The Sikh (Malaysia)

The Sikh, Oct 2011 NEWS 1

GURDWARA Sahib Ampang organised a charity dinner to raise funds for the last leg of the 'redevel-opment' of their gurdwara on Aug 20 (Saturday). They sold some 120 tables, a record for a gurdwara in Klang Valley.

The gurdwara, serving some 150 Sikh families in areas like Ampang, Melawati and Hulu Klang, is now moving into Phase 4 of its building

Harnarinder addressing the guests at the dinner.

upliftment. It includes renovating the darbar sahib, the roof and the car park, with a total estimated cost of RM800,000.

The earlier three phases, saw the construction of a new granthi's quarters, a new retaining wall and putting up a new langgar hall. They also bought a neighbouring bungalow, which has been renovated. "I believe we have the best granthi's living space in the whole of the Klang Valley," said Ampang gurdwara management committee vice president Sardar Harnarinder Singh, who also sits on SNSM's KKB land committee.

He said that the management team had, from the outset, tried to keep cost to the minimum, without sacrificing quality.

“When renovating the bunga-low, for example, the contractor agreed to charge for workmanship only," he said.

The gurdwara spent close to RM1.8 million for the earlier three phases, including purchasing the next door bungalow for some RM600,000.

THE board of Singapore Exchange (SGX) has proposed to appoint top lawyer Davinder Singh as one of the two high-profile individuals as non-executive and independent directors, reports Singapore's Business Times (Aug 26, 2011).Davinder Singh is the chief executive of the law firm Drew & Napier.Well known for his legal expertise, Davinder also has board experi-ence and is currently a director of

Singapore stock exchange rope in 'top lawyer' Davinder Singh

NAIROBI, Kenya (Aug 28): Some 100 tonnes of relief food donations from UK based Sikh charity group Khalsa AID and the local Sikh community reached Kenya towards end August.

Leaving the Ramgarhia Sikh Temple in Pangani the donations which included oil, maize, beans and Unimix will be distributed by the Kenya Red Cross to the hunger stricken families in Daadab, Kajiado and Kitui, according to a report by Kenya's CapitalFM.

Khalsa Aid is working closely with local organ-isations in Kenya sending volunteers to the Kenya/Somalia border to target Somalian refugees crossing the border at Loboi, the report said.

To date 3.2 million Kenyans are in need of food and humanitarian aid since the drought was declared earlier this year.

The Chairman of Sikh Kenya, Manjit Singh said for Kenyans to alleviate the problem of famine, people should stop nomadic practices and embrace green house agriculture for sustain-ability.

Petra Foods, PSA International and Singapore Technologies Engineering, the newspaper reported.

The 54-year old lawyer was elected as Member of Parliament in 1988 and formerly an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. He withdrew from the 2006 general elections, according to a Wikipe-dia entry on him.

Khalsa Aid delivers relief food to Kenya

Ampang Sikhs spruce up their gurdwara

SNSM UPDATE

YOU have some brave young hearts in Puchong, Selangor. At their introductory Naujawan Satsang programme on Aug 12, Form 5 student Poonamjeet Kaur narrated the sakhi (historical event) of Baba Nanak and Wali Khandari. It was the first time she took to the stage in any gurdwara. Later, 16-year old Neelamjit Kaur led the Ardaas (Ending Prayer). Again, another first. These youth were part of the experimental Naujawan Satsang under the guidance of former Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia Jathedar Sardar Autar Singh. He has taken the lead role to spearhead the revival of Naujawan Satsangs - a programme run by the youth, for the youth.

The Sabha has made reviving Gurmat naujawan satsangs a core mission. Autar Singh got the ball rolling at Gurdwara Sahib Puchong. You can see him talking to a group of Sikh youth in the picture above.

We need to start these youth-for-youth programme in other areas as well. Above all, Sabha will require locals who are willing to anchor the programme. All you need is one or two local Sikhs to initiate and others will surely come along.

THE executive committee of the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia (SNSMS) conducted two sessions on how to move the Sabha forward and meet the requirement of the Sanggat. The facilitator of both sessions was Col Mohan Singh, who is no stranger to the Sabha.

The sessions looked at the range of Sabha activities. One of the sessions also looked at Sabha's mission statement. Below is a working draft. Members are invited to invited to provide their feedback to the SNSM Secretariat. They can email Sabha secretary Harbindar Singh ([email protected]).

Puchong leadsSatsang revival

SNSM brainstorming

The Sikh, Oct 20112 NEWS

The mission of Sikh Naujawan Sabha is to motivate, inspire and empower Sikh Youth towards holistic self development anchored on Gurmat Values

“ “

The Sikh, Oct 2011 PERSONALLY FROM THE JATHEDAR 3

WITH Waheguru's blessings & the Sangat's unflinching support in the past year, the Sabha has success-fully carried out its signature activities -- namely the Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan, fellowship camps and a series of mini samelans in various parts of the country (Penang, Batu Pahat, Kuantan, and Jelapang), education camps, the inaugural Dhol competition, the annual Panjabi Bhasha Mela, Environment Day activities, Mother’s Day & the Annual Vaisakhi Kirtan Darbaar in Cheras.

This year, we also hosted a grand function -- the Vaisakhi Open House at Dataran Merdeka. Some 20,000 people of diverse ethnic groups, faiths and walks of life attended the function, graced by our Honourable Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor. It was indeed a memorable occasion.

Emphasis has also been given to other activities seen as important to the long term interests of the Sikh community. One such area is Naujawan Satsangs. In the past, it was the platform where many a youth had gained confidence through basic leadership skills, exposure to teamwork, organising events and public speaking. With Waheguru's grace, the efforts of Gursikhs and the support of the local Gurdwara authorities, a

youth satsang is taking shape in Puchong, Selangor. Groundwork is currently being done in two other areas. We hope to see youth activities take shape in these areas as well. This is a long term project with exciting prospects, but it requires hard work and perseverance for actualization. May Waheguru give his sewa-dars the strength to see this project to fruition.

Another area being attended to is the reactivation of Global Sikhs. A new team has taken on the task. They have drawn up a list of plans and activities aimed at having trained volunteers ready to respond to situations at short notice (see their report inside). As things get organised, we hope to see more of this team's readiness in the coming months.

Next, we have the proposed International Sikh Centre (ISC) project in Kuala Kubu Bharu. Earthworks have commenced. The proposed temporary buildings are expected to be ready by year-end. Work on the building plans has commenced. Subject to the various approvals, building works could be undertaken next year. Progress is taking place slowly but surely, in accordance with the guidance from the Sangat.

As for the Sabha Branch

networks, we will soon see a new Sabha branch for Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Other branches will be set up based on the needs of the Sangat from time to time.

Now onto the proposed ‘youth wing’ of the Sabha, the Malaysian Sikh Youth Association (MSYA). It has been successfully registered. As mandated by the AGM, the current Sabha Meet Jathedar Pavandeep Singh is the current Jathedar of MSYA. And the Sabha Exco members below 40 years-old have been co-opted into the MSYA committee.

Our signature event, the Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan, is scheduled to be held in Klang from 18-24 December, 2011. Planning of programs is now in full swing although we're still awaiting confirmation of the venue and the date from the school authorities.

The Sangat's unflinching support and the sewadars' firm commitment have always been crucial to the Sabha's success. May Waheguru continue to shower his blessings on HIS Sangat & HIS sewadars so that these efforts continue to bear fruit and the Panth continues to march forward in Chardi Kala.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

Thanks for yourunflinching support

AMARJIT SINGH Jathedar, SNSM


SIKH Women's Awareness Network (SWAN), a Malaysia-based organisation, created a new milestone with its new headquarters. On Oct 9, 2011, it organised a house opening prayer for the rented bungalow in Petaling Jaya. The bungalow will serve as its HQ, training center, etc to empower Sikh women to nurture their families. For more informa-tion, contact SWAN president Rajinder Kaur (Mobile: 012-6594202) Email [email protected])

Sikhs@Work

Swan gets prettier

BHAI Sukhwinder Singh Dadehar of the Ludhiana-based Gurmat Gian Missionary College was in Malaysia for a Sikhi parchaar tour from Oct 12 to Nov 4, 2011. His tour included the Klang Valley, Ipoh, Penang, Sg Petani, Seremban and Melaka. The programme was jointly organised by Guru Nanak Guru Gobind Singh Founda-tion, Sant Sohan Singh Ji Melaka Memorial Society Malaysia, Khalsa Diwan Malaysia and Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia. It was also supported by the Coalition of Malaysian Sikh Organisations.

Next, look out for Prof Sarabjit Singh Gobindpuri from USA and Singh Sahib Giani Jaswant Singh Parwana. Their katha (talks) programmes will be in November and Decem-ber 2011.

Sikhi parchaar tours

Canadian uni appoints Sikh as engineering faculty dean

Negeri Sikhs crowned champs

NEGRI Sembilan Sikh Union (NSSU) were crowned the Negri Sembilan Hockey Association hockey league overall champions when they edged Tampin Seniors 3-2 in the final at the Seremban Turf 2 recently.

NSSU took a comfort-able 3-0 lead in the first half courtesy of Gurvinder Singh who scored two goals in the ninth and 23rd minutes while Harmesh Singh was on target in the 15th minute.

NSSU, who finished third in the league, had defeated Division Two runners-up Gemencheh B Hockey Club 1-0 to earn a place in the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, NSSU overcame Tampin Elite 2-1.

Fourteen teams took part in the league. (The Star, Oct 8, 2011)

CANADA-based University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) has appointed Dr. Tarlochan Singh Sidhu as the new dean of its Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS) effective Jan 1, 2012.

The Sikh, Oct 2011 SABHA UPDATE 5

Ipoh pizza workshop Some 30 participants came forward to a pizza-making work-shop in Ipoh. The young chefs, aged between 8-18 years old, initially had the idea that pizza making was impossible and that it should be left to the professionals.

Not anymore. They have now mustered the skill after the one-day session at Gurdwara Sahib Ashby Road, Greentown on Feb 13, 2011.

All you need is a loaf of bread, tomato puree, mozerella cheese, capsicum, mushroom, small pieces of chicken (optional), oregano and voila! you have PIZZA! Oh wait! Don’t forget to put the mixture in the oven.

After the session, the partici-pants marched into the darbar sahib for a motivation session with Penji Helvinder. The main objective of this talk was about self esteem, how to feel good and have a high self-respect.

Participants undertook activities that allowed them to better understand self-esteem. This enabled the participants to open up to others as well. To the coordinator’s surprise, participants as young as eight years old understood the talk and had the courage to speak up about things that made them feel good about themselves.

Finally, we were served with hot cha, a plate of yummy ‘mamak’ mee and mouth watering pizza.We summed up the day with rehras sahib ji da path and the hukum-nama was read by Vir Daaljit. Overall, everyone had a wonderful and educational day.

A team is busy at work to churn out new ideas for the Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan, a signature event of the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia. It has started a Facebook page (keyword: Samelan 2011) to reach out direct to Samelan goers. And they seem to have hit the right note. Suggestions and comments are pouring in.

The team had asked to complete the following sentence: "If I could change something about the Samelan, ........" They have received good responses. Taran Jit says we should go back to basics and provide greater clarity to the principles and teachings of Sikhism. We should strive to ensure a lasting impact via better understanding. Tessrina Kaur Dhillon wants later curfew hours. Harmeet Singh would like to see the camp security sewadars being more flexible with the partici-pants and the youth sewadars. And Sandy Bramantya Singh wants more games.

Check out the Samelan 2011 Facebook. Share your thoughts.

Devin Sidhu: Every year we go to samelan and we learn almost the same stuff as there are freshies each year. Some of us end up saying "been there, done that". Maybe classes should be organised not by age but according to the number of samelans one has attended.

Karamjit Kaur: Please serve butter instead of margarine for breakfast.

Annual Samelan: What else?

UK-based DataWind has introduced a cheap tablet computer called Aakash. It is selling the tablets to the Indian government for about US$45 each. The cheapest Apple iPad tablet costs $499. Photo: DataWind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli

India announces US$35 tablet computer

MANHATTAN (CN) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has signed a law that will force employers to make reasonable accommodation for an employee's religious practice or observance.

Sikh groups in particular have hailed the passage of the Work-place Religious Freedom Bill, which was designed in part to stop local police and transit employers from banning turbans in official uniforms, reports Courthouse News Service (Aug 31, 2011).

In 2005, Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., introduced the Work-place Religious Freedom Act on the federal level to extend existing anti-discrimination laws.It quickly gained support among several religious groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention, the National Council of Churches, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Council

on American Islamic Relations, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the American Jewish Committee, the report added.

With New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Aug 31 signing into law the bill,Sikhs in the US will be allowed to wear turbans and grow beards in federal agencies like the police department and transit authority.

UNDUE HARDSHIPBloomberg said employers must make a "reasonable accommoda-tion" for an employee's religious practices unless following such practices creates an "undue hardship" ."This bill sends the message that people should not have to choose between serving our city and adhering to their religious beliefs. All Americans should receive the full embrace of our

country's constitutional freedoms,” Weprin said. "The law is a major step in ensuring Sikhs and other religious minorities are not unfairly excluded from jobs," said Amardeep Singh, co-founder and director of Sikh's Coalition programe.

In its original form, critics worried that the proposed statute's language was too broad.A year before the bill was introduced, the American Civil Liberties Union wrote a letter discouraging senators from supporting it, arguing that the legislation could be used to justify a police officer's request to refuse to protect an abortion clinic, a social worker's decision to rely on exorcism rather than psychoanaly-sis, or a nurse telling an AIDS patient and his partner that God "doesn't like the homosexual lifestyle" and that they needed to pray for salvation.

US legislation lets Sikh staffers wear turban, grow beard


New York Mayor Mr Bloomberg signing the law

WRFA would return the law to what Congress intended by applying similar standards for determining what would constitute an “undue hardship” to an employer as already found in other important protections for workers such as the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Thus, WRFA would define an “undue hardship” as a situation which imposes “significant difficulty or expense” upon the employer as determined by factors such as the cost of the accommo-dation in relation to the size and operating costs of the employer as well as the number of individual employees seeking such an accommodation.

The definition of “undue hardship” has been carefully crafted to balance both the respect that religion must be afforded with the needs of employers to have reliable and productive work-places. Thus, for example, a reasonable accommodation that would preclude the employee from fulfilling the “essential functions” of his or her job need not be provided.

A typical scenario the passage of WRFA would address is permitting the more flexible work schedules religious employees often need. If, for example, an employee needed to leave early on Friday afternoon in order to observe the Jewish sabbath or a Christian wished to take off from work on Good Friday, and was willing to work late nights earlier in the week to ensure that all of the tasks for which he/she was responsible were completed (ensuring that there would be no impact upon the employer’s “bottom line”), WRFA would require the employer to grant such an accommodation and not insist that worker be present on Friday.

