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Dya Singh's Diary - September 2006 | ||||||||
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1. Asa Di Var completed - at last! |
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Our latest offering - a double cd plus gutka along the lines of our
Nitnam pack is released this month (October). We have kept it
congregational rather than a sophisticated sterile rendition. Ten voices
are involved including four tabla and dholki players plus our musicians
- I think that qualifies as 'sangatmeyi' traditional Sikh music. The
rendition includes the use of the dilruba, mandolin and guitar. This
album has taken almost two years in the making. I think it is a
collectors item. Only 3000 have been made as it is an expensive
exercise. Immediate sets are available as follows:
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2. Responses to Sikh Simran group - (write to sikhsimransociety@gmail.com ) |
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Our 'Sikh simran' services have now been ongoing for six weeks. Reason for need: Gurdwaras do not provide for 'naam
simran' generally. We have kirtan, we have protocol (parkash, Amritvela Nitnam, Rehraas sahib, samapti etc) and
ritual and langgar, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE TIME SET ASIDE JUST TO DO NAAM SIMRAN. The response, (though small, as we are
deliberately keeping the gathering small,) is enthusiastic. Most importantly we, the organisers are finding
tremendous benefit in it. It is changing our lives and the lives of our children. Getting up at amritvela is
proving easier and there is general well-being and happiness.
The theme is 'amritvela, sach nau, vedeyayi, vichar' so we begin before dawn (amritvela), listen to Nitnam on our cd or do our own personal Nitnam; then we do about 45 minutes of kirtan (segment of Asa Di Var) followed by half an hour of intense congregational Naam Simran (sach nau), a shabad of 'praise' like 'Satgur hoe dyal ta shardha puriyai' (vedeyayi) followed by an informal discussion (vichar)! We are all done by 8am and then have the whole weekend before us to enjoy to our fullest, having touched our spirits! The benefits already reported within 6 weeks, so far are - * lesser tension in our lives; * finding that coping with problems is easier; * there is a sense of acceptance and greater belief that Waheguru provides and protects * a general sense of euphoria and happiness * a sense of genuine achievement and satisfaction with living * there is an aura of success and well-being * improvement in general health and well-being We are fine-tuning the service as we go along and also working on a cd of Naam Simran which can be followed by all. If you want to keep in touch or wish to start your own group for Naam Simran write to : - sikhsimransociety@gmail.com |
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3. Responses to my NOT being Indian nor Punjabi, but SIKH. |
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There was interesting response of my views on being Sikh and not Indian nor even Punjabi. Some still do not see
that Sikhism is not a religion nor an opt out of daily living in which spirituality, social, political and
cultural pursuits go hand in hand. Sikhi is a 'quom', a nation, not a religion. But some enthusiastic responses
especially from youth who could see the point and why as Sikhs we should consider ourzselves a community, not a
religion. Indian born and resident Sikhs have shown lukewarm response and that is understandable, after all the
Prime Minister of India is a Sikh and they should all feel proudly 'Punjabi' and 'Indian'. |
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4. Death of two Aussie Icons in one week in September |
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Steve Ervin (Australia's true Crocodile Dundee) 4 Sept. and racing driver Peter Brock Sept.7. Aussies are setting up
small memorials all over the country especially in front of zoos(for Steve) and race tracks (for Brock) with bouquets
and hand written messages. A friend wrote to me. "I look at the outpouring of grief for the death of Steve Irwin.... so many people being very emotionally touched by someone they had not even met. He really lived his life with passion and passed on a message of co-operation with the forces of the earth and with other people. In his departure he has left many with a feeling of needing to make their contribution to a better way of living. I hope it sticks." I believe that Sikhi teaches that message of not only co-operation with but respect for 'the forces' (Naam Simran, Nitnam, kirtan) and treating each other as equals (manes ki jaat sebhai aekai pehchanbo)... and making a contribution to a better way of living (sevak Sikh sebhai Kertara). These were two Australian Icons dedicated to their craft and contributing significantly to society and the environment and especially animals. ARE WE AS SIKHS LIVING UP TO THE IDEALS OF SIKHISM? |
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5. Parliament of religions to Melbourne |
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A team from Melbourne comprising members of various faiths including my wife Jessiee and Government officials has,
it will appear, managed to convince the organising committee of the Parliament of Religions, based in Chicago to
have the next event in Melbourne (2009). At the last Parliament of Religions held in 2005, the Sikh contingent ably
led by Bhai Sahib Mahinder Singh Ji of the Nishkam Sevak Jatha hit the headlines by serving langgar for ten days to
all attendees who numbered 10,000 on a daily basis. Dhan Sikhi. We hope our brothers and sisters will rise to the occasion in Melbourne in 2009. |
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6. Anand Karaj in Brisbane |
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Sept9. Flew to Brisbane with my friend S Jasvinder Singh Maan to conduct an Anand Karaj. Dheerasj joined us on tabla in
Brisbane. Great to leave the cold, wet and miserable weather of Melbourne for the warm sunshine of Queensland for the
weekend. We carried out the Anand Karaj of Dr. Pritpal Singh Bansi and Kerry-Anne who also partook the 'janam sanskar'
ceremony which was recommended and accepted. Ceremony was conducted in both Gurmukhi/Punjabi and English. Always a
thrilling experience especially when those Sikhs married for long periods come up and say - "Is that what an Anand Karaj
signifies?" Full credit to Kerry-Anne who partook of janam sanskar and took on a Sikh name. She has been named Harsimran.
