SanmukhKaur

Whenever one wants to change the world, they are first told to begin at home and then change the world. I don’t think anyone has heard it more than me. Like many Sikhs I am troubled by the direction our religion is headed. I am troubled by the politics, the caste issues, girl boy ratios, outside influences on practice of Sikhism and etc. One could go on all day listing everything that needs to be changed back to how the Guru Sahiban left it for us. But every time I begin to talk about these issues with family or friend, I am asked what I am doing about it or what I can do about it. At that point typically I have to be quiet because I honestly feel hopeless/helpless about bringing change. That is till recent times; today I will not be quiet as I plan on bringing change starting from home. In recent times the Sikh turban and articles of faith have made news quite a few times. Sikhs are outraged at how blatantly our Turbans are being disrespected and non-Sikhs for the most part don’t have a clue what the big deal is. Though it must be noted that some Sikhs are also confused about what’s going on and again what the big deal is. My idea is just that; to inform Sikhs, non-Sikhs and the people in a position to make a difference. On one of the highly celebrated Sikh holiday, Visakhi, the Punjabi class which I attend will hold a town hall style meeting regarding the turban. The hope is that if the guests are invited three months or so prior to the event, they can’t use the schedule conflict excuse to get out of it. The three months also give us enough time to thoroughly research and prepare speeches and presentations that would best represent the interests of Sikhs around the world. Speeches that inform and inspire will be given. All speakers will be local Sikhs, mostly youth with no hidden agendas. All issues will be clear and out in the open, no behind closed door meetings. With this attitude of change we hope to achieve an understanding with the local Senators and TSA officials on what the issues are and why there needs to be a change in the treatment of the turban. We hope the youth will be able to gather support from local Sikhs and Non-Sikhs alike as they extend their hand to Senators to work on a plan for change. And outside of immediate people in attendance, we hope this meeting will inspire sangat around America to hold similar meetings with their senators and TSA officials. Together we need to send the message to the United States and the world that we will not let the turban become the symbol of terrorism. Our humble request to all sangat reading this article is to provide us feedback, links, information and just about anything they think is important for us to research to make this meeting a success. We can only bring about a change with the blessings of Waheguru Ji and the support of the sangat. For more one on one conversation to share ideas and thoughts, please feel free to contact me atfromthese5tothose5@hotmail.com.

The Trap of Maya Money is not everything WaheguruJi works in mysterious ways, one just needs to keep open mind and open eyes tosee it. These past few weeks I have been having issues when it came to dealingwith money. As an immature young adult, I had been irresponsible using mycredit cards and had them taken away by my parents and warned just to use cash.Cash has always been my weak point and I had known that even before I had thecards taken away. So I had asked Waheguru Ji to help me give up my attachmentto money. I think it was a three step program; admittance, denial andforgiveness. I have been trying to go to theGurudwara daily or as often as I can and it was decided I would empty mypockets of all cash at each visit. Seemed like a simple enough idea, after allI did have all my credit cards still with me. I stopped caring about cash andbarely carrying any at that. I became dependent on my cards. I stopped abusingone form of maya and started abusing another. When the bills came in, I was cutoff from this form of Maya also. I stopped visiting the Gurudwara as often, notknowingly but sub-consciously. I needed the money, I guess. So during the weekI avoided the Gurudwara Sahib but there was no way around Sundays. The lastSunday I was driving to the local Gurudwara Sahib a greedy thought crossed mymind. I said aloud to Waheguru Ji that it’s His fault I am broke, again today Iam going to give up my money and now I don’t even have my credit cards. But Iwill honor my promise and give up all the money I have. I never got the chance to honor mypromise; Waheguru Ji intervened and reminded me of my place. I had complainedless than a block from the Gurudwara Sahib and a block later I completelyforgotten all about the money. Totally distracted I grabbed my books forPunjabi School and rushed in though I was early and there was no need to rush,just a feeling. It was not until I was already at Guru Granth Sahib Ji’spresence, that I remembered the money. I promised myself that after Punjabiclass I will go get the money. All through the Punjabi class guilt consumed methat I shouldn’t have said what I said; I have to honor my promise. But I nevergot around to bringing the money from the car. The money sat in my car for twoweeks, reminding me of my betrayal. For two weeks I tried to find my way to theGurudwara Sahib to honor my promise. I denied the fact I didn’t want to givethe money to Guru Ji in the first place, I denied it was His to do as Hewished. I tried to have control over something I had no control over,everything is Waheguru Jis. Finally today, I gave up thecontrol back to Waheguru Ji. And I realized that the only way to lose the lovefor maya is to learn that we have no control over any of it, it’s all WaheguruJis. I spent the money today, all of it, to buy medication for my aunts painingleg. Once you say that you’re giving Waheguru Ji something and you trulybelieve in Waheguru Ji, He doesn’t let you make that mistake. He puts His Sikhshead and saves them from this world of maya. He teaches us that we can’t giveanything to Waheguru Ji; He is the one that gives everything. The moment a Sikh feels they cangive Waheguru Ji anything, forgets how to beg, how to ask Guru ji. They getfilled with Ego (hanker) and they can never find a place in the feet ofWaheguru Ji. I don’t think I need cash or credit cards anymore because nomatter how much I struggle, Waheguru Ji is still in charge. Once we open theeyes of our mind, Waheguru Ji can help us beyond our wildest imagination. Mayais just one thing, Waheguru Ji has the ability to rescue us from all the evilsand give us a place at His feet. source: http://www.sikhsangat.org/2010/12/the-trap-of-maya/

