Wicked Warrior

Then you need to look up endogenous ethanol. You can produce small quantities of this and it is detectable in the breath too. Not enough to become intoxicated but still detectable. Perhaps we should ban all humans from being near Guru Ji?

If you were capable of it, you would have already taken it. I don't believe we could seriously handle all of our own sins in one go, let alone anyone else's. Instead of trying to carry everyone's sins, why not burn them through seva and simran? Doing seva will mean that others will benefit and this is far more fruitful than trying to carry an unbearable burden.

It's not a hat. But be careful with this kind of equipment - it can cause serious injury if improperly used.

Rosewater smell is fine. The "alcohol" argument is ridiculous - clearly the person running around has no concept of "alcohol". I wonder what he thinks of the alcohols produced within his body, which would include ethanol (the stuff in alcoholic drinks)?

I thought the "enemy" was the Mughals and they wore blue, not black? I've always worn black "pagh" because it is discrete (compared to bright yellow, white etc) and I don't have to worry about "colour coding" (have seen some who match dastaar colour with shirt or tie colour).

I take a huge amount of offense at that. I have two sisters. Neither drink, sleep around or act like men. You've encountered a small proportion of people. I wonder whether most women steer clear of you and your attitude and that's why the only ones interested are the ones you described.

In a Gurdwara, sitting in front of Guru Ji, I find that anything I do bears more fruit - be it reciting Bani, singing a shabad (both things I do in my head) compared to normal. If a Ragi is singing a shabad, I will try to sing along with it in my mind. Otherwise I'll either remember Guru Ji's past actions or just praise Guru Ji.

The way I've always understood it is that many Sikhs came from Hinduism. To help keep them within Sikhi and stop them from going back to Hindu rituals, Guru Ji allowed certain events to happen to coincide with Diwali and Holi. Guru Ji's arrival at Amritsar on the same day as Diwali was, IMO, not coincidental. Instead of remembering Rama, you remember Guru Ji instead. Similarly, Holla Maholla is on the same day as Holi, so instead of throwing powder, you have battles. On any day of significance like this, there is more sangat at the Gurdwara and this is where you should spend some time. I went to the Gurdwara on Diwali. I lit a candle. In doing so, I remembered Guru Ji and how He is the True Light that dispels the darkness of ignorance, of kaljug and of ego. When I used that candle to light another, I remembered how Guru Ji moved from Guru Nanak to Guru Angad. Use every opportunity to remind yourself of God, of Guru Ji, of those Sikhs who walked this earth before you and of Sikhi.

Not sure how this is going to be implemented. If it was the same group of Sikhs creating the langar, you could educate them about avoiding nut contamination but when you have tens or hundreds of Sikhs helping to make langar, you're not going to be able to avoid nut contamination. Given that langar can vary from each Sikh who makes it, the nutritional content would be impossible go determine. Some might use more oil in the food. Someone might add more potatoes etc. The only option would be for all langar to be standardised to a set recipe eg all mattar paneer has to be made using specific milk, peas, potatoes - not just quantities/ratios but also brands.

So what do those who have no right hand do?

It's all about education. Muslims teach and indoctrinate from a very young age whereas some of girls born into Sikh families couldn't name all ten Gurus or recite Mool Mantar paath. Remember, it's not just girls who are into this but so are Sikh guys.

Hijab/niqab - my point is still valid. I worry that Sikhi is going to become talibanistic in the future. If you don't wear the right bana/matha tek the right way, you're not Sikh and hence you can't come into the Gurdwara. You haven't taken Amrit so you're an evil person and deserve to suffer. I can just see it happening. There's no prem, no love, for others. Some say people should wear simple clothes. Others say seeing Guru Ji is like seeing God and you should wear yor best clothes but what's the point in going if there's no prem in your heart? If you are a true Sikh, the Gurdwara is your heart and the Guru resides within. Instead of scolding those whom you don't approve of, why not approach them with love and educate them? Instead of looking down on others of whom you disapprove, go up to them and educate them on respect for Guru Ji? Maybe we should flyers/leaflets that contain info - why we matha tek, how to behave in a Gurdwara etc?

What are you going to do? Make all women wear a hibab?

Fasting in itself is healthy and now thought to promote long life. There's nothing wrong with this. But it should be for yourselves and not for others. If the husbands want to live longer, they should be the ones fasting Difficult thread to read due to the level of language used but I agree that it comes down to education. Rather than swearing and insulting others with hate, approach them with love. We should be educating others about these useless rituals. If their parents didn't educate them, we should all make it a point to do so.

I disagree with "sex is for babies only". Food is to keep you nourished yet how many on here have indulged by eating chocolate, samosas, biscuits etc? These can be considered unnecessary too. Yet we eat them. They're distributed in the Gurdwara. For what purpose other than pleasure? How many eat parathas? How many butter their rotis? Sex, like everything else, needs to be in moderation. Just like eating junk food all day long is bad for your health, constantly thinking and indulging in sex is just as bad for your mind. Which is the lesser of evils: birth control to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, or abortion for an unwanted pregnancy?

It's not a fashion show but it is a wedding. People wear the same clothes through the day including the party hence they all seem to wear the most fashionable clothes (when else would you wear them?). The clothes tend not to bother me so much as the chunni that goes over the back of the hair rather than covering the head. Respect for Guru Ji comes from within so unless they have love and respect for Guru Ji the thoughts about their appearance aren't addressed. These are also most likely people not to bother coming to the Gurdwara other than when they have to. Yet when I went to a wedding recently, the nonSikhs had done a better job of covering their head. Shameful. Perhaps had the start, once everyone's assembled but before anything happens, one of the Giani Jis should make the announcement of ensuring people cover their head.

Guru Ji gave you two hands so you could receive his gifts by placing them together.

The biggest problem with separating ourselves from the world is that we become insular. We lose touch with the rest of the world. There is a lot of good in Amish communities but I disagree with their rejection of technology. They are stuck in a bygone age and without the ability to adapt, they will die out. I remember a sakhi of Guru Ji where he went to two villages. The first were full of bad people and he "blessed" the village to stay. In the second, the village was full of good people and he "blessed" them to disperse. Bhai Mardana asked why he did this. By keeping the "bad" people together, he stopped them spreading their "badness" but by dispersing the good people, it would ensure goodness would spread. Like the fragrance of a flower. This is Sikhi. We should try to remain good and act as role models for others. We should help others who are needy. By remaining in isolation, we ignore the Guru's teachings and help no one. To remain like a lotus unblemished by the quagmire, we still need to sit in the quagmire.

There were conmen in time of Guru Nanak Dev Ji too. If they are con artists then they are not Amritdhari. They are fakers and you need to be aware of them. In Kalyug, even Those who appear holy may be evil.

I would be very cautious about hiding things deliberately. Maybe she finds out because you tell her. This is something you can have control over (ie how you tell her, mood, environment etc). But what if she finds out some other way? What if she manages to meet your prev girlfriend and finds out like that? I reiterate the above messages about role reversal. How would you react if you found out about your partner's past? If she had a secret, would you want her to tell you? If so, how? I think even posting about this shows you care. Personally, I would want to know all. Stops any surprises or future skeletons popping out of closets.

I've found it really difficult too recently. Not sure why. I have made sure I do as much paath and simran as soon as I wake up (when it's quiet and I'm calm), and just before I sleep - I normally switch everything off - tv, computer etc and just sit in bed. It has helped a bit.

I remember a committee member of a local gurdwara talking. I don't normally pay attention to committee members but one of the things he said was that it was wrong to put down say £10 and then pick up £5 (so you've donated £5). It would be better to ask whoever is registering the ardaas for change than to pick up someone else's donations. Perhaps we should spread this to all gurdwaras to stop this practice?

I was just thinking about this issue of kirpan last night. I thought a strap to a limb would be best. I was thinking about strapping it to the forearm so the tip was pointed towards the elbow and the handle towards the wrist. When you drew the weapon, your left arm would be ready to defend whilst the right would be ready to attack with the blade.

What are you washing your face with? I normally advise hibiscrub which dries out the skin.

You could spend an entire lifetime learning about the meaning of Ik Oangkar, and yet never recite Japji Sahib. Bani can be interpreted on many levels and the more you delve into Sikhi, the more you will learn and discover. Learn Nitnem and as you recite, consider and meditate on the Bani. Through time and the Grace of the Guru, you will develop gyaan.