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ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥ ਪੰਜਾਂ ਦਾ ਵਿਸਾਹ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਰਨਾ http://gurmatbodh.bl.../blog-post.html Do not trust these groups because they have left the Guru and have become Beymukhs. Doing Sangat of them one will also become a Beymukh. ੧. ਮੀਣੇ: Sri Guru Ram Daas Jee called Prithi Chand a Meena and disowned him: ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਸਚਾ ਪਾਤਿਸਾਹੁ ਮੁਹੁ ਕਾਲੈ ਮੀਣਾ ॥੧॥ The True Guru is the True emperor and the faces of the dissemblers are blackened.(1) ਤਿਉ ਦਰਗਹਿ ਮੀਣਾ ਮਾਰੀਐ ਕਰਿ ਕੂੜੁ ਕੁਪਤਾ ॥੨॥ Thus, the dissembler out of his own hypocrisis is beaten hollow in the court of the Lord. ਖੋਟੀ ਸੰਗਤਿ ਮੀਣਿਆ ਦੁਖ ਦੇਂਦੀ ਮਿਤੈ ॥੫॥ Similarly, dissembler's company causes suffering for their friends These are the sinners that tried to kill Sri Guru Har Gobind Sahib Jee as a child, by poisoning him, by letting a snake loose in the same room as him. When Sri Guru Gobind Singh Jee Maharaaj came to the Malwa region of Punjab Prithi Chand's descendants did a Benti to Guru Jee: Maharaaj Jee, we have been separated from the Guru Ghar, how can we reunite with you? Guru Jee replied: If you take amrit you will be accepted back into the Guru Ghar, whoever takes amrit will be our brothers. Bhai Chaupa Singh states in his Rehatnama: ਜੋ ਗੁਰੂ ਕਾ ਸਿਖ ਹੋਵੈ, ਪੰਜਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਨਾਤਾ ਨਾ ਕਰੈ। ਵਰਤਣ ਭੀ ਨਾ ਕਰੈ- ਪਹਿਲੇ ਮੀਣੇ, ਦੂਜੇ ਰਾਮਰਾਈਏ, ਤੀਜੇ ਕੂੜੀਮਾਰ, ਚੌਥੇ ਭੱਦਣੀ (ਮੋਨੇ), ਪੰਜਵੇਂ ਮਸੰਦ। A Guru's Sikh must never associate with these 5: Meene, Raam Raaeeai, those that kill their daughters, those that cut their hair, and Masands. ੨. ਮਸੰਦ: These people collected money in the name of Guru Sahib and mis-used it for their own self-fish needs. Bhai Prahlad Singh says in his Rehatnama: ਕਾਰ ਭੇਟ ਸੁਖ ਮੰਨਤ ਕਰ, ਜੋ ਸਿਖ ਚਿਤ ਭਰਮਾਇ, ਸੋ ਸਾਕਤ ਪਾਪੀ ਸਦਾ, ਬਿਕਟ ਰੂਪ ਹੋਇ ਜਾਇ ।੧੯। ਕੁੜੀ ਮਾਰ ਮਸੰਦ ਜੋ, ਮੀਣੇ ਕਾ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ, ਲਏ ਜੁ ਇਨ ਕੇ ਹਾਥ ਕਾ, ਜਨਮ ਗਵਾਵਹਿ ਬਾਅਦ ।੨੦। Clear instructions are given here for Sikh to never associate with Masands, Meene, those that kill their daughters, even taking there food is forbidden. In the Book Rehatnamai by Piara Singh Padam these instructions are given: ਮਸੰਦਾ ਨੋ ਮੰਨਣਾ ਨਹੀ, ਗੁਰੂ ਸੰਗਤ ਕੀ ਬਹੁੜੀ ਕਰੇਗਾ। ਮਸੰਦ ਮਸੰਦੀਏ ਦੇ ਮਰਣੇ ਪਰਣੇ, ਗੁਰੂ ਕੇ ਸਿਖ ਨਾਹੀ ਬੈਠਣਾ। ਮਸੰਦ ਅਰੁ ਮਸੰਦੀਏ ਨਾਲਿ ਮਿਲਾਪੁ ਨਹੀ ਕਰਣਾ, ਹੋਰ ਵਧੀਕ ਦਿਕਤਿ ਨਾਹੀ ਕਰਣੀ, ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਨਾ। ਜੋ ਸਿਖ ਮਿਲੈ ਸੋ ਮੇਲਿ ਲੈਣਾ। ੩ .ਧੀਰ ਮੱਲੀਏ: The older son of Baba Gurditta Jee and Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib Jee's older Brother, Dhir Mal, was jealous at the fact that Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib Jee had gotten Gurta Gaddi, and had set up his own Dera, claiming to be the Guru at Sri Kartarpur Sahib. Gursikhs kicked him out of Sri Kartarpur Sahib. Then later on he set himself as a Guru at Baba Bakale, when Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib had gotten Gurta Gaddi. Then out of jealousy he attempted to assassinate Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Jee, by telling a Masand by the name of Sheenhe someone to shoot a gun at Guru Jee ਕਰਤ ਰਹਯੋ ਜਬਿ ਧੀਰ ਮੱਲ, ਤਬਿ ਗੁਰ ਧਰਿ ਕਛੁ ਰੋਸ। ਕਹਯੋ ਜੁ ਬਰਤੈ ਤਾਹਿਂ ਸੋਂ, ਲਗੈ ਤਿਸੈ ਸਿਖ ਦੋਸ ।।