Religion & Society

Guru Purab literally means 'festival of the guru'. The Sikhs celebrate 10 Guru Purabs in a year. At each of these festivals, one of the ten gurus of the Khalsa Pantha is honoured.

All Guru Purabs are considered auspicious and important but special significance is accorded to the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, in the month of Kartik (November-December). The Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak brought enlightenment to the world. As such this festival is also known as - the festival of light.

Guru Purab literally means 'festival of the guru'. The Sikhs celebrate 10 Guru Purabs in a year. At each of these festivals, one of the ten gurus of the Khalsa Pantha is honoured.

All Guru Purabs are considered auspicious and important but special significance is accorded to the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, in the month of Kartik (November-December). The Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak brought enlightenment to the world. As such this festival is also known as - the festival of light.

A monk can be very gentle, very peaceful, while there are no hard words to assail him, but when hard words are directed at him, it is then that he must be really gentle and peaceful

Lord Ganesh's Big Head inspires us to think big,

Big Ears prompt us to listen patiently,

Narrow Eyes point to be concentration,

Long Nose to poke around inquisitively to learn more,

Small Mouth to speak less.

Happy Ganesh Chaturdhi

Several centuries ago, the Pope decreed that all the Jews had to convert
to Catholicism or leave Italy . There was a huge outcry from the Jewish
community, so the Pope offered a deal: he'd have a religious debate with
the leader of the Jewish community. If the Jews won, they could stay in
Italy ; if the Pope won, they'd have to convert or leave.

The Jewish people met and picked an aged and wise rabbi to represent
them in the debate. However, as the rabbi spoke no Italian, and the
Pope spoke no Yiddish, they agreed that it would be a 'silent' debate.