VanHelsingh

Siding with any organisation - even supposedly "well-meaning" Sikh groups as exposed by Southhall Youth (:D) - just isn't for me. I prefer to keep my own council and the only Sikh "organisation" I'll ever belong to is the one Waheguru has directed me towards - the Sikhi faith. All the others are just.....well you simply don't know who believes what, or what your fellow members are up to. No offence to anyone who is a member of any such groups.

@ Kalsingh - They could be UFO's or the description could be of a future Earth where such vehicles will become the standard way of travelling, i.e. we could still be many hundreds of years from such events taking place.

I've just spent an hour and a half browsing the above site. The time flew-by like minutes. A great website!

Oh, okay so he definitely won't be a Satguru (in the Sikhi sense of the word) then? That's good news. I was getting worried for a moment.

Fair points. I just don't want to be fooled into following someone who isn't worthy of avatar status, and thus in some small way weakening my link with Guru Granth Sahib Ji and Sikhi in general. Its hard to explain but you guys know what I mean - hopefully such an avatar would serve to cement our love for Sikhi, and encourage us to undertake those practices we have neglected or forgotten. Another question I have is this: Would he be a Sikh or will he start a new religion? If so what the flip are we going to do then? I guess - like Bundha says - a prospective prophet cannot be denied. One thing is for sure - the atheists are going to lose their minds in shock! :D

Exactly. Things can't continue the way they are at the moment. However would such a thing happen in this modern world - is it even possible? I mean, of course its possible but would anyone believe 'him' if he were to reveal himself? Wouldn't people say it was another "dehtaari" indulging in blasphemy? Lord knows there's enough of these "dehtaari's" in Punjab at the moment. :D Personally I think the days of prophets and avatars are gone.

Certain Muslims have a habit of distorting other people's legends and heroes and claiming them as their own. The above quote [from the Hindu professor] is just another conversion tactic to sway gullible people of other faiths, and bring them over to Islam.

These are heartbreaking situations.

To the original poster: If you feel that your prospective partner will be capable of taking Amrit due to her love of Sikhi, then fine. However the fact that she hasn't done so already must tell you something. Don't allow anyone to portray you as the bad guy in the future. The last thing you want to hear from the girl (if you get married to her) is: "The only reason I took Amrit was because you told me to". That is NOT a good thing.

If they put a glass casing around that, it would look quite nice. I'm sure the people responsible for its display regularly have it cleaned. If not they should. However it does look clean in the picture above.

Our loss.

That is very interesting. I read somewhere a few months ago that Sonia Gandhi was connected to the Bilderburg group. Don't know whether that's true but I just thought I'd share it.

Honestly? Why didn't they like their own people (Hindus)?

Anyone listen to the BBC AN discussion programme today? It started about females who dress inappropriately in Gurudwara's (but was then expanded to all places of worship). I only caught the first 20 minutes or so on my lunchbreak, but there was one caller who seemed to think "2010 = lets get freaky". :rolleyes: Anybody catch the rest of it?

Issues like these make me want to bash my head into a brick hall. Which bright spark thinks alcohol and/or meat is permissable in a Gurudwara or one of its halls? Are the committees of these Guru ghar's so hungry for money that common sense goes out the window? What are their justifications for this nonsense?

Yes, the misuse of technological tools at our disposal is also something to be noted.

To a certain extent I agree with you about utilising animation as a form of education, but wouldn't you find it a bit weird to have an actor voicing the part of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, for example? Personally I'd find that very uncomfortable. I can't put into words 'why' in a convincing or logical manner, but its something I've always assumed should never be done. Unless I'm being too sensitive? @ sumat - Your pathetic PM has been forwarded to a mod. There's a reason why you're in the 'Quality Control' section. You must be an absolute cretin. Reading through your post history, you have a habit of misunderstanding even the most simplest points. Embarrassing.

The one thing that pleases me a lot about the reaction to Sikhi is that its not referred to as a sect of Hinduism (by any non-Sikhs that I've met). I think that speaks volumes about the separate identity and beliefs that have been forged and cultivated, during the many hundred years of the existence of our faith. Despite the efforts of certain groups to assimilate us into their faith, I can't see such a day ever dawning. I honestly have never encountered anyone who has asked me what faith I am, and then said "Is that like a Hindu?".

Excellent, valid points. I cannot stress how much I agree with the above. Whilst I don't advocate giving up on a dream as soon as a few obstacles are encountered (not that I'm saying this is what SunSingh stated), you never know - they could be obstacles placed in your path by God to test if you REALLY do want to achieve that dream, and whether you are willing to fight through adversity to attain whatever it is you desire. Giving up at the first hurdle is not what Sikhs are renowned for. One only has to look at our history to discover occasions when we've achieved victory even though insurmountable barriers were placed in our way. Again, I'm not stating that SunSingh advocated giving up - I'm just presenting my own 'spin' on proceedings. Although in the case of the original poster, I appreciate that your parent's expectations of what you should achieve, do not match your own. I think the best course of action is to have a sit-down with the folks and thrash it out. I only hope your parents are able to understand your thoughts and feelings.

Doesn't the prohibition of removing hair in Sikhi (anywhere on the body) apply to both men and women?

@ dalsingh - Valid point. But the body language, the facial expressions when this statement was uttered, the almost conspiratorial-like tone (leaning in and saying quietly) - it was very dodgy. But I do take your point about the interpretation of what was said.

A sign of the times.

A close friend of mine decided to hold a langar at a local Gurudwara. He is a Ramgharia and the Gurudwara where the langar was held was not of any caste denomination. Anyway, his relatives are all invited and when the bhog has taken place and everyone is in the langar hall, I hear about 4 different people (who were invited) come up to my friend's mother and say in Punjabi, "Why didn't you have the langar in one of OUR Gurudwara's?", i.e. in a Ramgharia Gurudwara. I was utterly gobsmacked. The word "our" really got to me - aren't we all supposed to be Sikhs? I wanted to ask my friend what the meaning of this was, but to be fair we've never discussed issues of caste - I see him as a Sikh and he considers me to be the same. I didn't want to stain our friendship due to the ignorance of others. I'm not saying other Sikh castes don't have such conversations, but to hear it with my own ears and the tone of the question as if to say that this Gurudwara was somehow not suitable - well its very sad.

The current state of the Punjab could be described as the last days of Rome. The immorality, the hedonism, the corruption, etc., - it's all happening at the moment. I have a horrible feeling that things will get worse before they get better.

You're not alone. You'd be surprised how many people feel like life isn't worth living. Others words will seem hollow at the moment - nothing anyone says will provide even a crumb of comfort to you. All I can say to you is step back from the situation and calm yourself. Take suicide out of the equation and think how you would practically deal with the problems you're facing. If you ever need to talk to someone who has experienced similar dark thoughts (for whatever reason) and is currently making his way out of "the tunnel" towards the light, then give me a PM if you want to. Just don't do anything rash.