Gatka At Bow Gurdwara

BOW HARLEY GROVE GURDWARA NOW HOLD GATKA CLASSES

EVERY SUNDAYS

CLASS 1: 4:00PM TO 5:30PM

CLASS 2: 5:45PM TO 7:15PM

Gatka, the vibrant traditional martial art form of the Sikhs. Introduced by the 6th Guru of the Sikhs, Sri Guru Hargobind Singh Ji and then later popularised by the 10th Guru, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

The art of Gatka involves a series of integral combat training systems that include several systems of duels and the use of weapons of defence and offence. It aims at the co-ordination of mind & body through the meditation of spiritual verses of Gurbani, a holistic system by which the character and moral attitude of a student is shaped.

While symbolising Sikh courage and fearlessness, the Gatka emphasise the preservation of peace and harmony and self discipline through the Gurus teachings.

Address:
Gurdwara Sikh Sangat
Harley Grove
London
Bow
E2 2AT

Tel: 077 42 42 44 68
+44 (0)208 980

From Bow Sikh Youth To You

Waheguroo ji ka Khalsa Waheguroo ji ki Fateh!

Hi Everyone

We like to welcome everyone to the new site for Bow Sikh youth, we are here to give you information on issues relating to Sikhi and what goes on in our local Gurdwara.

A few questions to ask yourself:

• What has Sikhi got to do with me?
• Do i have a say in the Gurdwara?
• Why don't i get involved in Seva, i.e. Langar Seva, giving out Degh (Karah Prasaad) Perform Kirtan etc.

These things must bug you?

We go to the Gurdwara Mata Theek infront of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, have Langar chit chat with out mates and then go home, but do we even learn anythink? Bow Sikh Youth are here to make your voice heard so more activities and youth classes take place i.e. gatka lessons, group discussions, sikh history classes etc which will be available for the youth at Bow Gurdwara.

If you would like to see changes and want to participate in any of the above classes then contact us on the email below:

bowsikhyouth@hotmail.co.uk

We will try our best to get back to as soon as possible.

Ask yourself are you a true Sikh?

The Sikh nation, once the greatest people on earth, but have we fallen into ruin?

Ask yourself do you know of the great Sikhs of our past? The martyrs that lost there today so that you could live free in your tomorrow? Are you a Sikh in a modern society that cuts their hair so easily without thought, yet your ancestors would have rather had there scalps removed then had it cut? Do you support your local Gurdwara? Do you support your brothers and sisters in Punjab, when you know of the great injustice that is happening this very day? If the answer is no, ask yourself are you a true Sikh? As a true Sikh would do all of these things, they would be the best that they could be and they would use the word of Guru Ji and the teachings of the Khalsa Panth to help our religion to help our faith and let it grow stronger.

Do you drink alcohol with great pleasure, yet you know that our Guru Ji’s told us of the evils that it could cause? Do you wear your golden Khanda earrings and necklace bags, caps saying you “rep” your religion and you would die for it, when five minutes later you’re drinking alcohol and then cutting your hair? If the answer is yes, ask yourself are you a true Sikh? As a true Sikh would not do all of these things, they would be the best that they could be and they would use the word of Guru Ji and the teachings of the Khalsa Panth to help our religion to help our faith and let it grow stronger. They would learn from their mistakes.

Why have we forsaken the ways of our fore-fathers they way of loyalty, pride, freedom, courage, bravery, the name of Singh and Kaur is falling, so as the Sikh youth the message is, stand up bring back the name of Singh and Kaur, bring back the spirit of those that have gone before us. There are many problems with our nation, too many cults have arisen from the dark, to many fakesters, and the youth don’t seem to care. Let the story of the Sikh nation be told.

From the day I have been born I have been taught to respect my elders and my faith, it’s my way of life, Sikhism has always been close to my family so why is it that me and my two brothers had cut hair? Why that when I was of a young age I was told to put a picture up of a man that had Sikh appearance, un-cut hair, un-cut beard and phag, yet this was no Guru or Sikh Sant but the “living Guru” of the RadhaSwami cult, my family, my very own family were the people that were killing our faith stupid cults like, RadhaSwami, Narmthari, Nirankari and Dera Saucha Sada, cults that have Sikh appearance yet follow Hindu ways of Idol worship. I’m 16, only now that it is, I have grown my hair, I have it covered I read the Bani’s of our Gurus, I have woken up, my faith is in danger, but the people closest to me, have they become the enemy? Why have these cults poisoned the mind of our people? Telling us to follow the Hindu belief system, the caste system even when Guru Nanak told us we are all equal, fake Baba’s using Sikhi to make money, using it for personal goals. I ask also, why are these cults ultimately trying to terminate the Sikh faith being funded by the Indian Government, but why is the Harminder Sahib (Golden Temple) and the Akaal Thakt the head of the Sikh Faith protecting it roots, being refused its funding? Our people are being brain washed by these cults, how can a cult have a “living Guru” when Guru Gobind Singh Ji told us that there will be no living man after me that you call Guru, the Guruship of eternity has been placed on the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, so why do people still believe in the cult, when they know its goes against the ways of our faith and out true leader Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji?

Why has there been no inquest into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of Indira Ghandi, and prior to that in Operation Blue Star, why were the government allowed to take tanks to our holiest shrine, why were all the media to other countries kicked out of Punjab during this event, and why was Amnesty International banned? Why do racist Hindu radical groups like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS) and Shiv Sena roam free in India, United Kingdom and many other countries of the world, yet these groups initiated violence in 1984 they killed the innocent people of our nation, they support these cults, as they know that if the cult survives, the strength of Sikhi will weaken. Why were Babbar Khalsa, International Sikh Youth Federation, Khalistan Zindabad Force and many others banned straight away? Why were the BJP allows to get into power in Gujarat, this is like the BNP getting power in England, do the government not care about us? Why do some Sikhs carry on supporting these cults like it’s the right thing to do? Why are drugs being pumped into Punjab, why is alcohol being pumped into Punjab, why are the youth giving up?

The Sikh population in the United Kingdom is a big one, yet if there were 100 Sikh boys in a room, why would there only be 30 people that uncut hair? If there was a room with 100 Sikh girls why would there be 5 that had uncut hair? Why is fashion more important than the word of Guru Ji? Why does the Sikh nation wear the Khanda tops, chains, and earrings yet they can’t even keep their hair? Why is the identity of the Sikh Nation being ruined by idiots, I tell you now you cant “rep” the faith of Sikhi if you cut your hair, your beard, drink alcohol, take drugs if you do all of these things how are you a true Sikh and how do you love your religion when you done even follow its basic principals.

The greatest comforts and lasting peace are obtained, when one eradicates selfishness from within.” – Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji

So you as the Sikh youth are you going to let our religion fall into ruin, let it fall into the history books, let its grace, courage and bravery be forgotten? Let the radical groups and the cults win, let them achieve their goal of killing our great faith and our nation? Are you going to carry on following the Hindu belief system of “caste”, are you going to carry on drinking alcohol, and cutting your hair? Are you going to carry on supporting your personal needs?

Or are you going to say NO, I support my faith, I want its spirit to endure, I want to keep the sanctity of the great Sikh Identity. I am going to do all I can to stop the cults, stop this caste system, stop my old ways and become a true Sikh. When I pass on I want to see Guru Ji.

The youth, there is more to life then looking good, and getting the girls/boys keep your hair, keep your religion alive, fight the oppression that is being put upon our people, fight the racists and the radicals, Sikhi is not Hinduism it is not a Hindu Sect, it’s a separate religion. Are you going to be the one that helps the Sikhs to freedom, to a free state? To lift the oppression so we can live freely wherever that may be?

