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Sat Sri Akal: This work is called Ganjnama and its origional Persian text can be read at: http://www.zafarnama.com/Download/gangnama.pdf Other great documents at this website too. Guru Sahib even commanded the demi-gods under his control...

Sat Sri Akal: What...are you going to need them after you are dead?? :T: Khich Key Kadd Lo, Kisse Dey Kam Ta Aan!

Sat Sri Akal: Avi Loongi Diggan Toh Darde Ho...Kachera Pao, Koi Daran Di Gal Nahi. :nihungsmile:

Sat Sri Akal: The Rehat Maryada outlines what should be read: Chapter III, Aritcle IV-Meditation on Nam (Divine Substance) and Scriptures (B) Sodar Rehras compromising the following compositions: (i) nine hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, occurring in the holy book after the Japuji Sahib, the first of which begins with “Sodar” and the last of which ends with “saran pare ki rakh sarma”. (ii) The Benti Chaupai of the tenth Guru (beginning “hamri karo hath dai rachha” and ending with “dusht dokh te leho bachai” (iii) the Sawayya beginning with the words “pae geho jab te tumre” (iv) the Dohira beginning with the words “sagal duar kau chhad kai” (v) the first five and the last pauris (stanzas) of Anand Sahib (vi) and Mundawani and the Slok Mahla 5 beginning “tere kita jato nahi” in the evening after sunset. If you desire to read more Gurbani, do so. But the above is the requirement as part of the Nitnem for the evening.

Sat Sri Akal: Your post Learner Singh Sahib brought up a point I wanted to discuss. Many people have used that same quote about the Vedas as substaintiation of Sikhs believing in the Vedas or even revering them. Guru Sahib makes a clear distinction in Gurbani. The quote you give clearly states that the Vedas are not false. But Guru Gobind Singh's Chaupai Sahib has the lines "Ram Rahim Puran Koran, Anek Kahe Mat Ek Na Maneyo". So yes, the Vedas are not false, but they are not the focus of Sikhism (consequently, reading of the Vedas reveals why. It is a text fcused on praising the multitude dieties for completion of various tasks). Sikhism does not discount religious scriptures or call them false. However, a Sikh is to only rever the Guru Granth Sahib and its single devotion to the Almighty, not revere the multiple dieties found in the Vedas, or give weight to the various opinions in other religious books. Just thought I would bring it up as a contra-point to some RSS parchar. On the issue of the Rehat Maryada, the Panth on a general basis does agree. It is many minorities that are being quite vocal. The individual Rehats written by various Sikhs were analyzed, scrutinized, compared with Gurbani and then judged for their inclusion into the Rehat Maryada. This Rehat Maryada was then compiled and passed with the general acceptance of the Sikh Panth.

Sat Sri Akal: Consequently, if it is so bothersome that the AKJ do not follow the Akal Thakat, why is not an issue when the Snatans refuse to follow the Akal Thakat's Rehat? Should they not also be scrutinized for their insistence upon special status apart from the Sikh Panth? Upon the writings of the Gurus, I see not one reference to Udasis, Nirmalas, Nihungs or Sewapanthis. I see one word being repaeted by the Ten Masters...Sikh. Perhaps that is what we should all strive to be? Just a thought.

Sat Sri Akal: Whether the position of Jathedarexisted or not is not relevant, as the Panth since then has chosen to have a Jathedar (if the Panth was severely against having a Jathedar, then there would have been a move made to remove that post). If the Khalsa shall choose in the future to have Panj Jathedars for the Akal Thakat, that is its decision. For now, one Jathedar is the standard. Sarbat Khalsa resides whereever there is a call for the Khalsa to assemble. Such a meeting did occur in 1986 (I think...year might not be correct) to pass some declarations about the events of 1984. So where does the Sarbat Khalsa reside? Whereever the Singhs/Kaurs gather upon a call of Panthic matters. As it stands right now, the Jathedar of the Akal Thakat is appointed by SGPC and can be relieved of duty by SGPC. What it really needed is a Jathedar with popular backing who makes a stand for Sikhism and does not leave the position upon SGPC hukam. The Jathedar of the Akal Thakat should have jurisdiction over the SGPC, not vice versa (GOI ain't stupid, control the SGPC, control the Akal Thakat). Until the people themselves rise and say or back a Jathedar that says the SGPC has no authority over the Akal Thakat, you can continue to see such removals and regime changes, to the detriment of the Sikh Nation.

