It's Sakhi Time

12/21/2020

Learning Sikh History through story telling: Life Lessons from the Life of Guru Nanak Dev ji
1- Bhai Lalo
Guru Nanak preferred to eat the food cooked with love and by honest means as apposed to eating a rich feast which had exploitation of poor workers.
The kitchen of a poor man and his wife was pure as is because they were honest, hard working people who always remembered Waheguru with a lot of love in their hearts.
2- Babar, the Emperor came to Emenabad to conquer by looting, killing people and imprisoning them. He even put Guru Nanak Devji and Bhai Mardan Ji in the prison. But Guru Nanak Devji peacefully did Keertan influencing all the prisoners who then became very productive grinding the wheat in the prison. Babar was surprised to experinece the peace and tranquility that prevailed and he was reformed by Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak Devji was just not a pious holy saint, but he got involved in the community affairs. Intuitively he knew about Babar's attack, but the Hindu and Muslim leaders didnot prepare adequately for it, and as a result humanity suffered. Guru Nanak Dev Ji felt the pain that people were going through and he even questioned Waheguru about the suffering of the humanity, but of'course he knew and explained it to people that death is ineveitable, and it was bhanna for many who lost their lives.
3- Sajjan, the Thug
Sajjan means a good friend but on the contrary he was a Thug like the crane standing on its 1 leg in the middle of the lake to catch the fish by deception. He had looted and killed many people, and then tried to do the same with Guru Nanak Devji and Bhai Mardana ji. Little did he know, that Guru Nanak was there to make a Sajjan out of the thug. When he was reformed, Sajjan became a preacher of Sikhism and he was given the very 1st "Manji- A Cot- a seat of authority" by Guru Nanak Devji and his house was reformed into a Dharam Shala- a safe abode for visitors to stay.
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12/14/2020

Learning through stories is fun and very deep, especially when the author is there to teach.
Today we read: Guru Nanak dev Ji's Sakhian:
1- Antar Aatma: The Ardas from the heart would be as accepted as one done in the Gurdwara or temple. But there is a way of doing ardas and that is with completely aligning one self with Waheguru.
2- Haridwar: Guru Nanak was a great teacher, he taught people by speaking to them in a simple way. He showed them a way of thinking, he has asked us to question everything that we are asked to follow because blind faith is meaningless.
3- Mecca: Guru Nanak believed that Waheguru is everywhere and in everyone and he had a very special way of making people understand by being jovial and practical.
It's so powerful that Guru Nanak dev ji has given us the 3 Golden Rules to follow, to become a good person, and there is a glimpse of the rules in every Sakhi.

12/07/2020

It felt like old times when ma ji and Nani ji used to take me into the land of gurus by telling Sakhian.
Guru Nanak dev ji taught us so many life lessons through very simple acts of living:
1- Sacha Sauda- True bargain teaches us to share material and non material things with others . We can even share people’s sadness by talking with them or share food and clothing or money.
2- When Guru Nanak Dev ji came out of Bein river, he talked about spreading love, truth and Equality. To be the best human is the best thing one can do, to be the best Hindu or best Muslim or best Sikh.

Thanks to young students who read the Sakhis, asked questions and gave their insight into the stories.

We thank the author Bibi Jasbir Kaur ji again and again for writing and now reciting the Sakhis to us.

12/05/2020

See you tomorrow 12/6 from 2-3:15 pm est for Sakhi Time with Bibi Jasbir Kaur Ji
Lets talk about Sikh phylosophy as taught by Guru Nanak Dev Ji

12/01/2020

It's Sakhi Time. Every Sunday with Bibi Jasbir Kaur 2:00 - 3:00pm EST
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11/30/2020

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11/28/2020

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An awesome photo collage designed in Canva by sikhkid2kid.

11/17/2020

SPIRITUAL TRAVELS OF GURU NANAK (UDASI)

In 1499 Guru Nanak Dev Ji, started his journey to spread the divine message bestowed on him by the almighty Creator. He was called Guru which means the divine teacher.
Guru Nanak undertook five missionary journeys (called udasi) to the faraway places. Guru Ji traveled far and wide to spread the word of divine. He went to all four directions of India, present day Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, South West China, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka (see map). Although an exact account of his itinerary is not fully known but it is widely acknowledged that he made five major journeys spanning more than 28,000 kilometers between the period of 1500 -1524. Bhai Mardana accompanied Guru Nanak on most journeys.
Guru Nanak carried the torch of truth, love, and compassion for mankind. His mission to regenerate humanity on this earth was accomplished by having simple dialogues with all. His quest was to abolish hatred, falsehood, fanaticism and hypocrisy. Guru Ji inspired people by example and lived a simple life serving humanity selflessly. He preached to do the right thing, to live with honesty while fulfilling the worldly responsibilities. He believed and preached: “Truth is the highest virtue. But higher still is truthful living.”

Guru Nanak’s principle of One God, ੴ (Ik OnKar), means that the creator and its creation are one. This lends itself to the three tenets of Sikhism also known as the three golden rules. Guru Nanak describes them as hard work and honest living (Kirt Karni) sharing with others (vand chakna) and always being immersed in God’s name (naam japna).
Guru Nanak Dev Ji wrote Gurbani (God inspired hymns) which has been included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scriptures. Guru Ji wrote a total of 974 spiritual hymns comprising the Japji Sahib, Asa di Var, Bara Mah, Sidh Gosht, Patti and Dakhni Oankar.
It is a Sikh belief that the same divine light of Guru Nanak transcended into succeeding nine Gurus strengthening the same doctrine as was passed on by Guru Nanak.

11/17/2020

Children are the future of a community; their first teacher is the mother. Her influence on the baby starts in the womb. After birth, the family, school, friends and congregation (sangat) affect the upbringing of the child. A child is innocent like a clean slate, anything written leaves an impression forever. A foundation created with good values keeps the child strong and unwavering”.
Keeping this in mind the author, Jasbir Kaur ji started reciting life stories (Sakhian) of our Sikh Gurus to her grandchildren. Their enthusiasm and love for learning Sikhism through stories, encouraged her to write them down. The stories have now been preserved in the form of a book. These stories are unique and thought provoking for all ages and all types of personalities, emotional or logical. The author has tried to stay as true as possible to the real-life experiences of the Sikh Gurus. In 2020 the 4th edition of Sakhian in Punjabi language has been published with added pictures to make the stories come to life.
On the 550 years birth anniversary of the Founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, the author has translated the booklet in English language. The purpose is to share important concepts of Sikhism through true stories from the life cycle of the Founder. The life of Guru Nanak defines Sikhism as a seeker of the truth (Sikh), selfless service (seva), sharing with less fortunate (vand chakna), reflecting on the creator (naam japna), equality and justice for all. Guru Nanak travelled on foot for more than 20 years reforming people through dialogue and delivering the divine message.
During Sakhi time there is an opportunity for youth to come together, listen to narration, discuss, reflect and use lessons from the stories in life during both good and bad times. The stories will affirm their identity and faith in their ancestral history. Reading stories will encourage them to write their own accounts and be worthy of Sikh values.