Bad company

kabeer maaree maro kusa(n)g kee kaelae nikatt j baer
ouh jhoolai ouh cheereeai saakath sa(n)g n haer 88

What can anyone do?

salok
kirath kamaavan subh asubh keenae thin prabh aap
pas aapan ho ho karai naanak bin har kehaa kamaath 1

Shalok:
God Himself causes one to perform good and bad actions.
The beast indulges in egotism, selfishness and conceit; O Nanak, without the Lord, what can anyone do? 1

Trust

Influence

What you don’t know about me can’t influence your opinion. What you assume can influence it beyond belief..

Be Full

Dark as night

Fareed, you wear your prayer shawl on your shoulders and the robes of a Sufi; your words are sweet, but there is a dagger in your heart.

Outwardly, you look bright, but your heart is dark as night. 50

Façade

Maybe it’s all just a façade, a cover for not actually caring..

Race

Make sure you're not so caught up in the race you forget why you're running..

Mughal-E-Azam

I finally watched Mughal-E-Azam last night. I’ve wanted to watch it for years now but have just never got round to it, not that I had a copy of it to watch..

Yesterday I got the dvd of the 2004 redone colour version of the 1960’s film. I have to say it’s a really good film, its now one of my favourite films.

I’ve always liked the song Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya by Lata Mangeshkar but the song Teri Mehfil Mein Qismat Aazmakar by Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum is definitely one of the best songs from the film.

Next on my list, Pakeezah..

*sigh*

25/09/2005

Black Marks

fareedhaa jae thoo akal latheef kaalae likh n laekh
aapanarrae gireevaan mehi sir na(n)aeevaa(n) kar dhaekh 6

Fareed, if you have a keen understanding, then do not write black marks against anyone else.
Look underneath your own collar instead. 6

Present moment

Happy Birthday

Its my little sisters birthday today, she’s 23. She’s a year and 2 weeks younger than me but she acts as though she’s the older one :p most people we meet assume she’s the older one so I suppose its all good.

I hope Maharaaj always does kirpa on her :-) Happy Birthday.

Awww

Whoa!

Just had an amazing evening.

Baba Balbir Singh Ji (Dera Baba Nanak, India) came down for the evening and they talked about various things in life like hatred, attachment and other vices. Over the last few months I’ve had a lot of questions regarding various things in life and it just happened that Baba Ji covered almost all the questions I had without even having to ask them.

Whenever I have questions or queries I always tend to get the answers to them after a while in some way or another.

One thing that I’ve had confirmed again today is that at the end of the day, there are people out there who may mean something to you or even strangers who can hurt you, but take it in your stride and get on with things, life’s too short to hold grudges and to get depressed over some of these things. At the end of the day Maharaaj is always with us and therefore its always ‘all good’.

Another thing was ‘kiseh da kadi man na dakhaiyo’, don’t ever hurt anyone (no matter what they may have done to you), God resides in everyone and if nothing else makes you want to step back from attacking that person (verbally/physically) then just remember God resides in that person too. If getting even gives you peace of mind for 2 minutes but causes the other person grief, is it really worth it? Someone once said if someone hurts you just take what they give and move on, I suppose it takes someone with a lot of kamai, someone who is humble to be able to do that. If someone says something to me I’m either upset or angered by them, obviously shows I’ve got a long long way to go..

Anyway, its been a wicked day, learnt a lot, now its time to act on what I’ve learnt..

O my Beloved, I have no one except You.
Without You, nothing else pleases me. Loving You, I am at peace. 1Pause

Love You Maharaaj :-D

Mistake?

When you make a mistake, don't look back at it long. Take the reason of the thing into your mind and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.

- Hugh White

Random but sentimental

I’m a pretty sentimental person and I like to take pictures/video’s when there’s something going on. It’s mostly just so I have a reminder of the time and place when something fun/memorable/spontaneous happened.

These are some pictures I’ve taken which mean something to me but if you don’t know the story behind them then they’re pretty random (lol).

Like I said, random :p

You

Without You, there is no other for me; You alone are in my mind.
You are my Friend and Companion, God; why should my soul be afraid?
You are my support, You are my hope.
While sitting down or standing up, while sleeping or waking, with every breath and morsel of food, I never forget You.
Protect me, please protect me, O God; I have come to Your Sanctuary; the ocean of fire is so horrible.
The True Guru is the Giver of peace to Nanak; I am Your child, O Lord of the World.