THE Indian government has decided to drop the proposal for a separate law covering marriages solemnised within the Sikh community.

Dealing a major blow to the aspirations of Sikhs, who have long been fighting for amendments to the existing Anand Karaj (Marriage) Act of 1909 to convert it into a comprehensive legislation governing Sikh marriages, the Ministry of Law and Justice on Aug 29 said there was no justification for a separate law and that it had decided to abandon the proposal for any such amendment.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab has been at the forefront of the demand for changes in the Anand Karaj Act and the party’s core committee on political affairs had last year called upon the Centre for expeditious enactment of the Anand Marriage Act for Sikhs along the lines of similar acts for other religions (covering Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews).

Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, leader of the Akali Dal in the Rajya Sabha, said he was given to understand by former Law Minister Veerappa Moily that a draft Bill for Sikh Marriage Act was ready and would be sent for the Cabinet approval soon before being raised in the Parliament.

It was on Dhindsa’s query about the status of the said law that Law Minister Salman Khursheed today informed the Parliament that after receiving several representations for amendment to the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 to provide for compulsory registration of Sikh marriages, the government had decided to drop the proposal.

At present, marriages amongst the Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and other communities except Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews, are covered by the Hindu Marriage Act 1955. Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides for registration of Hindu marriages; Section 2 of the Act covers Sikh marriages.

The government justified the rejection of Sikh demand saying such seclusion would invite similar demands from others. The Law Minister said in RS, “Since the scope of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, is limited to marriage ceremonies amongst “anands”, the registration of all forms of Sikh marriages is not within its scope. Further, there may not be any justification for secluding Sikhs from the rest of the categories mentioned above as such a step would invite similar demands from other religious denominations covered under the Hindu Marriage Act. Also, seclusion of one community is against the directive principles contained in Article 44 of the Consti-tution which aims at bringing in a uniform civil code.”

Indian govt drops proposal for separate Sikh marriage act


The Sikh, Oct 20118

Global Sikhs, a project under Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia (SNSM), made headlines when our volunteers went to Aceh to help the tsunami victims in 2004. Later, they had also provided disaster aid and relief in Pakistan and a number of other disaster spots. Moving forward, the division is looking at expanding its outreach.

The division proposes to undertake the following projects:

1. Relaunch Global Sikhs with a project at Annual Gurmat Parchaar Samelan 2011. 2. Train 20 volunteers in disaster response by Malaysia Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. 3. Create environmental awareness amongst the community. Project headed by Dr Harinder Rai Singh.

4. Initiate community based volunteer programs. In this respect, we have a request for volunteers from Yayasan Chow Kit. They need volunteers above 21 to conduct games, art classes,and motivational sessions for teenagers.

5. Compile and print booklets with the emergency response numbers for the Sikh Sangat.

If you are interested in any of the above programmes, please contact Global Sikhs coordinator Kuldip Kaur, a SNSM exco member, at [email protected]

Global Sikhs revisited

SNSM UPDATE

SOME 60 participants from Penang, Alor Star, Sungai Petani and Kangar enjoyed spiritual rejuvenation and wonderful opportunities to network with their peers from other towns and states at a Gurmat weekend camp in June 2011.

The one-day camp at Gurdwara Sahib Kangar, Perlis, was jointly organised by the Punjabi Education Centre (PEC) Kangar and Sikh Naujawan Sabha Kedah Branch, with the cooperation of parbandhak committee of the Gurdwara Sahib Kangar and the Kangar Sikh Sangat.

This camp was in response to requests from the local Sikh Sanggat after a successful mini-samelan last year, a first in Kangar after 20 years.

By Naginder Kaur

Kangar “gup-shup”

Facilitators from SNSM Penang Branch, led by Karpal Singh and Gelinder Kaur hosted the inspira-tional sessions as well as group dynamics. The show of support from the participants was encour-aging. Tarsame Singh conducted a session for adults on the impor-tance of learning Gurmukhi.

Among some of the activities held on the day were role plays, baalak kirtan and gup-shup (chit-chat) session with facilitators.

After a fun-filled hectic day, everyone was immersed in the message of the mesmerising and ever inspiring theme shabad: “Mere ram har jan arog bhaye, gur bachni jina japia mera har har tinke haumai rog gaye.”

May Waheguru continue to bless the Kangar sangat with more such inspirational events in the future and keep Kangar in chardi kala.

Pizza nite at KulimKulim Mini Samelan (May 28-30, 2011)

KULIM had another exciting event at Gurdwara Sahib Kulim with over 100 participants. We included various methods to impart gurmat values to the children. We had a lot of outdoor sessions like drama, group dynamics, stomp session, jamming, and competitions where the children just had fun, fun and fun learning our values. And of course not forgetting the PIZZA NITE and campfire.

By Kashminder Kaur

Kangar Day Camp (June 2011)


MORE than 160 eager minds took part in a three-day Sikh gurmat camp in Jelapang beginning on June 10, the first mini-samelan in Perak after an absence of eight years.

The participants between the ages of 5-18 years old came from Perak, Penang and Kuala Lumpur. The main purpose of the mini-samelan was to instill knowledge about Sikhism among the younger generation. The camp focused on three values: haumai (ego), truth and love, and, forgiveness.

The theme shabad for the camp was:

Mayray raam har jan aarog bha-ay, gur bachnee jinaa japi-aa mayraa har har tin kay ha-umai rog ga-ay ||1|| rahao-o.(O My Lord , The Lord 's Humble Servant Becomes Healthy, Those Who Meditate On My Lord Through The Word Of The Guru's Teachings, Get Rid Of The Disease Of Egotism ||1|| rahao-o. )

The registration session was conducted by Kiranjit Kaur, Pardip Singh, Dr. Amarjit Kaur and Nerinderjit Kaur with the assistance of other sewadars. It was then followed with Nishan Sahib Selami by Narian Singh, Gelinder Kaur and Manpreet Kaur.

The opening kirtan and theme shabad was by the Penang Jatha and the arambakh aradas led by darbar sewadar Veer Pardip Singh. The evening kirtan-talk session, badged as inspiration sessions (IPS) at Malaysian samelans, was handled by Gelinder Kaur and jatha.

Good turnout at Jelapang Mini-samelan returns after 8 yearsBy Narian Singh (Narin)

After lunch, participants from the Miri Piri category were in for an 'amazing race' led by Paramjit Singh. Meanwhile, the Mighties made ‘mala’ and cards by bhenjis Kiran, Kalwant, Jaswant and Jaswinder.

The kids just wanted more. The kirtan after Rehraas Sahib was led by the Babbar Khalsa Jatha, winner of the recent National Kirtan competition.

It was then time for dinner and

screening of the Sikh Heritage movie. At 8.30pm, the camp was inspired with an IPS session by Veer Kulvinder Singh (Kemey).

Day 2 was baana day. After a simran sesson at 5.30 am followed by nitnem, participants went out for nishan sahib selami and aerobics. Then it was the time for breakfast and classroom sessions for Miri Piri participants by Sukhveer Penji from Penang with assistance of other dedicated

sewadars from Ipoh and Penang. The Mighty Khalsa participants were with Veer Amarjit Singh (KL).

The evening IPS session was handled by Penji Bhavbhanjan Kaur (Poli Penji) from Subang Jaya.

Earlier, Tarlochan Veerji had conducted a session for parents on 'raising extraordinary children'.

After ardas and semapthi, veers Rajinder, Malin and Tarlochan had

a heart-to-heart session with the Miri Piri participants, an opportunity to share their problems and voice their concerns. They wrapped up at 11pm.

The final IPS on Day 3 was led by SNSM Perak Jatha with Sukhvinder Singh (Kampar) and Baljit Singh (KL).

Gurdwara Sahib Jelapang covered the RM9,000 costs to organise the Gurmat camp.

SNSM Perak Jathedar Dr Amarjit Kaur (sitted) assisting with the registration. Standing behind is SNSM Perak Meet Jathedar (deputy president) Sarabdeep Singh.

The Sikh, Oct 201110 SIKH WORLDWIDE

MORE than 160 eager minds took part in a three-day Sikh gurmat camp in Jelapang beginning on June 10, the first mini-samelan in Perak after an absence of eight years.

The participants between the ages of 5-18 years old came from Perak, Penang and Kuala Lumpur. The main purpose of the mini-samelan was to instill knowledge about Sikhism among the younger generation. The camp focused on three values: haumai (ego), truth and love, and, forgiveness.

The theme shabad for the camp was:

Mayray raam har jan aarog bha-ay, gur bachnee jinaa japi-aa mayraa har har tin kay ha-umai rog ga-ay ||1|| rahao-o.(O My Lord , The Lord 's Humble Servant Becomes Healthy, Those Who Meditate On My Lord Through The Word Of The Guru's Teachings, Get Rid Of The Disease Of Egotism ||1|| rahao-o. )

The registration session was conducted by Kiranjit Kaur, Pardip Singh, Dr. Amarjit Kaur and Nerinderjit Kaur with the assistance of other sewadars. It was then followed with Nishan Sahib Selami by Narian Singh, Gelinder Kaur and Manpreet Kaur.

The opening kirtan and theme shabad was by the Penang Jatha and the arambakh aradas led by darbar sewadar Veer Pardip Singh. The evening kirtan-talk session, badged as inspiration sessions (IPS) at Malaysian samelans, was handled by Gelinder Kaur and jatha.

After lunch, participants from the Miri Piri category were in for an 'amazing race' led by Paramjit Singh. Meanwhile, the Mighties made ‘mala’ and cards by bhenjis Kiran, Kalwant, Jaswant and Jaswinder.

The kids just wanted more. The kirtan after Rehraas Sahib was led by the Babbar Khalsa Jatha, winner of the recent National Kirtan competition.

It was then time for dinner and

screening of the Sikh Heritage movie. At 8.30pm, the camp was inspired with an IPS session by Veer Kulvinder Singh (Kemey).

Day 2 was baana day. After a simran sesson at 5.30 am followed by nitnem, participants went out for nishan sahib selami and aerobics. Then it was the time for breakfast and classroom sessions for Miri Piri participants by Sukhveer Penji from Penang with assistance of other dedicated

sewadars from Ipoh and Penang. The Mighty Khalsa participants were with Veer Amarjit Singh (KL).

The evening IPS session was handled by Penji Bhavbhanjan Kaur (Poli Penji) from Subang Jaya.

Earlier, Tarlochan Veerji had conducted a session for parents on 'raising extraordinary children'.

After ardas and semapthi, veers Rajinder, Malin and Tarlochan had

a heart-to-heart session with the Miri Piri participants, an opportunity to share their problems and voice their concerns. They wrapped up at 11pm.

The final IPS on Day 3 was led by SNSM Perak Jatha with Sukhvinder Singh (Kampar) and Baljit Singh (KL).

Gurdwara Sahib Jelapang covered the RM9,000 costs to organise the Gurmat camp.

SNSM Perak Jathedar Dr Amarjit Kaur (sitted) assisting with the registration. Standing behind is SNSM Perak Meet Jathedar (deputy president) Sarabdeep Singh.

SNSM UPDATELOUD AND CLEAR: Narain on the job.

The Sikh, Oct 2011 SIKH WORLDWIDE 11

The Sikh, Oct 201112 GURBANI

THE Sikh gurus did not adopt the above described practices of mantra meditation; they dissemi-nated their teachings of Gurbani and the rite of initiation freely and openly. During the times of Sikh gurus, the Guru would freely distribute the gift of the naam in the presence of holy congregation. This practice, called guru vartae in Sikh annals, was described by Sikh scholars of Guru Arjan’s court as follows:

lMgru clY gur sbid hir qoit n AwvI KtIAY ] Krcy idiq KsMm dI Awp KhdI KYir dbtIAY ]

Langer, the free café of the Guru’s teachings, is always open, and its provisions may never run out. Its supplies were granted by the Creator to be freely shared, and they would never run out.

Balvand and Sata, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, p. 967.

It is not uncommon, however, to find many Sikh clerics who continue to follow the practice of giving mantar in a way similar to the Hindu custom. Even at the time of initiating a Sikh in the Khande-ke Pahul ceremony, the Hindu-like ritual of initiation is gradually being introduced (7). Further-

Sikh View of MantraBy Dr. Bhai Harbans

more, this mantra-giving tradition continues today among the Sikh sects of Naamdhari, Radhaswami, Nirankari, Ruhani satsang and others.

Guru Nanak, obviously, did not approve of the contemporary naam-giving practices. His disapproval of giving naam through the mantra ritual is particularly significant in this context. He wrote:

iDRgu iqnw kw jIivAw ij iliK iliK vycih nwau ] KyqI ijn kI aujVY KlvwVy ikAw Qwau ] Condemned are the practices of earning livelihood by writing the divine numenon as an incanta-tion on a piece of paper and then selling it for profit from gifts (guru dakhna) accepted from their disciples. Those who do it are actually devastating the seedlings, their initiates, not realizing that they will harvest no crop.

Guru Nanak, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, p. 1284.

Sikh theologian Bhai Gurdas actually condemns those who subscribe to any mantra besides Guru Sabd or hymns of the Guru Granth for meditation or any religious practice.

iDRg ijhbw gur sbd ivxu hor mMqR ismrxI ] The lips and tongue who recite any mantra except Guru Sabd or hymns of the Holy Scripture deserve condemning.

Bhai Gurdas, Vaar 27, Pauri 10Although the Sikh gurus discarded the tradition of mantra, they kept the term in Sikh vocabulary and reinterpreted its meaning differ-ently for a Sikh. This was explained by Sikh theologian Bhai Gurdas, who wrote extensively on the practice of mantra. The following verses from his compo-sitions encapsulate the use of mantra concept in Sikh tradition.

According to Bhai Gurdas, when a seeker comes to the Guru, he or she is given the mantra of faith and trust in meditative life. They are taught the life of naam, daan and isnaan, that is, persis-tently experiencing divine attributes, altruism, and life of deeds that cleanse body and mind.Bwau Bgiq Bau mMqR dy nwm dwn ieSnwn idRVwXw] Guru imparts the mantra of faith and conviction in spiritual life, and reinforces the practice of naam, daan and isnaan, that is, experiencing divine attributes, altruism and gratitude, and deeds

that cleanse the body and the mind.Bhai Gurdas, Vaar 5, Pauri 13.

Bhai Gurdas further explains.siqgur sbd suriq ilv mUlmMqR, Awn qMqR mMqR kI n isKn pRqIiq hY [ The root mantra for Sikhs is to bring the consciousness in tune with the Sabd of True Guru; Sikhs do not have any other religious or mythical formulas or words meant to invoke deities.Bhai Gurdas, Kabit 183.

