The Decade in 7 Minutes

Recapping the 2000s in one short sweet video.

I knew I am of the Guru

We of the Punjab, were called to don the robe of the Guru’s Discipleship.
We wear turbans as He did; we keep long hair as He kept.
We prefer the colours he liked.
We are still alive with the spark he lit in our souls.
The torch when lighting another creates its own images.
We carry the Guru’s face. His features, His whole image, in our faces and form.
As I ponder who I am, I knew I am of the Guru.

Professor Puran Singh, Spirit Of The Sikh, 1927

Khalsa Kanucks to ring in the New Year with The Polar Bear Dip

Khalsa Kanucks to ring in the New Year with The Polar Bear Dip

The Khalsa Kanucks will be participating with Toronto Polar Bear Club for the “Dip of the Decade” in Lake Ontario at Sunny Side Park in Toronto, on January 1, 2010 at 12:00 p.m.

The Khalsa Kanucks, a chilly freezing icy frosty bitter wintry frozen artic sub zero glacial type of Singhs, featuring the likes of Pardeep Singhy Dipping Nagra, and Frosty Gurmit The Singh Man are also helping to support a great cause and have raised over $1000 for Habitat for Humanity Toronto to give “a hand up not a hand out” to families in need.

Kulbir Ice Cold Singh Dhillon says he is excited to start crossing off one of his New Year’s resolutions and starting off the new year with a splash. He thinks that it will be a “walk in the park”, better yet he says a “dip in the park”!

Jaswinder Tunda Singh on the other hand says he is not readying for his patented ice cold water scream, but rather practicing his Jakara, and expects to have a lot of fun. It’s a fun albeit crazy and cold way to support a great cause he says.

Ranarakhbir”rrrrrrr” The Polar Bear Singh Bassi likens the Dip to Hemkunt Sahib and has heard that people who participate are full of energy for the rest of the week and maybe the year.

Not to be left out, Kulvir Bitter Singh Gill is hoping Global Warming is for real, and that it will take a hold on January 1, 2010 and expects it to be a hot and humid 30 degrees.

For more information visit www.torontopolarbear.com or contact Pardeep Singh Nagra 416-587-5498.

Click here to donate to a great cause.

The Miracle That Saved The Panth

I saw this article on Sikhnet and I immediately recognized the translation of the sign as something I took a picture of the last time I was at the Darbar Sahib. The picture is above and the story is below. It may be a bit of a stretch to say this incident 'saved the Panth' but from all eye-witness accounts, it certainly did take place.

For those of us who've been to Darbaar Sahib Amritsar, we may have noticed a sign outside on the Darshani Deori that reads,

"It is for the knowledge of all that in Harimandir Sahib on April 30, 1877 at 4.30 in the morning, a strange thing happened. There were about four hundred devotees enjoying spiritual peace of celestial music in Harimandir Sahib when suddenly a flash of lighting was seen which in the form of a big resplendence entered through the door on the mountain-side and exploded exactly like a ball in front of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and illuminating everything went out, becoming a streak of light through the southern door--though at the time of its exploding there was a dreadful and forceful sound, no harm of any kind occurred to any devotee sitting inside and no harm to the building or anything else in the precinct. All the people described this supernatural scene as the wonderful doing of Sri Guru Ram Das himself" (translation based on one in Strange but True in Sikhism by SS Kohli p.11)

This miracle transformed the Panth and brought it back from the brink of oblivion.

After the fall of the Sikh Kingdom in 1849, the Sikhs were in very serious trouble. The Gurdwaras were in control of Mahants who had installed Hindu Idols and barred "low castes" from entering. British observers wrote that Amrit Sinchaars almost never took place. Sikh women lost their distinct appearance and no longer followed rehit or took amrit. The British even began to photograph Sikhs as they believed this "fading sect" ought to be recorded in history and one day shown in museums as a part of India's history.

The British also started a heavy mission of conversion amongst the Sikhs. Many notable Sikhs left the faith at this time. Raja Ranjit Singh's general, Jowand Sikh Mokhal's family embraced Islam, Beharwala Sardar Isher Singh became Muslim under the influence of a prostitute, Harnam Singh of the Kapurthala Royal family became Christian, Dayal Singh Majithia became a Brahmo Samajist and gave over the Daily Tribune, Dayal Singh College and a Library to the sect.

