Sonia Sodhi

Embracing Self-Reliance: Nurturing Independence in an Uncertain World

2024-02-09T17:10:00.003+01:00

In our lives, we naturally seek connections with others, forming bonds of friendship and family to share the joys and challenges of existence. Having someone to rely on during life's pivotal moments provides us with comfort and support. However, the reality is that even the most steadfast relationships can change or be lost unexpectedly. Whether it's the uncertainty of death or the unpredictability of life's circumstances, the notion of self-reliance becomes increasingly important. In this blog post, we will delve into the significance of cultivating self-sufficiency, preparing for the unexpected, and blossoming into a strong and self-reliant individual.

1. The Fragility of Relationships:

While companionship is an integral part of human life, it's important to acknowledge that relationships are not immune to the tests of time. Even the most solid partnerships can face unforeseen challenges leading to separation or loss. Recognizing this inherent fragility encourages us to embrace the concept of self-reliance as a means of safeguarding our emotional well-being and preparing for an uncertain future.

2. The Unpredictability of Life:

Life is full of surprises, some pleasant and some profound. However, it's essential to understand that not all unexpected occurrences unfold in favorable ways. Circumstances beyond our control can bring about sudden changes, leaving us to navigate unexplored territories alone. By acknowledging the unpredictability of life, we can foster resilience and develop a proactive mindset that empowers us to rely on ourselves during challenging times.

3. Cherishing Independence:

Embracing self-reliance does not imply forsaking the joys of companionship or dismissing the benefits of having a support system. Instead, it encourages a healthy balance between nurturing relationships with others and nurturing our independence. Cultivating self-reliance enables us to become more self-aware, confident, and self-sufficient individuals, capable of thriving in the face of adversity.

4. Preparing for the Future:

The future is a canvas upon which many possibilities are painted, including events that may deeply impact our lives. While we cannot fully predict what lies ahead, we can take steps to prepare ourselves for the uncertainties that may arise. This involves developing practical skills, such as financial literacy, emotional resilience, and adaptability, which provide a solid foundation for self-reliance.

5. Reinventing the Notion of Support:

Relying solely on external sources for support can sometimes lead to disappointment or vulnerability. By embracing self-reliance, we redefine the concept of support, recognizing that we have the capacity to nurture and uplift ourselves. Seeking personal growth, investing in our passions, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle contribute to our overall well-being, ensuring that we are better equipped to face life's trials.

Conclusion:

While bonds with family and friends enrich our lives, it is essential to acknowledge the impermanence of these connections and the unpredictability of the future. By nurturing self-reliance, we can transcend the limitations of dependency and prepare ourselves for the unexpected. Embracing our own strengths and investing in personal growth allows us to thrive even in the absence of external support. Remember, life is an ever-changing journey, and developing self-reliance equips us with the resilience and determination to navigate its twists and turns with grace and confidence.

Year 2022 Iconic moments

2022-12-24T13:05:00.001+01:00

Year 2022 Iconic Moments

Focus on your strengths, work on your weaknesses

2013-03-21T23:13:00.000+01:00

We rarely look at our strengths. I used to think i know my positive sides very well and i need to focus on my negatives as i need to work on them. But actually there is a balance that is needed. One needs to indeed work on areas you need to improve, but do not forget the strengths you have. This is so important for your self esteem,and also to ensure that you actually are able to work on your improvement areas. You can only be successful in your achieving your improvement areas, only by counting on a strength of yourself...

Innovation & Banking Sector?

2012-06-28T19:56:00.001+02:00

In late 90's and till 2004, Banking industry jobs were seen to be one of the most sought after jobs. Since 2008, ever since bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, banking industry has seen the worst crisis and has not been able to stabilize till 2012. Every now and then, one or another financial institution has been in news. Let it be JP Morgan, UBS, or any other big giants..

The reason may be linked to economic crisis, but that is not the only one in my view. Banking sector has limited or no innovation since electronic banking / internet banking. Initially there was a rush to provide internet services, and one way or another, old back offices / systems were used or upgraded to provide the new technology. The main focus of technology within banks has been to make the processing efficient, cut costs of technology etc..So the focus was and has been on cost cutting. But has there been any other real innovation since Internet banking?..I am wondering..... Mobile banking has come up in last 2 years. But still, i consider it just an add on to the existing internet banking..It is not a breakthrough / revolutionary innovative product that can bring profits that can please the investors or the markets.

Not only is the technical innovation within Banks behind, but also Banking Product innovation itself. Once Cash pool / Notional pooling etc were drafted as Liquidity management solutions for the major clients, there has not been new Banking products innovated, that make a bank different than others on the street. All banks are offering the same solution. Only difference that attracts a customer from one bank to another, is probably the relationship.

There is no breakthrough difference between one bank than another. Neither are they working to innovate. Rather cut costs and cut margins, rates etc...

Unless banking sector focuses on providing a unique solution, a new product to its clients, which makes them see something revolutionary in the sector, nothing is going to change, and only fixes / firefighting within banks will continue. Not only this, the society will not respect the bankers. If bankers need to excel, they need to leave the rather bureaucratic focus of cost cutting, fixing issues, but rather focus on Innovation.

Innovation in my view is the only thing that can save the Banking industry.

Vaudeville - Dramatic or funny

2012-06-27T13:59:00.001+02:00

Those who follow french politics might remember "Ségolène Royal". The lady who stood as an opponent against Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. She lost the presidential elections in 2007. But interestingly, not only the French did not like Sarkozy after a few months yr in office, but also in the next french election the ex -husband of Royal, Francois Hollande became the next president in 2012. Their long term personal relationship ended just after she lost her 2007 presidential race.
Royal seems to lost so much politically that she is not even elected for a seat in parliament. Recent apology from the new partner of French president "Valerie Trierweller, for publicly supporting the rival of Ms Royal in these elections does result in eyebrows to be raised.
These kind of news in politics brings a kind of funny entertainment..."Facetiousness" and also at the same time make us wonder wonder - "Will France ever get a female president";
French politics is so male dominated. It seems Asia is doing well in terms of women development and representation, as compared to Western world.

Medical Industry & Health Insurance Paradox

2012-06-07T15:42:00.001+02:00

In my family they always say since my childhood : Hospital and Court visits are the worst things that can happen to someone.

Decades passed. I could relate to Hospitals in india where one has to pay all bills of medical from their own pocket and one can easily relate that medical assistance is expensive, and is purely money outflow. The same is relevant even today in most of Asia. The plight in Asia has improved for atleast a few percentage of educated working class, working in MNC's who take care of medical expenses, as long as you are employee. Thus it is part of paypackage. So eventually, as long as you are working, it is beneficial, since your medical expenses are paid for.

Now looking at the Health insurance model, mostly prevailant in the western countries. There is a socialist aspect, where "Basic Health" coverage is there. i.e. if you fall sick, all medical expenses are paid by the Insurnace company to whom you are paying your monthly insurance premium. During economic boom days, the preiums were mostly subsidised. Good stuff. Even if the cost of medical care was rising, people were covered. Come downturn..the subsidies on medical insurance are reduced by the government. Insurance companies are increasing premiums. That is surely understandable.

But what is not acceptable is to refuse the hope to patients. A doctor or medical praticitioner's role is to try try try again and do his/her utter best for the patient. In an industry that is highly regulated by the covers provided by the insurance companies, the doctors are being directed / influenced to identify the breakeven point i.e. to invest / not to invest on a patient further iby providing treatment. The insurance companies are challenging docs, on the number of tests conducted on a patient.

This is scary....

A doctors credibility or professional expertise judged based on how he was able to diagnose disease is understandble. But based on one test or matching profiles is not appropriate and can result serious implications.

Medical profession should not be influenced or guided by the financial / economic situation of Insurance companies.

In this case it is better to pay for your entire medical bills and be treated, rather than to remain untreated or receive wrong treatment. In a way it is therefore better to pay your own medical expense rather than being covered by the medical insurance.

Punjab - Sikhs’ most precious gift to India

2012-06-07T15:40:00.001+02:00

In the events leading to partition, it is pertinent to note that the Sikhs paid the most price due to their ‘opposition’ of the Congress and the communal propaganda of the Muslim League.

The greatest losers of partition were the SIKHS

Major tensions have persisted among both Muslim and Sikh communities, which suffered most from the violence and land loss resulting from partition. These tensions erupted most seriously in the 1980s in a violent campaign for the creation of a separate Sikh state.

Renewed victimisation of Muslims has also occurred, notably with the destruction of the Muslim shrine at Ayodhya in 1992 and anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2004.

For both India and Pakistan, the most singular conflict unresolved since partition has concerned the former Princely State of Kashmir, whose fate was left undetermined at the time the British left. Lying as it did on the border, Kashmir was claimed by both countries, which have been to war over this region on numerous occasions.

What issues were left unresolved at the time of India's partition in 1947, have continued to plague both India and Pakistan since independence.

