VanHelsingh

Can I make a request? Please enough with 'da rude boi' language because it does my head in. I know this isn't coursework or anything 'official', but it's just lazy. No offence to anyone as I'm not perfect by any means but a lot of people do make an attempt to make their words legible or understandable. Its your choice of course. Just some friendly advice, brother.

I've heard about (and experienced first-hand) so many of these kind of cases myself. Why do some sons follow their wives so blindly even if it comes to ruining relationships with their parents and other relations? Are they scared their wives will leave them or is it something else? Just to balance things up I'm not painting all wives as the villains as I've heard some horror stories about boy's parents too.

All he wanted was someone to make his roti and iron his clothes - you're suggesting he undertakes a spiritual odyssey before even entertaining the thought of marriage! :BL: I'm joking. But yes in an ideal world this would be the way of tackling things when deciding to get married. Sadly even the most outwardly religious parents are not as religiously considerate and spiritually inclined as they should be. Although I guess you'll say that its our duty to create this 'ideal world' on this earth we are inhabiting? (which I agree with by the way).

Out of interest, has anyone ever come across a "full" Giani as described in humkire's post? Are there such Gianis in existence today who do their day-to-day Giani duties in the Gurudwara, but also possess astounding spiritual 'gian'?

Stop it - you're giving me goosebumps!

That's your experience of Gianis, and I'm just giving the sangat my own personal experiences. Neither of us is wrong - different things happen at different times in different locations. I just happened to point out what I've been seeing and hearing since I was a child (and I did say I was probably generalising).

Yes I agree. It would help the understanding of Sikhi amongst youngsters immensely. I'm probably generalising but I reckon a home-grown Giani would be more inclined to take up the role of 'Giani' out of love for Sikhi, rather than seeing it as 'just another' job or a method of making money (or even a way of becoming a permanent resident of a Western country). Of course we've all got to eat and money is important for that, but I'm just saying that I would love to see home-grown Gianis as permanent fixtures in Gurudwaras in the UK. If anything it would encourage those not versed in the intricacies of Punjabi to at least try to understand Sikhi. But of course Punjabi is also very important and I'm not advocating that Gianis speak only English.

Fair point. But I've never come across a Giani born and raised in the UK (or other countries where Sikhs reside outside of India). They're always from back home. Now either the Gurudwaras don't employ "home-grown" Gianis or none come forward to become a Giani.

Good luck if we're hoping a Giani from India will be versed in English as well as Punjabi. Call me a cynic but the only "role" I've seen a Giani fulfil is obtaining a permanent visa and shipping his family over from the Punjab. Whilst there's nothing wrong with this per se, it's a bit weird when he's never seen again as soon as his family is over here.

Terms like "freshy" don't help either.....

* facepalm *

That's a first...:lol:

I know what you mean regarding the 'feeling' of the paintings from that era. They are quite unsettling although I like the grandeur and style of the art. I'm sure with Guru's kirpa, the painters would've been inspired to depict the Gurus as they truly were. Its all conjecture and fantasy of course, but I just thought that nobody to-date has produced any paintings of our Sikh history on par with the masterpieces of the Italian masters. If anyone has then I stand corrected and I'd love to see some examples.

Okay thank-you. Personally I think the use of Hindu deities / myths, etc., were (as dalsingh says) more to do with story-telling rather than the advocation of these deities for worship.

Such as those who say Kali was invoked before the creation of the Khalsa? If you're looking for a page number or an official source I haven't got one, but I've seen people mention it in this thread and others on this website.

From the video, it seems like a hippy get-together where Eastern music is played. Its no big deal IMO. If anything, one would hope the people at the festival would approach the Gursikhs and ask them about their appearance, etc., and would be educated about Sikhi.

Can I interject and ask who (and why) would add these references to Hindu goddesses in a way that portrays Guru Ji as a devotee of these deities? Is it mischief making or not?

Duly noted. Funny you should mention the term 'isms' as I was watching a video yesterday (on the 'net), about a guy who was denouncing the plethora of 'isms' in the world today. He declared them to be the root of all evil. I lolled anyway.

@ dalsingh - That makes sense! :D It makes you think how much responsibility (power?) those who sit at The Akal Takhat have to bear, whereby they can issue edicts to the followers of Sikhism according to their interpretations of certain rehats. It is a huge responsibility as they shape how Sikhism evolves during the passage of history. One would hope their interpretations are what Guru Ji intended.

Imagine if moments in Sikh history had been painted by the Renaissance masters? Those paintings would be a sight to behold.

I hated Aloo Buthaou throughout childhood too (it reminded me of snakes and I'm hopelessly terrified of snakes). But gradually its become my favourite sabji. As for my original question I was joking...

Am I happy with my life? No. But I'm embarking on a journey which I hope will rectify this problem. The first step? Naam. Plain and simple. I'm not reciting Naam to become rich or meet the perfect woman, or some other superficial nonsense. I want to be a good human being. That's all I desire.

I fail to see the link between my favourite Sabji and issues of 'Politics / News / Techie'. :umm: Aloo Bathaou (aubergine) if you're interested. :lol:

Read anything you can get your hands on. Don't think education starts and finishes at school.

A few issues arise in my mind when reading the rehatnama as posted on the first page. Again I'm a layman and not as versed or as knowledgeable in reading scriptures as my brothers in this thread. I am merely highlighting the basic ("big picture") issues that stand-out, and therefore could be overlooked by learned members of the sangat who are looking at the issue at a micro level alongwith all relevant intracacies and background knowledge. Do we agree that if we are to view the rehatnama on the first page as authentic (i.e. sourced directly from Guru Ji), it must be adhered to without question? As such there are some instructions which, if Sikhs were to follow in the modern age, would land us in prison or would generally not be possible to fulfil? Therefore are we saying that Guru Ji lacked the forethought to provide rules which could be successfully followed for as long as Sikhs were on this earth? The same wise, incredibly intelligent Guru Ji whose glory resonates to this day? I would not even entertain such a notion. Yet by picking and choosing which rules to follow then surely that negates the whole purpose of the rehatnama? For example, the rehatnama talks about 'smiting Turks', as well as the more "mellow" rules regarding the preparation of Karah Prasad, etc. I know some will say that the 'smiting Turks' line was included because of the historical connotations of the time (Sikhs were combatting the Mughals when the rehatnama was composed I think), but then - and I'm playing devil's advocate - why include these lines at all if they were only meant to be applicable for the time period in which the rehatnama was written? Why choose to follow the lines about Karah Prasad and male-female relations to this day, if other sections of the rehatnama are not relevant in the age we live in? A person looking for trouble (which I would plead with the sangat I am NOT) would say these apparent contradictions point to a shortcoming in Guru Ji's wisdom, OR the possibility of the rehatnama being bogus or even tampered with by other people? Does anyone appreciate what I'm trying to say? As I mentioned yesterday I'm just asking questions that I'm sure any normal (i.e. non-vidhvaan) person would ask because at the end of the day, these rehatnamas were designed to be followed by every Sikh from any background, and not just those with comprehensive annals of knowledge at their disposal who know to interpret Sikhi scriptures. These questions need to be looked at because if one day Sikhism comes under intense scrutiny we must be ready with answers to these questions. Forgive me if I've spoken out of turn or misunderstood any issues.