Big Sikh landlords Mangal Singh Virk and Charat Singh of Barhar became Muslims for Muslim women as well. In 1873, 4 Sikh boys Aya Singh, Attar Singh, Sadhu Singh and Santokh Singh announced they were converting ot Christianity and prepared to cut their hair. Later they were convinced not to do this.

Harmandir Sahib was under the control of the British Government and they had appointed a Sikh manager, Mangal Singh to look after the site for them. The British had nefarious designs for the Sikhs. They intended to make Sree Darbaar Sahib the main Diocese for the Christian Church and convert the complex into a giant church. Crucifixes were even put near the entrance of Sree Darbaar Sahib near the foot-wash area.

Sardar Mangal Singh heard these rumours and despite being pro-British, felt very upset. He met with Punjab's Lt. Governor to ask about this issue and he did not give any reassurance but asked him to speak with the Viceroy.

The Viceroy was at this time in Gobind Garh fort in Amritsar. Sardar Mangal Singh went to meet him and was told that the British were lawfully entitled to own, manage and dispose of all property owned earlier by the Sikh regime. They could do as they wish in the future.

The Sikhs came out very dejected and sat in a Gurdwara trying to understand what to do. They decided to hold and Akhand Path Sahib in Darbaar Sahib and do Ardaas that the most precious place of the Sikhs would be saved.

The next day, the sangat gathered at Harmandir Sahib and Asa Di Vaar began. An intelligence officer sent by the Viceroy was also present to watch over the gathering. At 4.30AM, the ball of light entered and stopped in front of Guru Granth Sahib ji and then did as was described above. The Sangat began to repeat "Dhan Guru Ram Das!".

News of this event went all over Punjab. The hundreds of witnesses all gave their names as proof of this great miracle. The intelligence officer too was stunned and advised the British Government that any attempt to take over Darbaar Sahib would be wrong.

This incident was Guru Ram Das himself blessing the Sikhs. It showed the Sikhs that Guru was not far, but always watching over his Panth. At a time where amritdhari Singhs were almost extinct and Hindu ritual had taken hold in the Gurdwaras and Sikhs were converting away en masse, Guru Ram Das enacted this miracle and revived and awakened the Sikhs. The Gurdvara Reform Movement gathered steam, Singh Sabha Movement threw out the Hindu influences and again the Panth began to emerge and grow. The entire Panth rose up to save Sikhi. The Sikhs were saved from the brink of extinction.

In today's age, when again Sikhi is threatened by governments, and Sikh youth are confused and misguided, it is time for a Sikh Revival. It is up to us to save our Panth. And if we take the initiative, we should rest assured Guru Ji is watching us and will certainly give us victory. Link

One Step Forward

We often lament the state of our gurdwaras but we should just as often stop and think about how much we have accomplished.

Tonight I had a chance to visit the famous Ontario Khalsa Darbar (aka Dixie) Gurdwara in Mississauga/Brampton, Ontario. On a frigid Friday night in December, the place was packed with sangat and programs.

In one hall, a Hindu Panjabi family was having a bhog for a deceased elder. On the other side a gurmat sangeet teacher was having a kirtan for her daughter with beautiful kirtan being sung in raag by her many young students. In the adjoining halls, the United Sikhs organization was having their 2nd Annual Global Sikh Civil Rights Conference with tonight's opening session focusing exclusively women's issues. Upstairs, Harmeet Singh was holding his usual Friday session with hundreds of youth and their families. And to top this off Bhai (no longer Sant) Niranjan Singh Jawadi Kalan was performing kirtan to a packed hall in the main hall. Almost every program was in English or being translated into English on the screens.

So while we can (and should) continue to critically analyze the hardware (physical structures) and software (programs/initiatives) of our Sikh institutions, we need to simultaneously recognize when progress is being made.

Growing up I would have killed to have been a part of each of those individual programs happening at Dixie Gurdwara tonight (well maybe not the bhog) and today all of those functions were happening on the same day under the same roof.

On many days, it seems like we're moving two steps back, but tonight I saw at least one step forward.

