A special honoring took place during the Opening Ceremony of the Baisakhi 2013 Khalsa Council meetings, in recognition and appreciation of 40 years of service to the Chancellor’s Office and Ministry of Sikh Dharma. On April 24, 2013, in the gurdwara at the Hacienda de Guru Ram Das, the body of the Ministry and the sangat honored Sardarni Sahiba Ek Ong Kar Kaur Khalsa (Los Angeles) for her long years of dedicated and devoted service to the Siri Singh Sahib ji, Sikh Dharma and the Ministry. SS Dr. Sat Kaur Khalsa, Secretary of Religion, spoke about her twenty-two-years’ association with
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Archives for 2013 - Summer
A Special Tribute
Living Lighthouse
by SS Nihal Singh Khalsa, Santiago Chile Summer 2013 After the death of Guru Arjan, the Sikh community went through a profound change. During the previous 100 years, they had developed a deep meditative tradition founded in peace and tolerance. However, after the sacrifice of his father Guru Arjan, the Sixth Guru recognized the need for the community to be able to defend itself. This started the martial practice of the Sikhs. Guru Hargobind became a powerful warrior and trained the Sikhs to fight, but would only defend, never attack. They never took the property of others. They never used
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The Land of Miri Piri
by SS Sada Bahar Kaur Khalsa, San Leandro CA Summer 2013 The energy of Guru Nanak passed through all of the Gurus and—while each one brings special qualities or essences into our lives—I think of a few of them more often than others. I feel the presence of Guru Nanak every morning while reading Japji and it was his Mul Mantra that led me to Sikhi. Guru Ram Das was my Teacher’s Guru and by extension mine as well. My deepest meditations have been dipping over and over in his holy water with my heart thrown open in bliss. I
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The Soul of Sacrifice
by SS Amar Atma Singh Khalsa, Phoenix AZ Summer 2013 In January of 2009 I made my second trip to Amritsar. The sights, sounds, and senses of the Harimander Sahib called my heart and the blessings of its darshan was offered. My heart pounded with excitement as I arrived. The gold, the sarovar, the shimmery reflection, the kirtan, the coolness of the marble, and my head at the Parkarma formed an absolutely priceless experience. As I let myself be washed by the energy, my eyes drifted over the panorama of the Darbar. Hands folded, my eyes drifted and arrived at
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A Living Birthright
by SS Gurvinderpal Singh Chaudry, Espanola NM Summer 2013 Sri Guru Hargobind Maharaj was the only child of Arjan Mal, Dhan Sri Guru Arjan Dev, grandson of Sri Guru Ram Daas Ji. To prepare for conceiving Guru Hargobind, his mother Mata Ganga, the wife of Guru Arjan Dev, went barefoot and in deepest humility to Baba Buddha Ji. He told her she would be blessed with a son. Baba Buddha Ji told her that her son (Guru Hargobind) would some day smash/destroy the egos of those on the battlefield, much like how Baba Buddha Ji ripped open a red onion to
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A Daily Commitment
by SS Varnjeet Kaur Khalsa, Espanola, NM Summer 2013 We as Sikhs living in the modern world sometimes forget the experiences of the original Gurus and how they fought for our religious freedom. During 17th Century, when India was ruled by Mughals, Sikhs and people of other religions were humiliated and deprived of any right to conduct their religious practices. Guru Hargobind Ji, the sixth Guru of Sikhs, raised his voice against oppression and fought for years for religious freedom. His father Guru Arjan Dev was put to death by boiling in a cauldron and sitting on a hot iron
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Secretary of Religion Column (Summer 2013)
This is a time of tremendous change administratively for our Dharmic organizations. Many very dedicated individuals have stepped forward to help straighten out multiple problematic issues, procedures and policies for the functioning of our Dharma. They have given hours and hours and hours of their time and energy. I appreciate and acknowledge their work. It will be a long, slow process but there is movement. It is my prayer that we end up with a more Aquarian infrastructure with checks and balances that support a healthy future. We are in the midst of a gigantic change process. There is always
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#48 Summer 2013 Newsletter
The theme for our 2013 quarterly Sikh Dharma Ministers’ newsletters is “Guru Hargobind: Transforming Sikh Dharma.” In the book “Heroes, Saints & Yogis” by MSS Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa and MSS Guruka Singh Khalsa, Guru Hargobind is remembered as the Guru who “turned saints into soldiers, while remaining a man of God.” For the Summer 2013 issue, we look at the Mastery of the Sixth Body and the qualities of Guru Hargobind, including integrity, mastery of the Word, walking the talk, activating a protective shield, and being in a constant state of prayer. In this issue, we requested our newest Ministers to share on this topic.
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