੨੩੭।। (Sri Gur Panth Parkash Bisram 26, First Part, Page 817) For this reason Sikhs do not trust, or do Sangat of those that believe in Dhir Mal. ੪ .ਰਾਮਰਾਈਏ- The older son of Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib Jee was jealous with the 8th and 9th Gurus. To please the worldly king Aurengzeb, he changed a Gurbani Tuk from : ਮਿਟੀ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ਕੀ ਪੇੜੈ ਪਈ ਕੁਮ੍ਆਿਰ ॥ to "ਮਿਟੀ ਬੇਈਮਾਨ ਕੀ" For this reason Guru Sahib Jee kicked him out of the Guru Ghar (Sikh Panth) and told his Gursikhs not to associate with him. The Khalsa does not associate with these people. ਰਹਿਤ ਏਹੀ ਹੈ ਜੋ ੧. ਮਸੰਦੀਏ ੨. ਧੀਰ ਮੱਲੀਏ ੩. ਰਾਮਰਾਈਏ ੪. ਸਿਰ ਮੁੰਡਤ, ਇਹਨਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਵਰਤਣਾ ਨਹੀਂ । This is the Rehat, do no associate with these people. ( Rehat Nama Bhai Daya Singh Jee, Page 70) ੫. ਗੰਗੂ ਸ਼ਾਹੀਏ (ਹਿੰਦਾਲੀਇ )- The Masand that shot at Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Jee and Gangoo Shah who sold the small Sahibjadey and Mata Gujar Kaur Jee out to Vazeer Khan. The Khalsa does not associate with their lineage and family. These Five groups are not to be associated with by the Khalsa. If any of them come to the Panj Pyare and take Amrit, and accept Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee as their Guru, then they are our Brothers. ਪੰਜਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਮੇਲ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਰਨਾ The Khalsa Does not eat or drink with these people: [/left] ੧. ਨੜੀਮਾਰ- Those that use Tobacco, smoke cigarettes, drink Alcohol and use other Intoxicants. Never eat or drink with them. ੨. ਕੁੜੀ ਮਾਰ- Those that kill their Daughters at birth. (In Modern Perspective, this would include Abortion.) ਦੋਹਰਾ ਮੀਣੇ ਔਰ ਮਸੰਦੀਏ, ਮੋਨਾ ਕੁੜੀ ਜੋ ਮਾਰ ਹੋਇ ਸਿਖ ਵਰਤਨ ਕਰਹਿ, ਅੰਤ ਕਰੇਗੁ ਖੁਆਰ Meene, Masands, those that cut their hair, and kill their daughters. If a Sikh associates with any of these he/she will be ruined. (Rehatnama Bhai Prehlaad Singh Jee) ਕੁੜੀ ਮਾਰ ਆਦਿਕ ਹੈਂ ਜੇਤੇ ਮਨ ਤੇ ਦੂਰ ਤਿਆਗੇ ਤੇਤੇ All those that kill their daughters, stay far far away from them. (Rehatnama Bhai Desa Singh Jee) ੩ .ਲੜਕੀਆਂ ਵੇਚਣ ਵਾਲੇ - Those that sell their daughters during weddings. ਸਾਈ ਪੁਤ੍ਰੀ ਜਜਮਾਨ ਕੀ ਸਾ ਤੇਰੀ ਏਤੁ ਧਾਨਿ ਖਾਧੈ ਤੇਰਾ ਜਨਮੁ ਗਇਆ॥੬ ॥ The daughter of the alms-giver is just like your own; by accepting this payment for performing the wedding ceremony, you have cursed your own life. ||6|| ਜੋ ਗੁਰੂ ਕਾ ਸਿਖ ਹੋਇ...ਕੰਨਿਆ ਦੇ ਪੈਸੇ ਨਾ ਖਾਏ The Sikh of the Guru does not use the money of his daughter (Rehatnama Bhai Chaupa Singh Jee) ੪. ਸਿਰ ਗੁੰਮ- Those that cut their hair ਸਿਰ ਗੁੰਮਨ ਕੇ ਮੁਖ ਨਹੀਂ ਲਾਗੋ ਪਾਂਚਨ ਕੋ ਸਭ ਸੰਗ ਤਿਆਗੋ Do not go near those that cut their hair Lose all association with the 5 (Those mentioned in this post) (Sri Gur Sobha, By Kavi Sainpat) ੫. ਮੋਨੇ- Those that remove all the hair from their head and face. The Khalsa does not eat or sit with these people. If anyone of these people takes amrit and becomes Rehat-Vala, then they are our brothers and sisters, then we can eat and sit with them. Khalse only sit and eat with other Khalse

