[NondualitySalon] RE: James Bean/a great Sikh thing

[Guest guest]

Thanks Harsha, that is the great Guru Nanak story! Many of the NYC

taxicabs have a Guru Nanak picture by the rear view mirror. There are two

other things I like about Sikhism and the Punjab area. One is the great

fellowship with which the Sikhs treated even me, even in England, just

because I was wearing the bracelet. Another thing is the wonderful Punjabi

tea, with a great mix of spices and milk!! One Sikh gave me a lesson in

making it. Next retreat I'll make a huge pot!

 

Love,

 

--Greg

 

At 11:02 AM 8/11/00 -0400, Harsha \(Dr. Harsh K. Luthar\) wrote:

>>>>

Thanks for sharing that Greg. I was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India, the

birth place of Sikh religion. Amritsar is where the Golden Temple of the

Sikhs is. We used to go there all the time. It was a beautiful place and

still is I am sure. In the old days, some Hindus and Sikhs had this

tradition. The oldest son of a Hindu would become a Sikh and the oldest son

of a Sikh would become a Hindu. My grandmother on my father's side was from

a Sikh family. Her father was Hindu but rest of the brothers and sisters

were Sikh! So we had both Hindu and Sikh blood relatives.

 

When I was growing up in Amritsar, we did not make much distinction between

Gurudwaras (Sikh temples), and the Hindu temples. We used to visit both on a

regular basis. The Sikh temples had langars (free food) on certain days of

the week.

 

Guru Nanak was the first Guru of Sikhs. His father was a business man and

had a shop. He asked Nanak to sit in the shop one day when he was away.

Nanak was then around 13. When Nanak saw that some people could not afford

to pay for food and other goods, he started giving them away free. When his

father came back he was quite upset. He tried to turn Nanak into a worldly

man but could not do it. Nanak eventually married and had children. Nanak's

natural inclination was towards God.

 

One day, Guru Nanak was sleeping with his feet towards the temple. The

Temple priest came running out and told him to not be disrespectful and

remove his feet. "Your feet are pointing towards the Lord!", shouted the

priest! Nanakji's reply was simple and elegant. Guru Nanak said, "Please

point my feet in the direction where God is not!"

 

Love

Harsha