Today our sangat celebrated Guru Gadhi Day (The day when the Siri Guru Granth Sahib became the Guru for the Sikhs). We started with a yummy breakfast hosted by Sat Want Singh and Kaur and then had a Nagar Kirtan procession to the Gurdwara. Winter really is starting to set in! It was quite windy today so it was very cold being outside. Brrrr….
This year the children again made an offering to the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. Each child had a square cloth which they painted or drew on and was then sewn together to make a ramalla for the Guru. Then today during Gurdwara the kids together presented it to the Guru and placed the ramalla on the Guru. They all looked so proud. I love things like this that get the kids involved in our celebrations and help teach them. Too often the kids take a back seat and don’t have a chance to be involved. Here are a few pictures.
Nagar Kirtan Procession
Some of the kids sitting on the truck
Harogbind Kaur looking beautiful. (it’s also her birthday)
Siri Chand and Gurujot watching the kids do some Gatka.
This morning starting at 4 AM the sangat did 2.5 hours of chanting the Dhan Dhan Ram Das Guru Shabad. This was in celebration of the Birthday of Guru Ram Das ji. As always it was a beautiful and meditative morning. For the past two weeks or so in preparation there has been nightly Gurbani kirtan at different people’s house from the Sangat. Every evening the sangat goes to someone else’s house and we all chant, meditate and then eat together. It’s such a cozy and nice time for everyone to come together.
Here are a few pictures from this morning…
JAITSREE, FOURTH MEHL, FIRST HOUSE, CHAU-PADAS: ONE UNIVERSAL CREATOR GOD. BY THE GRACE OF THE TRUE GURU: The Jewel of the Lord’s Name abides within my heart; the Guru has placed His hand on my forehead. The sins and pains of countless incarnations have been cast out. The Guru has blessed me with the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and my debt has been paid off. || 1 || O my mind, vibrate the Lord’s Name, and all your affairs shall be resolved. The Perfect Guru has implanted the Lord’s Name within me; without the Name, life is useless. || Pause || Without the Guru, the self-willed manmukhs are foolish and ignorant; they are forever entangled in emotional attachment to Maya. They never serve the feet of the Holy; their lives are totally useless. || 2 || Those who serve at the feet of the Holy, the feet of the Holy, their lives are made fruitful, and they belong to the Lord. Make me the slave of the slave of the slaves of the Lord; bless me with Your Mercy, O Lord of the Universe. || 3 || I am blind, ignorant and totally without wisdom; how can I walk on the Path? I am blind . O Guru, please let me grasp the hem of Your robe, so that servant Nanak may walk in harmony with You. || 4 || 1 || Page 696
Guru Ram Das Dev Ji’s Birthday - October 9, 2007 - Sadhana Gurdwara Hukam - Espanola NM
A week or so ago my good friend Siri Amrit Singh got married to Nirinjan Kaur here in Espanola. It was a great wedding and there were so many people here to celebrate with them. I took lots of pictures so have a few to share with you all. Check them out by clicking the following link.
Sorat’h, Ninth Mehla: O man, grasp this Truth firmly in your soul. The whole world is just like a dream; it will pass away in an instant. ||1||Pause|| Like a wall of sand, built up and plastered with great care, which does not last even a few days, just so are the pleasures of Maya. Why are you entangled in them, you ignorant fool? ||1|| Understand this today - it is not yet too late! Chant and vibrate the Name of the Lord. Says Nanak, this is the subtle wisdom of the Holy Saints, which I proclaim out loud to you. ||2||8|| ( Pannaa 633 )
The shabd was right on with my thoughts today. The past few days I have been thinking about how quickly time passes by and how we are just here for a "blink" of time. My mother recently turned 60 years old, I’m now 32, married, and with two kids. At the same time I am thinking how quickly Narayan is growing up and will be an adult before I know it. Meanwhile at Gurdwara I was seeing so many of my friends and classmates who I have known since I was a little kid with their own children. It was only yesterday that we were all little kids going to boarding school in India. Today many of the kids from Miri Piri Academy who are now home for summer vacation got saropas from the sangat. I remember when I used to get this saropa from the sangat every year. It seems like a long time ago, yet at the same time only yesterday. We aren’t kids anymore. It’s strange seeing us all as adults and realizing how fast time passes you by. Then I thought about how 35+ years ago SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa came to the USA and started teaching about Sikh Dharma, spirituality, etc. Look what has happened in that time! It’s just a "blink of time" yet so much has happened. I then tried to imagine myself 60 years old and realized that I will be there in the not too distant future.
These thoughts always bring me back to who I am now and what I am doing. I know in my day to day life I sometimes think I’ll be able do some things later (the "I’ll do it tomorrow" which never comes). There is always that feeling like there is plenty of time to catch up and do certain things. One never knows when your time is going to be up. I’m sure many of the older generation have experienced this as they look back on their life so far.
At the same time I am grateful for the many blessings that I have received and try to always remember that. I am grateful that I have been able to learn and experience the things that I have, and be able to teach these things to my children as well, who will in turn pass on to their children.
Happy Birthday Arjan!
Chardikala Jatha - Rae Nar Eh Saachee Jeea Dhaar Download
I think today most of us celebrated Vaisakhi and I am already starting to see tons of pictures online from everyone’s different celebrations. Here are some pictures from our Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan, before Gurdwara. The morning started with breakfast at Pritpal Singh and Kaur’s house, and then we all participated in the Nagar Kirtan till we got to the Gurdwara.
The kids sitting on the truck trailor, waiting to go on the Nagar Kirtan.
This is Prabhujot Singh, who is one of Narayan’s friends
Narayan and more of his friends.
My friend Gurudarbar and his son.
Arjan and Charajeet
Siri Chand looking great with his new bana and sparkling gold/blue turban.
Gurujot, Lakhmi Chand and Hari Bhajan
Prabhu Singh
I realized that most of the pictures I take are of the younger generation. We have lots of grey beards in our community too :)
The Panj Piaray and the Siri Guru Granth Sahib arriving for the Nagar Kirtan.
The Panj Piaray and the Sangat with Siri Guru Granth Sahib
Gurujot Singh doing gatka
Gurudham Singh playing the dhol for the gatka sparring/
One of my favorite spots…with mamma.
More pictures of Siri Chand Singh. He just looked so good that I couldn’t resist taking a bunch of pictures of him. I love the sparkly gold in the turban. I have to get some more stylish turban cloth.
Gurudham Singh doing some freestyle gatka with swords.
Many people have expressed an interest in knowing more about the sangat and community that lives here in Española, New Mexico. Well, our local website was recently setup and has lots of information! Whether you are just curious to know more about our community, thinking of coming for a visit, want to know what is going on here or are thinking of moving here, have a look at the website!
This past Sunday my wife Arjan wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed home while I took my 8 month old daughter Charanjeet Kaur and son Narayan Singh to Gurdwara. I like to sit right up front in the Gurdwara by the Guru where the kirtan is played. I find that I don’t get distracted as often by people who are coming inside or people who are in front of me. My focus can be more on the Guru right before me and listening to the Kirtan. It’s a whole different story when you have kids with you though!
Narayan sat next to me, and Charanjeet was in my lap as we started listening to Snatam and Hari Bhajan Kaur play kirtan. As you might have heard from my previous blog post, Charanjeet Kaur is starting to get quite mobile and crawling all over the place. The next thing I know she pushes herself out of my lap and starts crawling towards the Guru. I let her go a few steps and then pull her back. Then again…she gets loose and crawls again back to the bottom of where the ramalas of Siri Guru Granth Sahib are. While this is going on the shabd is being played: "Darshan Maago Dhaehi Piaarae" (I beg for the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan; please, give it to me, O Beloved!). It started to seem like Charanjeet was trying to Get Guru’s Darshan. So I let her go again and away she goes towards the Guru.
For a baby I can imagine being attracted to Guruji, adorned with colorful ramalas with shiny gold stitching. So Charanjeet kaur went right up before the Guru as she had done before. I allowed her to do what she wanted to do while staying close to her. She seems enamored with the green and gold ramalas. In the front of the Guru is a sort of "railing" made of golden brass with beautiful round marble pieces on the corners. She grabs a hold of it and pulls herself up, and seems to enjoy herself standing there. She loves to stand…and seems very excited. This is right up front….so I again pull her back to me not wanting to make a scene. She wouldn’t stay with me though…and made a grunting sound like I was holding her back from something that she really wanted…so I loosen my hold of her. Again…and again…she crawls over to the same spot in front of the Guru. For whatever reason she just wants to be there…at the feet of the Guru. Sure it might just be her loving the colorful ramallas and shiny gold railing, but I had that feeling like there was something deeper. Like that soul yearning to meet with the Guru. She just wanted to stay there with her bright smiley face.
This is a picture that Narayan sneakily took when my eyes were closed of the area before the Siri Guru Granth Sahib that Charanjeet kept crawling to.
