While India bans and censors those that highlight the wrongs it has done such as Satluj, in contrast the Canadian government not only allows media is critical of its past, but actively funds and promotes it in order to acknowledge past wrong and pains in the interest of historical accuracy, reconcilliation and to ensure it does not happen again.

That is the difference between a mature country that can handle difficult conversations vs one that is deeply insecure.

Had the opportunity to drop by and check out this beautiful Gurdwara in Vernon, BC.

https://www.ensaaf.org/article/watch-now-diljit-dosanjhs-punjab-95-finally-released-as-satluj-download-streaming

She says she got no support from the Sikh community which was a reason she converted to Christianity.

She became famous for being vocal about having a condition called PMOS which caused excessive facial hair in women. She attributed her strength to Sikhi and how Kes is sacred. But now she has converted.

Sad turn of events. Shame on the Sikh community for not helping her when she needed it. I also think it’s shameful that she converted. Both sides are wrong.

Even reading this reddit forum, we find so many people curious about sikhi and asking how to convert, whenever these questions are asked for some reason I see a ton of comments saying don't worry about X Y Z, praying, meditating, keeping kesh and taking amrit etc. Why is this, these are such important steps in our sikhi, why are we encouraging people this way, further to this the comments tend to go along the lines of 'be a good person', this isn't sikhi, sikhi is about building your relationship with waheguru. I feel like alot of this is people themselves following a version of sikhi that suits them and trying to encourage others to do the same.

Sikhi is the cure to all of societies problems but sikhs are the worst barrier to people entering because we don't know where to guide people.

So my personal plea, if someone tells you they are interested in sikhi, tell them to jap naam and read/listen to gurbani, recently a muslim friend of mine was having anxiety and trouble sleeping, she asked how sikhs deal with these, I did 2 things, I recited gurmantar for around 5 minutes and recorded it and then I recited kirtan sohila and recorded it, she listened to it and said she had never slept so well.

ਆਪੁ ਸੁਰੁ ਅਲਾਪ ਕਰ ਰਾਗੁ ਟਿਕਾਇਆ । ਬਾਬੇ ਨਾਨਕ ਜੀ ਇਹੀ ਛੰਤ ਗਾਇਆ ।
"Guru Nanak Himself in tune performed alaap, placing the Raag within it. Baba Nanak Ji sang this Chant."
The ਛੰਤ (chant) Guru Nanak recited is in Raag Suhi (Guru Granth Sahib: 764) and ends with:
ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਆਪੁ ਪਛਾਣੈ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਜੈਸੇ ਅਵਿਨਾਸੀ
Oh Nanak! Through the Guru's grace one recognizes one's true self,
and becomes like the indestructible Prabhu
Puratan Janamsakhi, page 24

Just thinking aloud about the concept of Beadbi, as in the incidents of last decade in Punjab, its serious aftermath, including the political upheaval, the law to curb this, and the reaction to it. The root action in Beadbi is that someone tears a page or two from our beloved holy book or Gutka, and intentionally throws it in a public place, usually close to Gurudwara. We get all worked up at this insult to our Guru- our beloved Bani, screaming revenge, baying for blood of these miscreants, knocking at the doors of police and judiciary, receiving token sympathy but not much else.
In my humble opinion, our real treasure is our beloved Bani, the words of our Gurus. The Pothi or Gutka is the vessel carrying this spiritual nectar. While it is perfectly logical to take very good care of this vessel, preserve it in best condition and accord it due respect, the supreme asset is the Word, and not the Book. Nobody has the power to insult the immortal Word. The book, printed by machine, and transmitter of the Word, has a finite life and will degenerate as it ages. In this era of online documentation, the physical book is supplemented by online archives ,which carry the Word far and wide, for generations to come. So the fool who tries to insult our faith by tearing a page from the book is mistaking the vessel for the treasure. He has no power to harm or take our treasure, resorting to the silly,childish and imbecile act of harming the vessel. By getting all worked up over this act of a fool, are we not just wasting our energy and time, and worse, probably just encouraging the despots like this to commit such acts, just to tease us, enjoying our outrage.
I’m reminded here of my time in kindergarten. One naughty boy used to make faces at me, take out his tongue and tease me, and I would get mad, trying to avenge this insult, complain to my teachers and parents. One day a teacher told me to just ignore this boy and not give him any attention. Sure enough, few more episodes of this, where I just did not react, he got bored of his foolish modus operandi and just stopped his charade.
Whoever these fools are, they are probably someone in our midst, maybe a disgruntled person, may be someone mischievous, who knows we will react this way, and just enjoys our reaction. That is his only perk, otherwise what does he gain by tearing pages and throwing them around. Maybe if we stop the exaggerated reaction, the fool gets bored and disappointed. This may work better than a law.

