My Malice and Bias

About 20 years ago on my trip to India, I had a very interesting conversation with a close family friend in New Delhi. This respectable member of society and a very successful Sikh businessman was oblivious on the impact of 1984 Genocide on the Sikhs of Delhi. I questioned him if he feels the pain of the families who suffered in 1984. To my dismay, he emphatically stated, "Look, I have no empathy for the likes of Sikh taxi drivers. I have no connection with them .. I can't even understand their rural Punjabi accent. I have more in common with my friends in Delhi with whom I grew up .. and meet everyday for business or socially." I was shocked and attributed it to the selective amnesia of a successful man who wants to disconnect from his religious and cultural roots for the sake of financial and political gains. But I was wrong as he is not unique in his thinking process. There is a whole class of Brown "Babus" and "Sahibs" who find it hard to connec

In the late 1960s and 1970s , new streams of religious beliefs came to the United States. The term guru, or spiritual teacher, became a household word. Many gurus came from India to America in these years. They challenged the conservative views on religion and society and promoted new age religions to the rebellious youth. Bell-bottoms, long hair, flowers, free love and psychedelic rock—became the symbol of cultural revolution of the 1960s. Hippie symbols on 1960s Becoming a swami or a guru is not a matter of academic degrees or book learning, but deep spiritual insight that must be confirmed by the authority of one’s own teacher. In India, it is taken for granted that some gurus are more genuine representatives of their traditions of learning than others. In America, all had a chance to attract a following. Some came and went quickly, sometimes amidst controversy. Others came and settled into the American landscape, where their influence is still felt today. Maharishi Mahesh Y

Sri Guru Granth Sahib warns the proud and the arrogant of the ultimate reality of death: ਸਿਰ ਕੰਪਿਓ ਪਗ ਡਗਮਗੇ ਨੈਨ ਜੋਤਿ ਤੇ ਹੀਨ ॥ The head shakes, the feet stagger, and the eyes become dull and weak. ਕਹ ਨਾਨਕ ਇਹ ਬਿਧਿ ਭਈ ਤਊ ਨ ਹਰਿ ਰਸਿ ਲੀਨ ॥੪੭॥ Says Nanak, this is your condition. And even now, you have not savored the sublime essence of the Lord. ((47)) This verse of the Ninth Guru applies directly to KPS Gill , the Ex Director General of Police in Punjab during the dark period of 1980-90s. The Indian politicians and newspapers hail him as " Supercop " but the people of Punjab remember him as the devil who snatched away their young sons in extra-judicial killings famously known as the " Fake encounters ". Sadhavi Khosla with KPS Gill on his Death Bed Kanwar Pal Singh Gill (1934/35 – 26 May 2017) was an Indian police officer. He was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi on May 18, 2017. Gill, who finally got done in by kidneys that failed him (he w

The Mahābhārata is an epic narrative of the Kurukṣetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, though the origins of the epic probably fall between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. Great Indian Epic - Mahabharata The Epic The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyāsa , who is also a major character in the epic. Vyāsa described it as being itihāsa (history). The epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is recited by the sage Vaiśampāyana , a disciple of Vyāsa, to the King Janamejaya who is the great-grandson of the Pāṇḍava prince Arjuna. Battle of Kurukshetra The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapur , the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are th

Gurdwara Garhi Sahib commemorates the spot of the bloody Battle of Chamkaur . After the attack at the river Sirsa, Guru Gobind Singh , his two eldest sons and 40 Sikhs made it to the town of Chamkaur while being pursued by an army of 1,000's. Guru Gobind Singh and the 40 Sikhs sought shelter in a mud-built double story house. They were attacked by the enemy on December 21, 1705. Against these overwhelming odds, the Sikhs ventured our in small groups to fight the enemy and bravely lay down their lives. Thirty Seven Sikhs were martyred that day including Guru Gobind Singhs two eldest sons as well as three of the Five Beloved Ones (the first baptized Khalsa). Guru Gobind Singh makes a reference to this battle in his victory letter Zafarnama. Guru Gobind Singh leaving Anandpur Sahib Doors of Kot Kapura After Guru Gobind Singh left Anandpur on the night of December 5 and 6, 1704, he crossed the Sirsa river and en route from Machhiwara , after staying at Dina , reached Kot Ka

Tales of Bravery and Treachery Rajputs are a warrior clan settled in NW India. Rajput (from Sanskrit raja-putra, " son of a king " is a member of one of the warrior clans of the Indian subcontinent. They rose to prominence from the late 6th century CE, and, until the 13th century, the Rajput rulers dominated many regions of central and northern India including Punjab regions of India and Pakistan. Rajput-Sikh Wedding in Punjab The Rajput population and the former Rajput states are found spread through much of the subcontinent, particularly in north, west and central India. These areas include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu, Kashmir, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Sindh. Origin of "Rajputs" The origin of the Rajputs is the subject of debate. There is no mention of the term in the historical record as pertaining to a social group prior to the 6th Century AD. The collapse of the Gupta empire during the lat