sadh ka sang

Pyare Veer Ji, This is a hard question to answer. Because it all depend on what style you are thinking of adopting for your dastaar. Each style has it specific lengths. - Panjabi Nok Wali Pag: Double Patti can reach up to 9-10 metres whereas Single Patti is 5-6 metres. This also depends on whether you tie a keski underneath or not. For this style of pag, rubia voil or normal voil is the best way to go. Rubia voil is more dense...this is the type of fabric most men in Punjab use. - Dumalla is usually 22 metres long and cut in half and sewn which makes it around 11 metres...but others can be longer, depending on style and how many shastars you wish to have inside your dumalla, if you desire. Ive heard malmal is good and more comfortable for dumalla than voil, but it depends on who you ask. - African style Pag is usally 5-6 metres, depends on who many larhs you want. Malmal is good fabric for this type of dastaar. - Taksaali Style, on average 6-8 metres, but can be longer...can also be shorter too (some only tie 4 metres).

This guy demonstrates how to tie a dastaar, similar to african style. Hope it helps.

Has anyone heard of people using "Gur Prasad" for greeting purposes? I was listening to a panjabi radio show the other day and the host was greeting callers with "Gur Prasad". Is this a new trend? Am I the only one aware of this? In any case, there is one and ONLY one greeting for a Sikh and that is the Guru dwara bakshi fateh, Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh. No other greeting can replace this.

I've been listening to Panjab Radio for a few years now and I must say that they do raise valid points and are quite active in current Sikh affairs. They raise awareness to a number of issues and are completely supportive of the Sikh Panth and take a firm stand when needed. For example, A while back Panjab Radio started a petition to prevent the destruction of old Sikh historic buildings and Gurdwaras and preserve our heritage. I'm not sure which types of anti-gurmat activities you refer to, could you please further elaborate?

I think this is the link that will answer your query. http://fateh.sikhnet.com/s/tyingturbans On a side note, we should not be judgemental about what type of dastaar a person wears. A dastaar is a dastaar...period ! A person who wears a gol dastaar is no better Sikh than a person who wears a nok wali dastaar and vice versa.

Do you have any recent pics of Ramaji ?

its a hoax...c'mon people wake up. I really laughed at "credentialed members of the press"...I guess Fox and CNN wont be coming to that press conference.

For those who celebrate India's independence day today, good for them and may they share their joy with others. BUT for Sikhs this is a black day, and is a cruel reminder that we are still slaves in our own motherland. jad vi kitay vanddh hoyi, vanddh hoyi panjab dee jad vi kitay rand hoyi, randi hoyi aurat panjab dee

Who does kirtan in that simran track? I must say, that was the weirdest simran I've ever heard. It sounds like something at an end of a bhangra song, what with all the hollering and laughing.

Bhai Mohinder Singh "SDO" was a well respected member of AKJ and for a number of years recited kirtan in samagams. However he later started doing improper parchar of Sikhi and often misinterpreted Gurbani during these discoures delve into whilst reciting kirtan. I don't know what kind of parchar he was doing because I never heard it myself but it resulted in him being excommunicated from the panth. However what I have seen is a pamphlet published by his jathebandi, Shabad Vartara organization, in which Bhai Mohinder Singh disproves Bhai Gurdas Ji's writings and claims they are contradictory to Gurbani. Also, someone was telling me that in one of his tapes Bhai Mohinder Singh said that the panja nishaan (impression of Guru Nanak's hand) at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Pakistan is not genuine and that it was created by a group of artisans in the early 20th century. Bhai Mohinder Singh claims he read an eye-witness account of the event in some British man's diary. It begs the question, where is this so called diary? Who was this British man he speaks of? Why have no other historians acquired this diary? Why hasn't it been brought to the attention of historians and scholars? Then, Bhai Mohinder Singh said that Gurdwara Nanak Piaoo in New Delhi has no a direct affiliation with Guru Nanak. Apparently, there was a sevadar by the name of Nanak Chand along time ago who use to do jal seva (offer water to passerbies). When SGPC learnt of this they built a Gurdwara in memory of Guru Nanak. As you can see, Bhai Mohinder singh says a lot of bogus statements with very little and often fallible evidence. Even though his kirtan may be nice and full of rass but his lectures need to be taken with a heavy grain of salt.

