Russell Peters Doing Bhangra At Junos (making of the music)

Russell Peters doing Bhangra at the 2009 Junos

God even makes even stones float

Bhagat Namdev ji, 600 years ago, said that I have heard that God makes even stones float. But, he said, those stones are not literal stones they are actually metaphors for our low down & dirty characters. He makes them float above the scum-ocean of our virtue-less lives.

<> siqgur pRswid ]
ik oa(n)kaar sathigur prasaadh ||
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

dyvw pwhn qwrIAly ]
dhaevaa paahan thaareealae ||
God makes even stones float.

rwm khq jn ks n qry ]1] rhwau ]
raam kehath jan kas n tharae ||1|| rehaao ||
So why shouldn't Your humble slave also float across, chanting Your Name, O Lord? ||1||Pause||

qwrIly ginkw ibnu rUp kuibjw ibAwiD Ajwmlu qwrIAly ]
thaareelae ganikaa bin roop kubijaa biaadhh ajaamal thaareealae ||
You saved the prostitute, and the ugly hunch-back; You helped the hunter and Ajaamal swim across as well.

crn biDk jn qyaU mukiq Bey ]
charan badhhik jan thaeoo mukath bheae ||
The hunter who shot Krishna in the foot - even he was liberated.

hau bil bil ijn rwm khy ]1]
ho bal bal jin raam kehae ||1||
I am a sacrifice, a sacrifice to those who chant the Lord's Name. ||1||

dwsI suq jnu ibdru sudwmw augRsYn kau rwj dIey ]
dhaasee suth jan bidhar sudhaamaa ougrasain ko raaj dheeeae ||
You saved Bidur, the son of the slave-girl, and Sudama; You restored Ugrasain to his throne.

jp hIn qp hIn kul hIn k®m hIn nwmy ky suAwmI qyaU qry ]2]1]
jap heen thap heen kul heen kram heen naamae kae suaamee thaeoo tharae ||2||1||
Without meditation, without penance, without a good family, without good deeds, Naam Dayv's Lord and Master saved them all. ||2||1||

1984 Pogrom Planners Tytler & Kumar Reward 25 Years Later

Shameless Congress Gives Tickets to 1984 accused Tytler, Sajjan - World Sikh News (Mar 25,2009)

Tytler, Sajjan get ticket despite CBI probe into 1984 genocide - Tribune India (Mar 22,2009)

Congress teases Sikhs in 25 th year of anti-Sikh pogrom - World Sikh News (Mar 23,2009)

Follow Me On Twitter

For news items or musings that don't justify a full post, I'll just resort to putting them on Twitter. You can track me here.

Sikh Coalition's New Blog

Ever wonder what happens behind the scenes before the Sikh Coalition announces a victory?

How did we persuade candidate Barack Obama to complete a questionaire on Sikh issues? What led New York City to enact a regulation on school bullying that affects 1.4 million students? Why did a Judge rules that turbanned Sikhs may serve as prison guards in California?

What does the Coalition's staff do everyday to fight for Sikh rights?

The Coaliton is pleased to share its new blog with the community. We hope it will provide more visibility and transparency on our daily work in support of Sikh rights.

Here's a direct link to blog

Video blog introducing the blog from Sikh Coalition Executive Director:

Spread the word and sign up for the RSS feed here.

This is Calgary? White supremacists march downtown

In Canada, this isn't much race-based pride. You might be proud of what country or region you're family is originally from or your particular faith group. Most often you're proud of being Canadian. But rarely do you see people marching in the streets shouting slogans how proud they are to be brown, yellow or even black. Except for the white supremacists.

I, ignorantly, believed that these folks had sequestered themselves behind closed doors and online. There they are relatively free from spouting their hate (see my previous post on a White America article). However, for the first time in recent memory, these guys (mostly males) decided to hold a rally in Calgary on, of all days, International Day to Eliminate Racial Discrimination. I don't get these guys. Obviously, they all came from other countries (however long ago). Why can't the be happy celebrating being Irish, Ukrainian or Polish? Also, why's white pride have to come with "everyone else is inferior"? Why so angry? You guys still run most of the world.

Thankfully, they were in the minority on this day, and the Anti-Racist Action (ARA) group were out in full-force to represent the majority of Canadians.

Looking through the pics on the Sun's site and watching the video on CTV, I noticed a distinct absence of identifiable Sikhs in the crowd. While we need to keep advocating for our own rights and freedoms, this struggle always needs to be subordinate to fighting for the rights and freedoms of others. And this fight includes being a part of these kind of demonstrations.

