Google Videos

This Video is of Delhi smagam. There are many more up on google video this is just one, and if you search ikirtan you'll find loads from ikirtan.com. Bhai Apardeep Singh Ji is an awesome keertani I remmber when we all stayed around singhs house in derby night before the Rainsbai during the smagam few months ago. Bhai Apardeep Singh was doing keertan as was Bhai Abinash Singh, it was wiked. Chardi Kala ;-)

I particularly love the Video at 20 Mins when Bhai Sahib keeps singing "baba mun mat Varo".

V for Vendetta

I watched a film called V for Vendetta yesterday. It’s about a person known as V who is oppressed by a new form of government which takes over UK and becomes a communist state. The story is not really about V. He is such a larger than life figure; it can be argued that he is not a character at all. In truth, it is about the people whose lives V enters. It is about what happens when the ideals V represents are given a chance to grow. It is about freedom, and identity, and the responsibilities that go along with it. Interesting film say a few parallels with Sikhi at times.

Have a look at this clip.


This clip I found was amazing. Often the kirpan is questioned by people saying its nothing compared to a gun. True a gun is a great weapon but I belive 90% of time its about the art of using the weapon as the way you use it it the important thing. He also says an intresting thing, ideas are bullet proof, food for thought. :)

I give it 8 out of 10.

Never Argue With A Child

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal, its throat was very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher ireiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible. The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah". The teacher asked what if Jonah went to hell?" The little girl replied, Then you ask him".
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A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work. As she got to one little girl who as working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, "I'm drawing God." The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like." Without missing a beat, or looking
up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in a minute."

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One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother has several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head. She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, "Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?"
Her mother replied, "Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white." The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, "Momma, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?"

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The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture. "Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer; she's a lawyer,' or That's Michael. He's a doctor.'" A small voice at the back of the room rang out, "And there's the teacher. She's dead."

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A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, "Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face." "Yes," the class said. "Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?" A little fellow
shouted, "Cause your feet ain't empty."

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The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching." Moving further along the lunch line,at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples.

Sad News, Loss to Panth

Vaheguroo yesterday at end of month youth keertan in Southall Bhai Harjinder Singh Lallie came amoungst other keertanis including Accappella Jatha. Bhai Harjinder Singh give some sad news at start of his katha about Raagi Bhai Avtar Singh Ji, saying he had done Akaal charana. Its very Sad Raagi Bhai Avtar Singh Jis keertan is amazing he has done endless seva for panth and will be greatly missed.

Here is come news about Raagi Bhai Avtar Singh Ji from DiscoverSikhi:

http://www.bcsikhyouth.com/2006/dhan-sevak-safal-ohu-aaeia/

Vaheguru ji ka khalsa, Vaheguru ji ki fatheh!!!!

Guru pyare saadh sangat jee,





As you may know, a jewel of the Khalsa panth, Shiromani ragi Bhai Sahib Bhai Avtar Singh Ji has left this earthly realm for permanent residence in the charan-kamal of Akaal Purakh Vaaheguroo. With his spiritual strength, amazing talent, inviting voice, enchanting stories, and inspiring lifestyle, Bhai Sahib Bhai Avtar Singh Ji shined a bright star in this dark, dark age. Bhai Sahib's son, Bhai Kultar Singh Ji, had recently joined to do keertan with his father, and is also blessed with a spiritual sophistication, and an ability to beautifully articulate Punjabi sakhis into English as well. How fortunate and blessed are we, that the Guru has given us this art of gurmat sangeet, and these beautiful enlightening teachings of Gurbani, to ferry us across the world ocean. Using these tools, Bhai Avtar Singh ji was blessed by the Guru, and in doing so also brought blessings to countless other fellow Gursikhs.

Bhai Sahib had leukemia, which is a type of cancer. The nature of cancer is to destroy healthy cells, and to spread through the body. However cancer did not defeat Bhai Avtar Singh ji. Bhai Avtar Singh ji spent his life destroying bad thoughts, and spreading goodness through the world. How would cancer destroy such a person? Only Bhai Sahib's five-elemental body was destroyed, but reflecting the light of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, following the legacy of his brothers Bhai Mati Das Ji, Bhai Sati Das Ji, and Bhai Dayala Ji, Bhai Sahib Bhai Avtar Singh Ji's spirit is amar (immortal).






The Ragi Jatha of Bhai Avtar Singh Ji, Bhai Kultar Singh Ji and Bhai Swarn Singh Ji represents an unbroken Gurmat Sangeet tradition that goes all the way back to the times of the Gurus. Bhai Sahib Avtar Singh Ji's father, Bhai Sahib Jwala Singh Ji was an accomplished Ragi, who imparted his knowledge of Gurmat Sangeet to Bhai Sahib Avtar Singh Ji and his older brother Bhai Sahib Gurcharan Singh
Bhai Sahib Avtar Singh Ji and Bhai Sahib Gurcharan Singh Ji have rendered invaluable service to the Sikh Panth by preserving Gurmat Sangeet in its pristine form. They accomplished this by their unwavering commitment to the tradition over the years even as Gurmat Sangeet was being subverted by the pressures of popular culture and film music. The crowning achievement of their career was the publication of 'Gurbani Sangeet Prachin Reet Ratnavali' in which they documented hundreds of traditional Gurmat Sangeet compositions handed down from generation to generation in an unbroken oral tradition.
The Jatha has been renewed upon its being joined by Bhai Kultar Singh, Bhai Avtar Singh Ji's son, who gave up his professional career to return to his roots and propogate the family's tradition as exponents of Gurmat Sangeet.


Update (June 2005)






After a hiatus of 59 years, Bhai Avtar Singh Ji picked up a Taus again, thus bringing back to the practice of Gurmat Sangeet the use of a stringed instrument. These recordings, made during his visit to the Boston area in June 05, feature Bhai Sahib accompanying himself on Taus. Bhai Sahib Ji was extremely pleased to hear kirtan by the children of the Boston Gurmat Sangeet Project; some of the recordings by the children, made during his visit are also featured on this page.


During his Katha in the June 10 recordings, Bhai Sahib Ji mentions the children's kirtan in generous terms. On June 11, Bhai sahib ji sang a magnificent Asa Ki Var, playing his Taus for the entire two hours ! In the Asa Ki Var, he sang fabulous shabads in Devgandhari, Prabhati, Asavari and Bhairavi. The same evening, at Millis he sang, perhaps one of his best renditions that I have had the pelasure of hearing, of an ancient Dhrupad; the shabad was Gun Naad Dhun Anand Bhed.


Source - Gurmat Sangeet Project (www.gurmatsangeetproject.com)

Samsung E900

I have a couple of pay as you go E900 for sale. If you would like to buy one let me know there at knowcked down rates. I thought I would use my blog business use to. Anyway I was just reading Discover Sikhi and i came across a post about a Pink Vaja! yep its on Davinder Singh's blog

"It was PINK!! Yes! Pink. And worse it had a sticker that said ‘specially made’ the person who bought this didn’t buy it because they didn’t have a choice, they got it ‘specially made’ because they liked pink so much!"

I asked for...

I asked for Strength.........
And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom.........
And God gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity.........
And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage.........
And God gave me Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love.........
And God gave me Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favors.........
And God gave me Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted ........
I received everything I needed!

BUTTERFLY

Something intresting I found:

BUTTERFLY

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

Workshop And Keertan Darbaar

Vaheguroo Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguroo Ji Ke Fateh

An interactive Sikhi Workshop and Keertan Darbaar will be held on

Saturday 18th November 2006

Interactive Sikhi Workshop covering Sikh Way of Life, Spirituality, Identity and Challenges Facing Sikhs will be from 3.00 – 6.00pm

Keertan Darbaar 6pm till late

At Gurdwara Nanak Darbar (North London)
136 High Road
New Southgate
N11 1PJ
020 8368 2484/7104

Please pass on the message and bring your friends along.

Vaheguroo Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguroo Ji Ke Fateh

Sweet Sikhi Articles

There are a number of articles on SweetSikhi.com which are worth a read here is one:

Naam – the Divine Name

Vaheguru's presence is everywhere, supporting all things at all times – in today’s language we could say the energy structure of the whole Universe. The Indian mystics and Sikh Gurus call that presence of Vaheguru, of the Supreme Light Energy Being – ‘Naam’.

Other people call it by different names and don’t always associate it with Vaheguru. New age people and Reiki practitioners call it "Life Force", Indian Yogis call it the "Praana", Chinese martial artists and monks call it "Chee", Christians call it "The Holy Spirit". Essentially it is the presence of Vaheguru, which is inside us, and supporting absolutely everything. There is nothing in this world, which equals the value of the Divine Name. The Lord and His Name are identical. They are one. The Power of Naam holds the whole creation together, including the elements of Nature. All the universes stand projected and are held together by the Power of Naam. Naam is the support of all beings; Naam is the support of the whole universe. Naam unites the devotee with the Lord. Naam cements the bond, the true relationship of the worshipper with the Worshipped.

Naam is the food of the lover of the Divine Name. Hunger does not trouble him. Naam is
his eternal companion and he needs no other friends because he is never alone. Naam is
his true shelter and he does not, therefore, seek any other shelter. Naam is his existence,
as he cannot live without Naam. Naam is his honour, as he never cares for any worldly
honour.

Some Teachings from Sri Guru Granth Sahib jee
􀂃 Men and women are equal
– “Why call woman bad? From her, great kings are born.” (473)
􀂃 See Vaheguru in everyone and everywhere
– “Amongst all is the Light-You are that Light.” (13)
􀂃 No one is lower than another person – the Divine resides in all of us
– “O my mind! You are the embodiment of the Divine Light - recognise
the true origin of yourself.” (441)
􀂃 There is a Universal Religion of Truth, which is the best religion.
– “Of all religions, the best religion is to meditate on Naam and maintain
pure conduct.” (266)

Naked eyes

Sikhi was never of any importance to me. I was still young, and always believed it was something that people did in their fifty’s to pass time. I wanted to “live life to the fullest,” and that wasn’t possible if I was living the lifestyle of a Sikh. I didn’t care to understand the concept of God, or why people had so much faith in Him. All I cared about was looking good, and having as much fun as I could before I got married (I knew my parents would marry me off to a Sikh). If I was to get into Sikhi it would be a lot later in my life.

I had just turned 22, and because I had finished my degree and was able to support myself, I thought it was time that I went my own way. I had been under the control of my parents all of my life and although I respected that they were devoted to Sikhi, I knew that it wasn’t what I wanted in my life.
I had been thinking about getting my hair trimmed for a while. I was getting sick of putting my hair up in a bun. My eyebrows took after my Pitha Jee, bushy as can be, and I couldn’t wait to get those plucked.

I didn’t tell my parents since I felt I was old enough to make my own decisions. I knew it was a bit selfish of me to go behind their backs, but I didn’t think too much of it.

I went into the shop and got my hair trimmed a couple of centimeters and had my eyebrows shaped. There was a look of accomplishment when I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time. The reflection showed a new person, it was the person I always wanted to be.

“Freedom!” I remember thinking to myself.

I drove up into the garage of the house I had lived in for the last ten years of my life, and hoped that it would recognize me. As I walked into the house, I could feel my heart beating rapidly. My parents were in the kitchen so I walked in hastily, said my hello’s and headed into my room.

I didn’t stay long enough in the kitchen to see my parents’ reactions. Matha Jee had just looked up at me when I left and Pitha Jee was too absorbed reading the Punjabi newspaper.

I could hear murmurs coming from the living room. And then for a couple of minutes they stopped. My heart was beating so fast.

“Simran?” I could hear my mom calling for me.

At first I didn’t want to answer.

“Hunjee Matha Jee?” I whispered back hoping she wouldn’t hear me.

“Can you come outside please?”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute.”

I started feeling guilty for cutting my hair but kept my composure and walked down the hall towards the living room.

My parents were sitting cross legged on the rug, holding gutkay in their hands. My mom looked up at me and handed me a gutka and then nodded her head downwards (her way of telling me to sit down).
It was the first time since I can remember that my parents called me to do paat with them. At first I wanted to get up and tell them I had work to do but then I just felt relieved that they weren’t yelling at me, so I sat down beside my mom and read along with Reharaas.

Reharaas was finally over, and by this time I was yawning and just wanted to go to bed. We all got up to do ardaas. Pitha Jee did it. Although I didn’t care for Sikhi, ardaas was the one aspect of Sikhi that meant something to me so I actually listened to the ardaas.

Pitha Jee came to the end of the ardaas. He did ardaas for Reharaas and then in a calm loving tone he asked, “Guru Sahib Jee, please bless our daughter with a Gursikhi life.”

Matha Jee was sobbing. I wanted to cry as well, not because I felt guilty but because I was hurt. Why would they do that to me? They could have done ardaas on their own time.
I didn’t sleep that whole night. Pitha Jee’s words kept running through my head no matter how high I turned up the radio.

Two months had gone by. I kept my distance from my parents and even when Matha Jee tried to talk to me I gave her one word answers. Although two months had passed, I could still hear Pitha Jee’s voice from that night. His ardaas was straight from his heart and I was afraid that it would come true. I had even done ardaas to undo the ardaas he did.

That night my good friend was having a keertan at the Gurudwara. I never liked going to anyone’s programs, especially if they were at the Gurudwara, but that day I kept getting this push from inside to go.I arrived at the Gurudwara early and after failing to find someone I knew I proceeded towards the main darbar hall. I took a glance at Guru Granth Sahib Jee to make sure I was walking in the right direction. As I looked down at the ground I felt warmth take over my body. I felt calm. The vision of Guru Granth Sahib Jee covered with royal blue ramalay was grounded in my mind. I stood still for a moment and embraced the vision in my heart. Everything
around me slowly disappeared. I took a step forward and then another, until I had reached the end. I looked up at the Guru. My mind was silenced in admiration of the beauty that was in front of me. I once again remembered Pitha Jee’s ardaas and started to shed tears. Kneeling down to matha taake I could hear Pitha Jee’s words so clearly, “Guru Sahib Jee please bless our daughter with a Gursikhi life.”
The moment my forehead touched the Guru’s Charan I could hear whispers in my ear. I was trying to listen to what was being said but I couldn’t make out the words. I concentrated and tried again to listen to the sounds.

“Vahe-Guroo. Vahe-Guroo. Vahe-Guroo…”

At that time I didn’t know what to think of the moment. But, with the energy I had left I got up and sat in the Sangath. Time had vanished. My eyes were tightly fastened together and my mind was still. A soft white filled the room and I could hear more voices repeating “Vahe-Guroo.” I absorbed myself in the moment.

Some time had gone by and I could see two figures appear in the distance. They were too far away for me to see if they were male or female but I could see that one was shorter than the other. I couldn’t see any details because the colours were meshed into one blur consisting of black, red and a pale brown. I tried to focus on the two figures hoping that I could piece together who they were.

The two figures had vanished and then for a split second materialized again and this time I could see them clearly.

That was the day that my Pitha Jee’s ardaas had been answered. I took Amrit a week later. Every night in my ardaas I ask that everyone be blessed with a Gursikhi life.
There are still days that go by when I feel distant from Sikhi. But, when those days come, I think back to the day when Guru Sahib Jee, with my naked eyes, showed me the Piyaar in the face of Bhai Taru Singh Jee as his scalp was being cut away from his body.

Return to blogspot

I’m returning to blogspot after we had problems with the .com and its gone offline, I think I prefer blogspot anyway although I don’t know how often I will blog as I’m busy with other stuff at the moment.

I was watching alpha etc airing of keertan from Sri Harimandir Sahib and this shabad was being sung by the raagi jatha was beautiful.

gurmuiK jIvY mrY prvwxu ]

guramukh jeevai marai paravaan ||

The Gurmukhs are celebrated in life and death.

Awrjw n CIjY sbdu pCwxu ]

aarajaa n shheejai sabadh pashhaan ||

Their lives are not wasted; they realize the Word of the Shabad.

gurmuiK mrY n kwlu n Kwey gurmuiK sic smwvixAw ]2]

guramukh marai n kaal n khaaeae guramukh sach samaavaniaa ||2||

The Gurmukhs do not die; they are not consumed by death. The Gurmukhs are absorbed in the True Lord. ||2|| Whole Shabad click here