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Guru Har Gobind

On 5 July every year, the Sikhs celebrate the birthday of their sixth Master, Guru Har Gobind (5 July 1595 - 19 March 1644).

Guru sahib was born at village Guru Ki Wadali in district Amritsar on 5 July 1595 and was the only son of Mata Ganga and Guru Arjan, whom he succeeded on 11 June 1606 at the age of only 11 years old.

The young Hargobind received his early education and training from the revered Sikhs leaders of the time Baba Buddha, the first granthi and Bhai Gurdas, the scribe of the Sikh holy script, Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Hargobind was married in about 1610 to Mata Nanaki also known as Mata Marwahi or Mata Mahadevi. They were endowed with a large family consisting of one daughter Bibi Viro and five sons: Baba Gurditta, Suraj Mal ji, Ani Rai ji, Atal Rai ji and Tegh Bahadar ji.

Guru Hargobind was responsible for wearing two kirpans - one for Miri (temporal protection) and one for Piri (spiritual reasons) and began the rapid and irreversible militarization of the Sikh people. It was due to the tragic martyrdom of his father, Guru Arjan that the sixth Guru changed the Panth into an effective, brave and determined army of religious supporters. .....More

Sketch of Bhagat Puran Singh

On the 4 June every year, the worldwide Sikh community celebrate the birthday of late Bhagat Puran Singh (1904 - 1992). Bhai Sahib was born at Rajewal, in district Ludhiana, Punjab, India on June 4, 1904.

His mother was Mehtab Kaur and his father's name was Chaudhari Chibu Mal. Bhai Sahib was born into a Hindu family and his original name was Ramji Das. He started his education at Khanna, Punjab and then later joined Lahore's Khalsa High School.

As a young man, he used to perform "sewa" at Gurdwara Dera Sahib and Gurdwara Shahid Ganj in Lahore. Here, he would help with cleaning, cooking and serving food; he also tended to the aged, infirm and sick who came to the Gurdwaras to pay their respect to Guru Granth Sahib.

In an interview with Bhai Patwant Singh, Bhagat Puran Singh discloses how he became a Sikh. In his early life he used to travel a lot from village to village and would stay overnight at a Hindu Temple. One day when he was staying at one such temple, the Brahmins told him to clean the temple and then when he had done that, they sat in front of him and started eating food without offering him anything.

The next time, he had to stay at a Gurdwara and the priest there not only gave him food but also a cot and a glass of milk afterwards .....More

Picture Feature:

Guru Singh Sabha is one of two Sikh Gurdwaras in Augusta, Georgia..
See www.pluralism.org

Section for Young Sikhs:

Guru Gobind Singh giving Amrit

Every year in April, the whole of Punjab in northern India had been celebrating the New year on Vaisakhi day with great fanfare and wild fairs and festivities.

This was the main Sikh festivals and traditionally it was the end of the wheat harvest. But in 1699, this festival became extra special because it was chosen by Guru Gobind Singh as the day to start the Khalsa fellowship.

On April 13th in most Sikh Gurdwaras a special ceremony takes place as a reminder of this special first Amrit Ceremony.

This first Amrit Ceremony took place in India on April 13, 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh asked a gathering of Sikhs who was prepared to die for God or Waheguru. At first there was a hesitation then one man stepped forward...The Guru and he went together into the tent. Then, Guru Gobind Singh reappeared on his own with blood dripping from his sword. He asked again, and again, again and again. Four brave Sikhs answered the Guru's call for a head. The Guru took the fifth man into the tent and then there was a delay. .....More

Important Links:

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• Listen & Learn Gurmukhi Letters (Pain'tee)
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• Guru Granth Sahib with English translation pdf file
• Blog: Project: Gurmukhi

The Guru's Message...

Guru Har Rai

Abandon Cruelty, Material & emotional attachment, Greed and Anger:- The Guru guides us thus: "Cruelty, material attachment, greed and anger are the four rivers of fire. Falling into them, one is burned, O Nanak! One is saved only by holding tight to good deeds. ||2||" (page 147) and also "Abandon sexual desire, anger, greed and emotional attachment. Thus you shall be rid of both birth and death. ||6|| Pain and darkness shall depart from your home, when the Guru implants spiritual wisdom within you, and lights that lamp. ||7|| " (page 241)

United Sikhs doing rebuilding Sewa in South East Asia

Seva is the essence of Sikhism. If there is one solitary word to sum up the Sikh religion, I would unhesitatingly pick seva as the operative word.

Seva is the voluntary service to fellow beings without any expectation of reciprocation. It is deeply ingrained in the collective psyche of the Sikhs.

Seva is what shines in Sikhism above all. I can say it without any exaggeration or the fear of contradiction that the extent of seva that is found among the Sikhs is rarely found in any other religion. The accent is upon the word, `Voluntary'. That makes the Sikhs unique.

It has often been seen in India that whenever there is any natural calamity on a large scale, the Sikh organizations are the first to reach there to provide succour to the affected people. After the devastating earth-quake in Katchh in the Gujarat State of India in 2001, the Sikhs had put up some of the biggest camps to provide free food to the quake-affected people. .....More

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