watevz

the surma and haldi ceremony are inconsequential and are primarily punjabi cultural practices. they do not take place with guru's hazoori. the kalgi ceremony, we would hope people would have a clear idea of who the real king is ALWAYS. but ultimately, these are punjabi rituals and are part of a punjabi wedding, not the sikh facet of the wedding. the primary ceremony we should be concerned about reforming is the lawaan with the brothers at the side prodding the weak bride along. the anand karaj ceremony is solely a sikh ceremony and is carried out in the Guru's presence. this tradition was/is carried about because people believe the girl is too weak/fragile to be able to do her lawaan without help. my brothers won't be helping me walk around when it comes time. i can walk for myself and i'm not a piece of cattle that my family or brothers will be handing over to my future husband. so gross! girls, walk for yourselves. brothers, tell your sisters you'll be there for them always but it is their wedding and they are the ones making this committment with the guru's blessing, so you will just be a proud witness in the sangat.

i don't think this is an issue of disregard of akal takht authority. asking questions, even hard uncomfortable questions, is not an anti-panthic activity, and i cannot believe that vedanti has the gall to use such a scare tactic to quiet down opposition to his politics/practices. he's in a position of power and IS accountable for his policies/actions at all time and he should know better than to just try to side step the issues that these young people have tried to publicly engage him in. those in charge of the akal takht have a moral charge, and taking such a move as threatening to summon a bunch of young men who have asked you uncomfortable questions is undemocratic. let's get real!