|
"It
is a Sikh's sacred duty to defend the weak
"I honor and obey the saints and punish the wicked.
PREFACE The
following narrative is presented for the purpose of making the
inquirer more familiar with the lifestyle and practices of Sikh
Dharma, a householders' spiritual path by which practice and only
by God's grace, one may be blessed with the virtue known as humility
and the good fortune to overcome the mental and spiritual affliction
known as pride.
It
is not the purpose nor customary practice of the followers of
"Human
is a blend of saint and soldier; this is a complete person. If you
Sikhs hold a prominent place in the history of America and India. Guru Nanak Dev founded Sikhism in the fifteen century and he was followed by nine Gurus (enlightened
teachers or prophets). Guru Angad, the second Guru, developed the Gurumukhi script. Guru
Ram Das, the fourth Guru, laid the foundation for the city of
Amritsar. Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru, compiled the Adi Granth,
the sacred songs of the Sikhs, later
to become known as the Siri Guru
Granth Sahib. But it was Guru Gobind
Singh, the tenth Guru, who gave Sikhs a renewed sense of chardikala,
which in turn gave Sikh Dharma its resurgent vigor and mass following
in the 17th century. Guru Gobind Singh declared himself to be the
last of the earthly Gurus. And he commanded his followers to revere
only the Guru-Word as Guru upon his death. See the 12
Aspirations of the Sikhs. The Sikhs, or Sardarjis as they are known by some, aside from being great patrons of art, religion and scholarship, are known as the bravest people in India, and their women, among India's most beautiful. The Sikhs have participated in India's nation building for hundreds of years, fighting the British, serving in the military (the Sikh regiment is the most decorated regiment of the Indian army) and excelling in sports. And they have served as President (Gianni Zail Singh, veteran freedom fighter, 1982-87) and Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) of India.
History of the Sikh Warrior - The Sant Sipahi
What follows are the biographies of a few of the many Sikh Warriors who protected Sikhs and others from the onslaught of tyrannical forces. These brave souls protected the Sikh faith and fought battles against oppressors in keeping with the Khalsa spirit of Sikh Dharma. They stood up against tyranny by invaders and oppressors on the battlefield. They raised the sword against aggression in defense of the rights of women, and the weak and defenseless, and never to threaten or oppress others. It is a Sikh's sacred duty to defend the weak and protect the innocent.
GUIDELINES FOR
GENERAL ORDERS FOR SEVADARS
Security does not happen by accident.
With rare exception, nobody wants to think about We can choose to be proactive-secure or reactive-sorry. SPECIAL NOTE: We can view the subject of Security as an unpleasant, even terrifying concept, or as a fearless, even exhilarating exercise in courage. We can choose to be passive, wimpy victims, or proactive, fearless survivors. To those members of the Sadh Sangat who choose to remain in denial with regard to matters of Security and Safety, who either claim that Gurdwara Security is unnecessary, or who dismiss any thought of improving Gurdwara Security, I suggest that you not only recall the tragic events of the August 5, 2012 Gurdwara assault in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and the Sandy Hook Elementary School killings in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012, but that you recall the days of Operation Blue Star, the tragic assault on the Guru in Amritsar, India, June 1-6, 1984, a week which will live in infamy... the event that involved the desecration of the Golden Temple, and the destruction of the Akal Takht. Going back much farther, remember Aurangzeb? Keep in mind also that the Siri Singh Sahib of Sikh Dharma established a policy whereby a Security and Safety Sevadar is posted at the door of the House of Guru Ram Das Gurdwara in Los Angeles, California, even to this day. His vision being that Gurdwara Security and Safety is not about acting out of fear, it is about selflessly serving the Guru and the Sangat while fearlessly defending the weak and protecting the innocent for which Sikhs have a sacred duty. See Refuse To Be A Victim Course. See World's Worst Mass Shootings. See How To Build A Team at Plus1Equals11.com. See Women: Wimps or Warriors?. See Are You Among The 'Unchurched'? SANT SIPAHI - SOLDIER SAINT Karam khand ki bani jor. Tithai hor na koi hor. PSALM 82:3-4
"Human
is a blend of saint and soldier; this is a complete person. If you
"I
can think of a number of fanatical, over-zealous religious groups
who Sat Nam. The Siri Singh Sahib was asked to express his priorities for a community gathering in the early ‘70s. His reply, “Security, Security, Security.” I share his vision. I have the concern that with the passage of time, nay, even as we speak, the memory of the Oak Creek massacre will fade away just as the memory of the infamous 1984 Operation Blue Star attack on the Sikhs in India seems to have disappeared from our recollection. Many Sikhs simply tag these events as the will of God and Guru, which is true, but we cannot stop there. There is a deeper message, a challenge, that has apparently gone unnoticed, i.e., our sacred duty to fearlessly "defend the weak and protect the innocent," just as Guru Gobind Singh taught us. So, I am requesting that the Sikh ministers act to meet our present day challenges. Not out of a sense of fear or apprehension, but with the same courage and fearlessness as did Guru Gobind Singh and our beloved Siri Singh Sahib. I urge my fellow ministers to answer this call by purchasing the Active Shooter Survival Training DVD shown below, and sharing it with their respective sangats. See Jai Jagdeesh Kaur's Ad Guray Nameh. Humbly, Mukhia Singh Sahib Hari Singh Bird Khalsa LAST RESORT ACTIVE SHOOTER SURVIVAL TRAINING
BE
PREPARED
A
reality-based training production.
