ਮਾਹ ਦਿਵਸ ਮੂਰਤ ਭਲੇ ਜਿਸ ਕਉ ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰੇ

March 14 2014, marks the day panthic Singhs across the globe will be celebrating the "Sikh New Year". Unfortunately, over the years many misguided individuals have tried to prevent Gursikhs from adopting a distinct calendar with distinct Sikh celebrations, and as a result they create myths about the Nanakshai Calendar.

People claim Lunar calendar is more advanced then the solar Nanakshai Calendar; therefore, we should not adopt an inferior solar calendar. People often make this claim , but they fail to provide any logical reasons as too why lunar calendar is more advanced. We dont see how the orbiting of the Moon around the earth is more advanced then the orbiting of the earth around the Sun? Most progressive and far thinking Gursikhs believe its best to adopt a calendar which would result in creating a clear distinction between Hindus Rituals and Sikh practices.

Hindus believe different phases of the moon have spiritual significance and rituals performed on these days bear extra fruit. In Bani , " Barah Maha" Sri Guru Ji has proven without a shadow of doubt that rituals associated with Sangrand bear no fruit the only sure way to bear fruit is to jaap Gurmat Naam in the presence of Sadh Sangat. In Kurukshetra Sakhi, Sri Guru Ji did not pay any special attention to the solar eclipse and the rituals associated with it. A solar eclipse is when the Moon phases the Sun and the Hindus believe this is an auspicious time for rituals. From banis such as Barah Maha and the sakhis such as Kurukhshetra one can say with certainty that the dates Hindus celebrate blind rituals are in accordance to phases of the Moon, and Sri Guru Ji did not believe certain phases of the moon are auspicious. The adoption of a Nankshai Calendar is a statement which states Sikhs are not Hindus nor do we find any spiritual significance in the phases of the moon such as PooranMashi or Sangrand. As Sikhs we celebrate the birthdates of the Gurus and other famous historical events. The orbit of the sun or the moon have no relevance. The adoption of a solar calendar makes it more easier for Gursikhs to celebrate SIkh celebrations on a fixed date instead of trying to determine every year what date to celebrate important events such as Gurpurabs.

During the early SIngh Sabha Movement the panthic Singhs adopted a calendar in which the Gurpurabs were fixed on a certain date. The Gurpurab dates were fixed on a certain day so the panth could celebrate these events in unity instead of straying to rituals associated with Sangrand and Pooranmashi. The Singhs of the Singh Sabha were ahead of their time they understood the importance of creating a distinct calendar for our Dharam . Every major dharam has their own calendar which is full of celebrations according to their tradition, and these traditions are celebrated collectively with their respective congregations. The Jews have their own distinct calendar , the Christians have their own distinct calendar, and the Muslims have their own distinct calendar. So why are we so adamant in following a Hindu Calendar. Even the Hindus ( besides Bahmans) have rejected their calendar in place of the Christian calendar ( Gregorgian calendar).

Another misconception people have is Nanakshai Calendar is a Christian Calendar. Firstly ,the early Christians including Jesus celebrated Biblical traditions according to a lunar calendar, but as the religion expanded and became a unified church in Rome the far thinking Christians rejected the Jewish lunar calendar and adopted their own solar calendar ( Gregorian calendar) . The solar calendar was adopted from the Romans and adopting a Roman solar calendar was a means for the early Christians to adopt a calendar distinct from the Jews and the rituals of the Jews; consequently beliefs and practices of Judaism had no influence on Christianity. Nanakshai calendar has more similarities to the original Roman calendar the "Julian Calendar " then the Christian " Gregorian Calendar". For example, both Nanakshai Calendar and Julian Calendar start around spring time where as Christian calendar starts in January. Also in the Christian calendar the first year begins with the year Jesus was born, but in Nanakshai calendar the calendar begins with the year Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji took birth.

Some claim by adopting a solar calendar we will lose all the original historical dates. Sikhi is not a historical religion , Sikhi is a living religion. Its not a 500 year old religion its a 500+ religion meaning its a religion that will continue for ages to come. Dates can be interpreted and fixed. We are making our history every year. FOr example, no Gursikh observes " Operation Blue Star" according to a lunar date we all observe this day according to a solar date. There is no confusion of this date as the solar calendar makes it easy to remember when to celebrate this date as a collective panth.