Sat Sri Akal: See...always gotta make a Sikh look bad some way. The last Indian movie I saw was Border. And what do you see? The REAL people deployed there (120 of them)...95 of them were Sikhs. What...you can't find any Sikhs in Punjab to play roles in Border? And this was a movie that supposedly portrayed Sikhs in a good role? What next, Battles against Pakistan being fought by Nirankaris instead of Sikhs? Nonsense. Bollywood my eye. I hope that Hollywood launches a gigantic lawsuit against Indian Cinema...or as I call it, the world's largest Xerox machine! Yeah, keep 'em coming. Give Sikhs more reasons not to like India.

Sat Sri Akal: Sangat Sahib's views on the movie would be appreciated on the movie. I looked at the poster for the movie, and I became quite upset, as it showed Hindus hiding for cover from the "terrible" Sikhs who were riding on scooters with AK-47s. Perhaps this is being taken out of context, but to this I take great offence. My family was there in 1984 (self included) and the Sikhs were the complete victims. Go to http://www.carnage84.com and see for yourself how many Sikhs died and how many Hindus died. One thing that was remarkable that my dad told me was one one of the days after the genocide was occuring, we came out of hiding and he read on the wall a message for the thugs and the goons. It read "Khalsa Eho Nahi Maraya Janda" (The Khalsa Can't be Killed This Way)!!! So please, sangat ji, tell of your views on the movie. I am really interested as to how the movie is (I can't being myself to watch any more Indian movies...they tend to turn my stonach...the sheer Bollywoodness annoys the heck out of me!).

Sat Sri Akal: In its wierd way, Sikh Awareness is doing a great service to the Sikh community by finally exposing all of the parchar that threatens Sikhism's existence. It should be presented on an open forum so that all references that the "Snatan" side is proposing is dealt with references from the Sikh Panth. Sure it can be frustrating. The forum houses opinions of Namdharis, "Nihungs" (not the real ones), and others who are off the Sikh Path, ignoring the Guru Panth and following their own manmat (hey, if the Gurus listened to the Panth, who are these people...keep that in mind)...but these issues MUST be dealt with, as our ancestors ignored it too long. Many historians who have recieved validation in Sikhism need to be brought to light for their writing's shortcomings (no offense intended...they did what they thought was right) and others just need to be proven wrong. So let the site serve its purpose. So far, they have not restricted any posts that are under guidelines and communication is freely done there. Patience...patience. Don't do :g , do more of :T: and be

Sat Sri Akal: One thing that we all must realize that the Gurudwaras in India were in the hands of Hindus for quite a while (up the early 1920's when the Gurudwaras were finally handed back to the Sikhs from the hands of mahants and pandits). And until VERY recently, the identity of a Sikh was not really considered that separate from Hindus (1984 was really the separation point that awoke the common Sikh to realize that they are indeed a separate Panth - until then, it was mostly acknowledged by Sikh scholars and leaders). It will take a while to slowly find and weed out such practices.

Sat Sri Akal: I was given this link to mp3's recorded from a program called Akhand Jaap in Britain: http://www.sikhkids.com/akhandjaap.htm Have a listen and obtain some bliss. (Link courtesy of Sikhawareness member A_Singh_but_cant_Sing).

Sat Sri Akal: That B) should be a B with a ). Emoticons kinda took over the letters...

Sat Sri Akal: Law of the Sikhs, the Rehat Maryada states this: Chapter IV, Article V (d) Anything except the afore-mentioned reverential ceremonies, for instance, such practices as the arti with burning incense and lamps, offering of eatables to Guru Granth Sahib, burning of lights, beating of gongs, etc., is contrary to gurmat (the Guru’s way). However, for the perfuming of the place, the use of flowers, incense and scent is not barred. For light inside the room, oil or butter-oil lamps, candles, electric lamps, kerosene oil lamps, etc. may be lighted. Aarti as a ceremony is NOT in line with Sikhism. I have seen video footage of aarti done in Hazoor Sahib. This same Thakat also has a picture of "Guru Gobind Singh" (in quotes because the physical roop of Guru Sahib is in the Panj Pyare, not a picture!). :D The Rehat Maryada also makes no mention of reading Japji Sahib a second time (it is to be read once, as each page of the Guru Granth Sahib is supposed to be read). This rule is unknown to me, and adding rules to the Rehat Maryada is not correct either. Also, bells, flowers and candles for ritualistic purposes is not in line with the Rehat Maryada. The only time candles are to be used is if they serve as a source if light without any ritualistic attachment to them (see above). As per the presence of the Dasam Granth being a requirement for Amrit Sanchar, it is not. The Guru Granth Sahib's presence is required, not the Dasam Granth's nor the Sarbloh Granth: C hapter XIII, Article XXIV (B) At the place where ambrosial baptism is to be administered, the holy Guru Granth Sahib should be installed and ceremonially opened. Also present should be six committed baptized Sikhs, one of whom should sit in attendance of the Guru Granth Sahib and the other five should be there to administer the ambrosial baptism. As per the Nanaksar comment...it is actually true to a point. In Nanaksar history presented at a website (forgot which one), it was stated that Nanaksar establishments do not fly the Nishan Sahib. If this is true, then the place is inelegible to be called a Gurudwara, as a Nishan Sahib is REQUIRED for a place to be titled a Gurudwara: Chapter IV, Article V r) At a high-level site in every gurdwara should be installed the nishan sahib (Sikh flag). The cloth of the flag should be either of xanthic or of greyish blue colour and on top of the flag post, there should either be a spearhead or a Khanda (a straight dagger with convex side edges leading to slanting top edges ending in a vertex). So if the Nanaksar establishments do fly the Nishan Sahib, they may be titled Gurudwaras. If not, sorry...it's not a Gurudwara. Now, how can Gurbani be "unshud"? Simply Impossible.

