80 yes 24
no 2
abstaining.
The above votes demonstrate that the majority of KC memebers do not recognize the SDS and do not want to authorize them to act over issues. The SDS promised at these Khalsa Council meetings to act more "Aquarian" in the future and admitted making mistakes in their previous actions.
Additionally, at these same Khalsa Council meetings the general body was officially informed about the UIB no longer being Sikhs.
MSS Guru Terath Singh got up in front of the KC and announced that there never were any requirements for the UIB to be Khalsa
Sikhs; i.e., there was no requirement
for them to wear bana, give to Das Vandh, attend KC meetings, etc. That it was
all a mistake in filing the bylaws. He stated that the UIB's lawyer, Roy Lambert
("Oregon Super Lawyer" by Law &
Politics magazine in 2006), made a clerical error in filing the by-laws that
govern the UIB in Oregon; and he made the same
mistake three times!
7) At these KC meetings,
members of the SDS stood before KC stating their dedication to the Siri Singh
Sahib's mission, his purpose, and on and on. I do not recall if they ever mentioned
the Sangat.
8) On June 8, 2009 the SDS fired the current
Phoenix board! They stated that the Phoenix Sangat
deserved representation from people of the community. Of the five newly appointed members, one
lives in Tucson, one lives in
San Diego, and another lives in
Los Angeles. In addition, 87% of the Phoenix Sangat
protested these firings! Progress
was being made on an outstanding debt that the
Phoenix community incurred during
the building of the new Gurdwara with the "old" board; which was now going to be
delayed with the installation of new board members. (For more on this matter, refer to a
detailed account [see attachments] on the building of the Phoenix Gurdwara and
their community.) So much for promises. This
brings to mind the aphorism "actions speak louder than words."
9) Currently the SDS is
asking Sikh Dharma International to expunge a member of their board, that being
Bibiji, the wife of our beloved Siri Singh Sahib. Please keep in mind that when the UIB
took the picture of our beloved teacher off the Yogi Tea boxes (contrary to his
order to keep his picture on the boxes!) Bibiji and staff could no longer
receive royalties from their sales.
10) On July 9 of this year
Organic Consumers Association's website reported that Peace Cereal no longer had
the word 'organic' on its boxes.
UIB's response to this report was that for "low-income" people to
purchase their cereal they must do some cost cutting on their products. (Subsequently they raised their
prices!?) Who is profiting
here?
So what's next?
Wait and see what wise actions the UIB and SDS take next? Wait and see if we are worthy and
enlightened enough for the UIB to come and speak to us?
I know everyone has ideas and thoughts on this
subject. This whole matter has
brought up more questions than answers:
How do we communicate to one another? Do we keep the UIB as a five member
board or expand it? Do we keep the
present status of communicating only on a "need to know basis"? How do we keep information flowing and
who decides what information can be passed onto the Sangat (our censors). Who are the leaders and what do we
expect from them? The list goes
on.
We are entering a new era. Can we rise to the occasion? Or do we keep the status quo, what ever
that is? No one could quite figure out the present "flow-chart" of our profit
and non-profit businesses presented at our first meeting at Hari Jiwan's house.
This is just one example of the
blind leading the blind.
I was born and raised an American. I studied government and majored in
Political Science. I like the
idea of checks and balances. It
works better than any other system.
But no government structure is immune from corruption and greed. There
must be a structure in place to impeach those who use the “system” for their own
means and at the expense of its constituents. It is the responsibility of
constituents/sangat to stay informed and vote/participate. It is the responsibility of our leaders
to communicate to its constituency.
As it presently stands the UIB is no longer communicating except to a few
“friends”. They have delegated
responsibility that was given to them by the Siri Singh Sahib to five people who
are responsible only to a group of ex-Sikhs. And this group has authority over the
Khalsa Council, the Siri Sikhdar Sahiba, the Bhai Sahiba and the Sikh Dharma
Boards! These five (the SDS)
originally took an oath to abide by the rules set forth by the Khalsa
Council. Now they say they are
above it.
But this goes way beyond politics.
All of my generation of American Sikhs (the 50 and 60 somethings) have attended hundreds of
the Siri Singh Sahib's lectures.
Who amongst you actually believe he didn't expect the UIB to be Khalsa
Sikhs? I agree that this is
painful to see and experience. Regardless, this mess has been left up to
us. But keep in mind: "It's not the life that matters, it's
the courage you bring to it!"
What about those lectures given at Ladie's Camp year
after year? Where are those ladies
who sat at the foot of the Master, who marched, who learned to shoot a rifle,
exercised and sweated? This is your
Dharma; our Dharma. We have all had a hand in building this
Dharma. Is the current situation acceptable to
you? Are you okay with a few people
high jacking our Dharma?
Are you still scratching your head and wondering what has happened? How could these Sikhs go back on their
commitment? Are you still wondering
how someone you trusted has gone back on their word? Human nature is what it is. You practice your faith, your path, or
you lose it. No one is above the
laws of nature. There is
nothing wrong with looking out for yourself, but not at the expense of others!
And this is what has happened.
What happened to the non-profits who provided a safe learning experience
for our Miri Piri students during the summers? Known as "earn and learn," is it now out
of style? Can we no longer afford
it? We can't afford a safe and
secure environment for our children graduating from Miri Piri? Do the businesses exist only to make a
profit?
Is that what the SSS had in mind?
The businesses aren't here to serve our youth? Are the returning Miri Piri graduates
left out to 'sink or swim' as Khalsa Sikhs? Shouldn't they be given the best
opportunity, the most uplifting environment to stay as Khalsa?
This is not about personalities, likes or dislikes. There are people who like me, hate me or
have no opinion. But what of it?
This is not about me or you, but our legacy. The Sikh Dharma
Stewardship/ UIB is on a mission and do not care who they step on. I do not take kindly to that.
This Dharma is not for the weak of heart. We take care of those who cannot take
care of themselves and stand up to protect them. Now is the time to protect and stand up
for our Dharma, our communities. We
cannot act out of fear. If there is
anything that was done illegally in the past, or is in a gray area, I believe it
is better to bring light to it now.
Secrecy only breeds what we have now ...... a tangled mess.
Many people I speak with feel powerless. "What can I do?" Below you will find a site to sign a
petition and an address to send your hard earned money. I have signed the petition and given my
money.
