Captain Hercharn Singh (born 1986) is the first Sikh officer to be commissioned in the Pakistan Army. He was born in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, which is also the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.

Hercharn passed his matriculation from Government Guru Nanak High School and passed his FSc (pre-engineering) in 2004 from Forman Christian College, Lahore. He then passed Inter Services Selection Board (ISSB) examination in 2006 after failing once and joined the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) at Kakul, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Hercharn passed out from PMA and was commissioned into the Pakistan Army on 27 October 2007.

Hercharn had told reporters, “It is a matter of great privilege and an honor for me that today I am standing in front of you in the khaki uniform. I have been given a great responsibility”

He was commissioned in Baloch Regiment. Currently, he’s serving as an ADC to a Corps Commander.

~ Source: Uos university of sargodha

B.C. celebrated this Vaisakhi with the historic charter signing of Canada’s first cadet corps formed by the Sikh community in Surrey and the annual parade in Vancouver.

Vaisakhi marks the Sikh New Year, pays tribute to the harvest and commemorates one of the most important days in the Sikh calendar — the creation of the Khalsa.

The Khalsa was founded in 1699 as a Sikh brotherhood and sisterhood to fight adversity and continues to be at the heart of Sikhism.

The charter signing gala for the 3300 BCR (Bhai Kanhaiya) Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps in Surrey was attended by Defence Minister Jason Kenney, National Revenue Minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Minister of State for Multiculturalism Tim Uppal, B.C. Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services Amrik Virk, a host of MPs, MLAs, municipal politicians and about 400 guests and military personnel.

Rear Admiral Bill Truelove, Commander of Maritime Forces Pacific, hailed the Sikh community for supporting the Bhai Kanhaiya cadets and saluted the efforts of Vancouver newspaper publisher Harbinder Sewak, the architect of what has become one of Canada’s fastest growing cadet units.

Kenney said the Bhai Kanhaiya cadets continue the long tradition of service by the Sikh community to the military and prepare young Canadians to become tomorrow’s leaders.

The formation of this unique cadet corps has triggered interest across Canada and as far away as London, England, in localities with sizable Sikh populations. On Saturday, the annual Vancouver Vaisakhi Parade attracted tens of thousands of spectators to southeast Vancouver and the neighbourhood near the Ross Street Temple where the festivities began.

~ Source: The Province

As many as nineteen hundred and twenty-eight Sikh pilgrims on Saturday reached Pakistan from India to participate in Baisakhi Mela with religious zeal and fervour.

According to details, over nineteen hundred Sikh pilgrims reached Pakistan via Wagah Border to participate in the Baisakhi day that will take place on April 13 in Hassan Abdal and Nankana Sahib.

The Sikh pilgrims received a warm welcome upon arrival in Pakistan. They will participate in various festivities in Hassan Abdal, Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur.

Many of the pilgrims have anxiously waited for the day to visit the Sikh religious sites in Pakistan regarded as sacred for the adherents of Sikhism religion.

Besides India, over fifteen hundred pilgrims have arrived in Pakistan from other countries as well.

The sites in Pakistan are considered sacred for the adherents of Sikh religion worldwide and have a historic significance. These are the sites where 10th Master Guru Gobind Singh gathered Sikhs and established sanctuary.

~ Source: dunyanews.tv

The day Guru Gobind Singh turned sparrows into eagles

The day the all people of all castes stood up and were equal to Kings

The day the we realised the power of Five

The day we were given the 5 Banis to listen and read

The day that transformed us to see all as equal

Remember the true meaning of Vaisakhi amongst the crowds and food If you can ask the Gurdwara to donate vast amounts of food to the homeless

Soon the celebrations will disappear but continue to celebrate in spirit every day the creation of the Khalsa

Let it always within your spirit, be always fearless within your heart to do the right thing no matter how hard it gets Celebrate always within

– Gurmit Kaur

London Mayor Boris Johnson organized the Vaisakhi celebrations alongside Singh Sabha London East and EY Sikh Network that took place on April 11th 2015 at City Hall and in The Scoop at More London, next to historic Tower Bridge.

Vaisakhi is the most important day in the Sikh calendar, commemorating the beginning of Sikhism as a collective faith. The day was filled with activities such as film screenings, cultural talks and poetry readings, alongside a colourful outdoor programme of live performances. Visitors enjoyed a traditional dance, turban tying and Sikh spiritual music (Shabad Kirtan). Food (Langar) was prepared and offered by volunteers from the Sikh community.

The event was hosted by BBC Asian Network host Tommy Sandhu, with special guests such as well known singer Gurdas Maan, and British Indian centenarian marathon runner, Fauja Singh.

~ Source: demotix.com

The ideal time to recite this raag is early afternoon.

Ang: 663. Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Aarti:
The sky as the platter, the sun and the moon as the lamps, the stars the pearls.

The sandal wood incense of the malyanlo hills, the breeze as the Chavar, all vegetation are offerings to You, my Lord. Aartee: What a beautiful lamp lit service.

O destroyer of fear, this is Your Aartee, the lamp lit service.

Guru Nanak Dev ji composed the Aartee at Jaganath Puri where Guru ji showed the priests the cosmic Aartee going on in nature!!

This Aartee we recite daily.

(Bhagat Ravidas has also composed Aartee in this raag.)

This painting for me is a surreal scene….enchanting colors with some unique features…the sky the platter, with the two lamps…are the sun and moon, the stars like pearls…the sandalwood forest of malyanlo hills, the chavar representing the breeze sweeps across the painting…all vegetation are an offering to You my Lord!!

~ Dr, Navjeet Kaur

This raag is ideally recited in the cold season…..and in the first part of the night.

Guru Arjan Dev ji
Ang 615 says…
The perfect Guru has dispelled my doubt, remember God in loving devotion. Pause.

The perfect guru has dispelled my doubt, remember God in loving devotion.
These lines touched me.

My mind…lost in darkness of doubt, in the turmoil of worry….is as if I have been overcome by the thick, dark clouds of doubt.

The Guru’s words are the clearing…..in the center of the painting ….which is a perfectly clear cerulean blue sky ….with white and silver stars. And as if receding away from the center, going towards the edges of the painting …. are the thick clouds of illusion. These receding clouds ….suggesting my abating doubts…..and with greater faith there is more clarity.

Where there is faith …. doubt cannot remain.

~ Dr. Navjeet Kaur

Harmeet Singh clicked the most photos of couples- 4270 photographs of 25 couples within 12 hrs at Guru Tegh Bahadur Park, Tilak Nagar, Delhi on June 16,2014 sets a record at Limca Book of Records!

Read this very inspirational journey of how his passion for photography drove the spark of creating a record in the field of his interest!

Hi, I am Harmeet Singh, founder of Photography Company 5k photography…. I am 28 years old. I worked as banker in BARCLAYS BANK but left it to pursue my passion in ARTS.

I designed to pursue animation designing but I found it very monotonous but that best part was that during animation designing I learnt about photography for 2 days and was dragged by the spark and an Inspiration internally.

From that day I decided to become a photographer and joined 1 year diploma in ADVANCE PHOTOGRAPHY. Since then i’m just loving it with each passing day.

I am really grateful to WAHEGURU as without his will it would not have been possible and then my parents, all the couples and team that helped me to make it true.

I always dreamt of doing something different in photography, As a result I was struck by the idea to make a RECORD in photography then I started searching internet to know the criteria to apply, then I came across the address of the LIMCA RECORDS and I planned to visit them.

They informed me to send the mail confirming all the details of RECORD that I wanted to create. I emailed them and they confirmed it with their terms of records.

After few days they confirmed me that I would be the first one to make this record. I just had 5 days to make the record to get myself appear in 2015 edition otherwise I would had to wait for next year. Nothing was ready but I had faith in my WAHEGURU. I informed friends about the idea of my record.

Few of them thought I was kidding but I made them believed that it is true, I really feel blessed that everybody was excited and committed to help me to achieve this record and they also started making calls to their friends for the couple shoot.

