sher_panjabi

Lakh Lakh Vadhaayee to everyone

Dhan Bhagat Ravidaas jee

Good point Bhaji. But please remember there a billion Muslims (i think).

I agree a lot of crazy people are doing a lot of crazy things. Rab Ohnaa Nu Samat Bakshe!

true bad news makes news!

if 100 people do something good the media doesnt take note. if 1 person does something bad then media makes them front page news.

each situation requires a unique response which should be based on self-awareness and awareness of the surrounding and situation.

knowing how sensitive the climate it - raising pro 7/7, 9/11 and pro-murder slogans robbed the protestors of sympathy which otherwise most people whether Muslim, non-Muslim or religious or not would have shared with the protestors.

Burning flags and shouting abuse will never attract support - only push sympathising ears away.

Rab Rakha.

The Khalsa way of doing things as taught by our Guru Sahibs is DIGNITY and GRACE.

Mocking any religion or getting religious debates to fuel our ego and take the line "I am right, you are wrong" and vice versa is condemned by Gurbani. Therefore, publishing cartoons to ridicule another's religion would be seen as inciting a clash of egos. "How dare you publish this" Vs. "Ha ha, welcome to free speach". It is underlied with ego and inciting debate to fuel intentional tension.

Sikhi doesn't share the beliefs and practices of other religions however our Guru has told us to keep Grace and Dignity. Why waste time on undermining other people's beliefs, when you can spend it on building your own jeevan (life) and becoming a walking inspiration for others to see and appreciate the Sikhi one projects. For this reason Guru Sahib says (ang 1350):

byd kqyb khhu mq JUTy JUTw jo n ibcwrY ]

Translation:- "Call not the Vedas and the Semetic books false; Rather false are those who lack the ability to rationalise."

"Genuine" vichaar and sincere attempts to understand the "other" while still remaing steadfast in your belief is what this line refers to. Condeming the Pandits (hindu scholars) and Qazi (muslim clerics) who spent their time slagging one another off and trying to find faults of one another to disprove the other. Yet both did not realise that they were BOTH spiritually lost entangled in Ego.

We are NOT all the same. We have to accept this. To say "Islam, Sikhi, Hinduism, Christianity are all the same thing and have same beliefs" is inaccurate, false and probably not very "inter-faith" thing to say. We have to accept PLURALISM. Yes we are different. We are all different. Why deny this? We don't necessarily believe in what others believe but Sikhi believes in "agreeing to disagree," respecting others choice and freedom and giving them breathing space. At the end of the day, the general goal of any God-loving and spiritual person, regardless of their religious background is is spiritual union with God (generally all religions have the same goal of GOD, however some people may have strayed from this aim with the gread of heaven and desire of paradise). In Sikhi we call this spiritual immersion into God, to become "leen" (absorbed/immersed) in Waheguru. In Islam this is called "Fanaa'". Sufis believe that we can become absorbed in God in this life and that God is not in the Seventh Sky but everywhere and everyone (however this belief is condemned by mainstream Islam).

Guru Jee says:

Awp AwpxI buD hY jyqI vrxq iBn iBn qoih qyqI ||

Translation:- Each one, according to their level of understanding, interprets the Truth.

The Gurus showed a short and simple way of self-realisation and EXPERIENCING Waheguru through revealed Shabd Guru and exemplified by their own practical lives and experience. As a result Sikhi is the SIMPLIST path, a short-cut route, to become immersed with Waheguru. However, Guru Sahib gave his head for humanity and sacrificed himself for the religious freedom of others (for those who were not necessarily Sikhs). At the same time Guru jee says to the Religious fanatics who are one-eyed and see the world narrowly as "these are God's people and everyone else is evil"...

kwjI swihbu eyku qohI mih qyrw soic ibcwir n dyKY ]

Kbir n krih dIn ky baury qw qy jnmu AlyKY ]1] rhwau ]

Translation: "O Qazi, the One Lord is within you, but you do not behold Him by thought or contemplation. You do not care for others, you are a religious fanatic, and your life is of no account at all."

(ang 483)

I remember after 9/11 a Sikh rep did a talk in a seminar. He said "Sikhs resemble the taliban. We both wear turbans and have beards. And we both believe in dying for our religion. The difference between the Taliban and the Sikhs is that a Sikh is willing to die for the other and another's belief."

