singhni84

Knot it and wrap it around the knot. Your joora should be tight and secure, not loose and half-open.

Usually the college/university itself will offer loads of scholarships and bursaries too. Which school are you looking at? OSAP offers assistance in Ontario.

Mine was doing that a while ago, but it's fine again now.

Can you tell us who's doing keertan again?

Singhini1984...nice name and nice views too I agree with the last few posts. Most of the youth today get mixed up in these kinds of relationships and there are always 101 ways to justify them. But the truth is that they're wrong, always. A Sikh shouldn't get involved in this kind of nonsense. Can you imagine any great Gursikh from the past having a gf/bf? Even if there's no physical contact etc, it's still not appropriate to have these kinds of feelings for a person you're not even married to. Despite how pure the intentions are and how genuine your drive towards Sikhi, what usually happens is that your Sikhi goes nowhere because the relationship becomes a barrier. And in the end, most of these relationships don't even work out so not only do you lose the person you thought was "The One", but in the process, you lose what little amount of Sikhi you had to begin with. Before you're married, it's not really appropriate to have that much free communication. It's definitely not appropriate to be "in love" before marriage. The proper way to proceed is this: have your parents make the arrangements. You should limit how much you talk to the person directly yourself. If you care for the person AND for your Sikhi, then back away until you're married or else (from what I've seen), you'll probably end up losing one or the other...either your Sikhi or the person anyways.

You're right, Jaspaul Singh Jee. Stages are a relatively new thing in Gurdwara Sahibs. Keertan should be sangatee...that is, there should be no divide between those "performing" keertan and those in the sangat. They should sit together and sing together. The stage creates a division and turns the keertan into a performance where the sangat becomes more of an audience than an actual part of the keertan. Keertan should be done for Guru Sahib, facing Guru Sahib, with the entire sangat (including keertanis) sitting on the same level together, and only Guru Sahib should be elevated.

Discuss it with the Punj Pyaaray. They may offer some good advice or ways to get around shaving etc. If you're forced to remove your Kes/Kakaars for medical reasons, you can get peshed afterwards without being considered Bujjar kurehiti most likely.

Anger is one of the five vices we all suffer from. They're hard to control, but Gurbani and Ardaas can fix anything. You can also try to hone in on WHAT makes you angry. Sometimes the root cause can be ONE person or the way they talk to you or how they make you feel. Talking to them about it or avoiding them completely could help. Also, try thinking before you react or breathing deeply. Sorath M:5 kaam krodhh lobh jhoot(h) ni(n)dhaa ein thae aap shhaddaavahu || Sexual desire, anger, greed, falsehood and slander - please, save me from these, O Lord. eih bheethar thae ein ko ddaarahu aapan nikatt bulaavahu ||1|| Please eradicate these from within me, and call me to come close to You. ||1|| apunee bidhh aap janaavahu || You alone teach me Your Ways. har jan ma(n)gal gaavahu ||1|| rehaao || With the Lord's humble servants, I sing His Praises. ||1||Pause|| bisar naahee kabehoo heeeae thae eih bidhh man mehi paavahu || May I never forget the Lord within my heart; please, instill such understanding within my mind. gur pooraa bhaettiou vaddabhaagee jan naanak kathehi n dhhaavahu ||2||3||31|| By great good fortune, servant Nanak has met with the Perfect Guru, and now, he will not go anywhere else. ||2||3||31||

Gurmat is the supreme religion. In Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the importance of "Gurmat Naam" is repeated over and over. Without Gurmat Naam, no one can find Akaal Purakh nor reach Sachkhand. As shown in the following pankti of Gurbani, Gurmat Naam is only available in the house of Guru Nanak: "Nanak kai ghar keval, naam". Keval = "only". Without Naam, no one can find God: "Nanak Naam binaa ko mukat na hoee" (Nanak, without Naam, no one is liberated.) And Naam can only be found from the Guru: "Bin gur naam n paya jaae" (Without the Guru, the Naam cannot be obtained.) We can try to be politically correct, but our Guru Sahibs made the truth plain and clear. By following other religions, one will receive the appropriate merit and karma ("theerath thup deya dat daan, je ko paavai til kaa maan" -- pilgrimages, austere discipline, compassion and charity, these bring only an iota of merit), but only by following the path of Gurmat can we be truly liberated. Liberation only comes from Gurmat Naam received through the Guru. "Bin Satgur kinnai na payo, bin Satgur kinnai na payaa" Here's what Guru Sahib thinks of other religions: "Raam Rahim, Puran Koran, Anek kahai mat, humm ek naa maniyo Simrat shaster beyd sabhai, baho bhed kahai, hum ek naa janiyo" How can we have any doubt and say that all religions are equal when Guru Sahib himself denounced the other faiths?

There's probably more than 400,000 homeless people across Canada. Where are these many people going to get jobs? Crisis centres/shelters are already overcrowded and the services they provide are inadequate as is. In Toronto, about 5000 homeless people seek shelter each night, but only about 4000 will find space for the night, mostly only on the coldest of all nights if there's a fear of freezing to death. You can't just stick them somewhere and think the problem is solved. Shelter is only ONE of their needs. The consequences of living on the streets are manifold. Physiological health issues include an increasing numbers of people with HIV/AIDS, TB (infection rate is about 40% of all homeless people), hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases and communicable infections, to name only a few. There's also the countless psychological and emotional struggles. The longer a person remains homeless, the greater the likelihood of suffering from serious and long-term mental and physical health problems. Who's going to pay for all this?

You can't work without an address. There's a 4-5 year waiting-list for affordable housing in Toronto. And where will they print off resumes? Most homeless people do not even have the appropriate ID. Moreover, a lot of homeless people suffer from serious mental and physical illness (I'd go crazy if I were living on the street too). And to say the least, they aren't generally fit to stroll into a work setting (think of their clothing etc). There are definitely some "fakes" out there who prefer begging because it can indeed be profitable, but I'm talking about the real homeless cases...those who sleep in the park or in the doorway of churches downtown. I don't believe anyone would choose such a fate.

Bhain Jee, I think you should think about what Amarjeet Singh has written: If you yourself don't attend receptions due to it being against your principles, you'd want your husband to respect those principles too, if not share in them, right? Compromises can go only so far. When you're compromising on your principles, it's not a worthwhile trade.

Give your old karaa to someone else it might fit...a child maybe? Kids like getting new karray.

Nice story, but... Guru Sahib says: Ja kai simran sabh kachh payeeai, birthee ghaal na jaaee || (Meditating in remembrance on Him, all things are obtained, and one's efforts shall not be in vain) Guru Sahib tells us again and again that our efforts will not be in vain, they won't go unrewarded: Nanak, Prabh abinaashi || Ta kee sev na birthi jaasee || Anand kareh tere daasaa || Jap pooran hoee aasaa ||2||4||68|| (O Nanak, God is eternal and imperishable. Service to Him shall never go unrewarded. Your slaves are in bliss; Chanting and meditating, their desires are fulfilled. ||2||4||68||) . . . Jaa kee seva sarab nidhaan || Prabh kee pooja paayeeai maan || Ja kee tehal na birthee jaae || Sada sada har ke gun gaae ||3|| (Serving Him, all treasures are obtained. Worshipping God, honor is obtained. Working for Him is never in vain; forever and ever, sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord. ||3||) . . . Jan laagaa har ekai naae || Tis kee aas na birthee jaae || Sevak ko sevaa ban aaee || Hukam boojh param padh paaee || (The Lord's humble servant is committed to His Name. His hopes do not go in vain. The servant's purpose is to serve; obeying the Lord's Command, the supreme status is obtained.)

A Sikh should never make compromises on his/her Kakaars to appease others. I was just thinking about this issue as I flipped through "Struggle for Justice" (speeches of Baba Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale) and I came across the following excerpt: "...Bibi Indra has been making some announcements in a roundabout manner...about the length of the Kirpaan. No Sikh is ever going to accept this. There is sadness in my heart. As far as I have learnt from historical accounts and by word of mouth from great men, no person following any religion has ever had restrictions imposed on his religious symbols. If any restriction has been forcibly imposed, it has not been tolerated. Where she decides in favour of six inches or nine inches, a Sikh will never tolerate it. Tell her that this is an inseparable part of us. We did not get the Kirpaan in exchange for peanuts. We did not sell lentils to get it. It has been received in return for our heads. Those who take off their caps and place them at the foot of Nauranga's [Aurangzeb's] cot want to place restrictions on something that was acquired by sacrificing our heads! What right do they have to impose restrictions on our Kirpaan? A Sikh should keep a kirpaan as long as he can manage... Accepting restrictions on the kirpaan, to my mind, is accepting restriction on our religion." [page 48] We cave in and bow to governments who impose restrictions and refuse us entry onto planes etc. But accepting these restrictions really is accepting restrictions on our religion. To the veer who started this topic, please don't cover/hide your precious Kakaar. If it takes a few minutes to explain the kirpaan to those who don't know, consider it time well-spent if it results in you keeping your kakaar with your head still held high.

Concentrating is tricky, but I think you should still do the full baani. It's such a powerful baani that some Gursikhs would never even dream of skipping it as part of their daily nitnem. It's not easy to concentrate, but just as if you were unable to concentrate during Nitnem, you would still complete it, similarly, you should still complete Sri Sukhmani Sahib. Concentration will come with Guru Sahib's kirpaa.

Instead of a reception, most Gursikhs have a Ransubhaaee Keertan in the evening. Would your to-be go for that?

Great posts by Taranjeet Singh and Jagjit Singh! Taranjeet Singh has raised a very important point: >>>> 8. S. Shamsher Singh Ashok who has been an active member of the Singh Sabha movement and an erstwhile Research Scholar of the S.G.P.C., while discussing the prevalence of the use of 'Dastaar', states: "...and, consequently in the Amrit-Parchaar at the Akaal Takhat Sahib, this was a precondition even for ladies before they could be baptized there. Any woman who was not prepared to wear Dastaar was not baptized. This practice continued even after the end of the Gurudwara movement. Relaxation was made only when Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafar became the Jathedar of the Akaal Takhat." >>>> This is true. Until Musafar became Jathedar, all bibiaan were required to wear a dastaar before getting Amrit dee daat. He started "relaxing" this requirement in the 1930's after his own wife refused to wear a dastaar. He began to allow two different types of Amrit Sinchaars to be held. On X and Y days, bibiyaan required dastaars; on A and B days, bibiyaan could chhak amrit without a dastaar. Before the 1930s however, ALL bibiyaan required a dastaar in order to receive Amrit. This may have seemed like a small dhill at the time, but look at where it has brought us now.

We can acquire as many worldly comforts as there are available, but none bring real satisfaction or fulfillment. Why not? Because they are all only temporary. What good is that which goes up in smoke and that which gets left here when we leave this world? If we seek satisfaction and fulfillment from life, we will never find it unless we search within Sikhi. When we feel "fulfilled/satisfied" but we have no Sikhi at all, we are only being fooled by the five thieves...lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego...they fool us into thinking we're happy, but inside, we know we're still empty, still missing something. True satisfaction and real fulfillment can only be found at the feet of the Guru. Everything else is temporary and will be of no use to us in the long-run.

Please ring Sukhdev Singh on 416 674 7888 141793[/snapback] Will do! Thanks! Keep up the great seva, Veer Jee!

No one was saying that outer appearance ALONE is the be-all and end-all. But remember, a Sikh is nothing without Rehit and there can be no double-standards in that. The Rehit of a Sikh includes discipline in terms of outer appearance. Singhs and Singhnees are both Sikhs, and both are the Khalsa. Why would the Guru discriminate? Why would he have different expectations of Singhs and Singhnees? If there is one Khalsa, and if Singhnees too are part of that single Khalsa, then they must keep the same Rehit and same appearance of the Khalsa.

