Ocean

kabeer samu(n)dh n shhoddeeai jo ath khaaro hoe
pokhar pokhar dtoodtathae bhalo n kehihai koe 50

Kabeer, do not leave the ocean, even if it is very salty.
If you poke around searching from puddle to puddle, no one will call you smart. 50

Radhaswami Satsang

Went to a Radhaswami Satsang today, it’s not the kind of thing I normally go to but I was invited and so went down to see what its all about. To be honest I was surprised by how well it was all organised and how nice the people there were (no, no one tried to convert me :p). There were people there who had travelled over from Spain, Germany, Switzerland, France and much further.

Its based in a estate near London, the programme takes place in a tent in which there must have been somewhere near 10’000 people. The way everyone sat and how the Sewadars there worked to get everyone seated was amazing. I have been to too many Diwans where the Sangat is literally sitting in each other’s laps but here it was like everyone sat in an orderly manner. As people came in there were people singing live Kirtan, without instruments which is something I’ve not experienced before. Once the programme began there was pin drop silence as it all took place, again something I’ve not experienced during a Diwan.

All in all it was a good day out (lovely tanning weather too). I’d always heard about Radhaswami’s but had never really experienced anything for myself, at least now I can form an opinion based on fact and what I’ve seen for myself.

Pictures from today

Some pictures from today.

Flowers?

jo talwaaro se bach jaate hain,

woh phoolo se katt jaate hain

Everything is in His hands

I was just talking to someone about something and I didn’t know what to say to them so I took a random Shabad from sikhitothemax and the following Shabad came up,

kabeer jo mai chithavo naa karai kiaa maerae chithavae hoe
apanaa chithaviaa har karai jo maerae chith n hoe 219

Kabeer, whatever I wish for does not happen. What can I accomplish by merely thinking?
The Lord does whatever He wishes; it is not up to me at all. 219

It kind of answered everything that was being discussed and it made me think about how true it is. Everything is in His hands, and whatever He does is much better for us than anything we could imagine for ourselves, its simply a case of understanding and accepting what Bhagat Kabeer Ji has said. That is something which is much easier said than done.

‘LOST’

I’m loving it.. I’ve never really been much of a drama/soap fan but this is really good. Can’t wait for next Wednesday now, oh man how sad do I sound?!

How true #1

We don't see things as they are.

We see them as we are.

-Anais Nin

How true #2

Write the bad things that are done to you in sand,
but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble.

-Arabic Proverb

11/7-4

pourree
keethaa lorreeai ka(n)m s har pehi aakheeai
kaaraj dhaee savaar sathigur sach saakheeai
sa(n)thaa sa(n)g nidhhaan a(n)mrith chaakheeai
bhai bha(n)jan miharavaan dhaas kee raakheeai
naanak har gun gaae alakh prabh laakheeai 20

Pauree:
Whatever work you wish to accomplish-tell it to the Lord.
He will resolve your affairs; the True Guru gives His Guarantee of Truth.
In the Society of the Saints, you shall taste the treasure of the Ambrosial Nectar.
The Lord is the Merciful Destroyer of fear; He preserves and protects His slaves.
O Nanak, sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord, and see the Unseen Lord God. 20

11/7-4

Hmm..

Went to the final Diwan of a camp last night, I took part in it 2 years back and from what I saw last night it hasn’t changed much.

I really don’t know what to say ‘cus its one of those things you have to see for yourself. My sister and I were in slight shock for about the first hour when we saw no one really paying attention to the person speaking and on the whole there being no real sense of respect towards Maharaaj. I’m all for having a laugh and I try hard to make sure my kids have a good time at camp but at the same time I feel its more than important to make sure they’re told who Maharaaj is and how to behave around Them.

It is one of those camps that treats the kids in way so that they have maximum fun while they are there but I have to question how much they learn about Sikhi whilst there. Ok so being at a camp is excellent (you’re surrounded by Sangat and have the opportunity to do Sewa) but I feel it is also important to take something home from it.

The highlight of it all (even though I was only there for about 2 hours, took us about the same amount of time to find somewhere to park the car) was when some random kid came up to me and asked if I was at Walsall Camp, and then went on to tell me how he prefers Walsall Camp to that one.. At least that made me walk away with a smile on my face.. :p

kookeeai

kabeer kaeso kaeso kookeeai n soeeai asaar
raath dhivas kae kookanae kabehoo kae sunai pukaar 223

Kabeer, chant the Name of the Beautifully-haired Lord; do not sleep unaware.
Chanting His Name night and day, the Lord will eventually hear your call. 223

:-D

'Incubate for 60 minutes'

Spent most of today in lab and I was bored out of my head for most of it. I was doing some immunofluorescence today work (and it worked!!) and a lot of it involves lengthy incubation times. During one of them which last 60 minutes I decided to take random pictures using my phone..

