April June 2014 Edition The Newsletter of the Canberra Sikh Association Message from the CSA President Mrs Jesse Sidhu Randhawa Respected Saadh Sangat Ji, Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh I have been away for personal reasons for the last couple of months, and would like to take this opportunity to thank Gurminder Girgla for his unconditional support and help in managing the gurdwara sahib in my absence. I also acknowledge and thank all the committee members for their hard work and support during my absence. It has been three months since the publication of our first newsletter of this year and I am pleased to note the growing interest of community participation in various CSA activities e.g., the many special diwans which were held for the sangat to enjoy and benefit from gurbani kirtan and vichaar, gurmat camp, etc. I would also like to welcome all the new members to the Canberra Sikh Association. We have received four life membership applications and more than thirty annual membership applications this year. We started this quarter with some major construction activities at the front of Gurdwara Sahib (still underway) to provide more open space and better ambiance for the visitors to the Gurdwara Sahib. This will help cater and accommodate the various needs of our growing community such as weddings and other festivities. The work has also commenced to provide proper parking for the visitors to the Gurdwara Sahib. The Executive Committee has taken some administrative decisions with respect to amending of the CSA constitution. As per the decision taken on 15 th September 2013 at the Annual General Meeting of the Canberra Sikh Association, the Executive Committee was empowered by its membership to create a Guardian Council within the organisational structure of the CSA. As the Executive Committee has finalised the Guardian Council framework, it is inviting all CSA members to an EGM to be held on 30 th August 2014 at the Weston Neighbourhood Centre. The aim is to discuss and approve the formation of the Guardian Council which shall provide a second tier of governance for the Executive Committee of the CSA. The committee is also working on other constitutional amendments to the CSA constitution, to be presented to the CSA membership at the next AGM to be held in September. The aim is to provide a detailed April June 2014 Edition
written document which is inclusive, user-friendly and answers all those questions on which our constitution is silent or is lacking in detail. I conclude by reiterating that the Gurdwara is a gateway to the Guru and the Guru keeps its doors open for everyone. It embraces all religions, which was one of the main teachings of Guru Nanak Dev ji. I encourage and welcome all the members of Sangat to participate in the sewa at Gurdwara Sahib, whether it is performing kirtan, preparation and distribution of Langar or helping with winding up after the congregation. It is essential for all of us to be respectful and carry out our holy duties with humility and reverence. Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh Mrs Jesse Sidhu Randhawa President CSA Sikh News www.sikhnet.com Sikh Volunteers Ready to Perform Seva in Afghan Gurdwaras August 22, 2014 by Yudhvir Rana Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com AMRITSAR: Sikh groups here have volunteered to perform sewa at gurdwaras in Afghanistan after the recent spate of migration of the community following their persecution by Taliban. "Sikhs are leaving Afghanistan. We have several historical gurdwaras there. Who will take care of them? So, we have decided to send Sikh jatha to Afghanistan to perform sewa in gurdwaras," said Nankana Sahib Sikh Yatree Jatha president Swaran Singh Gill on Thursday. Thirty-five Afghan Sikhs, including 13 children, were recently found in a shipping container in UK's Tilbury docks. The Sikhs from Afghanistan were forced to leave their country following harassment by Taliban. Gill said he had written to both home ministry and Afghanistan embassy urging to grant permission to send an 11-member Sikh jatha to Afghanistan before they leave for Pakistan to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in November. Acting president of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Bishan Singh told TOI over phone from Lahore on Thursday that there were historical gurdwaras in Kabul, Jalalabad and Ghzani in Afghanistan. During his way back from Mecca, Guru Nanak Dev had traveled through Afghanistan and had held discourses with Muslim holy saints in Kabul. He said the migration of Sikhs was due to their discrimination and persecution. He said around two decade ago, there were more than 2.25 lakh Sikh population in Afghanistan which has now come down to a few thousands only. There was a sizeable number of Sikhs in Ghazni but many of them had migrated to Pakistan or India. Gill also said he would also meet officials of home ministry and Afghanistan embassy in Delhi to expedite the matter. April June 2014 Edition Page 2 of 17
