My inspirations.. #1

Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh

There's certain individuals/pious people that inspire me. Every time I'm feeling sad and, they happen to cross my mind... Everything changes.

Since I'm passing through a 'low period' and am in an emergency need of inspiration [getting a lot of it from some blogger friends...mentioned in the links to the right...smillies to all of you (",) ], I decided to make a series of posts about people that really inspire me. This will be the first post. I will make a post now and then about someone who really inspires me. Hopefully these individuals might inspire some of you too, to read more about their life and contributions... I will not write about their personal life, but mainly what makes them inspire me.


First:

Bhai Sahib Bhai Gurdas Ji

What's the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Bhai Sahib? Nirmarta. Gureebi.
It is not for no reason that Guru Arjan Dev Ji gave Bhai Sahib's Vaara the status of 'konjee' (key) to Gurbani. The key to a deep appreciation and deeper understanding of Gurbani. Vah Vah!

Bhai Sahib was given the duty to write the bani according to the instructions of Pritham Shaheed Guru Ji - Guru Arjan Dev Ji. How high ones spiritual level one must have...to be entitled to such a great seva. Offcourse, it was later on 'checked' by Guru Arjan Dev Ji.

There is so much that can be written about Bhai Sahib, yet he can only be understood through his composition. The immense humility. The immense love and compassion that can be found in Bhai Sahib's composition is unbelievable. It has to be read to be understood, and cannot be described in words. Absolutely wonderful

Bhai Sahib composition also shows how humble and compassionate a Sikh should be, and how a Gursikh should generally be...

Two of the Shabads by Bhai Sahib that render his humility:

ਹਉ ਅਪਰਾਧੀ ਗੁਨਹਗਾਰ ਹਉ ਬੇਮੁਖ ਮੰਦਾ॥
ਚੋਰੁ ਯਾਰੁ ਜੂਆਰਿ ਹਉ ਪਰ ਘਰਿ ਜੋਹੰਦਾ॥
ਨਿੰਦਕੁ ਦੁਸਟੁ ਹਰਾਮਖੋਰੁ ਠਗੁ ਦੇਸ ਠਗੰਦਾ॥
ਕਾਮ ਕ੍ਰੋਧ ਮਦੁ ਲੋਭੁ ਮੋਹੁ ਅਹੰਕਾਰੁ ਕਰੰਦਾ॥
ਬਿਸਾਸਘਾਤੀ ਅਕਿਰਤਘਣ ਮੈ ਕੋ ਨ ਰਖੰਦਾ॥
ਸਿਮਰਿ ਮੁਰੀਦਾ ਢਾਢੀਆ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਬਖਸੰਦਾ ॥21॥36॥

ho aparaadhhee gunehagaar ho baemukh ma(n)dhaa||
chor yaar jooaar ho par ghar joha(n)dhaa||
ni(n)dhak dhusatt haraamakhor t(h)ag dhaes t(h)aga(n)dhaa||
kaam krodhh madh lobh mohu aha(n)kaar kara(n)dhaa||
bisaasaghaathee akirathaghan mai ko n rakha(n)dhaa||
simar mureedhaa dtaadteeaa sathigur bakhasa(n)dhaa ||aa||aa||


I am a sinner full of sins doing mistakes all the time and have turned my back to the Guru.
I am a thief, lost in lust,a gambler and I loot other people's homes.
I am a slanderer, bad person ungrateful and do corrupt acts.
I indulge in sexual desire, anger, greed, attachment and ego.
I break the trust of people (not trustworthy) and ungrateful and nobody wants to keep me.
After all this o friend, If one remembers the Creator, Satguru Ji will forgive you.

Shabad 2: Click here

I strongly recommend everyone to read Bhai Sahib's Vaara.

Tomorrow I shall try to post about someone else who inspires me a lot...

Denmark

Back from Denmark.

When I get everything to work as it should, I’ll try to post pictures of Denmark stuff.