Because of the missile launch your family's security has got a lot more insecure. The Chinese have thousands of these missiles and the stupid Indians just because they managed to get ONE missile in the air think they've created a deterrence against the Chinese threat!

I agree this is a dispicable comment if he actually knew the fact the religious leaders told Dr Ambedkar and his chureh-chamar clan to p155 off Singher23 you got to read this guy's work, he really rips into the Brahmin. I watched a film on him and the <banned word filter activated> he put up with gives any man courage.

Veer g, thank you very much for your kind response and guidiance. :-) I am finally feeling much more better now. Thank you very much for helping out. Waeguru g bhala karan

SikhSangat Forum memebers, it's been absolutely brilliant bouncing ideas and learning from people on this site the last few days. However, my short term flexi-job that enabled me to contribute as frequently this short while has now come to an end ... so I won't really have time to get invloved actively on here again any time soon I don't think ... so just wanted to wish everyone all the best, particularly the posters whose thoughts and dedication to Sikhi has been really inspiring to me. It's unfortunate that as decent as the Sangat on here are, bhangra stations can do more damage to our community than thousands of dedicated Sikhs on a discussion forum due to the greater reach a bhangra channel has. So please all UK-wale let's jointly target Davinder Bal (respectfully) on that front to ensure that our hope of one United Gurdwara can slowly edge towards becoming reality due to youth pressure. N30+Canayda/Amreeka wale you know who to target (+mentor) over there. Like Professor Harinder Singh of www.sikhri.com says ... everyone of us (on this forum) brings something to to the table in terms of the practical real life skill sets + actions that we can do to push Sikhi forward as a positive force that the world desperately needs and what we can manage to do as individuals in terms of seva (for all - regardless of their faith) ... you don't have to be an intellectual or a doctor or a rocket-scientist ... even if you just work honestly and give dasvandh to something that benefits our fellow human beings (rather than anything divisive) then it's all good but united, co-ordinated Sangat action is the key. Rabh Rabkha to everyone :-)

Are you sure they were being true cos they might just be trynna sway you to what they want or something there is alotta fake people out their however if it was true then it depends on what they said ? Also its really hard to click on the topic name xD

