Prelude
We have all been taught that Maya is money. After all, it is a simple translation.
Maya is in fact, anything that has gotten a hold of you. Cigarettes, drugs, alcohol. In my case, it was astrology.
And once it reigns its hold on you, it will do anything to keep you in your place. Spiritually. To hold you back from discovering your true self amidst the haze. To hold you back from God.
To keep you enslaved.
I had been there before. I had waged a war against Maya in the name of love. Except I didn’t know I was fighting Maya then. I didn’t know a whole lot.
I simply decided to follow the path of love.
Chapter 1
There is so much going on in the Sikh community now. So many debates. No action. Just talk, talk, talk. This is the correct way, they shout from the rooftops.
In the meantime, drug addicts are kept behind bars in the name of rehabilitation. Locked like caged animals. They are caught between a rock and a hard place. Away from rehab, they are vulnerable to picking up the habit again. In rehab however, they are kept locked up with food and water, and given walks daily. Like animals.
What is the damn solution?
You, yes, you, sitting in your comfortable homes, sipping cha in your fancy clothes, know that these caged animals are our brothers and sisters in Love. We talk about being sons and daughters of the Guru’s. Please know in your hearts that sons and daughters of our Guru’s are not limited to how intelligent you are, how bloody historic you are, what you eat, what you wear, how you pray. We are being split by intellectual debates – the bloody mind, rather than following the beats of our hearts.
The panjpyare’s. They represented something by their names. To be a true Sikh, you first have Compassion. Daya Singh. That is the start of your path. Compassion. Where there is no Daya, there can be no Dharma and where there is Dharma, there ought to be Daya. 2ndpanjPyare – Dharma.Followed by Himmat.Mokham – determination, persistence. Sahib- Waheguru.
So cha sippers, as we air out our views over the internet and well, over cha, our true virtues are actually slipping away.
In Sikhi, ACTION speaks louder than words.
Chapter 2
I know there is not much I can do, sitting here with no money. Yet, and yes, call it boasting if you want, I have kind of faith ingrained in me that no one can equal. An. Immense.Faith. In. God.
Have you ever done an Ardas from the bottom of your heart for something and felt immensely grateful as your Ardas was granted. That seems so small in comparison to what a COLLECTIVE Ardas can do for the recovery of drug addicts and to get our 5 rivers blue again. A simple seva, sweep the carpets, mop the floors, a path, simran and a personal Ardas to Guruji for your small contribution as brother or sister to these drug addicts to be heard in the Court of the Lord.
He listens. He knows. He doesn’t need you to preach. He listens. Especially when a prayer comes from the heart. And in order for a prayer to come from the heart, there has to be love and compassion present in the heart. And for love and compassion to grow, Guru Nanak has given us a simple formula of kiratkarni, naamjapna and vandkechakna.
Kirat karni.Guruji doesn’t need your donation. He has money. He needs your faith and persistence in committing to a goal. Kirat karni is not just about working and donating to charity. It’s about Seva. And wonder of all wonders, for you to have Seva in your lap, you have to humbly seek Seva before Guruji. I was once depressed, and I sat before Guruji for hours bemoaning my existence when suddenly a sevadar asked if any of the three of us sitting in the Darbar could get up to mop the floors. Nobody stood so after a pause, I got up, and ended up mopping the carpets in the Darbar as well. This depressed child left the Gurdwara that day with a rosiness in her cheeks and a heart full of chardikala spirit. Kinda reminds me of how when Guru Gobind Singh asked for the first head.
NaamJapna. Enough.Enough about the mind. It is about how your heart works. A lot of us use our throats and minds to japnaam. To sing kirtan. Have you ever thought about singing from the heart? Focusing on how your voice sings from the heart with the thorax as merely an aid? Maybe the doorways to your heart haven’t opened. Maybe you haven’t experienced the ras that comes from jappingnaam. Instead of attacking this facet of Guru Nanak’s teachings, why don’t you serve your stupidity on a platter as you bow down to Guruji and ask for his mercy. You can’t be a 100 percent correct if you haven’t experienced something and someone else has. So you disguise your stupidity by saying that jappingnaam is akin to a parrot repeating itself. And then you bloody preach. While addicts stay locked up.Repeat after me. “I want to HELP my brothers and sisters who are substance addicts. I don’t know what to do. Please grant me some understanding. Please grant me some boon. Please tell me what to do. Please help me help them. I put before you this attempt on simran and seva and pray that you will grant a discerning intellect to my HEART instead of beating me about the bush with the chattering monkeys that are in my head.
VandKeChakna is not just about donations and organising Guru kaLanggar about town. It’s about prayer, ardas, seva, simran and whatever you perform within the Gurdwara. It’s about putting the fal of this prayer, ardas, seva, simran to the account of whatever you feel strongly about rather than putting it in your own account. So you say, Guruji, I have done this prayer, ardas, seva, simran, best I can and I humbly request that my prayer for [whatever cause you feel strongly about, and you better bloody well pray for the situation in Punjab to recover] be heard in the Court of the Lord. And to maintain your contribution to this, you are to bloody well shut up about it or the thefal loses its flavour. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
There is a kind of sincerity in silence.
Chapter 3
I grew up in a small village in Punjab. My mom left me to my own devices as a child. I would run out and roam about the village as soon as I got up. Without even brushing my teeth. As I roamed and let my imagination run free, I was treasured with love and compassion as I played and talked to the village stray dogs. My toys were made by my own hands with lumps of clay I made from the mitti that was present all around. I didn’t have the “benefit” of tv or handphones. Whatever knowledge I derived, I got it straight from up above. And from the voice in my heart. I was left to grow. In the secure, nurturing village where there were no threats, no violence and no drugs. Pea{censored}s used to land on our bir tree and watching the flume of their feathers were a marvel. My luxury was getting 5 paisa from my mom to buy popcorn that was made with fine sand over woodfire. Clear, pristine water used to come from the well. I never actually had to learn the Anand Sahib. It somehow seeped into me as I played with dolls in the Gurdwara.
Listen. Act. Not preach. Sikhs let actions speak louder than words instead of talk talktalktalktalk and never actually show an action.
“Have you ever heard the sun come out in the morning?
Did you hear the moon come out last night?
We have been taught that power is loud, forceful, aggressive and somewhat intimidating. It is not.
In silence the Creator works”
IyanlaVanzant
Patience. I learnt patience while waiting for the bus in the village. It took 3 hours while my mom and I waited. But I gained patience.
Our villages have to come back. And we are to pool our resources into preserving our heritage and eradicating drugs and alcohol instead of doling out Guru KaLanggar to people who are already on the dole and can somehow manage. Have we ever asked ourselves why we do street parchar and dole out Guru KaLanggar? Ask. What are we hoping to achieve when the situation in Punjab is so bad? So easy to turn a blind eye to your own home and extol your virtues far away from home.
Chapter 4
Stop your debates. Stop your bloody philosophies. For very word you utter, God has infinite words to utter. Why is He silent then? May be its because He is waiting for compassion to grow in your heart and for an actual Ardas.
Kirtan.Kirtan works wonders. Do you know that singing Kirtan, from your heart, from the depths of your heart cuts away the Ego? Street or Internet parchar doesn’t cut away the Ego. It’s bloody well time to stop being a Saint and start being a Das.
Chapter 5
I have been visited by Isis. Spiritually. They are a silent lot aren’t they? They play mind games. They visit you spiritually and dole out praises after praises to you. They tell you how kind and compassionate you are. How smart you are. And what a good job you are doing. And you bloody think that their voices are that of Guru Nanak’s.
They set the situation for in fighting with their “spiritual voices” and then sit back and laugh as they watch the show.
Here is news for you. They may have even infiltrated our Gurdwaras and homes but we are so busy talking and preaching that we fail to hear the voice of God SCREAMING at you. They are the ones leading us and we are following through and through.
They even shine but brass when rubbed finally reveals the dark stain underneath.
Drugs, alcohol, cigarettes. It’s no longer a mental or physical war. It’s a spiritual war. And we are going to fight it. No more fighting and screaming at each other. Silently, stealthily we work under the hands of God. It’s time to look inward. It’s time to get on our hands and feet and start scrubbing the Gurdwara floors. Its time for Simran and Seva and a humble Ardas because our intellect is simply not enough anymore. They can read our minds. We need the creative power of God to get us through this. A steadfast holding faith in God will take us far.
It is time to go back to our Gurdwaras. No judging. No fighting. Just introspect and getting our hands dirty. Just working because we now have a collective goal. And we are to keep silent about it. No need for an outspoken Ardas for our brothers and sisters in India. God can hear you. He resides within your heart and outside. Just like He resides within the hearts of our brothers and sisters who are addicts.
