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NOVIEMBRE 25 de 2009, Miercoles, 4.30 A.M
WaheGuru Ji Ka Khalsa, WaheGuru Ji Ki Fateh!
Aquí: Audio Hukamnama

TRANSLITERACION DEL GURUMUKHI

salok mehlaa 4.Gurmukh antar saaNt hai man tan naam samaa-ay. naamo chitvai naam parhai naam rahai liv laa-ay. naam padaarath paa-i-aa chintaa ga-ee bilaa-ay. satgur mili-ai naam oopjai tisnaa bhukh sabh jaa-ay. naanak naamay rati-aa naamo palai paa-ay. 1 mehlaa 4. satgur purakh je maari-aa bharam bharmi-aa ghar chhod ga-i-aa. os pichhai vajai fakrhee muhu kaalaa aagai bha-i-aa. os aral baral muhhu niklai nit jhagoo sutdaa mu-aa. ki-aa hovai kisai hee dai keetai jaaN Dhur kirat os daa ayho jayhaa pa-i-aa. jithai oh jaa-ay tithai oh jhoothaa koorh bolay kisai na bhaavai. vaykhhu bhaa-ee vadi-aa-ee har santahu su-aamee apunay kee jaisaa ko-ee karai taisaa ko-ee paavai. ayhu barahm beechaar hovai dar saachai ago day jan naanak aakh sunaavai. 2 pa-orhee. gur sachai baDhaa thayhu rakhvaalay gur ditay. pooran ho-ee aas gur charnee man ratay. gur kirpaal bay-ant avgun sabh hatay. gur apnee kirpaa Dhaar apnay kar litay. naanak sad balihaar jis gur kay gun itay. 27
SHALOK, CUARTO MEHL: Dentro del Gurmukh hay paz y tranquilidad; su mente y cuerpo están absortos en el Naam, el Nombre del Señor. Él contempla el Naam, él estudia el Naam, y él permanece amorosamente absorbido en el Naam. Él obtiene el tesoro del Naam, y su ansiedad se dispersa. Encontrándose con el Gurú, llega al pozo del Naam , y su sed y hambre son completamente saciados. Oh Nanak, imbuido con el Naam, él recauda el Naam. 1 CUARTO MEHL: Uno que es maldito por el Verdadero Gurú, abandona su casa, y vagabundea sin propósito fijo. Él se burla, y su cara se tiñe de negro de ahora en adelante en el mundo. Él charla incoherentemente, espumando la boca, él se muere. ¿Qué se puede hacer? Cosas así son su destino, según sus acciones pasadas. Dondequiera que él va, él es un mentiroso, y diciendo mentiras, no le gusta a nadie. Oh Hermanos del Destino, miren esto, la grandeza gloriosa de nuestro Señor y Maestro, oh Santos; como uno se comporta, es lo que él recibe. Ésta será la determinación de Dios en Su Verdadera Corte; el sirviente Nanak predice y proclama esto. 2 PAUREE: El Verdadero Gurú ha establecido el pueblo; el Gurú ha fijado a sus guardias y protectores. Mis esperanzas se cumplen, y mi mente se imbuye con el amor de los Pies del Gurú. El Gurú es infinitamente misericordioso; Él ha borrado todos mis pecados. El Gurú me ha llovido con Su Misericordia, y Él me ha hecho Suyo propio. Nanak es para siempre un sacrificio al Gurú que tiene virtudes innumerables. 27
Miercoles, 12 de Maghar (Samvat 541 Nanakshahi) (la Página: 653)

Here at SAPP, we’ve spent some time talking about board service at charitable organizations – for example, at the SAALT Summit here.  We’ve also talked about religious giving and how this is one of the main areas of charitable giving among South Asians in North America – for example, from Ramya here.

(c/o Globe and Mail)

Well, here’s a story that brings those two threads together – and from my new home country of Canada!  The Globe & Mail reported last week on the front page that Gursimran Kaur, a 19-year-old Canadian Sikh, and a slate of 18 other young Sikhs (mostly in their 30’s) won a contentious election to board leadership at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, B.C., one of North America’s largest Sikh temples.

A few interesting things…  The youth candidates ran on a platform of returning to traditional Sikh customs at the temple, plus a focus on women’s rights and youth programs.  I thought it was intriguing that the young candidates committed to a more traditional agenda – while at the same time raising “progressive” issues such as women’s rights and combating domestic violence and youth gang activity.

As far as the areas they’ve identified for the gurdwara to take an active role, these include:  programs to combat drug use and gang violence; workshops on Sikh scripture and rituals in English to appeal to the younger generation; new community services programs at the temple; a safe-house for women; and, workshops on violence against women and on women’s rights.

I will be curious to see how the young slate of directors does on the job – Will fundraising go up?  Will the group use new technologies to raise money and volunteers?  Will more young people be inspired to get involved?

Posted by Audiegrl

Guru Nanak Dev ji 1469-1539

Additional photos @

For those of you who missed it we have just had  National Interfaith Week and “Islam Awareness Week”

In our region both have been celebrated in great style with colourful and most enjoyable presentations, many organised by West Midlands Faith Forum.

I was able to attend several of the events and was particularly pleased to see young people taking part in such colourful and imaginative ways demonstrating their faith and culture.

My own involvement came through the launch of a new project from Jubilee Debt Campaign – Global Poverty, Seeking Justice: People of Faith in Action This national project, based in Birmingham, will focus on raising awareness amongst all faith groups on the ways we can work together for the common good and in particular the cancellation of international debts.

Our launch event took place at the Bordesley Centre when 120 supporters from the six main faith groups of the city, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Moslem and Sikh.
It was clear from the songs,music and presentations how each faith has at its core so many shared concerns for the poor and the injustice of debt repayments. Wonderful news for me because I know dropping the debt, works!

If you want some examples – teacher numbers doubled in three years in Tanzania, primary school fees were abolished in Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia and in rural areas of Benin. Bolivia and Mauritania. There is improving healthcare, greatly reducing infant and maternal mortality rates in many more poor countries. All this progress because of debt cancellation.

With all faith groups working together I am sure we can benefit in many ways and achieve greater understand at many level. I have already found lots of co workers and friends through being involved.
Something reflected so well in the flyer and poster that are part of the promotion material.

Now we have to find the funds to take forward our plans for a Multifaith conference in the Spring and other educational schemes that will give every faith group an opportunity to bring about positive outcomes for the greater good of all not just in  campaigners in Birmingham but across the region and then to be copied by other UK Jubilee campaign groups. But the real benefit will be the indebted countries having their own money to spend on health and education projects instead of sending it to the rich countries in debt repayment.

The Irish Times reports on the annual Garda consultation forum with minority groups, which took place on Friday. Participants at the forum discussed the new Garda diversity strategy, which was published in May. The Garda reserve force can now boast a few members who are immigrants to Ireland, which is part of the reason why this sort of strategy is required. At the forum, Dr Jasbir Singh Puri argued that the police force was only partially open to ethnic minorities. In August 2007, Ravinder Singh, a Sikh member of the Garda reserve force in his 20’s was forbidden to wear a turban while on duty.  The now defunct NCCRI had recommended that the Garda allow Sikh members to wear the turban while in uniform, but the police force seems to have thought best to ignore that advice. At the time of the original controversy, the Garda explained its uniform rules on the basis of the imperative of impartiality in policing, attempting to make the issue one of operational effectiveness, albeit broadly understood. John Leamy, the Garda ‘diversity champion’ took a similar approach on Friday. He said that when members of the force put on their uniform, they “leave their own personal beliefs outside the organisation.” Sikh representatives, however, are attempting to link the garda turban ban to a broader pattern of discrimination against Sikhs in the sphere of employment, grounded in a pro-assimilation mandate. At the forum, Dr Jasbir Singh Puri argued that the police force was only partially open to ethnic minorities.”You talk about openness, but the door is not fully open, it is partially open. You are denying the fundamental right to employment to all Irish children. These are Irish-born Sikh children.” Certainly, at the time of the 2007 debate, the Minister for Integration took the position that “[i]f we’re to take integration seriously…people who come here must understand our way of doing things’. The Irish Sikh Council decided not to mount a court challenge to the policy.  Ronit Lentin has more analysis of the debate here.

Photographed by ellievanhoutte

Train Station on the Outskirts of Amritsar, India
November, 2009

– License

Download from: http://www.rajkaregakhalsa.net/audio/Kirtan/Gurmat%20Sangeet%20Sabha/Jo%20Nar%20Dukh%20Mai%20Dukh%20Nahi%20Mane.zip

Here is a typical example of your elderly immigrant from the sub-continent unable to let go of ‘back home’ politics.

BNP signs its first non-white member…

… but he’s only joined because he hates Muslims

An elderly Sikh who describes Islam as a “beast” and once provided a character reference for Nick Griffin during his racial hatred trial is set to become the British National Party’s first non-white member.

Rajinder Singh, an anti-Islam activist in his late seventies who blames Muslims for the death of his father during the Partition of India in 1947, has been sympathetic towards Britain’s far-right party for much of the past decade even though he currently remains barred from becoming a member because of the colour of his skin.

But last weekend the BNP’s leadership took their first steps towards dropping its membership ban on non-whites after the Human Rights Commission threatened the party with legal action. The move will be put to a vote of members soon.

Source

Mr Singh, welcome to Britain, where most Muslims have nothing whatsoever to do with your father’s death over 50 years ago. Those who may have, their great grandparents, are just as victims of the bloodbath which took place in the Indian sub-continent 50 years ago as you are.  My Sikh colleague dislikes BNP just as much as I do and believes you joining BNP is disgraceful and disservice to the Sikh as well as the wider community. Shame on you.

Maharaja Runjeet Singh’s Army

Reproduced from The Times (London), August 27, 1833. [Page 6; Column 2]

A discussion has recently been revived by one of the up-country newspapers regarding the means at the command of Russia for an invasion of India. However farcical the scheme may at first sight appear, it is as well not to be totally indifferent to the power of the wily autocrat, nor to disregard altogether the suggestion of clever practical men who have certain means of forming an estimate of the capacity of our enemies and of the countries through which they may chance to come. With this idea, and in consideration of’ the contiguity of the Maharajah Runjeet Sing, Chief of the Seicks, to the southerly Russian provinces, we send you herewith a sketch of the Seick army, which will no doubt be read with interest:-

The Seick army of the Punjaub was, so late as the commencement of the current century, a mere military confederacy of predatory horse, and that gallant but unfortunate adventurer, George Thomas, considered them as the most contemptible troops in Hindostan. The talent of Runjeet Sing has, within the last 25 years, established the military reputation of the Seicks, and this Prince now possesses a regular army accustomed to war, full of ardour, and jealous of renown; the Seicks possess many qualities, which admirably fit them for a military life; they are individually brave and athletic, and are free from the prejudice of caste which detract from the military classes of the native soldiery of British India. A Seick will eat of anything but beef*; his religion never requires him to undress at hill meals, nor does it prescribe fasts, or inculcate anything to interfere with the duties of a soldier; like the soldier of Europe, the Seicks are, however, not averse to the use of fermented liquors, and their Sirdars are notoriously addicted to the vice of drunkenness.

To venerate the cow*, to cherish the growth of the beard, and to abstain from the use of tobacco, are the great national characteristics of the Seicks, and the latter trait is peculiarly their own. Such being the national attributes, Runjeet Sing has (through the instrumentality of foreign officers) remodeled the Seick army; and it is only within the last 12 years that European discipline and tactics have been adopted: this was accomplished by Messieurs Allard and Ventura, who had served in the Persian army, and having obtained their discharge and letters of recommendation, were the first European officers who reached Lahore overland, and were instantly taken into the service of the Maha Raja.

The French legion of cavalry, was formed by Monsieur Allard, senior; their uniform is blue with red facings, they are armed with the Po1ish lance, swords and pistols; their system is that of the French Lancers. The men of these corps are much attached to General Allard, and these troops only require a few more European officers to be nearly on a par with our regular Native Cavalry.

The regular infantry, under General Ventura, are also disciplined in the French drill; the words of command are mostly French; they are armed with firelocks and bayonets; these troops are regularly paid and clothed. Runjeet Singh’s own personal body guard is a kind of legion of honour; these men are all arrayed in gorgeous dresses and rich armour, and compose the elite of the army. Their appearance in their red dresses with heron’s plumes, and their martial aspect and blunt demeanour is truly imposing; these men are all tried shots, and at 80 yards can generally hit a small brass pot every time with a matchlock.

The foreigners or Hindoostanies of the Seick army are men from the provinces of British India, and receive a stipulated monthly pay; many of the Seick soldiers receive rations of grain, besides their pay. The avarice of Runjeet Sing has sometimes occasioned mutiny amongst the regular infantry: in one instance the Ghoorka battalion, on being deprived of a portion of their pay, refused to receive the residue, and as no attention was paid to their complaint, open revolt ensued. Runjeet Singh directed some cavalry to charge the mutineers: the Ghoorka battalion formed square and beat off the Cavalry; the Maha Raja then became alarmed, and retired to the fort of Gobind Ghur, when the French officers interposed, and induced the Ghoorkas to retire to their lines.

Monsieur Allard, the General of the regular cavalry, was distinguished officer in imperial army of France, and is a man of high character and conciliatory manners; he adopts the Seick costume in allowing his beard to grow, and has married a native woman; this officer wishes to return to France and has been endeavouring to induce the Maha Rajah to allow his younger brother to take charge of his command during his absence.

Monsieur Ventura, General of Infantry, served under Eugene Beauharnois in Napoleon’s Russian campaign; he is a brave and intelligent officer, but violent man. Runjeet Singh keeps a watchful eye on his European Officers, and does not readily give service to those individuals who receive passports from the British Government.

The Horse Artillery of Runjeet’s army consist of guns of small calibre, and their field equipments resemble that of our late Foot Batteries; and consequently such artillery would be utterly unable to cope with our Horse Artillery; still, as these guns are drawn by horses, their fire would be always available, which is not the case with Bullock Artillery.

General Abstracts of the Forts, Ordnance, and Army of  Maha Raja Runjcet Singh:-

Forts ————————————————————————————10

Guns in ditto ————————————————————————-108

Ditto in Horse Artillery, commanded by a Native ——————————-58

Ditto in Foot Artillery, commanded by a Native ——————————-142

Mortars ———————————————————————————-9

Jumboorahs, or Zumborahs, or swivel guns, mounted on camels ————305

Irregular Cavalry commanded by Natives ———————————–43,300

Regular Cavalry commanded by Monsieur Allard —————————5,200

Infantry commanded by three other French Officers —

Regiments ———————————————————————-6

Infantry commanded by Native Officers, 17 Regiments, each consisting up from 900 to 15,000 men.

Grand total of the Army ——————————————————–73,000

In 1793, adds our Meerut contemporary, Tippoo Sultan’s field Army was estimated at 47,470 fighting men, and his revenues at one crore of rupees. Runjeet Singh’s army amounts to 73,000 men, and his revenues to one crore and 80 lakhs of rupees.

~ ~ ~

The Afghan Campaign

The Times (London), October 24, 1935 [page ? column 6]

Advices from Calcutta to the 12th of May have arrived. The movements of the contending parties in the north of India were watched with much interest by the British residents in India, and that war, though on a small scale, was considered the most important political event which has occurred in the East India for many years. The result, it was expected, would materially affect the interests of England, inasmuch as the defeat of Runjeet Singh would much increase the Russo-Persian influence in those dominions. The two powers, the Afghans and the Sikhs were concentrating their forces near to the passes of the Khybar, where the dispute was to be decided by force of arms. The Afghans are well mounted, brave and desperate combatants, while the Sikhs are equally determined, in a high state of discipline, officered by Europeans (mostly Frenchmen), and in great numbers. The struggle, therefore, was expected to be sanguinary. Runjeet Singh, the Rajah of Punjab, Lahore, and Cashmere, with their immense dependencies, or, as he is denominated in India, “The Lion of the North, and Rajah of the Five Waters,” is himself a faithful ally and supporter of the interests of the Company, while Dost Mahommed Khan is hostile to their views; so that it is argued, should the former be overthrown, the Company would be compelled to extend their territory to the banks of the Indus. M. Allard, the commander-in-chief of Runjeet’s army, has arrived at Paris within a very few days, for the purpose of procuring workmen to take out with him to cast balls, as he had not succeeded in teaching the natives of Cashmere to do it, although he had made them very efficient in casting cannon. Madame Allard is the daughter of a Prince of Lahore, and has five children, who are now in Paris at a Catholic boarding-school. Runjeet Singh is a man of about 55 years of age, but as infirm as an ordinary man at 80 or 85. His eldest son, aged about 25, who will succeed him in his vast authority, a vain, ambitious man, has openly declared his abhorrence of the East India Company, and his willingness to assist in making inroads into the British possessions

~ ~ ~

Footnotes

* It seems that the Sikh farmers’ dependence on cows for milk and oxen for tilling the land, was mistaken for “veneration of cow”. Regarding beef-eating, it has to be kept in mind that only Muslims were slaughtering cows for beef and Sikhs are prohibited to eat meat slaughtered in the Muslim way. Sikhs themselves had many uses for the cow during its useful life and old or sick animal was not fit for consumption — Sikh Centre

“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.”
— Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Religionsanfeindung? Ja, das ist beabsichtigt.
Atheismus? Je nach Betrachtungsweise.
Blasphemie…? Keineswegs.

Der Glaube an eine höhere Macht und die Abneigung gegen Religion schliessen sich gegenseitig nicht aus:
Müssen wir zwangsläufig einer herumspinnenden, mordenden, fanatischen Organisation Zeit und Nerven (und in letzter Zeit auch Geld) spenden, um theistische Offenbarung zu erhalten? Müssen wir uns in irgendwelche von hierarchisch “höher” gestellten Geistlichen vorgegebene Lebensweisen zwängen lassen, um als gute Menschen gelten zu dürfen? Weshalb müssen wir Hass und Verachtung gegenüber jenen Menschen ausüben, die nicht nach denselben Dogmen leben wie wir, und ihr Anrecht auf Leben und Freiheit infrage stellen oder es ihnen gar entziehen?
Wenn ein altersschwacher Mann in Rom menschenverachtende Aussagen macht und daraufhin im bis heute vom Kolonialismus geprägten Afrika Millionen von Menschen an einer unheilbaren Krankheit sterben; wenn jede Woche aufs Neue duzende von unschuldigen Palästinensern und Israeliten durch fundamentalistisch geprägte Selbstmordattentate ums Leben kommen; wenn jedes junge afrikanische Mädchen im Namen der Religion verstümmelt wird; können wir da noch von religiöser Güte und Tugend sprechen?

Der Glaube an ein höheres Leben ist seit Menschengedenken in unserem Wesen und Sein verankert. Bevor der Mensch begann, Ursache und Wirkung von Phänomenen zu ergründen und somit Wissenschaft zu betreiben, überliess er in Gedanken das Unerklärliche einem höheren Wesen. Und hier ist der wunde Punkt:
Was nicht erklärt werden kann, stammt aus Gottes Hand persönlich.

Spätestens, wenn Unerklärliches erklärt worden ist, hat der Gottesglaube in dieser Sparte sein Ablaufdatum erreicht. Ein berühmtes konfliktförderndes Beispiel ist die Evolutionstheorie: Charles Darwin erläuterte den äusserst geschickten natürlichen Mechanismus, der dazu führt, dass sich neue Arten bilden und andere aussterben; der erklärt, weshalb wir Menschen überhaupt existieren. In den darauffolgenden 150 Jahren gelangen der Menschheit auf diesem Forschungsgebiet viele interessante Entdeckungen.
Aber nein, hier klinkt sich der sogenannte Kreationismus ein, deren Erfinder und Anhänger darauf beharren wollen, ihr Stammbaum beinhalte mindestens einen spirituellen Vorfahren, keineswegs aber einen Affen. Besonders Geistreiche versuchen es auf einem weniger offensichtlichen Weg und mehr American Way, indem sie Evolution befürworten, dies jedoch nur als gottgegebender Mechanismus – und das gefällt unseren schrulligen Erdmitbewohnern auf der anderen Seite des grossen Teichs.

Über Intelligent Design weitere Worte zu verlieren, ist unnötig, es existieren bereits genügend Beiträge dazu, um einen ganzen Nachmittag mit Lesestoff auszufüllen. Aber ich sage hier nur eines:
Der Allgemeingültigkeitsanspruch mancher Religionen ist das Gefährliche: Er ist verantwortlich für den Expansions- und Missionierungsdrang und dadurch für Millionen ermordeter Menschen auf diesem Planeten. Religionen mögen vielleicht einmal geschaffen worden sein, um alleine dem Gottesglauben zu dienen. Doch dieser Gedanke ist zu alt, um noch wahr zu sein; Religion ist heutzutage nur noch ein Mittel der Unterdrückung, Einschränkung und Macht.

Wir müssen unserem Gottesglauben nicht in Kirchen, Moscheen, Synagogen, Tempeln oder Pilgerorten Ausdruck verleihen; wir müssen unser Leben nicht abhängig von sogenannt heiligen Schriften machen und es nach darin enthaltenen Regeln und Vorschriften führen; wir müssen den blinden, irreführenden Predigern, Priestern, Pfarrern und selbsternannten Gottesvermittler nicht blind Gefolgschaft leisten.

Glaube ist eine Sache des Herzens.

Ich bin nicht gläubig, das sollte erwähnt werden. Aber meine Abneigung gegenüber Religionen ist nicht durch Verachtung oder Hass gegenüber dem Gottesglauben begründet. Ich selbst bin über alle Zweifel an ein höheres spirituelles Wesen nicht erhaben. Ich fürchte vielmehr die Gefährlichkeit einer Gemeinschaft, welche die Aufgabe hat, Leben zu kontrollieren und einzusperren; deren Ziel die Allgemeingültigkeit irgendeines von Menschen gemachten Systems ist.

Dass es auch anders geht, zeigt der Sikhismus, eine indische Religion, welche viele Gepflogenheiten “normaler” Religionen ablehnt. Folgend ein Auszug aus Wikipedia:

Wesentliche Merkmale der Sikh-Religion sind die Betonung der Einheit der Schöpfung, die Abkehr von „Aberglauben“, traditionellen religiösen Riten und sozialer Hierarchisierung entlang Religion, Herkunft und Geschlecht. Es existieren jedoch verschiedene formale Vorgaben z. B. bezüglich Kleidung, Namensgebung und Auftreten. Die Sikh-Religion orientiert sich nicht an der Einhaltung religiöser Dogmen, sondern hat das Ziel, religiöse Weisheit für den Alltag nutzbar zu machen. Guru Nanak sowie seine neun nachfolgenden Gurus (religiöse Vorbilder) unterstreichen in ihren Einsichten, die schriftlich in dem Werk Guru Granth Sahib überliefert sind, ihr Verständnis, über vorhandene Religionen hinauszugehen und distanzieren sich inhaltlich von den dominierenden religiösen Traditionen ihres Zeitalters, darunter Buddhismus, Hinduismus und Islam.

Ich habe mir mal einen unscharfen Überblick über die Religion gemacht und muss sagen: Sie kleiden sich schrullig, sind vegetarisch – aber sie haben den grundsätzlichen Sinn der Religion verstanden:
Gute Menschen sein.

Um meine Meinung über den “Gottesglauben im Herzen” zu unterstreichen, sei hier noch ein weiterer Auszug aus Wikipedia und freundliche Grüsse meinerseits:

— Ayekat

Rituale, Pilgerfahrten, die Wiederholung von Mantren oder eines bestimmen Namens für Gott sowie die Ausübung von spezifischen Yoga- und Meditationstechniken werden für eine tiefgehende religiöse Haltung als unwichtig eingestuft. Aberglaube, Okkultismus, Asketentum, religiöses Spezialistentum – wozu auch Priester gerechnet werden – das Mönchs- und Nonnentum sowie Mittler zwischen dem Menschen und dem Schöpfer werden abgelehnt, da jedem Menschen das Potenzial zugesprochen wird, das Göttliche direkt in sich selbst und im Alltag mit Anderen zu erfahren.

A pogrom against Sikhs was carried out by workers of the then ruling party, Indian National Congress, after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikhs on October 31, 1984. The pogrom, lasting three days, took the lives of over 4000 Sikhs in Delhi and other parts of country. It is still considered to be the biggest mass-killing in the country since Independence. Journalists like Khushwant Singh compare it to the Jewish Holocaust. In 2001, the writer, a Sikh, famously said while deposing before the G. T. Nanavati Commission, “I felt like a refugee in my country. In fact, I felt like a Jew in Nazi Germany,”

Burining Sikh Houses

Media which is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy and also society’s watchdog, did not, by and large, play its role properly after the carnage. There were a few exceptions like The Indian Express, Illustrated weekly of India, EPW and The Times of India, which raised their voices against the pogrom; otherwise, the voice of the media was subdued by the government. In 2001, when a similar pogrom happened against Muslims in Gujarat, the electronic media started pushing government for speedy justice. This can be understood by the fact that until 1995, there had been only two convictions compared to 20 till 2009.