I would especially like to thank MILANPREET SINGH as I had 5 days to make my record but I did it within 2 days because my scheduled commercial shoots were falling in between. I thought it was impossible but MILAN motivated me and said ”VEERJI KARNA HAI CHAHE JO MARJI HOJE AND It WILL HAPPEN” seeing his confidence & faith in me I got goose bumps and again felt that SPARK.

I also posted about this on Facebook and also got a good response from people who wanted to get a shoot done for Records…. as per regulations I required 25 Couples but I got 28 requests. It was overwhelming to get such a record. The day of the shoot was fixed as a working day.

Finally the day came 16. June 2014 (MONDAY) I reached around 7.30 and started my shoot with my first couple, and completed with my maximum reach of 25 Couples by 7.00 pm. The whole day of shoot was completely an out of the world experience,

Finally the time came when I took the last shot of my 25th Couple I felt so heavenly about that feeling of achieving something and laid then. I was greeted by other team members who started jumping around with a sheer feeling of Victory.

It was really a Great Team Work. I could see my mom’s eyes glittering with pride & joy. She came close to me and rested her hand on my forehead and said ” MERA PUTTAR THAK GEA HONA BOT” and gave me a tight hug, That was really mesmerizing moment & unforgettable moment.

I sent all the details and material required as per the rules of LIMCA RECORDS, and I got the confirmation on call after few months that mail record was approved and they told me that I would get the certificate once the 2015 EDITION is published. By the grace of god after 10 months I have got my certificate and also got featured on LIMCA RECORDS website.

~ Harmeet Singh

Ahead of the occasion, the Sikh community is coming together to hold an event, at which food can be donated, on Sunday (12 APRIL) at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara, in East Park Road, from 10am until 5pm.

Leicestershire Sikh Alliance is welcoming people from all backgrounds to take part.

Jagjit Singh, chair of the Leicestershire Sikh Alliance, said: “This really is a fantastic way of celebrating Vaisakhi. The fundamental tenants of the Sikh faith are serving others, and treating everybody equally- and what better way to put this into practice than by having a food drive? We urge people of all backgrounds and communities to join us in celebrating, and really helping those in the greatest need.”

Lots of people are expected to attend Sunday’s event.

The Sikh Alliance has teamed up with Leicester Charity Link, Trussells Trust, Midlands Langar Seva Society (MLSS) and Kirpa Foodbank to provide support and donations to vulnerable people.

Amandeep Rai, vice chair of the Leicestershire Sikh Alliance, said: “In hard times religious communities need to be even more relevant to the harsh realities of the cities they operate in. In this spirit, the Sikh community of Leicester will be celebrating the holiest day in its calendar by making it relevant to all Leicester’s communities.

“The food drive is a humble attempt to provide relief to the severe difficulties that many from all backgrounds are enduring.”

At the end of the day the food will be taken away by the charities to be distributed at a later date.

Vaisakhi is the most important day in the Sikh calendar and marks the formation of the Sikh community in 1699, known as the Khalsa. Central to the Khalsa and Sikh faith is the principle of seva (selfless service).

This year’s Vaisakhi parade in Leicester takes place on Sunday, April 26.

~ Source: leicestermercury.co.uk

Young people from the Sikh community came together to give out free food to the homeless and those less fortunate.

They dish up hot vegetarian meals on the first Sunday of every month at Bedford town centre’s Pigeon Square but this month is even more important as they are celebrating Vasiakhi – the birth of Khalsa.

A volunteer for the Akaal Seva team, Harpreet Kaur, said: “There are a great number of independent charities out there doing amazing work towards getting people off the streets, and we are here to support wherever we can.”

MP hopeful for Bedford and Kempston Richard Fuller supported last Saturday’s event, and praised the work of the project, which has been running for more than nine months now.

The Sikh concept of Sarbat Da Bhala, which means ‘blessings for everyone’, is at the heard of the message these volunteers seek to share through the distribution of the hot meals.

~ Source: bedfordtoday.co.uk