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Raghbir Singh Bir writes that when he started on his path to bhagti he was suggested by someone to focus on a picture of Guru Sahib. He writes this resulted in his mind being focused. He had gained some avastha because of this but then he noticed his avastha became kardikala(stand still). It would not go higher no matter how much simran he did. He wondered why. So he consulted some mahapursh about this. He found out that the reason his avastha was kardikala was because he focused his mann on photos and this was the highest point he could reach through the technique of focusing on photo of Guru Sahib while doing simran. He was suggested to do Simran as taught by Guru Sahib which is to focus the Surti on the Dhuni of Naam. By listening one can reach higher stages as the suniye pauris in japji sahib testify. Raghbir Singh Bir writes that now he encountered a new difficulty which was that it became difficult to retrain his Surti on Gurmantar since he had for years focussed on something tangible like an image or photo of Guru jee. With great difficulty he managed to train his Surti on Gurmantar. Seeing his own hurdles on the spiritual path Raghbir Singh Bir has sugested to focus on the Gurmantar from day one instead of making the mistake of focusing on photos .

It is a dangerous path once on it. Go to Rara Sahib and they have made a shrine to Sant Isher Singh where you will find a collection of their shoes, perfumes and other personal property. I last went in '99 and the Baba at the time had no qualms about people touching his feet. He looked at my brother and I with what seemed to be disdain as we said our Fateh and moved on. No harm in having pictures of Gursikhs and Shaheeds outside of the Darbar, but inside no such paintings should exist, otherwise as PK states it enters the realm of human worship in the minds of those who are that way inclined. Those massive portraits just behind Guru Sahib serve no purpose, they can just as well sit in the Langar Hall with excerpts of the pious lives they led.

Indeed they have maximum satkar and I am always impressed with the way they have a much larger and grand Takhat for Guru Ji in comparison to other Gurdwaras in the West.

You do realise NOBODY knows what the Guru Ji looks like? These drawings are not a real depiction of them just what is perceived by the artist, if you use this to think of Guru Ji then Gurbani which is the deh and sarir of the Guru Ji is not working for you.... Now, it begins with a photo, then an effigy, then an idol, then a dehthari....it is always this way I see a pattern in your posts and the fascination with photos.

The point he makes is that those mahapurakhs of the past were the true mark of manhood that is called 'jatt' not these bandars who have zero love for Gurbani , sikhi or their homeland... I would aspire to be a jatt of Guru Nanak's description in Bani who plants the seed of naam in the fields of my mind ...Main point was the man is thinking about heritage of sikhi going forward and the state of sikhi in its heartland ...what he said about permission process and censorship by the state on dharmic films is true . I mean they try to tell us that we cannot speak the truth about mughals for fear of muslims now ....we cannot speak the truth of the 1980s and 1990s because it will offend the hindus of punjab ...If they are truly Punjabi they would have love and respect for Sant ji and Guru Sahiban... The only thing I can see is making films outside and bombarding the internet and Indian market from the outside

When I go to any of the Nanaksar Gurdwara, I been to, to be honest I don't even realise the pictures are there. Our focus should be on Guruji's words, listening to what they are saying and bowing down to them only. Even I don't know why the pictures are there. I have never bowed down to the other pictures or worshipped them in any way. I wouldn't say Nanaksar samparda are doing idol worship, as far as my understanding is, they have good Satkaar for Maharaj ji, and this sounds odd, but I've never seen any committee fights or any kind of violence or inappropriate behaviour in the Gurdwaras, whereas I've heard of it in others.

What purpose does a picture of a human serve in the diwan hall? The mind should focus on Shabad Guru and no be distracted by paintings of humans. Ultimately the intention of the committees having these portraits hanging play a big part as well as the minds of those who attend. Our dhiaan should be as described in the pangti: ਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਮਨ ਮਹਿ ਧਿਆਨੁ ॥ ਗੁਰ ਕੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਮੰਤ੍ਰੁ ਮਨੁ ਮਾਨ ॥ ਗੁਰ ਕੇ ਚਰਨ ਰਿਦੈ ਲੈ ਧਾਰਉ ॥ ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਰਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਸਦਾ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥1॥

I think Guru Ji would've judged the situation on a case-by-case basis. Some individuals have hidden depths that need to be uncovered by someone who can recognise those latent abilities in an individual. There well might've been a few of the non-warriors who had fighting spirit, but the assumption that all of them were given a weapon and told to go fight cannot be accurate. Guru Ji was a lot more pragmatic, far-sighted, and shrewd than his modern day followers give him credit for. These lot won't be at peace until they've completed pendu-fied our Guru Sahibs into crude "chakdo Singho" caricatures. Drives me up the wall.

