A recent article in the online newspaper the Panthic Weekly:
http://www.panthic.org/news/125/ARTICLE/4691/2009-01-23.html

Interestingly enough, this article I found brings up many controversies we witness in the Panth today, including the difference between a non-Sikh and a Sahejdhari (someone basically opposite of an Amritdhari - does bujjar kurehats).

"The affidavit raises the question that if the SGPC does not classify people with cut or trimmed hair as Sikh, which religion or faith they belong to."

As if those that have strayed from the path of Sikhi by Vaheguru's Hukam should be automatically excommunicated from the Sikh community and condemned! Wh
y should the SGPC ever not try to encourage our estranged Sikh brothers and sisters from returnining to the path of the Guru? Is this encouraging them at all? Is this truly the best solution to an ongoing struggle within our entirety of the Sikh community? The last thing Sikhs need to be is elitest enough to only let those that don't keep their kesh to be "allowed" and "recognized" as Sikhs. Guru ji's heart was far too loving to have wanted some their fellow human beings to be oppressed from a community that should show them love incomparable to anything else other than our love for Vaheguru. That's how Pehla Patshah Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji did it; that's how our panth should do it as well.


Alright, now off of my soapbox.

I also encountered something that I feel wasn't recognized as much as it should have been: a public apology by Golf Digest on their "golf guru" screwup - when they used a picture of Guru Arjan Dev ji Patshah for a "golf guru" segment.


Once again we have been reminded how we as a people - as a Panth - when we really put our minds to do something because we care for it, we can truly get it done. It means doing more than just writing in a blog nobody reads, or reading a blog that nobody writes in - and part of me even thinks that signing a petition is far too easy to be taken as seriously as when we actually get out there and e-mail those that can do something with both jhosh and hosh, or learn to become one of those people that are able to make change happen and make a difference in the world in which we live. So much can happen if we just get off our butts and try. I have never been to a protest or actively been involved in a certain position of political ideal, and part of me feels that it's not just because I live in a town with a miniscule and indifferent Sikh Sangat. It is possible to team up with those of different cities to make change happen, or even learn how to inspire and educate my Sikh Sangat to help me do what I believe is right. It means a lot of hard work. It means a lot of pulling people's elbows. It means a lot of patience.

But then...

But then I remember our true hero, who went on his three Udasis in his love for humanity and its spiritual health, who had the courage to strike out on his own with a simple minstrel named Mardana to help teach humanity the true path to happiness, and who had the audacity to say as he emerged from the River Bain that "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" in a predominantly Hindu and Muslim region.

Pehla Patshah Guru Nanak Dev ji. He had the audacity fed by Love. He was driven by that audacity. And without that audacity, where would the Sikhs be today? Vaheguru, words couldn't explain my horror.

Apna Pehla Patshah still lives! He still breathes! He still smiles, and he still Loves. His audacious Love still exists within all of us, to only be realized if we just tried to be more involved in our community, did some Seva outside of the Langar Hall.

Not to say that we aren't doing anything so far, just that in order to truly keep up the Sikh spirit, we MUST keep active. That's the true "labour" that Prof. Puran so highly praised in his book - the activity that we do within our community in display of our Love for humanity.

I cannot reiterate my point enough.

But Biology homework calls. Another day I'll get back on that soapbox.

Vaheguru ji ka Khalsa | Vaheguru ji ki Fateh

a movie bringing awareness

I recently watched the Golden Globe Award- winner and Academy-Award nominated Slumdog Millionaire, a story about how a boy named Jamal, who has had little schooling and who grew up in the slums of Mumbai, India, was able to get every question right on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and subsequently get to the final round of the game. Before he's given a chance to answer the final question, Jamal gets captured by the Indian police and suffers through disgustingly inhumane torture to fess up how he 'cheated' at the game, even though he knew every answer.

The story takes place within Jamal's explanation to the police of how he got every question right, engulfing the audience with many instances of how the cruelty of the Indian government, or lack thereof, as well as the crimes against humanity that take place within the anarchy of the Mumbai slums has been allowed to flourish and therefore damage many people's lives. Those whose lives have been wealthy and prosperous were immoral and heavily criminal. Those whose lives were simply meant to live were the only ones destroyed and silenced from the history books.

Slumdog Millionaire not only accurately describes the "hard knock life" of the slums of the Mumbai, but also accurately discusses the brutality of the Indian police and the heavy infiltration and corruption of the Indian government, both being the cause for not only the Babri Mosque rioting of 1992 as discussed in the movie, but for the Sikh pogroms much like the Babri Mosque rioting carried out in 1984 after the assassination of Indira Gandhi in retaliation to her organized attacks on Harmandar Sahib earlier that year.

As Sikhs that believe in social activism and human rights for all to live free of oppression, I believe that what the producers of Slumdog Millionaire did was very honorable, and I will continue to support their efforts in raising attention to the violations of human rights the Indian government has allowed. Perhaps by doing this, India will be more closely watched and researched, creating awareness of the ’84 Sikh pogroms. I am excited to hear that awareness has acutely been raised towards the goings-on of the Indian government past. Doing so may create a watchful eye of the government in the present, causing for little to no governmental blunders to ever happen again in the future. And maybe—just maybe—the government will finally take responsibility for its actions.

Two brave Kaurs have lived and lost through the ’84 pogroms, and proudly post on their blog roadtokhalistan.blogspot.com. I encourage any and all of you to subscribe to their blog for inside emotions on their plight and bravery through it all.

I also encourage those who haven’t seen the movie Slumdog Millionaire to watch it as soon as possible—in theatres. I understand some movies don’t deserve that 7 bucks and gas/ bus money from you—if anything, this movie and the people that worked hard to make it deserve more. Watch it in theaters.

the kaur herself.

I am a Sikh.
I live by the teachings of Guru Nanak.
I adhere to the sovereignty of the Guru Granth and the Guru Khalsa Panth.
I believe in One God.
I believe in One Love.
I believe in Justice, Truth, and Equality.
I am not perfect.
I am a human being, just like you.

My name is Harjot Kaur.
This is the Kaur life.

Jee ayaa noo.