SGGS Conference 2014

Abstract Sri Guru Granth Sahib talks about an internal battle, which you have to fight with your own mind. The five evils (kaam, krodh, etc.) are very powerful. You have to rise up to fight this battle against them ਕਾਮ ਕਰੋਧੁ ਨਗਰ ਮਹਿ ਸਬਲਾ ਨਿਤ ਉਠਿ ਉਠਿ ਜੂਝੁ ਕਰੀਜੈ ॥ There is no other way to escape…

Abstract Following the clarion call of Universal Brotherhood of Mankind raised by Guru Nanak, the Nishaan was born out of the deep sense of faith of like-minded persons. This illustrated journal of the Sikhs, now in its fifteenth year, celebrates the philosophy, people, places and events that have shaped the history of the Sikhs and…

Abstract Sikh means student and Guru means teacher, yet in common stereotypes about Sikhs, education is never mentioned in a positive way. Guru Nanak the founder of Sikh religion was the greatest teacher ever born. The mass education he started brought about a profound social, religious and political revolution in its wake. How did our…

Abstract Ta ko dhoka kaha biape ja ko oat tuhari : (page 711 SGGS) Deception does not plague those that have YOU as their support. At some time or another many of us have felt betrayed or deceived by those we love. Trust and betrayal are intertwined.  Betrayal occurs in the closest and most trusted…

Abstract We spend our lives pursuing whatever we believe will make us happy – wealth, success, popularity, excitement or whatever, but even if we achieve any of these, we find that the pleasure is fleeting, and we still remain unsatisfied. Meanwhile, we find many reasons for unhappiness and suffering. We will look at what Gurbani…

Abstract The title posits Sikhi as being a dual process. Being a Sikh is seen as no more than an accident of birth that is taken for granted and requires no more than a passive acceptance of an inherited belief system within a given cultural context.  It provides a legitimizing worldview and serves as a…

Abstract According to Gurbani, mukti is a state of liberation from maya and the vices that generally control us. It is a state that is achievable while we are alive, rather than what we may be granted after we die. Gurbani discusses mukti and related concepts in the context of our surat rather than that of our physical body. This is because the…

Abstract While we usually think of living and dying as opposing, Gurbani also speaks of a kind of living and dying that are in conflux. In this presentation, I explore the message in Sri Guru Granth Sahib of this manner of living and dying, and their convergence, and then reflect on what that might mean…

Abstract My personal experience as an American born Sikh with parents from Christian and Jewish backgrounds.  The changing world of Sikhi, and how people from different cultures and continents are connecting with this lifestyle. The lessons I have learned, and how I apply the teachings of Gurbani and Sikhi in my life and through SikhNet.com  …

Abstract Although originally penned in Gurmukhi script, Guru Granth showcases many Indic and Middle Eastern languages extant when it was composed 300 to 500 years ago.  The beginnings of Sikhi emerge from Punjab but Sikhs are now found all over the globe. Many newer generations of Sikhs are more at home in the language and…