Its funny how often we undermine the power of Ardaas. Think back to all those puraatan Sikhs who were left to live in the jungles with no food or shelter. They sustained their faith in Guru ji through sincere ardaas. We must never forget that Guru ji is there with His hand on our shoulder...we just don't realize it.

Maybe you should also consider listing Maachis (1996) although not an entirely relgious film, it still depicts a dark time in Sikh history. This film is probably the most accurate film made to date portraying post 1984 events in India. I saw Purja Purja Kat Mare when it first came out, so its been a really long time since I seen it. You're right, both Guggu Gill and Deep Dhillon are shown as singhs in the movie. Again, its not an entirely religious film but it does present Sikh themes through out the movie (e.g. the opening song is a dharmik geet sung by Sardool Sikander and the opening scene is at the bhog of an Akhand Paath). But overall, its mainly another commerical Panjabi film. I've heard songs from the movie Changay Manday Tere Banday (1976)...speaking from the songs, the film doesn't seem much dharmik to me but I haven't seen the film. Perhaps someone out there has who'd like to comment on it. There was another Panjabi movie released 6-7 years ago called "Door Nahin Nankana". I haven't seen it but I remember seeing advertisements for it when it was released and it seemed like a dharmik film. Also, have you seen the Panjabi film "Jako Rakhe Saiyan" (1986), I haven't seen it but this may be a dharmik film.

Yes I too would still put Bhagat Dhanna Jatt in the list as well because its still linked with Sikhi because Bhagat Dhanna's bani is in Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Even though it involves Hindu Gods and Deities, the story of Bhagat Dhanna Jatt revolves around committing true selfless devotion to Akal Purakh through naam. I've seen the movie Sat Sri Akal. Its actually not a bad film. There's too versions of it one in Punjabi and one dubbed in Hindi which was released under the title Gyani Ji. It stars Premnath, Sunil Dutt, Prikshat Sahni, Amrish Puri, Rajindernath, and Kamini Kaushal. All the males are portrayed as Sikhs with dastaars and beards. I'd recommend seeing the movie. Premnath sung Shalok Mahalla 9 in the movie, in his own voice. Also, there's a really nice song for children depicting history of the Sikh Gurus. Its called "Aao sunnavaan das guruaan di paavan amar kahni, man si unna da prem da sagar amrit vargi bani". As for the movie Vaisakhi...I've seen this one and assuming you're referring to the same one, this is not a dharmik movie. Its a normal commercial Panjabi film starring Deep Dhillon, Sunita Dhir, Harbhajan Jabbal, Arun Bali, Amar Noori. Its actually not a bad film because it has a good story and is not the typical Jatt gandaasa movies produced during the 90s.

This one wouldn't sit well with Gurdwara Parbandhaks...especially those who salaciously leer at the golak. <_<

I remember this list being posted a while back as well. In any case, it was nice to read it again because it made me laugh just as much as before. :lol:

No, but Gursikhi encompasses all aspects of Sikh culture. Bhai Gurdas Ji is saying that these are the intrinsic values which together form Gursikhi.

Speechless.....Dhan Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj Jugo Jugo Atal :BOW:

The festival occasion of Rakhri is more commonly known as Raksha Bandhan through out Northern India. The occasion celebrates the emotional bonding between brother and sister where the sister ties a holy thread around her brother's wrist. This thread, which pulsates with sisterly love and sublime sentiments, is rightly called the ‘Rakhi’ or 'Rakhri' in Panjabi. It means 'a bond of protection'. The ritual is observed on the full moon day in the month of Sawan, on which sisters tie the sacred Rakhri string on their brothers' right wrists, and pray for their long life. The reasons why some Sikhs object to this practice is that it reinforces the concept that women are inferior to men and are not capable of protecting their "patt" or dignity so therefore, women are dependent on men as their saviours. In Sikhism, Guru Sahib has given equal rights to both women and men. The brave spirit of the Khalsa is not only reserved for men but can also be instilled in women through khande pahul da amrit. Whereas these reasons to defy the practice of rakhri are understandable and justified, Rakhri still remains a common annual practice celebrated within many Panjabi Sikh households. Unfortunately, its become one of those festivals which has gradually crept itself into Sikhi over the years and many Sikhs fail to distinguish it from Panjabi culture (similar to Lohri and Diwali). The fact of the matter is that many Sikhs don't see the practice of Rakhri as representing women being weak. Instead they see it as a resemblance of unity and love between a brother and sister. Whats the solution? First off, don't shun away any Sikhs who still observe Rakhri. Instead, we should educate them and tell them that these kind of rituals are not part of gurmat. If still they fail to consider the logic, then by all means let them go ahead and celebrate Rakhri. There's no need to take an offensive approach towards this issue.

I like listening to qawallis because they can be very uplifting at times. If you get a chance, I highly recommend listening to Sabri Bros. recordings. A lot of qawallis are sufi kalaam and talk about the "ishq" between man and God. So, how can one go wrong when there's talk about supreme devotional love with the Almighty? There's nothing wrong with listening to music, it all depends on our interpretation. We have to distinguish between ishq haqiqi (love with God) and ishq majazi (love with God's creation).

By "jhaga" do you mean shirt? Could you please clarify your query.

(I understand this really doesn't have anything to do with Sikhi but when I heard about this news I thought I'd share with you...rather chilling and horrific story. My heart goes out the victim's family). http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStories Police don't know what prompted vicious bus attack Updated Thu. Jul. 31 2008 4:05 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff Police in Winnipeg said Thursday they do not know what triggered a vicious attack on a Greyhound bus the night before that led to the beheading of a passenger. Witnesses say a man was stabbed to death and then decapitated in what appears to be a random act of violence on board the bus that was en route to Winnipeg late Wednesday. At a news conference Thursday afternoon, RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve Colwell said a 40-year-old suspect is in custody and police were preparing to interview him. No charges have been laid. Colwell would not confirm passenger reports that a man repeatedly stabbed his seat-mate before beheading him. He said passengers had already left the bus when officers arrived at the scene near Portage la Prairie, Man. He added that police apprehended the suspect when he tried to escape the bus by jumping out a window. Colwell said the actions of the passengers and driver may have prevented any other attacks from occurring. "It's not something that happens regularly on a bus," said Colwell. "You're sitting there enjoying your trip and then all of a sudden somebody gets stabbed. I imagine it would be pretty traumatic ... the way they acted was extraordinary." "They were very brave. They reacted swiftly, calmly in exiting the bus and as a result nobody else was injured." Shocked witnesses said the victim, described as between the ages of 18 to 20, was sleeping with his head against the window when the attack occurred. Garnet Caton, who was sitting in front of the victim, heard the commotion and turned around thinking he was going to witness a fight. Caton told CTV News that once he realized what was going on he screamed: "Stop the bus, somebody's getting stabbed, everyone get the hell off." The bus driver pulled over on a section of the east-bound Trans-Canada Highway -- about 15 kilometres west of Portage la Prairie, Man -- and many of the 37 passengers began to flee the bus. Caton gathered a small group of people to go back and help the victim, said CTV's Murray Oliver in Winnipeg. "They returned to the back of the bus to find that the person who was stabbing the person in the neck had now sawed off the head of (the victim)." The man, with the head in one hand and the butcher knife in the other, then tried to attack the other passengers, said Oliver. The group was able to exit the bus and slammed the door behind them. The man then stabbed the door with his knife but was unable to break through and get off the bus. Eventually, he attempted to start up the bus to drive away but the operator had hit a switch, disabling the vehicle. Oliver said a truck driver then arrived at the scene and handed out wrenches and crowbars to several men. The small group gathered around the door to the bus and prevented the man from exiting until police arrived. RCMP eventually arrested the man after a standoff lasting several hours, said Oliver. Witnesses said the suspect was tall, large and wearing sunglasses, even though it was dark. Abby Wambaugh, media relations spokeswoman for Greyhound, said the company is now working with Transport Canada to review bus security. She called the situation tragic but said travelling by bus is still "the safest mode of transportation in the country." Wambaugh also said Greyhound is fully co-operating with the RCMP investigation. Passengers will be escorted to Winnipeg once they are interviewed by RCMP, said Wambaugh. Once there, Greyhound will provide counselling for any passengers who want the service, she said. Meanwhile, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said Thursday he was shocked when he heard about the incident. He said it was "probably one-of-a-kind in Canadian history." The minister said he's not entertaining any notion of registering knives as dangerous weapons given that millions of kitchen knives alone are sold annually.

This has got to be the most trashiest journalism I've seen. I believe we should take upon ourselves as an initiative to e-mail the author (Atul Chatterjee) and teach him the real spiritual, practical, and symbolisitc aspects of our kakkars. I decided to read some other articles written by the same author and he has the same style of writing. He constantly goes astray and manages to get derailed off topic. For some reason, he loves to mention irrelevant history in his articles (just read the one on Hindi language in Nepal...2/3 of the article is focused more on the history of Hindi being declared official language in India than current situation in Nepal). His articles reflect the typical brahmin agenda...Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan. I'll be giving Mr. Chatterjee a piece of my mind and let him know that my kara is more than a mere bottle opener.

Ishmeet Singh - Star Voice of India winner dies in the Maldives Jul 29th, 2008 | By admin | Category: News and Updates Ishmeet Singh - Star Voice of India winner dies in the Maldives today. The cause of his death was drowning according to official news sources. Some also suspects that the cause of death might have been due to damages to his head from a dive into the swimming pool (That was from TVM). Ishmeet Singh was reported to have been staying in a Resort Island ( Chaaya Island Dhonveli ) in the Maldives. According to the Assistant Manager of Chaya Dhonveli Maldives, Mr. Malan Robert, Ishmeet Singh was in the swimming pool along with his friends. None of them could swim! He was in the (Shallow Pool - Baby pool) and was asked not to get into the Deep pool. However, he went to the deep pool. He taking too much time got his friends worried and they informed the hotel and found him drowned. The doctor from ADK hospital in Male’ confirms the cause of death as drowning and did not point out any damages to his head as speculated earlier. National Police Services is investigating the matter along with the Hotel. According to the hotel sources, he died between 5.15 and 5.20pm. Preparations are underway to take Ishmeet Singh’s body home. He was rushed to the hospital around 5:30pm this afternoon and died before he could reach the ADK hospital. He and other Voice of India participants were visiting the Maldives to perform in the Voice of India Show in the Carnival on 1 August, Friday. Ishmeet Singh, a 19 year old boy from Ludhiyana used to suffer from stage fear in his childhood. The fear was overcome after he sang in front of a huge crowd in the Delhi Audition of Star Voice of India. He is a true fan of Shaan and considers him as his idol. He also admires A. R. Rehman and his dream is to sing for him. He was among the top 2 finalists on Star Voice of India and was crowned the winner on November 24, 2007. He was also one of the contestants of Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar, a singing competition on Star Plus channel and represented the Champions team. He was eliminated on June 20, 2008. Our condolences to his family: his death is a great loss for us all.

Here's another great website for listening to kirtan sung in raags http://www.gurmatsangeetproject.com/

First of all, I don't know why we Sikhs have such double standards. When a person from a non-Sikh community makes a film about the Sikh community we quickly jump to minor objections and create a huge kafuffle and stir up controversy. However, we do nothing when Bhangra artistes produce lewd and vulgar music videos. Ive never heard about a protest against Jassi Sidhu, Lehmbar Hussainpuri, Diljit, and all those other singers who call themselves Sikhs yet produce nothing but garbage and call it "maa boli di seva". I think we first need to clear the clutter in our home and only then will we be in a better position to successfully carry out a protest. As they say in Panjabi "pehla apne manji thalle sota pher lavo".