The Sikh Magazine - October 2013

Vol 48 (No 3, October 2013) PP 16301/03/2012

Fellowship CampForgotten Deeds of SikhHeroism

Arrival of Guru Granth Sahib

Please contact us if you know someone who attended the 1st Samelan in 1963; if you have old photographs of the early Samelans; you have articles to contribute for our magazine - The Sikh; and if you want to make any form of contribution.

Following our appeal for old photos, some have started coming in. See examples above and see if you recognize the participants. They should be in their late 60s and 70s!

50th Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan 2013

14th – 21st December 2013

Sekolah Menengah Vokasional Port Dickson

71000 Port Dickson, Seremban

Contact : Malkith SinghMob. +6 012 2880 557 / Email: [email protected]

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Contents 1

Jathedar Message

Arrival of Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Amardaas Ji

Fellowship Camp

Get know Devenderpal Singh

Chic Sikh

Camp Miri Piri 2013

SNSM Executive Committee

Dya Singh’s article on Kirtan

Dya Singh’s interview

Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan - Appreciating Sikhi and living it

Forgotten Deeds of Sikh Heroism

Senior Citizens Home for Sikhs / Nishkam Sewa

Hospital Sewa

2

3-6

7-14

15 - 16

17-18

19 - 20

22 - 23

24

25 - 29

30 - 31

32 - 33

34 - 36

37

38

Contents

Sikhs in the news

Pain - is it a blessing or suffering? Question & Answer (Punjabi)

Article on Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Punjabi Education Trust Selangor Samelan

Article by Karminder Singh Dhillon

Klang & Seremban Camp

Activities of Johor Branch

39 - 43

44 - 45

46 - 47

48 - 50

51 - 52

54 - 60

61 - 62

63 - 64

17 - 1815 - 16

3 - 6

Design & Printed by:

Malkith SinghAmanjeet SinghHarjit SinghSerena KaurB.K. SidhuSharan Kaur

EditorialTeam RL Printer Sdn Bhd

KDN 1780/3564603-2274 [email protected]

Design & Printed by:

Personally from the Jathedar

PERSONALLY FROM THE JATHEDAR The Sikh, Oct 20132

BLISS. If one were to summarise in one word what most of the sanggat felt after all 170 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Saroops safely arrived at the Pavither Ashthaan of Gurdwara Sahib Pulapol, Kuala Lumpur, that would be it.

Planning had begun early in the year and the day that the sanggat in Malaysia were highly anticipating was Sunday, July 21. The journey began in Amritsar, India where all 170 Guru Maharaj Saroops were to make their way to Malaysia via a specially built SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar) bus that would be

ferried via ship. Once the ship docked at Port Klang on Friday evening, the bus was transported to Gurdwara Sahib Klang. Here the

sanggat decorated the bus for an added touch of regality. Meanwhile at Gurdwara Sahib Pulapol, sewadars had been busy setting up everything needed to welcome the Guru Maharaj Saroops. This sewa had started early on in the week and continued till the wee hours of the night before the grand arrival.

On Sunday morning, the bus with the Guru Maharaj Saroops were escorted by a convoy of Sikh bikers, buses, trailer heads and other vehicles from Gurdwara Sahib Klang to Gurdwara Sahib Pulapol.

The sanggat had already started to gather as early as 8am and the excitement could clearly be seen in their eyes and felt in the air. With the sanggat gathered in the Darbar listening and singing along to the divine kirtan being sung, while the Sewadars hustled to get the finishing touches done, anticipation was certainly high.

From the moment the Guru Maharaj Saroops arrived, everything just fell into place perfectly and everyone showed utmost respect/shardaa throughout the entire proceedings. The prakash of the first Saroop was done in the Pavither Asthaan followed by Japji Sahib. The entire proceedings were conducted as advised by the representatives of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandak Committee (SGPC).

It indeed was a memorable day for many and the Pavither Asthaan at Gurdwara Sahib Pulapol is now fully functional as a centre of learning, research and distribution of Guru Maharaj Saroops throughout South East Asia.

Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia would like to thank Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar who gave us the sewa of bringing the 170 Guru Maharaj Saroops; Sdr. Jatindar Singh Uppal who organised and sponsored the whole sewa of bringing 170 Maharaj Saroops; Gurdwara Sahib Pulapol who provided the sewa; and the Pavither Ashthaan for keeping the Maharaj Saroops and hosting the sanggat in making this a historic and memorable occasion.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa,

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.

It has indeed been a splendid year with many activities and projects that saw the participation of sanggat from near and far.

And with the 50th Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan just around the corner, the flurry of excitement is fast building up amongst us.

So please join us with your family and friends as we gear up to head back to Port Dickson - the place where it all began, a venue that holds a special place for Samelans, an event truly synonymous with Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia.

There are numerous exciting activities that have been lined up and to make them memorable ones, pass the word around to all friends and family. Let's join together and immerse ourselves in sewa and kirtan.

Before I end, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the sewadars who have and will be contributing their sewa in every way possible to ensure the success of our activities and events.

Pavandeep SinghJathedar










ARRIVAL OF 170 GURU MAHARAJ SAROOPS FROM INDIA

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Arrival of Guru Granth Sahib 3

Arrival of Guru Granth Sahib The Sikh, Oct 20134










The Sikh, Oct 2013 Arrival of Guru Granth Sahib 5










Arrival of Guru Granth Sahib The Sikh, Oct 20136

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Guru Amardaas Ji 7

Guru Amardaas Ji and the cantankerous MarwahaBy Manjeet Singh

Guru Amardaas Ji The Sikh, Oct 20138







Gurdeep Singh Pandher P.J.K a/l Mukhtiar Singh was born in the year 1961 in Batu Gajah, Perak. He was the youngest child to Sardar Mukthiar Singh and Sardarni Satwant Kaur, with 2 elder brothers and an elder sister.

His primary education was in SK St Georges Taiping in year 1968 to 1973 and secondary education SM St Georges Taiping from 1974 to 1978. He continued Form Six in Ipoh High School and sat for his Higher School Certificate in 1980.

He was offered a job as a temporary teacher in SRJK Khalsa Taiping Perak and worked there from 1981 to 1984. He did his Dip Ed at Institut Perguruan Persekutuan Pulau Pinang from 1982 till 1984. Upon completing his Diploma, he was appointed as a teacher at SRK Nanga Selangau, Sibu, Sarawak. During the weekends he helped at Gurdwara Sahib Sibu Sarawak.

He was transferred back to West Malaysia in 1990 and was posted to SRJK [C] Gopeng Perak. While in Gopeng he stayed at Gurdwara Sahib Gopeng and assisted the Granthi Sahib in the daily running of the Gurdwara Sahib.

While teaching in Gopeng, in 1993, he got an offer to pursue his degree at University Sains Malaysia. He graduated in 1996 with an Bachelor in Education (Hons) majoring in History. While in USM he was active in

organizing and managing sports activities.He was then posted to SMJK Darul

Ridzuan Taiping and also served in SMJK Hua Lian and SM Kebangsaan Klian Pau. While teaching he also pursued his Master In Education with USM. He was a very dedicated teacher and was made in charge of the discipline in the schools.

Gurdeep Singh was an active member of Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) Perak and was a state level official for many different games and tournaments under the Education Ministry.

Gurdeep Singh was also involved in the Drafting/Setting of the Punjabi paper for the PMR and SPM exams under the Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia.

Beside this, he was actively involved with the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia and the Malaysian Gurdwara Council. He was also an active member of Gurdwara Sahib Taiping and was the manager of the Punjabi Education Centre, Taiping.

For his dedication in his service, he was awarded the Pingkat Jasa Kebaktian in 2007 by His Highness Sultan of Perak.

Sardar Gurdeep Singh complained of abdominal pains and passed away on 17th August 2013.

MAY WAHEGURU BLESS HIS SOUL.

OBITUARY

LATE GURDEEP SINGH (1961-2013)(SNSM AREA REP FOR TAIPING)

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Fellowship Camp 15

By Amandeep Singh

I came to camp, I left a champ…

As this was my second Fellowship Camp and my first to Khalsa Land, I didn't quite expect the camp to be better then what it was before. To be honest, the campers are the ones that make each camp unique and an unforgettable experience. However, many of the friends I made from the previous camp were not able to attend this time around. I really wasn’t sure what awaited me at Khalsa Land. As always, Fellowship Camp never disappoints and I found myself

once again really enjoying myself with the other new campers, be it during the neck-to-neck tele-matches, swinging away on the flying fox or enjoying the blissful kirtan during the Inspirational Sessions (IPS).The fondest memories I have of the Raya Edition Fellowship Camp was the jungle trekking. We, as a team, faced many challenges and obstacles set by the organisers and the other teams. We managed to overcome these and grew to become a better team. One of the challenges was making our own lunch while tracking. We were instructed to make ‘Nasi Lemak’. As Malaysians, we were very well aware of the theory of making the dish, but when our cooking skills were put to test

Fellowship Camp The Sikh, Oct 201316

the outcome did surprise us. Being the ‘Masterchefs’ we were, the food did come out good (looks like we do have some culinary skills after all).

My team was the first to leave the campsite, which meant we should be the first ones back. However, we ended returning as the last team as we were concerned with the safety and wellbeing of one of our fellow team mates, who got injured during the trek. Despite the setback, we had an amazing time in the jungle and didn’t allow this to dampen our spirits. The hours in the jungle passed by very quickly as we played games with one another. The rope course too was an experience. It was very challenging and if you had a fear of heights it would have made matters worse for you. Thankfully, I don’t.

To sum it up, Fellowship Camp Raya Edition was indeed amazing. In the process, I made new friends, but that wasn’t all that I took home. I learnt a lot during camp which I hope to apply in my daily life. It is indeed true when they said that laughter is the best medicine because my four days at camp were filled with it. Coming back from camp made me feel so charged up and carefree. I am certainly looking forward to the next camp during Chinese New Year!

At a tender age of 9, Devendar Pal Singh was already playing the harmonium and signing melodious Gurbani keertan. By the time he was 17 he took to stage to vie to become one of India’s greatest talents as he participated in the Indian Idol 6, a reality show.

Though he did grab the trophy, albeit as the first runner up, the journey of his life has changed forever. He sees possibilities everywhere. The experience of participating in the Indian Idol 6 show has taught him valuable lessons, such as - music has no borders, and to achieve something, effort, dedication and passion is needed. His inspiration has been his late

grandfather who was a tabla player himself. And Devender Singh’s parents are guiding him to achieve what he has set out to do.

Hailing from Ludhiana, he has traveled many roads and countries but last month made his way to Malaysia for the first time. The Sikh magazine met up with him during his tour of Malaysia where he sang melodious Gurbani Keertan in many gurdwaras including Khalsa Land in Kuala Kubu Baru. Here are excerpts of the interview:

What sparked your singing career?

My late grandfather, Mahinder Singh, a professional tabla player has been my inspiration. And every time my grandfather played the tabla, my mother sang Gurbani keertan. That picture stays in my mind that there is passion in them. This inspired me to go into singing. It is with Waheguru’s blessing that I started doing keertan at a young age. I started off in Patna Sahib and moved to Ludhiana and learnt Gurbani keertan from my teacher, Sukhwant Singh Ji, who was a renowned keertaniar.

Why did you enter the Indian Idol contest?

I have won many singing competitions in school and my parent’s ambition was to see me become an Idol, so I entered the contest. Though I did not win, I was the first runner up, and that in itself was an achievement. It opens new opportunities for me globally. I am the playback singer for a Bollywood movie called “Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana” and I sang the song’s titled “Luni Hasi.” There are several others and I will go on singing.

Bollywood has its good and bad, how can someone succeed without comprising on their identity?

It is not easy, I do agree. Let’s not go far, if you look at the current Punjabi movies and Punjabi singers, it is obvious the culture and identity element is missing. Many have taken the negatives instead of the positives from the many Bollywood movies. This is seen from the increasing number of people consuming alcohol and taking drugs. Some people see and follow without looking at the effects. I was also subject to criticism when I took part in the Indian Idol competition. Many had asked me to cut my hair. Some had said “If you want to be part of this world (entertainment industry), you will have to cut your hair”. I took up the challenge to show them that you can still do it without comprising your identity. We all need to work towards changing people’s mindset of the negatives.

Your singing career in Bollywood has taken off, would keertan tours take a backseat?

No. Like I said, I started off by doing keertan and will always continue with it. Those 5 months in that reality show, has changed

my life. I would say, being a playback singer is my profession but doing keertan is my passion. I would continue doing keertan whenever the sangat invites me to.

What is your message for the Sikh youth in Malaysia and what’s next for you?

To me, the entire Malaysian sangat is blessed in many ways. You are all so participative and energetic when it comes to singing keertan. I rarely get this kind of response elsewhere.

My only message is, practice makes perfect. From what I have observed, many of you in Malaysia are musically inclined, and in the world of music practice makes perfect. I also believe a person should be simple and down to earth. Respect is key and if you have the passion and desire to achieve something, just push yourself to achieve it.

As for me, my mission is to do a Phd in music. I am just doing my first degree and I have a long way to go, but I am determined to do it.

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Get know Devenderpal Singh 17


















Up Close and Personal With Devender Pal Singh

Get know Devenderpal Singh The Sikh, Oct 201318

Fact File

Name: Susheel Kaur @ ShellyPlace and date of birth: Kuala Lumpur, 16 March 1969Currently residing in: SwedenYears living abroad: 24 yearsHusband’s name: Jassa SinghKids names: Manjodh Singh,Harjeevan Kaur,Profession: Coordinator/Teacher

In the times of Guru Gobind Singh many writers and poets commented on his inspiring presence. A charismatic spiritual leader dressed in kingly garbs whose presence illuminated and inspired leaders of the day. Today many of his Sikhs walk his path in his image and continue to provide an inspiring presence that turns heads.

Fondly known as Shelly among close friends and relatives, Susheel Kaur is a captivating tall, toned and blissful individual who celebrates the wearing of her dastaar and bringing Bhangra to Swedish denizens. A true fashionista she treads where none has before, inspiring countless young Sikhs to take pride in our distinct identity and to live life with passion and fashion.

Her regular positive postings on Facebook combined with shared photos of her trendy colour-coordinated dastaar matched with fashionable clothes and shoes have made many sit up and realize that the ‘Turban is IN!”.

Q. At what age did you start wearing a turban? What made you do so?

She says: At the age of 19. I took Amrit from Bhai Rajinder Singh Uk-wale when they were down in Malaysia and the dastaar was part of the rehat which I adapted right away, as I had worn dastaars on and off being part of the Dashmesh pipes and drums :-)

Q. Has it been challenging keeping your dastaar in Sweden?

She says: For me having a turban and a distinct outward appearance is a large part of what keeps me on this path. The dastaar also states to the world "I am a Sikh", or at least states that I am someone who is committed to a unique lifestyle. Living in the western world, I find it’s easier for us women to blend in the society while wearing a dastaar. My dastar is considered "chic" and regarded as a fashion statement. :-D

Q: In your closet right now, how many dastar colours do you have? Which is your current favourite?

She says: I have a Satrangi (seven colours) collection, my favourite is Blue.

Q. You radiate positivity. Do you experience moments of negativity? What do you do to overcome it?

She says: Moments of negativity, errrmm, yes I do experience it sometimes. To

overcome it I make cards as it´s meditative or I just go for a walk (Editor’s note: Susheel makes wonderful gift cards both as a hobby and a side business)

Q. What makes you happy? Could you share with us your moments of bliss?

She says: Sitting amongst the whites and hearing them chant the Japji. That´s a blissful moment.Having my first cup of cha in the early dawn while listening to Snatam Kaur is another blissful moment.

Q: What is your favourite shabad or Sikhi geet?

She says: "Asaan sikhi da nahi chadna raaah, ariya tu chiri jae veh" I heard this first time at my first samelan in Klang 1987 and this particular geet made a big impact in my life. It was the same year I took amrit :-)

Q. You have an outstanding style - how do people react to it? And how do you react in turn?

She says: People are very curious and many have come up to me - both men and woman - and raise questions like where can they buy a "hat" like mine" or just praise the way I dress. I tell them you can´t buy it, you wrap it every day. :-D I wasn't used to it in the beginning but eventually I did.

Q. We all have a mission here in this world - what do you feel yours is?

She says: To spread love, creativity & Bhangra :-D

Q: What is your favourite part of the day? Why?

She says: It is when I teach. It gives me a great pleasure.

Q: If you had to choose between great shoes and a great bag - which would be your choice?

She says: Great shoes, I love shoes that are unique and that goes along with my clothes. My philosophy is if you like the shoes, buy in all colours, hahaha!!!

Q. What are the 5 most important priorities in your life? And also…in your handbag?

She says: In my handbag: Samsung phone, sunglasses, wallet, diary and a penIn life: My passion, patience, perfection, my family and God.

Q. If you had to sum up your philosophy on life in a sentence what would it be?

She says: Life goes on :-D


















The Sikh, Oct 2013 Chic Sikh 19

Fact File






























CHIC SIKHShowcasing inspiring Sikhs who live their Sikhi life with passion and fashionable style!


















Chic Sikh The Sikh, Oct 201320

Fact File






























I believe that everything just has to match...even the bicycle. ..hehe!!! People tend to spot me because of my dastar and it makes me stand out. I stand out even more with my Flower Power bicycle ;-)

I’m not a victim of fashion; I just like to look my best but in a very original way, combining different styles. Being a Sikh and that too a woman, people tend to restrict your way of being.. I simply prove them wrong... You can dress decently but my clothing is just a frame for the picture - an aid to draw attention to my messages :-)

Be bold and daring, by creating your style and design, in your own way of dressing. :-)

You can never be overdressed!! :-D

I believe there are no restrictions when it comes to colours...In fashion colours are often get contrasted in order to make a bold statement. A splash of colours represent ME ;-)

I am a perfectionist..I enjoy inventing new combinations of colors and fabrics :-)Your wardrobe can be your passport for success. What you wear to a new job interview or an audition can be of great impact and open doors for you. If you possess talent and faith in yourself, and wear clothing that enhances your personality, you have a 50 percent better chance of winning or gaining whatever you’re seeking :-)

The Sikh, Oct 2013 21

Fact File






























Camp Miri Piri 2013 The Sikh, Oct 201322

Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa,Waheguru ji ke Fateh.

