Punjabi Songs

I wanted to share these two songs by Tarsem Jassar: Tera Tera and My Pride. I rarely share Punjabi songs because I find that they are often contrary to our Sikh values. There's so many things that we could discuss from the Punjabi music industry, but I think the main pont is that we are influenced by what we listen to. I used to think that it doesn’t really matter what we watch on tv or listen to in our “free time” but there really is a difference. It influences your thinking, and ultimately our thoughts are what will make us mukht in this life or send us back into the cycle of reincarnation. I remember a lecturer teaching me that modern psychology tells us that even if we watch a movie that is terrifying or sad, we feel it because our minds do not distinguish that this is not happening in reality and it is just a movie. These two songs however I think really do emphasize the values that we have been given in Sikhi, and My Pride in particular talks a lot about important figures in our Sikh history. 

Playing the Game of Life

You might have noticed that I have not been writing much lately. I got so incredibly ill a few weeks ago that I nearly died. My only other similar experience was a sheer random accident less than a year ago that was so out of the blue it was hard to process.

I woke up to the reality that death faces us each day, and that we really must mentally prepare. It is different to know that fact, and different to actually feel it and accept it as a reality. It is different even seeing, observing, having a friend die, than feeling in the deep down pit of your stomach that something is very wrong and the time is coming. Yet are told this every day in Gurbani, and we are taught how to make our preparations. In the many weeks preceding, I knew which direction this illness was headed, and I did as much as I could to wrap up loose ends, tell people I care, and to start strengthening myself spiritually. Finally, I ended up in the very place where I knew I was headed. Due to covid restrictions, no one was allowed to visit me in the hospital. My mind was scared of dying alone, of almost finally almost being done my training only to not have finished, of not having achieved what I came here for. Yet I reminded myself that I could not let that anxious mind overcome, that I couldn’t let my thoughts win, because if there truly was limited time left then I needed to maximize it towards my purpose.

It was not time to be wasted anymore thinking about life, it was time now to just act and to accept that everyone has a limited time and perhaps mine was coming to an end. To do simran and paath in the midst of the noise and the constant insults on one’s sense was an ultimate challenge but somehow happened. Looking back after having gotten better, I can see that that time was given to me as a gift. It was given to awaken me. It was away from all other responsibilities and purposes just for meditation on God’s Name. There were a lot of things that were odd about the month, I was supposed to be physically somewhere else, in a place that had zero resources and I would certainly have died, but I wasn’t. I found the right person at the right time who magically made it all happen, but that is God's grace because it wasn't my time to go yet. I could not be more appreciative for the gift of the breath that I have today, because I will no longer take it for granted. 

Sharpen the Mind

I’ve been going back through Sikh history trying to expand upon my knowledge of how events link together in a chronological order, as I was having trouble figuring out what happened after the Jyoti Jyot of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. I took notes because I am working on a post around history, and also found it solidifies the knowledge learned. Our history is vital for our understanding of who we are, where we are as Sikhs today, and why we are here. 

I was very shocked in much of what I read from our modern-day history, in the post-1947 life of Sikhs in India. It is different when we were trying to fight with kirpans and shashtar in war. The Sikhs were trained and used to these types of wars, even if they were grossly outnumbered, and always prepared. Yet in the modern days of being a minority in a democracy, representing less than 2% of the population of India, the situation on how to win over oppression and injustice has changed its face. The onus seems to always be on the minority group to prove that there are injustices perpetrated. The voices are actively silenced, and a different counter story is told by those who are oppressing the population. It is heart-breaking and devastating that for many Sikhs, rather than listening to the voices of our own, we have believed the story of the oppressor in narrating our modern-day history. When we look through the older history, the Sikhs have remained united in the small and large genocides, “Chotta and Wadda Ghallughara.” They were united in the times of Mir Mannu and Yakaraiya Khan’s rule and the tortures endured. The spirit to fight, to physically give up one’s body was there, because the spirituality was on such a supreme level. The mindset was Chardi Kala and resiliency. When we look at after this last genocide, 34 years ago, and the ongoing disappearances and murders recorded by human rights activists like Khalra, the story is different now. Our mindset is different. Many broken spirits have not been able to heal in the shock and horror of the events. It was not only an organized attack on the unprepared innocents, but they were purposefully disarmed and prevented from gathering to be able to amount any protection for themselves and their families. In a war, two sides prepare and fight, but in a genocide, this is not the case. 

It is difficult for us to believe that injustices or oppression happen in a democracy; in places where there is an army, police force, justice system, elected members of government. As westerners we firmly believe in this system to protect us. Faced with direct evidence in the states with what is happening to Black people, we realize that the system can also perpetrated injustice, even in a democracy. We can start to understand how that would exist in other countries and places too, to other minority groups as well. 

When I was studying human geography in university, one of the things that we learned about was the vital importance of education in being able to move a country out of the third world, and to change the lives of individual families out of poverty. I understood then, in a greater context, why I as a woman had needed to get this education, and why our parents so badly want us to get this education. There is extraordinary work done by historians, journalists, and human rights activists from outside the Sikh community trying to speak the truth. We as Sikhs have a responsibility to educate and stand for ourselves. I commend the efforts of those Sikh youth who are working to educate others about not only history, but also other aspects of Sikhi like how to get Naam. Modern day battles are fought with our mind. Sikhs were saints before they were sant-sapahis. We need to be building ourselves so strong spiritually that no matter what hits us, a pandemic, personal suffering or loss around us, we will not fall. Our role is to protect and help humanity. 

I can say right now that watching through eye witness accounts of atrocities, that I would not have been able to bear any of what some of those Sikhs went through. This is the ongoing narrative of the past, repetitively tortured, attempts to annihilate our population. This is Bhai Mani Singh being cut joint by joint. Can we even imagine? He told the executioner to cut properly, not at the wrist, cut each joint like he was tasked! That level of spiritual elevation, where they were able to separate their mind’s Anand from the body’s suffering, isn’t some far off dream, it is something that we came here tasked to achieve in this human life. We need to be preparing our younger generations for what they face in the world today. It is the age of Kaljug. We need to be emotionally, mentally, and spiritually infusing the spirit. I think that starts with education about your own history, from hearing the stories of your people and learning your history, it is about remembering the past and discussing it with family and friends. Elie Wiesel, holocaust survivor says, “To forget a holocaust is to kill twice.” We must dually be aware of our history and be doing the spiritual work that keeps our minds strong. 

Reopening Gurdwaras During Covid

There was an excellent talk today about how we can re-open gurdwaras safely during Covid 19. The talk was put on by Sikh Coalition. The North American Sikh Medical and Dental Association has put together some excellent guidelines that can be reviewed and they need to be combined with local guidelines as they vary greatly. I learned a lot because there are many considerations that we don’t even think of. 

Gathering

In BC right now we're looking at groups of 50 people being allowed to gather. At the same time it is very important for us to make sure that we are doing this safely, while maintaining physical distancing, using masks and hand hygiene. For example one of the issues at our local Gurdwara Sahib will be that the front of the building is under construction and there is only a very narrow pathway for people to enter and exit. I’ve only gone twice to matha tek since things shut down in March but even then, I noticed that if there’s just 1-2 other people around, it can make things challenging to get in and out of the narrow staircase and keep your distance. One of the suggestions made was one of the Gurdwaras in the states did different phases: matha tek only, then when they reopened programs they messaged and made sure the sangat phoned before coming to the programs so they ensured they would not exceed maximum numbers, etc. One of the other suggestions from the webinar was outdoor and continuation of online programs, or doing programs more than once a week so that sangat can go on different days. In terms of physical sitting, it was suggested for this to be rearranged as well, with families sitting together (instead of arranging it as men and women on different sides. This is how it is arranged in a lot of places in India already). 

Programs

The transmission of covid while singing is a lot further of a distance than while talking. In the presentation they mention that American guidelines talk about 12 feet as the distance from those singing. Some of the suggestions that arose during the presentation were for example having a sort of plexiglass in front of the Raagis. I was reading the Alberta guidelines (seems like BC has none) for places of worship and they mention not sharing microphones and reminding the audience to hum instead of sing and wear masks. They also talked about not sharing things like gutkas but rather using our electronic versions, and sanitizing kirtan instruments. It was also mentioned in the Alberta guidelines that items that cannot be sanitized like hymns, books, should not be shared. The NAMDA guidelines also talk about changing ramalas daily, not sharing hazoorias, and sangat bringing their own ramals and chunnis.

Food

As for Degh some suggestions were to use Ziploc baggies, or to use a long wooden spoon to distribute the langar, and ensuring it doesn’t touch the hands of those who receive it. For langar they mention stopping self-service and doing boxed langars, or pre-prepared plates. This is suggested in alberta guidelines as well. The people making and distributing the degh and langar, as well as granthis should all have their faces covered with hazoorias. Education is obviously a huge component of reopening Gurdwaras. They talked in the webinar about reiterating the importance of masks, putting up posters, not coming if sick, etc. They emphasized that this is not going to be disrespectful but is rather for us to keep each other safe temporarily during this pandemic, and the danger of those who are younger going to the Gurdwaras and carrying the infection back to elderly or immunocompromised family members. 

The Purpose of our Gatherings 

While we aren’t going to be able to have Nagar Kirtans, Rainshbhais and camps, I think it is important for us to think about how to continue to serve the sangat. The gurdwara serves many purposes: fulfill spirituality and spiritual growth, learning for kids in Punjabi school, gathering, service (providing food/shelter), etc. One of the physicians on the webinar talked about how many in the sangat may be distressed from loss of a loved one or having economic hardships due to covid. It is important for the Gurdwara to serve as a place for them to go. At the same time, they talked about how we cannot be attached to how things were in the past. This isn’t simply a return to normal. The way we run our programs will have to change. I read an article from Singh Sabha Canada that talked about the purpose of Gurdwaras, and although I don’t support some of their other articles I think this article pointed out some important points like the fact that our main objectives may not have been fulfilled the way that Gurdwaras were running prior to covid. Were we really having spiritual discussions, sharing of wisdom, or fighting injustices? I this is why perhaps in the last few years I have seen a lot more projects from the Sikh community moving outside of Gudwaras into the community. We see some amazing work from organizations like Khalsa Aid for example. I’ve talked to people who do/teach raag kirtan, to Gurmukhs who do kathas, and simran, that they are frequently now having to move their programs and their objectives into homes and outside of the Gurdwara institutions because they either encounter obstacles, or resistance to spreading the messages of the Guru. So I think this is a great time for us to consider how we can use our innovative ideas and change how things are done in the future. As we start to move towards a new normal, how can we ensure that our Gurdwara Sahibs actually serve the purpose that they intend.  

References: 

http://nasmda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/GURDWAR-RECOMMENDATIONS-TOOL-KIT.pdf

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/2be831dd-d83e-42da-b634-6bc6d5232d1a/resource/dc6e8a2e-978b-4121-acc7-8889fcfc160e/download/covid-19-relaunch-guidance-places-of-worship-2020-05.pdf

https://www.sikhcoalition.org/our-work/empowering-the-community/covid-19-response-resources/ printouts and resources 

https://www.singhsabhacanada.com/?p=90303

Jyoti Jyot Guru Arjan Dev Ji (Shaheedi Guru Arjan Dev Ji)

Tuesday is the Jyoti Jyot of Guru Arjan Dev Ji. Guru Ji is known for starting the construction of Harmandir Sahib, starting the compilation of scriptures into Adi Granth, and being the first Sikh martyr. The history is that Akbar died and his son Jahangir and grandson Prince Khusrau fought for the throne. The prince was captured but escaped and got aid from Guru Ji, which enraged Jahangir, who won the throne. Jahangir was intimidated by the power of the Sikhs, fuelled by others who encouraged him to force Guru Ji to accept Islam or face torture. Guru Ji was tortured for 6 days, sitting on a cauldron of boiling water with hot sand pouring on his head, and made to sit on a hot plate with hot sand being poured over him. Despite the conditions, Guru Ji said “Whatever you ordain appears sweet. I supplicate for the gift of name”. Mian Mir (who laid the foundation of Harmandir Sahib) tried to intervene but Guru Ji told him this was God's will. Sikhiwiki.org describes this exchange 

“Guru Sahib said, ‘All is happening in accordance with the will of Waheguru. Men who stand for Truth have to suffer often. Their sufferings give strength to the cause of Truth. Go, brother. Pray for me. Pray for the success of my cause. Pray for victory to truth.’

Mian Mir asked, ‘Why are you enduring suffering at the hands of these vile sinners when I possess superpowers?’

The Guru replied, ‘I bear all this torture to set an example to the Teachers of the True Name, that they may not lose patience or rail against God in affliction. The true test of faith is in the hour of misery. Without examples to guide them, ordinary people's minds would tremble in the midst of suffering’” 

Guru Ji was taken to River Ravi, with the thought this would torture them further, however they never emerged from the river and became Jyoti Jyot. This solidified the Sikhs in rising up against the Mughals. Guru Ji's message about suffering is one that is incredibly relevant to us today. Today Gurdwara Dera Sahib is at the location of Guru Ji's Shaheedi. The River Ravi no longer flows right next to this area. Guru Hargobind Sahib got a Thara Sahib (platform) built at the spot of the martyrdom, then Maharaja Ranjit Singh built a Gurdwara. Bhai Mardana Ji's 18th generation continues to do kirtan here. This Gurdwara Sahib has a profound sense of peace. Here is a video of their kirtan from when we visited: 

Place of Guru Ji's Shaheedi.

(this above photo was from Ekjot Singh). 

References

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Arjan#Martyrdom 

2 http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Martyrdom_of_Guru_Arjan

3 http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/gurus/nanak5.html

Service of the Sick

There is an excellent article called “The Sikh Gurus' service to the sick can be a lesson for today's pandemic” at https://www.downtoearth.org.in/interviews/health/the-sikh-gurus-service-to-the-sick-can-be-a-lesson-for-today-s-pandemic-70308 . They give several great examples of the Guru Ji’s service to the ill from Guru Nanak Dev Ji serving and curing a person with leprosy, Guru Ramdas Ji’s sarovar at Amritsar curing Bibi Rajni’s husband (Dukh Bhanjani Beri), Guru Arjan Dev Ji building a leprosy home, Guru Har Rai Ji making a herbal garden that cured Dara Shikoh, and Guru Harkrishan Ji curing those with smallpox.  They give examples of Bhai Kanhaiya Ji, and Bhagat Puran Singh (Pingalwara). The service of those who are ill is an important task and although many take it on professionally for work, many also take it on for their loved ones like parents or children. 

In today’s world service for the sick also comes in the form of Gurbani camps like Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam Ji and Sarab Rog Ka Aukhad Naam which build faith and are run by physicians. It also comes in the form of taking care of those with mental illnesses. For example through kathas. It means helping to support and uplift people through the depression and anxiety that the world is facing with coronavirus. One of the other ways of service is a service of food for those who are ill. I know of initiatives that Sikhs are putting on in India to serve the food in the hospitals, and in Canada for serving groceries to the elderly. Serving the ill comes with phone calls and messages of support and encouragement. It can come with doing simran with a loved one. I know for a friend who was in the hospital, once her family brought her a tape of Sukhmani Sahib to listen to it made a big difference to supporting her. 

I’ve been both the person who has been ill, and the person serving the ill. As the person who has been ill I can say that even things that are seemingly small can become huge tasks and it is extremely helpful to have help with those. As the person who serves the ill I can say that it is fulfilling and meaningful. I think especially with the elderly generation we need to pay more attention to their service. They have made so much sacrifice and done so much for us to get us to where we are today, we shouldn’t be forgetting them now. Many of them don’t ask for anything from us, and they spend their time continuing to serve the generations to come in old age. I think though, that those are the feet that we should be rubbing, and those are the hands that we should be holding. Though they don't ask anything of us, we should be offering. We should serve those we love as best we can while we still have them. 

Sabhe Ghat Ram Bole

This is such an amazing composition, I had to share. Raag Mali Gaura. Shabad: Sabhe Ghat Raam Bole. Shabad by Bhagat Namdev Ji. Within all hearts, the Lord speaks, the Lord speaks. Who else speaks, other than the Lord? Out of the same clay, the elephant, the ant and the many sorts of species are formed. In stationary life forms, moving beings, worms, moths and within each and every heart, the Lord is contained. Remember the One, infinite Lord; abandon all other hopes. Naam Dev prays, I have become dispassionate and detached; who is the Lord and Master and who is the slave?" It shows us the power of Raag. When a shabad is sang in raag it really expressed the meaning even more powerfully.

Mantra Art by Dr. Juss Kaur

Dr. Juss Kaur shares her beautiful artwork in which she has written thousands of "Wahegurus." Check out the video. We just bought her book and its beautiful. It's called "Mantra Art" and is available at https://www.jusskaur.com

Listening to Naam

Bhai Simranjeet Singh Tohana did a katha about following our path about how to listen to Sehaj Dhun. I will share it below, and will summarize some of what I have learned in English. Forgive me for any mistakes made. In this katha, he explains that the path of the Gurmukh is to listen to the shabad and listen, otherwise we will be burned by maya. He explains that the first step is doing simran (Gurmantar, which is “Waheguru”). So we repeat Waheguru with our eyes closed and we listen. The next step is listening to shabads. “Shabad” here means not the shabads that we listen to, as in physical words, but rather it means Naam, when we hear Waheguru’s voice. We’ve talked about this in previous posts. It is very helpful at this stage to have some sangat to give you some guidance on doing the simran and listening to Naam. After this, he explains that we get Amrit Ras in our mouths. As we have talked about previously, Amrit is not just a physical ceremony that is performed when someone wants to be baptized into Sikhi, but is also something that happens naturally as a sweet taste in the mouth of a person who listens to Naam. It is the food for the mind that is necessary for all of us. Bhai Sahib talks about how in katha the point of a katha is for us to learn. It is a type of school where we get ideas on how to walk the path and understand Gurbani. You have to do the work yourself of going home and trying to do the practical aspect of simran and listening to shabads. When we listen to shabads, we are doing Guru’s sewa. Thoughts all come from maya, but shabads come straight from Waheguru, from Truth. Therefore when we are listening to shabads, the 5 (Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moh and Hankaar) will try to pull us from our path. This can even be by creating thoughts of “gyan” or knowledge about what is supposed to be happening next. Instead, we need to let go of all of our thoughts to be able to reach higher in our path. We need to keep our bodies relaxed and not think about our bodies constantly. This is why it is so important to be in a comfortable position when you are doing simran. The first stage that happens when our body disconnects from the mind is that we fall asleep. But in order to reach Parkash, a person needs to move past this stage and stay absorbed into the Shabad. So we must practice listening to Naam while we are doing our worldly activities. He says a person who can listen for 1 pahar (3 hours) is going to naturally be able to do it for 24 hours, including while asleep. 

One of the other major points made was that he talked about how nowadays people want a quick path. They say well that sant (saint) is taking me straight to God. We think that we can pay the person to just do it for us. People are now more and more confused over time about who to follow, and families are and will continue to be more and more divided following various Babas for short periods of time. When that person is down, they will find someone else to follow, and these people will divide our families. This is a danger to us and has already started. In order to understand the rare Gurmukh who actually has followed the path and be able to identify someone to help us on our path we have to be willing to give up our egos and follow the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib Ji. 

Bhai Sahib Ji has delivered a very deep message in this katha. It might be difficult for some with lack of background information to understand, but hopefully from some of my earlier posts you can understand the basics of the terminology like “tregun”, “maya”, “tamogun, satogun, rajogun”, “shabad”, and the 5. It is helpful to build up our knowledge base, but more importantly as he mentions it is even more important for us to do our simran. To practice listening. Sikhi is not just about positive thinking. That only gets us so far. It removes us from being negative. It removes us from being caught up in the worldly everyday thinking. But it only takes us as far as satogun, which are positive thoughts, but are still a piece of Maya. Therefore Sikhi is not just about “being a good person” as I’ve heard many times in katha before. It is beyond that because we need to move beyond the maya and the thoughts that we have. To rise above thoughts it is necessary to constantly try to tune ourselves into Sach. Otherwise others will always take advantage and divide us and our families. If nothing else Maya will divide us from those that are our sangat and are meant to travel this journey with us. It's so easy. We get a thought in our mind that we cannot let go and it just propagates and we continue to keep telling ourselves the same story until it destroys our relationships. Maya is put there to trick us and confuse us and divide us. Don't let it win! In those thoughts we are so caught up that we lose sight of our actual task here, and the actual path of listening to shabads and the realization of God. 

Gurbani Grammar

I've been watching a series on Gurbani Grammar (Vyakaran) and a series on the proper pronunciation of Gurbani. I knew that the grammar of Gurbani was important towards proper pronunciation, but I also now understand how it also impacts us greatly because of interpretation. Gurbani has a very specific set of grammatical rules, that was created so that Gurbani could not be possibly misinterpreted or twisted by anyone. For example, the spellings of "Man" will be various with onkards, and syaree, or neither, and the meanings will be various depending on what has been applied. I watched an excellent series from Giani Amritpal Singh and one of the first things he mentioned is that why don't we pronounce the onkarh or syaree on the ends of words in Gurbani like Satnam, Gur Parsad, or Akal Moorat. It really caught my attention, and he showed that although it is a silent pronunciation, it is used to help us interpret the word as singular, multiple, masculine, feminine, calling out (Oh Waheguru), addressed towards us, towards others, etc. Without this understanding we will be pausing at the wrong parts in Gurbani, and reading it incorrectly. When it is read with the pauses in the wrong places, and without the emphasis on the right pronunciation, we also will have huge troubles in figuring out what the interpretation of the Gurbani is. Reading Gurbani is more than simply knowing how to read Gurmukhi and put it together.

Normally I'm not one to be interested in nouns and pronouns but this certainly was an engaging and important series and the speaker is very humorous. I think that it helps us give appreciation as well for the depth of Gurbani. I remember years ago looking at an overview of this in a different youtube series, and that was also very good and again the speaker was really funny. In that one, he reminded us as well that the reason why certain words are written as they are is because of the poetic measure of Gurbani and the need to pay attention to the lengths of the words, the Raag, and the formatting.

On his last video Giani Ji summarized beautifully that the three meanings of Waheguru, Waheguru, Waheguru in Ardas together are to remember God when we speak, when we act, and through our thoughts, and to ensure that when people leave the Gurdwara Sahib they really think wow the sewadars are treating us with the love of God when they speak to us, in their actions and thoughts towards us. I think its something important for each of us to enact into our everyday lives.

Here's the series. There's 7 days of Vyakaran and then 3 days of Shudh Ucharan.


Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux3cqix6J4s