Cousin’s Wedding – Leeds

My cousin got married last weekend up in Leeds. We had an amazing time up there, it was nice to get everyone together and just have a good time. Here’s some pictures of my cousins ‘choora’ and one of the Lavan, I can’t add many more pictures (took 200+) as I don’t know if people want to see themselves online..

As always at any wedding where we’re close to the bride, we plan to nick the groom’s shoes and this wedding was no exception. The guy recognised me when he first saw me that morning and so we realised that I couldn’t follow him around as it was too suss so we sent my little cousins on a mission to keep an eye on him. As the guy went to go into the Diwan Hall my other cousin and I happened to be standing outside across the hall and he saw us and kind of clocked on that we were up to something (even though technically us two were not as we knew he’d recognised us earlier) and so they hid his shoes in a cupboard close to where everyone left their shoes. From across the hall as they walked in the hall I saw a pair of cream mohjeh on the stand and got all excited as we thought we’d be able to take his shoes. When we walked over they were some women’s shoes and we were totally gutted. After feeling bad for about 5 minutes we decided to have a look around and the first place we looked was a cupboard nearby and the shoes were there (!!!). As I swiftly walked away with the shoes I was buzzing. Word had got back to the bride and the other girls that we’d not been able to get the shoes and then I walked into the room with everyone there with them and a cheer went off, then we went off to stash the shoes in my car.

After the Lavan when we went over to give pyaar to my cousin and the groom, my other cousin said ‘we have a surprise for you’ to the groom and he looked abit startled, as he didn’t even know who she was. The surprise was that we’d obviously taken his shoes and left him a pair of flip-flops. I have to say the best part of all that was walking into the room full of my cousins and a cheer going off when they saw we have his shoes.

Party time

During the party after the wedding, all my brothers were busy helping out serving food etc but right at the end we all had the chance to get together and have abit of a laugh. This is a little clip from the dance floor, a song everyone loves came on and you can see everyone bouncing to it, its only a short clip and as the woman starts to sing everyone calms down but it initially caught the atmosphere really well.

The clip is dark as the cameraman had packed up and gone and there’s hardly anyone left in the hall, it was mainly all the kids jus having a laugh.

Mendhi

My hand just after I’d finishing applying it to my hand. I always think it looks better while the paste is still on compared to when its been washed off and the orange staining is left..

My hand during the ‘Choora’ ceremony. Its about 24 hours after I washed the paste off my hands and it’s a orangy colour at this point, by the end of the next day it had darkened to a deep orangy brown colour.

Hukamnama taken by Mehtab Paaj

Hukamnama taken by Mehtab Paaj on my birthday,

raamakalee mehalaa 5
ea(n)eedhhan thae baisa(n)thar bhaagai
maattee ko jal dheh dhis thiaagai
oopar charan thalai aakaas
ghatt mehi si(n)dhh keeou paragaas 1
aisaa sa(n)mrathh har jeeo aap
nimakh n bisarai jeea bhagathan kai aat(h) pehar man thaa ko jaap 1 rehaao
prathhamae maakhan paashhai dhoodhh
mailoo keeno saabun soodhh
bhai thae nirabho ddarathaa firai
ho(n)adhee ko aneho(n)adhee hirai 2
dhaehee gupath bidhaehee dheesai
sagalae saaj karath jagadheesai
t(h)aganehaar anat(h)agadhaa t(h)aagai
bin vakhar fir fir out(h) laagai 3
sa(n)th sabhaa mil karahu bakhiaan
si(n)mrith saasath baedh puraan
breham beechaar beechaarae koe
naanak thaa kee param gath hoe 44354


Raamkalee, Fifth Mehl:
The fire runs away from the fuel.
The water runs away from the dust in all directions.
The feet are above, and the sky is beneath.
The ocean appears in the cup. 1
Such is our all-powerful dear Lord.
His devotees do not forget Him, even for an instant. Twenty-four hours a day, O mind, meditate on Him. 1Pause
First comes the butter, and then the milk.
The dirt cleans the soap.
The fearless are afraid of fear.
The living are killed by the dead. 2
The visible body is hidden, and the etheric body is seen.
The Lord of the world does all these things.
The one who is cheated, is not cheated by the cheat.
With no merchandise, the trader trades again and again. 3
So join the Society of the Saints, and chant the Lord's Name.
So say the Simritees, Shaastras, Vedas and Puraanas.
Rare are those who contemplate and meditate on God.
O Nanak, they attain the supreme status. 44354

XXIV

Another year older and a little wiser, for once I can say I’m a little wiser as I have actually learnt and picked up a lot throughout this last year.

