MrSikhNet

Well… I made it. It was a long flight from Los Angeles (18 hours non stop!) Only about 14,000 Km. As usual when flying…didn’t get that much sleep so pretty tired. I’m trying not to go to sleep early. Don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night. It always seems to take a few days to adjust and get over jet lag. Today I am just “Chillaxin” with Ash…and Tommorow I’m off to Malaysia.

Ok…that time is here. I’m off to the airport pretty soon to go to Singapore/Malaysia. I’ll be in the airplane for the next 20+ hours. I hope for a smooth and safe journey!

For the next few weeks I won’t be updating this blog on a daily basis like I normally do. I’ll post pictures and notes from my travels whenever I can. If you would like to be notified when I update the blog click on the below image and enter your email. You’ll get an email when the blog is updated. I use this service to keep track of all the blogs that I read. I like to keep up with the happenings in the “Sikh Blogsphere” :)

In other areas….Last week we had another “Secretariat Meeting” which is a gathering of all our local non-profit organizations (Sikh Dharma, SikhNet, 3HO, IKYTA, KRI, etc) in a continued effort to create leadership and unification. This meeting was another one organized by our Professional Sikh Leadership Group. In this meeting we were taking our ideas from the previous meeting and taking steps to implement them within our business/organizations. We all split up into about 5-6 groups; each having one particular area to work on. Our task was to come up with an proposal to make the ideas a reality within our work environment. I was in the group which had the area of “Inter-Generational” issues (youth taking on leadership roles, older generations passing the responsibilities on to the youth, mentorship, etc). We came up with three proposals which we then had to present to the group at the end. In the last bit of time our group decided to make up short poems relating to each proposal. So, today I leave you with these little poems from the meetings…..

Cross-generational relationships:
The Secretariat loves to see,
Cross-generational unity,
We work together,
And share together,
God, You, and Me.
We’ve set our intention,
To focus our attention,
On inter-generational harmony.

Well of wisdom
From the well of wisdom, we drink,
The place we come to share and think,
Rising from the well,
The elders come to tell,
What experience has wrought,
The lessons god has taught,
So the youth may carry on,
With the elder’s spirit in their song.

Hospitality
Creating hospitality,
We impart the reality,
That nurtures vitality,
And welcomes the new,
Into our Loving stew.

Picture of the everyone in the meetings

This year a few days before the Summer Solstice camp (June 11 - 14) there will be a four day intensive course on Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s Jaap Sahib. I’ve been involved a little bit with giving ideas and it is going to be a great course. The past two years we had four day courses on Japji Sahib which were amazing! Here is a little story and intro by Shanti Kaur Khalsa which gets you into the mood of the event. We hope to see some of you here this summer!

All the Sangat is running to have darshan,
because Guru Gobind Singh is coming!

“There was time in 1705 when, after years of devastating battles, the Sikhs had a brief period of rest. The Khalsa had directly faced the imperial might of the mughal tyrants and great sacrifices had been made. Guru Gobind Singh ji, the tenth great Guru of the Sikhs, endured hardship that would have been unbearable for another person as his people made a stand against the religious intolerance of the mughal regime– the death of his two eldest sons in battle, ages 14 and 17; the murder of his two youngest sons by Wazir Khan, ages 7 & 9; the death of his beloved mother, Mata Gujri; and the slaughter of thousands of his Singhs.

With all of this human tragedy, the Guru was not depressed. The Guru was not despondent. The Guru was not withdrawn. The Guru certainly was a man, and I am sure his pain and mourning would have been no less than yours or mine, but his spirit was so exalted, so manifest, and so one with the One that his internal glow was not dimmed. Upon receiving the news of the death of his two younger sons, Guru Gobind Singh wrote a letter to Emperor Aurangzeb, the beautiful Zafarnama, laying bare the godless actions of his rule that penetrated the Emperor’s fanatic mind like an arrow shot into a melon. Aurangzeb was shocked and awakened with the Guru’s words, and he called a halt to his mad campaign of death against the Sikhs.

This time is known as the Lakhi Jungle period. Guru Gobind Singh and a handful of Singhs traveled through the Punjab, and made camp in the Lakhi Jungle before moving on to Talwandi Sabo - Damdama Sahib. Word spread like wildfire throughout the land, and even though it was still dangerous to travel, the Khalsa came in floods to see their Guru. Tears of joy were overflowing as the sangat once again beheld the brilliant majesty of the king of kings, Guru Gobind Singh ji Maharaj. After many years filled with danger, langar was served, kirtan was sung, battle skills were celebrated, and daily the sangat basked in the darshan of Guru Gobind Singh. I would give my life to be there now, and I would exist through all eternity holding only the memory of those days.

