Ik Onkaar Satgur Prasaad
There is only One God. Only the grace of a true Guru can lead us to God.
GuruGranth Sahib

· This 'Holy Granth' contains the message of God.
· It is the true and permanent Spiritual Guide of the Sikhs.
· It was compiled by Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs.
· It contains verses of six Sikh Gurus.
· It also contains verses of other Indian Saints such as Kabir, Farid, Surdas, Namedv, Tirlochan, Ravidas, Ramanand, Dhana, and Jaidev etc.
· All verses are set in 31 musical ragas (tunes), because music helps the mind to absorb the message faster.
· God is addressed by different names such as Ishwar, Gobind, Ram, Karim, Allah etc.

Main message for humanity

· Only by the grace of a true Guru, the ego can be dissolved and eternal happiness can be achieved.
· To smilingly accept the will of God.
· Selfless service of humanity is the true worship of God.
· Women deserve the same respect as men.
· Truth is highest of all, higher still is truthful living.


A philosophic approach to Gurudwara activities (Daily Life)

· In Sikh religion, going regularly to Gurudwara is very important.
· In the Gurudwara, we do many activities.
· But what is the hidden philosophic meaning behind these activities?
· By understanding the deeper meaning, we can perform these activities with greater commitment.

Bowing the head:
· To stop using our incorrect mind; and to use the wisdom of our Gurus.
· Also, to surrender ourselves to the will of Guru.
· 'Gur ki mat tu le iyanne'. (Sukmani sahib)
· 'Aisi mat deeje mere thaakur, sadaa, sadaa tudh dhiyaai'. (673).
· 'Tu samrath vadaa, meri mat thodi raam'. (547).

Kirtan:
· To sincerely praise God and His creation.
· This can come from a sense of amazement or 'Wah'.
· 'Keerat prabh ki gaavo meri rasnaa'. (1298).
· 'Ustat man mein kar nirankaar'. (Sukhmani sahib).
· 'Aisaa kirtan kar man mere, eha uha jo kaam tere'. (236).

Recite Gurbani (Simran):
· To remember God with reciting Gurbani.
· 'Saas saas simro gobind, man antar ki utre chind'. (Sukhmani sahib).
· 'Din raati araadho piyaaro, nimakh naa kije dheela'. (498).

Ardaas:
· To request God to protect us from sins and evil.
· To praise the qualities of our Gurus.
· To thank God for the things He has given us.
· To make a humble request to God, for the things we want.
· To ask for God's pardon for our mistakes.
· 'Jo maange thaakur apne te, soi soi deve'. (681).
· 'Pitaa mero badho dhani agmah.' (507).
· 'Maango daan, thaakur naam'. (713).
· 'Jetaa samund sagar neer bhariyaa, tete avgun hamare'. (156).
· 'Ham avgun bhare, ek gun nahi'. (1405).
· 'Mein murakh ki ketak baat hai, kot apraadhi tariyaa re'. (612).

Hukam Naama:
· This is God's message to us.
· We should try to remember it and act on it, through out the day.
·. 'Tis kaa hukam bujh sukh hoi'. (Sukhmani sahib).
· 'Tera kiya meetha laage'. (394).

Parshaad:
· This shows that God has given us his gift or kirpa.
· It indicates that everything that we have got is a gift from God.
· 'Nanak prabh sarnagati, kar parshad gur dev'. (Sukhmani sahib).
· 'Je parsaad chhatti amrit khaaye'. (Sukhmani sahib).

Langar:
This has many hidden meanings such as:
· It gives food to our body, just as 'kirtan/paath' gives food to our mind.
· It gives food to poor people, who cannot afford it at home.
· Because the rich and poor sit in the same line, it indicates equality.
· It gives us an opportunity to offer our 'daan' or charity.
· It gives us an opportunity to do 'sevaa' or selfless service of others.

These philosophic meanings of our activities are important.
Performing these activities with this philosophic understanding can give us
ever-lasting happiness.

SHORT CUT TO HAPPINESS!

The present age is of "FAST FOOD". All of us, especially children, want every thing "FAST".

So, we want a "Short cut to Happiness".

So, what is the MAGIC FORMULA?

Gurbani guides us: "USTAT MANN MEIN KAR NIRANKAR " [Sukhmani Sahib]

This short but important line from Sukhmani Sahib gives us three messages:

  1. We should PRAISE [ustat karni hai]
  2. We should PRAISE GOD [Waheguru ji di ustat karni hai]
  3. We should PRAISE GOD, SINCERELY FROM OUR HEART. [Waheguru ji di ustat, mann naal karni hai.]
But God cannot be seen. So, how should we praise Him?

The trick is to remember the Creator, whenever we see His Creation. For example:

When we see anything that is good, we should sincerely praise GOD, because:

"SAGAL GUUNAN KE DAATE SWAMI" [ GGS: 1117]

Good things are found in the universe. For example, beautiful flowers, a beautiful sunrise, etc.

Who has made them? We can try to remember that God has made these wonderful things.

Similarly, we use so many inventions, which are made wonderfully, such as:

All these man-made inventions are made only with the grace of God.

When we see good things, we should remind ourselves that God must be even more wonderful. With this sincere feeling, we should say Waheguru, Waheguru.

But what is the benefit of praising God?

Praising God, purifies our mind:

"GUUN GAAVAT TERI UTRAS MAEL" [Sukhmani Sahib]

So, let us praise God everywhere and everytime.

Praising God is free of cost, but

It Gives us Everlasting Happiness

"sadaa anand rahe din raati"
- Asa-Di-War
A wonderful Gift
from
Guru Nanak Devji
to get
Everlasting Happiness.

1. Naam Japo

· Continuously Praising and Thanking God while doing all Activities.
· Understanding Gurbani/ Path.

2. Kirt Karo

· Doing all activities honestly.

3. Wand Ke Chhako

· Willingly sharing with the needy without expecting any reward.
Satnam Kaur, Gurbani Class
Power of Money

1. Most of us think that money has a lot of power.
2. We believe that money can give us ever-lasting happiness.
3. That is why through out our life, we struggle to earn money.
4. But can money really give us ever-lasting happiness?

Gurbani reminds us that:
Sukh Naahi Bohte Dhan Khaate (SGGS: 1147)
1. This means that even if we have lot of money, we can not get ever-lasting happiness.
2. Money can give us temporary happiness, but it can not give us permanent happiness.
3. We may not believe in this line of Gurbani.
4. So, let us look at the rich people in this world, and ask these questions:
· Is every rich person happy?
· Is every rich person healthy?
· Is every rich person without tensions?
· Is every rich person wise and intelligent?
· Did our Gurus collect wealth for their personal use?
· If money cannot give us ever-lasting happiness,  then how do we get ever-lasting happiness?

Gurbani gives us the answer:
Sarb Sukhaa Har Har Gun Gaaye (SGGS: 1147)
· Ever-lasting happiness is obtained only by Praising God (Naam Simran).
· Naam Simran protects us - everywhere and every time.
· Though Money can be stolen from us, Naam Simran cannot be stolen.
· We spend a lot of time to collect Money; similarly, we can try and spend  sufficient time to collect Naam Simran or Naam Dhan.
Gurbani shows us this method to get ever-lasting happiness.
Contributed with the Grace of Waheguru by: Satnam Kaur and colleagues,

" Frighten none, Fear none "

Guru Tegh Bahadur

Supreme Martyr

[Martyrdom Day: in November or December ]

Guruji’s message:

"Jin Prem Kiyo Tin Hi Prabh Paayo"

[ Pure Love Leads to God ]

Guru Gobind Singh

Saint-Warrior

[on occasion of the Birth Anniversary ]

Guru Gobind Singhji’s message

‘ Pragtiyo Khalsa Parmaattam Ki Mauj ‘
[In his will, God created the Khalsa]

Birth of Khalsa

· In 1699, on the first day of Baisakhi, Guru Gobind Singhji, the tenth Spiritual Master of the Sikhs, created the ‘Khalsa’.

· The Word ‘Khalsa’ means:

o Pure.

o Ordained by God.

o He who has recognized his true inner self.

· Guru Gobind Singhji gifted the Holy Nectar (Amrit) and the 5 - K’s to the ‘Khalsa’.

· The ‘Five Beloved’ (Panj Pyaare) were transformed into Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singhji.

· They belonged to different parts of the country and to different castes and occupations.

· The names of the ‘Five Beloved’ reflect important qualities, which can make us Pure (Khalsa).

· These names and qualities are:

1. Daya Singh: Compassion and Sympathy.

2. Dharam Singh: Truth and Discipline.

3. Himmat Singh: Strength and Courage.

4. Mohkam Singh: Determination and Fortitude.

5. Saheb Singh: Royalty and Nobleness.

"Waheguruji Ka Khalsa

Waheguruji Ki Fateh"

This means:

"The Creator has made the Khalsa and

Victory shall be of the Creator"

This salutation was started by Guru Gobind Singhji.

Gurpurab Greetings to All.

Satnam Kaur and colleagues

‘Sarbat daa bhalaa’
Wishing good for all

  1. The highest goal of human life is to get eternal happiness or to reach God.
  2. God is present in us. We have to ‘awaken’ Him, or to strengthen His voice.
  3. One method is by continuously wishing good for all.
  4. Or, in other words, by continuously wishing ‘sarbat kaa bhalaa’.

Few references from Gurbani are:

  1. ‘Sagal ki chintaa, jis man mae; tis te birthaa koi nae’. Sukhmani Sahib (15).
  • This means that God takes care of everybody and is present everywhere.
  • If we ‘care’ for everybody, or wish good for everybody, we go closer to God.
  • We start resembling God.
  1. ‘Brahmgiani ki sab upar mayaa; brahmgiani te kutch buraa naa bhaiyaa’. Sukhmani Sahib (8).
  • This means that a God-realised person always forgives everybody. And he does not make a single mistake.
  • A God-realised person is God Himself. So, these are the qualities of God Himself.
  • If we start wishing good for all, automatically, we start forgiving everybody. We become compassionate towards all. We do not try to harm anybody.
  • This is exactly what God does. So, we go closer to God.
  1. ‘Man apne te buraa mittaanaa, pekhe sagal shrisht saajanaa’. Sukhmani Sahib (3).
  • This means that if our mind is purified, then the entire world becomes good to us.
  • In other words, if we wish good for all, then our mind gets purified. And we reach God.
  1. ‘Par kaa buraa naa raakho cheet; tumko dukh naa bhai meet’. (GGS: 386).
  • This means that if we do not think evil of others, we do not get any trouble in our life.
  • Our mind thinks continuously, either good or bad. It cannot remain empty.
  • To prevent thinking evil of others, we should consciously think ‘good’ of others.
  • By thinking good of all, we prevent getting troubles in our life.
  • By thinking good of all, gradually we are able to reduce our anger, jealousy etc.
  1. ‘Jaisaa seve, taisaa hoi’. (GGS: 223).
  • This means that intense thoughts are converted to reality at an appropriate time.
  • If we continuously think good of all, (and do not think bad about anybody), then, good things happen in our life.

Conclusion:

    1. If we think good of ‘all’, even ‘I’ am included in ‘all’. So we also think good of our own self.
    2. If we think good of all, then gradually, others also start thinking good of us. This is because of the law of action and reaction, which works in the universe.
    3. Thinking good of all is free of cost. But its benefits are tremendous.
    4. If we develop a habit, it becomes easy to continuously think good of all.
    5. Thinking good of all is one aspect of our life.
    6. It is equally important to speak good and do good to all, depending on circumstances.
    7. Let us think: ‘Naanak naam chardi kalaa, tere bhaane sarbat daa bhalaa’.
    8. It will take us closer to God. And it will give us eternal happiness.

    Satnam Kaur
    ‘ Guru Ramdaas raakho sarnaiyi ’

    Guru Raamdaas ji
    (Birth anniversary: 23 October, 2002)

    * Guru Raamdaas ji was born in Lahore.

    * But he became an orphan at the young age of seven years.

    * He was brought up by his grand-mother, who was also very poor.

    * To earn his living, he started selling ‘boiled channaa’.

    * When he was twelve years old, they shifted to Goindwal village.

    * Here, under the guidance of Guru Amardaas ji, he learnt Gurbaani.

    * He did seva for 28 years. While doing seva, he always recited Gurbaani.

    * Due to his selfless seva, he was made the fourth ‘Guru’ of the Sikhs.

    * At this occasion, Guru ji recited the following lines in order to express his gratitude towards Guru Amardaasji:

    * ‘Hum rulte phirte, koi baat naa puuch taa, Gur satgur sang kire hum thape’ (SGGS: 167).

    * Even after he became the Guru, He continued to do seva and simran.

    * He recited many prayers, which are included in the Guru Granth Sahib ji.

    * Few of these are: ‘chhant’ of the Asa-di-waar, and the ‘laavaan’ sung at marriage.

    * He built the ‘Amrit Sarovar’ at Amritsar.

    * He uplifted the lower caste people.

    By: Satnam Kaur and colleagues of Gurbani Class

    Why ‘ Wahe–guru ’ ?

    This is a humble attempt to understand why our Gurus choose the word ‘Wahe - guru’ for our daily simran.

    Firstly, God has infinite qualities and infinite names. Few of these are: Meher-vaan, Akaal – purakh, Nir-bhau, Akhand, Dataar, Kirpalu, Sad-bakshind, etc.

    But Guru Nanak chose a new word, ‘Wahe-guru’ for our daily simran.

    What could be the reason?

    There are two words in ‘Wahe – guru’.

    One is ‘Wahe’, which indicates praise, amazement and wonder.

    The second word is ‘Guru’, which indicates Teacher, Preacher and Giver of knowledge.

    So, the hidden message to us is:

    1: We must praise God and His creation.

    There are many lines in Gurbani, which remind us about this.

    • ‘Gun gaavat, teri utraes mael’ – Sukhmani Sahib.
    • ‘Wahu Wahu kartiyaa, mann nirmal hove; haume vitcho jae’ (SGGS: 515).
    • ‘Wahu Wahu kartiyaa prabhu paiyeea’ (SGGS: 514).
    • ‘Wahu Wahu gur-sikh jo nit kare; so man chindiya phal payee’ (SGGS: 515).

    By sincerely praising, our mind becomes pure as explained above. When our mind is purified, the Indwelling God is revealed . By praising God, all our wishes are fulfilled. By praising God, we can reach the goal of our life.

    2: The second message in ‘Wahe-guru’, is that God is our teacher.

    And that we should ask for ‘brahm-gian’, or spiritual knowledge. Most of us get so engrossed in asking for food, shelter, money, job, children etc., that we tend to forget to ask for spiritual knowledge.

    To succeed in any aspect of life, we need knowledge, know-how or the method. Similarly to achieve everlasting happiness, or mukti, we need ‘brahm-gian’ or spiritual knowledge.

    Our Gurus knew that we may forget to ask for spiritual knowledge. So to remind us they placed the word ‘Guru’ at a strategic position in our daily simran.

    So, let us recite ‘Wahe-guru’, and try to remember its deeper meaning.

    Humbly contributed by: Participants of Gurbani Class,

    Sincerely praising leads to eternal happiness

    What would I teach my child / myself? Following are few ideas.

    1.         Good and bad co-exist in this world, in our own body and in others.

    2.         While we cannot ignore the bad, we can train our mind to constantly focus on the good.

    3.         An easy way to focus on the good is to search for it and to sincerely praise it.

    4.         God has made many things, which can be praised. Few of them are: various organs of our body, a beautiful sunset at the beach, beautiful birds/peacocks, beautiful fishes in an aquarium, the multi-coloured rainbow, etc.

    5.          Similarly man has inventedmany things, which are truly wonderful. They make our lives easy/comfortable. Few of them are: a cell phone, a tv, computer, a car, camera, a flyover, a sky-scrapper, landing/take-off of a plane, a locomotive, etc.

    6.         We can intelligently praise our parents, teachers, friends, employees, etc.

    7.          If we consciously train our child to appreciate things, it will generate positive thought-waves in him. This will give him three benefits:

    ·            It will attract ‘positive energies’ from the outer world to him.

    ·            It will awaken/strengthen the ‘positive energies’, present within him.

    ·            It will make the other person happy. This in turn will rebound back to him.

    8.        It is a cosmic law that, when we praise something, we attract it towards us.

    9.          For example, when we praise a person, our friendship increases. So also, if we praise ‘good qualities such as: knowledge, purity etc.’, then these qualities are strengthened within us. Since both, humans and matter, is made-up by the same ‘cosmic life force’, the same law is applicable.

    10.     Saints reached/became God by praising Him/ His qualities. This is a truth.

    11.      This cosmic law is a hidden secret, known only to a few people.

    12.      Praising is difficult. It requires constant training and alertness.

    13.      Gurbani/Sukhmani Sahib also says:‘ Gunn gaavat teri utras mael ’ . This means that our mind is purified when we praise God and His world.

    14.    Conversely, criticizing a person/thing will make it go away from us. By criticizing, we strengthen the negative qualities within us.

    Hope this helps you in ‘ happy parenting ’.

    Thank you for your valuable time. Your honest feedback will be appreciated. 

    Humbly contributed by Satnam Kaur and colleagues of Gurbani Class,

    "Ek Pitaa ekas ke hum barik ''

    [We are all children of one God ]

    Guru Arjan Devji

    [Martyrdom Day]

    • Guru Arjan Devji was the fifth Guru of Sikhs.
    • Guruji built the Golden Temple. Guruji invited Mian Mir, a Muslim Saint, to lay the foundation stone of this temple.
    • Guruji compiled the Sikh Holy Book called as the 'Guru Granth Sahib'. This includes prayers of Sikh Gurus and many other Indian saints like Kabir, Farid, Jaidev, Trilochan, etc.
    • Guruji started the practice of donating one tenth of one's earning for the needy [daswand].
    • Guruji started the practice of 'Kirtan' to be done by the 'Saad Sangat'.
    • Guruji composed the melodious 'Sukhmani Sahib'. This prayer explains important topics of our life, world, God, Saint, etc. in a very simple language.
    • To uplift society and to help the needy, Guruji built hospitals, orphanages and wells.
    • In 1606, Guruji sacrificed his mortal body, but He did not compromise His principles.

    Guruji's message:

    • 'Tera keeya meetha laage' (GGS:394). [ O! God, all your acts make me happy]
    • 'Naa ko bairi, naheen bigaana' (GGS:1299). [None is my enemy; none is a stranger.]

    Contributed by: Satnam Kaur & participants of Gurbani Class.