First Day of School

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw
vwihgurU jI kI Piqh

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I have always hated the first day of school for some reason. I felt very nervous in lower grades on the first day of school. Then in grade five or six I began to develop into a stronger person and my 'first day of school' phobia disappeared. But still I did not like the first day of school. I really didn't have any feelings for the first day of school. For a while I really hated school, I couldn't wait to be freed from the confines of the building.

Now, for the first time in a very long time I am actually looking forward to going to school. For me school starts tomorrow at 4:00pm. I have taken a full load of five subjects and can't wait to get the semester started. I am more excited than ever as the countdown to school nears the first class... I can't put this upbeat feeling in words.

Just now I was asked by someone what I am going to wear to school tomorrow... I told them that I would wear the same thing that I always wear everyday: a kurta pajama. I don't know why so many people are into this evil called fashion. It completely baffles me. Can't people stop being such showoffs. Why can't everyone stop following hollywood/bollywood. Why can't people see that these two institutions is pure and 1000% EVIL! I don't care what others see when they look at me. That's the last thing I worry about. We go to school to study not look at other people's cloths. Who came up with that?

I just hope that everyone realizes that life does not revolve around fashion and that there are greater things to worry about...

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw
vwihgurU jI kI Piqh

SOCIAL-Kirtan or Nagar-SOCIAL??

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw
vwihgurU jI kI Piqh

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Hardeep Singh,Japnaam Singh and I met up on Mt. Lehman Rd. and then made our way to the gurdwara sahib. It was about 11:30 then and the procession had just made its way across the front gates. We started to walk with the sangat and then Hardeep Singh met up with Govind Singh and they disappeared off to somewhere. Me and Japnaam Singh stayed behind the main float for about half an hour. A wikkid kirtanee jatha was doing kirtan. The Singh that was doing kirtan sounded just like Bhai Manmohan Singh Jee of San Jose. And the kirtan was very good despite the constant dhunni that the singh did in kirtan.

It seems that I was to blame too for making the "nagar kirtan" into a social kirtan. That was the only time in the whole nagar kirtan that I listened to kirtan with deep concentration. But I think that was enough, I had my dose of kirtan didn't need any more :D

Anyway after that we met a singh with whom we discussed gurmat and current issues. Then we moved on and kept going. Until we came to the gurdwara sahib. At the end of it Japnaam Singh was "a little tired." He had to go to work, so he left and I listened to Kirtan inside the gurdwara sahib for the next 3 hours. That was very good kirtan also, by the same jatha too. Then I looked out the window to see where the procession was at, it was right near the gurdwara sahib. So I went out to see the nagar kirtan at its smapti.

Now this nagar kirtan, as compared to the many I have been to over the past years, topped off everything in terms of manmutt. A large number of men, women and children did not have their heads covered. That is just sikhi 101, actually that's sikhi, and punjabi culture. Punjabi culture teaches you to cover your head. By the looks of it, this "sangat" didn't have any signs of sikhi, or punjabi culture, they seem to have morphed into something totally different. Really sad.

I thought that the Surrey Nagar kirtan was bad, but this was worse...

For the most part about 90%, this nagar kirtan was indeed a "nagar social" and I was a part of it too. Nagar kirtans have just become social gatherings now. People are eating pakorrai and talking about waheguru knows what. And I saw a lot of that from the beginning to the very end. But what would you expect when you put together 30000 punjabis in one place?

I don't want to forget mentioning the positive aspects of this nagar kirtan. There were many people that had genuine shardha and dedication. I was very happy to see that. It inspired Japnaam Singh to try walking barefoot one year for the nagar kirtan.

There was a group of Singhs and Babbian that walked the whole distance without shoes and they had Nishan Sahibs that they carried all the way. Now I know what holding a Nishaan Sahib is like. It is very hard and painful but they still held them all the way.

The nagar kirtan route was very very long this time. And a lot of people would have been tired when they got to the middle, but I did not see anyone feeling tired. This is one of the best things about sangat and the company of gursikhs.

I saw groups of sangat just going on groups of 30-40 people and doing waheguru jaap, that was good to see too

But compared to the surrey nagar kirtan the sangat behind the main float was significantly less. I found that a little hard to comprehend.

All and all I think that the nagar kirtan was a good thing, but the social thing made it a little annoying...
vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw
vwihgurU jI kI Piqh

"Nagar Kirtans"

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vwihgurU jI kI Piqh

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For a WIKKID post by Bhai Japnaam Singh Jee on this subject. I have a exponentially greater radical view on the nagar kirtans that happen in the UK, US and Canada. But I will try to be a little less harsh in the way I express myself. I have seen videos and pictures of nagar kirtans that happened at these places over the years. One thing seems to be perfectly clear: there is no respect for sikhi, sikh values, or Guru Sahib.

We have turned this into a shameful punjabi mela. As Japnaam Singh points out, there is no emphisis on real gursikhi values. It is just way to sad to think that all this money is pumped to this event that lasts only 4 hours. Once someone does a little comparison of the pros and cons it becomes crystal clear to them that there is no gain in doing this. But sadly no one does this. Me and Japnaam Singh are the only ones who are doing this. But I hope that the prabandhiks can see through the blinds and rise over this total waste of resources.

The way it is right now. No one becomes a sikh by the gurdwara parchaar, well maybe .3% of the sangat became sikh through the gurdwara parchaar. The gurdwara system in Canada is so inefficient that its scary. If you think that the gurdwara does parchaar about 5096PH(parchaar-hours) total(this is Dashmesh Darbaar)and only maybe 3-4 people take amrit because of direct parchaar. This is unacceptable, plain and simple. But the gurdwara management expects to perform miracles in the 4-5 hour nagar kirtan. A nagar kirtan where there is no maryada. No Rahit. No SIKHI for the most part. A nagar kirtan does not make a case for itself, not by a longshot.

The setup that they have there is not good either. It may be good for about 200 people because they can hear what is being sung and sing along, but what about the 6000+ strong who roam the streets talking, eating, laughing, doing nindia-chuggali, and the ones that look at peoples suits, what color it is etc. Its funny, maybe they should change the name after all. The Vasakhi nagar kirtan in Vancouver in April must be the biggest combination of manmutt, paap and evil. I haven't been to one since 1997, but hear that its BAD.

I just think that the money and resources could be better spent. For example, a sikh community center could be built, maybe a sports complex, or a library, or a crisis line for youth.

I want to ask Guru Sahib Jee to give the western Sikh world some common sense and the ability to actually THINK, to think beyond, beyond where their thinking gets stuck and doesn't budge...........

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw
vwihgurU jI kI Piqh

Dangers of Television

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh!

Television has come a long way since the dawn of this technology, some 75 years ago. Television (TV) is a major marketing tool big corporations use to reach and influence viewers. This method of indoctrinating people has proved to be the most successful thus far. I am not concerned so much about the inculcation of children, although serious as I am worried about having to endure watching hours upon hours of cartoon violence running in all time slots.

When I was exposed to TV in the early 90’s there was not a trace of anything graphic in nature on regular channels. Society has degraded exponentially over the past decade. TV programming is a stark reflection of just that.

A few summers ago I had a project for summer school and I chose to do a report on the CRTC summit in Banff. I don’t have the actual essay, but I did find the notes. So I’m just going to restate them below.

Teens and children that watch violent programs on television are inclined to engage in aggressive and sometimes dangerous behavior. This was a prime concern to the National Institute of Mental Health as far back as 1982, when they submitted a report to the various broadcasters and later to the government informing them and the public of the potential dangers that viewing violence on television can have for children.

Psychological research has shown three major effects of seeing violence on television:
1) They may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others
2) They may be more fearful of the world around them
3) They may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others.
4) They who watch a lot of TV are less aroused by violent scenes than are those who only watch a little; in other words, they're less bothered by violence in general, and less likely to see anything wrong with it. For example in several studies, those who watched a violent program instead of a nonviolent one were slower to intervene or to call for help when, a little later, they saw younger children fighting or playing destructively.

Studies have shown that on average, children's TV shows contain about 20 violent acts each hour and also that children who watch a lot of television are more likely to think that the world is a mean and dangerous place.

After watching TV kids often behave differently after they have been watching violent programs on TV. In one study shows that about 100 preschool children were observed both before and after watching television; some watched cartoons that had a lot of violent acts in them, and others watched shows that didn't have any kind of violence. The researchers noticed big differences between the kids who watched the violent shows and those who watched nonviolent ones.

It seems as if all the watchdogs of TV are either sleeping or blind. Studies that warn of heightened amounts of violence on TV come out often and these people don’t seem to get the message. Day by by the violence in kids’ programming goes up one notch. I remember back in 1990-1991-1992 G.I. Joe used to be my favorite TV show. There was very little violence in it and it was very enjoyable to watch. At the end of the episode, one of the characters used to act out a scene that had a moral in it and then used to explain to the viewer for instance that drugs are bad. And I know, that had a positive impact on me. If it had an impact on me it would have for sure had an impact on everyone else who watched.

But today, the situation is frightening! This pokimon, digimon, yoh-gee-oh stuff is too much to stomach. I don’t know how these kids can sit there and watch that jerky animation. If the producers behind the cartoons really want to display violence they should at least use good graphics/animation. Kids programming should have at least have some teaching aspect. I remember reboot was the first computer animated show, and that was really good. It exposed young kids to computer terminology early. A few students in my grade 12 class were Sailor Moon addicts. And that show was unbearable! Looks like some people never grow up…

I think that parents should watch at least one episode of the programs their children watch. This way they'll know what their children are watching and be able to talk about it and discuss the dangers of what not to watch with them. When they see a violent incident, parents should discuss with their child what caused the character to act in a violent way. They should also tell them that this kind of behavior is not the way adults solve their problems in the REAL WORLD. They can ask their children to think about other ways the character could have reacted, or other nonviolent solutions that could have applied to that specific problem. Something along these lines makes for a TV experience that is truly a learning experience. The TV should teach the kid something not bombard them with violent nonsense until they become desensitized.

Parents should completely ban any programs that think are too offensive. They should encourage and make them watch shows that are more beneficial, such as documentaries, educational shows and so on. Most TV’s today have the interactive programming option. This should be used to limit which channels the kids watch. Some could be completely blocked off altogether. Kids should be taught to watch the news, CBC news at 9 perhaps, this has many benefits (although this is indoctrination too).

I think the best thing to do is to throw the TV out. This may sound talibanistic but many great people have done this. It pays off BIG TIME!

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh!

Exercise

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh!

Today I went to get my books from Kwantlen(college). I could not believe that the students were so obese. The majority of the females were considerably overweight. I don't remember seeing that many obese people in high school. But high school was four years ago...

When I went to India in 1992, all the people there were really fit. The only people that were a little "fat" were the the very old women that could not walk. One thing that came into play for the Punjabi people was the natural environment of the state. Just the fresh air that they breathe did wonders to their body. The other thing was the water that they drank. Water levels were significantly higher than they are now. The quality of the water was excellent. One thing that made people fit in Punjab was the lifestyle of the villages where the houses were big and to do usual tasks like drinking water and going to the bathroom required walking a fair distance. So at the end it the day all that exercise would all add up and the result was a fit Punjabi person.

However for the past 10 years things have changed dramatically. Cereal, chocolate candy, gum, chips, pop, and other junk food has infiltrated into the Punjabi household. Extravagant things like pizza and cake have become routine on Punjabi dining tables. As people have moved away from the traditional foods and turned to western ones, the typical person has been affected greatly.

Hypertension(blood pressure), strokes, heart attacks, and cardiovascular diseases have shot through the roof. If you asked a Punjabi 15 years ago what a heart attack was, they would stare at you. These problems were unheard of back then.

Another thing that has changed is that the labor force in Punjab today does not consist of what it used to. Today all the farmers son's are sitting around doing nothing, while the laborers are from other states like Bihar.

obesity is a global trend, first it happened in North America, then in Europe, then in Japan and China and more recently it has happened in India.

Most of the people I know are not fit. I too feel like I am a little overweight. Not a lot but noticeable overweight. I try to exercise regularly throughout the week. My weight has remained constant for the past 4-5 years.

I have been exercising since I was around 16 years old. I went to the local gym for over a year. But then I got weights at home. It was at that time that I found a passion for running. And I started running quite regularly. Then I started to play hockey with my friends, about twice a week. I was doing loads of exercise, and the right kinds of exercise but I was not losing any weight. It seemed strange at the time but now I have learned to live with the few extra pounds.

Now I have a new passion, or obsession ignited within me. One that wants me to loose those 10 pounds no matter what the cost. So I go running with a friend every day and do mat exercises and pushups.

This passion for fitness was inspired by a line in Shri Guru Granth Sahib Jee. The line was "Nanak so prabh simariaae is dehi ko pal" which means: remember god and nurture this body that has been given to you.

No wonder Guru Sahib used to get the singhs to wrestle each other and play war games.

I think that everyone should take care of their body, because when you grow older health is the only thing that will help you out. Besides healthcare and prescription costs are going up. Keep yourself fit!........

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh!