Learning Resources

I started taking tabla lessons at the Gurdwara, and my little sister said to me “but you’ll be the oldest one in the class!” When she said that, I remembered a picture on facebook many months ago showing a 70+ year old man learning how to play the harmonium for the first time, so that he could sing kirtan. I was touched. Do you remember how old Guru Amar Das Ji was when he went to meet Guru Angad Dev Ji for the first time? 61. From then on, he started doing sewa and Guru Amar Das Ji got Gurgaddi at age 73. It is a reminder to all of us to keep learning! I smiled and said to my sister, “It’s okay, I’m still doing it.” 

In the Hukamnama I took this morning, Guru Ji says “What was turned to slag is again transformed into gold, if one meets with the Guru.”  We are royalty. We have forgotten that we are children of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Mata Sahib Kaur. Let us all remember that, and start acting like the princes and princesses that we are. Let us transform ourselves into gold. Maybe you’ve never done sewa at the Gurdwara Sahib. Maybe you’ve never done simran, or read Gurbani. Today is the day that you should start learning. Take one small step today. With the help of the satsangat- people who remind us of the path to God, we will succeed. If we get together with people who desire to learn more, who have a thirst for Sikhi, we will develop that too. My dad likes to say that even a ripe fruit will ripen all other fruits around it, so obviously sangat will have the same effect in our lives. Let us choose sangat that helps us on this path of love for God. For some of us, depending on your home situation, we have great resources at home (our parents or grandparents!). The Gurdwara is thus obviously a great learning resource because we have Guru Ji, and satsangat. Also, the Gyani Jis are there to teach us santhiya, kirtan, etc. formally.

Lastly, I’d like to share this great online resource called “Sikh book club.” It’s a FREE resource for us to read books online, because people without access to a library or Sikh books can learn from them. There are books in English and Punjabi. You can download up to 5 books a day, and read as many as you want online. They have books on how to learn punjabi, sikh history, dictionaries, Gurbani, etc. The website is http://sikhbookclub.com Remember, knowledge changes our lives!

picture from https://www.leaf.tv/articles/what-causes-bananas-to-ripen/