Lohri 2014 /Teean Punjabi Touch International The Punjabi Touch International presented A complete family get together & Entertainment Lohri 2014/Teean 2014 on 19 July 2014. The function attended by approximately 100 CSA members on pre-booked basis, saw on the spot performances, Music and Dhol. It was fun unlimited with central theme of Dinner dance, Meet and Greet. CMCAA Presented: The Winter Evening of Multicultural Entertainment Queanbeyan; Desi Bazaar Gungahlin and ASSURE VISA Immigration Services. The audience enjoyed excellent food and melodious performances throughout the evening. A number of dazzling & colourful cultural dances from various communities portrayed their culture aspects which were greatly applauded by the audience. Strange But True www.strangefacts.com In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes! Your body is creating and killing 15 million red blood cells per second! The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache on a standard playing card! The Canberra Multicultural Artists Association (CMCAA) Inc, function which was hosted on 5 July 2014 was indeed a grand success. The function that was attended by at least 200 audience was conducted in a warm family atmosphere. A large number of CSA members were present at the function. The evening saw a number of community associations exhibiting their cultural aspects. A number of local young artists also showcased their talent. The function was presided over by Ms Jancye Winter Director of Multicultural Function & Senior Manager OMA, who addressed the audience and also handed out CMCAA awards to its various young artists and also The Canberra Bhangra Jammers for their dazzling performance at CMCAA Winter evening of Melodies 2013. The nominally charged ticket of $20/- included delicious dinner that the audience greatly enjoyed. The function was sponsored by The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) ACT; Patel Grocery Store Every day 20 banks are robbed. The average take is $2,500! Tablecloths were originally meant to be served as towels with which dinner guests could wipe their hands and faces after eating! Tourists visiting Iceland should know that tipping at a restaurant is considered an insult! Until the nineteenth century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia! When glass breaks, the cracks move faster than 3,000 miles per hour. To photograph the event, a camera must shoot at a millionth of a second. April June 2014 Edition Page 3 of 17
April June 2014 Edition The Newsletter of the Canberra Sikh Association The Great Sikh Leaders - Part 4 Diwan Lakhpat Rai mobilized the Lahore troops, summoned reinforcements from Multan, Bahawalpur and Jalandhar. He alerted the feudal hill chiefs, and roused the general population for jihad against the Sikhs. This was at the time when about 15,000 Sikhs were in hiding around Kahnuwan. Their famous generals like Sardar Kapur Singh, Sukha Singh, Gurdial Singh Dalewala, Charhat Singh Shukarchakia and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia were all there. An Article by S. Amardeep Singh Diwan Lakhpat Rai advanced towards them with all his army. Sikhs were not in a position to engage his might. The strength of Lakhpat Rai had increased by many folds and was equipped with all the artillery. All the ration and munition of the Sikhs had exhausted. On the other hand Lakhpat Rai's army was receiving replenishment regularly from Lahore. By the order of the rulers, countless people of the villages around had gathered to let loose their frenzy on the Sikhs for greed of reward. The ratio of the Sikhs to government force was highly disproportionate in favour of Lakhpat Rai's forces. Never the less by the will of God, Sikh stood their ground determinedly. Their state was pitiable and frightening. Sikhs started proceeding towards the mountains in order to secure their flanks as the guns of Lakhpat Rai were causing much damage to them. Some senior leaders of the Sikhs expressed their view that they were now left with three alternatives. 1. To accept defeat; 2. To escape and re-organise for a better opportunity for revenge and 3. To fight the enemy to the last. April June 2014 Edition
They rejected the first option of surrender because a Sikh never surrenders before anyone except Guru. The third too was rejected since it would mean serving victory to the enemy on a plate. They were therefore left with the option to escape and reorganise. In order to escape, they needed horses and some ration. The Sikhs hit upon a strategy. A good strength of them pulled themselves towards one side. Lakhpat kept following the main body. When his soldiers became lethargic and inattentive, these Sikhs pounced upon them at night, captured their horses, ration and some weapons. The Sikhs then merged into their main body during the hours of darkness. Lakhpat Rai set the forest on fire to draw the Sikhs out of the jungle. It caused much concern to the Sikhs. Lakhpat also increased the intensity of fire of his artillery. Whichever directions the Sikhs went, they faced bullets. Lakhpat Rai was pressing upon them and there was no escape route for the Sikhs. So they decided to disperse towards Doaba and Riarhki; and settle the score with Lakhpat Rai at a later date. The Sikhs beat a retreat and attacked the pursuing army. The pursuing army was taken by surprise. Many fell to the sword of the Sikhs. The Sikh army escaped as planned. As the Sikhs proceeded to cross river Ravi, they faced another challenge of its very fast current. Two brothers of S. Gurdial Singh Dalewala entered the river with their horses to assess the flow of the water if they could cross. Very soon, they disappeared in the river along with their mounts and were not seen again. Jassa Singh and some other leaders opined that it was better to die fighting than drowning in the river. So under the leadership of S. Sukha Singh, the Sikhs attacked with the war cries of Sat Sri Akal. A fierce battle was fought during which Harbhaj Rai son of Jaspat Rai, Nahar Khan son of Yahya Khan, Saif Ali Khan Faujdar and Agar Khan were killed. Sikhs too suffered heavy casualties. S. Sukha Singh was hit by a cannon ball which broke his leg at the thigh. He did not declare it to his fellow soldiers to keep the moral upbeat. The valiant Sikh showed a great endurance by tying his leg to the saddle with a piece of cloth from his dastaar. S. Jassa Singh and some other leaders launched another attack and caused a big turmoil in the enemy rank and file. Taking advantage of the situation and fighting the enemy, the Sikhs followed S. Sukha Singh into a thick crop of jungle. By them the night had fallen. This was the dark day of June 1 st 1746. It was the first occasion in the history of Sikhs that they had suffered so much loss in one day. Thus this day is known by the name of holocaust (Ghalughara) and later as Chhota Ghalughara.. To be continued, coming up next, Proclamation of Lakhpat Rai April June 2014 Edition Page 5 of 17
Understanding the Gurbani through the Gurbani Made Available to Sanjhi By Hitendra Gilhotra Dear Sadh Sangat Ji Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! I would like to share with you The Gurbani Blog - Understanding the Gurbani through the Gurbani (Reference http://www.gurbani.org/gurblog/ ) for your information. The focus of this Website is to Reflect on various themes mentioned in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) Ji. One topic of discussion Mool Realization Cannot Be Made To An Order is provided below. The author of this website is Mr T. Singh who is a retired Civil Engineer in USA. In his own words The author is neither a scholar (...), nor a philosopher, nor a writer, nor interested in being one. The author is just an ordinary being who is trying to see the world the way Gur-Shabad (SGGS) does! So, the author does not claim to understand fully. As a beginner, he is learning along with you. There are many other SGGS themes that are explored at this website, e.g. Cleverness http://www.gurbani.org/gurblog/2014/02/21/cleverness/ Darkness and Light http://www.gurbani.org/gurblog/2014/03/13/darkness-and-light/ If you know how to communicate the Gurbani's meaning in a clearer way, or would like to contribute to the blog, please communicate directly with the author via this website. Mool Realization Cannot Be Made To An Order One must do it himself / herself! None else can do it for anybody. To put it otherwise, Mool-realization cannot be given to someone as a ready-made package or as a mundane gift. According to the Gurbani, each one of us must realize his Mool (Source, Jot...) himself: April June 2014 Edition Page 6 of 17
ਆਪਣ ਆਪਣ ਆਪ ੨੦ : (So long there is breath Praan) With own hands (with self-efforts, affair yourself. 20 (sggs 474). : Shabad-Vichaar ), resolve your own ਪ ਪ ੨੦ : Those who seek Mool (within, only ), they obtain Him (within themselves); others die fragmented (i.e., without Uniting with their Mool) in their egotism. 20 (sggs 911). ਆ ਆ ਗ : Jinee Naamu dhiaaiaa (sggs 8). Kaaju ( ) => Purpose, object, work, affair,,, etc. Savaareeai ( ) => Arrange, improve, adorn, recollect, amend, maintain,,, etc. And according to the Gurbani the purpose or object of the human birth is Moolrealization, to become One (Ik Mann Ik Chitt), to Unite ( ਆ ) the mind with its Mool (Source, Jot ) ਗ ਉ ਆ ਆ : (Man) has come into this world to become One ( ਣ ). (sggs 251). ਉ ਪ ਪਣ ਪ ਣ ੫ : Thus says Nanak O mind! Your Saroop (nature, identity ) is Joti (Divine Light). (O mind!) Recognize your Mool (Source, Jot, Origin, Reality ) 5 (sggs 441). ਆ ਆ ਆ : Whoever does not Realize the Essence or Reality of the Soul (ਆ ), all his religious acts are of no value worthless (sggs 1351). O Kabeer! Kill that (i.e., ego-mind, Haumaimind, duality, Durmat or wicked intellect, ਆਪ - ), which, when killed, brings Sukha (sggs 1364). ਪ ਪ ਆ ਗ ਣ ਆ : Bhaee praapat (sggs 12). This is our affair that we all need to resolve ourselves ( ਆਪਣ ). Which, nobody else can do it for us, says the Gurbani. ਆਪ ਪ ਆਪ ਪ April June 2014 Edition Page 7 of 17
In other words, a learner of the SGGS (meaning a Sikh or a student of the SGGS ਆ ) must become his own teacher to Teach himself through the Shabad- Vichaar. ਉ ਣ ਪ ੨ : Let (your) body be the mosque; let (your) mind be the priest; and (keep your mind ever) Pure; (this Purity of the mind) is the Khudaa s Kalmaa. 2 (sggs 1083). ਗ ਉ ਗ ੩ : (Who) in the farm of the pure Heart plants trees of the Gur-Shabad and irrigates it with the (Divine) Love; all these trees bear the fruit of the Naam (Brahm-Giaan or Spiritual Wisdom) of the One; (but) without Karma (i.e., without the right thinking based on the Gur-Shabad), how can anyone obtain (this fruit of Naam fruit of Wisdom or ਗਆ - )? 3 (sggs 235). ਆਪ : Jan Nanak binu aapaa cheenai mitai na bhram kee kaaee (sggs 684). ਆ ਗ : Sikhee sikhiaa gur veechaari (sggs 465). ਗ ਣ : Satigur bachan kamaavane sachaa ehu veecharu (sggs 52). ਆਪ ਪ ਆਪ ਪ ੫ : Aapai japahu aapanaa jaap (sggs 343). Thus, the Gurbani wants each one of us to become our own teacher and teach our ownself through the Shabad-Vichaar. This is Nij Bhagtee ( ਗ ) Bhagti of the own self by the own self (ਆਪਣ, ਆਪਣ ਆਪ ) to realize one s own Mool through the Gurmat (Spiritual Wisdom or Brahm-Giaan of the Gurbani). And, this Nij Bhagtee is performed in the Home of one s own Inner Being ( Nij Ghari- ): ਗ : Nij bhagtee seelvantee naari (sggs 370). ਗ ਆ : Naam bhagti de nij ghar (sggs 1109). ਆਪ ਪ Thus, according to the Gurbani, each one of us must work on our mind to bend it back to its Mool within through the Shabad-Surat. Nobody else (e.g., Deraavaad Sant, Pujaaree Group ) can make it to an order for anybody else. April June 2014 Edition Page 8 of 17
To accomplish just that, here is the Gurbani s sure and simple formula, with guarantee!! ਣ ੭ : Through the Shabad, Union with the Mool is Realized; there is no doubt in it (sggs 413). Therefore, the Gurbani asks each one of us: ਪ ਆ : O man, how have you changed the course of your life? (sggs 939). ਆ ਗ ਆ ਆ ਆ : O my body, since you came into this world, what actions have you performed (i.e., have you gained thinking conducive to Mool-realization, or have you gained thinking to the contrary)? (sggs 922). ਆਪਣ : (O Jeev individual being, you) Do not fulfill the Purpose (of your life of Mool Realization, but instead you) wander around to the contrary (or like a whirlpool, or like a cloud that does not rain, etc.). (sggs 320). ਪ The Gurbani wants us to become the Gurmukh. For a Gurmukh is the only one who Understands and obtains through Khoj (search, reflections, spiritual inquiry ). However, Khoj requires Uddam (self-effort: Shabad-Vichaar). ਆਪਣ ਆ ਪ ਆ ਗ ੩ : (Jeev-individual being) resolves his own affair (i.e., the Purpose of life of Mool Realization) himself; anyone else cannot do this work (for him). (As a consequent of this Union with his Mool, the Divine Virtues such as) truth, contentment, mercy and Dharma happen; (but) how rare is that, who by becoming the Gurmukh, understands it! 3 (sggs 361). ਗ ਆਪ ੧ : Who becomes the Gurmukh seeks, and finds (his Mool within) himself. (sggs 415). ਉ ਗ : Uddamu karat (sggs 456). Bhul Chuk Maaf April June 2014 Edition Page 9 of 17
Pothi Dada Ji ki - 1 An article by - Mrs Paramjit Kour April June 2014 Edition Page 10 of 17
April June 2014 Edition Page 11 of 17
Pothi Dada Ji ki - 2 An article by - Mrs Paramjit Kour April June 2014 Edition Page 12 of 17
April June 2014 Edition Page 13 of 17
April June 2014 Edition Page 14 of 17
1. CSA Langar Roster The Newsletter of the Canberra Sikh Association SANJHI NOTICE BOARD CSA Langar Roster can be accessed at Canberra Sikh Association s website on following link: http://www.canberrasikhassociation.com/calendar/ 2. CSA Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of CSA will be held on 20 September 2014. 3. Punjabi Radio Program Mehak Punjab Di A Punjabi radio program "Mehak Punjab Di" which started today 23rd August will be broadcasted every Saturday from 8 am to 9 am. This will be a Punjabi hour broadcasted on CMS Community Radio FM 91.1 under the leadership of Sarabjit Singh and Chief broadcaster Inderjit Kaur Chadha with assistance of Amardeep Singh. 2. Sikh Calender 2014 http://www.calendarlabs.com/calendars/religious/sikh-calendar.php Date Oct 09 Oct 23 Nov 06 Nov 24 Sikh Festivals: Guru Ram Das Birthday Diwali Guru Nanak Birthday Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom 3. Sending your article for printing in Sanjhi If you have an article related to Community News, Sikh Religion, Gurdwara Sahib, Current Affairs, Poetry, Jokes, and similar other articles and wish to publish this in your favorite Sanjhi then please send them to Tejinder Singh Hunjon at email: thunjon@bigpond.com April June 2014 Edition Page 15 of 17
Thank you for your Contributions to SANJHI. April June 2014 Edition Page 16 of 17
April June 2014 Edition The Newsletter of the Canberra Sikh Association April June 2014 Edition