Greetings in the name of God, the Light of every Soul and in the name of Guru, the life of every Sikh. This year from 5-9 June 2013 Sikh Sewaks Singapore and Chayo Studio, and with the support, help and love of Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia and the Sangats of Malaysia and Singapore, hosted the 9th Camp Miri Piri. Held in Malaysia at the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Land-Khalsa Land in Kuala Kubu Bahru, Camp Miri Piri now has been hosted in Singapore, America, Canada, Australia and Malaysia.

By the Greatest Blessing of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, Guru and Master of Miri Piri, I have to say this was another deep

Camp Miri Piri 2013 Reportpowerful and empowering 5-day and 4-night camp. Cherdi Kala Jetha, Shanti Kaur Khalsa, and Gurutej Singh Khalsa from America, and the Sikh Sewaks led, taught and inspired 130 participants from Malaysia and Singapore from the age of 13 years and above, including adults.

We started the day by getting up at 3:15 am, showered and started recitation of the 5 banis with Shabad Hazare at 4 am, then went out to the shelter for an inspiring yoga set, ending off the morning sadhana with

chanting of Simran. I have to say the morning Banis and Sadhanas were really inspiring this year.The participants really chanted the banis and Simran strongly. The sadhana lasted until 6:30 am followed by tea, and yes, Camp Miri Piri's famous physical training with Gurutej Singh Khalsa. Tough but solid. The camp loved it. The morning continued with

breakfast and rest followed by a good two hour workshop on body, mind and spirit from 10 am until lunchtime.The science of the body, the body as the temple of God, diet, exercise, and Jap on Shabad Guru were covered.

In the afternoon after an hour of rest there was Sikh History on topics of Guru Hargobind, the

gift of Miri and Piri and Guru Gobind Singh Ji, told by Shanti Kaur, Cherdi Kala Jetha and Gurutej Singh.

Every afternoon there were two solid hours of Shastar Vidiya with Sada Sat Simran Singh Khalsa of Cherdi Kala Jetha. It was really popular this year and the participants kept requesting more!

In the evening after some games, shower and Rehraas Sahib, and after dinner: yes, great Kirtan and sharing with Cherdi Kala Jetha, Shanti Kaur, Gurutej, Siri Akal Jetha from Singapore and Anhad. Cherdi Kala Jetha has really evolved each year and singing from Dasam Granth and Guru Gobind Singh just rocked the camp. Shanti's sharing on Guru Gobind Singh Ji, power of the mother of the Khalsa and power of a Sikh woman moved the heart of the Sangat. Gurutej's style of sharing real stories and the workshop he

taught on chanting Ang Sang Waheguru was really powerful and the participants requested him to teach that again and again.

With the work and love of Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia, the Malaysian Sangat, and Singapore's Sikh Sewaks team, the seva element of the camp was really inspiring.

This year’s participants were solid. What I mean by that is that they really wanted to learn and to practice Sikhi as an experience. The depth of the classes, workshops and program has really evolved over the 9 camps. The man to man and woman to woman sessions were a highlight too. Straight up questions were encouraged: the questions not normally asked or put under the carpet were addressed. Truth of the moment.

We are deeply grateful to Sikh Naujawan Sabha, Sangat of the Guru and the Sabha

Land-Khalsa Land a real blessing for the future.By the Grace of Guru Hargobind, Camp Miri Piri 2013 in Malaysia Rocked!

Humbly yours,Sikh Sewaks Singaporewww.campmiripiri.com

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Camp Miri Piri 2013 23

Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa,Waheguru ji ke Fateh.

Greetings in the name of God, the Light of every Soul and in the name of Guru, the life of every Sikh. This year from 5-9 June 2013 Sikh Sewaks Singapore and Chayo Studio, and with the support, help and love of Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia and the Sangats of Malaysia and Singapore, hosted the 9th Camp Miri Piri. Held in Malaysia at the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Land-Khalsa Land in Kuala Kubu Bahru, Camp Miri Piri now has been hosted in Singapore, America, Canada, Australia and Malaysia.

By the Greatest Blessing of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, Guru and Master of Miri Piri, I have to say this was another deep

powerful and empowering 5-day and 4-night camp. Cherdi Kala Jetha, Shanti Kaur Khalsa, and Gurutej Singh Khalsa from America, and the Sikh Sewaks led, taught and inspired 130 participants from Malaysia and Singapore from the age of 13 years and above, including adults.

We started the day by getting up at 3:15 am, showered and started recitation of the 5 banis with Shabad Hazare at 4 am, then went out to the shelter for an inspiring yoga set, ending off the morning sadhana with

chanting of Simran. I have to say the morning Banis and Sadhanas were really inspiring this year.The participants really chanted the banis and Simran strongly. The sadhana lasted until 6:30 am followed by tea, and yes, Camp Miri Piri's famous physical training with Gurutej Singh Khalsa. Tough but solid. The camp loved it. The morning continued with

breakfast and rest followed by a good two hour workshop on body, mind and spirit from 10 am until lunchtime.The science of the body, the body as the temple of God, diet, exercise, and Jap on Shabad Guru were covered.

In the afternoon after an hour of rest there was Sikh History on topics of Guru Hargobind, the

gift of Miri and Piri and Guru Gobind Singh Ji, told by Shanti Kaur, Cherdi Kala Jetha and Gurutej Singh.

Every afternoon there were two solid hours of Shastar Vidiya with Sada Sat Simran Singh Khalsa of Cherdi Kala Jetha. It was really popular this year and the participants kept requesting more!

In the evening after some games, shower and Rehraas Sahib, and after dinner: yes, great Kirtan and sharing with Cherdi Kala Jetha, Shanti Kaur, Gurutej, Siri Akal Jetha from Singapore and Anhad. Cherdi Kala Jetha has really evolved each year and singing from Dasam Granth and Guru Gobind Singh just rocked the camp. Shanti's sharing on Guru Gobind Singh Ji, power of the mother of the Khalsa and power of a Sikh woman moved the heart of the Sangat. Gurutej's style of sharing real stories and the workshop he

taught on chanting Ang Sang Waheguru was really powerful and the participants requested him to teach that again and again.

With the work and love of Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia, the Malaysian Sangat, and Singapore's Sikh Sewaks team, the seva element of the camp was really inspiring.

This year’s participants were solid. What I mean by that is that they really wanted to learn and to practice Sikhi as an experience. The depth of the classes, workshops and program has really evolved over the 9 camps. The man to man and woman to woman sessions were a highlight too. Straight up questions were encouraged: the questions not normally asked or put under the carpet were addressed. Truth of the moment.

We are deeply grateful to Sikh Naujawan Sabha, Sangat of the Guru and the Sabha

Land-Khalsa Land a real blessing for the future.By the Grace of Guru Hargobind, Camp Miri Piri 2013 in Malaysia Rocked!

Humbly yours,Sikh Sewaks Singaporewww.campmiripiri.com

SNSM Executive Committee The Sikh, Oct 201324

This article is in response to two articles written on the subject of 'shudh' kirtan presentation by Veer Amardeep Singh of Singapore. At the outset I wish to congratulate him on these two excellent related articles reproduced in the 'Sikh' magazine of Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia July 2013 edition. They are titled 'Understanding the musical framework of Guru Granth Sahib' and 'Flow and pause in gurbani and keertan'. (I have come across them before and they should be recycled every once in a while.) Two articles which could have been the subject of a complete book for their valuable information. Every aspiring and practising kirtania/raagi should read them. They are valuable to me too, for the information and also future direction they provide. I will suggest that Amardeep Singh Ji consider publishing a book

along these lines, but, only after further thought and more research. He will be doing the 'quom' a great service.

I have a few observations to make, and a few rhetorical questions to raise, as one who dabbles in kirtan and for the last twenty years, has made 'doing kirtan' as my vocation, albeit mainly to non-Sikhs in concerts etc; and also because of my free-flowing creative methodology of presenting gurbani - a quest to bring out the essence of the message of gurbani and drawing in youth to fall in love with their Guru. This does not always conform to apparent 'rules' of presenting kirtan, in the view of some. Some of my views are directly aimed at opinions within these articles, and others are my own observations. I write to widen horizons - mine, firstly, and hopefully, all those who will read this.

Firstly, let me state categorically that sticking to the raags (and also taals, 'qars' if possible) and framework of gurbani are of paramount importance especially at the early stages of learning. They form the foundation of doing kirtan. Learning of course then

becomes a life-long process but laced with one’s own creativity which hopefully can still stay within the apparent boundaries set by Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj - the architect and editor and chief contributor to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and a great musician himself. Beyond that, one is led by Guru Ji as long as one keeps oneself open to 'receiving' from the Guru, in total humility. As pointed out in the article, there must have been very good reasons why almost the whole Guru Granth Sahib is divided into raags rather than topics.

Some throwaway opinions of Amardeep Singh Ji do, however, suggest that he is more a theorist rather than a 'practitioner' so to speak and there is nothing wrong in that. For example, saying that - 'A simple mathematical permutation and combination on notes of any raag would indicate that each raag offers thousands of tunes to experiment with' suggests that he does not know the intricacies of learning and singing or playing an instrument, in raag. Raag cannot be reduced to just a mathematical permutation, nor does each raag offer 'thousands of permutations'. One cannot utilise the prescribed musical notes willy-nilly. There is a certain order and in some cases a rather rigid order which sometimes needs to be strictly followed.

Timing for Raag Bilawal is not given. It is, I believe, 3 am to 6 am.

The information on the times to which raags are restricted is invaluable but poses some rhetorical questions.

It is understood that each raag can only be sung at a certain time, within three hours (peher) of the twenty-four hour cycle.Firstly, does this mean that one is forbidden to sing a shabad which belongs to one time slot (peher) in terms of its raag in another time slot? For example, can a shabad in a morning raag be sung in the evening in that raag? Or can one then sing that shabad in a different raag in the evening? There are no black and white answers to such questions - just opinions.

Anand Sahib is in Raag Ramkali. Does this mean that Anand Sahib should not be sung in the evening as Ramkali is a morning raag? Furthermore, should the Anand Sahib ONLY be sung in Raag Ramkali? All rhetorical questions because we know that rarely does any raagi sing Anand Sahib in Raag Ramkali and if they do, they would not do that at the end of an evening smagam.

Raag Assa is stipulated as a 'morning' raag. Yet, most saloks of our evening nitnem - Rehras Sahib are in Raag Assa. I have heard a very beautiful 'Assa Dhi Chaunki' in Hajur Sahib, Nanded in the evening before Rehras recitation which sent the sangat on a spiritual 'high'. Raag Assa is often sung in evening smagams too, though strictly a morning raag.

Does this not all suggest that these so called 'rules' are not rigid but there is leeway? 'So called' because such rules have

not been mentioned nor even inferred anywhere by our Guru Sahibs. They are just opinions. In fact the mention of 'raags' in gurbani almost always suggests that one should not become too pedantic about singing in raags! For example - 'Koyi gavai raagi nadhi bedhi bau bhaant kar, neheen Har Har bheijai Ram rajay' - some sing of the Lord, through musical measures and the sound current of the 'nadh' through the Vedas and so many other ways, but the Lord is not pleased... . It is the sincerity with which a shabad is sung that Waheguru Ji is interested in, not how good a kirtenia is in the raag presentation.

Tongue in cheek I shall also ask - when is it Basant season (spring) in Malaysia and Singapore so that we can sing Basant raag here? I remember an incident in Australia when a 'hajuri' raagi started kirtan in Basant raag after explaining that it is 'maryadha' from Darbar Sahib. That in the month of March, according to him, kirtan should be started in Basant Raag. Our group also

performed kirtan hajri after them. He asked me quite loudly in sangat that perhaps I did not know Raag Basant and if I did not I should learn it. I pointed to the outside - at the 40 degrees centigrade late summer, early autumn heat of Australia in March and asked him if that looked like Basant season to him?

Amardeep Singh Ji is of the opinion that Guru Sahibs did not prescribe catchy tunes. I believe they did. I believe that they encouraged the popular or the catchy rather than the elite or exclusive and definitely not the boring! Raag Majh for example has its origins in popular folk music of the Majha region of Punjab. As mentioned Raag Bairardi is based on a Punjabi regional tune. Raag Tilang is most suited to catchy 'qawali' style singing. Furthermore 'ghodian', 'alahniyan' and 'dhunian' are all catchy melodies of popular Punjabi folk music of the time. The purpose of our Guru Sahibs in firstly writing gurbani in the language of the man on the street and making sure we, ordinary human beings could sing it, suggests that they were not adverse to using popular methods to spread the word. So, it would be naive to think that they were adverse to catchy melodies. I believe that gurbani is set to raags to ensure that 'raags' were made accessible to the man on the street rather than remain the exclusive and elitist domain of the rich and powerful few. The idea was not to put all gurbani kirtan into the straitjacket of rigid raag rules and regulations. The idea was to be able to sing gurbani in gay abandon and amongst common folk any which way one wished.

Amardeep Singh Ji has raised objections to the 'out of raag bounds' creativity in presenting gurbani. I have a few points to make.

1. I have witnessed some 'brahmgianis' singing one 'pangati' of gurbani in folk-style singing and sending hundreds of thousands of devotees into spiritual ecstasy. For example, the popular melody for 'Tu Thakur...' during Ardaas is a very catchy Punjabi folk melody - 'Kala doria kunday naal eday-yayi oe, shota devra bhabi naal ledeyayi oe...I once heard a 'Sant' singing just one pangati of 'Guru mere sang sedha hai naalay...' on this same melody for almost half an hour and the sangat going into spiritual rapture.

2. Take the Akhand Kirteni Jatha. Their high octane Waheguru-driven kirtan can go on not just for hours but for days creating a highly charged spiritual atmosphere! Youth in their thousands throng to AK weekend smagams worldwide to listen and spiritually enjoy this kind of kirtan.

3. On the other hand, I have heard supposed raagis struggling to keep to 'raags' and causing 'listening misery' to sangats, but everyone keeps listening as it is 'correct' - supposedly the right thing to do. Kirtan singing and listening is slowly being urged to become a ritual rather than one being able to enjoy it and being spiritually moved by it. The so-called traditionalists have words like 'kan-ras' (pleasing to the ear) to discourage kirtan from sounding pleasant! Let us open the doors rather than head towards trying to close them.

I have heard some very simple kirtenias like the legendary Gopal Singh Ji who never sang in raags but sang so sincerely, sweetly and spiritually that sangats used to be sent into swoons of ecstasy. Bhai Surjan Singh Ji, who was roundly condemned for his style of kirtan in his time, recorded an Assa Ki Var in the 1960's which is even heard today by literally millions of Sikhs. He did not stick to Raag Assa nor 'Tunday Asrajay ki dhuni' when recording it. He did not conform to any 'rules' except a sincerity to himself and his Guru, which brings 'anand' to sangats even till today. Our own, Malaysia's Ram Singh Gulzar in the 50's and 60's was a legend in his own lifetime. He never sang in raags, but thousands used to be spell-bound and on spiritual highs with his gravelly voice and spirit-filled rendition of kirtan.

Today we have the advent of some very unique gurbani singing by the American Sikhs including their efforts with modern instruments like the guitar, to sing in raag or out of

it, but with sincerity. In Malaysia we have contemporary groups like 'Anhad' and 'Veer Vaar Project' presenting gurbani in their own unique way. They excite the younger generation and they should be also gently encouraged to explore raag and search for themselves within the pages of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and associated granths and 'steeks' of Sikhism.

Another young kirtenia who is

reaching youth in various parts of the world is Veer Manpreet who presents a high level of spiritual sincerity in his catchy 'Tuhi Tuhi' and other very catchy melodious shabad presentations which draw youngsters in to sing along with him. He has already made a big splash in UK, Europe and Kenya. He is well known in Malaysia and Singapore and youth follow him around when he comes to Australia. He has turned thousands of youth towards their guru - gurbani and closer to their Sikhi heritage through music. Though versed in raags he sings mainly in catchy melodies and youth and the general sangat love him. As time goes on, I am certain he will move closer to singing in raags without losing his singing and composing abilitiies.

Remember, the music is just the vehicle - the message is all important, and even beyond the message, naam recitation is paramount. Besides other quotes from Amardeep Singh Ji's articles, here is one more: 'Bilawal tab hi kijiyai jab mukh

hovai naam. Raag naadh sabadh sohnay, ja lagai sehej dhyan. Raag naadh shod Har seviyai ta dargheh payiyai maan.' (Meaning - Use Bilawal when Waheguru's naam is on your lips.The melody and music, and the word of the shabad are beautiful, when one focuses ones meditation on the celestial Lord. Finally, leave behind the melody and music and serve the Lord, meditate on the Lord, then you shall obtain honour in the court of the Lord.)

Amardeep Singh is probably a little closer to the truth when he says one can make thousands of permutations of raag if considering Raag Bilawal. Bilawal is not only a raag but also a thaath - house of raags. It occupies only the white notes on a vaja if starting from what is loosely called 'pehli chitti' (first white) or in western musical parlance - the note 'C'. Our popular melody for the 'Mool Mantr' uses the notes of Bilawal. These are very carefree detached set of notes. The English musical 'Sound of Music' uses this scale for its famous rendition - Doe a deer, a female deer, Ray, a shaft of

golden sun ...'. Elvis Presley's famous 'Wooden Heart' uses this scale. And to repeat - these pangatis from gurbani say, 'use Bilawal with gay abandon when you have Waheguru on your lips. The melody, the music, even the shabad are beautiful when one is focused on meditating on His Naam. But ultimately leave all this behind and just serve the Lord, meditate on the Lord and you shall obtain honour in His court!'

