My Journey on the road towards Sikh Dharma

I was born a Sikh, and brought up with uncut hair and Punjabi was my first language, even before English. My parents were traditional Sikhs and as a family we used to go to Gurdwara every Sunday, even though we were never told why. My parents used to read a lot of Gurbani and as children, me and my brother would often imitate them and read the Mool Mantar, the root chant, which is the beginning of the Sikh Scriptures, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib. We had a very happy childhood, our parents never forced anything on us and me and my brother Onkardeep would just play so many various interesting games.

At the age of 9, me and my brother started going to Punjabi class to learn to read our mother tongue. We always used to mess around in class and annoy the teachers, but we slowly picked up the basics of the Punjabi language. At the same time, my father's Masi, who was also our Punjabi school teacher would give me and my brother long scripts in Punjabi to learn by heart. We would then recite these on stage at the Gurdwara in front of hundreds of people and became famous for it, even though to this day, I have no idea what we were even saying!

At the age of 10, we started going to Gurmat class, where every Saturday we would learn the basics of Sikh philosophy and history. One of the teachers at the class,became a very close friend of the family and our families grew up together. Uncle, as we call him, taught us Kirtan and Sikh philosophy. We would have many long debates, discussions and hold regular prayers at each others houses. We also used to go out to other Gurdwaras around the country and do Kirtan and Katha in English for the younger audience. Me, my brother and Uncle's son, did many radical things. We would integrate a drama into our Kirtan to teach people the meaning of the Gurbani by having a discussion between us three. Sometimes people thought we had gone mad, but really everything was always pre-planned thoroughly.

The next stage of my life came when I began to study general philosophy in Sixth Form as part of Religious Education. My teacher was a saint. He understood religion to its most fine and even controversial points and his personality was radiant. Studying philosophy, including the works of great minds like Aristotle, Plato and others was a breath of fresh air. It completely for a period of time, destroyed my concepts about life and religion. We explored the ideas of ethics, morality, freedom, science and then applied these ideas within the context of religion. I simply loved it and it opened my mind some more.

By 17 years of age, I had done more with my life and learnt more skills than people usually learn in lifetimes. I could play the tabla, competitive Badminton, could perform presentations to hundreds of people, write poetry, understand general philosophy as well as Sikh, Muslim and Christian philosophy, build websites, debate on any topic, perform the Sikh martial art of Gatka, and I was a 4 A*s and 5 As student and always at the top of my class.

However, in spite of all these qualities, still I never really became a Sikh until I was 18 years old, as surprising as that may sound. The first day I went to University, one of the first things I did was to find a Kundalini Yoga class in my local area. I had always desired to learn this technology and was always so inspired by the beauty and perfection of the American Sikhs of Yogi Bhajan which I had read a lot about for many years. So I checked on KundaliniYoga.org and found a teacher. My very first lesson was in Solihull, in a small room in a library. I remember being very keen and I had lots of questions to ask her. Even in my very first lesson I remember experiencing energy throughout my body like never before, and I understood how powerful this technology was. I wanted more!

After my second lesson, I was on the way back home and had to take a train from Sohihull station to Birmingham New Street. Solihull train station is perhaps the most secluded and deserted station I have ever seen. There was never a soul in sight at that station, not even anyone at reception! To make matters worse, the train I was meant to catch was cancelled, and the next train would be in one hour. So I waited the hour and to my surprise the next train was also cancelled! I was hungry and so decided to go and get some food. When I came back there was still no one at the station, except this one Sikh man in a turban. Naturally, I offered him some popadom, but he refused. We started talking and I told him I was doing Kundalini Yoga. He began to tell me of a teacher closer to home. For some reason, she was not listed on the Internet when I look, and for some reason, this man had her number even though he had never done Kundalini Yoga in his life. This was a miracle that the universe had arranged! I knew then that I had found my teacher.

Kundalini Yoga changed my life. It allowed me to become conscious of my mind and its games. It allowed me to experience many things of the Earth and of the Heavens. It unfolded and uncovered all those parts of my personality which had gaps and filled those gaps up. It opened me and my mind to new states of awareness and consciousness. But most of all, the pinnacle of what Kundalini Yoga gave me was new eyes to see the beauty of the people and the world as perfect. It made me innocent again, just like I once was as a child. In have no judgement any more, I can see the God within people's eyes and I accept all people for who they are and for who they're not. Even though I had developed so many skills and qualities, I had not addressed the underlying problems within my being, there was too much of me and too much judgement. There have been a lot of challenges, tests and experiences since that day I left Solihull station, but I have always come through these by the Grace of the Guru.

Now being 20, when I look back I realise that my whole life would not have turned out the way it has unless the Guru had kept me in his hands. I always would go to the Guru whenever I needed anything or had any problem, and the Guru would always bring me through. This single relationship to my Guru and God has grown over time, whilst all other worldly relationships have slowly faded away. Life is very simple now. Now me and God are in a constant communication whenever we want to be. God is not far from me, and I'm not far from God. We dwell within each other. This is what it means to be a Sikh. This is only achieved by dissolving and letting go of all concepts, not by adding more concepts and complications which people often do. Being a Sikh means expanding consciousness day-by-day and letting go day-by-day, until you get to nothing, and therefore get to everything.

Sat Naam!