Today is a call volunteers. I’m looking for a few committed sevadhars who love to listen to Gurbani Kirtan and are willing to spend some focused time in the next few weeks.

I’m looking for Gurbani Kirtan lovers who can create one or more custom Gurbani Media Center playlists (like Spotify/Apple Music) for the brand new app we are working on!  You should be familiar with various styles of kirtan and musicians to help create some of these new playlists. If you help out, your playlist could be featured on SikhNet and the new Gurbani Media Center app, and enjoyed by tens of thousands of people!

The idea behind this is to have a quick easy mood/genre playlists that people can listen to without thinking about a specific musician. It’s more related to the mood of the listener, time of day, music preference, etc.  It will also help to expose listeners to Kirtan they have never head by musicians they may not be familiar with.

Timing

We are working to release the new GMC app early in 2017 so needing people who can commit to creating one or more playlists in the coming weeks. Basically ASAP…though before end of December would work.

Want to get started?

Step 1.  Please contact me to let me know you are able to help and let me know what playlist ideas you have based on the below categories.  

Step 2. To Get started go to the Gurbani Media Center, register (if you don’t have a login yet). If you already have a sikhnet login go ahead and login.

Step 3. Start browsing through the Kirtan on SikhNet. On each page there is an option to add a track to a new or existing playlist. This cannot be done in the GMC app yet and can only be done on a computer/web browser).  As you browse through different musicians and kirtan you can add audio to one or more audios to the playlist.

Step 4. Once you have finished creating the playlist you can then let me know so I can check it out! Each playlist playlist has a unique web address that you can copy and send to me.

How many audio tracks in a playlist and which artist?

Hoping to have 40-100+ tracks to start for each playlist and then build over time. Also while playlists could be one musician, we are also looking to create playlists with multiple artists relating to the playlist category so that it is more of a “mix tape” and variety of kirtan fitting that style.

Playlist Categories

So that you get an idea of what we are looking for here is a draft list of categories that we are considering for the new Gurbani Media Center.

Sub items are meant to give idea of what kind of content might be under it.

• Sleep
  • Western
  • Mainstream
  • Acapella
• Morning / Wakeup
  • Mainstream
  • Asa Di Vaar
  • Sadhana Chants
• Akhand Paath
• Energetic/Up Beat
  • Akhand Kirtan
  • Mainstream
  • Classical
  • Bir Ras
• Classical / Raag
  • Tanti Saaz
  • Morning
  • Evening
• Devotional
• Mainstream
  • Playlist of popular/well known shabads (Narayan, puta mata ki asis, dhan dhan ramdas guru, etc)
• Western / Non-Traditional
• Relaxation
• Simran
  • Waheguru (chill, energetic, meditative)
  • Mul Mantra
  • Mantra / Chant
• Yesteryear Classics
• Kids Stories
• English Katha
• Katha
  • Japji, Rehiras, 5 banis etc.
  • History
  • SGGS
• In honor of
  • Guru Nanak
  • Guru Ramdas
  • Guru Gobind Singh
  • Khalsa
  • Bhagats
• Banis
  • Artist Nitnem (specific people) – List of many playlists (Baba Nihal, CKJ, Bhai Harjinder, etc)
  • Asa Di Vaar (1 playlist shuffle through all)
  • Japji  (1 playlist shuffle through all)
  • Rehiras  (1 playlist shuffle through all)
  • Kirtan Sohila  (1 playlist shuffle through all)
  • Sukhmani  (1 playlist shuffle through all)
  • Dasam  (1 playlist shuffle through all)
  • Other

I have always loved photography, however it’s nice to explore new things. Last year I started playing around with time-lapse photography using my iPhone. When I walk in the hills I sometimes set my phone down and capture a scene of landscapes as the clouds roll by or something changes. It’s so beautiful seeing the end result. I have since explored other methods of taking actual picture over a long period of time vs. videos. I’m still new to this, but it’s something that I have been enjoying while being out in nature.

Here is a compilation of some time lapse videos I made in 2015. This was my first little compilation recorded with my iPhone and edited together :)

Yesterday I had a rare day all to myself. My wife is in India…and my daughter went for an overnight birthday party, so I decided to drive up to the mountains above Los Alamos (Pajarito Mountain) to spend some time hiking in nature. Though I was in nature it was fun sharing the amazing views by doing some live periscope broadcasts. This video was recorded primarily with my DSLR Camera (Canon 5D Mark II) and 17-40mm lens….though you’ll see some of the video clips from my phone that were of me doing a live periscope broadcast of the scenery while I was waiting/recording on my other camera.

Here are a few words from Supreet about the project: 

Sikh Coalition statistics show how our kids ( especially boys) are bullied 3x national averages and we decided to do something about it. We created a Sikh superhero who is a Gursikh, fun, modern and appeals to children. He especially espouses many values in action (we talked with over 500 kids to get their feedback).

Comics and Animation go to great lengths to attract and fuel kids imaginations’ and help them dream and grow. We wish that this small step will help many of them develop courage and curiosity.

In this process I don’t know if you know the depth of Eileen’s personal passion. Eileen embraced Sikhi and stands a role model who now has learnt Gurmukhi and is learning Gurbani to better understanding the Guru.

Supreet

PS: We are taking no monies for ourselves in this.​ Its our Seva.​

Once again Thank you so much for your support and please keep sharing.

Find out more about the project on KickStarter

Related Links:

1. Taking The Turban Back From The Taliban ~ Exclusive Interview
2. Sikh Comic Changes a Life pt.1
3. Sikh Comic Changes a Life pt. 2

The universal message of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib has spread through the hearts of people all over the world from all religions and cultures. This article shares a little bit of my story in this tale of inspiration, the challenges, and also tells my experience of how the Guru continues to inspire seekers in places you might not know through many different avenues.

Most Sikhs come from families born in India. However, during the past 40+ years, many small “sprouts” have grown in various parts of the world, from other cultures and backgrounds. Like ripples in the water they are spreading further and further out. With Guru’s blessings, and the lifetime seva of Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, countless people have been exposed to the teachings of Guru Nanak.

What most Sikhs don’t understand is what attracts these souls to this path. It’s quite different when you are born into a Sikh family and culturally are raised in this environment. However, when you are born in a different culture, with different language and religious beliefs there are many more bridges that have to be crossed to relate to Sikhs and this lifestyle. If “Joe American” were to walk into an average American Gurdwara and ask questions, there are major communication challenges in explaining Sikhi in a way that the western mind can understand and relate to.

Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji had a way of relating and communicating to westerners that really connected with the American youth of the time. He originally came to America (from India) in 1968 to teach yoga at Toronto University, and during a visit to Los Angeles,  though virtually unknown, Yogi Bhajan met a number of young hippies, the “spiritual seekers” of that era. He immediately recognized that the experience of higher consciousness they were attempting to find through drugs could be achieved by practicing the Science of Kundalini Yoga, while simultaneously rebuilding their health and nervous systems.  People becoming Sikhs was an unintended “side-effect.”

So while most of you probably do not practice yoga, for countless other people Kundalini Yoga was THE way they got introduced/exposed to Sikhism and the teachings of Guru Nanak. These people would likely never have been exposed to Sikhism or even considered it their spiritual path.  Ultimately the Guru can work through all of us. For whatever reason Guruji guided SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa to come to the west (America/Canada) and start teaching Kundalini Yoga, meditation, and a healthy, happy and holy lifestyle.  These “seeds” were planted and they are still growing and flourishing today. 50 years from now I can only imagine what these “seeds” will have grown into, and how they will have spread far and wide. It gives new meaning to the the slogan we recite after Ardas “Raj Karega Khalsa…Aaki rahe na koe, Khawar hoe sabh milainge, bacheh sharan jo hoe.”

I am a second generation Sikh born in the mid 1970’s in Los Angeles, California with the name “Guru Mustuk Singh Khalsa.” My parents’ generation were some of these “pioneers” embarking on a totally new journey on this Sikh path. Both came from mixed religious backgrounds; with my mother from a Jewish family and my father from a Christian family. They were some of the early western/non-Indian people to adopt the Sikh path. My mother was just a teenager when she met Siri Singh Sahib/Yogi Bhajan. She was like many others who were inspired by the universal message he shared, and she yearned to learn more.

Many Sikhs underestimate the hardship and challenges that are the result of someone NOT from a Sikh family becoming a Sikh. I know of many friends who have been disowned by their parents because they changed their religion and gave up the “family name.” Just imagine if none of your friends and family that you grew up with were Sikhs, and if many of them didn’t support your choice of wearing a turban, growing your hair and living this lifestyle. It takes real courage to make these choices and adopt the Sikh lifestyle which is very different from your upbringing.
 

When I was about 8 years old, I started my own adventure by going to boarding school in Mussoorie – India and I continued school there in India till I graduated from high school. Those 10 years really shaped who I am as a person and gave me the cross cultural understanding which helps me serve through SikhNet in the role of a bridge builder. Coming from multiple religious and cultural backgrounds has helped me be much more open, compassionate and understanding to other people. It helps me truly appreciate the path of Nanak who preached of One God, many paths, and all of us being from the same Creator.

I still get questions from people shocked that I (a white person) am Sikh and wondering WHY??? As if they missed something, or just couldn’t imagine that the Guru’s message and practices would be of value/interest enough for someone not born into it. For me it just shows how disconnected many Sikhs are from the value and message of the Gurus, and the gift that this lifestyle is.

Even though I was born to a Sikh family, It was difficult being a “white” Sikh youth. Everywhere I went I would get stares. We were clearly different. In India, it was such a novelty for people seeing a “white sikh” since it was not very common. In America the stares were there as well with people wondering who/what I was. So everywhere I went I would stand out like a sore thumb. Most kids want to fit in, NOT stand out. It didn’t help either that many “Heritage” Sikhs from Punjabi background would pre-judge and generalize me and the actions of any western born Sikhs into a single “3HO” entity, as if we were the same person and all the same. Most often this was out of lack of understanding about who we were, what we were about, and little or no real understanding of this community of seekers.  All that was required was someone to have an open heart and look deeply to see the same longing for the Guru, and to get to know me and others as real people. 

To this day I and other “White Sikhs” are generalized and lumped into a category of “3HO people” (typically when being criticized) as if we were not “real” Sikhs. These sort of labels and categorizations are inaccurate and only divide us. Definitely not what Guru Nanak Dev ji had in mind, since he always embraced diversity and accepted everyone.

I don’t make any apologies to others for who I am or my daily practice as a Sikh. Whatever tools I can use to become stronger and connect to the Guru I will use. Every morning in the amrit vela when I wake up, I start my Sadhana (daily discipline) with some Kundalini Yoga – to stretch and wake up my body and mind, so that when I recite the banis and do Waheguru simran I’m fully alert. My body becomes “tuned up” for the day. It’s how I stay healthy and handle the stresses of everyday life and working on a computer all day for SikhNet.

Whether you practice yoga or not, It’s a good idea for all of us to put more emphasis on exercise, healthy body and healthy living (through whatever means you prefer). If I have all kinds of health problems my energy and focus are not there; I then may not be able to sit in Gurdwara, I can’t focus or meditate or will be focusing on my own pain and discomfort. Are we really following the Sant Sipahi (Soldier Saint) lifestyle that Guru Hargobind started and Guru Gobind Singh  embodied? There are many tools and things that can be done and it is up to each individual to practice what works for them. What works for me may not work for you, but there is the blessing that we have many options for each of us to choose from.

Detractors will try to tell me how yoga is against Sikhi without even understanding what I practice and the practical benefits of it to a householder. Then there are some people who have so much anger or hate inside themselves that they have made it their “mission” to slander, spread false and misleading information, making every attempt to put down SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa and Sikhs from western origin, in a supposed attempt to “save” others from us, as if they know THE right way. They spread false info saying we regard yogi bhajan as our “Guru”, or “worship idols”, do “hindu pujas” and all sorts of random things that are so far from the truth; and people blindly believe it! I only wish they would come and see the reality for themselves. There is so much “Hindu-phobia” that anything someone posts online that triggers that “itch” is believed, and the negativity then spreads. Such is the disease of Ninda (slander). God gave us limited energy on this earth and we can choose it to uplift or destroy.

People can be so close minded that they fail to understand that there is no “One way” or the “right way”, and so many ways to look at something. It all just depends on your frame of reference. It’s important for us to open our minds to other perspectives. Without doing so, I think we become stuck and don’t grow spiritually.

The reality is, that when someone from a different religious and cultural background is learning about Sikhi, they do so from a very different frame of reference.

When my parents and others were first learning about Sikhism and adopting this path, they didn’t have an instruction manual. There was (and still is) a lot of learning and mistakes along the way. There was the language and cultural barrier that was very real. Everything from how to tie a turban, organizing a Gurdwara, taking a hukam, why we wave the chauri sahib, making prashad, taking shoes off, concepts of langar, doing nitnem, everything was a blank slate and had to be learned. It wasn’t till much later that printed materials like the “Victory and Virtue – Sikh Dharma Ministers Manual” were created to be references for the sangat to learn about some of the basics.

Before the digital age of Gurbani our community relied on “shabad sheets” that were given out during Gurdwara that had English translations and romanized versions of the Gurmukhi so the sangat could sing the kirtan and understand the shabad. Ardas was most often recited in English and even Akhand path was read by individuals in either English or Gurmukhi (depending on their ability).  For us it was a necessity to have some understanding and connection to the Guru in the language we understood. It made the Guru more accessible to new seekers discovering this path.

Probably the most frustrating thing I have found on this path is the tendency for so many Sikhs to be extremely closed minded and judgemental. Especially in this digital age where we see or hear about people from afar, and don’t really know them. This is a challenge for new people coming into this Dharma or youth finding their identity as a Sikhs. I grew up listening to the stories of the Gurus. The stories of compassion, gender equality, acceptance, courage, openness and acceptance of all. In reality what I see too often is far from this picture of Sikhi.  Why would anyone want to become or stay a Sikh if they were judged and criticized about what others thought they were doing wrong?? Why not give the person some help or try to understand what they are going through by seeing from their perspective. It’s as if our minds are trained automatically to find fault in anything that someone is doing, instead of seeing the God and goodness in the other person. It’s a self destructive path that only divides.

To illustrate this point: In 2001 on SikhNet we posted a news article with some pictures and story about the first Amrit Sanchar in Chile (South America). When I read the article and saw the pictures, It was so inspiring for me seeing the faces of these new Khalsa in this far away place having the gift of receiving the Guru’s amrit. I could see their love and longing for the Guru. When reading the comments on the page I was surprised to see a number of people picking out various things and criticizing. It’s as if they had not noticed that a monumental thing had happened (despite any shortcomings). The beauty of what had happened appeared to have been totally missed. I could go on and on with examples such as this, but you get the point.

This same issue applies to youth (from Punjabi families) growing up in the west who feel less connected to Sikhi, and who, during their ups and downs of trying to find their identity as a Sikh, are “cast out” of the community and Gurdwaras instead of being supported during their “down times.”

When I was a teenager and finding my way, I went through a phase of experimentation with drugs, alcohol, smoking, partying, etc. If my family, friends and community cast me out during this time then I would be a very different person than I am today. For me that low part of my life was necessary for me to understand and appreciate the value of this path. It gave me the passion and drive to devote my life to serving through SikhNet. It helped me be compassionate to others and more understanding, since I have no idea what their destiny is and what lessons they need to learn to become a better person. It’s not for me to judge. Just for me to see the God and light in that person. I try to see below the surface, the hurt and pain that is showing up on the surface for that person. You can watch the Youtube video where I share a more detailed account of this and the beginnings of SikhNet.

New Amritdharis after Amrit Shanchar at 2013 3HO Summer Solstice Camp

Experiencing the Guru Through Music

Gurbani Kirtan and music is such a part of our lifestyle and daily practice. Many musicians have joined their love of the Guru and their love of music as a way to inspire and uplift people. We are used to seeing ragis play kirtan in Gurdwara or sell CDs in the market, but it’s not the norm to see the audience of Gurbani Kirtan be people who are NOT Sikhs.

With the popularity of Yoga and growing spiritual awareness in the world, many musicians have come forward sharing kirtan style music to the masses. This has led to a new uplifting genre of New Age music that is meant to be sung and chanted. Gurbani is unique in that the recitation of these words and mantras has the power to heal and change a person even if one doesn’t understand the meaning. It becomes a tool for upliftment and change to all people (Sikh or not).

Over the past 10 years musicians like Snatam Kaur, Satkirin Kaur, Chardikala Jatha, Nirinjan Kaur and many other musicians are reaching a huge audience of people who are getting exposed to Gurbani and indirectly the Sikh faith. These musicians are like ambassadors for us, sharing the values of the Sikh path. There are also large events like “Sat Nam Fest” which is a music festival that draws people from all walks of life and is quite popular.

Snatam Kaur is probably the most well known musician of this genre. Her recent Barcelona, Spain concert attracted over 3,200 people in a giant auditorium. I saw a video clip from the concert of these thousands of people (mostly people of other faiths) chanting “Waheguru” all together, full of joy and excitement. Snatam Kaur and other musicians have been an inspiration and role model for so many people spreading the message of Nanak that is accessible to people of all faiths and backgrounds.

Sikhs in Brazil

New Beginnings Around the World

Just as my mother and others in the early days began this spiritual path, I now see more and more people beginning this path in their own way. This time from further and further out places like China, Iceland, All across South America (Chile, Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina) Mexico and Europe. There is a new generation of seekers coming with so much love and innocence.

As Sikhi spreads, so does the need to share the message and wisdom in people’s own language, and presented in the context of the local culture, so they can understand and relate to it.

Sikhs in Chile

Spanish Translation of Siri Guru Granth Sahib Completed

Babaji Singh Khalsa (Mexico)

The Sikh community in Mexico has grown over the years since the 1970’s when SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji traveled out to Mexico and many places around the world. This community of Sikhs primarily speaks Spanish, so the importance of translating things into Spanish was high. Out of love for the Guru and longing to understand the Guru’s bani in their own language came the lifelong task of some sevadars to translate the full Siri Guru Granth Sahib into Spanish. The translation was started in 1975 by Singh Sahib Babaji Singh Khalsa.  Six years had passed since Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji came to America. He was then teaching Kundalini Yoga and inspiring thousands of students who were then becoming inspired in Sikh Dharma.

A lot of people began to live in the Sikh Dharma lifestyle. They all wanted to understand the words of Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, but there was no Spanish translation available.

When Babaji became 28 years old a very strong cancer invaded his body. It was then that the Siri Singh Sahib ordered him to translate the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. Babaji Singh was cured. He survived not only that cancer, but 3 more. He died of a fourth, 31 years later, happy grateful, and blessed.

In translating the Siri Guru Granth Sahib to Spanish he found the sense and purpose of his life. The Guru gave him courage, wisdom, patience and grace to go through the physical pain without suffering from it. Babaji Singh was a happy man.

When his wife, Guru Amrit Kaur Khalsa met him – she found him a happy man in 1999. He told her that he was not going to die until he finished the complete translation and transliteration in Spanish. It was his destiny. He wanted to honor Yogi Bhajan’s words.

He translated the Siri Guru Granth Sahib from Dr. Gopal Singh’s English translation over a period of 30 years. He was working at the same time, teaching yoga in the evenings and spending long periods of his life in hospitals or at home in bed.

In the last 3 years of his life, he worked with his wife in the early morning translating. She remembers him writing with so much devotion and love, researching the exact meaning of every word, hoping the Spanish speaking community could be able to read and understand the beauty of each word.

In 2006, he was diagnosed with the cancer again. After one of the several surgeries he had that year, he said to his wife, he wanted to die at home at the Ashram. At that time the translation had gone to print. His agony lasted 6 days. Because his kidneys were not working, he began to lose consciousness the third day.

The day prior, he had asked for the printed translation as he wanted to see it in finished in print. He had asked for the best imported Spanish fabric for the cover and wanted to be sure that the printing was well done. A group of his devoted students were in the Print House in prayer to the Creator to be able to bring this to him before he passed away. They knew that their spiritual teacher was losing consciousness and if late, he would not be able to see it.

Siri Guru Granth Sahib with Spanish Translation

That night Babaji went into a coma which brought a great sadness to all around him. The next day all the community gathered with chanting and prayer until the Spanish translation of the Guru arrived with the students.

Babaji Singh woke up for a moment, read the Mul Mantra at the start of Japji, with difficulty but with a spark and light in his eyes. He lost consciousness after this blessing and died two days later with the Mexican community reading to him for the first time from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib in Spanish.

Spanish translation of hukam being read from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib

The first Akhand Paath, the traditional Sikh non-stop reading of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, was performed in Mexico the 17th of November 2006.

Guruka Singh recounts visiting the ashram in Mexico City and seeing a small alcove at the back of the yoga classroom where the Spanish translation of the Guru sat in prakash and available to be read. Outside the curtain over the doorway were signs instructing people to wash their hands, bow and do a prayer before entering and reading. He remembers seeing students who had come for the yoga class, who had no knowledge of Sikhi nor of the Guru, going into the alcove to read from the Guru and watching them emerge later with tears streaming down their cheeks as the Guru’s words touched their hearts.

Hukamnama printed in spanish from SikhNet’s Daily hukam / Shabad printer

 Spanish Translations on SikhNet in Digital Form

The seva from this effort now ripples out and serves all the Spanish speaking countries.

• Now every day people can read the Daily Hukamnama in Spanish on SikhNet.
• While listening to Gurbani kirtan in the SikhNet Gurbani Media Center people can read and understand the Gurbani being played on their computer or smartphone.
• In Gurdwaras all over South America the sangat has the option to take a hukam or participate in an Akhand Path in Spanish using the printed version produced by the Mexico Sangat.

SikhNet Gurbani Media Center – Spanish Options

Printed Siri Guru Granth Sahib 5 volume Set

One of the needs of native English speaking countries is to have a physical printed version of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib with modern English translation easily available. Most people who are new to Sikhi don’t understand Punjabi/Gurmukhi and so it is important for communities to have printed versions that can be used in Gurdwara or Akhand Paths.

In the past, acquiring even a multi-volume Siri Guru Granth Sahib set with English translation has been very difficult for Sikhs in small communities that don’t have connections to India, since they are not available online and hard to find. In addition, the available printed options from India include old translations that use antiquated English words and Judeo-Christian concepts which people don’t understand or relate to. 

Siri Guru Granth Sahib with English Translation

SikhNet used to frequently receive emails from people asking how they can get a printed copy of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib which includes a good English translation. To serve this need SikhNet published a beautiful new 5 volume set which includes the more modern English translation of Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa, and have made this available online for people to order. This is done as a pure seva to assist with making Gurbani available to growing Sikh communities that I have spoken about in this article.

To illustrate the use of the 5 volume Siri Guru Granth Sahib set, we have seen how various small communities have already started to benefit from this  by having first ever Akhand Path in those countries.

First Akhand Path held in Iceland

On August 12th, 2013 a small group of seekers finished the very first Akhand Path done in Iceland. Here is an excerpt by Guru Suraj Kaur about the experience:

“Bringing the Guru to Iceland started out as a deep need in my being that I could not ignore. Once that was settled it became very clear that we needed to start with an Akandh Path. If you ask me why, I have no tangible answer; it was just something that needed to happen. The steps from committing to installing the Guru to finishing the Akhand Path were many and I had really solid backup – from Sikh friends in New Mexico and London and great help from my husband and yoga friends – but the strongest element in all of this was faith. Faith that we should and we could, and we did!

It is a very young Sangat here in Iceland, no Sikhs but many seekers. About 40 people were willing to answer the calling of their soul and participate, more wanted to join once word got out about how great it was. Everyone reading and doing seva felt on some level that this was a true blessing for them personally as well as a blessing for the community as a whole. It was a really good feeling to sit and talk with all the people that came to read or just to be; it elevated our Sangat and brought us closer together.

The calling is still strong and now more people feel it – the need to meet the Word of the Guru in this powerful way. Our 2nd Akandh Path will start on October 31st. If you feel the calling, you are welcome to join!”

First Akhand Path held in China

 Another small and growing community is in Shenzhen – China. They have been introduced to Sikhi through the practice of Kundalini Yoga and the teachings of SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa.

 Here are some details shared by Atma Singh who is one of the persons involved with the Ajai Alai Kundalini Yoga Community Center in China.

Kundalini Yoga students from China on their yatra to Punjab

“Last January, with a group of 16 Chinese Yoga students, we went to Punjab. We visited the Golden Temple, Anandpur Sahib and also did the 84 steps in Goindwal. The coldness was challenging but most of the students kept going, bathing in the water after reading the Japji. They had a profound experience and felt a deep connection to the place, to the Guru, to the Shabd. From that Yatra, bringing the SGGS to China was obvious, and this Akhand Paath was a natural following up. I was really surprised to see so many people who were willing to read the SGGS. The SGGS is universal and allows people to connect back to their essence, to the essence. One love to all.

Most of the Chinese ladies cried reading the Guru. After decades of communism and atheism the need to experience spirituality is so strong that emotions overflow. 

Now, at Ajai Alai Center, we are doing prakash of the Guru every morning and sukhasan every evening. Also, the prashad recipe is now part of the newborn 3HO Chinese community. Satmukh Singh, who started all this process in China six years ago must be honored for the mission.  

These are the comments of some of the Chinese ladies who participated to the Akhandh Path.

 Saibhang Kaur : “Reading the Guru was indescribable, and sometimes feeling taken over”

 Ramdev Kaur : “It felt like a new beginning, an opening and I am honor to be here for the first of what may be many to come”.

 Devinder Kaur : “A Divine and Miraculous experience. I feel really close to God.”

 Ajeet Dev Kaur : “Moving. When you make some mistakes, you feel guilty but someone didn’t judge you and saw the good part of you and treated you gently, just like the Guru’s love.”

 Sukh Meher Kaur : “Amazing experience. When I was reading… I entered a space where I was worry free, care free. I could leave everything behind. I felt protected. I got much deeper understanding about the Sikh religion. In that space, I feel very comfortable, I just wanted to stay by the Guru. Also, one time, reading the Guru, I was crying.”

Chinese students learning Gurbani Kirtan

Video of the Chinese students practicing Gurbani Kirtan

Global Sikhi and Youth of Today

Where do we go from here? It starts with me and you. My hope is that this article has helped show a picture of the emerging new generation of spiritual seekers. In order to serve these people and our younger generation, there is a strong need for every one of us to become more aware of the things we think and say. Our words and actions can either support or divide. They can put someone down or lift them up. It’s all a choice of where we focus our attention.  Mistakes are part of the journey and a way to learn. Our common goal should be to support everyone and stop the habit of tearing each other apart. It is time for us to stop judging something because it differs from your own frame of reference. I strive to use the example of Guru Nanak in my life who was ever compassionate, understanding and open to all.

Let’s all work on this together…

Ps. If you like the work of SikhNet, please consider giving your support by making a donation. I’m so grateful for your help – Thank you!

