My inspirations #3 - Do not deprive me of the privledge of serving the Sangat....

Nawab Kapur Singh led the Khalsa during a period of turmoil. Nawab Kapur Singh ji was initiated into the Khalsa by Panj, which included Bhai Mani Singh Ji, along with his father and brother, Vaisakhi 1721.

During this period the mughals realised that they wouldn't be able to defeat the Sikhs, so they decided to make a treaty where the Sikhs would be allowed to live freely without having price on their head! The Sikhs where given a large estate. Sardar Kapur Singh was chosen to lead the Sikhs, and to control the land. He was given the title by Five Sikhs, at whom's feet he first placed the robe of honour he had received, before putting it on. Although reluctant, he had to accept the decision made by the community, but made one request. That "he should not be deprived of his old privilege of serving in the community kitchen (Langar)." (Some say that he used to clean the dung of the horses in the barns...and that he requested that, he should not be deprived of that seva).

He got the honour of leading a whole nation, yet all he requests is that he should be allowed to continue doing seva, which most of us are reluctant on doing!

During this period the population of Sikhs had grown, so the army was dvided into two groups; Buddha Dal (army of the old) and Taruna Dal (army of the young; jawan). Nawab ji led the Panth during a period of turmoil in Sikh history, and he was involved in creating the Khalsa Army; Dal Khalsa, and creating misls (groups of Sikhs with different functions, some would protect the Gurdwara etc), under the leadership of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia who was another great Sikh warrior of the time.

It was during this period that Hindu girls was abducted by Persian invaders (Nadir Shah), and the Dal Khalsa would pursue to their rescue. The smaller holocaust occurred during this period. 1748 he requested to be relieved of his duties due to his old age, and proposed Jassa Singh Alhuwalia to be the commander of the Dal Khalsa.

What's cool is; is the fact that he wasn't just a soldier, he reflected a Sikh; a saint-soldier; a person who wouldd, at time of peace, sit and actually do seva, and serve people, and not just lead.

Read more about Nawab Kapoor Singh;

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The reason I’ve written this up, is because I myself didn’t know much about him, and thought it would be something we’d all learn something from, since I hadn’t heard about him much till quite recently =)

ਦੇਦਾ ਦੇ ਲੈਦੇ ਥਕਿ ਪਾਹਿ ॥

ਦੇਦਾ ਦੇ ਲੈਦੇ ਥਕਿ ਪਾਹਿ ॥
ਜੁਗਾ ਜੁਗੰਤਰਿ ਖਾਹੀ ਖਾਹਿ ॥
ਹੁਕਮੀ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਚਲਾਏ ਰਾਹੁ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਵਿਗਸੈ ਵੇਪਰਵਾਹੁ ॥3॥
(SGGS: 2)

Just when I had started thinking life can't get any better; I get a call.



I have no way to express myself, so I really don't see why I'm posting this. All I can say is; acknowledge what you have been given; whether from your brother, sister, mother or whoever. Just acknowledge. Just once go and say 'thank you', and show your appreciation for something; and look how happy they become.

When you're done doing this; Go and do an ardaas, and thank God for everything he's given you.

Just a few days ago, one of my eye went black for a few seconds. I was panicking. It felt as if the right eye was paralyzed (and it didn’t help that I couldn't see anything with it). That's when it struck me. I'm not appreciating what God has given me at all. Not to the extent that I've been writing on this blog. That’s when I realised that I've been given much much more than I appreciate; and now realise that I cannot and will not be able to appreciate everything he's giving me. (My eye’s okay now )

Just once; appreciate; and thank. Acknowledge.
What's funny is; I keep getting materialistic things that keep making me more and more content (sounds very weird I know). When you look at Gurbani; you see that the Bhagats had been blessed by much more than materialistic things, and look at the extent they are content too (post getting weird and weirder ). How much they're thanking God; how much they are
appreciating....

Considering my Sikhi isn't much developed, and I'm (honestly) not making much effort to develop it; I cannot believe I'm getting so much...

ਜਾ ਤੂ ਮੇਰੈ ਵਲਿ ਹੈ ਤਾ ਕਿਆ ਮੁਹਛੰਦਾ ॥
ਤੁਧੁ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਮੈਨੋ ਸਉਪਿਆ ਜਾ ਤੇਰਾ ਬੰਦਾ ॥
ਲਖਮੀ ਤੋਟਿ ਨ ਆਵਈ ਖਾਇ ਖਰਚਿ ਰਹੰਦਾ ॥
ਲਖ ਚਉਰਾਸੀਹ ਮੇਦਨੀ ਸਭ ਸੇਵ ਕਰੰਦਾ ॥
ਏਹ ਵੈਰੀ ਮਿਤ੍ਰ ਸਭਿ ਕੀਤਿਆ ਨਹ ਮੰਗਹਿ ਮੰਦਾ ॥
ਲੇਖਾ ਕੋਇ ਨ ਪੁਛਈ ਜਾ ਹਰਿ ਬਖਸੰਦਾ ॥
ਅਨੰਦੁ ਭਇਆ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਮਿਲਿ ਗੁਰ ਗੋਵਿੰਦਾ ॥
ਸਭੇ ਕਾਜ ਸਵਾਰਿਐ ਜਾ ਤੁਧੁ ਭਾਵੰਦਾ ॥7॥

Shabad; ang 1096

I've been typing and erasing; so I see no point in continuing. Just acknowledge; and love.

