A Sikh Director of a Government Body....

Sardar Harpal Singh Kapoor is the Director of Miami Dade County Transit System in Florida, USA.

Another Video of the same session.

Tough Sheriff - Joe Arpaio...

Following is reproduction of the parts of an e-mail that I recieved today. I even left as it was, the color choice of the text that the sender selected.

TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER.

THESE ARE THE REASONS WHY:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (in Arizona) who created the "tent city jail": He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them. He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights. Cut off all but "G" movies.

He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects.

Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination.

He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again only let in the Disney channel and the weather channel. When asked why the weather channel he replied, so they will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.

He cut off coffee since it has zero nutritional value. When the inmates complained, he told them,"This isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back."

With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix(116 degrees just set a new record), the Associated Press reports: About 2,000 inmates living in a barbed-wire-surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts.

On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 degrees inside, the week before. Many were also swathed in wet, pink towels as sweat collected on their chests and dripped down to their pink socks. "It feels like we are in a furnace," said James Zanzot, an inmate who has lived in the tents for 1 year. "It's in-humane."

Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink,and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates:

"It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too,and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!"

Way to go, Sheriff! Maybe if all prisons were like this one, there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves.

Sheriff Joe was just reelected Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona.

Food for thought.....

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, "Only a little while, Senor."

The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, Senor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to theprocessor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But Senor, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then, Senor?"

The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public a nd become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions, Senor? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

"You mean being a Harvard MBA, you have to go through all that to finally get to where I already am, Senor?"

Ektaone.com has a new name....

Ektaone.com is now Sikhroots.com

Bhagat Kabeer jeeoo...

Kabir was one of India’s leading spiritual saints who lived in the northern part of India in (and around) the holy city of Benares (also called Varanasi). He is widely renowned for his pithy couplets and songs that connect life and spirituality in a simple yet powerful way. His words were in a universal language that, literally and figuratively, broke down barriers to experiencing the divine.

Very little appears to be known about Kabeer jee with any degree of certainty. Hindus want him to be a representative of their religion. They claim that he was born to a Hindu woman, even though he was raised by a Muslim family and that he was a disciple of a Hindu Guru, Ramananda. Muslims tend to emphasize his Muslim upbringing and his initiation into the Sufi traditions. The celibate/ascetic sects claim that Kabeer never married and if evidence of his marriage is presented, they retort that he never had an intimate relationship with his wife. Sikh and Shabad-based traditions say that the essence of Kabeer’s practice was based on tuning in to the internal sounds. Even though his exact birth and death times cannot be ascertained reliably, it is quite likely that he lived beyond the age of 50. He was not formally educated because his songs and couplets lack the erudite tone and have a refreshing rustic quality. That he may have been a weaver is evident from his songs and couplets that draw inspiration and metaphors from the weaving profession. It is also likely that he was born and brought up poor and continued to work throughout his life as he strongly upheld the working-to-earn way of life.

What is clear is that Kabeer was courageous enough to speak his truth even in face of societal pressures and coercion. From his work, we know that he was quite critical of hypocrisy especially among religious leaders. Even though we cannot ascertain whether he was tolerant of genuine devotees who worshipped physical forms of God, we can be reasonably confident that his own spiritual path was focused more on an internal form of devotion to God and Guru – terms that he often used interchangeably to convey the cosmic force. In essence, the core of Kabir’s life and teachings are based on honesty, truth, conviction and simplicity, renewed continuously by inner experience and propelled by an unceasing detachment from the web of physical and mental realities.

Kabeer speaks to us in a direct and uninhibited tone that invariably shakes us out of our slumber-like existence. His candid and frank style is so beautiful and refreshingly crisp. The instructions are simple yet deep, obvious yet multi-layered, challenging yet caring, powerful yet empowering, irreverent yet deeply devotional. Indeed, Kabeer, lived what he preached, or, more accurately, preached what he lived. Like a true master, he always spoke the highest truth regardless of the circumstances. Kabeer’s completeness and humility becomes obvious in how he addresses every seeker as a Sadhu and himself as the commoner, Kabeera. Sometimes one gets the feeling that the conversational teachings of Kabeer, are actually a dialog between Kabeer, the Master and Kabeer, the disciple, inside of him. Despite his open criticism of dogmas and sects, Kabeer is very embracing of every seeker and includes himself in that category.

Article by - Maalok.