Related Links Worth Checking out

• Photos from 3HO Summer Solstice Event in Espanola, New Mexico (photos)
• Judgement, Criticism, The Mind, & Being a Sikh (blog post)
• Building Bridges Between Sikh Communities (blog post)
• Look in the Mirror (blog post)
• Stage of Fanaticism (Video)
• Awakening to Leadership – Are You Ready? (video)
• Guruka Singh – Talking about “Judgement” (video)
• Are you a forklift or a weight? (video/blog post)
• Japji Sahib class in China (news)
• Langar Chile program (news)
• Be The Change You Wish to See in the World
• Mural (Fresco) by the Late Ed O’Brien (blog post)
• Sikhs of South America (blog post)
• Letting Go of Judgment and Finding Good (God) In Others (blog post)
• More Photos from western Sikh community

Sikhs from Brazil, Los Angeles, New York and other places after receiving amrit during the 3HO Summer Solstice event in Espanola, New Mexico

First Amrit Sanchar in Chile (South America)

“Langar Chile” a seva group that serves the hungry in and around Chile

Gurdwara in Brazil

Miri Piri Academy – Brazil. Students practice Gatka

Kaurs in Mexico City

Sikhs in Mexico City

Gurdwara in Mexico

“Izzat De Punjab 2010” – Group from Espanola, NM who practice Bhangra & perform at special events

The Siri Singh Sahib of Sikh Dharma, also known as Yogi Bhajan, spoke very pointedly and eloquently about this topic. For him, the issue was never about the unborn fetus. He focused on the dignity of the mother. Here is what he had to say,

“If it is medically or socially required that an abortion should be performed, it should be done. We are not going to lower the status of motherhood. It is not the woman per se, it is the status of the mother which matters, and if that pregnancy lowers the mother’s status, we do not want the mother to deliver a child. Period.

The cry of ‘right to life’ is religious nonsense. What do you mean by ‘right to life’? Tomorrow the State may pass a law that every woman who becomes 24 years old must adopt a child or bear a child. They don’t want any abortions because they want their membership to outnumber that of every other religion. It is a neurotic approach, a tribal approach, and is inappropriate for more highly civilized cultures. It is no more than a ridiculous ritual. It is a direct disgrace to women. God does not place the soul in the fetus until the 120th day. There is a reason for that. Even God wants to have planned parenthood. This nonsense of ‘right to life’ is being laid down in the name of God. 

There is no reason why you must bear a child if you are mentally, socially, economically, and religiously unprepared. Don’t bring anyone to this earth if you cannot handle it. It is most unrighteous. As a human being it is your responsibility to deeply search yourself to know the capacity of your nervous system, the depth of your ability to love and understand, and the degree of balance between your inner thoughts and values and their expression in your environments. If everything tabulates in the positive, then plan for a child.”  From the “Ancient Art of Self Healing”

For me, this position has two very important aspects to it. First is the notion that a mother should be absolutely ready, on every level, to bring a child into the world. She should know that she has the capacity to serve that child – economically, socially, spiritually and consciously. It is a deep responsibility and profound duty to bring a soul to the earth.

Motherhood is not an accident of biology. Somebody has sex with somebody. Somebody gets pregnant. And look – there is life! Birth is the beginning of a very long process. A child needs values. A child needs love. A child needs time and attention. And if a woman honestly does not feel capable of giving those things, then it is better for her to not have children.

When a child is raised without values, without love, or without adequate resources, it creates suffering. It is possible with the grace of the Divine for any soul to overcome any handicap. But a vast majority of souls do not overcome them. They stay trapped in misery and poverty their entire lives. The health of the human race depends upon the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the child. And the health and strength of a child begins with the mother. A woman should have the freedom to enter into motherhood with the same conscious choice that she has pursuing any vocation, because motherhood is a lifelong proposition. Marriages may fail. But any child born to a woman will be part of that woman’s life until she takes her last breath. Let the woman be prepared to accept that responsibility. And if she is not prepared, it is better for her to never have children and contribute to society in other ways.

The other important point from this quote is this notion that the soul does not come into the fetus until the 120th day from conception. This is not just a traditional Eastern view of life. It is actually quite an old and ubiquitous idea. If you research the history, even in the Catholic Church, in centuries past, people believed that the soul did not come into the body until the “quickening.” The quickening is the time when a pregnant woman’s body goes through rapid changes. Her belly gets big very fast. It occurs between three to four months after conception. The quickening was considered a sign that the soul had arrived.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, infant mortality was so high that children often did not receive a name until they were at least two years old. They were not accepted as recognizable members of the community until they had survived for a couple years outside the womb. So this idea that life begins “at conception” is a very young cultural idea, based on a highly technological society. It does not align what people have culturally believed for thousands of years.

These issues are highly personal, and highly charged. Any individual has the right to believe what he or she wants to believe about the beginning of life. The problem comes in attempting to legislate these issues. In Texas, as well as other places, there is a segment of society who has reduced women to being vehicles for babies, regardless of what having a child will do to the woman’s physical, mental or spiritual health. Having children for the sake of having children, and disregarding the dignity of the mother in the process, is blindness. It refuses to acknowledge the humanity of the woman in question. It blocks her from exercising decision making power over her own body.

Motherhood is a sacred institution. When the Divine wishes to incarnate, It must do so through a woman. Therefore, there is a profoundly private and spiritual agreement that must happen between the soul of the woman and the soul of the child in order for this to happen. These soul agreements need to be respected. If the woman is not ready for the responsibility, she needs to be honored for that decision. Not shamed and humiliated for it.

When I was young, and first understood that my life was the result of my parents being together,  I remember pestering my father with questions. I asked him, “But what would have happened if you and mommy had never gotten married? Would I have never been born?”

My father got this funny look in his eyes. He paused and then he said to me, “If we had never gotten married, I think you would have been born. You would still exist. Just in a different family.”

It was not a very Catholic thing to say. But it was a very wise and universal thing to say.

A soul that wishes to take birth on the earth has a lot of avenues to choose from. Better for the choice to be voluntary and mutual. Better for the mother to be prepared for it. That is what will give a soul the best chance to enjoy its right to life.

If this essay has offended anyone, please know that was not the intention.

With Divine Light,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur

(Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan, from The Master’s Touch. July 20, 1996.)

For a few weeks, I have been thinking about this term, “Prabhupati.” And I realize that I cannot explain to myself what it means. It is one of those spiritual words like “enlightenment” or “shambala.” It points to this incredibly refined state of human consciousness that some rare and blessed people have achieved, but that remains almost mythological to everyone else. Is it truly possible for a human being to be in command of that Universal Creative Consciousness? Is that what the ultimate human potential really is? That the Creator serves the human?

Whenever there is something I do not understand, I always look to the root of the word. Not the word, itself, but its origin. Why, in the history of human evolution, would a group of people decided to name something? Prabhu is one word describing the Unknown Infinity that in English we call God. It comes from Prabh. In the 16th Shalok of Sukhmani, Guru Arjan describes Prabhas being separate from the three qualities, with no form, no color, and no designated markings. In other words, that Vast Consciousness behind the creative play, which does not identify with any particular form, is Prabh.

Pati means, “husband, lord, or master.” A commanding energy. A protective energy. A sovereign energy. Somehow, the sages discovered that by having a very deep and consistent sadhana, a human being could reach that state of consciousness where a person could become master of the Formless One. In that state, the Consciousness behind creation would organize itself in alignment with the pure projection of the human spirit.

Prabhupati, as a term, describes how the soul can direct the Formless Consciousness into creative expression. This makes the word a little more concrete for me. I believe many of us have had moments of Divine Alignment or Graced Synchronicity in our lives. Where events arrange themselves in the most amazing ways – giving guidance, opening doors, showing a path to a more expansive and positive reality. I can count many times in my own life where that has happened, even during challenging situations. The Divine is present and watching, like a friend. Ready to subtly move the energy of my life if I am sensitive enough to see and allow It.

But the challenge is to stay in that profoundly receptive space with every breath, in every moment. When I look back over my own life, I have to laugh. The Divine Will will bring something into my life. And my response tends to be, “Wow. Thanks so much for this gift. I can take it from here.” My ego asserts itself. It takes over. It has its agendas and plans.

Love is a very interesting power. We talk about it all the time. But what is, love, exactly? In one sense, love is the ability to see what someone needs – for their security, for their development, for their coziness, or for their happiness and then to silently, selflessly give it to a person, or a child, or a tree, or an animal. Love needs nothing back. The act of seeing and the act of giving is its own self-fulfillment.

The Guru often talks about the Divine Gaze. How the Divine sees into the very depth of what is happening in our lives. There are no masks that can fool this Gaze. No deception that can hide our self from it. The Gaze comes from a deep, deep love that the Creator has for Its creation. In that Infinite love, which has no beginning and no end, the Divine sees exactly what we need on the level of the soul. And It is there, wanting to give to us, if we can only receive.

The ego is a very protective energy. There is a purpose for it. It defines our boundaries, our sense of self and our territory. We each have been given an ego for a reason. But the ego is not meant to be in charge of what happens in our lives because the ego does not operate from a love of the spirit. It only relates to its own limited existence. When the soul and the Divine establish a conscious and loving communication with each other through sadhana, then the ego can slowly relax its need to protect and control its tiny domain.

There are these moments of Divine Alignment, where, out of love, the Creator sees what we truly need. Sees what we cannot see for ourselves and brings it to us. It seems to me that Prabhupati is the state of consciousness where the ego has become so surrendered through sadhana, that a person could live in the flow of that Divine Love with every breath. There would be no other reality. There would just be a dance of love. A person would constantly and continually receive what the Creator brings, in total trust and faith that the Creator is loving and nurturing the highest destiny of the soul.

This is perhaps what Pati refers to. We become the focus of love, the focus of service, through that Divine Gaze. And it this way,Prabh takes total care of our lives.

By writing this essay, I feel I have come understand the notion of Prabhupati better for myself, although it is all still a little theoretical. I have experienced moments of that mastery. But I have never lived a 24 hour day in that consciousness. Still, Prabhupati is good ideal to keep on the altar of one’s inner horizon, a touchstone to return to.

Am I the doer? Or am I getting out of the way and letting the One who knows and loves me the best be the Doer? It is a good lens through which to view the world. And like any ideal, it is something to strive towards without beating ourselves up when we slip. Prabhupati calls us to remember there is One behind the creation who is there to move things on our behalf, and do things on our behalf, if we can let go of the control of our ego and allow It to. 

With Divine Light, 

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur

Previous articles in this series: 

1. Sadhana: http://www.sikhnet.com/news/what-my-amrit-veylaa-sadhana-gives-me

2. Araadhana:  http://www.sikhnet.com/news/aaraadhana-acting-divinely

 

Aaraadhana araadhan neeka Har Har naam araadhana.

Meditating and remembering. It is so beautiful to remember the Divine Identity.

-Guru Arjan Dev ji. Ang 1081, Siri Guru Granth Sahib

 

This line comes from one of my favorite shabads in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. I am not sure what it is about this particular shabad, but from the first time I heard it, it has held a special place my heart.

This word – araadhana – is so difficult to understand in English. It has no equal in the English language. When you look in the dictionaries, you see the different facets of what araadhana points to. Meditation. Remembering. Worshiping.

The Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan, used to talk about araadhana as a progression of sadhana. He said,

“I tell you today and I’ll tell you tomorrow and I’ll tell you every day: You have only one friend – you and your discipline which will give you all that you need. The rest are all promises. After studying every scripture of every religion and what I went through, I have found that there are three words: sadhana,araadhana and prabhupati.  Sadhana means discipline, araadhana means perfecting the discipline and prabhupati means you will become the Lord Master of God Itself. Now, should I bring you any other news? “ (From The Master’s Touch. July 20, 1996.)

After so many years of contemplating this term, araadhana, it is only now beginning to become clear to me. I used to think that perfecting the discipline meant getting up every single day at 3:30 am, taking a cold shower and doing a flawless 2.5 hour amrit vela sadhana; an absolutely perfect execution of form. This vision of araadhana would be reserved for those extraordinary people who never miss a day or even a minute of sadhana; in other words, not me.

But as I have gotten older, that notion of perfecting the discipline has gone through a quiet shift. It is no longer so much about the form of sadhana, but about its effect.

When we wake up in the ambrosial hours and meditate, it is a very special time for the soul and the mind to speak with each other. The deepest, most sensitive voice within us is our Infinite self. During sadhana, we measure our past, our actions, and our intentions for the future against that vast inner sensitivity.

Sadhana is like taking a plane to a higher altitude, where we see the journey of our life from a wider and more detached perspective. And in that height, our mind evolves. It can break through its blocks, or recognize a trap, or have an intuitive insight about what to do.

But as the sun rises, and our focus turns back towards the earth, these etheric insights from sadhana can evaporate like the morning dew. In the hustle and bustle of every day life, our habits pull us along. Something in the depth of our spirit may whisper, “Make a different choice,” but the mind may not be able to do it. Then, the next morning in sadhana, the review begins again. We realize, “Oh – I could have done that this way, instead!” We go to the height. We are reminded of how to behave and how to walk through life. We are called to remember.

We are called to araadhana.

Araadhana is the blessed moment when, in the midst of worldly pressures, we can access that meditative consciousness, remember what we saw or heard or felt in our sadhana, and act in alignment with it. Ultimately, that is what worship means. Worship is not an internal admiration of the Divine, but an expressed love that is the Divine in action.

When we access the clarity of our sadhana during the day, and we demonstrate what we learned in sadhana through our actions, this is worship. This is the true Simran — meditation and remembrance. This is, in my humble view, what araadhana means.

Araadhana refers to the play of heaven and earth, of bringing the wisdom of sadhana into every moment of life. In this respect, it does not matter how “good” or “bad” one’s daily practice is. What matters is the commitment we have within us to bridge the consciousness we access in sadhana to the consciousness with which we live our lives.

Araadhana can happen for a moment here and a moment there. Over time, it can happen for an hour or a morning. Eventually, if one is very blessed by grace, it can become perpetual. Morning and night, every moment, remembering our Divine Identity and living in accordance with it.

It takes time. It takes practice. It is a way of progressing through life. But as Guru Arjan Dev Ji explains, being in this state ofaraadhana creates a very beautiful life.

With Divine Light,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur

• You may read Ek Ong Kaar Kaur’s previous column in this series here: What my Amrit Veylaa sadhana gives me

Guru Naanak established the concept of meditating in the Amrit Veyla, in the 4^th Pauree of Japji Sahib, when he said

Amrit Veylaa Sach Naao, Vadiaaee Veechaar

 

In the Amrit Veyla,

The still hours before sunrise,

Our True Spirit becomes known

As we meditate upon Your Greatness.

But over the years, when reading in our community’s Akand Path or when taking hukams from the Guru, I have found other references to the Amrit Veyla by Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan and Guru Teg Bahadur.  Even though I did not take the time to record what they said exactly, the consensus is clear.

If you want to experience all that the Guru has to offer, get yourself up before the sun and meditate.

For myself, I do not get up as early as some, and on occasion, I admit, I miss days. But it is the greatest privilege in my life that I do have the habit for the last 20-some years to meditate in the Amrit Veyla.

And what has that habit given me?

Have I touched the Divine? Yes. Do I have conversations with the etheric energies? Yes. Have I increased the length of my meditations, improved my pronunciation of Gurbani and learned how to practice certain yoga kriyas? Yes. Has my intuition been able to sense things that were about to unfold in my life? Certainly.

But are those the most important gifts that my sadhana has given me?

Yes and no. Those are really wonderful experiences. And developing one’s intuition through sadhana is especially important. Yet, in some ways, these experiences are the Divine’s PR campaign to keep you coming back for more. When you meditate in theAmrit Veyla, these lovely spiritual moments make you feel good about what you are doing. They make you feel good about yourself. But that is not the power of sadhana.

The power of sadhana, ultimately, is something much more gritty; much more earthy and real. It is the power of being able to make conscious choices.

All of us are raised and imprinted with habits and ideas from our childhood surroundings. Some of the habits and beliefs that we absorb serve our highest destiny. Some of them do not. When the habits and beliefs do not serve us, they actually cause us to harm ourselves and other people.

A karmic life is one where these habits and beliefs exist within us, but are not visible to our conscious mind. We act on them automatically. They control us without our even knowing that they are there. The harm that results creates tremendous pain that we live through, wondering “Why is this happening to me?”

The Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan, used to say that meditation causes all the crap in the subconscious mind to start floating to the surface: the darkest thoughts, the most perverse fantasies. They are sitting there in the subconscious, blocking us from experiencing our own soul. Sadhana works best when we let all of that dirt come up. And then allow the sound of the chanting to wash it away.

Sadhana reveals us to ourselves. It shows us the best of who we are along with the worst of who we are. It helps us see the habits that serve us and the habits that condemn us. Most importantly, sadhana gives us a chance, if we have the courage, to take responsibility for all of that garbage, to roll up our sleeves and do the work of clearing it out.

When we do the hard work of clearing out the subconscious mind during the Amrit Veyla, it develops an awareness in us that lasts throughout the day. And because of that awareness, we have a chance in time and space to make different choices. Rather than automatically acting on the imprinted habits and beliefs that do not serve us, there is a small space, a tiny moment, where we can consciously choose to do something different; something that will neither harm ourselves nor harm others; something that represents our pure self rather than our wounded self. These tiny, tiny moments of choice, slowly, over time, give us the ability to create new habits that align with our soul and our purity. This is what it means for our destiny to be rewritten on our forehead, through the Guru’s grace.

I see this in my own life all the time. When I was practicing yoga in my 20’s, sadhana gave me an awareness of my liver and how much it did not appreciate the alcohol that I would drink on a Friday or Saturday night. So I started to make the choice to stop drinking. When I was in my 30’s, sadhana gave me an awareness of communication patterns that did not serve my interpersonal relationships. Over time, through careful attention and practice, those communication patterns began to change. Now that I am in my 40’s, and half-way through the journey of life, I am beginning to understand the importance of flowing with hukam, i.e., of not having any personal agendas or plans, but letting the Divine Plan be the most important thing. And my choices are changing again.

This, to me, is the greatest gift my sadhana has given me. Not the spiritual bells and whistles that I experience when meditating in the Amrit Veyla. But the awareness that allows me to make new and different choices during the day, change negative patterns and discover new horizons in my world.Sadhana gives me the altitude I need to make choices that can lead to more peace, more harmony and more happiness.

It’s hard work, and it is a practice for one’s entire life. But it is also hard work to make mistakes and suffer. So, in the end, it is just a question of which type of work a person decides to do.

Last but not least, there is one thing that I swear by– any sadhana is a good sadhana. Better to do something than nothing at all.

May you be blessed to meditate and to find your True Self under all the garbage in your own mind.

With Divine Light,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur

– picture courtesy of DesiComments

I used to joke that I never had a temper until I moved to Espanola. But my friends who knew me in my 20’s just laughed. “Oh, you had a temper!” they teased. Honestly, I never realized it before. I was blind to it. Only when Yogiji created pressure in my life did my anger became visible to my conscious mind. Then, I saw it. It was a humbling experience.

Sometimes, the PR around spiritual paths can paint a false picture. There are so many spiritual memes on Facebook, implying that if we all meditated, heaven would come to earth. There is truth in that. But one has to read the fine print and not get lost in the fantasy. A spiritual discipline will reveal the vastness of your soul to you. It will show you how Infinity moves. At the same time, it will turn on the lights so you see all the dirt clouding your subconscious mind. A spiritual discipline gives you an awareness of what is inside that blocks you; what limits your own soul from realizing its full potential.

There is a great quote by Yogi Bhajan that I deeply appreciate on this subject. The reason I appreciate it is that we have somehow been trained to be ashamed of our weaknesses: to hide them from others and to deny them to ourselves. But life is a play of polarities. Light and shadow. Night and day. Strengths and weaknesses. You don’t have one without the other.

“One who does not recognize his weakness can never be strong. There is no way to progress and grow other than to first find out the lowest point of you. Then you can start going towards the highest.”
– Yogi Bhajan. March 25, 1990.

What I honor about this quote is something very simple. True spiritual discipline leads you to the depth before it takes you to the height. At the start, of course, there is a sense of openness and wonder – the honeymoon period. You love the practice. How it makes you feel. The possibilities it reveals. But sooner or later, if you stay committed, your spiritual practice will kick your butt. Because no one can become their very best outside until they have faced the worst of themselves inside.
Guru Nanak talks about this poetically in the 38^th Pauree of Japji Sahib. The 38^th Pauree uses the metaphor of the goldsmith’s workshop to explain the process of spiritual growth. You are the gold. Through your practice, under Guru’s guidance, you melt, refine and shape that gold into the coin of Truth. It is hard work that you must do on yourself.

When gold gets heated, some impurities begin to rise to the surface, and it is fairly easy to remove them. But other impurities need much higher heat for a longer period of time before they will finally surface. Before they can be purified. A spiritually committed life works the same way. When we begin a spiritual path, some shadows and weaknesses reveal themselves early on. And we feel how wonderful the practice is, that we can face these issues and have a chance to heal them. But other shadows may take years, decades or even lifetimes to become visible to the conscious mind. The heat of the practice may need to be applied for a very, very long time before deeply ingrained negative aspects of our personalities are ready to transform.

That is why the first and last law of Dharma is compassion. Compassion for ourselves. Compassion for others. Guru Naanak says in Japji that kindness gives birth to the bull of Dharma, which carries the weight of the entire Universe on its shoulders. The Dharmic path has tremendous strength and power. But it comes from compassion. The play is never ending. Our evolution never stops. Therefore, every time we have an opportunity to expand to new heights, the first thing that will happen is that the Universe will take us to the lowest point, to clear out another level of garbage, so that the highest point can be realized.

Practically speaking, what does this look like? It means not judging others. It means not judging ourselves. It means understanding the spiritual life as a continuous school of learning. It means not believing our own “PR.” No matter how great someone becomes in his or her practice there is always the chance he or she will slip tomorrow. And it also means never giving up on ourselves or anyone else, because sometimes the slip is the perfect lesson. A slip may be nothing but the heaviest impurities rising to the surface, making themselves visible so they can be removed.

If we ever think we are “done” in our spiritual progress, it is not the truth. Guruji describes the Divine as Endless: beyond our ability to record It or understand It. There is never a finish line. There are times we progress quickly. Times we move slowly. Times we back track. And times we take a break. But the journey goes on. This is why the bottom line is never how “good” we are or how “bad” we are. The bottom line is how committed we are to keeping up with our spiritual practice every day. As long as the fires of our spiritual discipline are being stoked with the fear of the Divine, it really does not matter how pure or impure we are. The Guru will stand with us and cover us. Until that day comes when, by his Grace, the karmas will clear completely and we live in the truth of our Divine Identity.

With Divine Light,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur

Looking into history, one thing is clear. It has been a very, very long time since women have been respected on the earth. Sometime in the ancient past, matriarchal societies honored the creative power of woman. But unfortunately, for the last few thousand years, women have been considered slaves, or property, or less than animals. Our innate humanness and wisdom pushed to the side; our wombs breeding the soldiers and slaves that powerful men use to wage war on each other.

In the West, the 1960’s heralded a wake-up call from this bondage of identity for women. Guru Nanak tried to break through this prejudice 500 years ago. It is in the context of these historical truths that we need to understand the Sikh marriage, theLaavaan, created by the fourth Master, Guru Ram Das.

In Eastern mysticism, union with the Divine occurs through the Guru. The Guru is the medium. Ultimate Love – experiencing Divine Union through the love of another – was historically limited to the student and his teacher. Unfortunately, it was only men who could have a Guru. And it was only men of certain classes in India who could aspire to have or be a Guru. The path to Ultimate Love was denied to all women, and a large majority of men.

Guru Ram Das took this paradigm and blew it wide open. Rather than a student finding union through a Guru, Guru Ram Das opened a new pathway. Marriage offered a blended path where a man and woman could find union with each other through the Guru. And where they could find union with the Guru through each other. With the Guru as the intermediary, marriage has the possibility of allowing two people to merge and experience that Ultimate Love.

What does that mean, practically speaking? How does that look? What is the process? Each couple is unique. There is a no rational outline to describe how the Guru takes two people, uses their relationship to burn their karmas, and creates the state of consciousness where Love and Union is experienced and lived. However, there are some general guidelines for marriage that we can practice to give the Guru a chance to work His magic.

First – Have a daily sadhana. Chant and meditate.

In Part 1 of this essay, we discussed the monsters hidden in the subconscious mind. These monsters bring a lot of unhealthy preconceptions about the opposite sex to the table, and they invariably rear their ugly heads under the pressure cooker of marriage. When we meditate, it gives us a space to say, “Wow – that is not my partner at all. That is completely MY stuff.” It creates an inner sensitivity where we can separate our neurosis, phobias, and karmic issues from the reality of the relationship. Like butter being heated to become ghee, the impurities rise to the surface. A daily sadhana gives us tools to skim those impurities away, so the higher quality of the relationship can live.

Meditation and self-reflection also help us develop compassion. When we start to take responsibility for “my monsters,” we can also begin to see the monsters that our partner has within him or her. Just as sadhana and the Guru’s grace are the only powers to clear our own blocks, we understand that that is true for our partner as well. If we recognize that the Guru is in charge of the relationship, the heart opens. Instead of fights, resentments, anger or shame, we develop compassion for one another – a selfless love where we vibrate for each other.

Another guideline for marriage is: sexual discipline and containment.

There is a reason to stay abstinent before marriage, and a reason to stay faithful during marriage. Sex feels really good, and it is a great distraction. If we start engaging each other sexually before the commitment is there, then the process of merger begins and the shadows start to do their dance. But without the Guru’s guidance, that shadow boxing can tear us apart. One day, someone you used to love with all your heart is someone you will never speak to again. These tragedies exist. By giving our sexuality to the Guru, we create a protection for ourselves, for the person we love, and for those around us.

Sex is like a nuclear reaction. It can light up a city or it can destroy a city. It just depends on whether there is a containment field around it. And a committed marriage before the Guru provides that containment field.

During a relationship, when the shadows begin to make their presence felt, cheating on a partner, or looking for energy from someone of the opposite sex, also blocks the path of Love and Union. It is an escape, a way to avoid looking at our feelings, and what they are trying to tell us. Like any spiritual discipline, marriage requires that you put in the effort. Sexual faithfulness within the relationship keeps the partners focused on the work they need to do with each other.

Service to the community is a third tool for clearing the shadows, and experiencing Ultimate Love. Sometimes, relationships can be too focused on what “we want” or what “our problems” are. Through service, the marriage relationship becomes about “what we can do for others.” That opens a doorway to selflessness and joy which feeds the connection two partners have.

There is an incredible promise of love between those who marry. But there are also thousands of years of exploitation, rape, pain, prejudice and dishonor gathered in our collective subconscious. Men and women both need to do the work to heal themselves so they can honor each other. This cannot be done in a vacuum. It requires that two people make a commitment, develop their consciousness and live in service. The good news is we are not meant to take this healing journey alone. By bowing in front of the Guru in marriage, the couple allows the Guru to take the reigns of their life and their relationship with each other. With the Guru’s grace, guidance and blessing, all things become possible.

With Divine Light,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa

(Note: Part 1 of this article is here)

The Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan, once described love in a very beautiful way. He said,

“What is love? When you feel and experience selflessness within yourself and you can vibrate for someone, then you are fulfilled with love. This is the highest state of individual consciousness. Love is the experience of selflessness within oneself. No one else is involved. Love is a power beyond the being because love is a totality of the being. Love is not a business: ‘I’ll bring you flowers, you give me a kiss.’ It’s not a commodity. It does not need approval or appreciations (otherwise it must depreciate). The state of love is beyond this. Come what may, neither is there ‘Yes’ or ‘Nay.’”         (http://www.sikhmatrimonials.com/s/OnLove)

But what does this mean, practically speaking? How can a person become selfless towards another person? How can someone vibrate for someone else?

