TWGC Foundation A - Intro to The WhyGuru Course

Summary

Willkommen zum WhyGuru Kurs, einem tiefgründigen und systematischen Programm, das von Everythings 13, einemregistered charity, angeboten wird. Der Kurs deckt Geschichte, Philosophie und spirituelle Lehren der Sikh Religion ab, mit einem Schwerpunkt auf Guru Nanak Dev Ji und der Gründung des Khalsa. Ziel ist es, ein umfassendes Verständnis von Sikhi zu vermitteln und die Teilnehmer dazu zu inspirieren, ihre Erkenntnisse in die Praxis umzusetzen. Der Kurs ist in englischer Sprache und richtet sich an fortgeschrittene Sikhs sowie Neugierige, um eine informierte und kritische Denkweise zu fördern.

Takeaways

• 🙏 Der Kurs 'WhyGuru' zielt darauf ab, das Wissen von Guru Nanak Dev Ji und die Grundlagen des Sikhismus zu vermitteln.
• 🌟 Es gibt eine Betonung auf die Bedeutung von 'Gurmat' und 'Guru's Wisdom', die die Lehren und Handlungen der Gurus umfassen.
• 🏫 Der Kurs wurde so gestaltet, um sowohl die Tiefe als auch die Breite des Wissens über Sikhi zu bieten, einschließlich Geschichte, Philosophie und spirituellen Lehren.
• 📚 Es wird eine systematische und strukturierte Methode zur Verwendung von 'parchar' (Verbreitung der Lehren) vermittelt, die für westliche Zuhörer angepasst ist.
• 🌐 Der Kurs richtet sich an erwachsene Sikhs, die ein tieferes Verständnis ihrer Religion suchen, und soll auch für Neulinge zugänglich sein.
• 🗣️ Der Kurs nutzt interaktive Diskussionen und Gruppendenken, um das Lernen zu fördern und die Teilnehmer aufzufordern, aktiv teilzunehmen.
• 📈 Der Kurs ist in verschiedene Niveaus unterteilt, von grundlegenden Vlogs bis hin zu fortgeschrittenen Kursen über Japji Sahib und andere wichtige Sikhi-Texte.
• 🕉️ Es wird betont, dass Sikhi mehr als nur eine Religion ist; es ist eine Lebensweise, die von einem tiefen spirituellen Erleben der Gottheit geprägt ist.
• 📅 Der Kurs ist in 12 bis 14 Sitzungen aufgeteilt, die alle zwei Wochen stattfinden, und deckt eine Vielzahl von Themen ab, von der Geschichte der Gurus bis hin zur heutigen Relevanz von Sikhi.
• 🤝 Der Kurs fördert die Bildung einer Sangat (Gemeinschaft) unter den Teilnehmern, um ein Umfeld des gegenseitigen Lernens und der Diskussion von Sikhi zu schaffen.

Q & A

Was ist das Ziel des WhyGuru Kurses?

Das Ziel des WhyGuru Kurses ist es, ein tieferes Verständnis von Sikhismus sowohl hinsichtlich Tiefe als auch Breite zu vermitteln und gleichzeitig die spirituellen Lehren zu erkunden.

Welche Organisationen unterstützen den WhyGuru Kurs?

Die Organisationen, die den Kurs unterstützen, sind UBS, Ernst and Young, Accenture und PwC.

Was versteht der Sprecher unter 'systematisieren Parchar'?

Systematisieren Parchar bedeutet, die Verbreitung der Weisheit des Gurus in einem strukturierten und geplanten Kurs zu organisieren, anstatt sie unkoordiniert und unsystematisch zu machen.

Was ist der Unterschied zwischen Gurmat und Gurus Weisheit nach dem Sprecher?

Für den Sprecher ist Gurus Weisheit das Gleiche wie Gurmat. Beide bedeuten, was die Gurus getan und gesagt haben, aber 'Gurmat' hat in jüngerer Zeit eine schrecklichere Bedeutung bekommen, weil es als Vorwurf benutzt wird.

Was ist die Bedeutung von 'Everythings 13' und wie hängt sie mit Sikhismus zusammen?

'Everythings 13' ist eine punjabische Wortspielerei und bedeutet 'Sabh kich tera', was 'alles ist deins' auf Deutsch bedeutet. Dies spiegelt die Lehre wider, dass alles, was wir haben, dem Waheguru gehört.

Wie ist der WhyGuru Kurs strukturiert?

Der Kurs ist in 12 bis 14 Sessions aufgeteilt, die sich mit verschiedenen Themen aus der Geschichte und Philosophie des Sikhismus befassen, sowie mit dem spirituellen Kern des Sikhismus.

Welche Rolle spielt die Gurbani im WhyGuru Kurs?

Die Gurbani ist ein zentraler Bestandteil des Kurses, da sie die Worte und Handlungen der Gurus widerspiegelt und somit die Grundlage für das Verständnis von Sikhismus bildet.

Was versteht der Sprecher unter dem Begriff 'Khalsa' und wie wird dies im Kurs behandelt?

Der Begriff 'Khalsa' bezieht sich auf die Gemeinschaft der Verpflichteten, die von Guru Gobind Singh Ji gegründet wurde. Im Kurs wird die Bildung und der Zweck der Khalsa sowie der Konzept dahinter erörtert.

Wie wird die Relevanz der Lehren des Sikhismus für die Gegenwart behandelt?

Der Kurs betrachtet die Relevanz der Lehren des Sikhismus für die Gegenwart, indem er die historischen Ereignisse und philosophischen Konzepte mit der modernen Welt in Verbindung bringt.

Was ist der Zweck der Diskussionen, die während des Kurses stattfinden?

Die Diskussionen sollen dem Lernen durch Gruppendenken dienen und ermöglichen, dass die Teilnehmer durch den Austausch von Ideen und Perspektiven ein tieferes Verständnis entwickeln.

Wie wird die spirituelle Erfahrung von Gott im Sikhismus im Kurs thematisiert?

Die spirituelle Erfahrung von Gott, auch als Naam Simran bekannt, wird als das zentrale Element des Sikhismus behandelt und ist ein Schwerpunkt der Sessions, um die Teilnehmer diese Erfahrung zu ermöglichen.

Outlines

00:00

🙏 Einführung in den WhyGuru Kurs

Der Sprecher begrüßt die Teilnehmer des WhyGuru Kurses und bedankt sich bei verschiedenen Organisationen wie UBS, Ernst and Young, Accenture und PwC für ihre Teilnahme. Er stellt kurz seine Rolle als Kursleiter vor und erklärt, dass der Kurs in zwei Teile aufgeteilt ist: eine Einführung und der eigentliche Kursinhalt. Der Kurs soll die Geschichte von Guru Nanak Dev Ji und die Grundlagen des Sikhismus vermitteln. Der Sprecher betont, dass das Wissen und die Weisheit der Gurus, auch als Gurmat bezeichnet, nicht nur aus den Schriften stammen, sondern auch aus ihren Handlungen. Er führt das Konzept von 'Everything's 13' ein, das auf die Aussage 'Sabh kich tera' zurückgeht, was bedeutet, dass alles, was wir haben, dem Waheguru gehört. Der Kurs soll systematische Parchararbeit fördern, indem er verschiedene Ebenen des Lernens abdeckt, von Vlogs und Vorträgen bis hin zu ausführlichen Kursen über Geschichte, Philosophie und Spiritualität.

05:01

📚 Inhalte und Ziele des WhyGuru Kurses

Der zweite Absatz geht auf die verschiedenen Themen und das Ziel des WhyGuru Kurses ein. Es wird erwähnt, dass es neben der Geschichte auch um das Verständnis von Philosophie und Spiritualität im Sikhismus geht. Der Kurs beinhaltet Themen wie das Innere des Guru Granth Sahib Ji, die Bedeutung des Khalsa und die Rolle von Japji Sahib als Grundlage des Sikhischen Glaubens. Der Sprecher betont die Bedeutung des Lernens von Gurmukhi und die Notwendigkeit, die Spiritualität und das Handeln der Gurus zu studieren. Der Kurs ist in Englisch gehalten und richtet sich an Personen, die ein tieferes Verständnis des Sikhismus suchen, unabhängig von ihrem Hintergrund.

10:01

🌟 Wiederbelebung des Lernens im Sikhischen Leben

Der dritte Absatz konzentriert sich auf die Notwendigkeit, das Lernen in den Alltag des Sikhischen Lebens wiederbeleben. Der Sprecher reflektiert über die Bedeutung des Wortes 'Sikh' als 'Lehrling' und kritisiert, dass viele Sikhs das Lernen einstellen, was zu einer Art Ritualisierung der Religion führt. Der Kurs soll dazu beitragen, ein System des Lernens einzurichten, das auf die Bedürfnisse der westlichen Gemeinschaft zugeschnitten ist. Es wird betont, dass das Lernen Teil des Sikhischen Lebens sein sollte und dass jeder Sikh aktiv lernen und sich weiterentwickeln muss.

15:02

🗓️ Struktur und Durchführung des Kurses

In diesem Absatz wird die Struktur und der Ablauf des Kurses detaillierter beschrieben. Es werden 12 Sitzungen erwähnt, die in englischer Sprache durchgeführt werden und die Geschichte, Philosophie und Spiritualität des Sikhismus abdecken. Der Kurs ist für Personen ohne vorherige Kenntnisse konzipiert und soll eine informelle und entspannte Lernumgebung bieten. Der Sprecher betont die Bedeutung von Diskussionen und Gruppendenken, um ein tieferes Verständnis zu erlangen. Es wird auch auf die Bedeutung der Sangat und des gemeinsamen Lernens hingewiesen, um eine Gemeinschaft zu bilden, die sich für das Sikhische Erbe engagiert.

20:05

🌱 Ziele und Erwartungen für die Teilnehmer

Der fünfte Absatz legt den Fokus auf die Ziele und Erwartungen, die der Kurs für die Teilnehmer hat. Der Sprecher möchte, dass die Teilnehmer ein fundiertes Wissen über den Sikhismus entwickeln und in der Lage sind, informierte Entscheidungen und Gedanken zu äußern. Er betont, dass es keine vorgefassten Meinungen oder politischen Agendas gibt, sondern dass das Hauptziel darin besteht, die Teilnehmer mit Fakten und Wissen auszustatten. Der Kurs soll dazu beitragen, dass die Teilnehmer aktiv am Sikhischen Leben teilhaben und sich für die Verbreitung der Sikhischen Lehren einsetzen.

25:05

📘 Methodik und Quellen des Kurses

In diesem letzten Absatz wird die Methodik und die Quellen des Kurses erläutert. Der Sprecher gibt zu verstehen, dass er auf Gurbani und Bhai Gurdas Ji zurückgreift, um die Lehren und Geschichten des Sikhismus zu vermitteln. Es wird betont, dass der Kurs nicht auf akademischer Forschung basiert, sondern darauf abzielt, die Teilnehmer mit den grundlegenden Fakten und Erzählungen zu versorgen, die sie benötigen, um sich ein eigenes Bild zu machen. Der Kurs soll die Teilnehmer anregen, ihre eigenen Meinungen zu bilden und weiter zu recherchieren, falls sie mehr Tiefe und Hintergrundinformationen suchen.

Keywords

💡Vaheguru ji ka Khalsa, Vaheguru ji ki Fateh

Dies ist eine traditionelle Sikh-Eröffnungsformel, die auf die Verehrung und die Anerkennung der Führung durch den Guru (Vaheguru) und die Akzeptanz seines Willens (Fateh) hinweist. Es ist ein zentraler Ausdruck des Sikhismus und wird verwendet, um Andacht zu zeigen und um das Eintreten in heilige oder wichtige Diskussionen zu markieren.

💡WhyGuru course

Der WhyGuru Kurs ist das Hauptthema des Videos und ein Programm, das darauf abzielt, das Wissen und die Weisheit des Sikhismus zu verbreiten. Es ist ein Lehrgang, der Geschichte, Philosophie und spirituelle Praktiken des Sikhismus erkundet, um den Teilnehmern ein tieferes Verständnis und eine enge Verbindung zu ihren Glaubensüberzeugungen zu vermitteln.

💡Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Guru Nanak Dev Ji ist der Gründer des Sikhismus und der erste von zehn Gurus, nach denen der Sikhismus orientiert ist. Im Kontext des Videos wird seine Geschichte und sein Leben als zentraler Teil der Sikhischen Lehren und Geschichte erörtert, um die Teilnehmer über die Grundlagen des Sikhismus zu informieren.

💡Gurmukhi

Gurmukhi ist die sikhische Schrift, in der das Guru Granth Sahib, das heilige Buch des Sikhismus, verfasst ist. Im Video wird die Bedeutung der Erkenntnis der Gurmukhi-Schrift betont, um direkten Zugang zu den heiligen Texten und einer vertiefteren spirituellen Praxis zu ermöglichen.

💡Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Das Guru Granth Sahib ist das heilige Schrifttum des Sikhismus und gilt als der elfte Guru. Es ist eine Sammlung von Hymnen und Gebeten, die die zentralen Lehren und Gebete des Sikhismus enthalten. Im Video wird die Bedeutung dieses Buches für die sikhische Glaubenspraxis und spirituelle Praxis erläutert.

💡Khalsa

Die Khalsa ist eine Gemeinschaft der Sikhs, die von Guru Gobind Singh Ji gegründet wurde. Sie repräsentiert die militärische und spirituelle Elite des Sikhismus und steht für die Verteidigung der gerechten Sache und der sikhischen Lehren. Im Video wird die Rolle und Bedeutung der Khalsa im Sikhismus diskutiert.

💡Gurmat

Gurmat bezieht sich auf die Lehren und die Weisheit, die von den Sikhischen Gurus vermittelt wurden. Es umfasst sowohl das, was in den heiligen Texten des Sikhismus geschrieben steht, als auch das, was die Gurus durch ihr Leben und ihre Handlungen gelehrt haben. Im Video wird Gurmat als das Fundament der sikhischen Praxis und Spiritualität betrachtet.

💡Parchar

Parchar ist der sikhische Begriff für die Verbreitung der Lehren und Weisheit des Sikhismus. Im Video wird die Notwendigkeit einer systematischen und effektiven Parchar-Praxis diskutiert, um das Wissen und die Botschaft des Sikhismus zu verbreiten.

💡Sangat

Sangat bezieht sich auf die Gemeinschaft der Gläubigen, die zusammenkommt, um die sikhischen Lehren zu studieren, Gebete zu recitieren und sich voneinander zu lernen. Im Video wird die Bedeutung der Sangat als ein Instrument zur Stärkung des Glaubens und zur Förderung der spirituellen Entwicklung hervorgehoben.

💡Japji Sahib

Japji Sahib ist das erste Gebet in dem Guru Granth Sahib und gilt als das Gebet zur Morgendämmerung. Es ist ein zentraler Teil der sikhischen Gebetspraxis und bietet spirituelle Erkenntnisse und Segnungen. Im Video wird die Bedeutung von Japji Sahib für die tägliche Praxis und spirituelle Verbindung des Sikhismus betont.

Highlights

Welcome to the WhyGuru course, an educational program aimed at providing a comprehensive understanding of Sikhi.

The course is supported by various city organizations, including UBS, Ernst and Young, Accenture, and PwC.

Introduction to the speaker's role and the structure of the WhyGuru course, which includes a foundation week and a main course.

The course is designed to address the initial lengthy week one and to provide a solid foundation on Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the beginnings of Sikhi.

The WhyGuru course is a part of Everything's 13, a registered charity focused on spreading Guru's wisdom.

Everything's 13 evolved from a 'giving money away' charity to one that focuses on parchar (education).

The speaker clarifies the meaning of 'Gurmat' as the teachings and actions of the Gurus, not just the written word.

The course aims to systematize parchar, providing a structured learning path for the modern world.

Level 1 of the program includes V-logs, talks, and street parchar to introduce Sikhi to a broader audience.

The course offers a one-day and a 12-week program, covering history, philosophy, and knowledge of Sikhi.

Emphasis on the importance of learning Gurmukhi as a means to access the original scriptures and understand Sikhi deeply.

The program includes learning Japji Sahib, considered the basis of the Sikh faith, through a 40-week detailed study.

The course addresses the lack of knowledge among Sikhs about their own faith and aims to provide a broad and deep understanding.

The speaker discusses the unique approach of the course in teaching Sikhi, focusing on the 'why' behind the practices and beliefs.

The course is designed to be interactive, with discussions encouraged to enhance learning through group thinking.

The program is taught in English, requiring no prior knowledge, and is structured over 12 sessions, every two weeks.

The course aims to inspire participants to integrate learning into their Sikh identity and to become informed thinkers on Sikhi.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of humility and open-mindedness in the learning process, encouraging exploration of Sikhi.

Transcripts

Vaheguru ji ka Khalsa, Vaheguru ji ki Fateh.

Welcome to the WhyGuru course, and thanks to all the different city organisations

UBS, Ernst and Young, Accenture and PwC.

We've got them all in.

Really glad that you are here.

I'll quickly introduce what I do, because some of you might not know.

Then we'll go in and introduce the course.

And then following that, if you can stay, that'll be good.

We're going to go for a foundation to the course itself.

It was found the first, second time around, the course week one was way too long

because there's quite a lot about Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the foundations.

Now we've taken some of that, and put it into this week

so it's like a foundation of how to see the course.

And then we're going to go into the story of Guru Nanak Dev Ji from there

when they became Guru.

So, effectively, from 1499.

We'll go into that now.

It's called the WhyGuru course, kind of a play on words.

You'll see that a lot, it's one of my things that I do.

Everything's 13 is another play on words.

It's a registered charity that we run

which is basically a parchar charity.

It didn't start as a parchar charity, it started off as a 'giving money away' charity.

But then, after some time, I ended up working for Everythings 13

I quit my job, and now it does parchar instead.

so it takes money in.

That's how it happened.

Our tag line is 'spreading Guru's wisdom'.

Now, for me, Guru's wisdom is the same as Gurmat.

It's the same meaning actually, but Gurmat has got like a scary meaning nowadays

because people shout it at you and say 'that's not Gurmat'.

But what Gurmat means is what the Gurus did

and what they said.

They set the example by doing things

that aren't written down in Guru Granth Sahib Ji

Like, we don't know that Guru Ji was bandi chhor if we look at Guru Granth Sahib Ji

but we know that Guru HarGobind Sahib Ji was taken off Gwalior

and they had that coat with 52 kalia (tassels).

They took the princes out.

That's one of their actions.

Guru Har Gobind Ji made a mosque.

That's one of of their actions.

So we have to study what they did, and study what they said as well.

So, the name that we have, Everythings 13

just so you don't think 'what's that all about?'

Sabh kich tera is what it means.

Everythings 13, tera

as in Waheguru, everything is yours.

It's a Punjabi play on words.

Sabh kich tera.

And the idea of that was, look, that's what it says in bani.

That actually, everything we have, our life, our wealth

everything we have is actually all his.

So it's reflecting that.

The project that we're doing is kind of like systematising parchar.

Because there's loads of good people out there doing parchar, great people who are spreading Guru's wisdom

but it's not systematic.

Somebody will come along and do a talk

and then you'll be like 'great, I got inspired by that person, but what next?'

This is the problem.

The Punjabi people, the Gianis from India, they actually are very systematic

because they'll do a whole series of Japji Sahib katha

and then it goes online and you can catch up with it.

But, for the western audience, we've not really set up anything like it.

There are courses you can do in India, there are universities you can go to

but we have nothing in this country.

So, systematising it, but for the modern world.

Level 1 is basically the V-logs that I do online

just little videos, could be a minute long, five minutes long, could be half an hour long

and the talks that I do at different Gurdware.

Now, I say 'I' because, at the moment, I'm the only one talking for Everythings 13

but the plan is to grow that and include more people.

