Prabjyot Kaur

Waheguru ji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh I have been struggling with this alone ever since I became mother. When I married my Gursikh husband in spite of the pressure from my siblings to keep my options open to mone sikh for matrimony, I did not even dream that it will become such an issue for us at later stage. I obviosly took the challenge unknowingly. We are amritdhari couple and so are our children. As we became parents, my husband has become really protective of our kids as far as our interaction with mone relatives are concerned. Okay, I can interact with them at my own where I have to, but how do I explain to my children who are now 10-13 yr old that why mom still loves and cares about her siblings/their kids who have made non-sikh choices? Am I contradicting myself, when I teach them sikhi values, Bana and Bani being integral parts to a Sikh's life on one hand and on the other hand fulfilling my family obligations for mone relatives? Where do we set the limit as far as giving place to such relatives in our family life who are clearly 'doshi of panth', yet can't be separated from our lives. We are all humans and I beleive that even dried trees become green one day as long as the roots are there. After all they are from Sikh families, have sikh roots....they hear and watch a lot that goes on in those mixed families as per Sikh maryada. How can I give up on them? Please advice me how to handle this with my children at this impressionable age. Thank you, Prabhjot

Here is a great link for learning Gurmukhi on-line http://www.advancedcentrepunjabi.org/intro1.asp Guru Ang Sang! Guru Raakha!!

Wahueguru ji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh Manvir, congratulations and thanks for sharing your story with the youth. I posted your story at Sikhnet. Hope you would like the input from from sikhnet Sangat too. Guru Ang Sang! http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion....33;OpenDocument Great Story. Truly inspritational Your story reminds me of my time when I was in middle school in germany. I was the only singh in the whole school. I had a really hard time. During lunch time students used to tease me and make fun of my turban. But i kept ignoring them. I am a little shy person so I didn't want to get into a fight. But after one month things got really bad. The senior students starting abusing my turban. All I did was I went to the principal and told her the whole situation. She was quite understanding so she sure taught them a lesson. Meanwhile during the religion class I got the oppurtinity to tell the class about sikhi. So I explained them about ten gurus, panj kakkar, and turban. They were really impressed about sikhism. After that they starting respecting the turban. I felt like on the top of world. Its all about creating awareness about sikhism. The more you tell people about sikhi the more they understand and respect it. We can't blame people when they laugh at us, its because they don't know anything about turban and its purpose. Now I study in university in canada and people here are more aware about sikhs. So I feel amazing when people come to and address me as 39;Sir'. I always wear a turban and keep my beard open. Its gives me confidence. I feel like I am different from other people( I mean majority of my classmates drink and smoke, and they appreciate that I don't drink and smoke). Anyways, Manvir you did a great job by transforming your life from manmukh to gurmukh. This is the Khalsa Way Of Life. No Crown No King No Turban No Singh

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! Why do we take medecine when we get sick? We are ‘kaljugi jeev’ who are engrossed in the worldly responsibilities and pleasures. We even treat ‘Nitnem’ as one of the bullets on the daily ‘to do list’. Intellectually we know the advantage of ‘Naam Simran’ but worldly ‘Maya’ is too powerful to make us believe that ‘honest living’ is enough. We live our lives ‘doing good’ for the family, friends and society in general. Unlike we save money for rainy days, we do not deposit anything in the 'account of Naam Simran' that can help us when we need it. When we have little health problem like ‘headache’ which may be a simple symbol of something serious, or simply ‘crappy mood’ which is related to undue stress in our lives; we ignore it and take medicine and carry on with our lives. If we do not take ‘time off’ to do naam Simran for these simple ‘dukh’ moments, why would we even bother to sit down and do naam Simran while we are completely healthy? Well, when we are actually sick or old, we can’t do Naam Simran because by that time our body does not allow us to do so, so ultimately we rely on medicines. Sri Guru Teg Bahadur ji says on Page 1428 of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji isru kMipE pg fgmgy nYn joiq qy hIn ] The head shakes, the feet stagger, and the eyes become dull and weak. sir kampi-o pag dagmagay nain jot tay heen. khu nwnk ieh ibiD BeI qaU n hir ris lIn ]47] Says Nanak, this is your condition. And even now, you have not savored the sublime essence of the Lord. ||47||

Waheguru ji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh The demise of three great Sikhs left me in great grief. Though I did not know any of them in person, but it felt so personal loss. These great souls came with a mission in this world and left us as per ‘divine will’ after touching our lives in a special way. Today, first time I listened to Bhai Parminder Singh ji’s katha on ‘Hukam’; saw their pictures of Gatka. His words in the ‘katha’ left even deeper impact on me & made me wonder ‘how did he get so much wisdom, so much ‘thehrav’, so much ‘bhao’ in such a young age. After all he was also raised in west where all other young Sikhs are influenced by the western society. Can someone tell me more about Bhai Parminder Singh ji’s life? I am sure there is a lot we can learn from his life. Waheguru ji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw! vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!! I remember that we were instructed to keep our eyes focused on the ‘Amrit Bata’. I also remember that I recited the Panj Banian in my mind along with Panj Piyare…..it was amazing that I did not forget a single line even though I normally do (jaap sahib) when I am reciting along with CD. After the Amrit Sanchaar, I was given Siropa (full chunni size), that I can’t let go off even though it is faded so much. I always do my ‘Nitnem’ with that Siropa on my head. Prabhjot Kaur