Thursday, January 31, 2019

CORRIDOR OF PEACE BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN


It is hailed as a “Corridor of Peace” between India and Pakistan.
The Kartarpur Corridor to be ready by November of this year is also a long-awaited and welcome historical development for Sikhs worldwide. The much-desired Corridor will connect the border town of Dera Baba Nanak from the Indian side and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.
The 4.7 kilometers border corridor would be a sacred passage to the historic site of Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539), settled and assembled the faith’s commune after his missionary travels.
The highlight of the Corridor is that it is visa-free for pilgrims and devotees of Sikhism and from other religions to visit the Gurdwara in Kartarpur.
Till now, Sikh devotees from the Indian side gather in large number on higher places to have sacred viewing of the Gurdwara across the border.
The Indian government at one time was reluctant to the Corridor project, because of the poor state of the relationship between the two countries. Instead, it offered to install several powerful binoculars close to the border for viewing of the Kartarpur Gurdwara.
With the change of mind, perhaps the original proposal was mooted by ruling BJP prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that the present Modi Government tend to be a partner in the upcoming project.
An 800-meter-long bridge will be built over the Ravi river to lead up to the transit terminal where shuttle buses will take the pilgrims from India to Pakistan.
The Kartarpur Gurdwara is a revered Sikh historical shrine where according to one Lahore-based historian Fakr Syed Aijazudin, the place houses the last copies of Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhism.
The Kartarpur Corridor has been an old, forceful and relentless demand of the Sikhs to the leadership of both the countries. It was only in September 2018 that the Pakistan Government unilaterally decided to start construction work for the Corridor.
The announcement was instantly welcomed by the government of India when prime minister Narendra Modi compared the decision to the fall of the Berlin Wall, saying the project may help in better relations between the two nations.
The peace Corridor is reported to be complete close to the 550th-anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev’s birthday.
The Sikh Guru founded Kartarpur in 1504 AD and established the first commune for his followers there. He lived in Kartarpur till his death. It is believed that the tradition of langar, an iconic part of Sikh faith, began here.
Guru Nanak was a firm believer in “karta,” meaning a doer. This relates to a person who besides being religious, is actively involved in doing work to earn one’s pious living.  While in this engagement one also keeps social and family ties, rather than seeking a religious seclusion life as a hermit in search of god and peace. Hence, he named his place of final settlement Kartarpur.
The original 16th-century shrine on the banks of river Ravi was built by the followers of Guru Nanak Dev, including many Muslims. But it was ravaged by floods. The present Kartarpur Gurdwara was built by late Maharaja of Patiala Sardar Bhupinder Singh in 1925 at the site where Guru Nanak died.
After the partition of India in 1947, the Kartarpur region was awarded to Pakistan. The Gurdwara was sort of abandoned and showed signs of ruin. Later in 1995, the Pakistan Government began the repair work and fully restored the sacred Sikh shrine in 2004.
The sanctity of the site was always upheld by Nanak’s Muslim devotees as well. And today Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib has emerged as the ultimate symbol of peace among the Punjabis on both sides of the border.
The “Corridor of Peace” would be the eventual tribute by both the nations of India and Pakistan to the teachings of Guru Nanak.
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Promod Puri is a Vancouver-based journalist, writer, and author of “Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs, And Tradition.” Websites: promodpuri.com,progressivehindudialogue.com 

Friday, January 25, 2019

ON WHAT GROUND LEFTISTS BACKING VENEZUELA’S DICTATOR


Why the political Left must always support the dictatorial and one-man authoritarian regimes with the bogus tags of being socialist.
This time it is Venezuela where the fraudulent dictator Nicolas Maduro is ruling the nation with the same style as his predecessor Hugo Chavez. Simply because of another aspirant to the presidency has been approved by the “capitalist” USA?
In the meantime, the so-called socialist rule under Madura has put Venezuela under severe economic conditions where the very basic necessities of life are hard to get and buy. The law and order in the country are worst, the garbage is piling up, and the people are desperately trying to get out seeking asylum in the neighboring countries or even to the United States.
On what ground the Leftists are supporting the dictatorships of Venezuela?

