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Hi I'm wondering can I work in a club as I use to do it for a job and not the girls. I'm miss the aspect of being in dangerous situation and fighting and the entire aspect of bouncing. The girls didnt bug me I spoke to them as a normal human being. And my manager all were interested in sikhi and I told them about it and it opened there eyes.

God grace I use to go to amritvela simran with sangat daily and I was overjoyed happy just loved it. Last year I began working full time job n it was at night so I would miss amritvela simran. I feel miserable without that sangat n simran and really dont have interest in earning so much money I just need a little to survive n I don't have interest in marriage or kids. When I'm at work I'm 99 percent of the time watching sangat on YouTube during simran and participating. Kind of feel depressed without being there and life seems pointless without simran n sangat. I use to be a bouncer at a club n I would get to simran amritvela in the morning that was my favorite job because of the fighting not females I just spoke to them normally as if they were my family. My current job is easy but 4 days out of the week n 3 days all get to do simran with sangat is like what I look forward too. Just to go to gurudwara is something I cant live with at all. I go straight after work to the gurudwara but amritvela is different. Any suggestions

NATIVE AMERICAN COYOTE 7 Principles of Distraction I use the analogy of the Native American Coyote - the Trickster to teach this philosophy and drive home the understanding. The coyote is really a teacher who teaches us about our foibles and weakness's in a way in which we can accept and then take action. Most of us have a deep instinctual knowing of the purpose of our existences. We are continually battling the dark side of spirituality or the forces that conspire to drive us from knowing our desired purpose in life! What distracts from that knowing I call the Seven Coyote's of distraction! Coyote Those being: 1. Know 'APISTOHTOKI' (Creator). 2. Learn as much truth as we are capable of accepting. 3. Teach these truths to others. 4. Find and experience lasting peace. 5. Find and experience boundless joy. 6. Find and experience limitless love. 7. Find a purpose beyond ourselves. Sometime during our lifetime, we begin to feel a yearning for something else. Something we do not quite understand, but we know this yearning has little to do with the mundane experience's we have lived until this point. If we were to try to put this feeling into words we might describe it as a deep need to get home, and yet we do not quite know where home is or how to get there. So we begin a search that is honorable and sincere. Some of us have learned much in our lifetimes and realize what it is we need to progress up the evolutionary ladder of enlightenment. For those the path is easier and we know how not to fight the direction. For the majority of us, however we only find the PATH after much difficulty and disillusionment. This usually is not all our doing but rather the responsibility of the cultures into which we are born. Our perceptions are clouded by what we perceive from our experiences and teachings, unfortunately we are being taught by unenlightened beings that are on the path of selfish, self-serving greed. Some of those beings are aware of what they are doing, but the majorities have no idea as they think it is normal and OK to use others to get what they want. Those beings use what I call the Coyote's of Distractions to teach us as a society how to act. We as potential enlightened beings have to be constantly aware of our perceptions and how they can be easily corrupted by society. We must be aware on a daily, even hourly basis lest we are drawn into those perceptions. The Coyote's of Distractions can be categorized as follows: The Quest for Power Native American Coyote One Perception: The power of money because that is what society respects and worships. People look to money for all sorts of reasons; rationalizing that with money we can gain the power we need to do the things we think need to be done. Reality: Money is not power, it is one of the false Gods of the flesh. It is simply a means of exchange. People do not respect money at the level of the heart therefore money becomes useless for spiritual things. Neither Christ nor Buddha or any enlightened being had money or placed any value on it. There is nothing wrong with the intent of money, what is wrong is the intent of greed filled individuals who distort and destroy through the use of it. Native American Coyote Two Perception: The power to teach via title or position. People think having a title or position gains them respect and attention. Reality: The power of position or title have no bearing on the teachings of the heart. These things may reach those of us who live in the flesh but not those who live in the heart and spirit. To live in a truly spiritual manner is to live in humble service to others. Native American Coyote Three Perception: The power of strong body and the strength of mind. People admire these attributes and are impressed with their message. Reality: Body and mind are outward appearances and have nothing to do with the grander things of life. Those who have wisdom and truly wish to listen will not listen to an over educated mind or an over developed body. What is needed is sincerity and love and it makes no difference how it comes. When the spiritual mind and body is strong all else will follow. People need to learn to listen to their inner truths and not those who profess to know more than another. We all have the same access to these truth's, we just need to be taught how the access the information. Native American Coyote Four Perception: The power of fear is great and through fear the masses will follow. If I can threaten you with a Devil I can control you. Reality: You can never force acceptance through fear. You can never force understanding through fear. Fear may imprison the logical mind and body but never the spiritual mind or body. Native American Coyote Five Perception: The power of deception will lead the masses to acceptance. Then you can control through the use of more deception. Reality: Nothing can deceive the spiritual heart or mind as the heart will always know of the deception. The trick is not allowing the deception to deceive the logical mind. Native American Coyote Six Perception: The power of religion. If one rises to the top of the masses through religion then they can control through the use of religion and thus bring Creator closer. Reality: If one flourishes through religion then there needs to be no control and there needs to be no power. Only Creator can give true power but it is power for true purpose. No church, temple, nor religious cult can give true power. Native American Coyote Seven Perception: There is power in healing. Society looks to a healer as all powerful so they will follow. Reality: There are no healers; they are only bridges for the spirit to heal through. A person who says he is a healer is only filling his own ego which diminishes his power. These are the things that distract us from our true path, they are things of the head and not of the heart. They have little to do with finding one's truth and Creators' real power. The only true power is that of unconditional love. Change cannot be forced for very long, as there will be rebellion as well it should be. The only true change is through the heart and free choice. One must be discerning when choosing their teacher. We can learn from all that we come in contact with but we must be capable of separating good teachings from bad and then maintain the true power of discernment which lays in acceptance and non-judgmental loving of all things. Live in a simple, unobstructed manner. Do not attempt to control your life by controlling others; all you will accomplish is creating pain for yourself and those others. Learn to pray many times during the day and you will be at ease. Place your true faith in yourself and your Creator and your path will be much straighter and relatively clear of obstacles. Two Feathers

I have a question about Jathere. My immediate and extended family are very devout into going to their Jathere and performing all sorts of traditions and rituals there. At one point Guru Granth Sahib ji was kept at "my" jathera but was removed by some Singhs for obvious reasons. From my understanding of Sikhi, worshipping ancestors,idols, and etc is a hollow act in itself and not neccessarily going to lead you down the spiritual path you may be seeking (I think we can reference the last pauris of Tav Prasad Svaye here). The realization and understanding of spirituality in the sikhi perspective comes from reading, reflecting on, and implementing Gurbani in your life in an incremental manner. However, if I tell my family that performing rituals at the jathera, let alone go to it, doesnt make sense to me and that Gurbani teaches otherwise, they get angry. They get all dukhi saying ajj kal di paneeri don't give crap about anything. I even asked them why they perform rituals like pouring atta (flour) around a tree a certain number of times. They say the elders used to do it so we have to continue. I believe it's out of fear as in "If we don't do it, this ancestor may curse us" type of thing. So my question is: Is trying to follow my current beliefs on this matter and angering my parents/relatives wrong of me to do when the next time a situation comes to go and perform rituals at the Jathera and I refuse? Or should I give in so my parents can be happy? What would be the Gurmat way?

Why did God create everything? Everything that has ever existed? Iv read how at the beginning there was nothing, just Waheguru himself meditating on himself. Then why did he creat us and everything else? What was the purpose? Why was Maya created by Waheguru if it is a illusion? Why were we created and then put in this test? Why? Why were we and anything else created? And why is everything created as a test? Like why does God not make himself present before atheists and people like that? Why is it all a test, something that some people believe in and something that some people don't?

To the brave Singh's and Kaur's, My first question is that i've gone to many weddings and never understood the relevance of a "maya vatna" or "mayan". They sing songs and apply haldi or whatever to the skin but isn't maya a sin, so <banned word filter activated> are they doing? My second question is often I hear at akand paaths and weddings that this person did "dus pound haajare kithee" forgive my spelling. But whats the point in announcing how much someone has donated? Is it a competition? are they trying to buy their way into such kand? I just don't understand Thanks in advance.

Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji ki fateh, As a new member a bit about myself. I was 17 when I got baptised. 11 years on wards I have, so far, enjoyed every minute of it. STILL am! with kirpa. BUT you have not clicked this post to read about this am sure? So let's got on with the title. Why Sikhs should not gamble... In late August 2015 I had came up with an idea, to gamble online. I had known it is against the rehat especially for Amritdhaaris. It even states in SGGS "Gamblers, adulterers leave this world barefooted/ empty handed" (referring to NOTHING good can come out of it in the long run), whether you lost a couple of thousands or made millions from less than 100 (pound/ dollar take your pick). But I applied worldly thoughts on myself and thought I could hit it BIG with this shortcut system, besides I been failing lately in life education/ job wise anyways... I opened an account and proceeded to gamble. Does anyone know why alcohol is bad for you? (NO I do not drink). But thing is, with alcohol intoxicated the mind goes into a state of frenzy. The next morning the drunk person wakes up and says "Where am I? what happened last night?" They may notice their hair has gone short, they have woken up with someone beside them. They do not know what happened. Maharaaj Foresaw the future and asked himself "Drink drivers? How many Sikhs will suffer as victim or perpetrator?" Maharaaj also realised (did this happen back in the days)? that alcohol comes in strengths, like from 3% start (I think thas the start)? to 90% in volume (Accent in France as told by my friend). Maharaaj also must have thought "Well, if I give the go ahead and say Sikhs can drink a little then it's ok?" BUT Guru Gobind Singh Ji also realised that Sikhs like to bypass Rehats and everyone will waste away their time on debate "How much is less?" IF Maharaaj gave a unit or figure and said "I suppose 100ml glass once a week?" PEOPLE WOULD HAVE DEBATED THAT TODAY AND USED THEIR MANN CHATURIAA OR "INTELLIGENCE" AND 100ML WOULD HAVE BEEN 500ML somehow. We Sikhs can be excellent in by passing rehats as such. Dussa Paasha came to a straight point and said "Do not even touch the bottle of alcohol" NO means NO! Let's get back to the point of gambling (I will get back to the point of alcohol and gambling). Anyone familiar with Mahabharaat story will know that the punj pandavs had lost EVERYTHING on gambling. Land, estates, Money, Army, any Businesses right down to their wife!!! Why had they kept playing despite it was a rigged game? THEY KNEW IT WAS RIGGED! because they had HOPE! They hoped the game will eventually turn in their favour. Today slot machines have a message written on them, that "There is no money within these machines overnight" so robbers know not to rob the place overnight. What will a gambler do first thing in the morning? THEY HAVE HOPE TO POP IN A QUID AND TAKE OUT MAXIMUM WINNINGS! SAME PRINCIPLE, SAME HOPE, SAME SCHEME AS THE TIME OF MAHABHARAT!!! Just like the alcoholist makes fake promises "I'll stop soon" I would like to speak from first hand experience, when gambling and winning you say "I'll stop soon" IT WILL NOT HAPPEN. Like people call money Maya (I don't, i hate that) gambling and alcohols are physical forms of maya too. Once you indulge in them the mind says MORE MORE MORE! and you make these false promises (lying is against rehat too) and you lie to yourself. I can speak from ONE point of view why gambling is forbidden. BECAUSE YOU DO NOT STOP WHEN WINNING UNTIL YOU LOSE ALL THE MONEY!!! It drives you crazy and depressed. Maharaaj does not want to see his Sikhs crazy, depressed and broke. Just like an alcoholist will promise "I shall stop drinking soon" but the brain is pulled like a magnet towards the evils of the physical form of Maya. What I mean is, when I was on the website I thought "Okay, if I win £300 I stop for 7 whole days then go again. Where will I be in a year's time?" However, when I got on, first day guess how much I won? from £100 deposit to £3,000!!! Any guesses what happened then? I carried on and until.. I lost the winnings and my deposit too! Within 2 days I had lost £2,000 of REAL money. So much for 7 days, I was not a santokhi bandha to stop first day. THE GAME GIVES YOU FALSE HOPE AND FALSE DREAMS! All the material gains, big cars, big bank balances etc etc. But your mind gets trapped LIKE AN ALCOHOLISTS!!! YOU DO NOT KNOW WHEN TO STOP! Now, am sure many people state "Gambling is forbidden as the morals of it, not your money, against an honest living" etc etc THATS 100% TRUE! But it's also true, the only way you'll know why it's TRULY forbidden, the ultimate true way is if you become a gambler (please don't. Just take this ex- gambler's word for it). So, it was an ongoing battle where I lost, won, lost, won lost and won. Whether I won/ lost or neither is not relevant here. Second part in why not to gamble is because the morals behind it. It's like taking money that does not belong to you. And let's not forget about Karma! If a person wins from gambling like £200,000, enjoys the cash what will happen to them in their next life? Will they be born in a rich family only to lose ALL their wealth of £200,000 and live in poverty? Who has stolen/ taken their cash? maybe the person/ people in the past life that had lost the money on gambling, that YOU then won? This is all perception and an idea. Only Maharaaj knows why bad things happen to good decent people, why people suffer and how much to balance out the Karmas. I shall write more posts on here, Saakhis, Rehats and, like this post, personal experiences of life. Until then, Bhul chuk maaf, take it easy and feel free to ask questions. WJKKWJKF.

Does anyone have any personal experience on whether maya ceases to have effect on people ? Even after reading baani, we feel short . We feel attracted to people even in gurudwaras. Like when a handsome guy or cute girl walks through, many young minds who otherwise submerged in divine rass of kirtan would tilt their heads to see that person they feel attracted to. People who say they have renounced things , and indeed very tough it is to renounce your dreams and lifestyle (when it conflicts with dharmic life) and many other things if you desire to walk on the path to spirituality, but I have noticed that despite walking on the spiritual path, we feel attracted to such things . Their pull doesn't seem to lessen and we somewhere in our hearts still desire it and inclined to obtain those things

IF we get too entangled in this fake world we will depart with tears of remorse in our eyes (like the fish that does not understand the net and separates from ocean in deep sorrow) when the illusion of this world will vanish , so instead of focusing on material comforts and family, make naam meditation your goal. ਮਛੁਲੀ ਵਿਛੁੰਨੀ ਨੈਣ ਰੁੰਨੀ ਜਾਲੁ ਬਧਿਕਿ ਪਾਇਆ ॥ मछुली विछुंनी नैण रुंनी जालु बधिकि पाइआ ॥ Macẖẖulī vicẖẖunnī naiṇ runnī jāl baḏẖik pā▫i▫ā. The fish leaves the water with tearful eyes, when the fisherman casts his net. ਸੰਸਾਰੁ ਮਾਇਆ ਮੋਹੁ ਮੀਠਾ ਅੰਤਿ ਭਰਮੁ ਚੁਕਾਇਆ ॥ संसारु माइआ मोहु मीठा अंति भरमु चुकाइआ ॥ Sansār mā▫i▫ā moh mīṯẖā anṯ bẖaram cẖukā▫i▫ā. The love of Maya is sweet to the world, but in the end, this delusion is dispelled. ਭਗਤਿ ਕਰਿ ਚਿਤੁ ਲਾਇ ਹਰਿ ਸਿਉ ਛੋਡਿ ਮਨਹੁ ਅੰਦੇਸਿਆ ॥ ॥ Bẖagaṯ kar cẖiṯ lā▫e har si▫o cẖẖod manhu anḏesi▫ā. So perform devotional worship, link your consciousness to the Lord, and dispel anxiety from your mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgsOaQfZ4Ss

