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Guru Granth Sahib
Composition, Arrangement & Layout
ਜਪੁ | Jup
ਸੋ ਦਰੁ | So Dar
ਸੋਹਿਲਾ | Sohilaa
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ | Raag Siree-Raag
Gurbani (14-53)
Ashtpadiyan (53-71)
Gurbani (71-74)
Pahre (74-78)
Chhant (78-81)
Vanjara (81-82)
Vaar Siri Raag (83-91)
Bhagat Bani (91-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਝ | Raag Maajh
Gurbani (94-109)
Ashtpadi (109)
Ashtpadiyan (110-129)
Ashtpadi (129-130)
Ashtpadiyan (130-133)
Bara Maha (133-136)
Din Raen (136-137)
Vaar Maajh Ki (137-150)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ | Raag Gauree
Gurbani (151-185)
Quartets/Couplets (185-220)
Ashtpadiyan (220-234)
Karhalei (234-235)
Ashtpadiyan (235-242)
Chhant (242-249)
Baavan Akhari (250-262)
Sukhmani (262-296)
Thittee (296-300)
Gauree kii Vaar (300-323)
Gurbani (323-330)
Ashtpadiyan (330-340)
Baavan Akhari (340-343)
Thintteen (343-344)
Vaar Kabir (344-345)
Bhagat Bani (345-346)
ਰਾਗੁ ਆਸਾ | Raag Aasaa
Gurbani (347-348)
Chaupaday (348-364)
Panchpadde (364-365)
Kaafee (365-409)
Aasaavaree (409-411)
Ashtpadiyan (411-432)
Patee (432-435)
Chhant (435-462)
Vaar Aasaa (462-475)
Bhagat Bani (475-488)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੂਜਰੀ | Raag Goojaree
Gurbani (489-503)
Ashtpadiyan (503-508)
Vaar Gujari (508-517)
Vaar Gujari (517-526)
ਰਾਗੁ ਦੇਵਗੰਧਾਰੀ | Raag Dayv-Gandhaaree
Gurbani (527-536)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਹਾਗੜਾ | Raag Bihaagraa
Gurbani (537-556)
Chhant (538-548)
Vaar Bihaagraa (548-556)
ਰਾਗੁ ਵਡਹੰਸ | Raag Wadhans
Gurbani (557-564)
Ashtpadiyan (564-565)
Chhant (565-575)
Ghoriaan (575-578)
Alaahaniiaa (578-582)
Vaar Wadhans (582-594)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੋਰਠਿ | Raag Sorath
Gurbani (595-634)
Asatpadhiya (634-642)
Vaar Sorath (642-659)
ਰਾਗੁ ਧਨਾਸਰੀ | Raag Dhanasaree
Gurbani (660-685)
Astpadhiya (685-687)
Chhant (687-691)
Bhagat Bani (691-695)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਤਸਰੀ | Raag Jaitsree
Gurbani (696-703)
Chhant (703-705)
Vaar Jaitsaree (705-710)
Bhagat Bani (710)
ਰਾਗੁ ਟੋਡੀ | Raag Todee
ਰਾਗੁ ਬੈਰਾੜੀ | Raag Bairaaree
ਰਾਗੁ ਤਿਲੰਗ | Raag Tilang
Gurbani (721-727)
Bhagat Bani (727)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੂਹੀ | Raag Suhi
Gurbani (728-750)
Ashtpadiyan (750-761)
Kaafee (761-762)
Suchajee (762)
Gunvantee (763)
Chhant (763-785)
Vaar Soohee (785-792)
Bhagat Bani (792-794)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ | Raag Bilaaval
Gurbani (795-831)
Ashtpadiyan (831-838)
Thitteen (838-840)
Vaar Sat (841-843)
Chhant (843-848)
Vaar Bilaaval (849-855)
Bhagat Bani (855-858)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੋਂਡ | Raag Gond
Gurbani (859-869)
Ashtpadiyan (869)
Bhagat Bani (870-875)
ਰਾਗੁ ਰਾਮਕਲੀ | Raag Ramkalee
Ashtpadiyan (902-916)
Gurbani (876-902)
Anand (917-922)
Sadd (923-924)
Chhant (924-929)
Dakhnee (929-938)
Sidh Gosat (938-946)
Vaar Ramkalee (947-968)
ਰਾਗੁ ਨਟ ਨਾਰਾਇਨ | Raag Nat Narayan
Gurbani (975-980)
Ashtpadiyan (980-983)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਲੀ ਗਉੜਾ | Raag Maalee Gauraa
Gurbani (984-988)
Bhagat Bani (988)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਰੂ | Raag Maaroo
Gurbani (889-1008)
Ashtpadiyan (1008-1014)
Kaafee (1014-1016)
Ashtpadiyan (1016-1019)
Anjulian (1019-1020)
Solhe (1020-1033)
Dakhni (1033-1043)
ਰਾਗੁ ਤੁਖਾਰੀ | Raag Tukhaari
Bara Maha (1107-1110)
Chhant (1110-1117)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕੇਦਾਰਾ | Raag Kedara
Gurbani (1118-1123)
Bhagat Bani (1123-1124)
ਰਾਗੁ ਭੈਰਉ | Raag Bhairo
Gurbani (1125-1152)
Partaal (1153)
Ashtpadiyan (1153-1167)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਸੰਤੁ | Raag Basant
Gurbani (1168-1187)
Ashtpadiyan (1187-1193)
Vaar Basant (1193-1196)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਾਰਗ | Raag Saarag
Gurbani (1197-1200)
Partaal (1200-1231)
Ashtpadiyan (1232-1236)
Chhant (1236-1237)
Vaar Saarang (1237-1253)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਲਾਰ | Raag Malaar
Gurbani (1254-1293)
Partaal (1265-1273)
Ashtpadiyan (1273-1278)
Chhant (1278)
Vaar Malaar (1278-91)
Bhagat Bani (1292-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਾਨੜਾ | Raag Kaanraa
Gurbani (1294-96)
Partaal (1296-1318)
Ashtpadiyan (1308-1312)
Chhant (1312)
Vaar Kaanraa
Bhagat Bani (1318)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਲਿਆਨ | Raag Kalyaan
Gurbani (1319-23)
Ashtpadiyan (1323-26)
ਰਾਗੁ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਤੀ | Raag Prabhaatee
Gurbani (1327-1341)
Ashtpadiyan (1342-51)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਜਾਵੰਤੀ | Raag Jaijaiwanti
Gurbani (1352-53)
Salok | Gatha | Phunahe | Chaubole | Swayiye
Sehskritee Mahala 1
Sehskritee Mahala 5
Gaathaa Mahala 5
Phunhay Mahala 5
Chaubolae Mahala 5
Shaloks Bhagat Kabir
Shaloks Sheikh Farid
Swaiyyae Mahala 5
Swaiyyae in Praise of Gurus
Shaloks in Addition To Vaars
Shalok Ninth Mehl
Mundavanee Mehl 5
ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ, Raag Maalaa
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Disabled People & Reht Maryada
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<blockquote data-quote="Archived_Member16" data-source="post: 122875" data-attributes="member: 884"><p><strong><span style="color: red"><u>FOR YOUR KIND INFORMATION & CONSIDERATION:</u></span></strong></p><p> </p><p>source: <a href="http://www.singhsabha.com/thoughtful_contributions.htm" target="_blank"><u><span style="color: #0000ff">http://www.singhsabha.com/thoughtful_contributions.htm</span></u></a></p><p> </p><p style="text-align: left"><strong><span style="font-size: 15px"><span style="color: navy">At Least For Decency</span></span></strong></p> <p style="text-align: left"><span style="color: navy"><strong>( Doctor)</strong> Mohan Singh (Virick) Tue Aug 28, 2001</span></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: navy">R</span></strong><span style="color: navy">oger is a Canadian veteran of the Vietnam War. His youthful life has been</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">bumpy and irresponsible. Having inherited the genes of diabetes and heart</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">disease, he has aged more than the years he has lived. Bouts of alcohol</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">abuse in his teenage years have cost him his limbs and he goes for dialysis</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">three times a week for his failing kidneys.