"western" Sikhs?

[Lionchild]

i hear this expression "western sikhs" almost everyday, and yet what does it really mean to the rest of us? i hear people say it means "white" (background) sikhs and others say it is anyone who is sikh who was raised in the west (canada, america, mexico). and i even others say is someone who practices sikhi but who is in the western culture.

I also hear people are irratated that its kind of a narrow view of those who live in the west.

Well i ask the sangat.. "who are "western" sikhs???"

[KFI]

i guess everyone has their own definitions.

[jashans]

people for some reason, seem to think that fitting in is the important thing, for as far know, sikh are suppose to stand out.

But anyways there is suppose to be only one thing :sikh

and when you add western to it, that means, drug injecting, alcohol drinking, clubbin people.

After all, india or america, i am one person , who speaks punjabi and hindi and bihari (accent) like the "west" never existed on my map.

Sikhs are sikhs, they would rather be called sikh, punjabi, w/e.

Those who add "westers" to it, try to impose the image of modernity, as if they were superior.

Hell, look at indian(hindu) movies, they speak more english than hindi, give money stricken sikhs roles of jokers and so on. But they become so obsessed with it, that their iq drops ( for real ), it impairs their sense of thinking. Not to mention, how ungraceful they lookin speakin english,

There is a reason, putin speaks russian when he is giving a speech with bush in america, BECAUSE HE IS RUSSIAN, he doesnt want to be american, but russian, and those who try hard to show that they are modern, become neither indian or american(no sense of pride to dare to speak their language)

there...... my soup of western (defition) alongside with some CHILI(har har har)

FATEH

[Guest Bass Singh]

Does it really matter if your a Western or a Eastern Sikh, a sikhs a Sikh??? isnt it?

[Guest PRITAM SINGH KHALSA]

Sikhs are Sikhs, western ,northern,eastern,southern.

Western Sikhs dont modernize antyhing about it. If anything go back to be more traditional but while living in the U.S. Alot of people from every country lose touch of Sikhi and cut their hair , blend in with what everyone else is doing and just go to the Gurdwara and dont abide by the Gurus teachings. They only do by the mind and not the mind, body and soul.

About the Russian thing: He just doesnt know English so he speaks his language.

I know Russian and took it while I was in school. My brother and sister in-law speak more fluent than I do and they both went and lived in Russia for two and a half years. To the native tongue of some countries make it hard to speak english because their words are intricate and you have to be schooled in english for a long time to speak english.So in some countries you have to be rich in order to learn it might as well apply it.

Jashans : If it is disgracefull in the movies for people to speak english then you are very disgracefull typeing it out on a computer because some can just speak it and cant write it so if you write it your worse than the people you discribed.

A language is a language except Gurmukhi because Gurmukhi is not just words it is NAAD. NAAD is very powerful as in its soundwaves. Thats why Im learning Gurmukhi before I learn how to speak Punjabi. Gurmukhi is way above the modern Punjabi language and then Ill learn Punjabi even though I do learn both at the same time but I stress learning Gurmukhi first.

If I spoke the tongue of my nationality I would have to speak Irish in its accents, Scottish in its accent, Samoan {which I only know a very little} and German { which I dont even want to know } but since Jessica is Mexican I speak some spanish also because her mom doesnt speak english very much or very well. So I speak all these to my daughter so she learns how to be openminded to what people speak rather than being prejudice against another people because they speak something she doesnt know and that will give her the incentive to try to learn something she doesnt know.

I bow to the Shabad Guru

[Lionchild]

A language is a language except Gurmukhi because Gurmukhi is not just words it is NAAD. NAAD is very powerful as in its soundwaves. Thats why Im learning Gurmukhi before I learn how to speak Punjabi. Gurmukhi is way above the modern Punjabi language and then Ill learn Punjabi even though I do learn both at the same time but I stress learning Gurmukhi first.

no... gurmakhi is a language/commuication style the gurus used to get their message out, it doesnt mean it is superior than other languages. People always think that gurmakhi is must, and yeah since we have got so used to it for so long and have not had many other culture/language/communication styles enter into the sikhi community. Even the guru granth sahib ji has other languages in it!

My friend called "mandeep singh" said to me... "do not forget your mother tongue... don't be ashamed to speak your language" I took it too heart... people don't convert to sikhi to learn another persons communication style, or another culture... we do it to find waheguru and learn sikhi principles.

