Which religion fits your views

Here is a nice little quiz, that asks questions about your views and gives a list of religions that fit your ideas.

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

My Results:

And it is correct, I am a Sikh, although I had my doubts about certain question, as to what my religion has to say about those issues.

1.	Sikhism (100%)
2.	Orthodox Judaism (91%)
3.	Hinduism (89%)
4.	Bahá'í Faith (86%)
5.	Jainism (85%)
6.	Islam (80%)
7.	Reform Judaism (76%)
8.	Mahayana Buddhism (66%)
9.	Unitarian Universalism (64%)
10.	Liberal Quakers (63%)
11.	Neo-Pagan (63%)
12.	Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (59%)
13.	Jehovah's Witness (57%)
14.	New Age (51%)
15.	Orthodox Quaker (50%)
16.	Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (50%)
17.	Scientology (49%)
18.	Theravada Buddhism (46%)
19.	Seventh Day Adventist (45%)
20.	New Thought (45%)
21.	Eastern Orthodox (42%)
22.	Roman Catholic (42%)
23.	Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (40%)
24.	Taoism (39%)
25.	Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (37%)
26.	Secular Humanism (31%)
27.	Nontheist (20%)

Cities where I've been

1. Amritsar, India


2. Chandigarh, India


3. Tel Aviv, Israel


4. Surrey, Canada


5. Amsterdam, The Netherlands


6. Chicago, IL, USA

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Politicians and Officials:

Let it be Mayawati, Laloo or lately Mr Raj Thackrey (Marathi Manoos (person), whose party workers killed a Marathi person in the stone pelting incident in Nashik.

These politicians can do anything, give any hate/derogatory speech, waste the tax-payer’s money celebrating their b-day, the only thing they get is the Publicity, thanks to the ever alert Media. These guys do all the wrong things, and it’s the common man who has to pay for it.

What, I wonder is that, if a Govt Official, an IAS, or an ambassador (Basically a non-politician) even by mistake says a wrong word, all the politicians come together asking for a strict action against him.

I am in no way favor of Govt officials giving mindless speeches, but what hurts me is that, these guys are suspended in no time or rebuked severely, on the other hand our politicians go scot-free, and all they get is the publicity.

Politicians do all the wrong things, and it’s the SSP’s and the Collectors who are blamed and transferred and suspended, those who are friends with the politicians will survive.

Anyone, who keeps updated with the Indian politics, will realize this.

The educated man knows all, he can’t be fooled any more. They have no time for all this. They have to do jobs, feed their kids and think about their education. It’s the illiterate and the unemployed who are wrongly used by these corrupt politicians.

Chicago under snow

Chicago nicknamed the ‘Windy city’ is famous for its winds. But, we can give the famous city a temporary new name, the snowy city. Yes, it would be no wrong calling it the snowy city. Facts speak for themselves. Chicago has had the record snowfall this winter, still almost 40 days left for the spring to arrive. And, I feel the snow, daily as I walk to my office. Things get worse, when it melts so fast, with temperatures going from +10 to -15 degree Celsius with in no time. The weather is quite extreme.

I will get lucky and escape this cold-chilly weather, as I am flying to India in 15 days time. Hurray, and to add to the fun, it will be pleasant weather there in India, at this time of the year.

Identity

My Turban gives me a Unique Identity, and I figure this out almost everyday. I went to my bank to collect my Debit Card, the person at the reception asked me for a Photo Id. I was about to take out my wallet, when his Manager came around, and told him "I know him, you can give him the card". He remembered me from my last visit to the branch. It was almost a week ago, when I went there for the first time. I didn't recognize him, as to me they all looked similar.

Similar things have happened on couple of other occasion also. And I feel it’s good, as this is the purpose of ‘Nyara (Wonderful) Khalsa’, to be identified uniquely and to be readily available to the needy.

Sukhmani Kaur

You must read this, Sukhmani Kaur (click that), and there are many more articles to talk about. All telling you one thing, Sikhi is sweet, but you need to make effort to learn Sikhi.

I was wondering that, how come these people get so much of dedication, are they crazy or wat, and these must be extra ordinary people, having company of great people, how else can one learn so much about someone's faith/history/culture, that too in middle age. And they learn/love it (Gur-Sikhi) .. and love it so much, that they adopt it, live a true life as told be the Guru Ji, and then they start teaching others as well.

Who influences them .... how come these ppl keep names like Guruka Singh, Sukhmani Kaur, Satnam kaur and so on ...

Where as I know many of my own ppl, who keep names like Jassi Sidhu, Sandy bajwa and the list never stops.

I feel very happy/proud to see these Sikhs and their love/dedication for Sikhi, you will love the way they talk about Sikhi, I love it without doubt.

I haven't yet made friends with any of the non Indian sikhs so far, but Since I am in US now, hope to make some good friends, and learn from them.

And, I believe answer to all my questions is their unbiased love for Sikhi and Guru's blessings on them.
May Waheguru bless all of us .... to think/act wise ...

Bhul chuk maaf .... Guru Kirpa kare ...

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa ... Waheguru Ji kI Fateh.

Last Call - to save the mother earth

A must watch video for all, especially Americans. http://storyofstuff.com/ . I found it very informational. Watch and share with your near and dear ones. Lets start contributing.

BCCI Power

Bigger than the test series drama was the Harbhajan's racial abuse episode. Only Bhajji knows, if he called Symonds a 'monkey' or not. Justice has come, and Bhajji along with the Indian team is now relieved/relaxed with a sense of victory. On the other hand, Aussies who managed to hand a 3 match ban to Bhajji through the Umpires and Mr Procter (match referee), are furious and dejected as can be seen in the picture below.

Money speaks. BCCI's riches forced the ACB (Aus Cricket Board) to bend on their knees, as BCCI threatened to cancel the ongoing tour. The T-20 match alone is expected to attract big crowds, even Bigger contracts from the Broadcasters, basically Millions of $$, which ACB can't afford to loose.Umpires/referres/Players all now know the BCCI's (financial) power, they run the world cricket. Saying all this, I believe that there should be equal standards for all teams/players, treat them all equal. Although, history shows, that it’s the sub-continent players, who have been at the receiving end always. So let’s hope for things to get better, so that we spectators can enjoy this gentleman's game.

Without doubt, Aussies started and mastered the on field sledging, until Indians gave it back to them. I assume, with all that has happened, there will be very little sledging, if any, in the ODI series. But, Aussies are real professionals, and Yuvi's absence is only going to hurt India chances as Aussies will look to fight back even harder.

The 10 Sikh Gurus

Everyday as I pray, I remember the 10 Sikh Gurus. But unlike now, I just did not not want to say their names, rather I wanted to think of something that they did for us as I remember them everyday, and thank them from my heart, for how they gave big contributions for the faith. So here is the list, and I think about it as I say my prayer, which helps me realize the importance of the Guru in my life and motivates me to live with the strong principles the Guru's had.

1. Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
* Founder of Sikhism, his message: Naam Japō (meditate), Kirat Karō (Work hard), Vand Chakkō (Share with less fortunate)
2. Guru Angad Dev Ji
* Formalized the present form of the Gurmukhi script
3. Guru Amardas Ji
* Langar (Free Blessed Food), abolished the Caste System, his service to the Guru at old age.
4. Guru Ramdas Ji
* Author of Laava, the hymns of the Marriage Rites, Designed the Golden Temple.
5. Guru Arjan Dev Ji
* First Sikh Guru to be martyred, Compiled the holy Sikh Book, Developed the holy city of Amritsar.
6. Guru Har Gobind Ji
* Built the Akal Takhat, Gave the concept of Miri and Piri(The temporal and the spiritual power)
7. Guru Har Rai Ji
* Excommunicated Ram Rai Ji (his Son) from the Sikh Panth, for he distorted Gurbani to please the King.
8. Guru Harkrishan Ji
* The child Guru, who did unselfish sewa, and provided cure to thousands suffering from smallpox
9. Guru Teg Bahadur Ji
* Was martyred for saving the Kashmiri Pandits, who were being persecuted by the Mughals
10. Guru Gobind Singh Ji
* The creation of the Khalsa (The current form) was the greatest work of the Guru

Bharat Ratna

Bharat Ratna India's highest civilian award, which is awarded for the highest degrees of national service was in the news recently. Someone recommended Sachin's name for the reward. Within no time all political parties who were like waiting for this event, proposed the names of their favorite leaders. BJP proposed Mr Vajapayi, Mayawati stood for Kansi Ram and there were many more. A political move, to get into lime light, they perhaps forgot that the award comes for national service and not just for being a politician. At the end of the day, the Govt decided not to honor anyone with Bharat Ratna this year. So its been 7 years the award was last given.

Sachin has been rewarded with The Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honor. And he deserves the honor, he is one of the best cricketer ever and he has been a match winner for India for almost two decades.

As-Salāmu `Alaykum (السلام عليكم)

On my way back home today, as I was crossing the road, the cab caller on the road side, asked me "Sir, you want the cab". I said "No", he smiled and said "As-Salāmu `Alaykum"- which is the greeting in Islam, commonly used in middle east. I smiled back looking at him, I didn't even reply back, and started to think as I crossed the road, that when will the world know about Sikhs and Sikhism. That guy mistook me for an Arab, as I wear a turban like all Sikhs do.

I believe it will take some time, as I realize, that not all Sikhs know the true meaning of a Sikh. I met some Indians who were surprised to know, that I don't eat meat and drink. For them, a Sardar means lots of chicken and beer. Some confused me for Naamdhari or Radhasoami, that incident hurt me, and forced me to think hard as to how things have changed so much.

To finish off, I will add some happy moments too. When in Europe and here in US, at the shop or on the road or at the station, someone will come and wish me 'Sat Shri Akal' or 'Paaji ki haal chaal' (how are you brother'). It feels good at that time, as they could identify me for the way I look. A proud khalsa.

Only the Guru knows, when the Khalsa will rise and be seen as a Khalsa and not mistaken for anything else.

Memorable Win@Perth

Harbhajan Singh, not in the squad, did the honors with the Indian flag

After a demoralizing ill-fated defeat at Sydney, when every one counted the men in Blue as down and out, they came thundering back and swept the might Aussies on the floor at their so called home den-Perth.

It was a remarkable team effort, and they handed the Aussies their 1st defeat in last 10 yrs at Perth. History repeated itself, and it was again India who broke their 16 match winning streak. Remember the 2001 series, when they tormented Steve Waugh's believed to be unbeatable team, at the famous Eden Gardens.

This test will go into the record books as one of the greatest Indian wins abroad. Each player gave 100% and Kumble's captaincy should be praised. Indians have a good chance to turn the tables around again at Adelaide now. Keep watching.

Historical SCG test match

The match that was marred by Controversies. What was expected to be the match of the series will now go into the record books as one with the most controversies. At one point when India looked in great position to win the match or at least get an encouraging draw later on, in came into the limelight Mr Bucknor very well supported by not only the 2nd umpire MR Benson, but also the TV umpire BNJ Oxenford. Indians at the end of the match are down and out psychologically, as they lost a match that they could have won actually. It will take an extra ordinary effort to get out of this. The players are getting immense support from all around, because they played very good cricket. I don’t remember when the Indian team got this much of support even on loosing a match.

A couple of decisions here and there will never matter, to err is Human. But the wrong decisions in this not so happy test match at the SCG were just too many to be counted on fingers. And unfortunately majority of them went against the Indians. To add to the wounds, the decisions involved the key players, Symonds (not given out on 3 occasions, all were easy decisions) went on to make highest test score and then the Wall and the man in the form of his life (Dravid & Ganguly) both fell to wrong decisions. Had the wrong decisions involved tailender batsmen like Stuart Clark or RP Singh, not much would have been said.

One can always debate a LBW, but how can one defend a clear caught behind, which was even heard in the stands, and what about the stumping that was never referred to the 3rd Umpire. To add more insult, Bhajji has been suspended for 3 matches, when there are no audio/video, in fact no evidences against him. Sachin and the whole team and the BCCI is with Bhajji, really nice to see that. I hope things turn around and the ban is revoked. I doubt, if the tour will be cancelled as there is so much of money involved, may be which has more value than the self respect for the BCCI.

The Indians should forget it fast, so as it doesn’t impact the next 2 matches, easier said than done.

Questions (not so relevant) that come to my Mind: Why is there no Indian umpire in the world cricket today? In fact there are hardly any umpires from Pak and SL, these countries aren't new to cricket. Effort should be made to bring umpires from these countries as well, and retire the 60+ umpires like our very own Mr Bucknor. Records show that he is involved in dubious decisions against Tendulkar on more than one occasion. I have never seen an Indian match referee.

Suggestion: With the wealth power that BCCI have, they should strongly voice their support for the players and the team. I’m sure even ICC can’t afford to loose the revenues from India.

Dream 07/07/07

Well today is 07/07/07, I don’t believe in numbers, but does not that date look nice, keeping the fact that I am born on the 7th of Dec. I've my affinity towards the number 7.

Well it’s about my dream on the morning of 7th July 07. I woke up at around 7 and then deliberately went to bed, I love my bed. Soon I was in the dreamland.

At my age (20+), one starts to think/dream of getting married, it’s not only you but your parents, friends, relatives and everyone who knows you, they want to talk to you about your marriage. Marriage is such a hot discussion topic, some typical questions I have been asked around the world, “Are you married?” “Do you have children?” “Where is your wife”? I replied with the same answer “I’m single and available”. Forget that, back to dream, the girl I had chatted/talked with on a couple of occasions, is coming to see me as a potential marriage candidate (victim) in this beautiful place called Cyprus, along with her parents.

Can’t recall the whole dream, but yes, it was a Sunday and we went to the Gurudwara Sahib (Sikh temple) for the Sunday prayers. Holy cow…. a Gurudwara in Cyprus!!! I haven’t seen more than 10 Turbaned Sikhs in the last 1 year, forget about the Gurudwara. But, this Gurudwara was amazing, Kirtan being done in full flow, large sangat, a rush in all the corners, people having langar as they were out for some Picnic (tables and chairs), the waiters were the Gurudwara sevadars, serving them with delicious stuff. Think of pizzas in the Gurudwara sahib. Everything was so luxurious at the Gurudwara.

It was now I realized that girl’s father was quite modern, wearing ear rings. He used more of ‘ya ya’ and ‘yo man’ when talking. There were some of my relatives (not my parents) to assist me. We had couple of short talks, and then the girl announced “You don’t meet even 1 of those 10 requirements”. I was dumbstruck at this. I am not that bad, what went wrong? Well after some more drama, we were back.

Back at home, its chat time. The girl left me a message, “Delete (Shift + Delete) all my pics from your computer, and forget me”. I thought it must be a dream, as it all looked very unreal, girl in Cyprus, the Modern dad, the luxury Gurudwara etc.

Soon, I was awake, thanks to the sunlight coming through the window, straight at my face. Oh yes, it was a dream, the storyline was not impressive, but indeed interesting.

What a dream, the dream girl was nice but why did she reject a nice guy (guessing), her dad looked cool, and I would love to see such a luxury Gurudwara sahib :).

Its Saturday, I want to sleep again, but for my desire to be healthy again, I’ll go to the office gym and also enjoy a couple of ping-pong games.

"The best reason for having dreams is that in dreams no reasons are necessary." ~Ashleigh Brilliant
"A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read." ~The Talmud

My Israel Trip to Tel-Aviv (Israel)

Dedication: Leelia-my friend from Israel.

This blog reminds me of her and the time spent during that Dec-06 Israel Trip, we made friends when she read my Haifa Blog, I met her at the Indira restaurant, Tel-aviv.

My flight lasted less than half an hour (Larnaka to Tel-Aviv). The taxi driver overcharged me (perhaps for the sexy jokes, he told me all the way :P) , I could do nothing about that. But there I was at the Grand Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv. Beautiful location, near the beach, a cool hotel. (Picture- View from the Hotel)

I got to the office next day, met all my colleagues, got busy with work. In the evening I called Leelia, and we planned to meet at Indira restaurant. I was there at time, we went around for a walk, and she showed me all the places around (Museums, Commercial blocks, cinema, Ministers and Rabbi's office) as we stood right in the heart of the city.

The food was nice, and even nicer was her company, I was so excited to go there, and know more about the country, very few people get to know. And, Leelia was that person, I appreciate her efforts in showing me around all the places.

The next time we met, we went to the Old city of Jaffa, it was a beautiful place. Located at the outskirts of the city, it boasted of old buildings and a church and many old looking houses (which worth a lot of money, owing to their location). The thing to remember from this Jaffa visit was that old antique shop, where we had some good happy momnets with the owner of the shop. (Picture- The antique shop)

On our way back, she got me a Jalebi look (taste) alike sweet, that was tasty. Look closely at the Jalebi in my hand.

The weekend was very busy, Sat morning, we went to see the Tel-Aviv University campus and saw the museum at the campus. It's the largest university in Israel and the biggest Jewish university in the world. Leelia was proud alumni of the University. The campus was amamzing, it had all the departments History, politics, engineering, Social Sciences, The Department of Psychology etc.

The Jewish Diaspora Museum is one of the biggest museums in the world, located on the campus of Tel Aviv University. Leelia explained me all the pictures and other stuff, while I was busy with my camera. We saw the documentary at the auditorium, that narrated the entire hhistory of Jews and how Israel came into existence, it was excellent.

We saw the Synagogue at the campus, and then we took the Bus to go to a near by mall. I didnt buy anything from that big mall, there were shops for everything.

Then we went to a Market (Indian style market), people selling their hand made articles, I got to see the best of creativity and hard work. I bought a necklace for my sister, and Leelia got me a falafal as a souvenir. That falafal is smiling, stuck at the refrigerator at my home in New Delhi, India.

Then we went to the Vegetable market (it was more of the Indian style Sabji-mandi), with shopkeepers shouting, to sell their vegetables. That was funny indeed. Unfortunately, Leelia had to explain to some people, as to who I was, and what I was doing in that place with her, and she had to explain this more than once (As some thought, I am an alien from some unknown planet :P). But, with the confidence she has got, it was not an issue.

After shopping for the vegetables, we took a walk down the beach road and I reached my hotel walking. We happen to see the embassies for many countries as we walked along the road to my hotel.

For sunday, we planned to have dinner together at one of her friends place, I was the chef for the day, and luckily I got everything right, rice , chapati daal , all were on the spot, everyone was full of praise for me. Leelia had brought all her Indian utensils (Cooker, tava etc).

That was a remarkable weekend, saw so many places, that was a short trip, else we had plans to go to Jerusalem and other beautiful places around.

Over the next couple of days, we ate together at 'Sab Kuch Milega' an Indian Restaurant, with a unique style of serving. The youth smoking and drinking at the bar, as we enjoyed our buffet. And, we ate at another good restaurant, it was good, but I couldn't find much to my desire, being a pure-veg is a problem outside India.

The day before I left Israel for Cyprus, I went to Leelia's house, met her parents, they were so nice. Leelia had a cute little doggy, who was scared of me, until we made friends. Again I was the chef, we ate rajma chawal, cooked with Leelia's help.

My such a sweet trip had come to an end, but it was a happy ending, as I headed for India in a couple of days time, to celebrate the new year with my family.

Disclaimer: All view are my own, and the events listed may not be in the correct chronological order.

First month in Cyprus !!!

I came 2 Cyprus (A B'ful island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea ) a month back to join Amdocs,Cyprus in athe b'ful coastal city of Limassol.Since It's my first time outside India (Barring the short stays at Muscat, Dubai, Bahrain on my way to Cyprus ), I wish to write the 10 most fascinating things I found here :

1) Firstly, 1 CYP(Cyprus Pound) = 100 INR(Indian Rupee), thats a big thing, took quite a time to get out of that conversion factor thing :D. Even a match box costs Rs 10, & clothes simply forget to buy them from here !!!

2) Pedestrians can press the red light to stop the vehicles and cross the roads.

3) Littering on the highway will leave U with 500 CYP (Rs 50,000 ) less in ur pocket !!!

4) U have to fill the fuel urself at the gas station.

5) No stray dogs here, only stray cats !

6) People take off the silencers of their cars & rush on the beach roads making loud noise !!!

7) Almost everyone smokes here, that includes women too. (Being a non smoker, it looked quite odd to me, esp the young b'ful lasses )

8) No trains here (Such a small country). U can go around the whole country in a single day !

9) Almost everyone has got a car, even I have a car :)

10) Nobody bothers nobody...

11) Peope have a lot of time and patience esp. on the roads.

12) Everyone believe doing their own work, even we(Me & my frnds) are cooking at home.

13) Gals are all b'ful here (By default) ;)

I may have missed some, but overall It's gr8 going here, lots of fun & masti. Learning alot with each passing day.I guess its cool winter time in India these days... But Its cool here, the sun shines the whole day long, & I love it :)