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Jvala Singh

@jvalaaa

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Lecturer at UC Berkeley, founder of @studysikhi, creator of @surajpodcast , author of 54 Punjabi Proverbs, and PhD from University of British Columbia

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A Servant of Poets - Guru Gobind Singh by @jvalaaa

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4 years ago

Nearly 6 years of work, 14 years after I began my studies with Baba Ji (Oct 2010), and 44 years after my father completed his PhD.

...perched on the shoulders of giants... by @jvalaaa

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a year ago

My first substack post (link in bio) - thinking through the illusion of "I". Subscribe and share - I plan to use this more often as a personal diary but am eager to hear your thoughts about these musings. by @jvalaaa

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2 days ago

100 tickets sold. Over 120 people showed up.
No management. No sponsors. Just proof that these conversations deserve a space.

Want more live events? Then help me build it.

Comment PATRON to get the link via DM or use the link in my bio.

Oh, and you’ll also get access to watch both this year’s and last year’s live podcasts. taken in Birmingham, United Kingdom by @jvalaaa

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2 days ago

POV: your second-ever live podcast sells out (again). 🎙️🥹 taken in Birmingham, United Kingdom by @jvalaaa

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3 days ago

ਸ੍ਰੀ ਭਗਉਤੀ ਜੀ ਸਹਾਇ / ਸ੍ਰੀ ਡਰੋਨ ਜੀ ਸਹਾਇ - a conservation about the Ballad of Chandi with @davinder.s.toor, Itvinder Singh @sikhadelik hosted by @beantsdhillon at the Brunei Gallery at SOAS - a sold out event! Thanks to all those who came, it was lovely meeting everyone 🙏🏽

Comment 'Chandi' and I'll DM you the link to the full recording! by @jvalaaa

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4 days ago

Explore the stories of the Gurus through the Suraj Mandal, link in bio by @jvalaaa

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6 days ago

The Guru's Path

ਜੋਗੀ ਸੰਨਿਆਸੀ ਨਹੀ ਮਾਨੈ । ਮੀਰ ਪੀਰ ਕੋ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਜਾਨੇ ।
They don't listen to any Yogi or Sannyasi
Not a single elite or holyman means anything to them,

ਸਭੈ ਸਵਾਰ ਕਹਾਵਹਿਂ ਸਾਹੁ । ਐਸਾ ਗੁਰੂ ਚਯਾਲਾ ਰਾਹੁ ॥230॥
They all ride horses and have themselves called King
Such is the path the Guru set forward

ਦਸਗੁਰਕਥਾ - ਕਵਿ ਕੰਕਨ
Das Gur Katha - Poet Kankan (early 1700s, Anandpur) by @jvalaaa

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18 days ago

Sikhi studies event live in London, with Jvala Singh and hosted by Davinder Singh Toor, itvinder Singh will be showcasing art work inspired by Guru Gobind Singh Ji, and Dasam Bani

I too will be hosting the QnA. by @jvalaaa

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24 days ago

In SS 301 we read those sources for ourselves: Kuir Singh's Gurbilas, Mani Singh's Sikhan di Bhagatmala, Kavi Santokh Singh's Suraj Prakash. We also learn the framework to read them in their own genre. These texts are not records of an event. They speak the old South Asian language of sovereignty, in which the Goddess appears when a new power is founded. This is Khalsa Mythos. by @jvalaaa

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25 days ago

Guru Gobind Singh in speaking with a Muslim cleric in Emperor Bahadur Shah's court paraphrased Rumi's Masnavi speaking about the all-pervasiveness of the Divine. This beautiful passage shows us how philosophical framing informs how we behave in day to day life.

In SS301 we explore how the poetry of Guru Gobind Singh directly informs the ethical practice of the Khalsa. by @jvalaaa

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a month ago

The Path of Love
In Chapter 6 of the Bachittar Natak, Guru Gobind Singh contrasts two orientations toward the Divine — one shaped by love, the other by ritual. On one side are those who no longer let the fixed doctrines of the Vedas and the Katebs (the Quran, Bible, and other Semitic scriptures) govern their approach, and orient their whole being toward loving the Highest Divine [ਪਰਮਪੁਰਖ] instead; they bear every bodily hardship without ever loosening that love, until no distance remains between them and Hari. On the other are those who, dreading such hardship, take refuge in ritual observance and formal doctrine rather than love — forsaking the Supreme Being and falling back onto those well-trodden paths, so that their end is not union but the pit of hell and endless rebirth. The line the Guru draws is one of orientation, not merely belief: it is a love-centred approach — not ritual conformity or scriptural allegiance — that results in the merging of devotee and devoted, the non-dual experience.

ਜਿਨ ਮਤ ਬੇਦ ਕਤੇਬਨ ਤਿਆਗੀ ॥ ਪਾਰਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਕੇ ਭੇ ਅਨੁਰਾਗੀ ॥
Those who renounced the doctrines of the Vedas and the Semitic holy books (Quran, Bible, etc.) became lovers of the Supreme Divine.

ਤਿਨ ਕੇ ਗੂੜ ਮੱਤ ਜੇ ਚਲਹੀ ॥ ਭਾਂਤਿ ਅਨੇਕ ਦੁਖਨ ਸੋ ਦਲਹੀ ॥੨੦॥
Whoever walks on their profound path [of love] shall crush sorrows of countless kinds.

ਜੇ ਜੇ ਸਹਿਤ ਜਾਤਨ ਸੰਦੇਹਿ ॥ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਕੇ ਸੰਗਿ ਨ ਛੋਡਤ ਨੇਹ ॥
Those who endure torments upon the body, yet never forsake their love for the Lord —

ਤੇ ਤੇ ਪਰਮ ਪੁਰੀ ਕਹ ਜਾਹੀ ॥ ਤਿਨ ਹਰਿ ਸਿਉ ਅੰਤਰੁ ਕਛੁ ਨਾਹੀਂ ॥੨੧॥
they all reach the Supreme Abode; between them and Hari no difference remains.

Full post on manglacharan.com by @jvalaaa

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a month ago