pyaraji

Maybe your looking at it the wrong way. Maybe people that said fateh to you left, right, and center were acknowledging and encouraging your strength and pride to start tying dastar in sangat/society. I'm guessing if they consistently saw you with or without a dastar, they'd treat you the same way.

I was referred to this in the above post.

Well said Rupinder Singh.

I agree its about priorities. Raag might be lower on your and the average person's list of priorities, but we're talking about Raagis and youth with a potential Raagi career path. It should be one of their top priorities. If we listen to the shabad in the Raag that we were supposed to sing/listen it in. It might be easier for us to understand the essense of the shabad and consequently implement it in our lifestyle.

I think it was more like decades ago...

Rupinder Singh is right but that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement. In terms of tanti saaz, I think the first step would be to make them more readily available and at cheaper prices in North America or Europe. This way, the average sikh household could also have tanti saaz in addition to tablas and vaajas. I think by bringing tanti saaz back into our gurdwaras and keertan programs, this will also bring back raag simultaneously. With increased demand for learning tanti saaz, gurdwara committees could also start up classes to teach these students.

I agree with Rupinder Singh with the idea that if you present yourself as a gursikh, then you should be expected represent your guru. I disagree with his idea that your dastar represents who you are or the degree of sikhi in your life. Some people are more comfortable tying different types of dastars. Dastars can also vary depending on where you're raised. Being raised in a certain area doesn't mean you're a better or worse gursikh than being raised in another area. People who wear dastars and ruin the rep of the Sikhi shouldn't be wearing dastars. They aren't representing.

I feel many Raagis leave India not to do keertan or seva for the sangat, but to make some money with the possibility of starting a new life in Canada or Europe or wherever. Its not hard to learn a few beats on the tabla and push a few keys on the vaja. Nowadays, that all you need to become a raagi. Maybe there should be some international testing for raagis before they are given the full time position at a gurdwara just to do keertan with some sort of salary. Possibly test knowledge of raag or knowledge of taals. However, I don't think there's enough demand for Raagi positions in our many many gurdwaras, so many gurdwara are willing to hire anyone. This also leads to the idea of Raagi being an unattractive career path for the youth nowadays. Some people believe that we shouldn't make a salary from doing keertan. Maybe our Diwans would be filled with Guru Sahib's Raag if we make keertan a professional career option for the youth.

I think Raagis should sing in Raag (hence, their title). I also believe we should take the initiative as individuals to learn the different Raags so that we may identify them and sing them. However, what if someone has no knowledge of Raag and still wants to sing a shabad or sing Asa Ki Vaar? I think that person can sing it as well as they can, even if they are not singing it in Raag. Hopefully, that person will understand the importance of Raag and want to learn it so that they may sing each shabad in its respective Raag in the future. There are keertania in this world that sing in Raag.

Lots of singhs I know wear caps, and you know what, I treat them the same as somebody who wears a dastaar. Are you saying that we're a cap is the same as we're a dastaar? There's no difference in the keski guru sahib gave us and the average baseball cap?

Thanks for the replies. I felt the same but didn't know how to put it into words.

A friend who keeps his hair told me he'd cut his children's hair when/if he had children. He told me that he would rather have the sin on his head for cutting their hair when they were young instead of them growing up with hair and then cutting it because that would hurt him alot more. His dad cuts his own hair, and my friend decided to keep his hair on his own. He felt that this way he felt more love for his hair and would not cut it since he knew why he decided to keep it in the first place. He wants his children to grow up like other "normal" children in society and let them make their own conscious decision when they are old enough. So I guess my question is, is his thinking logical? If not, do you have the confidence to teach your kids enough to keep their hair throughout their life? Or is it alright that you make it them keep it for a good part of their childhood knowing that they could cut their hair later?

I'd disagree Peacemaker. This topic helps us understand why some ppl would trim while wearing a dastar/cap and discuss the pros and cons of doing so. So far there have been some good points like how its a starting point for some ppl and it would eventually be easier for them to keep a full beard later. I think thats a valid point as long as they understand that hair is very important for a gursikh. However, wearing a cap with a joora makes one look as if they are ashamed of being identified as a sikh. If one is ashamed of being a sikh, then whats the chance they will know or have the desire to know about sikhi? I think wearing a cap is showing that the person is getting weak and will eventually cut their hair. Topics such as these give us insight into why people are doing what they are doing these days. By discussing, we can understand where they are coming from and can be in a better position to help them. This will also reduce the judging and what not we do.

hahahaha good one mate :lol: Yea, I wasn't talking about vibrations from the ground. I was talking more along the lines of vibes and stuff. I'm sure you've noticed a spiritual difference when sitting in diwan when its full and when its empty.

Gursikhs have the humility to think themselves lower than sangat. By having chairs in the gurdwara, I think we'd see chardi kala gursikhs take the opportunity to sit lower than the rest of the sangat. Won't this be a problem? If everyone sits on the floor, then there won't be any problems. I don't think its about progressing or evolutionizing... i think it has more to with logic and basic understanding of how diwans are run. In addition to that, many gursikhs have talked about "vibrations" you get from sitting in sangat. Can you have such an experience if you have to sit on chairs, isolated in comparison to on the floor?

I'm probably too young to understand anything. But people can fall in love so quickly and think they are perfect for each other; why is it so hard to develop such love for God? I think this soulmate stuff is crap, but then again I got no experience. However, baanee does say no relationship will continue after you die except the one with God. As a result, I think that marriage doesn't really have to do with marrying the perfect person that is meant for you for eternity. I think its more of marrying the person that will travel the same path with you to God in this lifetime, and if thats right, then they should obviously be in the same religion too.

Thanks for sharing... May Guru Sahib continue to bless you with such Kirpa.

Thanks for the bump. Newbies like me need to see such inspirational material.

Truly Inspiring...

Isn't it a valid question to ask why someone would want to have an anand karaj in front of Guru Sahib if they don't even accept Guru Granth Sahib Ji as their Guru? Or is anand karaj just a formal ceremony now that has nothing to do with spirituality and sikhism...

Absolutely right. But I think we should do something to ensure that removing hair doesn't become something that is accepted in sikhi/sangat. Once ppl that remove their hair feel they are accepted in sadh sangat, will they feel encouraged to keep their hair? I guess the best way to do this is to have role models in sangat that play important roles, such as keertan seva and other seva. Am I on the right track?

I don't think we should be asking Guru Sahib for a yes or no. What kind of questions are we asking? I think we should take hukamnamas with open minds and try to gain some understanding so that we can get that budhi to make the right decision.

I don't think she was bashing Heera's comments; she was only defending her own.

Not even... she's right and just stuck up for herself