Dastar (Turban) Tying For Novices

This is the most scientific dastaar-tying video ever made. Not for amateurs. Published by the Sardarian Youth Club, Barnala, Punjab.

Blame Canada('s Sikhs)

Canada’s problem with its Sikh minority should be of concern to Americans not just because Vancouver borders on the US, but for the broader lessons this story of ethnic conflict teaches. When a country imports an alien population, it often brings in all of the conflicts that bedeviled the immigrants in their homelands. Consequently, Western nations can get dragged into intractable conflicts that would otherwise be none of their business. Moreover, differences between the immigrant and host populations are likely to prove disruptive, even disastrous. Differences in history and culture pose difficulties enough, but most divisive are differences in nature. As long as we continue to ignore the possibility that there are biological differences among races that cause them to create different types of societies, we run the risk of importing populations that are prone to poverty and crime and hostile to white people and their values.

One could almost pity the plight of white supremacists these days. Their political influence has diminished greatly and their numbers are dwindling. A black man is the most powerful person in the world. Fearing public ostracization, they constantly have to ensure their words never betray their thoughts. In 2009, being a racist just isn't cool anymore. But that hasn't stopped this vocal minority from trying their best.

"White Pride" sites on the internet are full of rants against various ethnic and racial communities, blaming them for everything wrong with the world's economic, social and political woes. Usually, its African Americans, Hispanics or Jews that are targeted. Now it looks like the Sikhs have caught their attention.

Sardar By Gary Hothi

Ik Pase Sansar Khara, Ik Pase Sardar Kala

ਸਰਦਾਰੀਆਂ - Sardarian

Having to tell someone you're a Sardar is kind of like trying to tell someone you're a gentlemen.

Nanakshahi 541 Begins, Happy New Year!

From Sandeep Singh Brar of www.sikhs.org and www.sikhmuseum.com fame:

A new year begins for Sikhs tomorrow on March 14th, it’s a time to be thankful to Vaheguru and look forward to what will unfold in the following twelve months of this wondrous drama that we call life.

One of my duties at work is to monthly program a outdoor digital sign at a retail store to display faith greeting to people of various religions on the occasion of any special event during the month. One of my reference resources for this monthly task has been the excellent interactive multi-faith calendar at the PBS website, this year I was pleasantly surprised that in addition to mentioning the Hindu New Year which occurs on March 27th as they enter the year Bikarami Samvat 2066 of their calendar, it also mention for the first time the Sikh New Year which occurs on March 14 as we enter the year Nanakshahi 541 of our own calendar.

March 14th is a very special day as it’s the 1st of Chet, Chet being the first month of the year of our twelve month Sikh calendar which dates back to the time of the Gurus. Our Calendar starts with the birth of Guru Nanak 541 years ago.

The twelve months of the Sikh Calendar and the dates that they begin are:

Chet          March 14
Vaisakh     April 14
Jeth         May 15
Harh         June 15
Sawan     July 16
Bhadon     August 16
Asu         September 15
Katik         October 15
Maghar     November 14
Poh         December 14
Magh         January 13
Phagan     February 12

So this year wish your friends and family a Happy Sikh New Year on March 14th, and let your community Gurdwara know that they should be celebrating it with as much fanfare as they celebrate that other famous New Year of the Christians and their calendar that we know all about.

The months of the Sikh calendar were first established by the the Gurus, both Guru Nanak and Guru Arjan wrote beautiful poems about the twelve months of the Sikh calendar in Sri Guru Granth Sahib called Bara Maha, meaning ‘The Twelve Months’.

Below is an excerpt from Guru Nanaks lovely poem which appears on pages 1108 to 1109 of Sri Guru Granth Sahib about this first month of Chet:

In the month of Chet, the lovely spring has come, and the bumble bees hum with joy. The forest is blossoming in front of my door; if only my Beloved would return to my home! If her Husband Lord does not return home, how can the soul-bride find peace? Her body is wasting away with the sorrow of separation. The beautiful song-bird sings, perched on the mango tree; but how can I endure the pain in the depths of my being? The bumble bee is buzzing around the flowering branches; but how can I survive? I am dying, O my mother! O Nanak, in Chet, peace is easily obtained, if the soul-bride obtains the Lord as her Husband, within the home of her own heart. || 5 ||