During Rehraas

During Rehraas a few days ago, I was (again! ) thinking. What's the message? Whats the point of the prayers at all? I then decided to use my Punjabi skills to try to figure out the message within the bani.

Some of the stanzas were comprehensible, and some were a bit more complex. Here's what I realised;

Some of the shabads focus on:

- How we should be inspired by the thirst others have had; not being able to live without Naam/Shabad/Akal. Examples are often given (several examples are given in bani; That a Sikhs love should be like; a fish not being able to live without water; a person not being able to live without oxygen; rain birds thirst for water)

- Other focus on humility; where the highest of the highest call themselves lowest of the lowest (kire/ants/insects)

- Other remind us that this life is temporary, and can be disconnected any minute. This actually reminds me of a teacher that just passed away a few days ago. One day he was walking talking, having a good time, making everyone smile in his lectures; the next day he was no more. Felt very odd; but that shook me. The shook me completely; I've been reminded daily by the Guru that this life is temporary, and that although we're not meant to neglect worldly things, we cannot forget that ultimately, we're not going to stay here...yet has this made any difference to my lifestyle? Hardly.

- Other Shabads constantly remind us that the POINT of life IS to become one with Akaal (eternal). We waste our life doing all sorts of other things. That being said, it doesn't mean that other things shouldn't be done, or that Sikhs should become sadhus in mountains and try to become one with the eternal; it doesn't work that way; it's meant to be a balance. That's something I’ve notice I need to work on. A lot of people are probably thinking; this guy’s is being really humble; but I'm not. The point of making this post is not to seem or act humble; because my Sikhi is seriously not very developed [people who have personally met me can wiconfirm this ]; the point is to remind myself (and hopefully some other soul might give me some insights/feedback, and get some might get some insights out of this post).

- Then there’s Shabads praying for the 'kirpa' of Vaheguru, and that he always bestows his hand upon our head, and keep us his sanctuary; other giving insights how much we've been blessed with; how much God has and can give, depending on efforts we make, and the decisions God makes.

The above messages are just the few things I've understood from the Bani; there is yet a lot to be decoded, by those who actually have made efforts to understand it.

Then there’s the morning prayer. My habit is a bit weird; getting up, taking a shower (being the late awakener I am), it's constantly about breaking new records on how quickly I can complete the paath. Never any focus.

Rehraas on the other hand has become a time to reflect, reason, to think, to feel, to remember, to be reminded, but that only comes at times when I really have time, and am not stressed to do thousands of other things.

Feedback and critique of above thoughts appreciated.

Disclaimer

Before proceeding with writing about anything, I've decided to follow the footsteps of Satvinder Penji; Making a disclaimer. Just to clarify the point of the blog; this is a personal (yet very public) blog; where I share my views, thoughts, understanding, ideas (and some other junk). This is a place where I communicate with friends, and have gotten in touch with many new people. It's a place for me to also store stuff that I think is interesting, and can look back to on a later opportunity (and feel ashamed over what I wrote earlier on haha). This is definitely not a site where I act like some 'holier-than-thou' type, who thinks/acts like he knows everything. I share my views and understanding, and welcome critique and feedback. Take everything on this blog with a pinch of salt.

I hope to post something more interesting very soon.

Bliss

Since I'm not a good photographer, I refrained from taking a photo of mine; but it looks pretty much like the one above; Is it pretty; lovely or GORGEOUS ?



Today I felt man enough to take the taus out; and tune it for the first time since I left India. Yes that was a while ago, but I've always been fearing that I won't be able to tune it right, didn't have time during exams, and the list goes on. Today I finally felt man enough to take it out and attempt to tune it. It was a total disaster. A few strings less, and twenty minutes of brain activity led to; nothing. I can't tune it I've concluded. Disaster. And I can't play it until it's tuned; so I'm going to have to wait until my sister comes back from Malaysia with a tuner for me, cause the tuner I bought (along with some new clothes and other stuff) got stolen on the way from Singapore to Malaysia , just the day before I was going to go back to India.


Angad Singh Dilruba's been great moral support.
Oh and Dilo from Singapore, who is also known as Wonder Bebeh (Gidhya Di Rani, Kamli Kaur etc etc), been a huge cheering-me-up-person. Oh and this Bebeh bakes a lot better than average bebeh you'd see walking on the street.


But on the other hand; Always see the glass half full! More separatation = more thirst = stronger desire = deeper appreciation of what I'm missing, and was once, taking for granted. The glass is still half full, and am still radiating positive energy like ever .

War on Dandruff

To all my fellow readers who have been following me regularly on my dandruff;

A sum of £2 ($4) has been invested in deploying troops to the terrorist-affected areas.
After a tight combat, and four days of skirmish and tight firing, we are happy to declare that most of the terrorists have been eliminated.

God bless V’s hair!

Troops: head and shoulders & gari da tel [coconut oil - very desi, I know]
Terrorist-affected areas: dandruff affected area (hair)

Tight combat: a daily hair shower for four days (imagine: it’s an entire project just to shower your hair once, and then to get it to dry…. ..imagine FOUR DAYS IN A ROW!!! A MISSION!)

---

Dandruff is finally getting off, after showering my hair (and drying it) four days in a row. It's been an entire mission, but it was really annoying; and now its almost gone .


Oh and I've got my final Biochem exam on Monday; then I'm freeeeeeee; and hopefully have time to work on my driving !

I'm still working on some of the posts I've earlier written I'm going to write about; but probably won't post much until Monday.