Blossoming

As the country and the world reopens, we are going to experience more uncertainty about the sudden amount of choice we have. We have been restricted severely for over a year now, in who we see and what we do. We are never going to go back to a pre-covid world because we have undergone a permanent change… this is the nature of people’s lives after natural disasters as well. It looks like the plan is to reopen travel to fully vaccinated travellers very quickly, as Canadians are told we’ll likely be able to go to the US by July without having to quarantine. 

Depending on the spread of the Delta/Indian variant maybe we will have another lockdown by the fall, I know many other countries are still struggling with the fight to manage the spread and vaccinate their citizens. I know it will be a period of high anxiety for many. They are grief-stricken by the loss of loved ones and what they have seen. The threat of a deadly virus lingers in the air. It almost feels like every time we get a little bit of a taste of freedom, it evaporates quickly into another set of restrictions and dangers. 

Kaur in pencil crayon

I am excited to travel out of the country, to explore the beauty of Waheguru’s creations, be outside, enjoy kirtan programs and expand my mind by meeting new people. Making just one deep connection can be more valuable than hundreds of superficial ones. It is interesting to be starting to plan out flights and accommodations to places I’ve never gone, to communities I’ve never known, neighbourhoods never touched. I’m thrilled for hugs, for physically getting to feel the vibes of people which is impossible on video and the phone. I’m anticipating what it will feel like to attend kirtan smagams again, what it will be like to attend a Rainsbhai or Nagar Kirtan, or play kirtan alongside an actual jori player and not the electronic tabla player. To meet like minded people and do projects that help people worldwide, and in Punjab. 

I am equally excited for visiting my mind’s home, its sarovar of Amrit, it’s castle, and celestial music. I’ve been able to declutter and really allow space for inward focus on the things that matter during the last couple of months. I’m not wanting to re-clutter my life with things that I consider to be taking away from my purpose, and wasting away my breaths. There are people I won’t be seeing, places I won’t be going and things I won’t be doing. Hopefully after covid, people will be more understanding and respectful the necessity of quiet and alone time. It’s hard sometimes to tell people you just want to be left alone so you can recharge and reflect. For me recharging can mean long chats with specific people, or it can even be long periods of silence. I have learned probably the most important thing during covid, that I don’t need anyone else to survive, it is certainly icing on top and can very helpful, but it isn’t a necessity. We all own these amazing capabilities to overcome adversity and be resilient. Serious life events happen in a split second. There are many times I would have wanted someone to have my back, or to have someone to chat with for reassurance, or just be there with me for support, yet I’ve realized I am fully capable of having my own back, validating my own feelings, and relying upon my Guru for support. We are never actually alone in the Oneness, because it is interconnected and helps us along. The truth is permanent, no one can change it with their words or manipulations. This mind doesn’t need to rely on an illusionary support structure that simply collapses when you lean on it. Guru Ji tells us all of that is false. We can lean on permanence, we cannot lean on what is false. The path of the mind is one of love, for that which is permanent and not illusionary. 

 

As a sidenote, I was asked about kirtan videos on youtube. I've been busy learning shabads on the rabab in my spare time and haven't had time to film anything in quite a while. I've still got a lot of shabads left to be recorded, hopefully can get back to them sometime soon. It isn't forgotten! 

Sexual Violence In Gurdwaras

This post is about sexual violence in Gurdwaras and it is possible it may be triggering to some readers. I have not gone into details of encounters to avoid this and have left the conversation more generalized.

When you google search Sikh priest/granthi/gyani and sexual abuse or sexual assault there are a lot of results. You can see news articles from Kelowna, Winnipeg, Kitchener, Kent, Derby, Glasgow, Maryland, and more. This is just a tiny representation of the actual number of cases due to the taboo of the topic of sexual violence in our community. We have posted about Intimate Partner Violence in the past, as well as deras, and people guised as “pro-health” speakers and healers taking advantage of others. I wanted to specifically write to address this issue of violence in our Gurdwara Sahibs and from people who are kirtanis or granthis.

I recently saw a talk on Kaur Voices about Sexual abuse in Gurdwaras. This was specifically the case of a 12-year-old girl from Maryland that was sexually abused by a Granthi. Her parents were hosting a Granthi temporarily, who then had the keys to their home and it was long after they realized he had been abusing their daughter during kirtan class. As soon as they found out, they stopped going to the Gurdwara, yet the Granthi continued his duties. The Gurdwara committee continued to cover up for him and blamed their daughter. They filed a police report, and the committee asked them to retract their case. He was subsequently convicted. Even after the conviction he continued to participate in Gurdwara activities and have access to children, forming the Panj Pyare in the Vaisakhi event. The parents are still very raw from these events of 1988. They said no one stood by them. Since they stopped going to the Gurdwara, the committee was free to tell whatever story they wished and rumors started. They were feeling shameful and afraid of ruining their daughter’s reputation by going back to the Gurdwara. It was really brave of them to speak up now. 

All too often the victim is made to feel like they are in jail, and the person of power roams free. The person who was abused loses aspects of a normal life due to the known effects of trauma. Sometimes they are left feeling so much self-blame that they are convinced to “protect” the reputation of their abuser, to not get them in trouble, to keep the secret, etc. This family was betrayed by their community who backed up the abuser and spread rumours about their daughter. They lost their friends, their community, their ability to freely matha tek and visit their Guru, without having to face him roaming freely. This is the nature of the topics of honour and shame in Punjabi/Indian culture, which punishes the person who was abused and their family. It is even more challenging for males to come forward about being abused in the Sikh/Punjabi communities. Silencing victims propagates the opportunity for abusers to continue their activity and inhibits the healing of the person who was abused/assaulted. Often times the sangat can make things even worse. I’ve seen situations where members of the sangat are pressuring women to retract their police cases. Sadly, these are often other women/aunties in the community. In the case of this example, the Gurdwara committee put this Granthi in the position to continue to be able to abuse his power. They acted as participants by continuing to support him. The people in Gurdwara committees sometimes play even more active participants in the abuse that goes on in the Gurdwara. 

It isn’t just children that are vulnerable to abuse in Gurdwaras. Anyone to be the victim of such abuse- doctors, lawyers, police officers are not immune to being abused. People who prey on others know to pick on people who are vulnerable. Especially because the Punjabi/Sikh community are taught to revere people in positions of respect, there can be a great emphasis based on “this person can do no wrong.” Many female adult survivors of Yogi Bhajan’s abuse mentioned that they respected him as a teacher and thought he was testing them, or teaching them something, and they should unquestionably follow him. This was also reinforced into young teenagers. When there is full trust and faith in authority figures, children grow up into young adults, who grow up into adults who are going to be more trusting as well. People are left reconciling how this person they trusted (and often spent a long time building trust with the family or person) suddenly did this to them. Our community dealt with this when we cleaned up our Gurdwaras and freed Nankana Sahib for example, yet now again we are facing this same issue and instead of addressing it, people are either silently observing as part of the sangat or are simply walking away from Gurdwaras and decentralizing into home programs. The corruption in Gurdwara Committees is well known.  People who propagate the violence against others often scare the person into thinking that they shouldn’t share this “secret” for their own good. Sometimes it is a threat, sometimes it is a manipulation. For example women or child victims might be told that they won’t be able to get married if someone finds out about their “past” which was actually a non-consensual abusive relationship perpretrated by someone else. This is further then reinforced by the community as a reason to stay silent. “No one will marry you” or “never talk about this again.” It basically silences the person who experienced this horrid event from being able to talk honestly to a future partner, to have a truthful relationship, from being able to seek counselling and professional help, and to be able to share their story. With vast differences in generations, it also leaves second-generations more vulnerable because what happens is that there is a differing expectation in relationships living in western culture, and what their friends have going on. It can be harder in this environment to recognize what is healthy relationship behaviour or abusive behaviour and makes it easy for someone’s first relationship, marriage, or unwanted encounter to be an abusive one because there is no reference for what’s ok and what’s not. Abusers can figure out what to promise and say to get what they want and then build trust (you're the only one, I'll marry you, promotion of feminist ideals/protecting other women/being the hero, building up their reputation and image so they seem untouchable). Then they become hippocritical but by the time time things start to change, it is hard for an individual to reconcile the image of a person now from who they "know" and trust. The trust and emotional manipulation makes the abused person feel like they are responsible, or at fault, or chose this, reinforced by cultural comments. This leaves people questioning whether they are experiencing abuse, even in the middle of objectively horrible abuse. They wonder whether it's ok or not, rather than trusting their gut instinct and red flags. 

It is VERY hard for people to speak about what happened to them. Many times adults think back to their childhood/teens and only then realize something they knew felt wrong but didn’t have the words to say at the time. This is also true of young men and women in our culture in particular as the language to talk about these issues and to label them, or discuss them is not there. Some people (adults and children) have so much self-blame because of the way that they are manipulated that they have a hard time recognizing the abuse, or putting a label to it until they are removed from the situation, or others point it out. It isn’t just about having courage to speak. It is far deeper than that. Trauma is pre-verbal. Traumatic memories don’t just make up a consistent and easy to tell story, they are stored as sights, feelings, smells, tastes, and little snippets. Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk talks about this in his book, The Body Keeps the Score. People who are triggered or experiencing flashbacks actually have MRIs that show the area of their brain responsible for putting their thoughts/feelings into words is shut off (page 43), similar to a stroke. He describes “Even years later traumatized people often have enormous difficulty telling other people what has happened to them…. This doesn’t mean that people can’t talk about a tragedy that has befallen them. Sooner or later most survivors, like veterans in chapter 1, come up with what many of them call their ‘cover story’ that offers some explanation for their symptoms and behavior for public consumption. These stories, however, rarely capture the inner truth of the experience. It is enormously difficult to organize one’s traumatic experiences into a coherent account- a narrative with a beginning, middle, and an end” (page 43). I think this is especially true for people who have complex trauma, multiple episodes or events, or childhood trauma. There are often “blanks” in the memory that sometimes fill in unexpectedly years later by a retriggering event, or sometimes can never be retrieved. Dr Van Der Kolk also importantly highlighted that when people are reminded and reexperiencing their brain literally is lighting up as if its actively occurring. There is no difference in the mind whether it happened then or is happening now. A person is not going to be acting with their rational mind or in control of their emotions while re-experiencing because those parts of the brain are off, the brain is simply in survival mode trying to survive the event it thinks is happening to it in the present moment (that actually was in the past), and he points out that sometimes people are not even aware they are re-experiencing. They might just look extra emotional, angry, irrational, etc. 

I’ve read a few articles on preventing abuse in churches, but this can extend to all faith Institutions. I will share the recommendations here, the sources are listed in references. Their first reminder is that all faith institutions are at risk because people who abuse others are of all ages, gender, sexual orientation, religions, etc. They mentioned churches are particularly at risk because they give easy access to children with no background record checks due to informality, because people are very trusting and don’t think those they know would act like this, and because they assume that offenders look a certain way- all these apply to Gurdwaras as well. We don’t usually imagine offenders being Amritdhari. This is an important point that I brought up in my previous post about intimate partner violence. People who sexually assault others are the people you know. The Kaur movement (changed to Singh/Kaur Movement to be more inclusive) has documented cases from all over the world, and many of them are cases of family members, friends, partners- people who were close and knew the individual. Abusers blend in, they do a good job of winning people over, they could have all kinds of “respectable” jobs and positions and use those positions to gain power over people. The articles talked about not to giving any volunteer  work with children unless they’d been associated with the “church” for six months, to screen everyone with reference checks/criminal record checks (remembering 9/10 people who sexually abuse children WON’T have a criminal background), always having at least TWO unrelated adults supervising each space involving children, ensure children are released only to parents/ authorized people, and to train staff to watch for inappropriate/grooming behaviour. The other suggestions were to teach children what is appropriate and what isn’t, and to speak up/that they won’t get in trouble for speaking up. Those words cannot be empty, there must be actually support for victims of abuse, including not blaming them and making sure they are believed. That could include having resources for professional counselling for the person who has gone through the abuse, and their family. They encouraged the faith institution to have a strategy in place for dealing with abuse if it does occur, what steps will they take? These steps could include reporting to child protection services or the police. Getting outside agencies involved and not keeping it a secret is important. The sangat also needs to be aware of the abuser in case their child or others were also at risk or exposed. It could mean making sure that the individual who was abusive is removed from their position and goes into therapy. The articles emphasized that an apology is not enough. It is important for us if we see something suspicious to call it out and say it’s not ok and we see it. Some of the other suggestions were to host lectures on gender, relationships and violence, encourage women in leadership positions, accountability systems, train sangat in sexual assault response, notify other gurdwaras not to re-hire this person in activities related to children, and give the survivor choice in their healing to prevent re-traumatization. 

 

Hopefully this post brings some of these issues to light so we can become more aware and think about our role as sangat, as partners, as parents, and as friends. This behaviour is simply unacceptable, and we should do our very best to ensure to help support people who have been through these abusive situations. It is hard to support people who have gone through trauma sometimes. They might be experiencing unusual reactions to situations, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and the healing journey involves different things for different survivors. Just being present for the process can be hugely beneficial as people seek help. 

Are you or someone you know affected? If you don't know where to go, a doctor's office can be a good place to start to get some access to resources and someone to advocate for you. If you are in an emergency, that can be a crisis line or emergency room. The police, counsellors, and social workers can be great advocates as well depending on the circumstance. You aren't alone. 

References (some of these are disturbing stories)

The interview is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ6B95-9hXY

https://thekaurmovement.com

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/predators-in-the-pew-protecting-against-child-abuse-in-your-church/

https://www.brotherhoodmutual.com/resources/safety-library/risk-management-articles/children-and-youth/abuse-prevention/prevent-child-sexual-abuse-in-the-church/

https://twitter.com/KaurAbuseNWork

https://sikhri.org/articles/circles-of-influence-circles-of-abuse

https://www.rainn.org/articles/tips-talking-survivors-sexual-assault

https://www.rainn.org/articles/how-can-i-protect-my-child-sexual-assault

https://www.stopitnow.org/ohc-content/sexual-abuse-prevention-faith-communities

https://www.careleader.org/preventing-child-abuse-church/

https://barficulture.tv/people/731

https://kaurlife.org/2020/10/18/confronting-sexual-assault-in-sikh-spaces/

https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/yogi-bhajan/ 

Sleep

Just a quick reminder that sleep is incredibly important in our simran practice. I was discussing with a Gurmukh who mentioned that some people have noticed worsening mental health or some bodily problems while doing simran. This is because they have not gotten their proper sleep and anyone without sleep is going to develop these problems, this is simply medical science. It was written into Bhai Sewa Singh Ji's books as well, but needs a hard emphasis. We shouldn't be forceful with our bodies. If we want to wake up early we should gradually adjust our sleep schedule, or we can nap afterwards, etc.- it is just important for us to complete our necessary sleep cycles. This process is not about punishing our bodies. We know from Gurbani that the Yogis used to do all kinds of physical things to try to achieve mukhti but this is not the way. 

Many people also wonder about how we can do simran if we cannot sit cross-legged for long periods of time. I spend a lot of time sitting cross-legged because of playing my rabab and vaja, but even then after a while your legs do fall asleep and I find it is just hard to stay in the same position due to pain. The important thing for simran is to find a comfortable position where your mind is not focused into your body. For example, many people as they enter sunn, might have their head fall forward and then that distracts them. In other cases you might be just focused on physical pain in certain positions. Simran is not about positions/asans. To bring the focus out of the physical body and inside, it is best to find a comfortable state. If you are in front of Guru Granth Sahib Ji obviously you need to be mindful of being respectful. If you are cutting your vegetables, you need to keep your eyes open. If you are simply just at home, its fine to be lying down too. 

I hope that this opens up the opportunity for more people to do simran that thought they couldn't or it wasn't possible. It is possible for all of us, and we need to be gentle and kind with ourselves. You can't expect yourself to suddenly be doing hours. 

Islamophobia

Growing up, our closest family friends were a Muslim family. They were part of all of our birthday celebrations, and get togethers, school events and we cheered each other on. Their son went into medicine, and it also guided us greatly on how that process works. There was much love between our families. I think to our travels to Pakistan where we also received much love and respect from the locals, whether it was Lahore, Eminabad, or Hasan Abdal, the locals were very kind to us. The recent news of this terrorist attack against a Muslim family in Ontario, killing multiple generations was horrendous, leaving a young 9 year old boy as the only survivor of his family.  

 

The Muslim community has been struggling greatly with Islamophobia particularly after the events of 9/11. I think about the many walks I’ve had over years and years with my family and I cannot imagine being unsafe just going for a walk. We cannot imagine what will happen to us on an ordinary day, when the messenger of death waits to strike. The more we walk on this path the more we learn to see Waheguru’s roop in everybody and everything and we have to spread that message of love. Hatred and discrimination against any group is unacceptable. I'm pleased to see our Sikh community helping out in London to do sewa and support as best as they can. We have to come together in these times. 

Inner Travels

I’ve been realizing that my hope for other people doesn’t change their trajectory. In Sikhi we are taught to spread what we have learned. I have often been really passionate and wanted to share books, simran, and the story of the mind katha with people. I think back to my uncle spreading the Gurmantar everywhere he goes. The world is burning, suffering, and drowning in the bhavsagar. My hope by sharing the story of the mind is that people learn how to start their journey of the mind, our true purpose of coming to this life and to make progress on that path rather than wasting any more time in the thregun maya. It takes practice after all, so the more practice we have, the better off we will be since we don’t actually know how much time we have here. Unfortunately, not everyone finds this story to be interesting, or cares about why we came here and where we are going. Some minds have come from devlok just ready, that as soon as they are reminded of the path they advance in spiritual avasthas very quickly. Some minds aren’t ready. They are skeptical, and some will change over time, but some will not. I think back to when I originally learned about the Gurmantar, it wasn’t the time for me either because I didn’t think it was possible to have no thoughts and without an ability to ask questions and really dig deeper, I just let the concept go and then revisited it years later. I wonder sometimes about the people who wait too long and it is too late, they never did go back to it. I am reminded of the sakhi of Bhagat Kabir’s friend, who just was interested in working, and then was reborn as an ox in his next life, being whipped and working for the farmer. When we make decisions, we make them with benefits and risks. Many of us live our lives not even realizing what the benefits could be of reaching Dasam Dwar and similarly might not understand the consequences because we don't actually take the time to understand what we are reading in Gurbani. I remember talking to an Aunty once who simply had a “we know everything” attitude when I tried to give her some books. No matter how much we care and desire for other people to be free of the shackles of maya, I guess I’ve learned that it isn’t up to me what happens to them. My role is simply to share these kathas and learnings with a passion and to live by them. I guess it just isn’t written for everyone to cross or to understand. The 5 have full control over some people, and they will live out their whole lives in this illusion. All I can have is compassion, as Sant Singh Ji Maskeen teaches us, that they will have wasted their precious human life away. 

We cannot change people, no matter how much we wish it. They have to be inspired to make that change... but we can have a role in that inspiration. If it is someone we spend 24/7 with we might spend some more effort, or we might just turn inward to our own path. That in itself also can change generations (both ahead and behind); to just focus inwards on improving ourselves. People who don't see value in how you live on this path might also just not stick around as well, no matter how much you might care for them. There is a part of Bhai Randhir Singh's book where they land at a train platform and there's no one there. After so much sacrifice and hardship he really just wanted to see a Sikh and people are too scared to come because of strict British rule (his family had been actually too far away to be able to come). He turns inwards to God and that preserves him through his lonely time in solitary. We can't be constantly looking at how other people want us to live as the marker for walking the way our Guru Ji teaches us. If we look to others it will also prevent us then from speaking the truth and defending what is just. Bhai Ranbir Singh Ji (Edmonton) did a katha this weekend about Moh and they talked about how in moh we don't tell the other person what they are doing is wrong because we worry we will lose something worldly. We fear the other might get angry, they might walk away, they might do x, y, z when actually in true Prem we just say it as it is no matter what. True Prem comes through Simran, when we are able to meet other Gurmukhs in Sunn and that merger into our home is permanent. That love doesn't disappear after we die. 

I used to be outwardly facing, my small circle of people close to me were ones that I invested in deeply. I didn't talk to a lot of people but the people I did spend time with, there as a lot of conversation. Their opinions and validations mattered to me. Something changed in February and March. I have never been able to give credit to my story and survival. I gave my words freedom and recognized the struggle I have been through. I saw what I wasn’t able to see before, and spoke what I wasn’t able to say. It turned me inward. I didn’t need to be asking other people anymore, their opinions no longer took hold of me like they had before. All that was withering away. Guru Ji tells us when all other treatments whether for our social, spiritual, mental, or physical rog are exhausted, that Naam is the medicine. I could not have imagined for myself this level of acceptance and integration within myself. No one else could have done that for me. I don’t know how to describe what a blessing it has been over this last month, that for the first time that I can remember, I have been living and not just fighting to survive. I have been able to accomplish a lot in survival mode, and I just wonder and think how much more there is for me when I am not just living but thriving. It’s funny how when I accepted that this is how things are and I wasn't desiring for things to get easier or to get a break, that things just fell into place. My inner growth has been stunted by many external factors and I am excited as I peel those back and get a chance to leap forward. I have a boat now, I am not drowning anymore. When we are able to accept ourselves we are able to understand better that people are just walking the path they are written to walk too, without judgement. It is simply Hukam.   

Travels

I crawled exhausted and starving

through vines and underbrush

tripping on overgrown roots 

cuts, scrapes, bruises

sinking in the mud

hot and sticky

each step caked on more and more

until I pulled myself to the shore

 

Will any traveller climb into my boat? 

The line grew long 

but when they saw me

for all I was

when I didn’t care anymore to pretend 

to hide

to cover up in superficial looks and conversations

when I showed up raw

covered in dirt

they vanished and dissipated

the brush has painted them out 

I am further shattered

gutted

 

I do not understand

what was solid is liquid and now evaporated

how could it be there are no remnants

of the closest friends

sangis, sathis

the leaf fell off never to be attached again

the five bit you 

and still you call them friends

won't let them go

when I wanted to bring you with me

there is no one now

no place

no person

there is no other direction for me to go

isn’t there anyone else thirsting for home? 

I look back one last time

call out to my companions, 

please come home with me 

climb aboard this boat

not a flicker of movement

and the time has come

the waves appear and have no end

I stared with teary eyes one last time

no one was mine

and I was no one's

I climb in

grab the oars

and the mirage behind me disappears 

it is night now

I cannot see in this darkness

the water dangerously deep as vast as the sky

bone chilling cold

I long to meet my Love

please take me home

its unbearable now

with each breath I row

Wahe

Guru

there is a light on the horizon

and now the music sings to call me home

a taste of sweetness on the tongue

the boat of my Guru takes me 

to the Castle of Truth

Fatherhood and Sikhi

There's an upcoming webinar by the Sikh Research Institute on Fatherhood and Sikhi and the changes we are having to make to adapt to modern times. Register here: https://www.bigmarker.com/sikhri/Fatherhood-and-Sikhi

Guru, A Short Film

This is a really amazing video put together about the journey of the mind, and the topic of Guru and the importance of our families. It raises up topics of modern social problems and the power of the gurmantar.  It’s called Guru: Animation Short Film by GPMKC (Gurdwara Prabh Milne Ka Chao).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0n6_mqtOoM 

Now that we have a background from which to understand these topics, after reading Pantha Prem Na Janiye, a lot of these concepts of Gurmantar and the applied knowledge share a common understanding. We start to understand the various stages of emotion that cycle through. As this thirst grows, we start to understand the longing that Guru Ji describes: "My mind longs for the Blessed Vision of the Guru's Darshan. It cries out like the thirsty song-bird", and the desperation to catch a glimpse of God "The crows have searched my skeleton and eaten all my flesh. But please do not touch these eyes; I hope to see my Lord." The understanding comes that there is no other path: "Without seeing my Guru, sleep does not come. My mind and body are afflicted with the pain of separation from the Guru." We understand the determination of the path, "Even in violent storms and torrential rain, I got out to catch a glimpse of my Guru." There is also the desperation for sangat "If only someone would come, and lead me to meet my Darling Beloved, I would sell myself to him" and "My mind's desire for the Blessed Vision of His Darshan is so great. Is there any Saint who can lead me to my Beloved?" Then there's a description of that joy and ecstasy of getting the food for the mind: "One who drinks in the Lord's sublime essence is intoxicated and enraptured. All other essences have no effect" and the merger: "I am in ecstasy, O my mother, for I have found my True Guru." As we go through our own path of understanding we start to understand the Bhagat Bani more deeply and the reflection of how we can relate to the stages that they went through and the emotions associated with them. In books like Jail Chithian we can then see the application of that to someone's life in the modern day and what it looks like. Then spontaneously we will think to these examples of the lives of other great Sikhs, as an example of what to do in scenarios and think of the words of our Guru Ji. I spontaneously start singing lines of Gurbani as they come to mind, because they reflect a feeling of the time. They arise from the soul for a reason, to be sung out and expressed. 

Harmandir Sahib

from AZ quotes

For many Sikhs, coming to Canada has been the opportunity to be free… to have freedom of speech, religion, media, and peaceful assembly that we didn’t otherwise have. It has been similar for Sikhs coming to the UK, US, and Australia. It really resonated with me when my friend Sarah, a lawyer who works to represent Indigenous people in Canada, wrote about being the granddaughter of a holocaust survivor. She wrote, “To recognize that the place that your family has felt to be a refuge can come at the cost of so many other families’ unspeakable losses.” As I remember the atrocities of 1984, I think of the Indigenous families here fighting to have the genocide that was perpetrated against them recognized. All communities who have experienced genocide understand and unite in this fight for justice and having the truth known. 

I cannot emphasize how critical it is to research our own history. I read a quote the other day (Ricky Singh) “… I urge everyone to understand and study your history. History that’s been sculpted and censored to benefit the oppressor and leave the oppressed powerless.” So many Sikhs aren’t even sure of our history. They might know that the Akal Takht was bombed, as those pictures are widely distributed. They don’t know our reference library was looted and burned, that poisonous gas was spread, that the Red Cross wasn’t allowed to enter, no one was allowed to leave, how 70-150 000 soldiers were sent to Punjab, that 74 other Gurdwaras were attacked at the same time, that 20 000 from Bohiwal, 30 000 from Harike Patla, and 20 000 from Mehta Chauk were killed trying to get to Amritsar. There were maximal people at the Gurdwara Sahib for the Shaheedi Divas of Guru Arjan Dev Ji and they weren’t warned or allowed to leave. We must not blame ourselves for our own genocide, as Bhai Manvir Singh Ji says “they killed us, they oppressed us, they attacked our Harmandir Sahib and they make us believe that we are at fault.” When I went to Harmandir Sahib, I was very emotional thinking about this as I entered the complex. I looked down at the white tiles thinking of the blood that stained these tiles and the sarovar. 

We are a resilient people, our struggles are a celebration of our resilience and strength. Do not ever forget the actual reason why we came here. If we want to remain a resilient people, then each generation needs to be continuing to work on the mind, to beat the 5 dhoot and win this game. Gurbani tells us only then are we warriors. You are not brave until you know how precious each breath is, until you know the game of maya. As one Gurmukh told me recently, we do many things to please others and they will be happy. Your parents and the world will be happy you have achieved things, but it is all useless without fulfilling your life purpose. He said "bachai, wherever you go and travel, spread the message of God." 

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Art Inspiration

I watched a webinar recently from Dr. Juss Kaur about her mantra art. She talks about using art as a meditation, to quiet the mind and absorb into the oneness of the universe through the Waheguru mantar. She uses oil pastels and then writes the Waheguru mantar overtop of them in ink (special inks work on oil pastels). I posted about her book Mantra Art in the past. 

I am always surprised at the diversity of art forms. I think there is something for everyone and for many people, there are multiple art forms from singing, drama, dance, and musical instruments, to physical art. Examples include poetry, weaving, embroidery, drawing, woodworking, metalworking, crafting, calligraphy, candle-making, soap-making, crochet, knitting, sand painting, painting with acrylic, oil, water, ink, drawing with pencil crayons, crayons, pens, paint pens, pencils, baking; jewelry making, origami, scrapbooking, sewing, movie-making, collages, clay, stone/ice sculptures, miniatures, puppets, fashion design, photography, rubber stamps, nail art, felting, card-making, resin, chalk, pressed flower art, pottery, gardening, digital art, glass art, foam art, and more. I’ve tried nearly all these art forms and recently decided to explore acrylic painting more and found out you can do string art, pouring, heavy acrylic medium (3D) or different mediums like gloss/modelling paste, palette knives, mantra art, loose paintings, abstract, sponges etc. on the canvas. 

 

Art can be an incredibly healing modality, but also a hugely expressive one that puts feelings and thoughts into a form that is understandable by others. Something that might be impossible to describe in words can be captured for communication to others. I think the other learning is a lot of people have had bad experiences with self-judgement, or others judging them for their art, usually when they were young and they stopped expressing. Every single human being has creative energy. Our standards of this expression don’t have to be measured against the art of other people. I too, have written about my bad experiences in elementary school with art and going on to find the space to be able to really just love and enjoy the creation. Even sometimes knowing that it can be painted over again is helpful. It doesn’t matter really what other people think of your art forms, what matters is that it is a form of expression. I encourage you to try out new art forms. I’m going to share a real mixed bag here so that you get some ideas. Your inspiration might be personal events, or it might be events from our history, or social justice issues; it might be from nature, or metaphors in Gurbani, it might be anything! (also a heads up that the feedburner subscription service that notifies you of new posts will be ending). 

This one was actually inspired by another picture I saw online by an unknown artist, but I wanted to make it in acrylic and glitter. 

Mantra Art: acrylic desert (the pens used over are coloured oil markers)

The first or second time I used watercolour brush markers 

Pipecleaners, an easy one to do with kids!

acrylic art pouring (done with pre-mixed pouring paint), the leaf pattern is created using palette knives

use of sponges and acrylic paint 

scrapbooking and vision-boarding at the same time 

Drawings- this one was of our Gurdwara Sahib in Prince George done in pencil crayon

Crochet baby jacket 

Clay: this was using air-dry clay, the biggest challenge was the arms breaking

Puppets, a great idea for kids using foam and a paper bag 

Plasticine, another great one for kids 

heavy acrylic medium with palette knives

markers 

crayon (did this together with my sister when she was young, based on the book snowmen at night)

fashion design