Here’s a film that has been making the rounds lately. It’s called "The Secret." The message of the movie is: thoughts become things. Well that is how the universe works. It is the most basic concept of meditation. In the movie, everyone from quantum physicists to philosophers state that everything is energy: Ek Ong Kar, we and God are one. Basically, if we think negative, critical thoughts, we attract negative manifestations in our lives and if we think positive, loving, creative thoughts, we manifest those things in our lives. What that means is that passionately fighting against something you dislike actually produces more of that very thing. For instance, why do people protest war instead of being pro peace? We have the power to choose what we wish to think about. It’s the most important power we have. What do you choose to think about? Take a look:
Archive for the '2006 Picks' Category
"… And all the energy you put in the past you take away from tomorrow. That’s where lies your sorrow. That’s why you don’t have energy to make everything possible"
"…Every day you are newborn. Every seventy-two hours your cells change. You are a new person. What yesterday? "… What do you want to do with your yesterday? If you have anything to do with yesterday, you will never be prepared for tomorrow. And you will always be poor, handicapped, miserable, exploited, useless idiots."
Q: Then why does the mind produce it when we meditate?
A: Meditation is to clean yesterday. All the garbage left of yesterday, you clean by meditation. There is no other way to clean it.
Q: So we shouldn’t dwell on it?
A: Once you clean it, why dwell on it? Then the garbage man takes it. That’s called GOD. Mental garbage is taken by the garbage man. That’s called God. That’s why we meditate. We don’t meditate to ask for something. We meditate to be pure. Our purity and piety is done by simran. Simran is: meditate, and cut the negativity with the positive sound - the Word of God. If you can clean your subconscious and do not let those thoughts pour into your unconscious, you can never have a problem in life. You’ll be super-successful. You’ll be able to be one-pointed, and that’s what it takes for success. You have to be very one pointed. You can be in duality over this and duality over that. Here, there, everywhere. It’s too scattered. It’s like you are driving a car with a shattered front glass. It’s very difficult to drive. It’s just like a blind thing. …A broken glass cannot hold water. A split personality cannot have the juice of life. You are so unfortunate…"
Excerpts from lectures by Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji
Well, another day has flown by. The days and weeks seem to pass by faster than ever! Life has been extra busy for me juggling all the things with my family and work. I haven’t had the time an energy lately to create the usual involved blog posts so am resorting to sharing some Gurbani from my collection.
I am really looking forward to my vacation (a few days away!) and getting some time to renew and relax. I hope to come back with new enthusiasm and energy!
Tonight I would like share two Gurbani audio files of Bhai Charanjeet Singh. I remember listening to some of these clips over and over in the early "SikhNet Days", so they have lots of memories embedded in them for me.
Mere Man Mere Man Jap
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Bhukian Bhuk Na Uthari
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Today in Gurdwara as I was listening to the Gurbani and hearing the Guru’s words it made me think about the state of Sikh women in the world of today. One of my favorite Shabads (Bhand Jamiyai Bhand Nimiyai) relating to women was played by Snatam Kaur. I thoroughly enjoyed singing as the voices of the sangat filled the Gurdwara. Little Charanjeet Kaur was in my lap listening and entranced in the Gurbani. Being a father of a girl and a husband I know the value of supporting the women in my family.
In this Shabad Guru Nanak so beautifully sums up the value of the woman:
"From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman. That mouth which praises the Lord continually is blessed and beautiful. O Nanak, those faces shall be radiant in the Court of the True Lord." - Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Raag Aasaa on Pannaa 473
MAN - The Dominant
I always feel a little awkward when I hear Sikhs boasting things like, "In Sikhism there is Gender Equality. Women can do everything than men can". Of course this is the ideal and the teachings of our Guru’s, however in reality and practice we have much to overcome to truly establish this so called "Gender Equality". In India especially it is quite common for women to be treated badly and not given the value and leadership roles that are deserved. It makes me think of Bollywood movies where the husband is this overbearing man who is the "God" of the house. Whatever he says is law and MUST be obeyed, or else she is beaten or scolded in some way. In these situations it seems the sole purpose of the woman is to take care of the man and the kids and do as the husband says. In general I think of a women being loving and coming from the
heart, and men being egotistical and coming from the head. I can understand the relationship of a woman serving her husband and contributing to the household, but much of the time it doesn’t come across to me as an equal partnership.
Here is a cool video that myself and Gurujot Singh put together for the SikhNet year end fundraiser. I hope that you will feel inspired and support the work of SikhNet by giving generously. Even if you don’t have a lot of money, please give whatever you can. Every dollar makes a difference.
Please also consider signing up to give a monthly donation. In order for SikhNet to operate we need to be able to count on regular support from the sangat. Our goal this year is to get $5,000 in monthly supporters. If you look on the SikhNet home page you can see our progress. We are just a bit over half way to our goal and hope you can help us get to the "Finnish Line".
My personal thanks and gratitude goes out to all those people who have made a donation to SikhNet so far!
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Ps. If you liked the cool morphing animation sequence in the above video you can Download it as a Screen Saver.
One of my friends from England/Malaysia (Harkiren Kaur) is currently in Amritsar, rooming with my other good friend Guru Darshan Kaur. The below text is from an email that she sent around to friends which I thought was a funny and illustrated some of her experiences doing seva at Harimandir Sahib and being a Sikh woman.
"I think I’ve mentioned that I have joined the school (Miri Piri Academy) in Amritsar for 40 days of seva (service) at Darbar Sri Harimandir Sahib (the Golden Temple). These lists are the result of 22 days of experience and observation from seva at Darbar Sahib. Care to look through my looking glass?"
Job List
Job Title: Bucketeer
Job Description: You shall stand on the second step in the sarovar (nectar tank). It is your duty to fill up the bucket brought to you by the Bucket Carrier.
Job Title: Bucket Carrier
Job Description: You shall carry a bucket. It is your duty to walk to the sarovar, get the bucket filled up and take it to the Water Splasher.
Job Title: Water Splasher
Job Description: You shall splash water (no, duh!). It is your duty to take a filled bucket from a Bucket Carrier and splash it where you see fit.
Job Title: Water Directors
Job Description:You shall direct water. It is your duty to use your brooms to push water towards the draining holes.
Job Title: Squidger
Job Description: You shall dry the parkarma. Once the Bucketeers, Bucket Carriers, Water Splashers and Water Directors have cleared, you, armed with your own personal 6-foot long Squidgy, will dry off the parkarma by pushing the rest of the water into the draining holes.
Clearly, there is no doubt as to who is at the top end of the food chain. The Squidgers. They are an elite group and you absolutely need to know the right people before you can even get close to a Squidgy. (Once I saw a 3-foot long Squidgy. This was obviously someone on probation. We shall see how he turns out in a few weeks.)
Clearly, there is no doubt as to where I am on the food chain. Right at the bottom!
Continue reading ‘An Experience of Seva at the Darbar Sahib’
Today someone forwarded me a link to a cool video which appears to be clay animation. This is the first animated video I have seen telling stories related to Guru Nanak (or any Guru for that matter). I am familiar with all the stories, but there was something nice about seeing it visually in the animation. 
I always hear about controversy of making a movie/animation about the Sikh Gurus. In my opinion I think it can be a great way to educate the youth about Sikhi. In this age of multi-media it is helpful to have these types of means for teaching children. As with anything…there is always room for mistakes, but with the right intentions and effort I think the positive benefits far outweigh any negative.
After a bit of searching around I found out that this animation is just part of a DVD on most of the major world religions. The DVD is titled "Religions of the World: Our World Faiths Animated". It is for sale on Amazon.com and other retailers. If you have a Netflix video rental account you can rent it too (I just added it to my rental queue).
"Illustrating brilliant renditions of different faiths and cultures around the world, this highly acclaimed animated series from the BBC captures the essence and basic tenets of eight religions—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sufism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Confucianism. Each 15-minute segment (Buddhism and Hinduism are 30 minutes each) offers easy-to-grasp stories through soothing characters, pleasant and culturally significant music, and a mixture of cel animation, paintings, and Claymation. Though appropriate for all ages, this artistically valid series is a great way to capture the interest and enthusiasm of younger students. Grades 3 and up. Color. Total time: 150 minutes"
So, have a watch of the section on Guru Nanak and if you enjoy it get a copy of the DVD to learn more about all the other religions. My son Narayan enjoyed it. He knew must of the stories but loved watching it visually.
In this short video Guruka Singh shares his thoughts on the concept of giving and receiving (Vandh Chakna), and how when you give it creates prosperity for yourself and you receive many times in return.
Lessons in Letting Go
"I was recently sitting with my friend for a cozy afternoon tea. I had the baby with me. One of his new accomplishments – a typical baby action – is dropping things, waiting for them to be picked up and given back to him and letting them fall once again. My friend commented that we should learn from children – they have no problem letting things go!
This is the first exercise in letting go because if we are grasping on to something tightly, how can we be open to receive? It is by opening and letting go that we enable God, Guru, the Universe, the Infinite to provide for us, to provide us with abundance. A child has no doubt of this, he or she freely drops things, and always expects to receive more. Young children are never worried about what they will get – they simply expect it and it is so for them. Perhaps that is why it is said, that children bring their own prosperity with them.
If we cling tightly to the belief that what we have is not enough, how can we be open to receiving more? If we hold on tightly to a system of dealing with our personal finances which does not work for us, how can we expect God to provide better for us? By the same token, when we learn to give within our ability to give, we are letting go, and thereby opening the door to the flow of prosperity in our lives. We must examine what it is that we are holding on to so fiercely, and we must learn the simple trust of children again. Prosperity consciousness is a journey. Releasing of convictions which impede us from giving and receiving is one step on the journey." - Darshan Kaur
When you feel there is no hope, be the hope." - Yogi Bhajan
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