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God's Backyard....
 Arjan's Sister (Kelly) lives about 5 hours up north in Crested Butte, Colorado. Here she is with a friend hiking in the mountains. This is another amazing place. Take a look at this view! Quite a backyard to have! I think it is important to get out into nature often. It helps ground me to the reality of being a part of this earth. It is too easy to get caught up in every day life and loose the connection with the earth and our environments. As a result we take nature for granted and miss out on the chance of enjoying the treasures of mother nature. Turn of off the TV (or computer, for those people like myself who are on all the time) and go outside! Get some friends together and go somewhere nice and natural.
Posted by Gurumustuk Singh | |
Mastering a Mantra
"What does it mean to master a mantra? When you have repeated it so much, so often and so well that you hear it within you, and it comes handy to you......especially at the moment of death........you have mastered a mantra." - Yogi BhajanThis quote reminded me of the stories that I posted last week about Bhai Fauja Singh and how he was chanting "Waheguru" till his last breath. I can imagine how much "Waheguru" was a part of his everyday life and how much he chanted it. I'm SURE he mastered the Waheguru Mantra. I also think about a line that I used to sing a lot when I was very young: " Hummee Hum, Tumi Tum, Waheguru.... I am thine, in mine, myself, Waheguru". We used to have a tape playing all the time with these words put to music. I used to sing it while walking home from school (KG-2nd grade). The thing that was cool was that I sang it so much that it became part of me. Whenever I was scared or just needed some support these words just popped into my mind automatically. I think that is what happens when you take Gurbani and Mantra and repeat over and over (Mindfully). It becomes a part of yourself. So...I guess when you are in need and when you die...it comes to your aid and guides you. This is the power of Gurmantra! Try it and see/experience for yourself!
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Skyscapes
 Another New Mexico evening sky. The skyscapes is one of my favorite things about living here. You can see a bunch more pictures on Prabhu Singh's Blog. He drives down from Los Alamos and got some great sky pictures.
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 Part of the 3.5 acre back yard and the shed. I was cleaning out the irrigation ditch so that we can flood the field with water. It's quite a process irrigating the field. Our friends who live nearby have horses that she helps take care of and ride. Arjan wants to get things cleaned up and ready so that we can have the horses graze on our property. The grasshoppers this year have infested everything and eaten everything in it's path. When you step on the grass a few hundred of them jump. They are like aliens from another planet. It definitely effects the local farming community (not to mention all of us hobbyist gardeners..like me)
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 Well...we finally did it. This is an old horse shed that is out back in my parents property. It was full of all kinds of old stuff that had bene in there for ages. We started at 7AM and pretty much ended up throwing everything out. You cnasee the huge pile of trash. Arjan wanted to get it ready so that we can have some of our friends horses over on the property to graze.
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The Saturday Bonfire
 Dharam clearing brush away from around the pile of wood, getting ready for the bonfire. We had all kinds of scrap wood and weeds from around the property which we gathered together.
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 Narayan sitting by and watching...
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 Dharam and Harbhajan helpig me with the fire
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 Nervously watching the fire blaze high into the sky. It was a little windy so the flames were going pretty high and also along the ground. We were standing by with buckets of water, just in case. Luckily the wood was pretty dry and the fire died down within 10 minutes.
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 It's so fun to just hang out and talk by a fire at night. We used to do this a lot on camping trips.
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 Watching the fire
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 Arjan roasting Marshmellows and putting them on Graham Crackers to make a "Smore". Narayan sitting on the chair watching.
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 Hanging out by the fire.
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 Motion Fire as I zoom the lens
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 A long hand held exposure at night capturing the stars.
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 The starry night sky. We are not in a big city so when the moon is not out the sky is filled with stars. It reminds me of being in school in India. The power used to always go out at night, when we had "study time". When this happened we would all go outside and just play around under the stars like this.
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Quote of the Day
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." - Mark Twain
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Ok...it's friday so thought I would have a little fun. Here is the latest from the "Gora" line of clothing. I remember in India people used to always whisper... "Oh...Gora Sikh hai...!". Hahaha... !! If you are thinking critically of this, it's time for you to go on vacation because you're too serious. This is just for fun! I'm going to order this shirt and get a few for my friends. You might see it online at: http://www.gorasikhpride.com Ps. For all those Goray's out there, if you want to get a shirt you can get $5 off with this coupon code: "POINTSLOUDER" (when checking out).
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Guru Singh recalls a decision that changed his destiny, and ours."What is that?" I heard a huge voice behind me asking, as I sanded an antique Thonet bentwood chair. I turned to see Yogi Bhajan, my new teacher, towering over me with a most inquisitive stare. "It's my turban, Sir," I responded with great enthusiasm. It was actually a scarf that I'd managed to wrap enough times around my head so as to capture all the curls of my unmanageable hair into one well-mannered clump. "Why you're doing that?" he continued to question. "To be like you," I replied, surprising even myself. "I want what you have." "Wow!" he said with a huge grin, "For you to cap an ego like that, it's really something. Let's see what it brings." He was right. This was huge for me. As a professional musician my mountain of long curly hair was an identity; it was part of my personal and professional image. To cap and wrap it under a turban had been very impulsive, but also a bit courageous. After all, Warner Bros. Reprise Records had me under contract and I was hearing talk about being the next Dylan/Donovan. So how then did I become Yogi Bhajan's first student to tie a turban? I initially tied it to stop lacquer spray and sawdust from creating cement in my hair, and Yogi Bhajan was the reason I was working on that chair. A few weeks earlier, just a month after starting yoga, I had attended a birthday party for Jules Buccieri who owned the antique store where 3HO began. Yogi Bhajan needed a place to teach Kundalini Yoga in Los Angeles in January 1969-Jules offered his store. When it was time for class (before and after store hours) we would empty the furniture into the parking lot and do yoga on the antique Persian rugs. That night at the party Yogi Bhajan asked me where it was that I worked and I told him proudly that I didn't. I was a musician. "That's very well," he said to me, "but you need to learn to work too." I looked back with disbelief. This was the teacher who appeared in my life after I spent nine months in the Mexican wilderness with an indigenous Shaman. This was the teacher who the Shaman told me I would meet. He said to go and find the "Great One!" And now this "Great One" was telling me to get a job? "If you want to understand the teachings, you'll have to understand the students," Yogi Bhajan smiled. "Most students aren't musicians, they work; they have jobs." He laughed and turned to Jules Buccieri. "Hire this 'music-man' on the spot," he said, and I began sanding and painting antiques the very next day. That was the beginning of a journey now thirty-six years in the making; a journey of creating a teacher, minister, husband, and father out of a musician who now uses music to teach. Once I discovered how a turban made me feel, the reasons quickly changed from protecting my hair to connecting my brain. I found the turban that wrapped and held my head both focused and calmed my mind. I was a different person with it on. A long time has passed since the initial dust and spray, the surprising bonus of focus and calm. What really made me tie that turban were faith, trust, and admiration for a teacher. What's resulted from it has been monumental. Years later, Yogi Bhajan says to me, "We had no idea, did we Guru Singh, where tying a turban was going to lead?" "Not at all," I answer. 
Yogi Bhajan and Guru Singh, Peace Prayer Day 1998. Guru Singh Khalsa is a yogi, teacher, musician, author, and Minister of Sikh Dharma, living in Los Angeles with his wife; they have two children. On January 10, 1969 Guru Singh began studying Kundalini Yoga with Yogi Bhajan and now teaches at Yoga West in Los Angeles and Miri Piri Academy in Amritsar, India.
This article is from the winter 2005 issue of Aquarian Times Magazine
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Those who seek happiness follow this rule:(It can create wise men out of fools.) Start with commitment, it's essential to win your life's goal, Then character develops, bringing dignity, so you can be whole; Dignity brings out divinity, your natural state...... Which you can experience...... with Guru's grace. Finally, when you can sacrifice; and do it with a smile(!) Your search for happiness has been worthwhile. - Yogi Bhajan(The commitment is to your own higher consciousness; to consistency in your own practice, for your own benefit.)
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Over the next few weeks I will post stories that are a part of the Winter 2005 Issue of Aquarian Times Magazine, which is a tribute to Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji (aka: Yogi Bhajan) who passed away this last October. There are many stories about how people became Sikhs, about Yogi Bhajan, and history from the past 30 years. I am posting them to share a little more about our beginnings and how we came to where we are today. Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of who we are and where we come from. If you are interested in ordering a copy of this special tribute issue you can contact Aquarian Times Magazine.
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 Sat Jivan Singh's first trial shows
the power of the Khalsa projection
It was 1975, my very first trial, and there I sat, sweating bullets in the chambers of the Administrative Judge of the Court, trying to understand what grievous blunder I had made to provoke him into calling me here alone, without the District Attorney. During a trial, Judges never ask for a meeting with just one attorney. It isn't done. Proper decorum demands both counsel be present in every meeting with the Judge. There was only one exception: when counsel was being reprimanded.
So it was clear to me that in the exuberance of my first trial I had crossed some line. I must have done something so wrong it meant I should be disciplined. The thought of being disbarred flashed into my brain and the sweat poured faster. All that time and money for law school not to mention my first trial and client down the tubes.
It was a first in more ways than one, however. I am a Sikh: I have a beard and wear a white turban. And at the time I wasn't just a Sikh, I was the Sikh. I was the first and only Sikh ever admitted to the Bar in New York! No one would forget me. If I was going to be remembered I wanted to be remembered well. So I prepared.
I don't think anyone ever prepared a case like I had prepared this one and as a student of Kundalini Yoga, I also practiced meditative techniques to be calm and relaxed for trial. I was ready. As far as I was concerned, it was the trial of the century. Forget about the Lindbergh kidnapping or the O.J. murder trials. In my mind it couldn't get any bigger than this, even if it was only a shoplifting case. It was my case and my client deserved the best defense possible.
When the trial began I could hardly contain myself. As the prosecutor began his case I was continuously on my feet: "Objection: Hearsay!" "Objection: Counsel is leading the witness!" The DA. wasn't going to get anything past me. I was up at every perceived infraction of the evidentiary rules. I was feeling great and I thought I was doing great, too. I just knew my client was going to be found "Not Guilty."
Then it happened. Mid-trial, the Judge said, "Let's take a recess. Mr. Khalsa, I want to see you in my chambers."
It took me a moment to grasp the gravity of this request. He didn't want the District Attorney; just me. The walk to his chambers seemed like miles. He opened the door, motioned for me to sit down and then seated himself behind the biggest desk I had ever seen. He sat silent for what seemed like an eternity, sizing me up; obviously preparing to deliver the crushing blow, telling me how badly I had blown it for my client and what punishment I was facing. He leaned forward and looked intently at me.
"Mr. Khalsa," he said with the utmost seriousness, "Can you help me relax?" Sat Jivan Singh Khalsa was the first Sikh attorney in the state of New York. He is a Sikh Minister and works with Amar Infinity Foundation, Kundalini Research Institute, and the Khalsa Council. He is the founder and President of the Sikh Lawyers Bar Association and a member o f the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. This article is from the winter 2005 issue of Aquarian Times Magazine
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Quote of the Day
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
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 This month I posted many old pictures from the mid 1970's of Western Sikhs first interacting with Sikhs in India. It has been very interesting and inspiring for many to look back and see these images from the past. Many people were particulary interested in pictures of Bhai Fauja Singh and requested that I put some more online. My mother reminded me of an old "Beads of Truth" magazine from 1978 which was dedicated to Bhai Fauja Singh and the events of Baisakhi 1978. I was able to scan and OCR the content from the magazine and post it all online for everyone to read through. Please keep in mind that this was published almost 30 years ago and was from the perspective of the western Sikhs in America. I did my best to include everything, though I am sure there are mistakes on my part in dealing with the OCR software and placement of images/text. I did leave out some images (of the faces/bodies of those Sikhs who died that Basaikhi) which I thought might be too much for younger children to see. In any case, It is a learning experience for me, reading the letters and articles about his life and his interaction with my parents generation. I hope this was a worthwhile effort putting this information online to share with everyone. Here is the address to read the articles:http://www.mrsikhnet.com/BhaiFaujaSingh/(ok...now time to get some sleep. It's way too late!)
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The Lavan in English
The Lavan is so beautiful! Guru Ram Das Ji wrote it for his own wedding. I love to read it every day out loud with my wife. Here's my translation of it:
LAVAN: SOOHEE, FOURTH CHANNEL OF LIGHT:
1. In the first round of the marriage ceremony, the Lord gives you His Instructions for performing the daily duties of married life. Instead of performing rituals by routine, embrace the righteous life of Dharma, and do nothing that separates you from God. Meditate on God’s Name. Embrace and practice Simran - the continuous remembrance of your True Identity. Worship and adore the Guru, the Perfect True Guru, and all the errors of your past shall be washed away. By your great destiny, you shall know that bliss which passes all understanding, and the Lord - Har, Har, will become sweet to your mind. Servant Nanak proclaims that in this first round, the marriage ceremony has begun. 2. In the second round of the marriage ceremony, the Lord guides you to meet the True Guru - the Primal teacher. Filled with the awe of the Infinite, your ego dissolves away. In awe of the One who is forever pure, sing His Wonderful Praises and see God in all. The Lord - the Supreme Soul, is the Master of the Universe. He fills everything, everywhere. He fills all spaces. Deep within you, and outside as well, there is only One God. God’s humble servants meet together and sing the songs of joy and ecstasy. Servant Nanak proclaims that in this second round, the music of the spheres resounds. 3. In the third round of the marriage ceremony your heart is filled with Divine Love. By my great destiny I have met the humble Saints who love the Lord and I have found God. I have found the pure Lord and I sing His Wonderful Praises. I speak the Word of the Lord’s Bani. By great destiny I have found the humble Saints and I speak the silent language of the Infinite. The Lord’s Name - Har, Har, Har, vibrates and resounds within my heart. Meditating on God, I have realized the great destiny inscribed upon my forehead. Servant Nanak proclaims that in this third round, the heart is full with Divine Love of the One God. 4. In the fourth round of the marriage ceremony I have found God and my mind is filled with peace. Living as a Gurmukh, I have met Him with simple ease. My mind and body are full of sweet delight. I am pleasing to God - and night and day I lovingly focus my awareness on the One. I have merged with my Lord and Master and all my desires are fulfilled. The Lord’s Name resounds and reverberates within me and all around me. The One God, my Lord and Master, merges with His Divine Bride and her heart blossoms with His Holy Naam. Servant Nanak proclaims that in this fourth round, we have become One with the Eternal Lord. Wahe Guru!
Posted by Guruka Singh | |
Quote of the Day
FIRST MEHL:  From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one. O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman. That mouth which praises the Lord continually is blessed and beautiful. O Nanak, those faces shall be radiant in the Court of the True Lord. - Guru Nanak Dev Ji
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How I Became a Sikh
I'm from the same generation as Gurumustuk Singh's parents. We were the "pioneers"... the first generation of Americans who realized that we were the Guru's Sikhs. Of course, I was not born to Sikh parents. Most people figure out quite quickly that even though my name is obviously Indian in origin and my dress is unusual as well, I am an American, born and raised in the United States. At that point, I think one of the most common questions I’m asked, “What made you decide to become a Sikh?” I first began to discover who I really was in the 1960’s. Read more...
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 This is me and Guruka Kaur in 1975 posted by Guruka Singh
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Why I tie a turban
Having not been born to a Sikh family, I first tied a turban in 1971 when I was 26 years old. It was at my wedding. I remember experimenting with how I felt with my turban on and with no turban. I would wear a turban one day and then try not wearing one on a different day. I was trying to experience the difference. The difference was quite amazing. When I tied my turban I could concentrate much better and was less distracted. I felt more "self-contained." When I didn't wear my turban I kept being distracted by others' thoughts and energy. In scientific terms, the "signal to noise" ratio was hugely improved by tying my turban. So I started tying it every day and now after 34 years of wearing my turban I love how good it feels to tie it in the morning, and how good it feels to let my hairs down at night! Something that feels that good twice a day has got to be great! ;-)
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The wedding of Sat Darshan Kaur and Krishan Shiva Singh
This past Sunday was the wedding of Sat Darshan Kaur and Krishan Shiva Singh. It was a day full of joy for everyone. I took the photographs for them of the wedding and some afterwards so was there next to them the whole time. I have to say, that I have been to quite a few weddings (participating and taking pictures) and just about every time I still get teary eyed and emotional at the end. I don't know if it is that I am a sensitive guy, or just a remembrance of my wedding. I always think about when I got married to Arjan and after the fourth Lavaan when we sat down before the Guru. The sangat shouted out five Jakaras, "Bole So Nihaal! Sat Siri Akal" (as is very common in our Gurdwara at weddings). I just felt so much love from everyone and there was so much enthusiasm in it. It makes me feel the power of love and the the gift that the Guru's gave to us as Sikhs. Marriage is such a beautiful Gift! It really can take you as a person to a much better place spiritually. A humorous story that Shanti Kaur told us during Gurdwara :
(I'm not that great of a story teller so I'll recap as best I can)Years ago Shanti Kaur questioning the Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh about the practice of having the Palay (the shawl) wrapped over the Man's shoulder, and the woman holding it from behind as the man leads the woman. She thought this was some old non Sikh practice and was wondering why we do this. Especially from the aspect of why the woman had to be in the back and following the man (being subservient). The first answer that Yogi Bhajan gave Shanti Kaur was, "Well, someone has to go first." (chuckle) But he was just testing her, and of course she wasn't satisfied with that answer. When she pushed the point, he replied, "It is all in your point of view. You see the woman following the man subserviently. What I see is that marriage is a carriage in which the husband and wife ride to Infinity together. The horse is in front and the driver sits behind and holds the reins." He was teaching her that people filter things through their own frame of reference and that it is not "this or that" but that there are many levels of meaning.
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 Sat Darshan Kaur saying a prayer before bowing to the Guru.
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 Shanti Kaur spoke to the couple before the wedding about marriage and the meaning of the 4 rounds of the Lavaan.
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 Getting ready to start the Anand Karaj (wedding ceremony)
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 Sitting before the Guru and preparing for the wedding
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 Guru Darbar Singh sitting behind Siri Guru Granth Sahib ji
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Hari Bhajan Kaur Playing Kirtan
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 Dharam Singh (Bro) with Narayan. The night before was Narayan's first "sleep over" away from me and Arjan. He spent the night at Uncle Dharam's house.
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 Bibiji Inderjit Kaur
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 Doing Ardas before the wedding
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 The wedding Hukamnama. Raag Suhi Mahala Chauta
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 Reading the Lavaan from Siri Guru Granth Sahib
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 Completing the 4th round of the Lavaan
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 Throwing flower petals on the couple as they complete the 4th round of the Lavaan
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 4th Round done! We are married!
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 Flower petals all over the Gurdwara floor after the 4th round of the Anand Karaj (wedding)
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 Flowers hanging from above Siri Guru Granth Sahib
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 Guru Bachan Singh and some of his nieces/nephews
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 The Girl Picture. Some of Sat Darshan's friends...
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 The happy couple after the wedding
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 The couple
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 Sat Darshan Kaur with a little friend
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 Krishan Shiva Singh had a beautiful kurta, vest and Kirpan strap (matched with the Guru's ramalas too!)
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 It's raining!
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 Some friends surprising Sat Darshan with rain of rose petals
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 Some friends with the bride, Sat Darshan Kaur
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 Flowers all over the dress
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 Taking a break from photographing the couple...and having the newlywed bride take a picture or me and Arjan
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 "Hi, my name is Guru Dham Singh"
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 Siri Avtar Singh showing his new spiderman shoes
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 Some of the guys with Krishan Shiva SIngh (center) who just got married.
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 The Punjabi Munday...
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Guruka Singh always has his little tips and cool things that he shows me and others (relating to computers and the web). If you want to know the latest fun and cool things, he is the one to talk to. He was just showing me Google's map service which includes real satellite pictures with the maps. It was pretty cool to navigate around my area and see things from way up high. My House (In the map you'll see the road which is like a loop/circle. That is or gated community where my house is. The satellite images are a little older so my house isn't yet there in this picture. It's not much to look at....but try it out for your area, it might be more exciting for you @:-)#
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