What Is Happening With Our Youth? Please Read

[panther]

totally agree. we need more english parchar

[RebelSingh]

Why do you have to use this kind aggressive language? You seriously need to calm down.

soz bro, but the guy gets on my nerves, hes always disliked my posts, kinda gettin sick of his negativity

[DaljitKaur24]

totally agree. we need more english parchar

OMG Paji was our close family friend. Amazing human being he was.

[Khalistan4eva]

The youth need educating on their own identity. India is a place not a race. Khalistan can only happen when the youth wake up.

[S4NGH]

bro i never sed no panjabi or no panjabi school, far from it. But im jus sayin, u want kids 2 actually learn sumink frm goin gurdwara, n need 2 stop it jus becomin a ritual? then things have 2 b done in english, coz if der parent aint teachin em no panjabi or gurdwara/sikhi etiquette, then wat gud is it wen an old geezer speaks panjabi 2 em, n it may aswel have been german? jus look at the langar videos i provided, where blacks n whites came n learnt bowt sikhi, for the first time. if the leaflets/sevadaars/boardings were all in panjabi,wat wud they have learnt? Look at mosques, they will do everythin they can 2 accomodate ppl who r of diffrnt backgrounds n languages. They wil do parchaar in english, jus look at all the undercover mosque documentaries on bbc/channel 4! tho they preach hatred in those videos 2 their sangat, but u notice its all in english? they kno thats how 2 get the message across.

safe

True point veerji. Something between english parchaar and teaching our kids punjabi.

The Qu'ran is now available free of charge off the internet in numerous languages including Gurmukhi.... Its all about being available and accomodating.

[learningkaur]

Hmmm maybe with lives generally being quite stressful these days with careers, education, fam etc, they could enter in a different way, like the spiritual side of sikhi.

I think majority of people don't know that sikhi- doing paht, simran, seva etc gives you focus and clears your head,

I also think people also forget that everything we have was given to us by Waheguru and we should be thankful.

I know some people who feel like they have never thought about sikhi or Waheguru so they feel 'silly' to try now, or they think they have messed up enough now where Waheguru would not have an open door for them/they feel like a stranger... so I think theres a need to help these people to build that spiritual relationship between themselves and Waheguru, and show them the peace and goodness that can come out of it.

I personally cannot sit in my local Gurdwara when it is busy and a programme is on as although sangat is important, for me there is to much talking going on, too many distractions, kids, loads of hellos to do etc. I think for a lot of people they come when it is busy and that's why it doesn't like touch them because they cannot form a relationship with sri guru granth sahib like that- they just come for the programme they were invited to and leave.

So because of this, I tend to go at quieter times because then I can focus, so I think a lot of people would get into it if they experienced a few quiet times at the gurdwara. It's like if you do it a couple of times, then that's it, you have fallen and want to continue the routine... But I don't know how you could encourage people to do this though.

[RebelSingh]

the gurdwaras also MUST remove all the old farts from the committee, otherwise we'll carry on producin idiotic coconut members of the panth!!

look @ the link ive posted below, its bhai navreet singhs picture from a coventry nagar kirtan, and how the gurdwara BANNED, yes BANNED gatka/shaster etc at the nagar kirtan. seriously wat the heck is goin on? also read his comment, its truely frustratin.

http://www.flickr.co...157621865873589

[rrss]

Why are people abusive towards each other on this forum? Not very Sikhi-like behaviour :wow:

This is a complex subject not easily resolved. I am by no means an expert, but nevertheless here's my opinion. I believe there are several issues involved:

1. Language is certainly an issue but it's more complex than just having translations of Gurbani and English services. We should learn from long-lasting small-scale religions such as Judaism and Buddhism. Jewish families living across the Western world strive to teach their children a thing or two about their religion. A good number of youth spend a few years in religious school in Israel or elsewhere where they learn the language and live a pure life. Meanwhile Rabbis typically know English and whilst that helps the youth, once someone is spiritually inclined, they learn Hebrew. Gurbani is of course difficult because it is made up of many languages and archaic or colloquial expressions, so learning Punjabi will not give someone access to the full Granth. This is especially a challenge for non-Punjabi Sikh converts, for whom an initial understanding can be most easily gained through translations. It is however universally accepted that translations are not as good as the real thing and most converts strive to do Gurbani vichar and struggle and learn. Yes it would be helpful for such people (I'm one of these people) for there to be English services at Gurdwaras (perhaps alternative sessions?), but I have seen many Gurdwaras in the UK with english translations, Gurmukhi and transliterations on slideshow so that's quite a good thing. This is however not related to the OP's question of Sikh youth. I don't believe that using English will solve all 'problems'. Read on below.

2. The problem of the Youth is less not understanding Gurbani as it is being exposed to popular culture, succumbing to peer-pressure, and not being inspired enough by their parents and elders to take an interest, both in spirituality as well as the importance of leading a modest and principled life. It's common to find youth from Western/not very religious Jewish families become fully orthodox. What is noteworthy is that even though they may not be religious, kids are brought up in an environment where things must be Kosher (ranging from food to modesty). At this juncture, we may compare ourselves to Islam. A higher proportion of Muslims in the West either grow more religious or principled as they age or have always lived like that. Of the young muslim women I know, a good number wear head scarves and vehemently believe in protecting their modesty. I don't personally know a young Sikh female keski wearer, very few Amritdharis, a handful of 'Gursikhs' and the overwheming majority don't give a monkeys about morals and decency. I don't know a single young Sikh male who keeps a flowing beard- it's either trimmed or tied yet every single one of the bearded muslims I know are very proud of their long beards. The way in which kids are brought up is very important. A friend of mine was brought up in the strictest of environments by Amritdhari parents. She however cut her hair as a teenager and is now indistinguishable from anyone else. I believe the key difference is that she was not inspired by her parents/elders in her youth. Little can be done about preventing exposure to popular culture and peer pressure but inspiring youth is important and this in turn can only happen if parents and older family members themselves are good role models.

