jasleen k

A good idea will be pics of those persons, before coming into Sikhi and after coming into Sikhi. Pics say a thousand words, and even inspire.

Bhul Chuk Maaf,

WJKK WJKF

agreed! before and after photos are especially wanted.

waheguru ji ka khalsa, waheguru ji ki fateh!

i've had a bit of inspiration... i've heard so many great stories of how people came into sikhi... and i've just read Bhai Rama Singh ji's autobiography, which is filled with such inspirational stories...

anyway, i'd like to compile a book filled with the stories of young sikhs. i'll handle the seva of printing and publishing. we can distribute it for free at gurdwaras and via the internet.

submissions should be primarily in english. please include your name, age and where you live. of course if you want to remain gupt that's ok too.

i'd also love to publish photographs or artwork that you feel depict the theme, "Sikh by Choice".

submissions can be posted to the website www.sikhbychoice.com, or via email to jasleen@sikhbychoice.com.

i welcome any and all suggestions!

PLEASE spread the word and pass this on to your friends.

thanks so much!

-jasleen kaur

www.sikhbychoice.com

ive a question what if a girl have hair on ther body

stomach legs back etc etc

if a girl has hair on her body, she should be thankful. waheguru resides on every hair. more hair equals more blessings.

ਰੋਮ ਰੋਮ ਮਹਿ ਬਸਹਿ ਮੁਰਾਰਿ ॥

on each and every hair, the Lord abides.

ਸਤ ਸੰਤੋਖ ਕਾ ਧਰਹੁ ਧਿਆਨ ॥

Center yourself and meditate on truth and contentment.

ਕਥਨੀ ਕਥੀਐ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਗਿਆਨ ॥੧੫॥

Speak the speech of God's spiritual wisdom. ||15||

ok ji, i give in. forgive me for my stupidity and arrogance.

forget about their crimes and personalities. now they are magically sparkling clean heroes.

but i'm not the only one questioning. and i won't be the only one questioning. because some of us don't like to be spoon fed.

Dont be so narrow-minded. Why do you have to emphasize the term monay, I think thats the root of your problem with them. You think god has a seat reserved for you in Sach Khand because you have grown hair?

it might be, and no i do not. i'm sure i'll be back for another chauraasee lakh joon, but i can certainly try my best to follow my father's orders.

Jasleen Kaur, stop trying to cause conflict.

You call these 2 soormay criminals as they were in jail?

Navtej Singh was jailed for beating up a radical Hindu leader. Harchand Singh was in jail for faling on the wrong path, both have

repented any of their sins by punishing an enemy of the Sikh panth.

Enlighten yourself with Sikh history. Bhai Bidhi Chand was a daku....and then become a servant of Guru Sahib.

Shaheed Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda was a smuggler, who later became one of the greatest Sikh warriors in modern times.

Do not look upon these Soormays mistakes but look at their current actions.

Also stop creating conspiracy theories, Phoola IS DEAD, and NO, GOI was not behind this.

There are some facts which are pretty Gupt, all I can say is be rest assured, that this was an act of PANTHIC revenge.

people are making direct attacks on me and I'M the one causing conflict?

come on , i asked questions and people here are simply afraid of questions. everyone just accept what you're told and don't ask about it. is that really how sikhs should be? just accept everything the indian news media feeds us? please. sorry, but my dad taught me to think for myself.

and please don't compare some monay thugs to someone who served guru gobind singh ji. what would guru ji say to these two? i'd guess it would be something like, "grow your kes, come off your "wrong path" and then come back to talk!"

what's the wrong path anyway? drugs? murder? what? why isn't it in any of the "panthic" news?

In all honesty, war, migration, families not talking to each other means this is not possible. I don't know about you but I started doing my family tree and its tough..hence why i appreciate this ancient system of keeping track of relations.

ok, sorry.

but ya, my grandfather started our family tree... traced back to the 1400s in germany. pretty cool. unfortunately a church fire had destroyed all the records prior to that.

Jasleen bhanji. i know u mean well but its not jatt culture....its punjabi culture because I know pathare, tarkhans and many other tribes follow the same principles too. Also Punjabi culture is not all bad.

