Author Archive for Guruka Singh

What’s the world made of?

Published
by
Guruka Singh
on April 9, 2008
in Gurbani and Guruka Singh
. 4 Comments

Gurumustuk Singh Ji asked me to write a bit about the five tattvas and the three gunas. This is what was "assumed knowledge" in the time Gurbani was written. Basically, it’s the KAR part of IK ONG KAR (ONG being the creative power itself.)

The five tattvas are: earth, water, fire, air and ether. They are not those things literally, but rather states of density of matter. For example, water can be solid (earth,) liquid (its normal state between 0 degrees C and 100 degrees C) and air (when it vaporizes.) Ether is the most subtle element. Though there is no air in "outer space," there is ether.  Ether is the carrier of light and the least dense of the five tattvas.

So matter is made up of both the five tattvas (or states) along with the energy that flows through them. E=MC2 right? It’s a continuum of energy and matter, and the two flow into each other, but neither is destroyed (according to the law of conservation of matter and energy.) So the tattvas are the states of matter and the three gunas are the frequencies of energy: low-frequency=tamas (inertia,) mid-frequency=rajas (motion) and high-frequency=sattvas (calm.)

The three gunas are manifested in human qualities as well, and I’m sure you know these qualities in yourself and in other people. Most people have one of the three gunas dominant in their personality and projection. Tamas=crude, lethargic, heavy. Rajas=passionate and action oriented. Sattvas=light, pure, calm and relaxed. When we say someone has a "high" vibration, we mean they are dominantly sattvic in nature.

- Guruka Singh

P.S. - We did an earlier video on the subject of free will and God’s will. I think it was the "fate and destiny" one, but I’m happy to revisit that topic. 

The Yogi

Published
by
Guruka Singh
on February 16, 2008
in Art and Culture, Furmaan Khalsa, Guruka Singh, Yogi Bhajan and yoga
. 18 Comments

In India at the time of Guru Nanak, there were many yogis.  They lived alone, they did not marry, nor did they work for their living. They lived in meditation caves, wore coats made from many rags patched together (to indicate poverty) large earrings (to indicate that they heard only the Word of God) and they carried a begging bowl, a cow horn, a purse, a deerskin (for meditation) and a walking staff.  With their unwashed and uncombed matted hair and their bodies covered with gray funeral ashes (to remind themselves of the constant presence of death) they practiced their yogic disciplines and lived apart from the villagers and common householders.  They begged for their food, and ate only what they were given.

Guru Nanak’s meeting with the yogis is recorded in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib as the "Siddha Gosht".  There are many shabds in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib where the yogis are addressed.  The main purport of all these verses is that many who lived the lifestyle described above, were not true yogis at all (that is, one who is united with God… one who lives in  a state of Union) but simply people caught up in their own rituals, self-righteousness, and pride.

Continue reading ‘The Yogi’

How Science and Religion Come Together

Published
by
Guruka Singh
on January 31, 2008
in Thoughts
. 9 Comments

This article was originally written in 1981 when I was working as a Research Associate in High Energy Physics at Ohio State University. Reading Rawel Singh’s recent article that he submitted to the SikhNet News reminded me of this article I wrote 27 years ago, and so I dusted it off and updated it for publication here. - Guruka Singh Khalsa 

THERE has always been science, and there has always been religion as long as the human race has walked on this mother Earth. In fact, these two are not only related to each other, but they are really, in essence, identical.

Examining the meaning of the word “science” we can see that it is derived from the Latin “sciens” which is the present participle of “scire” which means “to know or to understand”. Many people completely misunderstand the word ‘religion.’ It comes from the Latin word ‘ligare’ which means to tie or fasten. It is the same root as the word ligature or ligament. It means to be connected, tied. So the actual meaning of religion is to experience that state of being connected or tied to the One – to our origin and our Infinity.

In sum, science is the technology of knowing or understanding the essence of the universe, and religion is the actual experience of one’s own identity with that essence.

Continue reading ‘How Science and Religion Come Together’

The Quantum Technology of the Shabd Guru

Published
by
Guruka Singh
on July 17, 2007
in 2007 Picks, Gurbani and Videos
. 2 Comments

Many times people ask me the question, "Yes, there were 10 Gurus, but who was Guru Nanak’s Guru?" I always answer that our Guru is exactly the same as Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Guru. It is the Shabd Guru, which exists beyond time and space and is beyond all physical forms. The Siri Guru Granth Sahib "captures" the Naad (soundcurrent) of the Shabd Guru through the songs of the  Bhagats and the Gurus. Gurucharan Singh is the director of the Kundalini Research Institute (KRI). In this video he talks about the technology of sound in the Shabd Guru and takes a scientific approach to answer the question, "Why does listening to or singing the Guru’s Shabd elevate our consciousness?" There are so many ways to answer this question, but if you want to hear a scientific explanation, listen to this six minute video.

If you wish to learn more, you can read the original book/paper titled "Basis, Use and Impact of the Quantum Technology of the Shabd Guru".

The Game of Love

Published
by
Guruka Singh
on July 14, 2007
in Guruka Singh, Reviews and Yogi Bhajan
. 0 Comments

Over the past two years I have been blessed to serve as editor of a new collection of poetry written by the Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan. Just as the Furmaan Khalsa gathered together all his Gurmukhi poetry, this volume is a compilation of all his poetry written in English. It’s called, "The Game of Love." You can read excerpts from the book and also order it. -Guruka Singh

 

Yogi Bhajan, also known as the Siri Singh Sahib, was a man of vast knowledge and infinite facets of being. By Guru’s grace, I was blessed to be married to him. He was a master of Kundalini Yoga, a master of business and philosophy, a devoted husband and father and a spiritual master to millions; and as revealed in this book, he was a brilliant poet and master linguist.

On those days on which he was inspired to recite poetry, he would usually begin with a single line, followed by a moment of silence, and then, succeeding lines would flow from him like a fountain — rhythmically, gracefully, and his voice melodic, like a song. Within every poem that he uttered was an ocean of philosophy, worthy of becoming an entire PhD research topic!

- Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Khalsa

“If you want to play the game of love, walk on my street. 

Put your head in your hand as an offering ― headless, egoless. 

Those who walk on this path have no hesitation.”  Guru Nanak

SikhNet Flashback - 1991

Published
by
Guruka Singh
on March 7, 2007
in Guruka Singh and SikhNet
. 1 Comment

This is the SikhNet computer in 1991 in Oakhurst California. An new, powerful 12 Mhz AST 286 with 1 megabyte of expanded (not simply extended) memory running DOS. It allowed me to multitask using a DOS program called Carousel and run SikhNet in the background while I was working on other stuff in the foreground. Notice all the boxes of 5.25" floppy discs on the left and the DOS and BASIC programming manuals on the lower shelf of the desk.

Oh yeah, that’s our son, Gurushabd Singh, in the picture getting started on the computer at the age of one.

…..Guruka Singh

 

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    Happy 8th Wedding Anniversary to Gurumustuk Singh and Arjan Kaur!

    Published
    by
    Guruka Singh
    on January 3, 2007
    in News
    . 14 Comments

    Gurumustuk Singh and Arjan Kaur
    Today is Gurumustuk Singh and Arjan Kaur’s 8th wedding anniversary! Wahe Guru! Here is one of the most perfectly matched couples I know - they both work hard and play hard, and love the Guru and each other deeply. Their marriage is a true amalgam of spirits - one soul in two bodies. May Guru Ji ever continue to bless them in their marriage and in their constant seva to the Espanola community and to the world. May all young couples look to them as an example of what a marriage that has the Guru at its center can be and should be. May you both be blessed with health, happiness, prosperity, grace and the deep and abiding love of Guru and Sangat that is the essence of your marriage.

    P.S. - Do you know how hard it is to find a photo of Gurumustuk Singh and Arjan Kaur together? OMG… he’s always got the camera in his hands. Thank God he handed it to someone else this one time so we could have this snap of them together.

    …..Guruka

    Thanks, Guruka for the surprise and words about me and Arjan! It was most unexpected.

    Here are some articles that I have posted on the blog this past year relating to marriage that you all might find interesting.

    Victory March

    Published
    by
    Guruka Singh
    on December 25, 2006
    in Furmaan Khalsa and Yogi Bhajan
    . 10 Comments

    Victory March
           (Charat Charain)

    The Waves of Life roll on …
    No one can ever stop them.

    Life marches onwards …
    There is no one who can stop it.

    The Cosmic Laws of Life,
    Come from the Heavenly planes.

    Who could ever tire of living a Life like this?
    But there are many travellers and many guides who have been left behind in the dust.

    I, Narindar Pal, sustained by God, walk with steps that never tire.
    The Golden Ray of the Inner Sun ever shines within me.
    The Silver Ray of the Goddess Moon casts away all darkness.

    My Light is God’s Light.
    My Story is God’s Story.
    The True Guru, the Guru’s essence, lives within my words.
    My home is the Sound Current.
    My Pranas come from the heavens.
    I come from the Infinite One,
    And, though all the world may try,
    My story cannot be told.

    Oh, People! Don’t try to stop me!
    Truth is my profession. Samadhi is my consciousness.
    I am called Narshima, Ravana, and Narindar Pal.
    I bow my forehead wherever the True Guru lives, And utter Har, Har!

    Entering into Samadhi, the Yogi says:
    We came into the world uttering Har! Har! Har!
    Let us never have to visit here again!

    Written in the first person as "Narinder Pal," this autobiographical poem is filled with a sense of irrestible and triumphant strength. Narshima was an incarnation of Vishnu, a fierce warrior who killed the wicked king Harnaksh. King Harnaksh forbade all worship of God in his kingdom, because he wanted his people to worship only him. Harnaksh’s son was Prahlad, a devoted man of God who worshipped the Infinite One in the form of Lord Vishnu. It was just as the evil king was about to kill his own son that Narshima stepped in and saved Prahlad’s life. In the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, Narshima is referred to as the "man-lion," and the Guru uses him as the symbol of one who has overcome his animal nature and perfected the power of his human consciousness. Ravana was the demon king who stole Sita from Lord Rama (another of Lord Vishnu’s incarnations.) Ravana is the symbol of the violent, kinetic, unbridled ego. In this poem from the Furmaan Khalsa, the Siri Singh Sahib is saying that people call him many things. Some see him as a hero and some see him as a demon. But in the midst of people’s judgements he simply bows his forehead wherever the True Guru lives and utters the True Name.

    …..Guruka Singh

    Life

    Published
    by
    Guruka Singh
    on December 21, 2006
    in Furmaan Khalsa and Yogi Bhajan
    . 8 Comments

    ZindageeHere is yet another poem from "Furmaan Khalsa" by Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogi Ji. Some of the poems in this volume are so short and simple, and yet they are also very profound and deeply touching. Let me know if you enjoy them, and if so, I’ll keep on posting some more of them as I have the time.

    …..Guruka Singh


    Life

    Life is Flowing…

    Moment to moment…

    Flow with it,

    And be sheltered from the hassles

    Of time and space.

    Life is full of Power…

    Live it…

    From breath…

    To breath! 

     

    Snow, snow snow!

    Published
    by
    Guruka Singh
    on December 20, 2006
    in Blogging, Espanola Life and Pictures
    . 4 Comments

    It's Snowing in Espanola!What with Gurumustuk Singh posting all those lovely photos from the beach in Florida whilst he’s on vacation, I thought I’d post one I took this morning here in Espanola, New Mexico. Yes, it’s snowing again! I love it. It snowed through the pre-dawn hours and it’s still snowing hard. This is a photo from my back porch this morning.  Look closely at the wall of my neighbor’s house and you can actually see the snow coming down. We’re cozy and warm, working from home today with a crackling fire in the fireplace. All one needs these days is a cozy fire, Gurbani playing on the stereo, a telephone and a good broadband connection.
    Wahe Guru! Winter Solstice blessings to everyone! …..Guruka Singh
    Guruka Kaur Cozy By the Fire

    Guruka Kaur by the cozy fire