512.The Man in Blue – Sikhi I

In the following articles I will not write anything new or amazing. I will only try to explain some basic notions of Sikhí in a more systematic manner than before.

One God. Guru Granth Sahib starts with the figure 1 followed by a word representing God. There are many words describing aspects of the One God, both in the south Asian spiritual traditions and outside it. God is the Father, the Mother and the Son, God is the Creator and the Destroyer, God is the Omnipresent and the All-Powerful. All these descriptions, all these ‘names’ are part of the One.

There is no Sikh God, no Hindu God, no Muslim God, no Jewish God and no Christian God, there is only One God.

God is All, All is God. God is present in all and everything. This is wonderfully illustrated in rág dhanásrí mahalá 1 árthí, which is on page 13 of the Guru Granth Sahib as part of Sohila, and in its rág on page 663.

Thousands are Your eyes, and yet You have no eyes. Thousands are Your forms, and yet You have not even one form.

Thousands are Your lotus feet, and yet You have no feet. Without a nose, thousands are Your noses. I am enchanted with Your play ! ||2||

God has no eyes, no form, no feet and no nose, but God is all forms and hence has all the eyes, all the forms, all the feet and all the noses.

One Humanity. One humanity regardless of gender, caste, nationality, skin colour, creed. All humanity is part of the same human family, all are the children of the One Father/Mother.

I think I would be within the spirit of the Guru Granth Sahib to go even further and say that the Universe is One, that the Universe is the physical and spiritual expression of the One God. The physical Universe comes from God, and all the souls come from God who is the ‘All-Soul’.

Even from the point of view of physics this makes sense as all beings and all matter are made of the same basic particles.

God is always near to us, God is always within us, but we are often blind and do not see Her or Him. When we follow the ethical way of life as will be explained in these articles, we will feel closer to God, and closer to Creation. When we lose the ‘I’ and become part of ‘Us’, part of Him or Her, we have achieved Liberation.

I will regularly refer to higher spiritual states, of which I have experienced the initial stages only, but I must emphasise that we all have to start from the first relatively simple steps of moving towards being a good human being. These first steps will also have the reward of increased contentment and true happiness. We will soon learn to be happy with a simple life.

The Tribune – SGPC, DSGMC differ with Akal Takht on ‘complete marriage Act’; Say amendments in Anand Marriage Act 1909 be allowed to be passed

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 16. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh’s move to support a complete Sikh marriage Act has sparked a major controversy with the SGPC, DSGMC and Sikh intellectuals taking a conflicting stand. They said amendments being made in the Anand Marriage Act 1909 should be allowed to be passed while a complete Act could follow later. However, the Jathedar has also found support from a section of the Sikh community.

SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said: “We ourselves have passed a resolution demanding it in the SGPC general house. Now, how can we say that we don’t want it?” He said first these amendments should be allowed to be passed while the rest of the issues may be addressed later. Makkar is likely to hold a meeting with the Jathedar soon to discuss the issue.

DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna also said the amendments should be allowed to be passed. “We have fought a long battle for it and after reaching this stage we cannot let it go,” he said. Sarna said if the community faced any problem later, the SGPC and the DSGMC can jointly form a committee of experts to pursue further amendments.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh, who played a key role in pushing these amendments, said, “It will be a major achievement and nobody should try to scuttle it at this stage. Those advocating a complete Act should have raised their voice earlier.”

Sikh intellectual Balkar Singh said the Jathedar had created confusion among the community by “speaking on the issue without giving it a thought”. He said only the political class stands to benefit if the amendments in the Anand Marriage Act 1909 were stopped. He said the amendments will pave the way for the recognition of Sikhs as a separate community and the issue of a complete marriage Act can be negotiated at a later stage.

Noted Sikh scholar Bhai Ashok Singh Bagrian said the community should let these amendments take place as it was achieving the purpose of establishment of separate identity of Sikhs. He said the Sikhs have long been demanding these amendments and nobody talked about divorce during this period. He also dubbed the Jathedar’s move as a “step in haste”.

Supreme Court lawyer H S Phoolka said the entire Sikh community had been demanding these amendments for the last seven to eight years. He said the “somersault made by the Akal Takht Jathedar will make a mockery of Sikhs in Parliament”.

“Everyone wants registration of Sikh marriages under a separate Act and these amendments are serving the purpose. Putting these amendments in jeopardy for a complete Act is not a wise decision,” he said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120517/punjab.htm#2

The Tribune – Pakistan denies visa to 320 Sikh pilgrims

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 16. For the second year in a row, the Pakistan High Commission has denied visas to Sikh pilgrims who were to visit the neighbouring country from May 17 to May 26 to observe the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev.

A Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee spokesperson said the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev was being observed on May 25 as per the amended Nanankshahi calendar and the SGPC had decided to send a jatha to Pakistan to participate in the event.

The SGPC had forwarded a list of 320 pilgrims to the Centre, seeking visa for them. He said the Union Government had sent the list to the Pakistan High Commission after giving the necessary clearance.

However, when the SGPC approached the High Commission for visas, the Sikh body was told that they could not be granted the same as the event was not being observed in Pakistan during this period (May 17-26).

As per reports, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee is observing the event as per the original Nanakshahi Calendar on June 16. Last year too the Pakistan embassy had denied visa to a 340-member Sikh jatha due to the same reason.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120517/punjab.htm#4

The Hindu – Shah Rukh Khan banned from entering Wankhede

Mumbai 17 May 2012. The Mumbai Cricket Association officials have lodged a police complaint against Kolkata Knight Riders IPL franchise team co-owner Shah Rukh Khan for his alleged misbehaviour on Wednesday night at the Wankhede Stadium and decided to ban him for life from entering the premises.

“We have lodged a complaint against him at the Marine Drive Police station (for his alleged misbehaviour against MCA officials),” informed MCA secretary Nitin Dalal.

The Bollywood star had an altercation with the security and officials of the association after the Knight Riders had swamped Mumbai Indians, according to MCA treasurer Ravi Savant.

“He misbehaved and abused the MCA security personnel as well as MCA officials, including our president Vilasrao Deshmukh, after the IPL match (between KKR and Mumbai Indians). We have decided to ban him for life from entering the stadium in future,” said Savant, who alleged that the actor was in a totally inebriated state.

Giving the background to what happened after the KKR’s 32-run rout of MI in the last IPL game of the season at the Wankhede stadium, Savant said that Khan and his posse of bodyguards had gone up to the teams’ dressing room and then came down and started to enter the ground.

“The MCA security personnel told them they cannot do so as the match was over which led to Khan abusing them as well as the MCA officials. There was manhandling too by his people. We have decided to ban him from all future matches at the stadium. We are also going to lodge a police complaint against him,” said Mr Savant.

Mr Savant also said that one of the members of the MCA’s managing committee who is also a top police official, Iqbal Sheikh, tried to intervene and pacify the actor but could not do so as he was in no mood to listen to anyone.

Asked whether MCA would lodge a complaint with the BCCI over one of the IPL team’s owner’s behaviour, Mr Savant said all the altercation had taken place in the presence of IPL CEO Sundar Raman and BCCI’s media manager Devendra Prabhudesai.

“Of course we will lodge a complaint with the BCCI also,” said Mr Savant.

Mr Dalal said the MCA is scheduled to have a managing committee meeting next week and would discuss the scandal. (PTI)

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3428123.ece

Sint-Truiden – Brussel – Bristol vv 19/04 – 25/04 2012

On the 19th of April I went to Vilvoorde and on the 20th I travelled from Vilvoorde to Bristol via Brussel and  London. I returned from Bristol to Sint-Truiden on the 25th of April.

20 April – Bristol, Varunvir Singh, Javinder Singh’s son

21 April, Bristol, Avon, Bristol Harbour Steam Train

21 April, Bristol, Avon, marina

21 April, Bristol, Avon, marina

To see more UK pictures :

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157627296796095/

More UK pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – China violated LAC 505 times since Jan 2010; Triggered by differing perceptions of disputed line

Ajay Banerjee, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 16. Differing perceptions of the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China has led to a whopping 505 transgressions by Chinese soldiers since January 2010.

Explaining ‘transgressions’, officials said India and China do not agree on the LAC, hence soldiers on either side patrol up to the point they perceive as the LAC. Soldiers on both sides show a banner asking the other party to withdraw when the LAC is crossed. Despite the underlying tension, the process of withdrawing by both sides keeps a lid on the situation along the tense frontier between the two edgy neighbours.

Today, the matter of transgressions was raised in the Rajya Sabha and the Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran said, “There have been 228 reported cases of transgression in 2010, 213 in 2011 and 64 till April this year. It was clarified, “There has been no intrusion along the India-China border. However, there are cases of transgression (by People’s Liberation Army, PLA) due to different perception of the LAC.” The word ‘intrusion’ is the official nomenclature to indicate a breach of the sanctity of the border and is different from transgression on LAC, that too on sections which are disputed.

The LAC is 4,057-km-long and traverses areas of Himalayan states, principally in Eastern Ladakh (J&K), parts of Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Historically, there has never been a demarcated boundary. These are strategically vital portions which are contiguous with Tibet.

New Delhi takes up specific incidents of transgression with the Chinese side through established mechanisms such as hotlines, flag meetings, border personnel meetings and normal diplomatic channels.

The 15th round of Sino-Indian Special Representatives (SR)-level talks was held in New Delhi in January last. Sources said the two sides are at an advanced stage of taking a decision on a joint civil-military mechanism to maintain peace along the LAC.

Despite the transgressions, peace is maintained along the LAC following an agreement thrashed out in April 2005. India and China have worked out what is called a ‘banner drill’, which helps keep tension under check.

Whenever either side perceives that a transgression has been made across the LAC, soldiers show a 10-feet-wide banner with a slogan painted across to each other. The banner primarily cites the 2005 agreement and says there is a need to back off from the present positions of patrolling.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120517/main6.htm

Dawn – US sees deal near, Pakistan haggling over money

Washington, 17 May 2012. The United States and Pakistan on Wednesday raced to conclude a deal to reopen key supply routes for the Afghanistan war before next week’s Nato summit, with Washington hopeful of an imminent deal but Islamabad insisting that the US pay more to repair relations and end the blockade.

Both sides said negotiations continued in Islamabad, a day after Nato invited Pakistan’s president to the Chicago summit in the strongest sign yet that the wary US ally was ready to reopen its western border to American and allied military supplies heading to neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan closed the routes after American airstrikes in November that killed 24 Pakistani troops on the Afghan border. Since then, supplies have taken a far more expensive route through eastern Europe and Asia.

”We have had some progress,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

”While the Pakistani political leadership hasn’t yet authorised the reopening of the ground transportation routes, we understand that they did endorse the conclusion of the negotiations.”

Nuland declined to describe what details remained to be worked out, but American officials had previously spoken of lingering differences over security arrangements, customs fees and other taxes that would be paid to Islamabad for hosting the routes and guaranteeing safe passage.

But those issues appeared to have been largely ironed out by Wednesday, according to an American official, who said a final deal hinged only on the two sides formalizing a written memorandum of understanding.

The agreement should be concluded by Friday, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of negotiations.

Nuland told reporters, ”If we can get it done by Chicago, that will send a powerful signal of support from Pakistan to Afghanistan” and the international mission there. The Nato summit begins Sunday in Chicago.

But a Pakistani official offered a different assessment, saying the two sides remained at loggerheads over money. The gap in their estimations of how much money Islamabad should be paid remained ”huge” Wednesday, according to the official, who also asked for anonymity because the talks were continuing late Wednesday.

The official couldn’t cite any figures. ”It is a problem,” the official conceded, ”but we are trying to resolve it.” The official added that questions linked to security or customs procedures were secondary and were easily solvable after a financial agreement but said it was unclear when the memorandum could be finalised.

Haggling by Pakistan could reflect a last-ditch effort to get a higher price, or the widespread distrust of the United States back home and the difficult internal politics involved in securing a national consensus to reopen the routes.

Washington and Islamabad have suffered a debilitating year for their already strained relations. November’s airstrikes were preceded by a CIA contractor’s killing of two Pakistanis and the unilateral US raid on Osama bin Laden’s Pakistani compound.

And tensions are compounded by the US suspicion that Pakistan supports the Taliban, making the Afghanistan war unwinnable.

Still, a picture of rapprochement seemed clearer Tuesday, when Nato invited President Asif Ali Zardari to its upcoming gathering and Pakistani diplomats said he was likely to attend. The summit will focus on the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan is seen as a key player in any political reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

The US has expressed regret for the airstrikes and quietly pressed Pakistan to reopen the routes over the last two weeks.

Washington and Nato stepped up the efforts in recent days, and a series of Pakistani statements suggested the supply line blockade would soon be lifted.

By keeping the routes closed, Pakistan’s teetering economy risks missing out on millions of dollars in international development and loans, as well military aid. It could also be excluded from discussions on Afghanistan’s future.

The blockade forced Nato to reorient its logistics chain to more expensive routes across Russia and Central Asia.

The Pakistani routes will be more important in coming months as Nato begins to pull out of Afghanistan, with a 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/17/us-sees-deal-near-pakistan-haggling-over-money/