Jangal Da

No. ...However if you feel that there is something you want to get off your concious, then anyone in Sangat can ask for pesh.

(Jasleen k ji, please do not play devil's advocate on this one - consider instead from Sangat 'what is maya' if that is where your confusion is. Please check definition of maya on Sikhwiki). It is not bowing to maya. Gold is beautiful and herein lies its merits (okay its also an excellent conductor of electric current for those of you physics boffs). The GGS's lettering in gold would be a beautiful, technically demanding and artistic work - the best for our Maharaj. It is not maya because anyone will see what a brilliant work that it will be - it is real and its appreciation is real - not an illusion (maya). Pity upon those who fail to see the beauty of nature and the beauty created by mankind.

Hi, I'm a doctor myself, but advice can only be based upon your statement and if you have a genuine medical concern, then as everyone else said - see your doctor. I assume that the fact you have mentioned the pregnancy indicates that is where your concern lies in relation to your experience after the ride. At that stage the foetus is still well padded and it is very unlikely that the force of the ride would have disturbed it. Either by now you have reassured yourself, or you will decide to see your own doctor. The decision is yours, but I would strongly urge that any passage of frank blood per vaginally should merit an early review at your doctors or at the Casualty if out-of-hours, as this could indicate a serious acute problem. On the whole otherwise, I would like to reassure you - but as I have not seen you, I cannot give full assurance. By the way - be sensible during your pregnancy - fairground rides, even the merrygoround are a no-go zone for you. If anyone else has similar concerns then SS is not the place to ask for opinion - seek advice by visiting a doctor or midwife.

Totally agree.

Needs to be hunted and exposed, then lets see fate deal its card to him - he will regret that he played the joker!

Haa haa! I love our mixture of communities and stereotypes in Sikhi: Jat Bhappa Tarkan (Desi or E. African) Chamar Khatri Bhaiya Gora and many more........... Note I put Jat at the top (hee hee ha ha )....Others in no particular order! Seriously though, on a different note, if you dread the never ending flight from Delhi to the UK/US etc, then get one of Khushi's books - a number one author indeed - has to be one of the top ranking writers of the generation.

I meant "bhappa" as in the original meaning of the word - let me clarify: Those Sikhs who generally came from west of the river Jhelum (Sind Sagar doab, Potwar, Hazara, NWFP). Many of these were Hindu tradesmen who converted to Sikhism during the days of Sher-i-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Sikhs were in power, and in Musalman dominated areas their reasons for conversion was partly due to gaining status and power as one would expect when becoming a member of the ruling people. Many at the time still stuck to Hindu rituals and practices, although outwardly appearing Sikhs. Imagine one day in some isolated village in the Thal desert, you are a Hindu baniya - for generations being slightly fearful of the locals who are Muslims, whilst you scrape a living. Suddenly you join the Khalsa. The next thing a farman from the Khalsa garrison at Rawalpindi makes you the headman of the village and surrounding other villages - and to help you collect the taxes, send a dozen Khalsa cavalrymen to ensure compliance from the locals.......These people jumped on the bandwaggon, so to speak, and that is why many were not looked upon in the same light as the traditional hardcore of the Sikh population from central Punjab - most who had converted generations back in the time of Dasmesh pita or soon after. By Independance many of these families were thus fairly prosperous and had amassed wealth that the locals were very jealous of. Unfortunately this manifested by them bearing the brunt of the violence during the Partition. Being in relatively isolated groups and lacking militancy, they fared very badly, unlike the Jat Sikhs in the central Punjab east of the Chenab, who moved out of Pakistan with military precision and gave a fitting bashing to any who dared attack them. Many of the Jat Sikhs settled in the Indian Punjab - either in villages they had links with or evacuated properties. Many of the Bhappe headed staright for Delhi and to their credit prosperd as buisness people. Whatever the original reasons for the Bhappes' conversion, it tells you nothing about the convictions of their beliefs and ways now. As far as I know most are kesdhari and true to Sikhi. Nowadays most Jat Sikhs use the term 'Bhappa' to mean any other non Jat Sikh in a derogitory way. As a Jat myself, I purely meant it in a tongue-in-cheek way, as I know that Khushi ji is a Bhappa in the original sense of the word. Khushwant Singh himself has been an ardent defender of Sikhi in the past and I reckon that these comments of 'his' have been misinterpreted. Like I said it must be his advanced age (at least 1 and a half centuries :D ) and hence dementia setting in, if he truly said such things. However Hindu sympathies may be due to the influence of his mother and dadi, both of whom were Hindus. Overall I like the guy and demented or not - he is a better Sikh than I.

Leave him alone - poor chap, he is now demented and must be at least 150y old! Personally I like him - he's funny Singh. Distorted view on Sikhi may come from his Bhappa origins - so nothing surprising.

Treat them like any other honoured guests. Most of these guys tend to be very shy - engage them with the family - eat together, not seperately, talk about Sikhi and about music - learn some scales on the waja to impress people with, play cricket with them in the garden/park.............. When they first come show them to their rooms, give them new towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap/shampoos - ideally in nice kit bags, so they can take them away with them at the end. Inform them that they should treat this house like their brother's house and not be afraid to enquire of anything. Check their meal times and preferances - some wake up very early and will take a small meal at 4am!!! At the end of their time, honour them with suitable gifts - traditionally kapra to make a kurta paijama out of...be more imaginative......high quality kirpans or other shastar, good quality trainer shoes, no one ever resists a box of gulab jamuns etc... Hope that helps.

There is no belief in the Adam and Eve story. Read Japji Sahib - Guru Nanak was well ahead of Darwin and Einstein when he alluded to the creation and life on Earth.

The dusht of the Khalsa never get away with their zulm. A dog who dared to dress up like a soldier of dasmesh - Justice finally done by two true warriors of the Khalsa.

A Sikh is one who respects and believes the teachings of the 10 Gurus from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh and believes in One God as exemplified in the Mul Mantar. A Sikh only bows to the Guru as the Guru has informed us about the True Religion of God and the embodiment of the Satgurus is the Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikh is on a path and joins the Sadh Sangat seeking knowledge and yearning of God. A Sikh's aim should be to take the baptism of Amrit and become a Khalsa Gursikh and thus be a Sant-Sipahi, absorbed in Naam and set free from the bondage of Maya.

Channel Punjab should sign them up for a Singh's sketch show - Funny guys!!!

If your staying with your family will put someone in serious danger of harm (not assumed danger), then you must act in the best interest of what you think is morally right. I respect your right not to go into details here, but do go over things with someone - a teacher, trusted older friend or relative, Samaritans, counsellor... Then make the decision for yourself. Do not just think of logistics (job>income>rent,food,bills), but think about the consequences (good and bad), of your action and the potential of any 'baggage' that you carry to hit you at some point like a scorpion's sting. Above all maintain your health - physical and mental. The latter especially, as I personally know for a fact that many run-aways are at greater risk of developing a spectrum of psychaitric problems. At 19y and doing this alone will be a monumental struggle and I can only hope that Waheguru guides your path - for some of us it will be a very hard and painful path, but never forget Waheguru and overcome the 'test,' for ultimate victory in life.

Sounds like you have whiplash - see your doctor. If confirmed you'll need strong regular analgesia to relieve counterproductive paraspinal muscular spasm to the inflammatory reaction of the many tiny tears in the spinal ligaments. Most people find that they fully recover within a month. Let your insurance handle it. They will want to know whether you have suffered medically and if so are likely to get a report from a private GP. Out of court costs will then be reccommended to you, which you should take up rather than attempting to drag things through the courts - choice is yours. Avoid being angry (bad, bad emotion) at the other driver - accidents happen and it is just bad fate. There are lots of idiots on the road and you just need to accept and anticipate for this. Remain in chardikala and see your Doc.

Nothing wrong about listening to Qawals - Many Punjabi Qawals are witful, poetic dedications to God and show the beauty of the Punjabi language to its zenith. Such is the same simplicity and beauty that attracted people towards the poetry of Farid. Braj Basha just does not have the same effect upon me and Kirtan done in Braj or a variation of it literally fails to strike the right note in me. I too feel a 'mast diwana experience' when listening to Qawals, but I resist swaying or going full tempo (like the gentlemen in the video, which dates from the early 80s and was a performance done at the Wallace Lawley Centre, Lozells, Birmingham). This is because some buzurg Singhs have told me that one should avoid such practices when listening to devotional songs as it is a sign that you are not fully in control.

1. Absolutely No Way. Idea would be against Sikhi and is repulsive. 2. Within the Walled City - Yes.

In the West Mids I never had an issue - I cannot imagine that anyone would dare be so insensetive in a densely Sikh populated area such as those hospitals where most of the medical staff are Asian. In the North East where one plays spot-the-non-white, surprisingly again I have never encountered a problem. Only one person asked me to remove it and I explained its meaning to her and that it came under the Trust policy of culturally/religious sensetive items and was thus permitted. Only in theatre or when doing surgery in A&E did I ever remove it - and then it stayed on my person (pocket). If I had taped it higher up on my forearm though, I doubt that anyone would have minded. A kara is a smooth rounded steel object that can be cleansed easily when hand cleansing, unlike the wedding ring which some people seem to enjoy letting the skin beneath getting emaciated in fungal gangrenous rot! Please let us know the outcome of all of this - I think a national policy needs to be attached to the bare-below-elbows rule, regarding karas. Har Maidan Fateh to this cause!

Harguns are the best mitthai shop that I have ever known. A good Hindu family who have a lot of respect in the local community. Since moving away from the black hole (sorry - black country :D ), I still travel circa 200 miles to taste their pista and badam wale simple barfi - better than anything in the rest of the West Mids, London, the North and Punjab. I cannot understand why the family insist it has to be an Amritdhari cook - did they covert from Brahmins in the past? It just smacks of casteism to me. No offence intended - please forgive me for putting my point across in such a way if it has offended.

Sikh tradition talks about five items of essential clothing - dastar, chola, kamarkasa, hazuri, kacchera. It is the traditional garb of the Khalsa male and as per Prem Sumarag was traditionally given to a Sikh groom. However I do not think it is part of Sikhi. Modest sensible clothing is all that one needs (if Khalsa then kacchera and suitable covering for kes is a must), although some feel more of an affinity with the religion if wearing bana. In the last decade I have noticed a popular choice of the youth to wear bana - if not all the time, at least for special occassions such as rainskirtan programmes etc. This is largely an sociocultural identity issue and is akin to our Muslim sisters' wearing the hijab.

Fully agree with Inder Singh's point. Dasam Granth is integral to the Khalsa and Sikhi as a whole.

Unless historical facts are well known or accepted, then it really annoys me when people blurt out the pages of history and do not back it up with sources for evidence. (From Transactions of the Asiatic Society vol 1 pp293, pub 1788 - can be read at the India Office Library in London): In 1781 Charles Wilkins (an orientalist working for the East India Company) visited the Takht at Patna Sahib. Here he was told about the existance of a second 'book' (he refers to the Dasam Granth) which the priests told him was held in almost the same esteem as the Guru Granth Sahib. He did not witness it being in parkash next to the GGS. The priests undisputedly agreed that this was written by Guru Gobind Singh. Chhibar's Bansavali Nama Dasam Patshahian Ka tells us that the Dasam Granth would sit seperately from the GGS in Gurudwaras. In 1698 he says that the Khalsa asked Guru Gobind Singh to bind the Dasam Granth with the GGS, but Dasmesh pita replied "This Adi Granth Guru is the root and the other one is my own diversion, always remeber this and let the two remain seperate." Whatever the arguments, such issues are fools' arguments and should never be a focus of dispute in the Panth. The Gurmatta has been passed and I am pesonally happy to accept it.

24/24!!! Just because most current British nationals would fail it (and I do honestly believe that), that does not make it a bad test for all those foreigners trying to become British Citizens. Partly it makes money (nothing wrong with that), but partly it does encourage a certain level of curiosity or swotting up of the books that contain the bank of questions. My sister-in-law passed first time and she is not the brightest button on the planet by a long shot. If you fail to pass continuously after cramming with the reccommended books, then I'm afraid you just don't cut the mustard.

Agreed. Unsheathing cheap low quality swords and brandishing them like fools is pathetic. The sword is a respected object in Sikhi and when one unsheaths it, there should be a purpous - there are better ways to show your anger. It is a mockery when groups of Singhs stand at roadsides with naked kirpans and then run like scared children when the police lathi charge them. Personally I think that they deserve a good hiding from the police and maybe that will make them think twice about their actions. Can you imagine the puratan shaheeds doing this? In those days when the sword of the Khalsa was unsheathed, the dusht's blood upon its blade was the intended outcome.