I can’t believe how fast this last year has gone by, I remember this time last year and it feels as though it was only a few months ago. All the all the last year hasn’t been too bad, a lot has happened and I’ve learnt a lot from everything that I’ve experienced.

I hope in the year to come Maharaaj continues to do their kirpa and that it goes by a bit slower!

Hukamnama - 09/09/2005 - 00:05,

gourree guaaraeree mehalaa 3
gur saevaa jug chaarae hoee
pooraa jan kaar kamaavai koee
akhutt naam dhhan har thott n hoee
aithhai sadhaa sukh dhar sobhaa hoee 1
eae man maerae bharam n keejai
guramukh saevaa a(n)mrith ras peejai 1 rehaao
sathigur saevehi sae mehaapurakh sa(n)saarae
aap oudhharae kul sagal nisathaarae
har kaa naam rakhehi our dhhaarae
naam rathae bhoujal outharehi paarae 2
sathigur saevehi sadhaa man dhaasaa
houmai maar kamal paragaasaa
anehadh vaajai nij ghar vaasaa
naam rathae ghar maahi oudhaasaa 3
sathigur saevehi thin kee sachee baanee
jug jug bhagathee aakh vakhaanee
anadhin japehi har saara(n)gapaanee
naanak naam rathae nihakaeval nirabaanee 41333

Gauree Gwaarayree, Third Mehl:
The Guru's service has been performed throughout the four ages.
Very few are those perfect ones who do this good deed.
The wealth of the Lord's Name is inexhaustible; it shall never be exhausted.
In this world, it brings a constant peace, and at the Lord's Gate, it brings honor. 1
O my mind, have no doubt about this.
Those Gurmukhs who serve, drink in the Ambrosial Nectar. 1Pause
Those who serve the True Guru are the greatest people of the world.
They save themselves, and they redeem all their generations as well.
They keep the Name of the Lord clasped tightly to their hearts.
Attuned to the Naam, they cross over the terrifying world-ocean. 2
Serving the True Guru, the mind becomes humble forever.
Egotism is subdued, and the heart-lotus blossoms forth.
The Unstruck Melody vibrates, as they dwell within the home of the self.
Attuned to the Naam, they remain detached within their own home. 3
Serving the True Guru, their words are true.
Throughout the ages, the devotees chant and repeat these words.
Night and day, they meditate on the Lord, the Sustainer of the Earth.
O Nanak, attuned to the Naam, the Name of the Lord, they are detached, in the perfect balance of Nirvaanaa. 41333

Love You Maharaaj :-) - maerae preethamaa mai thujh bin avar n koe

‘Lab Work’

Labs are officially over, I’ve got enough data now to complete my MSc project so that’s the end of long (boring) incubation times, using smelly reagents and having to wear those dodgy lab coats.

Even though this last year has all in all been a nice long chill out, I’m glad its over, time to get serious and get some real work done..

Time to start applying for jobs too..

How & why?

Over the last few weeks I’ve seen a lot of stuff in regards to how the world functions and how people treat other people.

What I don’t understand is how some people can treat others like rubbish, how can another’s feelings, emotions and sentiments have no value?

Having seen some things I feel extremely disheartened, I don’t get how people can be like that.

إيندي.كور

Sad

man kio bairaag karehigaa sathigur maeraa pooraa
O my mind, why are you so sad? My True Guru is Perfect.

His Arrow

kabeer sathigur sooramae baahiaa baan j eaek
laagath hee bhue gir pariaa paraa karaejae shhaek 194

Kabeer, the True Guru, the Spiritual Warrior, has shot me with His Arrow.
As soon as it struck me, I fell to the ground, with a hole in my heart. 194

:-D

Pehla Parkash Utsav of Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaaj

It’s the 401st Pehla Parkash Utsav of Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaaj today. Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaaj first installed it at Harmandir Sahib in 1604.

Congrats to everyone celebrating the Pehla Parkash Utsav of Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaaj.

Dhan Dhan Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaaj