How should we really celebrate Gurpurabs

Gyani Jarnail Singh · #1 (**permalink**) 06-Jan-2011, 18:09 PM

How Sikhs today celebrate Gurpurabs...

1. There is hardly any Gurdwara in the World which is not....”under construction..renovation...upgrading....even IF the New Committee is just “unpicking the previous marble slabs/tiles and putting in “new ones”...

2. The Main emphasis of any Gurpurab is....How many Akhand Paaths...How many speciality foods in the Langgar..How much langgar..how much fireworks..how big a nagar kirtan..how many Ragis for the Kirtan darbar.. Huge Hoardings...lights...speakers and sound systems..tents..adverts in Media....

3. Now latest trend especially in PUNJAB..have POLITICAL CONFRENCES/RALLIES at all MAJOR Gurpurabs...Guru nanak Parkash, Guru Gobind Singh parkash, Sahibzadeh Shaeedee at Fatehgarh Sahib...etc etc..and THROW AS MUCH MUD AS POSSIBLE ON THE OPPONENTS !!

4. Nagar Kirtans..fantastic decorations, superb sound systems, huge crowds..ladies dusting the tyres of the palkis, groups of youths ragis so on sitting on trolleys, cars, lorries, trucks, tractors and singing..dhols playing..trumpets sounding...traffic jams and litter on roadsides, and forcefully fed langgars by the way side..
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/general-discussion/33877-how-should-we-really-celebrate-gurpurabs.html

5. From 1852-1857 in just 375 villages in PUNJAB the Christian Missionaries managed to convert about 27,000 Families of Sikhs ..ALL without a single such “celebration” as listed above !!No Guru Ka Langgar, no kirtan darbars..no lights and sounds..no fireworks...NOTHING..just PARCHAAR. Its anybody’s guess just HOW MANY “CONVERTS have SIKHS managed to get in the past 100 YEARS with all these celebrations ?? According to the SANT BABAS..MILLIONS of AMRITDHAREES !!! but everyone in Punjab sees only huge crowds of SIRGUMMS !! NO Dastaars..no Kakaars...and even IF there are some gatra wearing Sikhs seen....where do you see them ?.....Bowing at PIR Samaadhs...graves..matha taking at marrhees and placing green chadrs on such Muslim Graves..or holding akhand paths on samaadhs..charraing khir and milk at such places..hoping to get ?? muradaan poorian ?? or seen in Mandirs doing havans poojas wearing TILAKS..all in GATRA Kakaar UNIFORM !! SIKHS going to visit jantra mantar tantriks..going to see pundits for kundalis,...shubh days and nights...climbing mountain peaks looking for dhustdamans born as a khatmall...in old lion skins used as carpets by Hindu demi-Gods..or bathing at teeraths and sarovars washing their bodies with WATER and hoping their souls will be washed as well....Sikhs observing Karva Chauths, havans, poojas, diwalis, rachis, holis and what not...serving chholay parshaad, banana parshaad, coconuts and red cloths tied to water pitchers..jyots of shudh ghee and washing floors with milk...ZERO TOLERANCE for ....A) Learning Gurbani...B)Understanding Gurbani......C) applying Gurbani to change their lives...
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33877

Ideas on how we should really celebrate our Gurpurabs ..... welcomed

findingmyway · #2 (**permalink**) 06-Jan-2011, 18:45 PM

I would love to see more of 2 things;
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33877
1) Gurbani vichaar. At the moment there is very little, even of the hukamnama.
2) Seva in the wider community. Using the gurpurb as a way of getting people together and achieving something, e.g. distributing blankets and langar to the homeless, collecting litter in the area to clean place up, shopping for those unable to do so for themselves. Many of these things can be done alongside nagar kirtan if people want to have both.

Gyani Jarnail Singh · #3 (**permalink**) 06-Jan-2011, 21:30 PM

GREAT...thats how we form "COMMUNITIES"...and BOND with the Enviornment..we Sikhs must PUT BACK into the NEIGHBOURHOOD at least 10%..( Daswandh)...thats what Sikhs of old used to do and thats why they were highly respected and looked up to.....

As it is today there are numerous sevadaars.....for example a sevadaar taking care of jorreh...shoes....may not be interested in Gurbani Vichaar becasue he thinks he is doing "seva" and thats enough... ( I have coem across kitchen/langgar sevadaars who look down on pathis...and derisevely refer to them as..ehdee ki seva hai...dudh chhak ke araam naal 2 ghanteh paath kar ke chalda bannda hai...mereh val vekho...panj chheh ghanteh..tapdee loh de kol daal bannai hai..gandeh cheereh han..blah blah...The Pathi has an easy life..he consumes hot milk..sits for an hour does some paath..while look at me..i am sweating for hours in the hot kitchen, peeling onions, making daal etc etc..of course MY SEVA is more valuable....similarly its easy for haumaii to coem into the jorreh sevadaar..what a great seva i am doing..its so humble etc etc..and the pathi can also be full of haumai..my paath is fantastic etc etc..)
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33877
We must learn to put back as Waheguru does..Deenda deh laindeh thak paheh...give without hankaar garb..haumai..as a DUTY and not obligation....

Biggest shortcoming of ours is we never prepare for PARCHAAR or bringing the Gurus message to the world at large...we keep it well hidden under rumallahs !! we keep it so sacred that even a "peep" is called BEADBI....beadbi this beadbi that... GURBANI was menat to eb DISSEMINATED...widely...cheaply...all over..