SikhNet News

Continuing on our journey of sharing the joy of the Gurbani Shabads

Gain tools and guidance to navigate grief in this new mini-series in the SikhNet Learning Center.

For the last five years with the Guru's grace, Chicago Sangat has hosted this Oneness 5K Run-Walk, which they see as a way of spreading Guru Nanak's Oneness message. This year the event had a great response with Sihks and non-Sikhs participating in the event and proudly putting on the Oneness Shirt.

By the Guru’s grace, over the last year, SikhNet restructured itself into a team model. The SikhNet Leadership Team (SLT) was tasked by the board with defining what success looks like over the next 5-10 years. We began with a “Blue Sky” visioning process with our entire staff in August of 2021. The SLT has been developing strategies to realize this vision ever since.

The current holy land/ lakes/ rivers of Punjab are crying out loud to be saved from harsh chemicals infused from household, factory and agricultural (pesticide) waste. We might not have control over factory waste but we can certainly reduce household waste by adopting Bio Enzyme as an alternative to harsh Ammonia phosphate,  nitrate and similar chemical based household cleaners. 

Sarah Buckmaster’s podcast on diversity, explores various perspectives on what it means to be good to ourselves, while being good to others

...Being a Gurmukh, what remains to learn, what thoughts abide in companions, only that, intense love is the path to life's support, His melodious sweet words, the chant of life...

Bhagat Kabir and the numerous hymns & saloks had special importance in the eyes of the Gurus.

The English version of the docuseries, “ALLEGORY: A TAPESTRY OF GURU NANAK’S TRAVELS” was released weekly one episode from October 2021. All the episodes are now available ‘free of charge’ for viewing. The Punjabi version of the same docuseries, titled as “ਸੈਨਤ, ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇ ਪੈਂਡਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਰੂਹਾਨੀ ਛਾਪ”, is being released weekly one episode from May 11, 2021. It is also made available ‘free of charge’.

Grief hit me hard at a young age and it took me nearly 20 years to realize it was grief. The pain became all encompassing and existential. I was living the "dark night of the soul" for years.

Self sustained public universities will help Punjab govt to give due focus to the most important public primary education for destitute and fund it for improvement. Further the financially self sustained state public universities will be able to be more autonomous in their working and will be able to better resist bureaucratic and political pressures.

If we doubt the immortal nature of our existence, we are not self-aware and it is time to journey towards our essence (mool). Gurbani (Guru) provides the path (panth) and method (Gurr) to do so.

When a person seeks something other than themselves, it is a dream state (identification with body or mind) in which a lot of worldly things is accumulated, physical things and non-physical things. Though, all that is accumulated is constrained by time, space and form. All that is accumulated is limited within the domain of time (Kal) and is considered illusion (Maya) based on the definition of Gurbani.

“The American Sikh community has been actively participating in Chicago Memorial Day ceremonies and parades since 2012. This year in 2022 the members of the American Sikh community from all over the area came together and participated in three separate events in Chicago Downtown, Villages of Schaumburg and Naperville.”

This is the type of experience that humans have always longed for. However, to gain a fraction of that grandeur many make use of intoxicants, drugs, herbs, medicines, exercise, yoga postures, and even prayers. But Guru Ji is saying that everyone can experience the feeling of awe, all we need to do is spend more time in nature with awareness. Those who are blessed, experience the awe, and get freed from attachment to the material world. Instead, they get attuned to the Creator, who is full of wonders:

Dr Khurana beautifully takes us through this period and the write-up includes biographies of important Afghan Sikhs who lead Khalsa Diwan Afghanistan and played an important part in Afghan society. Dr Saab had done a yeoman service by writing these books. I hope the younger Afghan Sikh and Hindu generations will utilize them to further research and obtain doctorates on their rich history and legacy. These books are for both casual and serious readers on the history of Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan.

Failure to act now under the stubborn belief that any reform is an infringement on gun rights is not pragmatic. The notion that all reform efforts must stopped at all costs, is akin to helping the next shooter pull the trigger. May the wiser sense prevail, and we see some positive outcome of this blood bath.

It is heartwarming to witness someone from another culture would undertake and pay a brilliant tribute to the Sikh devotion chant and do an amazing rendition in her rich and reverberating voice respecting the styles and rhythms of established tradition, and with Indian instrumental music and several Sikh hallowed places as the backdrop.

A Storybook Animation in partnership with Brave Lion Books!

This is the story of a larger-than-life man, who was a risk taker and lived life passionately. He predominantly wore blue and black turbans, but the colors of his life’s turban (pardon for using the term instead of the commonly used term hat) were – scientist, innovator, entrepreneur, manufacturer, sculpture artist, farmer, philanthropist, and avid Sikh Art Collector. His life’s story is a true inspiration worthy of emulation.