Sure i have heard all the lines... "you must learn punjabi" "it sounds better than english" and so on... but i love my language and dont see any reasons to drop it or set it aside. and when people say that to others, that is a form of discrimination.

pritam singh... it's not the words that count, or how it sounds.. it's the message underneath that counts. i respect your ways, and we should learn to respect others.

as i said in one of my previous posts, i will eventually learn both, but until then, i just would like to get the basics down first.

I think alot of people can relate to that!

[The Khalsa Fauj]

Yea! Keep your language but learn Gurmukhi. Gurmukhi is the alphabet while Punjabi is the language. Learning Gurmukhi and then learning Punjabi makes it easier to undersand the Sikh concept and to understand Gurbani. English translations have limitations. They are off and don't explain properly at times which could lead to confusion.

[Guest PRITAM SINGH KHALSA]

""""My friend called "mandeep singh" said to me... "do not forget your mother tongue... don't be ashamed to speak your language" I took it too heart... people don't convert to sikhi to learn another persons communication style, or another culture... we do it to find waheguru and learn sikhi principles.""""

Why dont you hear english being read from the SGGS.

Go study Naad.

Why do the Gurus prescibe Banis in Naad.

Read what Naad is in SGGS.

Yes SGGS has persian punjabi arabic

"Sahib" is arabic but doesnt mean we say Respected Sir Spiritual Teacher Book Lord. We speak in the Naad as SGGS.

You dont have to speak punjabi but you should learn Gurmukhi/Old {not spoken in everyday life}punjabi or you can never read SGGS and if you can read it you must understand it.

Why dont you say Im going to the doorway to the Guru instead you selectively chose to say Gurdwara. Or Im going to get prashad, Im going to get sacred blessed food.

The mool mantar only has naad in Gurmukhi script and sound you could know what it means in english but saying it in english has no naad in it.

Translation can only go so far, but not enough.

[khalsaforce]

You dont have to speak punjabi but you should learn Gurmukhi/Old {not spoken in everyday life}punjabi or you can never read SGGS and if you can read it you must understand it.

Veera gurmukhi is alphabet, punjabi is spoken. Punjabi is must and gurmukhi is must for sikhs.

""""My friend called "mandeep singh" said to me... "do not forget your mother tongue... don't be ashamed to speak your language" I took it too heart... people don't convert to sikhi to learn another persons communication style, or another culture... we do it to find waheguru and learn sikhi principles.""""

Why dont you hear english being read from the SGGS.

Go study Naad.

Why do the Gurus prescibe Banis in Naad.

Read what Naad is in SGGS.

Yes SGGS has persian punjabi arabic

"Sahib" is arabic but doesnt mean we say Respected Sir Spiritual Teacher Book Lord. We speak in the Naad as SGGS.

You dont have to speak punjabi but you should learn Gurmukhi/Old {not spoken in everyday life}punjabi or you can never read SGGS and if you can read it you must understand it.

Why dont you say Im going to the doorway to the Guru instead you selectively chose to say Gurdwara. Or Im going to get prashad, Im going to get sacred blessed food.

The mool mantar only has naad in Gurmukhi script and sound you could know what it means in english but saying it in english has no naad in it.

Translation can only go so far, but not enough.

[Lionchild]

""""My friend called "mandeep singh" said to me... "do not forget your mother tongue... don't be ashamed to speak your language" I took it too heart... people don't convert to sikhi to learn another persons communication style, or another culture... we do it to find waheguru and learn sikhi principles.""""

Why dont you hear english being read from the SGGS.

Go study Naad.

Why do the Gurus prescibe Banis in Naad.

Read what Naad is in SGGS.

Yes SGGS has persian punjabi arabic

"Sahib" is arabic but doesnt mean we say Respected Sir Spiritual Teacher Book Lord. We speak in the Naad as SGGS.

You dont have to speak punjabi but you should learn Gurmukhi/Old {not spoken in everyday life}punjabi or you can never read SGGS and if you can read it you must understand it.

Why dont you say Im going to the doorway to the Guru instead you selectively chose to say Gurdwara. Or Im going to get prashad, Im going to get sacred blessed food.

The mool mantar only has naad in Gurmukhi script and sound you could know what it means in english but saying it in english has no naad in it.

Translation can only go so far, but not enough.

we don't hear it because of the 25 million sikhs, only less than 5% are from other backgrounds, and have other languages. Because of that, there really is no demand to justify it... yet. But alot of sikh youth choose not to learn their parents language, which is ok, peopel are not bound to a culture or language... my original language was cree, but i learned english instead... Anyways, how people want to talk to guru ji is up to them, and you and everyone else.