There will be no updates from now till late on Sunday 17 March, due to stay in internet-free house !
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue
The Man in Blue – ‘Sikhí Works’ YouTube Video
I am Harjinder Singh, also known as ‘The Man in Blue’.
I am a Sikh, I am from the Netherlands, my biological age is 65 and I became an amritdhari Sikh on 14 July 1996.
I am a ‘white’ Sikh but I do not follow the yogi. I have been to many all-night kirtans but I am not with AKJ. I took amrit in Mehta Chowk in the Damdami Taksal Gurdwara, but I am not a Taksali.
The Guru instructed us before he passed away to follow Guru Granth and Guru Panth. I have been trying to practice this in my daily life since 1996.
I am not a saint, I am only human and make mistakes.
The YouTube video to which you find a link below is called ‘Sikhí works’. The meaning is simple : Those who follow the way of life as described by the Guru Granth Sahib will, as Guru promises, overcome ‘dukh’ (pain) and find ‘sukh’ (peace).
The interview was recorded in the Sangat TV studio in Southall and Pritpal Singh (‘The Dutch Sikh’ YouTube Channel) interviewed me.
On the left Pripal Singh, The (Southall Afghan) Dutch Sikh
On the right Harjinder Singh the Man in Blue
In the middle Harjinder Singh in Lanark, Scotland
at a William Wallace (Braveheart) commemoration
Visiting Afghan Sikh friends in Belgian Limburg
Afghan Sikh friends and the Man in blue
Afghan Sikh friends and the Man in blue
This family has been refused refugee status in Belgium
They obviously cannot go back to Afghanistan, nor can they under EU law apply for refugee status in other EU countries.
Where/When will they find justice ?
Blue Man – Nila Wala – Blauwe Man
Blue Man – Nila Wala – Blauwe Man
On my return to Sint-Truiden
Genk De Lijn Bus Station seen from railway station
To see more Belgium (mostly Limburg) pictures :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622046344528/
More Belgian pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue
Man in Blue in Sikh Channel Ealing studio with ‘Sober services’
‘Man in Blue’ talking to members of ’Sober services’, working with addicted people
If you want to know more about the work of ‘Sober services’, go to the underneath link.
I was an alcoholic, and Guru has liberated me from my addiction.
With Guru’s kirpa we can all be liberated !
November visit to UK 14/11 till 21/11; many pictures of trains !
16/11 – I visited my ex-colleagues of the Slough Equalities Council and took two pictures of the new busstation
16/11 - Bus 81 serving Slough, Colnbrook, Longford, Heathrow, Hounslow West and Hounslow Bus Station
16/11 – Man in Blue, working away on his laptop
16/11 – King Street seen from The Green
To see more UK public transport pictures go to :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157611244941713/
More UK pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue
462.The Man in Blue – Haryana, Rewari, Hondh-Chillar, 1984 Anti-Sikh Pogroms
The killing of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards is an act I understand in the context of the time, but I am not really proud of it.
Guru Gobind Singh was willing to visit Aurangzeb after he received a positive answer to his Zafarnama, in spite of the fact that Aurangzeb was responsible for the death of many Sikhs, including Guru’s close family members. Guru demonstrated the Sikh way of life.
This does not take away the enormity of what happened in 1984. Even if you agree with the Indian authorities that Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a terrorist, treating everybody who happened to be in Harmander Sahib during the June 1984 invasion by the Indian Army as terrorists was totally wrong.
What happened in Delhi and in Congress ruled states in India after the killing of Indira Gandhi was in no way justified by the act of the Sikhs bodyguards. Even if Sikhs agreed with the killing of Indira Gandhi, that does not justify the killings, the rapes or the attacks on houses and Gurdwaras.
What happened in Delhi has been reported by various independent non-Sikh observers, and although the Indian authorities still live in denial, all independent sources agree that organised mass killings of innocents took place while the authorities looked on approvingly.
What happened in villages in Haryana and in other Congress ruled states was only observed by other powerless villagers and any documents pertaining to killings in those locations were easily be lost or buried in a heap of other dusty papers.
These attacks on Sikhs were not riots. I was involved in the group who brought out the Sikh Kristallnacht report, and that report rightly used the word ‘pogrom’. The report has been re-launched by the Network of Sikh Organisations UK (without fully acknowledging its source) and should still be available from them.
Under Adolf Hitler in Germany the ‘Kristallnacht’ was the start of the ‘final solution’ of the ‘Jewish question’. During the ‘Kristallnacht’ organised attacks on Jews and Jewish property took place. The ‘Kristallnacht’ was not a series of spontaneous riots that got badly out-of-hand, it was a state sponsored pogrom.
What are needed in all parts of India where Sikhs were killed and raped, Gurdwaras and Sikh houses set fire to, often with people still inside, are truth and justice committees.