I don't know where this topic is heading. Sorry if I have gone off topic and got carried away.

:lol: Felt sick in the stomach reading that.

One word - DISGRACEFUL. Forget animal rights and seeing God in animals - PANJABIS can't even SEE GOD IN GIRLS!!! rab bhalla kare.

This problem is not just in Panjab. The Panjabis have taken the social diseases abroad with them.

There are many cases of "multiple-abortions" based on the fact that the child concieved was a female. This was picked up by a Leicester hospital.

Solution?

- perhaps Panjabis will learn the hard way. once girls pop decreases so low - girls will become valuable (as they are in shortage). (but still its all too sickening!!)

- getting rid of dowry

- getting rid of the fashion of expensive weddings with loads of gifts, huge party halls and distributing sharaab like water.

Rab Rakha!

Very true point.

I thought it was just eating food in hall (no meat sharaab or dj). Everything has time and place. Quoting Gurbani in a party hall wouldn't be appropriate. You can still say something nice and uplifting, without using and demeaning Gurbani.

Guru Rakha

Good points.

In my second year at uni I studied the Council of Nicene and how the Christian doctrine was formalised and certain books were disregarded from the the final compilation of the Bible.

In my first year at uni I learnt from my Islamic History class that the Quran was recorded in Written format 60 years after the Prophet passed away during the reign of the Second Caliph. There were so many different versions of the Quran around - people had recorded the Prophets words on leaves, stones, rocks and wood etc. So there was a selective process where the final and present form of the Quran was made.

Even today, my lecturer says that there are 7 different versions of the Quran however they have very insignificant differences.

Useful article sent to me:

Reincarnation the evidence:

1. Law of Physics:

The First Law of Thermodynamics, which says energy and matter can be transformed from one to the other, but not created nor destroyed.

2. Near Death Experiences: NDE

There are numerous researchers who have been studying NDE in children & adults, across all cultures. E.g. Dr E Kubler-Ross, R Moody,

Evidence from an excellent and fascinating book Life After Life, by Raymond A. Moody, Jr. The book is a collection of accounts of people who had been pronounced dead but returned to consciousness.

“…Through all of my research, however, I have not heard a single reference to a heaven or a hell or anything like the customary picture to which we are exposed in this society. Indeed, many persons have stressed how unlike their experiences were to what they had been led to expect in the course of their religious training. One woman who "died" reported: "I had always heard that when you die, you see both heaven and hell, but I didn't see either one." Another lady who had an out-of-body experience after severe injuries said, "The strange thing was that I had always been taught in my religious upbringing that the minute you died you would be right at these beautiful gates, pearly gates. But there I was hovering around my own physical body, and that was it! I was just baffled." Furthermore, in quite a few instances reports have come from persons who had no religious beliefs or training at all prior to their experiences, and their descriptions do not seem to differ in content from people who had quite strong religious beliefs”

3. The Tibetan Book of the Dead not only recounts with remarkable accuracy the stages of near-death encounters (in agreement with Moody's observations), but it also says that reincarnation does occur, naturally

4. In the experimental technique of hypnotic regression, a subject under hypnosis is made to go back to successively earlier times in life. When told to go back beyond the earliest present-life experiences, many subjects tell stories about previous lives in earlier times and different places. Some of these stories can be checked, and have turned out to be amazingly accurate, even when it is definitely established that the subject could not have known about the events, people, and places described so accurately. Many impressive and well-documented cases of hypnotic regression exist (see, for example, Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation by Ian Stevenson, MD)

5. Another body of evidence for reincarnation comes from documented accounts of young children who, when they learn to talk, report knowledge of relationships to other families in distant places, with uncanny accuracy. (National Geographical, Horizon BBC)

Time after time, we have seen the proof for reincarnation. It explains where we come from, allows every individual to take responsibility for their own actions, explains irrational phobias, fears, talents, it explains love between people, it explains “sudden” attraction or dislike between people, it explains why YOU are born within a particular family, community, ethnic group etc, those who refute reincarnation can not explain any of these!.

Daas is writing a dissertation on the journey of the soul, comparing Sikhi and Islam in regards to life after death.

I was sent this document by someone. I have added some extra stuff to it at the bottom of the article.

