Essay Marathon -- 5

[japmans]

Admin: Sticky please? you may remove the old one :wub:

Well after the highly unsuccessful essay marathon 4, I figured it was because people wanted something more thought provoking.

At the asme time, the goal is for people ot read these essays, and get some sort of perception of the inner thoughts of people who are eihter on the path, on the way to the path, or struggling to find the path. Very little is more inspiring than getting the heartful thoughts of your brothers and sisters.

That brings us to Essay topic 5, which for the first time in the essay marathon, will provide the writer with a choice of topic:

1. What makes you wake up every morning wanting to be a Gursikh? What do you draw inspiration from on a day-to-day basis? How do you make the line "Aisaa Kam Moolai Naa Kichai Jit Ant Pachhootaayeeai" true in your daily life? Does your circle of associates contain only sikhs, and if not, is it difficult to live a life as a gursikh around them?

or

2. What instances in Sikh history have inspired you? if you were not on the path at one time in life, what historical events (saakhis, biographies, so forth) led you to attempt to devote your life to Guru? Try to state more than 2, if possible. Explain how they inspired you, and if you have had any measure of success in implementing this in your daily life.

Please gursikho... for the sake of everyone in this cyber sangat.... contribute! you'll be shocked at how many people view this site, both members and casual surfers. Maybe some of those very sisters that we lose to the not-so-muslim muslims are reading this site and can draw inspiration from your words. We hate admitting it with the fear of haumai, but our words can help anyone, it's not up to us. Anyone can be inspired by anyone else, so spread the love

ENJOY!

As always, this essay topic will run for 2 weeks. if there's enough interest, hopefully we can run it for 3 weeks. Shukar hai, i hope this one works!

As of now, the closing date is: Tuesday, April 11th, 2006

Vaheguruji ka khalsa Vaheguruji ki fateh

[Jaspaul Singh]

Vaahegurooo ji ka khalsaaa, Vaaaheguroooo ji ki fatehhh !

I gotta say, i love these new essay topics ! EVERYONE can contribute now .. if you dont like one .. you can try the other .. i guess this moorakh will try to attempt to write one ..

vaaahegurooooo .. give me the knowledge and the wisdom to speak

This is not much of an essay cuz i was NEVER good in essays .. it will be my own kind of layed back version .. hehe .. Im gona attempt the first question here goes ..

What makes you wake up every morning wanting to be a Gursikh? What do you draw inspiration from on a day-to-day basis? How do you make the line "Aisaa Kam Moolai Naa Kichai Jit Ant Pachhootaayeeai" true in your daily life? Does your circle of associates contain only sikhs, and if not, is it difficult to live a life as a gursikh around them?

(Take it bit by bit)

What makes you wake up every morning wanting to be a Gursikh? What do you draw inspiration from on a day-to-day basis?

The urge to finish off the day more faster then the one before but yet accomplish only good deeds so i can be with my guru ji at my last breath. The passion of wanting to know guru ji better. The thoughts of our beloved veers/bhens who gave up so much for sikhi. The urge that i wana become a better sikh, gursikh is wayy too far in my hands, at first i wana become a better sikh in guru jis eyes, show him that i want to learn, that guru ji will one day embrace me and i will not go back in the chaurasi lakh !

My thoughts are all over the place, but every breath i take, every instant iim alive, i want to focus my love, my devotion to only GURU JI ! The smiles on peoples faces i may be able to smile with, share my life experiences, they keep me going. Friends and family that look forward to spending time with this moorakh, they keep me going. Above all, the love and my minds all desires i receive from guru ji, PRICELESS ! They ALL keep me going every morning i wake up striving to become a better sikh. Interactions with good sangat in person, on the web, talking to gursikhs on the internet and in person, going to visit guru ji at least 2-3 times a week, wanting to read more new shabads to practise on the vaja, countless hours on the vaja and never wanting to spot, ALL these keep me going. Above all, GURU KIRPA !!

INSIPIRATIONS !?! TONS !!! The time i wake up, take bath, do my hair, tie my patka/keski, feel my beloveds kakkars on me, go to do my paaht/simran. Then new keertan i listen to on the web or sometimes sangat all through the week (EXPECIALLY THE WEEKEND !!). Inspiration i get from talking to family, about sikhi stuff daily. For the little seva daas does, if it puts a smile on anyones face, it makes me more happy. The look on my grandmas face when i tell her ill be doing kirtan/simran. Sangat i talk to whether online or in person. And again, above all, GURU SAHIB !! :wub:

How do you make the line "Aisaa Kam Moolai Naa Kichai Jit Ant Pachhootaayeeai" true in your daily life?

I had to look that up, because i am not fluent in bani yet. But i did guess guru kirpa naal and i sort of got it right. It means, "Don't do anything that you will regret in the end." ... ohhh :cool:

Well to be honest, guru kirpa naal, i try but yet there are always those bad habits from before you took amrit that you still are working on and they still come back to haunt you. But with guru jis grace, i try to be a good sikh everyday, expecially since i went to india in the winter, the things i experienced there, the people/gursikhs i met, the way i saw that new part of the world, reeally opened my eyes and i started back fresh. I have a new stronger passion now to be more eager to learn and be strong in sikhi.

GURU KIRPA NAAL, I try to hang out with good sangat to start off. I try not to socialize as much. I try to speak less now (yes i type more, but i do speak less in person hehe ). I try to control my anger (yes i do have a slight small anger problem which i usually keep inside and it just keeps building up, but i usually dont show it ....). Im trying to cut down on watching movies and other stuff that is not furthering my sikhi (eventhough i watched chronicles of narnia today :wub: ..they cut the lions mane off for crying out loud !! ) Im trying to go to whereever there is sangat as much as i can (each and EVERY sangat) so i can always remain positive guru kirpa naal. And again ABOVE ALL .. GURU SAHIB is with me, showing me the way, so i will be more cautious when i do something wrong..

Does your circle of associates contain only sikhs, and if not, is it difficult to live a life as a gursikh around them?

I love this one, because i always talk about it more often these days. My circle does not contain only sikhs, but MANY others. I cut down A LOT. I use to have friends, from druggies, to rockers, to ballers, to a bunch of everything. I slowly let them all go in the last 2-3 years not that i wanted to, but they didnt see anything more use of me cuz i didnt hang out with them much, and to them i was totally changed.

The ones that still hang out with me, yes i still got a mix of sangat. Usually my hockey buddies now, some work buddies here and there, but more related to sports. I am like the only amritdhari that play with them, but i honestly believe that if you yourself are strong, you could have a GOOD impact on your surrounding sangat. I totally believe that and i sometimes skip kirtans on saturday nights to go play hockey with this sangat. I can use that time to get these guys in more to sikhi guru kirpa naal, the time i missed at a kirtan i can always make up by ie. doing simran while playing hockey, listening to kirtan afterwards. And afterall, we are playing at a gurdwara

For me honestly, it is not difficult. I have become very 'bhola', like very very bhola. Meaning gentle, not saying much etx.. I use to be all about famous for swearing in my sentences, and wasnt far back from punking a guy off if he was punking me. (I beat up a guy in grade 9 in a class room with a desk and chair, lol, and im not taking it back even being a mona he cut my hair so he asked for it )

These days, if people say stuff behind my back or i hear them close byi usually dont do anything but rather smile back at them, i dunno why, its just i dun wana get into the big mess i was in before. So really, right now, guru kirpa naal is not that difficult. Because AGAIN, the big number one GURU JI is on my side !

And that is the end of my 'essay' .. ..

Sorry for all my mistakes as i am a maha-moooooorakh and no NOTHING so if i bored you .. HAHA it worked !! Why would you spend that much time reading this if you can read someone elses and gain something from it .. haahahahah .. i just wrote this so it MITE encourage others to write something !

bhul chuk maph my brothers and sisters ..

daas is forever at all your feet! Not even close to the charan dhoor of the sangat .... vahegurooooooo ....

daas,

VAAAHEGUROOOO JI KA KHALSAAAAA, VAAAAAHEGUROOOOOO JI KI FATEHHHH !!!

[japmans]

vaheguruu...more please!

[Princess]

Vaheguru!! come on guyz, If Jaspaul Veerji can do it, anyone can :TH:

[heart]

Sangat jio, please dont be shy, write!

[heart]

1. What makes you wake up every morning wanting to be a Gursikh? What do you draw inspiration from on a day-to-day basis? How do you make the line "Aisaa Kam Moolai Naa Kichai Jit Ant Pachhootaayeeai"(dont do anything you will regret in the end) true in your daily life? Does your circle of associates contain only sikhs, and if not, is it difficult to live a life as a gursikh around them?

wahayyguroo jee ka khalsa, wayyguroo jee kee fateh.

As with jaspaul paaji, i chose to answer the first question. I also liked the way he answered it in parts, and im going to steal his idea and do the same.

What makes you wake up every morning wanting to be a gursikh? What do you draw inspiration from on a day-to-day basis?

Like many other sikhs around the world i would have to say my biggest inspiration is guru sahib, and fellow gursikhs who are on a very high spirtual level. I didnt grow up knowing much about sikhi, but i knew the basics of who our guru's were and why we went to gurughar.

Its been over a year and half that i have been strictly into sikhi. Recently, my truee and utter inspiration to be a gursikh and truely devote myself, is guruji, and Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. From sitting there countless hours with bhainay, and veerai trying to understand the meaning behind the deep words guruji tries to explain to us, i really have started to understand much more onto why we should take on this paath, and why we should wake up every morning and try to be a good person, to do cherishable deeds in our lives.

On a day to day basis i draw much of my inspiration from many brother and sisters i have met off of this site. There are some chardi kalaa gursikhs out there who i gain so much information on sikhi, sat, gyaaan, life. My breath of life is sikhi. My one and true inspiration in this lifetime is guru sahib, and the beautiful blessed souls that he has given me a chance to gain and talk to on a daily basis.

Dhan sri guru granth sahib ji.

How do you make the line "Aisaa Kam Moolai Naa Kichai Jit Ant Pachhootaayeeai"(dont do anything you will regret in the end) true in your daily life?

I think as young adults as most of us are we make mistakes that are stupid to very seriuos daily in life. They can be from killing an insect/spider becuase its annoyance is iritating. Or to becoming engulfed with the five vices. However we should all take the time to alalyze what we have done wrong, and how to fix the situation.

They way i make this gurbani line true in my life, is that i think before i speak, and even think about what i am thinking about. If i see someone and my mind thinks that they are 'ugly' or 'stupid' i ask myself why i think such horrid things about guru sahib's creation. I try to always think about everything before i do something i will regret.

In conclusion, we make our descions in

life. Humans are not born smokers, they decide to smoke and in the end guru sahib with give them their concequence.

Does your circle of associates contain only sikhs, and if not, is it difficult to live a life as a gursikh around them?

I will not lie, to this question. As i am still in High School, i sometimes find it difficult live as a gursikh around some people. I try not to let it affect me in the ways that i forget who i am and what my faith is. I am not with my friends all the time, only at school, but when im there i try to eat less, TALK less, and sleep less.

gaalhee al palaaleeaa ka(n)m n aavehi mith ||1||

Useless talk and babbling is useless, my friend. ||1||

on a day to day basis i try and talk less so i can fully concentrate on the task that i want to accomplish. I try not to impose my belifs on another people so i say less, and listen more. But yes sometimes its hard, but i try my hardest to adapt.

So those are my answers. Its not a very good essay.

Bull chaaak maapkh karni sangat jio.

Daasri,

Heart Phanji

[Princess]

vaheguru ... maybe let it run for the 3 weeks, cuz some people might have crazy exams this week and that's why they didn't contribute

[Jaspaul Singh]

excuses excuses

heart bhenji .. AWESOME response ..

keep them coming ppl !!

[japmans]

I just recieved an essay to my email from an anonymous writer :wub: good good read

What makes you wake up every morning wanting to be a Gursikh?

Just to know I have been given this extra time to live as a Gursikh, to know I have this extra time to do naam simran, recite Gurbani, do kirtan, do sangat, do seva, to try and help someone less fortunate or in need in whatever form, I want to be a Gursikh, I thrive to be a Gursikh, to control the 5 vices of kaam, krodh, lobh, moh, hunkaar. To know that a Gursikh is someone who has tamed these 5 vices, and kept them under control and they in turn bow to this Gursikh, who is a true beloved devotee of Guru Sahib, to know Guru sahib gives so much praise to a true Gursikh, they are held in great reverence and to know that if I do my true matha dhek at the lotus charan of my Guru ji and tell Him nothing is mine, this mind, body, soul, its all Yours, to merge into the light whilst still here in this life, to become a true Guru ka Sikh would be just inexplicable. But I know it’s something that works both ways, I cant just expect Guru Sahib to wave a magic wand over my head, I need to show Guru ji I am serious and devoted, in turn I should expect nothing, but give my everything thus working up the ladder and eventually reaching the top as a Gursikh.

What do you draw inspiration from on a day-to-day basis?

Guru ji continues to be an inspiration, from when I recite Gurbani, all the new things I learn, from when I visit Gurughar and get to do Guru ji’s seva, from when I read Sikh history and realise there is hope for a sinner like me, Guru ji is my Beloved Saviour, my everything, if tomorrow I was deserted and left with no family, friends, it would all be great for just knowing I have Guru ji, my Saajanraa. And to know Guru Ji sacrificed so much, and what for? For us, for me!

Sikh history again is an inspiration, the amount of sacrifices that occurred through ultimate love are unparalleled and whenever I hear a sakhi from hundreds of years ago or 15 years ago they have the same effect, leave me totally speechless and soaked in tears of total gratitude and respect.

Definitely my friends form a deep inspiration; I won’t mention any names because they would literally kill me! But wow I don’t know what to say, they are true Gursikhs, they have so much piaar, it just oozes out in all the things they do and say, they have so much nimarta, I cant express, without these beloved Gursikhs, who I thrive to be like, who I am not even worthy of, I cant even once be a sacrifice for, I would not be today. These beloveds of my Guru Sahib have guided me unknowingly, vah, their jot is parkaash and how it shines, guiding this blind ignorant fool, like the beam from a light house which steers me to shore.

How do you make the line "Aisaa Kam Moolai Naa Kichai Jit Ant Pachhootaayeeai" true in your daily life?

Let me just say first of all there is vast room for improvement in my day to day living! The mind is so hard to control, the most powerful tool known to mankind, it wanders in all directions, never stopping, never tiring, and always discovering new things. I try to live each day as my last, for no one knows when the time to get up and leave this place will be upon us and by doing that I can think twice about what I am doing. I am no where near an ideal Gursikh and I make constant mistakes, but it’s through my mistakes I have learnt some very well needed and serious lessons on ‘life’. I now like to think I have enough inside me to direct my mind to an extent that I do not commit the same mistakes over and over again for which I will regret and repent in the end because no doubtedly I cannot afford to add on to all the wrong I have done and am still likely to do!

 

Does your circle of associates contain only Sikhs, and if not, is it difficult to live a life as a Gursikh around them?

No my circle does not only contain Sikhs, I think if it did, I would not be a Sikh so to speak. Sikhism is a great way of life with extremely beautiful teachings. I like to see the whole human race as one, my circle of friends includes people of different religions as well as atheists. They have all been very supportive of the way I live and they take into consideration the rules I adhere to before they ask me to partake in certain activities. Sikhism has allowed me to try and recognise the light of God in all, to acknowledge that everyone and everything is a creation of the Almighty, in turn I try to respect and understand anyone who may come into my life. By associating with non Sikhs I can see whether or not I live by Sikh principles of equality, compassion and love for mankind. Its also a great learning process whereby I discover other cultures and other ways of living, of loving, of knowing God, ultimately it all helps me realise there is no difference between us, we are all equal, we are most likely 99.9% the same but by concentrating on that 0.1% difference we create barriers for ourselves and from this stems discrimination and the like. 

[japmans]

well... deadline was extended and no one extra still contributed....

SOOO...

that was the last essay marathon, it's obvious that even with topics that everyone can write about.........no one really cares.

soooo thanks for those who tried to make this successful, and thank you to those who did not contribute.

The Lesson: Can't force anyone to do anything. and it's not just contributers... the essay marathons get the least amoutn of views of a large amount of posts too... one of the admins of this site suggested i write up a blurb and add it to the Sikhsangat News slideshow on the side......i was excited to do this at first, but I'm pretty sure it would have no effect regardless.

Sorry for sounding bitter and whiny... but after numerous serious threads have been ruined (sometimes by me too, no denying it....) i figured this is somewhere we can get serious replies and help inspire each other.

So once again..thank you for contributing and for not contributing!

Vaheguruji ka khalsa

Vaheguruji ki fateh!!!!