Life & Relations

2011-02-07T01:19:00.001+01:00

“Nanak dukhiya sab sansar” – They say O’Nanak every human being has some sorrow, and no one is happy…It is just perspectives. We think that the other person is happier than us, however, if we look into their lives, we will see that they have problems even bigger than us, that we may not be able to handle. I was once told a story..kind of remembering it…people went to god and said that my bag of worries is too big and I cannot take it anymore. God said ok I take your bag of worries, but u must have a bag. Go in the store and pick any bag of your choice. The person went to store and came back. He asked God, give me my bag only, since with this bag atleast I know what the problems are..If I pick any other bag, I am not sure what I am picking..may be the bag I pick has even bigger problems…

No one would ever like to dare to take a bag of bigger problems…

Isn’t man selfish…he just wants comfort and happiness for himself. We all are in relations also because of our own selfish benefits. We need to be social to live..

I like western culture in that sense. They are very honest in their relations. If it is not working they will walk out of relations. It is better than being hypocrite. Although an argument is there that they do not try to adjust and make relations work..Well who doesn’t want relations to work. However if it goes beyond a point where it is not giving any happiness but suffering to both individuals then it is better to separate..

Was watching a movie lately on Gandhi’s son..what an irony..Gandhi termed as the father of nation for India, could not fulfill his role and duty as a father to his own son. The contrasting demands both father and son had from their lives resulted in one to suffer. But isn’t it that Gandhi was a bit selfish in focusing on his expectations from his life, and wanted his son to follow the same, without understanding what his son needs and what his problems are, how they can be solved..Did he invest time, part of his life into this relation, did he feel it was worth his time and effort to ensure that his own son’s life is not ruined. Was he not selfish that he wanted his name to be not tarnished by his own son’s deeds..Somewhere he knew he had failed..

Relations are overrated..yes, but they are still the best investments. The happiness received from fruitful relations is not comparable to any happiness in the world. We may acquire materialistic things, but fame and recognition in the society remains the most sought after thing in people’s lives...and being social remains the foundation of human life

The Made in China brand

2007-08-05T23:01:00.000+02:00

Yes indeed the manufacturing power of China, the cheap labour and ever increasing demands of these products cannot be denied. But i am bound to think about the adjustments we have made in our quality standards to get cheap products..A few only seem to care about quality..

When i was in Singapore, Chinese goods were also available and were flooding market, however as a consumer I still had to the option to buy Made in Malaysia or Made in Japan goods...ofcoarse i needed to pay an extra % for these goods. But as a consumer if i am buying a Plasma screen TV , do i really mind paying another 200-400$ when i know i am buying a quality product and i do not need to worry about my 2000$ investment into a good that i have bought. After all we do not buy a Plasma TV everyday.

However in Europe i see a different situation. As a customer, i have very limited option and most likely i have no other choice but to buy a Made in China product. Think about it, if you are buying a laptop , you are investing about 1500 Euro. Given an option i will not mind if have to pay another 200-400 Euros if i can buy a made in Japan product. But here we have mostly made in China goods. Even the companies with brand names like Sony/ HP have products which are made in China and i do not have any option left. Yes what i do get is a 2/3 year warranty. Atleast i am covered. But isn't it a botheration that if u buy a product, may be a bit cheaper, with extended warranties, and when u start using it, after 6-7 months you start the viscious circle of calling Customer Service desks..

We are happy when we buy cheaper products, and do not worry about the associated quality. This is good for products which are not a high end consumer products. Clothes/Shoes/purses etc are some of the things are not considered as durable goods and yes we are Ok to compromise with the quality. However do the same rules apply with the high end products like Computers/ Plasma TV's or for that matter Refrigerators/Washing machines...

Think about how inconvinient it is if you have bought a new Refrigerator/ washing machine and after 4 months, you have to take it back to the Customer support centre for a defect/problem. Even if you are covered by the warranty you have, the pain to take back the product and bring it back and the related inconviniences cannot be justified by the low price you have paid.
Yes a laptop warranty helps the owner to get the company bring it back to the factory setting, but what happens to the Data the owner had saved on it...Surely that is not covered in this warranty..So the warranties do not really cover the consumer. There is always a price to pay for the cheaper and low quality product that one has bought.

My question is do u think in future you will have an option to pay additional amount for a good quality product?

Most likely not, since these days, most of the products are Made in China. Companies like Philips/Sony/HP etc..all have their manufacturing centres in China and are exporting to US and Europe goods that are Made in China with Brand Names.

There were times in early 1970's and 1980's, Japanese goods brought economic boom to Japan and helped to reposition as a leading economy in the world. These days instead of quality the cheap price is leading China to be leading economy.

How visible are the Made in Germany goods in the store?

Will a Mercedes made in China stand the test of time and quality..Probably not...But may be with the changing times, our quality definitions would have changed itself.

Under 25 age population of India

2007-03-13T13:14:00.000+01:00

Yesterday i saw here an advertisement for a progam on CNN, yet to be aired on this weekend that is projecting that India has half billion population under 25....It left me thinking how is it possible..
1/2 billion means 500 million = 50 crore...
This means that out of nearly 100 crore population of India, 1/2 was added in last 25 years...remember the following points while you agree to this factors..
Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi had started a massive campaign after 1975 to control the population growth..Indians had started understandig the concept of family plannig only after this campaign was initiated. A population boost from 1947 to the times of Nehru was expected as there was a general social and economic grwoth in India after the independence from the britishers. And it was noticed also.That's the time when the government and specially Indira / Congress governmant came in action and started the campaign to control the population growth..
Just checked the Census data for the year 2001 and found the following surprising result..
Age 6-14 years 205021016
Age 14-18 years 85538913
Age 18-24 years 110245906
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Total 400805835
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Its not difficult to find the reasons for this population growth during these years in India..
If you see the population aged 14-18 it is least among the other two categories..Its possible due to the lack of a stable political environment..Indira gandhi had some serious policies which probably were coming into effect.The age group between 18-24 is undoubtedly high, which probably brought the government to bring population control as the main policy to focus on..
But what is intersting is the age group 6-14. It seems the family planning policies got lost during the 90's. Also other factors could have contributed to this high growth in the 90's.. Probably as a result of the globalisation and the rapid economic growth people were provided with an increased sense of security and means to raise children. The birth rate during this phase has surpassed the 18-24 years category, indicating that indeed happy times were around..
Its also known that india has a relatively low elderly population due to the lower average life expectancy..The average life expectancy in India is 60 years due to lack of good medical services in the remote areas..This is however changing, but we are surely far ahead from the Western/ developed countries for the agreed population count..

Impact of Politics in real life

2007-02-12T10:22:00.000+01:00

In this political climate many things have been learnt. Even if you have the capabilities, even if you are the pioneer of major initiatives, even if you are the most intelligent around, even if you are a hard-worker, at the end of the day, it depends on the politics people play around you…At the end of the day it is the people who can bring you up /down

It was very strange when I heard last week on the CNN that a NASA astronaut is being tried for alleged kidnapping and attempt to murder with another collegue who she believed had an affair with another astronaut. Was it a love triangle or an impact on the professional status thereby impacting the trip on Discovery to the space J With limited resource, extreme competition levels, fighting for a place in the space shuttle, are we so unsure about our capabilities that we look for other means that can help us to fulfil our desires. Isn’t this close to having no faith in your capabilities, because if you are sure that you are the best, you will not indulge in these kind of acts…You are sure that what you have is the best and you can give your best to the place where are you placed…

This is just a simple situation. If we extrapolate this to a bigger picture, the world politics is also a reflection of this lack of confidence. I liked yesterday when the 2008 US Presidential candidate Obama made the statement “America it is time to stop the war and bring our troops back. Our families should not suffer anymore or should undergo the grief any longer…We should create more jobs and focus on our issues rather than on Iraq. Depend less on oil"

It’s so true…When we feel insecure and have lost confidence on ourselves we depend on the means of politics/ war to get what we want. Instead of focussing on our self improvement, we try to focus on degrading the other person/party. I think we give up at that stage and want something quick and easy. Something that helps us to achieve things fast, without working hard…Something which helps us to hide our incapability’s…Something where we are able to prove that we are the best..where we do not have to pay the best price for the service or the commodity that we need.

Isn’t Iraq war / the Middle East policy of US since the 80’s is aimed to get oil which they need at the price dictated by them. Saudi king didn’t want to fight and agreed to cooperate and has been able to save his country from the war. But others who resisted the power and authority of the US have faced tough actions..

It was so hilarious when I heard today that the US Army has evidence that the insurgents in Iraq are being supplied with weapons by Iran…Last month Iran requested members of international media that their nuclear facility is for the peaceful purpose. So when it was no other reason against Iran left, you start promoting that Iran is supplying arms..Isn’t is quite possible that the Iraqi insurgents are so frustrated with the US occupations and they are buying arms from wherever possible and Iran is the closest country…Iraqis need to protect themselves and in order to protect them, they would need arms. US has failed to protect them. Over 3 years of war with major civilian losses. Sometime we hear 1000 people dead in a week. Who is responsible for all of this?

May be we should relook within ourselves..We talk about human values..But we fight worse than the animals. We are not making the best use of this human life

God - A supernatural power / Positive energy

2006-08-02T11:22:00.000+02:00

A very unique dream or thought i had today morning.

Guru Nanak and the Sikh religion is against doing idol worship. i.e. no stone idol or a shape should be considered as God.

When we are sad or in depression we look upto God, as a means to save us. We go to temples, pray to idols and say "Oh God, save me!!, Why this bad phase in my life". But often we forget that most situations happen becuase of our actions. We surround ourselves with a negative energy cloud and these negative waves not only spoil your relationships with others but also ruin your chances of success.

Its just dependent on us or our actions, to not get surrounded by negativity and be prone to weakness. Most of the people who are not neagtive are happy. When we have these negative feelings we are liable to think bad about people who are around us, and these perceptions can be the basis of our actions.

How can we do justice to our actions, which are based on the negative feelings...Indeed our actions will also be wrong and we will be wrong in every action we do....

Not only will we loose friends, but also very few people will like to be in touch with us.

Isn't that what Guru Nanak in his teachings said...DO NOT CRITICISE ANYONE...the act of criticism is a negative action, sure to bring negative energy to us.

And once we are surrounded by this negative energy, we will be prone to sadness.

Yes if we are surrouded by positive energy, we are indeed surrounded by God. In that sense, God is nothing but a positive eneergy. In order to achieve smething we must be a positive person..

It is easy to say, but very difficult to do. And once you have done so, you would have achieved the best in life.

I am a very religious person, do my prayers every day...But today i feel, may be i am doing everything wrong. Even if i do not pray, even if i do not light a candle everyday, i can be surrounded by God/ positive energy, if i am away from all negative thoughts. I need to not think about people's actions towards me, not think about why a person acted in a particular manner, not think about who is a good/bad person, not make opinions about people, not pre-judge people, be humble, even if someone would have done bad to me i should not think wrong about that person, even if i do good to a person i should not have expectations from that person....

Its so simple; Once i do that i would surround myself with a positive energy and no negative thoughts are there, automaically life is happy...and my prayers are answered.

Life and Living Life - II

2006-07-11T09:49:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, it was a beautiful sunny summer evening. An evening like this is considered as being a heaven in Europe. As i was coming back from the market, i see a Dutch woman crying just next to the street.

She looked decent and hence i made an effort to see why is she is crying..As i reach close to her in order to console her, she did not tell me anything. Probably because i was speaking English and she had little knowledge of the language, or at that moment you need someone close to you to listen to you...But there was no one whom she could confide in. She kissed my hand many time as a gesture of Thanks...but i felt if i could help...There is so much to be required to be done in this society, so much missing that i feel helpless many times..

I see such scenes most of the time when i meet local belgian, especially white community here in Brussles...girls are lonely and the man is sad why they cannot find their soulmate...

I never in my dreams had thought that such problems could exist in the most developed countries of the world. No, its not the Europe i used to dream about....

So much loneliness...and the reason for that, too much independence in thoughts and minds of people...

When a person becomes too independent, strong and feel that he can manage life himself and should not depend on others for happiness, the ability to adjust is weakened. We become prone to being hurt by the people who we consider close and dear to us, because any small thing that we may do knowingly/unknowingly can hurt them and can result in a relationship to be broken.

The western european people are taught to be strong and manage your life yourself and not depend on others...Its good, but as a human being i think you are left alone. Its good to be strong in some aspects, but when this strength/ ego comes between relationships, its hard to maintain them...

No wonder divorce rates are so high...No wonder people do not want to marry..a live-in relationship is preferred, so that you can walk out, when things are not good (atleast you have not brought in God and committed to be soulmates in a relationshoip)

Its sad and i feel this society has to really learn a lot in terms of culture and family values...

Today i feel really blessed to have been born in India, where family values and religion is strong.

Cheers, Sonia Sodhi

Life and Living Life - I

2006-07-06T19:53:00.000+02:00

Sometimes i feel that someone has already predestined the way that we are going to live life or do we have a chance of write destiny ourselves? Its a weird question, may be you are thinking that i am depressed with life.

But no i am happy and want to be happy and share happiness with others. But sometimes no matter what you want to do and put all your energies towards it, things do not happen your way.

You do feel bad that time, may be for that moment, but as time passes, as days move on , as the months pass by and you become wise...you realise, how wrong you were at that moment. May be naive and could not judge the situations and make correct decision..But thank God things did not happen the way you wanted, else you would have been in a deeper shit, a situation that should have never occured, else your life would have become miserable.

And at that moment you thank God or the supernatural power that exists above us, who takes care of us like a mother, deciedes what is good / bad for us..It just like when you are adoloscent, you want everything..You cannot deciede what is good and bad for you. Your parents are constantly there to guide you on your major decisions of life. Sometimes you do not agree, but you just do it, since your parents wanted it...its only later you realise, how correct they were. They have indeed helped you with their experiences in life and given the right advise to you.

It all depends if you beieve in God also on not..just like if you believe in the judgement of your parents or not. Again it depends if you trust your parents. Its based on your experience. If your father has been drinking all life/beating you and your mother, you will surely have no trust on him. You will infact hate him and have no respect for this man. Such situations can lead to a little or not trust on God also, and the person may have a disturbed life.

However if your parents have given you their best and you have strong family support behind you, most likely you will be god fearing and will not like to do anything that harm others.

Family is one of the most important thing in one's life. We can chose our neighbours but not our family. We are born to a family. May be its based on our past life's deeds that we are born in a particular family..

I am a firm believer of the theory of karma and past life deeds. Most of the times when i have faced hardships also in life, i have prayed to God to show me the right path. And he has always embraced me in his arms. In case i have done some bad deed, he has made me to go through the pain, similar to a scolding given by parents when we do something wrong, however upon my acceptance that i was wrong and will learn from this mistake and will not repeat in future...I have been forgiven

These are just some of the thoughts that came to mind on this Thursday evening, when i am trying to gain some optimism in my thoughts....

Will continue on this topic, in my next post. Till then :)
Cheers,
Sonia Sodhi

Some Insights on Sikh religion roots and contribution to Indian/Hindu history

2006-07-04T19:57:00.000+02:00

Punjabi is a Hindu belonging to Punjab/haryana /Chandigrah /Punjab Province in Pakistan, whose native speaking language/dialect is Punjabi. Most of them have faith in Guru Granth Sahib, but are not SIKH in appearance (i.e. do not keep beard and turban).

They pray mostly to Shiva-Parvati /Hanuman/ Ram and Goddess Vaishno devi (another form of 9 avatars of Durga). They also go to Gurudwara and have faith in Guru Nanak’s teachings. Depending on each family the faith on each Lord or Guru is higher or lower. Some Punjabi’s just believe in Guru Granth sahib and some may just believe in Vaishno devi. This has evolved over the years. e.g: Some well known people like, Akshay Kumar, Karan Johor, Raj Kapoor, Sunil Dutt are Punjabi’s. Amitabh Bachan’s father was from UP, Allahabad, but his mother was a Sikh, hence due to his maternal side, he is also sometimes referred to as a Punjabi, since he is a Hindu as his mother tongue is Punjabi, though father speaks pure Hindi. Mahesh Bhatt is also a Punjabi.

Another thing may be of good knowledge is that "Sindhis" also belong to Sindh province of Pakistan. They are also Hindus, they follow all Hindu customs. They pray to Jhulelal (or Sai baba) and Guru Nanak. Again they also do service in Gurudwara and can speak good Punjabi also. e.g: L.K. Advani, Babita (Karishma kapoor’s mother) or Sadhana (old film actress) …

Marriages between Sikhs /Punjabis and sindhis are very common due to same dialect and beliefs. Infact originally there is no difference in all three. The marriage between Punjabi/Sindhi/Sikh is absolutely fine, since the base ancestry is the same.

What is again important in such marriage is whether the boy and the girl are of same caste i.e. Brahmin /kshatriya or vaisya. Vaisya is called as Baniya in north India, Kshatriya as Khatri and Brahmin as Pandit.

Marriage is mostly done as per traditional hindu custom of agni rounds or rounds around Guru Granth Sahib, depending on families preference. Upon death Crimination is done in same way as Hindus and only addition is presence of Sikh Gurudwara clergy to pray to Gurus also.

Guru Nanak did not believe in the rigid Caste System followed in 15th century. The basis of that was to stop the atrocities against lower caste people. He guided people to be humble on the caste issues as according to Vedas caste system came into being because of the occupation followed by the people and not any discrimination done by the supreme almighty among human beings. Also he made them aware that by doing such atrocities they are earning bad Karma and spoiling the basic reason of coming to life. He did not teach nor is mentioned anywhere regarding marriages to follow the caste system or not. But as he was a moderate and since Sikhs have been advised not to follow rigid caste system, today Sikhs do not believe in Caste system in marriages also, but that depends from family to family.

Guru Nanak belonged to a Hindu Kshatriya family and he preached that there is one Supreme lord. His teachings about God or this supreme power can be summarized as follows.

1. Ek onkar (There is one and only one Lord/supreme power)

2. He is referred to as God/Lord or this supreme power, whom we can’t see

3. He is the ultimate truth (Absolute synonym to Shiva “Satyam Shivam Sundram” i.e. truth is always the most beautiful thing in this world and truth is the Lord. You may also relate this to Buddha's teaching also who went into meditation to get nirvana or getting the knowledge about the ultimate truth. Buddha is said to be enlightened when he came to know the lord is ultimate truth of this universe)

4. He is doer of this entire world and running the entire shrishti,

5. He doesn't fear from anyone,

6. He doesn't have discrimination against anyone i.e. all humans who are his children
(This was done in order to enlighten the people in North not to be cruel to the people of low caste and help them in their sufferings. There were lots of cruel deeds done by people of high caste which cannot be described in words. He preached people of high caste to be merciful to the people of low caste and just as God is common for all, and he doesn’t discriminate against his children, we humans are very small and we will earn Bad Karma by doing such atrocities against fellow beings)

That is how the Langar(meaning Guru’s Common Kitchen) came into being where all sit together and eat same food that is prepared in Guru’s kitchen. Even Akbar when he came to meet 2nd Guru of Sikhs “Guru Angad Dev ji” he was made to sit next to sweeper and eat the simple dal roti that was being served to all. Hence in Guru/Teacher’s eyes there is no difference among his disciples. This is same as the ancient times when in Gurukul, king’s son and a common man’s son used to study together from the same teacher in same school and eat the same what was prepared in Guru’s kitchen, by Guru’s wife.

Note: Humayun / Babar and Akbar, the first 3 Mughals emperors had very cordial relation with Guru Nanak and the next Guru, as they were all moderates and were not forcing people to become Muslims. As we know Akbar married a Rajput lady too. Its is said that when Akbar was small he was almost at the verge of dying, his father Babar came to Guru Nanak for help. Guru ji advised him to pray to God.

7. He is Akal murat (It means he doesn't fear time and lives forever)

He doesn’t follow the cycle of life and death i.e. doesn't get born or comes in Joons (again a synonym to Shiva as Shiva doesn't have avatars)

8. He is the only or ultimate truth today,tomorrow and will remain truth
Hence we should pray to this supreme lord and should not be duped by false saints who claim to be God while they are alive.

Guru Nanak never went against basic Hindu principles but rather tried to remind people of these principle which seemed to be forgotten during the 15th century. He was a saint only. Even in History text books he is described or classified as one of the Saints in Sufi period (Just like Tulsi das/ Ravi sasa, Meera and Kabir).

Kabir wrote dohas or short 2 line poems in simple hindi reminding people of the basis of life and Hinduism E.g:
Bura jo dekhan mein chala bura na milya koi..
Jab dekhan man apno mujh se bura na koi

Meaning: When i wanted to find a bad man, and I first looked into my heart, I found that there is no one as bad as me. Kabir is hinting people by using this short poem, not to point finger on others but rather do a self introspection first. A very simple way of leading true and good life.

Guru Nanak also used the same method of using simple or local language i.e. Punjabi to explain people the crux of Vedas in a language understood by them. He was a teacher and not God. Sikhs/Punjabis and Sindhis are his followers, just like you follow the teachings of a Guru or a teacher. But the basic belief remains the same. They try to do follow his teachings to lead a good life as suggested in ancient texts…But since they do not understand the language of ancient texts they come to Guru Granth Sahib, as it is basic Punjabi.

Guru Granth Sahib is nothing but collection of hymns or stanzas spoken by Guru Nanak/Kabir / Ravidas and other sufi saints. There are about 3000 short hymns and in this about 100 are of kabir J…In 90% of the hymns there is reference to Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, besides references to Rama and Ravana, Buddha and Mahavir. There are very frequent refernces of Indra /Varun /Agni and Pancha tatva / Karma / past life deeds/ Vedas in Guru Granth Sahib...

Irony is that today people can’t even understand the Punjabi language, as spoken in 15th Century as today due to mix and match with Hindi, some words cannot be understood by the people of our generation…

Very few people know about this and that’s why mistake Sikhism to be a completely different religion than Hinduism. Probably they cannot themselves understand the language and meaning behind or haven’t themselves tried to read and understand or are engrossed with fanatic thoughts (krodh and ahankar, which is against Guru Nanak’s teachings) and hence have caused total and rather drastic misconceptions in last few decades.

In north during his time in 15th Century, lot of “pakhandi”, as we call in Hindi, or false saints were fooling people in name of God. They used to tell them like do this/pay this / pray to us and we will do a chamatkar for you. Guru Nanak was against these false saints and wanted to tell people not to pray to them but pray to God i.e. the supreme power who can relieve you of all the sorrows.

As we know there are lots of siddhis/divine powers that Maha Purush/Saints acquire by doing meditation etc. Like Swami Paramhansa or Shankarcharya etc. Even it is said Tulsidas who wrote Hanuman Chalisa had Hanuman’s siddhis bestowed on him due to his meditation..

Guru Nanak would also have acquired these.. We cannot comment on that (as he never believed in declaring in public such divine powers). But he was totally against Public display or demonstration of these siddhis/doing chamatkars in Public (which was very prominent during that time in North and lot of false saints were using this to fool people and amass wealth).

E.g. some people by using these siddhis call spirits to answer queries or to remove effects of bhoot prêt… Yes such siddhis should and can be used to help the needy, but should not be declared to all, that because of my chamatkar and proclaim one as a God’s being. They should be infact silent help to such people and used only to help the real needy and not to attain gifts or aquire wealth.

He just said if you are being troubled, pray to Supreme power/meditate and follow a simple life.

Infact his own 2 sons were also very very learned and acquired many divine powers, due to his blessings. However due to small show of this power in public, Guru Nanak renounced his son’s and didn’t found them fit to be the next Guru. The main criteria for passing the Guru Gaddi /title to a next person was that there should not be any display of any powers and wherever this was violated, the person was not given the title. My mother ancestory can be traced to one of Guru Nanak dev ji’s son and dad’s to one of the son of 4th Guru of Sikhs, Guru Amar Das ji, who was not made Guru also.

Note: “dev” and “Das” is a hindu surname only. Singh was added later by Guru Gobind Singh ji.

Another thing he said was not to do idol worship or murthi puja as again in North people were blindly following rituals which were not prescribed in ancient texts and forgot completely the existence of the Supreme Force or one and only one Supreme Power. He said whether you call him Rama or Krishna ultimately they all have come from or are a part of one divine power and we should pray to that divine power and not loose our paths.

As mentioned before according to Guru Nanak, this supreme power has no form can be of any shape, size. (Hence did not recommend idol worship, since by doing idol worship your mind/thoughts give an image to God, a pre conceived notion which may be totally different from the actual realization of God, and may be deviated from realization of the actual truth).

Basic teachings on way to lead life

Be away from 5 bad desires i.e.
kama (to have extra marital affairs or having eye on other peoples partners),
krodh (Anger),
Lobh (Greed),
Moh (Desire) and
Ahankar(Proud)

This is again absolutely what ancient Puranas taught

Don’t do evil deeds, Be humble,Throw away the rigid ness existing in thoughts. Be open minded and rationalize things based on knowledge and proper reasoning. Hence one should not follow a ritual blindly but try to understand the reason behind such rituals. In other words try to learn and strengthen your basics

Lead an Honest and Truthful life.
Don’t be Corrupt as it makes you drift away from the path of attaining Moksha. Guru Nanak emphasized that this life is one of the temporary phase and deeds in this life are reflected in the next life (rebirth concept, till the moksha is attained)

He teached people that if we run after riches i.e. we have greed and desire we do wrong deeds and hence ruin our aim of coming into this life

Don’t criticize people behind i.e. do not do Nindiya, as this earns very high bad karma for us.

Don’t accept injustice and one must fight to get justice. (Another excerpt from Bhagwad Geeta, that one who accepts injustice quietly is also sinful)

Donate 10% of your income every month

Stay in a family and Pray to God. Do not renunciate the world as God wants us to follow family rules and at the same time pray to him.
Renunciation and then Praying to God is easy as you will not be able to over come the 5 desires upon renunciation, as you don’t have any means of these desires only.

There is a small part of God within all and we should try to listen to him and wok towards attaining Moksha or joining Supreme Lord.

In order to remain on the path of truth and do good deeds one needs a Guru and Teacher to guide them for what is right and wrong. Without Guru’s blessings and advise one cannot attain or follow the true path. One needs a Guru/Teacher with him along this whole life

(All 10 Gurus of Sikhs were teachers only who were advising people how to lead a truthful life. After Guru Gobind Singh, he made Granth Sahib as Guru, which is the compilation of teaching of various learned men and told all his followers to look for guidance from Guru Granth sahib as a teacher for leading life)

This summarises the main teachings of Sikhism.

According to Guru’s, Sikhism is not a separate religion, but a school of thought which teaches people way of leading simple and truthful life. i.e why it is also called as the first freethinkers community as the followers are advised to respect all religions and be humble to people of other religions

Sikhs came into being only in 1699 formed by Guru Gobind, when elder son of each Hindu Punjabi family was made a Sikh. This was done specially to train someone in family as warrior to fight against Mughal Emperors who used to convert Hindus to Islam at the power of sword. He added Singh in front of last name of such people, to identify them as Lions of his army. Some families in order to serve the religion made every one as Singh, and that's how you find Sikh's today.

Hence in order to save the Hindu religion an army of fighters in this region was necessary to survival, else entire North would have been converted to Muslims.

The purpose to have beard and Turban was just to give an easy identification to Guru’s followers/warriors or saviors of truth. This was important during those days as there were lot of fights between Guru’s army and Mughal and there were hidden spies who often resulted in big losses both for men and material.

Hope this is informative and answers some related questions.