The Maritime Sikhs Society, Halifax, Canada celebrated the 400th anniversary of the compilation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib for the whole month of September. Among the distinguished guests who accepted the invitation were Canada’s Health Minister, Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh and Sikh scholar Dr. Harbans Lal. Dosanjh’s public presentation on September 22 had to be cancelled on account of a tragic death in he community. However, leaders of the MSS (Maritime Sikhs Society) received him and honored him. He was very gracious and friendly. He expressed his sympathies to the aggrieved family and the community.[in picture from Left : J S Wadhwa(President), R S Dhillon( Past-Pres.), Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh ( Health Minister), JS Tiwana(VP), MS Bhogal (Secretary)

Dr. Bhai Harbans Lal was the Guest of Honor at the City Reception Banquet on October 2, 2004. He was introduced by Jagapl S Tiwana, Vice-President of the MSS, as the roving ambassador of Sikhism. He has been visiting Gurdwaras, organizing and speaking at numerous conferences, seminars, talking to the media, giving interviews on TV and Radio in USA, Canada, UK, Spain, India, Pakistan and United Nations to educate people on the subject and to promote the centennial celebrations.

Here at the reception, Dr. Lal spoke on the contemporary religious landscape of the global village, and outlined the qualification of a new faith to suite the new civil society. He said that the religion of Sri Guru Granth Sahib met all of the qualifications. It is up to the keeper of the light of Sri Guru Granth Sahib to let the light shine over whole world.

Jaspal S Wadhwa, President of the MSS, presented a gift to the distinguished guest on behalf of all those present and thanked him for accepting the invitation.

Next day, the Centennial Celebration was held at the Halifax Gurdwara. Speaking on the Guru Granth philosophy Bhai Harbans Lal outlined the relevance of the Sikh philosophy’s root symbol of Ek Onkar as given below. He said this was included in his first revelation made after the rivulet Vaini meditation. [picture : Dr. Harbans Lal speaking at the Banquet

Summary of Dr. Lal’s speech on Guru Nanak’s revelation of Ek - Onkar (<) as the Root Icon of Sikh Theology

Guru Nanak revealed Ek - Onkar (<) as the root symbol that has served as the major icon for the Sikh theology since the time of Sikh gurus. All gurus used this symbol as their signatures seen on all available hukamnamas. Guru Arjan gave it the first place on the first line of the first page of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak and his successor gurus repeated it 568 times in the Granth.

Ek means the One Indivisible Virtual Reality that permeates through all creation and may be understood as the ONE SPIRIT remembered as Infinite (Wahe) Wisdom (Guru). Onkar means the manifestation of EK in the creation to include all worlds, all humanity, and all human beings with one soul residing within them

Ek - Onkar (<) means the following to the Civil Society of the new millennium.

Its meditation fills our emotional need for recognition of something greater than our own self.

It makes us believe that we can experience God through experiencing his creation.

It submits us with humility to, awe, reverence, celebration, and the search for deeper understanding. We may feel its overwhelming presence everywhere inside and outside us so that we may never be separated from it.

It motivates us to recognize the presence of the divine light in every living being.

It discourages the society from profiling people into good and bad by promoting recognition of the same soul that each one carries. It will be a transgression of the divine principle of unity in god’s creation to separate people into “us “ and “them”, which is the cause of all conflicts.

burw Blw iqcru AwKdw ijcru hY duhu mwih ] gurmuiK eyko buiJAw eyksu mwih smwie ] 4-757

Guru Ram Das considered it a special blessing to be able to abandon the attitude of dividing the world into mine and your.

mY aUpir ndir krI ipir swcY ] mY CoifAVw myrw qyrw

It recognizes that the earth is created with God’s cosmic blue print and it is therefore intrinsically good. Nature is our mother, our home, our security, our peace, our past and our future. We should treat natural things and habitats as our temples and shrines, as sacred - to be revered and preserved in all their intricate and fragile beauty.

It establishes the belief that God is the Creator, and its creative manifestation extends to all humans. Therefore, all humans become creative in partnership with God.

Dr. Lal’s lucid interpretation of Ek Onkar was heard with rapt attention by the audience. There were some questions from some members which he handled very well. Dr. Lal is indeed a very knowledgeable man. And above all he is a fine gentleman, modest and a humble guru da Sikh. He did not accept any traveling expenses from the Society.

Bhai Harbans Lal was honored with Community Service Award of the Maritime Sikh Society presented to him by Mrs. Surjit Sidhu, senior most member and former President of the MSS. Piara Singh Randhawa, former President of MSS, presented him with a book of the society, “ Maritime Sikh Society : Origin and Growth”.

Dr. Lal’s wife, Mrs. Amrita Kaur, was presented a copy of “ Japji Sahib te Jiwan Jaach” by its author, Mrs. Satpal Sodhi.

At the end Jagpal Tiwana thanked the distinguished guest for the most illuminating talk and apprised him with some of the unique features of the society.