MisterrSingh

Have many of us - including myself here - jumped the gun without watching the film, lol? I'm curious to see it now. If it's as decent as reported, then that's cool. Note to self: Must stop being whipped up into a fervour by the mob, haha! Jokes aside, let's see what the general consensus is for this film. I'm still against depiction of Guru Sahibs though. I'll need some convincing on that front, that's for sure.

The clamour from the "liberal" voices amongst Sikhs, making wrongs into rights according to their own agenda, is a worrying thing for the future. It's as if maryada has no purpose. Madness.

To the library!

Hmmm. I knew the style of "sermon" delivery seemed familiar. Although I honestly can't tell if the circled Singh's are the same person. Seems like a cynical and calculating thing to do, doesn't it? Almost like expanding the franchise? Or preparing for someone to inherit the "gaddi" one day in the distant future.

We truly are alone. You won't find the kind of integrity, strength of character, spiritual devotion, intellectual stimulation (not book smarts BTW), and level headedness that someone of your avastha requires amongst modern Sikhs. So, you either settle for next best and you almost kill your conscience and climb down a few rungs on your ladder in order to connect to the vast majority of people around you, or you - unfortunately - reconcile yourself with the fact that unless God suddenly sees fit to bless you with the partner your soul needs, then you'll have to tough it out on your own. You sound like you've got it absolutely sewn up, this life lark of course, hehe, so don't despair. "Sir jaave ta jaave, mera Sikhi sidak na jaave." Come to terms with your status, and give yourself to your Guru, mind and soul. Nobody else does or ever will care. Be a shining example to those lost in the game of maya. As for the jathawale's and the babewale's... they'll learn the truth when they fall at the feet of their Guru once their life is over, and the regret will flood over them like a tide, and they'll realise their follies, but it'll be too late.

Hmmm. Sounds a bit fishy.

It's very sad when the gentlemen performing kirtan on stage have to raise their voice to be heard, play the harmonium with more force, and strike the tabla harder in order to drown out the chatter of the sangat, even though they've got powerful microphones in front of them. That's an indictment on the sangat and incredibly embarrassing.

So when the sevadaar does bhog of langar with a kirpan that's not allowed? or have I missed something?

Is there an election coming up soon?

People actually do that?! That's madness. If you've taken Amrit at a time of personal turmoil, then at least have the good grace to see it through when you're blessed with good health, and thank Maharaj for being gracious enough to help you out. Mental.

Yeah, fair play. Some of the people in our lives are infuriating though, lol. They seem incapable of change. But there's always hope I suppose.

Best not to condemn or judge people for all of eternity, because we don't know when they might change. Like I said previously, I stopped assuming people's intentions and their motives based on their appearance and their words. Some people look the part but fall short, whilst others don't appear to be as we think, but inside them is such beauty. It's difficult to recalibrate our thinking to approach life in this way (I mess up often) but I feel it's the right thing to do. If you're a Sikh you must believe God's light resides in us all, no matter how much we may want to think otherwise.

Someone who works from 9am to 5pm (generally speaking; can obviously refer to people on shifts, etc), be it blue collar, manual work, or in an office. A simple, no-frills individual who gets on with life without nakhra or airs and graces.

Yes, it does set a dangerous precedent. I didn't know the specifics. Seems like no serious research was undertaken. Probably the writer and director watched a couple of Cecil B DeMille religious epics from the 50's, viewed a few episodes of Mahabharata, and concocted the rest from their imagination, lol. Just goes to show the complete disdain for the average Sikh viewer from the people behind this film, i.e. "those idiots will lap anything up as long as it shows them in a good light."

There's a kernel of truth in bigcat's arguments, although I wouldn't use his terminlogy to describe Sikh females! And he is absolutely right in identifying the fact that the quiet, God-fearing, hard-working 9-5 Sikh is often overlooked for the loud-mouthed, egotistical, middle-class braggart who coasts through life as if it's all one big joke. I may be painting a picture in broad strokes; there's exceptions, but generally you'll find the above is true. Strangely, modern Sikh girls and women seem to think they're entitled to be with someone well-off regardless of any of his other attributes, as if it's their God-given right to live in the lap of relative luxury and comfort. Some of us need to wise up to the ruthlessness amongst our own people. Strike a balance between the saintly aspects of Sikhi, but don't be blind to the dynamics of modern society, the attempted distortion of gender roles by those at the top, changing social constructs, etc. As much as it saddens me to say, sometimes being a good person is not a guarantee of good things happening to you. "If i pray hard enough then I'll never experience any upheavals or hurt." We know that's not how things work.

"Leave the gun. Take the barfi."

You can't win against these people. They're the "All paths lead to the same destination" brigade, lol. I mean, in itself the statement isn't untrue considering it's a poora and sacha bachan from Guru Sahib (even if it does irk us at times, hehe), but equally it doesn't mean you can spout the above line whilst pubbing, clubbing, and the other stuff, knowing full well that kind of behaviour is dodgy. Fair play, if a person genuinely doesn't know any better they can plead ignorance, but our lot want their cake and want to eat it too. Then they come out with the other "classics" such as, "Sikhism is a mix of Hinduism and Islam" (a completely reductive and devious line of reasoning), as well as offering spurious reasons for defying various maryada. Clever, clever people!

I can see where you're coming from (the MGTOW perspective, hehe) and I kind of agree with you, but not the courting multiple women bit. We all know what "courting" entails nowadays (or was it always?), and as much as I'm not a fan of women who sleep around before marriage I also afford the same courtesy to men. Different sides of the same coin. If a good, decent guy deserves a young woman who hasn't "been with" anyone else, then a good, decent girl also deserves a similar guy. I can see the logic behind your point, cool water, but that kinda stuff doesn't sit right with me. I hope this opinion I hold doesn't reveal me to be a blue-pill beta, lol, because I'm definitely not one of those!

