So I’m trying something new. Sikhswim has been around for a few months and we’ve covered a lot of different topics, but I want to find out what interests you. What topics would you like to see Sikhswim cover? Do you want more research done on a particular issue? Well if you have some inspired ideas or questions you want answered, submit them below. As a bit of an incentive, a random entrant in the next couple weeks wins a copy of Patwant Singh’s “The Sikhs” delivered to your door by Amazon. It’s actually a rather expensive book so this is a great prize. Enter the contest below:

The goal here is to find just one idea to focus on, but a whole set to keep us all entertained for months.

Celebrating the founder’s birthday
Sikhs across the Island and around the world are celebrating the birth of the founder of Sikhism
Sunday, December 09, 2007
By LESLIE PALMA-SIMONCEK
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — By the time the four-hour service was over on a recent Sunday, every inch of floor space in the sanctuary of the Sikh temple in Dongan Hills was filled.

Women in brilliant, flowing Punjabi suits and veils sat on the left. Men in turbans or orange head coverings were on the right. As a changing cast of musicians sang or played the harmonium and tabla, worshippers in single filed approached the holy book, bowed all the way to the floor, and left $1 on the altar.

At the Staten Island Gurdwara, and around the world, Sikhs were celebrating the birthday of Guru Nanak Devji, the founder of Sikhism and the first of 10 gurus who would guide the religion now practiced by more than 15 million people.

See the full article here: Celebrating the founder’s birthday

December 6, 2007
Contact: Manmohan Singh, Secretary General, World Sikh Council - America Region, 972-684-4638, contact@worldsikhcouncil.org

The Chair of the Interfaith Committee of the World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR), Dr. Tarunjit Singh, has been elected as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions (CPWR).

Rev. Dirk Ficca, Executive Director of CPWR, in a letter dated November 21, stated “Now more than ever, the world needs the wisdom and energy of people of faith, spirit, and good will to be working for peace, justice, and sustainability. We look forward to a partnership with you in making this indispensable contribution possible.”

Dr. Tarunjit Singh remarked, “the idea of forming a World Sikh Council - America Region was proposed by Sikh participants at the 1993 Parliament of World’s Religions in Chicago. I look forward to working with fellow trustees to promote interfaith respect and understanding in a world that is being increasingly polarized along ethnic, religious, nationalistic, and class boundaries.”

Dr. Singh served as the Secretary General of WSC-AR for 2004-2005. He represents WSC-AR on the President’s Council and Steering Committee of Religions for Peace - USA as its Moderator and serves on the Board of Directors of the North American Interfaith Network as its Vice-Chair.

The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, formed initially in 1988, was set up to organize a centennial celebration of the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The 1893 Parliament is recognized as the occasion of the birth of formal interreligious dialogue worldwide. The mission of the Council is to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its other guiding institutions in order to achieve a peaceful, just, and sustainable world. The Council has organized the Parliament at Chicago, USA (1993), Cape Town, South Africa (1999), and Barcelona, Spain (2004). The next Parliament will be held December 3-9, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia.

The World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR) is a representative and elected body of Sikh Gurdwaras and institutions in the United States. Its members include 45 Gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship) and other Sikh institutions across the nation. WSC-AR works to promote Sikh interests at the national and international level focusing on issues of advocacy, education, and well-being of humankind.

The Sikh Research Institute has teamed up with the Sikh Coalition for a Mark of Excellence retreat. It’s a day long event this Saturday.

MARK OF EXCELLENCE: Becoming Guru Centered

Mark of Excellence is a series of lectures, presentations and workshops specifically catered to meet the needs and desires of a particular audience.

Essentially, participants attend personal and community development sessions that seek to foster the Sikh values based on Gurmat traditions: Sikh scripture, history, and discipline. Other principles of universal significance are also incorporated that do not disturb the harmony of the Sikh faith.

The Sikh Research Institute offers a variety of theme-oriented sessions for emerging leaders in the community - high school, college students, young professionals and adults. Each event seeks to facilitate learning while enhancing personal development and growth for each participant.

Through each program, workshop presenters provide an opportunity for the participants to ask questions and seek an answer through discussion and interpretation.

Saturday - 15 December 2007 | 9am-4pm
Cornell Medical College, 1300 York Ave.
(69th Street and York Ave.) | New York, NY, 10021

The Guru: Connecting with the Divine Light
College Students & Young Professionals
The Sikh Coalition
$5-College Students | $10-Youth Professionals

This Mark of Excellence event will feature the following sessions:

Session I
What is Guru? - Meaning, Role & Importance

Session II
The Prophet-Genius of Ten Nanaks - Attributes, Lives & Contributions

Session III
Guru Granth & Guru Panth - Origin, Development & Institution

Session IV
Questions & Answers - Open forum to seek opinions from a Gurmat perspective

Directions: Within the city you can use the New York City Transit Subway #6 train to 68th and Lexington Avenue.
Parking: Several garages are located in the area, and metered street parking is also available.

For more information and to obtain a registration form, please contact:
Lead Contact | Manbeena Kaur
212.655.3095 ext.80 | manbeena@sikhcoalition.org

Funny video that you’ve probably seen a few times already, but I archive it here for your enjoyment.

Great Poem. Thanks Preeti Kaur for writing it! Where Ever it is Dark.

Snippet:

i will be like a prince
a shooting star
bright and brave
where ever it is dark

Karta Purakh Khalsa writes down 10 reasons why he’s proud to be a Sikh. You can read the full post, but the following one really stood out:

1. - It is the first religion I have ever encountered that is named after me and not its founder.

Good point, eh? Sikhi is all about you, your spiritual path, and your constant learning and growth.

Excerpt:

In the multipurpose room at the Nyumburu Cultural Center yesterday, a free dinner of traditional Indian food was served to anyone who showed up, regardless of their race, color, ethnicity or religion.

The catch: They all had to eat on the floor.

The dinner was called a langar, a Punjabi word meaning “free kitchen.” An important event for adherents to Sikhism, the dinner was hosted by the Sikh Students Association.

Full Article: A place to sit for all walks of life

Congrats to all the sewadars that made this event a Sikhcess!

Excerpt:

On Saturday, at the Lawrence Gurudwara Sikh temple on Bakers Basin Road, nearly 100 volunteers turned out to put together 6,000 food packages assembly-line style as part of the British Columbia-based Sikhcess’ “Feed the Homeless Campaign.”

Those food packages were then brought to New York, where an additional 4,000 were made and distributed throughout the city and in New Jersey. Similar efforts have also been under way to benefit other areas, including Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, Vancouver and Toronto.

Read the Full Article: Sikh temple participates in ‘Food for Homeless’ drive

Yup, Sikhs are FBI agents too!