Thursday, January 17, 2019

KUMBH MELA: IT IS ALL RITUAL AND POLITICS


Ritualistically inspired and politically promoted by the Hindutva regime of India’s Uttar Pradesh province, the world’s largest religious congregation, the Kumbh Mela, began January 15 until March 4, 2019, in the city of Praygraj, formerly Allahabad.
Devotees come to the historic city where Hindu sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati confluence.
It is a pilgrimage with the strong belief that all the sins one has committed will be cleaned with a simple dip in the holy waters. And one can re-emerge and start his or her life with a clean slate. Moreover, one gets “mukti’, meaning liberation from the cycle of life and death according to Hindu belief.
This year’s Kumbh Mela besides its ritual and traditional values has political importance also because of the upcoming parliamentary election in India. As millions of pilgrims from all over the country are expected to attend the mela, the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party, is spending millions of rupees in arrangements and facilities to cash in on the goodwill it would generate.
As per the ritual of the bath or few dips in the holy waters to cleans one’s sins is concerned, it does not carry any rationale. This ritual can be accepted as part of Hindu customs and traditions of pilgrimage to the revered rivers, especially at their confluence point, called Sangam.
Expecting, that a devotee can wash off all the bad deeds he or she has committed can’t be accepted to realistic and progressive Hindu mind.
17th-century poet, humanist and philosopher Bulleh Shah has aptly condemned these kinds of ritualistic beliefs. He says:
Makkay gayaan, gal mukdee naheen
Pawain sow sow jummay parrh aaeey
Going to Makkah is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of prayers are offered

Ganga gayaan, gal mukdee naheen
Pawain sow sow gotay khaeeay
Going to River Ganges is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of cleansing (Baptisms) are done

Gaya gayaan gal mukdee naheen
Pawain sow sow pand parrhaeeay
Going to Gaya is not the ultimate
Even if hundreds of worships are done

Bulleh Shah gal taeeyon mukdee
Jadon May nu dillon gawaeeay
Bulleh Shah the ultimate is
When the “I” is removed from the heart!

Friday, January 11, 2019

STORY BEHIND LOHRI SONG DULLA BHATTI WALA, HO…


Lohri is a traditional Punjabi festival of pure secular nature. It is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians.
January 13th every year is the marked date for the festival in both India and Pakistan’s Punjab regions, and all over the world where Punjabis are settled.
They say it is a celebration to mark the end of harsh winters of the region. But there is folklore linked to the popular Lohri song Dulla Bhatti Wala Ho….
It is “a legend of Dulla Bhatti, whose real name was Abdullah Bhatti and lived in Punjab during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar.
Dulla Bhatti was regarded as a hero in Punjab, for rescuing Hindu girls from being forcibly taken to be sold in the slave market of the Middle East. Amongst those he saved were two girls Sundri and Mundri, who gradually became a theme of the Punjab folklore.” -Source Wikipedia.
-Promod Puri

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

HUKAM RAZAI CHALNA, NANAK LIKHYEA NAAL – PART 2



In this part two of my interpretation of Guru Nanak’s divine message Hukam Razai Chalna, Nanak Likhyea Naal, we take another aspect of the edict. But first, let me briefly recap what was presented in the first discussion.
In the previous viewpoint, the perception was when we are facing an unjust or grave situation that conflicts with our conscious mind, then it is likely not the will of God. Rather it is created and imposed on us by diverse temporal factors. Our earnest response to tackle or fightback the intolerable circumstance is our pragmatic and rational understanding of Hukam.
In our personal lives when we face problems, that could be health issues, harm and ill-will inflicted on us, hatred based on race or caste reasons, etc., etc. then the divine Hukam demands to tackle the obstacle or crisis we face. Hukum razai does not mean we accept the situation and do nothing or expecting “god-willing” it would go away.
Hukum razai chalna is the sacred message which was followed by the Sikh Gurus. Rather than acceding, they fought against the injustice and tyranny and sought equality for humanity. It is in this crusade and commitment that Hukam gets its legitimate and revered meaning.
Life is an entanglement of sufferings. The blissful emancipation can be achieved through Hukam-inspired righteous actions.
Hukum is the beginning, and it is the end. In between are our related thoughts and actions. Hukam is the cause of generating an effect. The latter is produced by our deeds where God gives us the freedom to act according to our consciousness.
A keen reader in response to my first article very prudently and concisely says:
“Hukum is, in fact, a dynamic process not a fixed endpoint, that we can use our free will to exercise using our conscious mind. It also feels different when I hear hukum-nama now. “It is not a command or an edict from a patriarchal God but our relatedness to the Divine.”
Now, as we move to the second part of this discussion, we’re dealing with the situation created by our own self. And when this situation is ill-conceived, morally and ethically wrong, it goes against the will of God.
In Japji, Guru Nanak says: “Hukmae andhar sabh, bahar hukme na koe.” A simple translation of the edict is that everybody (sabh) under His command (hukam), nobody (na koe) is beyond (bahar) His command.
The question is, what is that divine command or hukam, signed and delivered by Nanak, from which we do not deviate or stray.
Truly, it is a path which is referred to as the divine order. The moment we disregard this order, it is a violation of His Hukam.
Divine order basically is the system established by His Hukam where we don’t create chaos and misery for ourselves or for fellow human beings, animals, plants and the environment we live in.
It is an order of ethical and moral conduct of our lives where our conscious mind generates virtuous thinking to execute virtuous actions. This way we are neither damaging our conscious mind nor hurting others. And we are staying hukmae andhar or within His order.
The divine order is a disciplined and conscientious undertaking to get into the spirit of the Hukam.
In this order resides our religiosity of being honest, humble and sincere, be considerate and helpful to others, be merciful, forget and forgive, love fellow beings and care for the environments, including animals, plants and nature.
And everything else which is pious, pure and morally firm to bring us in alignment with Guru Nanak’s dictum: Hukam Razai Chalna, Nanak Likhyea Naal.

Monday, January 7, 2019

MOON TRIP: LEAVING WALLS AND BORDERS BEHIND


Moving forward a few decades from now, two friends took their first journey to the moon.
Upon landing on their dream destination, they had their first encounter with a local.
“Welcome to the Moon, where are you guys from.”
“I’m from America, and this friend of mine is from Mexico.”
“Oh! Never heard about these places before.”
Then the Mexican guy interrupted: “actually sir, we are from the earth.”
“That makes sense, enjoy the trip.”
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Occasionally, so

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

HUKAM RAZAI CHALNA, NANAK LIKHYEA NAAL


Perhaps the most relevant message of Guru Nanak Dev as we usher into the New Year and make fresh resolutions in the conduct of our lives, is Hukam Razai ChalnaNanak likhyea naal.
In its simple meaning, as usual addressing himself, Nanak says: it is inevitably written that we conduct ourselves according to the will of God.
Hukam means order or command, razai means acceptance, chalna means to walk, and likhyea naal meaning inevitably written down. To follow (razai) the walk (chalna) guided by hukam of God as inevitably written (likhyea naal), create our basic understanding of this divine message from Guru Nanak Dev.
The key word in the edict is Hukam, and this is where our razai or acceptance is based. Does it mean that we dispel all our reasons and accept every situation or event as the will of God, in other words, that is our fate, good or bad? Is this the way God wants us to accept His will without any action on our part?
In this discussion, if our answer is yes, then we are ritualistically wrong.
Hukam does not mean fate or something unavoidable. It does not mean that we accept every situation as a creation of God whether we like it or not, and we surrender to it.
This is passive acceptance. That is the path for those who seek escape or renunciation. Nanak was against renunciation, and so were all other Sikh Gurus including Guru Gobind Singh.
The history of Sikhism is full of actions to seek righteousness and reject injustice. And that has been the Supreme Command which Nanak is professing.
Hukum is not rigid and a closed commandment, rather it encourages rational thinking followed by action. That is the entirety of Hukam. Here the word chalna, to walk, is very crucial. It means that we carry on with our mission until the goal is achieved.
Hukum is the beginning, and it is the end. In between are our related thoughts and actions. Hukum is the cause of generating an effect. The latter is produced by our actions where God gives us the freedom to act according to our consciousness.