How Did U Find Him?

[Surd_r_cute]

Part -2

Changes in my life as result of studying Gurbani.

Showmanship

Though I was simple guy but being a typical Leo I believed in extreme showmanship. Whether it was sports or anything else I had this bad habit of playing to gallery. I mean I wanted people to talk about me. I am great Photographer and love to shoot Black and White. I was felt really great when people appreciated me, actually when I ever did anything my sole aim was be centre of attraction. I remember converting this golden temple photograph into a lith print digitally and than framing it. I wanted to put it up my main living room so everyone would be dazzled ( I have put this mentioned file under keertan / picture section). No one liked it cause they said this doesn’t look like Golden temple. I was sad and put it in my room. One of friends from gurmat classes told me “Life is like being colour blind person, you see life from your perspective while others see from their perspective. Both are correct but twain shall never meet. He told me a tuk from Japji sahib which cleared my mind. It not wrong to do photography etc but if your aim is to boost your ego than it is wrong.

I got control over my feelings

Having lived a life of luxury most of my adulthood it was difficult to adjust to life when money was tight. I wasn’t jealous that other people were buying stuff and how at one time we would buy. Now we had to ponder for a long time to buy a simple thing. My dad sweats a lot hence he has this powerful AC in his car, his office and his room. With time his car got old and he could not use his AC as result in summers he would come back from his office all drenched in his sweat. Lots of feelings used to come to my mind from feeling extremely sad and sorry for my dad who used to have AC to a feeling helpless that as young man I cannot help my parents financially as I was studying.

In one of the weekly gurmat classes our teacher told us whenever you see some in pain , suffering , be it any animal or human , say waheguru shukr hai i.e. thanks god for what he has given us. Be thankful for what he has given, be contended . What ever is happening is as result of god’s hukum. Lots of gurmukh people I have met, have come with their translation why bad things happen to us. Most of them say god gives us troubles in order to make us realize how much he has given us or how life is like mountain and valley where with valley is that time of life when we are in trouble and mountain when we are in happiness. I don’t say they are wrong but according to me God is nirvare, hence no matter we believe in him or not, remember him or not he gives us what we should get. Let’s not make god human, who would give us only if we pray, or remember him. Whatever happens, happens because of his hukum, by remembering him we get the himmat or courage to face adversity. We realize that no one has wronged us cause no one can. For whatever happens is a result of his hukum. “Chinta taa ki kijiee jo anhoni hoe.”

Feeling of I am successful because I worked hard.

In our class our teacher told us in life we meet many gurmukh people who tend to say I worked very hard hence I am successful business man, I studied hard and got admission in this great institute and hence I am great professional.

He says we forget god, everyone works harder so how come you more successful than others. What special degree you have that others don’t possess, success in life, profession is a result of god’s meher . A person duty is to simply realize it is god’s hukum to make him successful in business. In order to respect god’s hukum be focused and pay attention fully. We humans are like gardeners in garden whose owner is god. Our duty is to work hard and honestly in taking care of plants , If plants turn out to be great than it is due to his grace , if plants die again it his hukum, all we need to do is work hard, honestly and be focussed.

Realising no one can help me except gods name.

My life changed like hell, at one time I had so many friends and now for last 5 years all my have left Delhi for either abroad or other cities. At one time in my life I had so many people to spend my time with today I have no one to call. At one time iused to exercise a lot and I was extremely fit. I would walk 10 km daily life and due to bad habits in last 2 years I have gained lots of weight. As a result my mother is always pressuring me to join a gym etc. Nothing wrong in joining the gym but was she there for me when for 2 years I was a mental wreck . In order to get over the mental chaos in life I was eating food. Sadly we humans are bought with wrong values, we are made to depend on our parents , friends etc emotionally. Even if they do support us in our emotional chaos yet they simply cannot enter our brains and helps us there. Everyone needs to fight his own battle. I realized nothing is permanent in tis life, I,e neither your friendship , neither relations nothing. On page 70 of SGGS there are these beautiful line that I meditate on “jaa ka-o muskal at banai dho-ee ko- laagoo ho-ay dusmanaa saak bhe bhaj khala”

So from that day I was not sad I don’t have friends any more or how my parents have changed .

My ego got nullified.

I had bad habit of planning and analyzing everything. Despite having clear set goals my mind would tell me to plan further. Sometimes I felt I had all answersand get complacent. Sometimes I would avoid doing certaine things cause I did not have courage to do them. One day I was listening to “gagan damaamaa baaji-o pari-o neesaanai ghaa-o.” salok on my cd . I readthe meaning from internet and realized how truly it reflected situation in my life. There was this spiritual war go in my head between right and wrong. Rights values I learnt from Gurbani and wrong values from world. In salok where it says “ab joojhan ko daa-o, instead of facing and fighting my fears I would run away from spiritual battlefield .

This was the turning point, from that day whenever I set goals in my life; it was with sense of duty rather than personal accomplishment. Whenever I was jittery or avoided to achieve my goals I would meditate on “ gagan damaamaa baaji-o pari-o neesaanai ghaa-o”. whenever as result of my nature I would starty making supercilious plans I would mediate on “pahilaa maran kabool jeevan kee chhad aas.” And also “ja-o ta-o paraym khaylan kaa chaa-o.”

In short I realized I have to give my ego i.e. in my case habit of making plans for my self for god knows what is best for me. From that moment I stopped making plans, there was this amazing lightness in my head. Customers i our new garment business sometime come and create chaos and want to pick a fight , reason is that by doing so they want to scare us as we are new so that we reduce price . At that moment in my head i meditate on " “gagan damaamaa baaji-o pari-o neesaanai ghaa-o.” salok" reason why ? simply because they want me to back down what is dean , i.e our honest earning and by figting with them i will lose my haak hala ki earning and this against dean or dharam so i control my temper.

In end I can say I am still not able write really how how Gurbani has helped me or how it has changed my mind set . i can only write in end what is written in Japji sahib ,

Ma(n)nae kee gat kahee na jaae||

Jae ko kahai pichhai pachhutaae||

Kaagad kalam na likhNhar||

[Jaspaul Singh]

VAAAHEGUROOOOOOO !!!!

blessed are dhan dhan guru ke pyarai ! BLESSED ! Thank you for sharing those experiences wit us jio !

keep them coming guys ....

[Jaspaul Singh]

ok people .. more posts needed.. more views needed .. keep posting !

[The Khalsa Fauj]

Edit the first post. No need to post 2 times.

Thank you!

He does it to get his post count up! Same way he does goaltending, he likes to add and remove goals in the score count.

[Jaspaul Singh]

haahaahahahaha

singh ji .. please contribute to this thread and tell us how you got into sikhi, what made you so attatched to sikhi? I know you have something to share wit all of us, please post and inspire us all :wub:

and no i dont post twice to get my post count up .. i just have no life, always on forums,chatting

[The Khalsa Fauj]

Since you asked, I will post about myself.

Other stories are better than mine!

So they will continue to shine

it is a lot of interesting stuff i will post

before moving to toronto, i lived on the west coast

before that, i came from punjab

i don't wear a hijaab

life has been hard until recent thought

it was hard when i came here

never thought of drinking beer

or taking any drugs

never thought of joining thugs

usually played hockey

was never a jockey

went to Gurudwara with sis, mom and dad

but didn't pay attention to anything, so about that, i am not glad

went to school

it wasn't too cool

didn't speak english so was harrased

by people i was bashed

whenever i got some friends, it was usually time to chage locations

heard about fights in ross Gurudwara over donations

moved to surrey

was made fun of by people was was told that i smell like currey

some big huge gora continuosly harrased me in school

i reported to the heads of school

nothing changed and no one said anything to the gora

so i collected my (bag) bora

changed my school

at the start things were cool

one cheena did something bad to me so i to the teacher i reported

next time i saw, he was sorted

nothing happened there again

lowered was the pain

above format will take too long so time to just post

I was always a big fan of dhadis and always listened to them

bhai taru singh was is and will always be my idol

ok so then i moved back to vancouver

my locker was continuosly broken into

stuff was spilled into my locker, my books were ruined

but then when i had math class, i was doing really good in it so people started to notice and started to respect me

some punjabi guys in my class started talkign to me and wanted to be friends so i said ok

the guy was a good guy, we played hockey in front of his house

his parents were nice

then when things were good there, suddenly it was time to move again

this time to toronto

so i came here, i had to put up with a lot here

i was harrased by 2 refs here

they were the only guys i knew and they took advantage of me

stole my things

ganged up on me, one of them i was able to handle by myself but the other guy had some tactics at that time

both of them were super idiots

then i went to high school here

in gym class, some guys made fun of me, swore and said bad words

one guy started talking nasty stuff about my family in the swimming change room

i pulled the string out from y shorts and said that you say that one more time and i will choke you

he was stronger and bigger but i didn't back down

he somehow backed off

then there were punjabi guys from pm who i always talked to

i used to tell them not to do drugs and not to cut hair and stuff

but they always turned it into fun

then i kind of stopped as they turned it into fun

so grade 11 came, and i got to know some people

good guys, we played hockey together

i got chicken pox 2 weeks beofre final exams for grade 12

my marks went down, i got screwed by a teacher also but somehow i got into uni.

i didn't like anything

in grade 10 and 11, i often went to Gurudwara and did seva and listened to katha

but grade 12 was busy and went fast

i used to feel bad and had no direction, my dad never got me into Gurbani, he did get me books to read about Sikhi and stuff

there are enough in the house so i did read about them but didn't get get the deeper meaning (maybe due to being young or was just dumb)

some special and some not so special stuff happened and i got the message as to what my mission is here

then i started reading sehaj paath of Guru Granth Sahib Ji (didn't want to mention but will)

so then one day i was coming from uni. in the subway some guy starts talking to me, he goes i am singh too, so i said u don't look like 1

then he goes hair isn't needed so i said ur wrong and he mentions 'chaahay laambay kais kur chaahay ghurrar mundaa-aye'

he also told me how he had a baba as his satguru in india

he also promoted girlsfriend and boyfriend stuff, i told him no i don't do that stuff

so he goes that Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji had one too

i was about to faint, i couldn't belive what he said

i told him that he was lying and that he was talkign <admin-profanity filter activated>

i was really mad and i don't remember if he told me which reference he was using

but now i know what book he was using. it was Gurbilass Paatshahi 6

i didn't have too much gyaan to shut him down completely but i did what i could at that time

then i started thinking about a book about _____ granth (already got 2 warnings)

so i read that book and started to understand things better

then i started reading some nitneim banis

and then slowly got to all nitneim banis

finished my doing sehaj paath on new year i think

and then i started to understand Gurbani

so from only reading to also understanding

but that guy made my blood boil on the subway, i can never forget that day

so then i read the book about _____ granth (2 warnings) and then i wanted to read the whole things so i got the whole thing online

then i read it, i read mahan kosh about it, i read a lot of other stuff about it, so i basically spent a lot of time on that granth

so it was 2003 when i really got into Sikhi and got into Gurbani

since then it has been flowing and I wish Akaal continues to make it flow

Then i took Amrit last year at Dixie Gurudwara

My original dream was to take it from Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib

whenever i went there, never felt better

never wanted to come back

the stuff i expereinced over there when i used to go there as a kid, got it no where else so i wanted to Khanday Baatay Daa Amrit from there but then i took from Dixie as i can't go to india

so then in 03, i started gathering shabads, dhadis, kavishers and listened to them and i still continue to do this; always looking for more, never fulfilled

i started to make a website, it was going good but then i saw that other sites already have that info so then i stopped working on it

now i jsut use it to upload some files which don't seem to be avaiable anywhere else

even some of that stuff is now up online on other sites

so now i worry about the situation of the youth and panth and soemtimes i feel really down; i do parchaar, people listen but then don't follow, some don't even listen, they get ready to fight

doesn't matter what they do, they go, i know more about sikhi than you

then i just say ok do whatever you want

you think cutting hair is sikhi, go ahead do it

other guys listen and some want to follow but they are having hard time taking the next step but i will continue to do my missionary work

what i find is that youth has a lot of issues with kaam and have tough time controlling it so i suggest to them to connect to GuruBani and Gurmat and kaam will come under control with Maharaaj kirpaa

another thing that really hurts me is the divison in the panth, more than anything

i see a lot of good singhs but they are stuck in jathas and are unwilling to listen

i don't mind jathas as long as they follow the same Akaal Takht maryada

it is very hard as after all the shaheedis, we are still divided and our egoes are too big and that we think that what our jatha says is right and that Guru Panth is wrong and everyone else is wrong