In terms of what Jkvlondon said the film refuses to show the moment when Guru Nanak Ji confronts and admonishes the Mughal (Islamic) emperor.

That's very disingenuous on the part of the film-makers. If you can't present the correct message out of fear of being seized upon by Muslims, then don't bother making the film at all. Don't present selective truths or fabrications or half truths. As for darshan from Guru Ji, I think anyone can have those if there's purpose to the darshan, I.e. to turn around one's life, or to embark upon Sikhi, etc. If he's using it as a way of selling the film then he's having a laugh.

I know what you mean. Who wants a "fatwa" on their head from their own people, lol? Too much hassle, and it wouldn't be appreciated by vast swathes of the intended audience. Sounds like an easy way out, but it's the harsh reality.

That's the sad feature of projects like these, because it shows how far behind we are in terms of disseminating the message of our faith in the modern age. It doesn't have to be done in an obvious, preachy way (to be honest, that turns off many people, me included), but it can still be done in a respectful and stylish way. It just takes some thought and planning. A few years ago an American born Hindu guy wrote and illustrated a graphic novel (a comic book) about the life of Krishna. It was a critical success and it ended up on many 'Best of the Year' lists at the time. I read it and it was stunningly beautiful in all respects. The art style was akin to dream-like, fresco-type illustrations we've seen in Indian history with the large, almondy eyes and thin, wiry limbs. What I'm saying is the art style matched the content and subject of the novel, as well as the cultural background of the personalities being presented i.e. the characters in the graphic novel weren't muscle-bound, ripped individuals from the pages of a Batman comic, lol, but relevant to the message contained within the pages. Most importantly, the prose and dialogue wasn't dry or one-dimensional (like the dialogue I saw in clips of Chaar Sahibzaade), e.g. "Three thousand years ago a boy was born in Nandgaon. He was born to rid the world of his tyrannical uncle Kans," lol, but it was lyrical, deeply philosophical, and clear to understand. I was fortunate enough to visit Hazoor Sahib last year and it was a wonderful experience. Whilst there I was browsing the stalls, and there was a DVD / Video CD about Hazoor Sahib being heavily praised by the vendors (as they would I guess). They kept saying it was brilliant, and I thought I may as well check it out. On my return to the UK I put it in my DVD player and I could only chuckle at what I watched. It was a poorly shot, cringeworthy selection of songs sung by Miss Pooja and some other Punjabi singer, but instead of the aforementioned two singers appearing on-screen, a Gursikh bibi and a Gursikh man were miming to the music, lol! There were crowds of people behind them doing the classic "folding hands, closing their eyes, and rocking their head from side to side." I just couldn't believe it. In the year 2015 when Indians pride themselves on being no less sophisticated and worthy than anyone else in the world, we're still getting "productions" such as these that wouldn't look out-of-date in 1991. I mean, there's teenagers in their bedrooms on YouTube creating vlogs that have better quality video and audio than what I saw on that DVD; kids! How can institutions that generate incredibly huge sums of money each year fail to invest in modern production and broadcasting? They can't use the old reasons of, "Well, we don't know what's going on in the world" or "We haven't got the technology" because every man and his dog in India has a smartphone and knowledge about the latest tech, and if these babeh just for one moment chose not to waste sangat's churaava on the latest 4x4 to speed around in, and instead ploughed that money into the latest video equipment for developing mini-documentaries on Sikh history and notable Sikh personalities, it would be absolutely amazing! It boils down to one thing: there's no desire or true love for the subject matter. These notable personalities all talk about this and that, but when it comes to making a change, nobody wants to know. So, you get people like this producer who made this Nanak Shah film or whatever it's called, stepping into the breach and making something that isn't exactly ideal on any level. Coupled with the general ethos of Punjabi culture shunning creative pursuits, because it's not a guaranteed earner such as the medical, legal, and business professions, then what exactly should we expect?

I feel very uncomfortable at the notion of someone acting the role of one of our Gurus. Honestly, I never thought I'd see the day. What I have an issue with is us playing into the hands of these two-faced individuals who set out to offend and create controversy in order to sell a film YET play the victim when people object. We must be much smarter when combatting situations such as these. Perception is everything; I wish it wasn't, in this image driven, superficial world, but it is what it is. Anyone with genuine creativity and artistry would devise a method of creating a feature film or an animation in a way that presents Guru Sahib's message without generating the kind of headlines this film has. I agree with someone earlier who criticised Chaar Sahibzaade film; the message contained in the film was great, but the execution was shocking. Are we to believe Sikh millionaire film producers are only capable of producing something with CG that was out of date in a 1992 kids TV show? Aren't we as a community meant to be financially prosperous? Why not invest that money in something valuable like the future of the panth? And why did it have to be CG if the funds were clearly lacking? Why not hand-drawn in the old Indian style with a suitable score and direction? Or if it was CG do it in a way that didn't expose the lack of funds? Something like this would've killed it: http://37.media.tumblr.com/17c979d898445025d16ae3222bae1b3c/tumblr_n6cu0yTzPh1rlv62so1_500.gif Never mind, lol, those big wigs know best.

She seemingly had a great future ahead of her. But what can you do when love strikes?... ... just walk away in the opposite direction

When jathas from the same supposed panth can't stand each other and are openly hostile to each other, what chance does anyone else have? Slippery slope, my friend, just wait and see. Good motto I don't watch any sort of television anymore, but on occasion when I've been at relative's homes I've happened upon said channels, and it does seem like an extension of that committee mentality. Preaching to the choir comes to mind. Self congratulatory, back slapping, and let's go home, lol, job done, the path is safe once more.