The article titled 'Flow and pause in gurbani & kirtan' is very commendable. Whilst understanding the 'Rehau'' (Pause) in shabads, I again caution against rigidity. I have always been told that each and every pangati of gurbani is priceless. Sometimes a pangati strikes one more that others and a practitioner likes to sing its praises. The original chunky 'Amrit Kirtan' pothi (book) which every raagi had a copy of in years gone by, and mine was gifted to me especially by my venerable Bapu Ji, has certain pangatis in shabads underlined suggesting that those pangatis can be used as asthayees

(chorus). These were not necessarily the first pangatis nor pangatis just before Rehau's. So, if it was good enough for my venerable father, and kirtenias of his generation

and before, then it is good enough for me.

Do not get me wrong. There are chosen chorus pangatis which sometimes bemuse me. 'Jo mangay thakur apnay te soyi soyi dhevai' is a favourite! In short it means - 'Keep asking, and He shall keep giving!"... unless you also pay full attention to the rest of the shabad. And as pointed out by Amardeep Singh Ji - 'Lakh khushian patshahian..' stressing more on hope rather than the udham of earning 'naam'.

I also plead guilty to recording 'Mitre pyaray nu' with sounds of thunder, rain and animals howling to create the atmosphere in which Guru Gobind Singh Ji narrated this shabad. What is its effect? Thousands now know that that was the environment in which it was narrated by listening to our rendition. By the way, shabad 'Mitr pyaray nu ...' is not stipulated in any raag, nor is it in the Guru Granth Sahib. So I do claim creative license to present it the way I feel it should be presented. We have also already recorded Jaap Sahib and Benti Chaupayi to rap. Hundreds of friends use it as their background when they go on their treadmills for physical exercise. A gatka group uses our Jaap Sahib rendition for their warm-up exercises. Does it augment spirituality? I do not know but I do know that this bani is being heard daily by those who otherwise probably do their regular daily exercises to bhangra music and lyrics. I make no excuses but certainly plead guilty.

What of the future? I urge the youth to learn the raags. Be familiar with them and where

possible utilise them for singing shabads. BUT, do not let that stunt your natural creativity through your spiritual progress through life.

Our Guru Sahibs have not given any rigid commands as to whether shabads should be sung in the raags prescribed. They are indicators of how they could be presented. The Guru Sahibs themselves broke all rules. They wrote gurbani in the simple man's language. They prescribed bani in raags not to put it into a strait jacket because that was not their intention at all. Raags must just be used, like any other good music, as a vehicle to present the message. The message being of paramount importance. And above and beyond the message, just NAAM.

My venerable Bapu Ji who was a raagi himself used to say - 'Guru dha jas gao, bhaven ketay vangoon edao' - Sing the praises of the Lord Guru, evenif you can only bray like a donkey'. Hopefully we do not have to bray like donkeys.

I thank Amardeep Singh Ji for his valuable contribution towards ‘shudh’ kirtan. I have copies of his articles compiled

with my personal notes on raags and music. One is always learning and his articles are part of my learning too. They have given me food for thought.

There are schools of ‘shudh’ kirtan sprouting all over the globe where supposedly 'shudh' kirtan is being taught. All efforts are being made but remember, there is a natural evolution always taking place. The advent of the harmonium was one. There will always be others. We introduced the Australian didgridu, other wind instruments and numerous other instruments to singing gurbani. Youth love them and in the process get closer to their Guru. The prime motive should be the espousing of gurbani - dare I say popularising its singing, through any means. As pointed out by Amardeep Singh Ji, music is merely the vehicle. Let the kids have fun with singing gurbani, let them have fun with their Guru, not impose rigidity - which they will run away from.

I am a musician and I am always looking for the joy in music. I would not be doing kirtan if my venerable father had not encouraged me to sing gurbani any way I wanted to. He

was a 'vedhvaan' (learned) and a Brahmgiani and always encouraged me. Even when I started gaining great popularity singing gurbani on the latest Bombay movie music in my teens in Malaysia, he merely frowned and hoped that I would come out of that phase. I did, because of his appreciation of my natural abilities and constructive criticism.

Nanak Satgur bhetiyai puri hovai jugt. Hesendheyan, khelendheyan, painendheyan khevendean vichai hovai mukt. (There is emancipation within ordinary living and enjoyment.) Let us always take a holistic approach to Sikhi and not just treat it as a 'religion'.

Let us just not make Sikhi a part of our lives. Let us engulf our whole life and living, with Sikhi. Above all, let us enjoy kirtan as a pathway towards Naam.

Dya Singh (Australia) 20 September 2013

SIKH NAUJAWAN SABHA MALAYSIA Executive Committee 2013 / 2014

POSITION NAME PORTFOLIO REFERENCE EMAIL

1 Jathedar Pavandeep Singh

Khalsa Land (KKB), Projects & Events, Youth Development, OMG [email protected]

2 M Jathedar Amarjit Singh Khalsa Land (KKB), OMG [email protected]

3 M Jathedar Balbinder Singh Youth Development, MSYA, Training & Development, Fellowship, Khalsa Land (KKB), Holla Mahalla

[email protected]

4 Secretary Malkith Singh Secretariat, Sabha House, Khalsa Land (KKB), Projects & Events, NGOs, Publication, Parchaar

[email protected]

5 A Secretary Serena Kaur Secretariat, Publication, Women Development, MSYA, Fellowship [email protected]

6. Treasurer Sanggat Singh Treasury, MSYA, Cultural Activities [email protected]

7 A Treasurer Jai Nanak Singh Treasury, Training & Development, MSYA, NGOs [email protected]

8 Exco Charanjit Kaur Women Development, ICT, Youth Development [email protected]

9 Exco Serjit Singh Parchaar, Youth Development [email protected]

10 Exco Boghar Singh Global Sikhs, Welfare, Social, Relief and Nishkam Sewa, Parchaar [email protected]

11 Exco Ravinder Kaur Training & Development, Women Development, Mighty Khalsa [email protected]

12 Exco Rajinder Kaur Women Development, Mighty Khalsa, MSYA [email protected]

13 Exco Manjeet Singh Logistics , Sabha Shoppe, Youth Development, MSYA, Sports manjeet2301gmaill.com

14 Exco Shamdev Singh ICT, Global Sikhs, Welfare, Social, Relief, Nishkam Sewa, MSYA [email protected]

15 Exco Amreeta Kaur Women Development, Youth Development,Publication, MSYA [email protected]

16 Exco Gurnam Singh Training & Development, Youth Development, Khalsa Land , MSYA [email protected]

17 Exco Bhajanmeet Singh

Youth Development, MSYA, OMG, ICT [email protected]

18 Exco Baljit Kaur Women Development, Mighty Khalsa, MSYA, Parchaar [email protected]

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Dya Singh’s article on Kirtan 25















































Kaljug meh Kirtan Perdhana - Kirtan is King in the Age of DarknessBy Dya Singh (Australia)

Dya Singh’s article on Kirtan The Sikh, Oct 201326











































Bhai Avtar Singh
















































Bhai Avtar Singh





Dya Singh’s article on Kirtan The Sikh, Oct 201328











































Bhai Surjan Singh




















































Dya Singh’s Interview The Sikh, Oct 201330

'Kirtania extraordinaire', Malaysian born S. Dya Singh Ji of Australia is touring Malaysian gurdwaras for the whole month of October under the auspices of the Sabha. The Sabha requested Dya Singh Ji to promote the 50th Anniversary of Sabha 'samelans' as he was one of the original participants of the very first samelan in Port Dickson gurdwara in 1963 under the supervision of Sant Baba Sohan Singh Ji.

We asked him a few questions about this tour ...

Q. You have not done a kirtan tour in Malaysia for almost ten years. Why is that?

DS. I guess I have been busy touring globally for ten years. It is nice to come back for a tour here - my home country and visit all the lovely small and large Sikh communities in Malaysia.

Q. We notice that there is also a change in your jatha. It is now an all-Sikh jatha. Have you changed direction in your kirtan?

DS. Kirtan for me is itself a journey. There was a time in my 'jawani' when I used to pride myself in using melodies from popular Hindi (Bollywood) movies for gurbani, but then I started to explore raags and other traditional methods of presenting kirtan including contemporary kirtan with non-Sikh musicians in Australia. It was quite a wild ride including major concerts

in western festivals and venues with plenty of translations in English. After about 15 years of that, I had meanwhile grown tired of all that and have been studying our traditional kirtan and needed Indian trained musicians for that. So, this is the phase I am in and I guess it is an ongoing journey in the pursuit of kirtan for the soul.

Q. So, can we expect to hear more conventional kirtan this time instead of the contemporary kirtan that we normally get from you?

DS. These new musicians will certainly lend to that but then, I will always have my twist on kirtan presentation. It will certainly not be dull! (He laughs)

Q. Tell us something about the 'taus' which will be used in this tour.

DS. The origins of the taus are a little vague. There is a view that it was developed from the dilruba by dhan dhan Guru Arjan Dev Ji. There is also a view that Sri Guru Hargobind Ji was very adept at playing it. It is certainly a 'Sikh' instrument. Taus means peacock. It looks like a peacock and played with a bow. It also sounds like a deep dilruba and it certainly lends to a very deep, rich spiritual sound - very nice with soothing kirtan. Sandeep, who plays it has been studying classical music in Ludhiana and is a very proficient player. I am

very excited about this.

Q. You have informed us that the tabla player is a Guiness Book of Records record-holder in playing tabla?

DS. Yes, Paramjot holds the record for longest non-stop tabla playing at 313 hours, 13 minutes and 13 seconds. Putting that in context, that is 15 days of non-stop tabla playing - quite an amazing feat! You will have to ask him how he managed it!

Q. Can we expect to hear more kirtan in raags?

DS. Yes, raags will be used but also other melodies. The message of gurbani is of paramount importance. The music is merely the vehicle - but we shall make the music as attractive and as spiritually uplifting as possible!

Q. How does it feel to be involved in 'samelans' for fifty years and doing this tour?

DS. It is a lovely trip down memory lane. It brings back very fond memories of Baba Ji (Sant Baba Sohan Singh Ji) and other luminaries of the time including my venerable Bapu Ji, Giani Harchand Singh Ji, my Chacha Ji, Sarjit Singh Bassian; HM. Gurbachan Singh Ji of Port Dickson, Uncle Partap Singh Ji, Uncle Gurdial Singh Ji, Master Joginder Singh Ji who now lives in Adelaide, Australia; ham-radio man S. Sangat Singh Ji of KL, Master

Karminder Singh Ji who I think now lives in Temerloh, S. Menjit Singh of Seremban the first Jathedar of the Sabha who passed away very young - I think in 1964; and other fellow participants - some of whom come to mind - the late Hardial Singh (Dr. Hardy); Dr. Karam Singh of Kangar; Master Pritam Singh Ji; Dr. Hardeep Singh; Dr. Gajan Singh Sidhu; Dr. Kulwant Singh of Malacca; ... the memory fades ... O yes, Dr. Gurpal Bhullar who now lives in USA, still a very good friend!The PD gurdwara was made of planks and those days it was right on the beach front.

One could stand on the back wall at high tide and dive into the sea! Now one can barely see the Malacca Straits from the gurdwara!Sabha samelans played a big part in my upbringing and I am ever so grateful for tutelage under such luminaries as Baba Ji, my father and all the other learned Sikh 'vedhvaans' of that era - the 60's.

Q. So this 'tour' must be very special?

DS. Of course! We will be travelling from Kangar to Johore Bharu. Hopefully I shall meet plenty of old

INTERVIEW WITH S. DYA SINGH JI OF AUSTRALIA ABOUT THEIR KIRTAN TOUR OF MALAYSIA THIS OCTOBER.

friends and fellow samelan

participants - maybe share some old stories and reflect on our lives over all these fifty years!

Q. Welcome back Dya Singh Ji. We all look forward to a most uplifting and enjoyable month of kirtan in Malaysia. or shall we say - Welcome home!

DS. Thank you. I look forward to the tour and meeting old friends. The Sabha has done sterling sewa for Sikh youth for fifty years and I am honoured to be a part of this great Sikh organisation.

M'sian Sikhs

To Hold Month-

Long Hymn Singing

Performances

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Dya Singh’s Interview 31

'Kirtania extraordinaire', Malaysian born S. Dya Singh Ji of Australia is touring Malaysian gurdwaras for the whole month of October under the auspices of the Sabha. The Sabha requested Dya Singh Ji to promote the 50th Anniversary of Sabha 'samelans' as he was one of the original participants of the very first samelan in Port Dickson gurdwara in 1963 under the supervision of Sant Baba Sohan Singh Ji.

We asked him a few questions about this tour ...

Q. You have not done a kirtan tour in Malaysia for almost ten years. Why is that?

DS. I guess I have been busy touring globally for ten years. It is nice to come back for a tour here - my home country and visit all the lovely small and large Sikh communities in Malaysia.

Q. We notice that there is also a change in your jatha. It is now an all-Sikh jatha. Have you changed direction in your kirtan?

DS. Kirtan for me is itself a journey. There was a time in my 'jawani' when I used to pride myself in using melodies from popular Hindi (Bollywood) movies for gurbani, but then I started to explore raags and other traditional methods of presenting kirtan including contemporary kirtan with non-Sikh musicians in Australia. It was quite a wild ride including major concerts

in western festivals and venues with plenty of translations in English. After about 15 years of that, I had meanwhile grown tired of all that and have been studying our traditional kirtan and needed Indian trained musicians for that. So, this is the phase I am in and I guess it is an ongoing journey in the pursuit of kirtan for the soul.

Q. So, can we expect to hear more conventional kirtan this time instead of the contemporary kirtan that we normally get from you?

DS. These new musicians will certainly lend to that but then, I will always have my twist on kirtan presentation. It will certainly not be dull! (He laughs)

Q. Tell us something about the 'taus' which will be used in this tour.

DS. The origins of the taus are a little vague. There is a view that it was developed from the dilruba by dhan dhan Guru Arjan Dev Ji. There is also a view that Sri Guru Hargobind Ji was very adept at playing it. It is certainly a 'Sikh' instrument. Taus means peacock. It looks like a peacock and played with a bow. It also sounds like a deep dilruba and it certainly lends to a very deep, rich spiritual sound - very nice with soothing kirtan. Sandeep, who plays it has been studying classical music in Ludhiana and is a very proficient player. I am

very excited about this.

Q. You have informed us that the tabla player is a Guiness Book of Records record-holder in playing tabla?

DS. Yes, Paramjot holds the record for longest non-stop tabla playing at 313 hours, 13 minutes and 13 seconds. Putting that in context, that is 15 days of non-stop tabla playing - quite an amazing feat! You will have to ask him how he managed it!

Q. Can we expect to hear more kirtan in raags?

DS. Yes, raags will be used but also other melodies. The message of gurbani is of paramount importance. The music is merely the vehicle - but we shall make the music as attractive and as spiritually uplifting as possible!

Q. How does it feel to be involved in 'samelans' for fifty years and doing this tour?

DS. It is a lovely trip down memory lane. It brings back very fond memories of Baba Ji (Sant Baba Sohan Singh Ji) and other luminaries of the time including my venerable Bapu Ji, Giani Harchand Singh Ji, my Chacha Ji, Sarjit Singh Bassian; HM. Gurbachan Singh Ji of Port Dickson, Uncle Partap Singh Ji, Uncle Gurdial Singh Ji, Master Joginder Singh Ji who now lives in Adelaide, Australia; ham-radio man S. Sangat Singh Ji of KL, Master

Karminder Singh Ji who I think now lives in Temerloh, S. Menjit Singh of Seremban the first Jathedar of the Sabha who passed away very young - I think in 1964; and other fellow participants - some of whom come to mind - the late Hardial Singh (Dr. Hardy); Dr. Karam Singh of Kangar; Master Pritam Singh Ji; Dr. Hardeep Singh; Dr. Gajan Singh Sidhu; Dr. Kulwant Singh of Malacca; ... the memory fades ... O yes, Dr. Gurpal Bhullar who now lives in USA, still a very good friend!The PD gurdwara was made of planks and those days it was right on the beach front.

One could stand on the back wall at high tide and dive into the sea! Now one can barely see the Malacca Straits from the gurdwara!Sabha samelans played a big part in my upbringing and I am ever so grateful for tutelage under such luminaries as Baba Ji, my father and all the other learned Sikh 'vedhvaans' of that era - the 60's.

Q. So this 'tour' must be very special?

DS. Of course! We will be travelling from Kangar to Johore Bharu. Hopefully I shall meet plenty of old

INTERVIEW WITH S. DYA SINGH JI OF AUSTRALIA ABOUT THEIR KIRTAN TOUR OF MALAYSIA THIS OCTOBER.

friends and fellow samelan

participants - maybe share some old stories and reflect on our lives over all these fifty years!

Q. Welcome back Dya Singh Ji. We all look forward to a most uplifting and enjoyable month of kirtan in Malaysia. or shall we say - Welcome home!

DS. Thank you. I look forward to the tour and meeting old friends. The Sabha has done sterling sewa for Sikh youth for fifty years and I am honoured to be a part of this great Sikh organisation.

Wednesday.They will be held at Sikh

temples or 'gurdwaras' stretching from Kangar to Johor Bharu until Oct 29.

The performers are Malaysian-born Dya Singh; and tabla player Paramjot Singh and Sandeep Singh, who plays the taus, a Sikh musical instrument, both from Ludhiana, India.

Paramjot Singh has been acknowledged by the Guinness book of Records as having played the tabla no-stop for 313 hours, 13 minutes and 13 seconds.

Dya Singh, who is now based in Melbourne, said upon his arrival here on Sunday that he was a participant at the first Malaysian Sikh youth camp in the Port Dickson Gurdwara Sahib in 1963 and was

M'sian Sikhs

To Hold Month-

Long Hymn Singing

Performances

honoured that SNSM got in touch with him to do a 'kirtan' tour to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the organisation.

"We would also like to promote this year's youth camp, which again will be held at the Technical College in Port Dickson from Dec 14 to 21," he said.

Dya Singh, a former journalist and accountant, has been responsible for taking Sikh traditional spiritual music outside the confines of gurdwaras and making it accessible to younger generations of Sikhs as well as non-Sikh audiences.

Details of the 'kirtan' performances are available from SNSM's Malkith Singh (0122880557).

--BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia (SNSM) of the Malaysian Sikh Youth Organisation of Malaysia will hold 36 'kirtan' or hymn singing performances throughout October featuring three well-known Sikh singers and musicians as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations beginning

Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan - Appreciating Sikhi And Living It The Sikh, Oct 201332

elements of Sikhi life as they help instill a sense of discipline that our minds desperately need. The nitnem banies together with the hukumnama of the day provides valuable teachings that help bring nourishment and divine wisdom to our minds. They help change our thoughts and behavior so we can learn to appreciate what life has to offer us. Many of us sleep through our lives making decisions that selfishly focus on ourselves, forgetting that our very passion and talent that is within us remain ‘unawakened’. That is why the shabad guru is a daily inspiration to help us unlock the valuable nugget of diamond hidden deep within ourselves. The shabad guru provides the divine inspiration if consciously applied. It makes our minds and thoughts pure leading to our choices, action and finally consequences from our actions - pure. This helps us achieve the destiny that is destined for us while totally being conscious of these experiences. This is truly what all of God’s human creations crave for and in preparation of each samelan. A deliberation takes place where we sit and ask ourselves what specific knowledge and experiences do we want youths to take back home? How do we ignite this flame of Sikhi and its gifts to the youths so that this flame continues to burn within them even after the samelan? This year, we want to help youths appreciate that Sikhi is simple and we are wonderfully unique as God has CHOSEN TO MAKE US DIFFERENT. We are given to look different and infused within us is the passion and strength of a lion and the

grace of a princess. While superheroes hide behind costumes protecting and serving on a part-time basis, Sikhs are entrusted to be very visible with the goal to protect and serve - all the time. Super heroes pride themselves with their motto “with power comes great responsibility,” this also applies to us, Sikhs. However, we are expected to live by these standards every day and every moment of our lives.

Given this aspiration, our goal is to remind youths of our special abilities and uniqueness. The learning module sessions in the mornings will instill knowledge that helps align us to be better Sikhs, inspiring us to be an important ingredient in creating a satsangat environment around us. The Sikh community that functions as “ONE” is gifted with the means to be a powerful source of inspiration for God’s creation as a whole. We have heard the inspiring stories of how Sikhs as a community were able to perform incredible deeds when they single mindedly focused on a common goal. Our desire is to help youths appreciate the importance in understanding our code of conduct and various expectations as Sikhs that are being asked of us to help us be better aligned to a common purpose across the community. Our active engagement here will inspire the creation of a wonderful sangat that aligns to common goals and gurmat virtues. This will provide us and those in our sangat with a constant source of inspiration, that fuels an endless amount of positive energy, awakening within us

This year is somewhat unique as it is our 50th anniversary and we are extending the samelan by a day. To me it is a time when my family and I will drop everything and offer ourselves to serve the community. However, in my many years on this journey I have realized that I personally learn and experience so much more and my service becomes so insignificant. I was the recipient of so much wonderful service and blessing.

As part of the team engaged to define the program and structure of the samelan, I was asked to provide some insight into what participants would expect in the upcoming samelan.

This samelan, you can expect the usual highlights of Guru Maharaj’s arrival, daily inspirational kirtan (IPS Sessions) and amrit sanchar program. These programs are big attractions for participants, sewadars and visitors.

The nitnem banies will also be a source of daily inspiration for all of us. These are critical

samelan. We are also targeting our

senior and experienced youths (Samelan Apprentices) to be part of a targeted program to develop them to be key players in future SNSM programs. These youths will be inspired to take on projects and put them into action after the samelan. They will be given an opportunity to rally volunteer support from the large population of participants in the samelan and will be given support to enable their projects’ success. Our desire is, we create many small opportunities for youths to embrace gurmat virtues through experiences that touch all of God’s creation when they go back to their homes. We hope youths will be inspired to grow into wonderful role models within their community and create a gurmat satsangat environment wherever they go.

I believe all we can do is create opportunities for everyone. Each of our experience will largely depend on how honest we were in living to the true spirit of Kirt Karni. Ultimately it is about each of us being true to applying the teachings of our shabad guru and living by it. We all seek real life role models but we rarely choose ourselves to be the “ONE”. With God’s grace all of us will start the journey to be the “ONE” that inspires and served all of God’s creation. This is my prayer.

Sdr. Sukhdarshen Singh of Sungai Petani, is one of the Organisers of the Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan, 2013. He can be contacted at [email protected]

The session will further build on creating opportunities to instill Guru Nanak’s philosophy into our lives.

Naam Japna – Instilling and immersing in the experiences of the virtues of the creator – Empathy, Forgiveness, Humility, Love, Contentment, etcKirt Karni – Being aware of our behavior and ensuring every action is based on Truth and not motivated by the 5 negative emotions.Wand ke Shakna – Willing to serve others in the image of the creator. Demonstrating a sense of sincerity and genuineness in serving others

We hope to inspire youths to

appreciate that we have real role models all around us that live these wonderful virtues. Sikhi is not merely about being a successful professional in your career. It is beyond that. It is truly embracing and immersing in godly virtues and touching people lives with these virtues. We ignite this flame of virtues not only within us but all whom we touch and through that we immerse in an emotional bond of pure love with all of God’s creation as we now see God in everyone.

While this may be an ideal state of mind, I am convinced that any small step we take towards this ideal state will transform us in a large way, awakening our consciousness and allowing us to be immersed and awake, as Hukum moulds us to our fullest potential. This inspired ideal state of mind is what we hope to share with our youths in the duration of the

our passion and talent, to serve God’s creation in a significant way.

In the samelan, we have always insisted youth learn through “experiences”. The whole samelan is actually a learning experience for all who engage in it. Sikhi is all about putting into practice gurmat teachings so that gurmat virtues get deeply embedded into our thoughts and behavior making our mind and actions pure. The Shabad Guru has constantly told us that learning in itself is of little value as all it does is increases knowledge that fills us with ego. We need to take this learning and put it into practice by serving all of God’s creation. This inspired action will infuse a passion within us as now we are able to connect the shabad guru’s teaching with the daily experiences of Hukum. This passion and connection to the hukum will help us uncover our talent that is hidden deep within us. Through this process we clean ourselves of the ego that invariably seeps into our minds as we collect knowledge. Our ego gets washed away through the virtues of humility and love, through serving others unconditionally. That is why we insist that all youths engage in various sewa including cleaning bathrooms and toilets during the course of the samelan.

The afternoon session will build more on what was articulated above. We want to start the journey by making youths appreciate that Sikhi is truly unique and God has CHOSEN SIKHS TO BE DIFFERENT.

Our aspiration is to serve God’s Creation in his image.

Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan 2013 – Appreciating Sikhi And Living It

Sukhdarshen SinghSungai Petani

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan - Appreciating Sikhi And Living It 33





















Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan 2013 – Appreciating Sikhi And Living It

Forgotten Deeds of Sikh Heroism The Sikh, Oct 201334





















When the history of this titanic struggle comes to be written in mature perspective none of its many sides will, we believe, excite more wonderment and more ungrudging admiration than the part the Sikhs soldiers have played in it.

As of 7th December, 1941, the summary of strength of army in Malaya was 86,895 troops. Two thirds of the total force were Indian soldiers. Sikhs represented more than 60 percent of the total Indian force.

December 8th, 1941 at 12.15 am local time, Japanese 18th. Divisions troops hit the sandy beaches of Sabak-Badang Beach, Kota Bahru and at 4 am (Tokyo Time) Japanese 5th Divisions forces splash ashore unopposed at Singora (now Songkhla) and Patani.

As the first disgorging invaders

hit the junction of the Badang and Sabak beaches, they come under withering machine-gun fire from pillboxes manned by the 3/17th Dogra (Indian) Regiment. The invaders lose one third of their initial assault forces of 5,300 men in fearful beach fighting before annihilating the Indian defenders who die in their pillbox positions, refusing neither to withdraw nor to surrender.

An armoured train, with 30 men from the 2/16th Panjab Regiment and some engineers, advancing into Thailand from Padang Besar in Perlis reached Khlong Ngae, in southern Thailand, and successfully destroyed a 200 foot bridge before withdrawing back to Padang Besar.

On 22nd December, 3/2nd Panjab Regiment engineered an ambush on the Japanese at Grik Road, Perak which resulted in heavy casualties on the invaders. The regiment fought fiercely delaying actions by the Imperial Guards.

On December 30th, 1941 to 2nd January, 1942, a battle between 3000 British personnel and over 6000 Japanese soldiers erupted. The 11th Indian Division managed to delay the Japanese advance at Kampar for a few days, during which the Japanese

suffered severe casualties in terrain that did not allow them to use their tanks or their air superiority to defeat the British. A Sikh company of the 1/8th Panjab Regiment throws back a furious attack with a classic bayonet charge through massive mortar and machine– gun fire. Only 30 members of the company survive the action but the position holds. The Japanese lost more then 500 men here and Japanese commanders, for the first time in the war, consider retreating.

On 30th January, 1942, a Sikh Battalion made an ambush on a strong Japanese party north of Kluang, Johor. The Japanese squealed with absolute panic when charged with bayonets. Sikhs captured 250 motorcycles and 150 bicycles when they charged the Japanese positions and machine-gun post. Further details of the attack made by the Sikh Battalion North of Kluang reveals that the enemy casualties numbered at least 400, two small field guns and

many mortars which were tied on their bicycles and tommy-guns were also destroyed.

During the Battle of Muar, members of both the Australian 8th Division and the 45th Indian Infantry Brigade were making a fighting withdrawal when they became surrounded near the bridge at Parit Sulong. The Allies fought the larger Japanese forces for two days until they ran low on ammunition and food. Able-bodied soldiers were ordered to disperse into the lush jungle, the only way they could return to Allied lines.

The wounded prisoners of war were kicked and beaten with rifle butts by the Imperial Guards. At least some were

FORGOTTEN DEEDS OF SIKH HEROISM - THE BATTLE OF MALAYAHARCHAND SINGH BEDI, IPOH, MALAYSIA

Sikh troops disembarking from ships into Malaya

tied up with wire in the middle of the road, machine-gunned, had petrol poured over them, were set alight and were "after their incineration, were systematically run over, back and forwards, by Japanese; driven trucks." Anecdotal accounts by local people also reported POWs being tied together with wire and forced to stand on a bridge, before a Japanese soldier shot one, causing the rest to fall into the Simpang Kiri River and drown. 110 Australians and 35 Indians are massacred by the Japanese. In the face of death, the Sikh prisoners sat with dignity.

History speaks for itself on the valour and bravery displayed by the Sikhs. The

never-say-die spirit of the Sikhs gave us the impetus and inner strength and resilience to face any challenges that came our way. Sikh soldiers adhered to the faith and never flinched nor surrendered in the face of adversity.

It is recommended that the reader have a geographical knowledge of the location of Peninsular Malaysia, to be able to envisage where the above incidents unfolded. The pictures reveal the genuine expression of the bravery, dedication and the unity of the Sikhs exemplified by the Sikhs in battlefields and evidently, they faced all challenges without any fear or trepidation.

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Forgotten Deeds of Sikh Heroism 35


































FORGOTTEN DEEDS OF SIKH HEROISM - THE BATTLE OF MALAYA

Sikh Gunners in a rubber plantation in Sahum, Kampar, Perak





Forgotten Deeds of Sikh Heroism The Sikh, Oct 201336

This photograph was found among Japanese records, when British troops re-entered Singapore. This picture shows the inhumane brutality practiced by the Japanese on Sikh prisoners.




































DR. ENJER SINGH18, SIKH SETTLEMENT,31800 TANJONG TUALANGPERAK.

CONTACT NO. 05-545 4233FAX NO:- 05-545 4233MOBILE NO:- 012-508 1522EMAIL: [email protected]

Dear Sanggat ji,

Waheguru Ji Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

RE: SENIOR CITIZENS HOME FOR SIKHS

Our family have been running a Senior Citizens Home for Sikhs in Tanjong Tualang, Perak in memory of our father, Sardar Inder Singh Dakoha for the last four years. This home is open to all elderly or disabled Sikh men and women who are homeless, have no means of income and need a shelter for themselves. They will be provided with board, lodging, medical care and all necessary facilities.

The home is based in a very Sikh environment, all the surrounding houses are occupied by Sikh families and the Sikh Gurdwara is few yards away, a very similiar picture to a Sikh village in Punjab. It is a conducive and a secure setting for elderly Sikhs who will feel at home among their own people.

We have four guests at the moment. The home is under utilized as we have facilities for many more.

We shall be grateful if you can kindly help us to locate and identify such needy people and forward their addresses or telephone contact to us.

With warm regards,Sat Sri Akal

...............................................DR. ENJER SINGH

NISHKAM SEWA

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH ||

In 2010, Nishkam Sewa was initiated by the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia. This initiative is to assist single parents and needy families. We started this sewa with 4 families in the Klang Valley.

We now have about 80 families around the country receiving aid for:-

1. Education – cash for tuition, books, fees, school uniform2. Provisions – atta, dhal, cooking oil, rice, etc3. Medical Aid – medicines and cash 4. Disaster Aid – clothes, mattresses, pillows and cash5. Counseling – assistance to understand and overcome problems6. Shelter – assistance in providing shelter for abandon elders7. Match-making – introducing and facilitating prospective matches

Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia extends their heartfelt thanks to all donors and sewadars for their selfless Sewa.

If you know anyone who needs assistance, please contact:

Sardar Bohgar Singh: 016-218 7772 | Sabha House: 03-4021 3313

We assure you utmost confidentiality.

Hospital Sewa The Sikh, Oct 201338

New Jersey: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced Thursday (September 12, 2013) that he will nominate Gurbir Singh Grewal, an assistant U.S. attorney from Glen Rock, to succeed John Molinelli as the Bergen County Prosecutor.

If approved by the state Senate, Gurbir Singh would be the first Sikh-American to serve as a County Prosecutor in New Jersey.

His nomination ends several months of speculation over whom Christie would tap for the post, which Molinelli, a Democrat, has held since being nominated by Gov. James E. McGreevey in 2002. He was reappointed by Gov. Jon Corzine

and has continued to serve as a holdover since his term expired in January.

Gov. Christie’s choice of the Glen Rock attorney as his nominee for Bergen County prosecutor took county Republicans and Democrats, many of whom had been handicapping the selection, by surprise.

The 40-year-old assistant U.S. attorney was not one of the names bandied about by political insiders who have speculated over the last few months on whom the governor might tap to succeed John Molinelli, who has served in the post for more than 10 years.

"It's out of the ordinary for so many people to be surprised,"

said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee that will oversee Gurbir's confirmation hearing.

Weinberg added, though, that it's not unusual for lawmakers to first meet a gubernatorial appointee only after the nomination is announced.

Officials in both parties also were surprised to learn that Christie, a Republican, had tapped a Democrat to replace Molinelli, who also is a Democrat. Grewal has been a registered Democrat in his hometown of Glen Rock since 2008.

"I think the governor is just wanting to find the best candidate regardless of party,"

said state Sen. Kevin O'Toole, R-Cedar Grove, whose district includes part of Bergen County.

Campaign finance reports show that Gurbir has contributed to candidates in both main political parties.

Federal Election Commission reports show that he gave a total of $2,000 to President Obama's first campaign for the White House as well as $1,000 to Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Mendendez during his last two campaigns.

At the county level, state election records show Gurbir contributed $500 to Republican O'Toole's 2011 campaign as well as a total of $2,500 to Democrat Leo McGuire's unsuccessful reelection campaign for Bergen County sheriff.

State Sen. Robert Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, said political affiliation matters less than experience and leadership ability when it comes to the county prosecutor, who also serves as the county's top law enforcement official.

"I look forward to sitting down with him and discussing his goals for the office," said Gordon, adding that he hopes Gurbir Singh would continue Molinelli's emphasis on prosecuting drug cases and gang crimes.

Gordon, whose district includes Glen Rock, said he met Gurbit through a mutual friend, Hoboken Councilman Ravinder Singh Bhalla, who like Gurbir is Sikh.

News of Gurbir’s nomination delighted members of New Jersey's Sikh community.

"This is good news," said Gurmain Singh Parmar, president of the Garden State Sikh Association in Basking Ridge.

Gurbir, who speaks Punjabi and Hindi, comes from one of

the fastest growing segments of New Jersey's population. The number of Sikh-Americans and people of descent from the subcontinent in the state increased 73 percent during the 2000s. In Bergen County that number grew by 40 percent to 24,973 by 2010 or 2.8 percent of Bergen County's overall population.

Gurbir’s nomination also drew praise from his current boss, Paul Fishman, U.S. attorney for New Jersey, who joked that "I hate the governor for taking my guy."

Fishman said he had just promoted Gurbir recently to deputy chief of the economic crimes unit.

"He's a tremendous lawyer; thoughtful, well-prepared, great judgment and well-liked by his adversaries, the judges and his colleagues," Fishman said.

"This is a bittersweet situation for my office," Fishman added. "I think he's a tremendous choice. The people of Bergen County will be well served by having him as prosecutor."

Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office in 2010, Gurbir worked since 2008 in the New York City office of the law firm Howrey LLP, where his duties included representing an accounting firm in litigation in the wake of Bernie Madoff's multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

He worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn from 2004 to 2007. Among the cases he handled there was the prosecution of 12 men charged with providing material support to the Tamil Tigers separatist group during Sri Lanka's civil war.

Rachit Choksi, a lawyer who practices in Bergen County and knows Gurbir, described him as "probably one of the most on-the-mark attorneys I know."

"He's such a smart guy" Choksi said. "He knows exactly where he wants to go and he knows how to get there."

Molinelli, who said he learned of the move by Christie when contacted by a reporter, declined to comment. Christie had said in January that when he makes a decision about the post, “our first call will be to John.”

“I want to thank John Molinelli for his many years of service to the people of Bergen County,” Christie said in a news release. “We look forward to a swift confirmation for his successor.”

Members of the gurdwara in Glen Rock that Gurbir Singh and his family attend, said they were happy with the news that someone from their community could be the next leader of the County Prosecutor’s Office.