In August 2005, the G.T. Nanavati Commission’s report was tabled in Parliament. The commission claimed to have in its possession some credible information about local leaders like, Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar and H K L Bhagat having instigated the mobs to violence. The very next day, The Asian Age ran a lead story with the headline, “1984 Sikhs Massacres: Mother of All Cover-ups.”  Jagdish Tytler discredited the Commission’s claims by saying that previous commissions had failed to name him as an accused.

From Siddharth Varadrajan’s blog on the 25^th anniversary of Mrs. Gandhi’s assassination: “I do not care how many innocent people might have died as a result of the actions Mr. Tytler is alleged to have committed. The answer to that question involves a burden of proof which is beyond the ken of an average person. The question I want an answer to is this: How many people did you save, Mr. Tytler? You were an important leader of the ruling party at the time and your clout is such that the Congress even today feels obligated to give you a ticket.”

A brave and new question, which no one else had ever dared to ask. This question is opening up new possibilities of discussions and discourse on responsibility sharing during carnage like this.

Being the 25^th anniversary of the assassination and violent retaliation against Sikhs, almost all news portals carried special reports on Indira Gandhi, but the focus of the content varied from Indira Gandhi, her politics and legacy to contemporary India. Surprisingly, only a relatively small space was devoted to plight of the victims and their kin.

I Accuse- Book by Journalist Jarnail Singh

Journalist Jarnail Singh, who had hurled his shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram, in his interview to Outlook said that the media of that time (1984) did not live up to its responsibility. He added, “We know the numbers, we know what happened. But very little of the literature dwells on the conspiracy part, and on the human sufferings brought by the violence, and this is the reason behind my writing ‘I Accuse…’.”

The Hindu, in its article “Manmohan a balm, but anger still lingers in Sikhs” by Anita Joshua, tries to point out that this issue is still alive and despite the government’s ‘time would heal’ strategy, the issue is easy to rekindle. This is evident from protests that followed the arrest of Jarnail Singh after he hurled his shoe at P Chidambaram.

The only problem with the media is that it is driven by sensational stories. If the media had played its role more responsibly, the victims of not only the Sikh pogrom but also Bhopal gas tragedy and other victims would have got their fair share of justice without having to wait for so long.

Media Coverage of 25th anniversary of Sikh Pogrom

Some important links to read further

http://www.sacw.net/i_aii/WhoaretheGuilty.html

http://amitavghosh.com/essays/essayfull.php?essayNo=20

http://www.outlookindia.com/content.aspx?issue=5086

In 1984, many things happened for the first time in India. The year started with hosting Asian games, which also coincided with the arrival of color television in India. This led to the production of first TV serial ‘Hum Log’. Then in June, 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided to flush out Sikh militants who were hiding in Harmandir Sahib of the Golden Temple Complex in Amritsar. Nearly 5 months after this bloody operation,  on October 31, two of Indira Gandhi’s bodyguards assassinated her in retaliation for the sacrilege of the army entering Harmandir Sahib. The assassination triggered retaliation from ruling Congress supporters in the form of anti Sikh riots or ‘pogroms’ all across the country and especially in Delhi.

Initially, the pogrom started from places close to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Teen Murti Bhavan in Central Delhi, which later spread to other parts of the city like Shahdhara in the north, Tilak Vihar (often termed as ‘Widow Colony’) in the west and Trilokpuri in the east, across the Yamuna. Sikh houses were identified with the aid of voter lists and the residents, targeted. There was no police protection in the affected areas. As a result, 2733 innocent people were massacred in two days of brutal rioting (this is the official figure; unofficial figures put the toll at around 4000). Ved Marwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi at the time who also investigated the riots later, says that political influence was brought to bear on the police to refrain from taking action during the riots.

A culprit, a victim and a mute spectator!

Nirpreet Kaur, a victim who later joined the Khalistan movement, said, “My family’s appeal for mercy fell on deaf ears, and the people behind the violence were the same ones I had known all my life—my neighbors and acquaintances. But with the acquittal of the guilty, we can forget about any justice. What will happen with the next generation is something no one can predict.” Many Sikhs cut their hair, including the father of one of my friends, many children were forced to dress up like girls and had to tie up their hair as girls do, just to hide their identity as Sikh children. The wave of ethnic cleansing ended only with Mrs. Gandhi’s cremation on November 2.

The government’s seriousness towards restoring normalcy can be judged by the new Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s comment on the riots: “For some days, people thought that India was shaking. But there are always tremors when a great tree falls.” Within days of the riots, the usual vote bank politics and blame game  resumed in earnest: commissions and committees, assurances and some stupid political statements, charges and counter charges, and denials by the very leaders who incited the mob to violence.

It is no wonder that although ten commissions and committees have so far inquired into the riots, only 10 culprits have been convicted. Many among the primary accused were acquitted or never booked on murder charges; in fact, they were politically promoted, with some of them even ‘serving’ as Union Ministers. “What is the use of this report? It practically exonerates most of the Congress leaders we had accused of leading the mobs. Nothing will happen to the big leaders,” says Gurdip Singh, whose father Harbhajan was killed by the rioters. British statesman, William Gladstone once rightly observed: justice delayed is justice denied. That fits the case of anti-Sikh riots of 1984 very well indeed.

The past two and half decades have been an unending trauma for the victims of the pogrom, who had to eke out a living in the shanties and crumbling colonies earmarked for them. For the orphans of 1984, their lost childhood has been replaced by a miserable youth. Referring to the second generation of riot-affected victims, Ms. Kaur says: “The children of those who were affected in the riots have borne the brunt. They have not been able to complete their studies and have got involved in drugs, gambling, pick-pocketing and other anti-social activities. This in turn would affect their next generation. So in a way, because of the riots, the lives of at least three generations of Sikh families have been lost.” The condition is so pathetic in Garh Market area which is close to East of Kailash that today these youth are reluctant to get married because of anxiety about having more mouths to feed.

After 25 years of struggle, people are getting frustrated by the lack of delivery of justice. That’s why Jurnail Singh had to fling his shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram. Today (on anniversary) Sikh groups stopped the Rajdhani Express in Lucknow. Government must learn the right lessons from this unfortunate event.  A similar event has occurred in 2002 in the form ofethnic cleansing in Gujarat where police played important role in abetting the rioters. Unfortunately, the government is still not serious about police reforms and other issues.

25 Years of Pogrom:

Some important Links to read further:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_anti-Sikh_riots

http://www1.info.indiatimes.com/1984/

http://www.merinews.com/article/anti-sikh-riots-2733-killed-13-punished/127432.shtml

http://ambainny.blogspot.com/2006/05/1984-anti-sikh-riots-in-delhi.html

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Ne250409police_used.asp

http://www.jarnailsingh.in/

http://www.carnage84.com/homepage/front.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8306420.stm

http://www.sacw.net/i_aii/WhoaretheGuilty.html

http://amitavghosh.com/essays/essayfull.php?essayNo=20

Jallianwala Bagh is one of the most important places in the history of Indian Independence. It was a normal gathering place for recreation until 1919, but on 13^th April 1919 this peaceful squire witnessed the most brutal massacre from the British rule. Jallianwala Bagh is just 400 meter north of golden temple.  90 years ago on the Baisakhi festival, this is a holiday in Sikh Calendar. Thousands of pilgrims who visited Amritsar golden temple gathered in Jallianwala Bagh in the evening to celebrate Baisakhi. General Dyer and his troops blocked the narrow entrance which was the only way in and out of Jallianwala Bagh and open fire without any warning. Justifying the British has banned meetings, demonstrations and mass gatherings. The notorious massacre resulted in the death of 379 innocent pilgrims and almost 1200 where wounded. Today it is a memorial park with a huge memorial built in the center of this beautiful garden. A part of the ruined wall is kept to show the bullet holes. Amritsar has an airport and a railway station and several hotels and resorts for tourists to come, stay and study a chapter in Indian History.

LOL ….oh dear… I received this classic email from Harbhajan singh jee and of course forwarded it.

http://www.tapoban.org/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=38965&t=38965

LOoooooooooooool

“….. The Granthi Hustlers: This is a peculiar category. God Bless them. They listen to the Kirten and Katha and the Stage Secretary and the Hukamnama reader with great scrutiny, taking notes of grammatical errors, slips of the tongue, his/her hand movements, what was left out and other mistakes. They walk up to their target and start of with the statement “today you did fantastic, I enjoyed it so very much.” What they mean by fantastic is that they were able to catch the one mistake to comment on. And they enjoyed it so much because the target presented them with an opportunity to show that they know better. Their modus is simple: they begin with a question, and then go on to provide a 45-minute lecture type answer themselves. The objective is to show they know more than you. Advice to Granthis, Kirtenias, and Stage Secretary: Fake a diarrhea attack when these people walk up to you. If you don’t, then be ready for their verbal diarrhea. …”

ha ha ha ha

“…The Famine Victims: One look at these people and you think they have just come back from famine starved Somalia. There are three sub categories of this type: The Breakfast grabbers, the Lunch gobblers and the Breakfast and Lunch Hoarders. They survive on tap water and gum from Monday morning to Saturday night and rush to Gurdwara in their pajamas to have their first decent Breakfast for the week. Some go back to bed after that. Some go to work – after pretending to sit around for five more minutes after the meal. They want to show that they did not just come for the food. Some go lean on the Gurdwara walls upstairs, pretending to memorize the Paath, till its time for langgar. As for The Lunch Gobblers – they are too weak to wake up for Breakfast, so they come 7 minutes before lunch is to be served. Tell tale signs of these people – they park their cars nearest to the front door – blocking everyone. They are too weak from hunger to park further and walk. Some block the neighbor’s front door. All doors look alike when you are starving.”

Oh my word …Lollllllloooooooooooooooolll

someone replied on the forum site:

quote: “some more lol…

the rensbhaee groupies – those who only seem to go gurdwra for akj rensbhaees

the concerned citizens – those who only ever come to the gurdwra to cast their votes for the committee elections

the sunday school run folks – never set foot in the gurdwra themselves but feel compelled to send the kids to keertan and punjabi class

the £1.25 ardaas offerors – must have their names read out in the ardaas

the techies – those who practically bring their entire home sound system just to record the keertan

the cashpoint crew- only ever give money to the ragi so they can get pick up some loose change back

the students union – only ever come to the gurdwra if the programs been arranged by the youth for the youth

the majnoos and lailas – they come to secretly meet their beloved

the wanabee majnoos and lailas – if only they could find that someone special lol

the not so rebelious youth – come only because their parents make them, cant wait to leave

the bibian sabha – turn out in force to get darshan of and sing along with their new favourite sant’s old dharnas

the revolving door committee men – only ever see them at the gurdwra they are currently in charge of

the curious non sikhs – they’ve come for the full gurdwra experience but get uncomfortable at the thought curious sikhs staring back at them whilst they’re there”

La paziente compagnia di Harold Carver segna i ‘giorni di tormento’ del giovane sikh che ricorda: ‘Ad un certo punto ho cominciato a vedere il legame tra vita e morte intuendo che Gesù morto e risorto era il modello per noi’.

‘Hai la responsabilità di portare avanti il nome della tua stirpe, di prenderti cura dei genitori quando diventano anziani – afferma Stephen – e io tutto questo non potevo più farlo per la decisione che avevo preso’.

Xavier University di Chicago, frequenta il Maryknoll’s Language Institute di Cochabamba, in Bolivia, e per due anni vive e lavora nella missione di Aymara, sull’altopiano peruviano.

Vedi anche 17/10/2006 INDIA di Nirmala Carvalho 06/10/2006 INDIA di Prakash Dubey 01/08/2007 INDIA di Nirmala Carvalho 28/11/2006 INDIA di Prakash Dubey 12/04/2007 INDIA di Nirmala Carvalho

Fonte:
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=it&art=16740&size=A

Anish’s main portfolio and skills lie in wedding photography, in particularly Asian weddings, receptions, engagements, mehndi parties and more. Please email or call Anish on 07739857342 for a quote. Or visit Anish Mistry’s website on www.anishmistry.info

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This week French President Sarkozy called for a ban to be placed on Muslim women who choose to express their faith by observing hijab and donning a burkha.  The French have been the most vocal and active in the arena of attacking religious freedom.  In 2004 they outlawed the use of headscarves, Sikh turbans, large Christian crosses and Jewish skullcaps in their state schools.  The French defend their law which is designed to strictly adhere to their ideas of separation of church and state, but French liberalism is coming dangerously close to ending religious freedom.  Even worse it seems to be spreading to other parts of Europe.  Italy, Turkey, three Belgian towns and seven of Germany’s 16 states have banned headscarves.  While speaking in Cairo President Obama said it clearly, “it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit – for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.” Members of the French Parliament, from both the left and right called the burkha an “oppressive dress that breaches individual freedoms”.