For a Sikh, Guru Sabd or teachings of the Guru as imbibed in Sri Guru Granth Sahib is considered the only mantra of any significance. This may be further emphasized through the following quotations from Bhai Gurdas.

mMqR mUlu siqguru bcn iek min hoie ArwDY koeI ] The teachings of a true Guru is the root mantra that is worth practic-ing with single mindedness.Bhai Gurdas, Vaar 26, Pauri 9.

mMqR mUlu guru vwk hY scu sbdu siqgurU suxwey ] The root mantra is hymns of the Guru; it is the eternal teachings that the True Guru speaks to the seeker.Bhai Gurdas, Vaar 40, Pauri 22.

Thus, there is no doubt that whenever there is a mention of any sort of acceptable mantra for a Sikh it always refers to the teachings or the hymns of the Guru as composed in the Guru Granth.


THE Sikh gurus did not adopt the above described practices of mantra meditation; they dissemi-nated their teachings of Gurbani and the rite of initiation freely and openly. During the times of Sikh gurus, the Guru would freely distribute the gift of the naam in the presence of holy congregation. This practice, called guru vartae in Sikh annals, was described by Sikh scholars of Guru Arjan’s court as follows:

lMgru clY gur sbid hir qoit n AwvI KtIAY ] Krcy idiq KsMm dI Awp KhdI KYir dbtIAY ]

Langer, the free café of the Guru’s teachings, is always open, and its provisions may never run out. Its supplies were granted by the Creator to be freely shared, and they would never run out.

Balvand and Sata, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, p. 967.

It is not uncommon, however, to find many Sikh clerics who continue to follow the practice of giving mantar in a way similar to the Hindu custom. Even at the time of initiating a Sikh in the Khande-ke Pahul ceremony, the Hindu-like ritual of initiation is gradually being introduced (7). Further-

more, this mantra-giving tradition continues today among the Sikh sects of Naamdhari, Radhaswami, Nirankari, Ruhani satsang and others.

Guru Nanak, obviously, did not approve of the contemporary naam-giving practices. His disapproval of giving naam through the mantra ritual is particularly significant in this context. He wrote:

iDRgu iqnw kw jIivAw ij iliK iliK vycih nwau ] KyqI ijn kI aujVY KlvwVy ikAw Qwau ] Condemned are the practices of earning livelihood by writing the divine numenon as an incanta-tion on a piece of paper and then selling it for profit from gifts (guru dakhna) accepted from their disciples. Those who do it are actually devastating the seedlings, their initiates, not realizing that they will harvest no crop.

Guru Nanak, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, p. 1284.

Sikh theologian Bhai Gurdas actually condemns those who subscribe to any mantra besides Guru Sabd or hymns of the Guru Granth for meditation or any religious practice.

iDRg ijhbw gur sbd ivxu hor mMqR ismrxI ] The lips and tongue who recite any mantra except Guru Sabd or hymns of the Holy Scripture deserve condemning.

Bhai Gurdas, Vaar 27, Pauri 10Although the Sikh gurus discarded the tradition of mantra, they kept the term in Sikh vocabulary and reinterpreted its meaning differ-ently for a Sikh. This was explained by Sikh theologian Bhai Gurdas, who wrote extensively on the practice of mantra. The following verses from his compo-sitions encapsulate the use of mantra concept in Sikh tradition.

According to Bhai Gurdas, when a seeker comes to the Guru, he or she is given the mantra of faith and trust in meditative life. They are taught the life of naam, daan and isnaan, that is, persis-tently experiencing divine attributes, altruism, and life of deeds that cleanse body and mind.Bwau Bgiq Bau mMqR dy nwm dwn ieSnwn idRVwXw] Guru imparts the mantra of faith and conviction in spiritual life, and reinforces the practice of naam, daan and isnaan, that is, experiencing divine attributes, altruism and gratitude, and deeds

that cleanse the body and the mind.Bhai Gurdas, Vaar 5, Pauri 13.

Bhai Gurdas further explains.siqgur sbd suriq ilv mUlmMqR, Awn qMqR mMqR kI n isKn pRqIiq hY [ The root mantra for Sikhs is to bring the consciousness in tune with the Sabd of True Guru; Sikhs do not have any other religious or mythical formulas or words meant to invoke deities.Bhai Gurdas, Kabit 183.

For a Sikh, Guru Sabd or teachings of the Guru as imbibed in Sri Guru Granth Sahib is considered the only mantra of any significance. This may be further emphasized through the following quotations from Bhai Gurdas.

mMqR mUlu siqguru bcn iek min hoie ArwDY koeI ] The teachings of a true Guru is the root mantra that is worth practic-ing with single mindedness.Bhai Gurdas, Vaar 26, Pauri 9.

mMqR mUlu guru vwk hY scu sbdu siqgurU suxwey ] The root mantra is hymns of the Guru; it is the eternal teachings that the True Guru speaks to the seeker.Bhai Gurdas, Vaar 40, Pauri 22.

Thus, there is no doubt that whenever there is a mention of any sort of acceptable mantra for a Sikh it always refers to the teachings or the hymns of the Guru as composed in the Guru Granth.

Extracted from Theology of Moolmantar: the Commencing Verse of Guru Granth by Dr. Bhai Harbans Lal. The Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia will soon be distributing copies of this book.

KUALA LUMPUR: Commuters and stall owners were pleasantly surprised as 50 young Sikhs helped spread a little warmth and friendliness, brightening up a rainy afternoon at KL Sentral.

The youth gave out free carnations, delicious mini-cupcakes and encouraged members of the public to “Smile!” in conjunction with Malay-sia Smile Day.

Its 23-year-old project manager Ashvinder Kaur said: “It is just a gesture from us to the public, to share a bit of love and make their day. We all need that once in a while.”

Dressed in bright yellow T-shirts with smiley badges pinned on, some with colourful turbans, the members of Oh My Guru (OMG) held up signs that said “Smile for me, please!”, “It takes 43 facial muscles to frown, but only 17 to smile!” and “Smile lah!” and watched as faces lit up and frowns turned into grins.

For Susan Yeap, 63, receiving a pink carnation certainly made her day.“It has been a long while since anyone gave me flowers. My children

used to buy me flowers on my birthday but they are all abroad,” said the beaming Yeap.

When 20-year-old Faizul Salihin was offered a cupcake, he traded it in for a red carnation,

“I want to give it to someone special. I want to see her smile, too,” he said.

“I am so happy today!” said an excited M. Rani, 35, who works in a shop at the station.

OMG member Simret Singh, 24, said the events were meant to promote racial unity and the feeling to being “truly Malaysian”. (Edited version from The Star, Oct 9, 2011)

Sikh youth brighten lives on a gloomy day in KLOh My Guru (OMG), a project of the Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malay-sia, made it to the front page of country’s largest selling English newspa-per The Star with its Smile project. Well done!

The Sikh, Oct 201114

Kawan Banee re Teri Lali- page 384 SGGS Jiby Manjeet Singh

<> siqgur pRswid ] rwgu Awsw Gru 7 mhlw 5 ] lwlu colnw qY qin soihAw ] suirjn BwnI qW mnu moihAw ]1] kvn bnI rI qyrI lwlI ] kvn rMig qUM BeI gulwlI ]1] rhwau ] qum HsuMdir qumih suhwgu ] qum Gir lwlnu qum Gir Bwgu ]2] qUM sqvMqI qUM prDwin ] qUM pRIqm BwnI quhI sur igAwin ]3] pRIqm BwnI qW rMig gulwl ] khu nwnk suB idRsit inhwl ]4] suin rI sKI ieh hmrI Gwl ] pRB Awip sIgwir svwrnhwr ]1] rhwau dUjw ]1]52]

DEAR all, Sangat Jio has sent me a delightful shabad to pore over. It’s too lovely to enjoy alone and must be shared.

Before we discuss the shabad lets look at some symbols and metaphors used in Gurbani. The colour red is used very often to describe a God drenched soul. "Lal rang tis ko lagga jis ke vadbhaga " " One is coloured in the dye of the Lord's love by great good fortune ". lwl rMgu iqs kau lgw ijs ky vfBwgw ] "Mailaa kadai na hovaei na laggai dagaa " mYlw kdy n hoveI nh lwgY dwgw "This colour is never muddied; no stain ever sticks to it ". [page 808 SGGS Ji].

On page 1089 Guru Nanak Dev Ji declares, " Na mailaa na dhundlaa na bhagvaa na kachh; Nanak lalo lall hai sachai ratta sach ". nw mYlw nw DuMDlw nw Bgvw nw kcu ] nwnk lwlo lwlu hY scY rqw scu Neither dirty nor dull nor saffron nor a colour which fades; O Nanak deep crimson is the colour of one imbued with the True Lord”.

In Sri Raag on page 18 Guru Nanak Dev Ji tells us that we must endeavour to clothe ourselves with this deep red colour. " Dhaat millai foon dhaat ko siftee sifat samaey; laal gulaal ghaberaa sacha rang charrao " Dwqu imlY Puin Dwqu kau isPqI isPiq smwie ] lwlu gulwlu

ghbrw scw rMgu cVwau : "As metal forges itself with metal those who chant His praises are merged into the Praiseworthy Lord; Like the poppies they acquire a reddish hue, it becomes richer, and then it is striking red - colour yourself with this true steadfast colour". Lall [red], gulaal [rich red] and gulaal [striking red] are actually stages of avatha of the Sikh.

God Himself is described as "Lall". Although literally it means red, in Punjabi, "lall" also means "loving " or "piaraa". Thus on page 1231 God is described by Guru arjun Dev Ji as " Lall lall Mohan Gopal tu " lwl lwl mohn gopwl qU " You are

my loving enticing Beloved Lord of the world ".

As an extension of the colour symbolism, God is described as "Lallann". We see this for example on page 739.

This shabad describes a conver-sation between two satsangans. One inquires of the other . "Lallann raveya kavan gatee ree; sakhee batavo mujhai matee ree". lwlnu rwivAw kvn gqI rI ] sKI bqwvhu muJih mqI rI "How did you come to relish [merge into] our Dear Beloved; My dear sister do show me; teach me". The answer follows. " Suhab suhab suhvee; aapney preetam kai rang ratee "sUhb sUhb sUhvI ] Apny pRIqm kY rMig rqI " Red , darker red , and deep crimson; It was [due to] being imbued with love for the Beloved Spouse". [that gave me this wonderful colour] Suhab, suhab sahvee again shows that it is an evolvement, a progression of avastha which results in this mystical coloring of the jeev isteree.

Make no mistake please. You cannot achieve this colour yourself. You need the Guru's grace. On page 1323 Guru Ramdass Ji in Raag Kalyaan tells us, " Lallann lall lall hai rangann man rangann ko Gur dijjai ".

lwlnu lwlu lwlu Hy rMgnu mnu rMgn kau gur dIjY " O Beloved please do colour me with the deep crimson of Your love; I have surrendered my mind to the Guru to have it so coloured".

The shabad to be discussed is in Raag Assa. It is by Guru Arjun Dev Ji and it appears on page 384. It describes a conversation between two satsangans [jeev isteris]. One is accomplished and she radiates a bright red hue of naam. She is "rangee hoyee", whilst the other is a beginner. The beginner comments innocently, "That red dress [cholnaa] becomes you, it adorns you well, you carry it off so easily"; "Laal cholnaa tai tan soheyaa ". lwlu colnw qY qin soihAw

The next line is an answer by the spiritually accomplished one. She replies ; "I was pleasing to my Lord and His mind was enticed ".

The conversation proceeds: "How did you become so gloriously red and radiant?"; "Kavan banee ni teri lalee ". ] kvn bnI rI qyrI lwlI And "Whose love has made you so crimson red ?" ; " Kavan rang tu bhaie gulalee "kvn rMig qUM BeI gulwlI. This is the rahao line. It raises questions which will be answered in the further body of the shabad.

The beginner is so enraptured by the radiance and colour of the spiritually high jeev isteri that she continues her praise. "You are beautiful; you are a happy soul bride". "Tum hi sundar tumhe suhaag ". qum hI suMdir qumih suhwgu ] qum Gir lwlnu qum Gir Bwgu ]2

The praise is gushing and does not stop there. She now says "Tum ghar lallann tum ghar bhaag" qum Gir lwlnu qum Gir Bwgu ]2 ; "Your beloved is in your home; your home is indeed fortunate".

There is no stopping the genuine admiration of the beginner. She is awed by the virtues of the accom-plished jeev isteri. She exclaims

"Tu satvantee tu pardhaan".qUM sqvMqI qUM prDwin

"You are pure and chaste; you are most distinguished ". She is satvantee meaning she has no eyes for anyone other than the Lord. She also conducts her daily life in accordance with His Hukam. She is most chaste. In her purity she is also the highest of the high, the most distin-guished.

That she is pleasing to her Lord is apparent to all. Her brilliance cannot be hidden. Gurbani tells us that although the spiritually accomplished soul does not flaunt her accoplish-ments, because of her utter humility, yet her lofty state cannot be hidden. ["Rattan lokaiyaa lookai nahe je ko rakhai lukai "rqnu lukwieAw lUkY nwhI jy ko rKY lukweI page 608 SGGS Ji]. The beginner gushes more praise in recognition of this. "Tu Preetam bhanee tuhi sur gyaan" qUM pRIqm BwnI quhI sur igAwin; "You are pleasing to your Lord; you have sublime understanding". The accom-plished jeev isteri is an enlight-ened soul and is pleasing to her Celestial Spouse.

Her total lack of ego is apparent in the next line. She lays no claim to any right to her radiance and glow. She says it is all because He has chosen to be pleased with me. This view of attributing all accomplishment to His grace is central to Gurbani. Gurbani says that we have to reach a stage where it actually dawns upon us with the Guru's grace that we are not the doers. The real "karta", the Doer is actually God. Sukhmani tells us that so long as we think we are doing anything, we are still in the cycle of births and deaths. "Jab lagg jannai mai kich karta, tabh lagh garab joon mai firtaa".

jb ieh jwnY mY ikCu krqw ] qb lgu grB join mih iPrqw Since she is an enlightened soul, she says "Preetam bhanee ta rang gulaal " pRIqm BwnI qW rMig gulwl; It is because I am pleasing to my Lord that I have this deep red colour".

She emphasises this in the next line. " Kaho Nanak subh dhist nihaal " khu nwnk suB idRsit inhwl: Says Nanak I have been blessed with the Lord's glance of grace." There is no egoistic flaunting of her attributes. Rather it is an answer flowing with humility. All radiance is attributed to His kindness and grace. There is no haumai.

The second rahao is actually couched as an answer to the query posed in the first rahao. The query was " Kavan banee ni teri lalee; kavan rang tu bhaee gulalee?" kvn bnI rI qyrI lwlI ] kvn rMig qUM BeI gulwlI The answer is "Sun ri sakhee eh hamaree ghaal; Prabh aap shingaar savaranhaar". ] suin rI sKI ieh hmrI Gwl ] pRB Awip sIgwir svwrnhwr; "Listen my friend this is my only effort; God Himself is the One who embel-lishes and adorns." Even in this answer she lays no claim to effort. The effort she describes is really no personal effort on her part as she attributes it [her accomplished state of enlightenment and radiance] all to His grace.

What a fantastic avastha. Gurbani is full of delightful gems such as these which are full of joyful imagery at the same time instrcting us onto the Godly path.

I crave forgiveness from Guruji and the sangat for all errors in translating and interpreting the various shabads.

The Sikh, Oct 2011 GURBANI 15

DEAR all, Sangat Jio has sent me a delightful shabad to pore over. It’s too lovely to enjoy alone and must be shared.

Before we discuss the shabad lets look at some symbols and metaphors used in Gurbani. The colour red is used very often to describe a God drenched soul. "Lal rang tis ko lagga jis ke vadbhaga " " One is coloured in the dye of the Lord's love by great good fortune ". lwl rMgu iqs kau lgw ijs ky vfBwgw ] "Mailaa kadai na hovaei na laggai dagaa " mYlw kdy n hoveI nh lwgY dwgw "This colour is never muddied; no stain ever sticks to it ". [page 808 SGGS Ji].

On page 1089 Guru Nanak Dev Ji declares, " Na mailaa na dhundlaa na bhagvaa na kachh; Nanak lalo lall hai sachai ratta sach ". nw mYlw nw DuMDlw nw Bgvw nw kcu ] nwnk lwlo lwlu hY scY rqw scu Neither dirty nor dull nor saffron nor a colour which fades; O Nanak deep crimson is the colour of one imbued with the True Lord”.

In Sri Raag on page 18 Guru Nanak Dev Ji tells us that we must endeavour to clothe ourselves with this deep red colour. " Dhaat millai foon dhaat ko siftee sifat samaey; laal gulaal ghaberaa sacha rang charrao " Dwqu imlY Puin Dwqu kau isPqI isPiq smwie ] lwlu gulwlu

ghbrw scw rMgu cVwau : "As metal forges itself with metal those who chant His praises are merged into the Praiseworthy Lord; Like the poppies they acquire a reddish hue, it becomes richer, and then it is striking red - colour yourself with this true steadfast colour". Lall [red], gulaal [rich red] and gulaal [striking red] are actually stages of avatha of the Sikh.

God Himself is described as "Lall". Although literally it means red, in Punjabi, "lall" also means "loving " or "piaraa". Thus on page 1231 God is described by Guru arjun Dev Ji as " Lall lall Mohan Gopal tu " lwl lwl mohn gopwl qU " You are

my loving enticing Beloved Lord of the world ".

As an extension of the colour symbolism, God is described as "Lallann". We see this for example on page 739.

This shabad describes a conver-sation between two satsangans. One inquires of the other . "Lallann raveya kavan gatee ree; sakhee batavo mujhai matee ree". lwlnu rwivAw kvn gqI rI ] sKI bqwvhu muJih mqI rI "How did you come to relish [merge into] our Dear Beloved; My dear sister do show me; teach me". The answer follows. " Suhab suhab suhvee; aapney preetam kai rang ratee "sUhb sUhb sUhvI ] Apny pRIqm kY rMig rqI " Red , darker red , and deep crimson; It was [due to] being imbued with love for the Beloved Spouse". [that gave me this wonderful colour] Suhab, suhab sahvee again shows that it is an evolvement, a progression of avastha which results in this mystical coloring of the jeev isteree.

Make no mistake please. You cannot achieve this colour yourself. You need the Guru's grace. On page 1323 Guru Ramdass Ji in Raag Kalyaan tells us, " Lallann lall lall hai rangann man rangann ko Gur dijjai ".

lwlnu lwlu lwlu Hy rMgnu mnu rMgn kau gur dIjY " O Beloved please do colour me with the deep crimson of Your love; I have surrendered my mind to the Guru to have it so coloured".

The shabad to be discussed is in Raag Assa. It is by Guru Arjun Dev Ji and it appears on page 384. It describes a conversation between two satsangans [jeev isteris]. One is accomplished and she radiates a bright red hue of naam. She is "rangee hoyee", whilst the other is a beginner. The beginner comments innocently, "That red dress [cholnaa] becomes you, it adorns you well, you carry it off so easily"; "Laal cholnaa tai tan soheyaa ". lwlu colnw qY qin soihAw

The next line is an answer by the spiritually accomplished one. She replies ; "I was pleasing to my Lord and His mind was enticed ".

The conversation proceeds: "How did you become so gloriously red and radiant?"; "Kavan banee ni teri lalee ". ] kvn bnI rI qyrI lwlI And "Whose love has made you so crimson red ?" ; " Kavan rang tu bhaie gulalee "kvn rMig qUM BeI gulwlI. This is the rahao line. It raises questions which will be answered in the further body of the shabad.

The beginner is so enraptured by the radiance and colour of the spiritually high jeev isteri that she continues her praise. "You are beautiful; you are a happy soul bride". "Tum hi sundar tumhe suhaag ". qum hI suMdir qumih suhwgu ] qum Gir lwlnu qum Gir Bwgu ]2

The praise is gushing and does not stop there. She now says "Tum ghar lallann tum ghar bhaag" qum Gir lwlnu qum Gir Bwgu ]2 ; "Your beloved is in your home; your home is indeed fortunate".

There is no stopping the genuine admiration of the beginner. She is awed by the virtues of the accom-plished jeev isteri. She exclaims

"Tu satvantee tu pardhaan".qUM sqvMqI qUM prDwin

"You are pure and chaste; you are most distinguished ". She is satvantee meaning she has no eyes for anyone other than the Lord. She also conducts her daily life in accordance with His Hukam. She is most chaste. In her purity she is also the highest of the high, the most distin-guished.

That she is pleasing to her Lord is apparent to all. Her brilliance cannot be hidden. Gurbani tells us that although the spiritually accomplished soul does not flaunt her accoplish-ments, because of her utter humility, yet her lofty state cannot be hidden. ["Rattan lokaiyaa lookai nahe je ko rakhai lukai "rqnu lukwieAw lUkY nwhI jy ko rKY lukweI page 608 SGGS Ji]. The beginner gushes more praise in recognition of this. "Tu Preetam bhanee tuhi sur gyaan" qUM pRIqm BwnI quhI sur igAwin; "You are pleasing to your Lord; you have sublime understanding". The accom-plished jeev isteri is an enlight-ened soul and is pleasing to her Celestial Spouse.

Her total lack of ego is apparent in the next line. She lays no claim to any right to her radiance and glow. She says it is all because He has chosen to be pleased with me. This view of attributing all accomplishment to His grace is central to Gurbani. Gurbani says that we have to reach a stage where it actually dawns upon us with the Guru's grace that we are not the doers. The real "karta", the Doer is actually God. Sukhmani tells us that so long as we think we are doing anything, we are still in the cycle of births and deaths. "Jab lagg jannai mai kich karta, tabh lagh garab joon mai firtaa".

jb ieh jwnY mY ikCu krqw ] qb lgu grB join mih iPrqw Since she is an enlightened soul, she says "Preetam bhanee ta rang gulaal " pRIqm BwnI qW rMig gulwl; It is because I am pleasing to my Lord that I have this deep red colour".

She emphasises this in the next line. " Kaho Nanak subh dhist nihaal " khu nwnk suB idRsit inhwl: Says Nanak I have been blessed with the Lord's glance of grace." There is no egoistic flaunting of her attributes. Rather it is an answer flowing with humility. All radiance is attributed to His kindness and grace. There is no haumai.

The second rahao is actually couched as an answer to the query posed in the first rahao. The query was " Kavan banee ni teri lalee; kavan rang tu bhaee gulalee?" kvn bnI rI qyrI lwlI ] kvn rMig qUM BeI gulwlI The answer is "Sun ri sakhee eh hamaree ghaal; Prabh aap shingaar savaranhaar". ] suin rI sKI ieh hmrI Gwl ] pRB Awip sIgwir svwrnhwr; "Listen my friend this is my only effort; God Himself is the One who embel-lishes and adorns." Even in this answer she lays no claim to effort. The effort she describes is really no personal effort on her part as she attributes it [her accomplished state of enlightenment and radiance] all to His grace.

What a fantastic avastha. Gurbani is full of delightful gems such as these which are full of joyful imagery at the same time instrcting us onto the Godly path.

I crave forgiveness from Guruji and the sangat for all errors in translating and interpreting the various shabads.

The author is a Kuala Lumpur - based lawyer who facilitates Gurbani discussion circles.

KUALA LUMPUR: Commuters and stall owners were pleasantly surprised as 50 young Sikhs helped spread a little warmth and friendliness, brightening up a rainy afternoon at KL Sentral.

The youth gave out free carnations, delicious mini-cupcakes and encouraged members of the public to “Smile!” in conjunction with Malay-sia Smile Day.

Its 23-year-old project manager Ashvinder Kaur said: “It is just a gesture from us to the public, to share a bit of love and make their day. We all need that once in a while.”

Dressed in bright yellow T-shirts with smiley badges pinned on, some with colourful turbans, the members of Oh My Guru (OMG) held up signs that said “Smile for me, please!”, “It takes 43 facial muscles to frown, but only 17 to smile!” and “Smile lah!” and watched as faces lit up and frowns turned into grins.

For Susan Yeap, 63, receiving a pink carnation certainly made her day.“It has been a long while since anyone gave me flowers. My children

used to buy me flowers on my birthday but they are all abroad,” said the beaming Yeap.

When 20-year-old Faizul Salihin was offered a cupcake, he traded it in for a red carnation,

“I want to give it to someone special. I want to see her smile, too,” he said.

“I am so happy today!” said an excited M. Rani, 35, who works in a shop at the station.

OMG member Simret Singh, 24, said the events were meant to promote racial unity and the feeling to being “truly Malaysian”. (Edited version from The Star, Oct 9, 2011)

The Sikh, Oct 201116 VIEWS

LOUD. A river of liquor. Bollywood-like attire and dances. Lots of showing-off. That's a typical Sikh wedding celebration today. In Malaysia, at least. There is precious little input of our religious values. There is little to say that, hey, we are Sikhs. It’s mostly a show, dekhavaa, at times pathetically shallow and devoid of imagination. It's Bollywood played out to satisfy the unspoken deep seated desire of wanting to be Shahrukh Khans and Kareena Kapoors. Guru Ji has something to say on this:

ffY fMPu krhu ikAw pRwxI jo ikCu hoAw su sBu clxw ] Dadda: Why do you make such ostentatious shows, O mortal? Whatever exists, shall all pass away. (SGGS, page 433)

Guru Sahib also cautions us from going overboard.

bhu swdhu dUKu prwpiq hovY ] For his excessive indulgences, he receives only pain. (SGGS, page 1034)

Imagine. I sit at a table with a white table cloth. The rows of table beyond are covered with red cloth. They are for the ‘special’ guests. We are, I suppose, mere ordinary guests at this wedding. They get served at their table. My girls and I had to hit the back of a long line. I

A Sikh wedding celebrationhate these long lines at weddings. In the guru-ka-langgar, Guru Sahib taught us to sit as equals. As they say in Malay, duduk sama rendah, berdiri sama tinggi. Being totally involved in worldly affairs, we lose sight of right and wrong.

duibDw mhlu n pwvY jig JUTI gux Avgx n pCwxy ]7]Those who are involved in duality do not find the Mansion of the Lord's Presence; caught in the false nature of the world, they do not discriminate between merits and demerits. ||7|| (SGGS, page 1233)

I don't mind being the ordinary guest. But do you have to colour code tables? It would not have happened if we practised the Guru's teaching. We would have insisted on treating all alike, giving all guests equal impor-tance. That would have been flashing Sikhi in real life. As the organiser, you would not have bothered marking one section red, the other white. You'll treat all equal. As Guru Sahib says:

gurmuiK eyk idRsit kir dyKhu Git Git joiq smoeI jIau ]2] As Gurmukh, look upon all with the single eye of equality; in each and every heart, the Divine Light is contained. ||2|| (SGGS, page 599)Granted, you may want flashing

lights and songs at your wedding. But you don't have to go overboard. Moderation is one of the essence of the Guru's teaching. Get married, make merry, but don't let fly your Gurus ideals. Those ideals will guide us through thick and thin, not the Bollywood-walla song and dance. Guru says: be moderate, restraint your desires.

bhqI mnsw rwKhu bWiD ] Keep your pulsating desires restrained.

loB moh sB bIsir jwhu ] Forget all your greed and emotional attachment;

jugu jugu jIvhu Amr Pl Kwhu ]10] You shall live throughout the ages, eating the fruit of immortal-ity. ||10|| (SGGS, page 344)

The restless mind is the driving force that forces man into excesses. It needs to be restrained, controlled, harnessed to enable us to spontaneously see and admire the simplicity and beauty in nature.

auiT clqw Twik rKhu Gir ApunY duKu kwty kwtxhwrw hy ]16] Restrain your restless mind within its own home, and the Lord, the Destroyer, shall destroy your pain. ||16|| (SGGS, page 1031) Maybe I'm being too cynical. For all I know, perhaps they merely ran out of red or white table cloths.

The Sikh, Oct 2011 17

by Simran KaurSOME 400 participants and sevadars took part in the 21st Punjabi Bhasha Mela 2011 on June 4. Up for grabs at the 2-day intense competition in Punjabi Language was a challenge trophy with a cash prize of RM1,000.

This year saw participation of teams from Dataran Pandan, Selayang Baru, Sentul, Klang, Port Klang, Petaling Jaya, Sri Dasmesh, Johor Bahru, Seremban, Kampar, Rawang, Kuantan and Tanjung Malim. Additionally, for the first time

in the history of the Bhasha Mela, five teams got together and participated as the Northern Zone. These five teams were from Penang, Butterworth, Sg Petani, Kulim and Kangar. They had their own regional competition earlier and sent their champions to participate as the Northern Zone Team. All in a record turnout of 18 Punjabi Education Centers (PECs).

As usual, competitions were according to age groups. Students from Std 1-3 were in Jatha 1, Std 4-6 in Jatha 2, Form 1-3 in Jatha 3 and Form 4-6 in Jatha 4.

Below: Judges at work

SNSM UPDATE

Punjabi Bhasa Mela, June 4-5, 2011

It’s 21 now, and getting more intense

NEWS READERS: Participants trying their skills at news reading in Punjabi.

One team manager keeping a close watch on her team


SNSM hosted a special national VAISAKHI 2011 at Dataran Merdeka, a historic Malaysian venue. Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak graced the event that attracted some 20,000 people. Among them were foreign tourists who enjoyed an evening filled with food and entertainment. There were also booths set up displaying the contributions of the Sikh community to Malaysia over the years as well as booths featuring traditional Punjabi culture and cuisine.

Highlights of the event, held on 2nd May, included bhangra performances and a showcase of Sikh culture and heritage. Also present were the prime minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

PM COMES CALLING AT VAISAKHI



CHERAS VAISAKHI PROGRAMME

THE annual pre-Vaisakhi programme once again took place at its usual venue in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. As in past years, the Sikh Sanggat had the opportunity to immerse themselves in kirtan and katha. Pure bliss for kirtan lovers, pure joy for those seeking the Sanggat of the Guru.


CHERAS VAISAKHI PROGRAMME

AMRITSAR (20 July 2011): The members of the SGPC task force on Tuesday night attacked a devotee who retaliated and stabbed a task force employee with his small sword in the Golden Temple complex here.

Devotee Navroop Singh who comes daily to Golden Temple at midnight to clean the Sanctum Sanctorum was reportedly offended by a member of the task force Sarbjit Singh which led to a verbal duel.

Navroop was allegedly given severe thrashing by members of the task force. Sarbjit Singh who was injured when Navroop stabbed him, was hospitalised at a Government hospital because of severe bleeding.

According to sources, the incident took place at midnight, when the devotee attempted to sit in the VIP enclosure inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple and was prevented from doing so by Sarbjit Singh. - Punjab Newsline Network

FIRST HAND EXPERIENCEM SINGH: On the subject of favouritism and control of sitting inside Darbar Sahib for listening to Kirtan, I must add that, it is done in a high handed fashion and controlled by some influential local Sikhs of Amritsar and officials of SGPC, without regard to equal opportunity to all devotees.

We have been visiting Sri Darbar Sahib every year from Australia and as I am originally from Amritsar, I am familiar with the context and practice. I will describe a few specific incidents to give an idea of how bad the situation is in the holiest of holy Sri Harmandar Sahib.

1. When the Palki Sahib is carried in by devotees, local infuential and rich Sikhs walk ahead bypassing the queue of other devotees, to take frontal positions inside Harmandar Sahib. They block the other devotees’ view of SGGS when the Palki Sahib is installed. Then they sit down occupying the space of the others who are still standing. The Sevadars, kick out those Sikhs standing now but who were sitting down previously. Obviously new visitors from all over the world are unaware of the tricks and influence of

to take her regular seat. I objected, to be advised: "Baba jee Sambhal Ke raho, tuhanoo bahir Sodh Diyan ge" (Baba, take care, or we shall throw you out). This happened inside the holy Harman-dar Sahib.

No! I have not lost my faith in Guru Ghar, but am merely sad.

THE RICH AND FAMOUSH SINGH: I thought Guru Nanak ji taught us the most important fact of life, which is "God exists and resides everywhere". Having said that, how can sitting in the front or middle or at the back or standing in the Harmandir make one a better Sikh? It is indeed very sad that Harmandar has become an object of manipulation of the rich and famous. Let them rush and reserve places in the Harmandar, for God is surely not there alone, our homes can become Harmandar if we practise our Gurus teachings. The same goes for all the other Gurdwaras.

I am pretty sure our Gurus would not have spot reservations at their homes, as Gurdwaras are not restaurants where you can book a place and deprive another of it.

It is also a shame that sewadars have also become puppets of the rich and famous.

D SINGH: I visit Darbar Sahib whenever it is possible for me when I am in Amritsar. I don’t sit in the enclosure. Do these Sikhs think that listening to kirtan behind the ragis in that enclosure makes them nearer God or to get salvation easily? I think it is an open demonstration of Haumain.

M SINGH: There are two reasons why Sikhs want to sit in the enclosure behind ragis. I try to sit there as that is the only place men can sit, as on the opposite end mostly women sit. If I go there, I do wish to listen to kirtan for an

hour or so, nearest to ragis, if I can. It has become rather difficult and now I do not sit there. The second main reason is that at that spot, being behind the ragis, the persons' picture comes on TV, relayed all over the world.

I agree that, it is only a sentiment to even listen to kirtan sitting inside Harmandar Sahib and one feels the pilgrimage fulfilled, though the real value of listening to Gurbani may be attained anywhere.

IT'S THE SAME, EVERY-WHERE

H SINGH: Talking about place of worship and pilgrimages, I think the situation is the same everywhere.

My female friend who went to perform the Haj told me that upon the final ritual at the holy Kaaba, there was this guy who kept rubbing himself against her back purposely. Even the Hindu holy places, there is favouritism, I am not sure about the Vatican.

But the whole problem, I guess, is we human beings have attached ourselves to this sort of worship, thinking that we get closer to God if we visit these places frequently.

Well, if the Harmandar authority has no respect for followers of Sikhism and its teachings, why do Sikhs from overseas keep sending heaps of gold and money? We have become so engrossed in "rituals" that we have forgotten the teachings of the Sikh Gurus and become slaves to the so called sewa-dars and gate

keepers of the Harmandar and other "famous Gurdwaras". Why not turn your hearts and minds to the real Harmandar, where it will be free of corrupt practices and favouritism.

It is sad that these state of affairs has put so many devoted Sikhs in sadness. But then again, if we truly follow the teachings of our Gurus, I believe that a Sikh will not miss anything if he doesn't get to visit Harmandar. I know of really devoted Sikhs who have never visited any of the famous Gurdwaras in India or elsewhere because they seem to have found the real everlast-ing Gurdwara within them-selves, all others are just mere rituals (which Sikhism forbids anyway).

But then again, it will be good if Sikhs can right the wrongs committed at the Harmandar because it tarnishes the image of Sikhi in the eyes of tourists and at the same time these wrongs tend to cause Sikhs to be disillusioned at the high handed-ness and corrupt practices at the sacred Harmandar.

H SINGH: Visiting Gurdwaras like Darbar Sahib and other places as pilgrimage is contrary to Gurbani teachings but is actively encouraged by clergy. What is wrong with us?

May I disappoint you that according to Gurbani, visiting Darbar Sahib has no special

locals.2. Another day, I went in a few

minutes before Palki Sahib came closer to Harmandar Sahib, to take a seat. There were three healthy Sikhs standing on all sides, preventing devotees from sitting in the vacant space, which I learnt was reserved for those influential and rich local Sikhs. I insisted and they pushed me away, an over 70 years old person. I was thrown out of the Harmandar Sahib, thus missing the chance to have Darshan, though I went in early, coming from thousand miles away.

3. The next day I tried to sit inside the enclosure behind the Ragis, when two persons got up. A Sevadar stopped me and I was told by another person that these two persons were merely holding the space for 2 VIP guests who had just arrived and were standing behind me.

4. Next day was Sangrand and there were huge crowds. I was standing in queue for over an hour, with aching feet and severe back pain, watching a constant flow of men and women coming in from the exit. I asked a Sevadar to stop those as they should go in from Deohri, which is the entry gate. He told me that if he objected to them he would lose his job. Those were influential local families and management had instructed those be allowed to come in from any direction.

5. That evening I went inside late, just before Santokh ceremoney of SGGS and closing of Harmandar Sahib for the night cleaning. I occupied a vacant spot and was told by a Sevadar not to sit too long, as another regular local would come soon to take his daily seat. When I refused, I was harassed. Nearby me was sitting a young newly married couple. A female Sevadar with blue chuni asked the young woman to go out, as another local women had come

spirtual value unless you call these events of being pushed around as spiritual experience. We have never bothered with Guru's true message, and like sheep follow the blind crowd. Today's managers of these places are no different than Mahants of yesterday and Nirmalas and Udasis of yore. They rely on our blind faith to come and spend our hard earned money and time to get some kind of blessing, which is pure illusion. True blessing is reciting Gurbani and living in it, no matter where you are.

There is abject dearth of Gurmat in our Gurdwaras. If Darbar Sahib pilgrimage is so important, why did none of the remaining Gurus ever bother to visit there? Have we forgotten how, the one and only Guru (Guru Teg Bahadur) who tried to visit Darbar Sahib was treated there?

The practice of washing and cleaning with milk is another meaningless tradition, wasting valuable milk which could feed needy children. But of course, that would be contrary to 'Prampra' no matter how much anti Gurmat may it be. What can I say about this Palki Sahib thing other than that it is pure idol worship. We have created our own icons to replace the old idols of gods godesses. We treat GGS as idol to be bowed to and to ask for "wishes" fulfilled.

Let us wake up to the true message of Gurbani.

I SINGH: The problems in visiting Darbar Sahib ( Amritsar) highlighted by my GLZ brothers arise because there is heavy rush of devotees to have a glimpse of the interior of Darbar sahib and pay obeisance. Every devotee wants to gain entry to the interior and struggles for a vantage point. In this process they push each other and also try to gain entry through the 'exit' passage.

Whenever I have gone to Darbar Sahib, I have felt the need of big display boards at various places in the parkarma showing what is happening in the interior of Darbar Sahib. Live telecast of the kirtan in Darbar Sahib is shown on TV screens all over the world. If only the organizers of Darbar sahib could show the same on boards installed in the parkarma, the jostling and pushing of devotees may be much less if not totally eradicated.

In Darbar SahibA news item on a Sikh being attacked at the Harmandir Sahib, or popularly known as the Darbar Sahib or Golden Temple, ignited an interesting exchange on the Gurmat Learning Zone (GLZ), probably the world's largest Sikh internet-based discus-sion group. We share with readers some of the postings edited for clarity.


The Sikh, Oct 2011 VIEWS 23


















































































































Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Academy’s annual Family Samelan this year saw some 150 members converging at a beach resort in Desaru, Johor in July 2011. The academy, which has an outpost in Queensland, Australia, had also assisted in running a family samelan at Koonjewarre Retreat on the Gold Coast in September 2011.

GGS Academy’s family samelan

SNSM UPDATE

SNSM Division Update


T&D to focus on personal success and leadershipSNSM’s Training & Development Division (T&D) plans to take 1,000 participants in Malaysia through a journey to uplift themselves and become more successful. We hope to be able to provide the best trainers for T&D planned events as well as integrate our trainers into existing SNSM Samelans and Camps that are being run nationwide.

INTRODUCTION: The demands of the Sikh youth at large has grown and the need to provide more comprehensive training and develop-ment for fulfilling their needs is to be planned and addressed by the T&D Committee. The division has come out with a three year Strategic Plan for 2011-2013.

The T&D Management team is now going to undertake various projects within the limited resources, to ensure projects or programs would deliver value for money or best benefits for the SNSM stakeholders.

There is also a strong desire to involve more of the senior youth in the activities of SNSM T&D including, but not limited to program management, project/initiative management, administrative roles and services, program development, grants development etc.

If we are able to obtain a high level of professional training and documentation, the organization has the opportunity to obtain more sustainable levels of funding from the community and the Government.

OBJECTIVE: “Personal Success

and Leadership”.This individual success will be

the main focus of the training programs. To achieve that, the individual has to be prepared for leadership, i.e. to lead himself/herself into success. Together with this, the T&D will also plan programs to support and prepare sewadar for leading the many satsangs, programs and samelans of the SNSM.

Target locations are KL, Northern Malaysia (Penang/Ipoh) and Southern Malaysia (Johor Bharu). The programs will focus on this key locations based on the youth population centres.

Activities: The camps and trainings are youth‐oriented, with a focus on educating our youth on the values and practices of successful people guided by the Sikh Gurus. The camp encour-ages team building and fellow-ship within our youth.

These camps will focus on providing an edge for our youth to be successful leaders in their school, college, and university or work environments. In an interactive environment the youth are taught skills in leadership, problem solving, negotiation and entrepreneurial skills. We will engage successful Sikhs trainers and entrepreneurs from Malaysia and around the world to inspire our youth and give them a ‘step up’ in their professional lives and careers. Coupled with the fore

mentioned components there is also a focus on meditation, success in the context of Sikhism and sharing self‐realization skills.Programs which SNSM T&D has identified for the first phase are as follows:

1. How To Be Successful 2. How To Impress Your Friend3. Train The Trainers4. Personal Grooming5. How To Be Rich6. How To Write A Masterpiece Of Resume & Effective Interview Skills7. English Speaking / Public Speaking/Communication8. Dev-Success9. Pathway To Extreme Success - PX2 Program10. What Makes News

The program duration will be 1-day or 2-day overnight programs. The fee charged will be based on basic charges. SNSM is subsidizing bulk of the cost.

Subcommittee Management of SNSM T&D: SNSM T&D will be managed by a subcommittee of volunteers who have dedicated themselves to the pursuing objectives of the organization. The management team consists of the following

• Harvinder Singh (SNSM Exco member)• Mohan Singh Rendhawa• Paramjit Singh• Ir Tejinder Singh

• Jesmesh Singh• Harkiren Kaur• Gina Kaur

All of the above are members who have attended many SNSM samelans and camps. They have volunteered for the SNSM T&D programs inception. Some of them are also experienced trainers and will themselves be running some of the programs.

More resources for providing the training will be arranged via soliciting support from the large pool of professional Sikh Trainers. The community in Malaysia is blessed with many successes in the area of T&D and these experienced trainers will be approached to commit 1-2 days a year for sewa to the panth.

Financial Support: The activities outlined previously have been funded through a mixture of different channels including

Participant’s Pays minimal feeDonation from Sikh Gurdwaras

(langgar, accommodation etc)Donation from Sikh parents and

communityGovernment grants

The costs of camps will be subsided by donations from various sources as stipulated above. The organization will top-up the difference, if any. The main cost associated to such camps will be:• F&B• Training materials and handouts• Conference or training facility• Incidentals in event promotion• Allowance and/or reimbursement of Trainers Fee/travelling cost

Project Coordination: The project will be coordinated and managed by Col. Mohan. His assistants will be Harkiren Kaur and Paramjit Singh


SNSM’s Training & Development Division (T&D) plans to take 1,000 participants in Malaysia through a journey to uplift themselves and become more successful. We hope to be able to provide the best trainers for T&D planned events as well as integrate our trainers into existing SNSM Samelans and Camps that are being run nationwide.

INTRODUCTION: The demands of the Sikh youth at large has grown and the need to provide more comprehensive training and develop-ment for fulfilling their needs is to be planned and addressed by the T&D Committee. The division has come out with a three year Strategic Plan for 2011-2013.

The T&D Management team is now going to undertake various projects within the limited resources, to ensure projects or programs would deliver value for money or best benefits for the SNSM stakeholders.

There is also a strong desire to involve more of the senior youth in the activities of SNSM T&D including, but not limited to program management, project/initiative management, administrative roles and services, program development, grants development etc.

If we are able to obtain a high level of professional training and documentation, the organization has the opportunity to obtain more sustainable levels of funding from the community and the Government.

