Wicked Warrior

We say Guru is Bani and Bani is Guru. So doing paath (ie reciting Bani) is a form of meditation on God. Reciting Mool Mantar paath 125,000 times over a 40 day period is akin to spending approximately 10 hours in meditation on a daily basis (assuming 108 mala recitation takes 20 mins). So yes, spending 10 hours a day over 40 days in meditation will help progress your Sikhi.

My understanding (which may be incorrect) is that we acquire spiritual wealth or punishment in human form. If we have not obtained the goal of life in this human life, we have to wait for the next reincarnation into human life to progress spiritually. Between this human life and the next, we may go through any number of non-human lives before we get the opportunity again. The “bigger” question would be: when our souls were created from God and we became separated from Him, what lifeform did we enter first and what determined it? Did all souls begin as basic animals? Were we all humans from the previous Jug?

Self-restraint is important in Sikhi, as is modesty. Kissing in public would go against both of those principles.

Would it be acceptable to propose that you would move out with your wife after marriage so you could both live in a completely gursikh environment? It may allay the fears of those who wish their daughters to be married into gursikh households. Otherwise you will need to narrow down what is essential and what is “negotiable”. You may be happier with a gursikh girl who is slightly shorter than you wanted as opposed to a reasonable height girl who is non-gursikh.

In this day and age, wedding rings signify to others that you are married. At least so in the western world. Go back a few hundred years. How could you tell if someone was married? I vaguely recall women would dress differently, wear jewellery and chooria, and have a red marking in their hairline. Did this carry over into Sikhi? Did married Sikh women have any symbols to show they were married?

We should show compassion to others, even if we don’t believe in their religions. Freedom of speech should be allowed as long as it’s speech and not action. I’d be okay with others not following Sikhi so long as they don’t start attacking Sikhs or Gurdwaras. I’d have no problems with peaceful protests. But Khalistan should have a pro-Sikhi stance rather than be secular.

There’s a sakhi of a man who became gursikh under the direction of Baba Harnam Singh. This man was mute, deaf and disabled. He was taught to do naam simran and seva. Within six months he was able to speak, listen and walk. He spent many years there and reached the spiritual stage where he could do naam japna in his sleep and hear the anhad shabad. He went to stay with family, and became engrossed in TV. He would watch nonstop and forget his naam simran. Very soon after he could no longer hear the anhad shabad nor do naam japna in his sleep. TV can be used for education and information. It can be used to listen to paath and kirtan. It can also be used to spread misinformation and to take us away. Most of us will have been brought up with TV in our lives. It is an addiction that must be controlled. I now watch maybe an hour or two a week on average.

As defined in the Sikh Rehat Maryada, a Sikh is someone who “faithfully believes” in God, the Ten Gurus, and the Guru Granth Sahib. So, mahandulai, are you a Sikh as defined in those terms? Are you someone born into a Sikh family but not a Sikh yourself? Are you not a Sikh at all? Are you a non-Sikh trying troll the forum? I believe you are a troll. Please present evidence to the contrary.

I thought this was in reference to the 14 realms - 7 higher and 7 lower realms.

Thanks. I’ve heard that in times of battle and warfare, Guru Ji’s arrows had gold attached so the deceased’s family would not undergo hardship, and have read about how captured enemies would be treated well and returned back to their own camps. But warfare is different to small groups doing vile things and I imagined there would be more severe punishment for such actions.

What’s happened to trigger this change? Did they not approve of your wife? Was it a “love marriage” as opposed to a semi-arranged marriage? Have there been issues between your wife and parents? Something will have instigated this. Maybe your parents want you to stand on your own two feet? What has your wife said about all this? I’m only a couple of years older than you and in this situation, I would move out. Discuss your situation with your wife, make a plan (look at what you need to achieve to move out and where to eg deposit, commuting distance, etc). Start saving up. You give your parents your income. You will need to tackle this in some way and stop giving your income or slowly reduce what you give so that by the time you’ve left, you’re not giving them anything.

To travel the world, make lots of money, be highly successful is an easy way of being entrapped by Maya. A bigger house, a fancy car etc all feed into greed, ego and attachment. These are things that take us away from God As one travels further into Sikhi, one realises that material wealth is pointless and spiritual wealth is of paramount importance. There’s a difference between living comfortably and living lavishly. Remember that none of it will go with you in the end.

Out of curiosity what would have been traditional punishment for such actions. I vaguely recall excommunication but anything else?

Being a true Sikh is very hard. Fear is not in the vocabulary of a true Sikh. They will speak out against injustice, without care for themselves. What made you waver? Was it the particular topic that was discussed or the teacher themselves?

These sorts of people exist in all communities. But what hurts is they keep either the image (kes, dastaar, pagh) or the name (Singh, Kaur) of a Sikh which may harm how Sikhs are portrayed. Should be publically ostracised and even ex-communicated from the Panth for this kind of behaviour.

First link on google was https://www.successories.com/iquote/author/6999/granth-sahib-quotes/1 has keywords which trigger searches via categories. Was it this one?

In the UK at least when you apply for a mortgage, they want evidence of incomes but they will also stress-test to see if you can afford payments should interest rates go up by a certain percentage (think 15%). But I've heard similar comments.

If kes is important to spiritual progression, what of people who have become bald, either due to medication, male pattern baldness or old age? Are they going to be held back in spiritual development?

Your mum is now baptised. She is travelling down the road of Sikhi. It doesn't mean she will be automatically perfect and accepting or approving of everything. As pointed out above, there may be other issues involved that you may/may not be aware of. It's a big thing for a parent not to go to their child's wedding, even if they didn't approve of it. Things can improve and hopefully your parents will become involved in at least your children's lives if not yours.

You want to cut your hair because you're worried about what others think. That means you are insecure inside. Cutting your hair won't give you confidence. It'll show everyone that you're a coward*. Even if you cut your hair, you will be different. If you're not white, you will still be picked on because of the colour of your skin. Or because you're not wearing the "right" clothes. Or that you live in one area but not another. Or that you have a good upbringing. Or a bad one. People are always cruel and judgmental. That's human nature and, whether you cut your hair or not, that's what you will have to learn to deal with throughout your whole life. I learned to tie a pagh when I was 10. It was a bit weird at first but I quickly got used to it. Now, I'd rather wear a pagh and walk around naked than have no pagh but have clothes on. That's how important it has become to me over time. Not overnight. Not over a week, or a month or a year. I went to secondary school wearing a pagh. I wore it at college. I wore it in medical school. I wear it now as a doctor** in front of patients. No one says anything to me. In fact, no one has said anything to me since at least I was 14-15. But you have to be strong inside. Otherwise, it doesn't matter whether you cut your hair or not, everyone will see you as weak and inferior. * I'm not saying you're a coward but giving in to others for something like this is an act of cowardice ** I don't say I'm a doctor to show off but to demonstrate that keeping your hair and wearing a pagh will not affect your ability to be successful in life.

Some of it is down to physical activity. If you're eating 2500 calories a day but burning only 1500, you will gain weight. Increase in body fat leads to increased insulin resistance. Excessive carbohydrate intake over a prolonged period of time will also lead to insulin resistance. In both cases the body no longer responds to the insulin it produces. Blood glucose levels elevate and lead to complications of diabetes. Eat less (in general). Eat less sugars and starches. Avoid alcohol. Exercise and mobilise more. Some of it will be down to genetics. We are designed for a specific lifestyle and some groups are more metabolically efficient than others. Again that means you don't need to eat as much to produce the same amount of energy. Some of it will be down to programming in the womb. Your mother's condition during pregnancy will have programmed your body to react in a certain way to prepare for survival.

If you look at Moses and the Ten Commandments, as an example, they state some things which you think would be obvious eg thou shalt not steal. We know stealing is wrong but only because we have been brought up that way. A child who does not know the concept of ownership (eg this toy belongs to that child) would struggle to understand that taking something that belongs to others is wrong. You would have to educate the child, and for that to happen, the parents would need to be aware Secondly, look at bani and how Guru Ji repeatedly tells us to naam jap. Guru Ji could have written it once. But Guru Ji does it repeatedly. Why? To reinforce the importance of the message. In both cases, by laying down some ground rules, you can live a morally good life. Science developed as a way to know God. By being able to explain the world, it would help to know the mind of the Lord. Without religion, science would not have flourished. Would we have reached the point we have now? Even in this "Age of Information", people are still committing crimes. Clearly the laws of the land are insufficient in eradicating crime.

Not kaam but I do find I get more angry/irritable after doing paath in Maharaj ji's presence. I also feel more energetic and I don't know if this is what's causing problems.

I gather that he has been found but dead, sadly.

There should be no problems with doing this. Often people make food from home (or buy food from shops) and bring it in to share with others. The only caveat would be that it should no contain egg, fish, poultry or meat. This includes things like gelatine. Milk, butter, yoghurt, and honey are okay. Otherwise, make something that is vegan. Additionally make sure that you are free of intoxicants (alcohol, tobacco, recreational drugs). I'm sure others will come and offer further advice but that's all I can remember for now.