Shakti Parwha Kaur and Sikh Dharma International have been working hard on a much needed book about Sikh Dharma. This book is to serve the need of the growing number of people (not from Indian origin) who want to get a better understanding about Sikhi. Last week alone I got four emails from people asking about how they can become a Sikh and various questions related to living this lifestyle! Many people start by practicing Kundalini Yoga and see the many Sikh teachers with turbans on without knowing very much about this lifestyle. They chant various mantras from Gurbani and want to know more. This book is will help serve the growing need of those people that are new to Sikh Dharma and interested in incorporating this lifestyle into their life. Of course this book will also be a huge gem to many people within the Sikh community as well because it is presented in a very unique way and is not your typical preachy/scholarly/history book on Sikhi. The book is very modern in the way the content is presented using stories and people’s experiences of living this lifestyle as well as teaching the basics.
Here are a few excerpts from the draft book from the chapter "Science of Sound" that I thought would be interesting for you all. When the book is released you’ll be sure to hear about it on SikhNet :)
Over the years I have observed some characteristics that some Sikhs have taken on regarding an effort to reduce ego/pride. As Sikhs we are taught to not get attached to the five "challenges" of Lust, Anger, Greed, Pride and Attachment. In an effort to prevent these feelings I have seen some practices by Sikhs which I think are unnecessary.
The first routine is the overly humble guise. It goes something like this: "I am just a lowly sinner…" , "I am the dust of the dust of the dirt"… "I am a das of the das", "I know nothing…", etc. Most of the time when I hear this type of thing from people it feels just like a cover to try to negate any ego. In reality for most people it feels like a false routine to portray ones self as humble. I know in Gurbani Guru Nanak and other Gurus have used similar words as this…but this was our Gurus expression. It’s one thing if you say this to yourself as an internal thing in your mind…..but to say it to other people is very different. It’s as if you have to say it out loud to prove, or make sure that people know you are humble. It’s sort of a false humbleness. If you are humble people will see it in your actions, words, and in your presence (not by words and statements about your humbleness).
The past few days I have been watching old videos of SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji in dialog and question and answer sessions with Sikh Youth in various places. Here is one that I really enjoyed and highly recommend that you watch or listen to! I’ve already watched it at least five times in the course of editing and reviewing the videos and it really hit home for me so wanted to share with you all.
In the video yogiji starts by talking about just "being" a Sikh verses experiencing and living as a Sikh (He related this in the terms he called "Concept" and "Conception"). He then talks about how Sikhs have been betrayed by the so called "Sikh Leadership" and how youth should not rely on them and BECOME the leaders themselves. He shares inspiring experiences from his youth before the partition of India when he was part of creating the All India Sikh Student Federation. He explains how the youth worked together and formed a powerful force with Sikhi as a base and through trust, honesty, equality. He shares the ingredients of what made this work and how youth of today can do this as well.
In the past I have posted quite a few audio lectures from Gurdwara by SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji which I thought were very inspirational and educational (and have shaped who I am today). This weekend has been a very thoughtful and pensive weekend for me. I was not feeling so well so stayed home with daughter Charanjeet Kaur and watched quite a few old videos of lectures and questions and answer sessions with Sikh youth from England, Canada and USA.
In the videos he answers many common questions related to Sikhi, and more specifically questions related to Sikhs of western origin. Normally most of his lectures are one way to the sangat in Gurdwara, so the ones I watched are very different because people ask questions and he answers them. As I have time I’ll watch them again and edit them down to smaller chunks so you all can benefit.
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.
Here is a quote that I typed up a week or so when I was watching the video that I posted earlier about the mind. I thought it was very relevant and worth sharing, since most of us don’t always relate to giving, and what the reasons are that we do this as Sikhs.
"You cannot give to anybody if you do not have it. You cannot give anybody satisfaction if you don’t have it. If there is a glass; Suppose this glass has nothing in it. It can’t give anything. All it can give me is it’s glasshood. But if this glass has water, then it can give itself to me with water, which I can take. You all want to take everything! Remember this law…You cannot take until you give. If you do not know how to give you will never be in a position to take. There is a place….right? If you do not make some space and do not empty some things, where are you going to put the other things? The problem is that you all get drowned because you take and take and take…and you have no place for things. You don’t have the capacity to take. First create the capacity to take, then take. And the law of capacity to take is: first give. Because the world is governed by the law of vacuum, which is that there can be no vacuum. When you create the vacuum, things will come in…." - SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa - June 25 1987, Summer Solstice
This quote also relates to giving in relation to our time and money. As Sikhs we are supposed to give Dasvandh (10% of our earnings) back to the community and those in need. By giving you create this "vacuum" and the capacity to receive even more.
Here is an inspiring talk by SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa on the topic of "Chardikala" and your relationship with the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. It’s only about 28 min long so definitely have a listen! :)
This past week I have been thinking a lot about my recent blog posts which are on the topic of judgment and the mind. Then on Sunday I was looking through my videos at home and came across an old video tape of a class taught by SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa (Yogi Bhajan) during Summer Solstice of 1987 (almost 21 years ago!). For some reason I was compelled to watch it. It had been sitting in the cupboard for so many years and for some reason today I noticed it and felt like watching it.
As soon as I started watching the video I was surprised to find that the lecture covering many of the very topics that I was just blogging about, in relation controlling your mind, religion, self discipline, intuition, love, and spirituality. As Guru Nanak Dev ji wrote: "Man Jeetai Jagjeet"; By conquering the mind you conquer the world!
"Don’t be proud that you have money; there are millions and millions of millionaires. Don’t be proud that you have a beautiful woman or man; each woman or man is more beautiful than the next. Don’t be proud that you have children; there are people who have dozens of them. And don’t be proud of what you have; in the spur of the moment what you have can be washed away.
You can be only proud of one thing – if you have found your soul within yourself. You can be only proud that you have found the selflessness within yourself, and you become grace of God. Then there is nothing which can bother you, there is nothing which can take away from you anything, because you have been created by God. God shall then create all the circumstances to create happiness for you and when he creates the happiness it is everlasting.
Therefore, dear ones, as nearer we are coming to the summer solstice the highest day of light, the highest day of grace, the highest day when the sun energy, the life force prevails on this planet, I’d like you to sit down and assess in yourself what you have gained, how much you have gained. Let this day be a day with you that you should leave something behind, some elementary pushing habit, some ego habit, something that keeps you away from your soul and being victorious.
May God bless you, may He prevail through you, may His grace be your grace, may you become the true teacher of the coming Aquarian Age, may you move forward to spread the truth and the light to the humanity. May each one in you practice the grace of God and become grace of God." - SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa - June 19, 1971 (Summer Solstice Camp)
The past few days I have been watching old videos of SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji in dialog and question and answer sessions with Sikh Youth in various places. Here is one that I really enjoyed and highly recommend that you watch or listen to! I’ve already watched it at least five times in the course of editing and reviewing the videos and it really hit home for me so wanted to share with you all. 
"Don’t be proud that you have money; there are millions and millions of millionaires. Don’t be proud that you have a beautiful woman or man; each woman or man is more beautiful than the next. Don’t be proud that you have children; there are people who have dozens of them. And don’t be proud of what you have; in the spur of the moment what you have can be washed away.
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