Waking Up to the Guru's Words of Wisdom
Each weekday morning, before I do anything else, I open my email and ignore the many mails that have come through to look for and open one entitled A Word A Thought. I block out everything to absorb the message for the day about Sikhi that is presented in a simplistic format. It takes me no more than 5 minutes to go through the email, but the explanations, the examples and the advice leave me enlightened and also keep making me think about the message, and how I can apply it to daily situations.
A Word A Thought, or AWAT as it is known, has become a part of my daily routine, as it has for the many thousands of subscribers across the world of the free email service that began in June 2014. The AWAT initiative was started by Shabad Foundation, a religious and educational organization registered in India, which aims to bring together a thriving community who read the Scripture, reflect on its immense wisdom and share this knowledge with others.
The uniqueness of AWAT is that it focuses on a single word a day from a set weekly theme. Each email features a word. This is followed by a thought (a verse) from the Guru Granth Sahib to help put this word in context. The meaning and further explanation follows. There is also help with the Gurmukhi pronunciation, and an English translation is provided for easy understanding. It is easily understandable for most age groups and never fails to provoke one into thinking about how we deal with issues around us in the context of Gurbani. In a nutshell, it introduces the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib in a simple, digestible manner which at the same time sets us thinking on the practical way of dealing with issues and situations we encounter.
The motivation to start AWAT was borne by the desire to give emphasis on the need to reflect on the simplicity of the message of the Guru Granth Sahib. The Foundation feels that the focus has somehow moved away from the core teachings and values of the Scripture. "Sikhism, in the form of the Guru Granth Sahib, has been blessed with the treasure of Divine Wisdom," the Foundation says. "However, the need to read, understand and practice the teachings of the Scripture has seldom been fulfilled despite the Scripture being revered as the Eternal Guru (the Guide, the Enlightener). One needs to delve into it to obtain the essence of the Guru's Wisdom."
Hence, the aim was to create a service where the content of the Scripture could be presented in the easiest possible manner. From the outset, the aim has been to make the content easily accessible to subscribers. Hence, the format of one word, one verse but with a powerful message.
The language used in AWAT was initially kept as English to appeal to the wider Sikh community present all over the world who might not be well conversant in Punjabi. Also, since the Sikh Scripture is a treasure trove of universal values, the AWAT team felt that it should be in a medium that is accessible to the majority despite their background. However, Punjabi was recently included to cater to demand.
The AWAT email service has grown from strength to strength. It reaches out to subscribers from 28 countries, including India, Singapore, Australia, United States, Canada and United Kingdom. The service is run by a dedicated team of volunteers that look after the content, media and publicity, IT and graphic design. Despite the immense popularity of the service and the many accolades that it has received since it started, the team behind AWAT is far from done with its work and is now planning the next stage of its sewa. It is considering covering some of the compositions, such as Japji to begin with, in its issues. It is also planning to publish the compilation of daily messages in a book, and organise online discussion groups, online talks and courses.
To subscribe to AWAT, please go to: awordathought.com.
Author: Baldave Singh is an experienced editor, and has held senior level roles for some of the leading international media houses including Reed Business Information, The McGraw-Hill Cos. and Bloomberg News. Baldave has more than 20 years' experience in business and finance journalism, with a focus on the energy markets.
##### AWAT Gets You Reflecting on the Message of our Guru #####
"Avwt" - gurU dI igAwn-cyqnqw v`l iek kdm
hr idn svyry au`T ky, mYN sB qoN pihlW AwpxI eI-myl ivcoN, hor swrIAW mylW nMU C`f ky, A Word A Thought (iek Sbd iek ivcwr) nW dI eI-myl nMU pVHdw hW[ bhuq hI suKYn FMg nwl pyS kIqy gey ies is`KI-aupdyS nMU jzb krn leI, mYN bwkI swrIAW cIzW nMU C`f dyNdw hW[ pUrI myl nMU pVHn iv`c, mYnMU pMjW imMtW qoN ijAwdw smW nhIN lgdw[ pr myl iv`c id`qI geI ivAwiKAw, imswlW Aqy slwh bwry mYN socdw rihMdw hW[ mYN ieh koiSS krdw hW, ik ikvyN iehnW is`iKAwvW nMU rozwnw jIvn iv`c lwgU kIqw jw sky[
hjwrW hor pwTkW vWg, A Word A Thought (iek Sbd iek ivcwr), jo ik AWAT (Avwt) dy nW qoN vI jwixAw jWdw hY, dI eI-myl myrI rozwnw izMdgI dw iek ih`sw bx geI hY[ ieh PRI syvw, Sbd PwaUNfySn ny jUn 2014 ivc SurU kIqI, jo ik Bwrq iv`c rijstrf ie`k Dwrmk Aqy iv`idAk sMsQw hY[ ies sMsQw dw audyS, ie`k Aijhy BweIcwry nMU hoNd ivc ilAwauxw hY, jo gurbwxI nMU pVHy, aus qy ivcwr kry Aqy dUijAW nwl aus igAwn nMU sWJw kry[
AWAT (Avwt) dI ivl`Kxqw ies iv`c hY, ik ie`k idn iv`c ie`k eI-myl Aqy aus iv`c hPqwvwrI ivSy au~qy ivcwr kIqI jWdI hY[ hr eI-myl iv`c gurU gRMQ swihb ivcoN ilAw igAw iek Sbd Aqy iek quk huMdI hY[ aus dy Q`ly srl-ArQ Aqy ivAwiKAw idqI huMdI hY[ AswnI nwl smJx leI, quk dw aucwrn Aqy Anuvwd vI id`qw jWdw hY[ ieh hr aumr dy ivAkqI vloN Arwm nwl smiJAw jw skdw hY Aqy ieh swfIAW sm`isAwvW bwry swnMU gurbwxI dI roSnI iv`c socx leI pRyrq krdw hY[ sMKyp iv`c, ieh syvw swnMU gurU gRMQ swihb dIAW is`iKAwvW nMU bhuq hI sOKy qrIky nwl smJx Aqy nwl hI, swnUM jIvn dy hwlwqW nwl nij`Tx dy AmlI qrIikAW bwryy socx leI iqAwr krdI hY[
AWAT (Avwt) nMU SurU krn dI pRyrxw, gurU gRMQ swihb dI rUhwnI is`iKAw au~qy zor dyx dI ie`Cw qoN pYdw hoeI[ sMsQw nMU ieh lgdw hY, ik swfI kOm dw iDAwn A`j gurmq is`iKAw Aqy aus dy icMqn qoN dUr ho igAw hY[ sMsQw dw kihxw hY ik, 'is`K Drm nMU gurU gRMQ swihb dy rUp iv`c bRhm-igAwn dw Kzwnw imilAw hY[ pr, gurU gRMQ swihb nMU sdIvI gurU dw drjw Aqy siqkwr dyx dy bwvjUd, aus dIAW isiKAwvW nMU pVHn, smJx Aqy jIvn ivc Apnwaux dI loV qy bhuq G`t iDAwn idqw jWdw hY[ gurbwxI qy q`q-swr nMU smJx leI, swnMU aus ivc c`uBI lwaux dI loV hY['
ies leI, audyS ieh sI ik gurbwxI nMU iksy sOKy qrIky nwl pyS kIqw jwvy[ nwl hI SurU qoN ies g`l dw iDAwn r`iKAw igAw hY, ik ies syvw nMU ijAwdw qoN ijAwdw lokW qk phuMcwieAw jw sky[ ies leI, ie`k Sbd Aqy ie`k qu`k dw PwrmYt riKAw igAw, pr pRBwvSwlI sunyhy dy nwl[
SurU iv`c AWAT (Avwt) dI BwSw, sMswr ivcly vfyry is`K BweIcwry nMU swmHxy rKdy hoey, AMgryjI r`KI geI[ gurU gRMQ swihb XUnIvrsl kdrW kImqW dw iek Kzwnw hY[ ies leI vDIAw iehI sI, ik BwSw auh r`KI jwey, jo ijAwdw lokW duAwrw pVHI jw sky[ pr bwAd iv`c, pwTkW dI mMg nMU vyKidAW hoieAW, ies eI-myl syvw nMU pMjwbI Bwsw iv`c vI SurU kr idqw igAw[
pVwA dr pVwA, ieh eI-myl syvw PYldI jw rhI hY[ ies dy pwTkW iv`c Bwrq, isMgwpur, AwstrylIAw, AmrIkw, knyfw Aqy ieMglYNf qoN ielwvw, 28 hor dySw dy pwTk vI Swml hn[ ieh syvw inSkwm syvkW dI ie`k smripq tIm duAwrw clweI jWdI hY, jo ik ilKq, mIfIAw, pRcwr, AweI. tI. Aqy gRwiPk ifzweIn Awid nMU vyKdy hn[
ies syvw dy SurU hox qoN lYky hux q`k, ies dI pRis`DI Aqy vwh vwh dy bwvjUd, AWAT (Avwt) tIm hwly Awpxw kMm pUrw ho igAw nhIN smJdI Aqy ies syvw nMU iesdy Agly pVwvW qk lY jwx dI Xojnw bxw rhI hY[ Awaux vwly smyN iv`c tIm, jpujI swihb qoN SurU krky gurU gRMQ swihb ivcoN hor bwxIAW nMU AwpxI hPqwvwrI QIm ivc Swml krn dy ivcwr iv`c hY[ auh iehnW ivcwr-AMSw dw sMkln krky, ikqwbI rUp ivc pbilS krn Aqy AwnleIn ivcwr-crcw Aqy korsz Awid SurU krn bwry vI ivcwr kr rhI hY[
ies eI-myl syvw nMU SurU krn leI ie`Qy kil`k kro: www.awordathought.com
bldyv isMG
iek ieMtrnYSnl inaUz srivs dy AYfItr