OBJECTIVE: “Personal Success

and Leadership”.This individual success will be

the main focus of the training programs. To achieve that, the individual has to be prepared for leadership, i.e. to lead himself/herself into success. Together with this, the T&D will also plan programs to support and prepare sewadar for leading the many satsangs, programs and samelans of the SNSM.

Target locations are KL, Northern Malaysia (Penang/Ipoh) and Southern Malaysia (Johor Bharu). The programs will focus on this key locations based on the youth population centres.

Activities: The camps and trainings are youth‐oriented, with a focus on educating our youth on the values and practices of successful people guided by the Sikh Gurus. The camp encour-ages team building and fellow-ship within our youth.

These camps will focus on providing an edge for our youth to be successful leaders in their school, college, and university or work environments. In an interactive environment the youth are taught skills in leadership, problem solving, negotiation and entrepreneurial skills. We will engage successful Sikhs trainers and entrepreneurs from Malaysia and around the world to inspire our youth and give them a ‘step up’ in their professional lives and careers. Coupled with the fore

mentioned components there is also a focus on meditation, success in the context of Sikhism and sharing self‐realization skills.Programs which SNSM T&D has identified for the first phase are as follows:

1. How To Be Successful 2. How To Impress Your Friend3. Train The Trainers4. Personal Grooming5. How To Be Rich6. How To Write A Masterpiece Of Resume & Effective Interview Skills7. English Speaking / Public Speaking/Communication8. Dev-Success9. Pathway To Extreme Success - PX2 Program10. What Makes News

The program duration will be 1-day or 2-day overnight programs. The fee charged will be based on basic charges. SNSM is subsidizing bulk of the cost.

Subcommittee Management of SNSM T&D: SNSM T&D will be managed by a subcommittee of volunteers who have dedicated themselves to the pursuing objectives of the organization. The management team consists of the following

• Harvinder Singh (SNSM Exco member)• Mohan Singh Rendhawa• Paramjit Singh• Ir Tejinder Singh

• Jesmesh Singh• Harkiren Kaur• Gina Kaur

All of the above are members who have attended many SNSM samelans and camps. They have volunteered for the SNSM T&D programs inception. Some of them are also experienced trainers and will themselves be running some of the programs.

More resources for providing the training will be arranged via soliciting support from the large pool of professional Sikh Trainers. The community in Malaysia is blessed with many successes in the area of T&D and these experienced trainers will be approached to commit 1-2 days a year for sewa to the panth.

Financial Support: The activities outlined previously have been funded through a mixture of different channels including

Participant’s Pays minimal feeDonation from Sikh Gurdwaras

(langgar, accommodation etc)Donation from Sikh parents and

communityGovernment grants

The costs of camps will be subsided by donations from various sources as stipulated above. The organization will top-up the difference, if any. The main cost associated to such camps will be:• F&B• Training materials and handouts• Conference or training facility• Incidentals in event promotion• Allowance and/or reimbursement of Trainers Fee/travelling cost

Project Coordination: The project will be coordinated and managed by Col. Mohan. His assistants will be Harkiren Kaur and Paramjit Singh

From page 17

Participants took part in Shudh Paath, Kavta, Bahes, Bhashan, Sakhi / Kehani, Tatkali Peshkari, Shudh Akhar Jorh, Prashnotri and Aj di Taza Khabar, all of which were competitive events. There were also non-competitive events like Bahes for Adults & Gaon Toli Peshgi. Teams from Selayang Baru, Dataran Pandan, Petaling Jaya, Sri Dasmesh, Johor Bahru, Seremban and Kampar impressed the judges

with their fantastic performances in the Gaon Toli Peshgi.Sentul won the 21st Punjabi Bhasha Mela 2011 with Selayang a close runner-up.

The Mela this year was truly awesome, with the standard of Punjabi reaching even higher than previous years. Listening to the participants read, write and speak Punjabi filled all our hearts with hope and pride and a realisation that our theme for this year, i.e. 'Zubaan, Qaum dhi Jaan' was most appropri-ate. We were all full of Jaan, hearing our Zubaan being spoken flawlessly with such sweetness and love.

A big thank you to Sekolah Menengah Aminuddin Baki, Kg Pandan for the venue, Wadda Gurduara Sahib Kg Pandan and PEC Dataran

A light hearted quiz on How Malaysian are you? was recently published in the newspapers sponsored by Digi, the Telco provider. What is it to be Malay-sian? The concept of 1Malaysia is being bandied about so often in the media, by political and community leaders, and yet a website on culture in Malaysia has the following posted:

Urban and rural divisions are reinforced by ethnic diversity with agricultural areas populated primarily by indigenous Malays and immigrants mostly in cities. (http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Malaysia accessed 8 Sept 2011)

Strange that no one, particularly in officialdom, has corrected or updated the information. Are we the Sikhs and others who don’t belong to the dominant group still immigrants then? Surely this cannot be aligned with the spirit of 1Malaysia as espoused by the Government? In any case the Malaysian landscape and the dynamics of urban-rural migration is fast evolving and the lines of population divide blurring.

Have we thought and reflected on what ways we are truly Malaysian in spirit and deed? It’s time we, the ordinary rakyat (people), including the Sikh youth, take ownership of what it is to be Malaysian and engage in meaning-ful discourse so that we contribute to the construction and defining of

Sowing Seeds Of UnityBy Manjit Kaur Ludher

1Malaysia if this notion is to be acceptable to all and if this nation is to succeed. This article is part of the journey to contrib-ute to the whole notion and construct or as the case may be to deconstruct a Malaysian identity.

The diverse ethnic groups in Malaysia—affirming the tourism tagline Malaysia truly Asia – are associated with different religions. Nearly all the world’s religions, particularly the mainstream ones, are present in Malaysia. Instead of celebrating the common values to be found in them, most Malaysians articulate how their religious beliefs and practices differ from that of others. Where in other culturally diverse countries people of different faiths are encouraged to share their practices and views, here it is very much frowned upon. How then can Malaysians of diverse faiths really get to understand each other? It shouldn’t only be representatives of interfaith councils who should be talking to each other. Ordinary folk, including the youth, need to engage in this conversation and the Government should support this endeavour as otherwise it would be understandable why people would shy away from doing so.

It’s time we reaffirmed some basic core values. One such

value is Do to others as you would have them do to you or what you want others to do to you. In Sikhism, one can say do as you desire goodness for yourself as you cannot expect tasty fruits if you sow thorny trees. So when you hurt another, whether in words or action, you should stand back and think would you want anyone to hurt you?

Let’s share whatever resources we have. We are all connected as human beings and we should promote the idea of not being greedy, particularly in this materi-alistic world of grabbing all we can take. A concept that resonates within me is ‘satisfice’ , an amalgm from ‘satisfy’ and ‘sacrifice’. It is taking only what’s enough, not to maximise satisfac-tion. Why don’t we uphold ‘Take only what we need’ and let others have a share too.

This attitude will definitely help in today’s world of economic and security uncertainty. If we can practise charity (Dan) and kindness (Daya) in our daily lives, we can make a change.

When we change one act or behaviour we create a ripple effect thus making a change to the landscape. Let it be a positive act. Let it not be an act that derails the Malaysian Community. Such sharing of values will help us in our journey to defining what it is to be a Malaysian.

The Sikh, Oct 201128 VIEWS

BEFORE I begin, let me define the word inspire. Inspire simply means to encourage someone with the desire and ability by filling him or her with eagerness and confidence. In brief, it means to motivate someone.

Well, there is one person who has motivated me. His name is Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Guru Nanak is the first prophet of the Sikh religion. This great soul only spoke the words of God. A truly divine man he was.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born in 1946 in Talwandi which is located in Pakistan today. It was said that this amazing man was smiling when he was born. From this, many knew that Guru Nanak Dev Ji was no ordinary man. Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s parents were Mehta Kalu and mother Mata Tripta Devi. He also had a sister named Bebe Nanki. She was older than him.

Many great stories were written about him. Not just tall tales, but true stories of his life. It was his stories that inspired me. He had power, but never did he abuse them. He only used his powers when necessary. There is this one story that really touched me – ‘The True Bargain’.

In this story, Guru Nanak’s father gave him some money to

Guru Nanak gave Phel Kaur a netbook. This teenager, a regular kaki at Gurmat Samelans who hails from Selayang, Selangor, had recently entered an essay compe-tition organised by com-puter maker Acer. The theme: "I'm Inspired". They were told to write about anyone and any-thing that inspired them. She chose to write about Guru Nanak. And she bagged herself an Acer d255e netbook. Congrats!

Inspired by Guru NanakBy Phel Kaur

do some business. Along the way he saw a group of poor, hungry-looking saints. Feeling pitiful towards them, Guru Nanak Dev Ji used the money that his father had given him and bought some food and clothes for the saints.

He also said “This is the true bargain.” When his father heard what he did, anger rushed through him and he started scolding Guru Nanak who was indeed innocent and doing nothing more than a good deed.

This story really inspired me in the sense that I too wish that I could do a deed as noble as that. Guru Nanak need have not helped those saints but he chose to do so. He looked at things in a different way which amazes me! He also changed the way others looked at things.

However, this is just one story about him and there are many more stories about this humble man. The more stories I hear about him, the more I feel inspired to do and act as he did. If only there were more people like him. Unfortunately, we rarely find such gems in the world these days. Nevertheless, I’m inspired to become like Guru Nanak Dev Ji – kind, compassionate and loving, and look at one and all with equality.


The Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia sent a delegation to an inter-faith programme called the World Peach and Interfaith Harmony in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 20, 2011. They conducted a short simran session on stage.

World Peace


SOME 100 participants took part in a mini samelan at end-August.

It was 8 years ago that Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya and Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia joined forces to organise a gurmat camp. Sardar Daaljit Singh of GSPJ was instrumental in making the camp happen.

The theme of the Samelan was “Sangat” and the objective was to encourage kids & youth to attend the weekly Naujawan Satsang on Wednesday in PJ Gurudwara.

On the second night, Miri Piri participants were tasked to present an advertisement to sell a product to the campers. The catch: you speak only Punjabi. The team “Sir Teh Modha” (Head & Shoulders) emerged champs.

On Day 3, it was jungle trekking at Hutan Pendidikan Bukit Gasing, led by Sardar Gurmel Singh, an avid trekker himself.

PJ MINI SAMELANBy Jagjit Singh

SELAYANG mini samelan was a cross border affairs. First, the three day camp which began on Aug 28 had received some 50 students and teachers from the Butterworth Punjabi Education Center. The Butter-worth visitors had made Gurdwara Sahib Selayang Baru as their base for their sightseeing trip to Kuala Lumpur.

On Aug 28, the camp participants went over to Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya to join another set of campers at a mini-samelan there.

Ground sewadars for the camp included Manpreet Kaur, Paramjeet Kaur and Parveen Kaur, with the assistance of Tarsem Singh, Melinder Kaur, Aashweenjeet Kaur, Himmat Singh, Kavaljit Singh and Keshveen Kaur, under the supervision of Satwant Singh.

Cross border meetingBy Parveen Kaur

SNSM UPDATE

Selayang Samelan27-29 Aug, 2011

Kavita presentation by Butterworth Punjabi school


What does the Sikh code of conduct say about our day-to-day living? Chap-ter six in the fourth section of the Sikh Reht Maryada has this to say.

Article XVI

A Sikh's living, earning livelihood, thinking and conduct should accord with the Guru's tenets. The Guru's tenets are:

a. Worship should be rendered only to the One Timeless Being and to no god or goddess.

b. Regarding the ten Gurus, the Guru Granth Sahib and the ten Gurus' word alone as saviours and holy objects of veneration.

c. Regarding ten Gurus as the effulgence of one light and one single entity.

d. Not believing in caste or descent untouchabililty, Magic spells, incantation, omens, auspicious times, days and occasions, influence of stars, horoscopic dispositions, Shradh (ritual serving of food to priests for the salvation of ancestor on appointed days as per the lunar calendar), Ancestor worship, khiah (ritual serving of food to priests - Brahmins - on the lunar anniversaries of death of an ancestor) (Two words, shradh and

khiah, occuring in this clause connote what appears to be the same thing - the ritual serving of food to the priests (Brahmins). The difference between the connotations of the two words is implicit in the dates on which the ritual is performed. The ritual of serving of food on the lunar anniversary of the death goes by the name khiah; whereas the ritual of serving food on the lunar date corresponding to the date of death during the period of the year designated shradhs is known as sharadh.) pind

(offering of funeral barley cakes to the deceased's relatives), patal (ritual donating of food in the belief that, that would satisfy the hunger of a departed soul), diva (the ceremony of keeping an oil lamp lit for 360 days after the death, in the belief that, that lights the path of the deceased), ritual funeral acts. hom (lighting of ritual fire and pouring intermittently clarified butter, food grains etc. into it for propitiating gods for the fulfilment of a purpose), jag (religious ceremony involving presentation of oblations), tarpan

(libation), sikha-sut (keeping a tuft of hair on the head and wearing thread), bhadan (shaving of head on the death of a parent), fasting on new or full moon or other days, wearing of frontal marks on forehead, wearing of thread, wearing of a necklace of the pieces of tulsi (A plant with medicinal properties, Bot, Ocimum sanctum.), stalk, venera-tion of any graves, of monuments erected to honour the memory of a deceased person or of cremation sites, idolatry and such like superstitious observances (Most, though not all, rituals and ritual or religious observances listed in this clause are hindu rituals and observances.

The reason is that the old rituals and practices, continues to be observed by large numbers of Sikhs even after their conversion from their old to new faith and a large bulk of the Sikhs novices were Hindu converts. Another reason for this phenomenon was the strangle hold of the Brahmin priest on Hindus' secular and religious life which the Brahmin priests managed to maintain even on those leaving the Hindu religious fold, by the his astute mental dexterity and rare capacity for compromise. That the Sikh novitiates included a sizeable number of Muslims is shown by inclusion in this clause of the taboos as to the sanctity of graves, shirni etc.)

Not owning up or regarding as hallowed any place other than the Guru's place- such, for instance, as sacred sports or places of pilgrim-age of other faiths.