Sikh caught drinking alcohol by relatives who saw him at cousin’s party on Skype - killed his cousin in the row that followed By Suzannah Hills PUBLISHED: 18:23, 19 April 2012 | UPDATED: 19:44, 19 April 2012 Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2132190/Sikh-caught-drinking-alcohol-relatives-saw-cousin-s-party-Skype--killed-cousin-row-followed.html#ixzz1sZMudbnp A Sikh stabbed his cousin in a heated row after he was caught out drinking during a conversation over Skype, an inquest heard today. Kanwarjeet Singh Batth, 24, was with his cousin at a celebration in Slough, Berkshire, for a friend's upcoming wedding when they called their family back in India on the online video communication service. The inquest heard Batth thought his aunt photographed him drinking whiskey during the video conversation - which he claimed would embarrass him and bring shame to his mother if she saw it. Batth then argued with his cousin Opinderpal Singh Randhawa, 23, over the picture and stabbed him. Batth fled the scene and remains at large since the knifing in December 2010. His cousin Mr Randhawa later died in hospital from his wounds. Another guest at the celebration, Gurpreet Singh Saran, told the inquest: 'He (Batth) somehow heard the click of a photo back in India and he had a glass in his hand and there was a bottle in front of him on the table that he was worried about. 'Opinderpal took it lightly and jokingly said that everybody in India knew that he drank and asked what was the big deal about it The court heard that Mr Randhawa was offended when Batth got upset about the photo - claiming he had slighted his mother. The inquest was told Mr Randhawa went to punch his cousin and attempted to smash a glass bottle on Batth’s head. A group of four friends eventually pulled the men apart and thought the matter had been settled. But the inquest heard Batth headed for the kitchen and returned with a knife in his hands - allegedly stabbing his cousin Mr Randhawa. Berkshire Coroner Peter Bedford said: 'It seems after they were separated Mr Batth left and went to the kitchen. Two witnesses have described him fetching a knife and it appeared Mr Randhawa followed. 'The result of which was a single fatal stab wound delivered to Mr Randhawa’s abdomen.' Police and paramedics were called to the flat but Batth had left before they arrived. Mr Randhawa died from a stab wound at Wexham Park Hospital, Slough, after suffering a cardiac arrest in the ambulance while on route. A post mortem examination concluded that he died as a result of haemorrhage of an arterial blood vessel due to a stab wound. The party guests initially told officers that Mr Randhawa had injured himself after slipping on glass and only later when under arrest the truth came out. Batth spent two days in Luton, Bedfordshire, with a friend who he only told that he had 'messed up' before vanishing - he has not been seen since. Coroner Bedford continued: 'Mr Batth’s whereabouts remain unknown and he is still to be questioned about the tragic events. 'It is clear Mr Randhawa died as a result of a single fatal stab wound caused by a violent exchange between himself and Mr Batth.' Mr Bedford recorded a verdict that Mr Randhawa was unlawfully killed. Speaking after the hearing in Windsor, Berkshire, acting Detective Inspector Ali Driver appealed for anyone with information about Batth’s whereabouts to contact police. He said: 'We do not believe that Mr Batth is still in the country and we are sure that somebody knows where he is. 'This is still an active investigation and we are still working very hard to find Mr Batth and would be pleased to receive any information about his whereabouts.' Batth was believed to have left the UK following the incident without his passport, which the Police have. Officers think may be in hiding in Europe. The use of the word 'Sikh' in this article has no relevance to the article. It is only being used for cheap publicity and to vilify the Sikh community. Please lodge complaints with the Daily Mail and press complaint commission. http://www.pcc.org.uk/complaints/makingacomplaint.html It breaches the following clause of the codes of conduct: 12 Discrimination i) The press must avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individual's race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability. ii) Details of an individual's race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or disability must be avoided unless genuinely relevant to the story. This is happening way to often. So many articles are being published mentioning the word 'Sikh' when it has no relevance to the subject matter. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9651713.Academic_cleared_of_killing_best_friend/?ref=nt I know Sikh Channel are acting on this but what are the Sikh Council and other UK Sikh bodies doing? Furthermore, what are we all doing to register our discontent on this matter?

I'd say lets use this theory for our advantage. Hindus worship the devi devte and make offerings. But the devi devte made offerings to Sikhs. WOW!

waheguru ji santokh means satisfaction, santushti............. end of wordly wishes, desires, aspirations which entangles us into wordly karams.....and this circle keeps going on until we are satisfied internally.....this santokh or satisfaction comes by Guru ji's name.....and HIS kirpa.......if our spiritualism / surat is fed by naam, the santokh comes in automatically...... surat da duneyavi level ton uthke guru charna di preeti naal jurhna hi satushti hai...kyon ki guru charna di preeti is the destination where we don't need or wish for anything else, even mukti (end of janam maran circle).......if we have waheguru ji's charan preet in us and wish for this love only then we can live anywhere.......mukti doesn't matter or mean anything in this awastha...........is naam ras nu peen naal baki sare jhoothe, duneyavi te manmukhi ras bhul jande han......guru charna di preeti naal hi man vich santokh aunda hai...... simran karo te ardas benti karo ke guru ji apne charna di preeti bakhsh den......... raj na chahon, mukt na chahon, man preet charan kamlare...... bhul chuk maaf ji

I hope it was tongue in cheek too. If not, then it might be a good idea to also read the yesterday's response from China. They dismissed India as a hopelessly pathetic and weak country and gave it a good public slapping, saying it could crush India like an ant if wanted to. If the 'chak de...brrrruah' comment wasn't tongue in cheek, I suggest the original poster read China's response to bring himself back to reality. There's nothing to 'chak de...brrruah' about this. Its all rather worrying for all humankind. A nation that can't feed its children, school its children, house its citizens, get its trains to work without crashing and killing people, get its buses to work without crashing and killing people, gets its aircraft to work without crashing and killing people....now has its hands on the nuclear button :omg: The Army and Air Force that manages to lose the greatest number of fighter planes in the world because of human error.......The Army and Air Force of whom 98% of its dead have been killed by 'accidents' with equipment rather than by an enemy now have their finger on the button of long range missiles. :omg: This is not 'chak de...brrruah' time. This is a scene from a horror movie. The lunatics have the keys to the asylum. Its an accident waiting to happen.

