Sikhi Comes Alive Through History- A Glimpse Into Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s Life
This past weekend at the Toronto Sikh Retreat a workshop was offered on Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. I personally think it’s great when we are given the opportunity to delve into the lives of our Gurus. We get to see Sikhi come alive through history. Our Gurus become real as we learn about Sikh principles...
Puran Singh’s Century-old Advice To Sikhs
The digitization of books has created a whole new way for Sikhs to access their history. I’ve stumbled onto a lot of historical Sikh literature that I had never heard of. For example, through Google’s Book Search function, I discovered a tourist guide to Punjab from the 1880’s (here’s...
What Does “Khalsa” Mean To You?
Today many Sikhs in Southern California will celebrate Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s Gurpurb. When I think of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the first thing that comes to mind is the creation of the Khalsa as an army of the pure.
This past summer I was sitting in a group-discussion, with fellow 2nd generation Sikhs...
The Dreaded Phone Call
The phone rings and its the call you dread as an uncle or older cousin. A desperate parent is on the other end asking for your help. Your teenage nephew/cousin wants to cut his hair. Can you please talk some sense into him.
This happened to me last week with my cousin and, I have to admit, I was woefully...
Granthis and compensation: de facto clergy?
This recent article about a granthi in Leeds suing for unfair dismissal brought me back to the topic of granthis in general. Given Sikhi’s very clear edict AGAINST the institution of a clergy, I always found it distressing to see whole gurdwaras managed and oragnized by hired granthis. If a sangat...