3. The Amritdhari thresshold is quite high, people are afraid of the level of commitment required. Amritdharis are also perceived to be elitist and uncool. Christian youth (who have 'embraced Jesus') celebrate high principles by CREATING THEIR OWN POPULAR CULTURE, complete with rock songs against pre-marital sex etc. Look at Punjabi bhangra songs, lyrics and videos are absolutely shocking.

4.Youth are brought up in family environments which celebrate beauty/money/career achievement over the vices and virtues in Gurbani. Compare this to Islam where many men keep full beards. They are still easily able to find matrimonial matches, unlike our (fully) bearded youth who are rejected by women.

5. Lack of inspiring religious leaders and scholars. There are a few that others have quoted as doing a good job but they are few and far between. This is not helped by too much infighting and politics in Akal Takht. They are too busy controlling deras and playing poitics than addressing the burning issue of the future of Sikhi going to ruin.

6. Whilst not a problem in itself, Sikhi is complex to fully appreciate and differs from the Abrahamic view of God/Heaven/Hell etc. People from other religions can easily relate to their religion and readily explain core principles. Ask 10 Sikhs about core principles and you'll get 6-7 different answers.

7. In most religions, spirituality and morals/principles are linked, but in Sikhism, lack of spirituality amongst the youth automatically translates to lack of morals/principles. Once again families are to blame for not being able to imbibe the necessary values in their kids upbringing. You can't teach spirituality, it comes with Waheguruji's kirpa, but you can teach kids values.

Edit:

And some more fundamental issues:

1. Sikh immigrants to the West like to integrate rather than live in isolation. There is great pressure on immigrants to accept the Western way of life, else be seen as backwards/fresh off the boat/not patriotic/bundled in with the muslims (many of whom in spite of great discrimination wear their mullah beards and headscarves and see themselves as muslim first and nationality second). This has obvious consequences on future generations.

2. Community divisions: Casteism and discrimination. I know plenty of youth from Sikh backgrounds who are completely non-religious but strongly believe in caste and also discriminate against darker skinned/poor people. Youth like to belong to something and selfish human attitude to be chauvinistic is inherant in us, so caste and discrimination brings youth together more than Sikhi does. This relates to negative (older) role models in the community.

3. Most religions unite against something negative rather than for something positive. For the muslims, it's the infidels/western 'imperialism'/sunni vs shiia etc, for the Jews it's the global conspiracy against them and Zionism, for Christians, it's gays and abortionists. Sikhs (and Hindus) have big chips on their shoulders from centuries of Muslim rule and the tough times faced by the Gurus. As a result, Sikhs rally and unite in paki/muslim bashing and exalt in reminiscing in the glory of bloody battles from the middle-ages. Battles and bloodshed should serve as a reminder to be peace loving human beings. It is our responsibility to get over it, forgive and forget and bring the focus back towards positive spiritualism, like the Buddhists do (although nowadays even some Tibetan Buddhist youth unite against Chinese rule).

Bhul chuk maaf karna.

[VanHelsingh]

Too many wannabe chiefs, not enough injuns IMO. Most people (amongst the initiated) want to be the next Sant Jarnail Singh and attain the glory associated with such an exalted position but nobody wants to put the work in to getting there. When jostling for position and trying to justify their allegiance to a jathebandi, they sadly miss out on the bigger picture; that you are a Sikh first and foremost, and other Sikhs who believe in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Dasme Paathshah's bani are your brothers and sisters.

Amongst the general, non-religious and non-spiritual Sikh youth populace I really don't know where to start. A ban on Indian satellite channels? :lol2:

A gift of a Sikh history book to every boy and girl born in a Sikh household (to be given to the child when he or she can read) so we don't have to hear the nonsense "But Guru Nanak believed in equality" she says before she bolts through the front door and runs off with Faisal from college?

[Singh559]

Too many wannabe chiefs, not enough injuns IMO. Most people (amongst the initiated) want to be the next Sant Jarnail Singh and attain the glory associated with such an exalted position but nobody wants to put the work in to getting there. When jostling for position and trying to justify their allegiance to a jathebandi they miss out on the bigger picture; that you are a Sikh first and foremost, and other Sikhs who believe in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Dasme Paathshah's bani are your brothers and sisters.

Amongst the general, non-religious and non-spiritual Sikh youth populace I really don't know where to start. A ban on Indian satellite channels? :lol2:

A gift of a Sikh history book to every boy and girl born in a Sikh household (to be given to the child when he or she can read) so we don't have to hear the nonsense "But Guru Nanak believed in equality" she says before she bolts through the front door and runs off with Faisal from college?

Thank you !!! Indian channels must go and we should be open about it and start at the family level.