Thoughts on World Aids Day & Guru's Rehat

When one takes Khande-di-Pahul (Amrit), a person makes a declaration that his or her allegiance is soley with Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and the Guru Khalsa Panth.

Each and every person taking Amrit makes a vow. They promise to avoid and never commit four things, known as the Bajjar Kurehats. According to the Panthic 'Sikh Rehat Maryada', the undermentioned four transgressions (tabooed practices) must be avoided are:

1. ਕੇਸਾਂ ਦੀ ਬੇ-ਅਦਬੀ
Keshaa Di Be-adbi: Dishonouring the hair

2. ਕੁੱਠਾ ਖਾਣਾ
Kutha KhaaNa: Eating the meat of an animal slaughtered the Muslim way

3. ਪਰ-ਇਸਤਰੀ ਜਾ ਪੁਰਸ਼ ਨਾਲ ਗਮਨ (ਭੋਗਣਾ)
Par Istri Ja Purash Naal Gaman (BhogNa): Cohabiting with a person other than one's spouse

4. ਤਮਾਕੂ ਦਾ ਵਰਤਣਾ
Tamaakoo Da Vartnaa: Using tobacco

So each person taking Amrit takes these four vows.

How amazing is the Guru? I cannot praise Him enough or understand His Glory!


What is eating the world away? Disease and illness of individauls and society!
Some of the diseases are physical, mental and spiritiual and extend from individuals to across society.

Blessed is the Guru's Sikh, who has taken Amrit, and follows the vow and promise he or she made to the Guru!
Blessed is the Guru's Sikh, who has taken Amrit, and honours their Rehat given by Guru Ji.
Blessed is the Guru's Sikh, who has taken Amrit, and escaped the illnesses of society, illnesses of the body, and illnesses of the soul by obeying the four vows he or she took.


Everywhere you look, television, newspapers and around university, you see VANITY, and MORE VANITY. In pursuing to please others, people have become 'OBSESSED' with their appearances and have become entangled in worldly fashions. More horrifying, is to see young children in primary school even putting make-up on their faces and wearing adult-like clothes. On the other hand, you see people who have nose studs, and piercings coming out left right centre from their face! Their is craze to DEFORM the body in the pursuit of fashion fads and trying to seek happiness. People are steering away from natural beauty, peace of spiritualism, and living harmony with the Creation and Creator.

O Guru Ke Pyaari'o, blessed is my Guru who asked His Sikh to never dishonour his hair, and remain in the GRACE and GLORY of the Creator, and to maintain and take care the gift of the body given by Waheguru. The Guru asked His Sikh who wishes to become His, to promise "I will dishonour my hair." That Sikh enjoys the practical bodily function of the hair on his or her body, which Waheguru implanted in nature. That Sikh uses the blessed hair to meditate on Waheguru, with and every hair vibrate Naam. That Sikh is honoured with a Graceful and Gloriful appearance of an ANGEL!

So Thanks to the Guru's Grace, the Guru's Sikhs, those who taken Amrit and made these promises are free of becoming ungrateful of the gift of the body, and remain in spiritual, bodily and natural harmony and peace.


Many religions and traditions slaughter animals slowly and ritualistically, believing that this is the PURE and SANCTIFIED way of doing it.(?) Furthermore, certains religions believe that if someone has committed a terrible sin or wishes to thank God, then one should sacrifice an animal to God. Strange how the sacrifice is for God, but the PERSON and THEIR FAMILY end up eating the dead animal! How will God be pleased with people destroying and killing his creation in HIS NAME!? Ritually slaughtered animals are killed slowly so that their blood drains out of the body. In the name and grief the animal's heart beats so fast that blood pours out of the slits cut by the butcher. Due to the animal in prolonged PAIN and intentional SUFFERING, chemical toxins are let off in the animal.

