Central Gurdwara Resource Centre Newsletter
Issue 10 July 1996
Central Gurdwara Resource Centre Newsletter
Issue 10 July 1996
Welcome to our Tenth Issue. I am sure you have all been enjoying the various sporting events that have been going on and now we have the Olympics to look forward to. This gives us a chance to look at the achievements of Sikh sportspeople which you will find on page 2. I hope this will inspire you to take part in sports and excel in all you do.
We have been helping Ealing Educaton department with an exhibition, and I hope you all can come along to see it on the open day on 7 July.
Finally, we hope you all can attend the Kirtan Darbar we have planned for 4 August. We hope to make this event interesting for younger Sikhs and will be translating the kirtan and vichaar into English. See you There!
Gurpurabs
July 7 Birth anniversary Guru Harkrishan Ji
July 8 Guru Gaddi Guru Gobind Singh Ji
Poets Corner - The Game of Love
Important Dates in Sikh History - July
16 July to 16 August 1996.
Saavan sarsee kaamanee charan kamal sio piaar
In Savan, the bride(devotee) who truly loves the Lord (husband) is the one who is truly happy
Mun tun rataa sach rang iko naam adhaar
Dye your heart with the colour of truth and make the Divine Naam your true support
Bikhiaa rang kooraaviaa disan sabhe chhar
Without true love all other joys are false and are reduced to ashes
Harr amrit boond suhaavanee mil
saadhoo peevanhaar
Every drop of water (Amrit) which touches God becomes nectar to be had in the company of saints
Vun tin prabh sang maoiaa samrath purakh apaar
All vegetation from great forests to a small leaf bloom with the blessing of God who is self-illuminated
Harr milnai no man lochdaa karam milaavanhaar
The heart is yearning for union with God, which is only possible through His grace.
Jinee sakhee-e prabh paa-i-aa hau tin kai sad balihaar
Let us sacrifice ourselves onto those who have found God
Nanak harr jee ma-i-aa kar sabad savaaranhaar
Nanak prays "Oh Lord! Bless us and rejuvenate us with your Divine Hymn(sabad)
Saavan tinaa suhaaganee jin raamnaam ur haar
Savan is joyful to those whose minds are decorated with pearls of the Naam
An excellent heritage for us all to strive for & build
Early last year I visited India & part of my luggage on return was a book entitled 'Sikh Olympians & Internationals' written by Harbans Singh Virdi. The cover is decorated with those famous interlinking 5 (continental) rings & silhouettes showing Sikhs performing riding, shooting, archery running, playing hockey and weightlifting. This is an excellent book that was issued in 1992 during the Barcelona Olympic games. It shows that Sikhs excel in all 'walks of life'.
Sikhs have a strong heritage of sports. Guru Nanak travelled great distances, to teach humankind the path of virtue & righteousness. We must all thank the Gurus for creating a distinct character for Sikh society. Guru Angad established 3 means to achieve this goal:
1. Through the Gurmukhi language, he recorded Guru Nanak's teachings
2. Guru Nanak had already given the concept of 'free kitchen', Guru Angad carried forward the idea and expanded it.
3. Guru Angad not only strived for the cultural & social development of Sikh society, but he also attached great importance to physical development.
In 1540, Guru Angad built Gurdwara Mal Akhara (Mal meaning 'Ghol' or to wrestle & Akhara meaning arena or place). Here Sikhs would keep themselves in top shape. The Sikh Guru's were excellent in sports, e.g.: Guru Arjan Dev (the 5th Guru) was a fine Archer & great horse rider. The 6th Guru, Guru Hargobind, exhorted the Sikhs to learn the art of swordsmanship, develop skills in fencing & horse riding. Guru Gobind Singh was an excellent archer & swordsman. His sons Ajit Singh & Jujjhar Singh were good sportsmen. Most of the Gurus not only prepared the Sikhs as good soldiers but as good sportspeople.
Sikhs at the Olympics - a great heritage
It was great to discover that Sikhs have been participating in the Olympic Games since 1924. One chapter of the book chronicles how Milkha Singh established new records in the 200 & 400 metres in the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo . He followed this up with a gold in the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958. Soon after he began to be called the 'Flying Sikh'. He was extremely popular in the 1960 Rome Olympics. 'The moment he would enter the stadium, people would cheer him enthusiastically'. People came to him and asked him about his religion & were very interested in knowing more about Sikhism. Milkha Singh is one of the great sporting heroes of our time.
The purpose of this article was to communicate the fact that Sikhs are excellent contributors to the world of sport & continue to excel in such areas. The table shows you the range of coverage & diversity of sporting talent.
The list above does not show the increasing number of Sikhs that are now in non-Indian teams, e.g.: with Kenya, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the UK. The list of names & sports given in this article are not definitive, i.e.: they are just a sample of the many Sikhs that have taken part in international events. The following list shows the diverse range of sports Sikhs can adapt to.
We should not view this year of the Olympic games as the only time to remember the sporting successes of the past. We should aim for the future - the ones to come. So, next time you're out in the park or playing sports, remember the sporting legends of yesteryear, with dedication & hard work the next legend could be you! Wishing you success in all you do.
Savinder Singh
Our soul is striving for inner peace, but we are neglecting this need. Instead, we are spending our energy in the material world. We are so occupied with how we look, with making money, making better homes, owning the latest car, expanding business. Although we need these worldly things (Maya) to survive, we have allowed ourselves, through our own free will, to let maya become our main preoccupation. It is the love for maya that is the root of evil not maya itself. Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, once addressed his fellow people on this matter. He said "are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honour, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul. [Apology, 29d-e]
And so we today seem to be facing the same dilemma. We Sikhs belong to a faith which is wholly based on truth and is known for sacrificing numerous lives to uphold the truth. And the ultimate truth is to be united with the One God, Waheguru, who created us all. This is a universal truth - we have all been sent to earth to educate our souls so that they can return home to God. But being preoccupied with the love of maya, we have disconnected our souls from God and have separated ourselves from Divine love. Thus, by not nurturing our soul on the energy of God's love we feel lack of inner peace which leads to the lack of worldly peace.
