We are all mourning the untimely loss of Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal. As an American Sikh, a son, a husband and especially as a father of three beautiful kids, I can relate to him and cannot imagine the loss his family is enduring. Yesterday I came back from work to spend time with my three kids, he didn't and never again will.
Sandeep also reminds me how to remember Naam, remembering Oneness, the simple but elusive teaching of Guru Nanak. However simple this teaching may seem, it is not easy to put in action. "Saying 'Naam' is hard," reminds Guru Nanak in Raag Asa. Service to your community is one way of remembering "Naam"and Sandeep showed so well how to remember Naam.
Adrian Garcia, the Harris County police commissioner remembered him in the way the Guru Nanak would want any Sikh to be remembered, "This guy had a heart of gold."
Sandeep also reminds me how to remember Naam, remembering Oneness, the simple but elusive teaching of Guru Nanak. However simple this teaching may seem, it is not easy to put in action. "Saying 'Naam' is hard," reminds Guru Nanak in Raag Asa. Service to your community is one way of remembering "Naam"and Sandeep showed so well how to remember Naam.
Adrian Garcia, the Harris County police commissioner remembered him in the way the Guru Nanak would want any Sikh to be remembered, "This guy had a heart of gold."
Towards the end of Guru Nanak's meditation "Japji" he explains how to build this heart of gold in this poem:
Jat pāhārā dhīraj suni-ār.
Let self-control be the furnace, and patience the goldsmith.
aharaṉ mat vayd hathī-ār.
Let understanding be the anvil, and spiritual wisdom the tools.
bha-u khalā agan tap tā-u.
With the Fear of God as the bellows, fan the flames of tapa, the body’s inner heat.
bhānḏā bhā-u amrit tit ḏhāl.
In the crucible of love, melt the Nectar of the Name,
ghaṟī-ai sabad sachī ṯakasāl.
and mint the True Coin of the Shabad, the Word of God.
jin ka-u nadar karam tin kār.
Such is the karma of those upon whom He has cast His Glance of Grace.
nānak nadarī nadar nihāl. ||38||
O Nānak, the Merciful Lord, by His Grace, uplifts and exalts them. ||38||
Sikhs will always have the deepest gratitude to the department that changed its formal police department policy to allow Sandeep to serve with his Turban and beard. We will also have the deepest gratitude to our fellow countrymen who are giving Sandeep a befitting farewell. We will never get Sandeep back, and his young family suffers an unbearable loss. We are left here to remember "Naam" like Guru Nanak reminds us and like Sandeep inspires us through his lifelong service. Waheguru! Waheguru! Waheguru!
Please donate to the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Fund if you already haven't: https://www.gofundme.com/f/deputy-sandeep-singh-dhaliwal-scholarship-fund
Please donate to the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Fund if you already haven't: https://www.gofundme.com/f/deputy-sandeep-singh-dhaliwal-scholarship-fund
Here is a playlist of a video about this trailblazing Gurmukh followed by some meditative Gurbani verses and simran. This include five new shabads recorded to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Singing oneness!
