by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa
On the train from Connecticut to Massachusetts, I remember. A childhood growing up in the Northeast. Rows of houses remodeled again and again since Colonial Times. Trees lining the streets, marking the seasons with their distinct shades of dress. Sometimes green, sometimes orange, sometimes nothing at all.
That priceless time– where it seemed, somehow, one could be 8 years old, or 10 years old, or 12 years old forever.
Looking out the window, breathing in the nostalgia, I watch my thoughts slip into another direction. Yes – this is all familiar to me. Even after so many years living in the Southwest – the Northeast still feels like home. But not everything is the same as I remember. And as the train keeps rolling, there are other scenes my eyes register, making it difficult for me to inhale deeply, to catch my breath.
Continue reading ‘On the Train’
posted by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.
Sat Nam and many blessings to you. For those of you have are curious and interested, the Crestone Healing Arts Center in Crestone, CO will be hosting a Japji Sahib intensive weekend May 9-11.
Continue reading ‘Japji Sahib Weekend Intensive: Crestone, Colorado’
by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa
In my meditation this morning, I had a chance to see something about karma. One could say that after experimenting with a lot of different types of spiritual practices over the years, I never really understood karma until this morning. Though God knows, in theory, all of the different practices, with different teachers and different perspectives that I used to explore were aimed at one thing: to clear my karma.
But what does that mean, exactly? To clear one’s karma?
When I was younger, karma was the Eastern equivalent to the good/bad sin/redemption polarity I had grown up with. Only karma gave you a lot of lifetimes to work it out. There was a sense of something being “right” and something being “wrong.” And the consequences of doing the wrong thing or the benefits of doing the right thing – that was karma. In my mind’s eye, those definitions of “right” and “wrong” were written on a wall somewhere in heaven. If I could just memorize the list and put as many stars in the “right” column as possible, then God would love me and I would be protected and taken care of somehow.
Continue reading ‘The Pull of Karma’
by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh. We had a wonderful time at YogaYoga in Austin this last weekend. There was a great group of really dedicated students who came for the Japji Sahib course. Inspiring and heart-opening for all of us. No pictures, though. Unfortunately… A dear friend has asked me to post more details about some of the upcoming intensive weekends - so here it is - an update of the upcoming courses in February and March. PLEASE NOTE: There is an additional workshop in New York City on Sunday afternoon that is an intro to Guru Amar Das’ Anand Sahib.
by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa www.ekongkaar.blogspot.com
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.
Sat Nam and Divine Blessings.
In the first half of 2008, four different centers will be hosting a Japji Sahib weekend in their areas. The weekends will focus on meditation, chanting, a little bit of yoga and much conversation and discussion about the steps that Guru Naanak gives us in Japji Sahib to heal ourselves and find the Love that lives within us.
If it’s possible for you to be there, I would love to see you. Come join me with the sangat, and give yourself the time and space to go deeply into the universal teachings that started the Sikh tradition.
Austin, Texas
February 1-3, 2008
Yoga Yoga North
512.380.9800 or info@yogayoga.com
Continue reading ‘Japji Sahib: The Song of the Soul. Intensive Weekends: 2008′
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by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa - www.ekongkaar.blogspot.com
Plays of Light. Earth. Metals of earth. What we bond with through our mind. Through the plays of space and time. What we miss. What we forget…
The beach at Surfside, Texas Saturday before last was picturesque and perfect. October skies – the color of blue that only comes in autumn when every particle of the heavens radiates light from within itself. The sun cast its smiling glow on everything. And the ocean waters – just warm enough, just gentle enough (without being too tame) to enjoy.
Continue reading ‘Metals of Earth’
by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa - ekongkaar.blogspot.com
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.
One of the most beautiful aspects of studying Gurbani is to share ideas with other people who study it, as well. And to see all the different ways that the various souls relate to and express their understanding of the Guru’s wisdom.
Inni Kaur, who many of you may know as the editor of Nishaan Magazine, recently shared her own translation of a shabad from Bhagat Namdev with me. I’ve posted it here for you all to enjoy.
Continue reading ‘Guest Translation’
by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa
ekongkaar.blogspot.com
There is a search that every human being goes through in life. It is a search so primal, so instinctual in us that endless songs have been sung about it. Plays written. Paintings painted. Philosophies expounded. It is an urge so strong that we are willing to lay down our lives for a taste of it. To leave the known completely behind and plunge into turbulence and chaos for it.
It is the search for Love.
And if there is one experience that can create bitterness, hatred, disappointment, or vengeance stronger than any other experience – it is when what we thought was Love disappoints us. Betrays us. Plays a game with us. I have written this before in other essays. And I write it again now. If there is ever a nuclear war, the moment that the first button for the first warhead gets pushed, the real cause behind it will be a person whose heart was simply so broken that life meant nothing anymore. And all the politics to justify it will just be the excuse.
Continue reading ‘Anand Karaj: Lavaan: The Sikh Marriage Ceremony’
by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa * ekongkaar.blogspot.com
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.
Sat Nam. In the days since Yogi Bhajan, also known as the Siri Singh Sahib left his body, I’ve watched our community struggle and grow into the responsibility that he left on our shoulders collectively. It has and continues to be a very human process. Each person sorting through their own memories of him and the teachings he left behind, striving to come to some conclusions about what we are without his physical presence here to guide us. And what we can reasonably expect to become.
Continue reading ‘Personal Message in Memory of Yogi Bhajan, the Siri Singh Sahib’
by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa * ekongkaar.blogspot.com
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.
It’s been a long time coming. This particular translation. Not because it took a very long time to do. But just because it took a very very very long time to find out that this even existed. Lifetimes, probably, when you get right down to it.
In the last year, there have been a few people who have asked if I had translated the Lavaan yet. Because they wanted to use the translation for their wedding. Once you’ve heard a request three times from three entirely different people - you begin to get the feeling that the Universe is trying to tell you something.
Whenever embarking on a new translation project, I like to discuss the subject with my Gurbani instructor, Dr. Balkar Singh. When I asked him about the Lavaan, what he told me was that I couldn’t translate the Lavaan first. What he taught me was that there are four Shabads right before the Lavaan in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. (Starting on page 772). These shabads are written by Guru Ram Das. And they are the called the Engagement Shabads.
"You have to understand the Engagement Shabads before you can translate the Lavaan," he told me.
Continue reading ‘Engagement Shabads of Guru Ram Das’
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