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">But Roger made a U-turn in life ten years ago. Now, he has a clean mind and</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">soul. He has helped many teens with problems that often plague western</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">youth, he has organized a food bank, he contributes to many charities from</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">his meager pension and is a pillar of hope to the community.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">As his physician, it is with pride that I have seen Roger transform. His</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">visits to the office are lengthy for he has a lot to tell me.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">Roger was born Catholic but now reads Buddhist and Islamic scriptures and</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">asked me about my own Sikh faith. He is troubled with the English</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">translations of the books I gave him. Though they are written in English,</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Roger tells me that he cannot understand the flow or the grammar of the text.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">In March of last year I gave him a CD of Khalsa Kaur Khalsa's rendition of</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Anand Sahib in English. When I saw Roger in May, he knew all of the Anand</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Sahib and the Kirtan Sohala and could recite them from memory.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">According to Roger, Anand is the universal song of joy for the disabled.</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Inspired, he organized an evening group of amputees who meet twice a week</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">to read and recite the Anand. He even put the Anand Sahib to a melody of a</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">western tune that he plays on a country guitar.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">Roger and his friends feel liberated with the hope that Anand Sahib gives</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">them. The physical handicaps that had jailed me, Roger said, were all</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">illusions. His failing eyes can see, his chopped legs can run and his ears</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">can hear the message of love. He says his journey of the spirit needs limbs</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">no more. Anand has made them complete. The spirit of the mind needs no</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">wheel chairs, or special ramps, they are free... free&.free.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">I told Roger that the Sikh Gurus always had a special affinity for the sick</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">and the disabled. When the Gurus mentioned disabilities they talked of the</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">disability of mind and spirit rather than physical handicaps of the body.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">The blind are those who see no universality of the spirit; the lame are</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">those who have no fortitude to do good things for others. Chronic diseases</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">are described as hopelessness of the spirit and mind, rather than asthma,</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">hypertension, or diabetes.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">This Sikh spirit of practical compassion was lived by Sikhs like Bhagat</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Puran Singh, Bhai Sahib Vir Singh and others. Bhagat Puran Singh's life</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">work is a testimony of Sikh dedication to the care of the disabled. Puran</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Singh has written many works on Sikh theology and thought, but his work</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">with the unfortunates makes him stand out.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">Bhagat Puran Singh never labeled people as kaana (blind) or loola (legless</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">or footless). To him the disabilities were not apparent, the disabled were</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">just Ram Singhs, Kanhaiya Lals and Shanti Devis. They were different from</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">the rest of us due to the injustices of the society that isolated them from</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">opportunities and hope.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">Bhagat Puran Singh found solace and hope in the Sikh faith that paralleled</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">his idea of compassion to the disabled. He said that good deeds to the</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">disabled were not to be offered as a charity but as a requirement, for,</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">without man helping man, spirituality is an empty word.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">Some have obvious physical disabilities, others, perhaps, are much worse</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">off. We have spiritual disease that is eating away at us inside, yet we</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">look healthy. Our eyes are sick they see no good in others. Our legs carry</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">our body weight, but refuse to move us to charity. Our mouths articulate</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">empty words and our ears hear no messages of love. Some of us who maintain</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">façades of complete persons are, in fact, just cheap pretenders - the real</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">disabled and sick, very sick.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">The Sikh Guru Ram Das championed working with the worst physical and social</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">disease of those times. To him a person with leprosy was a leprosy patient,</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">not a leper. He built a hospital of compassion for them at Taran Taran,</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">with a pool of water around the facility. The pool represented the</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">cleansing power of the word of God; the building was to house all, the well</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">to give help, and the sick to be healed.