 Khalsa Council Meetings  |
Khalsa Council Meetings
October 1997
S.S. Dr. Sat Kirpal Kaur Khalsa, Chief Whip
The experience of these meetings was very much from the heart and soul. They were interactive, educational, and expansive both individually and collectively. Members voiced their appreciation of the warm and inspiring tone set by our new Chairperson, S.S. Guru Raj Kaur Khalsa, from Vancouver, Canada.
There were many high points in these meetings. We were blessed to have the Siri Singh Sahib Ji address us each day on a topic related to communicating with our soul, and therefore with our future, the children. The Siri Singh Sahib also held an extended session on Shabd Guru on the second afternoon.
It was wonderful that the birthday of Guru Ram Das was celebrated during our meetings. The blessings began with recitation of Dhan Dhan Ram Das Gur in the Amrit Vela for 2 1/2 hours, followed by Gurdwara and breakfast hosted by the Espanola sangat. The day was charged with a vibrant and blissful energy. The centerpiece of the evening Gurdwara was a beautiful and moving reading of the life of Guru Ram Das Ji, interspersed with kirtan and poetry, which touched the heart and soul of each person. The evening Gurdwara culminated with the Siri Singh Sahib speaking about the power of our destiny and the role we will play in the future. It was very moving.
This was the first session of our new two year focus which is "Sikh Panth - Developing the Ministry, Spreading the Mission and Teachings of Sikh Dharma and 3HO Lifestyle". Since this was a "forming" session for this two year focus, we began with a visioning process done in small groups. The common thread of this visioning process throughout all groups was an emphasis on service, on coming from our spirit, experiencing and sharing personal transformation, and reaching out and touching people.
Minister Enhancement
This session was introduced by S.S. Dr. Sat Kaur Khalsa, Secretary of Religion, and S.S. Guru Roop Kaur Khalsa, following which S.S. Hari Simran Kaur Khalsa led the membership through a process so each member might experience his or her own presence, sacredness, neutral state, and the flow of God’s Will. Members then broke into small groups to listen deeply, without judgment, to each other, and to share their experiences as well as the tools they use to hold their presence in sacredness and to experience God’s Will flowing through them.
The Tour
The tour of the work of Sikh Dharma generated a tremendous amount of excitement, feedback, and creative ideas from the membership:
"I had no idea how far along we are."
"I feel we’ve entered a higher level of sophistication,
performance, and participation."
"This is a great way to take involvement and
excitement to the sangat, giving people a chance to
get in and participate."
The basic message from members was to find communication vehicles to get the work and experience of Sikh Dharma out to everyone around the world. Some suggestions for getting this information out to everyone were tour presentations at Solstices and White Tantric Yoga weekends, a traveling tour group, and using the Cyber Sangat. We also talked about reaching out via other languages as well.
There was so much ownership and excitement about the work of Sikh Dharma, and a desire to share that excitement globally, that members requested that a video be made from this tour to serve as an outreach vehicle.
Khalsa Council Videos
We think you will find it exciting to know the impact that the videos sponsored by Khalsa Council have had on the sangat. The New Path to a Great Future, the Age of Aquarius and the Avenues of Participation videos were well received by many communities. We encourage each of you to use and promote them as reach out tools.
In April 1997, Khalsa Council members requested that a video be made from those meetings and voiced a strong commitment to share it with our sangats and students. Thanks to S.S. Guru Roop Kaur Khalsa, Heart to Heart video has been completed and was shown at these meetings. Judging from the response of the membership, it is going to be a wonderful tool with which to reach and educate community members and students. You will receive it through the Dasvandh mailing in mid-November which is going to all Khalsas and 3HO students around the world.