I definately recommend people to read this because as Sikhs we should have knowledge about reincarnation and life after death if someone asks us.

Heaven Vs. Reincarnation article (just shows arguments in small points presented in a table):

Questions_reincarnation___others.doc

Guru Rakha.

Bhul Chuk Maaf

"They are not said to be husband and wife, who merely sit together.

They alone are called husband and wife, who have one light in two bodies. ||3||"

(Guru Amar Daas jee, ang 788)

marriage is a inner journey of two people on the ONE journey, with ONE aim, and ONE soul :lol:

Thanks to everyone who came.

The programme was very nice and great to see so much Sangat.

Guru Rakha.

Looks chardikala :lol:

Fantastic poster!! :lol:

Can't wait!

Bhenji get involved in Sikhi Events - I can give you a list of things :lol:

Mondays

Simran & Discussion @ UCL

5 - 7pm, Every Monday

2nd floor of the Bloomsbury Building in the CSC Meeting Room

Tuesdays

Simran, Keertan & Discussion @ King's

5 - 6.15pm Every Tuesday

Room G4,

New Hunts House,

Guy's Campus,

King's College London

Nearest tube station: London Bridge.

Wednesdays

Chill - Out Session @ Singh Sabha Gurdwara Hounslow

(Simran & Keertan)

7.30 - 9pm, Every Wednesday

Alice Way,

Hounslow

Chips, Beans, Pasta & Ice Cream

Thursdays

Weekly Sikh Soc Meetings @ Westminster Uni

Marylebone Campus,

Room CG72

6 - 7.30pm, Every Thursday

Friday (Once a month)

Sikh Youth Simran & Discussion @ Sikh Missionary Society

7 - 9pm (double-check timings), Every last Friday of the month

Upstairs floor of Sikh Missionary Society

10 Featherstone Road

Southall

Saturday (Once a month)

Youth Keertan Darbaar @ Park Ave. Gurdwara

7.30pm - late, Every last Saturday of the month

Park Avenue,

Southall

Sundays

Nice programmes throughout the day at Havelock Rd. and Park Ave. Gurdwara (Katha, Keertan, Dhadi and Kavishree etc).

Help out with following activities:

Khalsa Club (Sikhi Classes for little kids)

1 - 3pm, Every Sunday

Cark Park Hall,

Park Ave. Gurdwara, Southall

Dastaar Tying Class (helping kids to tie paghs and different styles etc)

3.30 - 4.30pm, Every Sunday

Cark Park Hall,

Park Ave. Gurdwara, Southall

Sweet Sikhi Show

Channel 880 on Sky or on internet on www.panjabradio.co.uk

6 - 8pm, Every Sunday

You can give the studio a visit as well (just let me know :cool: )

Other Sewa projects for Young Sikhs:

- Soup Runs every month (from Hounslow Gurdwara)

- Boss Sikh Socieities sewa (speak to Rav Singh)

- Want to become a Sikh Chaplain/Spiritual Care volunteer at your local Hospital? (let me know).

Guru Rakha :TH:

I rang the show and shared Sikhi viewpoint.

Listen Live to BBC AsianNetwork

Discussion Topic: HINDUS & "SIKHS" WANT OPEN AIR CREMATIONS

An organisation called "ANGLO-ASIAN FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY" is claiming and fighting on behalf of Hindus and Sikhs for open air cremation.

Ps. No-one from the Sikh community has been consulted about this matter.

Its a good discussion. Listen in and share your views.

Email Sonia

Phone Show: 08459 440 445

Just to inform you that that video was posted as a response to the discussion on the following thread-

http://www.sikhsangat.com/index.php?showtopic=16834&hl=

The attempt was to show how much Gurmat the dera follows - does it succeed?

The viewer herself/himself decides how much it goes inlign with Gurmat (teaching of the Gurus)

Regards

150533[/snapback]

sorry i did a search and check the first and second seach pages but couldn't find any topics under "Baba Vadhbhag Singh".

i apologise for posting the same topic again.

Video of Dera Baba Vadbhag Singh

Just got this link from a post on Tapoban Forum. Watching the video now. It's bit WEIRD

Shame how people have forgot NAAM and go to these places.

