by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa
ekongkaar.blogspot.com
There is a search that every human being goes through in life. It is a search so primal, so instinctual in us that endless songs have been sung about it. Plays written. Paintings painted. Philosophies expounded. It is an urge so strong that we are willing to lay down our lives for a taste of it. To leave the known completely behind and plunge into turbulence and chaos for it.
It is the search for Love.
And if there is one experience that can create bitterness, hatred, disappointment, or vengeance stronger than any other experience – it is when what we thought was Love disappoints us. Betrays us. Plays a game with us. I have written this before in other essays. And I write it again now. If there is ever a nuclear war, the moment that the first button for the first warhead gets pushed, the real cause behind it will be a person whose heart was simply so broken that life meant nothing anymore. And all the politics to justify it will just be the excuse.
Continue reading ‘Anand Karaj: Lavaan: The Sikh Marriage Ceremony’
by Ek Ong Kaar Kaur Khalsa * ekongkaar.blogspot.com
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.
Sat Nam. In the days since Yogi Bhajan, also known as the Siri Singh Sahib left his body, I’ve watched our community struggle and grow into the responsibility that he left on our shoulders collectively. It has and continues to be a very human process. Each person sorting through their own memories of him and the teachings he left behind, striving to come to some conclusions about what we are without his physical presence here to guide us. And what we can reasonably expect to become.
Continue reading ‘Personal Message in Memory of Yogi Bhajan, the Siri Singh Sahib’
Opinion post by my friend Gurujot Singh:
As I have been watching this drama around Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim I constantly find myself filled with mixed feelings. On one hand this man is insulting the Guru and making a mockery of things I hold sacred. On the other hand, the reaction from other Sikhs has been disappointing.
Continue reading ‘Will the Guru’s Sikhs please stand up?’
by Sat Darshan Singh Khalsa - http://blog.withoutdefinition.com
OK, going to talk about something that may be a little controversial, but what are blogs for, eh? I’ve had or witnessed a couple of independent conversations that dealt with opposite sides of the same issue. Both of them made me feel kind of sad and angry as well. I have one very close friend who is relatively new to Sikhism, and her family has mixed feelings about it. They are all very open minded and universal, but they perceive Sikhism as being somewhat limited and ritualistic. My friend has said, and I agree with her, that Sikhism seems kind of insular from an outside perspective. And they also don’t understand why she would want to devote so much energy into Sikh music. It is hard for her because she’s stuck between 2 worlds that don’t really relate to each other.
I spent some of my weekend with Snatam and Guru Ganesha because they wanted me to record the intense Raag training that they had scheduled. It came up during one of the sessions that at a number of different Gurdwaras that they visited while on tour, the Granthis or heads of the Gurdwara wouldn’t let them play if they were going to include their non-sikh tabla player.
What has happened to Sikhism that these kind of things happen? Don’t get me wrong, I love being a Sikh, and nothing makes me feel more empowered than wearing my 5 Kakars and full bana, or when I do Panj Baniaa. But to me, Sikhism was founded on a few very basic principles. A sense of Seva, or selfless service, and very strong concept of all inclusion. The Siri Guru Granth Sahib is full of hymns written by a number of Hindu and Muslim saints, some that lived before Guru Nanak’s time. Members of all faiths were always welcome in Gurduara and the Lungar kitchen, and Guru Nanak’s own chela and Rhebab player was a devout Hindu. Sikhism has never preached that it wasn’t necessarily better than other religions or that other faiths aren’t valid. The reason Guru Nanak Ji offered a new path was much of Hinduism and Islam at the time was so corrupt and the people weren’t living their faith, not because the faith and philosophy itself wasn’t also a valid path to God.
Continue reading ‘The World is Sound’
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