“It’s excellent news for the community, because I think he is one of what we call the new generation, born here, raised here and someone who went to school here and is a full-fledged Sikh,” said Karmjit Singh Sidhu, president of the Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara on Prospect Street.

“It also brings a lot of hope and encouragement for our next generation … especially in law and order, where we don’t have a lot of presence, and it will be a big boost in our community and for our children down the road.”

Karmjit Singh said Gurbir’s father was among the founders of the gurdwara, and that Gurbir has been going to the house of worship since he was a child. He said that more recently Gurbir has been known to volunteer at the gurdwara, including helping serve meals at the gurdwara’s community kitchen on Fridays and after service on Sunday.

“We see him quite often,” said Amrik Singh Sikand, past president of the gurdwara. “He

and his wife are very involved and his children and mother, too.”

Amrik Singh, who said he has known Gurbir since he was a teenager, described him as “very dedicated,” “hardworking,” a person who has a lot of integrity and is well-liked.

“His passion is public safety, and that’s why he is prosecuting people that have done wrong things,” Amrik Singh said.

Gurbir Singh is less well-known to at least three of the Bergen County state senators whose approval will be needed under the unwritten rule known as senatorial courtesy.

State Sens. Gerald Cardinale, R-Demarest; Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck; and Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge, said they were unfamiliar with the nominee, although Sarlo said he has met some of Gurbir’s family.

“I look forward to meeting with him,” Sarlo said. “John Molinelli

has served with honor and distinction … I will do my due diligence as a senator.”

State Sen. Kevin O’Toole, R-Cedar Grove, whose district also includes part of Bergen County, said he knows Gurbir and believes he’ll be an outstanding nominee.

“I think when the Senate Judicial Committee reviews his credentials, I think they’ll find he’s as well-credentialed a prosecutor as you’re ever going to meet,” said O’Toole, who serves on the Judiciary Committee along with Weinberg, Sarlo and Cardinale.

Gurbir Singh has worked since 2010 in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, where he is the deputy chief of the economic crimes unit and computer hacking and IP crimes unit.

Recent cases he has prosecuted include a former Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

financial adviser who pleaded guilty in February 2012 to wire fraud in a case involving charges of money stolen from clients’ accounts.

Gurbir also helped prosecute a former employee of a New Jersey defense contractor found guilty in September 2012 of exporting sensitive military-related technology to China. He previously worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn as an assistant U.S. attorney in the business and securities fraud unit.

Gurbir is a graduate of Georgetown University and obtained his law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at The College of William & Mary. He is past President of the South Asian Bar Association of New York and is a member of the New Jersey Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association.[Courtesy: North Jersey. Edited for sikhchic.com]

Did you know that Guru Ka Langgar is served to the patients of Hospital Kuala Lumpur every Sunday from 4-7pm? In addition to this, Sikh patients are given degh and counseled.

This Sewa has been going on for more than 20 years. Anyone interested in sponsoring the meals or participating in the distribution of food, kindly contact:

Malkith Singh - Tel. No. 012-2880557 or Talvinder Singh (Tal) - Tel. No. 016-2309231

Hospital Sewa

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Sikhs in the news 39

New Jersey Gov. Christie to Appoint Sikh-American as Head County Prosecutor: Gurbir Singh GrewalBy JOHN C. ENSSLIN & MONSY ALVARADO




















































NISHKAM SEWA

WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH ||

In 2010, Nishkam Sewa was initiated by the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia. This initiative is to assist single parents and needy families. We started this sewa with 4 families in the Klang Valley.

We now have about 80 families around the country receiving aid for:-

1. Education – cash for tuition, books, fees, school uniform2. Provisions – atta, dhal, cooking oil, rice, etc3. Medical Aid – medicines and cash 4. Disaster Aid – clothes, mattresses, pillows and cash5. Counseling – assistance to understand and overcome problems6. Shelter – assistance in providing shelter for abandon elders7. Match-making – introducing and facilitating prospective matches

Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia extends their heartfelt thanks to all donors and sewadars for their selfless Sewa.

If you know anyone who needs assistance, please contact:

Sardar Bohgar Singh: 016-218 7772 | Sabha House: 03-4021 3313

We assure you utmost confidentiality.

Sikhs in the news The Sikh, Oct 201340








































































































Sikhs Host 'Turban Day' in New York City Although it is counted as the world's fifth largest religion, relatively few Americans know about the Sikh tradition. This lack of awareness has

had severely negative consequences, especially when Americans mistakenly equate a turban with terrorism. The first casualty of a hate crime after 9/11 was a turbaned Sikh American, and last August a white supremacist massacred Sikh Americans at their place of worship (gurduara) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The current situation is ironic and disturbing; while the Sikh turban traditionally represents love, faith, and social

By Simran Jeet Singh

justice, people unaware of its significance often see it as a marker of violence and fear. In order to help correct these misperceptions and to share their values of love, faith, and social justice, The Surat Initiative organized its first Turban Day at Union Square in New York City this past Sunday. Volunteers came from all over the northeast and tied over 700 turbans on their fellow Americans. Hundreds of other New Yorkers stopped by to speak with young Sikhs and learns about the religion and the significance of the turban.

The Surat Initiative recently released a free Turban Day Package for those interested in hosting this event, and it is currently organizing Turban Day programs throughout the country. Turban Day events coming up in September include Madison, Wisconsin (Sept. 14) and Washington, D.C. (Sept. 29).

Sikhs in the news The Sikh, Oct 201342

Shubhashish Bhutiani’s 20-minute drama “Kush” about the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom in India, has won the Best Short Film award at the 70th edition of the world’s oldest film festival -- in Venice, Italy.

It was the only South Asian film to have made it to the Orizzonti (Horizons) section of the Venice Film Festival which is dedicated to new trends. It had 30 other films competing for a Jury Prize besides Best Film and Short Film at the August 28-September 7 festival.

The movie is about a lone Sikh boy named Kush in a group of 10-year-olds at a school picnic, who is protected by a teacher as murderous mobs tear around the Indian capital city of New Delhi after the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi at the hands of India‘s elite security force assigned to guard her.

Behind the movie, starring Shayaan Sameer as Kush and Sonika Chopra as the teacher, is a real-life inspiration and a 22-year-old Mumbai-born, Mussoorie-bred director, Bhutiani, who made it for graduation at New York’s

School of Visual Arts. Bhutiani said the story was of his Class 11 economics teacher.

“She had told the story once in class. I was attracted because it commented on India as a country, but in a unique way -- bleak, yet inspirational.”

Bhutiani said the dark days remain: “There are still instances of violence against Sikhs and other religious minorities” in the country.

In the Orizzonti section, the award for Best Film went to ‘Eastern Boys’ by Robin Campillo (France), while the Jury Prize went to ‘Ruin’ by Michael Cody and Amiel Courtin-Wilson (Australia).

For those wanting to watch ‘Kush‘, Bhutiani plans to put the movie online for free, though he says that a commercial release for the movie in India remained a dream. Made on a shoestring budget of less than Rs. 1 million, ‘Kush’ also got the Best Innovative Budget Award for a Foreign Film given by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and Borsa Italiana.

The cast are friends and neighbours of Bhutiani’s parents in Mumbai, and the

movie is shot on the city’s outskirts and in a national park. On how he entered the Venice fest, he said it was a suggestion from his doting dad, “I submitted it without expectation … Someone please tell me I'm not dreaming!”

In 2011, a Punjabi film, Gurvinder Singh‘s ‘Anhey Ghorrey Da Daan’, was presented in the Orizzonti section.

In addition to the acclaim it received around the world, including in Venice, ‘Anhey Ghorrey …’ later also won three National Awards in the subcontinent. Bhutiani plans to make a love story next.

Italian film ‘Sacro GRA’ about people living along the ring road around Rome won the Golden Lion for overall best film at the festival. In 1957, the Bengali film ‘Aparajito’ by Satyajit Ray had won the Golden Lion, while director Mira Nair’s ‘Monsoon Wedding’ won in 2001.

[Courtesy: Hindustan Times. Edited for sikhchic.com]

FILM ON INDIA’S 1984 ANTI-SIKH POGROM WINS AWARD IN VENICE FILM FESTBy AARISH CHHABRA


Anup Singh's Punjabi film 'Qissa' won the NETPAC Award for the top World or International Asian Film at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival that concluded last week.

"The NETPAC Award for the best Asian film at festival 2013 goes to Qissa, directed by Anup Singh, for its sensitive portrayal of the issues of identity and displacement that affect people not only in India, but in all parts of the world and for brilliance of cinematic craft and the choice of metaphor that has been employed to tell a moving story that is bound to provoke thought, spark debate and give its viewers an intense experience," the jury said.

Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema awarded the film, starring Irrfan Khan, et al, for brilliantly addressing the topic of "identity and displacement".

Director Anup Singh, elated by the news, remarked:

“Today's my wedding anniversary and my wife had just tucked away a bottle of champagne into the fridge when I had the phone call from my producer, Johannes Rexin, that ‘Qissa’ has been awarded the NETPAC Jury's award for best world/international premiere in TIFF's Contemporary World Cinema section.

“I am grateful and humbled that my film about a refugee on this earth, a film in a minority language like Punjabi, can find a home finally within the wondrous community that is world cinema today.

“I thank the NETPAC jury, Cameron Bailey and TIFF, my resolute producers, ‘Match Factory‘, and my dear and glorious cast -- Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome

and Rasika Duggal. And finally the crew, in India, Germany, France, Netherlands -- my dear colleagues, I salute you!”

The NETPAC jury included Jay Jeon (Korea), Intishal Al Timimi (Abu Dhabi) and Freddie Wong (Hong Kong).

'Qissa' is an Indo-European venture, a co-production between India/ Germany/ The Netherlands/ France and is represented by sales agent, ‘The Match Factory‘.

Its co-producers are NFDC India, Heimatfilm (Germany), Augustus Film (Netherlands/Dutch), and Cine-sud Promotion (France).

Set in the era following the tragic Partition of Punjab, the film revolves around a Sikh, Umber Singh, attempting to forge a new life for his family while keeping their true identities a secret from their community.

Anup Singh's Punjabi film 'Qissa' won the

NETPAC Award at the 38th Toronto

International Film Festival.

Punjabi Film Named Best Asian Film in Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF): Anup Singh's QISSA

PAIN - IS IT A BLESSING OR SUFFERING? Why am I in pain constantly??

Why me?

What have I done to get these sufferings?

Are you familiar with all these questions?

When we go through pain in life we always think on the negative impact but not on the positive impact.

Have we ever had gratitude and thank god for the pain? Very seldom, because we have forgotten.

“Dukh Daru Sukh Rog Bhaia Ja Sukh Tam Na Hoi…”Suffering is the medicine, and pleasure is the disease, because where there is

pleasure, there is no desire for god.

Based on reality and experiences faced daily, pain has become a part of us, whether we accept it or not. How are we going to make pain a blessing or suffering is totally up to us.

Our journey on this earth is actually a spiritual journey on enriching our soul. But we are very busy with the earthly body and the attachments surrounding it. That is why the PAIN is SUFFERING. But if you make the journey a spiritual one, then your PAIN is BLESSING.

The pain also comes when we have expectations in life which are not fulfilled or met. Part and

parcel of life is such, because we live day to day a challenged life. Why not take these challenges as gifts from the creator and say: WAHEGURU TERA SHUKUR HEH.

From personnel experience, our own LIFE is a beautiful journey of Rainbow.

YOU WILL SEE BEAUTY IN EVERYTHING AROUND YOU, WHEN YOU ARE ABLE TO COME TO TERMS WITH YOUR OWN BEAUTIFUL SOUL AND HAVE GRATITUDE TO YOUR CREATOR WHAT EVER THE SITUATION IS.

Our friends are surprised when I tell them my most beautiful moments in LIFE was when I was in PAIN. These moments keep me in touch with my

creator and looking at our Shaheed Singhs (a reminder during “Ardaas” everyday) having the skull removed, having bits and pieces torn apart from the flesh. I bet you it is so painful just having a light cut on your skin.

What makes me strong in the face of challenges is the above. Going through the medical machines and not knowing what to expect the next and the results, the fear of the unknown is actually so frightening. Just to share, when I was first diagnosed together with my husband’s diagnose and going through more and more medical test to come, I just did not want to do anymore test because I was tired and told the doctor no more tests.

At that time I just visualized Guru Gobind Singh Ji and his four Sahibzadas.

It came to us that what is this pain compared to what Guruji had endured and do you know miracles do work. The pain vanished, the anguish vanished and there was no more tiredness. That is when the gratitude comes in “WAHEGURU TERA SHUKUR HEH”. Both of us are very lucky because Waheguru Sadaa Ang Sang and the moments of blissfulness appear in front of us always:

“Jo Nar Dukh Mai Dukh Nahee Manai” That man, who is in the midst of pain, does not feel pain.

And “Mayraa Baid Guruu Govindaa”My Physician is the Guru, the lord of the universe.

How does the creation of god heal? PEOPLE you just need to believe and have faith.

I would like to share the poem below with all of you.

(Written during my stay in the hospital for three weeks enduring severe wound breakdown (2010) second major surgery after 2008 during the time when I was in distress and feeling very down. This poem helped boost my spirits and motivated me.)

PAINWe recognize ourselves more when in pain because that is the time our anger, resentment, impatience come out in terrible forms.

We also learn how to be patient, tolerant, accepting of our condition and how to control our pain receptors so that it blocks out all pain.Our pain is always the greatest pain. Look around us there are people who are in more severe pain than us. Feel their pain and you will find peace within yourself. Realization to understand your pain is a gift wrapped as a blessing in disguise.

The episode of pain is actually a betterment for us to heal as “pain heals pain” and makes us better. Everyone in life goes through different types of pain in their lives.

You either accept pain with tears or with a smile. Smiling makes it easy to tolerate and accept. Tears and fears make it difficult.

The biggest pain is when we are alone, going through depression and loneliness. No one beside us when we die, that we can share a word or two with before we depart. (That is why your relationship with your soul’s spirituality and the bond with your creator is very important.)

The biggest joy of pain is forgiveness and thanking god with gratitude.

Start loving our pain and see how our body energizes, heals and mobilizes itself.

SUKHVEER KAUR(To the universe I vibrate positivity, peace, joy, happiness and love always)

Pain - is it a blessing or suffering? The Sikh, Oct 201344

PAIN - IS IT A BLESSING OR SUFFERING? Why am I in pain constantly??

Why me?

What have I done to get these sufferings?

Are you familiar with all these questions?

When we go through pain in life we always think on the negative impact but not on the positive impact.

Have we ever had gratitude and thank god for the pain? Very seldom, because we have forgotten.

“Dukh Daru Sukh Rog Bhaia Ja Sukh Tam Na Hoi…”Suffering is the medicine, and pleasure is the disease, because where there is

pleasure, there is no desire for god.

Based on reality and experiences faced daily, pain has become a part of us, whether we accept it or not. How are we going to make pain a blessing or suffering is totally up to us.

Our journey on this earth is actually a spiritual journey on enriching our soul. But we are very busy with the earthly body and the attachments surrounding it. That is why the PAIN is SUFFERING. But if you make the journey a spiritual one, then your PAIN is BLESSING.

The pain also comes when we have expectations in life which are not fulfilled or met. Part and

parcel of life is such, because we live day to day a challenged life. Why not take these challenges as gifts from the creator and say: WAHEGURU TERA SHUKUR HEH.

From personnel experience, our own LIFE is a beautiful journey of Rainbow.

YOU WILL SEE BEAUTY IN EVERYTHING AROUND YOU, WHEN YOU ARE ABLE TO COME TO TERMS WITH YOUR OWN BEAUTIFUL SOUL AND HAVE GRATITUDE TO YOUR CREATOR WHAT EVER THE SITUATION IS.

Our friends are surprised when I tell them my most beautiful moments in LIFE was when I was in PAIN. These moments keep me in touch with my

creator and looking at our Shaheed Singhs (a reminder during “Ardaas” everyday) having the skull removed, having bits and pieces torn apart from the flesh. I bet you it is so painful just having a light cut on your skin.

What makes me strong in the face of challenges is the above. Going through the medical machines and not knowing what to expect the next and the results, the fear of the unknown is actually so frightening. Just to share, when I was first diagnosed together with my husband’s diagnose and going through more and more medical test to come, I just did not want to do anymore test because I was tired and told the doctor no more tests.

At that time I just visualized Guru Gobind Singh Ji and his four Sahibzadas.

It came to us that what is this pain compared to what Guruji had endured and do you know miracles do work. The pain vanished, the anguish vanished and there was no more tiredness. That is when the gratitude comes in “WAHEGURU TERA SHUKUR HEH”. Both of us are very lucky because Waheguru Sadaa Ang Sang and the moments of blissfulness appear in front of us always:

“Jo Nar Dukh Mai Dukh Nahee Manai” That man, who is in the midst of pain, does not feel pain.

And “Mayraa Baid Guruu Govindaa”My Physician is the Guru, the lord of the universe.

How does the creation of god heal? PEOPLE you just need to believe and have faith.

I would like to share the poem below with all of you.

(Written during my stay in the hospital for three weeks enduring severe wound breakdown (2010) second major surgery after 2008 during the time when I was in distress and feeling very down. This poem helped boost my spirits and motivated me.)

PAINWe recognize ourselves more when in pain because that is the time our anger, resentment, impatience come out in terrible forms.

We also learn how to be patient, tolerant, accepting of our condition and how to control our pain receptors so that it blocks out all pain.Our pain is always the greatest pain. Look around us there are people who are in more severe pain than us. Feel their pain and you will find peace within yourself. Realization to understand your pain is a gift wrapped as a blessing in disguise.

The episode of pain is actually a betterment for us to heal as “pain heals pain” and makes us better. Everyone in life goes through different types of pain in their lives.

You either accept pain with tears or with a smile. Smiling makes it easy to tolerate and accept. Tears and fears make it difficult.

The biggest pain is when we are alone, going through depression and loneliness. No one beside us when we die, that we can share a word or two with before we depart. (That is why your relationship with your soul’s spirituality and the bond with your creator is very important.)