Ask yourself are you a true Sikh?

The above article was written by Sunveer Singh a 16 year old student from England. We are pleased to publish this interesting introspection by such a young Sikh, and encourage others like Sunveer Singh to contiunue sharing with us such thoughts.

The Caste System

I have not love for appearances or for high castes. It is discipline that I love. Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji (Rehatnama Bhai Sahib Singh Jee)

In sikhi no one is higher or lower due to their social status or wealth. It is our actions that will bring honour or dishonour in Gods court. Gods light is in all, so how can we be any different if our soul is the same. Sikhi eliminated caste when Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji chopped of the heads from the 5 beloveds and put the heads on a different body and made them drink Amrit from the same bowl. (This proved we are all the same)

Recognize the human race as one – Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Dasam Granth Ji

The caste System is a Hindu belief and it is causing disunity in the Sikh Community due to us not listening to our Guru.

• People are building caste based Gurdwaras (Which is hypercritical)
• There are problems when it comes to marriages.
• It makes Sikhs feel isolated from other Sikhs.
  

Different sections (castes) of society develop hatred for one another and finish themselves through squabbles as the bamboos, due to their mutual friction, producing fire burn themselves as well as others. Bhai Gurdas ji varan

Recognize the Lord's Light within all, and do not consider social class or status; there are no classes or castes in the world hereafter. Ang 349 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji

No matter what background, culture, race, gender, country and tribe you belong to, remember we are all equal because Gods light is within us all.

Why We Have Langar?

The Sikh Gurus themselves used to do Langer Seva

One of the major principles of Sikhism is equality for all; regardless of gender, cast, creed, culture, wealth, etc. In the fifteenth century, the Hindu caste system had become strongly rooted in India. Many Hindu priests (Brahmins) believed in the caste system and perpetuated it as much as possible, by segregating individuals of certain backgrounds (perceived as lower) and looking down on them. Some people in India, who considered themselves of a high-class society wouldn’t even touch a person who they considered as being part of any lower class. If they touched the low class accidentally they would take a bath. They also used to make the low class servants sit on the floor and eat while they sat in a chair.

The Sikh Gurus preached to “recognize the Lord's Light within all, and not to consider social class or status; there are no classes or castes in the world hereafter” (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang 349).

Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Guru established langar, a free community kitchen. Langar is free food served in the Gurdwara Sahib, which is prepared by Sikhs and then consumed by them, guests and the poor while sitting at the same level next to each other. The purpose of the langar is to eliminate any type of caste system and look to view all humans as equal. While eating langar together, there remains no difference between rich and poor, and a superior or inferior person, for all present are eating the same food at the same level. Langar should be served in all Gurdwaras around the globe twenty-four hours a day.

“All beings and creatures are His; He belongs to all” (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji - Ang 425)

“Sing the Praise of the One, the Immaculate Lord; He is contained within all” (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji - Ang 706)

“The special feature of the Sikh of the Guru is that he goes beyond the framework of caste-classification and moves in humility. Then his labor becomes acceptable at the door of God”

(Bhai Gurdas Ji, 1).

The Langar Hall Crisis!

Some Sikhs have replaced the Langar on the floor system with the table and chairs system. They say it is modern times and we should move on. But this new system gets rid of the humility and humbleness aspects of the traditional langar system. Humility is a key teaching of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The tables and chairs system violates Sikh ethics and principles. However a few tables and chairs for the people who are unable to sit on floor due to medical reasons, is understandable and accepted by all gurdwaras.

The above picture shows the traditional langar system, the Principles of Humility and humbleness can be seen in practice in this system.

The New Langar System, the Prinicples of Humility and humbleness are violated in this system. It is more of a restaurant atmosphere.

Conclusion: With tables and chairs the elements of humbleness and humility in the langar system are lost. Only by acting in a humble manner and showing humility is our ego destroyed. Ego keeps our soul, separated from the lord.