I let her stay there for a while and then moved further back towards the middle of the Gurdwara hoping that she might stay with me. One cannot meditate or listen to kirtan with a baby crawling off. Hahaha… This worked a bit better…but again she was off towards the Guru. It was pretty funny seeing her determination. My friend Siri Chand Singh was further up in front of me…and he helped intercept her a bunch of times before she finally stopped her efforts to go to the same spot (after me giving her some distractions to play with).
I love the innocence of children. They are so pure and free. It is like they can still connect with God in a way that us as adults have a hard time doing. Whether it was her actually meeting with the Guru or not…it was an amusing and fun experience seeing my daughter in this way. My prayer is that when she is older she has the same kind determination and love for the Guru; So that she will always be be attracted and drawn to the feet of the Guru just as she did as a baby.
The babies are no longer babies anymore. Here are two two of the kids during the children’s program at Gurdwara. They looked so cute, I wish I had my proper camera to have gotten a better picture.
Here the shabads that Snatam and Hari Bhajan Kaur played during Gurdwara:
It is always a blessing to go to the Gurdwara and meet with my Guru (The Siri Guru Granth Sahib) and be with the Sangat. Today I got a lot of comfort and support sitting in Gurdwara and listening to the Gurbani. Last week my Grandfather passed away due to complications from a stroke. He was almost 96 years old and had been married to my Grandmother for around 68 years. As I sat in Gurdwara I remembered his soft and quiet manner, his joyful smile and the good person that he was. I have not had many friends/family who were close to me pass away, so this was a new experience. It made me think about my family and parents, and how one day they too will die. The realities of life seemed to sink in. It is easy to just feel like they will always be there, when in reality one’s life could end at any moment without any warning. It is one of those reality checks, that makes you think differently about those loved ones around you and what you do with every day in your life.
As I listened to the Shabad (Tera Naam Rooro Roop Rooro) and felt the words of the Gurbani sink in, I found tears welling up in my eyes. It was as if the Guru was talking to me and giving me comfort. I didn’t understand the meaning in English…but somehow felt the meaning in my heart. Then as I looked at the translation of the Shabad it all seemed so clear. The Siri Guru Granth Sahib tells us over and over what we need to do and how to live life. Such a Gem that we all have and yet most don’t even realize the gift which is right before us.
Here are a few audio clips from Gurdwara, played by Hari Bhajan Kaur (Vocals, Harmonium), along with Guru Jot Singh (vocals, dilruba), Hari Rai Kaur (Violin).
Tera Naam Rooro Roop Rooro,
Ath Rang Rooro Mero Rameeaa
Kal Akal, Siri Akal, Maha Akal,
Akal Murath, Wahe Guru
This is a very energetic recording as the Siri Guru Granth Sahib is carried in procession to the Guru’s room after Sukhasn. You can hear the deep beat of the huge Nagara drum along with the rhythmic tabla.
The children of the Sangat have been working on a gift for the Guru all month. First they learned the story of the orphan Jetha (Guru Ram Das’ name as a child - which means "first born") and how he sold wheat berries in the streets of Goindwal to provide for his grandmother and himself. They then took packages of wheat berries around to the offices here and sold them for $1 each, explaining their project to everyone to make a ramalla for the Guru. With the money collected, beautiful cloth was purchased for a Ramala designed by the children. Each child decorated a square using special fabric paints, and these were put together by (auntie) Guru Nam Kaur (SikhNet wale). This creative Ramala, blessed with the innocence of our children, was presented to the Guru this past Sunday in celebration of the Guru Gaddee Day of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib.
This was a great way for the kids to learn and be involved. Rather than just hearing a story, they had a chance to experience it in some form and be involved. Guru Simran Kaur has done wonderfull seva with the kids and continues to organize activities like this for the kids to learn and deepen their experience with the Guru.
A while back they did a treasure hunt for the nine treasures (From Ardas: "Guru Teg Bahadur Simmeriye, Ghar NAu Nidh ave Tiyahe", Meditate on Guru Teg Bahadur and the nine treasures shall come to you). In order for them to know the hint for the next location of the treasure they hear some sikhi related clue. They had quite a bit of fun and learnt a lot!
Who said learning about Sikhi can’t be fun!! One just has to take the time to think about things to do…and be creative!
Meanwhile at Gurdwara I was seeing so many of my friends and classmates who I have known since I was a little kid with their own children. It was only yesterday that we were all little kids going to boarding school in India. 
Many people have expressed an interest in knowing more about the sangat and community that lives here in Española, New Mexico. Well, our local website was recently setup and has lots of information! Whether you are just curious to know more about our community, thinking of coming for a visit, want to know what is going on here or are thinking of moving here, have a look at the website!
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