I wish she had just called herself Har Kerry-Anne or even Harkiran to stay close to her birth name. Nevertheless, she has
taken the trouble to study a fair bit about Sikhism. A recent Jewish study mentioned in the Sikh Review of last month
shows that an inter-racial marriage can work but an inter-religious marriage does not! In other words one partner must
make the sacrifice of adopting the other's religion. a) Intermediate Amrit : We were stumped (and the person insisted) that there was such a thing as an intermediate 'amrit sanchar' ceremony for any Sikh (with Panj Pyaray and all) who was going through the Anand Karaj ceremony. But, sanity prevailed and with Kerry-Anne going through the 'janam sanskar' the ceremony was carried out. We were able to inform 'all' that the true Anand Karaj is really only carried out if the couple is sincerely 'amritdhari'. (b) Twelve year 'pangat' issue in Brisbane gurdwara. The tables/chairs and sit-on-carpet langgar issue is a sensitive one in Brisbane. It started when a ragi 'Rangila' made a fiery speech on the virtue of sitting on the floor langgar causing the whole community to divide so much so that the gurdwara, for the last 12 odd years is being run by an administrator (non-Sikh of course, and well paid for it) between two factions and even between two granthis! A few weeks back a Sant Makhan Singh was invited by the 'sit-on-carpet pangat' group to do veyakheya for five days. He started off well on the first day with a statement that he would not get involved in the politics of the place - just perchar on Sikhi. But, by the fifth day he must have felt obligated to weigh in, in favour of the group that invited him and picked on the topic and the virtues of sitting on the floor in 'pangat' with liberal quotations from gurbani. There was one Sikh gentleman who was able to confront him that he had promised that he would not bring up the politics of the sangat. Of course Sant Ji said that he was only speaking the truth. The conversation went something like this (as I heard it of course - I was not there.) Sikh: It is the truth as you see it. Sant. No, it is as it says in gurbani and tradition - that we sit together in pangat and pangat means - on the floor. Sikh. Is it specified anywhere that 'pangat' means on the floor? Sant. It is understood to mean on the floor. Sikh. Gurbani also says that we should sit on 'sefan' - so we should rip out the plush thick carpets in gurdwaras and use sefan's (mats). It also says in gurbani that we should draw water and use pails to do sewa - so we should dig wells in gurdwaras and remove all plumbing and piped water. It also says that we should physically wave fans over the sangat in sewa - so we should rip out all electric fans and use huge manual fans as we used to in days gone by. Sant. O, we cannot stand in the way of technological progress - we must make use of such facilities and advancements ... Sikh - And Sant Ji, tables and chairs are one such progress that we have made from sitting on the floor for langgar. Sant Ji has a silly grin on his face. End of discussion. Sikh 1. Sant. 0, me thinks! And thanks to this 'Rangila' ragi who started this almighty 'kalesh' (trouble) in this community that has dragged on for over a decade. Surely Sikhi is a uniting force, not a divisive one. This same ragi caused similar problems in Kenya it seems but they were big enough to circumvent it by removing the tables and chairs while he was there as he insisted that he will only do kirtan if they removed the tables and chairs but then, the sangat had the foresight to put them back as soon as he was gone. Sat. 30Sept.06 : We had the privilege of doing kirtan with a 'new-look' group at Blackburn Gurdwara. New tabla-player, Swaran Singh has just arrived from Malaysia and alongside Melbourne based non-Sikh musician friends, Ernie Gruner (violin) and Phil, an 'oudh' player besides good friends S. Jasvinder Singh and S. Sarjit Singh, we have the makings of a Melbourne based 'jatha'. Perhaps a start to more 'adventures' in Melbourne which is perhaps the most well balanced cosmopolitan city in Australia - even our Mayor is Chinese! New double cd and gutka pack arrived yesterday - so we were able to 'launch' it at this semagam. Early reviews of this album are very positive. I hope Sikhs and non-Sikhs enjoy hearing this album and immersing themselves in the gurbani. Cherdhi Kala and Guru Fateh Dya Singh Oct.1, 2006 |
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