birkhalsa

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! jo dIsY gurisKVw iqsu iniv iniv lwgau pwie jIau ] jo dheesai gurasikharraa this niv niv laago paae jeeo || When I see a Sikh of the Guru, I humbly bow and fall at his feet

ijsu ipAwry isau nyhu iqsu AwgY mir clIAY ] jis piaarae sio naehu this aagai mar chaleeai || Die before the one whom you love; iDRgu jIvxu sMswir qw kY pwCY jIvxw ]2] dhhrig jeevan sa(n)saar thaa kai paashhai jeevanaa ||2|| to live after he dies is to live a worthless life in this world. ||2||

Social drinking ...ehh?? Correct way to celebrate such pious occassions should be imil gwvih sMq jnw pRB kw jYkwro rwm ] Meeting together, the Saints sing the Praises of the Lord Master; they are pleasing to the Lord, and saturated with the sublime essence of His love and affection. Pannaa 544

As far as I know, consumption of any form of intoxicants is prohibited by Sikhism. ijqu pIqY miq dUir hoie brlu pvY ivic Awie ] Drinking the wine, his intelligence departs, and madness enters his mind; JUTw mdu mUil n pIceI jy kw pwir vswie ] Do not drink the false wine at all, if it is in your power Its strange you term it as a Sikh tradition and also sympathise with a bunch of dope-addicts

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! Bhai N30 ji, We dont need bhang, alcohol or any any other intoxicants. Guru Nanak sahib has showed us the perfect way to get high bwbw mnu mqvwro nwm rsu pIvY shj rMg ric rihAw ] baabaa man mathavaaro naam ras peevai sehaj ra(n)g rach rehiaa || O Baba, the mind is intoxicated with the Naam, drinking in its Nectar. It remains absorbed in the Lord's Love. Aihinis bnI pRym ilv lwgI sbdu Anwhd gihAw ]1] rhwau ] ahinis banee praem liv laagee sabadh anaahadh gehiaa ||1|| rehaao || Night and day, remaining attached to the Love of the Lord, the celestial music of the Shabad resounds. ||1||Pause|| I suggest you read the full shabad http://www.sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=1407

gur iKnu iKnu pRIiq lgwvhu myrY hIArY myry pRIqm nwmu prwnw ] gur khin khin preeth lagaavahu maerai heearai maerae preetham naam paraanaa || O Guru, each and every instant, fill my heart with love; the Name of my Beloved is my breath of life. ibnu nwvY mir jweIAY myry Twkur ijau AmlI Amil luBwnw ]2] bin naavai mar jaaeeai maerae t(h)aakur jio amalee amal lubhaanaa ||2|| Without the Name, I would die; the Name of my Lord and Master is to me like the drug to the addict. ||2||

jy gux hovin@ swjnw imil swJ krIjY ] jae gun hovanih saajanaa mil saajh kareejai || If my friends have virtues, I will share in them. swJ krIjY guxh kyrI Coif Avgx clIAY ] saajh kareejai guneh kaeree shhodd avagan chaleeai || Let us form a partnership, and share our virtues; let us abandon our faults, and walk on the Path. pihry ptMbr kir AfMbr Awpxw ipVu mlIAY ] pehirae patta(n)bar kar adda(n)bar aapanaa pirr maleeai || Let us wear our virtues like silk clothes; let us decorate ourselves, and enter the arena ijQY jwie bhIAY Blw khIAY Joil AMimRqu pIjY ] jithhai jaae beheeai bhalaa keheeai jhol a(n)mrith peejai || Let us speak of goodness, wherever we go and sit; let us skim off the Ambrosial Nectar, and drink it in.

suix Xwr hmwry sjx iek krau bynµqIAw ] sun yaar hamaaray sajan ik kara-o banantee-aa. Listen, O my intimate friend - I have just one prayer to make iqsu mohn lwl ipAwry hau iPrau KojMqIAw ] tis mohan laal pi-aaray ha-o fira-o khojantee-aa. I have been wandering around, searching for that enticing, sweet Beloved.

