Monthly Archive for January, 2006

Gurbani CDs Available by Chardikala Jatha

Published
by
Gurumustuk Singh
on January 31, 2006
in Chardikala Jatha and General
. 12 Comments

Chardi Kala Jatha In the past I posted some stuff about my friends Jagat Guru Singh, Sadasat Simran Singh and Harimanderjot Singh of Chardi Kala Jatha and many people had wanted to know if they could purchase CDs somewhere. At the time there was no place online to get them. I was finally able to get SpritiVoyage to carry their two CDs which they produced in 2004. So, if you like their Kirtan you can now get them online. Both CDs are great. (You can listen to sound samples on the website below)

Order CD 1- Ichhaa Purakh Sarab Sukhdaataa Har
Order CD 2 - Mera Man Saadh Janaa Mil Hareaa

Related blog posts from the past:

Katha/Lecture in Punjabi # 1

Published
by
Gurumustuk Singh
on January 31, 2006
in 2006 Picks, Audio and Yogi Bhajan
. 6 Comments

Yogi Bhajan Here is another lecture by Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi Ji in Punjabi. I am unsure of the date/location of this, but think it was from the UK in the 90’s. This one is much longer (85 minutes) than the last one I posted and the audio quality is variable so you’ll have to be patient and listen carefully.

Download the Lecture
Length 85 Minutes / Download Size 20MB

We are the Khalsa

Published
by
Gurumustuk Singh
on January 30, 2006
in 2006 Picks and General
. 7 Comments

Tonight I am posting the end of a video by Hari Kirin Kaur titled “We are the Khalsa“. The original video teaches 8 different songs accompanies by certain hand movements. This video portion was added on to the video at a later date showing some of the Sikh Children in Los Angeles practicing the songs.

This was one of the things that Siri Singh Sahib ji taught and is now a regular part of our Sunday Gurdwara program. During Gurdwara you will see the children perform various songs to music in front of the sangat. Before Anand Sahib the “Kids Program” starts and most of the kids from the sangat will go up and do perform various songs with the motions. I normally sit with my Son Narayan and do it along with him. Many of the Sangat also do the motions/songs along with them to show support and participate. It is great fun and gets the children involved. As they start to learn the songs and motions, the kids really get into it. As adults we might feel embarrased to do this, but for children it is so natural and enjoyable. When I am up with Narayan, I see almost the whole sangat has a bright smile on their face as they see the beautiful children glowing as they sing and do the songs. It’s great!

I think it is important to have different ways for the children to be involved in the Gurdwara program. These types of things give them confidence and and an experience. All Sikh communties should find ways to involve the children and start teaching from a very young age. I remember when I was little, at the same time as the normal “Adult Gurdwara” someone would get the children together in a different location and talk about Sikhi in ways that we could relate. We would learn different things or just do part of a bani together. After our little kids program we would all go over to the Gurdwara together and join the Sangat. Without this type of thing Gurdwara would just be a really long ceremony that we didn’t understand.

Summary from the Video
“Celestial Communication is a powerfull technnique for healing the body, relaxing the brain, uplifting the soul and purifying the entire being.

When the body language joins the vibration of sound, the internal music is created.

Follow the movements as you sing each song. Be sure to smile! Practice it experience it, understand it, share it and enjoy it.”

Download Video (24 MB)

Below is a video clip of some of the kids from this past Sunday at Gurdwara:

Quote of the Day

Published
by
Gurumustuk Singh
on January 30, 2006
in 2006 Picks and General
. 1 Comment

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Union Between Man and God

Published
by
Gurumustuk Singh
on January 28, 2006
in 2006 Picks, General and Yogi Bhajan
. 2 Comments

Essence of the Guru’s word and how Guru laid down the path of our union between man and God.

Here is a lecture from Gurdwara back in April 23, 2000 by Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi ji. As always, it’s hard to write a specific theme or summary to the lectures. I have noticed that depending on what I am going through in life at the time I get different things when listening to them. Sometimes I am listening to it, but I’m not really hearing the words. The mind wanders and you don’t really take in the message. You know what I mean? He used to give a talk in Gurdwara just about every Sunday for the past 25+ years (along with many classes during the week) and you got used to hearing him…so sometimes you pay attention or sometimes your mind wanders. I always wondered how he could always have something interesting and inspiring to say when he spoke so much and so often. Would he ever run out of something to say? I doubt he did any preparation either, as it seemed to just flow out of the moment of what was happening at the time. He used to always tell all kinds of stories in the lectures relating to encounters with people. I guess when you counsel and help tons of people every day you probably encounter just about every time of situation and person.

