Ishna

KhalistaniGunMan: I visit many places on the Internet. I'm sure you do too. Gupt: I understand what you're saying, and I am shamed by people who come to a religion or path and misinterpret and/or bring their own ideas into it. I read once that before someone even thinks about doing things their own way, they should master the original way first. As Sikhi will take more than a lifetime to master, there should be no room for innovation. I get defensive when all white Sikhs are labelled as being part of groups which they may not in fact be part of. No body is perfect and although some white Sikhs are a bit skewed in their Sikhi, so are Sikhs of other nationalities (or skin colour if you want to call it that). We can only beg Guru Ji to bring clarity to the panth, try to share the Truth within Gurbani and set a good example ourselves, right?

It is incredibly ignorant to lump all 'white Sikhs' together as 3HO 'heretics'. Sikhs are supposed to see PEOPLE, not religion, race, gender, etc. Learn your own religion before making sweeping accusations of non-Punjabi 'converts' please. None of us are perfect. Guru Fateh.

Many thanks to you Kaljug Singh Ji.

Sat Sri Akal Ji Can someone please tell me what the meaning of the word "raul" is? Also, can you please explain this entire thing to me, as I'm unfamiliar with this. It sounds like you carry on your own private continual recitation of Japji Sahib in darbar sahib while the Akhand Paath is going on? Also, thanks for mentioning the scarf the person reading wears-I never new the name and have been wondering. I saw a little bit of an Akhand Paath this Vaisakhi just gone and wondered why the reader had his mouth covered when he started reading. Thanks. Gurfateh.

That depends on your interpretation of Sikh diet. Most cheeses have an enzyme called 'rennet' in them which comes from the stomach lining of calves. If you're a vegetarian then you shouldn't consume any cheese with rennet in it. You can see on the pack if it says rennet or just enzyme then don't eat it. Only eat it if it says 'non-animal rennet' or enzyme. If you're not a vegetarian then your next concern if where the animal rennet came from. You are 100% not supposed to eat halal meat so you could try finding out if the rennet comes from a halal slaughtered cow. Don't know how you find that out though. Best thing to do is just stick to cheeses which don't have rennet in them. Please pardon my mistakes.

Hello, Is there a trick to getting a chunni to stay on your head? The few times I've tried to wear one at home it just constantly falls off. I don't want that to happen in gurdwara. Thanks!

This is part of the entire Japji Sahib I found translated in a book on Sikhism by Hew McLeod (who doesn't seem to be very highly regarded for his work....) Personally I think this is a very beautiful translation, but I fear for it's accuracy. He claims to try and preserve the rhythm and neutrality of the original. I do not know why he's numbered the verses. ---- There is one Supreme Being, the Eternal Reality, the Creator, without fear and devoid of enmity, immortal, never incarnated, self-existent, known by grace through the Guru. The Eternal One, from the beginning, through all time, present now, the Everlasting Reality. 1. Never can you be known through ritual purity though one cleanse oneself a hundred thousand times. Never can you be revealed by silent reflection though one dwell absorbed in the deepest meditation. Though one gather vast riches the hunger remains, no cunning will help in the hereafter. How then is Truth to be attained, how he veil of falsehood torn aside? Nanak, thus it is written: Submit to the divine Order, walk in its way. 2. Though all that exists is its visible expression, the divine Order is far beyond all describing. All forms of life are created by it, and it alone can determine who is great. Some are exalted, some absed; some must suffer while others find joy. Some receive blessings, others are condemned, doomed by the divine Order to endless transmigration. All are within it, none can evade it. They, Nanak, who truly comprehend it renounce their blind self-centred pride. 3. They who are strong sing of the Supreme One's might; they who receive gifts sing of grace. Some acclaim majesty and wonders performed; others from their learning discern wisdom to be praised. Some praise power made manifest in creation, how life is reaised up, cast down, and reincarnated anew. Some sing of distance, of dwelling afar; others of presence, immanent in all creation. Countless the number who tell of the Supreme One, describing in endless ways. None can ever hope to succeed, for none can encompass infinity. Continual the giving with endless gifts, caring for us and endlessly supplying our needs. The divine Order it is that directs our path. For ever joyous is the Divine One, Nanak, for ever free from care. 4. The Eternal One whose Name is Truth speaks to us in infinite love. Insistently we beg for the gifts which are by grace bestowed. What can we offer in return for all this goodness? What gift will gain entrance to the hallowed Court? What words can we utter to attract this love? At the ambrosial hour of fragrent dawn meditate on the grandeur of the one true Name. Past actions determine the nature of our birth, but grace alone reveals the door to liberation. See the Divine Spirit, Nanak, dwelling immanent in all. Know the Divine Spirit as the One, the eternal, the changeless Truth. . Futile it is to make and install an idol, a mere figure of the Supreme One who is devoid of spot or stain. Whoever serves wins honour, Nanak, so sing of the Supreme One, of boundless excellence. Sing praises, hear them sung, and nourish love within your heart. Thus shall your suffering all be banished and peace take its place within. The Guru's Word is the mystic sound, the voice of the scriptures immanent in all. Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma and Parvati, all are but manifestations of the one divine Guru. Were my mind to comprehend the Eternal One my words would surely fail. One thing only I ask of the Guru. May the Gracious One, the Giver of all, constantly dwell in my thoughts and recollection. 6. I should bathe at a pilgrimage spot if that would give you pleasure. Without your blessing nothing is obtained. Throughout all creation nothing can be gained except by means of your divine grace. The person who accepts but a single word from the Guru shall find whin a treasure trove of jewels. Let me never forget that single perception, the constant rememberance of the Giver of all. 7. If one were to live through all four ages or even ten times their span; if one were to be famed throughout the world, acknowledged as leader by all; if one were to earn n exalted name and a glory which covered the earth, without your blessing all would be futile. It your gracious glance avoids such a person all turn their faces away. Lowest of worms, scorned and blamed by all! The worthless are converted to virtue, Nanak, and to the virtuous you impart yet more. You alone have the power so to do; no one confers virtue on you. 8. By listening to the Word one gathers all the qualities of the spiritually adept. By listening to the Word one comprehends the deepest mysteries of the universe. When one listens to the Word the vastness of the world comes into view, its continents, is realms, and under it the nether regions. If one listens to the Word the power of Death is overcome. The devout, declares Nanak, dwell in everlasting bliss, for suffering and sin must flee from all who hear the Word. 9. By listening to the Word one matches the gods, the equal of Shiva, of Brahma and of Indra. From listening to the Word the wicked turn to praise. Through listening to the Word one attans deep understanding, learning the mysteries of the yogic art and the wisdom of the scriptures. The devout, declared Nanak, dwell in everlasting bliss, for suffering and sin must flee from all who hear the Word. 10. By listening to the Word one finds truth, contentment and spiritual perception. By listening to the Word one secures all that pilgrimage can achieve, the merit earned by bathing at every sacred site. By listening to the Word one acquires the fame of the learned scholar. By listening to the Word one knows the rapture of deep meditation. The devout, declares Nanak, dwell in everlasting bliss, for suffering and sin must flee from all who hear the Word. 11. By listening to the Word one plumbs the ultimate depth of virtue. By listening to the Word one speaks as scholar, as mystic, as king. By listening to the Word the blind frind their eyes have been opened. By listening to the Word one fathoms the unfathomable mysteries of our existence. The devout, declared Nanak, dwell in everlasting bliss, for suffering and sin must flee from all who hear the Word. ----- Your feedback would be appreciated. Sat sri akal!

