Bundha

just done the whole London thing a few weeks ago and found no problems. Admittedly we didn't go into houses of parliament but we went to Madam Tussauds, Tower of London, Sea life, all the museums, WB Harry Potter and had not problems. I would suggest you contact Buckingham Palace and HofP before you go.

Here's mine : Alien The Matrix The Outlaw Josey Wales Saving Private Ryan Bourne Trilogy (I know its cheating) Lord Of the Rings I (I know its cheating) Aliens Blade Runner Enter the Dragon The Godfather Apocalypse Now The Good the Bad and the Ugly The Shinning

I have not read all the posts but my 2 cents worth. When we write disparaging remarks about Sri Ram Chander or Bhagwan Krishan or are flippant about them it shows a fundamental lack of understanding. Through the yugas Akaal Purkh sent down His avtars to put the masses on to the correct path. Satyugs reign was presided over by Bhavan Ji, Tretra Yuga was presided over by Sri Ram Chander, Dwapar yug was presided over by Bhagwan Krishan Ji and in the present time of Kaal Yuga it is presided over by Guru Nanak Dev Ji and 10 patshahi’s. If you have any respect for Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale Ji or any mahapurkh then you should have just as much respect if not more for Sri Ram Chandra Ji and Bhagwan Krishan Ji, they were no ordinary souls, they were one with Akaal and all those who disrespect them will have to answer for their deeds. Yes, Guru Sahib Ji writes about avatars and about how they were created and destroyed by Akaal, but ONLY Guru Ji has the level to say these things, we murakh fools who now nothing have no right to dis them. In Krishan Avatar composition Guru Ji writes with such haunting beauty about Krishan Ji. This is what your Guru writes in the opening part of Shastar Naam Mala. All these names - knife, sharpened small knife, karad( small dagger) , dagger, bugda (a curved cutlass). Please help me from all the worldly illusions. You initially created this universe and then created the (different) sects. You create conflict amongst them and then help them resolve it. You are (Lord) Raam. You are Siri Krishan and you are the incarnations of (Lord) Vishnu. You are the subjects and you are also the Emperor of this universe.

Wrestler-turned-actor Dara Singh has died in the Indian city of Mumbai after a long illness, his doctors say. The 83-year-old had been admitted to hospital last week after a heart attack. He was taken home on Wednesday night after doctors said he had little chance of recovery and that there had been significant damage to his brain. Singh, who won the world wrestling championship in 1960, acted in several Bollywood films and television serials. He gained huge popularity while playing Hanuman, the monkey god, in the television adaptation of the Hindu epic Ramayana. He was also a member of parliament from 2003 to 2009 when he was appointed to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament. His doctor said he passed away "peacefully" at 07:30am [02:00GMT]. Tributes His films included King Kong, Faulad, Kal Ho Naa Ho and he was last seen in the 2007 hit, Jab We Met. Meanwhile, tributes have been pouring in for the much-loved Singh. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed his sadness at Singh's death and described him as a "noted film personality and an internationally acclaimed wrestler". "I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing away of Dara Singh," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said in a statement. "Dara Singh will always have a special place in our heart for his immense contribution to the Indian film industry in various capacities, as an actor, director and producer," she added. The micro-blogging site Twitter has seen tributes pouring in from Bollywood personalities and fans. "When childhood heroes die the world looks desolate," veteran director Mahesh Bhatt tweeted. BBC news

Yeh benji I remember. Panj piaray parshada - when you prepare langar qt your won house invite panj piaray and give them langar. Panj piaray are roop of Guru Ji so in essence you are doing sewa to Guru Ji.

I would tend to agree with hello, she is your flesh and blood so calm down. If you really feel you need to do something then do ardaas, ask for forgiveness and move on.

Benji, Guru Ji is all giving, He gives so much but we become tired in receiving. He is our father, if we are not to ask from Him then who else do we turn to? Is it not better to turn to Guru Ji and ask for His blessing rather than go to a pir or taveet guy? There is nothing wrong is doing Akhand paath if you are feeling unwell and do not worry if all you do is just sit and listen. If not full Akhand Paath then Sukhmani Sahib path or what about Panj Sikh parshada? In our lives we end up doing many things that maybe should not have or it could be karam carried over from previous janams. We think that we have lived a good life so why is this happening to me, what we do not realize is that these karam we have committed previously now come home to roost. The only way to reduce their effects is through naam simran and Guru Ji’s blessing. We get Guru Ji’s blessing through sewa and good deeds, deeds such are AkhandPaath/Sukhmani Sahib Paath/Panj Sikh langar, then our karam are burnt away. May I suggest that in your ardaas in the morning or evening, even if you cannot manage any paath, ask forgiveness of you past actions. It may not happen the first day or the second but one day Guru Ji will listen to your ardaas and bless you, keep the faith.

It may be technically correct that Kasar is a weakness of something, but if you look at what Gupt has written and try to read between the lines you san see that the word Kasar here is being used as a general term for some sort of black magic. There are many things on this earth then just the physical and when you are under such influences that they can make you do all manner of things that you would not normally do. If there is an influence of dark forces that Gurbani will feel horrible to you and you will not want to hear it. It is not you but what is influencing you that does this. I would suggest an akhand path in your house and you do as much sewa over the three days and get ardaas doen for you.

How about creating information on cards. Front could have colour picture and the back could have information. A whole pack could be created for kids. Could have a card each for the Gurus, panj piyaray, sahibzaday, one each for all the shaheeds, historical events, historical gurdwaray etc.

If we get away from pointing fingers and grading people and that he is better than him because he does this that and the other we can look at this from a different point of view. Try letting go of these prejudices, they all derive from our 5 chore within us. We need to bring love and hate onto one platform, feel pleasure and pain the same, tears and laughter, attraction and repulsion, all have to be looked at with the same emotion. If a full saroop person is walking towards you, you feel joy when a clean shaven sikh walks towards you, you feel repulsion, yet Akaal Purkh is sitting in the first person and in the clean shaven person. You feel repulsion towards that guy you are doing it to the divine jyote within him. Who has made the robber the way he is? Who has made the drunken gambler the way he is? Ultimately they are all being controlled by Akaal, for He sits within them as He sits within the giani and the gurmukh. That is not to say that we do not do parchar or that we do not encourage people to start following Guru Ji’s path that is our duty, BUT we must get away from even the mild hate/repulsion that we get when we see someone we do not like. All are Akaal, the Gurmukh and the manmukh so treat them as one. Have the same joy to see a clean shaven person as you do when you see a gurmukh, do not see the body but the divine jyote within them. Better still look within yourself rather than at other people what errors and ‘augan’ can you see within you. Ultimately you have to answer for yourself so make improvements in your life and let others be as they are if that is how they choose to be for they are all following Akaal Purkhs hukam. You have a flowing beard and you do your nitname? It is nothing if you harbour animosity towards your fellow man, for the Guru that sits within you is watching and if you are hating or pointing fingers at His creation and His created beings then you are not going to get His blessing.

Have you noticed when people talk about God they always look up to the sky. Some point to the sky and make a gesture with their fingers, some may utter expressions like “Him up there”, or “It’s all in the hands of Him upstairs”. Others have renounced their family life and possessions and headed off into the hills looking for enlightenment, some have forgotten Him altogether. Even those who are on the spiritual path and regularly do their naam simran will regard God as something separate from them. The truth is, and it is something Gurbani tells us time and again but it never seems to register, is that God in within us. God resides in each and every one of us. God literally sits within our heart and watches and listens to everything that we do. Siree Raag, Third Mehla: By His Grace, the Guru is found, and the Name of the Lord is implanted within. Without the Guru, no one has obtained it; they waste away their lives in vain. The self-willed manmukhs create karma, and in the Court of the Lord, they receive their punishment. ||1|| O mind, give up the love of duality. The Lord dwells within you; serving the Guru, you shall find peace. ||Pause|| Guru Gobind Singh Ji in Jaap Sahib says “eneke hey fir eke hey”, He is infinite in His forms, yet He is One. The divine spark resides within us and it is this that makes us alive and conscious, as soon as that light leaves us we are just a pile of dead skin and bones. It is only through His light that we earn an honest living, do our daily chores, have ideas, have emotions, yet the veil of Maya clouds our judgement and we thing it is us who are doing it all. Why do we suffer? Because we move away from our Guru, the further we are from Him the more we suffer. A child is safest when it sits in the lap of his mother or father, as soon as he wonders off he is further away from their protective arms. Every time we say that ‘I’ did this and ‘I’ did that then our ego kicks in and we move further away from Guru Jis protection. Guru Ji is still with us watching and listening to us but He withdraws His blessing. Without Gurparsad, His blessing we can do nothing. With His blessing we win that contract, we pass our exams, we progress in all that we pursue, so should we not give thanks to Him? How much simran goes on in our gurdwaras? Every ragi will spend much of his allotted time repeating “wah-guru, wah-guru, wah-guru” and the sangat repeats it with great vigour. How many Gurdwaras all over the world does this happen day in day out? Yet how many have had darshan of Guru Nanak Dev Ji? How many have seen Guru Gobind Singh Ji in full splendour smiling down at them? Why is this? Because for most this is a repetition only on the surface, they are skimming the top, for others it is a repetition of the vocals but the mind is wondering far and wide, for others it is a way to show off to others how much simran they are doing, but for all it is the ‘I who is doing it. We need to let go of the’I’, we need to renounce the ego let the energy and light of Guru Ji flow through us effortlessly and without an ounce of ‘me’. You can do simran all your life but will get nowhere unless you have Gurparsad, you need His Grace. To achieve this you have to become the lowest of the low, humblest of the humble, the unworthy of the unworthy. Once we went to Takhat Keshgarh sahib, as you know the Gurdwara is quite a large complex with a number of levels. We followed the sangat from level to level, up stairs and through doorways until we arrived at the top level where we did muth-take to Guru Sahib Ji. Most of the sangat squeezed into the limited space of the inner sanctum around Guru Ji. The person who I was with gestured to me and we came outside and went the level below and sat down on the marbled floor in the sunshine. We sat in silence for a while and then came down the levels and outside. I was a little curious and asked him why we did not sit with all the sangat. He just said one thing …..”we are not worthy”. This is the type of ‘greeby’ of the mind we should have. How we hustle and tussle with our elbows and knees to get in front of one another, you see it every day when Guru Sahib Ji is taken to and from Harmandir Sahib Ji in the early hours of the morning, how our egos overpower us as we puff and pant to get in front of our fellow brothers and sisters, What blessing are we going to get after pushing and shoving and stepping on feet and toes? What use is the touching of the palki if we did it pushing and forcing our bulk in front of others? What do we think we are going to achieve pushing people out of the way and getting close to the palki with Guru Ji in it? We ignore Guru Ji who resides within us yet think Guru Ji is going to heap blessings upon us because we force ourselves to the front, but do we for one moment think – are we worthy? We go to the gurdwara and bow our heads in front of Guru Granth Sahib Ji, which is what all Sikhs should do, but do we realise that the same Guru that we travel all that way to the gurdwara is actually sitting right within us and watches us as we make that journey from our home. We slander and talk ill of others as we head towards the Gurdwara, even when we are in the house of Guru Nanak we do not stop our foolish ways. Once we have mutha-taked and received parshad we come outside and carry on with our ways backbiting, belittling, muckraking and smearing, all the while Guru Ji is watching us. Everything that we do, say and think is written down and all in the presence of Guru Ji. Every mistake we make is written down and we will be held accountable. Yet we humans are full of mistakes and we make them every day, so what should we do? There are a number of practical things we can do to redress the balance. Firstly we need ‘greeby’. Greeby translation is to be poor, but this is not worldly poor but the humbleness of the mind. This is very difficult and one must work on it, regard yourself as the lowest and never think ill of anyone. Secondly try to become aware of Guru Ji residing within you. We go to the Gurdwara regularly and bow to Guru Ji, how many times have we bowed to the Guru that sits within us? He is the same as the one in the Gurdwara yet we ignore Him. Close your eyes look within yourself and bring your minds attention towards your heart. Now imagine a bright light shining, if you want have an image of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, it is what works best for you, but become aware of your Guru within you. Now bow inwardly with great respect and reverence. Once you have done this once you can make it a regular occurrence, mutha-take as many times as you like during the day. This does not mean that you do not go to the Gurdwara, this is important also because at the Gurdwara you meet the sangat and godly people and there is opportunity to do sewa and listen to kirtan and gurbani, so going to the Gurdwara is absolutely important. Regard all your fellow humans as equal and show no animosity towards anyone. It does not matter if the person in front of you is a Sikh, Muslim, Hindu or Jewish in the eyes of Guru Ji they are all the same and so should we treat them the same. If they have the divine spark within them who are we to discriminate? Fourthly repeat His name in your mind over and over again, this way your mind is washed of impurities and the more the grime of past actions is washed off the more you will see the splendour of His creation.

Here is a question that arose in my mind the other day. In your life say you come at a crossroads, the road to your left gets you one job and the road to the right gets you another job. Now say AkaalPurkh have already mapped out your route to the right hand road, the people that you will meet in your new job all have a link with you through mutual Karam, and through the job you will meet other people which is all tied in with your karam. The karam will effect hundreds of lives and you have to work through the karam with these people, all part of the karm mapped out by AkaalPurkh. Now here is the thing, if you do ardaas with all your heart and really really want the job that is on the right hand path and you get that job, you will think that AkaalPurkh has listened to your ardaas and you got your job, but, you were destined to get that job anyways, so did the ardaas have any effect, as you were going down that route anyway as your karam with all those people was already mapped out . If on the other hand you do adraas with all your heart for the job on the left hand path and you do not get the job, because you were never destined to get it because all your karm and links with all those people are with the job on the right hand path, then you will say what most people say “Oh well, tayra bhana meetha lagay” this is God’s will. Now AkaalPurkh can of course change your path from right to left if He so desires but then all the karm you were to work through on the right hand path will remain unworked but you will encounter people on the left hand path that you were never intended to meet and all that would affect hundreds of lives not only on the right hand path but now also on the left hand path. So the question arises does adraas have any effect, because you will never know. If it goes your way maybe it was going to go that way anyway and if it does not then you just shrug your shoulders and move on but it was never going to go that way anyway.

It is said that Jamdhoots do not reveal their true forms until the person has taken his/her last breath. they can sometimes be seen as long lost relatives or old friends and the dying person feels he is seeing his mum or dad etc, only when he has taken his last breath can the jamdhoots show their true form, which is absolutely hiddious, they have very dark skin and long faces and tower over you.........................................then you get shittar !

Mona Simpson, a novelist, gave the eulogy at the Memorial Church of Stanford University on October 16. She said Jobs looked at her, then his children, then his wife and then beyond them all, saying: "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow." "Steve's final words were monosyllables, repeated three times," Simpson said according to the eulogy printed in the New York Times. "Before embarking, he'd looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life's partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them, before saying his final words." Jobs, the founder of Apple and the man who transformed consumer technology,died aged 56. Question is what did he see over the shoulder of his wife as his last breaths were being taken ?

When you shack amrit Guru Gobind Singh Ji becomes your father, do you not want to have darshan of your father? When we are away from our biological mother/father do we not miss them and want to meet with them? then why do we no want to have darshan of Guru Gobind Singh Ji? Why does our heart no ache with longing for darshan of our true father?

11Gurus1jot, I agree, I really like this picture of Guru Sahib Ji, of all the pictures to me this captures maybe a little of the tap-tej of Guru Ji. You only fall into the trap of image worship if you let it, to me this is a picture of my father and whenever I see it it reminds me of my father. Just like when you look at a photo album of your family of parents the photos remind you of your father or mother. In the same way these pictures remind us of our father and to me that is a good thing. From what I have read/heard Guru Sahib Ji was tall and slender of build with sharp facial features......... and always with a smile on their face.

bhaji/benji, If you have done a bujjar kaurait then you have nochice but to pesh yourself infront of panj piaray. Yes it may be very shameful to stand infront of them and recount what you have done but it is best to get forgiven here then to have to do it infront of Dharamraj, and he will not let you off with just 40 japji sahib paaths ! If you make minor mistakes, which we all do all of the time, then you can ask forgivness in your morning ardaas. Guru Ji is bakshan haar and they will forgive you, no need for guilt trips, once you have confessed and asked for forgivness then move on and be happy within yourself.

