MrSikhNet Video

This second video is a continuous recording of the Ishnaan Seva from start to finish (for about 2.5 hours) from a second video camera. I then sped it up so you can watch the whole thing in about 80 seconds! (again I suggest that you download the higher quality video). You can see everyone zipping around, and the transformation of taking everything out of the Gurdwara, cleaning and then bringing everything back in.

Years ago marble was installed on the floors and base of the walls in the Gurdwara here in Espanola, New Mexico. Ever since then it has become a beautiful weekly get together to clean the Guru’s House. I used to hear about it from Prabhu Singh and a few others (Sat Bachan Kaur) who were always trying to encourage people to participate. Back then It took place late at night (rather than 6:30am nowadays) so I never did take part in it. At first I thought it silly to install marble in the Gurdwara when it seemed to be perfectly nice as it was. I thought, why make more work and the need to clean the marble?? Was this our sangat’s way of having a similar experience of cleaning the marble floors of Harimandir Sahib (which most are not allowed to take part in)? Anyways, that was my critical mind at work and was a factor in my not taking the opportunity to do this seva till this year. My son Narayan Singh had come to Ishnaan Seva a few times before me with some of his uncles, and he always seemed to love the experience. So one morning I decided to go with him since he really wanted to go. How could I say no when my son wanted to serve in the Guru’s house??? Ever since that morning I wondered why I had never come before?? It was so nice to be with other sevadhars doing this seva. It’s not so much the cleaning part or the labor…. but there is something about coming together with other Gursikhs in the Guru’s House and serving in this way that is special. On my first morning doing the seva Sat Bachan Kaur asked if I would carry the Siri Guru Granth Sahib from the Guru’s room to a different location, so that we could clean the Guru’s room. This was the first time I have done this and for some reason it was such a powerful experience for me (all of like ten seconds or so). Many Sikhs refer to the Guru as "The Sikh Scriptures" or "The Sikh Holy Book" which is totally off base, as the Siri Guru Granth is our living Guru and not a "book". So as I carried the Siri Guru Granth on my head and it was an experience that is hard to put to words. I was carrying my Guru with love and respect and feeling the "vibration" of the Gurbani flow through my being. Wow! The whole process takes about two hours from start to finish. The two Siri Guru Granth Sahib’s are moved from their room to a temporary location as well as the two sets of the English/Punjabi Translations of Siri Guru Granth Sahib which are used to read the English translation of the Hukamnama and also for the weekly Akandh Path. After that we roll up the carpets, remove everything from the Gurdwara, sweep up the dust from the floor, wash the marble floors with water, dry everything, put everything back in, and then lay down sheets on top of the carpets for the Sunday Gurdwara. Most weeks Hari Kaur or Jugat Singh cook some yummy langar for us to enjoy at the end, which is real treat!! On the weekends when I participate in the Ishnaan Seva I try to bring my (1.5 year old) Charanjeet Kaur and (6 year old) Narayan Singh. They both love the seva also, and help out with everything. Narayan’s favorite is taking the buckets of water and pouring it all over the floors and then wiping it all over with towels. He zips back and forth. I like going with my kids because it gives them a positive experience of seva and of being together with sangat. Some of the other people also bring their children so they all have fun together and we get the kids involved. It’s like a big family event coming together like this in the morning. If you come to visit our community, definitely plan to participate in this seva on Sunday morning. If you are from Espanola and reading this then you don’t know what you are missing! Come join us! (Starts around 6:30am) You won’t regret it. A few weeks ago someone suggested recording the Ishnaan Seva and making a video. So, this past weekend I did that. Here are two short videos showing the Ishnaan Seva. The first video is from one camera that I carried around during the seva and recorded the different activities close up. In order to better illustrate the seva I sped up the video to go very fast. I suggest that you download the video which is MUCH better quality (and larger) then what shows in the below Youtube video. You’ll be able to see things better and enjoy it more.

Here is a short video by SSS Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji during some question and answer session with Sikh Youth in Surrey, Canada (March 19th 1996) on the topic of Humbleness and Jewelry.

Over the years I have observed some characteristics that some Sikhs have taken on regarding an effort to reduce ego/pride. As Sikhs we are taught to not get attached to the five "challenges" of Lust, Anger, Greed, Pride and Attachment. In an effort to prevent these feelings I have seen some practices by Sikhs which I think are unnecessary.