Maybe someone would be kind enough to audio the letters for those unable to read punjabi?

write positive pro-sikh articles for websites to counter such negative potrayal of sikhs in mainstream online media. Take step rather than complain.

The 5 K's were given by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. If the kachera was given by hanuman then why isn't there a tail opening for the poosh lol. Also these devtas were alive thousands of years before the time of Guru Sahiban so they are all dead. Some did good but none of them were perfect or even Sikhs. If they were alive during the time of Guru Gobind Singh Ji they would have probably (as I would think) taken Amrit from Guru Gobind Singh Ji and got blessed with the Panj Kakaar as well.

. . Man From Rajoana This article appeared in two parts at the source given below. Source: Part I http://sikhchic.com/..._rajoana_part_i Part II http://sikhchic.com/...rajoana_part_ii The Man From Rajoana: Part I by AMANDEEP SINGH SANDHU The death sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana was stayed a few weeks ago, after he waited for 17 years on death row, on the eve of the scheduled hanging. It came with the intervention of Beant Singh's successor, the current Akali Dal chief minister of Punjab, with the president of India. Shortly after the stay, I embarked on a personal journey. I wanted to know what - in the intervening years since Balwant Singh act of personal sacrifice two decades ago - has changed in Balwant Singh’s village and what has stayed the same. I wanted to see what, if freed and allowed to return home, would Balwant Singh find in his village. * * * * * Sikhism teaches that every one, man or woman, should be willing to give one’s life to protect the oppressed and the downtrodden. The sacrifice vindicates one as a martyr, a hero. But what happens if the sacrifice were not to be of life but of time? If the sacrifice meant an unending wait and in the meantime the soldier has to live, and has to acknowledge the changes in society and yet keep one’s stance alive and meaningful? Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted - on the basis of his voluntary confession - as an accessory for the assassination of the chief minister of Punjab, Beant Singh, is a story that illustrates this dilemma. He could have been the actual assassin and died in the execution of his action, but has now been on the death row for the last 17 years. Recently, after worldwide outrage and protests, his hanging was stayed by the Court. At the end of the 1980s the situation in Punjab was so complex that no one ever imagined things could go back to normal. That is when the Punjab Police, under the leadership of its chief K.P.S. Gill, conducted wholesale massacres of innocent youth across the state - their only crime that they were young Sikh men, and thus potential recruits to a separatist cause! With the backdrop of continuing militancy triggered by, and directed against gross human rights violations by the state, the police and para-military personnel saw it as an oportunity to seek promotions and benefits, by "mopping up" the country-side - a term coined for picking up innocent Sikh boys and young men from their homes and killing them in fake encounters. No one can cite the numbers of the innocent killed ... estimates vary from 20 thousand to 50 thousand. But the militancy - which had by now developed into a resistance movement and a separatist cause, now had three groups of players: the police, the resistance, and the people. Innocent boys and young men, now unaccounted for in the tens of thousands, bore the brunt of it all. That is when two Punjab Police constables, Balwant Singh and his colleague, Dilawar Singh, along with others including the Babbar Khalsa member Jagtar Singh Hawara, planned to assassinate Beant Singh. The intent was to shock the state machinery into stopping the wholesale murder of innocents. A coin was tossed and Dilawar Singh was chosen to act as the human bomb. In the explosion in front of the Chandigarh Secretariat, Beant Singh was assassinated. 17 others died. Balwant Singh was the stand-by, scheduled to go into action if the first attempt failed. He was arrested in December 1995. He immediately confessed to his role. His stance was that it was an act of conscience, which would not permit him to deny his own role in it. At trial, Balwant Singh readily acknowledged his actions. He refused to contest the prosecution's charges, challenge ts evidence, engage a lawyer or accept a court-appointed lawyer. Instead, he spoke from the dock and from the prison through statements to the courts and letters to the judges. He described the deep wounds on the Sikh psyche caused by the state's despoiling of the Golden Temple by the Indian army during Operation Bluestar. He spoke of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms - actively encouraged and facilitated by the Indian state - when thousands of Sikhs were burnt alive, mutilated and left for carrion, funeral rites denied, when women were dishonoured, the youth emasculated and homes burnt. He demanded that the Chief Justice first determine who were the terrorists: those who did these acts or those who defended the victims? When convicted by the Court, Balwant Singh refused to appeal the death sentence and instructed his friends and family not to petition the government for mercy. He also turned away similar offers from social, religious and political groups. In an open letter to the media, Balwant Singh proclaimed: ‘Asking for mercy from them (Indian courts) is not even in my distant dreams.’ * * * * * The village Rajoana is about 2 km off the state highway. The village starts, like most Punjab villages, with a pond but its houses are aligned towards the left and not on the road, so one crosses the village too quickly. I passed them by and then stopped at a brick kiln where I met Amarjit and asked him if the village was indeed the one I sought. He answered in the affirmative and I asked in jest, ‘Are the gurdwaras in your village divided on lines of caste, as are most of them now-a-days in Punjab?’ ‘Brother,’ said Amarjit, ‘The more gurdwaras we build, the more we divide our community. We have four but that is because of the grace of Guru Gobind Singh and not because we discriminate on lines of caste. All are welcome.’ That was reason enough for me to have tea with him. He tells me that the literacy rate in the 4000 strong village is 100 per cent. They have a middle school and then kids go to high school three km away. The village grows two crops: wheat and rice. No canal or river touches the village, so everyone depends on ground water. Though now, equipped with submersible pumps, the water table has fallen to 250 feet. A farmer with 15 acres is considered to be a rich man and since most families are not split over land, farming remains a viable option. The sugarcane plantation stopped when the sugar mill at Jagraon shut down. People indulge in liquor and opiates but not in synthetic drugs or heroin or smack. Hence no one from these villages has ever been to a detoxification camp or been treated for addiction. Hardly anyone has migrated abroad and there is no craze for Canada or Italy. Interestingly, since the mid-90s, the state assembly constituency in which the village falls, Raikot, and the central constituency, Fategarh Sahib, has always voted in opposition to the parties that gained power in either the State Assembly or the Centre. ‘No politician, except for Simranjeet Singh Mann, has ever stepped into our village. Forget expressing solidarity with Balwant Singh, they do not even come here for campaigning. As if our village has done something they can’t even comprehend.’ I felt, maybe that is why this sort of self-governed village remains an island in the murky waters of Punjab and India today. "Jagdeep just announced his wish to be sarpanch (head of the village council) and no one opposed him. We always elect our panchayat (village council) like that ... through consensus.’ As is the custom, Amarjit Singh takes the name of his village as his surname but his birth surname is Natt. Similarly, Balwant Singh Rajoana was born Balwant Singh Natt. * * * * * The Natts of Rajoana Kalan trace back their history to a woman known as Mai Bhatti. She lived during the life and times of Guru Gobind Singh. The legend relates to the time the Guru was engaged in challenging the tyrants of the region - the ruling Mughals and the petty Hindu rajas that fed off them. While on his way from Chamkaur Sahib and Machhiwada, he came to the village where Mai Bhatti lived with her three sons. Spent and exhausted and without even a horse, he came upon the family and requested the sons to find one for him. He spent the night there and the next morning Mai Bhatti, together with her three sons, carried the Guru on a manji (a small light cot). Once awake, the Guru noticed that one end of the manji was dipping lower than the other three, but could not see the reason for this. Before long, he realized that it was because the mother, Mai Bhatti, was supporting that end of the manji on her frail shoulders. Guru Gobind Singh was moved by their devotion and blessed Mai Bhatti and her family in gratitude for their support and commitment. Later, when he asked Mai Bhatti if he could help them in any way, she merely asked for his blessings so that each of her sons would soon find a bride and settle down. Guru Gobind Singh was amused by the simplicity of her wishes and asked if he could help materially, with money, for example. But all she wanted was that each of her sons be well-settled and flourish. The Guru, in his munificence, showered them with his blessings. Before long, the story goes, each son prospered and founded a village. The three villages, peopled by Mai Bhatti's descendants, thrive to this day: Rajoana Kalan (the main village); Chotta Rajoana (small Rajoana) also known officially as Rajoana Khurd; and the village of Tugal. Initially all the families and descendants of Mai Bhatti’s sons lived together within the Qila (fort). The current sarpanch of Rajoana Kalan, Jagdeep Singh, still lives in the Qila. * * * * * One of the residents of Rajoana is a man named M. Khan. During the partition of Punjab and India in 1947, Jagdeep’s father had encouraged Khan’s father to stay back at the village, promising him and his beleagured co-religionists safety. Khan tells how even at the peak of communal violence, his family and the other Muslims in the village had felt and remained absolutely safe amongst its Sikh residents. "I have been seeing Balwant since he was a young kid. A very quiet boy. We are all very proud of him. See the flags in the village?" points out Khan. It was the day exactly a week after Balwant Singh was to be hanged. Each house and each tree in the village carries the Nishaan flag. The hot winds have not yet blown the flags to bits. Jagdeep’s mother tells me how the annual Mai Bhatti langar has now become a big fair, a mela. Her daughter is trying to find more details on the Mai Bhatti story and maybe they will produce a CD depicting the saga from Guru’s life and how their villages are linked. "Everyone in our village gets married," she says. "We are blessed." But one man stayed a bachelor. Balwant Singh never married. Part II Jagdeep’s mother stops mid-sentence. Her belief shines through her words. "He is our son. We are with him. We are proud of him. Marriage is for the ordinary ones, he is special." Gurmeet Kaur, Balwant Singh’s mother says: "We all tried convincing him. Even his father tried. He was very obedient, quiet, kept to himself, but in this one matter, that of his marriage, he never listened to us." Though this is the first day Balwant Singh is allowed to meet family since the stay on his hanging, Gurmeet Kaur could not go to meet her son in the prison. But she does not dwell upon it. It's been too long, she has lost just too much. A very old yellow tractor stares at me. One wall of her home is a blue plastic sheet. The ground is uneven. On my asking her how she feels, she replies rhetorically, "How would a mother feel? Tell me, how would I feel? I have waited too long and nothing has changed. How would I feel?" But, there is no trace of remorse or sympathy. She is with her son. "What he did was right. Mainu manzoor hai. I accept it.Though I was very surprised he did it. When did these ideas come in his mind? He hardly talked to anyone. He read a bit, poems, stories but was very shy. [He was interested in the works of Surjit Paatar and Jaswant Singh Kanwal]. He was almost silent. Yes, he played hockey up to the zonal level and in his free time he would pull the cots together and jump over them. But he never grumbled or threw a tantrum. Never even asked for food. Whatever I gave him, he just ate it. He had a lot of free time because he never helped his elder brother Kulwant on the farm. He would tell Kulwant to hire someone for the field work; he didn’t want dirt to fall on his shoes." On the possibility of an affiliation with the Resistance movement or his sympathy with the community over Operation Bluestar and the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms, she says, "Nothing. As far as I know, nothing. At least, not as long as he was with us. Once he joined the police in 1986 he came home very rarely. His own father was killed by the militants; do you think he could be sympathetic towards them?" * * * * * Balwant Singh’s father, Malkiat Singh, ex-Army man, then Sarpanch of the village, was killed in the 1980s. Gurmeet Kaur explains the situation: the militants were after my husband’s elder brother, Joginder Singh. In fact, they even met my husband and told him they had no enmity with him. But the brothers did not tell us that. They live close by and one night after dinner we heard sounds from their home. My husband ran towards Joginder’s house. My husband grabbed one of the men standing downstairs, he panicked and shot and then ran away. The other men also ran away. The shot felled my husband. But did Balwant Singh hold the militants as wrong for killing his father? No, he did not. He was later in the police, he could have pursued them. But no, he considered his own father’s death to be an accident. He always held that the death was not intentional. He was neither sympathetic towards them nor vengeful." In his letter to his adopted sister, Kamaldeep Kaur, about three years ago, Balwant Singh wrote: "I think that if sangharash (the struggle) has to be taken forward, we have to win the confidence of people of other religions and communities. All of them should feel secure in our ideology and should honour it. Our ideology should be of sarv dharam (respectful to, and accommodating of, all religions), justice and human progress and should not be confined to gurdwaras." Kamaldeep Kaur is not Balwant Singh’s blood sister but has stood by the family. In fact, she perhaps is the only one, besides the village, who has stood by the family. Has anyone else - politician, media, lawyers, officials - come to their home over the years? Gurmeet Kaur categorically says, ‘No. No one has ever come. When the date came up, suddenly some media came but they too vanished quickly. Our family has lived alone through these 17 years. When it becomes political one-upmanship, the leaders go talk about us but still do not come. No politician or jathedar has ever stepped in here. Else, tell me if we would have been in this predicament?" I look around. The house is in shambles while a new set of rooms being constructed further on the plot. "In monsoon the water comes up to our knees. Our rooms drown. We needed to raise the floor. But the work is slow. When some money comes in we build. Kuldeep lost his wife two years back to a sudden heart attack. He tills the 10 acre farm which gives us just enough to keep the light in our ovens and pay the court fees." Before Balwant Singh, Kuldeep was picked up by the police. He was tortured mercilessly for two months and then released. No charges were framed, no charges were proven. The torture has affected him. Still, he goes to meet his brother. "Initially the police did not allow anyone to meet Balwant. Any short meetings would be through bars. The police on close watch, even monitoring what was said. Then Balwant was in solitary confinement. But these days the meetings are in a hall. Everyone goes to meet him, his brother, uncles, nephews, even I." How does Balwant's mother feel when she hugs him? Her stoic face crumbles. "I wish he lives on. I agree with his stance, but a mother’s heart is warmed by the blood in her son’s veins. I would never want it to turn cold. All of you prayed, I am told people from all around the world prayed. That is how his sentence was postponed. I hope he is released. We need to get our house in order, complete construction, before he comes. I do not have many years ahead. I hope I can see him enter the gates of his home." How does he pass his time in jail? "He has mostly passed his time reading the scriptures. He enjoys good health but a bad back." In his initial days in jail the police had tortured him intensely. Does she pray a lot? "Son, I am illiterate. I can’t read the religious scriptures. All I can do is utter SatNaam, WaheGuru. I do that all the time. I walk to the Gurdwara Manji Sahib and attend Ardaas. What more can a mother do?" Gurdwara Manji Sahib seems like an oasis of peace. Winding up from my trip I feel that in some ways the gurdwara’s aura and Mai Bhatti’s langar bestow their grace upon the village. The unity and solidarity in the village and their common respect for their famous son echoes the real values on which Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa. I am reminded of a faded picture on a wall in Balwant Singh’s home, of running horses and the tag line: "Togetherness is happiness." I ask Amarjit what does he think of Balwant Singh’s role in the history of Punjab and he responds with a question: ‘Why do you think he took the step?" Then he tells a story. A lion cub was placed in a sheep pen. As he grew up, the cub got used to bleating and lost all sense of is own individuality and voice. He felt sheep wool was better than a lion’s mane. One day a lion came near the pen and growled. The cub felt some familiarity but did not do anything; it kept its nose down and munched on the grass. The lion growled again, this time something stirred in the cub. By the third growl, the cub gave up its inhibition and growled back in unison with the lion. That, says, Amarjit is Balwant Singh’s call. He has roused the sleeping Sikhs. It is now up to the Sikhs to take ahead their fight for justice. Balwant Singh has not been swayed through two decades and Gurmeet Kaur’s words ring in my ears. "He was the chosen one. Do you think it is possible for an ordinary man to dream up such an exercise and be so still in a storm? It is the Guru’s blessing and your goodwill. After all, every innocent boy who died at the hands of police was someone’s son. I pray that I bear more sons like him in my next life. Sons who give their lives so that innocent lives are saved and thus carry forward the tradition of honour and sacrifice which we Sikhs were meant to uphold.’ * * * * * Balwant Singh listened to his conscience. He stands for an ethical principle: equality in the system of justice in the country. It is really up to us to either consider him a criminal or a conscience keeper of the Sikh community, as one who chose death but did not compromise on his impeccable principles. CONCLUDED Amandeep Singh Sandhu is the author of Sepia Leaves and the upcoming novel Roll of Honour, a novel on the split loyalties of a Sikh adolescent in a military school during the years of state oppression, and the resulting resistance movement and militancy in Punjab. Both books are by Rupa Publications. . .

I personally don't believe he is the only one with the knowldedge of Shastar Vidya. There are probably others. What about Damdami Taksal?

This is the best answer given in this whole forum to any question.

Good point. Where are bhai sahibs letters? Surely they still write daily? We need bhai sahibs letters to keep us awake!

Have you read Guru Granth Sahib? http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=1

I agree, I believe that growth for Sikhs is only based on Spiritual Growth. It might sound unimaginable how someone can grow spiritually, but through continuous abhiyaas on Naam and Gurbani we develop guns (virtues). Naam and Gurbani is what made Sant Jarnail Singh what he is, same goes for Baba Deep Singh and Banda Singh Bahadur. All the qualities they possess has come from making all kinds of effort with Gurbania and Naam. Did you know that writing Gurbani/Guns is a rehit/hukam from Guru Granth Sahib Jee because it increases spirituality fast, why do you think Baba Deep Singh Jee was so POWERFUL? That's the Paras Kala of Gurbani and Naam that by touching it again and again we become gods - ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਗੁਰ ਆਪਣੇ ਦਿਉਹਾੜੀ ਸਦ ਵਾਰ ॥ A hundred times a day, I am a sacrifice to my Guru; ਜਿਨਿ ਮਾਣਸ ਤੇ ਦੇਵਤੇ ਕੀਏ ਕਰਤ ਨ ਲਾਗੀ ਵਾਰ ॥੧॥ He made gods out of men, without delay. ||1||

A sign in English at the entrance will do. "No kissing or public displays of affection are allowed from this point forward".