867 “hate incidents” were reported in the ten days following Donald Trump as the United States (US) President-elect by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a US advocacy group, terming it a “national outbreak of hate.”
Recently, my six year old son was given an assignment to write about a holiday his family celebrates in December. Much to my surprise he chose the Shahadat (martyrdom) of Sahibzade (4 sons of Guru Gobind Singh in 1704). As a parent I was so pleased and yet curious at the same time. Here is how our conversation went:
Vismadh. The feeling of pure awe, love, and inspiration. Even that definition doesn’t do justice to the true meaning of Vismadh. It took Guru Nanak Patshah an entire Salok to define and give an essence of what this sabad actually means.
As a young girl, born into a Punjabi speaking family in Canada, I often grappled with adhering to many of the traditional gender and cultural roles I was supposed to follow. Women have often taken on the subservient role in the family household...
Anticipation of the end of another year with barely any of the New Year’s resolutions achieved!Holiday presents for your children’s teacher and colleagues!
Growing up, I was so scared of my father. His staunch stature, echoing voice, and busy schedule kept me distant from him. Fearful of his strictness, I never felt comfortable with him. I would rather piss in my pants than ask him permission to use the bathroom. But then 1984 happened.
The following is an edited version of a lecture delivered by the author at an interfaith forum titled “Resistance, Rebellion & Revolution”, hosted by the Sikh Research Institute at San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A., on July 7, 2011 .
Two of my fellow Sidakers from the class of 2012 have written wonderful blog posts that are succinct and tell you concisely what their Sidak experience was like. Please do give them a read: Santbir Singh on Sikhchic “Why I’ll Be There.” and Ruby Kaur on Sikhnet with the aptly titled, “Amazing Sidak.” It should come as no surprise that my post about my experience is long, but I’ve inserted photos to hide this fact.
In a word, Sikhism is about community.To celebrate the establishment of the Khalsa, the community of the pure, by 10th Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, the Gursikh Sangat Hamilton-Wentworth invited the surrounding community Saturday to help celebrate what is essentially the Sikh New Year to an open house at the Gurdwara on Old Guelph Road for food, music and conversation.
Like many young Sikh-Canadians and Sikh-Americans, I've done the full circuit.I started as a kid at the Punjabi Sunday School, moved on to the day camps run by the gurdwaras during school holidays. Then, in university and after, I started going from the West Coast to the East, attending conferences and retreats.
Fascinating Folktales of Punjab
I was 17 when Prof Devidas Chatterjee opened up the world of poetry for me.Until then, I had studied English poetry for years, but it had yet to pierce my soul. It was still a chore, still no more than words laid out in a variety of clever configurations, always ending in what appeared to be a contrived rhyme.
Jasleen Kaur and Sean Holden look into the concept of Vastness in Sikhi. Through poetics and Gurbani from the Guru Granth Sahib and renowned Sikh poets, we delve into how to find comfort and 1ness in times of struggle.
Jasleen Kaur and Sean Holden look into the concept of Vastness in Sikhi. Through poetics and Gurbani from the Guru Granth Sahib and renowned Sikh poets, we delve into how to find comfort and 1ness in times of struggle.