The first routine is the overly humble guise. It goes something like this: "I am just a lowly sinner…" , "I am the dust of the dust of the dirt"… "I am a das of the das", "I know nothing…", etc. Most of the time when I hear this type of thing from people it feels just like a cover to try to negate any ego. In reality for most people it feels like a false routine to portray ones self as humble. I know in Gurbani Guru Nanak and other Gurus have used similar words as this…but this was our Gurus expression. It’s one thing if you say this to yourself as an internal thing in your mind…..but to say it to other people is very different. It’s as if you have to say it out loud to prove, or make sure that people know you are humble. It’s sort of a false humbleness. If you are humble people will see it in your actions, words, and in your presence (not by words and statements about your humbleness).

There is the "Please forgive me" Maafi routine ("Bhul Chuk Maaf) - That one starts out apologizing and then getting really heavy. As if by apologizing it makes everything that is said ok.

There is the "I know nothing" routine - Someone gives a lecture for two hours and then ends with something like "I know nothing and am just a servant of you all."

Another routine is the "anonymous sevadhar". This is by far the most common I have seen these days. I think many Sikhs have been taught that in order to prevent ego from coming into your mind that you should remain hidden and unknown when doing seva. While this might work and be great in some situations, I think quite often this is taken to extremes for everything.

• Example 1: My friend Gurujot Singh went to a Samagam out of town and was doing lagar seva. Later on a Sikh was telling him that he should not do seva in Bana, he should dress very simply and do seva that no one knows about. The person’s impression probably was that by wearing bana and doing a seva in public that it was being done out of ego to show people how servicefull and how "spiritual" you are.
• Example 2: In the world of the internet it is easy to remain anonymous, so the "anonymous sevadhar" is very common online. Many people that run Sikh websites or do various seva online go to great lengths to stay anonymous. I can email back and forth with someone tens of times and have no idea who I am taking to except for the name "sevadhar" that is signed at the end. I have no idea who I am dealing with.

Bana, Clothing, jewelry, etc - This is another one where people think that if you are wearing bana that you are showing off and trying to look holy. So they say you should wear very simple clothes that don’t stand out. This routine also relates to jewelry and people feel that by wearing jewelry that you are getting caught up maya. We all talk about being Khalsa Raj, Kings, Queens, princes and princesses. So…are we paupers or are we kings/queens? This is another case of trying to shelter ourselves from feeling ego/pride/etc.

The point of all this is more about finding a balance. As Sikhs we are householders that live in this world. We are not sadhus hiding up in the mountains to escape from all the Maya. Trying to shelter or protect one self from feeling these things is not the answer (in my opinion). We as Sikhs should deal with it head on. God gave us a mind and intellect to feel these things and to be able to deal with them. Beating around the bush trying to hide from it can only work for so long. When you have a feeling of pride/ego/lust/etc….you have a choice. You can dwell or act on it…or you can be conscious of this feeling and "cut" it and change the direction of your thoughts. I think the problem is when you are not conscious of these feelings.

Being a Leader and Examples for others to Follow Another thing in relation to "anonymous seva" is that there is a need for leadership and good examples for everyone around us. It is a good thing to have role models and be able to see people who are doing good things for the community. If all these people are "hiding out" they might not be available to share and help inspire others to do the same. I think it is great to be out there and help others in a public way. I deal with this all the time being the so called "Mr. SikhNet". Lots of people know me, and I serve and share very publicly. Am I full of ego and pride? I don’t think so. The service isn’t about me…it’s about being of service and helping others. It’s just a medium. It’s not to say I never feel pride or ego, but I watch my mind and catch it if it tries to go astray. It’s just part of the territory. I choose to face these things head on. Some people do this and may fall victim, but this is just part of life and learning. We learn by overcoming these challenges and controlling our mind, not by hiding out.

There is something good about being very personal with people, being honest, and sharing who I am. Having nothing to hide makes one also more conscious of things that they do and say, because you have to take responsibility for everything, which isn’t always easy. On the internet lots of people (Sikhs included) choose to hide behind anonymous names and say/do things that they would never do publicly as "themself". There is a certain character I think in being you, and taking responsibility (good and bad) for your actions and words.

Hopefully all this makes you think about these topics and become more conscious about how you deal with it in the future.