All of our suffering is of our own making ! This dawned on me from within one of my deeper meditations. Lets see how our mind gets caught up in meaningless , petty things and prevents us from enjoying life to the fullest (i) Financial Suffering Buy only what you need and what you want - limit your needs , helping a kid go to school for example will bring you much more happiness than buying the latest gadget . The most stupid thing to try to do is to keep up with others and put up a show of wealth - its called rat race for a reason - rats start scrambling when they see one rat running , we have a more evolved brain - don't we ? Learn to take pride in your simplicity and even boast about it and others around you will find themselves shamed about their showy/flashy ways. ਏਕੋ ਨਿਹਚਲ ਨਾਮ ਧਨੁ ਹੋਰੁ ਧਨੁ ਆਵੈ ਜਾਇ ॥ (ii) Physical Suffering Again almost all chronic diseases - obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc are a direct result of indulgence - consuming way more calories than our body was ever meant to handle . Keep a simple vegan diet (no milk , fish , dairy , meat) and fast one day in a weak - see your weight come off and all your diseases . Being vegetarian is not enough as we are nevertheless stealing milk that was meant for the calf. Our health has a karmik link like all things in life - when we stop causing suffering to other sentient beings, in return our own well being is tremendously boosted - Dukh an deyi kise Jee Pat Seo Ghar Jaye || Do not harm any being and you will go to your home with honour And Jehre khange Choprey Ghane Sehange Dukh || Those who indulge in lavish food will suffer a great deal. (iii) Emotional Suffering We all have a tendency to carry grudges - someone did or said something bad to us ....take some deep breaths and thank them for it for taking some or our karmic debt off...what happened to us was just a result of our own karma and this person was only the messenger ..in other words akal purakh himself wanted this to happen to us ,if not them it would happen through another person or another means. ਲੇਖੈ ਬੋਲਣੁ ਬੋਲਣਾ ਲੇਖੈ ਖਾਣਾ ਖਾਉ ॥ लेखै बोलणु बोलणा लेखै खाणा खाउ ॥ Lekẖai bolaṇ bolṇā lekẖai kẖāṇā kẖā▫o. As it is pre-ordained, people speak their words. As it is pre-ordained, they consume their food. ਲੇਖੈ ਵਾਟ ਚਲਾਈਆ ਲੇਖੈ ਸੁਣਿ ਵੇਖਾਉ ॥ लेखै वाट चलाईआ लेखै सुणि वेखाउ ॥ Lekẖai vāt cẖalā▫ī▫ā lekẖai suṇ vekẖā▫o. As it is pre-ordained, they walk along the way. As it is pre-ordained, they see and hear. Remember there is enough in this world for every being , worry and jealousy are just wasted emotions - we are not truly happy until our happiness is infectious i.e. we make everyone around us happy. Feel free to pm me or on this thread if you need any gurbani tuk for a particular dilemma / suffering you are facing in this maya infested world .

I took amrit a while before and my life from then has just changed dramatically (for the best)! I became very peaceful, relaxed and happy with whatever Waheguru ji did. The main thing that brought me happiness was that I finally accepted that all my family and friends will eventually fade away and that only wahgeuru ji will be left by my side. It made me so happy and I just felt like I can deal with any problem or sorrow just by remembering this, it even helped me concentrate when I did my nitnem etc. However after having a few family events I feel like i'm getting sucked back into this black hole of maya again, I have very tight connections with my family and a lot of them share their problems with me, although I know its good if I can be of use to someone but I feel like my mind has began going back to its old ways...obviously when people begin sharing their problems along comes nindeya, I remember hearing in the katha its just as bad to listen to nindeya as well as do it so this makes me feel so depressed and annoyed... My minds begun to wonder again and think unnecessarily an its taking away all my peace. I can't concentrate as well as I could. I know I can't find TRUE happiness in my family and relatives but sometimes I find myself in situations where I'm doing my nitnem but thinking of a upcoming get together or something else... This has begun roughly about 2 weeks ago and I feel like it's only going to get worse! basically I just miss my good days with waheguru ji and I want to get back to that moment where I was peaceful!! I've been trying to find inspirational quotes from Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji such as - -Mohi Niragun Anathh Saranee Aeia || I am unworthy and without any master; I seek Your Sanctuary, Lord. -Jinaa Saas Giraas N Visarai Sae Poorae Purakh Paradhhaan || Those who do not forget the Lord, with each and every breath and morsel of food, are the perfect and famous persons. can anyone help please!?! Your help will be appreciated- thank you!

dear all i am curious to know who and when did this all started. when was the first golak kept in front of SGGS ji? what was the need? and why do we need it in this day and age? do other religions have golaks? which ones dont have golaks and why? your intellectual thoughts are most welcome. is this true that "maya" corrupts the mind and the soul - but why do we throw maya right in front of SGGS ji? Go Golak Go!