Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib is the birthplace of the Khalsa. Amid the Shivalik hills, it is situated on the bank of the Satluj. The beat on the Ranjit Nagara has been striking a terror in the minds of the tyrants. For the common man its resonance came to be a divine melody, his guardian angel. He bowed in obeisance to it. It is the place that commemorates the miracle of 'celebrating the scum of humanity' and a wonder of the divine and transcendent guru-disciple matrix. After purchasing land of Makhowal, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib designated it as Chak Nanki. Later, it came to be popularized as Anandpur Sahib. When Bhai Jaita presented himself to the Great Guru Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji with reverential, decapitated head of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, the former burst out spontaneously: 'This is the ground for founding the Panth....' It is the place where Five Piyaras offered their heads to the Guru Playfully. The divine nectar (Amrit) was prepared in a broad metallic vessel, with a mini but broad rapier and the Piyaras were baptised by the Great Guru. The Khalsa is my form I live within the Khalsa... The Khalsa is my Satguru It was this place that is the starting point of India's decisive struggle for independence in his family. The struggle continued until the saffron-coloured flag was hoisted on the Royal Fort at Lahore. So much is the Khalsa attached to this hallowed place that the Sikh feels elated to be called a dweller of ANANDPURI.

Bhai Gurdas Ji is one of the most eminent personalities in the history of the Sikh religion. He was a brilliant scholar and poet, was an able missionary and an accomplished theologian. Being well versed in Indian religious thought, he was able to elaborate profoundly in the tenants of Sikhism. Bhai Gurdas Ji was born in 1551 in Goindwal, a small village in the Punjab. His father was Bhai Ishardas who was a first cousin to Guru Amar Das Ji. As a result of losing both his parents by the age of 12, he came under the guardianship of his uncle, Guru Amar Das Ji. When he first set eyes on the Guru, he is said to have prostrated himself before Guru Amar Das Ji and said “ My lord, thou art the honour of the unhonoured, the protector of the poor, I have come to seek thy protection. Make me thy slave and yoke me to thy service.” In such an atmosphere he was able to study and learn Sanskrit, Brijbhasha, Persian and Gurmukhi, eventually becoming a preacher of Sikhism. After Guru Amar Das Ji ascended the heavens the fourth Guru , Guru Ram Das Ji appointed him as the Sikh missionary to Agra. As Guru Ram Das Ji also ascended the heavens Bhai Gurdas Ji became very close to the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji, who had great respect for him, as his‘Mama Ji’ (maternal uncle). Bhai Gurdas Ji became involved in the development of the newly built township of Ramdaspur, and then assisted Guru Arjan Dev Ji in the construction of the new sarovar of Harmindar Sahib (Golden Temple, Amritsar). Bhai Gurdas Ji became the personal scribe of Guru Arjan Dev Ji for the whole of the time Guru Sahib Ji stayed at Ramsar, on the outskirts of Ramdaspur. It was here that Guru Sahib Ji collated all the ‘bani’ (sacred compositions) and finally produced the Aadh Granth, the holy scriptures of the Sikhs. It was Bhai Gurdas Ji who took down all of Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s dictations. As this work of love and devotion progressed , Guru Sahib Ji asked Bhai Gurdas Ji whether he had any particular contribution that he would like to make of his own compositions. To this kind suggestion, Bhai Gurdas Ji replied that he could not do so in all humility, “How can the master and servant sit beside each other on the same platform ?” In later years Guru Arjan Dev Ji came to refer to the personal compositions of Bhai Gurdas Ji as ‘providing the key to Aadh Guru Granth Sahib Ji. ” The original Aadh Granth Sahib Ji is in the actual hand writing of Bhai Gurdas Ji and is possession of the Sodhi family at Kartarpur. When Aadh Granth Sahib Ji was completed in 1604, Guru Arjan Dev Ji formally installed it in the newly finished Harmindar Sahib and deputing Baba Buddha Ji as its first official reader, or granthi. Subsequent to the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Bhai Gurdas Ji pays tributes to his master in his Vars (compositions) 23 and 24. When Baba Buddha Ji passed away, Bhai Gurdas Ji was appointed granthi at Harmindar Sahib. Most of Bhai Gurdas Ji’s life was spent at Amritsar (then known as Ramdaspur). He did travel to various places like Basarke and Tarn-Taran on missionary work. When he became too frail to continue his work he retired to Gowindal where he ultimately fell ill and passed away at the age of 86 in 1637. The sixth Guru , Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji personally performed Bhai Sahibs funeral rites and extolled him in tributes. One day , Bhai Gurdas Ji wrote a verse in one of his Vars, it stated “that if the Guru tested his Sikh, the Sikh would automatically pass the test.” -SinghStation

”The world has a great deal to learn from the Sikh legend Hari Singh Nalwa.” These were the words spoken by young 26-year old researcher, Jahandad Khan, at Guru Gobind Singh Foundation. Jahandad Khan was visiting the United States Department of Peace in Washington and he has studied marketing at the Islamabad University of Science and Technology. His native region is Hazara, a region in the North-Eastern part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located east of the Indus River and it borders with Afghanistan. He spoke on the Sikh rule in Hazara region and his connection to Sikh heritage. He said, “My parents used to tell us that our home was built by a Sikh who was the commander of a great Sikh army. That led me to study more about Nalwa. My journey has taken me on an overlapping quest to connect with my own identity, and I learned that my own roots connected me with great legends like Hari Singh Nalwa and Maharaja Ranjit Singh, along with other Sikh heritage.” In the early 1800s, Maharaja Ranjit Singh ruled over this region from Lahore, as it known as Lahore Darbar. Ranjit Singh chose the bravest, most capable, and most competent commander, Hari Singh Nalwa to subdue the most volatile region, as this region has always been the most unruly area to govern as it is now. Jahandad Khan’s ancestor and namesake Jahandad Khan was a contemporary of Hari Singh Nalwa – Khan’s father Painda Khan (mentioned in Umdat ut Tawarikh) had earlier fought with Nalwa but had to offer his son to the Lahore Darbar as a hostage in return for help against Ahmed Barelvi when he invaded this region. The young Jahandad Khan was raised by Nalwa for few years as a result of this settlement. When Sikh garrisons in Hazara were defeated by the British and they were being massacred in 1846, it was the same Jahandad Khan (by then a grown young man and a leader of the Tanoli clan) who spared the lives of all Lahore Darbar men stationed in this region in 22 mud forts and gave them a dignified exit (mentioned in Hazara Gazzetteers as well). Dr. Rajwant Singh, Secretary of Guru Gobind Singh Foundation and Co-Founder of the National Sikh Campaign, said, “We are pleased to see Jahandad Khan’s passion for Hari Singh Nalwa and his drive to create better understanding among Sikhs and the people of Pakistan, especially in the Hazara region. We feel that his work needs to supported by all Sikhs and by major Sikh institutions. Hari Singh Nalwa is a great role model for the youth and his life needs to be presented in a creative manner. Nations, especially India and Pakistan, and the people in the South Asia can take clues from Nalwa’s life to create a better environment in the entire region.” “The key point is that contemporary literature has reduced Hari Singh Nalwa as just being a great commander and a warrior whereas my research through various sources and narratives from the local population in the region has shown me that he was a great administrator, a skillful diplomat and I would not shy away from calling him a great statesman”, said Khan. He added, “Nalwa was governor of Hazara for 15 years. Jahanded’s ancestor, Jahandad Khan I, had a complex relationship with Nalwa in which they were enemies at times and were allies at times. Nalwa spent lot of time interacting with the local population to develop relationships with locals and the tribal chiefs. He built a city, Haripur, named after him, which has now become a big city. The entire irrigation system was set up by Nalwa and he standardized the weight system for trade. He did not just rule the area but also wanted to make sure that the local population thrived economically.” He stated, “Haripur, which was totally barren, now has these orchards and that was totally introduced by Nalwa. Harkishan Garh, a fort built by Nalwa, has the remnants of these orchards and comprehensive irrigation system that was also introduced by Nalwa. This is still the backbone of local agriculture. In addition, 22 mud forts were built by Nalwa and some of them need preservation.” He continued with, “Painda Khan, the most powerful chieftain, resisted Nalwa for years and Nalwa tried six times to have peace negotiations with Khan. It seems that our ancestors were far more pragmatic and practical than we are now. We have reduced them to ideological symbols, which is fine, but at the same time we need to study history with an open mind and read history from different sources.” “Nalwa’s vision was to balance power with understanding the needs to the local population. Those are the lessons we all can learn from him, regardless of our religious backgrounds. We tend to look at history as binaries; that this is Sikh history, or this is Islamic history, whereas people like Nalwa cannot be boxed into one corner of our historical memory.” He stated, “Sikh contact with the tribal region took place during Guru Nanak’s time. Elders narrate how Guru Nanak influenced the locals there and many local Muslim tribes converted to Sikhism. Last names of many Sikhs there represented their tribes.” While shining light on the past Sikh rule, he added, “No other contact with foreign power, whether it was Abdali’s era, Mughal era or the colonial time, is seen by the locals as positively as they view Sikhs. The first political contact with our tribes was with Sikhs during the Ahmed Shah Abdali ‘s time. Sikh rule was the first experience of organized governance for this region. The tribal system was converted into social contract and tribalism to state craft. The Sikh period was not only Sikhs ruling; in fact, half of the army consisted of Muslims. There is a general impression that Sikhs are honest. Local women tell their children to buy things from Sikh shopkeepers as a Sikh shopkeeper would not sell anything impure or overpriced. This is the land where Sikhism started, however Sikh presence along the Indus has never been studied deeply.” He said, “There is a perception that Sikh heritage in Pakistan is crumbling because it is not Muslim, but in fact no heritage is being preserved the way it should be.” My message to the youth would be to understand history rationally. If we read history with bias, it might give us a chance to give ourselves a pat on the back with a lot of pride or a lot of sense of superiority, but then it would reduce our capacity to learn and grow. We need to broaden the canvas of history and understand it from all perspectives. I would also like to appeal to Sikhs, particularly to youth, to come to these places. There is no substitute to interaction with the local population. The Sikh community only goes to Panja sahib or Nankana Sahib, the two most popular sites related to Guru Nanak, however Pakistan has layers and layers of history related to Sikh history. There are so many battlefields, forts and infra-structure set up and built by the Sikhs. They were not only fighters, but they were also builders. They were artists and open-minded, as shown by Hinduism and Islam also being represented in frescoes. Currently, people don’t try to understand each other and instead just pass judgments. That is the greatest lesson rulers of South Asia can learn from Nalwa. He chose to understand the area, the people, their customs and their likes and dislikes. What sort of person will be so nice to the son of his own enemy?” Inder Paul Singh Gadh, Chairman of GGSF, said, “We are grateful to Jahandad Khan for traveling so far to connect with the Sikh youth in America, and he has inspired many in the congregation today.” Khan held an hour long interactive session with the 35 young members of the community.

The World has a great deal to learn from the Sikh legend Hari Singh Nalwa.” These were the words spoken by young 26-year old researcher, Jahandad Khan, at Guru Gobind Singh Foundation. Jahandad Khan was visiting the United States Department of Peace in Washington and he has studied marketing at the Islamabad University of Science and Technology. His native region is Hazara, a region in the North-Eastern part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located east of the Indus River and it borders with Afghanistan. He spoke on the Sikh rule in Hazara region and his connection to Sikh heritage. He said, “My parents used to tell us that our home was built by a Sikh who was the commander of a great Sikh army. That led me to study more about Nalwa. My journey has taken me on an overlapping quest to connect with my own identity, and I learned that my own roots connected me with great legends like Hari Singh Nalwa and Maharaja Ranjit Singh, along with other Sikh heritage.” In the early 1800s, Maharaja Ranjit Singh ruled over this region from Lahore, as it known as Lahore Darbar. Ranjit Singh chose the bravest, most capable, and most competent commander, Hari Singh Nalwa to subdue the most volatile region, as this region has always been the most unruly area to govern as it is now. Jahandad Khan’s ancestor and namesake Jahandad Khan was a contemporary of Hari Singh Nalwa – Khan’s father Painda Khan (mentioned in Umdat ut Tawarikh) had earlier fought with Nalwa but had to offer his son to the Lahore Darbar as a hostage in return for help against Ahmed Barelvi when he invaded this region. The young Jahandad Khan was raised by Nalwa for few years as a result of this settlement. When Sikh garrisons in Hazara were defeated by the British and they were being massacred in 1846, it was the same Jahandad Khan (by then a grown young man and a leader of the Tanoli clan) who spared the lives of all Lahore Darbar men stationed in this region in 22 mud forts and gave them a dignified exit (mentioned in Hazara Gazzetteers as well). Dr. Rajwant Singh, Secretary of Guru Gobind Singh Foundation and Co-Founder of the National Sikh Campaign, said, “We are pleased to see Jahandad Khan’s passion for Hari Singh Nalwa and his drive to create better understanding among Sikhs and the people of Pakistan, especially in the Hazara region. We feel that his work needs to supported by all Sikhs and by major Sikh institutions. Hari Singh Nalwa is a great role model for the youth and his life needs to be presented in a creative manner. Nations, especially India and Pakistan, and the people in the South Asia can take clues from Nalwa’s life to create a better environment in the entire region.” “The key point is that contemporary literature has reduced Hari Singh Nalwa as just being a great commander and a warrior whereas my research through various sources and narratives from the local population in the region has shown me that he was a great administrator, a skillful diplomat and I would not shy away from calling him a great statesman”, said Khan. He added, “Nalwa was governor of Hazara for 15 years. Jahanded’s ancestor, Jahandad Khan I, had a complex relationship with Nalwa in which they were enemies at times and were allies at times. Nalwa spent lot of time interacting with the local population to develop relationships with locals and the tribal chiefs. He built a city, Haripur, named after him, which has now become a big city. The entire irrigation system was set up by Nalwa and he standardized the weight system for trade. He did not just rule the area but also wanted to make sure that the local population thrived economically.” He stated, “Haripur, which was totally barren, now has these orchards and that was totally introduced by Nalwa. Harkishan Garh, a fort built by Nalwa, has the remnants of these orchards and comprehensive irrigation system that was also introduced by Nalwa. This is still the backbone of local agriculture. In addition, 22 mud forts were built by Nalwa and some of them need preservation.” He continued with, “Painda Khan, the most powerful chieftain, resisted Nalwa for years and Nalwa tried six times to have peace negotiations with Khan. It seems that our ancestors were far more pragmatic and practical than we are now. We have reduced them to ideological symbols, which is fine, but at the same time we need to study history with an open mind and read history from different sources.” “Nalwa’s vision was to balance power with understanding the needs to the local population. Those are the lessons we all can learn from him, regardless of our religious backgrounds. We tend to look at history as binaries; that this is Sikh history, or this is Islamic history, whereas people like Nalwa cannot be boxed into one corner of our historical memory.” He stated, “Sikh contact with the tribal region took place during Guru Nanak’s time. Elders narrate how Guru Nanak influenced the locals there and many local Muslim tribes converted to Sikhism. Last names of many Sikhs there represented their tribes.” While shining light on the past Sikh rule, he added, “No other contact with foreign power, whether it was Abdali’s era, Mughal era or the colonial time, is seen by the locals as positively as they view Sikhs. The first political contact with our tribes was with Sikhs during the Ahmed Shah Abdali ‘s time. Sikh rule was the first experience of organized governance for this region. The tribal system was converted into social contract and tribalism to state craft. The Sikh period was not only Sikhs ruling; in fact, half of the army consisted of Muslims. There is a general impression that Sikhs are honest. Local women tell their children to buy things from Sikh shopkeepers as a Sikh shopkeeper would not sell anything impure or overpriced. This is the land where Sikhism started, however Sikh presence along the Indus has never been studied deeply.” He said, “There is a perception that Sikh heritage in Pakistan is crumbling because it is not Muslim, but in fact no heritage is being preserved the way it should be.” My message to the youth would be to understand history rationally. If we read history with bias, it might give us a chance to give ourselves a pat on the back with a lot of pride or a lot of sense of superiority, but then it would reduce our capacity to learn and grow. We need to broaden the canvas of history and understand it from all perspectives. I would also like to appeal to Sikhs, particularly to youth, to come to these places. There is no substitute to interaction with the local population. The Sikh community only goes to Panja sahib or Nankana Sahib, the two most popular sites related to Guru Nanak, however Pakistan has layers and layers of history related to Sikh history. There are so many battlefields, forts and infra-structure set up and built by the Sikhs. They were not only fighters, but they were also builders. They were artists and open-minded, as shown by Hinduism and Islam also being represented in frescoes. Currently, people don’t try to understand each other and instead just pass judgments. That is the greatest lesson rulers of South Asia can learn from Nalwa. He chose to understand the area, the people, their customs and their likes and dislikes. What sort of person will be so nice to the son of his own enemy?” Inder Paul Singh Gadh, Chairman of GGSF, said, “We are grateful to Jahandad Khan for traveling so far to connect with the Sikh youth in America, and he has inspired many in the congregation today.” Khan held an hour long interactive session with the 35 young members of the community.

God is everything, God is everything. Without God, there is nothing at all. “Truth and unity are one. One supreme Reality pervades the whole universe. A true devotee of God has a universal vision, a –perceeption of oneness. Bhagat Namdev perceives his Lord everywhere and sings the Glory of his all pervading Lord accordingly in the foregoing hymn.” God’s name was always on the lips of Bhagat Namdev Ji. Bhagat ji had realised that indeed, everything is God’s creation, and that God dwells inside every creature. Bhagat jis devotion reached such a pitch that , One day when Namdev ji was sitting at a place doing his Bhajan, a dog came to the spot and ran away with the bread he had prepared for his midday meal. It is said that Bhagat Namdev ran after the dog not with a stick in his hand, but with a cup of Ghee; and he addressed the dog thus: “O Lord of the world! Why do You want to eat the dry bread? Take some Ghee along with it. It will taste much better”. On hearing this the Lord gave his d ivine vision to Bhagat Namdev ji hindhoo poojai dhaehuraa musulumaan museeth => The Hindu worships at the temple, the Muslim at the mosque. naamae soee saeviaa jeh dhaehuraa n museeth => Naam Dayv serves that Lord, who is not limited to either the temple or the mosque. ||4||3||7|| ( Guru Granth Sahib Page 874)

When all doors are shut, there is one that remains open — ready to provide shelter, succor and comfort to the destitute. This is how Dr Naurang Singh Mangat, former professor and scientist, describes the Guru Amar Das Apahaj Ashram. A home for the homeless, the ashram is located near Sarabha village in Ludhiana district in Punjab. It houses 62 inmates, who are provided food, clothing, medicine and shelter for free. Cut back to the year 2005. A man in his mid-50s cycles across the city daily. He stops by wherever he sees any sick person lying on the roadside. If the illness is severe, he arranges for the sick to be admitted to hospital. In case of less serious sickness, he takes the patient to a doctor for consultation and even provides medicines. The man seems indefatigable. His untiring energy and determination. are hard to miss. Not many are willing to believe that this unassuming man is a former professor from Punjab For four years, Dr Mangat, the man with the mission of helping the sick and the disabled, continued this service singlehandedly. During these years, the humble bicycle remained his mode of transportation. He would spend money from his own pocket to meet the medical expenses of the poor and the abandoned. The man who had immigrated to Canada, along with his family in 1996, was now back to live in Ludhiana. The decision was propelled by his desire to help the sick and the disabled lead a life of dignity. In 2009, he started the apahaj ashram – a shelter for the homeless and disabled. For most part of the year, Dr Mangat stays at the ashram which is now run by a trust. He goes to Canada for four-five months to be with his wife and children who are settled there. “At the ashram, my day begins at 3 am. From 4.30 am to 6 am, it is prayer time. Around 8.30 am, the ashram work starts,” says Dr Mangat. The ashram has inmates hailing from Punjab, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Nepal, Rajasthan. When they were shifted to the ashram, some of them were in a pitiable state: they had not taken a bath for months together. A few were paralyzed, while others were mentally ill. The ashram houses 21 mentally ill patients. As many as 15 of them suffer from paralysis. The sevadars help the patients in their routine activities. Langar, prepared by the sevadars, is served to the ashram inmates. “Ours is a self-dependent initiative, though good Samaritans keep donating wheat grains, medicines. We prepare wheat flour in the ashram itself. Vegetables, too, are grown in the ashram. A doctor visits the ashram regularly. A psychiatrist from Ludhiana offers free services every month.” No one who is homeless has ever been refused admission, says Dr Mangat. “We do not have any space constraint. We have enough space for the poor and homeless who have no family or resources to fall back upon. This home always welcomes them with open arms.”

#SantSamagam #MarkTheDates In the Sweet Memory of Sant Attar Singh Ji Mastuane Wale (1866-1927), Annual Sant Samagam will be organized. Dates- 10th & 11th Feb 2018 Venue- Gurdwara Rakab Gunj Sahib, New Delhi Program Details [gallery columns="2" ids="20691,20690"] Sant Samagam will be witnessing the most eminent Ragis, Dhaadi Jathas, Religious leaders and preachers who will enlighten the Sangat with spiritual thoughts & Gurmat Vichars. Share & Spread for everyone to know about it! We Await your gracious presence!

Sri Patna Sahib became the most visited religious site in Bihar in the year of 2017 largely due to the celebration of the birth anniversary of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji A leading tourism and booking site Trip Advisor ranked Sri Patna Sahib as the most visited and highest ranked site in all of Bihar. The influx of Sikh devotees wishing to visit the birth of place of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji from throughout the world after Bihar Govt large scale celebration of the 350th Parkash Utsav has contributed to the drastic rise. The mega event drew over a million people from around India and the world to attend the event and created much needed awareness of the religious and historic site. The Bihar Govt realized quickly that in order to increase tourism in the state, they needed to create better transportation and infrastructure needs of the devotees. The govt spent crores of rupees renovating around the historic city and provided much needed accommodations for the visitors. The Bihar Govt has released plans to build museums related to Sikh history and create convenient ways for devotees to arrive in the city.