Sant Kartar Singh Ji Bhindranwale said in his Katha that one who does not read Japji Sahib is the "bhoot pret".

Interesting video. First time I have seen stuff happening. Udhaa I have heard from people what happens there.

Anyone got info if Vadbhag Singh was Amritdhari? Someone told me that he did not take Amrit and nor does his Dera people... they may wear Gatra Kirpans but not Amritdhari.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Guru Pyaari'o

Please give Darshan today at King's College to the Weekly Simran programme.

After Simran we will be discussing and exploring the following shabad:

gur kI mUriq mn mih iDAwnu ]

gur kee moorat man mehi dhiaan

Meditate on the image of the Guru within your mind;

gur kY sbid mMqRü mnu mwn ]

gur kai shabad mantr man maan

let your mind accept the Word of the Guru's Shabad, and His Mantra.

Read Full Shabad

Weekly Simran

5pm - 6.15pm Every Tuesday

Room G4,

New Hunts House,

Guy's Campus,

King's College London

Nearest tube station: London Bridge.

Open to everybody

sikh.soc@kcl.ac.uk

View Map

Dhan Dhan Guru Har Rai Sahib jee

Here's a short article I wrote last year on the Gurgaddi Diwas of Guru Har Rai Sahib jee:

“Simrau Sri Har Rai…”

Chardikala programme. Bit disappointed by the microphone stands and the fact I couldn't figure out how to put the volume higher. Chalo.

Its amazing how its such a big Gurdwara but so few microphone stands. At first the microphones were practically dead - then they suddenly came on full power. Chalo, its all good

Thanks for everyone coming. If anyone didnt get a chance to do Kirtan then bhul chuk maaf... please drop lovesikhi@hotmail.com an email and we will sort out for next month

Happy Birthday.

May Waheguru bless you with a long and prosperous life and Charan Leyee Preet Piaar.

I love listening to Keertan and Katha (discourse on Gurbani). It was Bhai Veer Singh Jee Delhi Wale's last evening of Katha at Park Avenue Gurdwara. I mentioned his Katha in a previous post.

Bhai Sahib's Katha on Saturday was on the topic of "Nindiyaa" (slander). Bhai Sahib gave a beautiful description of what Nindiyaa is and how it doesn't have a negative effect on the devotees of Waheguru.

"A rose plant also grows thorns. What is "Nindiyaa" (slander). Nindiyaa is not recognising the roses on the plant and instead saying it is plant of thorns.

We all have "avguns" (negative points) saying something bad about someone becomes slander when we make someone out to be fully bad, and see no good in the person whatsoever, i.e. bad through in through.

However, no-one is perfect, only the Guru and Waheguru are Perfect.

Hence doing Nindiyaa of anyone is bad, defining someone is through and through bad and not recognising the even smallest amount of good quality or virtue in a person is considered Nindiyaa.Gurbani says:

ਨਿੰਦਾ ਭਲੀ ਕਿਸੈ ਕੀ ਨਾਹੀ ਮਨਮੁਖ ਮੁਗਧ ਕਰੰਨਿ ॥

nindaa bhalee kisai kee naahee, manmukh mugaDh karann.

It is not good to slander anyone, but the foolish, self-willed manmukhs still do it.

ਮੁਹ ਕਾਲੇ ਤਿਨ ਨਿੰਦਕਾ ਨਰਕੇ ਘੋਰਿ ਪਵੰਨਿ ॥੬॥

muh kaale tin nindkaa, narke Ghor pavann. 6

The faces of the slanderers turn black (in this life & the next), and they fall into the most horrible hell. 6.

(Ang 755, SGGS)

The saintly people actually appreciate Nindiyaa.

They don't lose anything through people slandering them. This is because the wise person uses people's slander to self-analyse himself or herself and correct his or her "avgun" (negative points) and convert them to "guns" (virtues).

However, the Nindak (slanderer) is stuck in slandering and forgets self-correct and improve his own jeevan (life). Hence, the wise saintly people win against the Nindaks.

ਹਰਿ ਜਨੁ ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮ ਗੁਨ ਗਾਵੈ ॥

har jan raam naam gun gaavai.

Waheguru's humble servant sings the Glorious Praises of the Waheguru's Name.

ਜੇ ਕੋਈ ਨਿੰਦ ਕਰੇ ਹਰਿ ਜਨ ਕੀ ਅਪੁਨਾ ਗੁਨੁ ਨ ਗਵਾਵੈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

je ko-ee nind kare har jan kee, apunaa gun na gavaavai. 1 rahaa-o.

Even if someone slanders the Lord Waheguru's humble servant, he does not give up his own goodness. 1.Pause.

(Ang 719, SGGS)

A few weeks ago I went to my friend's Anand Kaaraj. Bhai Davinder Singh Panesar gave a short talk at the wedding. The things he said were short but sweet, so I thought I would share this with the sangat.

Bhai Sahib gave the explanation of the first laav, which starts as:

ਹਰਿ ਪਹਿਲੜੀ ਲਾਵ ਪਰਵਿਰਤੀ ਕਰਮ ਦ੍ਰਿੜਾਇਆ ਬਲਿ ਰਾਮ ਜੀਉ ॥

har pehilaRee laav, parvirtee karam driR-aa-i-aa bal raam jee-o.

In the first round of the marriage ceremony, Waheguru sets out His Instructions for performing the daily duties of married life.

In this first verse, the first vow, Guru Sahib gives us guidance of how we can EXPERIENCE the Divine, how we experience the Supreme Infinite Lord Waheguru. The next line shows us that we can have this EXPERIENCE through DHARAM.

ਬਾਣੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਵੇਦੁ ਧਰਮੁ ਦ੍ਰਿੜਹੁ ਪਾਪ ਤਜਾਇਆ ਬਲਿ ਰਾਮ ਜੀਉ ॥

baaNee brahmaa ved Dharam driRHu, paap tajaa-i-aa bal raam jee-o.

Instead of the hymns of the Vedas to Brahma, embrace Dharam (the righteous way of life), and renounce sinful actions...

What is DHARAM? Is it religion? Not quite. DHARAM is a WAY OF LIFE. Just as water being wet is insperable, Dharam is that way of life, which becomes insperable and a part of person. Guru Sahib's not interested in us being a "SUNDAY SIKH," who comes to the Gurdwara on Sunday, does Matha Tekh and eat Langar, and that's his "religious Sikh thing" done for the week. DHARAM is a WAY OF LIFE. If you wish to EXPERIENCE the Divine, and experience SUKH (peace) then one has to live a certain way of life, which is living in the remebrance, meditation and grace of Waheguru.

FOUR TYPES OF SIKHS

There are four types of Sikhs. To illustrate this point, let's use the example of a fire.

1/ The first type of person knows through his or her FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE that by putting one's hand in the fire, it will burn. So they experience the heat of the fire and learnt that it would do them harm. This is like the first type of Sikh - one whose Sikhi is based on EXPERIENCE of the Guru (Gurbani) and Simran.

2/ The second type of person knows that fire will burn their hand, because of another's experience. Therefore, person 2 BELIEVES in person 1, and on the basis of this BELIEF he or she keeps away from fire. This is like the second type of Sikh - one whose Sikhi is based on BELIEF in what they have been told about Guru Sahib and Sikhi.

3/ The third type of person does knows fire is dangerous and not to touch it because person 2 told them that person 1 had experienced the fire. Therefore, person 3 has BLIND FAITH in person 2, and basis his BELIEF on someone else's belief. This is like the third type of Sikh - one whose Sikhi is based on BLIND-FAITH and they plod along and follow Sikhi because so and so told so and so, and this got passed down.

4/ The fourth type of person does not go near fire, not knowing why and thinks its a tradition of the ancestors not to touch fire. Therefore, person 4 follows BLIND-RITUALISM. Not going near fire becomes a RITUAL with no meaning or understand. This is like the fourth type of Sikh - one whose Sikhi is based on BLIND-RITUALISM and they do things, e.g. Matha Tekh, read Paath, or go the Gurdwara NOT KNOWING "WHY" and carry out these acts because their ancestors andprevious generations did this.

What type of Sikhs are we today? Sadly, most of us fall into Sikh no. 4. Hence, Gurbani shows us HOW TO HAVE AN EXPERIENCE. We don't rely on experience of others, rather Gurbani shows us how we can experience Waheguru and Sukh also.

You can read Bhai Sahib's full summary of the Anand Kaaraj here