News & Update

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the annual Turban Up event at Yonge-Dundas Square put on by the Sikh Youth Federation in Toronto.

Since its establishment, the Sikh Youth Federation has dedicated their efforts towards service to the community. For Sikh Canadians, their inclusive initiatives have strengthened the ties between people of all backgrounds.

Today, we gather to celebrate the annual Turban Up event which offers the opportunity for all to experience and embrace the rich Sikhi heritage. Canada derives its strength from our diversity, and as we enjoy today’s festivities and incredible entertainment, let us reflect on the importance of the Sikh community. as part of our diverse society.

Thank you to the organizers of this amazing event and to all of you who are in attendance today. Please accept my warmest welcome and best wishes for a memorable and joyful Turban Up event.

~ Source: Sikh Youth Federation

US President Barack Obama has appointed an Indian-American engineer to a key administration post, the White House said.

Manjit Singh, co-founder of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund has been appointed as the member of President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

The announcement came along with several other appointments made by the US President yesterday.

“These fine public servants bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their important roles. I look forward to working with them,” President Obama said in a statement.

President of Agilious, a software technology consulting firm he founded in 2013, Mr Singh is also the co-founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national Sikh American media, policy and education organization.

He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation and also as a Member-at-Large of The Board of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan in Washington.

Mr Singh received a Master of Science degree from the State University of New York at Albany and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Bombay in India.

~ Source: NDTV.com

Bhai Nand Lal Ji as always brought Guru Gobind Singh Ji langar, prepared with their own hands… Guru Sahib would sit and enjoy this food daily, Bhai Nand Lal Ji noticed that Guru Sahib would always leave a tiny morsel of their food, only enough for one bite. They would then open the nearby window, where a small dog would bark for food. Guru Sahib would throw the dog this tiny burki of food.

Bhai Nand Lal Ji would look at this – Guru Ji and their love for this Dog and smile amazed, thinking “This Dog has such amazing Karam, he gets to eat left over food from the most amazing, most perfect human, the form of our Lord himself – this Dog is truly a blessed dog, I can only hope for karam like his”

Guru Sahib, the knower of all smiled.

The next day the process was repeated, Bhai Nand Lal Ji again, brought Guru Sahib langar and Guru Sahib, as always left a little morsel for the barking dog. Watching this, Bhai Nand Lal Ji had an idea…

The following day, before bringing Guru Ji langar, Bhai Nand Lal Ji took the dog home. At his abode, he fed the dog the richest of foods, he fed him til his stomach could take no more. Content that the Dog was full, Bhai Nand Lal Ji returned the dog outside the window of Guru Sahib. He then returned home and prepared Langar for Guru Sahib.

That day, Guru Sahib enjoyed the langar to the full, as they ate, Bhai Nand Lal Ji took up their position, beside the dog outside the window – thinking, this was his chance. He too, could possibly have the luck of this dog, and taste that tiny morsel that had also touched the lips of the tenth Human form of Vaheguru.

As Bhai Nand Lal Ji sat awaiting paitentlly, Guru Sahib continued to enjoy their food. Eventually, Bhai Nand Lal Ji’s wait came to an end as Guru Ji opened the window on time.

Bhai Nand Lal Ji looked up, still hiding behind the dog and watched, waiting to be fed like a King with this tiny bite from Guru Sahib’s own food.

Guru Sahib, knower of all hearts, began to talk. “Nand Lal” they said, “Today the food you made was exquisite, like never before… I had to eat it all – today no burki was saved for you Nand Lal”

Bhai Nand Lal Ji’s eyes filled with tears… as his heart broke into a million pieces… he stood up from beside the dog and with tear filled eyes asked Guru Sahib, “Guru Ji, that bad am I that this dog has better karam then me – every day I’ve watched you save even the smallest bite for him, yet this one day, my destiny is such that you cannot offer me the same treatment” Bhai Nand Lal Ji was almost inconsolable, til Guru Sahib pulled him towards them, and held him close.

“Nand Lal, don’t ever think your destiny is bad – you’ve not received a morsel of food I may have left but Nand Lal, you’re a part of my heart – nothing can change those karam of yours, no morsel of food.”

Bhai Nand Lal Ji wept in Guru Ji’s arms, as Guru Ji held their ‘brother’ close…

Bhai Nand Lal Ji’s love for Guru Sahib was worth learning and sharing with others!

~ Source: www.sikhsangat.com

Sikh runner Beant Singh and Kisan Narshi Tadvi won a gold each in boys’ 800m and 3000m race as India bagged three medals on the second day of the Asian Youth Athletics Championships here.

16-year-old Beant was in a class of his own in the two-lap event and strode to a comfortable victory, clocking 1.52.26, among the fastest times in the world this year in the youth category.

He ran an excellent 54 sec first lap and won the race with a big lead from start to finish at the Qatar Sports Club stadium.

The Delhi runner’s win gave India their first gold medal after one silver and two bronze medals on the opening day and just a couple of hours later Kishan Tadvi, who hails from a tribal region in Maharashtra, made it two, by winning the 3000m in an equally dominant performance of 8:26.24.

Decathlete R Rajesh then fetched a silver with a total of 5,867 points over 10 events to swell India’s medal tally to two gold, two silver and two bronze over two days.

An ecstatic Beant revealed that wrestling was his initial love and he switched to athletics just a few years ago.
“I was feeling really good for this race and I have been preparing really well for this competition, so to win is a great satisfaction,” he said.

“I have only been in athletics for a short time, two or three years. I was a wrestler before and I was picked for a national team camp by Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar. It was at this moment that I noticed I had a talent for middle distance running and I was encouraged to switch to athletics. Sushil remains a very big inspiration for me,” he added.

Beant had won a silver in the National Open Athletics Championships last year at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, his first senior national medal, in 800m with a time of 1:51:08 which was a new national record in the youth category.

“Next stop for me is the IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali. I have set big expectations. I want to beat the Indian national record there. I know I can run under 1:50. I have done it in training and I aim to run it at the championships,” he said.

Source : DailySikhUpdate

Bhagat Puran Singh, the founder of the Pingalwara, believed in the verse from Guru Granth Sahib ‘Pawan Guru Pani Pita, Mata Dharat Maht’ (air is guru, water is father and the Earth is mother).

Special volunteers have been deputed in Amritsar and other parts of Punjab to sensitise the people against the wastage of water. Free literature is being distributed at various gurdwara stalls, including at the Golden Temple complex.

Amritsar, April 29, 2016: Keeping in view the water scarcity in several parts of the country, the All-India Pingalwara Society has not only initiated water conservation in all its branches but is also spreading awareness among the masses at the state level.

This belief is being propagated through the literature originally penned down by him in various parts of Punjab.

Dr Inderjit Kaur, head of Pingalwara Society, said that presently, 1,719 abandoned and helpless persons are being accommodated. All of them have individually been educated about saving water during their daily chores.

In another attempt, traditional earthen pots have been distributed in every ward instead of water coolers. These will save water and electricity.

Its Manawala branch, located outside the boundaries of the MC, has no arrangements for the disposal of sewage. Therefore, a sewage treatment plant has been set up and the water is recycled and used for watering lawns, agriculture and harvesting.

“We have started utilising the waste water of the RO system to clean floors, utensils or for washing clothes. Around 30 RO systems have been installed on our premises in Amritsar and we accumulate a good amount of water which otherwise went down the drain,” Dr Inderjit said.

Source : SikhNet

Guru Gobind Singh Jee was sitting in the congregation with Sangat. He had with him a stone and a bucket full of water. He threw the stone into the bucket and the stone sunk to the bottom. He then asked the Sangat why the stone sunk?

One person said that it sunk because it was a stone … a stone always sinks. But Guru Jee asked why is it that the stone sunk? Another Sangatee responded that it was going to sink because it is heavy … a heavy object will always sink in water. Guru Sahib Jee responded that this was not the right answer. He asked people to give the right answer. No-one had a clue – they could not overcome their scientific way of thinking.

