lakhvir

GuruFatehJi. Don't get me wrong but I think we as Sikhs, a seprate religion, have done precious little to do anything to stand up againsts the RSS. They continue to pollute the Indian minds with their propaganda and some weaker minds are following them like sheep. Just the other night, I was disheartened to see a news clip on ZeeNews about car sales companies who hire Pandits to do prayers on customers who have just purchased new cars, saving the customers the 'headache' of going to the temple. And guess who they show receiving the Aarti in the clip? A Sikh. A turbaned Sikh. Together with his wife and a patka son. Eat that. A Sikh being shown on a global network, receiving the Pooja froma Hindu Pandit, as he does the honours of cracking the coconut and getting the car blessed. Now where do we stand and what have we done to denounce not only the propaganda of the RSS, but the actions of the few who are giving the Sikh religion a tag we are so trying hard to break? If a Sikh can be seen in public, acting like a Hindu, what face do we show the world? What are we trying to tell the world? If we just sit on our laurels, the RSS is going to win. Now who will stand up and seriously do something? If the RSS is doing something wrong, so are we. What are we doing to undo what they are weaving? We need a revolution, somehow, somewhere and stop relying on Gurudwaras and SGPC to come out and defend us. How can they help us when they have been sold out to these elements? :umm: L*

'As HE inspires, so we dream. As HE instructs, so we perform. HE is my inspiration, forever my MASTER. In HIM alone do I always seek my peace and solace.'

GuruFatehJi, rsingh Ji. Some ideas. The first obtstacle to overcome is the divisions created by our politician Gurudwara pardhaans. One way to break that barrier is to get a number of youth (could be 5, could be 50) who are Amritshak and take the guidance of learned and wise GurSikh elders, including Gyanis. Once we get their approval and blessings, only Khalsa Roop Sikhs can take this bold step to break the barrier. Seeking the Guru's permission and blessings, go forth and plan a strategy. Enrol more Amritdharis. Use media to counter issues. If the anti-Panthic elements can misuse media, why can we not use the same media to our use? You must have a plan, long term and short term. Encourage Amritdhari Sikh girls to join in too. Let them take the forefront as well, they have been denied that right for far too long by our so-called 'leaders'. You must know Gurmukhi and read Gurbani. Leave no space that will tempt them to pick on you. Cover yourself with the Guru's teachings. The world cannot touch the Guru. Get as many Amritdharis as possible to join the group. The rest will simply have to listen to the real Sikhi. There will be opposition, there will be confrontations, but for how long are we going to keep pushing it for tomorrow in fear? Forget the rot that has been littered since the glory days. If we play our part, the glory days of Khalsa Raj are right before us. Why hesitate now, when the Guru is ever with his Khalsa? L*

GuruFatehJi. I couldn't agree with you more. But what we all know is that time has gone when enough has been said. As long as we continue Parchaar, what we need now is a Revolution. Fight. Relentlessly, Selflessly. Enough talk, it's time to act. If we don't, we have nothing to talk about, at least I'm not interested. Who will stand up for the Guru? He calls. L*

GuruFatehJi. Some Sikhs may have let down the Guru, but the Guru never lets down the Panth. Here is one man, humble like dust, full GurSikh and running for his Guru. If you download the Fauja Singh wallpaper from the adidas website, you will see a different man - seated down, in ready for his prayer and in ever so much Chardikala! I like the way he said, “Mein poori century maaranga. Mere ute rab di mehar hai.” When I'm his age, it would be a blessing to be like him. May Waheguru bless him beyond the century! L*

GuruFatehJi, Jassika Ji. Just checked out the lyrics but they don't quite say the same thing as in the video. I'm not a rap fan, my apologies for that, but from the little that I can decipher from the video, the guy mentions something like 'Punjabi'? Or am I mistaken? Is the track a resung version in the same style as the tupac version, or is it really the tupac version. I don't quite get it. If it is the original tupac version, why would they play such lyrics in the background of that video? Ouch, I'm so confused on this one! :umm: L*

GuruFatehJi. Anyone can justify anything - whether wrong or right. But as far as the importance of hair is concerned, and as far as the Sikh faith is concerned, what is so special about it is that my Guru-father Guru Gobind Singh Ji made a part of me, and eventually gave me the looks he himself had. What greater significance than that, in appreciation of all that our Gurus and their great Sikhs did for us? I need no other reasons to remind me what hair means to me. It is the very soul of my Guru. L*

GuruFatehJi. We should be thankful, if we know what is good and bad, that we are not like those who are on the wrong side of things. Imagine, how easy it is for any one of us to be one of them, it could have been, can be . . . who knows? But why are we on the 'right' side? Kirpa. Waheguru's Mercy upon us, for reasons only He knows we are worthy of. We should pray for those who are in the midst of unGodly acts, because it could easily have been us. Then what? If we pray to Waheguru to bless them too with the understanding that He has blessed us with, maybe someone out there would also pray for us for things we are unknowlingly or intentionally doing that are also unGodly. Remember what we learn from our daily Ardas . . . 'Sarbat Da Bhalla' . . . Good for all, God for all. Blessings and peace unto all.

GuruFatehJi. If there is no undertanding, there is no use of doing even a million prayers. The Daily Nitem that every Sikh should do is the instructions of the Guru. The prayers do nothing more than keeping us connected to the Guru and helping us become better souls. Simple. I don't know where all this 'elements' things come from when the Gurus themselves did not say it. Please do not complicate yourselves with these made-up explanations because if one does not feel what they imply, they will lose faith in it. If one must do Nitnem, do it in love for the Guru and use them to help us attain the highest ideals of a Sikh life. Blessings.

GuruFatehJi. Anyone know what the rap song in the background says? Anyone have the full version of it? Great clip.

GuruFatehJi. Great post. I will be publishing it in a local magazine to which I am an editor to. I'm sure there are basic things people are supposed to do and they take offence on it when they are corrected on it. I don't feel sorry for such people and say and do what I have to. Once at the Gurudwara, I was listening keenly to Dya Singh's Diwan and these so-called Gurudwara leaders were yapping away. I was seated right behind them and they were spoiling my whole concentration. I could not keep quiet any longer (they had gone on and on for like an hour!) and I politely tapped on one gentleman's shoulder and told him that he was distrupting my concentration. This guy, an aging man with a white (trimmed) beard, gave me a nasty look and said, 'Go sit somewhere else!' I couldn't believe my ears. I got up and sat myself infront of them and even then, they were yapping like some bored puppies. They ruined my whole evening. So, I would publish the wonderful post of this thread and let people complain as they like. Truth must be told. Thank you for the great post. Blessings.

GuruFatehJi. I used to tie my beard from the day it began growing (I had cut hair for two years, owing to health reasons . . . but one day, Guruji did such Kirpa on me and encouraged me to maintain my bana once again because we could not remain separated from each other any longer). Over the next two years, I began having some serious trouble as it used to take me ages to tie my dhaari and then it used to be all over the place because of the wind and heat (hehe!) and the hair spray just couldn't hold it any longer. I was so fed up. I did not want to trim even a single string of hair, so I decided to do a bold thing, quite uncommon in Kenya for a Sikh youth to do . . . . to leave my dhaari open. Majority here trim their beards and I get so sad looking at them. Anyway, I became much more relaxed and peaceful, leaving my dhaari open. Everyday, when I tie my turban and I look in the mirror, I see my Guru stand right infront of me. By granting me His roop, I have His darshan everyday. My elders sounded alarmed (including my parents) when I suddenly decided to go everywhere, work, socialising, Gurudwaras . . . and leaving my dhaari open. But I didn't even care 2 cents about the looks I was given by the rest of the world too. I feel like a Sikh. I'm proud of my heritage. I am my Guru's Sikh. Through His Kirpa, He has made me his own. GuruFatehJi. :e:

GuruFatehJi. Please do not be so thankless. Such events still happen around and about you in America. I wouldn't mind driving down to see one. Just look at us in Kenya. We have no one here who even does that. No Nagar Kirtans, No Gatka. No Camps. Nothing. I'm on the losing end when I see all the Sikhi happening in UK, USA and Canada. Imagine how sad it makes me feel when I see all that happening out there and here we are thirsting for it amongst people who call themselves Sikhs but are rather empty shells. Blessings.

GuruFatehJi. Let no one of us be caught in a situation where we have the ability to defend our religion, beliefs, principles and people and we do not stand up and fight in the fear of losing something. Of what use is silence and you see your brethren butchered to death, your holiest shrine attacked mercilessly and the Guru Granth Sahib insulted? Of what use is remorse when the Guru needed you and you felt so sorry for yourself? The very people who are today talking all sorts of nonsence about Sant Jarnail Singh Bhrindranwale, are the same people who would challenge the Guru if he was living in our times. Of what use is wisdom, knowledge and power which is not used in defence of Truth but rather abused to serve dirty, power-hungry politicians? The reason why we should learn from other people's mistakes is because we do not have a long enough life to make all the mistakes ourselves. 'A wise person learns from the mistakes of others. A fool from his own.' When we are blessed with the opportunity to lead our people, let us remember the mistakes others made in the past so that our future does not repeat them. We may be a minority in our country, but the fact is we will always be, because that is the way the Panth was made. Five Sikhs made the Panth and they led the way even for the Guru. They cared not for numbers but for Truth that was their guiding Light. Never, even for an instant, did they founder from the inevitability of pain and loss. They kept their heads high and marched forth to pave a clean path for generations to come. Remember in Ardas, we ask Waheguru: 'Mann Neevan, Matt Uchi'. Remember that, each one of us, because time will come when we will have to stand up and be counted, and put ourself forward in defence of the all the sacrifices made by our Gurus and his Khalsa.

GuruFatehJi. It is pointless to argue with fools, especially on the internet. Such people are cowards who have no guts to come out in the open and say all what they write behind an unknown identity on the internet. Simply do not pay attention to such people and let them burn themselves the way they wish. If they reach the levels where they are beginning to misinform a wider audience by word and action, then let's tackle them. Otherwise, let us remember that these kind of people existed even during the Guru's times and they will continue to be part of this cosmic drama. We have to keep our eyes open and our ears alert. The moment they step into our territory, let us not be caught sleeping. Lakhvir Singh

GuruFatehJi. 'Justice delayed is justice denied.' If Aurengzeb could make a false oath on the Quran, and the Guru did not believe him one ounce, how can we believe this one man, anand, who has done no less injustice to the Sikhs? His apology comes 20 years too late. Opportunist, shameless, dirty politicians! And the sad fact is that many of us have falling to the sweet words of a blood-thirsty wolf who has had his fill and then burps on us. Forgive and forget, only if those who have wronged are sincere about their misdeeds. According to the news story, all I can make out of it is that he has shed not a single tear for what he claims he is sorry for. The Sikhs will rise again, let us not trust any such person sho has so shamelessly taken us for fools. Lakhvir Singh

all this confusion is beginning to sound like eid . . . hun kaun samjaayega saadey veera pheena nu ke ek din di salaah karlo . . .

GuruFatehJi. Just like a mother who does her Simran while cooking, cleaning and even gardening (my mum does that), NAAM lives in her. When time come to do her paath, she will do it with the way it is done - head covered, clean hands, shoes off and sitting in the silence of the hours. I listen to kirtan while working. I actually have two computers at work (one belongs to the company while the other is my laptop from which I download kirtan and listen almost all day). I feel so electricfied listening to kirtan at work, and even when I go home, I'm just hooked. I do not have hang-ups when Naam is ready to shower my soul at any time. I feel if we keep alive the thirst for Naam by listening to Gurbani in the car, at work or even humming your favoutite shabads no matter where you are, all this prepares you for the time when you will really need to sit down and be one with Waheguru. Take it like watering the little plant that will grow into a tree to provide shade to all those who seek it. As i type this, I thought I'd share this with everyone. Just yesterday, I downloaded a beautiful Shabad from SikhiFM.com and I'm so hooked that for the past 6 hours, it is the only shabad that's been playing on my computer. I'm so mesmerised by its tune and shabads that I cannot seem to get enough of it. Give it a try on the Shabad and let me know how you like it. Can anyone resist such shabads at any time of the day? Oh, I could imagine myself singing it even in my sleep! http://www.sikhifm.net/AUDIO/2004/kirtani/...aagaisamajh.mp3 So, enjoy Kirt an, and as much as you can, let's respect Gurbani whenever and wherever we listen to it because we are actually listening to the Guru, so that means we keep our heads covered and keep clean. That is how e must maintain our lifestyle, dedicated to the Guru. Blessings.

GuruFatehJi. The Sikh Rehat Maryada states that a Sikh must only marry a Sikh. For one who knows the definition of a Sikh, it is self explanatory that kesh makes a Sikh. The Rehat Maryada had all the good reasons for emphasising on the point of marriage. It is one of the factors that determine the continuity of Sikhism. It is a mark of great pride for us to have in our families those that state their firm stand on Sikhi because Sikhi is all about discipline and the Guru-Maryada must be upheld because the blood of our shaheeds is the very foundation of Sikhism. Tomorrow we will have our own families. If we do not keep our Sikhi, are we ready to hear our own kids telling us that Sikhs used to look like Guru Nanak and now to find just one, we need a flashlight. Be proud of your Gurus, Nanak and Gobind, for their lives are testimony to our survival as Sikhs today. Guru sabb da bhalla karay.

GuruFatehJi. Saaday Guruji nay saaday lei enha kuch kurbaan karditaa, assi kyon darday haa Guruji da maan rakhan lei? If you feel that doing the chaur is seva, and that it pleases the Guru, imagine how much the Guru would be pleased with this Sikh who worked on his Hukam and lived the Ardas, ' . . . Sikhanu Sikhi daan, kesh daan . . .' We truly honour the Guru when we follow his simplest of instructions and humblest of his dreams. Kesh rakhan de naal apa kuch kurbaan nai kitta, par Gurupitaji da kehna manya. Sikh ta akhir oh hai jo kesh dhaari rakhda hai, Guru da roop sambhaal ke rakhda hai. Je sannu Guruji de naal praay hai, assi oho kamm kaddi nai karanagey jedey naal Guruji saaday naal naraaz hojaan. Remember what Guruji told us about 'bipran kee reet'. Do keep up with the seva, use it help to you grow into the true Sikh of the Guru. Blessings.

GuruFatehJi. What if the question had been made to the Guru? If a Sikh approached his Guru and told him that he had found interest in another religion, what would the Guru say? From the little I know of the life of my Gurus, I believe the Guru would not try and convince him to stick to Sikhi. If Sikhi could sacrifice its Sikhs for the protection of religious freedom, the Guru would not stop anyone who had made up his mind to go another way. I would imagine a calm smile on the Guru and blessings given to him. If the Guru's exemplary life will not bind one to the faith that he founded and taught, then nothing else probably will. Just like the 40 Sikhs left the Guru at his greatest hour of need, the Guru let them go because they were adamant to leave. But look what happened after that. Humliated by their womenfolk for having left their Guru to fight alone, they realised that they had sorely been so selfish. They went back to him and the Guru was waiting to receive them back with open arms. For the wishes of a dying Sikh, the Guru forgave all. So my advice to whoever wishes to make their decision on what religion to follow would be that you must be sincere to yourself. If you approach people for their advice, come in humility and listen out, reason out. If you already come with a fixed mind, we will be wasting our time and yours too. If it is help you need to make a decision, I'll join in and try and help. But to declare your end intention is of no interest to me because it will help neither of us. So go ahead and do not feel guilty about anything. As a Sikh, all I can say is that every religion has their reasons for defending themselves, but I am not go ing to glorify mine over the others because all that matters to me is my relationship with my Guru and myself. We must all make the journey to the One Destination, alone. So make your choices well and if your choice brings you peace of mind, joy of the spirit and love for all, you'll have made a good one. Blessings.

GuruFatehJi. I believe it helps a better deal to try and do what others failed in. Who knows they had no Hukam to perform a certain seva? Like i said, use their life's lessons as lessons for ourselves too. If someone did not do parchar, when they could have, the Guru says, 'Gursikha, then I want you to do it.' If we could try looking at it like that, perhaps there would be less of measuring what people did not achieve in their lifetime. One day, we will all be called to account, let us prepare for that, and leave those that have gone in the good hands of Waheguru . . . Blessings. Lakhvir Singh

GuruFatehJi. It is disheartening to note how we speak all sorts of things once a person is gone. Be it praise or otherwise, what we cannot say to someone when they are alive, of what use is it when they are dead? They will never come before us to defend themselves if we speak bad about them, even if it is all true. Does 'Sarbat da Bhalla' mean anything to anyone anymore? Let us not judge people, and instead learn from, and teach by example, to refine the self. Did not Bhai Khanaaiya tend to even the enemy? Have we not learnt nothing from him? Please let us not discuss anyone if it does not make you or me better Sikhs, and if brings no glory to the Panth. In humility, Lakhvir Singh

dear kandola ji, thank you for your advice. i never once thought about it like that . . . and believe, as you say, that i should built on the blessings and then wait for Waheguru to instruct when to share it in the benefit of the Panth. Thank you, in humility and sincere appreciation. Lakhvir Singh

A dear friend of mine, who is leaving for Canada for good tomorrow, left me seeking divine consolation and understanding. Here are the lines that came from deep within, which i etched onto a CD compilation I made for her (with Gurbani Kirtan). Sharing with all, just in case you may feel inspired to use them . . . 'Seas away, and seasons apart, Days will come and years will pass. Even then, you will be remembered; Treasured in memories, A friend so dear is truly so hard to let go. With the comfort of Gurbani, And trust in Waheguru, Go well, be well and remember, Days will come and years pass, But in my heart, forever will you be.'