For so many years we have been envious of the Christians, Jews and Muslims who celebrate their traditions such as Hanaukah, Christmas, Eid, according to their respective and distinct calendars. Because they have their own distinct calendar their traditions are kept in tact and celebrated continuously on year to year basis. Nowadays nobody celebrates the Gurpurabs because there is so much confusion as to when we should. Yeah sure, Nanakshai may have some mistakes of course it will its a working progress, but hopefully Sri Guru will unite educated and forward thinking Singhs together who have an understanding of Sikh history, Gurmat traditions, and the sciences and as a result we will have a calendar we can claim as our own.

Sooner or later Panth will be united on Nanakshahi Calender.

Tropical year based Solar calender is progressing in Sikh circles by its own. Almost all the historical events of past two centuries are recorded based on solar dates. It's only Gurpurab dates which were made controversial under influence of Hindutawa.

Can a common Sikh tell Shaheedi Dihara of Baba Jarnail Singh Jee according to Bikrami Calender which happened few decades ago? You might need to find a 1984 Bikrami Jantri to tell but if you ask just for the date he/she will right way say June 6, 1984. Same goes for Shaheedi Saka of Vaisakhi 1978 and earlier Sakay.

I ask all the young generation, don't you feel the difference today as soon as dates are approached towards first week of June every year? All common Sikhs emotion goes high in days these days automatically. Especially for those who experienced these days first hand.

Start moving the commemoration of June 6, 1984 according to Bikrami Calender, it is guaranteed that common people will confuse with day within several years and eventually looses the interest to remember.

At the moment it's open discussion and people does whatever they like but eventually it will be resolved for good.

In my humble opinion, Guroo Sahib made no such calendar therefore there it is impossible that there is any need for it, There is nothing that the Panth needs that Guroo Sahib did not establish for us. As soon as we start trying to be clever and following our own matt, even if its with the best intentions, we will find only failure and such efforts will not bear any useful fruits. This is evident from the fact that since the Nanakshahi calendar came out there has been nothing but division and arguments within the Panth. We focus way too much on useless things that do not help our spirituality even minutely.

Beautiful puraatan Gursikhs have been happily celebrating Gurpurabs according to the established calendar long before us. They were focussed soley on the important things and to waste time on such a trivial issue did not even occur to them. In reality Guroo Sahib made a panth much above trai gunni maya, yet nowadays we are fixated by issues which are nothing but mayavi issues.

Nanakshahi calender is a new thing that has been constructed by Purewal jee and accepted by many scholars but this calender has not been accepted unanimously by all Sikhs and has caused serious divisions in the Panth. Do we need such divisions at such a time when we are going through a very delicate phase of our existence?

The ignorant Sikhs are making this issue a life and death issue. The problem with Nanakshahi calender is that it used 1999 as the base when finalizing the Gurpurab dates. I am not an expert on the calender science but many opposing scholars are of the opinion that it's not accurate. Till it can be sorted out, it's not wise to adopt this new calender. Sikh Panth was doing just fine with the old calender. I don't see any Chardi Kala coming to Panth after Nanakshahi calender. Frankly, it's a small issue that has not much spiritual importance and has been hyped up by non-spiritual type of people.

Kulbir Singh

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Nanakshahi calender is a new thing that has been constructed by Purewal jee and accepted by many scholars but this calender has not been accepted unanimously by all Sikhs .

True, for the most part the only Sikhs who have downplayed this calendar is Badal and his band of Benares Thugs! These uneducated babe with their dera mentality have always made an issue of Nanakshai calendar

Bhai Sahib Jio, we all know very well that it was only few Deras who under the influence of Hindutawa were against Nanakshahi Calendar. If we are saying that it was not unanimously accepted so we should trash new calendar then Daas must say Sikh Rehat Marayda which is widely preached by Sri Akal Takhat Sahib is not unanimously accepted, should be trash it then? Short comings can be improved, there is always room for improvement.

We all know what politics was played behind reversal of NanakShahi Calender.