The first Nagar Kirtan in Denmark was great. Unfortunately permission to make a lot of sound wasn’t granted... so although there were people who could do gatka, play dhols and do Kirtan… It wasn’t aloud. Nevertheless everyone went around peacefully and sung Satnam Vaheguru..

Some Singhs had arrived from the UK, who did Kirtan. Not really the style I prefer. And no, I don't only prefer Raag Kirta...I really like the way some people sing Shabads outside raag...

Personally didn’t have such a great time. I’m not sure why. Don’t get me wrong. The Danish Sangat was great. Really sweet Sangat. It’s most likely some shortcoming from my side..

Denmark Sangat is really wonderful. If you have the chance, you shoudl have their darshan. It was probably because I was stressed and everything that I wasn't very inspired by the quick visit. I, however, didn’t get what I hoped to get, and I guess I should’ve listened to mum and not been the jiddi bacha, I was (and usually am).

Once piece of advice: Try to obey your parents as much as possible (although I don’t always.. mum always lets me make mistakes in the end… if I’m too stubborn and lets me learn on my own... in the hard way).. What they say might not always seem to make sense, but they usually base it on quite a few years of experience and with a pinch (or quite a lot of actually) of knowledge.

Now I’ve got ≈ 2-3 days to pack for six months in India. Mum being sweet as she is.. has bought everything that needs to be bought…Now I just need to get the passport and vaccinations (I’m a bit wary when it comes to getting vaccinations from India).

Will try to post something useful in my last few posts before I leave.. instead of my normal rambling..

Will leave this post with a Shabad that really hit me:


ਸਲੋਕੁ ॥
ਫਿਰਤ ਫਿਰਤ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਆਇਆ ਪਰਿਆ ਤਉ ਸਰਨਾਇ ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਕੀ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਅਪਨੀ ਭਗਤੀ ਲਾਇ ॥1॥

salok ||
firath firath prabh aaeiaa pariaa tho saranaae ||
naanak kee prabh baenathee apanee bhagathee laae ||1||

Salok:
After wandering and wandering, O God, I have come, and entered Your Sanctuary.
This is Nanak's prayer, O God: please, attach me to Your devotional service. ||1||

Done.

Today, Friday 9 June, 2006, I've been to the doctor.
Eaten (a lot). Haven’t been to Pakistani embassy - didn't have time for that... will go on Monday.
Soon off to Denmark for their programme.

The reason I'm happy my A-levels are over is...
Because my university education is starting in January 2007... Which means I've got an entire semester free. During this semester (as many of you probably predicted from the Visa business..) I'm going to Punjab.

In Punjab I'll be learning something I've been wanting to learn for years. My thirst to learn Raag Kirtan is to be quenched (somewhat). I’ve always wanted to learn the Taus. So beautiful. Magnificent. One wonders what the creator of the Taus must be like…

I want to learn following saaj while I'm there for 4-5 months: Dilruba /Taus, Tavla, vaja, Saranda and Rabab. I realise that's pretty unrealistic, so I'll probably stick to the first three.

I also hope to travel around Asia as much as possible (Pakistan is for sure.. hopefully Singapore and Malaysia too!)

Finally! The day of departure is getting closer and closer. This obviously means I won't be blogging much after I leave (occasionally..leaving a note)... But no-one loosing anything from that :D.

I will be leaving next week.
That's why there’s so much stress. Graduation, Denmark, [Mum didn't want me to go.. but the jiddi bacha that I am, she finally allowed me to go with some friends (",) ] and my Punjab flight ... which is two or three days after I return from Denmark...

Gosh. I've got so much to do, and I've only got two days after I come back!
Friends coming with huge van.... So I should be going... so that they don't have to leave.

If possible I'll try to post some pics (",)..
I'm going to try to post a few things on the blog before I go to Punjab... since after that I'm rarely going to post (I think)..

Enough rambling and musing from me, for now...
Hope you're all in Chardikala and have a wonderful weekend!

A-levels completed.

Firstly I’d like to thank you all for the sweet comments (“,).

Yesterday was graduation. Finally done with A-levels...

Never going back to that school. But is that why I’m so happy? Nope. I shall reveal why I’m so happy about it in my next post, now I shall just briefly sum up the day.

Where I live, completing A-levels is a big thing. Not academically, just that it’s traditionally celebrated with great joy, perhaps even more than when you take the degree.

What happens is, after you get your certificate you run out of school (everyone graduating runs out of the exit.. together...)…and your family would be waiting outside with a poster with your name and a childhood picture…

Everyone goes around with sailor hats (I’m not joking) . They’re usually white with a black stripe…where the name and the year of graduation is engraved.

Here’s a picture of you’re typical a-levels student when graduating.

[Pic coming soon]

(this guy is one of my best friend…)

After that people typically hire huge cars/trucks and yell there throats off that they’ve completed a-levels…. And that they’re now ready for university. Usually the trucks are hired by entire classes (people spend several thousand quids on these thingies...) or by the family. Off course, there is really loud music going on.

My graduation day was, however, somewhat different.

Firstly I wasn’t wearing a topi. I was wearing a white Dastar instead ...with a little band saying I’ve graduated, the year, the name and everything on top of the dastar:

[Pic coming soon]

My mum being so sweet as she is, had prepared parshad in the morning…

Despite the fact that the band was as made by me.. I think it looked awful… so nani ji fixed it slightly… and although I was still reluctant on tying it, mum forced me to. Everyone thought it looked great.

I didn’t go with the class, instead my entire family (Mum, sis mamey, mamiya, cousins, sweet uncle jees n aunti jees etc etc) were all there…. They had designed the car…and we left the school with or car with loud Punjabi music...

Mum had planned it in such a way, that we would first go and Matha Tekna at Gurdwara, before doing anything else….

Ardas was done and Guru Ji blessed us with the following Hukamnama:

Ang 705-706
http://www.sikhitothemax.com/Page.asp?SourceID=G&PageNo=&ShabadID=2681&Format=2
http://www.sikhitothemax.com/Page.asp?SourceID=G&PageNo=&ShabadID=2682&Format=2

Next we went and had dinner at some restaurant… go to the city central.. yell 'n' scream n whatever else....if anyone had any energy to do so, (which no-one did...everyone had eaten too much)

Since I’m one of the youngest in the family…My graduation was the last one…(except for my ‘littlest’ cousin who is graduating in about 9 years…by which time some of my other cousins will have kids..) and everyone wanted to go extra wild. No-one felt like yelling after the big pizzas, so we played games and stuff in a little hall we had rented.

Mum put a lot of time and effort into the day. It was a really crazy and long day.

On another note, one of my teachers seemed apologetic for giving me a ‘B’…(“,)..But it was too late to change grades..(He even mentioned it while I was outside meeting my family n yelling and screaming ..…what an occasion!)..

Last week was another friends graduation that I went to. That was quite fun too... I was outside though waiting with her family..for her to come out... (she wore a white lenga..with a empty black stripe below her dastar....)

Day was crazy. Long. I’ll write why I’m so happy in the next post (“,)

P.s tomorrow I'm going to the Pakistan embassy to get my passport (they take one week for the Visa...)..Next to the doctor appointment...(for which I've had to starve for almost 24 hours...dying of hunger!!!)...and then we're going to Denmark! They're having a Nagar Kirtan n everything.....

Weekend is going to be lonnnngggg..... N I'm dying of hunger.....

Everythiing is so hyped up at the moment...

.....Because twenty two years on, Justice is still to be served...

Exactly 22 years ago, the Akal Thakhat was Reduced to Ashes. A blow on the heart of Sikhism was made. Allegedly, the Golden Temple complex had been turned into an arsenal of weapons by terrorists. 50,000 troops [1]

of the world’s third largest army moved in to Punjab and carried out a full–scale attack on the Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden temple, the most sacred shrine of the Sikhs. The army action, which acquired the code name “Operation Blue Star”, left thousands dead and brought an irreparable scar on the Hindu-Sikh harmony.

Evidence exists to show that the attach had been prepared for well advance prior to these ‘terrorists’ moving in to the shrine. According to the Surya 1984, Intelligence Agencies had a prominent role in smuggling in weapons into the complex. According to Gurdev Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar the 'terrorists' could have been apprehended without any difficulty by the police if so was required, without so much bloodshed, something he told the 'high-up' including the governor of the state and President of India. He himself was in the view that the problem in Punjab was a political one and not one of law and order. Both the Deputy Commissioner and the Governor of Punjab were against an attack, yet the central government seemed to know more about the situation of Punjab than the two above mentioned, and concluded that there was a law and order problem in Punjab.

The Akal Thakhat today stands as a symbol of pride for the Sikh community.

22 Years on... Justice is still to be served to the innocents butchered in the complex.


P.s My view of Pakistani Muslims being friendly has nothing to do with the Bluestar operation. That is entirely from experience when visiting Pakistan and immense amount of respect we received from the locals. Even at Gurdwara Janam Ashthan (Nanakana Sahib) we saw Sindhis doing loads of seva, and eating at the end of the day after serving all visitors. Now that I've diverted from the post topic, I will stop.

---

[1] Mary Anne Weaver and Ian Jack, The Sunday Times, 17 June, 1984

ਕਬੀਰ ਮੁਹਿ ਮਰਨੇ ਕਾ ਚਾਉ ਹੈ - Some thoughts

ਕਬੀਰ ਮੁਹਿ ਮਰਨੇ ਕਾ ਚਾਉ ਹੈ ਮਰਉ ਤ ਹਰਿ ਕੈ
ਦੁਆਰ ॥
ਮਤ ਹਰਿ ਪੂਛੈ ਕਉਨੁ ਹੈ
ਪਰਾ ਹਮਾਰੈ ਬਾਰ ॥੬੧॥

kabeer muhi
marnay kaa chaa-o hai mara-o ta har kai du-aar.
mat har poochhai ka-un hai paraa hamaarai
baar. 61

Kabeer, I long to die; let me die at the
Lord's Door.I hope that the Lord does not ask, "Who is this, lying at my door?"
61

Bhagat Kabeer Ji, 1367

I've noticed that this shabad is often quoted after the passing away of a Gurmukh. Is the death above, physical death Bhagat jee is talking about? Is Bhagat jee longing for a physical death?

This shabad has been on my mind for quite a while now. As I understand Sikhi, life is something positive. A chance. A chance for change. A chance to meet the eternal. So why long to die?

bhee paraapath maanukh dhaehureeaa
gobi(n)dh milan kee eih thaeree
bareeaa

This human body has been given to you.This is your chance to
meet the Lord of the Universe.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji, 12

Yet the verse by Bhagat Jee, according to the translator, is longing to die. The other Shabad by Guru Arjan Dev Ji now comes to mind;

pehilaa maran kabool jeevan kee shhadd aas
hohu sabhanaa kee raenukaa tho
aao hamaarai paas 1

First, accept death, and give up any hope of life.
Become the dust of the feet of all, and then, you may come to me. 1

Guru Arjan Dev Ji, 1102

Is this physical death though? It seems as if it is the death of vanity that is being stressed.It never was the physical death. Life is something positive. Life is a chance we human beings have been blessed with to make it a better place. To contribute to the world... To do selfless service. To Jap naam and remember Vaheguru (something I do not do much... I'm being truthful and not humble at all..)

It seems as if Bhagat Jee is longing to kill vanity, attachment, ego, hankar etc (something he himself probably killed long ago).

I got this understanding from Prof Sahib Singh Ji (Great scholar of Gurbani) who in his interpretation of Gurbani, writes that that Bhagat Jee longs to abandon Ego, and worldy attachments.. something we only can be released from when we surrender at the door of Vaheguru.

Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan. English translations, in my opinion, shouldn't be blindly be accepted.... The Punjabi interpretation by Prof Sahib is great!

Since I do not have much knowledge of Gurbani, I was hesitant to post this, and I request my visitors to give their input into this Gurbani Tuk by Bhagat Jee, since most (if not all) of you are more knowledgeable about Gurbani than me…


Bhull Chukk Maaf Karni.

On my way to the Indian embassy...

There I was, sitting on the train…in my own world.. And in comes a huge class of small kids.

Since I wasn’t focusing on the world outside I noticed them much later. They were all really cute. This very cute girl was looking at me and kept smiling (since I had earphones I couldn’t hear anything they were saying.. if they were saying anything at all).

So I took out my earphones… and she would still occasionally look at me and smile (although she was talking.. it wasn’t about me…) So I smiled back.

I stepped off and went for the embassy and right in front of me there's a huge buss with loads of kids.. One waves at me, just randomly.. and I wave back. Now, many of them smile, and wave back.

Kids are really cute. So innocent, free from judgements and everything.

I don't like going to the Indian embassy. So bureaucratic and full of formalities...
Came back.. went to relatives and checked out some suits (A-levels pass hogey!! lol)..

Generally, day was good... very much to do.. since school is almost over.. and garmiya is coming! (",)

Tomorrow I’m going to the Pakistan Embassy. Want to go to Pakistan this summer. Last time I was there (about 6 months ago), it was pretty warm…

One thing I noticed was that everyone was really friendly and kind. I’ve never seen anyone respect Sikhs as much as the Pakistanis do...

Hard Day *sigh*

Today was a very hard day.

A lot of stuff going on in life right now.

Went to school and was received by some bad grades. See, I don’t mind getting bad grades for subjects I haven’t worked hard for, but when I work really hard and struggle on something and still get bad grades... I get pretty disappointed.

Went to a few shops to sort out some stuff that had broken (earphones…)…which didn’t go too well either.
As I was thinking about how the day had passed, on the way home, in the subway, I decided that as soon as I come home (after eating roti) I would go asleep since everything had gone wrong...

Reading, by the way, isn’t something you want to do in trains, because it’s going to make your headache worse! Was reading History of the Sikhs By J.D Cunningham (1853)… didn’t get too much…except a big headache. To sum it up: My day wasn’t all too great!

By the evening things changed.

I met a special lady. Perhaps the most influential lady in my life.

(No I don’t have a girlfriend)

My mother.

My mother is a very special person. My (our) mother has sacrificed everything for us. Raising me and my sister on her own, she sacrificed all pleasures in life. A very hardworking, independent Sikh lady, who’s done her best to raise her children and fill them with Sikhi spirit. Always supported us, and never stopped us from doing stuff we want to do. An ideal lady. Will post more about her later…

She lit up my day so much. She made my favourite roti (Rajma chaval!), and met me with so much love. The whole day change completely and now I’m feeling a lot better (“,).

A tribute to the unconditional love of mothers:

Click here - a small vid.

Hope you enjoy watching the small vid...

Finally decided to create a blog after all...

Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Finally decided to create a blog of my own.

Let's take a 'Shabad of the Day':

ਡਖਣਾ ॥
ਸੋਹੰਦੜੋ ਹਭ ਠਾਇ ਕੋਇ ਨ ਦਿਸੈ ਡੂਜੜੋ ॥
ਖੁਲ੍ਹ੍ਹੜੇ ਪਾਟ ਨਾਨਕ ਸਤਿਗੁਰਭੇਟਤੇ ॥੧॥

dakh-naa.
sohandarho habh thaa-ay ko-ay na disai doojrho.
khulHrhay kapaat naanak satgur bhayttay. ||1||

Dakhanaa:
He is Beautiful in all places; I do not see any other at all.
Meeting with the True Guru, O Nanak, the doors are opened wide. ||1|| (Ang 80)

Cousins coming soon. Need to tidy myself up. Will post more later.