Training includes a step-by-step how-to, such as:
Points To Ponder
"Your
value is not in how many experiences you have had. "Security
consciousness is a state of being whereby we live in service FEMA'S ICS - INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM OPEN
LETTER
Security does not happen by accident.
With rare exception, nobody wants to think about We can choose to be proactive-secure or reactive-sorry. Sat Nam, Brothers and Sisters! I am a former U.S. Marine and someone who has been involved with Gurdwara and Solstice security for decades. I would like to address what I see as a general absence of security/soldier consciousness within Sikh communities by quoting the Siri Singh Sahib, who said: “Human is a blend of Saint and Soldier; this is a complete person. If you are not a Soldier your sainthood will be kicked around. If you are only a Soldier, not a Saint, you will start kicking others around.” The Siri Singh Sahib was once asked to express his priorities at a 3HO Solstice Sadhana gathering in the early ‘70s. His reply was, “Security, Security, Security.” And since the establishment of the Guru Ram Das Ashram in Los Angeles, and until this very day, a sevadar is posted at the door of the gurdwara as ordered by the Siri Singh Sahib. Security has been a priority consideration since the earliest days of 3HO/Sikh Dharma. While recently speaking with a sangat member regarding the subject of Gurdwara Security and Security, she mentioned how she thought she would engage an active-shooter incident within her community. She said her first instinct would be to physically cover any potential victims with her body as a shield. I advised her that this would be exactly the wrong action to take. I suggested that she think about the instructions given by airline attendants concerning an in-flight emergency. Passengers are advised to take self-saving actions first by utilizing their oxygen mask on themselves before attempting to assist anybody else. It may seem counter-intuitive, but self-preservation must be the first response in order for other potential victims to be protected and defended. Contrary to the unfortunate outcomes of numerous recent horrific events, an active-shooter event is not a situation where potential victims are without recourse. This is addressed in numerous, simple, and surprising ways in a survival training video called Survival Edge: Active Shooter Survival, available at ACTCert.com (ACT stands for Attack Countermeasures Training), which I urge all communities to acquire and view. This DVD provides a reality-based, step-by-step training program that covers how to protect yourself and others from extreme violence, including responding to an active shooter, managing workplace violence, improving Gurdwara security and safety, becoming better prepared, saving innocent lives and surviving terrorism. Though
the outcome of the shooting event in Oak
Creek, Wisconsin in 2012 was horrific, those murders might have
been preventable to a significant extent. There are specific actions
(some even at the time of the attack) that could have possibly mitigated
the outcome. My concern is that with the passage of time, the memory of the Oak Creek massacre and other tragedies will fade away. I strongly encourage all members of the Sikh community – and especially Sikh Dharma Ministers – to act now to meet this ever-present challenge – not out of a sense of reactionary fear, but with the same attention and fearless dedication as our beloved Siri Singh Sahib. As a member of the 3HO Solstice Security and Safety advisory team, I am working to help develop programs and awareness, and I am happy to receive communication from sangat members. My web site at www.GurdwaraSecurity.com provides resources, tips, and thoughts about this important topic. Humbly, Mukhia Singh Sahib Hari Singh Bird Khalsa OPEN
LETTER
Security does not happen by accident.
With rare exception, nobody wants to think about We can choose to be proactive-secure or reactive-sorry. Sat Nam, Khalsa ji! In the wake of the attention now being given for and against gun ownership, I have frequently recalled a scene from many years ago with a wince, even a shudder on one hand, and a smile with a head-shake on the other. Women: Wimps or Warriors? I was in a mixed group discussing security and gun safety training in which a young woman reluctantly picked up a handgun between her thumb and forefinger as if picking up a dead mouse. The scene stuck with me ever since. And all the recent talk about guns and violence has especially caused me to recall that silly albeit sad scenario. Silly because it looked so comical, sad because it is indicative of where I see many women, today. "If
a woman is attacked by a gun-toting assailant, her chance
"You can view security as a terrifying concept, or as an exercise in courage. Regardless of where you stand on gun control, knowledge of firearms equates with power, ignorance of firearms equates with weakness. See Flash-Bang For Women Only. See Refuse To Be A Victim Course. I am a passionate proponent of a more equitable balance between our collective Saint-Soldier mind set as Sant Sipahi. In this context I strongly urge Khalsa parents, especially women, to consider the following points. 1) Become more familiar with leadership and survival skills, and acquire a working knowledge of firearms in general, and handguns specifically. 2) Consider enrolling your children at the New Mexico Military Institute, located in Roswell, New Mexico. My kids graduated high school with honors at NMMI in the early '80s, the first children of Sikh Dharma to attend a military school in America. The Siri Singh Sahib expressed pleasure upon observing cadet training when he visited NMMI in 1983. He advised us then that he would have enrolled his own children at NMMI if he had known of its existence. A larger group of Sikh children who attended the school in India also attended NMMI in the early '90s.
"If you cannot walk together, you "Those who shall not learn to obey shall never "The Synergistic Equation is: 1 Plus 1 Equals 11. NMMI provides an outstanding two year college option for your sons and daughters upon completion of their
time at Miri Piri Academy.
For those families for which MPA is not an option, NMMI has an excellent
four year high school college prep program in addition to their two year
college program, which is ranked #2 in the nation, and for which scholarships
are available. See NMMI
Strategic Measures Statistics. The former Sikhi students/graduates
of NMMI provide a testament to the advantages of attending NMMI, which
include a rigorous and challenging lifestyle, camaraderie and fellowship,
and outsanding leadership
training especially, along with NMMI's excellent scholastic program,
which prepared them for additional university training and exciting
careers anywhere in the world. NMMI is the only American prep school
that has a history of accommodating the Sikhi lifestyle, i.e., sadhana, kesh, turban, sipahi training, and vegetarian diet. And it is an excellent environment for our children to learn leadership
and soldiering skills for which the Siri Singh Sahib was a passionate
proponent. The NMMI program offers MPA students and other Sikh youth
is a unique and reasonably cost-effective opportunity to transition
from the Indian to the American experience together, and continue
bonding with their Sikh peers. See NMMI
Admissions. admissions@nmmi.edu 800-421-5376 4) Reflect on the Siri Singh Sahib's words, "Human is a blend of saint and soldier; this is a complete person. If you are not a soldier your sainthood will be kicked around. If you are only a soldier, not a saint, you will start kicking others around." See Women Warriors. See Gurdwara Security. See Refuse To Be A Victim Seminar. I know of no readily available source of formal leadership training available to our Sikh youth other than the New Mexico Military Institute. Humbly, See Memories of Khalsa Women's Rifle Drill Team. See How the Marines transform a Me into We. See Amazon Women.
Bhai Garja Singh and Bhai Bota Singh Bhai Sukha Singh and Bhai Mehtab Singh
The
Sikh Anthem
In
the heart of a lion, We've
never started a war before, In
the heart of a lion, Enemies
come and enemies go, In
the heart of a lion, On
every side the world will pull; In
the heart of a lion, See Women Warriors. See GurdwaraSecurity.com. See Terrorsim Self-Assessment Tools. See ACT - Attack Countermeasures Training. See How The Marine Corps Transforms Me Into We.
Science and Practice of Meditation and its Benefits Sing Along With These Born Again Americans All About Sikhs From the U.S. Dept. of Justice The 1974 Transition of Bhai Sahib Dyal Singh Ek Ong Kar Sat Nam Siri WhaHe Guru.com See Why Sikhs Keep Their Hair Unshorn See What Happens When You Meditate Life According To Yogi Bhajan.com If Your Dad Doesn't Have A Beard History of Sikhs In America Video Lessons Learned From The Sikhs The New York Times About Sikhs Americans Get An 'F' In Religion
More Web sites by
KhalsaWebMasters.com 
Khalsa |
|
|
ABOUT US CONTACT US DISCLAIMER HOME PAGE NEWS AND VIEWS SEARCH UNIVERSITY OF DIVERSITY |
FACTOID 
Monitoring all activities occurring in the presence of the 
Assisting the Sangat in the performance of their worship and other
activities, especially to include the arrival and departure of families
with young children, giving aid and comfort to the elderly and the
infirm, and greeting visitors.
Taking direct Protective and/or Defensive Action in the event of emergency
circumstances such as fire and medical response, disruptive or disorderly
activity, or any act of aggression occurring within or without the
Gurdwara or amongst members.
The gathering and dissemination of intelligence data, and the subsequent
alerting of sangat members, and appropriate local authorities to the
existence of issues or circumstances involving imminent or potential
risk to the security of the Guru, sangat members, or Gurdwara property.
Interfacing with, and assisting Local Fire and Medical Emergency or
Law Enforcement Response Team members in order to maintain appropriate
and respectful decorum in any emergency conditions occurring in the
presence of the Guru or upon the Gurdwara property, circumstances
permitting.
Planning for Survival