Sikh-Canadian Female Wins Rhodes Scholarships

Congratulations to Jaspreet Kaur Khangura, originally from Calgary!

Winners for BC and Prairie regions to continue studies at Oxford

VANCOUVER SUN – December 9, 2009

Two University of British Columbia students have been awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, which will allow them to pursue postgraduate studies at Oxford University in England.

Kayli Johnson, an honours chemistry student, is the recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship for British Columbia, while Jaspreet Khangura, a fourth-year student in medicine, is the recipient for the Prairie Region.

Johnson plans to pursue studies at the Oxford Centre for Water Research through the School of Geography and the Environment in order to help inform policy makers about the global water crisis. She also has interest in global issues and has been a part of many volunteer initiatives, the university said, in a statement Friday.

Khangura, a student in her senior year of UBC’s Doctor of Medicine program, plans to pursue the MSc in Global Health at Oxford to prepare for a career in health care. She has also been involved in numerous volunteer projects raising money for children in developing countries, the university said.

The Rhodes Scholarships, established in 1902, were designed to bring outstanding students from across the world to study at Oxford University. Link

Sikh Pogroms in the Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence

I just found this well written, concise case study of the "The Anti-Sikh Pogrom of October 31 to November 4, 1984, in New Delhi" written by Lionel Baixas posted on the Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence.

I've included the abstract below, but the full article can be found here.

The 1984 Delhi Anti-Sikh Pogrom refers to a four-day pogrom that took place in various parts of India’s capital, New Delhi, causing the death of nearly 3,000 Sikhs. It followed the assassination on October 31, 1984 of Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, by her two Sikh bodyguards, in revenge for Operation Blue Star. This event – probably the most deadly in the violent history of Delhi – remains highly controversial. Twenty-five years later, most of its instigators and perpetrators remain unpunished despite the claims of various survivors and human rights groups that the pogrom was orchestrated by officials of the Congress Party with the connivance of Delhi administration and police. Anti-Sikh violence was not restricted to Delhi but also took place in other Hindi-speaking heartland states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. This case study nonetheless focuses on Delhi as the pattern of violence was set up there and then reproduced elsewhere.

Sikhs to talk about Climate Change in Toronto

Its not often you hear about a Sikh event in Canada focused on the environment and climate change so I thought this would be interesting to pass along.

Sikh Environmental Leaders to Speak On Environmental Issues and Climate Change In Toronto. Coinciding with Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen

Press Release
December 8, 2009
For Immediate Release

TORONTO--Climate Action Network is partnering with the Dixie Road Gurdwara and EcoSikh to host two speaking events for Punjabi spiritual leader, Baba Sewa Singh and EcoSikh executive director, Dr. Rajwant Singh at the Dixie Road Gurdwara in Mississaua on December 13th and Malton Gurdwara in Mississauga on December 12th.

These speaking events are set to take place in the middle of a landmark conference on tackling climate change that opened in Copenhagen on Monday, December 7th, 2009. The meeting will climax on December 18 with more than 100 heads of state or government in attendance.

During the speaking event, spiritual leader, Baba Sewa Singh from Khadoor Sahib, Punjab, India, will speak about the history of his home region in India and environmental projects he is initiating.

Dr. Rajwant Singh from Eco Sikh will speak on how the Punjabi-Canadian community can solve climate change and other environmental problems locally by greening their Gurdwaras. Established in 2009, EcoSikh was created by the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE), the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). EcoSikh's purpose is to encourage the worldwide Sikh community to address environmental issues, including climate change.

Jessica Bell from Climate Action Network Canada will speak about how climate change is affecting India and Canada, Canada's poor record in addressing climate change domestically and internationally, and what people in Canada can do to turn Canada from environmental laggard to leader.


“EcoSikh, a five-year plan crafted by SCORE, envisages the dissemination of environment-related knowledge among the Sikh community in India and abroad to develop environmental activism,” said Dr. Rajwant Singh. “As Sikhs we have a responsibility to revere the environment. A Sikh's life is incomplete if he does not revere Nature. Sikhism teaches us to be environmentally conscious and it is an opportunity for Sikhs to demonstrate to the world that we are ready to translate our beliefs into action."

