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| Newsletter of the Sikh Dharma Ministry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Back Home | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| October, 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ministry Report- SS Dr. Sat Kaur Khalsa, Secretary of Religion Identity as a Minister-SS Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa Building the Ministry-SS Hari Charn Kaur Khalsa Building the Community-SS Viriam Singh Khalsa Minister of the Month-MSS Krishna Kaur Khalsa |
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| Announcements | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In light of the dramatic shift in our world, there is a heightened need for Ministers to be current with their requirements and credentials. A valid Minister's Card could help you be of assistance to those in dire need. In this spirit, Minister's who are behind in their requirements are being asked to pick one question from each exam owed, and to answer it fully. All of the past Minister Exams will be posted on the newsletter website very soon. All other requirements are still needed: 1) separate signed letters to the Siri Singh Sahib requesting renewal of your Ministership for each year since your last current status, 2) two passport size photographs in full Bana (including a turban and chuni for women and a dress white turban for men), and 3) $25 US dollars for each year that you are behind. Just a reminder, all the requirements were set by the Siri Singh Sahib and are needed for legal purposes. In addition, those Ministers for whom English is a second language may arrange through the Office of the Secretary of Religion, to take their exams orally at either Solstices or Khalsa Council meetings. They may use this oral process to catch up on past exams by choosing one question from each exam as well. If you are unsure which tests you need, please contact Ek Ong Kar Kaur at ekongkarkaur@earthlink.net |
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Dear Sikh Dharma Ministers, Wahe Guru Ji ka Khalsa! Wahe Guru Ji ki Fateh! At our most recent Annual Ministers Meeting at Summer Solstice, we focused on "Raising the Spirit of the Ministry and the Ministers." The ideas generated include acknowledging accomplishments, more communication and education, and media positioning. Interestingly, there is already a great deal of work being done in these areas. Certainly the creation of this newsletter is a huge step that has been taken to address some of these needs. It will provide a forum for acknowledgements, communication and education. The more you, as a Minister, participate in using this communication tool, the more we as a Ministry will be able to build our identity. The newsletter is produced and sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Religion, with Saraswati Kaur Khalsa as the editor. Other communication tools include hard copy letters from this office to the Ministry, and local Minister meetings. SS Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur talked about the Ministers meetings that have taken place in Espanola over the last five years. Originally they were focused on topics that were presented by local Ministers. For Baisakhi '99, this group inspired people to go to Anandpur Sahib, and did a lot of fund raising. Lately, a Corp of Volunteers has been formed to serve specific sangat needs. SS Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur explained how powerful it has been to have the Ministers gather together, and strongly encouraged Ministers to meet in their local areas to help build the identity and spirit of the Ministry. In the area of education, SS Mata Mandir Kaur is continuing to facilitate Minister Training Courses via the bridge line. There is a very interesting new line up of courses for Ministers starting this fall and continuing throughout 200l and 2002. Current Bridgeline Courses SS Gurunater Kaur is administrating these courses. To enroll, please contact her at gurunaterkaur@sikhdharma.org, (505) 747-8928, or (703) 435-7454. There is much work that needs to be done in the area of media positioning, a topic that Khalsa Council will be addressing for the next two years. Recent events have highlighted its importance. On September 11th, 2001, our world, as we have known it, changed. The events of that day have been described in many ways. One description is that of a wake up call to the world. I believe it was also a wake up call for our Ministry. Clearly our sangats need our help during these extraordinary times, and our communities are desperate for the gifts we can share with them. Yes, we as a Ministry also need each other. Please step forward and take the leadership position that is yours by destiny. Your participation, inspiration, ideas, help, and support focus and fuel the Ministry to be what it is now and what it will become in the future. Let us continue to shape, form, and utilize this rich body of resources known as: The Sikh Dharma Ministry. May God ever Bless you and kept you in His light and love. Humbly, SS Dr. Sat-Kaur Khalsa Secretary of Religion |
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Meaning and Relevance of Identity as a Sikh Dharma Minister by Sardarni Sahiba Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa |
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| What is it about being a Sikh Dharma Minister that makes us distinct from others who serve the Dharma? After all, we do much the same things as everyone else, don't we? What difference does it make in actual practice whether we have an SS or MSS in front of our name? Whether other people in our community know we are Ministers or not? Shouldn't we act the same, either way? Why should we stand out? What makes it important to identify myself as a minister? Over the years these are questions I have heard from Sikh Dharma Ministers wondering about their identity as a minister. For many, "What is the difference?" has become an urgent question as the personal self desires to align with the soul. In conversations with other ministers, I have discovered that answering these questions has brought a deeper meaning to the commitment of being a minister. What it means to be a Sikh Dharma Minister is an important topic of discussion in view of the attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the subsequent death of Balbir Singh Sodhi outside of Phoenix. It is as if collectively we have been awakened from a slumber and are remembering who we are. Many ministers are showing this in discussions and conversations as we attempt to make sense out of the recent events. The reflections of ministers I have spoken with regarding identifying oneself as a Sikh Dharma Minister, especially at this time, are shared with you here. Included are my own reflections, as well. Simply, we are Sikh Dharma Ministers because it is in our destiny to be so. Acknowledging this destiny to one's self is an important step. It says, "I recognize myself, I identify myself, as a minister." This self identification clarifies our purpose and intention and grounds our actions. This clarity ignites the power to direct our own specific talents and energies to serve as a minister. From this deep inner base, each of us can be a minister as we are, without trying to match some ideal that we may hold. Sardarni Sahiba Sat Kaur, Secretary of Religion adds, "Once I recognize myself as a minister, I am willing to be recognized as a minister by others. A Sikh Dharma Minister takes responsibility which comes from an inner urging to serve others. A minister is one who is willing to initiate, to extend, to expand in the service of the mind, body, and spirit of others, and to the global human community. This starts with self identification and allowing oneself to be identified by others as a minister. It is identity and identification." Sardarni Sahiba Hari Charn Kaur from Espanola, New Mexico, describes it this way, "Each of us has an earnest, deep longing and devotion to be a minister; that is what the Siri Singh Sahib saw in us when he made us ministers. Let us each find the courage to identify this within our self. I encourage each of us to drop whatever it is that separates us from this identity. Sometimes what separates us from ourselves can be a fear of 'too biggness' or it can be a sense of 'too littleness'. Either way, lets cut through it and be who we are, humbly and with clear confidence." Being a Sikh Dharma Minister is not about being above someone else or being better than someone else. We each have a call to connect with other people and uplift them. In our own way, each minister has the capacity to awaken another to the power of their own soul. We have the ability to touch, to elevate, to speak to the heart of the other person, even if we have kept this ability hidden or have chosen not to use it. The Sikh Dharma Ministry is a collective hope. It is a guardianship established so that the community, the sangat, feels secure. Sardarni Guru Amrit Kaur, Secretary General of Sikh Dharma, describes the Sikh Dharma Ministry as a "Collective network of presence in the world." So, how do we step into our identity as ministers in a way that the community feels comfortable with, that each of us feels comfortable with? It is helpful to awaken to one's own humility, to become more clear about "who I am; what I am here for, and what, and whom I am serving. " Sardarni Sahiba Sat Kirpal Kaur, CEO of Sikh Dharma and Chief Whip of the Khalsa Council, suggests simply living by example. She says, for her, "A minister is one who holds the values, lives the values, and has the ability to communicate the values to others." As we become comfortable with simply being who we are, the sangat can become comfortable with us. At this time, perhaps more urgently than any other, I invite you to sit with yourself, and perhaps a few other ministers, to identify and describe for yourself what it means to you personally to be a Sikh Dharma Minister. Sardarni Sahiba Gurutej Kaur of Los Angeles says succinctly, "I am a Sikh Dharma Minister because that is what I am called to do. It is not a title, it is not a piece of paper, or a status symbol. It is a privilege and sometimes a burden. I am here to serve." Sat Nam. |
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Growing a Sangat: Reflections on Creating Sacred Community by SS Viriam Singh Khalsa |
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Building the Ministry by SS Hari Charn Kaur Khalsa |
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| The need for our ministry to be a living compassion and presence has never been more evident. Over the years we have been developing our presence through our practice, and the loving guidance of the Siri Singh Sahib. Living in Espanola, the home of the Master, ministry work is an ongoing way of life, yet many members of our local ministry did not consider themselves to be active as ministers. What does it mean to be active as a minister in this lifestyle? Is there a set of do's and don'ts? Does it mean have a perfect practice of reading our banis? As we began to look at this area, and to discuss "What does it mean to be a minister? What can we do to enliven the spirit of Ministy in this community?", our answers became very down to earth and very real. In Espanola we have initiated a Ministers Corps of Volunteers to support the work and the mission of the ministers in this area. The Corps of Volunteers has gone through many different stages of growth. Three years ago we began with monthly meetings. We discussed and trained each other in different aspects of service including: crisis intervention, how to be present and support a person through grief, ministering for a marriage, and community support. Through this series of meetings, many of us had the opportunity to share with one another our strengths, our experiences and our questions. In Sikh Dharma, ministering is an activity that comes from the inside out and takes place at work, uplifting a yoga student, teaching a class on Sikh Dharma, building a Dharmic business and much much more. As we began to meet and to talk, we began to see all of the ways that Ministers in our community are attending both to the local community and to the New Mexico community. In the recent months, a small group of ministers has met every other month to focus on building the Spirit of the community and the ministry. We had observed a tendency for people to withdraw,isolate themselves, and exhibit signs of what the Siri Singh Sahib has called "cold depression." We were in this process when the attacks of September 11th occurred. This has broadened our focus and has called our local ministry to action. We now are concentrating on strengthening our ties to local service agencies, building new ties, and serving the members of our sangat and yoga student community. Our definition of local ministry has now become global, and global has become local. If you live in a community where you are the only minister and would like support, please feel free to call me at (505) 753-9683. If you live in a large community where there are many ministers, we encourage you to meet and talk to one another on a regular basis. Talk to the members of your community to see what their needs are. The Siri Singh Sahib has told us to strengthen our missal systems, and this is the work of each of us as ministers. It is important to remember that we build the ministry through individual acts of paying attention and serving each other and the sangat. These actions can multiply when we share with one another and gather strength from our group resources. |
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| There are many facets to being a minister in Sikh Dharma. The Siri Singh Sahib's vision for us, both as individuals meeting our destiny as a minister, and as a larger group fulfilling the Guru's mission in these times, is breathtaking in its scope and majesty. This brief paper focuses on the role that ministers can play in creating community or Sangat. Sadhana is the Soul of Community I firmly believe, and my 30 years of experience have thus far confirmed, that Sadhana is the soul of community. If you want a quick litmus test of the health of any given Sangat, large or small, look at their Sadhana. By coming together in the morning to worship, pray, and vibrate the cosmos together, so many things are opened by the Guru and so many things are worked out. As a minister, take responsibility for group Sadhana. Support this effort like a living thing, for it does require nurturance. As Woody Allan so aptly said "90% of leadership is showing up". Show up and participate. In Eugene, where I live, we occasionally have "special" Sadhana's. One memorable one was a "teddy bear" Sadhana for the kids in the community. Everyone brought their stuffed animals to Sadhana, and we had special songs and activities that engaged the youth in the process of Sadhana. I don't know about the lasting effect on the youth, but it remains a precious memory for me. As our Sangats grow, it is important that our concept of Sadhana grow with them. Sehej Paths and Akhand Paths are strong nutrients that help communities grow, both inwardly and outwardly. Involve everyone in the Akhand Path; yoga students, visiting parents, and other faiths. The Guru is for everyone. Bring people together with special prayer events. This can include getting together once a week to sing a particular shabd, read a Bani or do a particular meditation. These can be on-going events or they can be organized around a special holiday or Gurpurb. It is nice to have these at different Sangat member's houses, both to spread the blessing energy around and to bring people together. Efforts in this area really pay off for creating community. On a personal note, I was given a Sadhana shawl by the Eugene Sangat for being steadfast in Sadhana for many years. The shawl is one of my most treasured possessions. Pangat is Powerful Ministers can organize regular potlucks at Sangat member's houses. Eating together creates Pangat, a strong social bond and sacred community. These meals are great ways to involve "outsiders" who may feel awkward at more formal "religious" events like a Gurdwara. Bring tea to meetings, share food. We recently had an interfaith gathering in Eugene in response to the terrorist bombings. The service was beautiful, with each faith sharing a prayer in turn. We brought yogi tea and cookies for afterward, and the social mixing and talking advanced interfaith connection at least as much as the prayer service. It was quite moving. Many years ago we asked the Siri Singh Sahib how we could bring the Eugene Sikh community closer together, and he advised us to have weekly weekend breakfasts together. We started these and they both became quite popular. New relationships were forged that continue to this day. We all have different strengths as ministers. Sikh Dharma has many technologies that can help us in our efforts if we but use them. Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh! |
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| Minister of the Month | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mukhia Sardarni Sahiba Krishna Kaur Khalsa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ministering to the Community for me has always been a very sacred experience. It is my personal way of thanking God for bringing me to the awareness of what my life's works is all about. When I was in New York during the sixties, I was nearing the pinnacle of a very successful career in the theater. The social upheavals of that time caused me to examine myself deeply to determine what I was supposed to do with my life. After much contemplation, it became clear that I was to serve my community by bringing them something that would end their pain and suffering not for just a few hours like I did in the theater, but for ever. That realization, though profound, was very scary and sent me thrashing about in the "unknown" in a desperate search for some understanding of what serving my community in a meaningful way meant. I sampled various styles of worship, meditation and spiritual practices. I even went to Africa, where I lived for over a year, trying to find out what my connection to my ancestral roots were and how I was to serve my people. Traveling alone and letting myself be guided only by my intuition, I encountered many challenging experiences that often created more confusion than clarity about who I was and how I was to worship God. Every time I reached one of those depressing plateaus, Spirit would place me in front of someone's book shelf where my eyes immediately fell on a book about Yoga. I would sit for hours and devour its contents. Then, buoyed by its message, I would once again set out on my search for Truth. My studies on the philosophy and practice of Yoga gave me so much comfort and clarity about who I was, that upon leaving Africa, I was convinced that I was not a child of Africa, nor of the America, but I was a child of the Universe. I deeply felt that I belonged everywhere and nowhere. It was further clear to me that Yoga was to be my path and my religion would be one that acknowledged the One God and that all faiths were an expression of that Oneness. I returned to the US, realized my theatrical career was no longer a priority for me and plunged myself into a daily practice of Yoga. After a few months, I was sent out to teach in South Central Los Angeles by my teacher, Yogi Bhajan. I was terrified, but some how did it any way. That was when I personally experienced Guru working through me. I felt like I knew practically nothing about Yoga and certainly not enough to teach anyone and yet, I gave a fantastic Yoga class! I was stunned at the wisdom and knowledge that came flowing out of my mouth and the confidence I exuded as I guided the class through the exercises, mantras and meditation that day. In 1972, I was ordained as a minister of Divinity of Sikh Dharma by the Siri Singh Sahib. Once again, fear and anxiety rushed through me as I assessed my total lack of knowledge and experience in this area. I sat under a tree at the Summer Solstice following the ordination and wept wondering what in the world did God want from me! Gradually I began remembering my first Yoga class and how God took over when I gave up my resistance to the idea of teaching Yoga and tried to relinquish my apprehension about being a minister. It wasn't long before I started taking the ministerial appointment very seriously. I meditated on my title throughout each day for almost two years trying to convince my subconscious that somewhere in me was this being I was to be. "I am Mukhia Sardarni Sahiba Krishna Kaur Khalsa", I repeated over and over as I drove to my Yoga classes and made sandwiches to sell to cover the rent at Guru Ram Das Ashram Broadway in LA. I decided to give up my desire to be "liberated" because I felt that it would probably not happen anyway. At the same time, I believed that no matter how imperfect and seemingly useless I was, that if God wanted to use me for something, I would just try to "let" it happen. I began really seeing myself as a tool like the old rusty, bent up fork I used to loosen the earth around plants in our garden. I remember smiling as I thought perhaps I too could be useful in some way. This is the basis of my ministry to Sikh Dharma, the African American community and other communities around the world. I let Guru guide me and I do everything I can to keep out of the way. I believe that every being has the right to be happy and fulfilled in this life and my "job" is to help them discover that in themselves. I use our teachings and my experience of a daily sadhana for the past 30 years to serve as the foundation for my interaction with those to whom I am led to minister. I must admit I have my deeply felt passions for the social and political delimas our country and our world face today. I have lately discovered that these passions are not at odds with my spiritual belief that all is in Divine Order. Rather, I try to acknowledge the relationship between the two and use our teachings to help gain greater insight into why we need to pay attention to them both. In the midst of the worst tragedy, Light, Truth and Peace live. I believe that Tragedy and misfortune gives us information about ourselves, our thoughts, actions and the way we project ourselves in the world. The Light, Truth and Peace we experience reflects our relationship with the Divine and gives us the courage and clarity to keep moving forward in our pursuit of a Higher Consciousness. My personal focus at this time is on the youth. Many of these brilliant young souls are frustrated with the life they have inherited. They are powerful little warriors who have come to help usher in the Age of Aquarius. They are a "no nonsense" generation that hungers for the guidance of their elders and we need to be there for them. There are many, many places to serve as ministers and none of us can serve them all. I believe Guru wants me to focus on our youth and their families and I am honored to be of service in this way. Peace and Blessings to All, Mukhia Sardarni Sahiba Krishna Kaur Khalsa |
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| Please provide feedback and ideas to the editor at ministers_newsletter@yahoo.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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