A New Direction

Life: Busy.

Time: Limited.

Solution: The blog will take a different direction.

Detail: Every now and then, I will feature a Sikhee-inspired poem or photograph and occasionally, a Sikhee-inspired film. I have to be realistic and realise that I'm trying to stretch myself too much - so I need to capitalise upon what I am involved in already and get more things out of it, more material and ultimately, more that I can share with the Sangat. This will be the way I do it...

everyday sikhee - through the artistic expression of words as well as still and moving images.

The design of this blog may change to accommodate this new direction but that won't happen for a while because...you've guessed it...limited time lol

See: This Photograph and feel free to comment.

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Poems from the Past

Posting this link so you can have a look at these. I must warn some are quite graphic in terms of the imagery they conjure-up so they are not ideal for young kids.

Ps - In the middle of starting-up Photography / Film-making business AtmaImages so time is so limited. If it is in His Hukam, will post properly soon.

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A Matter of Course

© Atma Singh 2009

The Sikh Course is an excellent training-course which is being offered by The Foundation for Sikh Thought. It's been designed and is delivered by some very passionate and professional individuals. It's absolutely free and open to anyone - so knowledge or experience, as well as preconceptions ;-) are absolutely irrelevant.

You may ask: What is the point of trying to express Sikhee through a training course? That's not a bad question. The answer is: Because relying upon others' opinions and experiences can sometimes NOT give you the kind of personal insight that Sikhee truly requires, in order to be experienced. It's all about personal perspective.

I went along quite recently - it's held at different locations all over the UK - and found it very refreshing and well put-together. It's a full day course so requires your commitment but the rewards are great. Most importantly, it focuses very much so on the concept of Naam which sadly most non-Sikhs, not to mention Sikhs, hardly ever get to find out about. Without Naam, Sikhee is pretty much just a shell.

Do check-out the web-links above - they'll be courses coming-up very soon in Gravesend, Hayes, Manchester and Milton Keyes.

Ps - You can follow The Sikh Course via Facebook.

© - Atma Singh 2009

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Priceless Jewels

ਕੋਟਿਤੀਰਥਮਜਨਇਸਨਾਨਾਇਸੁਕਲਿਮਹਿਮੈਲੁਭਰੀਜੈ॥
kott theerathh majan eisanaanaa eis kal mehi mail bhareejai
Millions of cleansing baths at sacred shrines of pilgrimage only fill the mortal with filth in this Dark Age of Kali Yuga.

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਿਜੋਹਰਿਗੁਣਗਾਵੈਸੋਨਿਰਮਲੁਕਰਿਲੀਜੈ॥੨॥
saadhhasa(n)g jo har gun gaavai so niramal kar leejai 2
One who sings the Glorious Praises of the Lord in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, becomes spotlessly pure. 2

Ang/Limb 747 (full shabad)


Reading today's Hukamnama (The Satguroo's Daily Command), the above Dupanktee (couplet) stood-out. Most of the time, for most of us, religion and spirituality take the form of an intellectual voyage. Knowledge leads to the idea, the intimation, that our final destination is a state of mind produced by our mind...the idea that our mind is the physician that will cure it's own disease.

We're locked into this idea that spirituality is a balance-sheet where we are rewarded for every 'religious action'. Our Chaturaee (cleverness) only drags us deeper into the pit of slef-centeredness.

Here's a simple test: Ask yourself - are you truly altruistic? If a person swears at you after you show them an act of kindness, and it makes you feel as though you shouldn't have done them a good turn, is this truly altruism?

Worse-still many so-called religious people use their 'God-given knowledge' to brutalise others. To tell them how they are non-believers, infidels, sinners and devils. They think they are now 'God's-chosen' and blessed with divine knowledge. In fact they have become the opposite. Haumai (Ego), the great subduer, fuels their thoughts, words and actions. Their beliefs have become weapons which they use to inflict pain upon others.

ਇਕੁਫਿਕਾਨਗਾਲਾਇਸਭਨਾਮੈਸਚਾਧਣੀ ॥
eik fikaa n gaalaae sabhanaa mai sachaa dhhanee
Do not utter even a single harsh word; your True Lord and Master abides in all.

ਹਿਆਉਨਕੈਹੀਠਾਹਿਮਾਣਕਸਭਅਮੋਲਵੇ ॥129॥
hiaao n kaihee t(h)aahi maanak sabh amolavae 129
Do not break anyone's heart; these are all priceless jewels. 129

Ang/Limb 1384 (full shabad)


So when you next meet a 'spiritual person', apply the above test. Are their words fashioned to hurt the hearts of others or are their words soothing; the words of someone for whom warming others' souls is an act of worship. Meeting and spending time with such people, we slowly become like them. These Gurmukhs (Satguroo-centred spiritualists) are the only hope for us in such a world, where to become religious is merely an act of distinguishing oneself from others...when really, we should be trying to become the dust off the feet of all. Continue reading ...

That thing you left behind

Finding time to blog is proving very difficult with my current lifestyle. From now-on I'll micro-blog - short and sweet. It's a challenge trying to convey in less words what may perhaps need more. I'll give it a whirl. Besides, it's the only way I'll be able to continue blogging. Excuses done!

I'm currently away from home, at my in-laws home in the Midlands. There's a funeral about to take place tomorrow morning because my wife's Tayaa (her father's elder brother) passed away recently. Long story - non-relevant.

I was shown his possessions earlier by someone and when I remarked, off the cuff, that they're just possessions and have no connection to the man that was, I was told I can be really un-feeling sometimes. I guess it just slipped-out and I should have been more sensitive. Sometimes though, when you say words that you haven't analysed, those words that leave your tongue un-refined, there's a truth about how you describe things...a sure perspective.

It got me thinking on a related tangent. I have possessions. My Canon Digital SLR camera is probably my favourite because it's the only tool I have apart from the written word that allows me to express myself to others. This thing doesn't reveal anything of me though; it's just a tool. But when I pass away I guess my loved ones might attach some special significance to it because my being was projected through the things I did, the things I loved. And I loved taking pictures. I better stop talking in the past tense otherwise it will seem like I've died already!

Possessions, as we all know, are just temporary and we should never be attached to them. You don't need me to tell you that, but here's an interesting experiment. I want you to comment below by answering the following questions:

1. When you die, as you so obviously will (!), which one possession do you think people will most associate you with and why?

2. What do you think this possession says about you, from the perspective of your loved-ones?

3. What doesn't it say about you, from your perspective? Continue reading ...