Enjoying the Fruits of fresh harvesting with Geet

Teaching the kitchen gardening to little Geet at the right stage in Fall 2015. She is not only feeling the touch of fresh produce but also enjoying them too.

Trying touch a fresh snake cocumber 


Strawberry seems yummy.

With Geet in 2015

Movie No!, Dinner Yes!

With our newest baby

Intellectual Dishonesty

PLAGIARISMS

Plagiarism is being very commonly abused hurting the high value original works of individuals. Just substituting the words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit is very common. 

I have been a victim myself lately, giving me acute pain on account of degrading the value of well researched words in the article.

Here is an excellent article by Dr Sardar Anurag Singh on the similar but different branch of dishonesty.

INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY OF SIKH SCHOLARS ON DASAM GRANTH—Sardar Anurag Singh

MARCH 24, 2015DALVIRGILL

INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY OF SIKH SCHOLARS ON DASAM GRANTH
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Dr Rattan Singh Jaggi 

Yesterday I gave a brief account of Mr. Khushwant Singh’s shallow knowledge about the title of Dasam Granth and his wild imaginative conjectural theory.Today,I shall be dealing with the the source of inspiration of the Missionaries for many years,Dr Rattan Singh Jaggi,Phd and D.Litt.

Remembering the Guru and his Works
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Guru Gobind Singh’s mind was a towering Himalaya of supreme wisdom, from whose teeming caverns there flowed mighty rivers of poetry,prayers and meditations, philosophic reflections and historical truths,in whose placid depth he set the reflected image of all the noblest aspirations of man and all the tragedy and grandeur of human drama.Hisimagination was a seraph which sounded all depths and measured all heights.It touched the intangible,it saw the invisible,it heard the inaudible,and gave body and shape to the inconceivable.It gathered gems from all mines,gold from all sands,pearls from all seas and songs from all battles of righteousness( dharma ) fought in the ancient history of India under divine command to exterminate the devilish forces.

Guru Gobind Singh bequeathed to mankind a lirerary,historical and philosophical estate,which time cannot destroy in spite of heavy odds.He breathed into the nostrils of the heavenly Muse the breath of immortality,which cannot be stopped in spite of polluted air,being spread by the adversaries of the Guru and his Bani.He sang of his vivid vision of God,rise and fall of civilisations,wars of dharma,heroes and prophets of the glorious past of Indian history,figurative gods and goddesses of Hindu mythology and the lovers and martyrs of Truth.

All the compositions of Dasam Granth were composed by Guru Gobind Singh Ji between 1682-1701AD.,except Zafarnamah and a Two Shabads.InDasam Granth purely religious and philosophical compositions have 878 verses.Besides,the invocations and the epilogues off all the secular verses, numbering 500,are also important religious compositions,making the total 1378 verses.If Guru Granth Sahib can be hailed as,”synthesis of scriptures,”Dasam Granth can equally be hailed as,”synthesis of literature from the mighty pen of poet-philosopher,Saint-soldier, Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

In 1994 I visited Patiala to receive best book of the year award for my late father’book,”Ernest Trumpp and W.H.Mc’Leod As Scholars of Sikh History, Religion and Culture.After the function Dr Bhagat Singh Ji,former V.C. Of Punjabi University,Patiala took me aside and narrated the following incident.He informed that my father(Dr Trilochan Singh)visited his office and asked to call Dr Rattan Singh Jaggi for a discussion on Dasam Granth.In this discussion my father asked first pertinent question:”Dr Jaggi, you have obtained a Phd degree with the thesis that Dasam Granth is not composed by Guru Gobind Singh.Then,who is the author, you didn’t elaborate.”Dr Jaggi replied frankly that his Guide told him that there is already a thesis by Dharam Pal Ashta,”The Poetry of Dasam Granth, in which he has proved that entire Dasam Granth was composed by Guru Gobind Singh, and now if you want to obtain Phd degree, you will have to prove otherwise.As it was a personal conversation,I remained silent on the issue, but within few months, by the grace of Satiguru,I was able to find all the proofs,which I recorded in my book,”A Brief Account of Life and Works of Guru Gobind Singh(2002),which I am appending below:

In1959 Dr Dharam Pal Ashta was awarded Ph.D degree by Panjab University,Chandigarh for his dissertation on Dasam Granth entitled,”The Poetry of Dasam Granth “in which the learned scholar asserted that the entire Dasam Granth is from the pen of Guru Gobind Singh.DrHazari Prasad Dwivedi was his guide and he wrote in his Introduction:”A piece of real research work, original, important and valuable contribution to literature.”

A year later, the same Panjab University registered another student for doing Ph.D on Dasam Granth, and in 1962 awarded Ph.D degree to Dr Rattan Singh Jaggi for his thesis,”A Critical Study of the Puranic Compositions in the Dasam Granth, and a sequel,”Dasam Granth da Kartirtav;Authorship of Dasam Granth,” which was anti-thesis of Dr Ashta’s thesis.Suprisingly, same Dr Hazari Prasad Dwivedi was the Guide and he did not hesitate to praise this anti-thesis of his earlier student Dr Ashta as follows:”display of mature judgement and patient industry in the compilation and sifting of evidence.”

But immediately after obtaining his Ph.D from the Panjab University,Dr Jaggi demolished his own thesis in an article in his article,”Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Di Bani Vich Rashtari Bhavna, published in the same university journal,PARKH in 1966.This article was also published in another book,”Ek Murat Anek Darshan, published by Layalpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar in 1966.He further demolished his thesis in another small journal, “Ruhani Sach,”vol.ii,No.1,April 1994, by writing another article,”Dasam Granth De Parsang Vich Bachitra Natak.Hefurther demolished his own thesis by contributing a detailed entry on Dasam Granth in the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism,vol.i.pp.514-31 in 1993.In 1996 he completely demolished his thesis in his paper,”Dasam Granth:Sarup Ate Visha Vastu,” in a book:”Guru Gobind Singh:Paonta Sahib Sambandh Ate Sahit Sirjana,published by Gurdwara Committe,Paonta Sahib.In 1999, with the blessings of Baba Virsa Singh,Dr Rattan Singh Jaggi buried his thesis in its grave by preparing five volumes set, entitled:”Sri Dasam Granth Sahib,Path,Sampandan Ate Viakhia ,” in which there is no editing (Sampandan), and no commentary(Viakhia).Actually, this five volume set was cut and paste, in a haste and without waste the translation of Giani Naraian Singh of Lahore.His entry in the Encylopaedia too was copy of Dr Dharam Pal Ashta’s thesis.

Is it not strange that the same university awarded two Ph.D degrees to two different persons, which are anti-thesis of each other under the guidance of same Dr Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, who too has glorified both the thesis.Such type of intellectual dishonesty is expected from the adversaries of Sikhism and the,”Writers on Sale.”When Dr Jaggi had controverted his own thesis, he should either return back his Ph.D degree on moral grounds to establish his credibility and save himself from public ridicule, or the university should cancel his doctorate degree on ethical grounds to retain its prestige.

With this episode Dr Rattan Singh Jaggi became a persona non grata for the Missionaries and anti-Dasam Granth lobby, so new derby horse was purchased, name Darshan Singh Ragi to spit his venom against Guru Gobind Singh and his Bani to run their theoretical show to entertain their circus clowns.

Gur Fateh !
—Anurag Singh
12.3.2015.

Our Beloved Papa Ji Mohan Narain Singh Kapoor

  April 13, 1927 - Sep 1, 2015

Mr Mohan Narain Singh Kapoor, the saintly patriarch of bay area's Kapoor family, was born on April 13, 1927 in Karachi, British India to Mr. Jagat Narain and Mrs. Shakuntla Bai. His father served as Subedar Major in the Indian Army, and his mother was a homemaker. He was the third sibling among six born to his parents.  After graduating with a First Division  under Punjab University from his high school in Rawalpindi, he won an expansive wrist watch through a challenge thrown by his older brother Mr Hari Narain Singh Kapoor. 

Mr Mohan Narain Singh was fortunate to get a temporary job of a clerk in the office of the Chief of Army Staff in the South Block of Central Secretariat New Delhi. Here, working with Britishers, he honed his English speaking skills.

Soon he qualified to join the Western Railways Government of India as a clerk on permanent basis. Not satisfied with his 9 to 5 job, Mr. Mohan Kapoor looked for some additional jobs and ventured into a local advertising business. In this business, he would send his hired boys on horse-driven cart with an amplifier and speakers run by portable auto batteries to make local business announcements in the surrounding villages. He would also provide loudspeaker services to wedding parties. Entire neighborhoods would be attracted to listen to film music provided through this business. At the same time, he would volunteer his speaker service every Sunday to the local Gurdwara and every Tuesday to the Temple for free of charge. This is where his journey of philanthropy started. There was no stopping to his zest for philanthropy. He often donated generous sums to Gurdwaras.

Newly weds Mr Mohan Narain Singh Kapoor and Mrs Pritam Kaur Kapoor

At the same time, he continued to upgrade his education while still working.  This was unusual for his times. He crossed a major milestone of his career by qualifying the Accountants Examination, which was equivalent to CPA examination, and successfully worked as Western Railways Divisional Accountant at various places including Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Rajkot, Baroda, Mumbai, Ajmer and Kishanganj Delhi. He was very proud of having audited major historical worksites of the Western Railways.

Having acquired Divisional Accountant level with generous perks of the Indian Railways, he did not want to resign his job to migrate to USA permanently. For the betterment of his family, at the age of 49 years, he decided to take leave from his plush job and go to USA. He promised himself that he will come back after collecting one lakh Indian Rupees. 

At the time of Shiv Dastarbandhi in Jangpura Gurdwara in Feb 1989

He had already raised his daughters Harvinder and Tejinder with lot of pampering and married them off into respectable families. Now Mr Mohan Kapoor was on his way to achieve something even bigger he had ever imagined.

The Colorful Personality

But the going was not always easy.  From a respectable white collar professional Accountant job in India, he started off with a dish washing job in a commercial restaurant on Fisherman Wharf in San Francisco. He borrowed airfare money from one of his new friends to get his son Jagjeet to the US in 1977, soon to be followed by his wife Mrs. Pritam Kaur, and eventually his younger son Charanjeet. The next 4 to 5 years were very tough, but all four working together eventually co-founded Stop N Save. He continued helping with the business until a very late age and would gladly offer to deliver urgent supplies even to distant stores more than 100 miles away.

Jagjeet and Charanjeet took over the reigns from him following his footsteps. The boys, young and charismatic, under his able guidance and experience roared ahead, solidified and  established a business empire in the San Francisco Bay Area. While Mr. Mohan Kapoor ventured into his life time quest for Volunteering Service. He was always searching for the needy persons to help them in Gurdwaras, Sanatan Dharam Mandir, Philippine senior center and many other places. He contributed time and money in establishing two of the Major Gurdwaras in San Jose and Hayward.

A minor heart attack at 65 could not deter his quest for traveling to long distances to Canada or India. On inkling of a suggestion, he would get on to the driver seat for the guests from India to give them tour of Bay Area and far away places while feeding them with drinks and eatables. The Lick Observatory on the eastern hills was his favorite, he will fill up his trunk with cold drinks and snacks and take almost every visiting guest to show the hill top Observatory. He will offer them drinks on the front yard while showing them the picturesque views of the Bay.

Shiv graduates from UC Berkeley and is flanked by relaxed grandparents

Mr Mohan Narain Singh Kapoor has bequeathed to his family a towering treasure of Supreme Wisdom Estate produced by his shear Hard Work, Service to the Needy and Philanthropy.  With his passing away, an impressive personality may have faded, but his ideal of hard work, philanthropy, and social service will be solemn lesson for humanity for years to come.

Frenendo, his care-taker often gave him rides in the city.

Fondly missed by his family and friends. Mr Mohan Narain Singh Kapoor can be clearly seen as a brightest sparkling Star in a clear night sky and showering his immense and infinite love to his friends and family.

Glimpses of Final Tribues: