Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Recognize the Lord's Light within all

An interesting quote I stumbled upon while reading Gurbani (hymns);


ਜਾਣਹੁ ਜੋਤਿ ਨ ਪੂਛਹੁ ਜਾਤੀ ਆਗੈ ਜਾਤਿ ਨ ਹੇ 1ਰਹਾਉ
jaanahu joth n pooshhahu jaathee aagai jaath n hae ||1|| rehaao ||
Recognize the Lord's Light within all, and do not consider social class or status; there are no classes or castes in the world hereafter. ||1||Pause||

(p 349)

Wouldn't the world be such a great place if we considered and acknowledged that the Light of God resides in everyone. If we managed to realise just that; wouldn’t we treat other people totally differently?

Although it’s quite easy to post this quote and hope everyone would treat each other much better from now on; but complex as we are; it doesn’t work that way. I myself think it can be really hard to consider that God exists within some people who really piss me off… or just generally are... stupid…

I must say I’ve got a problem swallowing the quote myself; or, to rephrase myself, follow it fully, and don’t think that I’ll ever manage to do it fully; but think that as long as I manage to keep it in mind, I might be able to control myself next time I’m getting pissed of at somebody for some reason… acknowledging that maybe it’ll just be better to stay calm?

Disclaimer;
I'm not the kind of person who easily gets pissed of (or am I
?; comment, and let me know what you think....); but there are times, when people really manage to tick me off..but usually I'm okay

Saturday, June 09, 2007

The Begger Boy


by Sat Mandir Singh Khalsa (Virginia), Grade 12 Miri Piri Academy, Amritsar, India, December 10, 2006

"A few weeks ago, during a so-far uneventful G.T. (Golden Temple) trip, I was walking along, minding my own business, when I suddenly felt a tug on the side of my chola. I looked down and saw a scrappy-looking beggar boy about seven or eight years old staring up at me, hand outstretched. He looked pitiful. He had long, greasy hair that was draped sloppily over his face and almost concealed his big, round eyes, which portrayed an emotion of deep sorrow. A tattered hemp shirt that was much too small for him was pulled as far as it would go over a cavity of a stomach, which indented his skeletal frame. Covering his twig-like legs was a pair of old, hand-me-down trousers that were torn and faded from generations of use. His feet were shoeless and calloused from many years of walking barefoot through the rough streets of Amritsar. From head to toe, he was covered in a thick coat of dirt and grime that darkened and splotched his skin.

He was repulsive, and he’d touched me! I felt contaminated. I quickly turned and hurried back up the street. Pausing at a nearby shop, I bought an ice cream, thinking it might help purge my mind of the dirty little boy. It didn’t. I kept thinking about those big, sad eyes staring up at me. Why did he make me feel so guilty? I wasn’t responsible for putting him on the street, for forcing him to beg. I hadn’t hurt him… but I hadn’t helped him either. He was in need, but instead of feeling sympathy for him, I felt disgust, as if he didn’t have feelings, as if he weren’t human. I was angry with myself. How could I have brushed him off so easily, without a second thought, as if he were some insect crawling up my leg?

I finished the ice cream bar, bought a second for later, and continued on up the street. About a hundred feet away, I came to a second shop. The storefront was packed with MPA students, all matching in their blue cholas with miniature adi shaktis patched onto the sides. Each one had a five or a ten or a twenty rupee note in his or her hand and was jabbing it at the men behind the counter, hoping to catch their attention so that THEY would be first to be served. I realized how awfully rude this was and made a mental note to myself to be a little more respectful in the future.

I turned away from the shop and continued on my journey up the street. I heard someone call out my name. Still walking, I looked back over my shoulder to see what he wanted. I never found out. Just after I had turned around, my legs hit into something and I had to stumble forward to prevent myself from falling. Startled, I looked down and standing there before me was the little beggar boy, in exactly the same position with his arm outstretched, palm cupped, staring.

My first thoughts were similar to the ones I had had during our previous encounter, but I soon silenced my mind and took control. Remembering the ice cream bar in my pocket, I took it out and handed it to him. His eyes instantly illuminated, and he smiled so widely that I could see tops of his gums. In the blink of an eye he had the ice cream out of its wrapper and into his mouth.

A few seconds later, I was surrounded by an entire posse of children, all looking at me hopefully. I turned back to the shop, ordered ten more ice creams, and began handing them out. The rest of the children’s reactions were similar to that of the first. One by one they took their treat gratefully, being extremely careful not to drop it. Then they slowly licked away, savoring every moment. When they finished they skipped away, rejuvenated and content. As I watched them go, I realized how such a small sacrifice on my part could make such a large impact on others less fortunate."

Copied from MrSikhnets blog.


Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Prayers

23 years ago, heaven turned into a battlefield….

Deep condolences, and prayers to all those who have been affected by the events.


Operation Bluestar.




Picture courtesy: mrsikhnet.com

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Weirdo!






Pretty funny, but true. It's actually quite common that I stand there and think that some geezer iss wooo weird; but totally forget that some other geezer might see me as totallllly weird as well. Something I definitely can relate to.

Made me smile; so thought I'd post it