by SS Charansev Kaur Khalsa, Viña del Mar, Chile
2023 (Third Quarter)
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa! Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh! The Ministry Newsletter Team invited me to write an article for the August 2023 issue. As a new mother, I have currently not been active in ministering to our community. Nevertheless the team kindly asked me to share my pregnancy story. This is my personal journey, in preparation for raising a child in the Dharma during these turbulent times.
On January 1st, 2022, my husband, Agya Akal Singh, and I visited the mother ashram in Española, New Mexico. This was in the midst of COVID but our hearts were longing for a good dose of Sangat love and prana. So we traveled anyway. Also—and most important of all—we were planning to have our first child, and we wanted to receive the blessing of our beloved Guru on the land of our Teacher, the Siri Singh Sahib.
On day two or three of our visit, I started having pregnancy symptoms. “That was quick!” we laughed. Agya Akal Singh and I went to bow our heads at the feet of the Guru and made an Ardaas, praying profoundly for the divine life that was coming to this planet Earth.
That’s how our journey to raising a child started.
We returned home and, as disciplined new parents, we started reading all the manuals, doing all the meditations and kriyas, and listening to a lot of kirtan. Most importantly, I started a Sahej Path to bathe me and my son in the Naam and Sound Current. I was trying my best to do everything right and create the most divine atmosphere and aura for my son.
The last trimester of my pregnancy was tough. I was exhausted, my body felt awkward and heavy and I wasn’t able to wake up early to do my sadhana. Each morning when I awoke and the sun’s rays would hit my eyes, I would start regretting and feeling badly about not waking up earlier. So, I would sit and pray that the Guru would help me to make it better the next day. The next day arrived and the same thing happened. This kept happening until one day I woke up and it was 4 a.m. Wah! I tried to get up but my body wouldn’t let me. I was feeling in need of rest, so I fell asleep again. That’s when I had the most beautiful dream, where the Siri Singh Sahib visited me. In his presence, I was feeling so ashamed that I hadn’t woken up for sadhana. Then, to my surprise, he opened his pocket Nitnem and started to whisper: “Japji Sahib, Ek Ong Kaar, Sat Naam, Kartaa Purkh…” With all his love, he sweetly read each of the morning Banis to me. He did my sadhana for me!
In my dream my dear Teacher was expressing to me that EVERYTHING was being covered; that the Guru was personally taking care of me and my dear son, earthly and spiritually speaking. The expansive and sweet sensation that my dream left in me accompanied us throughout the last days of my pregnancy. On September 2nd, 2022 Agya Akal Singh and I were blessed with a healthy, happy and holy baby boy named Harpreet Singh Khalsa.
I have no doubt that the innocent soul of my son chose this path because he got it granted. We have a small but cozy Gurdwara in our home, where we go weekly to take a hukam with our son. Let me share with you one hukam which says it all:
AASAA, FIFTH MEHL: The True Guru has truly given a child. The long-lived one has been born to this destiny. He came to acquire a home in the womb, and his mother’s heart is so very glad. || 1 ||
A son is born—a devotee of the Lord of the Universe. This pre-ordained destiny has been revealed to all.
|| Pause ||
It was a beautiful and heavenly pregnancy, it was a beautiful and heavenly birth and my prayer is that Harpreet Singh Khalsa can have a beautiful and heavenly life. I’m writing this not only to share with you this little piece of my story and heart, but also as a reminder for my future self. When raising a child can get tough and challenging, may I always remember his birthright of incarnating in a Khalsa family, and that the Guru is handling and covering everything for us. In these times of uncertainty the only certainty is the Guru.
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SS Charansev Kaur Khalsa became an ordained Sikh Dharma Minister on November 21, 2020. She lives in Viña del Mar, Chile with her husband Agya Akal Singh, her son Harpreet Singh, and their beloved dog. She has recently graduated as a marketing engineer and is currently working in a real estate and construction company. She serves as a board member at Sikh Dharma Chile, as an administrative assistant at Naad Academy, and as the chairwoman at Breathe Global. By Guru’s Grace, she launched her first mantra and shabad music album with the band, Nam Deva, in 2019 and recorded a new album in 2022, as a gift to uplift the sangat.