When we search for a partner or a mate, each person begins their search with a set of agendas. The agendas are about what “I want” from the other person. Not about what I have to offer another person. From the beginning, we start off wrong because desire and love are not the same thing. Desires can only be temporarily satisfied. Then they leave a person unfulfilled, longing for more.

By lucky chance, sometimes two people come together because they match each others lists. The man has what the woman wants. The woman has what the man wants. They feel fortunate. They decide to get together or get married – whatever their cultural preference. The relationship begins in earnest. What happens next? Each one begins measuring the other person based on their expectations and desires. And they feel let down or disrespected when those expectations are not met. This can be the start of disappointment, resentment and blame.

At the same time, on a deeper level, a more powerful process unfolds. Our ideas of what we may want from a member of the opposite sex do not occur in a vacuum. They are the result of our conditioning. The man’s relationship with his mother influences what he wants and how he reacts to a woman. The woman’s relationship with her father influences what she looks for and how she responds to a man. If either of them have had previous relationships, there are wounds, pain and baggage carried from the failures and disappointments of the past. And then there may be ancestral karmas added to the mix. What is the “role” of a man or woman in the relationship? These predefined and not necessarily healthy beliefs get transferred from generation to generation.

Love is the ability to see the other person, exactly as they are, with total acceptance and non-judgment; and with a spirit of appreciation and service. To “behold” them. To “hold” their “be”-ing. When the gaze of love falls upon us, like the sun shining on the earth, it stimulates the spirit to growth, expansion and joy. It is so natural to open and flower under that gaze.

Yet, we do not always have the capacity to behold one another in relationships. There is so much garbage in the subconscious mind from parental issues, past relationships and karmic burdens, that the partners may barely see each other at all. Each one projects their shadow issues about the opposite sex onto each other. The result of this is shadow boxing.

Shadow boxing happens when the unresolved pain that “she” has around men meets with the unresolved pain that “he” has around women. Rather than being in the moment, seeing each other, serving and appreciating one another, those two shadows interlock in an effort to find resolution or healing. The shadow believes that if the other person would just “do this” or “say this” – then all of that unresolved pain will magically disappear.

It’s not true, of course. But it is a very human and normal dynamic that happens between partners.

The irony is, on the path of love, shadow boxing is unavoidable. Love is a purifying power. It brings up the pain and wounds in order that they can be healed once and for all. Unfortunately, if we do not understand how love works, the shadow boxing becomes difficult to bear. And many relationships break under the weight of it.

A broken relationship may be a divorce. It may be two people creating a comfortable, harmonious distance that keeps them functional, but not intimate. It may result in destructive behavior like cheating, alcohol or drug abuse. Shadow boxing has many different styles of breaking the bonds between two people.

There is a beautiful line from the Guru that says ‘It is not the people who merely sit next to each other who are married. It is those who have one light in two bodies who are truly married.’ The power of love allows our most subtle soul essence to flow back and forth in such a conscious way that the separation of “you” and “me” is not felt anymore. But the shadows in the mind can block the light of the soul from merging. This is why relationships can be so difficult. They offer the promise of the most amazing union. And at the same time, they take us to darkest realm of the subconscious, to face issues inside of ourselves that we would rather not engage.

Marriage is called the highest yoga because it simultaneously promises the most beautiful union while asking us to do the most difficult work together.

The sacred ceremony of the Laavan, composed by Guru Ram Das, offers couples a path to this union. Part 2 of this article will focus on how the Laavan creates an entirely different promise for relationships. How, through the Guru, the shadows can be integrated and healed so that genuine compassion and selfless love can blossom.

With Divine Light,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur

As an aspiring college student, you hedge your bets, pick your “top choices” and your “back-up plan.” You approach it logically, and don’t get your hopes up. I went through the motions because it was what people expected from me. But deep inside, the glow kept calling me.

Another university offered me a $10,000 scholarship to join their freshman class. In my father’s words, he and I “fought World Wars 3, 4, 5 and 6” over where I was going to college. But Rice University accepted me and the glow was undeniable. It was where I was supposed to be. Despite my Dad’s objections, despite a scholarship somewhere else – that glow had entranced my mind.

Did I know that by going to Rice University I would end up studying English Literature and Asian Studies? Did I know I would become fascinated with issues of translation between English and Asian languages, especially when it comes to poetry and spiritual texts? Did I have a clue that I would get a scholarship to study in China for a summer, because of that fascination? And did I have any idea that I would grow up, meet Yogi Bhajan, and, under his guidance and direction, put all of that academic training to use translating the poetry of the Sikh Gurus into English? Of course not. I had no idea what I wanted to major in. I did not even know what a Sikh was when I was 18.

All I know was that “it glowed.”

Over the course of my life, that glow consistently appears in times of choice. It never leads me in a direction that makes sense at the time. In fact, the glow often leads me in a direction that defies social expectations, and financial benefits. The older I have gotten, the more I recognize how crazy it might seem to focus on that glow and follow it wherever it leads. Yet, ironically, the glow has never led me astray. A little ball of subtle light, it guides my journey through my life. It takes me to experiences that are far beyond anything I could have imagined or envisioned for myself. It causes me to face challenging situations that require me to develop my strength. The purpose behind the glow’s choice can sometimes take years to fully understand. Yet, the glow insures that my life has a richness and depth that feels very satisfying.

Sometimes, though, the glow can point in a direction that my mind cannot handle. In those moments, fear blocks me from paying attention to it, much less following it. The mind wants to keep me safe. And the glow might ask me to be too vulnerable, or too different. In those moments, I ignore it. But I have found in the end that I always regret not following it. I think about those moments of choice and how I missed something by not trusting the glow and taking the risk. I find myself wishing I could go back in time and do it differently.

The glow is a very subtle presence in my life. It points things out. It does not insist. It allows my mind to choose “yes” or “no.” And it stays with me while I observe the consequences of those decisions.

I rarely talk about the glow with anyone. People just assume I am “stubborn” when I make a decision that they cannot understand. But meditating on the Mool Mantra, I found a word that shows me – maybe Guru Naanak understood this glow. He said the word Saibhang, which often gets translated as “Self-Illumined.” But here is another possible translation. Saibhang – living by the glow of your own soul.

The soul is Infinite, and one with the Light of God. It comes into time and space for its own purpose, which usually has nothing to do with what anyone “thinks.” The Spirit never consulted my mind, or anyone else’s mind for that matter, before coming into this body. It knows why it is here, what it has to do and the path it has to take. That knowing is not a “logical, analytical” knowing. It is a wholistic knowing that curls back beyond this lifetime and spins forward past this lifetime. The sense of “time” for the Spirit is much vaster than the sense of time for the mind. The mind only knows the now, plus its memories of the past and its hopes for the future. The Spirit has access to a much vaster storehouse of information, in a non-linguistic way. So the perspective and the direction of the soul will always look very different than the picture in the mind of what life “should be.”

This quality of Saibhang is like the soul’s lantern, illuminating the next steps on the journey. The mind may not understand “why,” but its willing participation is required. When the mind cannot support this guidance of the soul, I believe that is how we create karma for ourselves. I have found within myself when I cannot complete what the glow is showing me, what the soul is asking of me, it causes regret. It creates a deep desire to balance what was left undone.

The more I pay attention to the glow, the more it gives me helpful cues: in conversations with people; in charting the course of my day. And like the choice to go to Rice University, that guidance has unknowable consequences that ripple far into the future. My mind may not understand what those consequences are until they reveal themselves at a later date. In that way, the quality of Saibhang is not always easy to live with. No one can see that glow but me, and I can’t explain it to anyone. I can only work to keep trusting it, and to have the experience, as life unfolds, that the soul really does know what it is doing here, and how to find its way back Home.

With Divine Light,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur

Recently, I have been meditating on a couple of lines from the 12^th Ashtapdai, 4^th verse of Sukhmani.  Here is a poetic interpretation of them:

“When a person sees anyone as an enemy, or a friend,

Then his mental understanding lacks steadiness.”

This statement fascinates me. The Guru seems to offer that seeing people as friends or enemies is a symptom of an unsteady mind. What does this mean?

Does this mean never having deep conversations with anyone? Never going to lunch or the movies? Never getting upset when someone creates mischief or speaks badly? How is this instruction for every-day life? Practically speaking how is it possible to stop seeing people as friends or enemies?

Looking back over the course of my own life, I believe the Guru is asking us to train the mind to understand the complexity of human dynamics; to create a vast space within ourselves, where we can handle the inevitable changes that happen throughout the course of our lives. There are players who come and go; who have one role and then another. If we can look at people through that wider lens, then the mind will not “freak out” so much when something unexpected happens in our relationships with each other.

Here are some frameworks that I use for myself when it comes to understanding relationships with people.

First – people do not treat me a certain way because of who I am. People treat me a certain way because of who they are. It is important to step back and observe the totality of another person – her habits, her character and her language – rather than getting caught in my own emotional needs. People who gossip to me about others will inevitably gossip to others about me. People who have made a commitment to themselves to be kind will treat me with kindness, even in difficult situations. Someone who values money and “getting ahead” more than relationships will sacrifice any relationship for money. A man or woman who is a “player” or a “flirt” will not change because they have found “the right one.” They will change when they decide to become “the right one.”

The mind has a tendency to look at everything from the vantage point of “me,” to interpret everything in a very personal way. But any relationship – positive or negative – needs a little perspective. Guru Arjan talks a lot about pride in the 12th Ashtapadi ofSukhmani Sahib. There is an aspect of pride in seeing someone as “my” friend or “my” enemy. When we look at people solely using our egos as the reference point, it can be difficult to keep a vaster view.

But the truth is that people in our lives – friends, family members, community members, enemies – act in a lot of ways that have nothing to do with the “me” at all. They are acting as they are, for their purposes, in accordance with their understanding. It’s not personal. When we train the mind to drop the filter of “me,” it gives the mind more breadth and dimension to deal with the complexity of human relationships.
Another factor in the friend/enemy dynamic is territory. No matter how great your best friend may be, no matter how marvelous your mate may be – treading on their territory is likely to provoke an attack. It is part of the human’s animal nature. Until someone understands how to flow with the totality of the Divine, that person has a sense of his or her territory. Territory provides boundaries, a sense of security and identity. The plants in my garden teach me a lot about territory. Each plant needs its own piece of earth to spread its roots and to grow. Each plant has its own methods to establish itself and defend itself. Territory is a very real part of living on the earth.

No friend, no family member, no lover – unless that person has a very refined spiritual consciousness – can tolerate their territory being invaded. Whether you deliberately or innocently cross the boundaries does not matter. The attack will come and it will be a shock. It is important in these moments to not take the attack personally. To step back and take the time to understand what territory has been violated, without making a drama out of the issue. Sometimes you can have a conversation about it. Sometimes you just have to observe until it becomes clear from the other person’s behavior what those lines are. But navigating relationships requires a subtle attention to these details.

This is one reason great friendships can become strained when friends do business together. Business is the ultimate expression of our territorial nature. When friends start doing business with each other, the dynamics shift. Making peace with this territorial nature and learning how to diplomatically maneuver through it is another tool for the mind in dealing with the friend/enemy dynamic.

Last, but not least, all relationships change. Every soul is on a sovereign journey through time and space – learning, growing and evolving. The process of growth and maturity, or stagnation and immaturity, happens through our interactions with each other. It is a collective process. We go through life connected to, and interdependent upon, one another. Events happen. Trajectories change. Both positive and negative relationships require a continual investment of attention, time and energy.  Life will create a pressure where relationships either positively transform or break down completely.

In this sense, friends can drift away, and perhaps reappear in a different form down the road. Enemies may denounce a person fiercely in one moment, but years later, may ask the same person for help. No one is a permanent friend or a permanent enemy. If a person can take the broader view and see the Light of the Divine within everyone, then it is easier to honor the journey of each soul.

Often times in Gurbani, we read the words that the Guru is our True Friend. The Guru is the one force in our lives that will not leave us, and will not change. If we can allow the words of the Guru to penetrate our minds, those words have the power to uplift and heal us, always. Other relationships will have their ups and downs; their good days and bad days; their coming and going. But a conscious loving relationship with the Guru’s teachings can provide a constant, steady, friendly beacon to guide our souls back home.

With Divine Light,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur

Having the Siri Guru Granth Sahib available in translation allows many seekers around the world to connect to Gurbani in a personal way to experience and understand the Guru’s teachings. I remember entering a Gurdwara in Mexico City where Siri Guru Granth Sahib with Spanish translation was available for anyone to sit and read.  I saw everyday people, non-Sikhs, enter, bow and read. Then I watched them emerge with tears streaming down their shining faces filled with inspiration and the radiance of their opened hearts. It’s more important now than ever that the growing spirit of Sikhi touches the hearts of those who may not have been born to know Punjabi/Gurmukhi, but who nonetheless feel the call of the Guru in their lives.

Many of us have used the 1960 Manmohan Singh English translation of the Guru Granth Sahib for doing paath. With the advent of this translation, Sikhs all around the world had access to a very practical resource for understanding the Word of the Guru. Over the years, and before the availability of SikhiToTheMax, it was common practice in all parts of the world to have the eight volume set in Gurdwaras, and read out the Hukam in both Gurmukhi and English, and sometimes in Punjabi as well.

While a dedicated effort for which we are grateful, the Manmohan Singh translation includes a large number of antiquated, idiosyncratic expressions more common to 19th century British India. Most people are confused up by words like ‘mammon’ (for Maya), ‘myrmidon,’ ‘collyrium,’ ‘mumper,’ ‘gnosis’ (for spiritual knowledge – gyan), ‘apostates,’ ‘sans’ (French for without), etc. Much of his grammar is so dated as to be distracting and even confusing to the modern ear.

Here’s  an example:

“Raising the embankments of my mind’s field, I gaze at the high sky or mansion. When Divine devotion enters bride’s mind-home, the Friendly Guest pays her a visit. He, who slanders Thy attendant, him Thou chrusheth and destroyest”.

 Neither an easy read, nor easy to understand.

The modern English translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa is a more successful attempt to improve the English translation, while still cleaving as close as possible to the original meaning and intent. This translation is an original work; It was not derived or adapted from anything else. It was done over a period of 15 years, defining each word, and carefully translating each line. Read a comparison about the existing English translations.

Printing of the Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa translation has been long awaited. You have probably already read many of these translations if you view Gurbani in electronic form on your computer or mobile apps. This translation is the most widespread online, used at sites including SikhNet.com,  Sikhitothemax.com and SGPC.net. Also, If you have seen Gurbani with translation projected on a screen at your Gurdwara; that is the same same translation. We have found it to be much easier to read and understand than the Manmohan Singh translation.

SikhNet has now released this new printed edition in a five volume set designed above all to be easy to read. Large, clear fonts are used. Each line of Gurbani is in alignment with the English translation, so it’s easy and intuitive to know exactly what is the translation for the line you are reading. This also makes it easy to switch fluidly from English to Gurmukhi and visa versa during Sahaj Paath or Akandh Paath.

I think you will find reading from this new edition a distinctly easier and more flowing experience than using any of the older translations. These are high-quality hard cover volumes decorated with original artwork in gold design and printed on high-quality, acid free paper. The set is sold “on-demand” through Lulu.com. That means each volume is only printed when you order it. Although this makes the cost of printing higher, it reduces overall costs, and makes it easier to publish & have available to you online.  The quality is far better than similarly published books from India. The printing quality is similar to a full color hard cover college text book. The volumes are priced at $49 each so it would cost about $245 for the 5 volume set.

Order the 5 Volume Set

I always tried to learn Punjabi, and one year I graduated to the “Advanced Punjabi” class. The teacher tried to just simply talk to us in Punjabi. That sounded like the perfect idea, but she would say a complicated sentence we didn’t understand, then say “Ok, let me just say this in English so you understand”. The Punjabi speaking and learning ended with that statement. 

It’s been years now that I’ve graduated and left India. Now I’m in an English only environment. But I’ve still held on to a little hope that one day I will learn Punjabi. I’ve dreamed that one day Rosetta Stone would make a Punjabi learning software. Now, I started to learn Brazilian Portuguese with the Pimsleur method. I found it to be very easy, fast, and useful. 

I was really excited when I found out that the Pimsleur program just launched their Punjabi learning level 1! I just listened to the free sample. It was a little surreal hearing the audio in Punjabi. I almost can’t believe that it has been done. I did know everything in the first sample lesson, but it made me really exited about the following units. 

After looking it up, I realized what I liked about the program. The Pimsleur method uses the following principles: 

Anticipation – Instead of repeating after a teacher, this is a “challenge and respond” method that requires the student to translate a phrase themselves. This reflects real-life conversations. 

Graduated-interval recall – A method where reviewing learned vocabulary at increasingly longer intervals. I really like this because I’ve learned so many things and forgotten them later because it wasn’t repeated enough. 

Core vocabulary – Focusing on the most commonly used words. A relatively small core vocabulary accounts for the majority of words spoken in a particular language. This is great. The program starts off with some basic survival conversations. 

Organic Learning – It is all audio. Instead of learning technical grammer, reading, writing and cramming a bunch of vocabularies, you just listen to the MP3 and follow the audio prompts.

You can listen to unit 1 as a free sample. Then you can buy the entire level 1 (30 units) or just 5 unit packages for about $20 each. 

The program comes in MP3 or CD depending on how you want to buy it. Each track is an individual 30 min. lesson that builds off of the last one. That’s one thing I really liked about the Pimsluer program, is that it brushes up on the conversation you learned in previous lessons, and builds on it, so you are always reinforcing the things you’ve learned, so you can actually retain it. 

Gora (white) Sikhs like myself that I’ve talked to about it, are very excited. This is a God-send for so many Sikhs who’ve always wanted to learn Punjabi. I think there is no better way to make a connection with someone than to speak to them in their mother language. Now we have a better chance of connecting to our brothers and sisters in India who don’t speak English. There are also more and more Punjabi youth who don’t speak Punjabi because they are born and raised in Western countries. Many of the older generation are very concerned about that. 

My personal appeal is that people don’t pirate/share the program too much, because if we do that, then the Pimsleur program won’t make a profit, and then there will be no reason for them to create a Punjabi level 2. In any case, I’m grateful to have this resource. If you are too, then spread the word. And the next time you see me, I might be rattling off some knowledge from listening to Giani Sant Singh Ji Maskeen’s katha. 

Click here to learn about the program, take a free lesson, and start learning Punjabi. (Pimsleur said that you can receive a special discount code by listening to a free lesson.)

(If you are just curious You can listen to a sample of it here)

If you try it out, let me know what you think!

– Gurujot Singh

First off, I love their band name (“ANHAD” – Pronounced like “un-hud”) which many of you might recognize from Japji Sahib (by Guru Nanak Dev Ji)  which means the ‘unstruck melody’ and signifies the primordial sound from which all sounds come. Anāhat Nād is a very subtle sound, the sound of the Cosmos which exists by itself. There is no friction involved in the production of Anahat Naad; it was and is, as in the beginning, the “uncreated sound”.

When I first heard of the Anhad Band, the concept of a “Sikh ROCK band” was a bit foreign to me. I wondered what a “Sikh Rock Band” would sound like?? After all, Rock is pretty diverse. Your idea of Rock probably varies depending on your generation and exposure to this music. Rock has spanned so many generations, and with each new generation changed in many ways. Musicians take parts from what was before them and add something of themselves to make it new and unique.

I didn’t know many Sikhs were even into Rock music!? When I think of the types of music Sikh Youth listen to, it’s probably most likely to be Bhangra, Mainstream Pop, Hip-Hop, Rap, etc.  Rock generally doesn’t come to mind these days. I could be wrong though.

During my much younger years of boarding school in India during the 80’s, I listened to all kinds of music that was popular within my circle of friends. Everything from Old school Rock, classic hip-hop, heavy metal to early techno/house, etc.  I never imagined that Rock music would be back “in” in this day and age, and by SIKHS too. Not many kids even learn musical instruments these days. That takes a bit more effort than playing video games or watching TV, which are common passive “hobbies” of today’s youth.

In the past years I have heard of a few Sikh Rock Bands and Musicians (Hargo , Roving Sikhs, Rabi Shergill and even the older “Peter Singh“). Each with their own influence and totally different style, but that’s it; FOUR bands.  So, Sikh Rock is not widespread. Now Anhad is here and that makes FIVE.

One thing I love about the Anhad band is how they merge different western and eastern musical styles and use Gurbani Mantras for lyrics. It is sort of like “Meditative Rock”. It sounds like an oxymoron, but their music has a unique spiritual feel to it that is true to the band’s name. So while some of the tracks really jam and are pretty up-beat, they are different than any Sikh-related music you have heard before. This is a unique sound of joyful devotion, and it  flows in all the tracks. Their music is like a reflection of their world, as Sikhs, and the world around them in which they grew up.

“We needed a band in our lives all these years that combined the spirit of rock n’ roll, with the Guru’s word. We did not want to keep the two worlds apart. We wanted to build a bridge. In the end, we knew that the only way to do that, would be to do it ourselves”.  – Hargobind Singh (Anhad)

Their band is not just a band of friends,  but a family. No really! I think everyone in the album is related (brothers, sisters, cousins, except for a few guest musicians). Another thing which is unique to them is how they embrace their Sikh identity fully. When they perform a live concert they are in their “Uniform”, which is blue/turquoise colored chola/kurta and white turbans. They are definitely proud of being Sikhs and have no issue with standing out and representing the royalty of Guru Gobind Singh. I Like :)

Their debut album “Live/Unheard” appears to be a labor of love. The music in this album and their band in general, has been a journey in development over the past 4 years. Listening to their music, you can tell they put a lot of time & energy into it’s “birth.”

Those Malaysian youth know how to Jam out. I remember my short visit to Malaysia many years ago and remember getting together at someone’s house for an impromptu musical jam session. Guitars, drums, tablas, bag pipes, harmoniums, flutes, etc. Everyone just sang together, meditated and connected. I noticed that Malaysian Sikhs were very different culturally than what I was used to elsewhere in the world. When you go to Canada, England, USA….Sikhs are still very “Punjabi” and have a much closer tie with India. The Malaysians Sikh I feel are really rooted in their local culture and it’s refreshing to see them break away from many of the negative “boundaries” of Punjabi culture. I look forward to the next time I have a chance to visit Malaysia :)

It so inspiring to see youth like them break out of the typical Sikh “mold” and delve into the creative arts. In recent years I have slowly seen more and more youth on this same creative “path” becoming active artists, musicians, video producers, dancers, rappers, etc. No longer are the youth feeling confined to just a “professional life” of being a lawyer, doctor, businessman, etc. They are getting out and expressing themselves artistically. Because this is not the norm, I always want to showcase these youth and share their creativity (on SikhNet), so that they can in turn inspire others to express themselves in creative ways through the arts.

The ANHAD Music…

The whole album is great, but a few of them were my favorites. I put on my headphones and went for a journey. Here are some of my notes…

(2) Shaan starts with a simple meditative vocal track, builds with guitar, adds tabla, continues to build & then kicks off into motion with beautiful vocals chanting “Vaheguru” over and over, followed by nice harmonies & then doubling the pace with the introduction of the more typical “Rock” drums. It’s full on music fusion with East & West. It makes me want to close my eyes and just start chanting along. It has that happy joyful feeling to it that makes you just relax and know all is well.

(3) Ardas Bhaee jumps right in full of energy. No speed bumps here. It has a really nice rhythm and background melody mixed in with the vocals and other instruments.  This is one I love to sing along with while driving my car. The simple lines make it easy for anyone to just sing with the audio. Feels good. It ends with a nice choral type rendition of “Hari Hari”, over and over that reminds me of some Bollywood movies (the chorus sound). It then climaxes with more vocals “Ram Das Guru”, electric guitar and drums going wild. Nice track!

(4) Ik Ongkar – On this track they start with chant of “Ek Ong Kar Sat Nam Siri Vaheguru” and then go into a U2 sort of sound with a chorus of “Oh oh oh uh” that I’m sure crowds will love to chant back. Then it really goes Rock style with Electric Guitar and drums with a fusion of India vocal sargams (Rock style, if there is such a thing).

(5) Sagal Dwar – This track starts with beautiful vocals and simple acoustic and electric guitar. It’s like you are coming down off the mountain. Off the peak from the previous track, and moving back into a meditative space. It then picks up the pace with a nice repetition of the mantra that Is another I love to sing with while driving my car. A nice blend of male and female vocals (Harkiren Kaur?).  Great track that makes you feel good and pensive.

In my emails with Hargobind Singh (Lead Vocalist & Acoustic Guitar) about the album, he shared the following descriptions and background, which I hope will help you understand the inspiration for each track.

The Following is all in Hargobind Singh’s own words….

(1) Mangla Charan

The opening track is a compilation of verses that are always sung by my dad (Sukdev Singh) before he starts his kirtan. It is a salutation, a worship to the creator. We are all cousins, the members of ANHAD, and once upon a time we used to sit with my dad on stage every time he did kirtan as the Sri Dasmesh Jatha. As a result, when we first started putting ANHAD together, we used to recite this Mangla Charan before every rehearsal. Till today, this continues. since this is our first album, and we always did want him to record the track, we wanted to start it with the Mangla Charan once again. Just like every rehearsal, like every moment we’ve had as ANHAD. Because it was my dad who first influenced me in the evolution of music for devotion, we asked him to honour us by singing the opening track. And he did =)

(2) Shaan
This was actually the first track we’d ever arranged. It started out as an instrumental piece; sort of a build up to the rest of the performance. However one morning after a mountain hike, I was playing the same chords in a circle, and one of our friends began to chant “Waheguru” with it. Soon we added different guitar parts, structures, an alaap or two, and finally, drums. This track was recorded in the spirit of U2’s song: “Where The Streets Have No Name”. It takes us to the same faraway place every time.

(3) Ardaas Bhaee
The chords came first for this one. After having trouble figuring out which verse we could sing with it, another friend suggested Ardaas Bhaee which fit perfectly. However at this point it didn’t feel complete. It was too straight forward.

Jasdev and I bring the creative element to the band, and we’re both huge fans of progressive rock, from Pink Floyd and King Crimson, to Porcupine Tree and Tool; so we needed more. We played it for more than 2 years before finally adding the Hari Hari crowd chant to it, and finishing it off with Jasdev’s fantastic electric guitar chord progression during the second half of the track, which complemented Karamdeep’s killer bass lines perfectly. That’s when we knew it was ready.

(4) Ik Oangkar
This track broke the formula. My mum fell out of her chair when she heard this, and my dad couldn’t hide his pleasant surprise either. This one has a touch of 80’s rock, topped off with stadium anthems. All our tracks have a very concert feel to them, but this is the crowd participation track. It’s straight forward, it’s loud, and it’s easy to love. We wrote this arrangement because we always wanted to fuse a classical sargam with roaring guitars and pounding drums, thinking about our teenage years, when we wished there was a concert, one that had a song like this.

(5) Sagal Dwar
I had written the arrangement for this track a long time ago, based on a conversation with my sister. We were driving home once, and realized that we both chant Sagal Dwar Ko Chaad Kay, Gehiyo Tuharo Dwar every time we step into Guru’s Darbar. I thought that was such a random coincidence, and I wanted to hold on to it forever. And then a few months later, my dear Grandmum, passed away, and we sang this on the day she breathed her last breath. And suddenly, it was cemented forever, as an ode to her. Till today, every time we sing it, we sing it in her memory. It’s when I feel closest to my Guru.