Not believing in or according any authority to Muslim seers, Brahmins' holiness, soothsayers, clairvoyants, oracles, promise of

an offering on the fulfillment of a wish, offering of sweet loaves or rice pudding at graves on fulfillment of wishes, the Vedas, the Shastras, the Gayatri,(Hindu scriptural prayer unto the sun) the Gita, the Quaran, the Bible, etc. However, the study of the books of other faiths for general self-education is admissible.

e. The Khalsa should maintain its distinctiveness among the professors of different religions of the world, but should not hurt the sentiments of any person professing another religion.

f. A Sikh should pray to God before launching off any task. g. Learning Gurmukhi (Punjabi in Gurmukhi script) is essential for a Sikh. He should pursue other studies also.

h. It is a Sikh's duty to get his children educated in Sikhism.

i. A Sikh should, in no way, harbour any antipathy to the hair of the head with which his child is born. He should not temper with the hair with which the child is born. He should add the suffix "Singh" to the name of his son & "Kaur" to the name of his daughter. A Sikh should keep the hair of his sons and daughters intact.

j. A Sikh must not take hemp (cannabis), opium, liquor, tobacco, in short, any intoxicant. His only routine intake should be food. k. Piercing of nose or ears for wearing ornaments is forbidden for Sikh men and women.

l. A Sikh should not kill his daughter; nor should he maintain any relationship with a killer of daughter.

m. The true Sikh of the Guru shall make an honest living by lawful work.. n. A Sikh shall regard a poor person's mouth as the Guru's cash offerings box.

o. A Sikh shall not steal, form dubious associations or engage in gambling.

p. He who regards another man's daughter as his own daughter, regards another man's wife as his mother, has coition with his own wife alone, he alone is a truly disciplined Sikh of the Guru. A Sikh woman shall likewise keep within the confines of conjugal rectitude.

q. A Sikh shall observe the Sikh rules of conduct and conventions from his birth right upto the end of his life.

r. A Sikh, when he meets another Sikh, should greet him with "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh" (Rendered into English:The Khalsa is Waheguru's; victory too is His !). This is ordained for Sikh men and women both.

s. It is not proper for a Sikh woman to wear veil or keep her face hidden by veil or cover.t. For a Sikh, there is no restriction or requirement as to dress except that he must wear Kachhehra (A drawer type garment fastened by a fitted string round the waist, very often worn as an under-wear.) and turban. A Sikh woman may or may not tie turban.

Gurmat RehniLiving in Consonance with Guru's Tenets


What does the Sikh code of conduct say about our day-to-day living? Chap-ter six in the fourth section of the Sikh Reht Maryada has this to say.

Article XVI

A Sikh's living, earning livelihood, thinking and conduct should accord with the Guru's tenets. The Guru's tenets are:

a. Worship should be rendered only to the One Timeless Being and to no god or goddess.

b. Regarding the ten Gurus, the Guru Granth Sahib and the ten Gurus' word alone as saviours and holy objects of veneration.

c. Regarding ten Gurus as the effulgence of one light and one single entity.

d. Not believing in caste or descent untouchabililty, Magic spells, incantation, omens, auspicious times, days and occasions, influence of stars, horoscopic dispositions, Shradh (ritual serving of food to priests for the salvation of ancestor on appointed days as per the lunar calendar), Ancestor worship, khiah (ritual serving of food to priests - Brahmins - on the lunar anniversaries of death of an ancestor) (Two words, shradh and

khiah, occuring in this clause connote what appears to be the same thing - the ritual serving of food to the priests (Brahmins). The difference between the connotations of the two words is implicit in the dates on which the ritual is performed. The ritual of serving of food on the lunar anniversary of the death goes by the name khiah; whereas the ritual of serving food on the lunar date corresponding to the date of death during the period of the year designated shradhs is known as sharadh.) pind

(offering of funeral barley cakes to the deceased's relatives), patal (ritual donating of food in the belief that, that would satisfy the hunger of a departed soul), diva (the ceremony of keeping an oil lamp lit for 360 days after the death, in the belief that, that lights the path of the deceased), ritual funeral acts. hom (lighting of ritual fire and pouring intermittently clarified butter, food grains etc. into it for propitiating gods for the fulfilment of a purpose), jag (religious ceremony involving presentation of oblations), tarpan

(libation), sikha-sut (keeping a tuft of hair on the head and wearing thread), bhadan (shaving of head on the death of a parent), fasting on new or full moon or other days, wearing of frontal marks on forehead, wearing of thread, wearing of a necklace of the pieces of tulsi (A plant with medicinal properties, Bot, Ocimum sanctum.), stalk, venera-tion of any graves, of monuments erected to honour the memory of a deceased person or of cremation sites, idolatry and such like superstitious observances (Most, though not all, rituals and ritual or religious observances listed in this clause are hindu rituals and observances.

The reason is that the old rituals and practices, continues to be observed by large numbers of Sikhs even after their conversion from their old to new faith and a large bulk of the Sikhs novices were Hindu converts. Another reason for this phenomenon was the strangle hold of the Brahmin priest on Hindus' secular and religious life which the Brahmin priests managed to maintain even on those leaving the Hindu religious fold, by the his astute mental dexterity and rare capacity for compromise. That the Sikh novitiates included a sizeable number of Muslims is shown by inclusion in this clause of the taboos as to the sanctity of graves, shirni etc.)

Not owning up or regarding as hallowed any place other than the Guru's place- such, for instance, as sacred sports or places of pilgrim-age of other faiths.

Not believing in or according any authority to Muslim seers, Brahmins' holiness, soothsayers, clairvoyants, oracles, promise of

an offering on the fulfillment of a wish, offering of sweet loaves or rice pudding at graves on fulfillment of wishes, the Vedas, the Shastras, the Gayatri,(Hindu scriptural prayer unto the sun) the Gita, the Quaran, the Bible, etc. However, the study of the books of other faiths for general self-education is admissible.

e. The Khalsa should maintain its distinctiveness among the professors of different religions of the world, but should not hurt the sentiments of any person professing another religion.

f. A Sikh should pray to God before launching off any task. g. Learning Gurmukhi (Punjabi in Gurmukhi script) is essential for a Sikh. He should pursue other studies also.

h. It is a Sikh's duty to get his children educated in Sikhism.

i. A Sikh should, in no way, harbour any antipathy to the hair of the head with which his child is born. He should not temper with the hair with which the child is born. He should add the suffix "Singh" to the name of his son & "Kaur" to the name of his daughter. A Sikh should keep the hair of his sons and daughters intact.

j. A Sikh must not take hemp (cannabis), opium, liquor, tobacco, in short, any intoxicant. His only routine intake should be food. k. Piercing of nose or ears for wearing ornaments is forbidden for Sikh men and women.

l. A Sikh should not kill his daughter; nor should he maintain any relationship with a killer of daughter.

m. The true Sikh of the Guru shall make an honest living by lawful work.. n. A Sikh shall regard a poor person's mouth as the Guru's cash offerings box.

o. A Sikh shall not steal, form dubious associations or engage in gambling.

p. He who regards another man's daughter as his own daughter, regards another man's wife as his mother, has coition with his own wife alone, he alone is a truly disciplined Sikh of the Guru. A Sikh woman shall likewise keep within the confines of conjugal rectitude.

q. A Sikh shall observe the Sikh rules of conduct and conventions from his birth right upto the end of his life.

r. A Sikh, when he meets another Sikh, should greet him with "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh" (Rendered into English:The Khalsa is Waheguru's; victory too is His !). This is ordained for Sikh men and women both.

s. It is not proper for a Sikh woman to wear veil or keep her face hidden by veil or cover.t. For a Sikh, there is no restriction or requirement as to dress except that he must wear Kachhehra (A drawer type garment fastened by a fitted string round the waist, very often worn as an under-wear.) and turban. A Sikh woman may or may not tie turban.

The Sikh, Oct 2011 SIKH MARYADA 33

Granthis, kirpan bhet and EducationA posting on 'kirpan bhet of Langgar' on the SNSM Facebook attracted some attention. Here's a sampling of some of the responses (edited for clarity).

A friend posted as her status that a Granthi Ji told her that kirpan bhet of Langgar cannot be done when Langgar is still hot as GuruJi may burn his tongue. Is this Gurmat or Manmat? Are our Granthis equipped with proper understand-ing of Gurmat to guide the rest of the Sanggat? If not, how do we tackle the problem? What can we all do individually and collectively to deal with this irony? [August 16 at 10:09pm]

Parvinjit Kaur: This is just the tip of iceberg, many more misleading teachings are being spread,

need to stop this...

SNSM Facebook Manager: I'm sure it is Parvinjit Kaur. Any ideas of how to stop it?

Parvinjit Kaur: Strict selection criteria for granthis, should not be self made granthis' because these people are usually the ones coming up with their own ideologies.

SNSM Facebook Manager: That appears to be the root of the problem.

We surely need to set a basic qualification for Granthis as there appears to be no standard requirement and no central body to certify the qualifications. Do Gurdwaras need to be more selective in the choice of Granthis and offer better salaries? As the saying goes "if you pay peanuts you get monkeys".

Parvinjit Kaur: What is the salary range currently?

Jagdip Singh: For me I feel the granthis' themselves are misled

which leads to their misleading teachings. Therefore maybe there should be a qualification module which granthis have to take before they can be inducted as a granthi in Malaysia. In the module the granthis' Gurmat teachings should be "refreshed" and such modules can also be used to teach the granthis about local customs. I am sure some people may think this idea is challenging the granthi's integ-rity, but this module is just for us to know the granthi's abilities (maybe he can't do the Asa Di Var) and for the granthis to be updated about local customs and the latest technologies. And stem out all the manmat teachings.

Javnesh Singh: Everyone has their own way of thinking. Whatever it is, the above statement by the

Granthi Saheb is manmat. The best is follow Guru Saheb teach-ings and maryada. You will never be puzzled by such statements because you are strong at your place. bhul chuk khima.

Buck Sidhu: Granthis are not what Granthis used to be. These days any Tom, Dick or Harry can become a granthi to whom it's just another job and means of getting a visa to go abroad. And we employ them to educate our future generations? So who do we blame?

Jaswant Singh: Definitely manmat. Most granthi don't posses proper gurmat

understanding. Kirpan Bhet is done for the 'acceptance and approval' by the Guru of the langgar. In Ardaas many people say "Bhog Laa'o Ji" and present the Karhah Parshad and langar in intention as eatables to Guru Ji. This is manmat and contrary to the Guru's teachings. If we present eatables to Guru Ji to eat and yet we eat it, then how does that make sense? This is Birpan Ki Reet or empty ritual harkening to the Brahmanic practices. Having

visited a mandar and studying the practices of Hindus, it is apparent that the idea of 'Bhog Laa'o Ji' and presenting food as 'eatables' to Guru Ji or God is an idea which has crept in from Hinduism. Guru Ji or Vahiguru will not eat the parshad. For this reason in Ardaas the correct thing to state is "Degh Parvaan Hove", meaning may the Parshaad be approved and accepted.

SNSM Facebook Manager: Thank you for the beautiful explanation

Jaswant Singh Ji and the valuable comments from the others as well. We have all learnt something from this. Collectively, as a community we need to improve the quality of Granthis which is the domain of the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council. However, as individuals, it is of utmost importance to empower ourselves with knowledge of Gurmat and basic understanding of Gurbani and Sikhi sidhaant. We will then be conscious and aware each time we witness a practice which raises questions in our minds and be in a position to question the same and educate the ones around us. Very much like Guru Nanak questioned the Brahmanical practice of "Janeoo" and other ritualistic practices prevalent during his times. One way of empowering ourselves with basic Gurmat knowledge is

through attending Satsangs, Samelans and attending Gurmat courses which have now been made available through the efforts of some local organisa-tions and Gurdwaras and even online through e-groups like gurmatlearningzone and distance learning courses. "Baani Birloh Bicharsi, Jey Ko Gurmukh Hovey". Guru Rakha and Bhul Chuk Maaf.

Autar Singh: Everything starts with educating ourselves first. If we are still in

the dark, we cannot hope to enlighten others. We have an excellent gurmat course, the Diploma in Gurmat Studies, for everyone now in its 7th trimester (semester of 3 months). There are only 8 trimesters to complete the course. Takes about 3 months to complete 1 trimester. It can be done in English or Punjabi. Interested? Look out for our posters in your local gurduara.

Autar Singh: With the blessings of Waheguru, we are also on the verge of establishing a Gurmat College in KL. We will be running short refresher courses for all granthis and parcharaks attached to our local gurduaras. We need the blessings and support of the sangat.

Harwan Singh: Veerji, how do we know that the parshad is "accepted and approved" by Guruji? Because when

we make the request in Ardas, we also say "Parwan hoya sitel parshad" at the same time after that. Isn't this manmat too? Hope veerji can shed some light on this.

SNSM Facebook Manager: "Keeta Loriyeh Kamm So Har

Peh Akhiyeh, Kaaraj Deh Sawaar Satgur Sach Sakhiyeh". In my humble opinion, whenever an ardaas is done for blessings/approval/acceptance, it is deemed given as long as the Kaaraj is done in good faith in accordance with Gurmat. This can be seen when we do ardas seeking blessings to commence an Anand Kaaraj. I've never seen a couple doubt Gurujis blessings to their union. Bhul Chuk Maaf.

Autar Singh: We should say 'karhah parshaad di dheg hazar hai, aap ji nu parwaan hove, parwaan hoya parshaad saadh sangat wich atut varte...'.

SNSM Facebook Manager: Harwan Singh Ji, thanks for the valid question.


SabhaGranthis, kirpan bhet and Education

A posting on 'kirpan bhet of Langgar' on the SNSM Facebook attracted some attention. Here's a sampling of some of the responses (edited for clarity).

A friend posted as her status that a Granthi Ji told her that kirpan bhet of Langgar cannot be done when Langgar is still hot as GuruJi may burn his tongue. Is this Gurmat or Manmat? Are our Granthis equipped with proper understand-ing of Gurmat to guide the rest of the Sanggat? If not, how do we tackle the problem? What can we all do individually and collectively to deal with this irony? [August 16 at 10:09pm]

Parvinjit Kaur: This is just the tip of iceberg, many more misleading teachings are being spread,

need to stop this...

SNSM Facebook Manager: I'm sure it is Parvinjit Kaur. Any ideas of how to stop it?

Parvinjit Kaur: Strict selection criteria for granthis, should not be self made granthis' because these people are usually the ones coming up with their own ideologies.

SNSM Facebook Manager: That appears to be the root of the problem.

We surely need to set a basic qualification for Granthis as there appears to be no standard requirement and no central body to certify the qualifications. Do Gurdwaras need to be more selective in the choice of Granthis and offer better salaries? As the saying goes "if you pay peanuts you get monkeys".

Parvinjit Kaur: What is the salary range currently?

Jagdip Singh: For me I feel the granthis' themselves are misled

which leads to their misleading teachings. Therefore maybe there should be a qualification module which granthis have to take before they can be inducted as a granthi in Malaysia. In the module the granthis' Gurmat teachings should be "refreshed" and such modules can also be used to teach the granthis about local customs. I am sure some people may think this idea is challenging the granthi's integ-rity, but this module is just for us to know the granthi's abilities (maybe he can't do the Asa Di Var) and for the granthis to be updated about local customs and the latest technologies. And stem out all the manmat teachings.

Javnesh Singh: Everyone has their own way of thinking. Whatever it is, the above statement by the

Granthi Saheb is manmat. The best is follow Guru Saheb teach-ings and maryada. You will never be puzzled by such statements because you are strong at your place. bhul chuk khima.

Buck Sidhu: Granthis are not what Granthis used to be. These days any Tom, Dick or Harry can become a granthi to whom it's just another job and means of getting a visa to go abroad. And we employ them to educate our future generations? So who do we blame?

Jaswant Singh: Definitely manmat. Most granthi don't posses proper gurmat

understanding. Kirpan Bhet is done for the 'acceptance and approval' by the Guru of the langgar. In Ardaas many people say "Bhog Laa'o Ji" and present the Karhah Parshad and langar in intention as eatables to Guru Ji. This is manmat and contrary to the Guru's teachings. If we present eatables to Guru Ji to eat and yet we eat it, then how does that make sense? This is Birpan Ki Reet or empty ritual harkening to the Brahmanic practices. Having

visited a mandar and studying the practices of Hindus, it is apparent that the idea of 'Bhog Laa'o Ji' and presenting food as 'eatables' to Guru Ji or God is an idea which has crept in from Hinduism. Guru Ji or Vahiguru will not eat the parshad. For this reason in Ardaas the correct thing to state is "Degh Parvaan Hove", meaning may the Parshaad be approved and accepted.

SNSM Facebook Manager: Thank you for the beautiful explanation

Jaswant Singh Ji and the valuable comments from the others as well. We have all learnt something from this. Collectively, as a community we need to improve the quality of Granthis which is the domain of the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council. However, as individuals, it is of utmost importance to empower ourselves with knowledge of Gurmat and basic understanding of Gurbani and Sikhi sidhaant. We will then be conscious and aware each time we witness a practice which raises questions in our minds and be in a position to question the same and educate the ones around us. Very much like Guru Nanak questioned the Brahmanical practice of "Janeoo" and other ritualistic practices prevalent during his times. One way of empowering ourselves with basic Gurmat knowledge is

through attending Satsangs, Samelans and attending Gurmat courses which have now been made available through the efforts of some local organisa-tions and Gurdwaras and even online through e-groups like gurmatlearningzone and distance learning courses. "Baani Birloh Bicharsi, Jey Ko Gurmukh Hovey". Guru Rakha and Bhul Chuk Maaf.

Autar Singh: Everything starts with educating ourselves first. If we are still in

the dark, we cannot hope to enlighten others. We have an excellent gurmat course, the Diploma in Gurmat Studies, for everyone now in its 7th trimester (semester of 3 months). There are only 8 trimesters to complete the course. Takes about 3 months to complete 1 trimester. It can be done in English or Punjabi. Interested? Look out for our posters in your local gurduara.

Autar Singh: With the blessings of Waheguru, we are also on the verge of establishing a Gurmat College in KL. We will be running short refresher courses for all granthis and parcharaks attached to our local gurduaras. We need the blessings and support of the sangat.

Harwan Singh: Veerji, how do we know that the parshad is "accepted and approved" by Guruji? Because when

we make the request in Ardas, we also say "Parwan hoya sitel parshad" at the same time after that. Isn't this manmat too? Hope veerji can shed some light on this.

SNSM Facebook Manager: "Keeta Loriyeh Kamm So Har

Peh Akhiyeh, Kaaraj Deh Sawaar Satgur Sach Sakhiyeh". In my humble opinion, whenever an ardaas is done for blessings/approval/acceptance, it is deemed given as long as the Kaaraj is done in good faith in accordance with Gurmat. This can be seen when we do ardas seeking blessings to commence an Anand Kaaraj. I've never seen a couple doubt Gurujis blessings to their union. Bhul Chuk Maaf.

Autar Singh: We should say 'karhah parshaad di dheg hazar hai, aap ji nu parwaan hove, parwaan hoya parshaad saadh sangat wich atut varte...'.

SNSM Facebook Manager: Harwan Singh Ji, thanks for the valid question.



Jathedar : Dr. Amarjeet Kaur([email protected])

Meet Jathedar I :Dr. Sarabdeep Singh([email protected])

Meet Jathedar II:Vir Pajan Singh

Secretary : Penji Surinder Kaur

Assistant Secretary : Penji Kuldip Kaur

Treasurer : Vir. Jaswant Singh Assistant Treasurer : Penji Satish Kaur

Committee members:Penji Pushpinder KaurPenji Ninder KaurPenji Gurbinder KaurPenji Kalwant kaurPenji Rakhpreet kaurDr. Manjit KaurVir Daaljit SinghVir Rajinder SinghVir Rabinder SinghVir Jagjit SinghVir Dhaljirt SinghVir Gurpreet SinghVir Harinderjit SinghVir Hanoj Singh

Sabha Executive Committee

Jathedar: Amarjit Singh ([email protected])

Meet Jathedar 1: Pavandeep Singh ([email protected])

Meet Jathedar 2: Jagdev Singh([email protected])

Secretary: Harbindar Singh ([email protected])

Asst Secretary: Jasbir Singh([email protected])

Treasurer: Manjeev Singh ([email protected])

Asst Treasurer: Hardeep Singh ([email protected])

Exco Members: Mohon Singh, Kuldip KaurSaranjit Singh, Serena KaurSimret Singh, Simran KaurBaljit Singh, Balvinder SinghRavinder Kaur, Jujhar Singh Habhajan Singh, Harvinder Singh

Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia11A, Jalan Kuantan, Titiwangsa, 53200 Kuala Lumpur MalaysiaTel: 03-4021 3313 Fax: 03-4021 0313Email: [email protected] URL: www.snsm.org.myFacebook: www.facebook.com/sikhnaujawansabhamalaysia

Jathedar : Veer Bhuvinder Singh([email protected])

Meet Jathedar I : Bhenji Kashminder Kaur ([email protected])Meet Jathedar II: Veer Tarsame Singh([email protected])

Secretary : Veer Hardip Singh ([email protected])Asst. Secretary : Bhenji Paremjit Kaur

Treasurer : Veer Suakwinder Singh ([email protected])Asst.Treasurer : Bhenji Nasip Khor

Committee Members : Veer Gurcharan SinghVeer Akbal SinghBhenji Naginder Kaur (Kangar) Bhenji Balbir Kaur (Kulim)Bhenji Sarjit Kaur (Kulim)Bhenji Harjit KaurBhenji Gurmeet Kaur (Kangar) Bhenji Sarabjit Kaur (Alor Setar)Veer Darshan Singh (Alor Setar)Bhenji Jaspreet KaurBhenji Kanvel Kaur Veer Satbir Singh (AIMST)

Internal Auditors:Veer Balvinder SinghVeer Ranjit Singh

Perak BranchHQ Kedah Branch


Jathedar: Vir Kirpal Singh

Meet Jathedar 1: Vir Gian Singh

Meet Jathedar 2: Bhen Gelinder Kaur

Secretary: Vir Avinash Singh

Asst. Secretary:Bhen Shareenjit Kaur

Treasurer: Vir Melvinderjit Singh

Asst. Treasurer: Bhen Simerjit Kaur

Exco Members:Bhen Manmeet KaurVir Dalbir SinghVir Thanveer SinghVir Jasvinderpal SinghBhen Sukhveer KaurVir Binderjit SinghBhen Verinder KaurBhen Rashvin KaurBhen Manprit KaurVir Harbinder Singh (Birju)

Advisors:Vir Harbans SinghVir Sukhinderpal SinghVir Santokh Singh

Sabha Executive Committee

Jathedar: Dr Sarjit Singh([email protected])

Meet Jathedar: Gurdip Singh

Secretary: Manjeet Singh

Asst. Secretary: Resham Singh

Treasurer: Savaranjit Singh

Asst. Treasurer: Jagdev Singh Comm. Members:Ajeet SinghIqbal Kirpaljit SinghMohinder SinghBulwant SinghHardip Singh Bhagat Singh

Sewadars/Granthi Ji : Giani Paramjit Singh

Jathedar: Vir Balbir Singh([email protected])

Meet Jathedars: Vir Harmit Singh Bhen Surinder Kaur

Secretary: Vir Harbindar Singh

Treasurer: Vir Taranjeet Singh

Penang Branch Johor Branch Negeri Sembilan Branch

2011/12

The Sikh, Oct 201138 INTERFAITH

They're Playing Your Song

Kirtan plays an important role in Sikhi. Hence, Sikhs and music are almost inseparable. This is a story about inner vibrations.

WHEN a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recog-nize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose. When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else.

When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child’s song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child’s song. When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the

people again come together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song. Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person’s bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life.

When I have shared this story in my lectures, a fair amount of people in the audience come to tears. There is something inside each of us that knows we have a song, and we wish those we love would recognize it and support us to sing it. In some of my seminars I ask people to verbalize to a partner the one phrase they wish their parents had said to them as a child. Then the partner lovingly whispers it in their ear. This

exercise goes very deep, and many significant insights start to click. How we all long to be loved, acknowledged, and accepted for who we are!

In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them. The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.

A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.

If you do not give your song a voice, you will feel lost, alone, and confused. If you express it, you will come to life. I have also done a workshop exercise in which everyone in the room is given a piece of paper with the name of a simple song on it, such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” In the whole group there are perhaps eight different songs, and a half-dozen people have the same song named on their paper. Each person is then asked to mill around the room while they whistle or hum their song. When they find someone else playing

the same song, they stay together until they find every-one who is singing that song. Thus they create small groups that serve as touchstones for the duration of the program.

Life is very much like this exercise. We attract people on a similar wavelength so we can support each other to sing aloud. Sometimes we attract people who challenge us by telling us that we cannot or should not sing our song in public. Yet these people help us too, for they stimulate us to find greater courage to sing it.

by Alan Cohen

Rebab

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transi-tions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn’t. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you’ll find your way home.

(Source: AlanCohen.com)


WHEN a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recog-nize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose. When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else.

When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child’s song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child’s song. When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the

people again come together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song. Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person’s bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life.

When I have shared this story in my lectures, a fair amount of people in the audience come to tears. There is something inside each of us that knows we have a song, and we wish those we love would recognize it and support us to sing it. In some of my seminars I ask people to verbalize to a partner the one phrase they wish their parents had said to them as a child. Then the partner lovingly whispers it in their ear. This

exercise goes very deep, and many significant insights start to click. How we all long to be loved, acknowledged, and accepted for who we are!

In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them. The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.

A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.

If you do not give your song a voice, you will feel lost, alone, and confused. If you express it, you will come to life. I have also done a workshop exercise in which everyone in the room is given a piece of paper with the name of a simple song on it, such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” In the whole group there are perhaps eight different songs, and a half-dozen people have the same song named on their paper. Each person is then asked to mill around the room while they whistle or hum their song. When they find someone else playing

the same song, they stay together until they find every-one who is singing that song. Thus they create small groups that serve as touchstones for the duration of the program.

Life is very much like this exercise. We attract people on a similar wavelength so we can support each other to sing aloud. Sometimes we attract people who challenge us by telling us that we cannot or should not sing our song in public. Yet these people help us too, for they stimulate us to find greater courage to sing it.

FOR the first time, a book on Sikhs in Southeast Asia has been published. The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) has just released Sikhs in Southeast Asia: Negotiating an Identity.

The book attempts to fill the gap and encourage researchers to explore further research in the area of Sikh Studies in Southeast Asia. Historians, sociologists, anthropologists as well as economists have contributed to this volume, each attempting to highlight their understanding of Sikh communities in Southeast Asia

Negotiating an Identity

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transi-tions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn’t. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you’ll find your way home.

(Source: AlanCohen.com)

spanning from the colonial to the contemporary era.

It was edited by Malaysian anthropologist Prof Shamsul Amri Baharuddin of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Arunajeet Kaur of Singapore-based ISEAS.

The book carried selected papers presented at a forum in Singapore in May 2008. Among the papers on Malaysia were ‘Sikh Migration and Settlement in Southeast Asia, 1870s-1950s: Social Transformations, Home-land, and Identity’ by Amarjit Kaur, ‘Perception of Sikhs in Malaysia through a Malaysian Cartoonist's Lens’ by Kiranjit Kaur, and ‘Sikh Women and their Absence from Leadership Positions in Malaysian Sikh-based Institutions’ jointly authored by Kiranjit Kaur and Manjit Kaur Ludher.

For those interested to order the book, please check the ISEAS website or email one of the authors, Manjit Kaur, at [email protected]. Soft cover ISBN: 978-981-4279-64-2; S$39.90/US$36.90


November Event Venue 1-4 4 – 6 6 – 19 5 – 6 12 19-20 Nov 22-16 Dec

Bhai Sukhwinder Singh Dadehar parchaar tour PMR Away Day (Camp for post-PMR) Prof Sarabjit Singh Gobindpuri’s tour Sewadar Camp – Perak Branch Chardikala 1 Mile Run Chemor Mini Samelan Singh Sahib Giani Jaswant Singh Parwana

Klang Valley, Ipoh, Penang, Sg Petani, Seremban, Melaka Cameron Highlands Klang Valley & North Pangkor Island, Perak Petaling Jaya Gurdwara Chemor, Perak Tbc

December 2-4 18 – 24 31

Mini Samelan/Guru Nanak Gurpurab Annual Gurmat Parchar Samelan Ipoh New Year Kirtan Darbar

Sabha House, Ipoh Klang, Selangor Wadda Gurdwara, Ipoh

January 21– 24 To be confirmed Tbc Tbc

Mini Samelan Penang Branch Mini Samelan Johor Branch Fellowship Camp Kedah Sikh EktaFutsal Tournament

Penang Johor Bahru Cameron Highlands Sungai Petani

February Tbc

Kangar Weekend Camp Kangar

March 10 – 11 17 – 18 Tbc Tbc

Regional Punjabi Bhasa Mela Holla Mahalla Northern Region Punjabi Bhasa Mela National Vaisakhi Grand Event

Selangor & North Kuala Lumpur Penang IYC, Cheras, KL

April Tbc

Sungai Petani Kirtan Darbar Sungai Petani

May 26-27 Northern Region Mini Samelan Alor Setar

SIKH NAUJAWAN SABHA MALAYSIA11A, Jalan Kuantan, Titiwangsa, 53200 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +6 (03) 40214313Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SikhNaujawanSabhaMalaysia Website: www.snsm.org.my* Programmes are subject to change, check SNSM Facebook for updates. Some programmes are organised in collaboration with other organisations. The Sabha works with all organisations that promote the chardi kala of the Sikh Panth.Join the Sabha and do your part in sharing the love and message of the Sikh Gurus.

is`K nOjvwn sBw mlySIAw

Sabha Calendar

(As @ Oct 15, 2011)

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