People say, "YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT"! Who would want to eat suffering and cruelty? I would rather be a carrot, piece of Saag, or Gobi, rather than be an abused Pig, Cow or Chicken (note: just to clarify, if don't follow along with the joke - i am reffering to the "you are what you eat")! However, blessed is my Guru, who given His Sikh the guiding principle to maintain a healthy body and refrain from those foods which cause harm to the body and mind, as the body is the temple of Waheguru.

ਬਾਬਾ ਹੋਰੁ ਖਾਣਾ ਖੁਸੀ ਖੁਆਰੁ ॥
baabaa hor khaaNaa khushee khuaar.
O Baba, the pleasures of other foods are false.

ਜਿਤੁ ਖਾਧੈ ਤਨੁ ਪੀੜੀਐ ਮਨ ਮਹਿ ਚਲਹਿ ਵਿਕਾਰ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
jit khaaDhai tan peeReeai, man meh chaleh vikaar. 1. rahaa-o.
Eating which, is unhealthy for the body, and cause wickedness and corruption to enter into the mind. 1. Pause.

Thanks to the Guru's Grace, the Guru's Sikhs, those who taken Amrit and made these promises are free from barbaric acts of butchery, and are free from health outbreaks caused by Western farmers who TORTURE animals and ABUSE them in animal factories (which is not better than the pain caused by Halaal/Kosher way of slaughtering) causing mad-cow disease, foot and mouth disease, bird flue, and other illnesses due to genetic modifcation of animals.


Today is 'World Aids Day'. Sadly, sexually transmitted diseases are the MAJOR KILLER of the world. Aids and HIV is the biggest diease of society in the modern world. More than 39 million people around the world are living with HIV – slightly more than the population of Poland. Nearly two-thirds of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the dramatic rise in cases among women is particularly evident. Women now account for nearly half all infected adults worldwide. The global HIV/Aids epidemic killed MORE THAN 3 MILLION people in 2004.

However, blessed is my Guru, who asked his beloved Sikh to promise "I will never co-habit or have a physical relationship with anyone other than my spouse."

Thanks to the Guru's Grace, the Guru's Sikhs, those who taken Amrit and made these promises are free of this huge global epidemic and societal disease of sexual transmitted diseases.


Every year, around 114,000 tobacco smokers in the UK die as a result of their habit. Deaths caused by smoking are FIVE TIMES HIGHER than the 22,833 deaths arising from: road traffic accidents (3,439), other accidents (8,579), poisoning and overdose (881), alcoholic liver disease (5,121), murder and manslaughter (513), suicide (4,066), and HIV infection (234) in the UK during 2002. About half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their habit. Smoking causes about 30% of all cancer deaths (including around 84% of lung cancer deaths), 17% of all heart disease deaths and at least 80% of deaths from bronchitis and emphysema. Furthemore, polls show that people underestimate the health risks of smoking and the effects of PASSIVE SMOKING.

However, blessed is my Guru, who asked his beloved Sikh to promise "I will never touch or go near tobacco and intoxicants."

Thanks to the Guru's Grace, the Guru's Sikhs, those who taken Amrit and made these promises are free from the addiction, cancers, and diseases caused by tobacco and intoxicants.


Amazing isn't it, how if one walks on the path of the Guru, the Guru saves them from what we would call today global diseases and illness, affecting the body, mind and undoubtedly the soul.

Dhan Guru, Dhan Guru Piaare.


I think today on World Aids day we should reflect upon the wisdom given by our Guru and show appreciation to what we have been blessed with. And also as oppurtunity to pray for those who are less fortunate, are suffering from diseases and especially the families left behind to struggle along with life after one or more of the parents dies due to the disease. It is really sad. Rab Bhallaa Kare Sabhnaa Da!

One way of doing sewa (which is very simple and everyone can do it) is joining the 'Making Poverty Campaign'. They will send you emails and will send you template letters for various global issues to send to politicians. All you have to do is fill in your name, address and the name of your MP and press CLICK. So if you want to do that, the website is: http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/


Note: This post is not intended to cause offense to anyone. If it has then bhul chuk maaf.
extract from Manvir Singh's blog.