So, the talks at different Gurdware, universities

and then the street parchar

which some of you might have seen those videos.

They've come out in the last month or so.

The leaflet that I've given out to you, which is the '3 facts about Sikhi'

is basically what we go through with people outside.

And then, if by doing these things, people get interested in Sikhi

or they're already interested in Sikhi

then the next thing is to systematise what happens next, and that's where this course comes in.

There's a one day course, which is more about philosophy

and then there's a 12-week course, which is this one

which is a lot more about the history, but also includes topics on philosophy

and just knowledge in itself.

One of these topics is just about Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

So one session is going to be just what is inside Guru Granth Sahib Ji

One is going to be just about what is the Khalsa?

What was it intended to do?

What was that concept about?

Because it's not just about history.

So there's about five or six philosophy topics

and then level 3 and level 4, if someone gets interested in Sikhi

and then they go through and learn the history and philosophy

then they can learn Gurmukhi.

You jump the gun in a lot of places

because you go into the Gurdwara and say 'I want to learn bout Sikhi'

and they go 'learn Punjabi first'

and that's a barrier to entry.

It doesn't need to be a barrier to entry.

You can be inspired by Sikhi and then go and learn Gurmukhi.

So we're making a series of videos on how to learn Gurmukhi quickly

because it's important to learn it

and there's actually a video about why should you bother learning it in the first place.

Some of those videos are already online, so we're kind of like halfway through that course.

So you can check it out.

And then there's Japji Sahib, the first Paath in Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

It opens up with that. It's the first Paath we're supposed to do in the morning

and really it's the basis for our whole faith.

People say the whole of Guru Granth Sahib Ji could be condensed to Japji Sahib.

So, that's already been done because we spent 40 weeks at Park Avenue Gurdwara

going through Japji Sahib katha in English.

That's why, if you look on here, you'll see that one of the talks, one of the boxes, is Japji Sahib katha.

And every week, there's a bit of Kirtan and Simran as well.

It's not just me droning on.

You're going to see me droning on now, but it's not like that over there.

It's in a Gurdwara environment as well, so it's slightly different

and it's just going through Gurmukhi, it's just going through the Gurbani and what it means.

So there's no kind of like big long lecture about something else.

It's just what does Japji Sahib say.

And that's level 4 for us.

So hopefully somebody can go through a 12-week course and a one-day course.

They can then go to a 40-week course.

One week they can just learn one Pauri

and they'll get through Japji Sahib.

That's a year's worth of material.

And that really is the basics of Sikhi.

If you've covered that much, you've got a foundation.

What did Guru Ji say, and what did they do?

And then after, we're just going to carry on.

So, level 5 is basically the Kathas, just carrying on

in different places. Which, at the moment, we're going through Jap Sahib.

We've nearly finished now.

And then we're going to go through other things, like the rest of Nitnem, Rehraas Sahib, Kirtan Sohila

and then maybe Asa Di Vaar and Sukhmani Sahib.

That's every week at Park Avenue Gurdwara in Southall.

It's on a Sunday evening

so if you spend your family weekend, and you can just on Sunday evenings go to the Gurdwara

6 pm to 7 pm for Katha

So if you have family in that area, make sure you tell them about it

because I've found that a lot of people in Southall don't even know that there's this thing happening every week

and they all complain that there's nothing in the Gurdwara for me in English

There's this programme that's been going on for one year

but unfortunately the Gurdwara is not very good at publicising it.

So what is this course trying to solve?

What problem is it trying to solve?

So we know Sikhi is the fifth largest religion in the world.

But I've done street parchar now, and you can ask the random person on the street

and they don't know what Sikhi is.

The worst thing is that Sikhs don't know what Sikhi is.

It would be alright if nobody else knew about it, that's fine. As long as we knew what we were.

But a lot of Sikhs don't know what Sikhi is.

They come from Punjabi families

but there is a lack of basic and broad knowledge.

So just the foundations, but also there are a lot of people who are into Sikhi, who are interested in the spiritual side of Sikhi

for example, so they can talk about the Sants, they can talk about Bani.

But you probe them about their history

and you try to work out if they know what happened in that period of time

between Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Ranjeet Singh coming in.

They'll say 'I'm not sure, I'm not sure about that'.

So you say 'okay, what about Guru Granth Sahib Ji, how is it organised?

'I'm not sure about that.'

So, it's the broadness of knowledge as well, that's missing.

This course is trying to deal with both of those things.

To try and give a bit of depth, and also give the broadness.

Again, there are no courses. We're probably unique in that, we just don't have a course in Sikhi.

There is one course, run by Harinder Singh from naujawani.com, and that's one of the few courses

but that's really trying to get Sikhs to be academics in Sikhism

rather than give the average Sikh some knowledge.

So, and this is just for the Punjabis. Lets say if you convert into Sikhi.

Lets say you decide it's great, I want to become a Sikh.

What do you do then?

Good luck. Go on Google.

We have no system whereby to impart knowledge to anybody in the west. It's crazy actually.

And most of the classes are aimed towards kids, not towards the adults.

So this course is targeting graduates really

and even people, for example, we have a lady on the course in Southall

who's got a child who's 19 years old.

So she's learning for herself now

but she hopes that, by learning, she can pass that knowledge on, for herself and her family

So you guys, I've just put this quote up there, don't take it personally, you're like the 'forgotten generation'

because there's nothing really targeting us anymore.

We've come out of the university Sikh societies.

We're not really going to the Gurdwara every week, because we're busy with work and stuff.

And in fact, the Gurdwara programme and all the learning is not targeted towards us.

So you can get into this mode of not learning.

It's like you switch off that 'learning' part

and the Gurdwara becomes a ritual.

Go there, matha tek every week, have some Langar, go home.

That's it, that's our religious part done with, tick the box.

And I know, because I've been there.

Don't take it personally in that sense.

But actually, the word 'Sikh' means learner, student. One meaning of the word ' Sikh' means learn.

We need to be learning

and that's kind of stopped happening.

So we're trying to reintergrate learning into the Gurdwara, or into just being a Sikh.

If you're a Sikh, you should be learning.

You should be able to work out where you are on that level 1, 2, 3 and 4

so you know that, okay, I'm interested. Now I need to go onto the one-day course or the history course.

Or I've done that, now I can learn Gurmukhi, or I need to learn Japji Sahib.

So hopefully there's like a syllabus that you can self-tick, to move yourself forwards.

So this course, again, it's taught in English.

No prior knowledge is required.

There are 12 sessions, is basically how it started out

but this is the intro, and now there's an outro.

So it's become 14, and maybe further down the line it might be much longer than this

but hopefully not.

The thing about the 14th week, the outro, is that it's going to be about marriage

so unrelated to the history stuff.

It's just gong to be about what is the Sikh concept of marriage

The reason for that is that it's foremost in some people's minds

and also something very recent for some people.

And this is a topic that we're not covering much in Gurdware.

Also, they keep talking in the Gurdware to say that there should be a marriage course.

You might have heard this, especially over the recent controversy and stuff.

But there isn't a marriage course.

This hopefully could be a marriage course, if you get the 14th week in about marriage.

Because it kind of gives you the history, the philosophy, and then you find out what the marriage is about.

So that's us hoping big.

Now, the idea is that in every talk, there will be a discussion

and the idea of that, is you get to actually learn through group thinking, as opposed to just me lecturing to you.

If you want to ask a question, you can put your hand up.

I'm quite informal like that.

There's no rule where you can't speak now and have to wait til the very end.

If there's something I said in Punjabi that you didn't understand, just put your hand up.

If there's something that's niggling you, put your hand up. But try to stick to the topic that we're talking about.

It's no good, for example, having an argument at home, with your parents or somebody

and then bringing it here, and as soon as I start speaking, saying 'I've got a question'

and it just kind of takes over the whole discussion.

Just try to stick to the topic, because it is systematic

and we will get through a lot of information.

It's called 'Why' because we're trying to focus on the 'why' of Sikhi.

You know, and you might have done this before, some of the people who came to the talks previously

but there's like an idea of how action happens.

People act from the 'why, then the 'how' and the 'what'.

So they want to know why they should do something

then they try to work out how they should do it

and then say what exactly they should do about it.

But most people explain Sikhi like this.

They tell you the 'what', and if you're lucky they tell you the 'how', and they don't tell you the why.

So it's kind of guilt tripped on to us, and that's why we're not buying it.

We're not acting this way, because we're not being told it properly.

Actually, if we start with the 'Why' of why all of this stuff happened, it will actually help us

because then we can work out if we want to do this or not.

So all else follows basically.

It's a bit sad to say this really, but 11 years ago was when I had the idea.

I was thinking today how many years was it

and it was a long time ago.

It just stayed on a computer, in Google docs, for a long time.

Probably way before Google docs even came around actually.

Then basically, last to last year, I was quite distraught about what was going on in our Panth.

There still were no courses. There still was nothing.

So we hired somebody, while I was working, I had my own company.

We hired somebody to come in and just write the course up.

So he did around 50% of the work

of getting some of the things into the boxes.

We had a syllabus idea already.

Then I delivered it last year, from May to July, in Shepherds Bush

and that was successful.

If you saw the video about the course, the one-minute video

Sukhjeet gave a little talk about it, and his opinion on it.

And now this is the second time I'm doing it in Southall.

We're 10 weeks through the Southall course.

Ranveer's here, he's been on the course since the beginning.

Other people have attended one or two of the events.

And this is the third time the course will be delivered, to you guys.

It's going to be slower here, rather than every week

because the city timetable is a bit more packed.

The idea is that this now, because it's being recorded with this mic

I know there's no speakers, but I've got a mic here

the idea is that this goes online.

and it will be rolled out internationally.

We could do this on Skype or we could do this again on YouTube.

Alright, so what's this course trying to do?

The first thing is about the Guru.

Find out about what the Gurus did, and what they said.

As I said to you earlier.

But also, the second thing is to explore the mystical teachings.

Because a lot of things are just history orientated.

You've been to Gurmukh classes, they teach you a lot of history

but what is the message, the spiritual message of Sikhi?

That's week two.

Straight after we look at Guru Nanak, we're going to go straight into what the message of Sikhi is

and we're going to do a bit of Naam Simran together

and try to experience what Maharaj is talking about.

Because that's really what Sikhi is.

If you're going to describe Sikhi as a cake

then the Naam, experience of God, is the cake.

Everything else is the icing, and you never buy a cake for the icing.

You don't do it, even if it's got great chocolate on top

you always ask what it's made out of.

Sikhi is made out of this, the spiritual experience of God

and that's what I want to get people to experience.

That's what week two is going to be about.

We're going to look at Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

We're going to look at the Khalsa, as I said.

And then, again, we're always going to be relating it to today.

What is the relevance of all of this to now?

And then looking forward.

So these are the topics.

We start with Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

Part of that's going to be today, and then the next week.

Then we're going to go into why should we meditate.

Maharaj keeps saying, Japo Japo Japo.

In fact, Mul Mantar will say Jap.

So why should we Jap Naam?

What's the idea?

And then we're going to look at Guru Angad to Guru Arjan, in one go.

And then, after that, it's going to be just about Guru Arjan's Shaheedi

and Guru Hargobind Sahib coming in, and what they did.

Because a lot of people think that Sikhi changed

so we're going to examine that.

Then we're going to go into Guru Granth Sahib Ji, just by itself

because obviously Guru Arjan Dev Ji made Adi Granth

so that's going to be a big topic.

That's going to be quite detailed, who wrote inside it

how is it structured?

Some of you guys, it's quite likely, if you were like me when I was 21

would never peel back the covers, so to speak, of Guru Granth Sahib Ji

never looked at it itself.

And that's the sad thing, because it's our Guru.

We matha tek to it.

Then we're going to look at from Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji through to Guru Gobind Rai

Why, because the Khalsa wasn't made yet.

Then we'll look at the formation of the Khalsa

and then we're going to look at the concept of the Khalsa.

From then, it's a bit of history.

All these bits that have got a little star next to them

they're all topics that are more philosophy

than they are history.

So there's five of those, and the rest are all history.

Then we're going to look at 1699 all the way through to 1799 effectively

when Ranjeet Singh came in.

So from Guru Gobind Singh Ji making the Khalsa

and then 1708 and passing it on and leaving

then to Ranjeet Singh's Raj coming in and taking over Lahore and becoming the King of Punjab.

What happened in that hundred year period?

That's the period that people know least about, to be honest.

We know some of what our Gurus did

but what happened after Guru Gobind Singh Ji

is kind of like a blank for most people, they don't know.

It's the Misl period.

Who are these Bhanda Singh Bahadur, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Nawab Kapur Singh?

And then we're looking at Kirtan.

What is Raag Kirtan?

Because you know this bit, we say Raag Ramkali Mehla 3

What does Raag Ramkali really mean?

What is this Ghar 4 that comes up sometimes?

What does that mean?

These are all terms that come before the Shabad itself

so before the Bani comes, Guru Ji tells you the Raag and the Taal.

So we'll look at that, and there will be some videos

of other people doing performances, and not just me talking

because I'm not really a Raagi. I'm not at all a Raagi.

Then we're going to look at 1801, Ranjeet Singh's Raj

all the way through to 1925.

So, the Kingdom is crushed, the British have come in and taken over.

Now there's a bit of an independence movement starting in India

and the Sikhs are starting to take over their own Gurdware.

So that'll be interesting

Then from 1925, we're going to talk about independence itself

and then what happened after independence

all the way up to 1984 and the attack upon Darbar Sahib.

I'm not trying to separate 1984 from what happened before it.

From all the way from 1947 through to 1973, through to 1984.

That will be one topic, and that's going to happen tomorrow for the Southall guys.

The next week after that is basically the last one, the second to last

1984 to now.

Post the attack on Darbar Sahib

and Indira Gandhi and all the anti-Sikh violence that happened in India

What's happened since then?

And where are we now?

And then, obviously, the last one will be about marriage.

So, the topics, how it works is that there's roughly two talks

and there'll be a little break in between.

About an hour, so I need you guys to be awake.

Don't just like be up til 2 in the morning, working or something

and then the next day expect to be awake in the course. It's going to be hard.

So try and get a good night's sleep the night before.

It's not every week. It's every two weeks.

If you're finding it hard to take time off work, I suggest speaking to your HR department.

It's not that hard to say to them 'look, I've got this course, it's self-development, it's only for this many sessions

it's going to be every two weeks, can you make sure I can take this time off, and I'll make it up?'

People have thought previously that they couldn't ask

but you know, it's an old Punjabi mentality.

They're so insecure about messing with their work

but actually you'll find that most of your colleagues would probably do that

for something that they think is important.

So just ask, and you'll get it, hopefully.

Discussions should focus on the topic, as I said.

Urgent questions can be raised at any time

especially if you didn't understand something that I said

because I might have used Punjabi.

I try not to, but sometimes it happens.

It's quite a relaxing, informal environment for the students to learn.

I try not to be too harsh, so try not to be too harsh on people that say something you don't like.

You can say 'I don't agree with that'

but don't launch into them.

It happens, especially on Facebook.

Okay, so this is an environment to have Sangat.

I know that most of you guys won't know each right now

but lets say all of you stick to the course

and, probably, roughly three quarters of you will

the key thing is you will get to know each other

and that's nice.

You'll build a Sangat.

The people in Southall now

the comments I've heard from them are the same as the comments I heard the first time.

'I'm dreading the end of this course'

'I don't want it to end, I like the fact that I get to meet every two weeks and we talk about Sikhi'.

Because we don't get to talk about Sikhi nowadays.

It's just not something that's there in the Gurdware, in our families

we don't sit around talking about Sikhi.

So actually this is the worst thing ever.

Sikhs aren't talking about Sikhi.

But I was thinking today, for us, if you look at the Sikh community

wherever they go, they build so many Gurdware.

They just love it. They love having Sikhi in their life.

But somehow they've stopped learning and stopped talking about it.

There's like this love-hate relationship going on with Sikhi. I don't get it.

But we need to get that back in, the idea to have Sangat

to talk about Sikhi, and just to discuss things in an open environment

You'll benefit most from this

if you come to it with a bit of humility.

I'm not here to, okay, I'm teaching you

but all of you are equally valid.

If you've got a topic or a point you want to learn

I'm not going to say you're not allowed to speak.

At the same time, don't come here with the attitude that

'I've got this one view and I have to impose it upon everybody else'.

You've got to come here with the idea that you're going to learn.

Okay, what's in it for you guys?

The idea is hopefully you're interested in exploring Sikhi

and having a foundation knowledge across all areas

and not just in the bit that you've been exposed to most.

For me, it's important that you become informed thinkers

I haven't got a viewpoint, as you'll find out over the next 12 weeks.

I haven't got a Jatha that I'm part of

so if you don't agree with my view, I'm not going to say 'don't come here anymore'.

All I want is that you get the facts of certain things

so you're informed.

So when somebody out there asks you a question

you know roughly where that fits into, in that framework of Sikhi.

And if you don't know the answer, you can still say 'I'll come back to you, I think I can find the answer'

or 'I know roughly what happened in that period'

or 'I roughly know what's in Guru Granth Sahib Ji'.

Just to become more informed

because we need more people to be informed thinkers.

There's too many back-seat Sikhs at the moment.

They're just sitting along

and somebody else is driving the car.

We need people to be driving their own car of Sikhi

and hopefully you'll been inspired to put Sikhi into action

because, you know, the world has not seen Sikhi yet.

We might have thought we saw Sikhi, in the Gurdware, having Langar

but we haven't seen it yet.

When this world is walking around, saying 'who are these Sikhs?'

'They're like aliens, they come over here, start feeding all our homeless, start fighting all the injustice'

'Who are these people?'

That's when we start seeing Sikhi.

We haven't seen it yet.

They saw it back in Punjab, and people joined it like this.

But that was 150 years ago.

I was reading a report from 1873 when the Singh Sabha was set up

and they said 'we want to restore Sikhi to it's pristine glory'

and I was thinking, in 1873, they wanted to restore Sikhi to its pristine glory

where are we now?

We haven't really seen Sikhi yet, the glory of Sikhi.

We're just kind of glimpsing sometimes over the fence.

We're dreaming about Sikhi at the moment.

Hanji. [student asking question]

Well, obviously there's a lot of bias on me

but not everything is referenced.

It's not like an academic piece of work.

But most of the things I'll be telling you is Gurbani

and I'll tell you the Gurbani

or Bhai Gurdas Ji.

And I'm going to go into, in a minute, in this topic

who is Bhai Gurdas Ji, and why are we taking his word

With most events, it's going to be factual

and you'll notice that there's not that much depth.

The reason why there's not that much depth

is that there's so much material to cover in one hour.

A hundred years in one hour.

It literally is just the basics.

So you may just get a feel for the area

but you're not going to get the depth.

So therefore, there's not going to be this academic argument about that much really

because what I tend to do

if you watch the Katha as well, you'll notice that's something that I do

I don't tend to have a view as much as I tend to give two views.

I'll say 'some people say this, and some people say that'

and then I'll leave you to make your own mind up

so if you want to research more, you can.

I have no agenda.

I may have, I mean it's impossible for someone to have no agenda, but I don't have that much of an agenda

that I'm trying to make you do something.

So you'll see that come out

and I guess you can just judge it on the material.

It's hard for me to describe now

because it's so big, and how many things are covered.

But you can just judge it as it comes up.

Is that alright? Cool.

So, what we'll do, if you've got any more questions about the course, ask them now

or we'll go into, we'll have a little minutes' break, or a couple of minutes' break

and then we'll go into the foundation

which is Guru Nanak Dev Ji

how to see them, and up to them becoming the Guru.

And when I say this, they were born as the light of God

but when the got the actual, you know when they went into the river

and they became Guru when they came up

so up to that period.

And then next time, which is the 15th, we'll cover up to

from the time that they became Guru

and what happened after that.