Sat Sri Akal: Got this in e-mail. Very inspirational. __________________________________________________________ GURNAM SINGH - ADDICTED By Harjit Singh Lakhan (harjit@sikh-heroes.com) 5 Aug 2003 My friend Gurnam Singh in Birmingham told me his story at a kids camp July 2002. He used to be a drug pusher and addict on the streets of manchester. He ran away from home aged 13 and lived with thieves and druggies. He kidnapped, raped and other unspeakable things in order to get money for drugs. Only his mother believed in him, that he was better than that. She used to see him once a month and go to gurdwara do shoe seva with a handkerchief and wipe that on his forehead while he was knocked out drunk or drugged out. One he even put a knife to her throat because she wouldn’t give him money for drugs. One day she told him there's a better drug, a new wonder drug that he needs to try. His eyes lit up at the thought of how much money he would make. Then he asked her what this drug was. She said it was "Khandeh batta da Amrit". He looked away disappointed and ignored her. She insisted he try it and he would never go back to his old drugs. to appease her he said well I'll only take it if I can have it today. Amazed that he'd even considered it, she phoned every gurdwara and jatha but there where no amrit sanchars anywhere. Then she said I'll take you to India, he said get the tickets right now otherwise its off. By guru's kirpa she didnt need the tickets because she called the Singhs up in South Shields, they said "A singh wants to take amrit ... we'll come and get him!" When she told Gurnam th ey were coming to get him, he started thinking twice about it and said no no I'll go up by myself. She knew he wouldn't so sent her younger son, the one with the a joora to go with him on the train. On the train to his amrit ceremony, he was smoking drugs with one hand and drinking the strongest cans of alcohol. The other hand was on the mobile to his girlfriend who was shouting at him for not coming home. He had tatoos all over his arms, earings and piercings and torn jeans and clothes. worst of all he stunk of alcohol and drugs. When they got off the train a short stocky singh with a long beard greeted them. He said 'So you're here to take amrit' and he hugged the younger brother. The kid shook his head and said 'no its not me' and pointed to his brother. The Singh was gobsmacked but smiled and hugged Gurnam singh close to his chest. Gurnam said that changed his life. He said no-one had ever loved him, his girlfriend was just a purely sexual relationship. He felt so guilty that being so filthy he had made the Singh dirty. They took him to the Gurdwara and explained a few things about amrit and told him to think about it for 24 hrs then decide if he really wanted it. They gave him a shower, a kurtha pyjama and took him for a walk around the park explaining things like he wont be able to have drugs or alcohol again, and he'd have to marry his girlfriend and ask her to have amrit as well so they could live a gursikh life. He agreed to the first part and said he was ready to dump his grilfriend- there was no pyare there. In the early hours the Singhs started the amritvela naam japna, he heard it in his room and it enticed him , he sat and listened and cried his eyes out. They took him for another walk around the park and helped him think about what was happening. He said he was so happy because for the last 12 hours he hadn’t touched drugs or alcohol and that was a true miracle for him. As he was so addicted he couldn’t even go a few minutes without. He was so addicted he only weighed 6 stone and looked a walking skeleton. He had blood in his <admin-cut> and was on the verge of self-destructing. In the morning the Singhs served him with so much pyare, offereing him lots of cereals, and toast, making his breakfast , taking his dishes. He was overwhelemed. In his sangat of thieves and druggies the only code was each man for himself, TAKE TAKE TAKE , if you didn’t grab it by force then you wouldn’t get it. He was blown away by the amount of love the Singhs gave. The Singhs did the amrit sinchar just for him. For two whole days he didn’t know where his soul was - blissed out. One of the Singhs took a whole week off work and taught him to read and pronounce Japji sahib. Amazing when you conmsider he didn’t even know how to read or write english as he had dropped out of school when he about 7. He called home and told his mum he wouldnt be coming home yet as he loved the singhs, she was ecstatic 'Dont worry son you stay there as long as you want'. The following week he went on a tour of the UK gurdwara with his cousin and brother (1996). They met me in Southall gurdwara, doing seva in the langar. I remember greeting them and talking to them. I didn’t know any of his history , I just saw a Gursikh wearing bana like me. They said they need some shabad kirtan gutka as it was hard to get them up north, so I took them home and we did kirtan in my liitle room and I gave them some english gutka I had. They didnt tell me all of the above. I only found out 6 years later a few weeks ago when I met Gurnam Singh again at a camp in Birmingham. I didnt realise the effect I also had on him. He said 'You didn’t know me, a total stranger, yet you too gave us so much pyare I was blown away' . Then after he left me he went to Leicester. The missed the train and a Singh at the station offered for them to stay with him the night. He was in chardhikalla. When they got to his house they saw he had an 18 year old son who was comp letely wheelchair bound unable to do anything for himself. The Singhs had a 24 by 7 rota to look after the son day in day out 365 days a year. When he asked the Singh arent you upset with God for doing this to you? The Singh said, It all good , whatever good does is good, I'm happy, very happy." Once again Gurnam singh was blown away with the Gursikh. The Singhs arranged his marriage, his wife knew of his past, but didn’t mind. Many hard times came and he craved the drugs again, especially as he knew who to get them from. Once he came home with a bag full of cocaine and stared at it on his kitchen table. He was that close to going back to his old ways. There and then he did ardas guru ji I need to move away from Manchester, from all this bad sangat. He had tried selling his house before but it was a rundown area and no one was interested. Yet the next day a pakistani man knocked on his door and offered them more than market values for their house! They moved to Birmingham for sangat. Even their some more Singhs, got him a house and a job. He paid them back the deposit and says he has sukhmani sahib programme one a month. Even when they were driving around looking for a house they saw a for sale sign and one chardhi-kalla singh said to Gurnam, that’s going to be your house. Next time they went by it had a sold sign, Gurnam was disappointed. But the chardhikalla singh said , no that’s going to be your house. So the Singhs got together and did chaupee sahib the paat and amazingly the house came back on the market! He still gets cravings, but can only control it with sangat. He says he now does talks to kids about the evils of drugs and tells them what happened to him. PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL YOUTH TO WARN OF THE DANGERS OF DRUGS AND PRINT IN NEWSPAPERS dhan guru nanak dhan nirankar waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji kee fateh!

Sat Sri Akal: In a word: WONDERFUL!!!! More...MORE!!!

Sat Sri Akal: Want the ultimate solution? Here you go...make every Sikh woman (Amritdhari) wear a dastaar. You'll see a HUGE change. :D :D :D

Sat Sri Akal: It is an inspirational article. A good read.

Sat Sri Akal: Yeah, there cute now...wait until you have to change their diapers!!! EWWWWWWW! :D :D :D (Congrats on the blessing the Almighty has given you. May she be the embodiment of a Sikh).

Sat Sri Akal: Don't expect anything from India. The MAIN target of the RSS is Sikhs, as they hold the most steadfast resistance against being assimilated into the Brahmin-control. And they also happen to hold all the government seats. Us asking justice from them is like African Americans asking the KKK to to live together in harmony. One way or another, they will find ways to belittle Sikhism.

Sat Sri Akal: Hate to spoil your assumptions, but the majority of the moderators are Punjabi!!! Where is our tolerance and respect now? Labeling our fellow Sikhs as nothing more than Hippies even in joking manner is not the least bit considerate! These Sikhs left their families to be Sikhs!!! Do you know how much committment and devotion it takes to break from the norm which you were brought up in, abandon your past and become something that nobody understands? How many of you have made that committment??? Even a better question, how many of you folks here have even MET a Causasian Sikh? Let us start from that! Give me a break folks. Such comments do not suit Sangat Sahib. Somewhere along the lines, Sikhs MUST stop attacking other Sikhs or you all can forget about a Khalsa that stands up to the standards of the Guru Sahiban. Would you dare engage in slandering a Sikh who took amrit from the Panj Pyare, considering that's what the majority of Caucasian Sikhs are? E-mail the creator of the Sikhnet site, Bhai Gurmastak Singh Sahib, and tell him of the response. He will surely listen and make appropriate changes. Start here, before more bad-mouthing of Sikh brethern is done.

Sat Sri Akal: I just read in the "Punjab Express" newspaper that there will be be a Rehansabhai Kirtan on August 23!!!! Anyone here who can confirm this for me? I shall surely want to go!

Sat Sri Akal: A Sikh (amritdhari) is required to keep a Guru Grath Sahib in their house to do Sudhharan Paath each day (read a little bit at a time from startto finish). Should it be allowed? ABSOLUTELY! The alternative is Sikhism turning into Catholics, where the priests have all the knowledge and use it to manipulate the common folk. Solution? Only authorized shops/gurudwaras should be able to hand over a Guru Granth Sahib Bir to a person, and upon an oath of treating the Guru Saroop with proper respect. This should also count for volumed study sets.

Sat Sri Akal: If this is true, suing is the best means. But lets add PUBLIC apology from the President himself to that list!!!!!!

Sat Sri Akal: There is a hukamnama passed that states that you may show respect in any way EXCEPT bowing down in front of a person as you do in front of the Guru Granth Sahib.