Guru Ji left us with 1 maryada, 1 jatha and 1 nishaan sahib to gather under but we have countless maryadas, countless jathas, and countless banners to gather under

they are good people too and they love the panth but for some reason, they just can't get over the personal beliefs to join together

Guru Ji said that as long as we remain niaara and remain together, we will get everything but what do we have now? not much. why? we are no longer niaara and we are no longer together

bipran kee reet has come in and has rooted very deep and doesn't look like it will be removed soon

I think i posted enough

Bhulla galtee Dee Maafee

Bohat galatee Hoa Jaandee Hai

Maaf karoo ji

tuhaada garreb nimana brother

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheuru Ji Ki Fateh!

[ParwinderSingh]

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh

I just thought that there are so many members on this forum and everyone def aint replied to this thread and so u disgust me, this is for others to gain inspiration and so it would be good if everyone could write their stories on this thread.

OK most of us may have just been born sikhs, we were at the Gurdwara as the annoying somethings that ran around and annoyed everyone and now that we have grown we are still there so really nothing has changed. But nevertheless, maybe u became even closer to sikhi or something convinced u to stay a sikh, maybe something absolutely little tiny :T: , but its still worth writing abt here hunna?

so come on ppl dont be shy or think ur story aint worth the read, just type it in here no matter what.....................................................................................

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh

125426[/snapback]

Fateh Ji

I have read nearly all these stories, they are soo inspiring, many are very similar. But each persons journey is totally unique so yea your right we need to hear everyones on this forum. Iv got a dissertation to hand in , only got ten days left so thats my excuse, but i will post mine soon.

Fateh

[Heera Singh]

Bump...

Le's hear from the newcomers!!

[kaur_khalistani_lioness]

Bump...

Le's hear from the newcomers!!

i know! i wana read more!

this is gona be my reason to cme online...

[Guest PRITAM SINGH KHALSA]

It all started after September 11th 2001. I thought all people wearing turbans were Muslim. I was always wanting to hear music from"the turban guys", so I downloaded on the internet a couple songs, and listened all the time. Even my room mate would sometimes listen with me.{I guess I liked the tabla and sitar}. Then I was flipping the channel and stummbled on Sabh Rang{All Colors} which is a Sikh t.v broadcast of Kirtan and music videos. I really liked seeing the Hazoori Ragis playing at Sri Harimandir Sahib but after that I would turn the channel cause I didnt care for the music videos. Then my room mate started scamming me so I moved out and to a town away.

I was a few years later working with my step dad{doing construction, Framming ,sheeting, pick up, finish work etc} at the Stockton,Ca Gurdwara. I walked on the job joking rudely how "these are the guys who bring in the herion to the U.S". When in fact they are against any intoxicants. Well a few guys told me to shut up and that Sikhs are nice and they were cool people.They said they might be different but thats how the were raised and thats what they know.{They met them{{Sikhs}} and were there already for a few weeks}I then never said anything bad against them because the guys that told me to shut up were racist and oakie rednecks, but all of a sudden opened their mind up to get past the predudices that they didnt know of{ we thought all that wore turbans were Muslims }. I was thirsty and and Old man kept offering water and orange juice.{this was weird because old men are supossed to be grumpy and mean}I really liked his kindness. Well I built the living/visiting quarters at the Gurdwara, and at the end of the job I was told to cut my hair or I would be fired. I was fired from my own step dads job, from him.

Two years later after not being able to get a job because of having dreadlocks, I was at home and saw Sabh Rang again. This time it reminded me of the old man that offered orange juice, and his purity. I then thought how do I become happy like him. I found out I was addicted to Sabh Rang and would program the t.v to play it whenever it came on.{Fridays and sometimes Wednesday} Over a few months I wasnt able to watch Sabh Rang and felt like I was missing out. The whole day all I thought about was watching the Ragis play Kirtan. I then was handed a little white book explaining Sikhi. I read it 10,000 times over 4-5 months. I then went to the store right by my house and noticed the Khanda Sahib and a man wearing a Kara. I asked him if he was a Sikh. He said yes. I said if he is Sikh then why does he cut his hair and shave. He didnt know what to say. After a very very long pause he said he used to have a long beard and a turban but when he moved to the U.S people called him arab and Muslim and out of fear of his life shaved. So I asked him where I can get a turban,Kara,Kirpan,Kachera, and a Kangha. He then told his nephew to bring me one the next day. I was there the next day but he forgot to bring a Kara. I was there the next day waiting, but he again forgot. This went on for a week. They finally realised Im not going to stop until he brings me a Kara.He gave me a Khanda and a Kara so when I go to the Gurdwara they dont think Im a vandal or something. I went to the Gurdwara to clean all the bathrooms and they kept asking why I was cleaning and what for. I said "so I can use the building". He then directed me to someone who got me a Kirpan in Sacramento. I already wore kacheras just not punjabi cut/sown ones. I also had not cut my hair since I was 13. In school most people would say things about my hair but never to my face so I could know who said whatever they said.They always did after they passed me and in a big crowd someone would feel brave enough to remark. I always stopped and called out to who ever said anything to show their cowardly face. No one ever did, but it did stop after a while people started to like my hair for it looked alot better over time. All I needed was a turban to wrap my hair up in order to preserve my locks of hair and keep them clean from people wanting to touch them. The man at the store said he would get me a turban the next time he went to the Indian store, but after a few weeks I was tired of waiting and got enough strength to walk somewhere that I never had been before and asking for something that I had no idea of, I also got a Kangha{but I cant comb my hair, I only can through my fingers}[but I still needed a Kangha regardless of my sitch]. I walked into the store with a turban on and they were stunned and said it looked very good for someone who never wore one and never tyed a turban before. After a week or two a man gave me my first pair of Kurta Pajamas.{Im wearing that pair right now as a matter of fact} So I wore them around but the next day I needed to wash them so I needed a weeks worth. I went to the store and got a weeks worth. I slowly collected about 10 sets and wear them only. I had bags and bags of regular clothes which I donated some to the School for retarded children.

Now I looked like a Sikh but didnt know where to get the Banis to read. I just knew when to read them. The only place I knew was the Gurdwara where Banis are recited. I went everyday for 6 months, and finnaly Granthi Harnam Singh Ji gave me my first Nitnem Gutka. I cherish it even to this day, but have bought two more since then. I have one downstairs,in my bedroom and have a Sunder Gutka in my now turned Gurdwara darbar upstairs. I used to sleep on the floor in the Sukh Asan part of the room for a long time with no pillows or blankets until I got really cold and wouldnt sleep very well{ I did that in rememberance of Guru Arjan Dev and Mata Gujari and the younger Sahibzadas}. I really wanted to have Sri Guru Granth Sahib reside over my house so I got one with English translation so I could follow what was read at the Gurdwara.{I would and still do ask what Rag and ANG GranthiJi reads from to go home and study GuruJis Hukams} So every new turban I buy, I buy a new Ramala for GuruJi. BabaJi also gives me Ramalas also.

So before I was blessed with Amrit I lived as a GurSikh would anyway. I always asked where Amritchaars were but people would lie and mislead me or straight not tell me.{ thats soooo against the way of the Khalsa } They would say its Gods will if I partake of Amrit but it was Gods will to have them Lie about Amrit Chars. Shame on them men. I only knew two guys that were Sikh but I figured they are not good company for they tried to force me things or tried to polute my mind with total radical ideas. So I dont talk with them anymore. Other than them I dont know of any other Sikhs except a Kaur had contacted me last night which was cool to conversate about Sikhi to another living being other than compounding food for my brain. It was cool to share things I knew to someone else that didnt know the info I knew. I really apprieciated her contact. Thank you and Waheguru bless her soul.

On Viaskhi 2006 I wanted to take Amrit but didnt dare to ask anyone about where or when. So I drove an hour up to the West Sacramento Gurdwara at 4a.m. I walked in and noticed GuruJi wasnt Prakashed yet so I sat to meditate and finally GuruJi entered the room and I listened to the daily Hukamnama. I was thinking how are they going to set-up the Amrit Sanchar in 10 min before the Sun rises. I then figured the ceremonywasnt happenning. Then GranthiJi went back into the Sukh Asan room and was carrying GuruJi on his head walking toward me. I followed them upstairs and saw Paalki Sahib and in front had white sheets on the floor with Iron bowls and an Amrit Khanda. I was soooo excited. I sat and listened to this Hukam and after about 10-15 Sikhs walked in and the doors shut with 2 Nihangs guarding the door. I was actually getting to partake of Amrit. I asked that after I was to be renamed for I was never named from the Guru. My new name is PRITAM SINGH KHALSA.

I have left out soooooooo soooooooooo much{ like how I traveled/toured around California in 4-5 heavy metal bands then after years of that became the Reggae house band for a Jamaican restraunt called "Sweet Fingers/Jamaica House and an ethiopian restruant called "Addis Ababa"} in order to not have an autobiography even though its almost considered one that I can see. Thats why I say its in a nutshell. I wish I could explain and descibe everything for this is soooo dear to me. I was totally opposite of a Sikh before I was given realisation. I am sooooo sooooo sooooo thankful to be allowed to live as a GurSikh. People ask me how I am doing and I cant explain in words but say Chardi Kala but thats not enough to explain this feeling. I hope other to be able to feel this love for WaheguruJi and GuruJIs light. My goal is to sing Sri Guru Granth Sahib at every Gurdwara that I visit and show people what GuruJi teaches if followed with love and devotion and apprieciate what former Sikhs have done for us and what they sacrificed for us to be allowed to be a Sikh of the Guru. Not just do Matha Tekna, getting Prashad, listeneing to sounds of someones mouth, eating Langar, coversating and then leaving only to come back the next Sunday. I understand weekends are easier to form a big Sadh Sangat, but other faiths have one day aweek for worship. Sikhs worship Waheguru everyday of their life and not just one day a week. What about after work on the weekdays? Or before? It is possible it just depends on what really matters or not. GuruJi didnt say they can only be seen on Sunday and on other days to only worry about family things. GuruJI was available any time. If you needed advise they were there. If you needed a blessing they were there. They never said to come back on Sunday when everyone else was there. Most Sikhs now-a-days dont try enough to uphold the true meaning of Sikhi. They just show up and then leave. Or dont even attend but still call themselves Sikhs and have no intention to become a Khalsa. I have sooooo much to get off my chest that I should do and Audio blog but then it would be as long as an Akhand Paath maybe more.{o.k not that long. heheheh}That would be cool but I dont know how to make and audio blog. It would save my finger tips and proof reading time even though there are still type-o errors are grammer errors but you get the pictorial.hehehe. If someone shows me how I would start an audio blog to make thing easier and get to learn things and share them with people who are interested in the topics.

My conclusion: I wasnt born a Sikh but I will Die a Sikh. My parents even disowned me, trying to get me to quit. Now they realise that Sikh is a part of me as much as I am a part of being a Sikh. I thought I lost my parents but never would dare to think that I could lose being a Sikh of the Guru. I have learned too much to fall away from the GurSikh way of life. That would be like giving your life savings to someone who didnt deserve it or trying to count wrong; Sikh way 123456789 I couldnt say 2645576177 or ABCDEFGHIJK and couldnt pretend that I dont know the alphabet in order. If you are a real Sikh then be a real Sikh. If you were born a Sikh and dont show devotion then dont go to the Gurdwara and go play your whole life and find out in the end how unhappy you really are. Remember if you forsake the Sikh way you cant just jump off your sinking boat and live, for you will drown. Dont pretend that you dont know Gurmat. Dont do that of which you will regret in the end. Dont wander in LahLah land and try in this world to keep your head on. I wear my turban to tie it on my body so it dosent fall. Too much to write. I will alway post blogs for if it changes even one person then I have done my part in blogging, myway of thinking and life might benefit someone who needs a jumpstart in being a real Sikh of the Guru.SatNam Bole so nihal. Sat Sri Akal

WaheguruJi ka Khalsa WaheguruJi ki fateh!