All parties should come together and admit to mistakes made, crimes committed, and achieve reconciliation, as we might have seen between Guru Sahib and Aurangzeb, if the emperor had not passed away before Guru Gobind Singh arrived at his court.
451.The Man in Blue – Are you a good Sikh ?
The Man in Blue
We are continuing from two weeks ago, when I discussed a Gursikh’s life. The subject was not and is not whether you are a mona, keshdhari or amritdhari. Only do remember that offering my head to Guru was the best thing I ever did.
Our Guru, the Guru Granth, does not discuss the state of your hair, the Guru Granth emphasises the quality of your meditation, not the quantity, the Guru Granth lays down the principles to base your life on.
If we look at the first page of the Guru Granth Sahib, it starts with the number 1 followed by five words and these describe God as All-Powerful and All-Pervading, as the True Nám and as the Creator Being. Knowing from further reading that the Nám is present in all then we see that all and everything comes from God and that God is present in all and everything. God and creation are one.
Through meditation we realise God’s omnipresence. This realisation leads to seva, selfless service to all. This service includes defending people who are persecuted because of their faith, race or caste, and armed resistance against unjust regimes.
When we see God’s presence in all we want to be honest in all spheres of life. When we see God’s presence in all we want to share time, goods and money with those in need. When we see God’s presence in all we cannot divide humanity in ‘us’ and ‘them’.
I can neither as a white European look down on ‘coloured’ non-Europeans, nor as a Sikh look down on non-Sikhs. I am not a Panjabi, but I have lived in Panjab and in a very Panjabi part of London and I am married to a Panjabi. From my experiences I have developed both positive and negative prejudices, as I am only human. But as a Sikh I should not live by these prejudices.
Sikhs had many interactions with both Hindus and Muslims, and since the days of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the subsequent coming of the British Raj to Panjab we also have had to cope with Christians.
Sikhs are a relatively small group in between other much bigger religious groups. Christians, Hindus and Muslims have at times treated us with arrogance and disdain.
We as a people who see God’s presence in all should not judge individuals by their ‘labels’. There is good and bad in all groups. Guru teaches us that we should see nobody as our enemy. Bhai Ghanaya demonstrated this when he served water to wounded Mughals and wounded Sikhs after the battle.
A Sikh should not fight over differences of opinion. Throwing stones at a Gurdwara because they invited somebody you do not agree with, or killing an RSS ‘Sikh’ is not part of a Gursikh way of life. Being Guru’s Sikh is not easy.
428.Man in Blue – Honour Killings
jaisá bálak bhái subháí lakh aparádh kamávai |
A child, who out of a desire to please makes hundreds of thousands of mistakes,
kar upadés jhirraké bahu bhátí bahurr pithá gal lávai |
its father does teach and scold it in many ways, but will still embrace it.
pichhalé augun bakhas lé prabh ágai márag pávai |2|
Forgive my past misdeeds God, and in future keep me on Your path ||2||
Sorath, M 5, 2nd pauri, pana 624
My British readers will remember the case of Surjit Kaur, who was taken to Panjab and murdered by her in-laws. Recently here in Belgium a young woman wanted to marry somebody her parents did not like. This young man was from a ‘lower’ caste, had no job and allegedly used drugs. She was taken to Panjab and died shortly after arrival in Amritsar.
In the debate in England about Surjit Kaur some kept arguing that she was not a Gursikh and behaved badly. This I suppose made the crime understandable or excusable. In the recent Belgian case the father of the victim has been arrested, but has not yet been tried. We have no proof that he is guilty, but all known facts fit in with it being an honour killing.
Some people in the Belgian sangat argue that because the girl was disobedient to her parents they could understand why she was killed.
Obedience can never be unquestioning and respect has to be earned. If parents do not follow Guru’s teachings what should a child do ? If the parents want to marry you off according to caste, and Guru and the Rahit Maryada tell you that this is wrong, what should a child do ?
And even if your daughter has been wilful and disobedient for no good reason, even if the man she wants to marry is a lazy layabout, a drunk, a druggie or whatever, should you then kill her ?
This is where Gurmat comes in. We are taught that God is Father and Mother to us all. A Father and Mother who in spite of our mistakes or misdeeds, will hug us and receive us in Her/His house of which the doors are always open. Just read the shabad above the column.
Should we not try and follow this Godly example ? Or should we justify premeditated murder as punishment for disobedience ? The girls were taken to Panjab under some pretext and killed there. Surjit Kaur’s killers were finally convicted in the UK, due to a brave and persevering brother.
If the Belgian case is indeed an honour killing, I sincerely hope that the murderer(s) will receive their well deserved punishment. Let it be a warning to all that honour killings are not acceptable in India either !
418.The Man in Blue – Khalsa
I have been reading ‘The Mughal Empire’ by John F Richards. The book turns out not just to provide background to the history of the Guru-period but it also tells the story of the clashes between the Sikhs and the Mughals and throws light on the word ‘khalsa’.
I will discuss the passages in the book on the clashes between the Sikhs and the Mughals in the next column, this week I will concentrate on the origin of the word Khalsa.
In the book there are many mentions of the word ‘khalisa’. In the glossary ( page 300) you’ll find its explanation : khalisa – lands or other entities producing revenue directly for the emperor and the central treasury.
On page 70 there is a mention of a minister of crown revenues whose title was diwan-i-khalisa, responsible for all revenues that were going directly into the central treasury. On page 76 crownlands under direct administration of the imperial finance minister are described as ‘khalisa’.
When I was in Chandigarh with the Institute of Sikh Studies I was told that Khalsa does not mean pure but that it is derived from a Persian or Farsi word meaning land that comes directly under the Crown. It is obvious that this must be the word khalisa used by the Farsi speaking Mughal court.
What is the meaning of the word in spiritual context ? The Khalsa are those that come directly under the Patishah of Patishahs, under God, just like khalisa land came directly under the emperor.
Why is the word we use Khalsa and not khalisa ? I do not know but we are faced by the same problem when we say that Khalsa means pure, as this is derived from the word khalis.
What I also do not know is how the word khalisa was pronounced. Was the first ‘a’ an ‘aa’, was the ‘i’ a sihari as in pit or a bihari which in English sounds like ‘ee’ ? Is it reasonable to assume that the end ‘a’ is an ‘aa’ ?
Assessing the proper meaning of Khalsa is important. If the Khalsa are meant to be the ‘pure’ than most of us, including your ‘man in blue’, should leave the Khalsa. I seriously try but make many mistakes and even Guru who is on a much higher level admits to making mistakes.
To add to the confusion I looked at the 33 Savaiye. In the first one there is mention of khálas and nakhálas, which is translated as Khalsa and not Khalsa. Any views on this khálas ? Does this mean pure, and were they wrong to tell me that pure is khalis ? Khalas might be a different spelling of khalis or it might be a different word with a different meaning.
Appeal to stop the use of violence
All Sikhs, Sikh organisations and Gurdwaré should undertake never again to use violence as a means to settle differences of opinion. There is no precedent from Guru’s days for this bad practice, the Guru taught us to stand up against injustice, not against opinions that we do not agree with.
398.The Man in Blue – Ashutosh Maharaj, Sant Rama Nand, Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh
With great sadness have I heard about the Sikhs in Panjab being involved in yet another row with a bogus ‘God-man’. It shows that the Sikhs are part of the problems of Panjab, and not part of the solution.
The worst of it is that many think that this is the Guru’s way, that getting into fights with followers of Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh, Sant Rama Nand or of Ashutosh Maharaj is similar to Guru’s struggle for freedom against the Mughal authorities of his day.
Why do Sikhs get excited when some idiot says that he is the incarnation of Guru Gobind Singh and/or Jesus Christ ? Why not concentrate on teaching Sikhí to the Sikhs and to all others who are interested ? Why not teach that we should follow ‘The One’ and our ‘Eternal Guru’, the Guru Granth Sahib ?
Why do we not break our links with the self appointed holy men of the ‘sant samaj’ ? Why do we not formulate a policy that will finally implement a practical model of ‘Guru Granth – Guru Panth’ ? Why do we not abolish the present rule by politicians, pradhans, jathedars and babe ?
Why do we not explain to the world-wide panth that Guru never waged war on dodgy god-men and that Guru would condemn useless practices anywhere ? Guru would condemn our present rituals and rules that are neither based on the Guru Granth Sahib nor on the Sikh Rehat Maryada.
Why do we not explain that the Guru Granth Sahib says that ultimately the test is whether a person has Godly behaviour, and that running amok in the streets of Panjab, forcing shops to close like a bunch of hooligans is neither Godly nor Sikhí behaviour.
Of course the Panjab Police was totally out of order firing on the demonstration, even in India there is no death penalty on being in a demo. But I do not understand why the people killed are called shahíds.
Was the demonstration about protecting the oppressed ? Were the demonstrators fighting against injustice ? The answer to both questions is no. Being killed, even being killed unjustly, does not make you a shahíd. This is what ‘Baba Dhumma’ had to say : “We are against Ashutosh as his followers popularise him as a reincarnation of Guru Nanak Dev, Lord Rama and Jesus Christ. We cannot buy this.”
Well ‘Baba Dhumma’, you do not have to buy this, nobody is forced to follow any of these idiotic sant-babas. The fact that so many people, Sikh and Hindu, follow these idiotic ‘religious leaders’ shows you the poor state of both the Sikh and the Hindu dharm in Panjab.
