Thursday, September 27, 2007

Part 5 - El Grand Finale!!!



As you read this post I'm sure you will be wiping back the tears as realization sets in that it is the last post from the Dundee Camp saga. Stay strong, may the force be with you. LOL

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!!

i know that some of you will be moved to tears by the fact that this is the concluding part of my epic, rivalling the likes of Mahabharat, but fear not because

pRB pRIqm myrY sMig rwie ]
prabh preetham maerai sa(n)g raae ||
My Beloved God, my King is with me.

So if you arent fortunate enough to have darshan of myself (Glasgow Baba), Akal Purakh is ALWAYS with us - sometimes we just cant realise this...the next time that anybody is wavering, or maybe about to do something and something , a little voice in your head is telling you that its wrong...well thats your beloved king who is with you!


anyways thats enough sikhi for just now :p

after waking up , one of the other singhs (i wont embarass them by revealing theie name - satinder singh!!) scented the beautiful smell of guru Ka Langar - specifically pronthae!! yum yum! As you could understand we got ready rather sharpish and fought each other to get down the stairs (lol not really...honestly!!)

We all sat down, and as we looked forward to the Auntji's brilliant cooking of Guru Ka Langar something SHOCKING happened...

I'D FORGOTTEN MY BHATTA!!


--editors note--

Bhatta - a bowl made out of Iron (Sarbloh) that some people choose to eat out of, depending on their personal choice of how much rehit they feel that they can follow. Nb - it is simply ritualism to eat of the Sarbloh Bhatta without recitation of Baani/Simran. Eating from a Bhatta is scientifically proven to help us Sikhs as we are vegetarian and therefore do not get as much Iron from our food as those cannibals - i mean meat eaters:) . Each time you eat out of the bhatta a small film of iron is digested as well, providing with x% of your RDA! (dont worry not enough to poison you..im still here!) [editor note - unforunatley lol]
its not something to quarrel over or to make you think you are better than anybody else. A very great Singh - Bhai sahib Bhai Jiwan Singh is a Sarbloh Biibeki (eats only from Sarbloh) but never enters controversies or hurts the sentiments of those who wish to give him langar, he goes and gets fruit, one for him one for the other person and they eat together :) Dhan Dhan Guru Kay Sikh

-------


As quick as i could i raced up the stairs and picked up my Bhatta, then put on my The Jathedar hoody (can i just point out that i didnt mean me to be the jathedar - its Jathedar Shaheed Sukhdev Singh on the hoody who is the Jathedar!!)
coming back down i saw that Ravjeet singh and manvir singh were devouring the pronthae, with Manvir Singh Khalsa (panthic singh from [censored on request] ) was drinking down his 5th cup of Cha!! teribble what some of the youth are addicted to these days...unlike me who is only addicted to naam - well what do u expect from such a next level singh hunna!

It was camp time, and we all went into Darbar Sahib to get Maharajs hukam, and also listen to some beautiful kirtan - the rather imposing figure of bhai Vijay Singh who was in full kirtan swing, perhaps intoxicated (heheh ;)) by the power of the shabad!!! I picked up my personalised Chennay (the bell things!) - personalised because on one i had "Red" and on the other "Hot"!!! what can i say i really am awesome at chennay...just another one of my infinite talents i guess.. Ravjeet Singh was singing his heart out, and Siddharat Singh was also singing (well i think thats what it was supposed to be!) his heart out. After Bhaji Vijay Singh had finished waking us all fully up and putting GuruMaharajs Shabad in our minds for the day we listened to Hukamnama by Bhaji Manvir Singh, and Daas was given sewa of finding the hukamnama on SikhiToTheMax...

im sure i got it just before Manvir Singh ended! I blame his laptop..Oh by the way Manvir Singh Ji has a new laptop...after his old one was stolen at the camp we had in glasgow earlier this year!! I must say it looked really nice...! We never found out who stole his other laptop, they came into the Gurudwara when we were all walking to another gurudwara for a weekly simran program! What a low thing to do..chullo - maharaj is Antarjamee and knows whatever is in all of our hearts...
Btw anybody want to buy a laptop? Quick sale - no questions asked - £500!!

Sukhmani Sahib was done by another singh up from Glasgow - Kaka Sharandeep Singh who read full Sukhmani Sahib, and then Anand Sahib as we went out of Darbaar Sahib and proceeded to tie dastaars on the young children...we had come prepared with a load of keski material heheh!

