As such, it should'nt be represented as a primer on Sikhs and Sikhism. Read it with a large fistful of salt.

This is an extract from the online portion of MacAuliffe's book: "When it was represented to Guru Gobind Singh that a Muhammadan army would eventually come to overpower his Sikhs, he replied, 'What God willeth shall take place. When the army of the Muhammadans cometh, my Sikhs shall strike steel on steel. The Khalsa shall then awake, and know the play of battle. Amid the clash of arms the Khalsa shall be partners in present and future bliss tranquillity, meditation, and divine knowledge. Then shall the English come, and, joined by the Khalsa, rule as well in the East as in the West. The holy Baba Nanak will bestow all wealth on them. The English shall possess great power and by force of arms take possession of many principalities. The combined armies of the English and the Sikhs shall be very powerful, as long as they rule with united councils. The empire of the British shall vastly increase, and they shall in every way obtain prosperity. Wherever they take their armies they shall conquer and bestow thrones on their vassals. Then in every house shall be wealth, in every house religion, in every house learning, and in every house happiness." Regarding the part I have highlighted in bold, what is the source containing this alleged prophecy? And how authentic is it? It does'nt sound right to me. A clear lesson not to trust the English.

What kind of weaponry pictures are allowed? My point is, do you want pics of any weapons (such as fighter jets. SMGs, grenades, handmade bladed shasters etc) , or is the idea to do this in the spirit of a PR/advertising job and just post pictures of certain types of weapons?