(6)  Pavan Guru
This is a surprising addition to the album, as it sounds nothing like any of the tracks above. This track is here because of its history. What many people don’t know is that ANHAD started off as a 3-piece, me on the acoustic guitar, Dalip on the harmonium, and Jasdev on the tabla. The only thing we knew how to play back then was Singh Kaur’s “Waheguru Satnam Ji” track, since I had only picked up the guitar a month before. At the annual samelan a few weeks later, Kirpal (one of the sewadars from Penang), played a rendition of Pavan Guru on the acoustic that proved to be a huge hit with the participants. We asked him to teach it to us, and that was it. Everywhere we played, that was all people wanted to hear.

Now of course we are a full scale band focusing on Sikhi Rock, and musically, have departed from our more traditional roots. However, we obtained his permission to include it in our album as a bonus track; as a nod to our humble beginnings. The shabad that first brought us together; and now, here we are….

So there it is. The history of our band, told through our first album. It was our way of preserving it; Making sure it’ll live forever..

Interview with Hargobind Singh of ANHAD

Why did you choose to use Gurbani for the lyrics of your music?

Hargobind: “We had always hoped of one day listening to a band that merged western music with eastern influences. Growing up, we were exposed to some of the best Kirtan of our day. At the same time, in the world around us, bands like Oasis, Coldplay, and U2 were gaining prominence. And when we weren’t listening to the hymns of our Gurus, we were singing out loud to songs like Wonderwall, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, and In My Place, and occasionally, just occasionally, wished that one day the two worlds would meet.”

These days many of the Sikh Youth listen to Hip Hop, Rap, Bhangra or Mainstream Pop. How did you all get into Rock music and become interested in learning/playing this style of music?

Hargobind: “Well, Jasdev, Dalip and myself are the driving force behind the band’s musical direction, and we discovered the world of rock n roll through our older cousin brothers. Dalip is a bigger fan of classical music and Raag, and is classically trained (as well as the only member who has training) so he balances out the energy that Jasdev and I bring to the band. The thing about rock n roll is that, it’s so diverse, you can spend your entire life listening to it and yet every day, there’ll be a song that surprises you. It’s the only genre in the world that has a song written for every moment, for every emotion, for any time of the day, and for every life. As we mention in our album’s acknowledgments, my dad always knew that devotional music would one day be played in a stadium in front of thousands of people, and that was what we set out to do when we first started playing these songs in our heads.”

What do you see as some of your Goals for becoming a band and producing music? Why do it?

Hargobind: “We would love to perform at the Rose Bowl one day Haha! It’s odd, most people grow up on the music they love and aspire to one day be ‘rockstars’, as much as we disapprove of the term. We however have steady jobs and went to college before realizing that, ‘yeah, we want to do this too.’  You walk into any Sikh teenager’s room and all you see are posters of other people. You’ll be lucky to find anything that acknowledges their life as a Sikh. We were the same. Being a Sikh has never been cool. We have no idea why, given there’s nothing about us that isn’t; but that’s how it’s been (especially on our side of the world). So why produce an album? Because we want to see more Sikh bands out there. We want them to headline music festivals around the world. Glastonbury, Reading, Roskilde, Coachella, Rock am Ring, Lollapalooza. We want our kids to be proud of their faith and that rock roll, to quote AC/DC, ‘Ain’t Noise Pollution‘ =)”

I noticed that your whole band appears to have a cool “uniform” of Khalsa Bana (Turquoise!). What made you decide to have this outward appearance for your band, rather than the typical jeans/shirt look.

Hargobind: “When we first started, we were doing Kirtan together, and had made a pact that it would always be in full Banaa. This didn’t change, even if our music slowly did. The coolest thing about our band is that it took us 2 years realize that we had all received our Amrit, a bond which made us stronger than ever. Johnny Rotten once said that rock n roll doesn’t have a uniform. It’s supposed to be the clothes on your back. That’s what made it so beautiful, that you could walk down a street filled with people and not guess who listens to what. We dig the music, not the uniform.”

Is this a hobby? Are you all in college or have regular jobs?

Hargobind: “This is a passion project. I’m a pilot, my sister’s an accountant, and everyone else is in college. It’s something we’ve always wanted to do. We have careers ahead of us, and we funded this project ourselves. The day we finish promoting this album, we will go back to that life and then return to this one =)”

• Connect with ANHAD on Facebook
• Offical ANHAD Website
• Order Their Album as a CD or MP3 Downloads

Who is in ANHAD Band?

• Bhajanmeet Singh – Tabla
• Dalip Singh – Lead Vocals, Organ
• Hargobind Singh – Lead Vocals , Acoustic Guitar
• Harkiren Kaur – Backing Vocals, Tambourine
• Jasdev Singh – Electric Guitar
• Karamdeep Singh – Bass Guitar
• Tripert Singh – Drums
• Session Bassist – Tirath Singh

I took some pictures to share with you all of some parts of the camp. Hope you enjoy them…

View the full list on Flickr or Facebook (or full screen slideshow)

(Audio from Rensabhai Kirtan coming soon…)

Those of you who are regular readers of SikhNet news might recall many of the stories regarding “Guru Ram Das Lord of Miracles – South America Tour” which is led by Guru Bachan Singh Khalsa (from Espanola, New Mexico). They travel all through South America sharing the teachings of Sikhi, meditation, Kundalini Yoga, Healthy lifestyle and so much more.  Slowly in various parts of South America, little “pockets” of people have grown to love and experience these teachings. Some may call them selves Sikhs, while others may not….though relate to the universality of these teachings and practice them.

A few years ago I wrote a blog post in relation to musicians and Sikhs in South America. If you missed it you can read it here.

I wanted to share with one more new and unique musician from Córdoba, Argentina. Her name is Pavan Kaur.  Last year I stumbled on her myspace page where she had shared a track from an Album she was working on. I loved the sound of the music and wanted more! I book marked her page and would check every few months to see if there was any new music posted. Finally after maybe a year I found out that it was finished! Eagerly wanting to have it, I convinced her to send me the music (since she didn’t have it for sale with anyone at the time).

I know how hard it can be as an independent musician to make people aware of your music, and it didn’t help that she didn’t speak English (only Spanish). The only way I was able to communicate with her was thanks to google translate which worked pretty well for both of us :)

So, after her sharing the music with me,  I am compelled to share it with you all. Her new album is titled “Akash Bani”  (meaning “Words of the Ether”…the earth element). The audio from this album is centered around the Bani (writings) of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Each track has beautiful sweet musical compositions and her vocals with various pauri’s (lines) from Guru Nanaks’s Japji  Sahib.

These universal words of Guru Nanak speak truth which is beyond, time, religion or cultural background. By reciting and experiencing this universal oneness, we all come closer together in spirit. Listen, sing, chant and feel as Guru Nanak must have felt in his state of higher consciousness when he uttered these words. It’s always inspiring for me to see people as “flowers” bloom with love for Gurbani; No matter what they look like or their cultural background or religion.

So, now I encourage you to head over to her musician profile on the SikhNet Gurbani Media Center and listen to her beautiful music.  If you like it, please support her music and buy the CD. Hopefully other music distributors will sell her music as well. Enjoy!

You can also connect with her through her facebook fan page and let her know how you like the music (Though if you don’t speak spanish you might consider using to google translate :)

The first thought I had was, hope that at least there would be one person out of the bunch who might have heard of Sikhs. When that didn’t happen and the video finished it was a strong affirmation how little people know about Sikhs, and how much work we have ahead of us to change this. The constant media images of Osama Bin Laden with his turban and terrorism, portrayed a picture that people mistake for as Sikhs.

Reading comments from the video by Sikhs, I see shock, disbelief and feelings that these students and Americans in general are just “not educated” or just plain stupid. As I started to think about it I suppose from our perspective we feel like it should be obvious that everyone should know who WE are. As if just because they don’t know who we are they are un-educated. The reality is that the world is a big place and most people don’t get the kind of cross culture, world exposure that many of us are used to. I feel like in some ways it is egotistical to expect that people would know who Sikhs are.  There is a TON that I don’t know about various religions and people all over the world. Does it make me stupid? I don’t think so. Does it make me ignorant? Maybe.

So, how do we change this picture? It’s not going to happen on it’s own. We can’t expect someone else to do it either. I don’t see any millionaires coming forward to do PR campaign about Sikhs, so ultimately it is up to each of us to educate the people that we come in contact with. I often see that because of cultural differences many of the Sikh communities can be very insular and not having much interaction with people in the community. I also think we have to stop projecting out the feeling of “we are the victims”, so that when you are walking around you think and project out that the people think you are “this or that”. Or the worst is when Sikhs react to ignorant people in a negative way rather then keeping calm and using it as an opportunity to educate.

Part of the change comes from within, being strong in our identity, proud, joyful, confident, serviceful,  well mannered, standing up for people in need. The “vibe” and projections that we send out will effect what people perceive of us when we are out and about. We already stand out; so when our positive qualities and action in our communities are seen by people around THIS will affect change in the image of what they see. Often times the type of stories that mainstream public see are when we fight with each other :(

So, let’s take this as an opportunity to think about this situation and ways we can “Change the Picture”. Let’s take the initiative consciously rather than sitting back doing nothing and feeling like we are always “the victims”. Guru Gobind Singh ji gave us this identity for a reason, with the purpose of standing out. The key is that we have to be active and be known for our service.

If you have ideas on how to help create change, please do share!

View my previous blog post to read the words and download the audio 

I’ve been reading about the many protests that have been taking place all over the world. These have been very peaceful though they have involved tens of thousands of Sikhs. In general though when I hear about protests in India, there is often a very different energy to them than compared to ones in US/UK/Canada. From my outside India viewpoint it appears that there is much less restraint, particularly on the part of police and people trying to incite a reaction. So it often seems like gas and match waiting to ignite at the flick of a finger.

This morning I heard the sad news about two Sikhs being shot and killed apparently from the Punjab Police trying to disburse people as a result of clashes incited by “Shiv Sena” trying to incite violence against peaceful Sikh protesters in Gurdaspur.  This morning the twitter messages had really changed tone from hope and unison, to high emotions, fear and frustration. Thinking of the brutal time of 1984 and fears that “It’s going to happen all over again”.

Here I am, Sitting thousands of miles away in a small town (Espanola, New Mexico), where there is only a small Sikh community (compared to other parts of the world), trying to feel and understand the pulse of the Panth right now. It’s hard to get a full picture and a real sense for what is going on and so be able to relate in the same way as other Sikhs who are living this movement more directly.

My prayer is that Sikhs as a whole, and particularly those people who are in leadership roles, move very consciously forward, and advise those in their community to do the same by not letting our emotions control our actions. We need to ACT, but act from consciousness, and using our intuition as apposed to unconscious emotional REactions to events (which generally leads to negative consequences).

While I write these words I’m listening to the beautiful kirtan live from Harmandir Sahib and thinking how in spite of the daily turmoil, the Gurbani is always there, constant, neutral and inspiring. Not wavering, but just continuing to spread the messages of humanity, Oneness and God. It makes me think of our Gurus, who were so solid that didn’t waver in the face of any challenge.

As we chant the mool mantra from Japji Sahib. It is a reminder for us to remember who we are as Sikhs of the Guru, and to remember that we are all part of the ONE. I am you, you are me; and have to see the Me/You/ONE in EVERYONE; even people we don’t like. It’s not an easy task.

Nirbhao (ਨਿਰਭਉ) Without Fear
Nirvair (ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ)  Without Hate

So Khalsa Jis, please take this time to move any feelings of anger, frustration, emotion, etc to positive prayer (Ardas) and positive peaceful action. When we unite in prayer together we can move mountains without lifting a finger. Many underestimate the power of prayer.

You might feel that there is little you can do sitting far away from the many events going on, but know that with your meditation, with the bowing of your head to the Guru and your prayer, we can move forward together with the right state of mind to make more conscious choices that will have positive outcomes. Ultimately it is all in the hands of God so let us play our parts as consciously as possible as Sikhs of our Guru.

So, step away from the computer (and the constant flurry of Facebook and twitter updates) and close your eyes and take some time in prayer. Sit and meditate on the Waheguru Mantra. Recite Chaupai sahib, keep the Guru’s Chardikala flowing in your veins, so that we can all act from our alert, neutral, compassionate consciousness, just as our Guru’s would do.

 Act Don’t React

Here are a few quotes and excerpts from talks by SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa that are inspiring for me. They talk about Acting and Reacting. Food for thought

“One thing will always make you lose, and that is reaction. There are certain other things in addition, but you must start with reaction: rudeness, subjective insecurity, objective paranoia and creative fear.  Aren’t they wonderful? When you have them all in your behavior, you destroy yourself. You don’t need an enemy.” – 4/19/1989

“Never be right or wrong, always be neutral. Speak not through the positive mind or the negative mind, but from the neutral mind. And whenever you have to confront a calamity or a pleasure, take the altitude. Adjust the attitude. Do not react right away.” – 7/22/1996

“Life is one simple challenge. Act, don’t react. Calm yourself and claim yourself. When you reflect like a torch for a long distance, it takes away the darkness.” –  1/17/2000

“We do things but we don’t watch them. We don’t enjoy them. We don’t relate to the things as we should. We don’t watch our actions, we don’t plan our actions, we have no mastery over our actions. Because we don’t act, we react! As the forces force us, we react. That’s a human nature. Self-defense is a human nature. If somebody is coming towards your eyes or something is coming towards your eyes, without your acknowledging it, your eyes, though the eyelids are very thin and not very strong… they are not that of steel, but they will close. At least they will save you from dirt, dust and storm.

Human body has an automatic system to react through self-defense. But when we do automatic self-defense and react against the pressures, then we do not play our part. Then our individual intelligence plays no part.” – 07/06/1988

I added it to my NetFlix movie queue hoping to watch it, but it was in so much demand that I didn’t get it till very recently (I think it is available streaming now). Last night I watched it and was shocked to hear the information they shared. I’m already ahead of the curve in that I don’t eat meat, have very little dairy & already eat pretty well. What surprised me was the fact that this information is not so widely available. I think the Meat & Dairy lobbyists have so much control over the government (USDA) and that Americans (especially doctors!) have been so mis-informed.

You can get the documentary from amazon.com or read more about it on the official website http://www.forksoverknives.com

Just the simple awareness and changing of ones diet to primarily Whole food, plant based nutrition millions of people could be living much healthier and happier lives.

Here are some facts from the movie, which will probably surprise you:

• The average American carries an extra 23 pounds of weight.
• Heart disease and stroke claim the lives of 460,000 American women per year.
• There are 215,000 new cases of prostate cancer per year in American men.
• “We have a growing problem and the ones who are growing are us.” – Katie Couric.
• 40% of Americans today are obese.
• Almost one in five American four-year-olds are now considered to be obese.
• “This could be the first generation of children in the United States that lives less than its parents.” – Richard Carmona, former Surgeon General of the United States.
• “We have an unprecedented amount of type II diabetes in our children, and we are starting to see hypertension in our children in grammar school.” – Richard Carmona, former Surgeon General of the United States.
• About half of all Americans are taking some form of prescription drug.
• We spend $2.2 trillion on health care, over five times the amount we spend on the defense budget.
• We pay more per person for health care than any industrialized country in the world yet we are sicker than ever.
• Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure are all diet-related health issues that cost this country more than 120 billion dollars per year.

In August of this year a new study was published in Lancet magazine entitled “Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK.” Researchers point out that excessive weight gain in populations forecast an increased burden from several diseases, most especially cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers. They use a simulation model to project the probable health and economic consequences for the next two decades from the continuing rise in obesity in the United States and the UK.

The researchers project an additional 65 million obese adults in the United States and 11 million more obese adults in the UK by the year 2030. This is expected to lead to an additional 6.0 to 8.5 million cases of diabetes, 5.7 to 7.3 million cases of heart disease and stroke, and 492,000 to 699,000 additional cases of cancer. They predict that this will lead to  a loss of an additional 26 to 55 million quality—adjusted life years for the United States and England combined.

The researchers also predict that the medical costs associated with these preventable diseases are estimated to increase by $48 to $66 billion per year in the United States by the year 2030. They recommend that effective policies to promote healthier weight be put in place as soon as possible because of the economic benefits.

It is because of all these statistics and studies that I urge you to watch Forks Over Knives. It is a simple way to learn the benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet, which has been documented to help improve ALL of the conditions mentioned in this article.

I can also recommend that you read the book associated with the movie, because it is loaded with recipes to help you get started on this diet.

You can get the documentary from amazon.com or read more about it on the official website http://www.forksoverknives.com

It’s an amazing opportunity, and an experience that is life changing for these kids! Many of the children who want to go to this school can’t afford it, and so MPA does fundraising each year to fund the scholarship fund to help enable any kid who wants to be a part of this program. Watch the below video and give from your heart!  Help shape a child to be one of the leaders for tomorrow!

“Miri Piri Academy is dedicated to raising the children of today with the values, skills and discipline to be the teachers of tomorrow!  We give our students a deep experience of connection with their mind, body and spirit through the teachings of the Siri Singh Sahib Yogi Bhajan and Sikh Dharma. Each year Miri Piri Academy awards more than 75% of its students financial aid in order to make it possible for them to come to the school, and each year we depend on donations to help us make this possible.

We are excited to announce the launch of the “It Takes a Sangat to Raise a Child” campaign to ask for the support of our many friends and family around the world. 

Our goal is to receive at least 1000 donations of $54 or more.  Please take a look at this great video of our students who are so grateful for your support!  For this opening week one lucky donor will receive a free pass to Summer Solstice in Espanola, New Mexico!

About 10 years ago I was at the fall Khalsa Council meeting in Espanola, New Mexico.  The Siri Singh Sahib was talking about the role of the Council and how it is our responsibility to deliver the Dharma to the future. Then he said (and I am sure you know why I am capitalizing this), “WHEN THE CALL COMES, YOU MUST ANSWER!” Right then my cellphone rang. I hustled outside, hit the talk button, and it turned out to be the pastor of a church in Pasadena, who I had not seen in many years, asking if I would give a talk to his congregation. My immediate thoughts were: “This would involve flying across the country and taking time from work. What would I talk about? It is just not practical to do it.” Then the words of the Siri Singh Sahib rang in my head. “I would be happy to do it,” I told the pastor, and it turned out to be a wonderful experience.

I remember another incident many years before that. It was in the days when the Siri Singh Sahib would personally travel to ashrams to give teach courses.  It was an evening after, and the Siri Singh Sahib was giving appointments to anybody who wanted to see him. There were a lot of people who wanted to see him, and by the time it was my turn it was 2:00AM in the morning. Before I entered the room I heard him comment to somebody how exhausted he was and how he hoped this would end soon. I walked in the room, and there he was smiling at me, looking energetic and bright and letting me take as much time as I needed to discuss my issue with him.

What I learned from both these experiences, and from others over the years, is that the role of a teacher is a complete surrender. When a teacher is asked for help, he or she doesn’t have a choice but to give it, regardless of what he or she may feel or think personally. It is a commitment to living outside one’s ego.

When that commitment becomes a way of life, life becomes divine. Guru Arjan is our model for this. He was considered Partakh Har, a personified god. His ability to live outside his ego allowed him to be brutally tortured and yet to not pass judgment or react in a personal way. He provided the most extreme example, illustrated by his own death, where his role as a teacher did not falter. It was perfect, and a lesson to us about the depth of consciousness that is possible.

I understand the size of the gap between myself and Partakh Har. It is a big one.  However, I also believe that life’s gift is the experience, slow and uneven, of closing that gap.  It closes a little each time I am called to teach and I answer the call while putting my own needs aside. These small incidents chip away at my ego until eventually selflessness becomes a habit and then a way of life.

Sikh Dharma is the path of the householder. If you are going to “hold” that house you have to earn righteously and pay for it, work for it, feed the people inside, be the neighbors of other householders and therefore live in a community, which becomes a nation. As a family, as a community and as a nation you develop an identity, values, and beliefs. You take actions which are consistent with and which support your identity, values and beliefs.

At some point you must be challenged, tested to see if you are serious and committed to those values and beliefs or if you lack the commitment to ”walk your talk”  and your “teachings” are a sham.  Invariably what started as a meditation becomes a test of applied consciousness where the individual and the community are forced to weigh their identity, values and beliefs against the possibility of suffering, financial loss, imprisonment, torture and death- and decide what they are going to do.

Guru Arjan and his martyrdom provide for me guidance and a model for passing such a test.  During the Guruship of Guru Arjan many thousands of people heard the teachings of the Gurus and began to follow the teachings of Sikhism. This included not only Sikhs but also Hindus and Muslims, since truth can never be confined to a culture, region or ethnic identity.  Since money, property, and influence often accompany the power of the “church”, the Mughal clergy weren’t happy about the Guru’s growing influence.  They perceived it as an encroachment and reduction of their influence and power.

Following his father Akbar’s death Jahangir, the new Mughal emperor, saw an opportunity to destroy the Sikhs and the growing influence of the Guru. Jahangir, unlike his father, subscribed to the idea of turning the whole of India into an Islamic State. As a matter of economic and political expedience, a number of Hindus supported the Mughal Court. Having seen their own power base rapidly disappearing under the influence of Guru Arjan, they joined the Muslims in their efforts to destroy the Sikhs.

Jahangir and his minions brought the Guru “up on charges”, arguing that the Adi Granth defamed the Hindu and Muslim religions and that Khusrau, Jahangir’s son (whom many saw as a more fitting candidate for Emperor than Jahangir), had been financially aided by Guru Arjan.  Accordingly, in May 1606 Guru Arjan was arrested and brought to Lahore where he was subjected to severe torture.

As we sing in Gurdwara: “Guru Arjan gave his life to stand for what was right.  He was burned and tortured for five long days and nights.  He could have stopped it any time, just by giving in. His strength a solid wall, he never gave an inch at all.” (From “Song of the Khalsa”, by MSS Livtar Singh Khalsa). Various records reflect that Guru Arjan was made to sit on a burning hot plate and then in boiling water while red hot sand was poured over his head and body. When he was asked by his friend, Mian Mir, a Muslim saint, why he was allowing this torture to happen, Guru Arjan replied that he had to lead by example.

The Guru told him that people who stand for truth often have to suffer. He said, “I have to bear this pain with grace and dignity so that others when they meet similar adversity will have my example to guide and fortify them.”  As I reflect and meditate on Guru Arjan I am grateful for his sacrifice, grateful for the opportunity to receive the Guru’s wisdom into my heart, grateful for the opportunity to be in the company of the (Happy, Healthy and) Holy and grateful for the strength, wisdom, and courage I receive simply by reflecting on the example of Guru Arjan and those who have taught me and gone before me.

(re-posted from the Sikh Dharma Minister’s Newsletter)

The Siri Singh Sahib, my beloved teacher, inspired my ministry but not in the way I used to think of inspiration. From his example, I long to serve God as he served Him. When I met the Siri Singh Sahib I was coming out of a very confusing period in my life. There was a voice inside that for several years was telling me that I was supposed to help people find a way out of their pain. Not just for a few entertaining hours in the theater, but forever. When the thought first surfaced, I had no idea why I was thinking such a weird thought. It eventually sent me on a whirlwind round of searching that spanned three continents and lasted for over three years. Finally, my journey led me to the feet of the Siri Singh Sahib. I didn’t know where my head was at that time. All I knew was that the Kundalini Yoga I had been practicing for five months had become my safety net and that I wasn’t really losing my mind after all!

During my first appointment with the Siri Singh Sahib back in 1970, I expressed a concern over my brother who hadn’t been seen or heard from by the family in several years. I thought the Siri Singh Sahib, being a ‘holy man’ and all, would simply roll his eyes up to the ceiling in a trance-like manner and tell me my brother was fine and living in Paris or something like that. But instead he looked me straight in the eyes and commanded me to go out and teach. At first I thought he was kidding and I chuckled heartily. Then he said it again and I was a bit confused, wondering if he had heard correctly what I’d just said about my brother. But, before I could restate my reason for wanting an appointment, the eyes widened and the voice boomed out again.

“You must go out and teach! Do you agree, do you agree?”

What was he talking about? It may have sounded like a yes or no question but trust me, it wasn’t. As I searched the faces of the other guests in the room for help, the voice hit me again.

“You must go out and teach your people! Do you agree, do you agree?”

Of course I don’t agree! “I don’t know anything” I said, thinking what a ridiculous idea this was.  Over and over his voice continued to badger me and I kept telling him, “But I don’t know anything!” I pleaded unsuccessfully as the tears cascaded down my face and on to the basket of fruit I’d brought him. “This cannot be happening”, I screamed in my head. Then I was hit by another blow from the voice. “You must go out and teach….. teach….. teach!  Do you agree?”  “But I don’t know anything, sir….. how can I possibly teach this stuff?”  And the battle went on for what seemed like hours, but in reality was probably only a few minutes.  I finally surrendered.

“OK, OK!” I gasped, willing to say anything that would stop the booming voice and the pressure in my head. And of course, like magic, it all stopped. The Siri Singh Sahib smiled and patted me on the shoulder.  I felt a cool breeze blow across my face as a smiling lady came and gently took the basket of fruit and showed me to the door. I was stunned as I walked to my car wondering what just happened. I gave my word.  I promised I would teach, and I did.  I taught a class a week later to fourteen actors. The class was great. He was right. And I was hooked.

As Siri Singh Sahib has always said, a teacher is a chiseler and a forklift.  Well, I experienced that directly from my initial meeting with him. He was totally serving the destiny of my soul despite the resistance of my ego. He showed me the selflessness of true love and the commitment of a real teacher. It is with this dedication to serving the longing of others that I continue to travel and teach in Africa, Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe and throughout the United States. I do so with the hope that one day I will be as real and selfless with everyone as he was with me that day and many days that followed.

I truly believe that my personal mission as a minister of Sikh Dharma is to serve others with a technology that will help them find a way to drop their life’s suffering and embrace with reverence the joy and sweetness that is in their heart. I believe that the folks who gather before me are destined to be there as much as I am.  I believe when I give them the best I can, from as open a heart and mind as I can, I will have fulfilled my part of their journey as well.

I am humbled and deeply honored to be a vehicle for the love my teacher shared with me and thousands of others during his journey on this earth. It has instilled a great longing in me that is touched by Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s letters (Shabd Hazare) to his father, Guru Ram Das. His heart is full of wanting to be with his Saint Guru as mine is full of wanting to be near my beloved teacher every moment of my day and night. The time I feel I am closest to him is when I am teaching. I feel his presence so strongly that it is sometimes difficult to hold back my tears. It always takes me back to that day when he told me to go out and teach and I smile and whisper in my heart, “Sir, these too are your teachers”. Together we serve! God Bless the Siri Singh Sahib Ji.

(From the Sikh Dharma Minister’s Newsletter)

I was first introduced to turmeric when I was a child, but it was in the form of a hot golden colored milk that we fondly call  “Golden Milk”. I had no cares about being “healthy” (who does as a young kid?) and just loved to drink this before going to sleep (though my mataji made it for me back then).

These days I drink it for other reasons. No, I’m not that old and don’t have arthritis, but I do get a lot of inflammation in my wrists from the many long hours of work I spend on the computer every day.  I have noticed dramatic improvements when my wrists start to hurt and I have golden milk or take curcumin capsules (concentrated extract from turmeric). So whether you have joint pain or work on the computer like me you will likely enjoy and benefit from this healing drink.

So, how do you make it? It’s actually pretty fast and easy to make. Me and My wife Dr. Arjan Kaur Khalsa (who is a Doctor of Chiropractic) just produced the first video in a new series that she will be using on her website for her patients (and of course for any of you global online health seekers to enjoy!). In the video she talks about the benefits of Turmeric, various oils and how to make this drink yourself in your home.  Watch the below video and see! Or if you are in a rush just read the recipe below the video (though you’ll be missing my wife’s smiley charm and her talking about interesting stuff).

Turmeric “paste” Recipe

This version of the recipe is meant to make a small amount of turmeric paste that you can store in the refrigerator and use every day for a few weeks which makes it quick and easy to have on a regular basis. I sometimes use it in fruit shakes or with apple juice if I am in a hurry and don’t want to drink it hot. Just take a small spoonful and add to whatever you like! (though start small if you are not used to it because it can be bitter in larger quantities).

Instructions: Take 1/4 cup turmeric powder, mix with 1/2 cup pure water and simmer over medium-high heat for at least 7 minutes, stirring constantly.  You will notice a thick paste form. If it get’s too dry while cooking you can add additional water.  Once cooled, put into a glass jar and put in fridge.  This is good for a few weeks to one month.

If you are not familiar with Turmeric or where to get it, you should be able to purchase the powder from health food stores, Indian spice stores or other places online.

Making Golden Milk

Add 1 tsp of the turmeric paste to 1 cup. hot milk (cow, goat, soy, rice, almond, or any combination), maple syrup or honey to taste and 1/2 tsp. of almond or sesame oil.  Gently heat and stir and then Enjoy!

And yes….the Disclaimer
The above information is from ancient ayurvedic tradition. Nothing in this article or video should be construed as medical advice. The recipe has naturally occurring ingredients which have traditionally been used to support the structure and function of the human body for thousands of years. Always check with your personal physician or licensed health care practitioner before making any significant modification in your diet or lifestyle, to insure that the ingredients or lifestyle changes are appropriate for your personal health condition and consistent with any medication you may be taking.

A long time ago…

in a galaxy far, far away…

I made computer games…

I discovered the magic of computers in the 1970’s, working on a DEC PDP-11 at Ohio State University where I was working as a research associate in high energy physics. That’s the branch of physics that studies sub-atomic particles such as mesons and neutrinos. Our DEC allowed me to ‘talk’ to other uses on the network and the conversation printed out on a big printer in the computer room. I sat at my first ‘personal computer’ in 1984. It was a PC clone called an “Apricot,” no, really; Apples and Apricots. It was the fruit salad days of computing.

The day after I got my Apricot, I went looking for games and discovered my first adventure game, “Wishbringer.” Like Alice through the looking glass, I fell through the computer screen into the universe on the other side of the glass. A whole new world opened up. At the same time, I bought a 300 baud modem and connected it up to the ashram phone line. Another new universe opened up through CompuServe, the birth of online forums where folks all over the world could gather and discuss pretty much any topic. My fave topic was games. It was here that I met a witty lady who went by the online handle of ‘Buttercup.” I recognized a dedicated fellow gamer in Buttercup, who spent much of her leisure time online serving as one of the original adventure game sysops (discussion forum moderator) for CompuServe.

Every Tuesday evening we had a live, real-time, gamer’s chat room where we gathered to crack jokes, talk about games and kick each other (virtually) under the (virtual) table. Buttercup was a mistress of puns and fun, and being a good typist and multitasker, she carried on multiple public and private chat room conversations simultaneously (as did I.) Through our mutual love of computer games, Buttercup and I became fast friends online.

It was at this time that, at the behest of Yogi Bhajan, I started a computer BBS (Bulletin Board System) called ‘SikhNet.’ It served to link Sikhs (who had modems and computers – a small contingent at that time!) around the world with discussion forums, file downloads and more. It was these early BBS’s that later became the turf of Internet we know and use today.

In 1988, I was asked to beta-test adventure games for the pioneer adventure gaming company, Sierra On-Line. Among others, Sierra made such games as “King’s Quest,” “Space Quest,” “Hero’s Quest,” and Leisure Suit Larry. I guess I did a good job because in December of that year Sierra asked me to move to California and become their Senior Producer overseeing the development of new adventure games. For a list of the games I produced, check out this link.

The fun of this job was being part of a super-creative team of artists, writers, game designers, musicians and programmers who worked closely together to create the game experience. We were known collectively as the “implementers” because we created immersive, micro-cosmic worlds for gamers to inhabit. Designing game worlds, characters and puzzles was the best job I could imagine at the time.

My main concern was what I called “the soul of the game.’ The soul of the game meant the values, the magic, the truest essence of the imaginary game world – evoking the best from the players.

In 1991 we were looking for writers and producers and I immediately thought of Buttercup; got in touch and hired her to work as a producer at Sierra. Buttercup’s online persona reflected who she was in ‘real life’ – the witty, playful and creative gamer, Gano Haine. At Sierra, Gano worked on a new series of adventure games for younger kids called “EcoQuest.” Ecoquest taught kids ‘green’ living and starred a cute dolphin named ‘Cetus.’

In 1992, along with Ravi Har Singh, I went on to found a New Mexico-based computer consulting firm called Sun & Son, and thence back to SikhNet in 2003. Gano went on to work at EA (Electronic Arts) and then founded her own game development company called StuntPuppy Entertainment, and later another company called LimeLife. Under her leadership, Stunt Puppy had four number 1 ranking titles with such licensors as Mattel, Disney/Buena Vista Games, Atari/Infogrames and Leapfrog Toys.

Sometime in the 1990’s I was talking enthusiastically with Yogi Bhajan about computers and computer games and he casually said, “We should make our own computer game based on Sikh Dharma.” I happily agreed thinking that there was no way we actually had the resources to do this, but that it was a great idea. Like so many of Yogi Ji’s ideas, it was simply a matter of time before his vision manifested.

Early in 2010, Gurumustuk Singh and I discussed tackling an adventure game for SikhNet. I pointed out that the games we made at Sierra On-Line had budgets over $1M and took over a year to create with a team of eight to twelve people working full-time on the project. There was no way SikhNet had that kind of resources.

When Gano came to visit us in New Mexico, I broached the idea with her. She asked, “What’s your budget?” I said “Oh, I think we could afford $45K.” She thought for a minute and said. “We could do that.”

So began the almost two-year long journey that became “KARMA – The Ogre’s Curse.”

I had been out of the computer game business for 18 years at that point! At the outset, Gano said “Let me get hold of some of the artists, musicians and programmers I know and see if we can assemble a team.” So Gano and I began writing KARMA – The Ogre’s Curse.

At that time we simply called it “the karma game” because the core idea we came up with was that instead of racking up high scores and trying to beat other players, we envisioned a game where the player starts off with a heavy load of karma, and works to lighten that load, so that by the end of the game, you “won” by having no karma at all. That was the seed idea. Players could work off their karma by doing seva and helping others, by meditating and working on themselves, and eventually by healing other characters using Gurbani.

As it turned out, Gano was the perfect person to help us manifest the vision. The timing was right for her. She was willing to work on the project out of her love of Sikhi, and she assembled an inspired a team of artists, musicians, programmers and sound effects talent who were willing to work for much less than they could make in the world of commercial game development.

Without Gano, KARMA – The Ogre’s Curse would never have happened. When I expressed concern about how long the project was taking, she reminded me, “When you make a game, you have to choose two out of three: fast, good or inexpensive. You can never have all three, so pick two.”

We picked inexpensive and good!

That’s why KARMA – The Ogre’s Curse took two years to complete. The implementers worked in their spare time. Gano gave of herself tirelessly. We had at least two Skype conferences every week for over a year. We shared our game design documents in Google Docs and assembled the game world and characters from scratch. We decided to use text only (no voice recording) as well as non-animated artwork to save money since actors and animators are expensive (but, as you know if you’ve played the game, that later changed.)

In addition to the professional game development team, everyone in the SikhNet office joined in. Gurumustuk Singh designed the Dharma Badge system and the special game website within SikhNet to support this and future children’s projects. Gurujot Singh contributed to the game artwork and eventually taught himself Flash animation and animated the game characters. Gurujot designed the healing shabd mini dilruba game within the game as well. Harijot Singh recorded all the voices and worked tirelessly to get all the lines in the scripts correct and he recruited all the voice actors from our local Sangat. The actors really brought the game to life! No one who has heard him can forget Sarbjot Singh as our hero, Harimandir Jot Singh (of the Cherdi Kala Jatha) as the shopkeeper, Sherwanee, or Meeri Peeri Singh as the hilarious sadhu, Swami Seethrudhoti.

Gano’s team included our Flash programmer, Rick Hocker; our animation supervisor, Arthur Koch, our background and character artists, Joy Steuerwald and Karen Snave; our combat game designer Eric Luther (who designed the gatka mini-game) and our sound effects designer, Jane Scolieri. You can meet the whole development team here.

Gurumustuk Singh worked with Hargobind Singh to design and program the server-side environment for the game and all the supporting elements such as the Dharma Badge system.

But at the heart of it all was Gano who held the ‘soul of the game’ in her arms, and through her tireless dedication to the project, was able to bring it all to life. Thank you Buttercup! We did it.

I want to express my deep gratitude to all our generous supporters who, when our little project ran way over budget, generously donated funds to keep us afloat. Waheguru!

KARMA – The Ogre’s Curse is Gano and the SikhNet Team’s gift to the children of the world.

May you all be excellent, may you all be kind and may you all be heros!

Now go play the game and then lend a hand to other players in our gamers forum!

~ Guruka Singh

Coming out of the subway station at Courtland, just a block away from Zuccotti Park, the first thing I notice is the towering presence of two skyscrapers still under construction. This is the defiant Freedom Tower – the phoenix rising from the tragic ashes of the 9/11 attacks. Shimmering and reflective against the shocking blue October skies. A statement that the US cannot be broken. We will rise again, rebuild and remain a power that touches the world.

I didn’t realize that the Occupy Wall Street protests were taking place across the street from Ground Zero. But then again– there was a lot I didn’t realize before I started this improvised pilgrimage to the heart of our US Spring. I didn’t realize that Zuccotti Park is just one city block. Maybe three-quarters of an acre. Frankly – it is less than half the size of the land I live on by myself in New Mexico. Yet the actions happening on that one block in New York City seem to be rippling across the universe.

Standing on the corner of Liberty and Trinity, the Freedom Towers to one side of me, the Occupy Wall Street protests on the other, I can’t help but wonder. What is it about this place? That in ten years’ time, two events have happened here that have impacted the psyche of the entire world?

I spend the better part of an entire day at Zuccotti Park. Looking around. Listening. Taking pictures. Talking. Witnessing. By the end of the day, I get a sense of why the mainstream media can’t get their head around what’s happening here. And why such a large percentage of the US population is cheering these folks on.

There’s the girl who is a medical assistant. She’s 24. Had a job in the medical field in Maryland that left her feeling empty. She quit her job and showed up at OWS to volunteer at the medical tent. With 90 bucks in her pocket and a cell phone whose charge had run out. Handing out Vitamin C tablets to the protesters who ask for them – she feels like she’s doing something important. She’s excited. She’s on fire. She’s empowered to be doing actual health “care” – where the “caring” is part of the role.

There’s another guy. Young and clean cut, with piercing blue eyes and a strong build. He has a tent, a knapsack, a laptop and a digital camera. He asks to take my picture because – let’s face it – with my white turban and white clothes, I stand out a little. We start talking. He’s been unemployed for the last four months. Living out of his car. Traveling from one Occupy protest to another. He’s experiencing and documenting the events in his own way because he doesn’t have anything else to do. I look at him and think – this is the face of the new displaced. They carry their belongings on their backs. But they are educated. They are digital. They are connected to each other, and they are a force to be reckoned with.

I walk through the park and walk around the park. Again and again and again. A picture starts to emerge. It’s complex. We’ve heard about flash mobs – connecting for a few minutes or a few hours for a specific purpose. Then disappearing back from where they came. This place – this Occupy Wall Street – is a flash town. It’s a living fractal of the kind of society these folks would like to create. That a lot of people would like to create. The infrastructure, the organization – they are experimenting and modeling for themselves what they’d like to see society become.

The Medical Tent. With doctors, nurses, and chiropractors that do have jobs. Yet they volunteer their time to take care of the protesters and anyone else who shows up.

The Food Tent. Where they collect food donations, prepare meals, feed people. Feed the protesters. Feed the homeless. Feed the visitors. Feed anyone who comes along.

The Comfort Tent. Where they hand out clothes to people – blankets, coats, shoes, socks. Making sure that folks have what they need.

The Free Library. So many books being donated and lent out. Not just to the protesters – but to the crowds that meander through the park hour after hour. It’s open to them, too.

The OWS Day Care. A little corner set up for the moms to look after their small children.

The Media Tent. The Legal Tent. The Community Affairs Tent – if you want to know the schedule for the day. The Sanitation area – where the brooms and buckets are kept. The park was squeaky clean.

The gray water system display – illustrating how the water they use to clean the dishes is being recycled to water the plants in the park.

It goes on and on. A tiny little town within a square block, covering every human need. Fueled by volunteers, donations, and a fierce conviction that we can engineer a society where everybody gets taken care of.

Complexity. It doesn’t lend itself easily to sound bites.

Of course – all of the infrastructure would be pointless if there wasn’t something happening. Once again, “what’s happening” defies simple summaries. There are so many people converging in this one place, with so many different ideas. There’s no lack of things to do.

Every day, there’s at least one if not two marches organized somewhere for some purpose. The visible protest – with signs and people. The morning I arrived, a group had just donned Robin Hood costumes. They marched with signs saying, “Tax the Rich.” It was theatrical. It was New York. And it got a simple point across.

Yet to say that this point, “Tax the Rich” is THE point is not to be paying attention. That was one event. There were dozens and dozens of events happening all day long.

Free workshops offered on a range of topics: from non-violent communication, ala Marshal Rosenberg; to protecting yourself from predatory lenders.

Political action tables set up in the park. You can register to vote. Sign a petition supporting the Buffet Tax. Sign another petition to help keep US Post Offices open. And if you need a Public Notary? She there from 3-5 pm.

There’s the space for everyone to make a sign. For everyone to give voice to their thoughts. A lot of these protestors don’t sleep in the park. They show up for a while with their signs, and then go home when they’re done. One older man I spoke with wore a sandwich board that he obviously made himself. No flashy symbols or catch phrases. He had a rather crowded outline of what he thinks we need to be paying attention to.

I asked him how long he stayed there. He gave me a rueful smile. “I’m here with my wife,” he said. “And I stand here until my back or my legs give out.”

What fascinated me the most was how much more crowded the sidewalk became after business hours. You could see those people who, dressed very professionally, simply came by the protest on their way home from work. They added their signs and voices to the mix.

If you didn’t want to create a sign, you could always stop by the button maker’s table. Buttons in support of Occupy Wall Street. Take one and leave a donation “When my friends ask my why I’m here,” the button maker said, “I ask them – why aren’t YOU here?”

If signs and buttons aren’t your style – you can always sit in on The People’s Think Tank. In one corner of the park – just sit with other people – and talk about everything and anything that matters to you. I sat in for about 30 minutes. The people were regular folks. One guy, dressed like a yuppy, had come from upstate New York. He led the meeting, took notes, and his exuberance was infectious. “I feel like I can finally say all these things I’ve been thinking my whole life, but could never talk about with anyone.”

Another voice, “There isn’t going to be a violent uprising. This is a spiritual uprising.”

Another voice. “It’s about compassion in leadership. How can we make it OK for leadership to be compassionate?”

And another, “This is the most American thing I’ve ever seen.”

The Think Tank met for 3 hours. They took a ten minute break, came back and kept going. Every single person involved was sitting on the edge of their seats, smiling, engaged, excited because they finally realized – hey, I’m not alone.

Not everyone likes the verbal route with signs, buttons or dialogue. So, on the other side of the park, you can jam with the infamous drum circle. The circle lasts for hours. Someone said to me, “I don’t even think all of them are protestors. I think some of these people just want a place to play drums – so they show up and become part of the circle for while.”

It might annoy the heck out of the nearby businesses. But that drum circle keeps the attention on Zuccotti Park. Mobs of people line the street while they play, taking pictures and becoming curious.

(As a writer, as a journalist, I understand how difficult it might be to read this story. It’s taken me two hours to get this far, and there are more images in my mind. I know I am breaking the rules here. I may be going on longer than you are used to reading. But for some reason, I think it’s important. Just this once. To put all the pieces onto paper. Because this event, this OWS, is such a complex social phenomena. Perhaps in the not to distant future, there won’t be a chance to see it again. To talk about it again. I don’t want to forget any of the details.)

The more difficult aspects. The homeless. The pan-handlers. The mentally ill. Of course they are coming, too. Free food, free medical care, free warm clothes – who needs it more than they do? It would be easy to walk through the park, taking pictures of those people, and making them the face of the movement. By my estimation, this shadow side constitutes about maybe 5% of what’s happening there. To their credit, the OWS protestors are doing everything they can to manage these folks with dignity.

Next to a couple of pan-handlers, one protestor held up a sign. “Please don’t give money to the pan-handlers. Give it to OWS. We are making sure that everyone gets fed and gets what they need.”

The interactions with the police. Both sides seem to be working very consciously to keep a dialogue going. There’s a dynamic tension at play. Cops are stationed on every side of the park. They maintain a certain distance, keep the foot traffic moving, and ask the protestors to change things with the camp if they perceive anything as hazardous. Some police officers wear vests that say, “Community Affairs Liaison.” There have been meetings between the protestors and representatives of the local neighborhoods. The amount of drumming going on has been a big issue.

It’s all about boundaries. Inside the park, a new world is being birthed, and it revels in the joy of its own existence. But a couple blocks away, New Yorkers and visitors are going about their daily life, oblivious to the social experiment taking place under the Freedom Tower. The police represent – physically and psychologically – the boundary line between those two worlds.

Then, of course, there’s the spiritual aspect.

On the corner of Liberty and Trinity, there is a simple tree at the center of a circle of marble benches. One of the protestors took it upon himself to create a sacred space around the tree. The protestors named the tree, The Tree of Life. There are small wooden shelves placed around the tree housing symbols from every possible religious and spiritual tradition – known and unknown. It’s universal. It’s open. And it serves as a spiritual sanctuary.

One of the people who created this sacred space watches over it as his contribution to the protests. “One day,” he said, “the yogis showed up.” Fateh Singh Khalsa, Hari Simran Singh Khalsa (who was featured in Time Magazine), Himmat Singh Khalsa and others. A group of Kundalini Yoga teachers, many of whom also happen to be Sikhs. They were inspired to come every evening and lead a Kundalini Yoga class for those in the camp who wanted to attend. They call themselves Occupy Yoga.

The “People’s Microphone” has been written about in other articles covering the protests. The yoga class works the same way. Sat Jagat Singh Khalsa, the head of the 3HO Brooklyn Ashram in NYC and co-founder of Kundalini Yoga in Park Slope, stands on one of the marble benches. He begins to explain the Kundalini Yoga exercises to those who are gathered there. His son, Hari Simran Singh, myself and others repeat the instructions in a loud voice. That way, the crowd which has gathered around can hear.

This is grass roots, no glory, yoga teaching. This is bringing yoga to the people with humility and grace. There’s no room to stretch out. Sat Jagat Singh has to lead something simple that the participants can do while standing up or sitting down. Yet, people gather to watch. To participate. And yes – even to protest. As the yoga class happens, someone outside the park makes fun of it. They walk around with a sign that says, “This is the dawning of the Age of Hilarious.”

Some moments are too precious to put into words. The day ends the way it began. In the presence of the OWS protestors. Looking up at the emerging Freedom Tower. Sat Jagat Singh teaches a simple healing meditation as night falls. The Freedom Tower is the back-drop. There’s no way to express what it was like sitting there, across from Ground Zero, praying for healing with people who believe that we can build a better world. A more fair world. A more compassionate world. And who believe it enough to put themselves on the line.

It’s a one-in-a-million moment. The sound of the chanting. The reminder of what happened 10 years ago. The realization that the spirit to heal the problems we face has been inside us all along, and is coming to life. I don’t know what the end result of Occupy Wall Street will be. But I do know, day by day and moment by moment, there are conversations, prayers, connections and ideas happening here whose ripple effects will far outlast the life span of the protest, themselves.

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa * ekongkaar.blogspot.com

Every fall, we have the blessing of celebrating Guru Ram Das Ji’s birthday. Guru Ram Das was the fourth Sikh Guru, and was known for his humility, service and deep devotion. He founded the city of Amritsar and designed the Golden Temple. There are 688 shabads of Guru Ram Das included in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib and he wrote the Lavan (the Sikh marriage vows), as well as parts of Rehiras and Kirtan Sohila.

Guru Ram Das held a special place in the heart of the Siri Singh Sahib, and our local community looks to Guru Ram Das for guidance, for healing, and for protection. Many of our ashrams & Gurdwaras were named in his honor. The Siri Singh Sahib started a beautiful special sadhana to do in celebration of Guru Ram Das’s birthday.  For 11 days prior to his Guru Ram Das Ji’s birthday we chant the shabad ‘Dhan Dhan Ram Das Guru‘ for 31 minutes. This is the Shabad of Miracles.  In many communities, Gurdwaras, ashram members, students and friends gather together to chant this shabad with devotion and faith, during the 11 days leading up to his birthday. Then, on October 9th, the day of Guru Ram Das Ji’s birth, we have a special sadhana of chanting the shabad ‘Dhan Dhan Ram Das Guru‘ for 2 ½ hours in the Amrit Vela.What a special time.

WATCH THE LIVE BROADCAST (Click Here)
Celebrations will be almost all day Sunday October 9th. Below is the schedule and details….

Sunday, October 09, 2011
2.5 hours of Dhan Dhan Ram Guru Chanting  (3:30 AM – 7:15AM)

3:30am – Japji Sahib
4:00-4:30am Sangeet Kaur
4:30- 5:00am Kirpal Singh
5:00- 5:30am Hari Bhajan Kaur and Siri Chand Singh
5:30- 6:00am Sada Sat Simran Singh (Chardikala Jatha)
6:00- 6:30am (plus end program) Pritpal Singh
6:30am-7:00am  Short Gurdwara
7:15am   Breakfast prepared by Siri Guru Nam Kaur  (Haven’t yet figured out how to virtually serve langar though :)

Sunday, October 09, 2011 – Gurdwara  ( 10AM – 1:00 PM )

10:00- 10:30 Ravi Kaur
10:30- 11:00 Sada Sat Simran Singh (Chardikala Jatha)
11:00- 11:30 Sada Sat Simran Singh (Chardikala Jatha)
11:30- 11:50 Siri Singh Sahib Ji Lecture
11:50- 12:00 Guru Ram Das Story – Guruka Singh
Children’s Program, SOK Dharm Singh / Sada Sat Simran Singh

Date and times listed in Mountain Standard Time (GMT -7:00) –  New Mexico – USA. You can google "what time is it in New Mexico" to see the current time here. 

I love this time of year during the fall when it is so beautiful. Then on top of it having these beautiful cozy evenings of Kirtan. It’s great being in the Gurdwara, but there is something unique and special about many members of the community opening their homes for all to come and sing and chant together in praise of Guru Ram Das. Every evening we go to someone else’s home, sing, meditate and then be served food by the hosts.

Even if you do not have a Gurdwara or community you can play kirtan in your home or take the time to meditate on Gurbani. You can listen to the Shabad in praise of Guru Ram Das below along with many other musicians. You can also hear many more audios and hukams by Guru Ram Das in the Gurbani Media Center.

For the next week or so you can tune into Channel 1 of SikhNet Radio to listen to a selection of Kirtan by Guru Ram Das (or in praise of him). 

It’s hard for me to just pick a few videos since there are always so many great creative videos. However, here are a few videos that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

I encourage you to watch the other videos on SikhNet that are not featured here. All the participants of the film festival put a lot of time and effort into their videos, so I hope that you take the time to support them by watching the videos and shareing your appreciation and encouragement.

Intermediate Category (Age 18-25 years)

"Born To Lead" by 24 Year Satdeep Singh (Ludhiana, Punjab, India)

 This is Satdeep’s second year making films for the SikhNet Youth Online Film Festival. Last year his film titled, "The Forgotten Truth" was the 2010 winner for the intermediate division. You can watch his last film as well. His film this year titled "Born to Lead" was a big jump up in production from last year.  Using a Digital SLR camera (Canon EOS 550D) with a normal 50mm lens created some very dramatic visuals with focusing and the actual video quality. I was surprised to see a production of this quality from India, since often times the submissions from India are of lesser quality. They made their own music for the sound track for the video, which was produced by Tavleen Singh (TAV). I’m looking forward to them releasing the sound track that was played on the end credits of the video!

The story of the video has to do with relating to ones’ own Sikh identity and trying to fit in to what others think. It starts with a common theme of a Sikh guy liking a girl who doesn’t like him in return because he is "not her type" (meaning he wears a turban and beard). It has to do with his exploration of the value of being a Sikh, and for one’s self rather than for others. It has a nice surprise twist near the end which was creative. I also like that it felt real and personal, unlike typical Bollywood melodramatic stories that are unreal. When we first watched this film I even caught myself getting a bit teary eyed at few parts. The music…story…acting…and whole production was very well done.

It was also pretty cool to see the video spread through social networks like facebook and twitter. The more people commented on the video the more people shared it and saw the video. This video probably has more views within the first few days than any SikhNet videos in the past. 

I encourage you to read more about the video and "like it". Share your comments with the film makers and others on SikhNet.

"The Reunion" by Angad Bhai and Ethan Russell (New York, NY, USA )

Two friends who share a common background reunite after several years of being apart. One is a Sikh who has cut his hair after being brutalized during a hate crime, and the other has kept his hair since birth. Their dialogue deals with issues Sikhs face when trying to assimilate into modern American society, while maintaining their cultural and religious heritage.

I had previously posted info about this video which was released online earlier this  year.You can read that info for details on the film. The lighting, sound, visuals and camera work and overall production was really high quality. You can definitely tell how hard Angad Singh and Ethan worked on this film.

I encourage you to read more about the video and "like it". Share your comments with the film makers and others on SikhNet.

"Japji Sahib: Guru Nanak & The Kali Bein" by Harimander Singh (Santa Monica, CA, USA )

This film starts with an video except by SSS Harbahajan Singh Khalsa about Guru Nanak Dev ji and then goes into a beautiful dramatization/visualization of Guru Nanak going into the river and experiencing the universe. Followed by his return and emerging from the water reciting Japji for the first time.

"New Shoes" by Hari Mitar Singh (Espanola, NM, USA )

"An old homeless man shows kindness and generosity to someone even less fortunate. I wanted this video to show people that there is always someone less fortunate and that we must always give to others."

This was a simple & short video with only music and visually telling the story of a homeless man who falls into luck, yet still shares. This was filmed here in Espanola with his father as the main actor and Hargobind Singh (the kid).

"Proud to be a Sikh" by Saumya Bhardwaj Kaur (Ghaziabad, UP, India)

"This is a story of a 6 years old child, who is not aware of the sacrifices made by the Sikhs. One day he transformed by a ray of light." This video is fun and playful and put’s you in the kids perspective. They did a great job with the video, sound effects and overall adding humor to the video. I’m sure kids will enjoy watching this video as well.

There are some other great videos in the intermediate group so encourage you to visit SikhNet to watch some more. 

Being a Sikh and Growing up in India has definitely made me fond of Indian music. I love many of the classic Indian musicians and particularly love the flute (Pt. Hariprasad Chairasia is awesome). Though I have western roots, I have loved listening to music which is a fusion of east and west. Probably most of my favorite music is Indian/western fusion music. So, when I see a young guy like Shankar Tucker, its pretty cool to see this music alive and growing. It’s cool seeing him and other young Indian musicians working together making some great music.

Over the years I have gotten to know many young Sikh musicians, and always try to encourage and support them in this creative art. I love that my daughter is learning music (violin) and hope that she continues to enjoy and play music. These days in school and life in general learning music is not a priority, so the few who do get into music are very lucky. I think it really is reliant on parents encouraging and taking the time to help kids learn music. It takes a lot of time….not only for the kids but for the parents. As part of my daughter learning Violin one of the parents (my wife) has to learn with her as well, which creates a better support structure and investment on the parents part. If you have kids, I encourage you to share the gift of music with your children!

 There are actually a lot of Sikh style music/gurbani that is fusion type (My mother included is actually a popular musicians). Here are a few other musicians that you can explore that I can remember (This is in no way a comprehensive list & is just a few artists that are listed on SikhNet). If you have others that you want to suggest…please do comment! I love finding new music!

• Acappella Jatha
• Balvinder Singh (Australia)
• Bibi Baldev Kaur (Malaysia)
• Dya Singh (Australia)
• Dileep Kaur
• Hari Bhajan Kaur Khalsa
• Indi Kaur
• Jagdees Singh Sentul
• Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa (Oregon)
• Punjabi Hippie
• Snatam Kaur
• Satkirin Kaur Khalsa

These days we are seeing lots new Sikh musicians come out. Surprisingly for me, Rap music is pretty popular to Sikh Youth and there are quite a few Rappers these days. I recently became friends with another musician (Tavleen Singh) who made the music sound track for one of the recent popular SikhNet Youth Online Film Festival videos: "Born to Lead". I’m looking forward to him releasing the track that he ends the film with.

Anyways… looking forward to hearing more Indian fusion style music…. please do share your favorites!

I also feel that too often Sikhi is related in such dry way with no "soul" or spirituality in how it is communicated that doesn’t connect with the new younger generation of Sikhs. As if it (being a Sikh) was just something that we do "because"…or something that you practiced because your parents told you to, without it having much meaning to you. Often times with no personal relationship in expressing this….it is harder to relate to. I always encourage the youth who submit videos to SikhNet to come up with a video showing unique and creative stories that share a personal experience. This helps the viewer relate to it in a real way and not come across as preachy or hollow.

Technology has made it easier than ever to use this media. Everyone has cell phones that record video…even HD quality video! Most youth have computers and are pretty comfortable with technology. It’s just a matter of applying their creativity and doing something unique with their time. Sit on the couch and watch TV? Or get a bunch of friends together and make a cool video that will be both fun and interested to many people. I have seen so many more Sikhs make videos in recent years. If you watch videos on YouTube or are on Facebook you have no doubt seen loads of videos by Sikhs. It’s pretty common to see Sikh rap music videos, comedy

A few weeks ago was the submission deadline for the 2011 SikhNet Film Festival, and after getting all the videos, we started our work with processing them and getting ready to post online. Some years we get 20+ video submissions and sometimes 50+ so it really just depends. It’s always great to see repeat film makers who have started with their first video and then over the next years create more videos. You can always see the quality improvement for the ones that stick with it, each with their own unique style.

This past Friday we had the task to watch all the video submissions and decide who the prize winners would be. Overall we feel that all the participants are "winners" just by taking the time to make a video and do something creative, however we like to recognize some of the videos that might stand out from the rest. Plus…it motivates people to know that they can win some prize money.

It is no easy task choosing top three for each category (junior, intermediate, and senior). The 4 of us at SikhNet (Espanola) went over to Guruka Singh’s house and had a SikhNet Film Festival movie marathon all day. We started off with the video submissions by the juniors 11-17 years old and went upwards.

Judging videos is very subjective, so opinions can vary widely from person to person. In the past we had a whole ranking system that we had many different judges fill out to rank each movie, but in the end it didn’t seem to work very well.  So for the past years we have done a bit of a hybrid of the two. We watch the videos and rank them on a sheet according to the creativity, message, technical aspects and overall impact. Then at the end of watching the videos for each youth group we compare our rankings to see if there is a common theme for our top picks. We do the marathon viewing together so that the videos are fresh in our minds and we can better compare to the other videos that we just watched.

If we find that all of us ranked certain videos similarly then it’s great. But often times (particularly for second and third place) we have to spend time to debate with each other and talk about why we each felt one video was better than the other. We always have some pretty heated and passionate "debates" as we argue why we think one video is better than the other. It’s no easy task since there are so many aspects to consider, and the videos can often be so different in nature and culture. For example, videos typically from youth in India are often VERY different than videos made by youth elsewhere in the world.

In any case, we do our best to be fair in ranking the winners and share tips and advice with the Film makers so they can improve.  So are you ready to start watching some videos from this years SikhNet Youth Online Film Festival?? There are quite a few videos that you can watch so I thought I would share some of the videos that I enjoyed with a bit of commentary…..

Junior Category (Age 11-17 years)

"(Ex) Changed" by 17 Year old Angad Singh (Roswell, Georgia, USA)

Angad Singh is one of the younger talented Sikh youth who started his first film for the 2007 SikhNet Film festival when he was 13 years old. He won 1st place in the junior category for the video titled "One Light". This was a project for him to educate his neighbors about himself as a Sikh and to learn about them as well.

Then in 2008 (age 15) he came out again with yet another winning video "Roots and Wings" which poses the question about whether one has to cut off their roots in order to spread their wings and soar high.

This year (now at 17 years old) he submitted his third film (Ex) Changed about him as a Sikh-American teenager sharing the message of friendship and building bridges to an international level. He and his American classmates host 32 French teens for two weeks as part of an exchange program. They get to know French lifestyle and culture on an individual level, breaking the common stereotypes that they had of the French, while showing their guests the true face of America. While exploring two other connections Angad has to France, and building his third one, he realizes something that devastates him.

You can watch his latest video below which was one of my favorites for the junior group…

I encourage you to read more about the above video and "like it". Share your comments with the film makers and others on SikhNet.

"Wake Walk Win" by 17 Year old twins Harnek Singh and Rasna Kaur (Troy, Michigan, USA)

This is their second year submitting to the SikhNet Film Festival. In 2010 they won 1st place in the junior division for their film "iz yu ignant bout Sikhi?".  This short film is a visually creative and simple message based on Gurbani to first "wake up"…"start walking"…and then "win".  I loved the creative idea they used for this and how they artistically conveyed this in video.

I encourage you to read more about the above video and "like it". Share your comments with the film makers and others on SikhNet.

There are more videos in the Junior division that are also great, however these two were my top picks from this year. You can watch more of the videos in the Junior Category here.

Read Part 2 of some of the videos I enjoyed from the Intermediate group (ages 18-25)

Last night my 5 year old daughter Charanjeet Kaur over-heard a conversation that my wife was having with the mother of one of her friends.  She was lit up about about the thought of death, exclaiming that her friend’s great grand mother is very sick and might DIE. And then saying… "I don’t want to die!". It was interesting to see how she was relating to death, so we talked to her about death being a natural part of life and that we all are born and die eventually. I think some of her concepts of death are from what she has seen in movies which are mostly pretty sad and have no spiritual connection. She just kind of listened….said again that she doesn’t want to die…and then I did my normal nightly Kirtan Sohila for her and she went to sleep.

I often think about death and ask myself ,"If I were to die today would I feel like I did what I came here to do?". Most often the answer is no, and that even though God could take me home at any time I feel some assurance that I still have a lot of work to do, and surely "God" won’t take me yet. In reality though who knows. We often tell ourselves we will do certain things later on…and time passes…life passes going through the motions of every day life. It is in situations like this that you realize how important taking the time to connect with your soul and live as a spiritual person. The time really is NOW…today to make change and connect with our true spiritual self which is everywhere and in everything. I don’t think anyone wants to come to the end of their life and look back thinking how they wasted their life, and didn’t spend the time on the important things.

Every day when I see my daughters bright face I take the time to hug her and cherish this gift that God has given to us, and try to treat it as if I might not see her tomorrow. I always pray for the protection and safe keeping of my family and hope my kids live a long life, but there are no guarantees of this. All I can do is just appreciate the time that I have NOW and not worry about "what could happen".

For years me and my wife had talked about the idea of Life Insurance for me. We kept flip flopping on the idea but a few weeks ago decided to get a policy for me so that If I ever were to depart from the earth within the next 20 years that my wife and kids would be covered. Hopefully we never actually need to use the policy! I want to stick around for a long time and be one of those great grand parents sharing this beautiful path with the younger generations. All is in Guru’s hands….

In any case one has to just keep on going and living life to the fullest and not take this precious time for granted.

“Our hair fashions might be just a trend, but if we investigate, we may find that we have been depriving ourselves of one of the most valuable sources of energy for human vitality.” Yogi Bhajan

Consider the possibility that the hair on your head is there to do more than just look good. Man is the only creature who grows longer hair on his head as he grows into adulthood. Left uncut, your hair will grow to a particular length and then stop all by itself at the correct length for you. From a yogic perspective, hair is an amazing gift of nature that can actually help raise the Kundalini energy (creative life force), which increases vitality, intuition, and tranquility.

Cut Hair

Long ago people in many cultures didn’t cut their hair, because it was a part of who they were. There were no salons. Often, when people were conquered or enslaved, their hair was cut as a recognized sign of slavery. It was also understood that this would serve as punishment and decrease the power of those enslaved.

The bones in the forehead are porous and function to transmit light to the pineal gland, which affects brain activity, as well as thyroid and sexual hormones. Cutting bangs which cover the forehead impedes this process. When Genghis Khan conquered China, he considered the Chinese to be a very wise, intelligent people who would not allow themselves to be subjugated. He therefore required all women in the country to cut their hair and wear bangs, because he knew this would serve to keep them timid and more easily controlled.

As whole tribes or societies were conquered, cut hair became so prevalent that the importance of hair was lost after a few generations, and hairstyles and fashion grew to be the focus.

The science of hair was one of the first technologies given by Yogi Bhajan when he came to America. “When the hair on your head is allowed to attain its full, mature length, then phosphorous, calcium, and vitamin D are all produced, and enter the lymphatic fluid, and eventually the spinal fluid through the two ducts on the top of the brain. This ionic change creates more efficient memory and leads to greater physical energy, improved stamina, and patience.” Yogi Bhajan explained that if you choose to cut your hair, you not only lose this extra energy and nourishment, but your body must then provide a great amount of vital energy and nutrients to continually re-grow the missing hair.

In addition, hairs are the antennas that gather and channel the sun energy or prana to the frontal lobes, the part of the brain you use for meditation and visualization. These antennas act as conduits to bring you greater quantities of subtle, cosmic energy. It takes approximately three years from the last time your hair was cut for new antennas to form at the tips of the hair.

Kundalini Hair Care

In India, a Rishi is known as a wise one who coils his or her hair up on the crown of the head during the day to energize the brain cells, and then combs it down at night. A ‘rishi knot’ energizes your magnetic field (aura) and stimulates the pineal gland in the center of your brain. “This activation of your pineal results in a secretion that is central to the development of higher intellectual functioning, as well as higher spiritual perception” (Yogi Bhajan). During the day, the hair absorbs solar energy, but at night it absorbs lunar energy. Keeping the hair up during the day and down at night aids in this process. Braiding your hair down at night will help your electromagnetic field balance out from the day.

Split Ends

Loose scattered hair can develop split ends. Instead of trimming them and losing your antennas, Yogi Bhajan recommends applying a small amount of almond oil to your hair overnight so that it can be absorbed before you wash it the next morning. Keeping your hair coiled on your crown and protected with a head covering during the day will help your antennas heal. If you have long hair, see if your experience is different when it is clean and coiled at your crown, or down and loose.

Wet Hair

One year after Winter Solstice, when Yogi Bhajan was sitting in our living room with wet hair, he explained that he was drying it before putting it up in order to avoid a headache. When you put your hair up wet, it will tend to shrink and tighten a bit and even break as it dries. A better idea is to occasionally take the time to sit in the sun and allow your clean, wet hair to dry naturally and absorb some extra vitamin D. Yogis recommend shampooing the hair every 72 hours (or more frequently if the scalp sweats a great deal). It can also be beneficial to wash your hair after being upset to help process emotions.

Wooden Comb

Yogis also recommend using a wooden comb or brush for combing your hair as it gives a lot of circulation and stimulation to the scalp, and the wood does not create static electricity, which causes a loss of the hair’s energy to the brain. You will find that, if you comb your hair and scalp front to back, back to front, and then to the right and left several times, it will refresh you, no matter how long your hair is. All the tiredness of your day will be gone. For women, it is said that using this technique to comb your hair twice a day can help maintain youth, a healthy menstrual cycle, and good eyesight.

If you are bald or balding, the lack of hair energy can be counteracted with more meditation. If you are finding some silver strands in your hair, be aware that the silver or white color increases the vitamins and energy flow to compensate for aging. For better brain health as you age, try to keep your hair as natural and healthy as you can.

Tagore’s Hair

Yogi Bhajan told us this story about hair many years ago at Women’s Camp in New Mexico: Recognize how beautiful and powerful your hair is—that when you keep it, you live a life of fulfillment in this world. When Rabindranath Tagore, the great poet who found God within himself, tried to meet a friend on a steamer ship, the friend didn’t recognize him and so wrote him a letter. “We were on the same steamer, but I didn’t find you.” Tagore said, “I was there.” His friend said, “I understand you are now a God-realized man, and I would like to know what your first action was when you became aware of the Oneness in all?” Tagore said, “When I realized the Oneness of all, I threw my shaving kit into the ocean. I gave up my ego and surrendered to nature. I wanted to live in the form that my Creator has given me.”

When humans allow their hair to grow, they are welcoming the maturity, the responsibility of being fully-grown, and fully powerful. That is why you will find grace and calmness in a person with uncut hair from birth, if it is kept well. The Creator has a definite reason for giving you hair.

It is said that when you allow your hair to grow to its full length and coil it on the crown of the head, the sun energy, pranic life force, is drawn down the spine. To counteract that downward movement, the Kundalini life energy rises to create balance. In Yogi Bhajan’s words, “Your hair is not there by mistake. It has a definite purpose, which saints will discover and other men will laugh at.”

Deva Kaur Khalsa trains Kundalini Yoga Teachers and teaches Kundalini Yoga in South Florida.  She was a student of Yogi Bhajan for over 39 years.  She is co-owner of Yoga Source in Coral Springs, Florida.

Click here for more information on yogic hair care.

Today on my lunch break I drove to the local hardware store to pickup some things I needed for the project. As I was loading the stuff into the trunk of my car a woman walks up to me in the parking lot. She tells me this whole story….and I’m not sure what to make of it all (all while I continue loading my stuff in the car). She said her husband was a into drugs, alcohol and abusive and her and her daughter had to get away from him. She basically wanted me to give her some money for gas/food. She got a bit sad looking and tried her best to convince me that she was for real; inviting me to see her daughter in the car. I didn’t quite believe her…but I gave her $5 and drove off watching my thoughts. Was she for real? Was she just a scammer or drug addict herself trying any which way to get money from people? I started thinking about it while driving back to the SikhNet office.

This all reminds me of my days in school in India where I used to come across a lot of beggars. Or on the street here in the USA where people hold a sign asking for help (money). One of the lines of thinking is "don’t give money to people like this since it encourages them to do it more & they take advantage of people.".

I used to be pretty cautious of who I give money to and try to tell if they are really in need. Sometimes when driving and I saw a sign that someone was holding asking for money for food I would give them some food. Sometimes these people were ungrateful since they were maybe just using it to get money. Sometimes they were happy to get something. I find that too often when someone is in need and asking for help it triggers a mental process of trying to "judge" them if they deserve my charity or are really wanting the money for the purpose they are asking me. It is often hard to determine who is for real and if what they are saying is the truth…and even if they are not telling the truth they might be having a hard time in their life. So now when someone comes to me I give them something and mentally ask for Guru to bless this person. It’s their karma to lie…and my blessing to give.

What is a few dollars to me or you anyways? The way I figure it, God takes care of me and provides all that I need. I have plenty that I can share with others (especially a few dollars here and there to random people). I have no way of knowing if the person uses the money for drugs or alcohol, but that is not for me to judge. I figure give with a smile and bless them. If someone came to the Gurus for help I would think that they would have given them help too. So rather than getting caught up in the mental process of "judging" if the person is truthful I just give something. I would not want to turn away someone who was really in need. So even if 4 our of 5 people are lying and just one was really in need and truthful then great! 

Everyone has a hard time in their life…and many are stuck in poverty and hard situations. It’s easy for any of us to just say…why can’t you just get a job, though for many it is not so simple as that. Homelessness and poverty can be complex situations. I’m not saying you should do the same thing as me, but I find that I personally would rather give from the heart and pray for the person,  than turn away someone in need.

How do you deal with these types of situations? Curious to hear others thoughts on this topic….

It is the touch of the hand, a spoken word and the contact of the eyes which open the heart of the man, not the knowledge of all the libraries in the world – by SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa

Below are two videos with Question about what the Aquarian age is & What does it mean? What will happen during this transition? The second video we talk about tools for dealing with our transition to the Aquarian Age. In this video we go over each of the 5 sutras of the Aquarian age that SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa taught about the transition of this time and things that will help you in this change of time.

Usually, when I see the trash scattered around, I feel really annoyed. Like – why do people have to throw things out their windows while they are driving? With a simple gust of wind, all these little pieces of junk tumble across my property, unsightly, with no final resting place.

But during this walk, feeling the frustration as a battered piece of paper blew past me, Mother Nature gave me a different insight. The problem with trash isn’t that somebody threw it away. The problem is that Mother Nature can’t find another use for it.

The earth is a living organic being with its own cycles. Part of those cycles include the forces of wind and water taking organic material from one part of the land to another. This is how, unbidden, scarlet globemallow and baby white aster can suddenly show up in patches on my land where they never existed before. Mother Earth doesn’t create waste. When something transforms into seeds or dies and decays, it becomes the basis for new life. The earth evolved as a complex system of organic elements which constantly reorganize themselves. That reorganization is continual, powerful and inevitable.

When the wind brings paper or plastic cups on the land, it’s the exact same forces that bring seeds or dried leaves. It’s the cycle of life. The difficulty is that humans create things that are used only once, for one purpose. We see the here and the now, the immediate. But we don’t envision the entire life-cycle of the thing. When the purpose for the thing is finished, the forces of nature eventually take over. They act as they have always acted. But because of our own incomplete vision, Mother Nature can’t find any additional uses for what we release back to Her care.

Though we come from Mother Earth, and are completely dependent upon Her for everything, our intelligence is not aligned with Her intelligence. We ignore the power of Her creative forces and end up creating things that can’t be integrated back into the cycle of life.

Such a small lesson from the wind and the land. But this tiny dynamic on my property is happening in a big way in Los Alamos right now. Or in Japan a few months back.

When the tsunami struck Japan in March of 2011, I remember watching footage of what the water did to the land. What frightened me the most – even more than the nuclear reactor, frankly, was the sheer amount of “trash” getting hauled into the ocean. How many chemicals, plastics, and metals got dumped into the currents of the oceans that day? And what consequences would that have for the life of the sea? We think that we have the power to create safety zones where the toxicity we concoct can be contained to a small area. We believe we can control these human-made poisons so they don’t affect anything we don’t want them to affect. But this is the illusion of the human ego, of pride. Earthly forces will always be more powerful than us. Nature eventually destroys everything – including our own bodies. The matter and energy released from the forces of destruction are later reorganized into something new. This is the operating system of the planet. It has been going on for billions of years. Long before humans arrived. We don’t have the power to change that.

Tsunamis have always and will always exist. Yet, human beings have forgotten to have an integrated intelligence with the earth. So today – rather than a tsunami having the effect of renewing and reorganizing the ecology, it spreads poison and danger.

The same with the fires in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Tens of thousands of barrels of radioactive waste sit on the land near the Los Alamos labs. In the great arcing cycle of nature, one way or another, that waste is going to be released into the environment. It might happen in the next week. It might happen in the next 20 years. Or perhaps it will happen 200,000 years from now. But the forces of Mother Nature will continue. She reaches everywhere. Creation, destruction, re-creation. It’s foolish to believe that humans can protect that poison from the natural cycles of the earth forever.

I’m not advocating going back to the stone ages. For thousands of years, most of what humans created was integrated with the natural cycle because we didn’t have access to any technology what would give us any other options. There’s a purpose to the scientific awakening of the human race that has been going on for the last few centuries. Our ability to know how to split the atom and send satellites to the far-reaches of the solar system is, I believe, part of the Cosmic design. But the step we haven’t taken is to think differently.

Before this technological awakening, we didn’t need to visualize the life cycle of something because our creativity and the creativity of Mother Earth were more organically connected. Now we have to consciously wake up to what we are doing. For the future, it is essential that we develop another way to think about things. To think about what humans create and produce. To extend the thinking from “what can I make for this SPECIFIC purpose” to “how can we use our technology to create things that serve a purpose, and then die and are reborn in another form after that purpose is done.”

Before we develop something, we need to see its entire life-cycle as working in tandem with the life-cycle of the planet.

Some people may think that is impossible. But I believe the human intelligence is capable of asking and answering these questions. We can stretch that far. We can abandon the idea that technology requires this level of waste. We can create a new approach to develop processes, products and systems that work with, rather than against, the forces of the earth.

Human evolution is a remarkable result of the complex life-cycles of Mother Nature. Now is the time to remember that we are part of the intelligence of the planet. If we push ourselves to think in new ways, we can create a society that is technology advanced and ecologically balanced all at the same time.

Yours in Divine Light.

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur

ekongkaar.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/ekongkaarkhalsa

Through every day life I learn patience, staying neutral and calm, how to communicate better and having fun (I’m too serious with my work all the time so the kids lighten things up for me). Since they are always watching you, being a good example is important so it helps me keep on track with my spiritual discipline. Children are still so pure and innocent and remind me of our source….God in all. It is as they get older that they learn prejudice, hate, division, from the adults around them.

Charanjeet was born right after the annual 3HO summer solstice sadhana that happens each year here in the mountains of Espanola, New Mexico, so it can be challenging to have a birthday party with so much going on here! Weddings…..thousands of people traveling from all over the world to this little town to work on themselves. This year we squeezed in a small birthday breakfast for her before Gurdwara yesterday with just some of the family. Yummy pan cakes, cup cakes, vege links/strips and hot maple syrup with blueberries. Yum..yum.

For so long Charanjeet didn’t want to wear a turban because she didn’t think it was pretty (as she compared it to mainstream girl images of princesses and "glamor girls"). We didn’t want to force her, but wanted to encourage her to wear a real head covering. I’m excited now that she has changed and now loves her turban. Adding a pretty khanda pin, chunni…and showing how beautiful she looks in the mirror really helped. She now sees the real Khalsa princess that she is. This past week I took a bunch of pictures of Charanjeet Kaur up at Summer Solstice and at Gurdwara in Espanola and it really helps as she sees herself and her own shining light.

Here are some pictures that I took of Charanjeet this past week from her Birthday, Gurdwara, Summer Solstice, etc.

(view the slideshow full screen here)

In this latest SikhNet video myself and Guruka Singh talk about this subject. What do you think? When challenges or hardships come in your life how to you process this and relate to what is happening?

People who love plants understand there is a natural rhythm to life. A rose bush, a maple tree each has a cycle. Every spring, when the winter fades and the natural world begins to awaken, a rose bush will not only leaf with its exiting branches – but put out new shoots, as well. The tips of the maple limbs will stretch and grow, adding a few inches to its height and width. This is the natural cycle of creation.

As humans, even though we are surrounded by the reality of nature, we forget that we are also part of that cycle. It isn’t that we age every year, getting older and closer to death. Like the maple and the rose, our natural psyche expands with each turn of the earth around the sun. We perceive something we hadn’t seen before, explore new horizons in work or family life, develop new insights, decide to start a new hobby or continue to hone and develop our skills with an existing interest. This expansive impulse is natural for everything in creation – especially human beings. And like a rose bush or a maple tree, the cycle of expansion doesn’t end until the moment of our death.

Abundance is unavoidable because expansion is unavoidable. As long as you live and breathe, you are continually expanding. The question is – where is your abundance? Are you abundant in misery? In doubt? In unhappiness? In questions and insecurity? Or are you abundant in optimism? In faith? In happiness? In taking life as it comes?

Where has your abundance taken root?

Expansion is inevitable. The key is to know which way you want to expand yourself, and to be in command of your energy enough to deliberately expand in positive ways. None of us can ever get rid of our shadow side completely. But you can identify and cultivate what is beautiful in you; what is most effective in your habits; what your strengths are; what the unique gifts are that you have to offer. Then with a meditative mind, deliberately move your energy so that the beauty in your life grows and grows. It’s a matter of where you put your attention.

Sometimes we get to a point in life where we feel stuck or where the world around us falls apart. It can feel frightening. With the change of Ages, that experience will become more and more prevalent for people. But if we anchor to the principle that expansion is a continual process, then when things fall apart, we can understand it’s because expansion is no longer possible in the current form. As safe as it may feel, as familiar and comfortable – our soul and psyche have nowhere to go. No space to grow. And so a pressure gets created between the environment and the life energy until we have to try something different, and open up to new possibilities for the power of expansion to flow freely.

As we get closer to Summer Solstice 2011, the last Summer Solstice of the Piscean Age, I invite you to meditate on ways you want to expand into the Age of Aquarius. Identify the best in you, the most beautiful aspects of your life – and use the powerful expansive energy of the sun at Solstice time to propel yourself into a positive and prosperous future.

All Love in the Divine,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur

Success and the Spirit: An Aquarian Path to Abundance contains the wisdom and teachings of Kundalini yoga and Sikh Dharma as taught by Yogi Bhajan and was edited by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa. Visit KRI to place an order.

Last week was an unexpected long and tedious week at SikhNet. You can blame or thank my wife whichever you prefer! It all started with a new electronic device in our office (The Amazon Kindle). My wife loves reading books, particularly before going to sleep. With her birthday coming up this weekend I was trying to think what I could get her for a gift, and decided on an Amazon Kindle (Don’t tell her! She doesn’t read my blog so hopefully doesn’t know). For those of you who don’t keep up with technology, the Kindle is a small little mini note pad size device that allows you to read books, in an electronic format. It’s not back-lit like iPads, so easy on the eyes.  Plus it uses what they call "e-Ink" which makes it just like reading a book. Battery life lasts weeks between charges! Everything is going digital….so no reason why our books would not be doing the same on a large scale!  Lots of my friends love e-Book readers use them all the time. You can even "lend" books to friends just like you would a paperback.

Anyways… so after I bought the Kindle I had to figure out what I was going to put on it to get her started. She has been traveling more often and taking books, music, nitnem, and other devices I thought it would be great to simplify her packing and at least reduce her having to bring books and nitnem. Also, she has an ongoing Sahej Path (complete reading of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib broken over a period of time) so thought this would be another great way for her to continue this while she is away from home.

