by SS Guru Simran Kaur Khalsa, Espanola, New Mexico 2024 (Second Quarter) New Mexico is #2 in child hunger in the nation. Food4KidsNM began as a volunteer program to serve the elementary school children of Northern New Mexico who do not get enough (or any) food to eat at home on the weekends. In 2009 it became a part of our Children’s program here at Hacienda de Guru Ram Das in Espanola. The Guru is definitely running the show, so to speak. During COVID many changes happened with our program. People from the various offices used to gather once a
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Archives for Community
Food 4 Kids NM: The Guru’s Way
Good Friday Pilgrims Walk
by SS Jivan Joti Kaur Khalsa, PhD, Santa Cruz, New Mexico 2024 (Second Quarter) Sikhs have a long tradition of serving food. One of the earliest accounts of this practice dates from 1481, when the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak, was 12 years old. He took money that his father gave him to invest in business and instead bought food to serve the saints and the poor. Ever since, Sikhs have been serving food in countless situations and to any population that is in need. Whether there is a natural disaster, refugees displaced from war, or food shortages from a
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SANGAT and PANGAT. . . Simple Joys
by SS Siri Chand Singh Khalsa, Santa Cruz, New Mexico 2024 (Second Quarter) When I was asked to share my experiences with the evening chanting and langar program that we hold at the Hacienda de Guru Ram Das ashram in Espanola, it got me thinking about what I could include that isn’t already obvious. As ministers, we all know how deep an impact meditating together and gathering as a sangat can have on us, on our community, and—as studies suggest—even on the world. In addition, we have all experienced the benefits of seva, or the benefits a seva program can
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Sweetness on Sundays
by SS Hari Kirn Kaur Khalsa, Los Angeles, California 2024 (Second Quarter) As a young girl, I was dropped off at our church each Sunday to sit with my grandmother, who waited for me in the same place in the same pew. I sat quietly, wearing my white cotton gloves, waiting for the hymns so I could show my reading skills and sing loudly with the choir and congregation. I had no idea what the minister was talking about when he gave his sermon, but I left each week feeling somehow fulfilled. As I grew, I participated in additional programs
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Minister in the Spotlight: SS Prem Kaur Khalsa
by SS Prem Kaur Khalsa, Guadalajara, Spain 2024 (Second Quarter) The Inner Core of Service When I started working and training at the Secretariat as a young newcomer to the USA and the Dharma, Ram Das Kaur, the then-Secretary of Religion, told me a story of what it means to be a Sikh Dharma Minister—this story stuck with me. She told me how one of her first duties as a Minister was to perform the last rites for a three-month-old baby. What no one knew was that she herself was three months pregnant with her first child at the time. She
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Nurturing the Radiant Spirit: A Reflection on the Young Saints at MPA
by SS Sukhdev Kaur Khalsa, Raasiku, Estonia 2024 (First Quarter) I’m sitting by the window at our MPA campus. The winter fog has draped the whole of Punjab, bringing a deep calm into the surroundings. Nevertheless, as we celebrate Guru Gobind Singh’s birthday, the air is charged with the vibrant energy of students doing Pantra—the rhythmic recitation of Jaap Sahib—and the captivating tales of the Guru’s extraordinary life. It’s a testament to the enduring spirit of Miri Piri that, despite only a few months since the school’s reopening, the flame of enthusiasm burns brighter than ever. In this moment of
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Ministering in Chile in This Time and Space
by SS Sat Sansar Singh Khalsa, Santiago, Chile 2024 (First Quarter) What does the word ‘Minister’ mean to you? Being a Minister is for me an identity that is shared with a lineage of women and men who through the ages have been an inspiration, through the testimony of their lives. To live the life of a Sikh includes actively supporting one’s community in this way of life. That identity manifests in many ways for me—in deep internal aspects and in actions in the sphere in which I participate. Externally it means for me to stand as a lighthouse, ever
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Daily Online Meditation for Healing in the Middle East
by SS Nam Nidhan Kaur Khalsa, Santiago, Chile 2024 (First Quarter) For a few decades now, the internet has opened the doors to homes and hearts around the world. It has shown us the beauty, as well as the ignorance, dreams and aberrations, that are common to human beings. It has connected us and helped create a global network where we are all closer, more similar and vibrating together in the face of all the events that are taking place in time and space. As terrible as wars are, we now have them happening and showing up on our cell
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Looking Back, Looking Forward
by Guruamrit Kaur Khalsa, Bowling Green, Virginia 2023 (Fourth Quarter) Memories When I think about growing up in 3HO, I am overwhelmed with memories. I remember my Mom waking me up during the Amrit Vela when I was a young girl. Walking across the street together to go to Sadhana, while it was still dark outside, and there were birds singing and dew on the grass. I remember making prashad in the Ambrosial hours in the kitchen with my godmother. Chanting the Mul Mantra while we stirred together at the stove. I remember sleeping on my sheepskin in the small
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Seeing the God in All
Interview with SS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 2023 (Fourth Quarter) In 2014, SS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa had a traumatic bicycle accident and almost died. After a long time away from Dharmic activities, he attended this September’s Khalsa Council meetings. As he shared his story during our small group check-in, I was compelled to invite him to be interviewed for this month’s newsletter. What follows is partially edited for clarity. But some is simply uniquely Harbhajan Singh at his frank, dry, funny, positive, courageous, spontaneous best! ~ SS Sangeet Kaur Khalsa, Articles Editor Sangeet: For our readers, could you
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