In the Lakkhee Jungle, the Khalsa heard of His coming and they longed to see Him. Just like when the water buffalo hear the call of the herdsman, they leave their food and water to rush to him. In their joy and excitement they ran to see their Beloved, each trying to pass the other to get there first. Their pain was gone when they met the Guru, their herdsman, and they gave thanks!

When Guru Gobind Singh’s left this earth, he promised us that when we gather in His Name, He would be there. This summer we have a precious opportunity to come together in the name of Guru Gobind Singh. Jaap Sahib - the Song of the Warrior Saint is a four-day intensive course dedicated to this magnificent bani of Guru Gobind Singh. Set in the pristine mountains of New Mexico, we will gather together to tell stories about Guru Gobind Singh, study the mysteries of the Jaap Sahib, learn pantra and other basic gatka skills, and experience together the power of reciting Jaap Sahib as a group. Many years ago, the Siri Singh Sahib taught us to sing the Jaap Sahib, and bow - actually lay your forehead on the floor - with every beat of “Namastung”. It’s a powerful experience, and we’ve started doing it once a week in the Amrit Vela here in Espanola. We’ll do this every morning at the course and immerse ourselves in Guru’s Word.

In this year’s course, we will give special focus to the Guru Gayatri Mantra:
GOBINDE - O the Preserver Lord!
MUKANDE - O Salvation-Giver Lord!
UDAARE - O Most Generous Lord!
APAARE - O Boundless Lord!

HARIANG - O Destroyer Lord!
KARIANG - O the Creator Lord!
NIRNAAME - O the Nameless Lord!
AKAAME - O the Desireless Lord!

There is a lot wisdom and intensity in these words! It was the personal mantra of Baba Deep Singh ji. We can see by the incredible life of that incredible saint that there is much to be gained by bringing this into every pore of our being. Wahe Guru Ung Sang.

I invite you all to come. I know that for many people the cost will be prohibitive, especially with traveling. There are some discounts available for students and people who are coming from abroad which will help. Please write me with questions, or if you need more information. shanti.khalsa@gmail.com Check out the webpage for more details: http://www.3ho.org/events/JaapSahib.html

For me, it is like running to the Lakhi Jungle for the chance of a glimpse of Guru Gobind Singh ji. It’s a dream come true.” - Shanti Kaur Khalsa, Espanola - New Mexico (USA)

I’ve been a bit tired out the past few days. Lots of exciting things going on here and new projects coming up with SikhNet. Plus getting ready to go to Singapore/Malaysia. I think I’ve been trying to do too much because this morning my throat started hurting and I wasn’t feeling so good. Makes me nervous because the last thing I want is to be sick on an airplane or while traveling. Today I’ve been trying to do what I can to combat the sore throat. At least I still have till Tuesday to get over this. I’m hoping I feel better tomorrow because it’s my birthday, and who likes to be sick on a birthday.

tomorrow (Friday) I turn 31 years old. This year no birthday party. Too much going on. Arjan is so pregnant and her belly seems to grow larger daily as the baby gets bigger. So, to celebrate, this afternoon he had a mini tea “party”. I made up some nice Indian style “masala” chai (we normally just drink Yogi Tea). Then Arjan made some some yummy pakoras and my favorite “humming bird cake”…and some mouthwatering cookies. I wish we had more. The food disappeared pretty quick. It was one of those beautiful sunny spring afternoons, so was very nice.

This past year has been really good. So many changes and exciting things are in the air. I’m really feeling on track these days with my life. I always used to ask myself…if I die today…would I be ready to go? I always felt there was so much that I needed to be doing and never felt ready. Not that I feel like my end is near or anything, I just like to question where my life is going and make sure I am on track. One never does know when the they will depart from their physical body.

I am amazed at how God/Guru arranges things. It’s as if I am just a chess piece being moved around for some bigger strategy. Everything I do doesn’t really feel like me. Things just cross my path and I start doing XYZ….which all of a sudden other things related all intersect at the same time and direct me to do the next thing that I am supposed to do. This just keeps happening. Sometimes when there are things that “I” want to do…and no matter how hard I try to make it happen it doesn’t work. It’s as if God is keeping me from going down a certain path for some reason.

I am learning more and more to trust in a higher power/God…and let things flow. Too often we get caught up in worrying about things. Sometimes a simple prayer and setting a projection for something to happen is all it takes. It really gives me a lot of faith in how Guruji can work through all of us in many different ways and guide our actions. It’s kind of hard for me to explain these feelings in words. Hopefully some of this makes sense.

Ok…I should get some rest. G’nite to you all :) Another sunny day coming tomorrow to a New Mexico state near you.

The Gurdwara with the orange clouds from the sunset.

This was the same evening that Prabhu Singh got these amazing pictuars of the red clouds. The thing about New Mexico is that you have so much wide open space and AMAZING skies. There are always some beautiful skyscapes. We don’t have lush green…. but we It is very beautiful in a whole different way.