Like I said, I was bored..

'Khana nahi, sona nahi, peena nahi aata '

Bhaiya seh vichar keh humeh jeena nehi aata
Khana nahi, sona nahi, peena nahi aata

Words written by Jogi Allah Yaar Khan who wrote about the time when Baba Ajit Singh Ji went out to fight and gained Shahadat. Baba Jujhar Singh Ji said the words above to Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaaj explaining that they cannot live without their older brother, and that they too want to go out and fight for Sikhi like their older brother had.

dhin rain suhaavarree aaee simarath naam harae ||

Went to the Sanja Kirtan Smagam Saturday evening and it turned out to be a pretty good night. Ended up coming home at about 4.15 am (I couldn’t sit there any longer) and all in all it was really good.

One of the highlights of the night had to be Bhai Amarjit Singh, they totally killed it and what made it all better was a little chit chat with them as they were about to leave.

GNNSJ were also really good. It was wicked to see everyone together for the event. With them a highlight was when Bhai Sahib and other people from the Jatha sat with Bhai Amolak Singh Ji (Australia) and they all did kirtan together.

There was a good turnout and by about 3am there were just people who had travelled down for the event with most locals having gone.

Had a good time all in all though I could do with a early night tonight to catch up with my sleep. I've added some photo's from the night and the rest can be found here.

Scratched and dented

Someone drove into my dad’s car today whilst it was parked on the road, its not just been scratched but also has dents all along where it’s been hit. Both the side doors are damaged along with part of the wing.

At least we’ll have a courtesy car to take advantage off for abit!

Friend

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.

-Elbert Hubbard

Sampat Paath Bhog

Went to the Bhog of a Sampat Paath at GNNSJ, Birmingham this morning. Bhog tends to take place at around 5am there and so we got there for about 4.15am. It’s amazing to see that even though things are taking place at an early time, a lot Sangat turns out for the event. The Gurdwara Sahib has 4 Diwan halls and at least 3 of them were full with Sangat as Bhog took place.

If you haven’t heard a Sampat Paath take place, I have a small sample of it, which can be downloaded at the following link,

Sampat Paath Sample

The following Hukamnama came following Ardas,

Sampat Paath Hukamnama

It was a really nice atmosphere; the Kirtan done following Bhog was amazing. Bhai Amolak Singh Ji (Australia) then did Asa Di Vaar.

Your Hand

salok
dda(n)ddouth ba(n)dhan anik baar sarab kalaa samarathh
ddolan thae raakhahu prabhoo naanak dhae kar hathh 1

Shalok:
I bow down, and fall to the ground in humble adoration, countless times, to the All-powerful Lord, who possesses all powers.
Please protect me, and save me from wandering, God. Reach out and give Nanak Your Hand. 1

Count Nothing

To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance.

-Buddha

Maharaaj loves you

To the person who thinks ‘Maharaaj doesn’t love me’(you know who you are :p),

kabeer haradhee peearee choo(n)naa(n) oojal bhaae
raam sanaehee tho milai dhono baran gavaae 56

Kabeer, tumeric is yelow, and lime is white.
You shall meet the Beloved Lord, only when both colors are lost. 56

Beautiful

kabeer saadhhoo sa(n)g paraapathee likhiaa hoe lilaatt
mukath padhaarathh paaeeai t(h)aak n avaghatt ghaatt 231

Kabeer, the mortal finds the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, if he has such destiny written upon his forehead.
He obtains the treasure of liberation, and the difficult road to the Lord is not blocked. 231

Finale

Every year to complete the programme all the group leaders and Sewadars go on stage, do a Shabad and then finish off with Chaupai and Anand Sahib. This has to be one of the highlights of the camp for me. There’s an amazing buzz on stage and its wicked to have everyone together to finish off.

Friday Evening

Presentations took place after afternoon Diwan. This is where people who won races/awards got them. Kirtan competition, Story telling and best behaved child were other competitions that had been taking place throughout the week.

Rounders Trophies


Football Trophies


Kirtan Trophies


Best behaved child award


Kids with camp packs


Kids with camp t-shirts

Friday Activities

The kids had an opportunity to create a piece of art during this session. A drawing had been split into 9 pieces and groups had to paint their own section. When it was all complete it was put together to see how it looked. The overall piece was very impressive to be honest. The younger kids did a painting of the Panj Piare and the older kids did a painting of Bhai Taru.

Singh Drawing


Drawing before painting

Painting in progress

Completed Bhai Taru painting


Completed Panj Piare painting