What I thought would be a quick process of putting the nitnem banis on her kindle turned out to be a larger project that took most of last week for myself and Gurujot Singh. I had started with Siri Guru Granth Sahib (original Gurmukhi and English translation) which was tricky since I wanted the pages to match the original Siri Guru Granth Sahib and also had to tackle with the issue of Gurmukhi text not displaying in traditional kindle/ebook formats. We then expanded on the format with some nice floral borders to make it more regal and look similar to the a printed SGGS. One of the days I had to go through all 1430 pages to correct some formatting issues. That was a tough day on my wrists, but the rewards are sweet!

With that done we moved into working on Nitnem Banis. There are so many different formats that one could do for banis! Gurmukhi only, Gurmukhi with translation, transliteration, and different combinations of the three together or separate. Gurujot Singh created some beautiful custom floral design patterns that we experimented with for the borders. Since we had to create the files in the PDF format for Gurmukhi to display it was tricky finding the right size and layout to maximize the space on the screen and ensure that full pages displayed on screen. Then we had to spend lot of time adjusting the size of text and breaking the text up into nice readable "chunks" going through each line to ensure that it doesn’t get broken up and flows nicely when reading. So by this past Friday we were done, and even though we wanted to do more banis and other formats we decided to just stop there and release the files on SikhNet and see how people liked them.

I don’t even know how many Sikhs use eBook readers however expect that after today, many more will consider getting their very own "eGurbani Reader"!

Download Siri Guru Granth Sahib & Nitnem Banis

Custom Screen Saver Images for Kindle & other eBook Readers

As with any digital device that I get, I like to customize it and tinker to make it more personal. That is part of the fun and making it my own. On the Kindle when you stop reading for a while it switches from displaying your book text to it’s screen saver mode which displays the standard kindle "screen saver" images. I wish they had made a simple standard method to change these images, but fortunately there is a simple "hack" that you can do to your Kindle to allow you to add your own custom images to display.  Whenever someone looks at my Kindle with MY OWN cool custom images, they always ask, "How did you get your own images on the kindle?". It was very simple to do and only took a few minutes.  Here is how you can "jailbreak" your Kindle. Follow the tutorial here. Once you have done this you can download and copy the screen saver pictures I made on to your Kindle.

I went through lots of my photos and picked out some that I then optimized for display on the Kindle. I thought you might enjoy downloading some of these to add to your eBook reader if you have one! I left out most of the family pictures that I made and left most of the more general Sikh related ones to share. I doubt you want to have pictures of our family, Narayan and Charanjeet all over your kindle. :) See how nice and portable the e-Reader is?

Samples of what the pictures look like on the Kindle 3

Preview of Sikh Screen Saver Images Available for Download

Click on the picture below to see a larger version of the below "collage"

Download Collection of Sikh Pictures for Kindle Screen Saver

For those of you who love and appreciate the inspiration of SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa (Yogi Bhajan) you can download some pictures/paintings of him (for personal use only on your Kindle or eReader).

Download pictures of SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa (Yogi Bhajan)

Other Sikh Related Free Downloads for eBook Readers

• Sikh – Practices & Principles (PDF) – Introduction to the history, practices, and principles of Sikhs. Great book to introduce you to basic Sikh teachings and practices so that you will know how Sikhs work and worship. (alternate ebook format)
• The Living Reality (eBook format) – by Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Khalsa Ph.D. The book covers common Questions and Answers about life as a Sikh, under the guidance of The Siri Guru Granth Sahib. This is oriented in Question & Answer format.
• The Sikh Religion  by Max Arthur Macauliffe (4 volume set)  – Which is a great source for Sikh history and stories from the times of the Gurus. Published in 1909.
• Lots of old Sikh books made available on Archive.org
• Publications by Sikh Missionary Society on lots of topics. Scroll down and download PDF version of the books to your eReader.

Kindle Tips/Info I found Useful

• Kindle 3 hidden features include 2 games, image viewer, screenshot grab 
  

It’s very simple actually, spirituality is our true nature. That’s because we are spirit. Our bodies fall away, our material possessions fall away, our spouses, children, families and friends fall away. What is it that remains? What is the constant beyond time and space? That is our spirit. It is the essence of the infinite power of our projection and our creativity.

So how do we live in that spirit? Two things are needed: awareness and surrender.

Awareness is also known as Simran: moment to moment remembrance of our true identity – “Naam Chit Aavai.” Through our breath, we remember that we are alive in the ecstasy of being born and dying in each and every moment. The infinite flows through us like electricity. We see and we feel the sacredness in each moment. Who is brushing my teeth? God. Who is speaking? God. Who is listening? God. Who is eating lunch? God. Who is the salad I am eating? It is God eating God.

We train ourselves to awareness through sadhana. We live in awareness through Dharma. What is Dharma? Dharma is nothing but waking up, keeping up and flowing in the will of God.

Then there is surrender. That one is hard for most people. Why should I surrender? To whom should I surrender? How can I trust enough to let go? If I surrender, aren’t I giving up my unique identity? Who will take care of me if I don’t do it?

We are trained to go after what we want; to achieve and to be successful. We are neither trained to alert acceptance, nor to being in our own stillness.

“The Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything. Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go. She has everything but doesn’t possess anything. She acts, but has no expectations. When her work is done, everyone says, ‘we did this all ourselves.” That is why she lasts forever.”   – Tao de Ching

That’s where Guru comes in. Guru is the Divine guidance system built-in to every human being. It is the compass in your cockpit and it always points ‘true north.’ It is by surrender to that cosmic presence within that the most sacred relationship in our life is established.

Now here comes the problem with religion. Religion itself is no problem. It simply means consciously connecting back to our own origin, to our source. But in organized religions, people have fallen asleep and just go through the motions of surrendering. Without the actual experience of the Guru people ritualize surrendering, but that is not the unconditional surrender that is required for true spirituality. It is in this state of hypocrisy that “goodness” and “piety” appear.

Surrendering to the Guru without conditions, accepting the Guru as your own, accepting the Guru all around you, accepting the Guru within you and within everyone; that is what is required.

In order for that to happen, you must have a real experience of the Guru. Not an outward show, but that divine, intimate touch that lies beyond words. That experience is unbearably sweet and absolutely personal. That experience comes by grace, and Divine grace is earned through lifetimes of work.

Mostly everyone seeks pleasure and tries to avoid pain. In this state of grace, there is no difference between pleasure and pain, between loss and gain or between obscurity and fame.

Pain wakes us up and pleasure puts us to sleep. It is in times of great pain that we learn to surrender. That is what gives us depth.

Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done. The world is sacred. It can’t be improved. It is absolutely perfect just as it is. Be content with what you have. Rejoice each moment in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing at all lacking, then the whole world belongs to you.

The Guru Granth Sahib says: “Amidst hope, the yogi remains without hope.” That is because hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we no longer see the self as self, what do we have to fear or to hope for? There is only now. The past no longer exists and the future is being born right now. It is being born from our own thoughts, words and actions.

See the whole world and everything in it as your self. Have faith in the way things are. Love the world as it is — for it is your self.

My own personal prayer is very simple. It is the one I say each day as I bow to my Guru:

“Beloved Guru Ji, I am Yours and You are mine.
Bless everyone to live healthy, happy and holy.”

~ Guruka Singh

I remember many years ago posting on MrSikhNet about some of my friends who are Sikhs and are EMS (Emergency Medical Service) and how Sikhs are being able to work in the mainstream in full form. However, it appears that the current management of the Española Hospital and Presbyterian Health Services has been failing by fostering a work environment rife with religious discrimination, particularly to Sikhs.

I remember when it seemed that majority of the EMS staff were Sikhs, since they were everywhere driving around Espanola helping people. Now, they are pretty much all gone as a result of this discrimination and other reasons. I often get asked by other Sikhs if I faced discrimination and mostly responded, NO….since we live here in a small town and Sikhs have lived here for over 40 years and are well known in the area and with the local governments. I have posted stories like of Prabhu Singh who works at Los Alamos National Lab and works in full bana. So when I heard from Sahaj Singh and others about these issues I was surprised to hear this was happening. It’s sad to hear of discrimination in any form and that it was happening right here in little Espanola, New Mexico.

Discrimination is nothing new here. Other Sikhs like Guru Tej Singh Khalsa faced this when trying to work in the police, but was unable to do so because of his turban. The result of this was him starting Akal Security. You watch a video and hear his story. This was a long time ago so you would think that we would be beyond this. Apparently not in the medical field!

We take a few steps forward and then some steps back. I think all the Muslim-terrorist phobia of Americans has sparked a lot more discrimination all over America towards Sikhs.  At the same time I am watching the new film by Angad Bhai called "The Reunion" which is a short telling a story about two friends who share common background and reunite after several years of  being apart.  One is a Sikh who has cut his hair after being brutalized  during a hate crime, and the other has kept his hair since birth.   Their dialogue deals with issues Sikhs face when trying to assimilate  into modern American society, while maintaining their cultural and  religious heritage. 

 Sahaj Singh was able to get the help of the New Mexico ACLU and has filed charges with the New Mexico Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Española Hospital and Presbyterian Health Services for fostering a work environment rife with religious discrimination and failing to take reasonable measures to rectify the situation.  You can read the news story by them which is currently featured on their home page.

At the Obama Presidential election rally in Espanola. SiriNirongkar Khalsa& Sahaj as Mobile Bike EMS

Below you can read Sahaj Khalsa’s full affidavit about the type of discrimination going on towards many of the Sikhs working for the Espanola Hospital (Presbyterian Health Services)

AFFIDAVIT OF SAHAJ KHALSA

My name is Sahaj Khalsa and I am 35 years old.  I have been subject to an illegal and hostile work environment at the Espanola Hospital and retaliation for reporting the same.  I was employed by Presbyterian Health Services1 as a Paramedic and Field Operations Supervisor from September 2001 to December 2010.  I am a practicing Sikh, was born a Sikh, and have maintained all of the tenets of the Sikh faith since birth.  One of the tenets of Sikhism is maintaining uncut hair, including beards.  As a result, I have never shaved or cut my hair.2 My hair is tied up and contained in a turban, which is also an article of my faith.  All of the concerns set forth below are centered on discrimination that I faced in the work environment as a result of my sincerely held religious beliefs and Presbyterian’s failure to take reasonable measures to rectify the situation, despite my numerous complaints to Human Resources.

In between 2000-2001, then Espanola Ambulance Manager, Dennis Cronin, hired multiple Sikh paramedics.  Until recently, there were five bearded Sikh employees who all worked at Espanola Ambulance (“EA”) for Presbyterian.  Collectively, Sikh employees have served Presbyterian and the people of Northern New Mexico for over 45 years.  As a group, Sikhs have an exemplary work record and have provided excellent care to the people in need.  This relationship benefited patients, the Sikh employees, and Presbyterian.

Regrettably, something has changed, and Sikhs are no longer welcome as Presbyterian employees.  In 2007 or 2008, former Presbyterian employee Siri Khalsa applied to be the Operations Director for EVEMS.  Josh Duran, an EMT-Intermediate, told Siri Khalsa that if Siri Khalsa was hired none of the employees, except Sikh employees, would listen to him.  From 2008 to 2009, David Payne, the Operations Director hired instead of Siri Khalsa, created unusual working schedules so that certain employees could avoid working with Sikh employees.  And the most notable shift toward the intolerance of Sikh employees began when Brenda Romero (“Ms.  Romero”) replaced Derrick Yu as hospital administrator in the middle of 2009.3

1 I worked for Espanola Ambulance which is affiliated with Espanola Valley Emergency Medical Services (“EVEMS”) and Espanola Hospital, but all entities are under Presbyterian Health Services and will be referred to as “Presbyterian”, unless the distinction is warranted.
2 With the exception that my beard was shaved once when I required surgery.
3 The pattern of discrimination against Sikhs became particularly apparent when Ms. Romero became hospital administrator.  Some examples follow: In October 2009 a Sikh employee was forced to resign for failing to write patient care reports, while, in stark contrast, Presbyterian afforded other non-Sikh employees who had made the same mistake the opportunity to submit patient care forms months after supervisors discovered that they too had not submitted the appropriate reports.  Employees in Presbyterian’s payroll department have referred to “all of the Sikhs” and “all of the Khalsas” working too much.  Also, another Sikh employee’s vehicle has been keyed repeatedly while it was parked at work, causing significant damage.  This particular employee raised this issue with hospital administration, and the administration refused to take action.  No other vehicles have suffered similar damage while parked at work.  More recently, raises were provided for all EVEMS employees across the board with the exception of a small number of employees.  Incredibly the only two remaining Sikhs, a female Sikh employee, Dhyana Velasco (formerly Dhyana Khalsa), and I were among the few employees who did not receive the raises.

Over the past few years, Sikh employees endured derogatory comments in the workplace about their religion, management’s inattention to and facilitation of the discrimination, and management’s repeated requests, turned threats for the male Sikh employees to shave their beards.  In the face of this brash discrimination, one by one, the Sikh employees have either left or been forced to resign.  As a result, from April 2010 to November 2010, before I was forcibly discharged, I was the lone bearded Sikh employee who worked at EA; and predictably, my experience was no different than my other Sikh former co-workers’.

I first brought my concerns about discrimination and a hostile work environment to Presbyterian Human Resource Officer, Kim Kelly (“Ms.  Kelly”), in late May or early June 2009, after a staff meeting.  In that discussion, I apprised Ms. Kelly of the following: some employees were unwilling to work with Sikhs and had changed their shifts to avoid Sikhs, and a previous director, David Payne, even directed a third ambulance be scheduled so individuals would not have to work with Sikh employees.  I also reported that I heard that employees in the Albuquerque Human Resources and Payroll offices had made comments regarding “all the Sikhs” and “all the Khalsas”4 working too much.

Instead of investigating my specific concerns as required by Presbyterian policy, Ms. Kelly merely responded by attending—along with Maria Hidalgo (“Ms.  Hildalgo”), also from Human Resources—three staff meetings to remind all employees in general terms of Presbyterian’s anti-discrimination policy.  Since those meetings, the environment at Presbyterian continued to deteriorate.

The hostility and discrimination against me came to a head on or about February 12, 2010.  While I was the supervisor on duty, a Presbyterian employee threatened, verbally abused, and physically assaulted me.  The co-worker’s threats included statements directed at my religion.  This incident was reported via email to Dennis Martinez (“Mr.  Martinez”), my supervisor, and to Ms. Kelly.  I again raised the issue of a hostile work environment in this email.

Ms. Kelly did conduct an investigation of this incident.  However, even though Ms. Kelly substantiated the wrongful conduct by the employee who attacked me, Presbyterian did not terminate the employee, and Ms. Kelly outrageously condoned the other employee’s behavior in comments to me.

In early 2010, when Human Resources finally launched an investigation into the general allegations of a hostile work environment during which they interviewed many, if not all, of the EA employees, per Ms. Kelly, the investigation revealed that discrimination in this work environment was widespread.

As a result of the investigation, on March 26, 2010, Ms. Kelly and Ms. Romero convened a meeting with all EA employees.  The supposed intent of this meeting was to “set a new day” and inform everyone that discrimination and unequal treatment of any minority would be unacceptable.  However, Ms. Kelly and Ms. Romero outrageously used the “new day” to fortify discrimination against Sikhs and retaliate against me for having made complaints of discrimination.  During the meeting, many new policies were announced regarding scheduling, daily duties, acceptable behavior, and employee uniforms.  The uniform policy included a provision that per OSHA policy, facial hair would no longer be allowed.  After I inquired as to how the new policy on facial hair would affect me, because I knew Presbyterian had to make a reasonable attempt to accommodate my sincerely held religious beliefs and the integrity of my religious facial hair, Ms. Kelly and Ms. Romero told me to shave my beard or lose my job.  This announcement was made in front of the majority of EA employees who I was expected to supervise.  And again, although Ms. Kelly had substantiated instances of discrimination in the workplace, she failed to take any disciplinary actions against those employees responsible for the hostile work environment.

My co-workers were emboldened by management’s ratification of discrimination against Sikhs; and after the meeting on March 26, 2010, the environment at work worsened considerably for me.  Some employees clearly treated me differently, whereas others avoided speaking to me.  It is little wonder, given administration’s public announcement that I was no longer welcome at Presbyterian unless he shaved his beard.  My sincerely held beliefs were belittled even further by Ms. Kelly when she approached two non-practicing Sikh employees, Guru Dham Khalsa and Guru Bahdur Khalsa,5 and asked them about the meaning of a Sikh cutting his hair and/or shaving.  Guru Dham Khalsa attempted to explain to her the religious significance of this practice, as he understood it, and Ms. Kelly responding by asking him if anything “physically” happened to Guru Dham Khalsa when he decided to cut his hair.6 In response to Ms. Kelly and Ms. Romero’s March 26, 2010 ultimatum, I proposed a reasonable solution that would allow me to continue to do my work and respect my sincerely held religious beliefs by offering to wear a Positive Air Powered Respirator (“PAPR”).  A PAPR is a mask that covers the face more extensively and is more conducive for a person with facial hair to use than the standard N-95 mask.  At first, Ms. Kelly and Mr. Martinez refused to consider a PAPR as a solution.

I followed up with Ms. Kelly, Ms. Romero, Mr. Martinez, and Dr. Bajema (the service medical director) about the prospect of using a PAPR, and they detailed the following concerns:

1. It would take too long to put on.
2. It would require two people to put on.
3. It would prevent me from using a stethoscope while wearing it.

These concerns made it clear to me that none of them had actually seen a PAPR even though I knew that Espanola Hospital had four PAPRs abandoned in a storage space located in a garage.  After I explained that their concerns were unwarranted, they eventually agreed to a test of a PAPR to see if it would provide protection and allow me to care for patients.  At this time, Mr. Martinez sent an email out to staff announcing that implementation of the facial hair prohibition in the uniform policy would be delayed.

I retrieved a PAPR from the storage closet and had to clean the PAPR because it was covered in dust.  Administrators did not know of the existence of the four PAPRs in an Espanola Hospital storage space.  In fact, very few employees knew of the existence of the PAPRs as there was never any training, planning, or instruction on the use of PAPRs in case of an emergency.  I submitted to the PAPR test on April 2, 2010 in the presence of Dr. Bajema, Mr. Martinez and EVEMS employees.

Per a memo Dr. Bajema wrote immediately following the test, I was able to don the PAPR in 26 seconds, do it alone, and the PAPR did not hinder the use of a stethoscope.  This memo was sent to Mr. Martinez, Ms. Kelly, Ms. Romero, and me.  Given the clear efficacy of the PAPR, it seemed as if this situation had been resolved.  Initially, when I informed administrators about the PAPRs in the storage space there was not a problem with my use of the on-hand PAPR and it seemed to be a perfect resolution.  However, in a meeting on Thursday, April 8, 2010 Ms. Kelly again stated the policy was no facial hair and “if [Mr.  Khalsa] chooses to have facial hair, he chooses not to work here.” During this period, Ms. Kelly and Ms. Romero also retaliated against me for reporting religious discrimination.  On or about May 5, 2010, Mr. Martinez allegedly wrote me up for missing a meeting that had been scheduled on such short notice I did not have time to rearrange my schedule so that I could attend.  Later, however, Mr. Martinez disclosed the true motivation for the write-up, explaining that Ms. Romero and Ms. Kelly had pressured him to write me up because they were angry that I sent a letter to administration detailing frustrations with the treatment of Sikhs at Presbyterian.  And Mr. Martinez implied that I would have never been written up if I had not sent the letter complaining of discrimination.  Mr. Martinez went on to add that he knew how I felt because he was once discriminated against at the Los Alamos Fire Department as one of the few Hispanics who worked there, and he advised me to “keep [my] head down and do [my] job and [the discrimination] would go away.” For months, I worked with the threat of termination hanging over me.  Suddenly and inexplicably, management informed me that it had reversed its “no facial hair” policy, but the on-hand PAPRs were for emergency room use only, and I would have to purchase my own PAPR at a cost of at least $800.00. This offer was made in direct contrast of what I understand OSHA policy to be, which is that an employer must provide all necessary respiratory equipment.  My facial hair is fundamental to my religion and a PAPR, in this instance, is necessary to accommodate my beard.  Although Presbyterian offered to set up a payment plan in order to assist me in the costly purchase, this offer was wholly insufficient given the remarkable history of discrimination and retaliation against me, including the recent insistence that I shave my beard, and Presbyterian’s complete failure to discipline those responsible for the discrimination.  This offer served as yet another insult in a long line and convinced me that Presbyterian had no intention of truly addressing religious discrimination in the workplace.

Since I put to rest the concerns surrounding the use of a PAPR it became clear that management is motivated by a discriminatory purpose rather than safety concerns.  First, I was told I had to 5 cut my beard or lose my job.  When provided with a reasonable alternative to accommodate my sincerely held religious beliefs, human resources fabricated concerns with the use of the PAPR.  After demonstrating that the use of a PAPR would not impede my job duties, human resources introduced a new impediment to my continued employment and demanded that I purchase expensive equipment.  I worked competently as an upstanding paramedic at Presbyterian for nine years with a beard and a respirator that was adequate for every prior administration, and it is clear that this new requirement was imposed to discriminate and retaliate against me.

Given Presbyterian management ignored numerous and ongoing disparaging remarks about Sikhs.  Supervisors acknowledged religious discrimination, failed to adequately investigate complaints of religious discrimination, and took no corrective action.  Management ignored vandalism of Sikh employee property and implemented policies targeting Sikh employees.  Supervisors retaliated against me for reporting discrimination.  And, after all of the other Sikh employees had been fired or left, Presbyterian repeatedly told me that if I did not shave my beard or purchase expensive equipment to accommodate my beard I would be terminated.  The environment at Presbyterian was so intolerable that I was forced to resign.

Signature of Affiant, Sahaj Khalsa SUBSCRIBED and sworn to before me this 5th day of May 2011.

"The Reunion" is a short film co-produced, co-directed, co-written, and photographed by the Russell Brothers Company and Angad Singh Bhai. It tells a story about two friends who share common background and reunite after several years of  being apart.  One is a Sikh (played by Kunal Shah) who has cut his hair after being brutalized  during a hate crime, and the other (played by Angad Bhai) has kept his hair since birth.   Their dialogue deals with issues Sikhs face when trying to assimilate  into modern American society, while maintaining their cultural and  religious heritage.

Aside from the beautiful video production quality of this film, I love that it was very real and relevant to modern times. Much of the dialog of the characters discussed real issues and questions that might be asked about having the outward identity of a Sikh and standing out vs. not. I love the subtle metaphors of back and forth between the characters as they talk to each other and make their back and forth arguments while also playing chess.  I think this film will also be interested to non-Sikhs as well and serve to create a bit more understanding about a Sikh and our identity. Great job Angad and Russel Brothers! I hope you work on more projects like this which will serve to educate mainstream as well as inspire and support Sikh Youth going through these challenges and questions themselves (Sikh men AND women).    

If the above video doesn’t work or you would like to view a larger version click here to watch directly on vimeo.  

Motivation and Influences
"I thought it might be interesting to mention things that have influenced this film.  A big one is my grandfather (SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji), who always told me "keep up and you will be kept up." Those are words that helped us get through the grueling process of filmmaking with all its mishaps, expenses, and obstacles. They are also words that some of the characters in the film embody.

Another big influence is Dostoevsky’s "Notes from the Underground," which he wrote while freezing in the dungeon of a Siberian work camp. The protagonist longs for friendship but sabotages himself by pretending like he doesn’t need anyone. Strangely, he takes pride in his voluntary alienation so that I didn’t really know what to think of him: he is too pathetic to hate and too willful to pity. "The Reunion" is an attempted answer to the vacuous nihilism that Dostoevsky explores. Authentic friendship is very important in a society that digitizes the self and forces us to traffic in representation, rather than allow us to see and accept one another wholly, flaws and all."  – Angad Bhai

About Angad Bhai
Angad Singh Bhai is originally from Los Angeles, CA, is a 2008 Cornell University alumnus with a double major in English and Economics.  Upon graduation, Angad moved to NYC in pursuit of a dream.  The Reunion is his breakout film in which he wrote, acted in, and co-directed and produced with the Russel Brothers. 

Check out the official film website which had details on the "players" of the film, production stills,  behind the scenes footage and more. 

If you want to support Angad you can make a donation which will help him with the costs of making this film and help with his new film Sikh in the City.

  If you liked The Reunion film, and would like to see more projects from the filmmakers, please support them so they can get their next project off the ground ("Sikh in the City"). It’s a web series documenting the everyday experiences, both mundane and strange, of an American born Sikh who lives in New York City. Filming in NYC is expensive, so they need all the support they can get.

The question was asked: I’m not amritdhari, but the first time I came to the gurus shrine (Gurdwara), I experienced an amazing experience, I felt this amazing bliss. Now it’s been almost 8 months and nothing like that has ever happened again, even though I have increased my simran and nitnem from before. I feel discouraged, what do you think I am lacking? Is it amrit? Was that experience just a preview to get my attention?

by Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji

A student asked Yogi Bhajan the following question:

"Is giving an act of God?"

Yogi Bhajan replied, "No, no, no, no. Not at all. It is a perfectly selfish act. Have you heard about when I became rich? Listen to this. It is true. Verbatim, this is exactly true.

I taught a class at the East-West Cultural Center. And I did a wonderful job. There were three hundred and some dollars collected at class. I do not know exactly how much. But I definitely know one hundred fifty and some cents were given to me in an envelope as my fifty percent of that lecture. This is what they do. You go. They advertise you. You teach in that center. And whatever money comes in on that day, fifty percent is given to the lecturer and fifty percent goes to the center.

I did that. Then the director of the center takes the speaker out to dinner. Now this lady, the director, was more spiritual, well-read with the scripture and much wiser than I was. I was very happy with her and she was extremely happy with me, because when she would talk scriptures, somewhere along the line, I’d give her the understanding of the scripture. I’m not very good with all this bookish knowledge but certain things I just know.

She said, "Today your lecture was so pleasing. I just want to take you to eat. Please come with me." She was just overwhelmingly joyful.

I said to her, "Well, there seems to be a storm behind the sunshine."

"What can it be?"

"We’ll see."

When we came to the restaurant, on the side there was a pole. Standing beside the pole was a very beautiful, well-dressed black man. And he was saying, “I do not want to beg, and I don’t want you to help me, but I have children. I have a life, and I have a family. I am selling these pencils. You can buy these pencils for any amount, because I am blind and can’t see it. But I hope by the end of the day there will be a profit and I can take care of my family."

When I heard that I handed over my envelope to him and I took one pencil out. She saw me doing that and God, that divine woman became a living fire. She said, "What have you done? You know, that’s what Indians do. You have encouraged beggary." She was so rude.

I said, “Ohhhhh!” That was my first experience, awakening the mind to encounter the bitchiness of an American woman. Up until then I was fine.

I said, "What have I done?"

"You took one pencil for one hundred and fifty dollars. Do you know that you can get a truckload of them?"

"I don’t need a truckload of pencils."

"Why did you take one pencil?"

"I want this one pencil to write my own fortune."

"And you paid one-hundred and fifty dollars for it?"

"No. I paid much less. I paid nothing."

"I don’t understand you. You don’t like money. You don’t love money."

I said, "I love money more than you like it. I love money. Don’t worry about that. I just wanted this pencil to write my fortune. I paid the money you gave to me."

She said, "I can’t believe it."

Meanwhile, we entered the restaurant. Then you know what she said? She said, "All right. I’ll teach you something practical." 

"Sure." 

"I’m not going to pay for your dinner." 

"Sure."

"That will show you what happens when you don’t have money."

I said, "Sure. It’s okay."

So I took my plate to the place where you pick up your salad, and you pick up this and that and I picked up everything I wanted to eat. I walked to the tables and the lady at the check-out counter said, "Thank you, sir." She never says that. I just went up there, took the things of the tray, and put them on the table. We were about three or four people and when the director came, the counter clerk told her, "Thank you, ma’am. You can pass."

She said, "Who paid for it?"

The clerk said, "It is all paid for."

So, she felt a little small and she came and sat down next to me. Meanwhile, the counter girl came and brought sixty-some dollars and gave it to me. Imagine. I didn’t have a pocket. I didn’t have a dollar. I didn’t have a penny. She told me that she isn’t going to pay and I said to the counter clerk, "Give it to her."

The clerk said, "No, no. It is for you, sir. It is for you."

"Why for me?"

"There was a student of yours sitting here. He left me with a hundred dollars and he said, ‘My teacher is coming. All the people with him should be paid for, and the balance given to him.’ So I am just doing what he said."

I looked at the director. I said, "You didn’t pay for it?"

"No."

"You got paid for, too?"

"Yes."

I said, "See how God works?" And I pulled out ten dollars and I gave it to the waitress.

She said, "O my God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

And I gave the director the fifty-some remaining dollars.

She asked me, "What for? I don’t understand. You seem so happy."

I said, "Today, my Guru and my God have made me a giver. Before this, I was a taker. I was at your mercy. And when you tested it, Guru came through. He saved me at the last minute. I am very mad at Him for that. But because He always does it, I am very grateful. I have seen my Guru. I have seen Him in action. I am grateful."

There is a great tragedy going on today. People who have never done simran[1], who have not experienced simran, who have not reached an acknowledged state of simran, they talk about simran. Simran is not japa[2]. Japa gives the power of simran. Japa is the repetition of the Holy Naam[3], Meditation is not simran. Meditation gives you the power of simran. Yoga, Raaj Yoga[4] is not simran. Raaj Yoga is a technology to achieve, receive and conceive the simran. Sahaj Yoga[5] is not simran. Sahaj Yoga is a concept through which you can pursue simran. Prayer is not simran. Prayer gives you the power so that your mind can be set for simran.

 When the state of consciousness reaches simran then you do not need to do anything; God follows you. At that stage the Almighty, the Infinite, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent God, the Something which you are so proud of, and which you talk about and you perceive about and scriptures talk about and saints and sages sing about, that entire Universal Power is totally looking towards the teeny, tiny individual. That is simran for which Guru Arjan sang:

Simarao simar simar sukh paauao

Kal kales tan maa-ai mitaaoao. [6]

(To the one who meditates on Him there comes a perfect peace, And all pain and sorrows depart.)

This is hypocrisy of simran where some people want to sing Gurbaanee because of ego. And some people get up in the morning and say, "Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru," and they think they have got the whole world in the palm of their hand. Now, these are symptoms of spiritual ego, and in the entire scripture of yoga there is one definition that states that you can do anything you want, but you should never have a spiritual ego. Out of all the ways that ego can manifest the most dangerous ego is spiritual.

You have seen in the world that normally people who are experts in a certain aspect of life – like a doctor, an attorney, an executive, a business person, all those who have worked hard in one profession – you will often find them very much in pain. They are very successful in one aspect of life and very unsuccessful in the other aspect of life. You will find there is not a balance, because the earthly balance and spiritual balance is not there, and that man can never be happy. It doesn’t matter what you belong to, it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what your intentions are. The purpose to live happily is to understand the deep flow of spirituality. And you have to be firm in it. This flow has to be constant.

Some people you may know in a daily way of life are very fanatic. They will love you, respect you, and they are with you and then afterward they’re all "blown out," "burnt out." Their flow is gone, the life is gone, the respect is gone, that adherence is gone, that continuity is gone. This speculative behavior is not in any way, form, and shape, a symptom of spiritual flow. Spiritual flow is just like a river: anything can be taken out of it, it still continues. And that flow comes out of simran.

Simran is a continuous, meditative, longingly creative feeling. It’s a feeling, it’s a flow, it is a touch, it is a substance. "Ang Sang Wahe Guru" (God is with me through every limb, every millimeter, every situation of mine.)

Sikh Dharma is not going to spread because of you or because of me. Don’t have any misunderstanding.

This planet is going to go through changes where insanity shall rule. On this earth a period is going to come when insanity shall rule. At that moment Sikh Dharma shall be the way out from that tyranny of insanity. We are trying to tell people that whatever time we have got at our disposal we should just live in a state of consciousness which is divine. I have heard many people quoting:

"Kal yug maih keenan pardhaanaa."
In Kal yug, keertan is the president. [7]

"Pardhaanaa" means president. But if our president doesn’t have any army, he doesn’t have a cabinet, he doesn’t have a White House, where is he going to go?

Kundalini Yoga is the Yoga of Awareness, it’s the union of God. It is a short route to achieve a state where you can enjoy keertan. There are twenty-two types of yoga. I’m not saying any yoga is wrong, but the only advantage of Kundalini Yoga is that it takes ninety days. It has the shortest effective time limit. If it has been prescribed for a yogi to achieve a state of balanced equilibrium or applied intelligence, that comes through Kundalini Yoga. But I am not saying right now that in ninety days all of you can achieve that. Ninety days are prescribed for that person who’s perfect in constitution, who’s perfect in metabolism, who is perfect in devotion. It applies to a normal human being, not an abnormal, subconscious or obnoxious human being. Kundalini Yoga is not for neurotics, psychotics, and idiots. It makes the idiot a human being first, and then a human being a "gurumukh.[8]" It’s a way, it’s a science, it’s a technology. If you don’t want to use it, don’t use it. Then your glandular system will confuse itself. The glands are the guardians of your health, and without this balancing effort your behavior will fall apart. Don’t do this yoga, and if you will not become sick and revert back to your normal, imbalanced state of mind, you can come and grab me.

You’re making a mockery! Something was given to you as a divine gift from the Guru’s house, it was from the house of Guru Ram Das, the house of Raaj Yog. Raaj Yog, and Kundalini Yoga, the yoga of Chardee Kalaa, are not different. So it was given to you, but some of you insulted it. You didn’t use it! You didn’t make it a part of your life so that it can keep you as a balanced human and from a balanced human you can go to the state of sanmukh[9], gurmukh, and then you can reach the stage of simran. It’s a privilege.

I am willing to challenge the entire planet earth and any wise person and anybody who knows anything about gurmat[10], And I want you to challenge everybody because firmness is a blessing. It is a base, it gives you a foundation. You are talking from a state of mind which is engrossed in maya. I am not talking from a state which is related to maya. If you are rich, there are people more rich. If you are great, there are people who are more great. If you have six children, somebody has eight. If this is your sixth wife, somebody is marrying tomorrow for the eighth time. You are of no value. You have no firmness, you have no humility. As Americans you have not yet learned what is bhaanaa[11], You have not learned obedience. Law of obedience is the law of command. In our western social structure the law of obedience doesn’t exist.

Halach palach saglee moee, lhoot Dhandahi Moh[12]

All shall die, all shall go away doing and loving the wrong things, wrong aspects of life.

The real aspect of life is pure, it is pure crystal, it is clear and it is absolutely in its own element.

Cur kee mat tooin leh iaane. Bhagat binaa baho doobe siaane.[13]

Oh innocent! If you think you are innocent, take the advice of the Guru: Without bhagati (devotional love) a lot of wise people have drowned themselves.

Why should wise people drown themselves? Because they have the ego they’re wise. It is ego to think you are wise. Nobody is wise. The Doer does everything.

We are very blessed. We may not know it, but I tell you today why we are blessed. In Siri Guru Granth Sahib[14] every aspect of our human life has been addressed, discussed and directions given. This direction given to the mind is not direction to you. That’s the only difference which you do not understand. Siri Guru Granth does not direct you, it directs your mind and you have to have a control of your mind; your neutral mind, your positive mind, your negative mind. The trinity of mind should be under your control. Now what is the method you have got? The method to control the trinity of mind is called Kundalini Yoga. You are not born as a Sikh so that you have to be a Sikh just to carry on the family tradition. You are reborn! Therefore you have to understand the very essence of the way of life.

Naam ke dhaare sagale ant[15]

By the Naam all beings are sustained.

Naam is not what you think. Some of you are so confused. Some people are reciting Naam with the breath, some people are doing it with a niolee[16]. I knew a yogi in India, he would chant the Naam while doing niolee kriya. I knew a person who could create any sound in the very rib cage. You go and listen to any mantra you want. I don’t tell you the things I have seen. I have seen marvelous things, but to me it is all a circus. Everything is a circus. But beyond the circus there is a stage of continuity. It is a continuous state of fulfillment, where the lasting inflow of the spirit comes in and the everlasting flow of the spirit goes out. It is a state, it is a blue lagoon, it’s a peace lagoon. There is peace. In that peace there is tolerance, there is an acceptance of the Will of God, there is the obedience, and there is a tremendous amount of patience.

What God did is God created the human being and told him to go on the earth and to just look after maya and maya would look after him. So the human being came here for an average of sixty-five years. For the first twenty years the human doesn’t understand who he is or she is and after sixty years he does not know what is going to happen to him. Between twenty and sixty is about forty years. So for the sake of this little period of forty years, God is forgotten and maya overtakes him. I have seen people who are neurotic or chaotic. They create chaos. If you send them someplace they are not happy there, they want to be someplace else. They run after that scent like a musk deer, who has musk right in his own navel, and they want to find peace somewhere else.

I was shocked when I saw somebody pick up the telephone and slam the receiver on the stand. That bang is still in my ear. And I asked the lady, "What did this telephone receiver do to you? How did it harm you? What language did this receiver speak that you have taken it and banged it on the stand. What for?" No, it is not the telephone, it is the anger inside. It’s the imbalance inside. And to reach the balance, simran is the stage of consciousness. It is started humbly. Humbly, you progress to that humble stage for which Guru Gobind Singh is responsible, to that stage for which Guru Nanak is responsible. For that progress Guru Nanak gave the mantra "Sat Naam," because it is a panj (five syllable) shabd. So, in who’s destiny it is not written that he can be holy, he can be divine, he can have patience, who can do it? That is why we hear and feel.

Virle ke-ee ke[17]

They are few and far between.

We have a technology in which we can raise the dormant energy within our own self. It doesn’t matter who we are. We can raise the dormant energy, and we can live an aware life. There are many people who are hung up on sex. There are many who are hung up on the body. There are many hung up on ego. And there will continue to be many and they will always continue to exist through all times. But that’s not the end of the world. There are some very beautiful people. There are people who give, there are people who tolerate, there are people who love, there are people who are mighty. There are people who are young and innocent and they can still sing, "We are the Khalsa[18]," Mighty, mighty Khalsa. Everywhere we go people want to know who we are, so we tell them." They are also children. They are the children of God. If this state of consciousness will continue, they are the ones who shall be followed everywhere by God. Corruption is corruption, and corruption can eat up anybody and everybody. But Khalsa is born and Khalsa shall live!

That mighty, mighty Khalsa is not a dream any more. It exists. And there are some divine mothers who know the technology of the Khalsa. And there are some divine mothers who will sacrifice everything, and they will nurse the Khalsa. That’s the job of the Khalsa Council. That is the job of the Panth Khalsa. That’s the job of everyone who believes, feels, and understands that Khalsa is born and it is their job to nurse this Khalsa. That is what Simran means.

My divine majesty today is not mine. It is a state of consciousness. I wonder why you can’t get there. It is so simple. Your husband cannot give it to you, your mother can not give it to you, your father cannot give it to you, your brother cannot give it to you. Money cannot give it to you. Possessions cannot give it to you, your spiritual rituals cannot give it to you, your spiritual rites cannot give it to you. It is a state of gratitude, and it is a relationship between a human and God.

I want to share with you because I experience it all the time, that when these hyenas and wolves in the body of male or female bite on my skin and their ugly long teeth go deep into my bones, at that time if I don’t cry it’s because:

Teraa keeaa meetaa laagai Naam padhaarat Nanak maangai[18]

Thy Will is sweet to me, 0 Lord Nanak asks only for the treasure of the Naam.

I feel pleased, I feel happy, and it doesn’t matter. Their unfortunate plight is their unfortunate plight. Because of Guru’s Grace they’re walking towards the Guru’s gate. So it is my pleasure, it is my happiness. I’ve no relationship with you. I’ve not come here to create relationships. I don’t belong to you. Neither you belong to me. I’m just a messenger, a passerby, who while passing is just letting you know who you are. So you tell them, "We are the Khalsa, mighty, mighty Khalsa, everywhere we go, people want to know…" and I’m just telling you what people want to know.

It’s not my trip. It’s a simple thing. And there is no sacrifice more divine than that. And there is no meditation more divine than that. And there is no yoga more divine than that. And there is no simran more divine than that, as when a little child can stand out and as a little person, can be in such an aware state of consciousness, being just a seven-year-old, or a nine-year-old. Then there is a standard.

Listen to me, you egomaniacs! Listen to me, fools! Please listen to me! Out of my life I’m telling you: a standard has been set! The two young sons of Guru Gobind Singh were seven and nine years old when they were bricked alive, and still they could say, "There is One God, One Father and we are all His children." And they could smile.

It surprises me when I’m speaking to some young kid, and when I ask his age, I hear the reply as "sixteen". I feel that when I was sixteen-and-a-half I was a Master of Kundalini Yoga.

There is no beauty, there is no charm, there is no grace in living confused. Leave duality, be one way! Either be like wax or be hard like granite stone. Be nothing or be everything! Death shall come to all, and it shall come to you! And I tell you that at least today is the day when you can just stand up to yourself and say, "Enough is enough! I am going to be that pure Khalsa."

I do not know how many times I have to remind you. I know intimacy breeds contempt. And perhaps you are very near to me, therefore you do not understand what I am saying to you. But just remember, one day this voice which tells you to wake up, shall not be heard anymore. And it will be very, very difficult.

When a human being talks the language of the Guru, when he speaks of the Guru, the Guru flows through that person. When he talks the Gurbaanee and the Truth, then the Sat Guru flows through that person. When he talks the word and the knowledge of Siri Guru Granth Sahib, then the Siri Guru flows from that person. When a person chants "Wahe Guru," then Wahe Guru flows through that person. It’s all for people. There’s nobody who is condemned in Guru’s house.

The selfish, egocentric, egomaniac has totally twisted the Sikh Dharma by saying that it is a priestless society. It is not a priestless society. We had Bhai Mani Singh as a priest of the Holy Mandir. We had a Jathedar of every missal. We had Guru Hargobind to illustrate the temporal and spiritual leader. It is a beautiful and organized way of life. Some don’t belong to it, that I am willing to agree! But it does belong to everybody.

Khalsa is born, and now you must nurse it, and let it grow, and let it glow. Not only the little ones, but also the tall ones, and big ones with grey beards and with eyes which cannot see and which may have one inch thick glasses to put on even to read the word, "Wahe Guru." But when they are asked who they are, from one-hundred-twenty-year-old to one-day-old, a stage of consciousness should be achieved when they understand who they are and they say, "I am the mighty, mighty Khalsa."

With this confirmation and this declaration and this acceptance when there comes a real dear flow of life, that is what Naam simran is. It is a state of self crucifixion. And it is a state of self exaltation. It is a sublimity. It is a sublime stage of the self in which the fineness and refinement of the Holy Naam sounds and resounds all around. It’s very simple but it is to be achieved. It is a path, it’s a way of life. I understand it, I feel it, I enjoy it, I acknowledge it, and I share it with you. And it’s my prayer that Siri Guru Granth, in whose court you are sitting, may bless you, as one day I was blessed, so that you can enjoy, you can feel, and you can be. It’s a work. It’s a hard work. But it can be worked out. It’s not impossible. Therefore please try to relate to it, in the essence of it. 

[1] To correct the thought wave unto Infinity (an attitude).
[2] Meditation on the repetition of a mantra of infinity (a technique).
[3] Sat Nam.
[4] Yoga of Mastery.
[5] That state of yoga coming after the student has developed an egoless state of union with the Guru, in which all spiritual growth comes easily and naturally. Sahni: easy, automatic.
[6] Sukhmanee, Guru Arjan. Ashtapadee I.
[7] Guru Arjan.
[8] One who lives according to the Guru’s command.
[9] Stage of turning toward Guru and beginning to walk on the path of Guru.
[10] Guru’s wisdom.
[11] God’s will.
[12] Baaraah Maahaa, Guru Arjan.
[13] Sukhmanee, Guru Arjan. Ashtapadee XIX.
[14] Living Guru of the Sikhs which is a collection of the words and writings of the Sikh Gurus, as well as of the mystics and devotees whose universal understanding of the nature of God and His creation qualified their writings for inclusion in this exquisite compilation of music and poetry.
[15] Sukhmanee, Guru Arjan, Ashtapadee XVI.
[16] Method of cleansing the nasal passages.
[17] Guru Arjan.
[18] Pure Ones.
[19] Guru Arjan.

-Yogi Bhajan from Success and the Spirit: An Aquarian Path to Abundance

When I was a young child, I remember the adults around me asking, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It was always a daunting question. Even though I felt like I SHOULD have an answer, my replies tended to sound vague and uncertain.

“A musician. A writer.”

“You can’t make a living being a musician or a writer!” would come the response.

With no other ideas at hand, I would just shrug my shoulders and be silent.

In the eighth grade, when our teacher asked us the same question, so she could put the answer in the school year book, the only response I could come up with was “I want to be myself.”

In college, it took me so long to choose a major that the registration department finally had to refuse my enrollment during the second semester of my Junior year. They would only permit me to register for classes once I decided to major in SOMETHING.

Lack of focus, one might call it.

But many years later, when I started studying meditation, it seemed to me that the question, itself, was not framed properly.

It wasn’t a question of what I wanted “to be” when I grew up. It was a question of what my soul incarnated on the planet to DO. That question was much more interesting and far more valuable. That question evoked a multi-dimensional answer which continued to evolve as I grew older and, hopefully, wiser.

Yogi Bhajan calls it the difference between fate and destiny. Destiny is living according to what the soul took birth to do. It is the deep wisdom within ourselves, constantly illuminating the path before us. Destiny can involve choices that make no sense, risks that we’d rather not take, challenges that make us want to hide under the covers, and opportunities that push us past our limits. Destiny may not always feel safe and secure. But when we live according to destiny, it gives us a profound sense of satisfaction.

Fate, on, the other hand, is what we live when we let the time and space around us dictate our reality. When the pressures of society drown out the voice of the spirit. When other people’s expectations over-ride any sense of self-expectation. Or even just simply when we forget about death – when we forget how temporary and impermanent our time on the earth really is. If we get lost in the belief that we always have tomorrow, then we may let what’s important slip through our fingers.

"All this chanting, the religious rituals and religious ceremonies—  the whole life we live— is for that last moment. There comes a moment before death when you are judged in the trinity of you, your destiny, and your fate.  And that judgment is your decision—nobody else’s."– Yogi Bhajan.

Nobody can know another person’s fate or destiny for them. We can only know it for ourselves, through our own self-reflection. The moment of death is the final measure of how the soul used its time on the earth. But every day, through meditation and prayer, we have a chance to asses ourselves. How much did I live my fate today? How much did I live my destiny?

I have two little tricks that I use to reflect back to myself how I’m doing in the journey of life. The first is, “Ek Ong Kaar – if you were to win the lottery tomorrow – would you still keep doing what you’re doing?” If the answer is yes, I know I’m on track. If it’s no – I know something needs to change.

The second question is, “If today was the last day of your life, would you die feeling happy and complete?” If the answer is yes – keep going. If it’s no – figure out what you need to do differently.

On the road to success, our family, peers, schools and counselors rarely ask us, “What did your soul take birth to do?” And yet, it is the most important question. When measured against how little time we actually have here, the ultimate success comes from knowing I walked my destiny as best I could.

With Divine Light.

 Yours humbly,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa

Editor’s Note: Success and the Spirit: An Aquarian Path to Abundance contains the wisdom and teachings of Sikh Dharma and Kundalini Yoga as taught by the Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan.  It will be released at Summer Solstice 2011. More information can be found on Sikh Dharma International.

This post was originally published on the Spirit Voyage blog.

We need a system to energize ourselves and get going.  Our sadhana should be so perfect that we get into a solid state.  To be simple, to be pure, to Be, is the answer.  Touch your consciousness, intelligence, endurance.  Touch you.  You shall have a mental power, a projection, which must overcome you, yourself and your environments.  Emotion, commotion, second chakra pursuits —a relationship based on these must die.  It has to come from here (Yogi Bhajan points to third eye).  You have to ultimately respect and value the other person, and reverence has to be maintained.  “Come what may between life and death, between earth and heavens and that of God, we shall stay together for each other.  We promise the day, the light of the sun, all stars and moons will be our friends.  All humans will be our guides.  We’ll live a very plush, happy life with the trust of God, our Father in Heavens.” Love other than that is prostitution, debauchery, hateful.  Today you love somebody, tomorrow you walk away.  Human is as vast, as pure and as full of love as Infinity is.  Purity is my first right.  Happiness is my original thought.  Under One God, unto One God I go". – SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji – January 10th, 2000 – Espanola, NM, USA #NM0334

Below is a meditation that was originally taught by Yogi Bhajan after discussing the above topic of information overload. This is a meditation nicknamed "Brain Acupuncture" and will help you relax and deal with the pressure of the times.

MEDITATION – "Brain Acupuncture"

Sit straight in a cross-legged position.  With the right hand in Gyan Mudra, pinch and pull down the right earlobe with the thumb and the forefinger (this stimulates acupressure points to the frontal lobe and the head).  The left hand is on the navel.  Eyes are closed.  Do Long and Deep Breathing through a pursed mouth, whistling on the inhale.  Continue for 31 minutes.  To end, inhale deeply, hold the breath and pinch the earlobe as hard as you can.  Exhale.  Repeat 2 more times, stretching the spine as much as possible.  On the last inhale, also press the navel point as hard as possible.  Relax.

 – Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan from Success and the Spirit: An Aquarian Path to Abundance

Many spiritual approaches to prosperity talk about the power of the mind, of visualization, of intention, and of attracting what you want into your life. All of these are important tools in understanding our relationship with the world around us. Yet very few people talk about the power of a person’s consciousness, of their purity, of their integrity, grace and character as the source of prosperity. The public conversation about prosperity has been about what I can “get” – rather than what I can “be.”

Yet when we clear the mind through meditation – something wonderful happens. The light of the soul starts to shine. And as the Inner Self becomes more prominent, a change takes place in a person. Their fears depart. Joy comes in. And rather than being pushed and pulled by the environments around her, a person can settle into a place of living according to her inner truth. This strength to live according to one’s inner voice with grace and dignity doesn’t simply “attract” prosperity. It creates it.

We can see so many examples throughout history of people who challenged the time and space they lived in. They made a decision to live in the integrity of their own consciousness. Even though they met with challenges along the way, the very act of staying true to themselves eventually made them victorious. It also opened up opportunities for other people. Whether it is the communications vision of Steven Jobs at Apple or the fight for political equality personified in the life of Nelson Mandela  – all those who have created a legacy have done so because they lived committed to their deepest, most genuine self.

In the teachings of the Siri Singh Sahib – Yogi Bhajan –  it is this consciousness of finding and staying true to that deep, spiritual self which is the real source of prosperity. Our spiritual practice gives us a chance to live according to our soul. The purer our minds become, the more the light of the soul shines. The stronger the light becomes, the more we create for ourselves and for others. The power of attraction does not come from what we want. It comes from who we are. And when we can tap into and live in our Divine Self – the entire universe longs to come close.

In the weeks and months ahead, it will be my privilege and blessing to continue sharing excerpts and commentary on a new book being published by KRI titled Success and the Spirit: An Aquarian Path to Abundance. The book includes lectures, shabads, and Kundalini Yoga meditations taught by Yogi Bhajan on how to experience success at the deepest level of your being and how to leave a living legacy on the earth.

I look forward to the conversation that these columns will create with you.

With Divine Light.

Yours sincerely and humbly,

Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa

Success and the Spirit: An Aquarian Path to Abundance contains the wisdom and teachings of Sikh Dharma and Kundalini yoga as taught by the Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan. The book will be released during 3HO’s Summer Solstice in 2011.

This article originally appeared on the Spirit Voyage Blog.

I have to admit that I don’t listen to Rock music that often these days, but have to say I like what I hear when I listen to the music by young Sikh Rock Musician "Hargo" (Hargobind Hari Singh). It’s always cool to see friends and Sikhs pursue careers and interests that are off the beaten path. It takes a lot of courage and effort to pursue dreams that might not fit in the norm of what parents might consider a career. Keep Going Hargobind Hari!

Check out his new music video (below) for one of his new audio tracks called "Soul Survivor". 

Every 18 years we enter a new Life Cycle. 18 years is a combination of 10 plus 8, which reflects the relationship between the soul and the pranic body. The soul or consciousness gives us our mission, our urge to live. The pranic body provides us with the energy to act on that life. In the first two 18 year life cycles, that energy is drawn largely from the physical self, the hormones, nerves and nutrients. But entering the third cycle, we must learn to draw more energy from the mental and pranic bodies. In this way experience, dimension and domain deepen in a way that just doesn’t happen during those first 35 years.

Gurumustuk is an artist at heart. He brings beauty out through all his work, whether it’s his amazing photography which sees into the hearts and souls of his subjects, coming up with new ideas or designing new content for SikhNet. His creative touch lives not so much in the language of words (though he does write some great blog posts) but in his relationships – not only with his family and the Sangat, but with everyone whose life has been touched by SikhNet.

In a way, he simply embodies SikhNet – its presence, its growth, its constant renewal, its original ideas and content. He is constantly aware of, in tune with and merged into the psyche of our global cybersangat.

Our Guru says that each human’s destiny is written upon the forehead – mustuk. And so the deeper meaning of his name is that it is the Guru’s destiny itself which is his mission and purpose in life. What does that mean? Well, look around… the old prejudices, fears and habits are dying away and a new consciousness is being born within the Panth all over the world as new generations rise up to take the place of the old. Gurumustuk Singh represents that consciousness of unity, practical lifestyle and human technology and, most of all, the purest love of the Guru and the Panth, which is SikhNet’s raison d’etre – to inspire the unity of the Panth and move all of us forward together into deeper understanding, cooperation, mutual inspiration and service.

So many lives have been touched by his work that I have the blessing to be able to say that I witness the Guru’s miracles manifested through him constantly.

On his birthday, I want to pause in the midst of our crazy SikhNet work schedule and take this moment to congratulate him.

Not just for SikhNet, but for his compassion, his creativity, his practical wisdom and his incredible service to the Panth and to emerging generations. He has excelled as a father, as a leader, as a sevadar and, yes, as my co-worker as well.

Gurumustuk Singh Ji – Happy Birthday! In life we rarely find people with whom our destinies are interwoven by such common joy, dedication and purpose. What an immense blessing it is for me to have the privilege to work with you each day. May you always be surrounded by love, joy, prosperity and excellence. You truly are the Guru’s Mustuk.

~ Guruka Singh