When I asked God

When I asked God for Strength, He gave me difficult situations to Face.

When I asked God for Brain and Brown, He gave me puzzles in Life to solve.

When I asked God for Happiness, He showed me some unhappy people.

When I asked God for Wealth, He showed me how to work hard.

When I asked God for Favors, He gave me opportunities to work hard.

When I asked God for Peace, He showed me how to help the weak and the frail.

God gave me Nothing that I WANTED, Instead, He gave me Everything that I NEEDED

Guru Pooja Diwas Samagam

With the blessings of His Holiness Satguru Baba Hardev Singh ji Maharaj "Guru Puja Diwas" was celebrated by the Seattle Sangat with great devotion and dedication on Feb 23, 2010 at one of the local saint’s residence. The congregation was presided by Rev. Atul Batra ji from California.

The program opened with recitation of verses from Avtar Bani followed by devotional group songs and speeches. Kavi darbar added colors to the congregation in which kids also participated in praise of the formless Nirankar and importance of the Guru Puja Diwas.

Rev Anjana ji, one of the local saint emphasized on the importance of Guru by saying that Guru is one of the form of this Formless God. She enumerated that earth, sky, stars, sun, moon etc. are the powers of this Formless God who is the main source and we need to connect ourselves with this source (the creator) and not the power (the creation). This can be attained only with the grace of True Master.

Presiding from the stage, Rev.Atul Batra Ji spoke on the importance of Satguru who connects us to the almighty Lord. He stressed that the true gift to H.H. on his birthday is following his teachings and living life of a true saint. He emphasized the importance of complete surrender to Nirankar in order to attain salvation. He further explained that God is an infinite circle and the need is to connect with this infinite source of energy, otherwise one is incomplete.

All enjoyed the bliss being showered by the grace of Satguru on the congregation and prayed for being blessed with selfless service and devotion to the Formless Lord.

-Sheetal Sharma

Food and Cloth Drive

With the grace of the Satguru Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj on the special occasion of Guru Puja Diwas, the members of Seattle Sant Nirankari Mission, in the presence of Rev. Atul Batra ji from California, donated food and clothes for the needy.

The members donated about 189 pounds of non-perishable food items worth value of $283.50 to Hopelink, a Redmond based Community Action Agency. There were 9 large bags of clothes donated to Goodwill.

With this service, Rev. Atul ji asked for blessings from H.H. Baba Hardev Singh ji Maharaj so that the members may continue to be engaged in such selfless service to the mankind and follow the path of love and humanity as shown by the mission.

-Sheetal Sharma

Guru Pooja Diwas Celeberations

On the auspicious occasion of the 56th Birthday of our Satguru Baba Hardev Singh ji Maharaj, Sant Nirankari Mission, Seattle started festivities early in the morning on Sunday February 21st, 2010. There were more than 50 saints including saints from Boise, Idaho and Moses Lake, WA. Rev. Atul Batra Ji from California presided over the sangat.

The program started with the kids welcome song. The uplifting songs during the satsang highlighted the love that the entire congregation felt towards his Holiness.

Rev. Shiv Ji mentioned that human is only involved in doing rituals rather than implementing. Our goal is to be with him, not his physical form but with formless. He further inspired everyone towards service by quoting Rabindranath Tagore as “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”

Rev. Amit Sharma Ji gave a presentation on the life of Baba Hardev Singh ji Maharaj depicting the journey of His Holiness since childhood. Kids from Seattle sangat also presented a skit on the shackles of ‘Maya’/ materialism and how Babaji is teaching us a path of detachment from it and inspiring us to help and love fellow beings. Saints also expressed their gratitude to Satguru and sang his praises in the form of verses in ‘Kavi Darbar’.

Presiding from Stage, Rev. Atul Batra ji spoke on surrendering ourselves to Nirankar for a blissful life. He stressed the significance of human birth in attaining salvation. He also encouraged the congregation to be connected to the omnipresent God at all times for His guidance in meeting various challenges of life. He also emphasized the importance of doing simran with every breath. He captivated the sangat by quoting instances from his personal life regarding unshaken faith and dedication at difficult times.

The Seattle sangat felt blessed by the presence and motivating words of Rev. Atul ji on the sacred occasion of Guru Pooja and wished for similar blessings and joyful celebrations in the times to come.

-Sheetal Sharma

Valentine's Day Celebrated by Seattle Sangat

On Valentine's day, 14th February, 2010 Seattle Sangat gathered at local saint's house to disseminate the message of love and peace.

Each saint shared his experiences in the form of stories, songs and poems and expressed his love and gratitude towards Satguru Almighty. Saints also highlighted the importance of balancing family, friends and spirituality along with the jobs done for a living. They reiterated that everyday should be a celebration of love in our lives.

Presiding from the Stage, Rev. Sohan Singh Ji stressed that we all should love this formless Nirankar as our permanent Valentine. He emphasized on the message of love and peace being given by H.H. Satguru Baba Hardev Singh ji Maharaj and sought his blessings for the entire sangat to continue deepening the bond amongst themselves and also establish Universal Brotherhood.

Rev. Sadhu Singh Ji's visit to Seattle

On the special occasion of Lohri, Sunday, 17th Jan '10, the Seattle satsang group had the opportunity to receive blessings from Rev. Sadhu Singh ji from Vancouver, BC at one of local saint’s residence. Sangat was attended by more than 50 saints including saints from Canada.

The satsang started with recitation of verses from Avtar bani. Saints present shared their spiritual experiences and sang devotional songs in praise of our beloved satguru. The kids also participated in form of stories, speeches and group songs.

Rev. Goldi Ji, a saint from Canada, gave the message that if we reach Sangat on time and follow the teachings of this almighty Nirankar, all of our wishes are completed on time. Other saints also shared their spiritual thoughts that Jesus Christ in Bible said that "I am a gate through which you can enter in the kingdom of God". Knowledge is given to mind and not to body. We have to realize God through our mind.

Presiding from the stage, Rev. Sadhu Singh Ji spoke on Self Analysis. He further said that God realization is self realization. "Bhakti" is not easy but this almighty Nirankar makes it easier for us. Rajmata Ji always says that "Bhakti" starts from our own home. He stressed on importance of love. Love has such a great power that it can solve all the barriers. One should surrender himself to this almighty Nirankar and then God takes care for everything. This Nirankar is like touchstone and whosoever associates with him, becomes gold. In the last, he appealed that youngsters should come forward and help spreading the message of love to the World.

The satsang concluded with mangla charan and dhuni, followed by langar. After the langar Rev Sadhu Singh Ji blessed around 7 saints with divine knowledge.

May Babaji keep blessing us with more of such precious moments and always show the Seattle Satsang the path of Seva, Simran and Satsang.

-Sheetal Sharma