PUPILS learning about religion got hands-on as they learnt to tie a turban.

Students at Marine Academy Plymouth (MAP) explored the Sikh faith, history and the lives of Sikhs in the country today – as well as learning about those who fought for Britain in the First World War.

The Year 7 students were joined for their studies by Councillor Chaz Singh and his wife, Sarah.

The youngsters learned about the Gurus, the Gurdwara and the Guru Grant Sahib, and as well as looking at the 5 Ks of Sikhism, the students wrapped up the lesson with some hands-on learning.

The boys learned how to tie a turban with Cllr Singh whilst the girls had the opportunity to wear a sari and a bindi.

MAP student Leon Davey said “It was awesome! I loved wearing the turban.”

Fellow student Kieran Carey said: “I didn’t know who those people wearing turbans were – but now I know that it is a symbol of the Sikh religion. I learned loads about Sikhism.”

Source ~ http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/

Congregational United Church of Christ hosted an adult learning program last week on Sikhism led by Balijit Singh Virdi.

Virdi gave an overview of Sikhism, including principals, beliefs, holy literature, founding teachers, place of worship, clothing accessories, symbols and some famous practicing Sikhs today.

Sikhism is 545 years old and is the fifth largest religion in the world, with 30 million Sikhs worldwide and one million in the United States.

“Many people believe that Sikhism is a part of the Hinduism and Islam religions, but Sikhism is a separate religion from both Hinduism and Islam,” Virdi said.

Sikhism conveys a message of equality and respect amongst people and religion.

“Men and women are treated as equals,” Virdi said. “We believe everyone should respect their religion because all religions are equally good and is a medium to reach God.”

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion, meaning Sikhs believes in one God. Sikh, by definition, means a student or learner.

“In school, all the students need teachers,” Virdi said. “In the Sikh faith, our teachers are the gurus.

In Sanskrit origin, ‘gu’ means darkness and ‘ru’ means lightness. It means, the one who brings you from darkness to lightness. Guru means teacher.”

Sikhism was founded in Punjab, India, in 1469 by the first Sikh guru, Nanak Dev. Sikhism had 10 gurus from the inception of the religion through today. In 1708, the 10th guru, named Gobind Singh Ji, bestowed the guruship to the Shri Guru Granth Sahib, which is the central religious scripture that has been used by Sikhs since 1708.

Shri Guru Granth Sahib has 1,430 pages written in poetry. The text includes writings from the gurus and contains hymns from Hindu and Muslim saints. SGGS is written in Gurbani, the Punjabi language. Sikhs keep the SGGS in the Sikh place of worship, the Gurudwara. The Sikh services in the Gurudwara consists of singing from the scripture.

The Gurudwara means the gateway to the guru’s house. Everyone is welcome in the Gurudwara, regardless of their religion, and are offered shelter, comfort and food. All the Gurudwaras have a community kitchen, which provide free vegetarian meals known as “Langar.”

“The holiest of shrines in Sikhism is Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), located at Amritsar in India. The shrine was founded in 1604 by the fifth Guru. It has four doors, welcoming people from all directions, which symbolizes openess and acceptance. The “Langar” feeds 80,000 people on a weekday and 160,000 people on a weekend day.

Sharing, called “Vand Chako,” is one of the principals of Sikhism. Sikhs practice sharing through “Langar,” selflessly serving others and sharing income. They’re also expected to contribute 10 percent of their wealth and income, called “Dasvandh,” to needy people of the world or to a worthy cause. Meditation, called “Naam Japo,” is another of the principals of Sikhism, which Sikhs remember God through meditation. Honest living, called “Kirt Karo,” is the last principle of Sikhism and requires Sikhs to remember they must work hard and earn an honest living while remembering God.

The Sikhs have had a unique identity through their actions, but in 1699 Singh created the Khalsa, which gave Sikhs an addition to their identity with five articles of faith, which are worn by Sikhs today. The Sikhs have a small comb to keep uncut hair neat and clean called a Kanga. The Sikhs wear undershorts called Kachera, which represents modesty and fidelity.

Sikhs believe uncut hair is a gift of God called Kesh. The Sikhs wear a bracelet called Kara that signifies a reality with no beginning and no end. Sikhs also keep a ceremonial, small, blunt knife symbolizing freedom, liberty and justice.

A Sikh’s turban is a custom kept by all Sikhs. It’s a religious obligation for Sikhs to wear turbans to cover uncut hairs and makes them stand out. The traditional turban consists of five to six yards of fabric.

Many people with a Sikhism faith are standouts in sports, military, science and government in the United States and throughout the world.

Source ~ http://www.newtondailynews.com/

A few months after starting employment at Tom Wood Lexus, Gurpreet Singh of Greenwood, Indiana, was approached by several co-workers who had many questions. His appearance aroused curiosity. “How long is your hair?”, “Have you ever cut it?”, “How do you wrap that turban?”, were some of the most common questions that were asked. Inspired by this curiosity, Gurpreet decided to hold a “Turban Day”. “I wanted my co-workers to get a taste of being in my shoes for one day, so I decided to tie turbans on everyone who was interested. I picked a date close to Vaisakhi so that I could educate them more about Sikhism and how the Khalsa Panth was created.”

Turban Day was a success! Gurpreet felt heightened respect from his co-workers, supervisors and managers. “Everyone had a great time that day!” Gurpreet intends to turn this into an annual Sikh Awareness day at his workplace.

Gurpreet Singh, 19, is an avid member of Chardi Kala Sikh Youth Society of the Mid-West, whose mission is to partake in selfless service and spread awareness of Sikhism by education both in the immediate and wider communities.

~ Parminder Kaur
Source: http://www.sikhnet.com/ 

As I walked out of my office building for a short break, I saw this small Asian guy (looked like a Korean or Japanese to me) looking at me with a big question mark on his face. I could figure out that it was my look that had him wonder if I belonged to this planet. Looking at his uniform, I could make out that he worked for the local housekeeping contractor.

Next, I walk up to him and say “Hello”, his first reaction was to point at my turban and ask “What is that and why do you wear it?”. I give him a smile and said “I am a Sikh”. He tried to pronounce it a couple of time and got it just right on his fourth try. We shook hands and I ask him for a quick chat. He looked at his watch trying to ensure that he was not ignoring any planned housekeeping tasks, and agreed to join me.

As we stood out side on a rather chili afternoon with me sipping into my hot cup of coffee, he kept staring at me as I shared more details about Sikhism including a little bit of history and culture and most interestingly for him, my looks. As I shared with him the rationale behind keeping my hair uncut and wearing a colorful turban, he for some reason kept going back to the hair imagining how difficult it would be to manage this look.

As he decided to go back to work (still having the same look that he had 10 minutes ago), we gave each other a hug and said “Good Bye”.

I see him every day and our bond seems to get stronger each day. He greets me each morning trying hard to pronounce my name but he does say “Sikh” pretty well and that brings a sense of pride and a smile on my face.

As you read this post, I request you to take a few minutes to read about Sikhism here. We are all about peace, love and service to humanity.

And to my new found friend John, we are from the same planet and this is we !

Courtesy – www.nirmaljeet.com

“Mera Russey naa kalgiyan wala

Jag pavein sara russ jaye! “

YUBA CITY, Calif. – A Sikh in California was barred from jury duty because he refused to remove his Kirpan that his religion dictates he wear at all times.

Gursant Singh was told that he could not bring the dagger, known as a Kirpan, into a Sutter County courthouse in Yuba City as a matter of security.

“I either break the law for not showing up for jury duty — they can fine and imprison you if you don’t show up for jury duty — or I break my Sikh code of conduct, one of the two,” Singh said.

A kirpan is a 5-inch blade that serves as a reminder to come to the defense of those in peril.

Other physical articles of the Sikh faith are the kesh or long, uncut hair that symbolizes the perfection of God’s creation, the kangha or a comb used twice a day as a reminder to keep lives tidy and organized, the kara or iron band that is a reminder for restraint in action and the kachera, an undergarment that indicates a soldier’s willingness to be ready for battle or defense at a moment’s notice.

Singh said he would like to be a juror, but would go to jail rather than deny his religious beliefs.
He and dozens of supporters demonstrated outside the courthouse this week, demanding that they be allowed inside while wearing their ceremonial daggers. His jury duty was supposed to begin on Tuesday.

“I feel very strongly that as a citizen of the United States that I should be able to serve as a juror,” Singh said.

Sutter County Court Executive Officer Mary Beth Todd said the requirement that Singh remove his dagger was not an issue of religious freedom, but of security.
“We do have a no-weapons policy,” she said.

Court officials are concerned that the small blade would jeopardize the safety of everyone entering the building.

“It’s important to secure the courthouse,” Todd said. “There are many proceedings that go on every day. It can be an emotionally charged environment.”

The Sikh Coalition said that many other agencies have made exceptions for Sikhs to carry their kirpan, and that it would expect the same from the court.

“A Sikh man with a dagger has never in history gone into a movie theater or anywhere and attacked defenseless people,” Jaskarn Singh said.

Courtesy –
http://www.cbsnews.com/

Acquiring an enormous achievement on foreign land, Ludhiana born Sikh youth Amarbir Singh Gill has been selected as President of the Students’ Union of Royal Holloway University of London. Nearly 9,000 students study in the university of which only 40 to 50 are Indian, and of those only 4 to 5 students belong to the Sikh community.

While talking to a selective group of journalists here, Amarbir Singh Gill said, “The entire credit for my success goes to my father Rajwinder Singh Gill, and my mother Deepinder Kaur, my grandfather Surjit Singh Gill, and my uncle Sachdev Singh Gill.

He said that this is first time that a Punjabi Sikh has received such an honor. He said that his main motive was to spread Sikh philosophy as well as finding solutions to the problems of the student community studying in UK.

He said that with his elevation to such a significant assignment, the Sikh community around the world would gain enhanced respect for their distinct identity. He said that the University would give him £22,000 per annum as remuneration for this assignment.

He said that contrary to India, politics in England are always focused on principles and development issues.

~ Source: http://www.sikh24.com/

“There are some 6,000 Sikhs that live in the mohallah,” says 50-year-old Pardeep Singh. “This is the area where our ancestors lived and we have maintained our culture, traditions and our own educational system,” added the Sikh proudly. Bhai Joga Singh Khalsa Dharmic School and Guru Angat Dev Jee Khalsa Dharmic School both impart religious as well as secular education, with a deep focus on Sikh culture, said Pardeep.

The oldest houses run alongside the narrow, but well-paved and seemingly endless maze of streets. The locality is circumscribed by several gates on all sides, making it perhaps the only gated community of the city.

A majestic symbol of Sikh architecture, the centuries-old Gurdwara Jogan Shah is located in the midst of Peshawar and is one of the two Sikh temples in the city. The spacious three-storey structure is beautifully inlaid with mirror work and is visited twice a day by local residents forsangat – a ceremony where people gather to recite verses from the Guru Granth Sahib. Due to the deteriorating law and order situation, however, another wall has been raised around the building with vigilant police personnel standing on guard around the clock.

“Our gurdwara has been constructed in honour of Bhai Joga Singh, who was venerated in Peshawar, not only amongst Sikhs, but Pukhtuns as well,” says a local elder, Ameer Singh. “There used to be a fair held near the gurdwara every year; however, it has been stopped due to the security situation of the city,” he added nostalgically.

SM Jaffar in his book, Peshawar: City on the Frontier, writes that the gurdawara was known as the dharamshala of Joga Shah, a Hindu fakir. He terms it as one of the most efficiently kept institutions of Sikhs in Peshawar, and states that it can easily accommodate about two thousand persons at a time.

Besides various folk tales associated with Bhai Joga Singh, locals believe a spring used to run through the locality, which was also named after him. This spring – no longer in existence – was said to be famous throughout the Peshawar Valley for its miraculous healing powers and was visited by pilgrims from far and wide.

Several magnificent structures were erected during the Sikh rule of the city from 1823 to 1848. While certain buildings, like Gurdwara Jogan Shah are well-kept, there are many others in dilapidated conditions. The Sikhs of Peshawar say they do their best to keep their heritage alive, however, once an old building collapses it is near impossible to restore it to its original form.

By Hidayat Khan / Photo: Muhammad Iqba
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2014.