My Malice and Bias

Impression of Makhan Shah Lohana Before his untimely death in Delhi,  Guru Harkrishan Rai had named ' Baba Bakala " as his successor to be the next Guru. No one understood who 'Baba Bakala" was and left the Sikhs leaderless for some time The Sikh community elders discussed the possibilities but no conclusive decision could be made on who was the eighth guru was referring to. Among the Sikh elders searching for the 9th Guru was Bhai Makhan Shah , a wealthy merchant from Kathiawad in Gujarat. Bakala Town Map of Bakala, Punjab Bakala is a small historic town in Majha region of Punjab located at 31°33′18″N 75°15′56″E, on Batala Road, near Amritsar, Punjab, India. The town is located about 26 miles) away from Amritsar, 29 miles northwest of Jalandhar and 120 miles northwest of the state's capital of Chandigarh.  The region was famous for the cultivation of 'Bakala' or Buckwheat . The buckwheat Common was domesticated and first cultivated in inland Southeast As...

  Age is nothing more than a state of mind, because as the old saying goes, “ You're as young as you feel .” That said, some days you feel a little less young than others, and that's where having a sense of humor comes in handy. “ Old age is always fifteen years older than I am. ” — Oliver Wendell Holmes I was browsing my home library of books that I have collected over time and found a real gem. This book was written by Sardar Jagjit Singh Tuli who was maternal uncle of my grandfather (Nana) - Tikka Gurcharan Singh Bedi of Dera Baba Nanak , later London, UK. ' Tuli Mamaj i" as we called him, was a realtor in Delhi after partition and later settled in Manchester, UK. He met me when I migrated to UK in 1986 and fondly gifted me two books authored by him. He was a colorful figure and known for many attributes, but never realized how good was he in composing poetry in Punjabi. Jagjit Singh Tuli 'Mamaji' This book is titled, ' Yadaan de Ohle ' meaning ...

 We all got used to certain words in our vocabulary that we use everyday without understanding the origin and true meanings of these terms. The original Punjabi language is most likely t he oldest language in the Indian subcontinent - much older than Hindi, Sanskrit, and even Tamil . I would like to call that " Adi-Punjabi " as it is the same as the ancient "Prakrit " that originated in the same region.  Adi-Punjabi Prakrit is the ' natural ' or the ' native " language that was spoken in the Punjab region that later extended to the rest of India. It was later transformed by Panini of Punjab in the mid-4th century BCE with structural grammar and the outcome was "Sanskrit" or the "refined language". Aṣṭādhyāyī is a foundational text for understanding and using Sanskrit, and Panini is considered the founder of the language. Prakrit remained the language of common people as Sanskrit was limited to religious scriptures and literary wo...

Often civilizations are known in history by the names they are called by their contemporary civilizations. The sacred land of North-West India that we know as Punjab today has been named with various names over times by the civilization that interacted, communicated, traded, or warred with the people of this sacred land – Sumerian, Persians, Greeks, Chinese, and other regions of India. Figure1:   Greater India and Punjab  I am going to go through these names in chronological order that describes this geographic region. Its important here to note that the definitions are not just limited to the Republic of India but also includes neighboring countries as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Srilanka, Tibet, and many countries in Central Asia as well as SE Asia. Most of these political nations were carved out of India fairly recently relative to the history of the region. Meluhha - Sumerian Name for Indus Valley The oldest ever identity of th...

  Artists Impression on Hindu Trinity Foreword : "I am an Indian Sikh who takes pride in my Indian, Punjabi, and Sikh heritage. My Indian heritage includes the religious belief systems of my ancestors who practiced  Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. I hold Buddha and Hindu Gods such as Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, and Krishna with the highest esteem as they are part of my own heritage and consider them as ancestors of all Indians, including myself." In my understanding of the Indian religions, Hindu gods such as Vishnu, Shiva, Rama, and Krishna are regarded as male deities. Then why are these Gods depicted in a vast majority of art as having very feminine faces and no facial hair? I find this somewhat puzzling to look at, as they appear androgynous, but in a fake and a very unnatural way. Trinity of Hindu Gods Buddha The same can be said about the depiction of Buddha. In most sculptures, he is seen as a young man with slender figure and feminine face. Gautama Buddha  As a Pun...

  The Middle Paths of Buddhism and Sikhism Two new spiritual philosophies emerged from the sacred land of India that challenged the doctrine of the establishment and shaking the foundation of the incumbent practices of the land. These two spiritual paths are ' Buddhism ' and ' Sikhism ' and both are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Both religions have their unique belief systems, practices, and traditions. However if you scratch away the superficial layers of ritualistic differences, you will find that these two philosophies have a lot in common. Lets dig deeper into the origin, progression, and core values of both of these great religions and explore common traits: The Originators - Gautam Buddha and Guru Nanak The originators of both these religions did NOT come from the typical Brahminnic traditions with sacred blood lines. In India the Brahmin caste is considered esteemed due to their generations long role as the custodians of religious spirituality. These Bra...