The biggest joy of pain is forgiveness and thanking god with gratitude.

Start loving our pain and see how our body energizes, heals and mobilizes itself.

SUKHVEER KAUR(To the universe I vibrate positivity, peace, joy, happiness and love always)

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Pain - is it a blessing or suffering? 45

# svwl: gurU-Gr dI inSwnI ‘inSwn swihb’

Aqy aus nUM bsqr pihnwey jwx dI rIq kdoN

hoNd ivc AweI ?

jvwb: inSwn &wrsI dw Sbd hY ijs dw ArQ

JMfw XW icMnH hY [ isMGW dy inSwn dy isr ‘qy

KVg (KMfy) dw icMnH hu Mdw hY Aqy rMg bsMqI jW

surmeI huMdw hY [ ies nUM siqkwr nwl JMfw

swihb jW inSwn swihb ikhw jWdw hY [ ieh

gurU gRMQ swihb jI dy pRkwS sQwn, gurU ky lMgr

sQwn jW dIvwn sQwn dI SoBw bxdw hY [ Asl

ivc ieh gurU dI inSwnI hY jo au~cI krky

lgweI jWdI hY qW ik dUroN loVvMd nUM pqw l`g

sky ik gurU-Gr duiKAwirAW dw Awsrw iks QW

‘qy hY [

is`K ieiqhws Anuswr inSwn swihb dw

Aqy bsqr pihnwey jwx dw irvwj CyvyN pwqSwh

gurU hirgoibMd swihb jI dy smyN ArMB hoieAw

[ pihly pMjy siqgurW smyN JMfw jW inSwn swihb

nhIN hu Mdw sI [ siqgurW ny POjI sMgTn dI

sQwpnw kIqI ijs ivc ngwrw Aqy inSwn

swihb vriqAw jwx l`gw [ Juldy hoey inSwn

Aqy vjdw hoieAw ngwrw Awzwd soc dI pRqIk

mMinAw jWdw hY [ sRI Akwl q^q swihb dI

sQwpnw smyN vI aunHW BgqI qy SkqI dy sumyl

vjoN do inSwn swihb sQwipq kIqy [

#svwl: keI isMG gwqry vwlI ikRpwn nhIN

pihndy, auh Dwgy nwl bMnHI CotI ijhI ikRpwn-

numw lohy dI p`qI nUM hI pihndy hn [ kI ieh

gurmiq Anuswr TIk hY ?

jvwb: is`K leI AMimRq pwn krky pMj kkwr

Dwrny zrUrI hn, ijnHW ivcoN ikRpwn is`K dI

Awzwd hsqI dI pRqIk hY [ ieh inSwnI hI nhIN

blik iek Ssqr (hiQAwr) vI hY ijs dI

vrqoN AinAW Aqy A`iqAwcwr ivru`D kIqI jw

skdI hY [ iesy leI hI siqgurW ny ies nUM

hmySW Awpxy AMg-sMg r`Kx dI hdwieq kIqI hY

[ ikRpwn dI Skl vwlI lohy dI p`qI Dwgy nwl

bMnH ky pwauxw inrol minmq hY Aqy glq hY [

is`K ny hmySW gwqry vwlI ikRpwn pihnxI hY [

auh hI kkwr AKvw skdI hY [

#svwl: gurbwxI ivc Awey ienHW SbdW dw TIk

aucwrn d`so [ sYBM, nwdM, vydM, nmsqM, jrwrM [

svwl ? jvwb

Question & Answer (Punjabi) The Sikh, Oct 201346

jvwb: ijnHW SbdW dy AKIrly A`Kr ‘qy it`pI

l`gI huMdI hY aunHW dw TIk aucwrn aunHW SbdW dy

AMq vc ‘|’A`Kr lwaux nwl sMBv huMdw hY [

ies leI svwl ivcwly SbdW dw TIk aucwrn

sYBM|, nwdM|, vydM|, nmsqM|, jrwrM| hovygw [

# svwl: AnMdu swihb dI bwxI ivc Sbd –

AnMdu, AwnMdu, Aqy Andu &rk nwl ilKy imldy

hn [ ienHW dw aucwrn ikvyN hovygw Aqy kI ienHW

dy ArQW ivc koeI &rk hY ?

jvwb: ‘AnMdu’ Sbd BwvyN ies bwxI jW hor

QwvW au~qy v`Kry-v`Kry rUp ivc iliKAw imldw

hY pr aucwrn hr QW ‘AnMd’ hI hovygw [ ij`Qy

‘A’ nUM kMnw (w) l`gw hovy, au~Qy kMnw vI aucwi-

rAw jwvygw Aqy ArQ vI ieko hI Awqmk

ivgws jW pUrn iKVwE hovygw [

# svwl: kI AnMd kwrj smyN lVky Aqy lVkI

nUM lwvW dw pwT KVHy ho ky suxnw cwhIdw hY ?

jvwb: pMQ pRvwixq ‘is`K rihq mrXwdw’ dy

AnMd sMskwr dy isrlyK hyT Bwg-6 ivc

sp`St kIqw igAw hY ik: “qwibAw bYTw s`jx

sUhI mhlw 4 ivc id`qIAW lwvW dw pwT suxwvy

[ hryk lWv dw pwT hox mgroN A`gy vr qy ip`Cy

kMinAw, vr dw p`lw PV ky sRI gurU gRMQ swihb

jI dIAW cwr pRkrmW krn [ pRkrmW krn smyN

rwgI jW sMgq lwvW nUM krm Anuswr sur nwl

gweI jwx Aqy vr kMinAw hr iek lWv mgroN

m`Qw tyk ky AglI lWv suxn leI KVy ho jwx [

auprMq auh m`Qw tyk ky AwpxI QW ‘qy bYT jwx

[”

ies leI lVky-lVkI nUM lwvW dw pwT

KVy ho ky hI srvx krnw cwhIdw hY [

# svwl: suKmnI swihb ivc 9-vIN AstpdI

ivcoN hyTW ilKIAW qukW dw ArQ smJwE [

bIj mMqR u srb ko igAwn ]

chu vrnw mih jpY koaU nwmu ]

jvwb: bIj mMqR- aus mMqR dw nwm hY jo Drm

Anuswr swry mMqrW dw mu`F hovy jW bIj rUp hovy

[ mMqr dw Bwv isDWq huMdw hY [ is`K Drm ivc

<nUM bIj mMqR mMinAw igAw hY [ gurbwxI ivc

‘<’, ies dw srUp, smr`Qw, hukm Aqy ausdy

pswry dw ivsQwr hY, ivAwiKAw hY [ qukW dy

ArQ ies qrHW hn :

‘nwm (hor sB mMqrW dw) mu`F Aqy sB dw

igAwn (dwqw) hY [ (bRwhmx, K`qRI, vYS, SUdr)

cwry jwqIAW ivcoN koeI mnu`K (pRBU dw) nwm jp

ley …[‘

Asl Bwv hY ik pRBU dw nwm koeI vI jp skdw

hY nwm jpx dw ArQ hY: pRBU dI is&q-slwh

krnI, gux gwien krny jW guxW dw icMqn krnw

[ ies qrHW krn nwl pRBU dI sdIvI Xwd mnu`K

dy AMqr-mn ivc v`s jWdI hY [

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Question & Answer (Punjabi) 47

Article on Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji The Sikh, Oct 201348

The Guru Granth Sahib is a sacred scripture of the world and is the Eternal Guru of the Sikhs. Because it is a scripture suitable of a universal religion, many world class philosophers and holy men consider it a unique treasure and a noble heritage for all humankind. Because, it is the Guru of the Sikhs, its adoration or veneration is an article of faith with the Sikhs. In the year 2004, the world celebrated the Quad-Centennial of the Granth’s First Compilation. In 2008, the Sikhs celebrated the Tercentennial of the Canonization of the Granth as the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

The sacred verses of Sri Guru Granth Sahib are called Gurbani, which means the Guru's word or the song messages enshrined in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. In Sikhism, the Guru is the 'Wisdom of the Word' and not a human or a book. God revealed the Word through the holy men and women from time to time, and the most recent revelations were entered in the text of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. To the Sikhs, any scripture not included in the Guru Granth is unacceptable as the Guru’s word or authority behind their theology,

and it is not allowed to be recited, sung, or discussed in Sikh congregations with only exception for the compositions of Guru Gobind Singh, Bhai Gurdas and Bhai Nand Lal. These were considered to elucidate the Guru Granth verses. Those who

explain the scripture or teach the doctrines contained in the scripture are respected as teachers, granthi, missionaries, saints or enlightened souls in the Sikh religion.

The Sikhs regard Sri Guru Granth Sahib as a complete, inviolable and final embodiment of the message for them. There is to be no word beyond the Word. And that's how their last guru, Guru Gobind Singh, spoke to the congregation on October 20, 1708 shortly before his ascension.

"Those who desire to behold the Guru should obey the Granth Sahib. Its contents are the visible body of the Guru." Sri Guru Granth Sahib contains hymns of 36 composers written in twenty-two languages employing a phonetically perfected Gurmukhi script on 1430 pages in 511,874 words, 1,720,345 characters, and 28,534 lines. It has been preserved in its original format since its last completion by Guru Gobind Singh in 1705.

It is well known that religious institutions protect themselves from erosion by enshrining their tenets and doctrines in some tangible form. The best and the

most modern form of preserving the doctrinal purity today is the use of printed media and electronic storage. At the time of the Granth’s compilation, the Sikh gurus could make use of only handwritten books, and they used this medium wisely. If available, all of the founders and the followers of great religions would have liked to compile one volume of their scriptures, as the Sikh gurus did, to preserve their scriptures for posterity.

Guru Granth was composed in poetry perhaps to both prevent alterations or adulterations, and to reach out to human heart. According to some writers, “its power is the power of the puissant and winged word, and no exegesis or commentary or translation can ever convey the full beauty of its thought and poetry.” Further, poetry can be left to the culture and the times that follow to best interpret the message.

Thus the Guru Granth incorporates all of the features to place it alongside the world's greatest scriptures. Besides, this is the only scripture which in spite of its interfaith nature was dictated, edited, proof-read, and signed for authenticity by the founders of the faith in their life time. These unique features helped preserve the Sikh religion throughout the numerous onslaughts it endured over the period of five centuries. The Granth proved to be a sufficiently foolproof means for continuously providing safeguard against adulteration and extinction of the Sikh religion for centuries to come.

The fifth Sikh Guru, Arjan Dev first compiled the Guru Granth in I604 in the city of Amritsar. Guru

Gobind Singh prepared the second edition, which he completed at Damdama, a town in the State of Punjab in India in 1705. Since then, his authorized version has been transcribed and printed numerous times; it always conforms to the Damdama edition in every respect. More recently the text in its original font is available electronically on many web sites for every one to have free access. In addition to the edition in original Gurmukhi script, the Guru Granth on the web is available in Hindi, Sindhi, and roman English transliterations. Whereas translations in English, French, Spanish, Punjabi, Hindi, Sindhi and German are already available, those in Thai, Urdu, Hebrew and many Indic languages are in preparation.

The Granth compiled by Guru Arjan contained the hymns of the first five Gurus along with most of the saints and holy men of medieval India and the Far East. He installed this scripture in the Sikhs’central shrine, Hari Mandar, at the City of Golden Temple in 1604. Later, this copy was taken into possession by guru’s rivals who would not wish to share it freely with the mainstream Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh took upon himself to recreate the entire Granth. He dictated to a Sikh scholar, Bhai Mani Singh, all verses he considered revealed including the hymns written after Guru Arjan. It took him nearly five years at Anadpur Sahib and Damdama Sahib to complete this project in 1705. He founded Dandama town to immortalize this occasion.

On October 20, 1708 Guru Gobind Singh gave his final sermon that conferred permanent gurudom on the Damdama

version of the Granth. He selected town of Naderh several hundred miles away from Damdama for this event. Since that day, the Granth has come to be known as Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

Sri Guru Granth Sahib contains 5894 hymns. Guru Arjan contributed the largest number of 2216 hymns. Besides the hymns of other Gurus, he also included 937 hymns of fifteen other saints and eleven poet laureates of the Guru’s court whose compositions tallied with the gospel of the Sikh faith. Here, the Hindu, the Muslim, the Brahmin, and the untouchable, all meet in the same congregation of holy souls to create a truly universal scripture for our world.

From the linguistic point of view, Sri Guru Granth Sahib is a treasury of the languages of its times that communicated well with every segment of the society. The language principally employed is the language of the saints, evolved during the medieval period. Based upon the local dialects, it was leavened with expressions from Sanskrit, Prakrit, Persian, Arabic, Bengali and Marathi etc. This language allowed for variations and still enjoyed wide currency in Southeast Asia. Its appeal is found in its directness, energy and resilience. In addition, the Guru designed a phonetically complete gurmukhi font to meet the need of inscribing the multi-linguistic scripture that is also musical.

The poetry of the Granth is in itself a subject worthy of the highest consideration. Music forms the basis of the rhythms and classification of the hymns. They follow a definite metrical system called raags. A raag in

Indian classical music means a pattern of melodic notes. This form is not only used to preserve the originality of the composition, as the poetry written in this form is difficult to imitate, but more so to provide the divine experience through the medium of music and the sounds of God’s creation. The total number of ragas is 31. The gurus themselves invented some of those. Under each Raag, the hymns are arranged in different meters as Chaupadas and Ashtapadas; long poems include Chhands, Vars, and Bhagat verses.

Another outstanding feature of the Guru Granth is the rescission and beauty of its prosody. Whilst a great deal of it is cast in traditional verse forms (e.g. shlokas and paudis), and could best be understood in the context of the well-known classical raags, several hymns and songs make use of popular folklore and meters (e.g. alahanis, ghoris, chands, etc.). The inner and integral relationship between music and verse has been maintained with scholarly rectitude and concern. The complete musicalization of thought was accomplished in a scientific and scholarly manner so that it makes for the unusually vigorous yet supple discipline of the Granth's own metrics and notations.

The Guru Granth verses are often sung in a process known as kirtan. In this process true meaning is revealed directly to the Surat (consciousness and awareness) through cosmic vibrations. The body’s energetic vibrations from our voices bond us to the spiritual light of universal intelligence. As we chant the Granth’s verses the universe speaks to us in metaphoric

images. The physical body of the singer experiences the essence of each word through the lightening energy in the brain and the calming vibrations in the body, all caused by the sound currents. They keep the mind to stay focused on the Word. They heal the physical body and cleanse inner thoughts. The sound waves of the Gurmat Raags connect the mind, body, and spirit by alignment of the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual entities. They implant in the psyche the basis for both spiritual and mental growth. To see a Sikh congregation chant the sacred hymns in unison is to see massed spiritual energy bubble before your eyes. This is how the ordinary words change into the logos and become auspicious.

Reading of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, known as Gurbani paath, is a sacred rite for every Sikh that permits a connection to the Guru for spiritual guidance. It is more than a simple ritual or a complex scholarly endeavor; intellectual deliberation is engaged to seek wisdom while faith is cultivated in the process to receive the inner light. Reading the rhythmic poetry of Guru Granth is considered by some as healing in itself. Its chant is frequently prescribed to patients for relief of their symptoms and to reduce illnesses. It seems to facilitate understanding of pain and pleasure by “mindfulness” or “being in the moment”.

In mystic literature of Guru Granth the appeal of the numinous becomes ineffable, if not inexplicable. And yet the great Sikh scripture is not a knot of metaphysical riddles and abstract theorizing. For the most part it employs the idiom of the common people, and draws its imagery and metaphors from the home, the street and the work place. The hymns of the Guru Granth show an admirable use of the current

figures of speech apart from their metrical richness and sweetness. Imagery was taken from everyday life and common occurrence to simplify subtle thoughts and profound concepts. The Gurus were keen lovers of nature and as such, have written glowing descriptions of panoramic environmental beauty, changes in the times of day, and the changes of seasons to inculcate love for the One Creator. Thus they made Guru Granth poetry an extraordinary breed of divinity, mysticism, immediacy, concreteness and urgency with which it touches the human heart.

One of the greatest glories of the Guru Granth is its all-embracing character. It is a scripture completely free from bias, animus and controversy. Indeed, the uniqueness of the Granth in this respect is all the more astonishing when we think of the obscurantism, factionalism and religious fanaticism of the periods in which it was composed. They were all counterbalanced by inclusion of the songs and verses of a wide diversity of holy men, saints, savants and bards. Of course, their hymns and couplets rendered in their own language and idiom were so dovetailed as to find a complete correspondence with themes or motifs in the compositions of the Sikh Gurus.

The Guru Granth, then, is unique in that it formed the first interfaith and still universal scripture. It is indeed a magnificent compendium of the religious, mystic and metaphysical poetry written or recited between the I2th and 17th centuries in different parts of the Mid-Eastern and Far-Eastern continents. It is also at the same time a reflection of the sociological, economic and political conditions of the day. The satire on the reactionary rulers, the obscurantist clergy, the fake

fakirs and the like is uncompromising and telling. In showing the path to spiritual salvation, the Guru Granth does not ignore the secular and creative life of living beings. In addition to its mysticism and spiritual depth, the poetry of the Gurus throws light on their contemporary situations. It lays bare the corruption and degradation of the society of those times and underscores the need of social reform and economic uplift. Guru Granth verses advocate a spiritual soul for their otherwise inhumane administration of the then rulers.

Obviously, the idea of Guru Arjan Dev was to celebrate the diversity in all religions and mystic experiences, and, at the same time, establish the fundamental unity of spirituality and faith through the scripture of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. In this scripture he founded an integral congress of all minds and souls operating on the same spiritual vibration. He elevated the songs of the saints, the Sufis and the bards to the elevation of the logos to salute the power of the Word whatever form it might take to reveal the glory of the One Reality.

The Sikhs in particular and the religious world in general must be congratulated to be the recipients of the unique scripture of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. We, the Sikhs, must be humble and grateful to be chosen by Guru Gobind Singh who assigned us the task of the keepers of the light of Sri Guru Granth Sahib on this Day of October 20, 1708.

BOUNDLESS SCRIPTURE OF SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Article on Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji 49































BOUNDLESS SCRIPTURE OF SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB

Participants regrouped for the IPS after lunch at 1:00 pm. At 2:30 pm. Outdoors activities started, with Miri Piri doing four Stations of Strategic Games led by Veer Gurnam Singh and Crew, while the male participants of Mighty Khalsa played soccer and the rest played in the newly build playground at Khalsa Land. Tea Break was at 4:30 pm. Participants were given a break till Rahras Sahib at 6:30 to 7:00 pm. Dinner was served at 7:00 to 7:45 pm. Night IPS by Kemmey Veer Ji took the participants from 7:45 to 9:00 pm. Ardas, Hukumnama and Sampati was held at about 9:30 pm. Milo was served before the participants went to bed by 10 pm.

Day 3 started in the same manner like Day 2. At 8:30 am the IPS was led by Kemmey Veer Ji & Jatha. At 10:00 am, after a 15-min drink break and participants were ushered to their classes as on Day 2, where the Miri Piri attended a classroom session with Veer Gurcharan Singh & Veer Taranjit Singh and Mighty Khalsa doing some fun activity in the Darbar Sahib. The classes went on till lunch-break at noon and then it was back to the to the respective classes from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm. Outdoor activities started from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm. Miri Piri

went for a Jungle Trekking led by Veer Gurnam Singh. while Mighty Khalsa played soccer and some played in the Playground. Tea Break was at 4:30 pm. Participants were given a break till Rahras Sahib at 6:30 to 7:00 pm. Dinner was served at 7:00 to 7:45 pm. Night IPS by Kemmey Veer Ji took the participants from 7:45 to 9:00 pm. Ardas,Hukumnama and Sampati was held at about 9:30 pm. Milo and burgers was served before the participants went to bed by 10 pm.

Day 4 started in the same manner like Day 2. At 8:30 am the IPS was led by Kemmey Veer Ji & Jatha. At 9:45 am, Gakta Presentation by the Girls Jatha from India. Followed by a 15 mins drink break and participants were ushered to their classes as the second day. The classes went on till Lunch break at about 11.30 am. At 12:00 everyone gathered in the Darbar Sahib for the Samelan official Closing, where few Sewadars were honoured with Saropaus. Gurdwara Sahib Bukit Beruntung was honoured for their Financial Support was represented by Sardar Harpreet Singh the Honourable Secretary. A Closing and Thanksgiving Ardas was done followed by the Guru Ji blessing everyone with a Hukumnama. Everyone was divided into groups to carry out the “Gotong Royong” to clean up the Samelan grounds. The Samelan ended with everyone going home in good spirits. A weekend well spend.

Article on Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji The Sikh, Oct 201350

Punjabi Education Trust Selangor (PETS) was established in 2011 with the sole purpose of representing Punjabi Education Trust Malaysia in the State of Selangor. PETS carries out many activities to help Punjabi Education Centres (PEC) in Selangor motivate and encourage students to attend Punjabi Classes weekly.

A new activity embarked by PETS is organising a Gurmat Samelan to bring students in Selangor under one roof to help built rapport amongst the PEC students. The Samelan was held at Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia’s (SNSM) KhalsaLand in Kuala Kubu Bharu. Sikh Naujawan Sabha was very encouraging in allowing PETS to have the Samelan on their premises. The support of SNSM went beyond providing the

location but also in offering advice and help in all areas to make the Samelan a huge success. Gurdawara Sahib Bukit Beruntung helped finance this activity as it was held in the Hulu Selangor Area.

There were about One Hundred students from six PECs that took part in the Samelan. PEC Tanjung Malim was invited to send their students as many students from Selangor attend the Tanjung Malim PEC weekly as the nearest centres in the area. The details of the daily activities are attached below.

Participants started arriving in the evening on the first day. Registration, allocation of rooms and a briefing was carried out. There were about fifty participants for the Primary School Students (Mighty Khalsa) and an equal number for the Secondary School Students (Miri Piri). The day ended with the participants meeting each other while having their supper before being shooed to bed early.

All participants were up early at 5:30 am to join in Simran by Bukit Beruntung participants, followed by 5 Bania Nitnem led by Sabha KhalsaLand Manager Sardar Sarjit Singh Naura. This was followed by the Official Opening Ardas for the Samelan and Guruji’s advice through the Hukumnama. The Nishan Sahib Selami was led by Rawang participants followed by morning exercise and Breakfast.

Inspirational Session (IPS) led by Giani Lakhbir Singh and Jatha commenced at 8.30 am. At 10:00 am, after a fifteen; minute drink break, participants were ushered to their classes, where the Mighty Khalsa went to the Darbar Sahib with the Sewadars.

The Miri Piri participants were in the classroom with Veer Tejinder Singh. The sessions went on till lunch-break at noon.































Harbans Lal, PhD., D.Litt (hons)6415 Amicable Drive, Arlington, TX 76016, USAPhone: 817-654-0844, Fax: [email protected]

Note: 20th October is Sri Guru Granth Sahib Gurugaddi Dehara





The Sikh, Oct 2013 Punjabi Education Trust Selangor Samelan 51

Gurmat Samelan by PETS and Hulu Selangor Sanggat, 2013.

Mighty Khalsa engaged in a funactivity.

All of the Participants, Sewadars and the Getha team from India.

Punjabi Education Trust Selangor (PETS)









Day 1 – Thursday 25th July 2013

Day 2 - Friday 26th July 2013



































Miri Piri attending the Classroom sessions

with the Sewadars

Participants during the

daily ardas

Day 3 - Saturday 27th July 2013

Day 4 - Sunday 28th July 2013

Punjabi Education Trust Selangor Samelan The Sikh, Oct 201352






















Article by Karminder Singh Dhillon The Sikh, Oct 201354

Sri Guru Granth Sahib: Parkash & Gurgadee DiharasBy Karminder Singh Dhillon, Ph.D (Boston) Kuala Lumpur.

Gurpurab is the term Sikhs use to celebrate events relating to our Guru. The Gurpurab of the highest significance relates to our present Guru – Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Sikhs celebrate two purabs relating to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib – Pehla Parkash Dihara and Gurgadee Dihara. The Parkash Dihara (literally installation day) refers to the incident when the Pothee Sahib (as the Sri Guru Granth Sahib was called then) was completed by Guru Arjun Dev Ji at Kartarpur and installed for the first time at the Golden

Temple in Amritsar. Baba Budha Ji was installed the first Granthee (minister of the Granth). Guru Arjun Dev paid obeisance (matha tekna) and the Pothee became a permanent feature of Sikh diwans from then on. The Gurgadee Dihara refers to the incident of Guru Gobind Singh re-compiling, at Sabo Ki Talwandee, the Pothee Sahib (by adding the Banee of Guru Teg Bahadur) and installing it at Damdama Sahib. The tenth Guru paid obeisance, installed Bhai Mani Singh as the Granthee, and declared that from then on, the Guru of the Sikhs would be in the form of the Shabad within the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

The months of September and October saw Sikhs all over the world celebrate these two Diharas. This article is written in the celebratory mood of these Diharas – particularly Gurgadee Dihara which sees its three hundred and fifth

year in 2013 – with a view of providing a brief overview relating to Gurbanee and the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

Understanding the Structure of SGGS.

The Sri Guru Granth Sahib contains 1430 pages of Gurbanee. The Sri Guru Granth Granth is organized into 31 chapters based on 31 Raags. Some of these 31 Raags have sub-raags or misrat (combined) rags3 which makes the total raags into 48. The final verse of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib “Sabhaiy Putar Ragan Key Aatharan Dus Vees” SSGGS page 1430 certifies this. Translated literally “the family of raags herein are eighteen, ten and twenty.” The verse “eighteen, ten and twenty” represents a poetic way of indicating a total of 48 raags since the three counts add up to 48. The banee within each raag is arranged in the order of the Gurus.

Guru Nanak’s followed by Guru Angad’s and so on. The banee of the Gurus is further arranged in this poetic order – shabads, astpadees, chants, and vaars. Then comes the banee of the Bhagats. The Sri Guru Granth Sahib contains the banee of six Gurus – Gurus Nanak, Angad, Amardas, Ramdas, Arjun and Teg Bahadur . Guru Angad Dev’s banee consists of saloks only – all of which are incorporated in the vaars. The SGGS further has the banee of 16 Hindu and Muslim bhagats. It further has the banee of ten Bhatts (contemporaries of Guru Arjun and originating from south India), two ragees / kirtenias of Guru Amar Das ji who lived up to Guru Arjun’s time (Bhai Satta and Bhai Balwand), one poet (Sundar), and Bhai Mardana. Amongst the Gurus, the most number of shabads belong to Guru Arjun followed by Guru Nanak and the least to Guru Teg Bahadur. Amongst the bhagats, Kabeer has the most, with some bhagats

having only a single shabad. The above mentioned

information is contained in the heading of every shabad. For instance: the heading Bilawal Mahala 1 Chant Dekhni (SGGS page 843) means the shabad comes from the Bilawal raag chapter. Dekhni indicates a sub-raag namely Southern Bilawal or Karnatik Bilawal as opposed to Northern Bilawal or what is now called Hindustani Bilawal (and was hence sung in Karnatik Bilawal originally upon composition), and is the banee of the 1st Guru. Chant tells us the kind of poetic order namely that the shabad is written in six lined rhyming verses. Dupdey, Chaupdey and Astpadee would mean 2, 4 and 8 lined rhyming verses respectively. At the end of every shabad there is a numeral or a number of numerals as shown for instance in this pangktee taken from SGGS page 848:

Nanak Jal Jaleh Samaya Jotee Jot Meekauy Raam.[ 4 ] 2 ] 5 ] 9 ]

This is an intricate counting system deployed by Guru Arjun when he compiled the Pothee Sahib to keep count of shabads by Gurus or Bahagats in particular poetic orders. This shabad is therefore the fourth one by the same Guru in the current context, second in the running poetic order, 5th in the sub heading, and 9th in the chapter. This counting system has made it difficult for anyone to adulterate the Granth by adding or subtracting shabads.

Most shabads in the SGGS have a rahao line. Literally, rahao means ‘to pause’. But rahao in a shabad does not mean to pause. There is no need for the reader to pause at a particular line. To understand what rahao stands for one need to look at the context of a shabad. Just like the word “stop” means just that. But when one sees this sign at a road junction for instance, it has to be understood contextually – within the context of a road, a junction and vehicle driving

individuals. Contextually it means stop, look left and right, give way to who has right of way, and then go (ironical, because ‘to go’ is the exact opposite of stop). If we took the literal meaning of stop to mean stop, all road junctions would be full of stopped traffic, and every junction would be a parking lot. To provide another instance, the word “stop” in a telegram or telex message means end of the sentence and not that the reader has to stop reading there. If the literal meaning was taken, no telegram would be read beyond its first sentence.

Every shabad in the SGGS has three main contexts. First it is poetry. Second it aims to render a message. And third, it is a musical composition. Rahao thus has three meanings – one for each of these contexts. Every poetic composition has a title; hence rahao is the title of the

poetry that forms the particular shabad. Since the title line of the shabad is used to denote the writer, the raag and sometimes the taal, the title of the poetry had to placed within the shabad as the Rahao line. So essentially, the Rahao is the title of the poetry of the shabad,

Second, every shabad has a core message around which sub-messages revolve. In this context, Rahao means the core message, summary meaning or gist. The rest of the shabad’s multiple messages revolve around or further explain and exemplify the rahao. Hence the best way to understand a shabad is to first understand the rahao - once you get the core message, the rest of the messages fall into place. So in this sense, the Rahao line is the core message.

Third, the shabad is a musical composition. In

Indian classical music, the order of singing a musical piece is asthai and antra. There is usually one asthai and multiple antras. One starts singing with the asthai and goes to antra 1, returns to asthai and goes to antra two, returns to asthai and proceeds to antra 3 and so on. The song must start and end with the asthai. So in this (musical) context, rahao means asthai. The rahao is the line one should use to start singing the shabad. It makes perfect sense to do this because the asthai contains the gist of the meaning and all the remaining lines (as multiple antras) will further help the listener understand the message of the shabad. A majority of our ragees go against this principle – they pick and choose their own asthai by taking the catchiest line, the line that fits easily into their chosen tune, or a line that is most simple in its

understanding. As if kirten was a jingle. The deras have descended even further: they compose their own asthai, called dhaarna and sing that as the chorus of the shabad that they are singing. The dhaarna is called Kachee Banee (since the wording is self-constructed and composed by the dera singers). The commercialization of kirten has resulted in this rather unholy practice. A great majority of our ragees further do not sing the shabad in the raag it was composed by the Gurus. Such a rendition requires effort, and our ragees take the easy way out by fitting shabads into tunes that are ready made for them either by the film industry, ghazal singers or pop/folk musicians. A good majority of ragees master no more than 4 or 5 raags and fit every shabad into these. The dera singers have again taken this transgression a

step further: they have discarded raags all together (some ‘sants’ are openly heard demeaning raags and ridiculing those who use them) and have adopted the dholki chimta “kirten” called “jotian dian dhaarna.”

The language and grammar of the SGGS is a subject of its own. There is a whole host of languages and dialects in the SGGS – the most common is Brej Bhaashaa, also known as Sant Bhaashaa. This is a blend of a number of regional languages and has a style that is suited for spiritual, poetic and musical uses all rolled into one. This style is dominant enough to even appear in shabads that use foreign languages. For instance Guru Nanak’s shabad in Persian in Tilang Raag on page 721 in SGGS uses the Brej version of Persian and not pure Persian per se. Guru Arjun has also used a fair amount of ancient

languages – sanskrit, prakrti and gatha.

Understanding the History of Gurbanee.

The origin of Gurbani as coming from the source, or root or the Creator Himself is provided by Guru Nanak in his verse in Asa Raag as follows:

Jaisee Mein Aivey Khasam Kee Banee, Teisra Karee Gyaan Vey Lalo.” SGGS pg 722. Meaning, the Banee as I say comes to me from the Master, and I say it just as it comes.

Extrapolating this verse, we can roughly figure the process of the composition of Gurbanee. Guru Nanak, in deep contemplation and deep communication with God is stirred to sing His praises. The nature and substance of the praise would determine the poetic

structure. And the manner of Guru Nanak’s emotions as connected to the substance of the subject matter of the Godly praise would determine the choice of raag. As the composition formed in Guru Nanak’s inner being, he requested Bhai Mardana to provide the background notes of the particular raag, and then proceeded to sing the composition within the parameters of the music. Guru Nanak’s spiritual discipline, and more importantly, his vision and mission (of eventually linking the Sikh soul and spirit to the Shabad) required that the Banee be recorded – something which he did personally and kept with him on person at all material times. Bhai Gurdas provides testimony of this fact in Bhaiji’s writing to describe at least two events: Guru Nanak’s travels and the succession ceremony. Bhai Gurdas ji writes for instance of Guru Nanak’s dialogue with the learned Islamic leaders of Mecca and Medina;

“Puchn Gal Imaan Dee, Kazee Mulan Ekathey Hoee.

Vadda Saang Vartayea

Lakh Na Sakey Kudrat Koee.Puchan Phol Kitab Nu,

Hindu Vadda Key Musalmanoey.

Baba Akhey Hajian, Shubh Amlan Bajho Dono Roey.”

Translated: And the Kazis and Mullas gathered to engage Guru Nanak in a spiritual discourse. They said despite all their efforts, none could understand Nature. And they asked Guru Nanak, please research your book and tell us which way of life is superior – the Hindu way or Muslim one? Baba replied, Oh Hajjis, from the point of view of virtuous deeds, both are lacking,”

Two points are clear – one that Guru Nanak carried a “book” on his person during his travels, and two, that His answer as condensed (by Bhai Gurdas) talked about deeds. Bhai Gurdas has summarized, but it is likely that Guru Nanak referred to a number of shabads from his written collection that talked about virtuous deeds (it is very likely he recited parts of Assa di Vaar here, because some of its saloks address this issue of deeds and because we know the dialogue took place immediately after the

morning Muslim prayer (which coincides with Asa Di Vaar time) in the precinct of the local mosque). Guru Nanak also had a dialogue relating to the creation of the universe, and it is likely he referred the Mullahs to Oangkar Banee in Raag Ramkli (SGGS page 929) Bhai Gurdas also records that when the Gurgaddi was passed from Guru Nanak to Bhai Lehna, the ceremony involved, amongst other things the offering of a paisa, circumambulation and the handing over of the ‘book of banee.’ This is how banee got passed from one Guru to the succeeding one, who in turn added their own.

The question of bhagat banee remains. A majority of the Bhagats mentioned in the SGGS were cotemporaries of each other as Gurbanee provides the evidence in the form of each mentioning the other including cross mentions . Some (Fareed for instance) preceded Guru Nanak by more than a century. There is record of Guru Nanak stopping at the ashrams of these Bhagats or their successors during his vast journeys. There is record of dialogues (either with the

Bhagats of the SGGS or their followers) and Guru Nanak collected the banee of these bhagats. His collection was highly selective, though. He chose writings that were in line with Gurbanee beliefs. For instance, Kabeer’s writings in the Beejak Granth (used by his followers today) are up to ten times the volume that is found in the SGGS. Guru Nanak included his selection of bhagat banee in his pothi. When the pothis (books) eventually got to Guru Arjun, he decided to compile it into one main volume – the Pothee Sahib, rearranged the banee in the format as described above, added his own, that of his contemporary bhagats, edited and clarified those portions of the banee of the bhagats that had potential of being misunderstood. For two years at Ramsar, Kartarpur, the Guru narrated the Pothee Sahib verse by verse and Bhai Gurdas transcribed it. The Pothee Sahib had 915 pages and 5751 shabads. Once completed, the Guru checked and signed the seal of approval by writing out the Manglacharan (opening verse) from Ek Oangkar to Gurparsaad in his own handwriting. This Pothee Sahib (also called

Kartarpuree Bir (volume) because that is where it was compiled) had 30 raag chapters. It was then installed at Sri Darbar Sahib. The date was 1st of Bhadon month. The year was1604.

Towards the final two years of Guru Gobind Singh’s life, the tenth Guru re-compiled the Pothee Sahib. He had the entire granth re-written because Guru Teg Bahadur’s banee had to be inserted in a variety of places. A new rag chapter (Jaijawanti) was added by Guru Gobind Singh which contains the banee of Guru Teg Bahadur only. This work took nine months at Sabo Kee Talwandee with the Guru narrating and Bhai Mani Singh transcribing. This bir has 31 raag chapters in 1430 pages. It was installed at Damdama Sahib and is sometimes called the Damdami Bir. Guru Gobind Singh gave it the name we use today – Sri Guru Granth Sahib after dictating to the Sikhs that he was passing on, that there would be no physical human Guru after him, and that the Shabad within the Granth would be the eternal living Guru of the Sikhs.

Understanding Gurbanee as Guru

This command of Guru

Gobind Singh is often described as the starting point of a revolutionary idea in human spirituality relating to Shabad Guru (literally the word as the Guru). Yet the Guru Granth Sahib can be traced back to Pothee Sahib, and the Pothee Sahib to the Pothi which Guru Nanak regularly wrote in, carried on his person and passed on to succeeding Gurus. The concept of Shabad Guru is similarly traced back to Guru Nanak. The tendency is for Sikhs to think and conceptualize the Guru physically in the form of Guru Nanak till Guru Gobind Singh, and only think of Shabad from the starting point of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. But Gurbanee, Sikh philosophy and the teachings of our Gurus do not transcribe to this view. When Guru Nanak had his discourse with the Yogees, they raised the question of the Guru and asked him

‘Kavan Guru Jis Ka Tu Chela” (SGGS page: 942 ) Translation: What sort or who is the Guru whose disciple you are. And Guru Nanak replied: Shabad Guru Surat Dhun Chela. Translation: The Shabad is my Guru and my contemplation (mind) its follower.

The fourth Guru made it clear : Banee Guru, Guru Hai Banee, Wich Banee Amrit Sarey: (SGGS page 982) Translation: The Banee is the Guru, and the Guru is Banee, the whole of the nectar of spirituality is within the Banee. So it is evident that even during the physical life spans of our ten Gurus, the shabad within them was considered the Guru. Now this shabad is within the Guru Granth Sahib. From within the souls and spirits of the ten masters, the same shabad now resides within the Godly parameters of the messages of the Guru Granth Sahib. As the daily ardas dohera goes: Jo Prabh Ko Mil Bo Chahey, Khoj Shabad Mei Lei. Translation: And he who desires to meet with God, research / find Him within the Shabad.

The physical existences of the Gurus – as important as they were in bringing about the spiritual awareness that embodied Sikhi – still take a step back when the existence of the shabad within all then of them is considered. As Satta and Balwand say in their Ramklee Vaar about the Gurus up until their time:

Jot Oha, Jugat Saye, Sei Kayan Fir Palteeah. SGGS pg 966.Translation: Their (meaning the first to the fifth Guru) methods were similar, the

light within them (shabad) was one and the same, only their physical forms (bodies) changed.

There were many who witnessed daily, served closely and saw repeatedly the physical Gurus with their own eyes, but only those who could see and get to the Shabad within them were transformed. Prithi Chand, had a father for a Guru (Ramdas), a brother for a Guru (Arjun), and a nephew as a Guru (Hargobind). He stayed most of his life within the confines of a Guru household. The physical presence of three Gurus was available for him, yet he remained a sworn enemy of the Guru Ghar, because he was unable to see the Shabad within and beyond the physiques of the three physical Gurus that nature bequeathed into his fate. The same can be said of countless other beings who were not able to go beyond the physical. On the other hand, there were those who never met the Gurus in person, but were able to be touched by the Banee, or Shabad. Guru Amardas captures this as follows:

Satgur No Sab Ko Dekhda, Jeta Jagat Sansar. Dithiya Mukat Na Hovaee, Jichar

1 The word purab literally means an incident of importance. The prefix Gur is used to denote the incident’s link to the Guru.

2 The 31 Raags and their sub-raags (in parentheses) in the order that they appear in the SGGS are as follows: Sri, Majh, Gauree (Guareri, Cheti, Bairagan, Purbee, Malwa, Dekhni), Assa, Gujree, Devghandaree, Bihagra, Vadhans (Dekhni), Sorath, Dhanashree, Jaitsree, Todee, Bairari, Tilang, Suhee, Bilawal (Dekhni) , Gaund, Ramklee (Dekhni), Nat Narayan, Malee Gaura, Maru (Dekhni), Tukhari, Kedara, Bhairon, Besant, Sarang, Malar, Kanra, Kalyan, Parbhati (Dekhni), Jaijawanti.

3 The misrat raags in the SGGS are (i) Gauree Maajh, (ii) Assa Kafee, (iii) Tilang Kafee, (iv) Suhee Kafee, (v) Suhee Lalit, (vi) Bilawal Gaund, (vii) Maru Kafee, (viii) Basant Hindol, (ix) Kalyan Bhopali, (x) Parbhati Bhibhas and (xi) Asawaree (within Assa).

4 Total (as illustrated in footnote 2 above) is 31 main raags, 11 sub raags, and six additional raags to create the misrats namely Kafee, Lalit, Hindol, Bhopali, Bhibhas and Asaawaree. Total raags 48.

5 The remaining Gurus did not compose Gurbanee, and Guru Gobind Singh’s writings are said to be found outside the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. In the mid 1800s, writings attributed to the tenth Guru were compiled into a collection titled Bachittar Natak Granth (BNG). The subject matter of these writings is vast, ranging from Godly praise and rewrites of mythology to historical narratives. A large portion of the writings in the BNG appears to be written by poets other than the Guru – some contemporary to the Guru and some that came much after him. The name gives an indication that the contents are less spiritual and more mythological/historical. In the early 1900s some Sikh groups, re-named the BNG as Dasam Granth and some have installed it in Gurdwaras beside the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. This move resulted in intense controversy within the Sikhs. A positive result of this controversy was that the BNG, after being given such prominence has undergone intense scrutiny by Sikh scholars and theologians over its contents. Such scrutiny has established fairly certainly that less than five percent of BNG can be attributed to the tenth Guru, that major portions propagate ideas that go against the tenets of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and that moves to bring BNG into prominence is inspired either by anti-Sikh elements or sheer ignorance amongst Sikhs themselves. The Sikh Rehat Maryada is clear that no other book can be installed parallel with the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

6 The Bhatt banee takes the poetic form of Swayeas – an intricate and highly rhythmic form of poetry. Bhai Gurdas ji has used Swayeas as his choice poetic measure.

7 The banee of the Gurus in the SGGS (number of shabads in parenthesis) is as follows: Guru Nanak (947), Guru Angad (63), Guru Amardas (969), Guru Ramdas (639), Guru Arjun (2312), Guru Teg Bahadur (115).

8 The banee of the Bhagats and others in the SGGS (number of shabads in parenthesis) is as follows:Kabeer (534), Fareed (123), Bhaatts (123) Namdev (62), Ravidas (40), Satta Balwand (8), Sundar (6), Tarlochan (5), Dhanna (4), Beni (3), Mardana (3), Bheekhan (2), Jaidev (2), Surdas (2) and one each for Sadhna, Sain, Ramanand and Pipa ji.

9 An example is as follows: Asthai: Mein Sobha Sun Kay Aiya, Ucadar Babe Nanak Da. Antra: Uoch Apaar Beant Swami, Kaon Janey Gun Terey. Gavtey Udrey Suntey Udrey, Binse Pap Ghanere. The Antras are from Gurbani, from a shabad which is the composition of Guru Arjun and appears on page 802 of SGGS. But the entire wording of the Asthai is created by the singers and hence NOT Gurbani. This is the standard form of dera kirten. The Sikh Rehat Maryada, as certified by the Akaal Takhat states clearly that such a practice is un-acceptable. It is criticized as manmat and deemed to go against the principles of Gurmat. The keen listener will readily note that the Asthai degrades the level of spirituality that is found in Guru Arjun’s shabad. This asthai further distorts the meaning of the Guru’s shabad. In most cases the asthai has nothing to do with the core messages of the shabad. Guru Arjun’s shabad is about the unfathomable glory God, the creator. The bogus asthai (translation: I have come back from hearing that the position of Baba Nanak is high) makes it seem that the shabad is in self praise (Guru praising himself) ! Something the Gurus never indulged in. Its semantics are virtually nonsense: “I have come back”, from where? 10 Raags have orders of difficulty. Relatively easier raags are known as light raags (Kalyan for instance) and are favorites of entertainers of lay audiences. Another common and light raag is Bhairavi (not found in the SGGS but used extensively by kirtenias). A good number of the raags in the SGGS are of the complex order. The SGGS starts with Sri Rag – which is considered to be the most difficult to render. Ramkalee, Jaijawante, Vadhans, Maajh are amongst the other difficult ones.

11 In the world of Indian classical music (which is deftly applied by our Gurus in the SGGS), the dholkee and Chimta are absolute misfits. The author would venture far enough to say that the dholkee is anti-thesis to raag and taal, while the Chimta destroys them both. No classical beat can be created on the dholki, and or chimta. This is because the variety of bols (sounds) that can be created from these are extremely limited. Hence their use in folk songs, bolian and dance only. How these lowly “instruments” crept into our raag and taal based kirten system is reflective of the level of musical ignorance that is prevalent within the Sikh community. The Sikhs are the only religious group that is blessed with a scripture that is deeply imbued in Godly music, yet we have somehow managed to descend to such musical lows.

12 Some deras introduced the term “Gargajj Kirten” to refer to such style. Since “gajj” means to roar or to thunder, it was perhaps meant to indicate the inspirational aspect of their style. It seems clear that the inventors of such terminology had little understanding of the subtlety of music, the sweet stirrings of gurbanee, and the softness of melody – all of which combine to create heavenly kirtan as envisaged by our Gurus.

13 This type of “kirten” is a further degradation of the type as described in footnote 7 above. Here, not only is a bogus asthai created by the singer, but some or all lines of the antra are fictitious as well. Dera singers are frequently heard mixing one or two Gurbani pangktees with 6 or 7 of their own. Some don’t even bother to include any Gurbani at all. That a wide majority of the modern sangat is Gurbanee-illiterate is the reason why we fall prey to such “kirten” or chimta dholkee noise passing off a music.

14 Every raag has a different ‘rus’ (essence, taste, feeling, mood). The intended emotions of a particular raag are created within the listener upon correct rendition. For example Bhairaon’s ‘rus’ is love, Bhariavi’s is adornment and Jaijawanti’s is Vairaag (detached love).

15 For instance, Bhagat Ravdas on page 1106 has this sentence in his shabad: Namdev, Kabeer, Tirlochan, Sadhna, Sain, Tarey. On page 972, Bhagat Namdev writes: Kehet Namdev Suno Tirlochan, Balak Palan Paudealey.

Shabad Na kre Vichar. (SGGS page: 594) Translation: Everyone here does see the True Guru. But seeing will not provide emancipation / salvation that will only happen when the shabad is contemplated upon.

Sikhs and the Guru.

The 305th anniversary of the Gurgaddee Dihara should inspire the Sikh to get connected to the Guru. This can be achieved by self reading, understanding, knowing or researching the SGGS. It would be most beneficial if every Sikh would undertake to read or listen to the entire Granth for the year that begins with the 305th anniversary and ends with the 306th . It works out to four pages per day. Better still, read these four pages from a Teeka, or translated version. Given the technology that exists, the SGGS and a variety of transliterations, translations and audio versions are available at our fingertips. End.

The writer can be contacted at [email protected]. Editor.

The Sikh, Oct 2013 Article by Karminder Singh Dhillon 55

































































Sikhs and the Guru.




































































Sikhs and the Guru.




































































Sikhs and the Guru.




































































Sikhs and the Guru.




































































Sikhs and the Guru.



16 The view that Guru Arjun left some blank pages at the end of the Pothee Sahib to include the banee of the succeeding gurus is wrong because the ninth guru’s banee is included not at the end, but in a variety of places within most of the 30 raags.

"Okay everyone, chalo chalo, we're here!" someone shouted, alerting everyone. Yes, we finally arrived after a long drive through the windy roads. A serene feeling filled our hearts as we approached Kuala Kubu Baru, also known as Khalsa Land. It looked more complete than the last time I got here during the inauguration a few months back. We got the bags out and walked excitedly towards the campsite. Despite waking up so early in the morning on a holiday,

everyone was all geared up to start the day. After the Ardaas, we adjourned to our rooms, where we were welcomed with the bunk beds, lockers and air-conditioned comfort. There were only a few sewadars present, yet every meal was well prepared and was looked forward to. Thanks to them, we had more time to participate in the activities prepared for us. The ice-breaking session was fun-filled and interesting as well as important for the

participants to get to know each other. It helped the participants from Seremban and a few other new faces from Klang itself

to mingle in smaller groups and make new friends. Lectures were also provided, through which we learnt many new and beneficial topics like Internet safety. The outdoor activities that was lined up for us, right from the high ropes obstacles to the flying fox, were not only fun, but also tested us physically, mentally and emotionally.

Everyone, even those with the fear of heights, participated and completed the obstacles. It was fun watching those who were quivering with fear, but terrifying when we got to the top! Everyone waited patiently for their turn, and helped and also motivated our fellow teammates. It taught us to have more confidence in ourselves as well as faith in our teammates. The jungle-trekking taught us the importance of teamwork and broke the ice between the participants. Most of us got comfortable with each other and all the participants helped and motivated one another which eased the whole 4 hour walk. Although we were really tired after the activities, we came together for Rehraas and relaxed our tired minds with an inspiring talk by Veer Jagmohan Singh of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the soothing voice of Veer Fareed Singh singing Kirtan thereafter. On the second evening of the camp everyone looked forward to listening to Davinderpal

Singh, Indian Idol runner up, singing Kirtan in his melodious voice. His appearance kicked the sleep and hunger away. His Bollywood performance thereafter was amazing. After a cup of iced Milo, shadowed by the pouring rain, we retired to our comfortable bunk beds gossiping and eager for tomorrow. What a perfect way to end our tiring day! On the final day, after Japji Sahib and Selami, we were served a hearty breakfast before having a final classroom session. We were then divided into groups for gotong-royong to clean up the compound. After the final Ardaas, we bid our goodbyes and started our journey home. Being in the city with a hectic lifestyle, this camp was a much needed time out. Me, being a new girl in Klang, got the opportunity to take a break from my busy daily

routine and get to know the other youths from Klang as well as Seremban. The friendly nature of everyone made me feel comfortable and welcomed. I enjoyed every bit of the camp and am sure everyone is looking forward to it next year. Thank you SNSM, Gurdwara Sahib Klang, Sewadars and fellow participants for a wonderful time!




















































Sikhs and the Guru.



17 If one has to recommend a Teeka (Punjabi translation, none beats Prof Sahib Singh’s Darpan). English translations are aplenty ranging from Manmohan Singh’s early translation to Sant Singh’s simplified one.







SABHA CAMP SITE EXPERIENCE BY KLANG & SEREMBAN NAUJAWANS


The Sikh, Oct 2013 Klang & Seremban Camp 61



















































Sikhs and the Guru.



Recently during the school holidays, Johor Bharu Naujawan’s under the patronage of Gurdwara Sahib Johor Bharu organized a mini samelan. In order to pass the word around, a few naujawans planned a kirtan tour to a few gurdwaras in the state of Johor. The aim of the tour was to gather as many kids and youths to participate in the samelan and at the same time it was a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other.

The Johor mini samelan was held from 15-17th of August and had participants coming from Kluang and Batu Pahat.

Many fun filled activities were organized for the participants throughout the samelan. We had IPS, classroom sessions, games, campfire, performances and

many other activities for both Miri Piris and Mighty Khalsas. The phenjis kept the Mighty Khalsas busy with arts and craft, story telling while embedding the 3 basic principles of Sikhi (Kirt Karni, Naam Japna,Vandh Shakna.) As for the Miri Piris, they had an interactive session on the topic of ‘ I am a Sikh ’ , ‘ love is within me’ and also knowing about a Harjan. All topics discussed and shared were very uplifting and both sewadars and

participants learned a lot from each other.

An ‘Amazing Race’ was organized on the 2nd day. The participants were broken into groups where they were given clues to solve and challenging activities to get the kids all pumped up! To mark the end of the ‘Amazing Race’ we had a








Klang & Seremban Camp The Sikh, Oct 201362

water balloon session and it was absolutely the icing on the cake!

The highlight of the Samelan was campfire night. For this session we had all the groups performing. The presence of parents uplifted the atmosphere of this session. Many young talents were spotted for their creativity and understanding on the performance given to them. The only word to describe this session would probably be ‘Kya Baat’. On top of that, the sewadars did a special drama for the participants not only to entertain everyone but also to send out a message of unity. Not forgetting, blissful kirtan was sung throughout the samelan. It was inspiring to see how the participants sang their lungs out while singing the theme shabad; ‘Thakur Gaiye Atam Raang’!

On the 21st of September the naujawans planned Naam Darbar 2.0 for the sanggat of Johor Bharu to enjoy an evening of blissful kirtan. All the youths gathered for sewa at 2 pm and with the help of our ever helpful phenji’s we prepared langgar for the event and also made our Johor speciality Pisang Goreng with Special Kicap Sauce which was served with hot hot cha for tea time! The evening started with rehras followed by kirtan by jathas from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, the astanak granthi, Kluang jatha and our very own Johor Bharu naujawans who did beautiful kirtan all night long till 11.30 pm. This program was broadcasted live on www.sikhinside.com.

As a whole, Johor Mini Samelan and Naam Darbar 2.0 were special events for all Johorians and we hope to have more events coming up to sustain the spirit of unity!














The Sikh, Oct 2013 Activities of Johor Branch 63

Activities of Johor branch











Activities of Johor Branch The Sikh, Oct 201364





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The Sikh Magazine - October 2013

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