Individual freedoms?  According to whom?  There are many in the world who would consider Western women oppressed because they feel compelled to don a style of dress that is made to entice and attract men.  Indeed, upon hearing the new French policy the spokesman for the Muslim Council of Great Britain said, “Unfortunately, there is a pressure on women to dress skimpily in the West.”  I agree.

Perhaps the burkha could provide greater freedom than a skimpy bikini ever could.  It can be said that the burkha is a tyrannical and repressive piece of clothing forced on the women who wear it, but the same could be said of a bikini. Both the burkha and the bikini are worn to indulge the whims of men in the society they represent.  The burkha is worn to mask and conceal that which belongs or could belong to the men, and the bikini is worn to expose and display the same.  Both articles of clothing find their impetus in their effort to control and subjugate women.

Women long to adopt a carefree and liberating expression in their choice of clothing.  There are few women that can wear a bikini and feel comfortable in it.  Even supermodels lament because they feel their thighs or behinds are more ample than they should be.  Donning a large black covering in the morning could provide a liberation few Western women have experienced.  To arrive at work, school, or social occasion without first applying makeup, dressing the hair, and fussing over clothing would be a dream come true!

One need only to read the comments and remarks made about Hilary Clinton’s appearance to long for this type of freedom.  During her run for the democratic presidential nomination, what Mrs. Clinton said was never as important, as how she was dressed when she said it.  The criticism made about Mrs. Clinton’s hair, makeup, body type, and clothing took precedence over what she was saying.  Her legs were compared to tree trunks, her clothes called frumpy, and her hair and makeup was the topic of many water cooler gatherings.  In the same vein, such discussions did not take place about Benazir Bhutto or Indira Gandhi when they were Prime Ministers of their countries.  The political pundits debated their political agendas and viewpoints, not their choice of clothing or makeup.  Perhaps this was because the males in their countries were conditioned to view respectable women in a non-sexual way, and therefore these women were taken more seriously than Hilary Clinton.

Men will be unable to view women as equal—as long as women continue to exercise their right to seduce men, and therefore objectify themselves.  If women will dress in a manner that does not engage a man’s libido and instead engages his mind, they will be able to experience true freedom and liberation.  Both women and men should be disturbed by this fact: the American voting public is unable to elect a woman even as a vice-president.  While India, in 1966 and Pakistan, in 1988—countries thought by the West to have little equality for women, had already elected women as Prime Ministers!

Over the weekend I was involved in several diverse and lengthy discussions about the needed shift from religious to spiritual (Shifting trom Religious to Spiritual). During these discussions there were two themes that had general agreement. The first was that this shift is imperative because the lack of this shift is producing severe threats that are imminent to humanity and even the environment of life on our planet. The second was that making the necessary shift is very difficult to do and is happening much too slowly to address the dire problems that we face. Everybody in these discussions agreed on these main issues. I am happy to establish why these points are true and to deal with disagreement to them in the comments section. This post will address the question of how to effect this change more quickly.

Change comes from within. When change is attempted only externally it does not work. This is why dealing with global climate change is so difficult to deal with. It requires us to each change how we relate to ourselves and the way we each live our lives. It requires us each to change to become more ethical in our own lives when it is easier not to do the right thing. This requires internal change. When this problem is approached with from an external solution point of view it is not even clear what to do to solve the problem. There are some general ideas, maybe even some general agreement on a good day, but no clear path out of the mess. This paradigm can be applied to any of the imminent problems facing humanity. This is because the solutions that are proposed for these problems attempt to impose change from outside on the problem, rather than approaching the issue as needing deeper spiritual responsibility and development from within. These exterior solutions have the effect of medicating the symptoms of the problems but never getting to or dealing with the root of the problem.

Blogs about global climate change: Top 10 worst effects of global warming, Vancouver Unitarians for Climate Change, Eating and Climate Change, Pachauri claims Indian scientific position arrogant, A World War II-Scale Effort

The war in Afghanistan is a prime example of how solutions that are imposed from outside do not fix the problems within. There are huge problems with the way that the folks within Afghanistan have in dealing with each other involving everything from violence to corruption. Until those issues are dealt with by them, no solution that is applied from an exterior source will work. Where they are not taking responsibility for their own problems no outside aid or force will work. David Rohde is very articulate on this topic also (Spiritual Conflict Resolution).

Blogs about David Rohde: A war reporter’s story, One Journalist’s Capture and Escape from the Taliban, An Element of Danger, A Taliban haven inside Pakistan?, Are we there yet?

How to develop the spiritual growth needed in these cases is the realm of expertise of Spiritual Teachers. Spiritual Teachers are those rare individuals among us that have learned to address their own internal corruption and manipulative behaviors and understand that serving this spiritual growth in others is the path of their lives. In this day and age Spiritual Teachers tend to be objects of suspicion and mistrust. This is because  no distinction is made between them and religious leaders and they are therefore considered to be as corrupt as their religious counterparts. The big distinction betwen the two is that the job of a Spiritual Teacher is to take the student to the point of spiritual independence while the religious leader is continually tries to increase their own authority and that of their religion. While Spiritual Teachers can be affiliated with a religion, they recognize that religion is just a vehicle to present spirituality. The Spiritual Teacher’s responsibility is to the development of spiritual understanding and not to the religious participation of the students.

Another misconception is that Spiritual Teachers are considered to have lived long ago and are not thought to be around today. Religions revere Spiritual Teachers like Moses, Buddha, Yeshua (Jesus), the Prophet Mohammad, and the Sikh Gurus religiously and mostly ignore the presence of Spiritual Teachers in our own time. To confuse things even worse, posers promote themselves as Spiritual Teachers which makes it seems as if true Spiritual Teachers are the same as these posers. They are not.

What makes Spiritual Teachers so vital for us at this time is that they alone have the understanding of the spiritual changes that we each need to go through individually, and teaching others who are then capable of teaching others is the only feasible way to multiply the numbers needed to have sufficient impact on our most serious problems.

In order to help validate that real Spiritual Teachers are with us today there is a page on this blog entitled “How I Met My Teacher” that contains real life experiences of people meeting Spiritual Teachers. This page is for everyone to post in the comment box their own story of how they recognized their Teacher as a Spiritual Master. It is also OK to challenge the validity of these experiences and the Spiritual Teachers associated with them in the spirit of investigating and actually defining what a Spiritual Teacher really is and is not.

Spiritual Teachers that I have personally identified in this lifetime are:

Yogi Bhajan

blogs: Kundalini Connection, Kundalininow’s Blog, Who is Yogi Bhajan?, Recipe by Yogi Bhajan, Be the Lighthouse

Sant Guru Dev Singh

blogs: Sat Nam Rasayan Canada, Guru Dev is in Town!, Healing and Shuniya,

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

blogs: Tibetreport’s Blog, The most important thing we can do, Chinese angry on India, Pay it Forward, The Buddhist Tradition, Khamerlogue

Thich Nhat Hanh

blogs: On Technology as the Solution, Meditations on Anger, my time?, Crossing A Channel, A Gift of Dharma for 11.9.09

Preah Maha Ghosananda

blogs: The Gods Drink Whiskey, Making Peace, The rising of the light, Democratic Peace

Eckhart Tolle

blogs: JasonGarcia’s Blog, I smoke, Christianity vs. Islam, I Totally Blame Eckhart Tolle

A bit out of Ubiwar’s usual range but I’m really looking forward to seeing this. My film-maker friend Navdeep Kandola is screening his new film, Flying Sikhs: A History of Sikh Fighter Pilots , at the RAF Museum in Hendon, London, on Sunday 22 November at 1400. It’s free and you can book tickets here or call 020 8358 4849. In the meantime, here’s a taster:

Update: Flying Sikhs had a great write-up in The Times on 14 December.

This last weekend Sara and I were able to visit several places of worship for various religions in Chicago. A group from Harding University came up and we joined them at four religious establishments. He is a short rundown of the weekend.

Mosque: Friday’s noon prayers are the “main event” for Muslims. This past weekend we were welcomed to the Islamic Foundation of Chicago, and impressive building currently under expansion. After taking off my shoes and finding a patch of carpet near the back of the large empty room I watched around 500 men enter the room. Women are given their own space, in a balcony where they are able to participate while not being subject to bending for prayer in front of or behind men. This is a practical consideration as the prostrated prayer position might be inappropriate for mixed company. The service lasted about 1 hour including a sermon in Arabic and prayers in Arabic. The phrase, Allah ha akbar, is recited several times which means God is great, a true statement that I can embrace. Later, the Imam spoke to us about Islam and presented us with portions of a book he had written and a pamphlet entitled, Muslims are the True Followers of Christ. The women prepared a snack for us, chicken and rice. It was very good.

SGI: Soko Gakkai International is a multi-national organization affiliated with Nichiren Buddhism, a specific sect of Buddhism born out of the teachings of Nichiren, a Japanese monk of the 13th century. The Buddhists welcomed us enthusiastically by waving flags and singing and shouting “welcome”. I sat near the front in the small round room. There was room for about 100 people sitting in straight lines facing a black and gold alter. The alter is home to the written form of a prayer as well as a few other characters written in calligraphic Japanese. The Buddhists are very respectful to the writings, touching the alter only with gloved hands and not allowing pictures to be taken of the document. They chanted a prayer in a mixture of Japanese, Chinese and Sanskrit for about 20 minutes as they do twice daily. Nichiren Buddhists differ from most Buddhists in that they do not seek Nirvana, the cessation of existence. They find this theology inconsistent with the eternal nature of spirit. They seek the Buddha state during life, a high state of consciousness which allows for true happiness. Thereafter we asked questions which they were happy to answer and received a tour of the facilities. SGI is intent on achieving world piece and has a representative at the UN. SGI was responsible for facilitating the first Arab/American dialogue following September 11th.

Hindu Temple: The suburb of Aurora IL looks like any other suburb, unless you turn the right corner to find a massive temple straight out of India. Gold trimmed walls adorned with intricately cut images. We entered and removed our shoes. We received a lengthy monologue about Hinduism from a lay practitioner before being freed to walk around the images. Hindus worship and present alms to the gods through images of the gods. They do not claim to worship the images and therefore they are not idols, because the god is not within the image. In this temple there were around 75 images, each enshrined in a box or room with incenses, fruit, or money. The Hindus were not expecting us because our contact was gone and had not left word, so the visit was very impromptu, but, nevertheless we were welcomed and treated well.

Sikh Temple: The Sikh temple mostly looks like a community center or club house in a wealthy suburban neighborhood. It is expanding due to growth and is where around 1500 Sikhs currently worship. After taking off our shoes we were given snacks and then presented information about Sikhism. While our contact was speaking to us he received work that the leader of the Golden Temple was in the building. Most of us didn’t realize at the time what this meant. This is the head Sikh, think Pope. He worships at the Golden Temple in Amristar India, the most Holy place for Sikhs! I still do not know what he was there but he walked into our room along with several other men. He asked, through a translator, if we were being well welcomed, to which we replied, yes! We went into the sanctuary where there was singing in Punjabi as well as a sermon given by the aforementioned ‘high guest,’ also in Punjabi. We were excused after about an hour while most of the Sikhs remained, this turned out to be because the dinning area could not accommodate everyone. We were given a meal of Indian food. When we were finished the rest of the Sikhs came and ate. Sikhism grew out of the clash between Hinduism and Islam as Islam traveled East across Asia during the 16th century. Guru is a Punjabi work with loosely translates to “Teacher.” The founder, was the first Guru. There were 10 Gurus in all until the 10th compiled the teachings of all into a book and dedicated it as the 11th and final Guru. This book is treated as a very important person: fanned, spoken to, and put to bed.

Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is a religious event for Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains, it takes place between the end of September and ends in October.  The festival is celebrated internationally around the world by people of religious backgrounds and those who are interested in learning and participating in different cultural events.  In some countries with large populations of Hindus such as India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Guyana Diwali is an official holiday.

In Canada, Diwali is celebrated by the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain communities as well as by others who may have an Indian heritage or want to celebrate the beautiful festival of lights.  On October 9^th, 2009, the Rogers Centre hosted an event for the public to come and celebrate a part of Diwali known as, Mahautsav; the dome was transformed into a marvelous array of lights.

Diwali receives publicity and promotion through word of mouth, religious groups, leaders, followers, and charities.  Diwali has been celebrated for thousands of years and does not really need media promotion and publicity, however, at such events that took place on October 9^th at the Rogers Centre media will be present and there will be pre promotion from supporters and sponsors at such events.