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">Yet Guru Ram Das declared those 'wretched deformed lepers' who had no love</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">of God in their heart. (Page 528 Line 8, Guru Granth Sahib). The Guru</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Granth, our only book of conduct, repeats itself again and again, in the</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">same vein, defining the disabled as only those that lack spiritual</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">perspective. (Page 24 Line 14, Page 280 Line 14, Page 328 Line 12 and Page</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">1245 Line 7.)</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">It is in this matter that my heart aches when I see, in spite of all these</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">examples in our history and spiritual text, our present callous attitude</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">towards the physically disabled.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">The current Sikh Maryada (the Code of Sikh Conduct) is a document that</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">reflects no compassion for the disabled and sick. It denies the physically</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">disabled the rights to perform the duties of high importance. A faith that</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">prides its stand on the rights of others is now perpetrating injustice on</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">its own.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">In my recent discussions with many Canadian and American patients and</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">friends, I am constantly reminded that though compassion for the</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">unfortunate may have religious precedence in Sikh history, the facts are</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">somewhat different. Before dying fifteen years ago, my father expressed a</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">wish to visit Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi. Although a note from the SGPC</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">states that wheel chairs are allowed in some parts of the Darbar Sahib in</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Amritsar, my father could not visit the inside of Gurudwara Bangla Sahib as</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">wheel chairs are not allowed and he could not be carried inside since the</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">pain of malignancy had spread into his bones.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">I thought then of my own country (Canada) and how blessed we are, we have</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">rules, the sick have rights and dignity. These acts came from common sense</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">rather than from loud proclamations of spirituality. Shopping malls and</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">buses were denied rights to operate if they ignored basic facilities to the</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">disabled. Churches made special entrances and pews for easy entrance and exit.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">Sikh Gurudwaras on the other hand, are physically inaccessible to those</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">that come there in pain. The steps of the Gurudwaras are designed for the</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">young and spry that can skate the slippery, mostly wet, marble.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">Unfortunately, indifference to the disabled is institutionalized by a</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">prescribed code of conduct. From what seems to be evident, the Sikh Maryada</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">not only promotes, but also requires this attitude.</span></p><p> </p><p><strong><em><span style="color: navy">I quote from an email from the SGPC:</span></em></strong></p><p> </p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">Mohan Virick ji,</span></strong></em></p><p> </p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">Waheguru ji Ka Khalsa</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">Waheguru ji Ki Fateh</span></strong></em></p><p> </p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">Thank you for your email.</span></strong></em></p><p> </p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">According to the code of Sikh Conduct and conventions (Section six) Page</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">34. The five beloved ones administer ambrosial baptism should not include a</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">disabled person such as a person who blind, lame, one with broken or</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">disabled limb or one suffering from some chronic diseases. We should obey</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">the Sikh code of Conduct.</span></strong></em></p><p> </p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">Regards.</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">In charge,</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">Internet Office,</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">SGPC, Amritsar.</span></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><span style="color: navy">(Reproduced unedited)</span></strong></em></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">This note has many disturbing flaws besides its language skills. If this</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">practice is indeed enshrined in law, our progressive faith contravenes the</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">very universal United Nations Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.</span><span style="color: navy">Is Roger really wrong? Is the Anand Sahib only a work of poetry and not a</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">living document of hope?</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">What about the many Hazur Sahib Granthis whom I saw as patients in Canada?</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">They had hypertension, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Have they then,</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">violated Section 6 of Sikh law by administering amrit illegally? Or are</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">hypertension, hyperlipedimia, obesity and diabetes exempt and not chronic</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">diseases? What then is the list of chronic diseases that debar a Sikh from</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">the ambrosial duties? Is there such a list, and where is it kept? Am I a</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">co-conspirator as a physician, for staying silent about their chronic</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">diseases while they administered amrit? Do those baptized by the disabled</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Jathedars need baptism again?</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">The Guru has said that we all are small lamps of a greater light. It is</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">unkind to enshrine in law practices that divide men on physical</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">disabilities, forgetting that all life comes from a common source and it is</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">only actions that make us better. Those that have health and limbs today</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">may not have them tomorrow.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">I am, therefore, asking you, all women and men of sense and goodwill to</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">stand up and voice your disapproval against Section 6 of the Sikh Rehat</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Maryada. You may have accepted the spirit of this law in your own lifetime</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">but your children, born in the age of global communication and knowledge,</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">will never do so. After all, to think of it, this is really not a matter of</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">theology or religious doctrine. This is a basic premise in all civilized</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">societies that no one is denied any rights based on physical disabilities.</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">Do not have yours brought up in disgust for those that are less fortunate.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: navy">The note states 'We should obey the Sikh code of Conduct'.</span></p><p><span style="color: navy">I beg you, for decency sake, not to obey this one. "</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Archived_Member16, post: 122875, member: 884"] [B][COLOR=red][U]FOR YOUR KIND INFORMATION & CONSIDERATION:[/U][/COLOR][/B] source: [URL="http://www.singhsabha.com/thoughtful_contributions.htm"][U][COLOR=#0000ff]http://www.singhsabha.com/thoughtful_contributions.htm[/COLOR][/U][/URL] [LEFT][B][SIZE=4][COLOR=navy]At Least For Decency[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] [COLOR=navy][B]( Doctor)[/B] Mohan Singh (Virick) Tue Aug 28, 2001[/COLOR][/LEFT] [B][COLOR=navy]R[/COLOR][/B][COLOR=navy]oger is a Canadian veteran of the Vietnam War. His youthful life has been[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]bumpy and irresponsible. Having inherited the genes of diabetes and heart[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]disease, he has aged more than the years he has lived. Bouts of alcohol[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]abuse in his teenage years have cost him his limbs and he goes for dialysis[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]three times a week for his failing kidneys.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]But Roger made a U-turn in life ten years ago. Now, he has a clean mind and[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]soul. He has helped many teens with problems that often plague western[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]youth, he has organized a food bank, he contributes to many charities from[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]his meager pension and is a pillar of hope to the community.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]As his physician, it is with pride that I have seen Roger transform. His[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]visits to the office are lengthy for he has a lot to tell me.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Roger was born Catholic but now reads Buddhist and Islamic scriptures and[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]asked me about my own Sikh faith. He is troubled with the English[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]translations of the books I gave him. Though they are written in English,[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Roger tells me that he cannot understand the flow or the grammar of the text.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]In March of last year I gave him a CD of Khalsa Kaur Khalsa's rendition of[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Anand Sahib in English. When I saw Roger in May, he knew all of the Anand[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Sahib and the Kirtan Sohala and could recite them from memory.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]According to Roger, Anand is the universal song of joy for the disabled.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Inspired, he organized an evening group of amputees who meet twice a week[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]to read and recite the Anand. He even put the Anand Sahib to a melody of a[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]western tune that he plays on a country guitar.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Roger and his friends feel liberated with the hope that Anand Sahib gives[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]them. The physical handicaps that had jailed me, Roger said, were all[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]illusions. His failing eyes can see, his chopped legs can run and his ears[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]can hear the message of love. He says his journey of the spirit needs limbs[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]no more. Anand has made them complete. The spirit of the mind needs no[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]wheel chairs, or special ramps, they are free... free&.free.