Bbc Radio 2 - Pause For Thoughts - Vasakhi Special

[jasjitsingh]

Dear Sangat Ji

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Just wanted to let you all know that I was asked to record some short Sikhi based 'Pause for Thoughts' for Vasakhi which are being broadcast on BBC Radio 2 this week. Radio 2 has an average listership of 6-8 million people, so hopefully this will raise the profile of Sikhi in some people's minds. I'll be posting the texts and links to the radio programmes as they're broadcast. They can be found on BBC iplayer, or on my website:

http://www.leeds.ac....khs/events.html

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Jasjit Singh (Leeds)

This one is from last Thursday:

http://www.bbc.co.uk...rammes/b00rxcjc - Forward to 42:30

Relationships

A couple of weekends ago I attended a Sikh wedding, one of many which I'll probably be attending this year. For me attending weddings used to be a primarily social affair, meeting friends and relatives, comparing lives and generally getting caught up in a sea of food, family and friends. That was until I was asked to escort some non- Sikhs through a wedding day around 5 years ago, and to explain what was happening at each stage. As I described the various goings on I soon realised that although I was well versed in the cultural aspects of the day, I had little idea about the meaning of the Laavan, the main wedding composition which is read out and then sung as an instruction to the bride and groom, after which time according to Sikh tradition, they are married.

As I looked in to the Laavan I found the Sikh Gurus not teaching about marriage specifically, but rather focusing on the virtues required for success in any relationship. The Gurus were family men, which for me gives their teachings gravity and authority, as they speak from their own experiences when advising their Sikhs on how to maintain balance whilst living a family life.

The Gurus stress the importance of living according to a moral framework, of controlling the ego, and of treating others including your partner, as you wish to be treated yourself. Above all else, the Gurus stress the importance of honesty and contentment for the success of any relationship.

Most importantly perhaps is the idea that in improving our own characters, we are in fact improving the World we live in. This is presented a bit like a circle. Being a good person has a knock on effect on the communities we live in, which in turn helps us develop once more. The wedding is of course about the couple, but it's also about two individuals, who each have the power to change things for the better.

Having studied the Laavan, weddings are now an opportunity for me to re-examine my own relationships with others. In celebrating the cementing of a new relationship I think about how to make my own relationships stronger. Perhaps it makes sense then that the Sikh wedding ceremony is known as the Anand Kaaraj, the undertaking of bliss.

[jasjitsingh]

This one's from this morning:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rz2hp - forward to 1:29:25

A Free Lunch (Monday)

This week, Sikhs across the country will be celebrating Vasakhi, the occasion when Sikhs were given their identity in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh. Some of you may have already inadvertently come into contact with these celebrations having encountered a parade of orange and blue winding its way through your city or town. This weekend it was Leeds and Southall’s turn, next weekend Bradford, Leicester and Walsall among others have a go. These parades are known as Nagar Keertans, loosely translated to ‘Local Praising’, when all the Sikhs in a particular locality get together and walk from one Sikh Gurdwara to the next, coming together as a community to remember our most important festival of the year.

To be honest, I think Nagar Keertans must be the only walks where people gain rather than lose weight. Each Gurdwara is well stocked with tea, samasos and pakoras which are given out free of charge to ensure that the participants have enough energy to walk from Gurdwara to Gurdwara. People will often also give out free drinks and snacks on route. This practice is based on the Sikh tradition of Langar started by the first Guru, Guru Nanak in the fifteenth century. Guru Nanak set up a free kitchen for all, believing that by eating together barriers based on caste, class and gender could be broken down. The Guru also knew that it would be impossible to expect people to focus on self improvement and spirituality if they were too busy focusing on their empty stomachs.

Growing up I remember hearing people say “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”, and thinking “yes there is, I just had one – it’s called Langar”. Although many of us in the UK can’t really be described as being needy, the concept of Langar has recently led Sikhs to Haiti to give out free food to the needy there, and has also inspired Sikh students at Universities across the UK to organise ‘Langars on Campus’ for the homeless. So if you see a large parade of Sikhs winding their way through your town or city over the next few weeks please join in. And if someone offers you food, feel free to partake – as well as feeding yourself you’ll be giving someone the experience of Langar – of giving without expecting anything in return. It’ll be one of the few times when there is such a thing as a free lunch.