In regards to sikhi all souls are considered the same...however that does not mean we marry our dads, brothers or cousins....No where does it say in sikhi that I cannot marry my dad. However it is not acceptable to marry my dad due to the close genetic link. Likewise this is the same prinicple but it is extended to tribes and pinds where genetic features are similar.

sorry if i've offended, but i know it's not common across all of punjab, because i've done a lot of research on this issue after some high profile "honour killings". the trend is mostly among the primarily agricultural people from malwa region (some harianvi jatts practice it too), that's why i said "jatt", but sure, other "tribes" practice it. that does't make it sikhi or even logical.

having children with anyone outside of the first cousin level of relationship is not a problem from a medical and genetic standpoint. even if we think it is, we should be able to keep track of who we're related to and who we're not.

or we could all just marry people of a different nationality altogether, just to make sure.

Well since you asked the question from a cultural standpoint, it is not. It is not permissible to marry anyone from the clan of either your parents let alone village.

according to sikhi, there is NO restriction on marrying someone who's mother is from the same villiage as yours.

please don't encourage jatt culture in a sikhi forum.

The same goes for the pind thing....your considered too close. Its basically done to keep the gene pool mixed and reduce genetic problems etc.

what kind of behaviour goes on in these pinds that people don't even know if they're related? :o

wjkk wjkf!

I really dont understand on what grounds you are able to offer such advice. This is a decision that would be best fit for the Panj Pyairay to make, not you or I. Advising an individual not to wear a Kakkar or take Amrit because they are on Methadone a TREATMENT for drug addicts is not a judgment to made by either of us.

Also, is it not possible that the level of addiction prior to treatment influences which treatments one can take. My personal issue here is that you appear to be providing advice in strong inclination when it is not within your right to speak in such absolutes.

You also appear to make inferences regarding the original poster you have no way of validating. In response to your comments regarding taking amrit while on "Drugs" perhaps you have forgot the concept of intentions. If one is on treatment to withdraw from substance abuse, they are on the right track. The intentions of the original poster appear to be very pure and filled with love for this path, your words are strongly discouraging and a little bit offensive.

To an individual who is seeking treatment for prior substance abuse and trekking towards the goal of taking Amrit, it is rather bothersome that you put up obstacles and equalize the treatment as being no positive step and equate it to the same as being on heroin.

I would request that you stop giving advice that the Panj Pyaraiay should instead be providing.

man, you're so busy arguing against me you're not even noticing what you're saying.

i AGREE 100% that he should ask panj piyare about taking amrit while on methadone maintenence (it's not a treatment, it's a replacement, read up on it). i AGREE 100% that he should ask panj piyare if he should wear kirpan before receiving amrit, and while he's still taking methadone.

see, we are in agreement on this, but you just want to disagree. that makes it seem as if you have a personal problem with me, rather than having an intellectual or theological issue with my statements.

if you have a personal issue, send me a PM. if not, then try to post about the issue, rather than against the poster.

thanks.

If people don't respect Sikhs anymore, then make them, i don't mean force them with violence, but just go out of your way to help someone, like holding a door open for someone. Then people themselves will soon realise.

agreed 100%!

where i live, most people don't even know what sikhs are. so i do whatever i can to be visible, polite, and helpful. it opens a lot of dialog.

ok, i agree, ALL of them come with a lot of responsibility. however, it's just the kirpan that society tries to take away from us. we need to show them that only dedicated sikhs are carrying it, not random drug addicts.

society cant take anything away from us.

and hes not a random drug addict, he is on his way to becoming a Sikh. if he understands the responsibility of a kirpaan then why cant he wear it?

i'm not convinced he understands that responsibility. we don't even know him and we're saying to wear guru ji's kirpan?

how long has he been following sikhi. how long has he been wearing his turban. how long has he been reading his nitnem banis on a regular schedule. how long has he been visiting gurdwaras. how often does he interact with sangat in person? how long has he been off heroin. how long will he be on methadone (not a treatment, by the way, but a maintenence drug).