At first a couple of brave little volunteers came forward, and slowly the trickle became an avalanche as all of us were swamped by eager little boys wanting dastaars tied. Just as we thought we'd finished, the penjis started to come forward to get their dastaars tied, the sewadaars couldnt all resist a smile between us, look at how far these children had come in a day - from not knowing Mool Mantar Sahib

(Ik Oankaar, Satnaam, Kurta Purkh, Nirbhoh, Nirver, Akaal Moorat, Ajooni Saibhang, Gur Prasaad)

to tying their Kes in jooras on their heads and getting dastaar'd - singhs and singhnia lining up! And then just when we thought things couldnt get any more fufilling for us, the Babajis and bibijis, Auntijis and Unclejis, Chachajis and Chachijis (ok i made that one up lol) all came forwards to get dastaars tied oon their heads!

What was looking as though it would be a five minute job had now turned into a 2 hour mission, and it was fun!! Even though i was extremley busy doing loads and loads and loads of seva, i managed to find a little time to pose for pictures! (are you surprised?!) Of course i was not 'posing' as such, as i was hard at work doing seva so never noticed my pictures being taken - i usually charge for an official signed photograph!!- all pictures of Dundee Camp have been uploaded By Manvir Singh Khalsa to flickr and you can view them here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/13892914@N02/sets/72157602099250611/ (look out for the ones with me in them!!!)


By the time we had finished the whole Sangat (bar maybe 2 or 3 brothers and sisters) had keskis and dastaars tied on their heads and we were out of material! Becharaa Ravjeet Singh Ji even gave up his dastaar material he'd just brought from india for himself! [Blogger note - I would like to add here all that material was bought especially from India. Where a certain Singh (not mentioning any names) Glasgow Baba, saw some spare he tied it around his waist!! Anyway we went and stripped him of it when yet another auntie jee came forward to have dastaar tied :D ]

It was an amazing transformation , with the blessings of Maharaj, the gurudwara which yesterday had been full of non kesadhari brothers and sisters was now in the form of the Khalsa, with kesri Dastaars and a rather nice pink colour dastaar everywhere we looked! A really nice colour of pink actually....really really nice...wonder how it'd look on me, in a pink bana...hmmmmm

LOL! anyways...moving on...SWIFTLY! - we all went back into the darbar sahib where Bhai Satinder Singh Ji was doing some melodious Kirtan, and all the sangat had their eyes closed, swimming in the warmth of the shabad.
After this it was Bhai Vijay Singh Ji's turn to do Kirtan, and boy did he do Kirtan!! Everytime there was a Tuk that related to Naam he started Simran, and the whole sangat - some of these who usually never came to the gurudwara were singing at the top of their voices!! How inspiring is that??

*how amazing is this..as i write this and recall the diwaan a shabad just started up - Jap Man Mayray Govind Ki Baani!!!* man sikhi is just too amazing for words!

the link to the shabad is here: http://www.akj.org/multimedia/Bakersfield/2006/200610bakd007fri.mp3 - Bhai Harpreet Singh Ji - beautifully sung in AKJ / Raag format!

the shabad:

This Shabad is by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Raag Gauree on Pannaa 192

gauVI mhlw 5 ]
gourree mehalaa 5 ||
Gauree, Fifth Mehla:

ijsu ismrq dUKu sBu jwie ]
jis simarath dhookh sabh jaae ||
Remembering Him in meditation, all pains are gone.

nwmu rqnu vsY min Awie ]1]
naam rathan vasai man aae ||1||
The jewel of the Naam, the Name of the Lord, comes to dwell in the mind. ||1||

jip mn myry goivMd kI bwxI ]
jap man maerae govi(n)dh kee baanee ||
O my mind, chant the Bani, the Hymns of the Lord of the Universe.

swDU jn rwmu rsn vKwxI ]1] rhwau ]
saadhhoo jan raam rasan vakhaanee ||1|| rehaao ||
The Holy People chant the Lord's Name with their tongues. ||1||Pause||

ieksu ibnu nwhI dUjw koie ]
eikas bin naahee dhoojaa koe ||
Without the One Lord, there is no other at all.

jw kI idRsit sdw suKu hoie ]2]
jaa kee dhrisatt sadhaa sukh hoe ||2||
By His Glance of Grace, eternal peace is obtained. ||2||

swjnu mIqu sKw kir eyku ]
saajan meeth sakhaa kar eaek ||
Make the One Lord your friend, intimate and companion.

hir hir AKr mn mih lyKu ]3]
har har akhar man mehi laekh ||3||
Write in your mind the Word of the Lord, Har, Har. ||3||

riv rihAw srbq suAwmI ]
rav rehiaa sarabath suaamee ||
The Lord Master is totally pervading everywhere.

gux gwvY nwnku AMqrjwmI ]4]62]131]
gun gaavai naanak a(n)tharajaamee ||4||62||131||
Nanak sings the Praises of the Inner-knower, the Searcher of hearts. ||4||62||131||


as i was saying, despite some wannabe Prabhandaks trying to stop him, [someone has to keep hold of time you know! and going Guroo Guroo on everyone at that time well...] Bhai Vijay Singh was imbued with the Naam and carried on relentlessly - of course expertly and ably supported by my terriffic chennay playing skills! [btw you Glasgow baba aka Paman Singh you owe me a pair of chennay for ones you broke!!!]

Once he was finished, the stage was set for Manvir Singh Ji - and he started with heart warming simran - in only the way that he can - y'all know what im talking about!!
Perhaps the simran charged him up, because when he gave his lecture to the sangat he was like a man possessed - he told the sangat things that i felt they needed to hear about the practicalities, and how they ought to follow Guru Sahib jis Hukam - why do we cut our hair when maharaj is giving us a gift - we refuse it and turn our backs on Maharaj!! Maharaj is helping us - the more kes we have the more Maharaj blesses us to Jaap Naam because each and every hair multiplies your Naam Kamaaee, Maharaj is reaching his hand out to bring us across the terrifying worldly ocean (lol i ripped that phrase from English nitnem Gutka Translations!!) and we are pulling our hand back and drowning! Remember the mind is oh so fickle, always running away - you know when we sit in Darbar Sahib, and we dont really listen to kirtan - instead we think about how the day was, what people will think if you go downstairs, what he/she is wearing etc etc! Maharaj tells us we are asleep - asleep in Maya's arms, without realising that each and every second is gone, and irreplaceable!


This Shabad is by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Raag Aasaa on Pannaa 418

<> siqgur pRswid ]
ik oa(n)kaar sathigur prasaadh ||
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

Awsw kwPI mhlw 1 Gru 8 AstpdIAw ]
aasaa kaafee mehalaa 1 ghar 8 asattapadheeaa ||
Aasaa, Kaafee, First Mehla, Eighth House, Ashtpadeeaa:

jYsy goieil goielI qYsy sMswrw ]
jaisae goeil goeilee thaisae sa(n)saaraa ||
As the shepherd is in the field for only a short time, so is one in the world.

kUVu kmwvih AwdmI bWDih Gr bwrw ]1]
koorr kamaavehi aadhamee baa(n)dhhehi ghar baaraa ||1||
Practicing falsehood, they build their homes. ||1||

jwghu jwghu sUiqho cilAw vxjwrw ]1] rhwau ]
jaagahu jaagahu soothiho chaliaa vanajaaraa ||1|| rehaao ||
Wake up! Wake up! O sleepers, see that the travelling merchant is leaving. ||1||Pause||

nIq nIq Gr bWDIAih jy rhxw hoeI ]
neeth neeth ghar baa(n)dhheeahi jae rehanaa hoee ||
Go ahead and build your houses, if you think you will stay here forever and ever.

ipMfu pvY jIau clsI jy jwxY koeI ]2]
pi(n)dd pavai jeeo chalasee jae jaanai koee ||2||
The body shall fall, and the soul shall depart; if only they knew this. ||2||

EhI EhI ikAw krhu hY hosI soeI ]
ouhee ouhee kiaa karahu hai hosee soee ||
Why do you cry out and mourn for the dead? The Lord is, and shall always be.

qum rovhugy Es no qum@ kau kauxu roeI ]3]
thum rovahugae ous no thumh ko koun roee ||3||
You mourn for that person, but who will mourn for you? ||3||

DMDw ipithu BweIho qum@ kUVu kmwvhu ]
dhha(n)dhhaa pittihu bhaaeeho thumh koorr kamaavahu ||
You are engrossed in worldly entanglements, O Siblings of Destiny, and you are practicing falsehood.

Ehu n suxeI kq hI qum@ lok suxwvhu ]4]
ouhu n sunee kath hee thumh lok sunaavahu ||4||
The dead person does not hear anything at all; your cries are heard only by other people. ||4||

ijs qy suqw nwnkw jwgwey soeI ]
jis thae suthaa naanakaa jaagaaeae soee ||
Only the Lord, who causes the mortal to sleep, O Nanak, can awaken him again.

jy Gru bUJY Awpxw qW nId n hoeI ]5]
jae ghar boojhai aapanaa thaa(n) needh n hoee ||5||
One who understands his true home, does not sleep. ||5||

jy cldw lY cilAw ikCu sMpY nwly ]
jae chaladhaa lai chaliaa kishh sa(n)pai naalae ||
If the departing mortal can take his wealth with him,

qw Dnu sMchu dyiK kY bUJhu bIcwry ]6]
thaa dhhan sa(n)chahu dhaekh kai boojhahu beechaarae ||6||
then go ahead and gather wealth yourself. See this, reflect upon it, and understand. ||6||

vxju krhu mKsUdu lYhu mq pCoqwvhu ]
vanaj karahu makhasoodh laihu math pashhothaavahu ||
Make your deals, and obtain the true merchandise, or else you shall regret it later.

Aaugx Cofhu gux krhu AYsy qqu prwvhu ]7]
aougan shhoddahu gun karahu aisae thath paraavahu ||7||
Abandon your vices, and practice virtue, and you shall obtain the essence of reality. ||7||

Drmu BUim squ bIju kir AYsI ikrs kmwvhu ]
dhharam bhoom sath beej kar aisee kiras kamaavahu ||
Plant the seed of Truth in the soil of Dharmic faith, and practice such farming.

qW vwpwrI jwxIAhu lwhw lY jwvhu ]8]
thaa(n) vaapaaree jaaneeahu laahaa lai jaavahu ||8||
Only then will you be known as a merchant, if you take your profits with you. ||8||

krmu hovY siqguru imlY bUJY bIcwrw ]
karam hovai sathigur milai boojhai beechaaraa ||
If the Lord shows His Mercy, one meets the True Guru; contemplating Him, one comes to understand.

nwmu vKwxY suxy nwmu nwmy ibauhwrw ]9]
naam vakhaanai sunae naam naamae biouhaaraa ||9||
Then, one chants the Naam, hears the Naam, and deals only in the Naam. ||9||

ijau lwhw qotw iqvY vwt cldI AweI ]
jio laahaa thottaa thivai vaatt chaladhee aaee ||
As is the profit, so is the loss; this is the way of the world.

jo iqsu BwvY nwnkw sweI vifAweI ]10]13]
jo this bhaavai naanakaa saaee vaddiaaee ||10||13||
Whatever pleases His Will, O Nanak, is glory for me. ||10||13||





anywaaaaaaayyyyys - back to the email - Manvir Singh was not flowery in his language shall we say.



Now come on...do you really see him doing that!?His lecture was one of the most inspirational and amazing ive ever heard - i think it was recorded, and i know for a fact that it hit home, as several parents came up and remarked to me afterwards on just how right Singhji was.

And then it was hukamanama -
ਸਭਿ ਕੁਸਲ ਖੇਮ ਪ੍ਰਭਿ ਧਾਰੇ ॥
Sabẖ kusal kẖėm prabẖ ḏẖārė.
God has blessed all with peace and pleasure.


ਸਹੀ ਸਲਾਮਤਿ ਸਭਿ ਥੋਕ ਉਬਾਰੇ ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਵੀਚਾਰੇ ॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

Sehī salāmaṯ sabẖ thok ubārė gur kā shabaḏ vīcẖārė. Rahā­o.
Everything is safe and sound, as we contemplate the Word of the Guru's Shabad. ||Pause||


how amazzing is our Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj?! I cant stop being amazed - maharaj ACTUALLY talks to us - eveytime i hear a Hukamnama it relates to me, just incredible.


And with that once we finished the Program that was Smaapti and the end of the camp!
It was such a wrench to leave the sangat after we all bonded so well, they really did become part of my family - from Gupt Sewadaar Bhagat Singh, to Princess Seva Kaur :D:D, all the way to Bhaji Siddharat Singh - Jelaybeean Wale!!

We departed and I took Sharandeep Singh, Ravjeet Singh, Manvir Singh and vijay Singh in my car as we drove down to Edinburgh to drop them off at the airport, without simran being done most of the way, as well as kirtan - just as well according to them - especially considering my driving! But i told them that i was a much better driver than any of them - after who had recieved the most points for driving!!! [hence we had loud simran going most way as we did ardaas that our Keertan Sohila wouldn't be read today... at least not in Paman singhs car...]

So we dropped them off, and despite almost making them leave as we all had photogrpahs and hugs for a good 10-15 mins at the airport (oblivious of all the goray looking at these bearded - knife carrying - long dress-like-clothes wearing people)
We waved them off, and then Sharandeep Singh and i began our journey back to Glasgow, feeling as though id left a part of me in Dundee, and another part of me was somewhere in the air on a flight to England....







THE END!!!

(im sure for some of you those two words are the most beautiful you'll have read!!)



Manvir Singh and Dass doing workshop

Gupt Sevadaar aka Bhagat Singh :P

Sunday, September 23, 2007

PArt 4. Just when you thought it was safe... Dundee Camp is back

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!

Ok ive spoken to quite of you guys and i think that people DO enjoy reading these posts, they are just too busy to reply... well as long as you guys gain something from them (despite all the cheesy jokes yes there IS some sikhi in them!!)


OK so i'll sketch you where we are. Its Darbar Sahib, its late, and Manvir Singh is KICKING it with his recent chart topping singles Raamiyaa Hau Barak Tayra

This Shabad is by Bhagat Kabeer Ji in Raag Aasaa on Pannaa 478

Awsw ]
aasaa ||
Aasaa:

suqu AprwD krq hY jyqy ]
suth aparaadhh karath hai jaethae ||
As many mistakes as the son commits,

jnnI cIiq n rwKis qyqy ]1]
jananee cheeth n raakhas thaethae ||1||
his mother does not hold them against him in her mind. ||1||

rwmeIAw hau bwirku qyrw ]
raameeaa ho baarik thaeraa ||
O Lord, I am Your child.

kwhy n KMfis Avgnu myrw ]1] rhwau ]
kaahae n kha(n)ddas avagan maeraa ||1|| rehaao ||
Why not destroy my sins? ||1||Pause||

jy Aiq k®op kry kir DwieAw ]
jae ath krop karae kar dhhaaeiaa ||
If the son, in anger, runs away,

qw BI cIiq n rwKis mwieAw ]2]
thaa bhee cheeth n raakhas maaeiaa ||2||
even then, his mother does not hold it against him in her mind. ||2||

icMq Bvin mnu pirE hmwrw ]
chi(n)th bhavan man pariou hamaaraa ||
My mind has fallen into the whirlpool of anxiety.

nwm ibnw kYsy auqris pwrw ]3]
naam binaa kaisae outharas paaraa ||3||
Without the Naam, how can I cross over to the other side? ||3||

dyih ibml miq sdw srIrw ]
dhaehi bimal math sadhaa sareeraa ||
Please, bless my body with pure and lasting understanding, Lord;

shij shij gun rvY kbIrw ]4]3]12]
sehaj sehaj gun ravai kabeeraa ||4||3||12||
in peace and poise, Kabeer chants the Praises of the Lord. ||4||3||12||




And also the other shabad





This Shabad is by Bhagat Kabeer Ji in Raag Maaroo on Pannaa 1106

kbIru ] mwrU ]
kabeer || maaroo ||
Kabeer, Maaroo:

rwmu ismru pCuqwihgw mn ]
raam simar pashhuthaahigaa man ||
Meditate in remembrance on the Lord, or else you will regret it in the end, O mind.

pwpI jIArw loBu krqu hY Awju kwil auiT jwihgw ]1] rhwau ]
paapee jeearaa lobh karath hai aaj kaal out(h) jaahigaa ||1|| rehaao ||
O sinful soul, you act in greed, but today or tomorrow, you will have to get up and leave. ||1||Pause||

lwlc lwgy jnmu gvwieAw mwieAw Brm Bulwihgw ]
laalach laagae janam gavaaeiaa maaeiaa bharam bhulaahigaa ||
Clinging to greed, you have wasted your life, deluded in the doubt of Maya.

Dn jobn kw grbu n kIjY kwgd ijau gil jwihgw ]1]
dhhan joban kaa garab n keejai kaagadh jio gal jaahigaa ||1||
Do not take pride in your wealth and youth; you shall crumble apart like dry paper. ||1||

jau jmu Awie kys gih ptkY qw idn ikCu n bswihgw ]
jo jam aae kaes gehi pattakai thaa dhin kishh n basaahigaa ||
When the Messenger of Death comes and grabs you by the hair, and knocks you down, on that day, you shall be powerless.

ismrnu Bjnu dieAw nhI kInI qau muiK cotw Kwihgw ]2]
simaran bhajan dhaeiaa nehee keenee tho mukh chottaa khaahigaa ||2||
You do not remember the Lord, or vibrate upon Him in meditation, and you do not practice compassion; you shall be beaten on your face. ||2||

Drm rwie jb lyKw mwgY ikAw muKu lY kY jwihgw ]
dhharam raae jab laekhaa maagai kiaa mukh lai kai jaahigaa ||
When the Righteous Judge of Dharma calls for your account, what face will you show Him then?

khqu kbIru sunhu ry sMqhu swDsMgiq qir jWihgw ]3]1]

kehath kabeer sunahu rae sa(n)thahu saadhhasa(n)gath thar jaa(n)higaa ||3||1||


Says Kabeer, listen, O Saints: in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, you shall be saved. ||3||1||


Poor Bhai Vijay Singh is at this point dying on the tabla because manvir is possessed and keeps going faster and faster - of course myself [Baba Paman Singh] being the Chennay Ustaad i kept up easily, but the dundee sangat all stayed as well - amazing considering the fact the gurudwara is usually only open on a sunday - and even then for two hours, sometimes with just a tape playing in darbar sahib!! Yet here it was at 11pm , and nothing like anything theyve ever heard and everyone came and sat behind the kirtanis singing their hearts out (although Bhai Siddharat Singh from Aberdeen is about as musically talented as a sheep!!) Special mention to Ravjeet Singh for continually waiting for a gurbani tuk with "Naam" or "Hau" - lol any excuse to jap naam!!

After this we did smaapti, said fateh to the sangat and went upstairs, where our luxurious double beds with super soft matresses awaited us...if any sewadaar from Khalsa Camp or Sikhi Camp is reading this take note !!! We did a little assessment of the day, and of course poked a little bit of fun at the lovely - but [legal edit] - bhai vijay singh, [edit] who once again has blessing of mahraaj! He woke me up - and although i dont remember it, apparently he came over and i sat up and shouted waheguru then started doing some paath...what can i say - what a high sikhi am!!! lol dont worry , although no one will quite ever reach my level im sure some of you could possibly become a quarter as good as me ;) [btw before people kick of this is just a laugh lol ]

Anyways, after unsuccessfully fighting with my blanket, i decided to get up, and just as i was walking to the door, i looked around a little smugly at the other singhs snoring, drooling over their pillows and just in general, asleep - and as i began to get my haumay even higher, i stepped right onto a nail in the floor!! Lol i was ready to let out a few un-sikhi words but then Maharaj reminded me of this Tuk

kyiqAw dUK BUK sd mwr ]
kaethiaa dhookh bhookh sadh maar ||
So many endure distress, deprivation and constant abuse.

eyih iB dwiq qyrI dwqwr ]
eaehi bh dhaath thaeree dhaathaar ||
Even these are Your Gifts, O Great Giver



You cant help but be amazed - maharaj quickly brough my haumay crashing down - reminding me that these pains and things that we can sometimes endure - even those are his blessings, as Maharaj reminds us to not forget the Gursikhi path...Dhan Dhan Guru Di Sikhi!!

Quickly brought back down to earth i had my ishnaan and then went downstairs to Maharajs darbar sahib, where i felt the most amazing sense of peace and fufilment at being in Maharajs Charan at amritvela, the whole Darbar seemed to be full of singhs when i closed my eyes, and we all sat doing Naam Abhiyaas (Japping Naam) It was truely one of the most amazing experiences ive had and i dont think i can really put it into words...The heaters were all off in Darbar Sahib - the others were finding it freezing but to me the heat was intense, and the more concentrated the simran got, the higher the temprature seemed to go...

After this i completed my morning routine, and went into Smaadhi (a state of bliss)...well its also known as sleep to you commoners!

Everybody had a few hours more sleep after their amritvela, and we woke up at 8, energised by the True Guru and ready to make the last day a day that the sangat would long remember...


To Be Continued... (i must admit, im considering releasing an autobiography now...!)

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!

Friday, September 21, 2007

LAdies And Gentlemen...without further ado...PART 3!!!

This being my blog I have chosen to shall we say "adapt" the posts to suit me :P.


WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!!

ok so part 2 might have been a bit dry but i had to bring it down to your guys level hunna!!

lol anyways we have a gurudwara with not many gursikhs, but the piyaar they showed is incredible, and they have alot of respect for Gursikhs like Manvir Singh - lol [manvir singh ate all the samosa, and abardeen singh had jalabiees] he has added another area to his fanbase! He gave great lectures , full of his usual funny stories and famous quotes [Edit - Manvir singh is a spoil sport and made me edit all this chunk :( ... ]

Ravjeet Singh the Extremist ably backed up Manvir Singh by scaring the kids with his naturally handsome looks that maharaj blessed him with!! [note: Thanks Paman Singh we do ardaas that your looks develop very soon.. haha]

Satinder Singh was in charge of the middle groups and Vijay Singh and i took an odd group which was meant to be 10-16s but ended up being 10- 70!! All of the auntyji's were there to learn as well, and they were really impressive, asking questions, and in general seemed to be taking alot from MY - YES MY MY MY!! MY lecture (haha not really, i was only helping out Vijay Singh)

A quick sidepoint - Bhai Vijay Singh goes to show that Sikhi isnt something to be afraid of, we shouldnt always be intimidated - he only started to keep kes 4 months ago, yet now has a beautiful daraa and roop (not that i fancy him!) plays AKJ tabla ( always a HUGE plus lol!!), a great kirtani, [Edit:to be kept Gupt] we were sleeping at 12.30am!! Now although he has little kes just yet - he was constantly asking all of us to tie a dumalla on him :D - what a blessing to have his sangat! (The same Bhai Vijay Singh who [edit due to legal rasons] when asleep !!)

Back to the camp then - and i decided to try drinking out of a Bhataa for the first time at camp, and was ridiculed by the other sewadaars but of course when great people are alive , they are often ridiculed...you only notice you miss something when we, i mean great people, leave!!
So i continued to use my Bhataa, which was Black lol (i was told by Ravjeet singh that it ought to be shining, and when i looked back at it - it was definitely shining, but with rust!!) I scrubbed away with a lemon and by the end of the camp had it nice and shiny : )
The bibian there nicknamed me Bhataa Baba lol so i have now made plans to open a dera there in the future as well!!

The camp was a general all round success on the Saturday - with the Kirtan Diwaan held after smaapti. Just to mention, that the gurudwara is only open on the Sunday when they do Parkash, and its only for 2 hours, yet the kids sat through the camp from 9am through to 6pm, and then with us in the Kirtan Diwaan until 11ish - where as usual, Manvir Singh proceeded to kick it with his kirtan with his hit shabads such as "Raamiyaa Hau Baarak Tera" and "Raam Simur Puchtaaigaa Mun" (both currently doing well in the charts!!)

Im getting a bit tired now so i leave PART 3 at that!

To BE CONTINUED!!

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!!

Ravjeet Singh: Some pictures from camp.


Monday, September 17, 2007

Dundee Camp Part 2

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!!

ok well PART 2...

dont worry though thats all the controversy etc etc dealt with in part 1. The rest is all about dundee and happy times :)

Yeh so anyways, we travelled up north and up into the highlands, finally arriving there at 10ish , we got lost on the street that the gurudwara was on (lol dont ask!) but eventually found our way there. If you ever do go up to dundee - which lets be honest i severely doubt it(!) then watch out for the narrow roads - it was soo tight, and took about 5 minutes of driving real slow just to get into the gurudwara car park.

the gurudwara in itself is actually rather large - its been established for about 20 odd years, it used to be a dental surgery. We were greeted by Monay, which was a little odd but we didnt think anything of it.

It turns out there are NO singhs and one bibi who wears dastaar in the whole sangat! we were shocked and myself a little seed of doubt was in my mind, i was quite shocked at this but we met up with the rest of the Sweet Sikhi team and assembled our Fauj - Bhai Satinder Singh, Hayes, Bhai Vijay Singh, London, Bhai Ravjeet Singh North London, and Bhai Manvir Singh Banbury (near Oxford - noones ever heard of Banbury lol!!). And special mention to a Guru Ka Piyaraa who lives EVEN further north in aberdeen!!the guy has NO gursikhs at all in that city but still has his crown, and is Amritdhari. He was always in chardikalaa and met us with a huge smile - it really is inspiring to think that even in the middle of nowhere Guru sahibs Khalsa still flourishes!! Siddharat Singh now keeps his daraa untied, and this is the blessings of maharaj!

After our introductions and such we were shown to our rooms and retired for the night, with Bhai sahib Vijay Singh caught [Edited due to possible threat of legal action]!! (pictures will be supplied as evidence lol!)

After Amritvela on the Saturday we went downstairs and we prepared for the camp, and as we waited for the children we decided that we would have operation Dastaar on Sunday - the Gurpurb (Joti jot Sri Guru Amardas Sahib Ji and Sri Guru Ramdas Sahib Ji and Gurgadi of Sri Guru Ramdas Sahib Ji and Sri Guru Arjan Dev Sahib Ji) - where each and every one of the kids would be "dastaar'd" !!

well its now hit 9am and the expected flood of kids was more like a trickle - there were 2!!
But it was only down to typical indian timing and within the hour we had around 20-30 kids (which is alot for dundee as there is very little sangat, and whatever sangat there is - they are the stay-away kind!)

We began our lectures/activities and general camp stuff, and held a few icebreakers and stuff, and i must admit i was taken back by the amount of knowledge some of the kids had, even if the parents were monay, the kids were very inquisitive and wanted to learn - it was refreshing to see such a thirst for Sikhi!


End Of Part 2

(lol this might be going on for a while eh!)

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH!


The Singh Tartan Tie :) Edinburugh



little Seva Kaur saying Fateh :D

Dundee Camp Part 1

Over weekend we went to Dundee for camp. I was going to do a write up but I just received emails from Jathedar P Singh Khalsa from Scotland so I shall edit it for blog post. lol

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHGEURU JI KI FATEH!!

i hope everyone is all well and in total chardikalla??

anyways enough about all of you and more about me :P

As im sure ive told most of you there was a camp in dundee (so far north that not even sheep stay there!!)

ok so friday 5pm i finished work at currys and then got ready for my mission, drive over to edinburgh and pick up Manvir Singh and another piyaraa Ravjeet Singh.

I reached edinburgh without too much incident (except for a friendly exchange of views with a woman driver who decided that the speed limit was 30 mph on the motorway...women drivers man... lol!!

I reached our rendez-vous (meeting ) point - I met Manvir Singh and Ravjeet Singh and blessed them with my presence and put my hand on both of their heads, putting them in chardikalla!!

[Edit Note - Due to sensitivity of Mission "B" we have had to edit it as a mater of national security.]

We started our Journey up to dundee...

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Capitalist with a conscience dies

I was watching the news last night when I herd Anita Roddick had died. Have to say personally she was a great business women how she made Body Shop into such a recognizable brand name but yet campaigned for environment. It is true that she was quite ahead of her time encouraging use of organic ingredients and reuse of packaging. She often encouraged customers to bring in bottles for refills in exchange for money off. These environmental concepts have been core to success of Body Shop and have been well ahead of the rest off the world. I think she was was to a sense successful where Sikh have failed to promote environmental philosophy of Guroo Sahibs and Gursikhs such as Prof Puran Singh Ji.

Tributes flooded in Tuesday for Anita Roddick, the British founder of The Body Shop cosmetics chain and "capitalist with a conscience" who has died at the age of 64 after a major brain haemorrhage.

Roddick is best known as the driving force behind The Body Shop, a highly successful international chain of shops set up in 1976 which sold simple, ethical and environmentally-friendly beauty products.


The shop was also an early pioneer of recycling -- customers were encouraged to bring empty containers back to the store for refills after buying the products.

The Body Shop, which has over 2,000 stores in more than 50 countries, was bought by French cosmetics chain L'Oreal last year for 652 million pounds (957 million euros, 1.3 billion dollars).

Some campaigners were shocked by the decision to sell to a major corporation, but Roddick said she was confident she could be a "Trojan horse" by taking The Body Shop's principles to L'Oreal.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g3L54zox0XO69d_erQcDf_oIIK1Q

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Akal Takhat Sundesh Regarding Interfaith Marriages

This is a message to all the Sikh Sangat that according to the Rehat Maryada only Sikh couples (male/female) can engage in the Anand Karaj Ceremony. If the couple or either one of them is not a Sikh, then they must embrace the Sikh faith. This includes that they must change their second name to Singh or Kaur in their official Document before the Marriage Ceremony (e.g. driving licence, identity card, passport).
http://forums.waheguroo.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=21158&view=findpost&p=151978

A very washed down attempt at advising panth. A year or so ago a group of us Singhs tried to question Jathedaar Vadenti waiting for him to come of stage but his PA would not let us get close to him. Its a sad state of affair, I dont know sometimes who to blame everyones doing there own thing these days. You take amrit into Khalsa not any Jathabandi, Taksal, Samaj, or Sampartha.

They really should have take hard line and described Sikhs, so many mona will keep dhari put on dastar for wedding and hours later it will all be off for the booze up.