Visiting Ragis – Parchaar or Business?

August 29, 2006 at 4:50 pm (Sikh Issues)

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Dharig tinaa kaa jeevi-aa je likh likh vaycheh naa-o.
Cursed are the lives of those who read and write the Lord’s Name to sell it.
khaytee jin kee ujrhai khalvaarhay ki-aa thaa-o.
Their crop is devastated – what harvest will they have?
sachai sarmai baahray agai laheh na daad.
Lacking truth and humility, they shall not be appreciated in the world hereafter.
-Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang 1245

We are immensely blessed in this age where we have access to immense sources from where we are able to get attracted to Gurbani (Guru Granth Sahib Ji). The internet is awash with several wonderful websites from where we can dowanload as much Kirtan and Katha we can to satiate our appetite for listening to and singing the Word of the Guru. Included in this is the bliss of getting to listen to some of the most blessed voices by inviting well-known and popular Ragi Jathas from around the world. Not only do they bring to us the message of the Gurus through their soothing and vairaag-filled vocals, they also inspire our coming generations that get a taste of the sugar-sweet Word of the Guru that turn around our life and destiny, and help focus our conscious towards the one Akaal Puarkh.

houmai vich gaavehi birathhaa jaae
In egotism, they sing, but it is wasted uselessly.

A sudden, but gradual, turn that is taking place is beginning to cause an opposite effect. To attract Sangat, some Gurudwaras around the world are inviting Ragi Jathas that are popular with the masses and even instruct them to avoid talking about facts about Sikhi that majority of Sangat do not like (no wonder they cannot be called Sadh Sangat). This is what corrupts our Ragi Jathas when many of them place a price that determines whether they accept the invitation to travel to other countries to sing Gurbani Kirtan for the Sangats there. There are only a select few of Ragi Jathas who have no lust for money as they are awake to the pricess message of Gurbani. Besides money, some of them engage in contests of whose style, voice and subject is better. The sole purpose of Gurbani Kirtan is to attract the soul to the nectar of Naam, as singing Kirtan itself is not Naam, it leads to Naam if what is sung is being understood and absorbed. Read the rest of this entry »

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Shabad in Nanak, Nanak in Shabad

August 29, 2006 at 12:10 pm (Sikhi)

This is a beautiful depiction of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, composed of the words of his JapJi Sahib. It gives the impression of how Nanak is made of Shabad – like we sometimes refer to Guru Nanak as ‘Dhan Guru Nanak, Tuhi Nirankaar’.

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We will meet again . . .

August 21, 2006 at 5:09 pm (Sikhi)

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WaheguruJi Ka Khalsa. WaheguruJi Ki Fateh.

It has been a dream to live through it to have my own blog where I could share my journey as a Sikh with those close to me and those beyond my boundaries and in the course of the blogging, I have realised just how saturated the internet is with all kinds of blogs which I find it challenging to keep up with, including my own blog. Ever since I started this blog, I have come to also realise that I simply know nothing that I can be of any help to anyone. Most of the times, I have discovered, that there are so many ways each one of us thinks and when I post my own views, they often clash with the others. I wouldn’t want to defend my views or challenge anothers because I am an extremely unworthy one to try and lay claims on what I believe. In the process of the blog, I have come to a screeching halt as I cannot seem to go on and need to recover my energy and then, as the Guru so wills, will be able to share more of what I have been blessed with by my Akaal Purakh.

I guess maybe I either need the break, or to close down this blog all together and in due time, await for what the Guru further instructs. At this point, I feel unworthy, and devoid of any wisdom and now seek to fall at the Feet of my Guru (Guru Granth Sahib Ji) and beseech His Mercy, Love and Divine Guidance. Your prayers for your unworthy brother would ever treasured as a debt that I hope I can pay in this life and the one beyond.

Thank you all for your support and may the Grace of the True shower upon you all, always.

WaheguruJi Ka Khalsa. WaheguruJi Ki Fateh.

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How we poison our lives

August 17, 2006 at 3:02 pm (Sikhi)

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eikanaa hukamee bakhasees eik hukamee sadhaa bhavaaeeahi
Some, by His Command, are blessed and forgiven; others, by His Command, wander aimlessly forever.
-Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang 1

By MPK Kutty

An unwillingness to forgive others for the real or imaginary wrongs they have done us is a poison that affects our health: physical, emotional and spiritual. If your inner thoughts are dominated by “gripe” and “groan”, if you are a consistent bellyacher or worrier, you are shortening the years of your life just as surely as you are growing older by the day. Spiritual teachers and saints of the past have written a lot on the powerful influence of love on health and well-being. According to Gary Zukav, American best selling author, people need to understand that “love heals everything, and love is all there is”. Without love, our mental and physical vitality is impaired, our resistance to sickness is lowered and we cheat ourselves of new, joyous possibilities.

Sir William Osler, the Canadian physician and medical historian, said that the outcome of tuberculosis had more to do with what went on in the patient’s mind than in his lungs. He was echoing Hippocrates, who said he would rather know ‘what sort of person has a disease than what sort of disease a person has’.

Scientific research and clinical experiences of great physicians of the past go to show that the state of the mind changes the state of the body by working through the central nervous system, the endocrine system and the immune system.
A positive attitude favourably stimulates the immune system and a negative attitude depresses it. Emotions create chemical alterations in the brain. Negative emotional traits such as low self-esteem, feelings of envy, hatred, hostility, guilt and anger depress the immune system.

Positive emotional attitudes like love, happiness, peace and spiritual exercises improve the process of healing. Contentment used to be considered a prerequisite for health. So too an attitude of thankfulness to God and fellow beings and a firm faith in the power of the Creator to intervene even in an impossible situation aid the healing process. When we turn within and transform our thinking, God will heal our sickness and refresh our live.

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A True Son of Guru Gobind Singh Ji

August 14, 2006 at 4:01 pm (GurSikh Jeevans)

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By Bhai Jagjit Singh
Information sourced from Bhai Surinder Singh and Bhai Jaswinder Singh, beloved sons of Giani Ji.

CHILDHOOD
Giani Amolak singh was born in the village Dhaat, Ludhiana, Punjab. His father’s name was Sardar Bogha Singh, and his mothers name was Mata Dhan Kaur. After studying his Metric, Amolak Singh went on to Punjab University, where he did the Giani course. Hence, he became affectionately known as Giani Amolak Singh ji.

Gianiji’s interest in Sikhism began from his parents. His father was a devout soul. Everyday at Amritvela, he would take milk to the Gurdwara sahib, and sweep the floor. However, the biggest influence in these early years was his mamaji (maternal uncle), Master Joginder Singh, a well known Gursikh and a close associate of Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh.

From the age of 5 years, Amolak Singh was in the sangat of these blessed souls such as Masterji, Bhai Sahib and the Akhand Kirtani Jatha. In 1936, Master Joginder Singh ji did seva at Tarn Tarn Sahib. Gianiji regularly stayed there and was inspired to learn kirtan. Such was the blessed soul of Gianiji, that by the age of 8 years, he realised his path in life, and partook Amrit. Read the rest of this entry »

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