Turbaned Sevadars Service with Pride Thislast week I was involved in a process to start a youth group with my Punjabi classand it made me realize that it takes but one person to make a difference. Havingarrived late in class I missed the lecture explaining the youth group, I had toget a special explanation from the teacher during break. After a scolding forbeing the oldest and still being late, I was told another perk of being eldestI would have to work extra hard to help pull this off. Intrigued but notentirely sure that the youth was up to the challenge; I went back to my seat.The next few days the youth, parents and the opportunities all blew me away. Theyouth whom I had doubted turned out to be confident enough not only to inspireeach other but anyone they come in contact with. I had barely made it back tomy seat that the guy next to me started talking about the youth group and doingseva. He declared that since we were a Sikh youth group all seva we do will bedone while wearing dastars on our heads, so people would know that we areSikhs. That if we are doing seva as Sikhs, we will look like Sikhs while doingit. I couldn’t help but laugh, I was the only person in the class that wore adastar and I am a girl. I knew the other girls will not wears dastars becausethey didn’t even understand why I wore one. And the boys, even when we forcedthem to wear dastars on the occasional Sunday, they can’t get them off fastenough. He said that he was not one of those boys and he wore his dastar prideand the boys will wear them. I looked back at the other boys and once againsaid no, not possible. He turned to each of the boys and confirmed that theywould wear a dastar while doing seva because he asked. That’s all it took, onedetermined kid to get all the kids to step out of their comfort zones. Thenext challenge was the parents and getting them on board. We planned a meetingto be held at my house in 3 days to talk to the most active parents in the Punjabischool. The plan was to run over a few ideas with a smaller group of people,before making our plans clear to the Sangat so anyone that wanted to be part ofit, could be. It was intriguing to listen to the parents give their input onthe youth group and the youth. We all sat as equals in a circle; the men, womenand the kids. Though we sat as equals to no one’s surprise most of the menwanted the adults to make all the decisions and the kids do all the work. Butto my surprise one man spoke up for thekids and our right to lead as the future of Sikhism. The parents convinced wecould do it, advised us not to make any presidents or a leader for our groupbut instead listen to our Guru Sahiban and have a group of 5 (like punj pyara)with equal responsibilities. To not worry about politics or stepping on toes aslong as we did the right thing for Sikh and for the community. That as ourparents they would always be there to help us, when we need it. Withthe kids and parents on board, we decided to plan out some seva we could do toget us started. The parents wanted to help back home in India and the youthwanted to do something more hands on and local. It was decided that the bestway to do seva was to do it with our hands and since the money was going to bethe parents, the kids wouldn’t get much out of just sending money to back homecharities. Now, once a month with turbans on our heads, we are going to beworking at the community kitchen. That for Christmas we will provide gifts anddinner for the very low income local families. Because Christmas might not be aSikh holiday but Sikhs are respectful of all religions and these people deserveto have some happiness on their holiday. For Guru Harkrishen Ji’s birthdaylater on we will help sick children. We will do whatever seva Waheguru Jiblesses us with and we will do it while being humble. Withturbans on our heads, Sikh in our hearts we are ready to do seva. It took oneyouth that believed it was possible; we could pull it off to convince theyouth. It took one parent to convince the rest that the youth could pull itoff. And there is only one Waheguru Ji that blesses us to be good human beings.It takes but one. Stop doubting, start doing.

We had the money, the resources to enable them instead we worked hard towards disabling them. Once Punjabi’s were known for working hard, living life of dignity and loving their families but that is no longer the case. Today Punjab is riddled with huge unemployment rates, crippling drug problems and the country’s highest girl feticides rate. As much as we like to blame the Indian government for all the issues Punjab is facing, I can’t help but feel we are also responsible. Did we lay the foundation and the Indian Government take advantage of the situation? Are we somehow responsible for the unemployment, drug problems and the loss of love between families? Did we disable our families from wanting to work by sending them money, with no strings attached? When NRI’s first began earning in other countries, their first concern was sending money home. Originally the money was used to pay off loans occurred over the years and the loans taken out to get out of the country. But once the loans were paid off, NRIs did not shift focus onto fixing up their own living conditions. They kept sending money back home to buy more land, to build a bigger house, to buy a car and etc. The family back home got use to receiving the luxuries without having to earn them. Now the first generation knew the struggle it took to receive those luxuries and was appreciative but the second generation that never had to struggle for anything in life, felt it was their birth right. All of sudden almost all jobs felt unfit for those that were used to getting everything without working. NRIs disabled our youth when it comes to working and caused the beginning of Punjab’s unemployment problems. If unemployment was not bad enough, it brought a drug problem with it. The youth had no desire to work but had a desire to prove themselves cooler than all their friends. So when they were introduced to drugs, they could afford it using money sent by NRIs but they had no reason not to try them. It became a competition how could find the better drugs, do the better drugs, get the better high between the rich and the spoiled. While the rich competed, the poor looked for outlet for their pain. The pain that comes from knowing that no matter how hard I work, someone will have better stuff then me without even trying. Their pain found the outlet in drugs they could afford and sometimes drugs they couldn’t afford. The addiction got so out of hand, families began cutting their kids off and the youth became desperate. Desperate youth began committing first petty crimes and then major crimes to get their hands on the drugs without which they could no longer imagine their lives. Families began to fall apart because they did not know how to cope with the wide spread drug epidemic. On one hand their families falling apart on the other NRIs visiting and having to cater to them to keep them happy, so they would keep giving the money that they could no longer operate without. The stress created tremendous amount of tension that began ripping families apart. Everyone knew there were problems but no one said a word. The NRIs could not see how the families back home could be so upset, since they gave them so much; to them the families were just ungrateful. The families back home didn’t know how to tell their NRI family members their true struggles. Struggles that involved spending more than the earned and then getting into debt because they were too dependent on money being sent home by NRIs. About the youth going in the wrong path and people not understanding, blaming them, for everything and still not being able to help their children. All these problems but not being able to talk about it, find a solution because we are all created in this fake perfect world that was made used NRI money. We created the problems that drove our families apart. And then the Indian government took advantage of the situation, to worsen the condition of Punjab. To break it because it is the home of the Sikhs and the Indian Government has never liked Sikhs. But we are strong people, Punjabis don’t get defeated; we fight. That fight in us, gives us the strength to admit that the NRI’s money caused as much damage as it did good. It gives us the strength to try and fix our mistakes. We can still send money home but we have to make sure it is spent to strength our families, not break them from inside out. The money needs to be spent creating jobs, fighting drugs and saving our daughters. Our time needs to be spent not fighting but connecting with Guru Granth Sahib Ji, so there will never be a need to fight anymore and we can finally have peace. So, let’s stop focusing on the Indian government; what they did to create the problem and what they didn’t do to solve it. Let’s focus on us; what we did and what we can do to solve our own problems. Let’s stop waiting till it is too late. http://www.sikhsangat.org/2010/12/disabling-punjab-nris-to-blame/

We had the money, the resources to enable them instead we worked hard towards disabling them. Once Punjabi’s were known for working hard, living life of dignity and loving their families but that is no longer the case. Today Punjab is riddled with huge unemployment rates, crippling drug problems and the country’s highest girl feticides rate. As much as we like to blame the Indian government for all the issues Punjab is facing, I can’t help but feel we are also responsible. Did we lay the foundation and the Indian Government take advantage of the situation? Are we somehow responsible for the unemployment, drug problems and the loss of love between families? Did we disable our families from wanting to work by sending them money, with no strings attached? When NRI’s first began earning in other countries, their first concern was sending money home. Originally the money was used to pay off loans occurred over the years and the loans taken out to get out of the country. But once the loans were paid off, NRIs did not shift focus onto fixing up their own living conditions. They kept sending money back home to buy more land, to build a bigger house, to buy a car and etc. The family back home got use to receiving the luxuries without having to earn them. Now the first generation knew the struggle it took to receive those luxuries and was appreciative but the second generation that never had to struggle for anything in life, felt it was their birth right. All of sudden almost all jobs felt unfit for those that were used to getting everything without working. NRIs disabled our youth when it comes to working and caused the beginning of Punjab’s unemployment problems. If unemployment was not bad enough, it brought a drug problem with it. The youth had no desire to work but had a desire to prove themselves cooler than all their friends. So when they were introduced to drugs, they could afford it using money sent by NRIs but they had no reason not to try them. It became a competition how could find the better drugs, do the better drugs, get the better high between the rich and the spoiled. While the rich competed, the poor looked for outlet for their pain. The pain that comes from knowing that no matter how hard I work, someone will have better stuff then me without even trying. Their pain found the outlet in drugs they could afford and sometimes drugs they couldn’t afford. The addiction got so out of hand, families began cutting their kids off and the youth became desperate. Desperate youth began committing first petty crimes and then major crimes to get their hands on the drugs without which they could no longer imagine their lives. Families began to fall apart because they did not know how to cope with the wide spread drug epidemic. On one hand their families falling apart on the other NRIs visiting and having to cater to them to keep them happy, so they would keep giving the money that they could no longer operate without. The stress created tremendous amount of tension that began ripping families apart. Everyone knew there were problems but no one said a word. The NRIs could not see how the families back home could be so upset, since they gave them so much; to them the families were just ungrateful. The families back home didn’t know how to tell their NRI family members their true struggles. Struggles that involved spending more than the earned and then getting into debt because they were too dependent on money being sent home by NRIs. About the youth going in the wrong path and people not understanding, blaming them, for everything and still not being able to help their children. All these problems but not being able to talk about it, find a solution because we are all created in this fake perfect world that was made used NRI money. We created the problems that drove our families apart. And then the Indian government took advantage of the situation, to worsen the condition of Punjab. To break it because it is the home of the Sikhs and the Indian Government has never liked Sikhs. But we are strong people, Punjabis don’t get defeated; we fight. That fight in us, gives us the strength to admit that the NRI’s money caused as much damage as it did good. It gives us the strength to try and fix our mistakes. We can still send money home but we have to make sure it is spent to strength our families, not break them from inside out. The money needs to be spent creating jobs, fighting drugs and saving our daughters. Our time needs to be spent not fighting but connecting with Guru Granth Sahib Ji, so there will never be a need to fight anymore and we can finally have peace. So, let’s stop focusing on the Indian government; what they did to create the problem and what they didn’t do to solve it. Let’s focus on us; what we did and what we can do to solve our own problems. Let’s stop waiting till it is too late. http://www.sikhsangat.org/2010/12/disabling-punjab-nris-to-blame/

Every so often Sikhs make the local news and the uneducated masses have a field day talking about terrorists. Then a Sikh comes upon that page and has field day talking about how we are a misunderstood population and how the commenter's are ignorant. Everyone talks about the issue for a few days in their own little groups and move on but no real effort is made to educate the masses. Sikhs have a few big groups like Saldef, United Sikhs and etc that try to take responsibility for educating people but it is not effect as possible because the general public is not so involved. All Sikhs must take equal responsibility to educate the masses. That is only possible if we understand why we are so misunderstood, stand strong in our faith and then make efforts to educate. It is very important to understand that must people that make the negative comments, usually having nothing against Sikhs and in most cases don’t even know what it means to be Sikh. Their fear, their harsh words are all stem from the turban, which they associate with terrorists. While it is true that most people that carry out terrorist attacks don’t wear turbans, it is equally true the videos we are shown off terrorist training camps, they all wear turbans. When people think of terrorists they see the image of a guy wearing turban, doing target practice or they see Osama Bin Laden. The turban wearing people become root of the problem terrorism for people that are mad at terrorists after 9/11. Its not Sikhs they hate; its the turban wearing people they are shown on tv practicing for jihad, they hate. They don’t hate Sikhs, yet fearing them Sikhs took off their turbans. When Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave the Sikhs the turban, it could get you killed for wearing it. Where was the fear then? Back then Sikhs were proud of being Sikhs and challenged the practice of not being allowed to wear the turban. They held their head up high (with turban on top) and faced martyrdom instead of taking the turban off. Today you get Sikhs that use the fear of death and being called a terrorist to take off the turban the first chance they get. We rather be slaves t o other peoples thoughts and beliefs, then stick up for ours own beliefs. Sikhs need to break free, learn their history, get guidance from Guru Granth Sahib Ji and wear their turbans with pride. Only when Sikhs are proud of their appearance, understand their religion and are firm in their belief, they can get the masses to understand them. If each Sikh wore their his or her turban with pride and lived a Gursikh lifestyle; how can anyone believe the tv images over real life people? Its not fliers, lectures or a million dollar campaigns that are going to people understand how Sikhs are and stop being hurtful towards the turban, It is going to be each Sikh wearing their turban with pride and being extra kind and clearing up misunderstandings of the people around them. Put on the turban and a great attitude and watch the people come to you to be educated about Sikhism. When Sikhs become hostile to questions because they think everyone thinks of them as terrorist anyways, it just makes matters worse. A little bit of patients and lots of education is going to be the key to changing the image of the turban. Sikhs need to educate themselves on why people don’t like the turban, their religion and then educate others. A plea to all Sikhs get guidance from Guru Granth Sahib Ji and wear your turbans with pride.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! Sat Sangat Ji, I had written an article on the last names used by Sikhs and I was shocked by some of the responses I got (not on this website, a different one). So I was hoping members of the sangat could help me understand a few things. Where does the last name Khalsa, originate? Who was the first person to use it? This is the article: Last Names- The Changing Dynamic Gone are the times when Guru Ji's Sikh could be identified standing amidst tens of thousands, with each passing day Sikhs are losing their identity. It is a well-known fact that Sikhs are cutting their hair and losing their identity. There are many attempts made by various Sikh groups to keep Sikhs from losing the outer appearance of a Sikh. But when will Sikhs wake up and realize that Sikhs are losing their appearance on paper also. With changing dynamic of last names, Sikhs no longer stand out. Sikhs have changed their given last name completely, distorted the name Guru Ji blessed them with and in some cases created a whole new last name. It was simple enough that all Sikh men would be known as Singh and the women would be known as Kaur. Those would become their last names in place of caste revealing last names and promote brotherhood/sisterhood between all Sikhs. But alas, the unity of the Sikhs gets distorted as the last name of female Sikhs is distorted. In recent times we have more and more women beginning to use the last name Singh, to match their husbands and in some cases to satisfy their feminist thoughts. Whatever the logic behind this change might be, it is not correct because Guru Gobind Singh's hukam cannot be changed. Sikhs are all for sex equality but not at the price of Sikhs core beliefs. With Sikh men and women having same last name on paper it looks very wrong and distorted to anyone that is aware of Kaur and Singh as Sikh last names. It is also very difficult to explain to non-Sikhs way some Sikhs choose to not to keep the normal Sikh names. Women need to put in the extra effort to understanding what it means to be a princess and explain to others what it means, not take the easy way out of changing their name. It is not just women taking the easy way out, many Sikhs in general have taken the easy way out by adopting their family name as their last name. Instead of one big family of Singhs and Kaurs, we have many smaller groups of Gerwal, Gill, Dhaliwal and etc. It is bad enough that the family is being divided but in many cases the last names used are used to show difference based on caste. Many argue that it is easier to use a different last name then Singh or Kaur because of large number of people with this last name can cause much confusion and sometimes unwanted trouble. The Sikhs that once upon a time would rather receive martyrdom then go against the teachings of Sikh Guru Jis are now going against them for sake of convenience. All Sikhs that have taken to using different last names should consider moving these new last names to the place of the middle name and use Singh or Kaur for the last name, as it was meant to be. This way the Sikh family is not divided into multiple smaller groups based on last name and the middle name can be used to tell people apart, if needed. The united provided by Singh and Kaur is priceless. The unity can't be duplicated by using other Sikhi last names, like Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh Ji did not give us the last name Khalsa and we should avoid using it. In ardass we say 'sikhan da man nivan, mat uchi, mat da rakha ap Waheguru.' How can we humbly ask Waheguru Ji to protect our high thinking, if we ourselves portray ourselves as Khalsa, the pure one? The moment we start saying we are pure one, we start saying we are better than someone else. True Sikhs don't do that, we don't knowingly add Khalsa and promote ourselves as pure. Let us take Khalsa out of our name and go back to being the Khalsa Guru Gobind Singh Ji wanted us to be. To be a true Sikh we have to take amrit and become Guru Gobind Singh's khalsa without any affiliation to anyone else. A true sikh is kaur or singh, nothing else. Waheguru Ji please bless Sikhs to use the beautiful name given by Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

At the age of 12, Guru Nanak Dev Ji taught the world what the true bargain is by feeding the saints and the poor without wanting anything in return. When Guru Ji’s father sent him to do some business, Guru Ji ran into some saints that had been hungry for days and he spent the money on feeding and clothing them. Upon returning from feeding the Saints, Guru Ji’s father asked him about what business he had done. Guru Ji’s reply was that he did ‘sacha sauda’ (true business), where he feed the hungry saints. This deed of helping those without expecting anything in return is something we teach our children every time we read this Sakhi to them. But how can we expect our children to learn from this sakhi, when we haven’t? What message do we send to our children when we give saropa for every little thing, want a plague for acknowledgment and bragging rights. Sikhs honor good deeds with presenting a Saropa to the doer of the good deed. Did Guru Nanak Dev Ji receive a Saropa or something similar for serving the poor? No, Guru Nanak Dev Ji did not receive nor expect to be honored for doing seva. At the Gurudwara Sahib while through Kirtan and Sakhis we teach our children to do selfless service, we act out a completely different scene. At almost any Gurudwara Sahib you can see people being presented Saropas for even the smallest deeds. Some Gurudwara Sahib Ji’s will present anyone a saropa if they donate enough money, pay for Akand Path Sahib to be held, or just about anything that brings money into the Gurudwara Sahib. We show our children though we preach selfish service we truly practice boosting sangat’s ego and making them selfish for praise so we can encourage them to do more good deeds. If it was not enough to get a saropa for even the smallest of deeds, the tradition of putting up plaques have began. Guru Nanak Dev Ji taught us that everything is Waheguru Ji’s by giving free food to the poor by saying ‘tera’, ‘tera’ (yours, yours). Today when we give anything we make sure to let the world know its ours. We put up signs saying who donated what. Lists are posted of the Sikhs that donated the most at some Gurudwara Sahibs. While we preach to our children that everything is Waheguru Ji’s, we ourselves show them we only preach, not believe. The saropa, the plaque, we use everything as bragging rights to show off our good deeds. Where has humbleness gone? After doing the Sacha Sauda had Guru Ji gone home and bragged to his father about the ‘Sacha Sauda’ he had just done? No, then why do we make sure everyone is aware of our good deeds? This need for instant gratification from the world, has killed the long run benefits for the soul. Instead of marking it as a good deed for our soul, we mark it as a good deed on our tax write off. Sacha Sauda wasn’t about bragging, it was about selfless service and that is why we need to stop making everything about us. Gurudwara Sahibs around the world have to stop putting emphasis on the people that do the deeds and instead put the emphasis back on the deed. No more saropas unless the person really did something that he couldn’t have easily done. Like when a person overlooks his business and helps others in need instead. Saropas should only be given when the service is truly extraordinary and selfless for the person receiving the Saropa. Plaques should not be put up period, everything is Waheguru Ji’s and it should remain that way. With the Gurudwara’s preaching and showing the real sacha sauda, the bragging will disappear on its own. May Waheguru Ji bless Sikhs to partake only in Sacha Sauda.

The Indra Gandhi of the 18th century died on this day. Almost since the time Sikhism came into creation it has been persecuted by the leaders/rulers of India. Some rulers persecuted us more harshly then the others. Some tried to make us convert, others resorted to trying to kill us off. No matter what the hardship, we survived and kept our Sikhi intact but today everything is changing. Unlike the past, the problem is not outside factors, the attack seems to come from within. We no longer are considering all Sikhs to be equal, losing the bana and forgetting the bani. Once upon a time we use to consider all Sikhs equal no matter what. But the times have changed, we no longer consider all Sikhs equal. Over time lots of different groups have popped up preaching that their way is the right way to practice Sikhi. We didn’t fight these groups when they began popping up and now we have groups that do anti-dasam bani preaching, preach of living guru, changing the size of Nitnem bani and so on. We are so divided that we fight amongst ourselves and often overlook the real needs of Sikh Panth and the real dangers. Dangers like losing our Sikhi Saroop (image) that our forefathers gave their lives for. During the time of Mir Mannu Sikhs were brutually killed for being Sikhs and always under tremendous pressure to convert but still they lived in chardikala. Today to advance in this world of maya, we willingly cut our hair and reform ourselves to what others want. We allow the world to tell us that keeping hair is not natural/gross, we should shave them off. We allow the world to tell us its unattractive to wear the turban, to wear the bana and we change our look accordingly. It is getting to the point where most Sikhs don’t look like Sikhs Guru Gobind Singh Ji created. Why does anyone need to kill us, if we our killing our Sikhi with our own hands? With the bana gone, bani is not that far behind. Just as we are finding the bana inconvenient, we are running short of time to read bani. No longer do majority of people that so proudly call themselves Sikhs get up at amritvela and read Nitnem. Today we are too busy gossiping in the Darbar of Guru Granth Sahib Ji to listen to Gurbani. Gone are the times when Sikhs with their every breath lived in the remembrance of Waheguru Ji, singing Gurbani. They withstood all injustices done by Miri Mannu because they had Gurmantar and used it. Today we have Gurmantar but we have lost the value of it. We no longer use Bani as a never wavering support to get us through all the good times and bad, so we can meet Waheguru Ji. Fighting amongst ourselves we have lost our bana and bani without evening having rulers like Mir Mannu threaten us into it. It is a request to all Sikhs to read our history and read about everything Sikhi went through, before even considering doing anything to further yourself from Waheguru Ji. Don’t let our own foolishness destroy this beautiful religion that no evil dictator could even touch. Let us show the world that Sikhs will always be true to their Gurus and not never turn their back on them. Let us take Amrit and take the first step towards Waheguru Ji.

At the age of 12, Guru Nanak Dev Ji taught the world what the true bargain is by feeding the saints and the poor without wanting anything in return. When Guru Ji’s father sent him to do some business, Guru Ji ran into some saints that had been hungry for days and he spent the money on feeding and clothing them. Upon returning from feeding the Saints, Guru Ji’s father asked him about what business he had done. Guru Ji’s reply was that he did ‘sacha sauda’ (true business), where he feed the hungry saints. This deed of helping those without expecting anything in return is something we teach our children every time we read this Sakhi to them. But how can we expect our children to learn from this sakhi, when we haven’t? What message do we send to our children when we give saropa for every little thing, want a plague for acknowledgment and bragging rights. Sikhs honor good deeds with presenting a Saropa to the doer of the good deed. Did Guru Nanak Dev Ji receive a Saropa or something similar for serving the poor? No, Guru Nanak Dev Ji did not receive nor expect to be honored for doing seva. At the Gurudwara Sahib while through Kirtan and Sakhis we teach our children to do selfless service, we act out a completely different scene. At almost any Gurudwara Sahib you can see people being presented Saropas for even the smallest deeds. Some Gurudwara Sahib Ji’s will present anyone a saropa if they donate enough money, pay for Akand Path Sahib to be held, or just about anything that brings money into the Gurudwara Sahib. We show our children though we preach selfish service we truly practice boosting sangat’s ego and making them selfish for praise so we can encourage them to do more good deeds. If it was not enough to get a saropa for even the smallest of deeds, the tradition of putting up plaques have began. Guru Nanak Dev Ji taught us that everything is Waheguru Ji’s by giving free food to the poor by saying ‘tera’, ‘tera’ (yours, yours). Today when we give anything we make sure to let the world know its ours. We put up signs saying who donated what. Lists are posted of the Sikhs that donated the most at some Gurudwara Sahibs. While we preach to our children that everything is Waheguru Ji’s, we ourselves show them we only preach, not believe. The saropa, the plaque, we use everything as bragging rights to show off our good deeds. Where has humbleness gone? After doing the Sacha Sauda had Guru Ji gone home and bragged to his father about the ‘Sacha Sauda’ he had just done? No, then why do we make sure everyone is aware of our good deeds? This need for instant gratification from the world, has killed the long run benefits for the soul. Instead of marking it as a good deed for our soul, we mark it as a good deed on our tax write off. Sacha Sauda wasn’t about bragging, it was about selfless service and that is why we need to stop making everything about us. Gurudwara Sahibs around the world have to stop putting emphasis on the people that do the deeds and instead put the emphasis back on the deed. No more saropas unless the person really did something that he couldn’t have easily done. Like when a person overlooks his business and helps others in need instead. Saropas should only be given when the service is truly extraordinary and selfless for the person receiving the Saropa. Plaques should not be put up period, everything is Waheguru Ji’s and it should remain that way. With the Gurudwara’s preaching and showing the real sacha sauda, the bragging will disappear on its own. May Waheguru Ji bless Sikhs to partake only in Sacha Sauda.

The second to give his head at the call of his Guru was born on this day in the same year as his Guru. Bhai Dharam Singh Ji was born November 3rd, 1666 in the town of Hastinpur to Bhai Sant Ram and Mai Sabho. Bhai Dharam Singh Ji teaches us to be true to our dharam; our religion, our faith. Bhai Dharam Singh Ji left his home at the age of thirty on quest to get further instructions, which would eventually lead him to Guru Gobind Singh Ji on Viasakhi day. There are speculations about Viasakhi and what really happened that day. When we look at the speculations, it is important not to forget the Panj Pyare of the which Bhai Dharam Singh Ji was one. How can a man that left his home searching for answers become the Sikh of a Guru that misleads Sangat? He can’t, he would have just walked away and continued his search for answers. The bravery displayed by the Sikhs could only have taken place if Guru Gobind Singh Ji really killed and brought back to life the Panj Pyare, not killed goats. No man can lay down his life for a religion that he knows is false. And that is why Bhai Dharam Singh Ji and the remaining Panj Pyare had to really be brought back to life because goats blood spilled is not going to kill the fear of death and give immense strength. Sikhs like Bhai Dharam Singh Ji can write their life off to a Sikhi because they have faith. Today are faith shakes and wobbles and we question every aspect of Sikhi. We question everything and believe nothing. We need to be like Bhai Dharam Singh Ji and have faith in our Dharam, so much faith that we don’t even shy away from giving our head.

On this day a ruler was born that would beat all odds to become Shaerae Punjab. At age 5 he lost his eye to chickenpox but that did not stop him from becoming the next maharaja after his father at age 10. Once he became Maharaja, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, practiced Miri and Piri, as taught by the Sikh Guru Sahiban; he played politics and loved Waheguru Ji. Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji had a interesting policy of giving back the States won the rulers they were won from, if they promised to live under his government. This policy was interesting because it was as much negative as it was positive. It was a nice deed to give the states won back but it is unheard of to keep giving them back, even after the rulers kept defying Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Rule. But that is exactly what Maharaj Ranjit Singh did, no matter how many times a ruler would prove himself unworthy, Maharaj would just win the battle and give back the state for the ruler to run. He did not put his own men in charge of newly won states.It seems a bit foolish that he would trust the same untrustworthy rulers but at same time is shows his compassion. He didn’t hate nor punished the rulers in a harsh manner to speared fear, instead was fair and compassionate. Being fair and compassionate are traits that all Sikhs should have, they too should have the same love for Sikhi as Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji. When Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji issued money for his kingdom, he issued it under the name of Sikh Gurus. He was so attached to Sikhi, that Sikhi always came first for him. Whenever he received a valuable gift, he would present it to Darbar Sahib, saying it was worthy of Guru Ji only. Almost all the gold work done on Harmandir Sahib is the courtesy of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the merciful hand of Waheguru Ji that he had on his head. Even after giving many valuable gifts, Maharaja Ranjit Singh stayed humble and did not all ego to come between him and his faith. When he was the wrong, he was willing to accept any punishment handed out by Akal Thakt Sahib. Unlike Sikhs today he knew that everything was given by Guru Ji, he never tried to play politics as far as religion was considered. Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji might not have been the perfect Sikh but the fact that he loved Sikh and tried his hardest to be a good Sikh, is what makes him a great Sikh. All Sikhs should read his biography to learn what Sikhs are capable of. To learn how one should behave after having Waheguru Ji give you more then you could ever imagine off.

The Punjab as we know it today is officially is 44 years old. Majority of Sikhs live in Punjab, India and even the most sacred Gurudwara, Sri Harmandar Sahib Ji, is located there. One can say it is the home land of the Sikhs, a land they paid for with many sacrifices. Years of battling the Indian Government and showing bravery while fighting the Pakistanis and only then did we get our homeland. But where is this Punjab heading? Punjab is drowning in never ending killing of the girl child, massive drug use, and is quickly losing its identity. The Sikh Guru Sahabians made women and men equal but yet, the home of Sikhs, Punjab leads in the most number of girl children's killed. What is the fault of the girl, that she wasn't born a boy? Girls are equal to boys in every manner and we need to acknowledge that. We can only acknowledge that when we quit comparing them to boys and appreciate girls for themselves. Girls don't have to be the son, they just have to be themselves (daughters) and make their parents proud. Instead of killing your daughter because of future dowry, kill the practice of dowry. Erase the black stain on your reputation by educating and loving your child, instead of erasing it from your life. Killing the girl child is not the answer to any problem and is ruining Punjab. Your killing your daughters while your sons are getting addicted to drugs and killing themselves. The Indian Government doesn't want Punjab to be prospers state and will not do anything to get our state drug free. It is up to us to make our home drug free and save our families living in Punjab. That is only possible if we quit sending money back home and instead use that money to help our brothers and sisters set up businesses and earn money. By giving them free ride we are enabling them to create and afford such bad habits, as drinking and doing drugs. Also by shuffling money in and not expecting an output, we are widening the gap between the poor and rich. Frustrated the poor youth is also turning to drugs. We are ruining many homes and our Punjab. We need to shift our focus on getting our children off drugs and into productive lifestyles. We have the money, lets put it to the right use. We can't afford to wait for the government any longer. The longer we wait the further we drift from our identity. Our children are growing up speaking English and Hindi, over the language of the Guru's Punjabi. Some might argue that it is necessary for our children to speak those languages to keep up with the fast moving world but I ask you what is stopping them from learning two languages? If we allow Punjabi to die out, we lose our home. The states of India are divided by language, each language has its own state. But what happens when one of the states no longer speaks native language? What is stopping India then from merging us into our neighboring states and cutting up an already cut up Punjab? We lose our language, we lose our identity, we lose our state. Forgetting our past is not the key to a brighter future, it is the key to opening the door for history to repeat it self. Learn Punjabi, teach Punjabi. We are killing our daughters, losing our sons to drugs and our identity is quickly disappearing, how long will we celebrate the birthday of Punjab? Please defeat all odds and allow Punjab to celebrate many birthdays in the future. Spread the word of equality, work together to rid Punjab of drugs and speak Punjabi every chance you get. Refuse to speak anything but Punjabi with people of Punjabi origin. Remember with Punjab in ruins there is nothing to make Khalistan out of.

To be a widow without never really being married was a choice Bibi Surinder Kaur Ji made against the advise of family members around her. Bibi Surinder Kaur Ji was engaged to be married to Bhai Satwant Singh Ji, the assassin of then Indian Prime Minister Indra Gandhi. To understand Bibi Ji’s decision it is important to look at the events that lead to her decision; the engagement, the wait and finally the marriage itself. Bibi Surinder Kaur Ji was a cousin of Bhai Satwant Singh’s sister-in-law and through the sister-in-law the alliance for Bibi Ji was brought. The alliance was finalized almost immediately because of the connection that already existed between the families. The wedding date was set for early 1984 but Bhai Satwant Singh Ji was unable to get time off; the wedding was delayed. Then in June, 1984 operation Blue Star happened and everything changed. Bhai Beant Singh Ji was inspired by his uncle to avenge the bloody massacre, not just grieve over it. Bhai Beant Singh Ji approached Bhai Satwant Singh Ji and Bhai Satwant Singh Ji agreed to bring Indra Gandhi to justice. On October 31st, they assassinated Indra Gandhi and made Sikhs around the world proud. This day, would be the beginning of events that would force Bibi Surinder Kaur Ji to make the biggest decision of her life, independently. The Indian Government denied visitation rights to Bibi Surinder Kaur Ji based on the fact she was not yet the lawfully wedded wife of Bhai Satwant Singh Ji, nor related to him in manner. The visitation rights were not denied outright, they were denied after Bibi Ji had already meet Bhai Satwant Singh Ji three times in prison; this was just another way to torture Bhai Satwant Singh Ji and his family. Bibi Ji decided to marry a picture of Bhai Satwant Singh Ji, so the government could not stop her from meting Bhai Satwant Singh Ji. Her father and father-in-law were both against this decision because they knew Bhai Satwant Singh Ji would never come out of jail. Bibi Ji’s father, Sardar Virsa Singh Ji, threatened to take poison if Bibi Ji didn’t change her decision but Bibi Ji stated firm and told him that in Sikhi everything is predestined and his death is written by Akal Purkh (God), as is her marriage to Bhai Satwant Singh Ji. Bibi Ji’s father-in-law, Sardar Tarlok Singh Ji, told her to rethink her decision and offered to get her married to Bhai Satwant Singh’s younger brother, Swaran Singh. Again, Bibi Ji refused saying she can only love one person, Bhai Satwant Singh, and Swaran Singh will always be like a younger brother to her. Bibi Ji was adamant that she will marry only Bhai Satwant Singh, even if she had to marry his picture. Bibi Ji’s family took her to Akal Thakt Sahib to have the Jathedar Jasbir Singh Rhode convince her to change her mind. But Bibi Ji’s reply to the Jathedar as copied from neverforget1984.com was enough for everyone to see her point of view and allow the marriage to take place. Bibi Surinder Kaur replied, “Singh Sahib Ji, you are right. The authorities will give Satwant Singh the hangmans noose. Both our families had decided to marry me and Satwant Singh. Due to Satwant Singh not getting holidays, the wedding was delayed at the last moment. However if Satwant Singh killed Indira Gandhi after our marriage, then he would have been sentenced to hanging aswell. I, as Satwant Singh’s wife would have had to see every hard time in the future. My husband, Satwant Singh did a great and brave task! The integrity of the Sikh Nation, it’s dastaar, was ripped off by Indira Gandhi and she stamped on it with her feet in June 1984. My husband took the dastaar of the Sikh Nation and replaced it on its head. Even in my worst dreams, I could never turn my back on such a great man. It can never happen! I have accepted Satwant Singh as my husband. I will never let a stain come on his Dastaar. I will spend my whole life as the widow of Satwant Singh!” Bibi Surinder Kaur married Bhai Surinder Singh Ji’s picture on May 2nd, 1988 in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. She lived her life as the bride of Bhai Satwant Singh Ji up until Janruary 6th, 1989 when Bhai Ji recieved martyrdom. After which, Bibi Surinder Ji lived life as his widow. Bibi Ji will forever be remembered by Khalsa Panth for the dedication she showed Bhai Satwant Singh Ji. Bibi Ji passed away a few years ago from cancer but she will forever be remembered along with Bhai Satwant Singh Ji as his wife.

Everyday 10,000 people supposedly visit the grave of one person and every year the prime minister goes to present flowers on the anniversary of this persons death. This person was killed 26 years ago and yet there is no mention of moving on, forgetting. On the other hand thousands of people lost their lives and we are asked not to even remember them, to forget and move on. What makes one ladies life more valuable then that of thousands? Simple, it is the fact that her death can be justified. You can explain to people that she was assassinated for ordering Operation Blue Star that resulted in thousands of Sikhs being massacred in their own Holy shrines and even then the people that assassinated her where duly punished immediately. But you can not explain the deaths of the innocent people that were killed in response to her assination. Of course people want Sikhs to forget the Delhi Massacre, it would save them from the many unanswerable questions. Forgetting it seems is better then explaining why the friendly neighbor turned into monster, the politicians into mob leaders and the government institutions closed their doors on those desperate for their help. Neighbors look out for neighbors but during the Delhi Massacres, all neighborly love was forgotten. Neighbors joined in the mobs to first kill the men and the children in the most gruesome way possible by putting tires around their necks and burning them alive. The Sikh males died trying to protect their families. With no one to protect them the females, regardless of age, were gang raped. The clothes worn were torn to shreds and the clothes in the houses burned, leaving the women helpless and naked to wander. The people with whom the Sikhs had joined together with to celebrate holidays and other aspects of life, were the same that were attacking them. With Sikhs killed or in hiding, the neighbors and other members of the mob looted the households. Sikhs were left with nothing, not even their dignity. If there were any neighbors that were merciful and tried to protect their Sikh neighbors, the politicians made sure they didn't let them.The vilest of criminals and thieves were bused in from other parts of the country to lead the mobs. The mobs were armed with highly flammable white powder and gasoline given to them by the police and politicians and sent of to track Sikhs using voting lists stating where Sikh homes were. If that was not enough politicians like Sajjan Kumar were dictating to mobs "u will not be caught, nothing will happen, kill sikhs" from a louder speaker from a jeep. Sajan and Jagdesh both of whom had lead the mobs were promoted with higher positions in the government within a month of the massacre. Till date both have not been punished and enjoy fruits of their ill earned positions. What they did was only possible because of leaders like Rajiv Gandhi who justified the massacre by saying "when a tree falls the ground shakes" ie Sikhs should expect this treatment. The government failed Sikhs in 1984 and so did the government agencies. The hospitals, the army and the police all failed its citizens by sitting back and watching the destruction take place. The police refused to protect the Sikhs, not one report filed against members of the mob was acted upon. The police actually went out of their way to assist the mobsters to make sure no Sikhs survived the massacre. The army sat back and watched, did not help in trying to regain order and save the innocent. The hospitals and the doctors broke their oath by not helping save lives, instead turned people back. The popular method of attacking the Sikhs was burning tires and the hospitals closed all burn units. There was no hope for survival. Those that had sworn to help all, turned their backs on one group of citizens, the Sikhs. The neighbors turned into foes, the politicians into opportunists, the government agencies forgot their vows and it is the Sikhs that are stirring up trouble? We are not asked to move on, to forget because Sikhs are in the wrong. We are asked to move on because we are asking questions, we are accusing the party in the wrong and no one has answers. We are asked to move on because Government wants to get away with it. I implore everybody to read 'I accuse' by Jarnail Singh Ji to better understand what happened in 1984 and then tell me, how does one move on from a event like that? You can contact me at fromthese5tothose5@hotmail.com to help locate a copy of the book for you.