Here is a line from the Sukhmani Sahib: "Sukhmani Sukh amrit prab nam,/ Bhagat jana kai man bisram. Rahau." Sukhmani is peace of mind, the nectar of the Name of God. The minds of the devotees abide in a joyful peace. Pause.
The word 'rahau' which means 'pause' manifests the true meaning of the bani or sacred sayings, the Sukhmani Sahib. Also known as the 'consoler of the mind' and the 'Jewel of Peace', its recitation leaves a soothing effect on the mind of the reader. A basic text of the Sikh faith, Sukhmani Sahib - Gauri Sukhmani in the Guru Granth Sahib - presents the teachings of the Sikh faith in a simple yet soul-stirring manner.
The sacred bani comprising 24 ashtpadis or cantos opens with an invocation to the Supreme who is remembered as adi-gure, jugadi-gure, sat-gure and sri-gurdeve - the primal guru, guru of all ages, the true guru and the great Divine Guru. It urges that in order to gain peace one should make a constant effort to remember the Name - Shabad or Word of the Almighty. Guru Arjan Dev says that the only way to realise God is through Namsimran or chanting God's Name.
As weak beings, we are full of attachments and desires. In a world of maya or illusion, we forget the Creator while being engrossed in his creation. Only with His Grace and complete surrender to His Will one can overcome evils like anger, greed, attachment and desires. Namsimran helps in self-purification.
with thanks : TIMES OF INDIA : link above for detailed version.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Must Read : FUN Time : National ID Card !
Operator : "Thank you for calling Pizza Hut . May I have your..."
Customer: "Hello, can I order.."
Operator : "Can I have your multi purpose ID card number first, Sir?"
Customer: "It's he..., hold..........on......889861356102049998-45-54610"
Operator : "OK... You're... Mr XYZZZ and you're calling from 17 Jal Vayu.....
Your home number is 2x26xxxx, your office 250xxxxx and your mobile is 09xxxxxxxx. Which number are you calling from now Sir?"
Customer: "Home! How did you get all my phone numbers?
Operator : "We are connected to the system Sir"
Customer: "May I order your Seafood Pizza..."
Operator : "That's not a good idea Sir"
Customer: "How come?"
Operator : "According to your medical records, you have high blood pressure and even higher cholesterol level Sir"
Customer: "What?... What do you recommend then?"
Operator : "Try our Low Fat Pizza. You'll like it"
Customer: "How do you know for sure?"
Operator : "You borrowed a book entitled "Popular Dishes" from the National Library last week Sir"
Customer: "OK I give up... Give me three family size ones then, how much will that cost?"
Operator : "That should be enough for your family of 05, Sir. The total is Rs 500.00"
Customer: "Can I pay by! Credit card?"
Operator : "I'm afraid you have to pay us cash, Sir. Your credit card is over the limit and you owe your bank Rs 23,000.75 since October last year. That's not including the late payment charges on your housing loan, Sir.."
Customer: "I guess I have to run to the neighbourhood ATM and withdraw some cash before your guy arrives"
Operator : "You can't Sir. Based on the records, you've reached your daily limit on machine withdrawal today"
Customer: "Never mind just send the pizzas, I'll have the cash ready. How long is it gonna take anyway?"
Operator : "About 45 minutes Sir, but if you can't wait you can always come and collect it on your Nano Car..."
Customer: " What!"
Operator : "According to the details in system ,you own a Nano car,...registration number GZ-05-AB-1107.."
Customer: " ?"
Operator : "Is there anything else Sir?"
Customer: "Nothing... By the way... Aren't you giving me that 3 free bottles of cola as advertised?"
Operator : "We normally would Sir, but based on your records you're also diabetic....... "
Customer: #$$^%&$@$%
Operator : "Better watch your language Sir.. Remember on 15th July 2010 you were convicted of using abusive language on a policeman...?"
Customer: [Faints].....!!!
Thanks : Mr S L Watwani
Customer: "Hello, can I order.."
Operator : "Can I have your multi purpose ID card number first, Sir?"
Customer: "It's he..., hold..........on......889861356102049998-45-54610"
Operator : "OK... You're... Mr XYZZZ and you're calling from 17 Jal Vayu.....
Your home number is 2x26xxxx, your office 250xxxxx and your mobile is 09xxxxxxxx. Which number are you calling from now Sir?"
Customer: "Home! How did you get all my phone numbers?
Operator : "We are connected to the system Sir"
Customer: "May I order your Seafood Pizza..."
Operator : "That's not a good idea Sir"
Customer: "How come?"
Operator : "According to your medical records, you have high blood pressure and even higher cholesterol level Sir"
Customer: "What?... What do you recommend then?"
Operator : "Try our Low Fat Pizza. You'll like it"
Customer: "How do you know for sure?"
Operator : "You borrowed a book entitled "Popular Dishes" from the National Library last week Sir"
Customer: "OK I give up... Give me three family size ones then, how much will that cost?"
Operator : "That should be enough for your family of 05, Sir. The total is Rs 500.00"
Customer: "Can I pay by! Credit card?"
Operator : "I'm afraid you have to pay us cash, Sir. Your credit card is over the limit and you owe your bank Rs 23,000.75 since October last year. That's not including the late payment charges on your housing loan, Sir.."
Customer: "I guess I have to run to the neighbourhood ATM and withdraw some cash before your guy arrives"
Operator : "You can't Sir. Based on the records, you've reached your daily limit on machine withdrawal today"
Customer: "Never mind just send the pizzas, I'll have the cash ready. How long is it gonna take anyway?"
Operator : "About 45 minutes Sir, but if you can't wait you can always come and collect it on your Nano Car..."
Customer: " What!"
Operator : "According to the details in system ,you own a Nano car,...registration number GZ-05-AB-1107.."
Customer: " ?"
Operator : "Is there anything else Sir?"
Customer: "Nothing... By the way... Aren't you giving me that 3 free bottles of cola as advertised?"
Operator : "We normally would Sir, but based on your records you're also diabetic....... "
Customer: #$$^%&$@$%
Operator : "Better watch your language Sir.. Remember on 15th July 2010 you were convicted of using abusive language on a policeman...?"
Customer: [Faints].....!!!
Thanks : Mr S L Watwani
CCTV released of meat and alcohol protest at Sikh centre
CCTV images have been released by police investigating a protest which resulted in people being injured at a community centre in Dudley.
Police started an investigation after a pre-planned demonstration turned to violence in Swancote Road on 28 May.
About 200 people were protesting at the serving of meat and alcohol at the Sikh Cultural Centre.
A police officer and two members of the public suffered head injuries during the disorder.
with thanks : BBC NEWS : link above for detailed news.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Sikh body to widen services
The Ontario Sikh and Gurdwara Council (OSGC) is widening its range of community services, officials said last week.
"While the Nagar Kirtan we annually organize Downtown Toronto is today among the biggest - perhaps the fourth-largest - event in Canada, and there have been several other community issues we've brought into the mainstream focus, there are several other areas also in which we can contribute," said chairman Bupinder Singh Ubi.
OSGC secretary Balwinder Singh said these included helping the visually impaired; tackling the major issue of drug abuse; helping those with chronic health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension; and the need for organ and tissue donation.
"The focus will be on initiatives for which there are already considerable resources available in the mainstream, but which need organizations like ours to make them available to our communities," he explained.
with thanks : link above for detailed news.
Synagogue Is Home to Displaced Sikhs
The Sikh’s have accepted the invitation, and recently began worship services at the Old Bethpage synagogue last week. They will conduct their services on Sundays through November, and beyond if necessary.
"We saw it as a real chance for peace and understanding,” said Rabbi Michael Churgel, the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Elohim. “We’re thrilled because it’s an opportunity for our communities to share and learn from each other.”
The Sikh Temple on Old Country Road in Plainview has been shut down for months by a variety of code violations brought by Town of Oyster Bay officials. The town was acting on the complaints of nearby residents. The gurdwara, or Sikh temple, draws hundreds of people to its services from all over Long Island. Some of their festivals go well into the night and involve music on traditional instruments.
with thanks : link above for detailed news.
Life as an Italian American Sikh female taxi driver in NYC
She looks and dresses like a traditional Indian woman, yet she speaks with an American-Italian Brooklyn accent.
Maria Provenzano Singh is also one of the few women cab drivers in New York City.
Recently, a young man pulled out a gun at the end of the ride in Harlem. She sped away, the cab's door slammed closed by the speed, and then continued working all day. "You can't be afraid and do this job," she says.
The 57-year-old emigrated to the US with her family when she was a toddler, but she has not spoken to her relatives for years after falling in love with, and marrying, a Sikh man from the Punjab.
with thanks : BBC News : link above for detailed news, pics, vids.
Second Sikh school approved for Birmingham as Government gives go ahead for more free schools : birminghampost
The first Sikh-ethos secondary school in Birmingham is to open its doors next year after it received the green light from Education Secretary Michael Gove.
Nishkam Trust, which this year opened a primary school in the city, will receive funding to launch its secondary school in September 2012, Mr Gove said.
The trust is linked to a major Gurdwara, or Sikh temple, in Soho Road, Birmingham.
But its schools are designed to serve every part of the community and to admit children from all religions.
The new secondary is one of 55 new free schools given approval by the Government.
Others include a proposed school called the Excellence Academy, in West Bromwich.
A school called the Rural Enterprise Academy will open in Staffordshire and a primary school called Barrow 1618 is planned for Shropshire.
On top of these, Mr Gove announced the creation of 13 new University Technical Colleges, modelled on the successful JCB Academy in Rocester, Staffordshire.
with thanks : link above for detailed news.
First Sikh High Court judge is sworn in: Lawyer is only second from ethnic minority background to be promoted
Rabinder Singh QC, a colleague of Cherie Blair at the human rights barristers’ chambers Matrix, is only the second lawyer from an ethnic minority background to be promoted to the senior level of the judiciary.
Mr Singh, 47, is the son of Indian immigrants. He won a local council scholarship to the independent Bristol Grammar School and went on to Cambridge.
He has made a name as one of the country’s most prominent human rights lawyers since becoming a barrister 22 years ago.
with thanks : Dailymail : link above for detailed news.
SikhsIndia
Sikh temple a labour of love : Edmonton Journal
Volunteers continue to expand Nanaksar gurdwara 22 years after construction began.
Weather-worn sheets of plywood shield a makeshift cement plant in a back corner behind the Nanaksar gurdwara.
It says everything about this handson labour of love still growing as it enters its third decade in the northeast corner of Edmonton. The Sikh temple has been built with the coins and small bills dropped in the prayer room collection box, and with volunteer labour from as far away as England and India. University students spend their summers laying tile. They don't hire contractors.
"It's love, that's what it is," said Sehejpal Athwal, a 24-year-old customer sales rep for HSBC from England. He's spending most of his 11-day vacation visiting his brother and volunteering on-site.
They come because they work beside their Baba Ji, or religious leader, he said. "They give us love, we love them and they teach us to love one another. You all learn to love and become one. It makes a better world."
The dome of the temple now towers 10 storeys above the surrounding fields, but though they started in 1989, the Sikhs are not done building. Construction started on a new north wing designed to house a language school. Community leaders also have plans for a student residence, and perhaps a funeral home and a seniors residence, on the 36-hectare site.
But even though the spot is alone in the middle of a field off Manning Drive, it's the centre of a fast-growing Punjabi community in the north end. A crowd of more than 1,000 is expected to drive out for the fullmoon celebrations Tuesday night, and more than 2,000 for the fireworks on Oct. 26 marking Diwali, the festival of lights.
The hub of this community is tucked in the back, in a kitchen where 80-year-old hands roll the corn roti, strip mint leaves and wash spinach. Especially on weekends and full-moon days, the big main floor kitchen, with its six gas burners and pots the size of wine barrels, will be a hive of busy activity.
The Sikh community celebrates every full moon to remember their founder, Guru Nanak Devji, who was born on a full-moon day in 1469. He founded the Sikh religion to counter the strict focus on caste in the Hindu religion at the time, and started the practice of eating together.
"Anyone from any caste or religion, no matter how poor or rich, everybody sat together and had langar, which is food," said Jass Sekhon, a retired small-business owner who volunteers in the kitchen at least once a week.
with thanks : link above for detailed news story.
"He was trying to bring equality," she said. "They can never stop anyone from coming in to have langar here."
The Nanaksar gurdwara is the largest of four temples in Edmonton serving a community of about 12,000 Sikhs. It's the only one that has food seven days a week, Sekhon said.
The temple opens at 3 a.m., when the first priest comes in to start reading from the holy book in the upstairs prayer room. The first kitchen volunteers come in at 5: 30 to prepare breakfast. Others arrive later to make lunch and keep food available through the day. They serve community members, construction volunteers, school groups and anyone who stops in to learn about the Sikh faith, said Zora Grewal, vice-president of the Edmonton branch.
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