Why calendar should be seen as spirituality issue now? Is Anandpur Sahib Matta and Dharam Yudh Morcha which Baba Jarnail Singh Jee was leading for which June 84 Ghallukara happened was issue of spirituality? Is separate Sikh State for which thousands of Sikhs gave Kurbaani in 80s and 90s was issue of spirituality?

For spirituality one doesn't need any calendar Bikrami or Nanakshahi. For spirituality one doesn't require any separate Sikh State or Anandpur da Matta either.

Then why not do it properly? Who in their right mind would base it on 1999 dates (From what Kulbir Singh said), and not the original?

Daas is not a calendar expert but what Daas understood from both parties is that there are some reasons behind this. One of them is to start calendar from 1469 you must need specific date. According to Sardar Pal Singh during his research he found conflicting info about Guru Nanak Dev jee's Parkash Purab. He could not implement something on conflicting info.

According to him first Panth must resolve Katak or Vaisakh.

Second reason is when you implement a new calendar it should start from current date and previous dates becomes converted dates.

There are other reasons too, I must say we should listen to both sides calmly to make our mind.

So far what Daas found is opposing arguments are mostly political and some are emotional basis but not factual.

Still these are my views and respect opposing views as well.

Jasjit Singh jee,

Then I'm afriad your following argument in favour of this calender has no merit. How about we see what the 1999 bikrami date was for june 1984 and start remembering the attack on this new date as it was in solar calender for 1999. Would that be acceptable for you? If we are to follow the solar calender we should find out the original dates i.e. imagine there was no such thing as a bikrami calender. To follow from 1999 is very inaccurate and perhaps worse as it is a solar calender based on 1999 bikrami dates. Probably better to just use bikrami then instead of this mixing matching type business.
Let us leave aside Guru Nanak Dev ji's parakash purab for now because this will be a problem with whatever type of calender you use, so it doesn't seem to be a valid argument jee.

Following lunar calendar does not mean following hindu dharm. There is Hindu dharam and there is Sanatan dharma. Just because Sikhs have a separate identity , it does not mean they need to distance themselves from lunar calendar. What about Baramahas then? All the desi months are from lunar calendar, what about them?

On purewal.com there are articles explaining his position on desi months. The arguments seem knowledgable. But if anybody has links on opposing arguments please post them so we can become informed on them.
At any rate the only main argument is that the desi months of bikrami calendar shall shift over centuries. But a simple answer is that after say a 100 years the cslendar can be adjusted. Just as daylight savings adjustment is done in the west. Whats the problem in doing that?

Vivek Jio,

I am not quite sure about your question and explanation. Could you clarify, if possible with an example.

I think a middle line should be followed on this issue. While I agree Sikhs should switch to solar calendar I am opposed to using 1999 dates. We know many original dates from Guru time period and discarding them to keep a 1999 year standard does not sound smart at all. If we want to convert the dates then we must keep original solar dates i.e. 30 March for Vaisakhi etc. Good thing about Bikarmi calendar is that at least Sikhs are celebrating holy days on original dates of desi calendar. I understand its shortcomings and having an “impure” month. Since Sikhs have adopted solar calendar in almost every part of their life (children birthdays, date of birth, marriage dates etc.) and have also adopted modern measurement system and tools it makes sense to let go of the flimsy argument that usage of desi months mean sticking to Gurbani more. Guru Sahib did not advocate any calendar. He used the prevalent calendar of His time. Sticking to Bikarmi calendar just because it was used by Guru Sahib is analogous to saying we should stick with the same transportation system used by Guru Sahib. Changing a calendar is not a big deal nor is it against Gurmat. Once again, I advocate solar calendar only if original dates are used. If Mr. Purewal cannot convert the dates of past 500 years (when he can convert the dates of next 13,000 years) I guess some work is in order.

I also do not think Nanakshahi calendar created a division. Division was created by uneducated leaders of some jathas who wished to use Bikarmi calendar for its own sake. When SGPC was holding meetings and consulting every organization on releasing a new calendar and converting dates, Taksal and Sant Samaj were invited numerous times but they failed to show up every time. They showed no care but they started protesting and raised a tantrum when the calendar was released. This turned into a Hindu vs. Sikh debate and whether implementation of Nanakshahi calendar meant Sikhs having an independent identity. Neither do we become Hindus by using Bikarmi calendar nor do we become better Sikhs by using Nanakshahi. Such arguments only expose how lame Sikh leadership is that is nothing but a puppet of the RSS. The only rational resolution I see out of this is educated people working together to carefully come up with correct solar dates. Guru Rakha

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Following lunar calendar does not mean following hindu dharm. There is Hindu dharam and there is Sanatan dharma. Just because Sikhs have a separate identity , it does not mean they need to distance themselves from lunar calendar. What about Baramahas then? All the desi months are from lunar calendar, what about them?

We think because there are so many Hindu rituals associated with phases of the moon we as Sikhs should separate from a lunar calendar. The reason being some of these rituals are creeping into SIkhi. We have heard people say not eating or sleeping on Pooranmashi gives one the fruit of one year of bhagti. This is similar to Hindu belife which claim if you sleep or eat on certain phases of the moon then you lose your kamaee. Let me give you a personal recent experience to illustrate what Im saying.

Over the weekend WE went to a kirtan program at one of the local Gurdwara Sahibs. As I was washing my hands I started reading the weekly board. On the board was written March 14 as Sangrand and March 16 as Pooranmashi. Since when did these days have any significance in Sikhi. Sangrand and Pooranmash are auspicious to Hindus . On this board there was no mention of Sri Guru Har Rais gurgaddi or Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Jis joti jot. Why are these historical events not important to remember? Remembering history is much more easier with solar dates then lunar dates. Passing this history of dates to further generations is much more easier in solar then lunar. Nowadays SIkh youth don't know much SIkh history. Many of them cant even name the mother or wife of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Why? Christians can tell you the name of Mary, her village, her husbands name and so forth. The reason being they have organized their history in such a way which is easy to remember at a global level. If want to preserve our history we need to adopt dates which are fixed and don't change radically each year. People no longer even celebrate Gurpurabs anymore because there is so much confusion.

In regards to Barah Maha how does Nanakshaee calendar have any affect on this bani. All the desi months mentioned in the bani are included in the nanakshai calendar as well. Barah Maha was written when Gursikhs approached Sri Guru Ji and said Hindus practice certain rituals on the first of the month kindly give us updesh on what we should do on the first of the month. The essence of each pauri is to jaap naam , and the bani concludes any second, minute, hour or day in which we jaap naam is fruitful the phases of the moon or the crossings of certain stars have no significance. I don't understand people in India don't even accept BIkrami calendar so why do us Gursikhs want it so much. Many of these babey who advocate this calendar don't have an education pass the 6th grade so how have they become experts on what calendar Gursikhs should follow?

But first it should be clear as to why we should stick or why we should switch. I think this case is similar to other cases in which we want to maintain originality , traditionality and historicity.

If we say that we should switch because the bikrami mahiney shall no longer remain in sync with geographical mahiney in coming couple of centuries then logical question is can this not be fixed by an error correction? Why do we need an entirely new calendar for that?
Purewal has also offered argument that just as we have switched over to western measure of weight and length so we can do it with time. Well , sure we can , but do we absolutely need to?
Every such change that occured in India was not a wilful choice. It was an imposition by the British.

Bhai Bijla Singh Jio, totally agree with you but before we make hard line on 1999 Vs 1469 implementation we must consider all the contingencies. This is the discussion for another day.

For Sangat’s interest that how good Bikrami Calendar keeps the originality of dates I would like to present an example. There are many examples like this one but this is good enough to evaluate the capability of Bikrami calendar. I would say this was a blunder and happened just before our eyes in year 2012. I am wondering how those people who created a havoc under the banner of so-called maintaining originality by Bikrami calendar closed their eyes on this occasion.

I am presenting the pieces here for a Bikrami date taken from SGPC’s 2012 calendar (A lame Nanakshaahi calender imposed on Panth by team of self-experts in his Excellence Mr. Makkar and Mr. Dhumma). 2012 full calendar can be found on SGPC’s website.

This is an example of a most important date in Sikh calendar i.e. Parkaash Purab of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Jee.

According to Bikrami calendar we are told that Guru Sahib’s Parkaash Purab falls on POORANMASHI OF KATAK. I think all on this forum agrees to this date and most try to observe Guru Paatshah Jee’s Gurpurab on day time of this night or night out.

Now let’s see what happened in 2012.

This picture shows the legend (color circles) of different observance days. Please note second circle from left is of Pooranmashi indication color.



This picture shows Month of Katak in which first Paatshahi’s Guru Purab should fall as per Katak di Pooranmashi.



From above picture, we can see Pooranmashi is on 14 Katak (October 29th in red square), which means this supposed to be the date of Gurpurb, correct? Wait a minute! What happened no mentioning of Gurpurab on this date in the list of days printed on calendar.



Instead Gurpurab is shown in month of November 28 which is 14th of Maghar (PooranMashi day), see orange square.




Panth was asked to commemorate on this day, SGPC including Baba Bridge did follow on PooranMashi of Maghar.

How they justified this Gurparub date to be Pooranmashi of Maghar instead on Katak? Only they knows. But this incident made it very clear that the dumb calendar is not capable of keeping the original Gurpurab dates as advertised in Sikh masses. Then what is outcry for?

Daas’s purpose of presenting above is not to hurt someone sentiments but bringing up a fact before us. I know Guru ki Sangat is very smart and they know how to decipher what is right or wrong, what this moorakh can tell. I leave up to them with a note that calendar issue should be resolved having educated people working together in benefit of none else but THE PANTH.

Bhul Chuk Di Khima.

14 Katak was not considered to be Pooranmashi of Katak because the cycle of pooranmaashi i.e. sudi started in the previous month of Assu. The Pooranmashi that fell in Maghar (on 14 Maghar) had started in Katat and as such is considered to be Pooranmashi of Katak and not of Maghar. I don't know the logic behind this but this is how it is done in case of Desi calender.

Kulbir Singh

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But first it should be clear as to why we should stick or why we should switch. I think this case is similar to other cases in which we want to maintain originality , traditionality and historicity.

Bikarmi doesn’t keep much originality now that I think about it. We faced a problem a couple of years ago with Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s gurpurab. It came on Dec 22nd and also on Jan 5 because both desi dates fell on the same day back in 1666. This caused two divisions with each party sticking to one desi date over another. If we wish to keep both only solar calendar allows it by converting the original date to Gregorian. Bikarmi calendar will provide two different dates and no one has yet provided any rationale for why choose one over the other.

It is not just a matter of whether we really NEED to but a matter of accuracy as well as convenience. Almost all gursikhs ask for gurpurab date every year and it is obvious that they are asking for a conversion date from Bikarmi to solar. Since they have already made a switch mentally why not let go of the hypocrisy and openly admit to it? What dates do we teach our children? What dates and months do we use in our everyday life? Can any Bikarmi supporter tell me the gurpurab dates in 2020? How can our kids tell others about the dates we celebrate our holy days? Fixing the dates make it easy for everyone to remember the dates and it makes it convenient for our future generations to remember just like it is convenient to use cars to go to Gurdwaras rather than walking a long distance. Do we absolutely have to use cars, trains and planes? Most of the time no but it is convenient. Since we already know the Bikarmi calendar needs error corrections, why not get rid of the error altogether? How many of us use faulty machines and tools? How about the “impure” month in the calendar? How is that justified in Gurmat?

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14 Katak was not considered to be Pooranmashi of Katak because the cycle of pooranmaashi i.e. sudi started in the previous month of Assu. The Pooranmashi that fell in Maghar (on 14 Maghar) had started in Katat and as such is considered to be Pooranmashi of Katak and not of Maghar. I don't know the logic behind this but this is how it is done in case of Desi calender.

Then Bhai Sahib how can we explain this to our kids? Is this not one of the reasons that we should make the switch?

I think the temporary solution would be to fix the dates we already know based on their original years and keep the rest to desi months until we get more accurate results. But a switch should be made to solar calendar. Sikhs in general get too personal on such topics and get the impression that if their way is not chosen they will be humiliated and it all boils down to ego fighting. If we all think of what’s better for the Panth in the long run even at the cost of submitting to resolutions we don’t agree with, we would start becoming successful. But when Sikhs can’t even agree on whether we need a calendar or not, it doesn’t show any good sign about Panth’s decision making process. Guru Rakha

Bhai Sahib jio, Daas never understood these Birkrami calculations. Do you mean Katak Di Pooranmashi always fell in Maghar?

