Bhajneet

Hell and Heaven are not physical worlds, haha. But yes, I think the three worlds are the three planes of existence. The Physical, the Mind-world(merging with god), and then the Spiritual world (God, Heaven) And hell isn't beneath most of us... most of us are living it... Also I agree with the post above that says: screw thinking about this, unless you're at the spiritual stage where you can contemplate it (and trust me, brother, if you're at that stage, then the answer will come to you with intuitive ease, and it won't require pondering) Leave it to Guru sahib to worry about these things.

Oh wow. I haven't read this in a long time. My views have changed however. I think for the vast majority that there is a good time for amrit vela. I know I know... this contradicts what I said earlier. But I've found that there is a time when nothing is going on between midnight and around 5am where honestly... no birds, no family members, nothing is active. If you can (as in you have a diturnal sleep cycle) I suggest you wake up around these times. They are most meditative and it's very easy to find one's rasa during these times. For others who work night-shifts (i doubt the vast majority on here do), of course you can find your own amrit vela. As Japman Singh has noted, amrit is sans time. So in essence... yes I still agree with myself, but with a higher priority to wake up between midnight and 5am. Just felt I should clear that up, for myself at least, haha =P

Sorry Bhain jee, I saw an old bearded guy (bad analogy... but somehow that translated to veer jee =P) Sikhism is a religion. Recently, however, a lot of people have decided to follow a more "mystical" path that revolves around the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev jee... of course you can choose one, but I think Sikhism as a religion is a better choice for me. That's why I follow it and not Christianity, Judaism, Jedi-ism, or Mysticism (which is basically the umbrella term for "Sikhi as a way of life"). It doesn't mean to say that those other religions cannot help you reach God, I simply think this religion is most compatible with me. I can't choose for you, Bhain jee, it's up to you to find the compatibility test. There are so many things people miss out on. The religion Sikhism, looks very confusing and scary because people don't know so much about it. It's surprising when a lot of our youth say they know a lot about our religion simply because they know all the guru jee's or know what our panj kakkar are. But... Sikhism is a LOT deeper than that. Veer PS - sorry if this is very rantful, I'm in a ranting mood today =(

For many people Sikhism is a way of life. For those of this Sangat that have taken amrit... Sikhi is a religion that was put into existence by Guru Gobind Singh jee based on the teachings of the 10 gurus. It is a religion for many people on here. And the answer to your question: Is Sikhism the Easiest Path to God? My answer is: Yes, for me Why would I be Sikh, otherwise? And veer jee, of course you may still go to God. Sikhi isn't the only path to God. Religion is still important however, so I suggest you work on building your rehit as if you're going to be hit by a bus tomorrow =P

Inspiration comes from within. Inspire yourself and you can inspire others, which in turn may inspire others. Random Rant (you can skip this if you want): A lot of posts on SikhSangat (at least from what I remember a couple of years ago) used to be more compassionate as well as patient. When I read things now, I see a lot of people bashing others down (yeah, that's inspiring =P) or otherwise saying: "don't waste our time on sikhsangat" as if they know what others want. </end rant> Maybe we should be asking ourselves this question, and not others. Instead of looking outwards, maybe it's a time to delve inwards. I know you said that you're looking for the history/gurbani that inspires you. But... honestly, history/gurbani isn't inspiring to the un-inspired. Inspire yourself with God now; He's right in your face =P PS - It might also have to do with.. you know.. so many topics being banned. I know it led to a lot of immature fights, but if done properly it could have been highly educational as well as broadening of the mind's viewpoints and perceptions.

I know you said gutka, but there are online stuff (in case you didn't already know... but i'm sure you did): http://www.sridasam.org/dasam?c=t <banned site filter activated>institute/dasam/glory.shtml I don't live in England, So I can't really help you out with a physical location on the gutka. Good Luck

I agree whole-heartedly. Sikhism must not be your religion, my friend. I suggest you find one that agrees with your views on spirituality. I hope you find peace with your "enlightened" lifestyle. Good luck. PS - You can stop defending yourself around here. We're just trying to help, veer jee -- not attack you.

I've noticed a lot of people on here have had good intentions of helping this man out, but I feel that we should look to some of the things we've been saying: I believe the shaheeds gave up their life for themselves. Because they believed very strongly in their beliefs of keeping hair. Again, I remember that these people probably did not intend to burden future generations of mankind, but simply *were* what they believed in. I encourage the Sangat to to help this man understand why people were locked up, killed, and tortured for keeping their hair. That will be much more beneficial than trying to attack someone with guilt. And No. It was not a joke to them. But again, I think you should just look at the faith these people have. I wouldn't say: "don't cut your hair, greater men than you have kept their hair through tougher times, suck it up you can do it too". However, on a sidenote, I think reading these things did strengthen my belief in keeping my hair. It gave me a Sangat to associate with. But again... just saying that it is wrong to associate blindly; that it is very important to understand why some people had the faith they did. These great people led by example. We should look to their examples. Bless them. And I most definitely would not advise someone to keep their hair just so they were supporting my cause. I would rather help them understand why they should keep hair for themselves. Apparently there are also other questions that have not been answered. I'll try to help quickly with a quote I recently read: "Consider one farmer who reaps some crops even before they are ripe, and either sells the unripe crops or feeds them to the animals. Consider another farmer who lets them become ripe and reaps a rich harvest and uses the grain wisely. Those who acquire Siddhis and use them before they are morally and spiritually mature are like the first farmer. Such people never come to the profounder experiences of contemplation of the divine Name, nor can they attain peace and contentment." I remember, that it is good to offer advice and guidance. But I think it's wrong to look down on those whose fates are not as gifted and enlightening as mine or others. --- I'd like to start out with a quote: Remember that your sorry excuses won't hold up in the Court of God. You cannot say: Oh, but the world's petty notion of beauty was to cut your hair. Or to have a partner was something everyone was doing. In the end, the choices of your soul and mind are those of yours alone. I'm glad you're asking for help, it means that you're at least giving the tiny voice of reason in your head a chance to grow stronger. There are a lot of reasons that you should be keeping your hair and not cutting it. Some of the reasons include a more simpler life: And another great reason is that it takes the doubt out of your mind: Other great Shabads from Gurbani (I hope you read them):http://sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=76 http://sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=72 http://sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=75 http://sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=109 http://sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=107 If Gurbani isn't your thing, then try to understand this: God's creation is perfect. Why tamper with it by cutting your hair? It's quite egotistic of myself to think I can improve on God's design by cutting my hair. Now to simply nitpick everything you said: "But like in real world I dont know but I am really attracted to fantasies" I hear you, mate. I also couldn't do some roles in theater because of my dhastaar, but I could still be happy in watching theater. Try being content with simply knowing that theater will live on without you. I also had the same issue of swimming as you did, but I finally figured that out (swim caps do wonders, I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out =x). I honestly don't know what to do about deep sea diving, but I'm sure there are things you can do about it. Otherwise, forget it... why do something that clashes with your beliefs? Deep sea diving is less important than God. What I'm also worried about is that you might have forgotten that the "real world" isn't what you're describing. The "real world" is in your mind, it's a spiritual plane of existence. It's really hard to get in that state, especially with maya pulling you away from it all the time. "My girl friend does not want to hang out with me. And if u think I want to cut hair for her alone then I have dumped her for that." Two things about this: 1) Relationships... a different topic. 2) How did you two get together? I'm sure you had your hair then... why even bring up the idea of hair and your girlfriend. Cutting your hair is not going to improve things with her (as you just said: if she was that shallow you would have dumped her for that. I respect you for that). "And its like as much as we want to cover this fact but the girls really dont want to be out with us." Hah. You're speaking from experience? You just said you're having issues with keeping your hair (I'm assuming you're debating whether or not to cut it), therefore... how'd you end up with a girl again? And another thing, why worry about this? Don't you have more important things to worry about? Like the little voice in your head? If girls didn't exist, would you keep your hair? Think about it... There will always be excuses to cut your hair. It's hard to find the faith required to keep it, but I hope you realize how important hair really is. "and I know lustful life is not what Guru Ji would have guided but then I am really young and I do want to enjoy my life a lot more!" Okay. Listen to yourself: I know I'm wrong. But I'm young, so I'm allowed to make mistakes. Would you ever allow your child to reason like this? If you understand that a lustful life is against Sikhi, then why do you look for an excuse? How else can you possibly enjoy life a lot more with hair cut? Doing some drama? Deep sea diving? A girlfriend that supports you and reminds you that you're not alone? All of these are cheats. Life is hard for a reason. Don't numb the pain of everyday hardships with these painkillers. Cutting your hair is going to be an aphrodisiac you take to get "better" opportunities in life and to enjoy it more. Would you say that drinking is bad? Smoking? Why... drinking isn't bad for your health if done in moderation. And marijuana has been found to be quite beneficial in the short term. But Guru Jee told us to NOT do these things because they alter our perception on life. They make life easier to take. This is unadvisable, because suddenly the great becomes only good and the good becomes normal. Without these hardships, my friend, you won't understand the true happiness in life. I would redefine enjoyment, if I were in your shoes. You are quite smart. Now... wouldn't it be immoral for a child to go against his parents wishes and cut his hair? Would it be humble to cut your hair and gain fame and power and other high lofty titles? Would you remember God after you've cut your hair and associated all these great things (which you like to call "a better life") to your decision? I think you'd rather say "I'm a great man for having cut my hair that day, look where it has landed me!" and then you'll truly forget God. All these great things you'll achieve.. they'll go down the drain someday, then where will you be? What will you do when God asks you: "So what did you achieve, exactly?" God IS the ultimate. Don't you dare believe you are greater than His wishes. Take care, singh. I pray you'll make the right decision. PS - I apologize to the members who's posts I criticized at the top. I did not intend to be overly harsh, and I did remove names and typos so it wouldn't be overly obvious as to who wrote which quote.

Heyo, you can find some on akj.org (go to Literature - the sixth tab a little past the middle). Rangley Sajjan (http://akj.org/skins/one/books.php?ch=1&bookid=5) Timar Agiaan... (http://akj.org/skins/one/books.php?ch=1&bookid=6) Amrit Ki Hain... (http://akj.org/skins/one/books.php?ch=1&bookid=2) Vaheguru Si... (http://akj.org/skins/one/books.php?ch=1&bookid=7) These are the four I know of. I don't know which of the others are also Bhai Randhir Singh Jee's, but these four are for sure. ---- If you want to buy some of his books go online, you lazy bum! Just google "bhai randhir singh book english -autobiography" without the quotes and you'll find some things. I found this article at sevatothemax: http://www.sevatothemax.com/blog/2006/03/2...preface-part-1/ by searching that. Or buy some from here: http://www.sikhlink.net/store/catsearch.as...y&type=book. I saw at least two books by Bhai Randhir Singh jee there, and they looked like they were in english. Good luck, his books are amazing! --- Okay... after a while I really got into this and decided to do more research. Here's a short summary of Bhai Randhir Singh Jee. Meanwhile, apart from such introductory works, there have been written numerous writings that have focused upon Sikh mysticism. Bhai Sahib Bhai Randhir Singh, a Sikh mystic par-excellence wrote more than twenty books on Sikh theology, philosophy and mysticism. Bhai Randhir Singh Ji explains Gurmat concepts in light of mystical concepts and also mentions various types of spiritual powers, energies and mystical notions. Some of the books include 'Jail Chittian (Auto-biography)', 'Amrit ki Hai? (What is the meaning of Amrit?), 'Anhad Shabad Dasam Duar', 'Gurmat Vichar', 'Scahkhand Darshan' and 'An-Dithi Duniya' (The Unseen World). Bhai Randhir Singh has in a very special way explained hidden concepts of mysticism. In the books such as 'Sachkhand Darshan' and The Unseen World, Bhai Sahib gives an account of the after-life. 'Gurmat Vichar' is one of his works on Sikh philosophy, that also from a mystical viewpoint. An important concept of Sikh mysticism being the 'Dasam Duar', or the Tenth gate that opens the channels of spiritual wisdom is also explained in his writings. I got it from an article at Panthic Weekly (again.. Google is amazing). There are other influential writers on there tha tyou might want to read about so here's the link: http://www.panthic.org/news/132/ARTICLE/1298/2005-05-01.html. --- Now here's what I figured would be most useful to you: http://www.nahal.com/ That site has a long list of Bhai Randhir Singh Jee's books (http://www.nahal.com/randhir.html) (or click on Bhai Randhir Singh on the left side (there's a scroll bar). There's also ordering information and everything there. And the Panthic Weekly article also had a list of inspirational articles online at: http://www.gurmat.info/sms/smspublications/. I didn't look into it, but it's a good resource as well. -- Okay! Now have fun, haha

what about people who sleep during hte day and wake up at night? or insomniacs? Amrit Vela means when you wake up and nothing else is going on.. so technically the middle of the night (when nothing outside is going on) and you JUST woke up refreshed is considered amrit vela i've never heard of this fourth quarter thing before, where'd you get that from? There is Gursikh and there is Manmukh. There is no real or fake of either, it's quite simple.

actually you can get drunk off of listerine but moving on hahaha

why do you only do 7 baanis in a day then? someone decided that. they chose 7 i believe thats cutting down the SGGS a little bit idk.. sounds a little like the Guru jee told us to "cheat" gurbani

Restraint. Food companies make advertisements which you see on TV, most people (let's just say weak-willed or unconcentrating people) will get hungry simply looking at the advertisements. That's the way they get you to buy their products. If watching something makes you want it, what happens when you touch it? If you touch meat or alcohol you become accustomed to it, someday you'll think "eh, it's not too bad if i even take a sip of this, its not like i'm gonna get drunk, juts a little buzz". There's absolultely nothing wrong with touching meat or alochol, its just that most people wont be able to resist afterwards. Guru jee knew this, so he told us to lay our hands off it, and if we needed even more restraint to not even go near the stuff. Your senses are a gateway, you touch/smell/hear/see and y ou're gonna wanna taste too eventually. How far do you want to go then ? Do you pull out of your final salary pension scheme because you know money will be invested in firms that profit from anti Gurmat activities ? Do you put your money under the mattress as banks lend to firms that profit from anti Gurmat activities ? Do you invest your money in a Las Vegas Casino? Do you invest your money in the bleeping Mafia? No. How is that going too far? Or do you mean investing money in a gas station that sells meat? Cuz that is a good question that i'd have to think about. Personally I dont think you should touch the meat or the alcohol, and dont worry about not getting a job. There are LOADS out there, and no offense but a lot of those jobs are more interesting too

why are you guys doing this? was concentrating solely on doing simran too easy for you guys? just figured hey.. saying it, hearing it, trying to visualize the word, and thinking it, wasn't enough? if you need to go on, but if you're doing it for ego's purpose only stop. i'm sure there are some people here who can better concentrate on waheguru jee when they dont' ahve to worry about typing his name properly or fancily

what the hell? <sarcasm> i thought we were supposed to do all of SGGS every day, i can't believe people get by doing only the seven baaniaas everyday. what sinners. </sarcasm> my opinion is that the more the better, i'm an optimist i like to think that if i do more i get more in return. i dont like taking the pessimists view of saying "hey if i dont do these last paurees i've basically done more harm than i did good." Let's be honest here, i agree we should do the 27 paurees of chopai (i never even knew that) and if possible do the 40 paurees of anand sahib whenever possible (which in today's world it really should be), but please.. when you're trying to persuade someone dont be so pessimistic (or some other word, which would be better applicable, i just can't think of it.. negative perhaps?) dont force people. encourage them.