South Asia is a region highly vulnerable to climate change. Himalayan glacier melt due to climate change is currently causing mass flooding; and at the current rate of melt the glaciers will be reduced in size by 80% in 30 years. These glaciers provide the drinking and irrigation water to 1/6th of humanity, mainly in South Asia and parts of China

These events are part of Climate Action Network's larger effort to educate and engage the Indo-Canadian community in swing ridings like North York and Mississauga; these ridings are called "swing" because races in federal elections are tight.

Canada has the reputation for being one of the worst records on addressing climate change. Canada was the only country to back away from its Kyoto climate change treaty commitments, allowing its greenhouse gas emissions to rise by 28 per cent instead of working to cut emissions by the promised six per cent. Canada is also sabotaging efforts to secure a fair, binding, and meaningful treaty at the climate change treaty negotiations taking place in Copenhagen from December 7th to the 18th, 2009. Canada was awarded the Fossil of the Day on the first day of the climate treaty conference for its' unwillingness to reach a treaty agreement.

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What: Speaking events for Punjabi spiritual leader, Baba Sewa Sing Ji, and EcoSikh executive director, Dr. Rajwant Singh

When: 8:30pm - 9pm, Saturday, December 12th, 2009
Where: Malton Gurdwara, 7280 Airport Road, Mississauga, ON, L5S 187

When: 1pm - 2pm, Sunday, December 13th, 2009
Where: Dixie Road Gurdwara, 7080 Dixie Road, Mississauga, ON, L5S 1B7

Contact:
Gurpreet Sehra
Media Liaison
905-457-8294
gurpreetsehra@live.ca

Harjeet Singh
Spokesperson
416-820-6445

Dr. Rajwant Singh
Spokesperson
202-460-0630
Rajwant@aol.com
www.sikhcouncilusa.org
www.ecosikh.org

Michael Bernard
Communications Coordinator
Climate Action Network Canada
media@climateactionnetwork.ca
(w) 613.241.4413 (c) 613.302.9933

Aeh Pagri Sardara

New song by Sukhshinder Shinda.

Attack on Sikhs in Ludhiana

In 1978, it was the Nirankaris who provided the wake-up call to Sikhs. In 2009, could it be Ashutosh? Here's some commentary from a kathavachak in Ludhiana. For more info, visit the Sikh Activist Network site.

Ocean of Pearls comes to Toronto on Sunday Dec 13

Its not often that a fantastic, Hollywood-standard Sikh films comes to the screen. Ocean of Pearls is just such a film.

Amrit Singh is of two worlds, but belongs to neither. A turban-wearing Sikh, he has lived his life in North America out of sorts and out of place, cast adrift at an uneasy crossroads between East and West. But when he is offered a prestigious position as a transplant surgeon in a Detroit hospital, the young doctor sees it as a opportunity to start fresh. He struggles to be the man he believes he is and at the same time the person he wants to be. His ambitious pursuit of success, however eventually leads to tragedy and it is only in defining his singular identity that he finds peace.

Ocean of Pearls is a fantastic film by Dr. Sarab Singh Neelam. This movie was years in the making and an amazing effort. This is a film that I would recommend to all Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike.

Sunday December 13th, 2009
3 PM, 5 PM and 7 PM
Innis Town Hall
University of Toronto
2 Sussex Avenue, Toronto, ON

Each show will also include a Q&A with the film-maker Sarab Singh Neelam.

For more information contact 647.238.4094

Here's the film's trailer. Very powerful.

Sehaj Retreat in Houston

O Sikh young men! Rise and fill yourselves with this Glory. It makes you noble, bold and free, self-drunk, self-less, flower-like, sun-like. It sweetens you and your sweetness sweetens all life around you. At your sight, the lamb and the tiger must drink at the same pool. - Puran Singh

With such a great quote (and khanda snowflake logo), how could the Sehaj retreat in Houston, Texas not be a great event.

Here are the details. Visit the Sehaj site for more information.

WHO: Ages 20-39
WHAT: Khalsai Rakhi - The Charge of the Khalsa
WHERE: Gordon Ranch, Houston, Texas
WHEN: December 26th - December 29th, 2009

About Sehaj
Vision: Energizing the Human Capitol of the Khalsa Panth
Mission: Invest in individuals through education, resources, and motivation to further the progress of the Khalsa Panth