Finally, Guru Gobind Singh Jee turned to Bhai Nand Lal Jee. Bhai Nand Lal Jee was sitting at the bottom of Guru Jee’s Takhat, and as soon as Guru Jee asked him, Bhai Nand Lal Jee started crying. Guru Jee said “Nand Lal, why are you crying? Give an answer to my question.”

Bhai Nand Lal Jee responded, “when the stone was with you, it was afloat in this world. When the stone left you, it sunk.” Guru Gobind Singh Jee was very happy with Bhai Nand Lal Jee and gave him a tight embrace.

Guru Jee gave this as an example of what happens to us when we leave the Guru. When we leave the True Guru, we all sink. When we stay with the Guru, Guru Sahib carries us across the Ocean to Waheguru.

~ Source : DailySikhUpdate

Three semi trucks full of donations collected by the members of the Vancouver-area Sikh community are now heading for Edmonton to help with the relief effort for thousands of Fort McMurray residents forced from their homes.

The massive fire that swept through Fort McMurray destroyed parts of the city and continues to burn.

Donation drive coordinator Avtar Gill said the original goal of one truckload was quickly met, and within 48 hours, organizers had to find two more trucks to take all the donations north to Edmonton.

“I feel so proud of the community,” said Gill. “Every person, from a small child, to old person is helping.”

“The items are definitely needed and the community … that has gathered this for us is absolutely outstanding,” said Edmonton Emergency Relief Services spokesperson Nicole Geoffrey.

“[The relief centres] are still very desperate. We still have evacuees coming in daily from the wildfires. We still have them coming in, so there is still a state of desperation there,” she said.

Harminder Dhaliwal is one of the three truck drivers donating his time, truck, and more than $1,000 in fuel to transport the donations to Edmonton.

“It’s about 80,000 pounds in total, for one trailer, so I’ve got about 44,000 pounds of goods in it, so all kinds of supplies for the people out there,” he said.

“I’m paying all out of our pockets, but it’s not that big of a deal. I think it’s nothing — it’s very little. That’s the best I could do from my job point,” he said.

“In my career, I’ve done a lot of hauls to Fort McMurray, and I’ve made a lot of money from there, too. So now it’s a time to pay some back.”

Geoffroy said monetary donations are certainly welcomed by the Edmonton Emergency Relief Services Society, but the group isn’t turning away donations of food and new clothing.

Geoffroy also suggests checking to see what new items are in highest demand each day.

As for the Sikh community that rallied to collect and ship so many supplies, they’re not finished: on Saturday there’s a plan to send five more truckloads to northern Alberta.

That effort will be focused on items like new clothing and shoes.

“That’s been our values — the core values. That’s what our religion says,” said Dhaliwal as he prepared to drive through the night to Edmonton. “It doesn’t matter who it is, if anybody needs help from us we should go out and lend a hand.”

~ Source : Sikhnet

THE largest Sikh temple in Scotland and the largest religious building in Glasgow will open on Sunday.

Built at a cost of £15million, the Singh Sabha Gurdwara has been built in Berkeley Street and will be able to accommodate 1500 worshippers.

The site was part of Glasgow Eye Infirmary which was destroyed by fire in 1971 and until recently was used as a car park.

The Gurdwara’s website says: “The existing Gurdwara has served our community admirably as a place of worship, community gathering and education over the past 29 years.

“Our community has now outgrown its facilities and after wide consultation, careful consideration, planning and support from within the community and the city of Glasgow, we felt what was needed was a purpose built Gurdwara which will continue to fulfil existing roles and provide exciting new facilities.”

Leaders of the new temple say it is a landmark building which will stand for hundreds of years.
A spokesman for the West of Scotland Racial Equality Council, said: “The Sikh temple will be a fitting and flamboyant addition to these buildings and a major addition to the city.

~ Source: eveningtimes.co.uk