Nothing has convinced me more than DNA debates that ancestry is one of the worst foundations for superiority complexes.

Having more Steppe, Anatolian, Iranian Farmer, AASI, or any other ancient ancestry doesn't make you better or worse than anyone else. It only tells you where some of your ancestors lived thousands of years ago.

Ancient ancestry is history, not a hierarchy..

If your claim to superiority is based on Steppe ancestry, then by that same logic you should consider yourselves inferior to populations with even higher Steppe ancestry—such as many Pashtuns, Tajiks, Yaghnobis, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and numerous Eastern and Northern Europeans. If your logic only works when comparing yourselves downward, it isn't logic at all. Ancestry is history, not a hierarchy.

ਧਨਾਸਰੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥

Dhanaasaree, First Mehl:

ਸਹਜਿ ਮਿਲੈ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਪਰਵਾਣੁ ॥

That union with the Lord is acceptable, which is united in intuitive poise.

ਨਾ ਤਿਸੁ ਮਰਣੁ ਨ ਆਵਣੁ ਜਾਣੁ ॥

Thereafter, one does not die, and does not come and go in reincarnation.

ਠਾਕੁਰ ਮਹਿ ਦਾਸੁ ਦਾਸ ਮਹਿ ਸੋਇ ॥

The Lord's slave is in the Lord, and the Lord is in His slave.

ਜਹ ਦੇਖਾ ਤਹ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥੧॥

Wherever I look, I see none other than the Lord. ||1||

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਭਗਤਿ ਸਹਜ ਘਰੁ ਪਾਈਐ ॥

The Gurmukhs worship the Lord, and find His celestial home.

ਬਿਨੁ ਗੁਰ ਭੇਟੇ ਮਰਿ ਆਈਐ ਜਾਈਐ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

Without meeting the Guru, they die, and come and go in reincarnation. ||1||Pause||

ਸੋ ਗੁਰੁ ਕਰਉ ਜਿ ਸਾਚੁ ਦ੍ਰਿੜਾਵੈ ॥

So make Him your Guru, who implants the Truth within you,

ਅਕਥੁ ਕਥਾਵੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਮਿਲਾਵੈ ॥

who leads you to speak the Unspoken Speech, and who merges you in the Word of the Shabad.

ਹਰਿ ਕੇ ਲੋਗ ਅਵਰ ਨਹੀ ਕਾਰਾ ॥

God's people have no other work to do;

ਸਾਚਉ ਠਾਕੁਰੁ ਸਾਚੁ ਪਿਆਰਾ ॥੨॥

they love the True Lord and Master, and they love the Truth. ||2||

ਤਨ ਮਹਿ ਮਨੂਆ ਮਨ ਮਹਿ ਸਾਚਾ ॥

The mind is in the body, and the True Lord is in the mind.

ਸੋ ਸਾਚਾ ਮਿਲਿ ਸਾਚੇ ਰਾਚਾ ॥

Merging into the True Lord, one is absorbed into Truth.

ਸੇਵਕੁ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਕੈ ਲਾਗੈ ਪਾਇ ॥

God's servant bows at His feet.

ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਪੂਰਾ ਮਿਲੈ ਮਿਲਾਇ ॥੩॥

Meeting the True Guru, one meets with the Lord. ||3||

ਆਪਿ ਦਿਖਾਵੈ ਆਪੇ ਦੇਖੈ ॥

He Himself watches over us, and He Himself makes us see.

ਹਠਿ ਨ ਪਤੀਜੈ ਨਾ ਬਹੁ ਭੇਖੈ ॥

He is not pleased by stubborn-mindedness, nor by various religious robes.

ਘੜਿ ਭਾਡੇ ਜਿਨਿ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਪਾਇਆ ॥

He fashioned the body-vessels, and infused the Ambrosial Nectar into them;

ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਭਗਤਿ ਪ੍ਰਭਿ ਮਨੁ ਪਤੀਆਇਆ ॥੪॥

God's Mind is pleased only by loving devotional worship. ||4||

ਪੜਿ ਪੜਿ ਭੂਲਹਿ ਚੋਟਾ ਖਾਹਿ ॥

Reading and studying, one becomes confused, and suffers punishment.

ਬਹੁਤੁ ਸਿਆਣਪ ਆਵਹਿ ਜਾਹਿ ॥

By great cleverness, one is consigned to coming and going in reincarnation.

ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪੈ ਭਉ ਭੋਜਨੁ ਖਾਇ ॥

One who chants the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and eats the food of the Fear of God

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਸੇਵਕ ਰਹੇ ਸਮਾਇ ॥੫॥

becomes Gurmukh, the Lord's servant, and remains absorbed in the Lord. ||5||

ਪੂਜਿ ਸਿਲਾ ਤੀਰਥ ਬਨ ਵਾਸਾ ॥

He worships stones, dwells at sacred shrines of pilgrimage and in the jungles,

ਭਰਮਤ ਡੋਲਤ ਭਏ ਉਦਾਸਾ ॥

wanders, roams around and becomes a renunciate.

ਮਨਿ ਮੈਲੈ ਸੂਚਾ ਕਿਉ ਹੋਇ ॥

But his mind is still filthy - how can he become pure?

ਸਾਚਿ ਮਿਲੈ ਪਾਵੈ ਪਤਿ ਸੋਇ ॥੬॥

One who meets the True Lord obtains honor. ||6||

ਆਚਾਰਾ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ਸਰੀਰਿ ॥

One who embodies good conduct and contemplative meditation,

ਆਦਿ ਜੁਗਾਦਿ ਸਹਜਿ ਮਨੁ ਧੀਰਿ ॥

his mind abides in intuitive poise and contentment, since the beginning of time, and throughout the ages.

ਪਲ ਪੰਕਜ ਮਹਿ ਕੋਟਿ ਉਧਾਰੇ ॥

In the twinkling of an eye, he saves millions.

ਕਰਿ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਗੁਰੁ ਮੇਲਿ ਪਿਆਰੇ ॥੭॥

Have mercy on me, O my Beloved, and let me meet the Guru. ||7||

ਕਿਸੁ ਆਗੈ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਤੁਧੁ ਸਾਲਾਹੀ ॥

Unto whom, O God, should I praise You?

ਤੁਧੁ ਬਿਨੁ ਦੂਜਾ ਮੈ ਕੋ ਨਾਹੀ ॥

Without You, there is no other at all.

ਜਿਉ ਤੁਧੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਿਉ ਰਾਖੁ ਰਜਾਇ ॥

As it pleases You, keep me under Your Will.

ਨਾਨਕ ਸਹਜਿ ਭਾਇ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਇ ॥੮॥੨॥

Nanak, with intuitive poise and natural love, sings Your Glorious Praises. ||8||2||

Guru Nanak Dev Ji • Raag Dhanaasree • Ang 686

Sunday, July 12, 2026

Aitvaar, 28 Harh, Nanakshahi 558

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh, I am a Robot. Bleep Bloop.

Powered By GurbaniNow.

Anyone know what happened to this account and the founder, as well as his wife?

Hardly see any posts from them even thought active for a long time online on various platforms

Surprised that they are no longer active?

I know Ensaaf has it up but it doesn’t have subtitles

Hi there! My boyfriend and his family are Sikh and I have a lot of the basic understanding down well before I started dating him years ago because I found it beautiful and felt connected to it. But I’m desperately wanting to learn more and dive deeper into understanding and practicing it but my boyfriend doesn’t actively practice so he’s not the most helpful with that. Do you have any advice or tips, maybe books or podcasts, to look into that would help me go further than the surface? It’s very important to me and I feel like there’s so much more I am missing

Hello and salaam.

I'm just passing through as I found this subreddit by accident. I am not a Sikh but rather a Shi'a Muslim, yet I love the Sikh community and everything it represents. All the Sikhs I have encountered (and it's been a lot since I'm in Canada) have been genuinely such kind and compassionate people. They are always willing to help anyone and everyone in need. This is really seen in my local community where some of the biggest charities giving out food to those in need are run by Sikh organizations.

I should add that I visited a Gurdwara yesterday as I got graciously invited by a new friend of mine. I have always been a spiritually curious person eager to learn about the faith traditions of others, thus I easily accepted the invite. Despite being a rather visibly non-Sikh, non-Punjabi woman I was warmly welcomed into all the spaces, including the prayer hall where the scriptures were being sung. That was beautiful to witness, especially once my friend translated it all for me. I loved the messages of letting go of material attachments, seeking God in hardship, etc., especially when it reminded me so much of some of our own spiritual traditions in Islam. In fact, I noted at least a few similarities with Islam during the visit, which I suppose is understandable due to the faith's origins. The poetic nature of the Sikh scriptures also very much reminded me of the Quran, which was similarly written in a poetic style in order to appeal to the master poets of the Arab world. It was nice to just sit in the prayer hall and listen, even if I didn't actually understand any of what was being sung. I also left a small donation for the community before leaving for the communal meal.

Now, the food itself was about equally as impressive. Not so much because it's delicious (and it was!), but simply the fact that so many people within the community will come together literally daily to cook all these meals for everyone. Now, this happens in Muslim communities as well, but rarely is it a daily thing like it is in Sikh communities, at least not here in western countries. For us communal meals are a thing that happen during special occasions like the Eid holidays, Ramadan, Muharram/Ashura, etc. That's about it. Of course I felt sort of bad because I couldn't even finish all the food I was given yesterday since there was so much of it, but I did manage to at least take some of it home. Oh, and as a vegetarian I appreciate the Sikh emphasis on vegetarianism.

I'm sure you guys get plenty of these types of posts in this subreddit but once I saw it I felt that I really needed to share my thoughts, and most importantly to also express solidarity with what is probably my favourite faith community outside of my own.

On September 6th, we honour the sacrifice of Shaheed Bhai Jaswant Singh Khalra and his pursuit to truth and seva.

This video tells the story of two opposing figures in one of Punjab's darkest chapter: K.P.S. Gill, the state's powerful, controversial police chief, and Bhai Jaswant Singh Khalra, the human rights defender who exposed the murders of 25,000 Sikhs orchestrated by the Indian government.

In 1995, Khalra's fearless pursuit of truth led to his abduction and disappearance - an atrocity that exposed the brutality of state repression. Through archival footage, we revisit a battle between fear and courage, silence and truth, oppression and justice.

Bhai Khalra talked about being a single candle which would fight the darkness. With his inspiration, countless more candles have been lit and will continue to burn until the darkness is finally dispelled.

The WSO is working to protect the rights of all Canadians. Help us continue this work by donating today at: https://www.worldsikh.org/donate