A convict yearns for freedom Tribune News Service http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040304/.../punjab1.htm#11 Ludhiana, March 3 On February 26 at 9 pm, a 43-year-old Sikh of medium-build, stepped out of Delhi’s Tihar Jail having earned a 14-day reprieve after 17 years of imprisonment to see his ailing mother, afflicted with cancer. He was Ranjit Singh Gill, sentenced to life imprisonment in the Lalit Maken assassination case. Son of Dr. Khem Singh Gill, former Vice-Chancellor, PAU, Ranjit spent almost 14 years in prison in the USA. Recalling his stay in the American jail, Ranjit said: “After our arrest in New Jersey in 1987, we were shifted to downtown Manhattan and were lodged in the 13-storeyed Manhattan Correction Centre. The unit, Nine South, close to the WTC, is meant to lodge prisoners for short durations. But we were kept there for over 10 years and did not get to see the sky. It was a jail within a jail. The bare, white concrete walls, and 8x10 feet cells tend to suck hope out from an individual. Mental isolation, which we were subjected to, was worse than physical torture. We were deprived of natural light and the air, too, was re-circulated. As a result we had skin eruptions. However, I shared my joys and sorrows with Sukhwinder, who was also lodged there.” “At times I was shaky. But I followed a daily routine of prayer and maintained my fitness. I also secured a 16-week Personal Trainer diploma in New York during my imprisonment.” The legal battle fought in American courts was perha ps the longest running trial for extradition which attracted worldwide attention. The US government appointed a special prosecutor, Judy Russell, to pursue the extradition proceedings. “What was really shocking was that Russell went out of the way to portray us as bad characters. She claimed before the presiding judge that she had received death threats from us in case we were extradited to India. Subsequently, during hearings we were taken to court in handcuffs and shackles. Sharpshooters were deployed on adjacent buildings and our convoy at times comprised 17 vehicles. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation later discovered that Russell was herself involved in the dirty trick and was found carrying self-addressed envelopes and letters containing threats to other judges. When she was arrested, she pleaded guilty. Her licence was revoked and she never came back to the bar.” “However, by that time we had made up our mind to go back to India. We volunteered for extradition. All along I wished to come back to Punjab as a free man. Had we wanted, we could have sued for defamation. We could also have sought asylum. But my parents were getting old and I was running out of resources. I requested the judge of the Federal Court to reverse the order and allow my extradition.” And then the day to go back home arrived. A CBI official took us into custody. We were treated well although the Indian officials expressed surprise over our decision to return. We landed at Mumbai’s Sahar International Airport. Then we got separated. While Sukhwinder was flown to Udaipur in handcuffs and was lodged in jail there until his acquittal last year, I was taken to Delhi for trial and was lodged in Tihar Jail.” Ranjit Singh Gill’s case is a classic example of an impressionable mind going astray under unfortunate circumstances. “Violence can never be the means to achieve an end,” he says. Years of detention have mellowed him. “My aim is to become a better human being and I never give up on hope,” he concludes while referring to Sandra Bullock’s struggle against odds in ‘Hope Floats’. He also appreciates the ruling of the Delhi High Court which says “A convict is not a criminal” and looks forward to leading a life of freedom and dignity.

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! A request to the sangat, please go through the thread on Bhai Anokh Singh on the message board of Tapoban http://www.tapoban.org/phorum/read.ppa?f=1...i=11568&t=11568

koaU hY myro swjnu mIqu ] hir nwmu sunwvY nIq ] ibnsY duKu ibprIiq ] sBu Arpau mnu qnu cIqu ]1] rhwau ] kooo hai maero saajan meeth || har naam sunaavai neeth || binasai dhukh bipareeth || sabh arapo man than cheeth ||1|| rehaao || Is there any friend or companion of mine, who will constantly share the Lord's Name with me? Will he rid me of my pains and evil tendencies? I would surrender my mind, body, consciousness and everything. ||1||Pause||

har jeeo thoo sukh sa(n)path raas || O Dear Lord, You are my peace, wealth and capital. raakh laihu bhaaee maerae ko prabh aagai aradhaas || rehaao || Please, save me, O my Beloved! I offer this prayer to my God. ||Pause||

The Man Next Door By Jeetinder Kaur http://www.sikhe.com "I believe in God and in life after death. When I die and come before the 6 million, I will say, I didn't forgot you…" - Simon Wiesenthal, Auschwitz Survivor and famous Nazi Hunter. Unrecognized, walking free somewhere in Calgary, Canada, in the midst of the Sikh community is a man. In his 70s with a turban on his head. Gurmail Singh, 'Bai' as he was once commonly known on the other side of the earth, is responsible for the torture of thousands of Sikhs and, at a conservative estimate, the deaths of hundreds. Verowal, District Amritsar, 1985: Bai slits the throat of an18-year old boy in front of his mother. The body is thrown into a jeep and driven away. At the time a Station House Officer of the local police station, Bai was the team leader of one of the most cruel interrogation units in the Punjab. And this was just in a day's work. As news of the incident spread, the broken, scared villagers feebly protested. Frantic, helpless, terrified at the brutal ways in which 'Bai' killed people at will. Anyone, even pregnant women, like Kamaljit Kaur, Joga Singh's wife, of village Batala, Amritsar. There was nowhere to go. Nothing could be done. 'Bai' was in charge of the Mal Mandi Interrogation Center of Amritsar nicknamed the butcher's yard. There was no normal interrogation for Sikhs. They were torture chambers, where the physical torture went on for days on end. Everyone was fair game, and 'Bai' was good a t his job. After several promotions when he retired as Deputy Superintendent of Police, 'Bai' was further rewarded with Special Police Officer status for an additional five years to carry on his good work. Many perpetrators behind the brutal tortures are now in their 40's, 50's and 60's. Some still police the streets, others are in retirement. But they are all largely unknown, unrecognized. "In the worst scenario," says a torture survivor, "The community must at least make sure that these people are never allowed to live a normal life. They should be cast out from our society, from restaurants - wherever people see them in public - humiliated and treated with disdain so that they do not forget the way they tortured our people to death." Despite rhetoric, Sikh human rights activists across the world have not linked up to work in an organised manner supportive of each other. Not only are the perpetrators of the holocaust forgotten but also so are the victims. Like the family of Bageecha Singh. Bageecha Singh was eighteen years old when he innocently joined the Auxiliary Guards, the Indian border police. Soon, however, he was sick when he saw how many Sikhs were being tortured in jails and could stomach it no more. He ran away, abandoning his home, and joined the militant movement. In the wake of his departure, for years Bageecha Singh's family was persecuted. His mother underwent ghotna at Mal Mandi - strung out by the limbs with policemen standing on her legs, crushing the muscles. To this day she suffers pain. Bageecha Singh's sister too was tortured, and threatened that her fate may be that of the dozens of girls like her who were killed and thrown in rivers. To this day she is traumatized and suffers physical pain. Bageecha's younger brother was so severely tortured that even now he can barely work the family's meager landholding. "Even if someone signed a document to kill the Jews, even if they were a medic who was told to cov er up the brutal killing of a Jew…everyone within the system of fascism is a perpetrator," said Simon Wiesenthal, who chased Nazis into the grave. In contrast, the Sikhs have not been able to even identify and document any of the direct perpetrators, let alone the chain of perpetrators - the judges, medics, civil servants, politicians, administrators, who were the face of fascism behind the genocide. To the survivors it seems like it all happened only yesterday. They live on in an unreal world that has left them to reconcile with their broken families and their shattered lives. A world that has turned its face away to a comfortable, temporary reality of its own. But for how long? For Gurmail Singh is by no means the only perpetrator. Nor the final one. Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, 95, spent nearly sixty years..his entire lifetime.. to identify, name and shame every perpetrator behind the Jewish holocaust. He often did this without the support of the Jewish state or of the Jewish people worldwide. Many institutions used his name but only a handful of researchers remained with him. In November 1977, the Simon Wiesenthal Center was founded. Today, it is a 400,000 member strong international center for Holocaust remembrance, the defense of human rights and the Jewish people

Thnx to all of you!!

A topic like FUNNY GAME can generate 72 replies while no one cares about sending a simple mail to the Indian Ambassador protesting against the treatment being metted out to Sikhs in Punjab. Ironically, we can go on for days debating what Sikh women should do during their monthly cycles.

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! Stop the Torture of Social Activists and Human Rights Defenders in Punjab, India Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of at least 100 individuals including social activists, human rights defenders and lawyers in Punjab. Some are being illegally detained in connection with the escape of four detainees from Burail Jail, Chandigarh. They and those who have been formally arrested are being held in various parts of Punjab, including Chandigarh, where they are allegedly being tortured. Click on the link to send a mail to the Indian ambassador in US http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/in...ep=2&item=10572

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! Count me in birkhalsa2000@yahoo.co.in

Where is your dastaar? Mallika Kaur -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whenever we look back at our history, we find someone to blame. We find someone who made a mistake. We find the coward who succumbed to fear or domination. We find the traitor who went for greener pastures. Whenever we talk about our Gurus, we talk of the high ideals. We talk about how we should never stand for second best, rather live up these ideals. We talk of shaheedis, we praise the warriors, the soldiers, the Khalsa. Whenever we tell our kids about what we think they need to know, we tell them to find good sangat, to look for good examples, but most of all believe in the Guru. We tell them that they need to make a niche for themselves, never giving in to pressure, yet always respecting others. Whenever we praise someone’s efforts, we tell them to persevere in them, to not quit, to remain in Chardi Kala. We tell them that with the guru’s kirpaa, they have been chosen to take initiative, the lead, the fore—and they must not disappoint the panth. Whenever we introspect and say that we “Chose to be a Sikh”, we mean it was a conscious decision, not some birth right, but a way of life we have adopted. Not something forced down our throats, rather an acceptance of the Hukkum. Whenever we need to tell the world, our kids, and ourselves, why thousands of Sikhs vanished, we find plenty of reasons and plenty of culprits. Some of us have different ideas, but we find many people to lay the onus on faulty leadership, an eerie conspiracy, heinous acts out of je alousy, and insecurity. We are going to commemorate events from 20 years ago, but are we forgetting what is happening in our midst, only an ocean away, in our very lifetime? Is the threat to people who we believe to be a part of the valuable panth small because it is not happening to us? Or is it small because they will not be burnt, raped or murdered, just shorn of their dastaars? Has it always been empty rhetoric when we said, “I’d rather lose my head than my dastaar.” If it is just something we say to make us feel good, then let us stop now. If you disagree then what about the 5000 brothers or sisters an ocean away—aren’t they going to be beheaded! Does it not matter to us because they are only 5000 Sikhs there? Then why do we make the mighty statements of “one person oppressed, is one too many!” I don’t really see how we can make our kids sing “We are the Khalsa” or scream jaikaaraas of “Raj karegaa…”, when kids of other Sikhs are not even being allowed in schools! I don’t see the point of telling people about 1984, when we can’t take interest in what is happening in 2004! When we become a part of our history, and we already are, because every day becomes history right when the sun sets, young Sikh children today and future generations will point fingers at us and say “they were too busy to worry about the community's welfare…” At that time we will have no one to blame but ourselves. Who can we blame for not noticing the grace that the Guru has bestowed on us by making us aware of this injustice. We are blessed to be living comfortably in a country where we can voice our concern at the fate of Sikhs in France without risking our necks. We are callous enough to sometimes blame people who (while their thighs were being pulled apart, nails torn out and genitals shocked) blurted secrets that got many of their comrades killed. Yet we really don’t find time to at least tell the world that we, the Sikhs, do exist and do care about other Sikhs, all around th e world. What’s the use of us planning changes in the land ruled by severe oppression, when we can’t make small efforts—the click of a mouse, the dialing of a phone, the writing of a letter—sitting in the land where we are safe and have rights? Erroneous, discriminatory and hatred ridden thinking catches like wildfire. Are we so dense that we have already forgotten this? While we make plans to make people remember the mistakes of the past and always quote “those who forget their history, are bound to repeat it”, we are neglecting the present. Is this really what the gurus taught? I don’t think I can look another child in the eye, knowing that there is the possibility that on a “study abroad program for foreign language development” to Europe while she is in college, she might be singled out, taken out of line, and asked to remove her “headgear.” I feel we are giving in too easy. “It’s a political issue, don’t get too involved,” is a very shameful thing for one Sikh to say to another! Sikhs are a political people. When did the guru ask us to be apolitical? It feels pathetic to tell people that Sikhs carry kirpaans to defend the defenseless, when they can’t make time to help their own sisters and brothers in need. Sikhaan di Matt uuchii Sikhaan nu Sikhi daan, Kesh daan, bibek daan, visaah daa sarbat da bhala I don’t see how we can even say our most important ardaas when we are living under the thread of losing our identity. This is a worrying matter. And I am bent on making you worry. I neither want you or myself, to be one of the many cowards, traitors, hypocrites, liars, that our children will look down at tomorrow. If this comes to any kid in France or elsewhere saying “dada, what happened to your dastaar?” Shame not on those who were or those who will be. Shame on us! http://www.sikhspectrum.com/022004/mallika..._france_ban.htm >

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! Vishavjit Singh veerji has made a very thought provoking toon on this topic. http://www.sikhtoons.com/AbortingGirls.html

Missing Miss Punjab In the year of the girl child, Punjab throws up new statistics to reaffirm its preference for boys. It records nearly a lakh female foeticides every year, writes Manraj Grewal http://indianexpress.com/full_story.ppa?co...=41103&spf=true EVERY year in Punjab about one lakh girls die before they are born. This is not a figment of an alarmist imagination but the level-headed calculation of a senior Punjab bureaucrat who has written a book on the subject. Anurag Aggarwal has got this figure from simple mathematics. ‘‘With a gross birth rate of 3 per cent, Punjab should see 7.5 lakh births every year—3.5 lakh females and an equal number of males. But the census shows that one-fourth of baby girls go missing. This translates into 1 lakh girls a year.’’ Aggarwal is not alone in painting this dark picture. NGOs are demanding a fresh census to gauge the alarming slide in the juvenile (0-6 years) sex ratio. A study sponsored by the Bill Gates Foundation shows it’s down to 628 in the Khamano block of Fatehgarh Sahib. The sex ratio in Punjab is 874 females per 1000 males as against the national average of 933.But the health department is blissfully unaware. ‘‘We are taking steps under the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, but it takes time... the cases are in court,’’ says Dr B.P.S. Sandhu, director, PNDT. The steps include registration of 47 cases and action against 32 in the last two years. But there’s been only one conviction t o date—Dr Neelam Kohli of Ropar district was fined Rs 1,000 by the Kharar court last July. And the only arrest has been of a health worker last November. The trophy that the health authorities love to parade is Surinder Kaur, a resident of Kale Majra in Fatehgarh Sahib district, who was the first woman arrested for aborting her female foetus two years ago. ‘‘The case is a blot on the department, Surinder was a victim herself, ’’ fumes Veena Kumari, coordinator, Human Rights Law Network. A visit to Kale Majra tells you why. The corner house with the tall gate hides the tale of three brothers with nine daughters, a son and six hectares between them. The lingering case is only intensifying their troubled existence. LUDHIANA district, the hub of sonography centres and fertility clinics has notched up only four cases to date. In Amritsar all five diagnostic centres booked by the department are back in business. The worst-hit Fatehgarh Sahib district has booked only one diagnostic centre—Ludhiana Nursing Home at Khamano. It’s a no-frills place whose owner Dr Vivek Dharni has got his sonography machine sealed. ‘‘I wanted to get them off my back,’’ says the doctor who alleges the department officials were trying to milk him. Most of the cases pertain to inadequate upkeep of records or non-registration of the sonography machine. Only a handful relate to sex-determination. The rap on the knuckles is almost always gentle, ranging from sealing the ultrasound and suspending the licence to cancelling the registration. But it’s only for a few months, even days. Health Minister Ramesh Chander Dogra says more stringent steps are on the way. ‘‘We are at fault if the sex ratio is sliding,’’ he says, telling you about a fantastical plan to attach every sonography machine to the CMO or SMO’s office. 18 boys, 6 girls and a skewed sex ratio NANOWAL (FATEHGARH SAHIB) WHEN the slim road lined by shrubs with a sp rinkling of pink blooms and brown dust completes a gentle ‘S’, you know you have reached Nanowal. A village rich in buffaloes and boys. Last year it celebrated the birth of 18 boys and six girls. The falling sex ratio is no news here, for Nanowal is part of the Fatehgarh Sahib district, which recorded the country’s lowest sex ratio of 754 in the age group of 0-6 years in the 2001 census. A study conducted by the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) for the Bill Gates Foundation in 2002, put the sex ratio (0-6) in the Khamano block (Nanowal is part of it) at a shocking 628. Walk the brick-lined streets of the village for a day, and the mystery of the missing girl child begins to unfold. The landed Jat Sikhs, who form 70 per cent of Nanowal, have almost given up on them—this year, all the six baby girls born in the village belonged to SCs, the Jats only had sons. It was the same the year before last when the village saw 11 baby boys and two baby girls. Balwinder Kaur, wife of Sapinder Singh Sohi, the eldest of three brothers in a prosperous Jat Sikh family, tells you how it isn’t easy being the mother of daughter. ‘‘For a perfect family, a son is a must no matter what,’’ she murmurs. Daughters are dispensable. Which is why Sarabjit, her younger sister-in-law, who already has a baby boy is not planning any more children. ‘‘I feel one child is enough,’’ smiles the smartly-dressed woman. It’s to this pattern that Sarpanch Sukhbir Singh, a farmer-cum-commission agent attributes the plunging sex ratio. ‘‘Since the last eight years or so, people, especially the Jats, don’t want more than two children, and if the first one is a son, they stop there. Another son would only mean division of land. And a daughter would spell dowry.’’ Here the gender justifies the means. ‘‘Till a year ago, ultrasounds were commonplace, but not any more,’’ says Nirmal Kaur, the village midwife. Close to cities like Khanna, Ludhiana and Mandi Gobindgarh, they have no dear th of choices. ‘‘Khamano, just 4 kms away, has two of them. Khanna, which is just 20 kms away, not only has the biggest grain market of Asia but also the highest number of ultrasound clinics,’’ says Dr Kesar Singh, senior research fellow at CRRID. Here, ultrasound is synonymous with foeticide. Which is why no one admits to having had one. Only Balwinder, an SC who’s just delivered a boy after three daughters in the last seven years, admits to having asked for it but the doctors refused. Then there is Simran, a city girl married to Avtar Singh, a computer professional. Her ultrasound is public knowledge, for the Khamano-based Ludhiana Clinic was raided soon afterward. ‘‘I’d just gone there to get the foetus checked,’’ she explains. Dr Daljeet Kaur at the subsidiary health centre here, admits the unborn girls are being weeded out. ‘‘There is no other way you can explain this ratio,’’ she says. But the village is united in its conspiracy of silence. Only a few like Harinder Singh, a dairy farmer who has a son, Shahnaz, dares to break it. ‘‘Madam, who doesn’t want a son? Besides daughters are an expensive affair.’’

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! Summeet bhenji sent this mssg on Valentines day two yrs back. Its really wonderful and I wanted to share it with the sangat here as most of us know her. ************************************************* Waheguru ji ka khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh! This Valentine's Day...Find the true LOVE...the love with you and GURU JI. Take time and realize the beauties that Guru Ji holds for you. God is LOVE. There is no disputing or discussing LOVE. You CANNOT fall in and out of LOVE. LOVE is endless and it is a state of being. When you live in LOVE, you are Always in LOVE. There is no where else you can be. If you have a longing for the Guru, then the Guru will fulfil your longing.You need to take time out to meditate and make a space for the Guru to enter your heart. NAAM means your 'identity'.To see God in all and know that your true identity is God. That is NAAM. It is a state of constant wonder and gratitude. Just begin by getting up earlier each morning and sit, undisturbed, and do your Nitnem. Make a quiet space within yourself for the Guru and let the Guru come into your heart. All the rest will take care of itself. Between a Sikh and his Guru is only a matter of time. Waheguru ji ka khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh! "Guru Meray Sang, Sada Hai Nalay" Summeet Kaur "Siam sundhur thaj neendh kio aaee?" pg.745 Forsaking the beautiful lord how do we go to sleep?

France raises Sikh turban hopes http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asi...sia/3483409.stm Sikhs say the turban is a way of life The French Government says it will find a "solution" for Sikhs who are angry at a proposed ban on turbans and other religious symbols in state schools. Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin made his remarks in India, where he has faced opposition over the issue. "I am sure we are going to find a solution that will be satisfactory for the Sikh community in France," he said after talks in Delhi. But he said any solution would be within the constraints of the new law. Several dozen Sikhs and Muslims held protests in the Indian capital ahead of Mr De Villepin's talks with his Indian counterpart, Yashwant Sinha, at which the new law was discussed. The French foreign minister said France's commitment to human rights and democracy had led to the decision to ban religious symbols in state schools. He was at pains to stress that the law was not intended to target any religious group. But he gave no details of how his government might find a compromise within the new law for the tiny, 6,000-strong Sikh community in France. Nor did he say whether "solutions" could be found for the many other religions whose members are up in arms at the proposed ban. Mr De Villepin later told Tarlochan Singh, head of India's National Commission for Minorities and himself a Sikh, that France would seek "practical solutions" to th e problem, a French official said. Sikhs say the turban is not a religious symbol but an integral part of the Sikh way of life. The turbans are used to contain the long hair of Sikhs, which their religion prohibits them from cutting. They complain that the ban will force them to do so and is tantamount to forcing them to give up their religion. On Wednesday a Sikh delegation met the French ambassador in Delhi and presented him with a petition asking for the government to reverse its decision to pass the law. The petition included 100,000 signatures from Sikhs worldwide. MPs in France's lower house passed the controversial bill this week. The legislation is not expected to face difficulty clearing the upper chamber, and should be in force for the new academic year in September. Sikhs in France complain they are accidental victims of legislation intended to curb the wearing of headscarves by Muslim schoolgirls. They say the proposed law was drawn up without officials realising its potential impact on their community in France, which has five million Muslims. The wearing of Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crucifixes will also be affected.

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! Sunat Sandesro by Bhai Harjinder Singh http://www.sikhnet.com/Sikhnet/Music.nsf/d...33;OpenDocument

"Dear God"-Letters from Kids Dear God, Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't You just keep the ones You have? Jane Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother. Larry Dear God, If You watch me in church on Sunday, I'll show You my new shoes. Mickey Dear God, I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. Nan Dear God, In school they told us what You do. Who does it when You are on vacation? Jane Dear God, I read the Bible. What does "begat" mean? Nobody will tell me. Love, Alison Dear God, Are You really invisible or is it just a trick? Lucy Dear God, Is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his bowling words in the house? Anita Dear God, Did You mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident. Norma Dear God, Who draws the lines around the countries. Nan Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay. Neil Dear God, What does it mean You are a Jealous God? I thought You had everything. Jane Dear God, Did You really mean "do unto others as they do unto you"? Because if You did, then I'm going to fix my brother. Darla Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. Joyce Dear God, It rained for our whole vacation and is my father mad 3; He said some things about You that people are not supposed to say, but I hope You will not hurt him anyway. Your friend, (But I am not going to tell You who I am) Dear God, Why is Sunday school on Sunday? I thought it was supposed to be our day of rest. Tom L. Dear God, Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up. Bruce Dear God, If we come back as something - Please don't let me be Michelle Horton because I hate her. Denise Dear God, If you give me a genie like Aladdin, I will give You anything You want, except my money or my chess set. Raphael Dear God, My brother is a rat. You should give him a tail. Ha Ha. Danny Dear God, I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big but not with so much hair all over. Sam Dear God, You don't have to worry about me. I always look both ways. Dean Dear God, I think the stapler is one of your greatest invention. Ruth M. Dear God, I think about You sometimes even when I'm not praying. Elliott Dear God, Of all the people who work for You I like Noah and David the best. Rob Dear God, My brother told me about being born but it doesn't sound right. They're just kidding, aren't they. Marsha Dear God, I would like to live 900 years like the guy in the Bible. Love, Chris Dear God, We read Thomas Edison made light. But in Sunday school they said You did it. So I bet he stole your idea. Sincerely, Donna Dear God, The bad people laughed at Noah - "You made an ark on dry land you fool." But he was smart, he stuck with You. That's what I would do. Eddie Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God. Well, I just want You to know but I am not just saying that because You are God already. Charles Dear God, I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunse t You made on Tuesday. That was cool. Eugene

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! kvnu nrku ikAw surgu ibcwrw sMqn doaU rwdy ] kavan narak kiaa surag bichaaraa sa(n)than dhooo raadhae || What is hell, and what is heaven? The Saints reject them both. hm kwhU kI kwix n kFqy Apny gur prswdy ]5] ham kaahoo kee kaan n kadtathae apanae gur parasaadhae ||5|| I have no obligation to either of them, by the Grace of my Guru. ||5|| Bhagat Kabeer Ji in Raag Raamkalee on Pannaa 969