Over the past 35 years Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi ji gave thousands of lectures, mostly in English, so the fiew that I find that are in Punjabi are a bit rare. Here is one that I found. My Punjabi is not good so I can’t really give the lecture a title or summarize it. If you listen to it…please do post a comment as to the topic of the lecture and any details. Thanks.
Update: Many Thanks to Lakhvir Singh who did an English translation of this Lecture and posted on his blog. This is another excellent lecture and I am glad to be able to understand it by reading the translation. It will give you something to think about :)
In this video Guruka Singh shares his thoughts on the topic of being Fanatic about religion…or just about anything. My question to him was in relation to friends who had originally not had much of a practice of Sikhi (cut hair, clubbing, drinking etc). Then, when they started practicing Sikhi they noticed themselves becoming more critical/judgemental of others who were not doing what they were doing. This video touches upon some of this subject and hopefully will help you see things more clearly in relation to Fanaticism.
Here is a very worthwhile project that you should be aware of. I hope that you all check it out and give your support and get involved. If we all work together and help with this we could have an awesome tool! Here are some details on what it is all about.
In the age of the 21st Century, there have been many new technological advancements. Access to Gurbani has also evolved. The future of Gurbani is here. The future is Sikher - the World’s First Open Source Gurbani Searcher - which will make understanding and reading Gurbani simple through translations and transliterations in multiple languages. It has been built fresh from the ground up, to provide an exciting feature set for users, developers and translators alike. Sikher will work on any platform, whether Windows, Linux, Mac or even your PDA or mobile phone. It will help provide guidance when you’re making those crucial decisions in life, it will allow you to understand what is being read and sung at the Gurdwara, and shall help you recite your daily Banis. But that’s just the beginning…
Narayan is almost five years old (on Aug 12) and I am realizing more and more how important it is for him to get an experience of what we do every day (yoga, meditation, banis, etc). He is like a fireball bouncing all over full of energy. A while ago I decided to commit to taking time every morning to do a daily Sadhana with him to help him with this. Kids these days have so much outside stimuli and are very hyper, so I think it is important to challenge them and teach them how to still their mind and body. This is what I am working on with Narayan.
Every morning we take about ten minutes to sit down together to do some different things. I try to vary what we do every day a little bit…so that he doesn’t get bored with it. I generally start with some basic yoga. Kids when they are really young are naturally very flexible…but as they get older loose this if they do not stretch their body out (we need to take care of our body and our mind!). Narayan isn’t very flexible anymore so we have been working on him stretching out and then doing some various other yoga excercises. If you are interested you can get a great book called "Fly Like a Butterfly: Yoga for Kids" by Shakta Kaur. She also has a website with some yoga for kids. Narayan has fun with this :)
After body is warmed up, stretched out and more relaxed…we do a meditation. This is what I really want Narayan to work on. It is hard for him to still his mind/body and focus internally. So, we have been doing different meditations. Mostly, just sitting still with eyes closed and spine straight, and chanting a mantra (could be Mul Mantra, Wahe Guru to some tune, or others). We have started with just a mere 3 minutes, and it can be hard for him, but he is definitely getting better and more focused. It’s really great seeing the difference in how his energy changes after doing it. He slows down and get’s more centered.
I realize how important it is to take this time to teach your kids these types of things and give them an experience. They may not be really into it when they start out but when they are older and have that experience and base…then they will thank you. It is also a challenge to keep it as a positive thing and not something that they are being forced to do (negative).
I work all the time so it is always something hanging in my mind reminding me that I have to spend time with Narayan to teach him these things. It’s so easy to just get caught up in every day life and be "Busy"…and loose touch with what is most important. So…my point is that all of us parents should take the time to find something to do with our children and teach them. Teaching starts at home with the parents. We can’t expect our children to be stay Sikhs if we have not taught them the reasons and given them an experience that they relate to.
Narayan has been enjoying taking pictures. Here is one of me meditating. Narayan just cant help himself sometimes; especially when he holds down the shutter button and the camera is taking 4 pictures a second (click, click, click click).
Our friend Siri Dyal Kaur came over the other day for a visit with Arjan and brought her son Karamjit Singh who is a month or so older than Charanjeet Kaur. It was soo cool seeing them together :)
Hopefully most of you have heard of the SikhNet Online Youth Film Festival by now! How many of you thought about actually making a video and submitting it to the festival competition?? Hopefully some of you :)
What’s that? You have no use for an extra $1000 US Dollars? Oh, okay, okay, you don’t have to enter. But we really would like to see your film. Perhaps you’re just thinking about entering the competition. Well now’s the time to stop thinking and start doing! The submission deadline is August 31st. Get your ideas down on paper. What’s the central idea of your project? Is it funny, moving, musical, artistic? Make a storyboard with pencil and paper, like a comic book that tells your story, scene by scene. Now you know what video you need to shoot. Go grab that video camera and go for it! It doesn’t have to be long. Even a three minute video is fine, but if your story is longer, that’s fine too.
I posted lots of good info to help you get started. If you are working on a video project for the festival please do let me know. And feel free to contact me if you need any help or have questions.
Featured SikhNet Youth Film Festival Video Here is a fun Spoof on the popular television advertisement for the Mastercard (credit card). This was created by Sat Bir Singh who is a local youth here in Espanola. This video takes the aspects of being a Sikh and turns it into a funny and positive video promoting the Sikh Identity.
There is a story in “The Sikh Religion” by Max Arthur Macauliffe about a Raja from Haripur who came to Goindwal during the reign of Guru Amar Das. He brought his queens with him for the visit. History records a particular event that happened with one of the Raja’s queens. Let me share Macauliffe’s telling (with some slight changes in verb tense to make it easier on the eye):
"Sawan Mal (one of the Guru’s Sikhs) went in advance to the Guru to announce the Raja’s arrival. The Guru said, ‘Let His Highness come by all means when he has eaten from my kitchen.’ The Guru’s condition was accepted. He received the Raja in private audience on the top story of his house, next in order the Raja’s prime minister, and lastly the Raja’s queens. They were all gratified with a sight of the Guru.
One of the queens lately married would not remove her veil. The Guru quietly said to her, ‘Crazy lady, if you are not pleased with the Guru’s face, why have you come here?’ On this she at once become insane and, casting aside her clothes, ran naked into the forest. Efforts were made to stop her, but she succeeded in escaping and baffling pursuit."
"Some people think if they can argue, they can win. Nobody can win with arguments. Logic and reason is not the way of life. the other person is not interested in being convinced. When you try to convince somebody, somebody tries to get out of it. This is a normal reaction. If you relay from the heart center, you will always have victory with you." Yogi Bhajan, March 16, 1982
After body is warmed up, stretched out and more relaxed…we do a meditation. This is what I really want Narayan to work on. It is hard for him to still his mind/body and focus internally. So, we have been doing different meditations. Mostly, just sitting still with eyes closed and spine straight, and chanting a mantra (could be Mul Mantra, Wahe Guru to some tune, or others). We have started with just a mere 3 minutes, and it can be hard for him, but he is definitely getting better and more focused. It’s really great seeing the difference in how his energy changes after doing it. He slows down and get’s more centered. 
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