Thats cool Taran. Pleeeease don't give them massively oversized breasts like 99% of all other female characters in computer games. I really hate that.

I know you're busy, but do you think you'd be able to create a modest Kaur model for us ladies *looks around for backup* to play as? Just a thought! Looks great!! Can't wait to play!!!

Unreal engine -- nice choice. :lol: Oh this is so exciting!! *brushes up on her FPS game skills, rather than Seconds of Madness in the Arcade... hahaha* Ish.

Owe, it's difficult, they're all good! *grins* Japmans Ji, can you please explain what it is to give a gutka proper respect? A few months ago I purchased a CD set by Dya Singh that is a plastic case with two CDs in it (morning and evening, containing banis from Japji Sahib to Kirtan Sohila and a track of naam simran), and it came with a "sunder gutka" in the middle of the case, wrapped in red velvet with Ik Onkar embroided into the front. When I'm reading it I treat it gently and hold it as I would a precious book, like not bending the pages or placing it down flat at the page that I'm up to. Oh and with my head covered. But is there anything special that I'm supposed to do with it? And also... I believe you have a title to defend *points to Seconds of Madness in the Arcade*... Thanks, Ishna.

Okay Sikh Supreme, what is your vision of how females should behave, and how are you going to enforce this view? I have more I would like to say but I am too offended to form a polite response. Although I can see your concern (I think), I am offended that you, Sikh Supreme, seem to be relegating all young female Sikhs and Sikh-wannabes to a veeery low station below this perceived male perfection. I notice some other people here acknowledge that some Singhs are also on the wrong side of the tracks, and I respect them for this. I am, however, concerned by this "we have to make these females behave properly" attitude I'm seeing from some. I refuse to align myself with a group that has this kind of mentality. Ishna.

After having a look at that site, I have to say that what you are seeing is probably not a true reflection of the Sikh community in the UK. They are online groups, anyone can join and paste any kind of picture and say anything they want.... Don't take the internet too seriously is my advice.

Looks good so far. :TH: Your site says "The first Sikh computer game mod". May I ask what it's a mod for? Like, CS? I'm a little naive about these things, sorry.

OKay, see, there's the thing right there: I said Punjabi, not Gurmukhi. My understanding: Punjabi is the oral language, the vocabulary, and Gurmukhi is the written form. I'm already learning the Gurmukhi alphabet, and I can say words, but I don't know what they all mean, and I couldn't string up a sentence independently. Or am I getting really confused?

Howdy, In your opinion, how important is it for a westerner interested in Sikhi to learn the Punjabi language? Is a book on Colloquial Punjabi going to be useful? Also, is bani spoken in English any less effective or meaningful than the original, do you think? Thanks in advance, Ishna.

Awesome! :lol:

hey, now they're saying menstrual blood, just to clear that up a bit. That does make it a lot more acceptable in my humble opinion. Ishna.

The freemasons are not Satanic, but they are a secretive group quite into the occult, from what I have learned, which isn't much.

mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan: From a fairly culturally-naive Western perspective, I know that the primary religion in the areas mentioned is Islam. I see on the news, in the paper, on the Internet the way the people in those countries are treated and I judge the religion there accordingly. I believe I'm not the only culturally-naive person to do that. In that same fashion it is tempting to look at Punjab, know that the main religion there is Sikhi (please correct me if I am wrong), look at the way the people there are treated, and judge the religion accordingly. It is a flawed approach, nothing so important should be judged so hastily, but it happens a lot. Thank you for clearing up my own misconception. LionKing: I have read most of the Rehat Maryada, including the part you quoted. And I guess I can see how, by saying "instead of these exuberant gifts, you can give a kirpan, kara and sweets" is a step towards the middle ground. Thanks for making the comparison for me. :lol: Ishna.

Haha, I love that admin profanity filter. It makes discussions so much fun! "The friggin <admin-profanity filter activated> and the other <admin-profanity filter activated> did the stupidest <admin-profanity filter activated> ever and I got so <admin-profanity filter activated> that I yelled <admin-profanity filter activated> at all the <admin-profanity filter activated> I could see!" (and that's a cut'n'paste of the <admin-profanity filter activated> text, not actual swear words mind you!) Anyway, *ahem*, back to the discussion: Personally, I hate South Park. I refuse to watch it most of the time, and will only watch it if it does not go "too far" and that to avoid it would be too much of an inconvenience at the time. I fact there is a lot I will not watch out of principle. And given your description of the <admin-profanity filter activated> episode, I hope I never do see it. I would class this as "disrespectful", not humerous. There is humour, and there is disrespectful humour. But then, it's a matter of perspective, isn't it?

You make some good points Singh132 Ji. I don't really know enough about the Punjab to discuss the topic in much depth. From my Western perspective there does seem to be a sort of idealist idea about the Punjabi lifestyle with relation to Sikhi. Like, it's best to learn Punjabi language if you want to be a "real Sikh", and the Rehit Maryada really is structured with a Punjabi lifestyle in mind. Applying it in the West seems like trying to wear shoes three sizes too big! It just doesn't seem to fit, and then one starts to think, "So to be a devoted Sikh I need to try to emulate this Punbaji culture." And with regards to the line I quoted -- where is the corresponding line pertaning to gifts given to the female? There seems to be that shadow of a glorifying the male there. And I'm sorry if I offend, I mean to disrespect towards the Rehit. But I digress from the original topic. Do you see a solution to this problem, Singh132? Ishna.

The statue is bleeding in what context? There are pictures of bleeding Virgin Mary statues all over the world. I fail to see the problem, and I don't understand how someone can judge a program as automatically being disrespectful if they haven't seen it before. As for images of the Sikh Gurus... it would depend on the context. This very issue was discussed a few days ago with regards the the Pokerguru website... I think it's in the closed threads section now if you want to have a looksee. I think some things need to be taken with a grain of salt, and over-reacting to these things can make a community look foolish. I think it is healthy to be able to have a giggle with regards to your religion sometimes, as long as it is not disrespectful. People take life waaay too seriously sometimes, and that ends up getting people killed! Imho. Ishna.

So what are females good for, seeing as in the Panjab you apparently need to pay someone to marry your daughter? I think this reflects incredibally poorly on Sikhi, but I also realise there is a line (a fine line) between religion and culture. It is daunting to think that 500 years have passed since Guru Nanak Dev Ji spoke out against this practice and tried to raise females to the same "value" as males, and yet still it has made barely any change. The situation makes people look at the Panjab and judge Sikhi according to the culture there, just like how people judge Islam by the culture in Iran, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The book says one thing, the people do another. I'm doubting that when it comes to the crunch, religion can make a difference in a society. If it can't within 500 years (and the same is true of any religion, not just Sikhi), then can it at all? I don't know. The idea of an "ideal world" is different for everybody, and it must be very hard for a society to change their ways when that's how that society has evolved to where it is today. For a group of people with different ideas, beliefs and traditions to co-ordinate themselves to a level of serious change within their community takes a long time of cultural "evolution". It's a very sad situation.

I'm from Adelaide, South Australia. I read in the local newspaper today that there is a new Gurdwara opening up in the hills bordering the East of this city! It officially opens next month. I'm so excited! It's in a heritage building to, been there since the mid 1800s, so one day I hope I can post some pics of it up here. :lol: Oh yeah, and I've been to the Sydney Opera House a couple of times. Sydney is aout 18 hours drive North-East of Adelaide, sort of, I think. hehe.