However, we still need energy to survive and we get this energy through fighting with one another, either verbally or physically; through intimidating others, overpowering them, not listening to other peoples' stories as we are too busy telling our own. We absorb one anothers energy and leave each other drained simply because we lack God's energy. The reason people turn obsessively to drugs and drink etc. is because they need energy to survive. Their conscious tells them that it is wrong but because they feel lack of (love) energy, they use these products to energise themselves so they can feel good about themselves and carry on with life. It is because we are not at peace with ourselves that we fight for energy from people around us which results in conflict. It is this kind of human conflict, on a larger scale, which leads to wars. At the end of the day we need inner peace because our soul desires it. The achievement of greater inner peace will create positive energy within ourselves which will then be filtered into the environment around us, creating world peace.
It has been mentioned that the reason we lack inner peace is because we have disconnected ourselves from God and His love. Just like an electrical appliance will not work until it is plugged into a socket, in the same way we will not gain inner peace until we plug our soul into the socket of God's love. God's energy will then naturally flow into us and this energy will give us peace. Because God is all-powerful, the energy we receive from Him is also powerful. Thus, His energy not only gives us peace, but also strength, love, contentment, happiness etc.
Then how is it that we tune ourselves into this powerful energy? According to our beloved Satguru Ji, it is through meditating on God's Naam, Waheguru. Naam is the boat which will carry us across the deep sea of life and onto the shore of God's love. Our dear Guru Granth Sahib Ji tells us over and over again to do Naam Simran, to let it be the means of our life so we can be united with our creator. The love of maya is something which takes us away from God, away from the truth. In fact, it chains us into the evil hands of ego. Whereas, the love of Naam brings us closer to God, closer to the truth and thus unchains us from the evil hands of ego and sets our spirit free. Ask anyone who lives off Naam Simran and they will tell you how free they feel, how they feel like a bird soaring into the sky. Such is the essence of Naam. It is too powerful, too full of love, too full of sweetness to describe - one can only feel it to know its true meaning!
The way forward is to first develop peace within ourselves through Naam. We are then able to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony around us, in the family and in the community. May our dear Satguru Ji bless us all with the divine gift of Naam so we may be united with our Creator and find the peace we've all been searching for.
Baksho Kaur
A father gives money to his child to go and buy some things. The child meets his friends and tells everyone its his own money. Waheguru jee has given us everything we own, our body, our family and keeps on giving ever more. The children never thank their Father, the Giver, but fool themselves by saying everything belongs to them.
SatGuru Nanak Dev jee has been sent by the Giver to make the children understand, to shine a light into the dirt and the darkness the children are living in.
And what does Satguru jee tell us in Jap jee Sahib everyday
'Understand this one most important gift from Satguru jee:
I must never forget the Giver who gives to all creatures'
But what do you gain by Never forgetting the Giver? Well remember the story of Guru Nanak Dev jee working as a shopkeeper, Satguru jee counted out 12 items and on saying Tera (means 13 and Yours) went into a Divine Rapture and sang the song of one word in Divine Bliss:
Why don't you try an experiment today - just see everything as belonging to the Giver. Say Tera in your mind when you see your hands, when you see your family, say Tera when you see the car or a flower. Then when the ugly feeling of mineness has left, and you are feeling humble, then appreciate the Wonderful wonder all around you by singing Waheguru again and again in loving adoration.
In the silvery fields by the river-tree
the moon and the stars bowed reverently,
To the songbird Guru singing words from Above,
His heart overflowing with the nectar of love.
The forest flowers yearned to hear the tune,
opening their hearts they offered perfume,
The wind took the scent to the royal seat
And kissed the dust of the Guru's feet.
Then standing humbly with palms together,
The wind spoke sweetly 'O King Forever:
I was the Hurricane causing stormy seas,
But your love changed me into a summer breeze.'
'In front of you I fall to my knees,
You are my world and the seven seas
My eagle-heart leapt from the mountain trees
Night and day searching for your honey bees'.
'In the garden I found them serving you,
they buzzed all day singing Waheguru,
By Your kind grace they became pure and true,
Serving your flowers I bring the scent to you'.
And the Guru King sung God's command,
'Bring your head on the palm of your hand,
Step onto my path and don't look back,
Else your vulture friends will attack'.
Tears streaming down the wind began to say,
'I have no other home or place to stay,
The world is temporary only You are True,
So I desire to play this game with You'
The Guru King hugged him to His chest,
The brave young wind had passed the test,
Five beloved Bees prepared amrit-honey
For the wind to begin his fantastic journey.
The wind soared up to a record height,
And revelled in pure and utter delight
Now controlled by the Guru King like a kite,
And protected forever by the Guru's might.
"ONE WHO REMEMBERS THE FEARLESS GOD HAS ALL HIS FEARS DESTROYED" Guru Arjan Dev.
July
July 1 Martydom of Bhai Taru Singh 1745
July 7 Birth of Guru Harkrishan in 1656.
June 9 Foundation stone of Akal Takht was laid by Guru Hargobind in 1606.
July 23 Death of Atal Rai in 1628, the beloved son of Guru Hargobind.
July 27 Birth of Zorawar Singh the son of Guru Gobind Singh in 1696.
July 31 Sardar Udham Singh, hanged in London 1940