I've heard that someone else was prevented from arming themselves and fighting by Guru ji too, I think it might have been Bhai Nand Lal Goya? If this episode is true, then I don't think it is suggesting that all educated writing types were prevented from fighting. Dasmesh pita ji is no clown, if someone was not suitable for that type of rough stuff then I would imagine he would tactfully and firmly dissuade them from it. Like here. Maybe this particular guy was so plainly psychologically and/or physically unsuitable for the coming raula that Guru ji did the obviously right thing?

What has that got to do with anything being discussed? We're talking about pushing non-fighters into a fighting unit of Singhs whose sole aim was defeat the enemy and win battles. If some limp-wristed kavi (no offence to him) lined up alongside me in a battle situation, and it was presumed he had my back in a situation where I required support in a fight, I'd be pretty annoyed at the fact that I was guaranteed to die if my survival depended on the shivering wreck next to me. Dying the glorious death of a martyr is all well and good, but if the aim of war is to win battles and inflict damage on the enemy, then you have to be alive to push the enemy towards defeat. If everyone is getting martyred left, right, and centre, then that's great for their souls, but not so great for the act of winning a war. And before anyone posts the "Chiriyaa toh Baaj" bachan, which I believe in wholeheartedly, there's also the practical requirement of winning battles and defeating the enemy, which is a feat made possible only through the efforts of battle-hardened fighters and expert strategic planning; that's something we forget when we get all philosophical and metaphysical about the history of our Guru Sahibs. Without preparation, training, education, and skill, you CANNOT win a physical encounter. With the hand of God over your head, impossible feats are absolutely possible, but if that were the only requirement to excel in a particular field (in this case, war) there would've been no need to mold Sikhs into a martial race. A succession of sehaj paaths for a few hundred years would've done the job.

Would Guru Ji have expected the poets and the writers in his darbar (creative types who - shall we say - had delicate sensibilities not conducive to the temperament required of a warrior) to fight in the battles being waged at the time? Would they've forced a kirpan or a spear into the hand of a fey, flowery type who preferred wielding a pen than a sword?

When we were kids, the babey had no qualms about disciplining or even slapping children who were misbehaving. Now its a free for all and many children are running around causing havoc. The parents are not setting a great example and can be found on phones during the Ardaas, Guru Sahib giving Hukam and even try and talk louder than the kirtanis!! The Satkar and fear is missing.

WJKK WJKF one thing that nags me is kids running around with nothing covering their heads. Since when were children exempt to the satkar of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji....I did raise this on here few years back but most sangat on here very quickly dismissed it as not a big issue, as their ownly kids lol?

mmmh interesting indeed. Sikhi is a garden which contains flowers of all shapes and sizes, so this translation explains I suppose why we had the Akalis, Nirmalas, Udasis and so forth all playing different roles. Question then arises were they all instructed to receive Amrit and become Guru Wale in the sense we are told now or were they still Guru Wale but had distinct responsibilities?

Bandginama is well worth a read.

Beaut

WJKK WJKF No one needs to be celibate. It doesn't do anything. Live a life of ghrisi and control Kaam within your marriage. Ragi doesn't mean monk, it means someone who can sing within raag as per gurbani. Spiritualism can be gained by the male or female, young or old within the life of ghristi. The devotion is within sewa of humanity and creation itself. Also, by mediation of naam one achieves a heightened spiritual awakening. Naam being the whole of gurmantar. For the intelligent who can recite with true faith a whole sukhmani sahib Ji da path or to those with less ability who faithfully jap one word "waheguru" , spirituality canbe gained and one can gain mukhti. There is only one maryada.

This is because they place Maharaj ji on a higher platform as they do Satkar to them as a King of Kings, and we the Sangat are lower thus at a lower level to them. We are beggars in front of Maharaj ji.

honesty we are all jatt , all tarkan , all dalit, all brahmin, all khastryia because My Pita ji made us ALL IN ONE people , 4varna ko ek karauon Tabhi Gobind SIngh nam kehaoun . Guru Nanak Dev ji did khetibardi like a jatt despite being from a different strata ...we are one caste humanity we should rise above the labels ... Sarbat Khalsa mandate is same ...obviously a person who has earned money from his 'jatt' pride has acquired the disease of the brahmins but we have the technology to cure him and his ilk ...just let's get him to put his efforts in for the panth ...you never know he may surprise us all and become tyaar bar tyaar Khalsa

" their Babaji, was no ordinary man, he was a Brahmgyiani, with a lot of kamaiyee and are very rare. I am not even worth the dust under his feet. Me saying this, does not mean I worship humans, but satkaar of these blessed souls guide us on the right path, not wrong path, and that is to worship Waheguru, and bow down to them. Babaji had the highest love for Maharaj ji that normal sangat would not have. He put many families on the right path, with the grace of God. An example is of me meeting a very elderly lady at one of the Gurdwaras. She hugged me and asked how I was, even though she didn't know me. (Maybe she got confused with somebody else, as she was quite elderly). But then she started to tell me about Baba Nand Singh ji, and how when she was young, that she seen him, her family used to go to see him and do seva at the Gurdwara. There was no Ahankar in her words or personality, she was so happy telling me about it, like a little child, and I could see the joy in your soul, saying how lucky and blessed her family was, to have seen him. I'm not sure if she's still alive, but it was lovely to see pure respect of a Mahapursh, and it didn't come across as human worship at all. She also didn't let me help her to get up or hold her, as she was quite fragile, but gestured towards Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji and said " Babaji mere nal a, apay sambaluge Manu" We have a picture of Guru Nanak Dev ji in our house, which we don't treat as idol worship. Obviously they are not the real image of them, but we know that. The reason some people don't like pictures is because they cannot accept that people only use them as tools, or reminders, and there is nothing wrong with that, as long as it helps, and one does not start worshipping the frames, images etc, but to focus on Gurbani only. People are at different spiritual stages in their lives, some go off track, and then getting back is difficult. Nobody has the power of God, that everybody can connect to them without some help. Whatever works for somebody and brings only positivity, so they don't divert to pakhandis, or human worship, then it's all good.

I was recently reading somewhere that their Baba Ji stresses on the use of pictures so that the mind can have an image to concentrate on. He recommends the use of mala as well - it is for our fingers to feel something and as a result it helps our concentration when doing path or bhagti. God does not have any paticular image as such. So Guru Nanak Dev jis photo is the one which Baba ji tells people to sit and focus on to keep the mind still. When the photo is not there then it is still engraved in the mind and it helps concentration and better connection to the divine. This is parallel to something else I was reading where people are training themselves to up their concentration levels. It was about a painter who was asked to paint a certain picture of a landscape without having access to his first main draft. He managed to reproduce it excellently. We have to realise that it is our mind which is the tricky one here. It is the one which keeps leading us astray from the one basic requirement which is say Waheguru with every breath. It is the mind which makes excuses like I will do it later. its a waste of time. I need some excitement. Here come some distractions so that I dont have to do my simran. My sleep is more important without which I will have a bad day. God is without form and he will keep existing and stay the same - it is we who are going from body to body, jug from jug, janam to janam. Our mind is the horse which leads us in that direction. mun pankhi payeo. The mind is like a bird which will keep flying everywhere. The sangat which we get is of the utmost importance. Our sangat will determine what we are going to plant and we are going to reap accordingly. We are just so helplessly stuck and caught up in the darkness of our mind. The state of which is explained in gurbani as janam janam ki mel laghi is mun ko. kala peya siya. It has become covered with so many layers of darkness that it is going to be a great effort to clean it. Therefore we need the most help we can. concentration on path here is supreme. It can be better achieved by giving the mind one focus Waheguru and photo of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and mala. Baba Ji stresses the use of Guru Nanak Dev jis photo in the home as well. As we look at it day and night we are going to develop a divine image in our mind which will eventually lead us to control our mind and concentrate it on the one Waheguru who is formless. My first connections with the Gurus as a child began with the photos of the first and tenth Gurus which my mum had placed in our room. Think about it people do keep photos of footballers and actresses and keep looking at them and admiring them. Why do we start doubting and debating when it comes to the picture of the divine atma who came to rescue us all in the form of Guru Nanak Dev ji?? A photo will also make us aware of the presence of God everywhere in the room and extending outwards too. A lady in the Guradwara was telling us about the photo of Guru Ji which was in their living room. The men wanted to have a drink and felt guilty. So they insisted that the Photo of Guru Ji be removed so that they indulge without guilty feeling as they were afraid to do beadhbhi in that room. So that is the power of the photo of the divine. It makes us aware of his presence. It is more for our dark dark dirty mind which is covered with the dirt from all the jugs for we were existing in satyug, treta jug and dhuapur jug but we were not fortunate enough to obtain mukti. This is now the last yug which is kaljug. Bhai Gurdaas shiya vaara state this fact. as do the bhagats and tell us this is your chance. Take it. Who knows whether you will be a human being in your next janam? https://searchgurbani.com/bhai_gurdas_vaaran/vaar/1/pauri/15

ON INDIAN POLITICIANS While hair cutting, official Barber asked Kapil Sibal: “What’s this Swiss Bank issue?” Kapil Sibal shouted: “You! Are you cutting my hair or making inquiry?” Barber: “Sorry Sir, I just asked.” Next day, while cutting the hair, he asked Chidambaram: “Sir, what’s this Black money issue?” Chidambaram shouted: “Why did you ask me this question?” Barber: “Sorry Sir, just asked you.” Next day, CBI interrogated the Barber, “Are you an agent of Baba Ramdev?” Barber: “No, Sir.” CBI: “Are you the agent of Anna?” Barber: “No, Sir.” CBI: “Then while cutting the hair, why did you ask Congress Ministers about Swiss Bank and Black money issues?” Barber: “Sir, I do not know why, but when I ask about Swiss Bank or Black money, Congress Ministers’ hairs stand up straight and that helps me to cut the hair easily. That’s why I keep asking.”

Love it!

It's a topi if not tied

Penji Kaurp, I don't know if I will be of any help to you, but if you want to share any concerns or talk about anything, you are welcome to message me. I can listen to whatever is worrying you, sometimes it helps to write out our dukhs anonymously, which maybe less of a burden to keep stressing over it. Plus, I will not judge you on anything, I'm here if you need somebody to listen to you.

Exactly. Somehow it has now come to such a state that today people think grahisti means selfish and celibate means selfless. Now we have Singhs who want to dedicate themselves to seva thinking they should become celibate because they are under the misconception (ਗਲਤਫਹਿਮੀ) that they are making a big balidaan or sacrifice and that Guru Sahib will be more happy because of this. But who can be more dedicated than grahists like Sant Bhindranwale, Sukhdev Singh Babbar or Baba Manochahal? And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The list of Shaheeds and Mahapursh and Bhagats who have been grahists is endless.So in conclusion, celibacy has NOTHING to do with Gurmat Marg as revealed by Guru Jees either spiritually or Rehit wise. If a person wants to become celibate for some other reason they can do so but they should not be under the misconception that it will make them closer or higher in the Kripa Drishti of Vaheguru.

VAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, VAHEGURU JI KI FATEH It also very plainly points out that married life is fully accepted in Sikhi and how the conduct of a husband towards his wife should be - a loving, fulfilling relationship. While we all should have respect for celibate Sikhs, there should never be a compulsion to assign any spiritual superiority to a celibate than a householder. A celibate Sikh is making a choice in his/her life to follow that path - there is no direction in Gurbani towards celibacy being accorded any special status. I repeat this point because there are plenty of Sikhs who are stuck in Baba culture, giving them special respect for their unique lifestyles (including celibacy).

Sardar Fried Chicken! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry too funny!!! Honestly why not? SFC and KFC are clearly different. Anybody can see that. These copyright and patency laws are going to far. Who is paying patency fees for ancient knowledge like algebra and trigonometry? No man is an island.

VAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, VAHEGURU JI KI FATEH Sudh Jab Te Ham Dhari, Bacan Gur Dae Hamare, Put Ihe Pran Tone Praan Jab Lag Ghat Thare, Nij Nari Ke Sath Neh Tum Nit Bodhaio Par Nari Ki Sej Bhul Supne Hu Na Jayo Ever since I came of age, the Guru instructed me thus: Son, take an oath and keep it as long as there is life in you, Love thy legal wife ever and ever so much that Not even in a dream should you share the bed of other woman. Dasam Patshah, Tria Chritar.

Exactly why celibacy has absolutely nothing to do with Sikhi. Never has and never will. Gurus and the Bhagat Sahiban have taught us by leading by example. When they were on earth many Hindu Sanyasis would question them of how they can live Grahisti jeevan i.e. having a wife and be father to many children yet still follow parmarth, path to God.But repeatedly our Gurus told them that celibacy, mon dharna(staying silent), going off to the mountains and jungles will not bring their minds to control. Only Naam can do that which can be done while living grahisti jeevan. And to aid us in that Guru jee gave us a spiritual discipline called rehit which if followed by a Grahist he/she can become like the lotus flower which remains beautiful and uneffected by the dirty water around it. And you bring in a good point. If we all become celibate and stop having children what would become of the Guru's Panth? We would destroy it which would be a disservice to the Gurus.

http://gnnsj.tv/audio/index.php?q=f&f=%2FBhai+Baldev+Singh+Ji+Ragi+Varioushttps://m.soundcloud.com/thesyf/sets/bhai-baldev-singh-ji-ragi

Our rehat doesn't have an expiry date. Also, keeping hair is a huge part of Sikhism, it's who we are. If you could be a fully practicing Sikh and be mona, wouldn't Guru Ji have mentioned that? Cutting hair is one of the most forbidden acts in Sikhism, and it identifies us. How can you tell if someone is in the Army? Their uniform. It's the same for sikhs. You can tell a Sikh by his/her long hair and turban. Besides, the guru told us to keep our hair..who do you trust and want to please more? The Guru or society?