how can we tell a virtual stranger to take on such a responsibility? it makes no sense to me.

and once again, i really don't mean to seem harsh, but as a convert, whenever another white sikh fails or leaves sikhi (as two previously amritdhari bibis i know have done lately), it reflects poorly on ALL converts. so i'm not going to encourage anyone i don't know.

if he really really wants to give his head, he should go to the gurdwara, talk to the granthi and find out about amrit sanchar there, rather than asking strangers on an online forum to find him a ride! come on!

sikhi is not an easy path. why try to pretend it is?

this jasleen.k has got issues

yes veerji/bhenji, i have got issues. we all do. it's part of being human.

i'm sorry my issues are not the same as your issues.

and that's scary.

Realli??

Mahan Kosh was just written some time back.. It was complete by 1926. Thats 82 years ago. Guru JI lived between 469 - 539 years ago... SO there is a difference of 389 - 457 years between Guru ji and Mahan Kosh... SO in that time it is highly possible a word's meaning was changed...

so show me some proof of that. you can't say, "mahan kosh is not accurate", unless you show me something that IS accurate. the prophet of doom saying an old kashmiri man said blue means green is not "proof".

wjkk wjkf

The "mind altering drug" is medicinal. Should Amritdharis also remove their kirpan if they go in for surgery and have to take morphine or oxycodone?

he's not amritdhari. he has not been commanded to keep panj kakkars. the comparison is invalid.

taking morphine for surgery and a few days after is NOT the same thing as taking methadone every single day for months... even years. i don't care if it's "medicinal". i have known people on methadone treatment. they were walking around in an opoid haze that was not much better than heroin. methadone treatment is controversial for a reason. there are rapid detox therapies available that will get him off the drug, totally out of his system, in a couple of weeks.

it is not at all strange to expect that someone walking in to offer guru ji their head should be clean of all drugs/alcohol/etc. if they have to take drugs in surgery, many amritdharis would go pesh after that. so how can we say it's ok to take amrit while you're on drugs? would it be ok to take amrit with a nicotine patch on? after all, it's not technically a cigarette, it just gives the same fix to the cigarette addict!

people keep calling me "too liberal" about rehet. but you guys all seem to think it's ok to take amrit while you're on drugs??? i'm totally confused here.

regarding kakkars... no one is saying don't wear a kadha... but a kirpan? there's a lot of responsibility that comes with the kirpan. i've never met anyone who advocates wearing the kirpan before amrit.

i wore all my kakaars for a year before i took amrit to prepare because i was told so by a gursikh.

and all the kakaars come a lot of responsibility, not just the kirpaan.

ok, i agree, ALL of them come with a lot of responsibility. however, it's just the kirpan that society tries to take away from us. we need to show them that only dedicated sikhs are carrying it, not random drug addicts.

very fair point but its actually not easy to live up to our ancestors. mainly i think because of the society in which we live. its not just Sikhs. Goodness in the world is on the verge of extinction.

i disagree, i see goodness all around me (ok, not much in this forum, but still.... ) maybe i'm a "glass half full" person. when i visited india, alone, i found that sikhs were incredibly helpful and kind and honest whenever i needed help. in delhi, mumbai, amritsar, almost anywhere really.

when i was in delhi and i wanted to go to gurdwara sis ganj sahib, i found a sikh rikshaw driver who not only drove me there, but walked around with me, reading the signs for me, telling me sakhis... and then he refused payment for the ride!

when i was on a train to amritsar, a sikh lady sitting next to me saw that i didn't have a hotel, she called her brother who owned a hotel, he picked me up personally and drove me there from the train station.

when i was in amritsar, a sikh lady gave me a kara (my first!) after we met at darbar sahib at amrit vela.

when i was taking a bus from chandigarh to patiala, the man sitting behind me tried to feel my leg... the sikh conductor literally threw him out of the moving bus.

when i was in patiala, i wanted to go to fatehghar sahib and then back to chd... the door man at my hotel (totally staffed by amritdharis) found me a driver who was so pious... he would do ardas before he turned on the car, every time. he drove me to fatehghar sahib, showed me around, drove me to chd, all for 500INR.