The best way to get answers would be to ask the Punj Pyaaray at the next Amrit Sinchaar. This thread is also a good read: http://www.tapoban.org/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=62940&t=62940

Wow...in the "Sikh Art" section, the second pic on page 6 is amazing!

To answer your question Bhain Jee "proud_to_be_singhni": "what??!!! ji i dont get that....that means you can wear keski and what do kes di beadbi??" Bhain Jee, keeping kes uncut is already covered as a bujjar kurehit. Any Sikh who cuts or otherwise does beadbi of kes is no longer a Sikh. It is already a given that a Sikh must keep hair uncut. What I was saying was that puraatan sources refer to the fifth kakaar as Keski rather than Kes for the above reason (not to get into the Kes/Keski debate, but to point out that according to Rehit, a keski/dastaar is required of both Singhs and Singhnees -- for the Khalsa collectively).

Mahamoorakh jee, 1) "It is not important whether an Amrit Dhari bibi covers their head with a chunni or with a patka, with a keski or with a dastaar. The aim is to be have the head covered and all these different head coverings achieve the aim." If it isn't important whether a bibi covers her head with a chunni/patka/dastaar, why is it important for a Singh? Why can't a man wear a chunni and achieve the same "aim" as a bibi (having the head covered)? You can say it is not a matter of inequality, but it certainly becomes one of double-standards then. Would your Satguru give his Sikhs double-standards? 2) "No doubt Sikhi promotes equality, but this is not practised by ensuring that both women and men wear dastaars. Equality as a concept has been blown out of proportion." The Gurus promoted equality in EVERY aspect. By breaking the shackles that chained women down through rituals and other religions, Guru Sahib proclaimed KHALSA MERO ROOP HAI KHAAS. Unless you believe women are not part of the Khalsa, there's no way to justify a claim that a bibi can be a Sikh, a Khalsa, without a dastaar. She, like a Singh, is the very embodiment of the Guru. When she stands amongst the Punj Pyaaray during an Amrit Sinchaar, can she have a chunni while the rest have dastaar? Of course not. She will have to embody the form of the Khalsa, to become the form of Guru Sahib himself. 3) "The Gurus did not say that both men and women must dress identically in order to practise equality." If you believe that the Khalsa is Akaal Purakh ki Fauj, then you should know that every army has a uniform. The Khalsa too has a uniform -- Gurmukhi baana. It applies to both Singhs and Kaurs. They do indeed dress identically. 4) "Even if we take the example of men and women dressing similarly by wearing baana, why can men wear open chole/baana whilst bibian must wear pyjammees with their baana?" Bibian are not required to wear pajamis. Most choose to, just as lots of Singhs do. Wearing a cholaa with a pajami still qualifies as Gurmukhi baana though. 5) "It is not that wearing a dastaar is wrong as a bibi, if one wants to wear it fine. But this is personal choice." Unless you think it is acceptable for a Singh to wear a chunni to exercise his freedom of choice as well, your argument holds no water. 6) "A bibi that wears a chunni is by no means inferior to a bibi that wears a dastaar." Inferiority aside, a bibi with a chunni can never be completely tyaar bar tyaar, ready for anything, to the same level as a Singh or Singhnee with dastaar, sans chunni. A chunni is not stuck to one's head and does not stay in place unless it is held there. In a battlefield...heck, even walking down the street...a chunni is not a practical head-covering. 7) "Rehat is key, the discipline we practise is what takes us closer to Vaheguru Jee." Finally something I agree with! Rehit is indeed key. But would your Guru give a different rehit to Singhs and a separate rehit to Singhnees? Mine wouldn't. Please don't turn this into a Kes/Keski debate, but please do note that no old source claims that kes is a kakaar, but they do list keski as one.