Sunday, April 27, 2008

Crunch Time

Can't wait for my last exam to be over...stressed to the max! So far I've spent 16 hours in the uni library over the past three days but have only managed to finish 3 out of 7 long chapters. Is it normal to get hunger headaches even after you've eaten? I really do hope so...
The pindrop silence here sucks sometimes, especially when the clouds of dust from petrifying books makes me sneeze those big manly sneezes of mine...
I fear that the other last minute crammers are thinking "why wont this turbaned woman shut up?" haha
Perhaps my stress is the result of skipping the entire semester's course due to unforseen circumstances (ok, maybe I was just being lazy and didnt bother...can you blame me? :P )
Anywho, this post provided me with a nice break...soon I will let the imaginary people who read this blog know about my shananagins that occur post-exam time...now I leave you with a random picture...
Waheguru. Bichara..he really misses me...

Monday, April 14, 2008

Kes Kes Kes Long Beautiful Kes

Recently there has been a lot of posts on sikhi forums about facial kes and bibia.

Firstly, I would like to say kudos to those brave sisters who keep every hair on their body intact and untouched. May Guru Sahib continue to give you the strength to look passed society's idea of beauty. However, for those sisters who havent, hair can grow back so may He also give you the strength to one day keep the roop He intends you to.
Keeping all of our hair intact is a fundamental part of our religion. Now before you say blah blah blah who cares i know this already: think about it! Here's a bit of a scientific approach: every folicle of hair on your body is like an electric wire that connects you to Waheguru, so the more hair, the stronger connection we have when we meditate on naam. Stronger connection you say!? Tell me more! Sorry, I wish I had more knowledge on the matter.

Ok, now here are some personal experiences:

Removal of kes is quite common among amritdhari bibia but the only difference is, is that we tend to forget that it is a bujjar kurheit. Yah whatever, I know its bad, so whats your point? My point is that one cannot cover this up with excuse after excuse. For example, there is the ever so common, "Guru Ji will forgive me, he KNOWS how hard it is..."
Trust me, I had alot of excuses and even though I hadn't even removed my kes, I stood up for others who did using the same redundant excuses. "She has hormonal problems" or "who cares, she is still the same person inside". I don't feel guilty about supporting them though because they were going through a rough time. Not only were they depressed because of their long kes, now they were depressed about removing it!

It all started when high school arrived and at that time a girl tries to realize who she is and where she belongs. Bleaching first came to my mind so one night it was finally going to happen at a friends house. I watched as some of my amritdhari friends spread the bright white cream all over their faces. I watched even more intently when they washed it off. Now here's the amazing part: as soon as I was about to step up to the plate, there was no more cream left! Waheguru! So I went home thinking ah no big deal, maybe later...

Later did come, but later was in a different form, a more painful form. Another friend of mine made up her mind to remove her bleached facial kes with a laser, how exciting! She talked me into getting it done too. "You dont have much hair so if you do it now no one will notice". Pretty pursuasive right? Although I was crumbling under the weight of peer pressure, with Guru's kirpa, a part of me felt it was horribly wrong. After talking to another friend, she helped me realize my condition so what did I do next? Well since I was unsure if Guru Ji was ok with this decision, why not ask Him directly? The answer came when I was soon going to travel to a city where I usually go to for smagams but now it was a city where I would ultimately face my doom. Turns out my peer pressuring friend went through with it and I ended up going somewhere else that night, perhaps a kirtan program but my memory is fuzzy. Again, whats my point?

I simply wasn't meant to remove my kes BUT this revelation isnt just for this random girl sitting on her computer typing away, its for everyone. We just arent meant to.
And there were many experiences similar to the ones above, where you swim in an ocean of doubt and Maharaj grabs you by the arm and pulls you out JUST when you are about to drown.

Just

like

that....

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Vaisakhi

May Guru bless us on this special occasion. It was such an uplifting experience to see the sangat today at gurudwara. Everyone in their bright orange, blue and white banaa. Waheguru. Radiant faces, especially of those blessed souls who were about to enter the amrit sanchar. Days like this make up for all of the ones I've wasted not realizing how enthusiastic and proud our panth is; to step on to the Guru's path with his grace. Dhan Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

flickr fierceness...

Need i say more?
Thank you to all of my creative brothers and sisters out there who take the time to upload their masterpieces on flickr...seriously, how else would I spend my time between school and sleeptime? Your pictures mean alot to me and I really appreciate every image...now before I get mushy (I think I might already have he he), some images I really love:

autoretrato-Self portrait


















By Dashmesh Kaur



Golden Temple Dips
























By Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa

These are only 2 of the many many many images I love. If it wasn't so hard to upload pictures to this thing...I would add many of Pardeep Singh's masterpieces.
So to all of you gifted photogs out there...keep clicking away at Waheguru's creation...
Stay fierce!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Dhan Guru

Waheguru Ji...what an amazing weekend! Thank you Guru Ji for blessing us with the sangat of such Gursikhs.
Disease after disease and running around in circles, I finally realized my condition...help me keep my hopes in you, may I never doubt you or falter in any way.

Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Arjan Dev Sahib Ji:

jis kaa than man dhhan sabh this kaa soee sugharr sujaanee
Body, mind, wealth and everything belong to Him; He alone is all-wise and all-knowing.


thin hee suniaa dhukh sukh maeraa tho bidhh neekee khattaanee 1
He listens to my pains and pleasures, and then my condition improves. 1


Waheguru. How could I falter when everything belongs to you? How could I falter or doubt you when you're the one who listens to my every need? How could I, even for a second, think that you weren't there for me or that you weren't going to help me because of my bad deeds?
Give us the strength to rely on you for our every need. May we never judge each other because we belong to Him and He belongs to us.

"Be in peace, not in pieces."

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!