Wicked Warrior

As above, why are you going there? I used to go to pubs and clubs with friends but got bored quickly so would hang around for a bit and then walk back home. At that time of night, the streets would be dead quiet so it would be perfect time to sing a shabad or recite some bani on the way home without distractions. I might go on a one-off event if I felt it was important and consume a soft drink from its container (rather than a glass that probably hasn't been washed properly).

But the Gurdwara should be the one place you can learn about Sikhi. At home, parents should practice Sikhi so that their kids can see and learn and reinforce the message.

I have always thought of Sikhi as a spectrum but have frequently come across those who want it black and white, yes and no. If you ban monay from asking or talking about Sikhi, how will they learn? If you do not embrace them into Sikhi, can you call yourself a Sikh? If you ban them from discussing or talking or learning about Sikhi, are you any different from those Brahmins who used to control the Hindu population? The same Brahministic control/mentality that Guru Maharaj fought against?

I've seen two photos of people called Sikhs, none of whom have their kesh or dastaar. EDL are essentially neo-nazis and as Sikhs, we should be against them and not united with them.

I've found one paper that talks about "animal proteins" and hypercalciuria but then doesn't specify which animal proteins, nor can it determine the mechanism. Knowing which "animal protein" is important - there's a huge difference between the flesh of an animal and its milk. With the second statement, that is correlation and not causation. There's a difference. Example: There's a negative correlation between fresh lemons and number of fatalities on US highways. As more fresh lemons are imported into america, there are fewer accidents on the American highways. Better example: There's a strong positive correlation between the amount of ice-cream sold by street vendors and the amount of crime committed. If I thought in the same way you did, I would say that ice-creams cause crime! This is wrong. What you need to look at is the mechanism - in this case, crimes tend to be higher in the summer and guess what? Summer is when more ice-creams are sold. You need proof beyond correlation. You need causation. Beyond this, Karah Prasad is made with flour, sugar and ghee. Ghee comes from butter. Butter comes from milk. Milk comes from cows. So are you now saying we should stop karah prashad in Gurdwaras?

I don't understand why they don't ensure people learn about all world religions. When I was at secondary school, we covered a new religion each term - christianity, islam, judaism, sikhism, hinduism, buddhism. That covered the first two years.

In which case, go with a group of friends, two of whom stay outside and call the cops if you're not back out in say 10 mins. If it is something suspicious, then you're potentially allowing other more naive people fall into their trap.

If you're not sure, you can use landregistry.gov.uk to check out who owns the place. Maybe he was just trying to be hospitable? Guru Ji teaches us to view everyone as God and not with suspicion.

Why? I have heard of many enlightened Gursikhs asking important questions before Guru Ji in this way. Didn't Bhai Mani Singh Ji use this method to decide whether to follow Guru Granth Sahib or Banda Singh Bahadur?

I have already slowly begun to accept that Guru Ji does things for the best. There have been many Sakhis which show Guru Ji always looking out for us.

I wouldn't say it is wrong but it's a very christianised/westernised way of doing things. When my sister got married, they did the marriage certificate and the ring thing in a small room before the lavan. It wasn't given any importance over and above the lavan.

1. Remember that humans used to be lactose-intolerant because once weaned, they did not consume milk. There are areas in SE Asia where the population is largely lactose-intolerant still. This has been shown through genetic testing.☺ 2. Boosting calcium intake through dairy products has been proven to reverse osteoporosis (measured through DEXA scans). Where is the evidence for your claims?

It pains me much to say this, and I know I will only increase the burden on my head, but the Gurdwaras I've known have been run by "committees" who are only interested in themselves. Guru Ji is treated as a second class citizen. Many of them are not Amritdharis and have no qualms about going home to eat meat and drink alcohol. When we have people like this running the Gurdwara, how will they ever achieve success? In some ways, I liked what Baba Nand Singh Ji did - he did not allow anyone to handle maya in the sangat. If food was needed, it was brought from home by sangat. These "taaths" were for the spiritual side of Sikhi. It was an extreme but it helped discipline the mind. I would prefer the Gurdwara to be run by Panj piare. Maybe have ten in total so one group on/ one off. It would allow for 24 hr running of Gurdwara. There should be shelter and washing facilities so even homeless people could use it. One could come to listen to Bani, do paath, learn to read Bani, learn to sing Bani, learn gatka/fighting, do seva etc. In some ways, you'd need to have fewer Gurdwaras so you could concentrate more efforts into one place. Oh and I'd stop the idea of giving saropas for everything - birthdays, being born, good luck etc. In the olden days, it would only be given to those who had contributed a lot to Sikhi.

In that case, shift your sleeping pattern - go to bed earlier. You may have to go to bed very late one night, have as little as four hours' sleep and remain tired the following day but that night you would sleep earlier eg 10pm instead of 11pm and should wake up earlier as a result.

The main difference is my brother-in-law's family were huge and outnumbered us by something like 4:1. There was nothing overly extravagant about it. For me, as long as me, the bride and Guru Ji are there, I don't give a rat's arse about what else happens/who comes.

Depends on what's causing it. Could be an underlying physical cause - might be worth having a chat with a doctor. Ignoring the night time sleep for a moment, do you have problems concentrating/falling asleep during the day?

You got to remember that almost all of it is cultural and not religious. Hence the costs involved. My sister had a wedding recently. No meat or alcohol at the party but because of number of attendees plus cost of getting relatives from abroad, it was very expensive.

Tell them you wear your beard like Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Do not look to others for "acceptance". This is what you're after by wanting people to say nice things about you. In looking for acceptance, you have to look like them - cut hair, no beard, etc. If they would make you jevan mukt in return and merge you to the Guru, it would be a worthwhile sacrifice. They can't. They're engrossed in Maya. Rise above it. Let them say what they want and let it go past you with affecting you. A true Sikh looks to his Guru for inspiration and for reward. Go to Him to seek validation and acceptance.

It's not as scary as it sounds. The parents can chat to get an idea of each other - the girl's family will want to know what kind of family their daughter might be going into and the boy's family need to know what kind of background the girl's come from. As a boy, I've been grilled by the father, mother, grandparents and siblings of the prospective girls. It's more scary to meet and chat with the girl in my experience.

Is there any power or benefit in tattooing oneself with Bani? What would happen if I had the entire of Guru Maharaj tattooed on my body?

I signed up to our local one. Was good - meeting girls and their families. It can be a lot easier than relying on word of mouth. I tried the online sites and found them to be useless (didn't seem to find anyone I got on with or who wasn't vacuous). Your experience may be different.

All depends on you. I'm not amritdhari but don't drink or eat meat. I've no qualms about walking into a pub - I'm not gonna start drinking. However, it depends on what you're going to do and how you consider things. If you're going for a social drink, you can drink non-alcoholic drinks but any glasses used will have probably contained alcohol and may not have been washed properly. In which case, something like a J2O or 330ml bottle of coke may be adequate. They come in sealed bottles and you can drink straight from the bottle. If you're going for food, the crockery and cutlery may have been used on meat products and may contain residue, even if thoroughly washed. Alternatively, you may not be bothered by such things. Is there any way it can be changed to an alternative venue that you may be more comfortable in?

It's not impossible, just difficult. Try using myfitnesspal for logging food intake. It's surprising to see how much people eat when they record it. As above, you need to be in a calorie deficit. The above website/iphone app helps guide you as to how much to eat by limiting your calorie intake. More importantly, it recalculates your calorie intake as you drop your weight. A lot of diets don't adjust for this so you reach a plateau. But don't focus purely on calories or you could get away with eating a tub of ice-cream. Look at low GI foods. It's a bit more extreme but quite a few people have lost weight through the intermittent fasting diet. You eat 500kcals for two non-consecutive days. That basically amounts to 2 roti and sabji to eat (preferably in one go) as your only meal in 24 hours. The idea isn't to lose weight (it's a side effect!) but to live longer. Read up on it first. Exercising is important. Look at progressive exercises - no one expects you to run a marathon straight away. Look at the couch to 5k program (c25k) which is what I used to get me running. Be careful with your caffeine intake - I've seen people develop palpitations and headaches because they consume so much.

When I was studying for A-levels, I was putting in around 12 hours per day in three hour chunks. Exam technique is important and you need to practice this skill. Do not let nerves get the best of you. Before even touching the paper, I would recite mool mantar paath. When doing the exam, the first thing I did was look through the whole paper to make sure there were no nasty surprises and it allowed me to focus my time appropriately eg spend more time on sections with higher marks. The second thing I would do is do all the easy questions that I could answer quickly. If there were any essay/lengthy answer sections, I'd make an essay plan of things I wanted to cover before writing so I didn't get writers block. If there were any times when I got stuck, I'd close my eyes for a few seconds, recite Waheguru a few times and then have another look at the question. Finally, I would spend the last 15-20 mins of an exam reading through my answers, making sure I filled the appropriate sections, didn't make any silly mistakes or miss out and questions. You can only give your best. An exam is an artificial condition and you need to practice this stuff. In my 12-hour revision sessions, I would sit three exams and mark them (took 3h each) and then spend 3h looking at what I did right/wrong and then made sure I learnt it. Good exam technique will help you through life.

I remember a katha by Bhai Harjinder Singh Lallie. Each of the sentences in that pauri relate to what was going on in the world. Some holy men were washing themselves in between meditation so they were always "pure" or clean. They would wash every few hours. Their belief was that they needed to remain clean so they could find God. Guru Ji tells us you can wash your body as many times as you want but you will not find God by doing so.