Jugat Guru Singh and Sadasat Simran Singh (Chardikala Jatha) share their thoughts on the relationship of Sikhi and Yoga. Many of us who are Sikhs don’t realize the many close ties and things in Sikhi that are in fact Yoga. Many Sikhs think of Yoga in a negative way because they associate it as a Hindu practice, or that the writings in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib say that "yoga is bad" when in fact this is a total mis-understanding and most of the time taken out of context.
This is a video excerpt from the 2007 Jaap Sahib Course in Espanola, New Mexico.
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 :)
While we are on the topic of Sikhi and Youth…there is always the issue of how as a parent we can teach and give our children an experience of Sikhi. How to give something that is more than history and facts, but something much deeper that they can experience for them self? I for one am traveling this path as a parent and figuring this out as I go. My six year old son Narayan Singh is quite a kid. We sometimes joke and call him "Narayan Lion Singh" because he is very much like a lion in his personality. He wants to be the leader of the pack and doesn’t like to be told what to do. He is fast and strong. He always wants to do things on his own terms. He is full of energy and can be very aggressive at times. He also can sometimes react strongly to things and get emotional easily when something doesn’t go his way.
Here is a cool article that someone wrote about their experience of waking up in the early morning and participating in the daily sadhana at the Summer Solstice event that happens every year here in beautiful New Mexico. If you have been thinking about coming it’s definitely not too early to start planning! Join us June 19 - 28, 2008 and participate in this awesome event that is sure to give you a totally new experience, along with many familiar ones! (If you plan on coming let me know :)
By Tommy Rosen (Bhagat Singh)
It is 2:45 a.m. during the week of Summer Solstice in the mountains outside of Espanola, New Mexico, and I am awake in a tent watching my wife, Kia, sleep for a few moments longer. This is the third year that we have come to this powerful land with well over a thousand people, Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike, from all over the world.
Any minute now, a man with a long, white beard, wearing a turban and playing a guitar, will walk every inch of this land repeating his early morning wake-up song, “Rise Up,” at the top of his lungs.
My mother (Satkirin Kaur) just came out with a beautiful new CD titled "Ignite Your Light". I have been listening to it often since I got it in December. The CD was made to use for meditation and has directions for each meditation included with the CD.
Here is one of my favorite tracks from the CD for your listening pleasure:
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!
During the past months it’s been really hard for me to get up early in the morning and have a regular spiritual practice. I felt like every day was finishing a marathon between work and family duties, so by the time all my "duties" were done after 9pm I just wanted to disconnect from the world and veg out on the couch watching TV shows that I had recorded earlier. I then got caught up in the habit of doing this (watching TV at night) and it became harder to stop. It wouldn’t be a bad thing….but when you have a full season of a TV episodes and they leave you hanging at the end of one, you just can’t help watching another….. and then another….and another. It becomes a common mental mantra to think "Just one more" after a show ends… hahaha. If I stayed up late there was no way I was going to be able to get up early in the morning for my Sadhana. I have to get up around 4AM in order to have enough time to do banis, yoga and meditate. Once Charanjeet wakes up (5:30-6:30am) then I’m pulled back into family duties.
Espanola, New Mexico is a small town so there is not very much to do compared with big cities. One of the nice things about having the sangat here is that it is very cozy and everyone gets together often. Throughout the year there is always something happening at someone’s house. It’s like a big family and everyone is almost always invited. So when someone has a birthday (which is often) there is normally a meditation/chanting/kirtan; and then of course, food and socializing. There always seems to be something that is a reason to have Kirtan and/or meditation at someone’s house. For example, before Guru Gobind Singh ji’s birthday every night (for a few weeks) someone different in the sangat hosted Rehiras, Kirtan and food at their home. There is something sweet about getting together in people’s homes and being together in this way. Here are a few pictures from this weekend.
Gurujot Singh, Hari Singh and Others chanting as we meditate to Gurbani Kirtan at someone’s house.
Here are three videos with Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, Ph.D., (Director of Training at Kundalini Research Institute - KRI) on the topic of Kundalini Yoga. In the first video he talks about the benefits of practicing Kundalini Yoga. The second video is more of an explanation of What Kundalini Yoga is; and the third video he explains the difference between Kundalini Yoga and other types of yogas.
This past Saturday morning after Sadhana myself, Hari Bhajan Kaur and Sat Hari Singh (Germany) walked up onto the top of one of the hills which is near the Gurdwara. Our purpose was to take some pictures which Sat Hari Singh could use in a German promotional booklet for his new CD called "Servant of the Heart".
We couldn’t have asked for a better morning since it had just rained a lot the night before and there were still clouds in the sky as the sun peaked over the horizon. It was so beautiful! I love taking pictures! Especially when there are good environments/lighting. After we were done we munched on German chocolate and talked about how we should plan something in the future to have Kirtan/Meditation up on this hill another time. There is nothing like being outside in the fresh air with beautiful environments and meditation!
(Ps. If you want to see the pictures properly, click on the picture and then when you are on flickr click the option that says "All sizes" which is on the top of the picture)
While we are on the topic of Sikhi and Youth…there is always the issue of how as a parent we can teach and give our children an experience of Sikhi. How to give something that is more than history and facts, but something much deeper that they can experience for them self? I for one am traveling this path as a parent and figuring this out as I go. My six year old son Narayan Singh is quite a kid. We sometimes joke and call him "Narayan Lion Singh" because he is very much like a lion in his personality. He wants to be the leader of the pack and doesn’t like to be told what to do. He is fast and strong. He always wants to do things on his own terms. He is full of energy and can be very aggressive at times. He also can sometimes react strongly to things and get emotional easily when something doesn’t go his way.
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