330.The Man in Blue – Ardas (2)

In my first article on the Ardás I made a critical remark about the five Takhats. I do not ‘believe’ in five Takhats, I only ‘believe’ in Akál Takhat. I have the right, we all have the right to be critical, to ask questions and to propose changes, but we cannot change anything that is part of the Rehat Maryada, only the Sarbat Khalsa can do that ! 

The first two sections of the Ardás discussed in the previous article address the sangat and are followed by the six lines underneath addressed to God.

1. The Sarbat Khalsa prays may the mind of the Sarbat Khalsa be informed by Vahiguru, Vahiguru, Vahiguru and may we obtain well-being and inner-peace in this way.

2. Wherever the Khalsa is, there give Your protection, honour the cooking pots and the swords, may the panth win, may the respected sword be our helper, Khalsa Ji say Vahiguru !

3. Give us the gifts of Sikhí, of uncut hair, of the rahit, divine knowledge, faith (visáh), faith (bharosá), the biggest gift of Nám and of ishnán in Amritsar.

4. May the choirs, flags and manors be permanent through the ages, the slogan of righteousness : Say Vahiguru !

5. May the minds of the Sikhs remain humble, may our beliefs be higher, protector of the beliefs our Vahiguru !

6. O Timeless Being, always the helper of and the giver to your panth. Sri Nankana Sahib and more Gurdwaré, Guru’s Houses that are separated from the panth, give the Khalsa the chance to have the sight of them and to take care of and do seva in them. 

In the second line above we ask God to give ‘fateh’ to our deg and teg (cooking pot and sword) and at the end of the line we ask ‘may the Sri Sahib to be our helper’. The cooking pots stand for Guru’s langar, the sword is the Sikh ‘sword of justice’. I am familiar with Sri Sahib as a description of the sword, but does Sri Sahib have a specific meaning ?   

I have always been concerned about line three. Of course I am grateful for the gift of Sikhí, of the Rahit, of faith (what is the difference between ‘visáh’ and ‘bharosa’ ?), and the biggest gift of Nám is indeed a splendid gift.

I thank Guru for his gift of the 5 Ks as signs of our commitment to living Sikhí, but I am not happy with ‘uncut hair’ being singled out. As far as ishnán is concerned I recommend to sadh sangat to read 5^th Guru’s sabad ‘Guru Ram Das Sarovar Nathe’ in full, to understand what the ishnán in Guru Ram Das’ sarovar really is about.

I am not impressed by line 4. I know what the choires, the flags and the bungé are, but do not think they are worthy of a mention in the Ardás. Line 5 is beautiful and under 6 I would want to pray for Panthic Rule in all Gurdwaré, not just in those in Pakistan. Next week the final article on the Ardas.

 

 

 

 

328.The Man in Blue – Lunar & Solar Days

From : Bilawal M 1, lunar days, 10^th house, drumbeat jat, page 838
1.ékam 2. dújai 3. tritíá 4.chauth 5.panchmí 6.khastí 7.saptmí 8.astmí 9.naumí 10.dasmí 11.ékádmí 12.a.duádas 12.b.duádmí 13.téras 14.chaudas 15.amávasiá – the night of the new moon.

The above are the days of the lunar fortnight as found in Rág Bilawal. Most of the names of the days are easy to understand. Only ‘khastí’does not sound like anything to do with six, the names of the other days are clearly linked to their number. I do not know why there are two different days 12.

The first fortnight of the lunar month runs from full moon to no moon, the second from no moon to full moon. The Vikramí year is a lunar year, but the Vikramí Calendar has extra days to come near the solar year of 365.25 days.

The Muslim calendar (Hijra) is a pure lunar calendar, and the seasons move across the calendar every year. In the Middle East and South Asia, where the difference in the length of the days in summer and winter is only small, this has only limited effect on the length of the fasting during Ramzam. In Scandinavia the fast will be very long when Ramzam falls in July. Anybody with more knowledge of lunar calendars, please share !

From : Bilawal M 3, seven days, 10^th house, page 841
1.ádit vár 2.somvár 3.mangal 4.budvár 5.vírvár 6.sukrvár 7.chhanichharvár.In this sabad Guru calls Sunday ádit vár and Tuesday mangal, without ‘vár’. The sat vár (seven days) sabads suggest that in the days of our Gurus there was also a solar calendar in use. Equally I am under the impression that there were more lunar calendars than just Al Hijrá and Vikramí.

I read on a Hindu website that Vikramí did not start with Chet as in the two Twelve Months sabads in the Guru Granth. Or are the Twelve Months sabads based on another lunar calendar ?

To add to calendar confusion we will end with the ‘Christian’ (Anno Domino = the Year of our Lord) or Common Era Calendar. The last four months are September, October, November and December. That means 7^th, 8^th, 9^th and 10^th Month, which suggests strongly that at some time in the past this year must have started with March. 

For Vahiguru it all makes no difference, every day is God’s day, or maybe I should say that we have to make every day into God’s day by our godly behaviour. From the spiritual point of view there is no Sikh year, Christian year or Muslim year. I am grateful to Pal Singh Purewal because through his efforts most of our Gurpurabs now fall on the same CE date every year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

329.The Man in Blue – Ardas (1)

You might remember my articles about my recent visit to Ieper where I recited a special ardás written for the occasion. This made me think about the standard ardás, and this article is the result of that.

 

In my personal routines I very rarely recite the standard ardás. I do regularly speak to God, usually asking Her/Him to help me to stick to Guru’s path, and to give me peace of mind if I am upset or overexcited about something.

 

As God is ‘antarjamí’ (All Knowing), my prayers are usually short. The wording might change slightly, but the message is simply ‘God please help me’. When I ask for something more specific, which is mostly when I pray for somebody else, I add ‘whatever is your will’ or words to that effect.

 

There are two more general thoughts I want to add. Why is it that everything ‘freezes’ in the Gurdwara, even outside the divan hall, while we do ardás. When the Granthí recites the hukamnámá people start moving around again and pay respect to the Guru Granth Sahib, while in the langar the sevadars start serving again.

 

Similarly, when you sit outside the divan, you are still supposed to get up when the ardás is recited. This is not an issue of vital importance to the panth, but things that seem illogical bother me.

 

Looking up the meaning of ‘ardás’ in the dictionary I find the following meanings : request, prayer, supplication, representation, offering to a deity. Our ardás is a request, but the first two sections of the ardás are a request to the sangat, and not to God.

 

The first section is where sangat is asked to remember God and the ten Gurus, each one of them getting a special mention. The line about remembering the Guru Granth Sahib does not belong to the first part, which comes from what is now known as the Dasam Granth. The line referring to the Guru Granth ends with ‘bolo jí Vahiguru’, just like the three lines.

 

The next section starts with the Guru Granth, the light of the ten Gurus, and then deals with those who gave their lives in the struggle against injustice. The final line in this section refers to the five Takhats and all Gurdwaré. As far as my understanding goes there is only one Takhat, Akál Takhat.

 

Having four ‘Takhats’, each in places where Guru Gobind Singh lived, makes no sense to me. The Akál Takhat (which originally was not a building) was there to represent together with Harmandr Sahib the idea of Miri and Piri, and I cannot see why there is a need for further Takhats.  

 

In the next article I will have a detailed look at the rest of the ardás.

327.The Man in Blue – Maya

Why do so many Sikhs think that putting all your energy into acquiring a big house, a big car and a huge television is in tune with Guru’s teachings ?

 

I recognise that when you are on a high level of spirituality you can experience the greatest luxury and the simplest lifestyle without your spiritual balance being disturbed by it.

 

Even I learned to accept food as it comes, whether I am offered a feast or just simple roti and dal. I enjoy the simple and the luxury food. In Panjab I appreciated proper toilets and bathrooms in western style houses but also accepted it when I had to wash at a tap in the wall and had to do ‘my business’ in the fields when in villages.

 

Many Sikhs moved from the villages in Panjab to western countries in order to better themselves. It is perfectly legitimate to want better chances for your children, to want to live in a society with freedom of speech. But a better life is not a life rich in material goods, a better life is a life rich in spirituality.

 

There is no merit in being poor. But owning a house is not more spiritual than renting a flat, having a Mercedes is not more spiritual than having a bus pass, a house that looks like something from a catalogue is not more spiritual than a place that looks as if people live in it.

 

Guru’s Sikhs agree with Kabir when he asks Vahiguru to give him a small house, a bed and simple food, and then he could dedicate his life to God.

 

Too much is as damaging to the soul as too little. Few people can be spiritual while being homeless and desperately looking for their next crust of bread. Equally only spiritual giants can be filthy rich and not be attached to their wealth.

 

Guru Gobind Singh lived at the court of Patna like a prince and also had no wants when he lived in Anandpur Sahib. He lived in the jungle and spent the night in huts after he left Chamkaur Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh, unlike us, was a spiritual giant. Guru’s life was dedicated to spiritual values, he could live both in rich and poor surroundings and be in sahaj, in spiritual balance.

 

Bhai Laloo had a small house and simple food and was happy. Malik Bhagoo had a big house and many servants who did all his work. Milk came from Laloos roti and blood from Malik Bhagoo’s. Guru Nanak obviously preferred Laloo’s simple life over the Malik’s luxury.

 

 

We should be like Bhai Laloo, make an honest living and live a simple life. If we are successful in our careers, we should not waste our money on luxury

Sikhs moeten van rechter tulband niet afleggen op school

woensdag 02 juli 2008

HASSELT/SINT-TRUIDEN – Het KTA van Sint-Truiden moet vier jonge sikhs die van school gestuurd werden omdat ze een tulband droegen, weer toelaten. Pawandeep Singh (17) volgde van 2002 tot 2005 de richting elektriciteit en metaal aan het KTA van Sint -Truiden. Al die tijd droeg hij, zoals zijn godsdienst het voorschrijft, een tulband.

Het KTA van Sint Truiden – dat deel uitmaakt van de Scholengroep 13 van het Gemeenschapsonderwijs – veranderde vanaf het schooljaar 2005-2006 het schoolreglement. Vanaf dan werd het voor iedereen verboden om het even welk hoofddeksel te dragen in het schoolgebouw. Op de speelplaats mocht het nog wel, maar in 2007 werd ook dat verboden.

Pawandeep Singh – voor wiens ouders het om godsdienstige reden geen optie was hem zijn tulband uit te laten doen – moest in 2005 van school veranderen. Drie andere jonge sikhs die zich mét tulband wilden inschrijven, werden niet aanvaard.

De rechter in Hasselt oordeelde maandag dat de school buiten zijn boekje is gegaan en wil dat de jonge sikhs vanaf september weer op school worden toegelaten. De rechtbank baseert zich daarvoor op artikel 9 van het Europees Verdrag voor de Rechten van de Mens (EVRM). ‘Door de wijziging van het interne reglement op de school worden joden, islamieten en sikhs die uit religieuze overtuiging een hoofddeksel dragen, beknot in de uitdrukking van hun religieuze overtuiging’, stelt de rechter. Volgens de directie van de school kwam het verbod er ‘om redenen van hygiëne en herkenbaarheid’. Maar volgens de rechter rechtvaardigden ‘dergelijk vage doelstellingen zonder dat er terzake problemen waren in de school niet de aantasting van het subjectieve recht van eisers op godsdienstvrijheid.’

Volgens de rechter was er geen enkele aanwijzing dat de aanwezigheid van de sikh-leerlingen met tulband voor onrust of problemen had gezorgd in de school.

Het proces werd aangespannen door de internationale organisatie United Sikhs die overal ter wereld opkomt voor het recht van de sikhs om hun tulband en dolk te dragen, zoals de traditie het voorschrijft. Er zijn ongeveer 23 miljoen sikhs, de meesten leven in India. In Limburg werken veel sikhs in de fruitpluk.

‘Deze uitspraak is echt wel een overwinning’, zegt Walter Van Steenbrugge, advocaat van de sikhs in België. ‘Het is de eerste keer dat ze gelijk krijgen. De sikhs hebben in Frankijk een proces verloren omdat ze weigerden zonder tulband te poseren voor de foto van hun identiteitsdocumenten.’

Press Release : Belgian Court overturns turban ban !

Forwarded on behalf of United Sikhs

Press Release

BELGIAN COURT OVERTURNS BAN ON SIKH HEADCOVERING IN SCHOOL

“The Court has sent a clear message that it is illegal for a school to deny education to a student because of his religious belief,” said Walter Van Steen Bruggen, the lawyer hired by UNITED SIKHS and the Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Belgium to represent five Belgian Sikh schoolboys.“This is proof that Belgium respects the freedom of religion and will not tolerate a ban on religious signs in schools in the name of a uniform policy,” said Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS legal director.

 

Hasselt, Belgium - The Hasselt Civil Court overturned today a ban on the patka, a Sikh head covering, which was imposed by a state school, KTA Domein Speelhof, on five Sikh schoolboys since 2005.

The court said that the ban on the religious head covering was a violation of the Sikh students’ right to manifest their religion under article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, of which Belgium is a signatory.

In a judgment handed down today, Judge Madam H. Coenen said that by excluding young people because of their religious beliefs the Domein Speelhof school in St Truiden had violated their right to practice their faith.

On 26th May, the Hasselt court heard evidence that in 2005, KTA Domein Speelhof school, that had previously allowed Sikh students to wear the patka, had introduced a uniform rule banning the wearing of any head dress, including the patka, which affected five Sikh schoolboys, Pawandeep Singh, 18, Jaswant Singh, 20, Parminder Singh, 17, Harjeet Singh, 14, and Sukhdeep Singh, 16.

“The Court has sent a clear message that it is illegal for a school to deny education to a student because of his religious belief,” said Walter Van Steenbrugge, the lawyer hired by UNITED SIKHS and the Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Belgium to represent the five Belgian Sikh schoolboys.

“Unlike France, there is no law in Belgium that bans religious signs in schools, yet the school in question had imposed the ban in the name of a school uniform policy that banned any head covering,” said Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS legal director who had been dealing with this case since 2005.

“This judgment proves that Belgium respects freedom of religion and will not tolerate a ban on religious signs in schools in the name of a uniform policy. We applaud and thank the families of the five Sikh schoolboys and the 6,000 strong Belgian Sikh community for standing resolutely against the ban,” she added.

Pawandeep Singh, one of the students who had to leave the school because of the ban on the patka said, “I couldn’t believe it when I was told just now that we have won the case. I am very happy for all Sikh boys who will now be able to wear a patka in all Belgian schools.”

In 2005, UNITED SIKHS took up the case in response to a global appeal for assistance from the secretary of the Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Belgium, Amarjit Kaur, who said that the ban at Domein Speelhof had forced the Sikh students to travel 100 miles every day to attend another school or to attend school with a bare head.

“I am thankful to the Hasselt court for upholding the rights of children to practise their faith,” said Amarjit Kaur.

The president of the Sikh Sangat Gurdwara in St Truiden, Mohinder Singh, said, “We thank God for the outcome and are relieved that the court has seen it right to uphold our children’s right to obtain a sound education whilst they practice their faith.”

Parents of the affected students telephoned UNITED SIKHS to convey their gratitude for the support they received. “We are very grateful to UNITED SIKHS, the Guru Nanak Sikh Society and the global Sikh community for standing by us,” said Karamjeet Singh, father of Harjeet Singh and Sukhdeep Singh, who will be returning to Domein Speelhof school wearing their patka, whilst the other three students will continue their education in the technical schools in which they are now enrolled.

Issued By:

Rishipal Singh
International Civil and Human Rights Advocacy (ICHRA)
UNITED SIKHS
07709830442