Men VS Women

So I'm going to try typing out this post on my nifty iPhone. Here goes. Ehem. Dear gursikh brothers and sisters. I love and respect all of you. However, sometimes I feel the need to scold you since I get massive ego trips. This is one of those times. The older I get and mind you, I'm only in my early twenties, I've noticed how much I've grown since my teenage years with Maharaj's endless grace. That being said, I know I still have a lot more growing to do internally. My brothers: you are male. That means you are given special treatment. Great. Just don't be a dick about it. And by that I mean, you have no right to tell your sister(s)/wife/mother what they can or can't do. Why? Because you have no idea what its like to have societal pressures forced on you because of your gender. You have no idea what it's like to be compensated less for the same occupation. You have no idea what it's like when you're hated on by even your own parents for being born a woman. I could go on but the point is, you don't have the right to treat a woman the same way society treats her. Especially if you call yourself a Sikh of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji Maharaj. Guru Sahib saw women on an equal level. I'm not trying to argue that men and women are the same because they're different in their own respects. For example, when you tell a woman she should not wear makeup, dress a certain way, etc., why? What are you getting out of telling her that? One, she's most likely familiarized with every rehitnama out there so thanks for repeating it one more time (not). Two, she already feels insecure about herself so bravo to you for making her feel even shittier. Finally, so what? It's her body and it's her choice! You're a guy for heaven's sake! You don't have the need to do your eyebrows, paint your nails, wear a dress but you act like a drama queen as soon as you see a bibi doing it. And that's a shame. An utter shame on your part. Do this instead: swallow your manly pride and stop yourself from creating any verbal diarrhea of any sort. Instead, treat that woman with the respect and dignity she deserves because she's not gonna get that anywhere else. Let her be. My sisters: men can be total dicks. But that's just the way it is. However, that does not excuse you from being a bitch to another woman. If anything you should empathize with her as she faces the same struggles you do everyday. Oh you found out she hits up the laser clinic eh? Nows the perfect opportunity to hate on her and talk shit behind her back. NO! Shame on you! You're doing exactly what some of your ignorant brothers are doing. Why? What gives you the right to make her feel terrible about her choices? Exactly. You have no right either so just stop. We need to end our backstabbing and shit talking. I do it too so I'm just as guilty. So to conclude, respect works both ways for both men and women. Let's try to inspire each other to read Gurbani, sing kirtan, meditate, do seva and so forth instead of playing "rehit police" all day long. You just gotta do your own thang and inspire by leading by example. May our maturity level rise so that we can always keep it real.

What is Love? Baby Don't Hurt Me No More

It's funny what this does to us.
But there's different kinds of love. I mean, there's romantic love. Which is, according to popular media, a dream in which two people meet, fall in 'love'. Then theres love that you feel for your kin. Then there's love that you feel for Waheguru.
I would say that the first type of love, romance, makes people go crazy. I've had this love (I've been in love that is, not had someone love me back). Its insane. Its temporary because you can have romantic love for many people. When you fall out of love for someone you can always find another. This type of love is hard. You can be permanantly scarred from it. And FYI its NEVER like how it is in the movies. Bollywood romances are complete lies. In any case, I would say that this type of love is the hardest to deal with once it consumes you. It makes you forget who you are and for a period of time you are infatuated: your mind and soul are under the influence of the person you've fallen for. (haha now that I think about it, it makes me seem like a total dumbass.)
The second type of love is a lot better to deal with. However, in my experience, I have never shown this love as much as I should. Your family, those people who are there for you in your life: brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. Friends count as family too. These people you feel an unspoken love for. I've never told my parents I love them. Does that kill me? Yes sometimes because I fear that the day they leave this world I will regret not telling them or showing them. BUT they know it exists because its an unspoken truth. My siblings, love them to death, but again: unspoken truth. This love is a great love to have if its not taken for granted. But even this type of love can be broken. I've seen siblings hate eachother. I've seen parents abuse their children. I've seen friends who leave you in the dark. Even these people, your own kin, can turn against you in a heartbeat. It just has to be a good enough reason (money, jealousy, property, power, etc).
Finally, there's love for Waheguru. (I wouldn't be surprised if someone rolled their eyes at this explaination. Trust me, in the current state I am in, I would too). Speaking from experience, this is the ONLY type of love that doesn't end up f*cking you over in some way. I can love Akal Purakh as much or as little (lately, its been little) as I want, and I won't end up hurt. If anyone would like to challenge me on this you are more than welcome. There's times where I turn my face away from Him out of stubbornness but when I let Him into my mind even for a second, its explosive. Its unreal. Your heart has never felt anything like it. Romantic love looks like crap after you've experienced love for Waheguru. However, I haven't felt like how I've felt in a long time. I need to rekindle my romance before I do something drastic: leave this path for good. That's when I realized: what makes me love Him? Its Bani. I lost my love for Bani because I lost touch with it. Yah I do my nitnem by half listening to it on my way to work/school. That's not love, thats just lame. Its a formality to me.
So, with that said dear Sikhs...I'm on a downward spiral into manmukh central. Why? I haven't connected to Bani in so long and I haven't been going to sangat much. I look like a Gurmukh on the outside but if I don't connect with Bani soon, I will soon become a Beymukh, a monee. Do I have the balls to go get a haircut? Probably not yet, but don't think it hasn't crossed my mind. So my advice to those who have the third type of love I just wrote about. Don't ever let that go if you have it. You would be a total douche to let it go. Don't let the world make you feel like your Sikhee saroop is ugly or stupid. Bani is so important if you want to stay on this path.
If you happen to have the first type of love: don't let it make you forget who you are and don't ever let it consume you. If you have the second type, don't take it for granted.
-Keep it real.