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]I told Roger that the Sikh Gurus always had a special affinity for the sick[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]and the disabled. When the Gurus mentioned disabilities they talked of the[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]disability of mind and spirit rather than physical handicaps of the body.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]The blind are those who see no universality of the spirit; the lame are[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]those who have no fortitude to do good things for others. Chronic diseases[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]are described as hopelessness of the spirit and mind, rather than asthma,[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]hypertension, or diabetes.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]This Sikh spirit of practical compassion was lived by Sikhs like Bhagat[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Puran Singh, Bhai Sahib Vir Singh and others. Bhagat Puran Singh's life[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]work is a testimony of Sikh dedication to the care of the disabled. Puran[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Singh has written many works on Sikh theology and thought, but his work[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]with the unfortunates makes him stand out.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Bhagat Puran Singh never labeled people as kaana (blind) or loola (legless[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]or footless). To him the disabilities were not apparent, the disabled were[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]just Ram Singhs, Kanhaiya Lals and Shanti Devis. They were different from[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]the rest of us due to the injustices of the society that isolated them from[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]opportunities and hope.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Bhagat Puran Singh found solace and hope in the Sikh faith that paralleled[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]his idea of compassion to the disabled. He said that good deeds to the[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]disabled were not to be offered as a charity but as a requirement, for,[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]without man helping man, spirituality is an empty word.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Some have obvious physical disabilities, others, perhaps, are much worse[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]off. We have spiritual disease that is eating away at us inside, yet we[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]look healthy. Our eyes are sick they see no good in others. Our legs carry[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]our body weight, but refuse to move us to charity. Our mouths articulate[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]empty words and our ears hear no messages of love. Some of us who maintain[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]façades of complete persons are, in fact, just cheap pretenders - the real[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]disabled and sick, very sick.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]The Sikh Guru Ram Das championed working with the worst physical and social[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]disease of those times. To him a person with leprosy was a leprosy patient,[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]not a leper. He built a hospital of compassion for them at Taran Taran,[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]with a pool of water around the facility. The pool represented the[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]cleansing power of the word of God; the building was to house all, the well[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]to give help, and the sick to be healed.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Yet Guru Ram Das declared those 'wretched deformed lepers' who had no love[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]of God in their heart. (Page 528 Line 8, Guru Granth Sahib). The Guru[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Granth, our only book of conduct, repeats itself again and again, in the[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]same vein, defining the disabled as only those that lack spiritual[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]perspective. (Page 24 Line 14, Page 280 Line 14, Page 328 Line 12 and Page[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]1245 Line 7.)[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]It is in this matter that my heart aches when I see, in spite of all these[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]examples in our history and spiritual text, our present callous attitude[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]towards the physically disabled.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]The current Sikh Maryada (the Code of Sikh Conduct) is a document that[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]reflects no compassion for the disabled and sick. It denies the physically[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]disabled the rights to perform the duties of high importance. A faith that[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]prides its stand on the rights of others is now perpetrating injustice on[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]its own.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]In my recent discussions with many Canadian and American patients and[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]friends, I am constantly reminded that though compassion for the[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]unfortunate may have religious precedence in Sikh history, the facts are[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]somewhat different. Before dying fifteen years ago, my father expressed a[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]wish to visit Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi. Although a note from the SGPC[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]states that wheel chairs are allowed in some parts of the Darbar Sahib in[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Amritsar, my father could not visit the inside of Gurudwara Bangla Sahib as[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]wheel chairs are not allowed and he could not be carried inside since the[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]pain of malignancy had spread into his bones.