Article by Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia)
While ‘global warming’ has become the most debatable and trendy topic amongst thought leaders, politicians, activists and elites around the world, obvious changes in the climate, drowning of the polar bears, unprecedented pollution and epidemic increase in the number of diseases have forced a common person to think about the reasons and consider changes in lifestyle formerly taken for granted. There is a growing sense of personal responsibility for what we as average human beings can do not only individually but as a global community to make this Earth a better place. As conscious citizens of this world, Sikhs have by far the most enlightened view available to them from the teachings of the Guru(s) and the environmentally consciousness lives they lived.
In the Slok, Pavan Guru Paani Pitaa, Mataa Dharat Mahat, the gurbani gives the whole environment that sustains us the status of Guru: Water the Father and, Earth the Mother. Furthermore, the Guru Sahib directs us to take care of them as they take care of us. There are numerous examples that guide our lifestyles towards green living exemplified by the institution of Langar that feeds and nurtures the hungry with simple and nutritious food in the most earth friendly way possible and by the sensitivity that the Guru (Har Rai Ji) showed towards conservation and sustenance of flora and fauna and by the un-tired efforts of Bhagat Puran Singh who lobbied for saving trees and reversing pollutions of our rivers.
Continue reading ‘Taking Care of Mother Earth - A Conscious Kitchen’
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’
Looking around me at the women whom I came into contact with through my high-powered work, so many of them seemed, like me, to feel dissatisfied deep down within. They were working in a male orientated world and had adapted male values and attitudes to make it. They denied and suppress their innate femininity, killing off what was most precious in them. Worst of all, they had lost not only their self-respect but also that of those they worked with.
I realised the answer was not for women to leave the work place. Instead we needed to regain those qualities that made us womanly and integrate them into our daily, domestic and working lives. It was all upside.
Around this time I met a very powerful woman in Indian politics. She commanded respect in a way no other woman whom I had met did. She was successful on her terms and never compromised, used or abused her femininity. Each time I met her she would tell me stories about how she got things done. The first one went like this.
Continue reading ‘Being Graceful Makes Your Life Happen’
While ‘global warming’ has become the most debatable and trendy topic amongst thought leaders, politicians, activists and elites around the world, obvious changes in the climate, drowning of the polar bears, unprecedented pollution and epidemic increase in the number of diseases have forced a common person to think about the reasons and consider changes in lifestyle formerly taken for granted. There is a growing sense of personal responsibility for what we as average human beings can do not only individually but as a global community to make this Earth a better place. As conscious citizens of this world, Sikhs have by far the most enlightened view available to them from the teachings of the Guru(s) and the environmentally consciousness lives they lived.
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