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Bhai Manjh In the time of Guru Arjan Dev ji, there was a powerful and rich Jatt by the name of Teeratha. Teeratha was a follower of the Muslim sect of Sakhee Sarvar.

He was the local leader of this sect and had hundreds of followers who all respected him. Teeratha would regularly lead the members of this sect on a pilgrimage to the main Sakhee Sarvar shrine now in Pakistan

Once when passing through Amritsar, Teeratha decided to visit Guru Arjan. He had heard that there was a great Guru who had a large following and this Guru was spiritually enlightened.

He was curious to know who this Guru was and what he would say. He decided to stop off and see the Darbar of Guru Arjan. When he saw the Darbar, he saw that people of many different backgrounds, and castes were all sitting together and living in harmony. He also heard the kirtan in the darbar and the kirtan left a permanent mark on him. He heard of the great gift of naam and the thirst to have this gift rose within him. He was the leader of hundreds of "Sakhee Sarvar" followers but he could no longer follow that path. He realised that Sikhi was the path he must follow. .....More

Akal Takhat

Akal Takhat (Punjabi: ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ) means the Throne of the Immortal and is historically the highest political institution of the Sikhs.

"Akal" means "The Timeless One" - another term for God. "Takhat" means "throne" in Persian. This is one of a total of five takhat of the Sikhs.

The Akal Takhat is an impressive building that sits directly in front of the causeway leading to the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

This institution was founded by Guru Hargobind on July 2, 1606 and was established as the place from which the spiritual and temporal (Miri Piri) concerns of the Sikh community could be acted upon.

It stood as a symbol of political bulwark against the Mughal Emperors in the 17th and 18th century. Various attacks on the Akal Takhat and Harmandar Sahib have taken place in the past by Ahmed Shah Abdali and Massa Rangar in the 18 century.

On June 4, 1984, the Indian Army damaged the outer façade of the Akal Takhat while attempting to flush out Sikh militants in a controversial military operation known as Operation Bluestar. .....More

Did you know...

• .... that the first Gurdwara in the whole of America was built in 1908 in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada under the management of the Khalsa Diwan Society. This Gurdwara Sahib served the Greater Vancouver Sikh community until new Gurdwara Sahib was occupied on April 25th, 1970.

• .... that the first Gurdwara in the whole of USA was purchased and built in 1912 in Stockton, California, USA. It is called the Sikh Gurdwara Sahib Stockton...

• .... that Pandit Kirpa Ram was at the head of the group of Kashmiri Brahmins who came to see Guru Tegh Bahadar at Anandpur sahib in May 1675 for protection against the atrocities of Aurangzeb. Also that Pandit ji was Guru Gobind Singh's Sanskrit teacher.

• .... that Guru Amar Das became Sikh Guru at the age of 73 and lived to the ripe old age of 95 years.

• .... that Bhagat Kabir (Gurmukhi: ਭਗਤ ਕਬੀਰ) (1441-1518) was a saint born in Bharat, present day India and Pakistan. 500 verses of Bhagat Ji’s Bani are included in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Once there was no rain in a particular area for an extended period resulting danger to the crops. In some areas, the crops had already been destroyed.

So the local people of that area decided to do Ardas - a prayer or supplication to God so that their crops may be saved. Many hundreds of people gathered together at the designated place for this Ardas.

While this gathering was in progress, a passing Sikh Saint stopped by. He asked one of the crowd why there was such a big crowd gathered and what was the purpose of the gathering. One of them told the Sikh Saint that that they had gathered here to do Ardas because the crops will be destroyed in the absence of rain; they were going to ask God for rain.

The Saint said that was a good thing that they were doing an ardas but he did not see anyone carrying an umbrellas or "barsatie" (rain coats)…. When Waheguru (God) accepted your Ardas then there will be lot of rain. One group leader laughingly said, "But we do not know whether it will rain or not."

The Saint said, "How will your Ardas be accepted when you do not have faith in Waheguru" . He told them all to go home .

....More

Gurdwara Anandpur Sahib by night
Photo by Panoramio Satbir Singh See also Sikhi at Flickr

Badshah Darvesh Album by Bhai Daleep Singh Arshi
	Watch this full video (62.5 mins long) of beautiful album named 'Badshah Darvesh' consisting of several amazing shabads. It is sung by Bhai Daleep Singh Arshi; the producer is Babli Singh under the label Shemaroo. .....Read,    watch, listen & ponder...

Sikh Taxi driver's story on 9 News

Watch this video (1.60 mins) on YouTube of the a Sikh cabbie in Australia who has set an example of honesty after he returned 110,000 Australian dollars to passengers who had left the bundle of cash in his taxi. The incident happened in Melbourne recently (October 2013) when the cab driver Lakhwinder Singh Dhillon was doing his routine job of picking and dropping passenger .....Watch, listen, read & ponder...

• Can Hindu law cover Sikhs, Jains & Buddhists asks the Supreme Court If Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism are separate and distinct religions, can followers of these faiths be bracketed as Hindus under the Constitution and be governed by Hindu personal law, the Supreme Court asked before issuing notice to the Centre and attorney general G E Vahanvati.
• Film reveals Canadian Sikh community’s World War I stories - On Remembrance Day another little known part of Canadian history was brought to light by the hour-long documentary “Canadian Soldier Sikhs: A Little Story in a Big War.”

Interesting articles
	The links below are to articles that have a Sikhi message presented in a new and interesting way. Please spent a few minutes reading some of these articles:

Sikhi on Youtube!
	On the 28th March 2012, a new YouTube channel was launched for the global Sikh community. Basics of Sikhi has released more than 40 videos focusing on spreading the wisdom of the Sikh Gurus. The main philosophy of the channel is to simply teach the basics wisdom of Guru in a way that avoids..... → read more

Assah gur ko bal bal jaeeya
	This wonderful Shabad on page 1301 by Guru Arjan Dev is beautifully sang in traditional kirtan style by ragi, Hans Raj Hans. "To such a Guru I bow in reverence again and again, Himself liberated, He carries me across as well'". .....Listen, read & enjoy...

Nasro Mansoor Guru Gobind Singha
	Watch this video (7.09 mins long) of beautiful Shabad by Bhai Nand Lal in praise of Guru Gobind Singh beautiful sang by Hazoori Raagis Gurpreet Singh and Gurpartap Singh - "Guru Gobind Singh is the helper of others...." .....Read,    watch, listen & ponder...

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Sikhi FAQ...

Q. Can Sikhs have tattoos?
	A. I don't believe there is anything directly written against or in favour of tattoos in the Sikh scriptures. Tattoos can be grouped with "extreme make-up" which the Guru calls "decorations" and I ask you.. .....More

Important Anniversaries

Upcoming important anniversaries
	2021: 18 April, 1621: Guru Tegh Bahadur's 400th birthday 2024: 16 April, 1574: Guru Amar Das's 450th barsi 2025: 24 November 1675: Guru Tegh Bahadur's 350th barsi 2027: 16 April, 1552: Guru Angad's 475th barsi .....More

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