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]I thought then of my own country (Canada) and how blessed we are, we have[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]rules, the sick have rights and dignity. These acts came from common sense[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]rather than from loud proclamations of spirituality. Shopping malls and[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]buses were denied rights to operate if they ignored basic facilities to the[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]disabled. Churches made special entrances and pews for easy entrance and exit.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Sikh Gurudwaras on the other hand, are physically inaccessible to those[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]that come there in pain. The steps of the Gurudwaras are designed for the[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]young and spry that can skate the slippery, mostly wet, marble.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Unfortunately, indifference to the disabled is institutionalized by a[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]prescribed code of conduct. From what seems to be evident, the Sikh Maryada[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]not only promotes, but also requires this attitude.[/COLOR] [B][I][COLOR=navy]I quote from an email from the SGPC:[/COLOR][/I][/B] [I][B][COLOR=navy]Mohan Virick ji,[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]Waheguru ji Ka Khalsa[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]Waheguru ji Ki Fateh[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]Thank you for your email.[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]According to the code of Sikh Conduct and conventions (Section six) Page[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]34. The five beloved ones administer ambrosial baptism should not include a[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]disabled person such as a person who blind, lame, one with broken or[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]disabled limb or one suffering from some chronic diseases. We should obey[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]the Sikh code of Conduct.[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]Regards.[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]In charge,[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]Internet Office,[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy]SGPC, Amritsar.[/COLOR][/B][/I] [I][B][COLOR=navy](Reproduced unedited)[/COLOR][/B][/I] [COLOR=navy]This note has many disturbing flaws besides its language skills. If this[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]practice is indeed enshrined in law, our progressive faith contravenes the[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]very universal United Nations Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.[/COLOR][COLOR=navy]Is Roger really wrong? Is the Anand Sahib only a work of poetry and not a[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]living document of hope?[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]What about the many Hazur Sahib Granthis whom I saw as patients in Canada?[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]They had hypertension, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Have they then,[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]violated Section 6 of Sikh law by administering amrit illegally? Or are[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]hypertension, hyperlipedimia, obesity and diabetes exempt and not chronic[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]diseases? What then is the list of chronic diseases that debar a Sikh from[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]the ambrosial duties? Is there such a list, and where is it kept? Am I a[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]co-conspirator as a physician, for staying silent about their chronic[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]diseases while they administered amrit? Do those baptized by the disabled[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Jathedars need baptism again?[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]The Guru has said that we all are small lamps of a greater light. It is[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]unkind to enshrine in law practices that divide men on physical[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]disabilities, forgetting that all life comes from a common source and it is[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]only actions that make us better. Those that have health and limbs today[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]may not have them tomorrow.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]I am, therefore, asking you, all women and men of sense and goodwill to[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]stand up and voice your disapproval against Section 6 of the Sikh Rehat[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Maryada. You may have accepted the spirit of this law in your own lifetime[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]but your children, born in the age of global communication and knowledge,[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]will never do so. After all, to think of it, this is really not a matter of[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]theology or religious doctrine. This is a basic premise in all civilized[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]societies that no one is denied any rights based on physical disabilities.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]Do not have yours brought up in disgust for those that are less fortunate.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]The note states 'We should obey the Sikh code of Conduct'.[/COLOR] [COLOR=navy]I beg you, for decency sake, not to obey this one. "[/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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