WOW...August was my last post....unbelievable. Soooo busy with the comic, schoolwork, languages and stuff...time flies (guess I know what they mean when they say life is short)...Lots of things have happened since my last post. I've decided to Chakk Amrit in April, in honour of having 300 years of Guru Granth Sahib Ji among us. I'm keeping a MUCH stronger Rehit, am learning Punjabi, Mandarin and at some poitn kirtan and oh yeah, I've been to India and back!
I left Heathrow by myself to meet my grandmother (who had already left a few days before) at Amritsar Airport with my Thia and Chachi Ji. As soon as I stepped out onto the tarmac I could smell the difference in India. It was a sweet and warm smell (only way to describe it). It took me 4 hours to get through immigration and get my luggage. A young guy offered to help get it from the back and my suitcase was found within seconds....He got about a hundred rupees for his help :P
Once we meeted and greeted, we left straight for Haripur in Jallandar where my grans' younger sisters' family are from. The first thing I noticed was the fact that there were no women on the streets at this time (4am.) All the men were wrapped in thick shawls to keep them warm and peaked over the tops to see.
Just outside the airport we were stopped by policemen who quickly took 300 rupees and we were off again. I slept the bumpy ride there. At keshangarh (my pindh) we had to drive through a drained riverand Thia had to puch the car up the slope...road works in India...
Haripur had the best milk by far...musta been something in the cows because it was soooo sweet and creamy mmmm (me reminiscing). I fell in love with Bibi Massi...so warm and cuddly hehe.
After a days rest we leftearly the next day in a rental to Anandpur Sahib. This is the place of the birth of the Khalsa amongst other events such as battles and sieges. The first Gurudwara Sahib we visited was Kiratpur Sahib. WOW! We did ishnaan and did matta tekh, sitting down. WHAT a place! It seemed so pure I gotta say. The next place was Kesghar Sahib where Guru Gobind Singh initiated the first Amrit Sanchaar with the panj pyaare and Mata Sahib Kaur in 1699. The first thing you notice is the monkeys...sooo many cute lil things clingin to their mummies bellies hahaha....and then how white Anandpur Sahib is! Kesghar Sahib was so big...I felt really weirdly emotional there. A kind of vibe came over me. I just wished I could have been there 308 years ago. One thing I DID notice here though was that at the birthplace of the Khalsa, there were a LOT of cut-haired people...kinda seems like Punjab is goin backward compared to the Sikhs of the West now....
The next Gurudwara Sahib was where Guru Ji's horse smashed his foot in the search for water on a small mountain. Since that day water has been coming up from that spot...still bubbling, it was amaaaasing!
The next day we were off to Amritsar. The first stop was Harmandir Sahib....awesome...ishnaan was freeeezing but I woouldnt have changed it for the world. Only thing I would say though is that it was very commercialised and so it kinda took that spiritual edge away...Whereas, Tarn Taran was what was missing. The Sarovar is huuuuuuge and the day was sooo warm by then. THere werent half as many Sangat there, which I'm ashamed to say made it a whole lot better, you could enjoy it without being pushed out of the way hehehe.
Next stop was Baba Buddha Sahib Gurudwara, which was really cool. I never really knew a lot about him until then. To commemorate his smashing of the onion (I will do a post on this soon) they hand out onions as parshaad alongside onion paratha's. Sooooo tasty but you get really bad breath from it so make sure you take a tic tac for afters :P
We went to Baba Baakalaa (cant spell it) as a last stop. It was really nice. So many people sitting doing Simran in this little room near the main hall. There was a small exibit of Sikh art where most of our history and the messages taught over time where put up. Really brought tears to my eyes. Some of the paintings were very heartwrenching. A must see!
For the next few days we went to Kishangarh to prepare the house for the Canadians to come. My favourite memory about being at home was having Paath resonate through the pindh at 3am every morning and 5pm every evening. Soooo cool.
I went to Talhan Gurudwara for an Akhand Paath. WOOOOOOW! So many Guru Granth Sahibs being read in the same place. The room had so much shant in it, it was wonderous. You felt like you were floating in that place. I had the honour of taking Guru Ji on my worthless head to their room, for the first time in my life.....I was ill that day but as soon as Guru Ji touched my head I felt Raam. No words to describe.
That day I met my Thia Ji from England, which I was looking forward to. He's the only other real Amritdhari in the family. It's good having someone to talk to about stuff and have an elder to answer my annoying questions with an open mind. He is a nihung. Coolest guy on the planet. We went to his mum's pindh and I met his family. Then we went to Kartarpur. We saw a Gurudwara Sahib where Guru Arjun Dev Ji had built a well. It was the Ardaas of a funeral at the time. Then we moved on to Gurudwara Mata Gujari; where Guru Tegh Bahadur and Mata Gujari got married. It was up al these steps but it was so serene, I loved it. We went to go get Thias pics from the developers but they took so long it got dark and we gave up and went to Haripur.
I stayed the night there and met Thia Ji in Adampur, where we set off to visit the nihungs at Harianbella. This was by far the greatest experience of my life. What seva!!!! These singhs toil in the heat looking after the many horses and other animals, looking after the Gurudwara Sahib too, and some of them are so young....I felt so bad though becaus ethey did all this but not enough people visit the gurudwara, so it's hard for them to fund food and clothing. So Thia Ji helps out by buying clothes and some food when he can. They didn't even have enough to feed the horses sholay! The horses were so cool though. I rode one for the first time (not saddle) but it was thrilling. It gave you a strong sense of power and will to be up there. You get the hang of it after no time. hmmm...
Some of the Singhs were taking things hard and were getting a little depressed. One of them had turned to drugs, a young boy. The baba ji's and thia ji did their best to persuade him to stop and explained how wrong it is as a sikh and a human being to take drugs. (Sukha I think they call it) he understood how wrong it was, he just felt like he was being neglected for doing seva of Guru Ji. He said that they do no worng but still the people of Punjab attack them and treat them badly because of the acts of a minority. It's definately unfair. And these Singhs do so much, the people of Punjab should be ashamed in my opinion.
Anyhooo... that was about the extent of the spiritual journey in Punjab (apart from Bandhi Chorr, which was very cool) the rest was shopping for my cousins's wedding and visiting relatives.
We DID go to Harmandhir Sahib again, this time at night. Greatest sight ever, sooo chardi kalaan. All I can say is GO TO PUNJAB, do some parchaar though because those guys are losing it. They're in too much of a rush to become modern...that's another post altogether hehehe
gauVI mhlw 5 ]
gourree mehalaa 5
Gauree, Fifth Mehla:
imlu myry goibMd Apnw nwmu dyhu ]
mil maerae gobi(n)dh apanaa naam dhaehu
Meet me, O my Lord of the Universe. Please bless me with Your Name.
nwm ibnw iDRgu iDRgu Asnyhu ]1] rhwau ]
naam binaa dhhrig dhhrig asanaehu 1 rehaao
Without the Naam, the Name of the Lord, cursed, cursed is love and intimacy. 1Pause
nwm ibnw jo pihrY Kwie ]
naam binaa jo pehirai khaae
Without the Naam, one who dresses and eats well
ijau kUkru jUTn mih pwie ]1]
jio kookar joot(h)an mehi paae 1
is like a dog, who falls in and eats impure foods. 1
nwm ibnw jyqw ibauhwru ] ijau imrqk imiQAw sIgwru ]2]
naam binaa jaethaa biouhaar jio mirathak mithhiaa seegaar 2
Without the Naam, all occupations are useless, like decorations on a dead body. 2
nwmu ibswir kry rs Bog ]
naam bisaar karae ras bhog
One who forgets the Naam and indulges in pleasures,
suKu supnY nhI qn mih rog ]3]
sukh supanai nehee than mehi rog 3
shall find no peace, even in dreams; his body shall become diseased. 3
nwmu iqAwig kry An kwj ]
naam thiaag karae an kaaj
One who renounces the Naam and engages in other occupations,
ibnis jwie JUTy siB pwj ]4]
binas jaae jhoot(h)ae sabh paaj 4
shall see all of his false pretenses fall away. 4
nwm sMig min pRIiq n lwvY ]
naam sa(n)g man preeth n laavai
One whose mind does not embrace love for the Naam
koit krm krqo nrik jwvY ]5]
kott karam karatho narak jaavai 5
shall go to hell, even though he may perform millions of ceremonial rituals. 5
hir kw nwmu ijin min n AwrwDw ]
har kaa naam jin man n aaraadhhaa
One whose mind does not contemplate the Name of the Lord
cor kI inAweI jm puir bwDw ]6]
chor kee niaaee jam pur baadhhaa 6
is bound like a thief, in the City of Death. 6
lwK AfMbr bhuqu ibsQwrw ]
laakh adda(n)bar bahuth bisathhaaraa
Hundreds of thousands of ostentatious shows and great expanses
nwm ibnw JUTy pwswrw ]7]
naam binaa jhoot(h)ae paasaaraa 7
- without the Naam, all these displays are false. 7
hir kw nwmu soeI jnu lyie ]
har kaa naam soee jan laee
That humble being repeats the Name of the Lord,
kir ikrpw nwnk ijsu dyie ]8]10]
kar kirapaa naanak jis dhaee 810
O Nanak, whom the Lord blesses with His Mercy. 810