I think there is a universal wisdom and knowledge through all time that one can tune into. Most of us don’t develop that sense, but the possibility is there. I think the more you meditate and develop your intuitive sense the more this knowledge and understanding comes to you naturally. You don’t get this from reading books or from scholarly means. So many Sikhs are overly intellectual and I think loose the essence and heart of things as a result.

When I meditate and have a solid "Sadhana" (Daily Discipline) I notice how things just come to me and I know things before they happen (I become more intuitive). It sometimes catches me by surprise though. When my daily practice is not as regular, or minimal, then I feel like life takes control and I get more stressed out in every day happenings. I really do notice a difference, but it is easy to forget, and easier to just take the short cut of not doing something for your soul and just turning on the TV, or sleeping. I remember times when I wasn’t meditating and one day I did a meditation and I had such an experience, that I thought to myself "Why don’t I do this every day?? Why did I stop?". The answer is all about maintaining some type of regular discipline in your life and not getting off track. Picking something that you can do EVERY DAY and be able to maintain. Some of us have a tendency to get "Gung Ho" and one day decide to do 20 things every day…but it is too much of a leap so can’t maintain it. My philosophy is "slow and steady" building over time.

Download the Lecture
(Length: 25 Minutes / File Size: 5.6MB)

Gurbani MP3 Pick - Bibi Baldev Kaur

Published
by
Gurumustuk Singh
on January 27, 2006
in 2006 Picks, Audio and Musicians
. 8 Comments

Here is a variation by “Bibi Baldev Kaur” (female vocals) of a Simran track that I featured a long while back titled “Unknown Singh“.
The tune is the same but they only have female vocals in this one. For
some reason I missed this track before and didn’t notice it until
someone posted it on their blog. Lately I have been enjoying this quite
a bit as I drive around or meditate in the morning. It is 30 minutes
long and evolves over the time into different variations. At first when
I heard these tracks I thought they were moody…but then as I listened
to them more I really got into it and enjoyed. At about 8 minutes into
it you really feel the energy as the singer goes into a continuous
rhythm of chanting “Wahe Guru”. This is where I love to sing and just
bliss out. I am curious to know who made these two tracks. If anyone
knows please email me.

For a long time I have been wanting to create some simple audio
tracks of music with Simran/Chanting Waheguru (western style
instrumentation and sounds). I’ve been playing around with some audio
editing programs and it’s been a lot of good fun, but very time
consuming (where to find time with work and blogging?). It’s not easy
to make good music. When you start to make music you really appreciate
the effort and all the different things that go into a single music
track. Most people don’t notice all the subtleties. When I hear music
now I start hearing the music in a more full way and really appreciate
it. Next time you listen to a track try to notice how many different
“tracks” you can hear (instruments, bass, vocals, beats, chorus, etc).
Some music is obviously more involved than others.

I was involved with the production of my mothers last CD Universal Prayer
and it was so much fun. I did most of the background male vocals for
the tracks. I didn’t do any editing, but was involved in the creative
process and saw how the music developed from a simple draft audio
recordings with some vocals and temporary “place holder” instrumentals
to a full production. It’s all good fun. I love the creative process in
everything so love to explore different things (from websites,
gardening, making music, creating videos, photography, etc).

Anyways… for those of you who haven’t heard the track yet, listen and enjoy :)

Music by: Bibi Baldev Kaur (Malaysia)
Shabad: Wahe Guru (download) (24.5MB)

Music by: Jagdees Singh
Shabad: Wahe Guru (download) (24.5MB)

Our Family is Getting Bigger

Published
by
Gurumustuk Singh
on January 26, 2006
in General
. 59 Comments

Tonight I wanted to share with you some exciting news (at least it’s exciting for me). Myself and my wife Arjan are getting ready to welcome a new soul onto this earth! In other words: Arjan is Pregnant (almost 4 months). We have been blessed with a beautiful son Narayan and now are getting ready for round two.

We’ll have to wait and see if Narayan gets a brother or sister. Narayan has been a real challenge since he was a baby so I think the odds are good that the next child will be easier. Plus, I have already gone through all the motions of raising a baby…so I know better what to expect. I remember the night after Narayan was born I couldn’t sleep because I was worried he would stop breathing or something would happen. Basically I was hyper sensitive and it was a new thing having a tiny baby. It is such a learning experience. I’m sure the rest of you parents out there can relate. It’s one of those things that people tell you about, but you don’t really understand until you are a parent yourself. No matter what people tell you about getting ready to be a parent you can’t really fathom the reality of it till you are actually there.

Being a father has been not only challenging but extremely rewarding. As with marriage, it forces you to work on yourself and hopefully become a better person. To me the life of a house holder is very sacred. You learn so much and it makes me less selfish. Obviously it is easier to just take care of yourself and your needs, but when we are striving to see God in all, then it is important to not be selfish and to serve others.

I grew up as an only child, though I had quite a bit of community who became my brothers and sisters (who are still my good friends today). I remember always wanting to have a sister growing up. Most of the people I talk to who have siblings say how great it is, and would never want to have only one child. So, I guess Narayan will get to have a sibling to lead, love, and help take care of. They will be about 5 years apart so I don’t think sibling rivalry will be an issue.

We did a home birth last time with Narayan (which was awesome) and are going to be doing the same thing this time. It is so much more private and personal having a baby in your home. We have a great Midwife who will help with the Labor. She came over to our house the other day and had this little device that she puts on Arjan’s tummy and you can hear the baby’s heart beating on a speaker. *thump thump* - *thump thump* - *thump thump*. It was so cool hearing the babies heart beat. It really made it real. You see Arjan’s tummy getting bigger…but you don’t really relate to a *real* baby. Hearing the heart just makes it more real. The joy of parenthood!

Anyways, enough rambling. I Just wanted to share the good news with you all.

Here are some pictures of my family around when Narayan Singh was born back in 2001. Wow! Looking back at these pictures I realize how fast kids grow up fast!

One of the pictures is of me as a baby and the other is of Narayan. Can you guess which is which?


This is a picture of Me and Arjan, proud parents of Narayan. This was during the summer at our old house having a picnic lunch outside back when Narayan was just a few days old.


Narayan and his Papa all tuckered out and taking a nap.


Me and Narayan a day or so after he was born. Super proud papa :)

A great picture of Narayan wrapped up in orange cloth taking a nap a day or so after birth.

The Children’s Playground Area at the Gurdwara

Published
by
Gurumustuk Singh
on January 25, 2006
in General
. 5 Comments


A couple of years ago some of the local Sikh mothers got together in an effort to create a nice space for the local children to have for playing by the Gurdwara. As you know, kids have lots of energy and love to play. We wanted to have a nice place for them to do this. The mothers organized numerous bake sales (selling cookies, cakes, sweets, etc) and other creative “motherly” ways to raise money to pay for a nice playground. It was one of those slow and steady things. After a while one of the local Sikh businesses generously offered to match whatever funds the community gave. As a result we were able to raise enough money and purchase the materials for a nice play area for the kids. (Slides, climbing wall, horse swing, standard swing, tire swing, tower tunnel, etc).

Once it was ordered a big truck came a few weeks later, and dropped off everything next to our Gurdwara; The job was now in the court of all the dads. On a Saturday early in the morning, equipped with all kinds of powertools (drills, hammers, wrenches, saws, etc) the “Pappas” went to work. It was pretty fun. All of the parents and friends who wanted to support the kids area spent the day assembling the playground. Piece by piece we “puzzled” it together. The kids were hovering around the area anxious to be the first to play on the new equipment. It was a great community bonding thing to do as parents. We are a small community and know everyone well, but it is different to do projects like this together to make our community area better.

Now a couple years have passed since then and the mothers are looking again at the area trying to finish off what was started. We were not able to raise enough money for soft ground cover a few years ago, which is needed in case a child falls down (so they don’t break heads or bones). So, a few of the mothers have been at it again raising money. They have been having small dinner fundraisers at their house ($10/plate), selling art work done by the kids, and some of the family artists donated beautiful paintings that they created and sold to raise money (We have quite the artist community). It’s inspiring to see them hard at work doing this for the kids. There have been many new young kids/babies in our community and so they are also going to fix up the area for the really small kids and make a place for them to play too.

Why am I telling you all this? Well it’s a cool story of community involvement but I thought maybe someone who reads this might want to support what the Sikh mothers here are doing. I know you might not relate with giving to something that is not in your local area, but I thought it would be worth a try (Plus I know many locals read this blog too). They are doing things to raise money one dollar at a time, so I’m sure even if a total of $50 was donated it would help.

This just so happens to be at the same time as the SikhNet annual fundraiser so I apologize if all this fundraising stuff seems redundant, but I wanted to try to help out. No pressure from me, but if you feel inspired to help, then great! To make a donation to the mothers/kids play area, click below on the paypal button. I will be forwarding whatever money to them. Thank You!

Ps. I have exciting news to tell you all, but you’ll have to wait till tommmorow. :)

113824635450287389

Published
by
Gurumustuk Singh
on January 25, 2006
in General
. 1 Comment


Narayan right before Gurdwara with his sword/kirpan. He likes to have this ready for the end of Gurdwara during the Guru’s Sukhasn and taking the Guru to the back.

113824650036948982

Published
by
Gurumustuk Singh
on January 25, 2006
in General
. 0 Comments


Attention!