when i wanted to go to anandpur sahib, i asked the sikh bus driver if he went to anandpur, he said "NAHI! anandpur SAHIB". then smiled and let me on the bus.

in anandpur sahib, i met a sikh family who was visiting from the US after many years. they invited me to eat langar with them and they also showed me around and told me sakhis...

in mumbai, my hotel security guard told me to "only ride in sardarji taxis". in GTB Nagur, i got completely lost and when i asked directions from a Sikh gentleman, he walked a mile out of his way to get me to the train station.

even before i went to india, i had read in tour books that if you need assistance, ask a Sikh! :D

i think the negative image and stereotypes we see today are about 90% from the indian media, which is extremely biased against Sikhs.

i'm a stupid american so i can only speak english fluently.

i read and write gurmukhi (slowly), understand punjabi somewhat, but can't speak it well (i'm working on that)

i can understand enough hindi and spanish to get around, but my vocab is limited.

i had one year of japanese in school, but i've forgotten most of it.

:upid:

People who think that, are directly saying that SANT JI IS A COWARD. WILL SANT JI LEAVE AKAL TAKHT ALONE WITH ALL SINGHS ON BATTLEFIELD.... WATCH ALL HIS BELOVED SIKHS MARTYR IN INDIA... Watch 350,000 innocents Singh(ni)s killed???

NO!

If sant ji is alive, then they would be like 61... What will they lead now???

And even, if they were alive, that is no excuse to call sant ji simply "BHINDRANWALE"

you are completely missing the point. do you even remember what we were talking about before you flipped out over common usage of sant ji's name (can i say that?)?

the point is that people think a lot of strange things. people do a lot of strange things. i would not be at all surprised if:

A) that wasn't really phoola who was burned.

or

B) if it was phoola, the sevadars could have been paid by the GOI to do it (to prevent him from testifying against them.

remember that this happened in an indian jail. i don't know if you've been to one or if you have relatives who have... but i hear they're not the most scrupulous places.

Hello i have a guestion about a marriage.

I love a girl, and we both live in england. But my dad en her mum are from the same pind in india.

Is it allowed in our culture/sikhi to marry in this situation.

I dont know anything about this thing. I am confused.

My friend told me that girl cannot marry in the same pind, were her naanke are?

Is this true men.

Tanx for helping me out.

there is NOTHING in sikhi which says you cannot marry someone from the same pind.

certain sections of punjabi/haryanvi culture do seem to prohibit this, to the point of murdering those who do it. so you should probably check with your parents to see if they're SIKH first or if they're PUNJABI first, then go from there.

http://www.medindia.net/news/Upper-Caste-V...ple-36797-1.htm

Among the Jat caste of the conservative northern state of Haryana, it is taboo for a man and woman of the same village to marry. Although the couple were not related, they were seen in this deeply traditional society as brother and sister.

Beant Singh = you hit the nail on the head.

And jasleen, be aware, for next time it is SANT JARNAIL SINGH BHINDRANWALE, atleast give them the respect. I'm sure they did way more bani than you, so please respect BrahmGyanis!

not simply bhindranwale.

:WW:

sorry, some people think SANT BABA JARNAIL SINGH JI BHINDRANWALE is still alive.

come on chota veer, when did i ever compare myself to anyone? EVERYONE does more bani than me. i'm the dust of dust. no need to make things personal, ok?

first of all im a penji

i didn't know that either. we should all make an effort to put singh and kaur, or at least "s" and "k" by our names or in our signature.

else how are we supposed to know who is brother and who is sister?

i'm pleasantly surprised to see there are bhenji's here... i just can't identify them half the time.

ancient chinese dialects derived from the age old celtic language gae-skriti, commonly spoken of aryan people of bantu descent

that's funny.

Harinder veerji, nice topic!!

Wow, to they still use neela for harra?

Or was it in Guru Jis times?

and that's scary.

Just trim the bani out, simple

is that allowed? or do they have to burn it now?