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Friday 25 February 2011
The Little Things In Life
Friday 18 February 2011
Wednesday 9 February 2011
Monday 7 February 2011
Sikhs prove EDL wrong
A delegation of Sikhs marched proudly joining a big rally against the English Defence League (EDL) held in Luton.
They played the Dhol, a Punjabi war drum, as they entered the rally carrying a banner that read ‘Sikhs Against the English Defence League – Fighting Intolerance since 1699’, a reference to the establishment of martial Sikhism by the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
They were greeted with cheers by more than two thousand demonstrators gathered in the Park Square, in the centre of Luton, who gave the marching Sikhs a great applause.
This comes as a great blow to the English Defence League (EDL) as they had claimed that they are getting support from many Sikhs.
The demonstration by ‘Sikhs Against the EDL’ shows otherwise.
The Sikh protesters shouted slogans against Guramit Singh, one of the self-styled EDL leaders from Sikh background and called him a traitor.
They claimed that he had brought shame to the Sikh community and should be locked up due to some of his recent speeches.
Varinder Singh spoke on behalf of the Sikh delegation and pointed out that the Sikh community has a proud tradition of fighting Fascism in the Second World War. He asked, “Given our proud history, how can Sikhs not oppose the racism and Fascism espoused by EDL?”
Varinder Singh went on to condemn Guramit Singh (ethnic spokesperson for the EDL) and other racist traitors of Sikh origin joining EDL and expressed that these individuals should be held accountable.
Balwindar Singh Rana, also from a Sikh background said, “The Sikhs Against the EDL have launched a ‘Joint Statement’ which has already gained support from some of the major Sikh and Hindu organisations, including many Sikh Student Societies, as well as many prominent individuals in this country.
People are waking up to the dangers of the racist poison that is being spread by the EDL and they will no longer fall for their ‘divide & rule’ tactics.”
He added:”In the ‘70s and ‘80s, whether we were Sikhs, Hindus or Muslim, we were all united against the racists and fascists of the National Front and the BNP. We now have to show the same unity again if we are going to halt this tide of racist hatred by the EDL.”
Salvinder Singh Dhillon from the Indian Workers Association pointed out that the rally was being attended by all communities was a proof that they all stand shoulder to shoulder against promotion of racism and fascism.
He said, “The poison of racism serves to divide people and weaken their common struggles against the attacks by the state on their livelihood, against imposition of tuition fees, and the pending massive spending cuts in social services, health and education.”
The rally was organized by Unite Against Fascism(UAF), a broad based organisation supported by numerous individuals and organizations including trade unions and members of parliament.
Various speakers expressed their opposition to EDL and the racist British National Party( BNP).
There was also a further protest in the Bury Park, near the Mosque, organized by the Muslim community and attended by nearly two thousand people.
Sunday 6 February 2011
Conversation
God and I in space alone . . .and nobody else in view . . .
"And where are all the people,
Oh Lord" I said,
"the earth below
and the sky overhead
and the dead that I once knew?"
"That was a dream," God smiled
and said: "The dream that seemed to
be true; there were no people
living or dead; there was no earth,
and no sky overhead,
there was only myself in you."
"Why do I feel no fear?" I asked,
"meeting you here in this way?
For I have sinned, I know full well
and is there heaven and is there hell,
and is this Judgement Day?"
"Nay, those were but dreams"
the Great God said, "dreams that have ceased to
be.
There are no such things as fear and sin;
there is no you . . . you never have been.
There is nothing at all but me."
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Saturday 5 February 2011
Music Quotes
How important is music? Some say it's linked to the soul, whereas others see it as mere entertainment. Some use it for leisure, some as a form of expression, or some as a coping mechanism. Some use it as a tool to put accross ideas or messages, and some just see it as something to relax to. Here is how some famous musical people interpret music.
- After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. Aldous Huxley
- I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music. Billy Joel
- I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water. Ray Charles
- If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music. Gustav Mahler
- Music can change the world because it can change people. Bono
- Music has charms to sooth a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak. William Congreve
- Music in the soul can be heard by the universe. Lao Tzu
- Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. Plato
- Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue. Plato
- Music is very spiritual, it has the power to bring people together. Edgar Winter
- Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. Berthold Auerbach
- One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. Bob Marley
- Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies. ~Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
- The pause is as important as the note. ~Truman Fisher
- Its language is a language which the soul alone understands, but which the soul can never translate. ~Arnold Bennett
- Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words. ~Robert G. Ingersoll
- Music has been my playmate, my lover, and my crying towel. ~Buffy Sainte-Marie
- Music is an outburst of the soul. ~Frederick Delius
- Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. ~Ludwig van Beethoven
- There is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is. ~William P. Merrill
- Music is what feelings sound like. ~Author Unknown
Art Quotes
Okay I was in need of a bit of artistic inspiration this week, so naturally I resorted to browsing through the creative works posted on the internet. Then I decided to see what some of the most creative people ever had to say about art. I thought I'd share some of the inspiring quotes I found.
- Whether I'm painting or not, I have this overweening interest in humanity. Even if I'm not working, I'm still analyzing people. Alice Neel
- All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness. Eckhart Tolle
- I dream a lot. I do more painting when I'm not painting. It's in the subconscious. Andrew Wyeth
- There's no retirement for an artist, it's your way of living so there's no end to it. Henry Moore
- The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection. Michelangelo
- A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession. Albert Camus
- A picture is a poem without words. Horace
- A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. Oscar Wilde
- An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one. Charles Horton Cooley
- An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world. George Santayana
- Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. Thomas Merton
- Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better. Andre Gide
- Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad. Salvador Dali
- Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. Henry Ward Beecher
- Great art picks up where nature ends. Marc Chagall
- In art as in love, instinct is enough. Anatole France
- Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~Scott Adams
- Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~Pablo Picasso
- Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one. ~Stella Adler
- Anyone who says you can't see a thought simply doesn't know art. ~Wynetka Ann Reynolds
- When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college - that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?" ~Howard Ikemoto
- Let me ask you something, what is not art? ~Author Unknown
- Man will begin to recover the moment he takes art as seriously as physics, chemistry or money. ~Ernst Levy
- Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul - and you answer. ~Terri Guillemets
- Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid. ~Jules Feiffer
Friday 4 February 2011
Patience and Understanding
I had a bad day yesterday and a bad morning today, and I got impatient with people. Every tiny thing got on my nerves... things that normally I'm patient enough to ignore. Then there's other things that always irritate me, and I get annoyed with the person doing it. Sometimes I can't understand why people act the way they do, or talk the way they do, or do what they do, and it also irritates me. But today I realised this:
Sometimes I get annoyed when my little brother asks stupid or trivial questions.
Sometimes I get annoyed when my Grandparents constantly call me by the wrong name.
Sometimes I get annoyed when an adult doesn't understand my problems.
Sometimes I get annoyed when someone asks me to repeat myself because they didn't hear... twice.
Sometimes I get annoyed when a really slow walker gets in my way and slows me down.
Sometimes I get annoyed when I have to explain something over and over again and they still don't get it.
And then I realise.
When I was a curious child I asked my parents silly questions and they always answered them, no matter how trivial they were.
When I was a toddler I called my family members the wrong thing and they always smiled and gently corrected me.
When an adult tells me their problems, I can't understand, but they smile and tell me not to worry.
When someone tells me something I don't always hear, and I have to ask them to repeat themselves, and they always do.
When I was smaller, or when I'm tired or injured, I walk really slowly and get in the way, but people put up with me.
When people explain something to me I don't always understand, but they keep explaining until I do, because they hold onto something even after I lose it - they have the patience and understanding.
Thursday 3 February 2011
Dastaar - Rastafarians
You may have seen my earlier post about the significance of Kesh (uncut hair) in other cultures. Here's the link: http://ambrosialnectar.blogspot.com/2011/01/kesh-unshorn-hair.html
So I thought I should mention something about the dastaar. We all know than in India Hindus and Muslims wore, and still wear, a turban as either a symbol of royalty or a symbol of saintliness. In other cultures a turban-like headdress can be worn as protection from the heat or just as cultural clothing.
What I found interesting was that the Bobo Shanti branch of the Rastafarian movement cover their dreadlocks with a dastaar as their religious identity. I won't bother going into it (it's worth researching) but here are some pictures.
Enjoy!
Note: None of these pictures are mine (all taken from searching 'Bobo Shanti' on google images)
Sikh Women in History - Pictures
Mata Bhaag Kaur Ji (Mai Bhago)
Bebe Nanaki Ji with Guru Nanak Dev Ji when Bhai Mardana Ji is presented with a rabaab
Mata Gujjar Kaur Ji (Mata Gujri) with the two younger Sahibzade
Mata Bhaag Kaur Ji (Mai Bhago)
Mata Khivi Ji
Bibi Balbir Kaur Ji
Sikh Women
Unfortunately these days if the words 'famous Sikh women in history' are mentioned, we get stuck after Mai Bhago (Mata Bhaag Kaur) and Bebe Nanaki. We tend not to hear about other brave Kaurs who risked their lives, gave their lives or dedicated their lives to Sikhi. The stories of our Sikh mothers and sisters would continue to inspire young Sikh women today if they were told and learned more often.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji said:
From woman, man is born;
within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.
Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.
When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.
So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.
From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.
Without the input of Kaurs the Khalsa Panth would be non existent.
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