Taking amrit is the first step, you are at this point tied to your Guru, from this point on you have to walk the path. How slow or fast you go is up to you. You have to make the effort, you have only taken the first step. If you expect to see heaven or bright twinckling stars when you take amrit then you are saddly mistaken. I myself found the ceremony very moving and personally I definitely felt a change within me, a change that has been with me ever since, a sense of belonging , almost like being thrown a life buoy in very turbulent waters. You have to cultivate your mind and let it grow towards Guru Ji , you take one step and Guru Ji will take a thousand towards you, but you have to make the first move. If you become cynical and question everything every step of the way then you get tangled and make little progress, you become bitter and loose faith, never let yourself get into this state else you lose everything, have faith in your Guru and follow him blindly.

Historical accounts should be viewed within their context and can be very biased. The musllmans used to call Sikhs dogs and that we fought like dogs. Many accounts of Baba Banda Singh give a very biased and negative view, when writing about the enemy then it the account tends to be a little askew. If you read Jangnama although it too calls Sikhs dogs but within the text the writer cannot but admire the Sikhs also. It was one of the codes of conduct of the Sikhs that they never struck anyone from behind, or struck a defenceless person or unarmerd and were renound for not touching the females of the enemy. These were drilled into theSiks be Guru Gobind Singh Ji himself, so I find it a little difficult to accept that these practices existed or were the norm. When a Sikh takes amrit he becomes amar (immortal) and any shahidi will take him/her to Guru Sahib Ji, hence the fearless do or die attitude of the Sikhs plus they were very much naam-abihaasi with tonnes of naam which helped then overcome so much adversity.

This is now creeping into many Gurdwars, even Soho Road Nishkam Gurdwara now has chairs along the back of the darbar sahib. People sitting infront of Akaal saroop Guru Granth sahib Ji is a definate no no, doesnot matter whether people are old or disabled - either lower the floor at the back or place them in a separate room with a window.

I take it that she has been sitting with her feet to Guru Ji for a while, in which case it will have come to the attention of other people also. Suggest you have a quiet word with the Granthi, just let him know that there is a lady who sits with her feet towards Guru Ji and ask him if he feels this is okay. This way it looks like you are only asking advice and not being critical and then see what the Giani says.

Put some medicated ointment on it, Zambuk is good (sold at Boots), then apply double bandaid/elasterplast to cushion the wound while to heals.

Amrit, Why are there two Bhattra Gurdwaras now in Leeds? Was there a rift between two factions? It must be difficult for both Gurughars as there are only a finite number of sangat to give support. Just off topic, have you noticed the Radhaswamies have aquired a new building. Used to be a car showroom. Very large premesis and they are very organised, always at least four stewards helping the congregation direct and park their cars in the carpark. The board outside the building reads - Science of the Soul (?)

Maybe just as an initial start we could do something positive even if it is on a small scale. What if we set up a small website where youngpeople - and it is going to be the next generation that can sort this out - can signon and register and make a pledge that they will disregard jaat/paat when they or their children get married and that they will not demand a dowry. Could have an image of Guru Granth Sahib Ji and the pledge would be done and their names would be there for all to see. The more people who sign up the better.

Anyone heard of these Vimana machines, I think we call them Bibhan's. They are mentioned many times in Ramayan and Mahabharat where various people use these flying machines for travel. I think they are mentioned in Gurbani also. Those who die and have done much naam/simran are collected in a Bibhan. Illustrations normally depict them as either saucer shaped or pyarmid shaped whereas old pictures from mythology show them as swan shaped with people riding them.