The real perpetrators are the ones manufacturing the drugs and using the dark side in the name of spirituality to attack us. They use their humility to destroy us spiritually. They are they the Kings of humility. I guess they don’t know a whole lot about faith and himmat in doing the right thing.
Do you know that these addicts are waging a war? Alone?They are VICTIMS, not criminals. And it is our duty as Sikhs to help out victims. They have the voice of God in them too, you know. You want to find God? Find God in them. God only knows they have suffered enough. And they are suffering for a cause. Helpless. You grant them YOUR energy, YOUR himmat and YOUR love. YOUR LOVE.
Pray. Listen. Pray. Seva, Pray. Simran.Ardas.
Life is so simple. Why are we looking for God outside?
Bhagta Ki ChaalNiraali
ChaalaNiraaliBhagta Keri
BikhamMaaragChalna
LabhlobhAhankaarTajjTrisna
BahotNahiBolna
KhanehoTikhi, Waaloh Nikki
EytMaaragJaana
Gur Parsaadi Jinni AapTajeya
HarVaasnaSamaani
Kahai Nanak ChaalBhagta
Jugoh Jug Niraali
Stop whatever you are doing. Stop. It’s time to change course. It’s never too late to change course. Ignore public opinion. Ignore the shame. The so called dishonor in quitting your false path.Honour and dishonor is the same for a devotee. So says Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and other social media.Preaching.All these have to go. Our time and resources have to be spent in the charan of the Guru, in the Seva of the Guru, in doing whatever it takes in the service of the Guru in Gurdwaras.
Let us pray with steadfast faith in our Guru. Let us pool our resources together and put it to the account of the Court of the Lord. Then let us sit back and watch the show as the Lord works His creative, marvelous power in restoring our Sikhs to their original self.
Google “drug addiction stories India” and see if compassion and himmat wells up in you.
It’s a spiritual war. And who better than Sikhs to stand up to it?
Faith. We all know about the village that prayed for rain. And about the only boy that brought an umbrella. Faith is not strong. It is not heavy. It is innocent childlike expectancy. And if you have to suffer for a bit before He comes to your aid, you do it. With.Your.Faith. Intact.
We have all been taught that Maya is money. After all, it is a simple translation.
Maya is in fact, anything that has gotten a hold of you. Cigarettes, drugs, alcohol. In my case, it was astrology.
And once it reigns its hold on you, it will do anything to keep you in your place. Spiritually. To hold you back from discovering your true self amidst the haze. To hold you back from God.
To keep you enslaved.
I had been there before. I had waged a war against Maya in the name of love. Except I didn’t know I was fighting Maya then. I didn’t know a whole lot.
I simply decided to follow the path of love.
Chapter 1
There is so much going on in the Sikh community now. So many debates. No action. Just talk, talk, talk. This is the correct way, they shout from the rooftops.
In the meantime, drug addicts are kept behind bars in the name of rehabilitation. Locked like caged animals. They are caught between a rock and a hard place. Away from rehab, they are vulnerable to picking up the habit again. In rehab however, they are kept locked up with food and water, and given walks daily. Like animals.
What is the damn solution?
You, yes, you, sitting in your comfortable homes, sipping cha in your fancy clothes, know that these caged animals are our brothers and sisters in Love. We talk about being sons and daughters of the Guru’s. Please know in your hearts that sons and daughters of our Guru’s are not limited to how intelligent you are, how bloody historic you are, what you eat, what you wear, how you pray. We are being split by intellectual debates – the bloody mind, rather than following the beats of our hearts.
The panjpyare’s. They represented something by their names. To be a true Sikh, you first have Compassion. Daya Singh. That is the start of your path. Compassion. Where there is no Daya, there can be no Dharma and where there is Dharma, there ought to be Daya. 2ndpanjPyare – Dharma.Followed by Himmat.Mokham – determination, persistence. Sahib- Waheguru.
So cha sippers, as we air out our views over the internet and well, over cha, our true virtues are actually slipping away.
In Sikhi, ACTION speaks louder than words.
Chapter 2
I know there is not much I can do, sitting here with no money. Yet, and yes, call it boasting if you want, I have kind of faith ingrained in me that no one can equal. An. Immense.Faith. In. God.
Have you ever done an Ardas from the bottom of your heart for something and felt immensely grateful as your Ardas was granted. That seems so small in comparison to what a COLLECTIVE Ardas can do for the recovery of drug addicts and to get our 5 rivers blue again. A simple seva, sweep the carpets, mop the floors, a path, simran and a personal Ardas to Guruji for your small contribution as brother or sister to these drug addicts to be heard in the Court of the Lord.
He listens. He knows. He doesn’t need you to preach. He listens. Especially when a prayer comes from the heart. And in order for a prayer to come from the heart, there has to be love and compassion present in the heart. And for love and compassion to grow, Guru Nanak has given us a simple formula of kiratkarni, naamjapna and vandkechakna.
Kirat karni.Guruji doesn’t need your donation. He has money. He needs your faith and persistence in committing to a goal. Kirat karni is not just about working and donating to charity. It’s about Seva. And wonder of all wonders, for you to have Seva in your lap, you have to humbly seek Seva before Guruji. I was once depressed, and I sat before Guruji for hours bemoaning my existence when suddenly a sevadar asked if any of the three of us sitting in the Darbar could get up to mop the floors. Nobody stood so after a pause, I got up, and ended up mopping the carpets in the Darbar as well. This depressed child left the Gurdwara that day with a rosiness in her cheeks and a heart full of chardikala spirit. Kinda reminds me of how when Guru Gobind Singh asked for the first head.
NaamJapna. Enough.Enough about the mind. It is about how your heart works. A lot of us use our throats and minds to japnaam. To sing kirtan. Have you ever thought about singing from the heart? Focusing on how your voice sings from the heart with the thorax as merely an aid? Maybe the doorways to your heart haven’t opened. Maybe you haven’t experienced the ras that comes from jappingnaam. Instead of attacking this facet of Guru Nanak’s teachings, why don’t you serve your stupidity on a platter as you bow down to Guruji and ask for his mercy. You can’t be a 100 percent correct if you haven’t experienced something and someone else has. So you disguise your stupidity by saying that jappingnaam is akin to a parrot repeating itself. And then you bloody preach. While addicts stay locked up.Repeat after me. “I want to HELP my brothers and sisters who are substance addicts. I don’t know what to do. Please grant me some understanding. Please grant me some boon. Please tell me what to do. Please help me help them. I put before you this attempt on simran and seva and pray that you will grant a discerning intellect to my HEART instead of beating me about the bush with the chattering monkeys that are in my head.
VandKeChakna is not just about donations and organising Guru kaLanggar about town. It’s about prayer, ardas, seva, simran and whatever you perform within the Gurdwara. It’s about putting the fal of this prayer, ardas, seva, simran to the account of whatever you feel strongly about rather than putting it in your own account. So you say, Guruji, I have done this prayer, ardas, seva, simran, best I can and I humbly request that my prayer for [whatever cause you feel strongly about, and you better bloody well pray for the situation in Punjab to recover] be heard in the Court of the Lord. And to maintain your contribution to this, you are to bloody well shut up about it or the thefal loses its flavour. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
There is a kind of sincerity in silence.
Chapter 3
I grew up in a small village in Punjab. My mom left me to my own devices as a child. I would run out and roam about the village as soon as I got up. Without even brushing my teeth. As I roamed and let my imagination run free, I was treasured with love and compassion as I played and talked to the village stray dogs. My toys were made by my own hands with lumps of clay I made from the mitti that was present all around. I didn’t have the “benefit” of tv or handphones. Whatever knowledge I derived, I got it straight from up above. And from the voice in my heart. I was left to grow. In the secure, nurturing village where there were no threats, no violence and no drugs. Pea{censored}s used to land on our bir tree and watching the flume of their feathers were a marvel. My luxury was getting 5 paisa from my mom to buy popcorn that was made with fine sand over woodfire. Clear, pristine water used to come from the well. I never actually had to learn the Anand Sahib. It somehow seeped into me as I played with dolls in the Gurdwara.
Listen. Act. Not preach. Sikhs let actions speak louder than words instead of talk talktalktalktalk and never actually show an action.
“Have you ever heard the sun come out in the morning?
Did you hear the moon come out last night?
We have been taught that power is loud, forceful, aggressive and somewhat intimidating. It is not.
In silence the Creator works”
IyanlaVanzant
Patience. I learnt patience while waiting for the bus in the village. It took 3 hours while my mom and I waited. But I gained patience.
Our villages have to come back. And we are to pool our resources into preserving our heritage and eradicating drugs and alcohol instead of doling out Guru KaLanggar to people who are already on the dole and can somehow manage. Have we ever asked ourselves why we do street parchar and dole out Guru KaLanggar? Ask. What are we hoping to achieve when the situation in Punjab is so bad? So easy to turn a blind eye to your own home and extol your virtues far away from home.
Chapter 4
Stop your debates. Stop your bloody philosophies. For very word you utter, God has infinite words to utter. Why is He silent then? May be its because He is waiting for compassion to grow in your heart and for an actual Ardas.
Kirtan.Kirtan works wonders. Do you know that singing Kirtan, from your heart, from the depths of your heart cuts away the Ego? Street or Internet parchar doesn’t cut away the Ego. It’s bloody well time to stop being a Saint and start being a Das.
Chapter 5
I have been visited by Isis. Spiritually. They are a silent lot aren’t they? They play mind games. They visit you spiritually and dole out praises after praises to you. They tell you how kind and compassionate you are. How smart you are. And what a good job you are doing. And you bloody think that their voices are that of Guru Nanak’s.
They set the situation for in fighting with their “spiritual voices” and then sit back and laugh as they watch the show.
Here is news for you. They may have even infiltrated our Gurdwaras and homes but we are so busy talking and preaching that we fail to hear the voice of God SCREAMING at you. They are the ones leading us and we are following through and through.
They even shine but brass when rubbed finally reveals the dark stain underneath.
Drugs, alcohol, cigarettes. It’s no longer a mental or physical war. It’s a spiritual war. And we are going to fight it. No more fighting and screaming at each other. Silently, stealthily we work under the hands of God. It’s time to look inward. It’s time to get on our hands and feet and start scrubbing the Gurdwara floors. Its time for Simran and Seva and a humble Ardas because our intellect is simply not enough anymore. They can read our minds. We need the creative power of God to get us through this. A steadfast holding faith in God will take us far.
It is time to go back to our Gurdwaras. No judging. No fighting. Just introspect and getting our hands dirty. Just working because we now have a collective goal. And we are to keep silent about it. No need for an outspoken Ardas for our brothers and sisters in India. God can hear you. He resides within your heart and outside. Just like He resides within the hearts of our brothers and sisters who are addicts.
The real perpetrators are the ones manufacturing the drugs and using the dark side in the name of spirituality to attack us. They use their humility to destroy us spiritually. They are they the Kings of humility. I guess they don’t know a whole lot about faith and himmat in doing the right thing.
Do you know that these addicts are waging a war? Alone?They are VICTIMS, not criminals. And it is our duty as Sikhs to help out victims. They have the voice of God in them too, you know. You want to find God? Find God in them. God only knows they have suffered enough. And they are suffering for a cause. Helpless. You grant them YOUR energy, YOUR himmat and YOUR love. YOUR LOVE.
Pray. Listen. Pray. Seva, Pray. Simran.Ardas.
Life is so simple. Why are we looking for God outside?
Bhagta Ki ChaalNiraali
ChaalaNiraaliBhagta Keri
BikhamMaaragChalna
LabhlobhAhankaarTajjTrisna
BahotNahiBolna
KhanehoTikhi, Waaloh Nikki
EytMaaragJaana
Gur Parsaadi Jinni AapTajeya
HarVaasnaSamaani
Kahai Nanak ChaalBhagta
Jugoh Jug Niraali
Stop whatever you are doing. Stop. It’s time to change course. It’s never too late to change course. Ignore public opinion. Ignore the shame. The so called dishonor in quitting your false path.Honour and dishonor is the same for a devotee. So says Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and other social media.Preaching.All these have to go. Our time and resources have to be spent in the charan of the Guru, in the Seva of the Guru, in doing whatever it takes in the service of the Guru in Gurdwaras.
Let us pray with steadfast faith in our Guru. Let us pool our resources together and put it to the account of the Court of the Lord. Then let us sit back and watch the show as the Lord works His creative, marvelous power in restoring our Sikhs to their original self.
Google “drug addiction stories India” and see if compassion and himmat wells up in you.
It’s a spiritual war. And who better than Sikhs to stand up to it?
Faith. We all know about the village that prayed for rain. And about the only boy that brought an umbrella. Faith is not strong. It is not heavy. It is innocent childlike expectancy. And if you have to suffer for a bit before He comes to your aid, you do it. With.Your.Faith. Intact.