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VASAKHI-Sikhism

Seeing as a lot of people on here seem to be somewhat OBLIVIOUS to other peoples cultures and religions, and think that purely because ethnic minorities LIVE in this country, that they should have to celebrate these holidays etc.

I thought id let you gain a bit of insight, knowledge, information into the SIKH festival of VAISAKHI. let me say this also:

BY POSTING THIS THREAD, I AM NOT IN ANY WAY ASKING EVERYONE TO CELEBRATE IT (AS SOME MAY THINK) PURELY LETTING YOU GAIN SOME KNOWLEDGE...OUTSIDE OF THE BOX MANY OF YOUARE OBVIOUSLY STUCK IN.

VAISAKHI

Lets take a moment to remember

…The 5 brave souls who gave up their families, castes, creeds and lives to answer the gurus call when no one else would and still proclaimed to him “we are giving you our head…for it was always yours”
“It marag peirr dharij-ay, sir dij-ay kan na kij-ay”
“If on this path you wish to tread, be not afraid to give up your head” (Guru Nanak Dev Ji)

…The 75 year old Baba Deep Singh who when Sri Harmandir Sahib had begun to be demoilished…vowed that he would fight for it no matter what and wouldn’t die on that day before seeing Sri Darbar Sahib…Baba Deep Singh who when he was beheaded before reaching Amritsar, picked up his head in one hand, and fought with his 18kg khanda in the other..
“Jeevat Muu-aay Mu-aay S-ay Jeev-ay”
“Those who are dead while yet living, they live on"

…The Mother of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Mata Gujar Kaur, who after seeing her husband and ninth Guru give up his life to protect freedom of worship and humanity, dressed her two grandsons, the 6 year old Baba Fateh Singh, and the 8 year old Baba Zorawar Singh, to die. And as she tears flowed from her eyes, knowing what their fate would be, she found them telling her not to worry, for they would soon be with their Grandfather.
“In puttran ke sis, parvar dee-ay sat char
Char mu-aay ta kia ho-aa, jeh jivat kai hajjaar”
£For the lives of these children, I gave up four of my family
So what if four die, when thousands more live on?" (Guru Gobind Singh Ji)

…The 94 year old Bhai Mani Singh, who after calling off the celebration of a festival after hearing of a planned ambush, who after refusing to give up his faith at the risk of death, was killed by having his body chopped joint from joint.
“Soora so peh-shaniyeh jo lareh deen keh hay-tt
Purja purja katt mar-ay, kabhoon na shadd-ay kh-ay-tt”
"They alone are said to be spiritual beings who fight for the sake of humanity.
They may be cut limb from limb, but never leave the field of battle”

…The countless others of all religions and backgrounds who joined together to fight tyranny and protected the oppressed.
“Nimania deh maan, nitaniaan deh taan, ni-ot-ian de ot”

“The honour of the meek, the power of the weak, the shelter of the shelter less”

But most of all remember that God has no colour, no caste, no nationality and no religion.

“You have no particular dwelling place and you have no desire. You have no son, friend, foe or wife. You are beyond description.
You are free from all sorrow, and you have no kins. You are perfect and pure and unsupported. You have no friend or foes, no caste or family.
My salutations to you, who is nothing but love and the thread of love."
(Guru Gobind Singh, Akal Ustat)

The day not only signifies the beginning of the Sikh New Year, it also commemorates the formation of the Khalsa Panth (nation)(SIKHISM) by Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1699. That singular act gave Sikhs a collective identity and unity of purpose that remains intact to this day.

In Amritsar, India, Sikhs will gather before dawn and make their way to the Golden Temple, where they bathe in the sacred pool. These activities continue till late in the evening.

Vaisakhi day is most significant for Sikhs because of what occurred on that day in 1699. Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth and last Guru, radically changed the face of Sikhism. Facing violent opposition from Hindu and Muslim neighbours, Sikhs had been unable to effectively spread their message across Asia until the birth of Guru Gobind Singh.

Although earlier Gurus had travelled great distances in order to spread the message, Sikhism, for the most part, remained in the Punjab.

Guru Gobind Singh ji

On Vaisakhi day thousands of people of all backgrounds gathered at Anandpur to honour the call from Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The actual day was 30th March 1699, but is now on the 13th or 14th April (calendar adjusted).

He spoke of the dangerous times they lived in and of a plan to strengthen the community. Standing with a sword in his hand, the Guru asked which Sikh in the congregation was willing to sacrifice his life for his faith. No one stepped forward at first, but eventually one man came forward and was led into a Guru's tent.

Moments later, Guru Gobind Singh ji returned carrying a bloody sword. He asked the same question again. Another man came forward and this scene repeated itself three more times. A short while later, the Guru walked out of the tent with the five men 'Panj Pyaras' who were willing to offer their lives to dharma, their religion.

Panj Pyaras

The 'Five Beloved Ones' were all baptised at the same time from the same bowl, proving to the congregation that everyone was equal.

They became the first five members initiated into the Khalsa, or the 'Order of the Pure'. Guru Gobind Singh Ji then received initiation from the five beloved ones, thus erasing all distinctions between Guru and the Sikhs.

As part of the Vaisakhi event, members of the Sikh community in many different cities will take part in a Nagar Kirtan - a religious march. THese will all take place on different days, for different cities. These processions can be seen in BIRMINGHAM on Sunday 25th April, GRAVESEND on Saturday 17th April, and many other cities.

Seeing as this is such an important festival in the SIKH religion, i thought it would be nice to let other, non-believers know aobut it. :smile:

Reply 1

Amb1

1

Thanks! It's good to get information like this and learn about other religions and cultures. You started off quite aggressive though, as if you were attacking people for not knowing. Yes, it is ignorance, but nobody's to blame.

Reply 2

samd294

and then frodo and the rest of the fellowship continued their journey.

Reply 3

Anu

OP

: ) Apologies for that, the other vasakhi thread got on my nerves a bit. Seems like some people are not willing to even understand about other peoples religion and will slate it before they even TRY to learn.

Reply 4

kindersurprise

samd294

and then frodo and the rest of the fellowship continued their journey.

But they got picked off one by one until there was only the fat hobbit left
xox

Reply 5

Anu

OP

Yeah, i dont get the whole LOTR comments. Please don't ruin this thread.

Reply 6

JimBob

If everyone had to celebrate every holiday of every religion that people who live in the country believe in then we'd have a hell of a lot of days off work and nothing would get done!

Reply 7

animal555

well put Anu, hopefully this'll educate some of the ignorant ppl out there

kindersurprise

But they got picked off one by one until there was only the fat hobbit left
xox

shut the fuck up!

Reply 8

Anu

OP

JimBob

If everyone had to celebrate every holiday of every religion that people who live in the country believe in then we'd have a hell of a lot of days off work and nothing would get done!

Noone is asking anyone to celebrate EVERY holiday for EVERY religion. Sikhs dont necessarily take the day off for VAISKAHI. It would just be nice for people to not be so ignorant and actually UNDERSTAND that we are not living in the past. This country DOES have minority religions in it, and no, im not asking everyone to learn about everything, its nice to know that other religions understand SIKHISM, just as much as CHRISTIANITY is taught in schools, and how jesus was crucified. Whats wrong with learning a bit about another religion?

Reply 9

samd294

animal555

well put Anu, hopefully this'll educate some of the ignorant ppl out there

shut the fuck up!

dont swear in this thread, dont you have any respect for vasahki?!?!

Reply 10

samd294

Anu

Yeah, i dont get the whole LOTR comments. Please don't ruin this thread.

I believe it was a reference to the fantasmagorical nature of the story, reminiscent of the work of JRR.

Reply 11

animal555

yeah bub, but this ain't fiction.

true what they say, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.

Reply 12

animal555

samd294

dont swear in this thread, dont you have any respect for vasahki?!?!

uhmm yeah, u missed out what i was swearing at idiot!

Reply 13

Anu

OP

vaisakhi

Reply 14

Babygal

samd294

and then frodo and the rest of the fellowship continued their journey.

lolzzzz

Reply 15

Howard

5

Anu

Noone is asking anyone to celebrate EVERY holiday for EVERY religion. Sikhs dont necessarily take the day off for VAISKAHI. It would just be nice for people to not be so ignorant and actually UNDERSTAND that we are not living in the past. This country DOES have minority religions in it, and no, im not asking everyone to learn about everything, its nice to know that other religions understand SIKHISM, just as much as CHRISTIANITY is taught in schools, and how jesus was crucified. Whats wrong with learning a bit about another religion?

Excuse me but the average Joe doesn't even understand christianity, the state approved religion of this country. The only time he goes to church is a drunken visit on Christmas eve!

I don't think a failure to understand Vaiskahi or Sikhism more generally is particularly ignorant. How many Sihks live in the UK? I'm guessing a couple hundred thousand. What relevence does sikhism have to the average "nominal" protestant/catholic? None.

I think we need to concentrate on understanding christianity first and sikhism and other faiths a bit later on.

I mean no disrespect. Sihks that I have known (many many of them) are wonderful folks and a brave upstanding people. But we are living in a time when our own churches and fighting for survival and fast losing ground to other faiths. If religion must be taught in schools (and I'm not convinced that it should) then christianity must be the religion that is concentrated on.

Reply 16

Anu

OP

Howard

Excuse me but the average Joe doesn't even understand christianity, the state approved religion of this country. The only time he goes to church is a drunken visit on Christmas eve!

I don't think a failure to understand Vaiskahi or Sikhism more generally is particularly ignorant. How many Sihks live in the UK? I'm guessing a couple hundred thousand. What relevence does sikhism have to the average "nominal" protestant/catholic? None.

I think we need to concentrate on understanding christianity first and sikhism and other faiths a bit later on.

I mean no disrespect. Sihks that I have known (many many of them) are wonderful folks and a brave upstanding people. But we are living in a time when our own churches and fighting for survival and fast losing ground to other faiths. If religion must be taught in schools (and I'm not convinced that it should) then christianity must be the religion that is concentrated on.

The fact that some people don't follow their own religions has nothing to do with me. Who gives a CRAP if they only go to church on xmas eve? I think that it is ignorant that many people as yourself, are not willing to try to understand this religion. :

There are now about 20 million Sikhs worldwide, with most living in the Sikh homeland of the Punjab. Britain is now home to the largest community of Sikhs outside India with about 750,000 devotees.

as you say..a couple hundred thousand? a lot more than that in fact. THE LARGEST SIKH COMMUNITY OUTSIDE OF INDIA. You go and ocncentrate on your own faith..and others can do as they please.

Im not saying that sikhism has any relevance to protestants or catholics. NORMAL? as if to say that others are not? You seem to be EXACTLY the type of person this thread was meant to educate.

Reply 17

kindersurprise

Anu, do you completely understand every other world religion?
If not then please do not preach to others who are merely making the point that it is impossible to totally comprehend all religions.
xox

Reply 18

Anu

OP

A true son of the Church of England? Fair enough..like i said..do what you need to do with your PAGAN religion. *rolls eyes*

The need to resort to swearing? Noone can have a detailed debate or conversation on here without it turning ugly. Interesting how youseem to be there a lot.

Kinder surprise..No, im not saying i know in depth details about every single religion, but im WILLING to learn. Learning about other religions, knowing what their basics are i think is necessary in the type of world we live in today. Of course it is impossible to comprehend all religions, but who said its IMPOSSIBLE to try?

Reply 19

Anu

OP

People shouldn't be pigeon-holed into religious categorisation.

Ethnic background doesnt necessarily impact religious motivations, people should be given choice as to which religion they choose to follow and reasons why. I agree religious education as a whole is off the mark in this country but I dont think a de-evolution of it into being solely about Christianity is the way to go.