Akaali

The early morning congregation took place on 14th March 1823. The entire army and the generals attened the assembly. Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the generals had already discussed about the impending battle. The Jathedars opined that if they delayed the attack a little longer, it would enable the enemy to muster their army in large number. So it was decided to launch an attack immediately. Accordingly, supplication (Ardas) was made before the Guru and the victory drum sounded. Every contingent of Khalsa army marched past Maharaja Ranjit Singh and proceeding further on the shouts of Bole so nihal, Sat Sri Akal. Maharaja Sahib motivated all of them to fight to win. The band of Akalis had gone past and that of S. Desa Singh was crossing when a spy informed that ten thousand soldiers alongwith 40 guns have arrived from Kabul for the help of the enemy. Maharaja Sahib re-assessed the situation and felt, he should postpone the decision of attack to the next day, since the confrontation had now become tough and the Khalsa artillery was expected to join them next day. When Akali Phoola Singh learnt that Maharaja Sahib was planning to change the morning decision made for attack on the army, he went to him and said very courageously. ‘‘It is accepted that the enemy is in a stronger position today, but having resolved in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, it is against the principle of Khalsa. One may lose one’s head but never the respect of the decision made in the presence of Satguru Ji.’’ Maharaja Ranjit Singh said, ‘‘There is no harm in taking cognisance of the situation. The statesmanship advises that if this attack is launched a day later, what difference would it make? We are not shirking from fighting a battle and will reach the battle field, but keeping the situation in view, it is not advisable to hurry.’’ ‘‘Maharaja Sahib! our supplication before Sri Guru Granth Sahib was our pledge made with our Guru and we are not prepared to break this pledge even if the strength of the enemy go up ten times and we are to die in the battlefield. Kalghidhar pita is with us and he will help us stand by our pledge.’’ Akali Ji replied with much confidence. Maharaja Sahib was in a fix. He was not prepared to go to battle without his artillery support. Maharaja Sahib kept deliberating the created situation in his mind but Akali Phoola Singh felt that he was losing precious time. He said, ‘‘You are the Emperor, You may do whatever you feel like. But I shall advance now to fufil my vow. I am not bothered if I die in the battlefield, but I shall not let enemy step on even an inch of our territory. God alone knows how many sacrifices had been made by our elders to free it from the tyranny of the foreign invaders? We shall not let all their fallen blood go waste in our life time.’’ Before marchnig towards the battlefield, Akali Ji made an other Ardas (Supplication). Visualising the ten Guru’s and Sri Guru Granth Sahib before him, he said, ‘‘Hey Satgur Ji, the strength of the enemy army is large. But this servant of your house is determined to attack the tyrannical and oppressive enemy who invades our land and take away the hard earned wealth of our people, their young wives, daughters and above all their respect. Hey Satguru Ji, grant us the strength that we may maintain the glory and grandeur of this Khalsa Raj even at the cost of our head. We had surrendered our head to you, the day we wore your apparel and took Khande-ki-Pahul. Losing my life is no worry for me but I shall never let your pious and holy name get tarnished even by a whisker and please do not let me live to see that day. So be kind and grant your Khalsa the boon of fighting gallantly in the battlefield.’’ This Ardas made in the valiant mood had a miraculous effect on the Akali army. No sooner had the Ardas finished than the sky resounded with the shouts of ‘Sat Sri Akal’. The Akali army set out towards the battlefield to encounter the challenge of the enemy. Thirty thousand Ghazis blinded by the enthusiasm of Jehad let loose a volley of fire on the Khalsa army. Akalis kept advancing and wanted to take on the enemy in sword and lance battle. They were adept in their use and prefered it over the guns. Seeing the Akalis advancing fearlessly in the rain of bullets, Maharaja Sahib could not keep himself aloof from the scene of action. He ordered his army to march to the help of Akali brethern. He himself marched with his army. The Maharaja army attacked the Ghazis who were trying to encircle the army of Akali Ji and were looking to be succeeding. Akali army marched and faced the enemy face to face. The Jehadis were firing blindly. A bullet of the enemy penetrated the knee cap cover of Akali Phoola Singh Ji and entered into the body of the horse he was riding. The horse fell down. Akali Ji quickly mounted on his elephant. The Akalis now took the enemy in hand to hand combat. They used their swords to such an effect that the Ghazis forgot whether they were living or dead. Akali army was re-inforced by Maharaja. In the meantime, by an act of providence, the Khalsa artillery also reached the scene of action. The Pathans tried their best to gain a foot-hold but could not bear the sword of the Akalis. In the meantime, Prince Kharak Singh also reached there with his contingent. The battle raged the whole day. By evening, Ghazis ran away saving their lives. The setting of the Sun brought the sunset on the courage of the Pathans. Akalis were marching towards a memorable victory. The Akalis chased the enemy so that they do not look this way again. Just then a Pathan sniper fired from close quarter and hit Akali Phoola Singh with his bullet. Akali Mahan Singh located his position and cut him into two. At last the battlefield fell into the hands of Khalsa army. The great martyr Baba Phoola Singh who strived to keep the desires of keeping the fair and just regime of Khalsa alive in the minds of the youth even at the cost of his own life and fulfilling the vow made before his Satguru will always be a lighthouse of sacrifice, bravery, faith, confidence and will to succeed for the coming generations. Our leaders should draw a leaf out of his life history and emulate his qualities of Panthic love, sympathy, unity and desire to achieve glory of the Khalsa. From: "Akali Baba Phoola Singh Ji" by Sikh Missionary College Ludhiana

Just wanted to say, thanks to Bhai Bijla Singh jee, for originally posting this topic.

..

Not necessarily true for every occaision, depends on how much sangat there is.

hanjee, bhai saheb passed away a few years later..

Great stuff, would love to read some more.

Below the knee to my understanding.

3 - Bhai Tejinderpal Singh jee - pehilaa(n) baabae paayaa bakhash dhar pishho(n) dhae fir ghaal kamaaee

Bhainjee, please share some ideas on how parchaar can/should be done.

Bhainjee, personally, I think there's a solution to every problem, but every situation is different. If its affecting the safety/well being of you and/or your family member then yea you should. Have you tried seeking counselling from a professional counsellor, I would suggest to see one whom you or your family doesn't know and see what they think, they have experience in these types of situations. BUT, if you think that running away is the ONLY solution then its best to possibly do a search online for stories of people running away from home and their experiences, I don't think anyone here has ever run away from home so they wouldn't be able to tell you, but I'd advise doing some research before you go through with it. Secondly, make sure you have it planned out, you have enough finances to cover your move, etc. Maybe you want to leave a note back? These are all questions you want to ask yourself. You're an adult now and can make your own decisions and live life how you want to live not how you're told to live. If you decide to go through, make sure you do ardaas and understand the hukamnama it can only help you.

I like that.

Please post these articles in the News|Fun section.

vaheguru :WW:

May guru sahib forgive him and do kirpaa on him.

Teree Seva - Your Service Everytime I open my mouth my ears hurt! My mouth opens and says 'I took amrit' 'I donated daswand' 'I did lots of seva' 'I got up at amritvela' 'I japped Naam for hours and hours' My poor old ears have no choice but to listen to my EGO and worse still I hurt the ears of the gursikhs around me I AM: NO! I AM NOTHING! GURU GAVE ME AMRIT GURU MADE ME DO SEVA GURU WOKE ME UP AT AMRITVELA, NOT AN ALARM CLOCK GURU BLESSED ME TO JAAP NAAM GURU GURU GURU GURU IS EVERYTHING, DOES EVERYTHING I AM NOTHING. 'mukhat bhugat jugat teree seva jis too aap kara-i' your seva is liberation and worldy enjoyments (your seva) which you yourself got done (by me)

Can't speak punjabee nor understand katha Can't sing kirtan, can't play tabla, Can't read gurbanee pronounced correctly Never learnt how to make dhal and rawtee Can't sit cross-legged for hours on end Can't make make my enemy into my friend Just can't do anything Guru jee Guru jee Guru jee dhan dhan Guru Granth Sahib jee Visar nahee datar apana naam deho Gun gava din raat nanak chao eho Forget me not O Giver, give me your name Singing your virtues day and night is nanak's desire With your infinite kirpa and blessings guru ji I can sing and sing day and night inside this body temple Jap jap jap your naam Sing sing sing your virtues Day and night Night and day Forever and ever And fall into you Like a river into the sea Like a baby in her mother's embrace And what i can't do One day bless me so i can do Gursikha kee har dhoor de Hum papee bhee ghat pae-i Bless me with the dust of the gursikhs So this sinner my find your extent

All 5 kakaars are compulsory for amritdharis to wear the 5 kakaar all the time including the kirpan. There is a practical and symbolic meaning to it no matter if one was born around 1699 or 1990. This topic is not open for discussion.

And this salok in particular has a VERY deep meaning. Reading the sikhitothemax translation really confused me and I read the translation over 10 times and it still didn't make sense to me, so I resorted to other translations of this salok (Bhai Sahib Singh). ਕਬੀਰ ਸਤੀ ਪੁਕਾਰੈ ਚਿਹ ਚੜੀ ਸੁਨੁ ਹੋ ਬੀਰ ਮਸਾਨ ॥ ਲੋਗੁ ਸਬਾਇਆ ਚਲਿ ਗਇਓ ਹਮ ਤੁਮ ਕਾਮੁ ਨਿਦਾਨ ॥੮੫॥ The key words in this salok are "ਹਮ ਤੁਮ ਕਾਮੁ ਨਿਦਾਨ". sati=that woman who dies alongside her deceased husband on his funeral pyre. chih=funeral pyre bir=brother masaan=funeral pyre ਕਬੀਰ ਸਤੀ ਪੁਕਾਰੈ ਚਿਹ ਚੜੀ ਸੁਨੁ ਹੋ ਬੀਰ ਮਸਾਨ ॥ She's calling masaan (fire) her brother because she knows that this fire will burn her and she will become united with her earthly husband after death. This could also be a metaphor since we know in Indian custom, after marriage the brother walks his sister to the doli that will take her to her husband's home, same way she's calling masaan her brother that will burn her body and take her soul to be with her husband, which obviously isn't what really happens. In the second tuk: ਲੋਗੁ ਸਬਾਇਆ ਚਲਿ ਗਇਓ ਹਮ ਤੁਮ ਕਾਮੁ ਨਿਦਾਨ ॥੮੫॥ Bhagatjee is saying: Lok sabaayaa=All the people Chal Gaeyo=Have left, Ham tum kaam nidaan=Now the only dealings for me are left with you (the funeral pyre) Here bhagat jee means that the widow feels that after the body is burnt everyone has left and there's no-one left to support her and she sees only one way to unite with her husband, which gives her the only option, to become a sati. Now, you may ask what does all this have to do with gursikhi? There are many ways you can relate this to gursikhi. Here's one: Our husband lord, prabhu pati resides in sachkhand, our body-soul, jeev istri, living at her in-laws (earth/kaljug) still loves her body and doesn't want to give it up, and let it go, no-one wants to give up their body for anything in the world, this jeev istri has developed so much moh for this body and this is what creates a barrier. Now, if you become the sati like the sati mentioned above and obtain the understanding that only by giving up this body, giving up the moh for this mind/body and all its vikaars will you understand that once you burn this body in the fire of naam and give up its attachment can you then become one with akaal purkh vaaheguruu. So bhagatjee is saying, like the sati who loves the funeral pyre and calls it her brother, so you too love the pyre of naam/shabad for it is the only thing that will burn your body and take your soul to merge with akaal purkh vaaheguru. Bhul chuk muaaf karnee jeeo. P.S. kaam = matlab / a reason for affiliation

To you its haumai, to me its inspiration Veerjee, are you such an antarjami that you can tell what I feel or say? If you think I'm saying that in ego, then you can beleive what you want to beleive. The reason why I said "why can't I", is not out of ego, how can someone obtain akaal purkh out of ego?? I said "why can't I" do such an uddam to jap more naam, or keep certain rehats?? From personal experience I've noticed that the more I try to strengthen my jeevan the more he inspires me and does his kirpaa. There's never a black and white answer in gursikhi, which you guys are trying to prove, you may have a different idea than someone else's, it doesn't mean you're right and they're wrong, it could be you're both right because of your individual experiences. Anyways, I'm not gonna talk more on this as I thought this topic was good until it got led completely off-track and kind of reminded me of why I don't get into discussions anymore.

Veerjee, that is only part of the solution, "God only helps those who help themselves" I don't want to get into the discussion of karma vs. free will because that's a never ending discussion. Ofcourse, without guru sahib's daya you can't progress, it is ONLY with his kirpaa do we get closer to akaal purkh, vaheguru. At the same time you have to take uddam to do something about your state of being, if you keep saying it will only happen with guru sahib's kirpaa and not make an effort yourself you will stay at the same state. If you want to get somewhere you have to make the effort to move your body, otherwise you will never arrive at your destination. You have to keep making the attempt of doing more but keep in mind that its all due to the blessings of guru sahib and its not YOU that's doing it.

If you think getting inspired to build one's jeevan is ego then I don't know what to say and please don't use words like khuaaree to sound complicated, if you don't know its meaning, khuaaree can mean being ruined forever. And any method used to build one's jeevan is not being ruined forever.

suaadh baadh eerakh madh maaeiaa || Tastes and pleasures, conflicts and jealousy, and intoxication with Maya ein sa(n)g laag rathan janam gavaaeiaa ||3|| - attached to these, the jewel of human life is wasted. ||3|| Nice discussion Harinder Singh veerjee on the topic of eerkhaa jealousy. I think alot of us have eerkha like you said, "They get jealous of each other's amritvelas, kirtan,..." But correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a good thing to get jealous so we increase our amritvela, learn keertan, etc. If I personally meet/see other gursikhs with a better amritvela and good at other gursikhi related things I get inspired to build myself and think to myself if he can do it why can't I? On the other side there maybe some like me who start to do nindya of those gursikhs too because they are jealous of their gursikhi. So like the other vikaars we need to direct this vikaar towards gursikhi, have more lobh/moh for naam, and direct our eerkhaa to educate our mind to better our jeevan. I'll have to agree with kh@ls@ veerjee, on the point of ego being boosted when sharing our amritvelaa/bani, etc. and like you said he's 100% correct, at the same time we can't be pakhandi and not help out other fellow gursikhs. My two cents, bhul chuk muaf.

Vaheguru, nanak aap karaae kare aap hukam savaaranehaaraa|| Its great to see bhainjee!! Charan saran gur ek painda jaae chal, just keep making these small steps, every small step you take guru sahib takes a thousand steps towards you, and ultimately he'll inspire you to take amrit and eventually you'll become the daughter of the great king himself. Keep reciting bani, doing simran and sangat of good, god-oriented people. You have to stay strong and conquer your fears and any challenges you come across and you'll definetely be blessed, bhul chuk muaaf jee.

ghar baahar thaeraa bharavaasaa thoo jan kai hai sa(n)g || At home, and outside, I place my trust in You; You are always with Your humble servant.

Posted on behalf of alias: gurfateh to all! i wish to suggest a little (bhagti) activity. all who want to join in can! my suggestion is:- " 11 malas OR 6 malas before our nitnem for the rest of this week and the next week." >>doesnt mata how long it will take as, we are not supposed to look at the clock when we are doing any paat. more than 11/6 malas will be oviously better!!<< no one can know that you (me) are doing this naam simran. it must be gupt. it doesnt mata when people join... they can join as and when they see this topic. if they want to.. 1 mala round is considered to be a 108 manke mala. you can have a 27(28) manke mala and do it 4 times, or a 36 manke and do it 3 times, or a 9 manke and do it 12 times. this is in the hope that we may increase our avasta and ourselves spiritualy. i will now say somthing that is very very keemati. and if done right, is the most powerfull thing we can ever do.. doing naam, is seva of god. so lets jap naam..