We need to understand that usage of western calendar started due to historical reasons of British rule over India. And people looking up desi dates in western calendar has never been a problem for the last 100 years or so. The conversion is done by the people who are in this line and dates for the year are printed in a jantri which is commonly available in Punjab and nobody ever had a problem finding which gurpurab is coming when (except of course if there is a conflict)

Bijla Singh Wrote:
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> It is not just a matter of whether we really NEED
> to but a matter of accuracy as well as
> convenience. Almost all gursikhs ask for gurpurab
> date every year and it is obvious that they are
> asking for a conversion date from Bikarmi to
> solar.

True and there should not be a problem in providing the converted date.

> Since they have already made a switch
> mentally why not let go of the hypocrisy and
> openly admit to it?

There is no hypocrisy going on in here. I don't see any thing hypocritical here. And there is nothing to admit.

>What dates do we teach our
> children? What dates and months do we use in our
> everyday life?

Teach our children what we ourselves have been doing for almost a century now. Look up the calculated dates. Simple.

>Can any Bikarmi supporter tell me
> the gurpurab dates in 2020? How can our kids tell
> others about the dates we celebrate our holy days?

There is no problem in here. Dates don't have to be calculated every day. They can be checked from jantri or internet. And its not like kids are lost without this. So many generations did just fine.

I think Nanakshahi calendar is not about fixing a major problem. Its more about trying to fashion things on western and modern terms. Its about doing a thing just because somebody discovered it can be done and it looks attractive and perfect. But I find that invalid. If you start changing for the modern times who sets the limit to the change? On one hand Sikhs don't want to let go of their traditions of dress, food, language and culture and on the other hand they are willing to let Desi calendar die off, sacrificed on the altar of convenience, modernity and perfection.

There was a time when ਇਤਿਹਾਸਿਕ ਅਸਥਾਨ had the original bricks and choona and today its nothing but modern marble and stone tiles. There was a time when in Anandpur Sahib there were water wells in original brick structure standing. Instead of preserving them the ingenious in power thought, 'Oh marble would be much better' and then they went on and did what they did.

I do not know ABCD of calendars. But I would vote for preservation, error correction and fixing. If it can be fixed and preserved we should do that. If it cannot be, then it would be acceptable to switch.

Eyesacademic Veer Ji, has very concisely and precisely answered the points related with the discussion. I have always unliked the change done to original calendar. But I surrendered to the majority and at heart, felt isolated on the topic. "Let them do what they like. Let it happen. May be Guru Sahib wishes so. A lot of material was lost in SIRSA river. Let it go to." That was my feeling, when the calendar was implemented in the first stace.

Veer Ji has given hope to me throgh his writting.We need such discussions.

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We need to understand that usage of western calendar started due to historical reasons of British rule over India. And people looking up desi dates in western calendar has never been a problem for the last 100 years or so. The conversion is done by the people who are in this line and dates for the year are printed in a jantri which is commonly available in Punjab and nobody ever had a problem finding which gurpurab is coming when (except of course if there is a conflict)

We don't understand why people keep associating Nanakshai Calendar with the British Calendar or Gregorian Calender. Nanaksahi Calendar is simply a Solar calendar. Solar Calendar was in existence well before the British became a nation. The British adopted the Solar Calendar amongst many other things from the superior Romans. If we are to reject the solar calendar because the British brought it to India then we should also ban other advancements to British brought to India advancements such as the clock and phone. Should we remove Western clocks from the Gurdwara Sahibs because in Guru Sahibs time there was not a 24 hour clock and people determined time by pehars? In addition , it was the first Singh Sabhas who were the first to fix dates of Gurpurabs on a specific day. This was at a time when Sikhs were associating Gurpurabas with Hindu celebrations associated with phases of the moon.

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Teach our children what we ourselves have been doing for almost a century now. Look up the calculated dates. Simple.

Please explain to me how it is easy explaining historical dates according to Bikrami dates. There is a reason why generations of the Bikrami calendar have lost much of their history. Sikh Scholars of the Singh Sabha such as Professor Sahib Singh Ji and Giani Gian Singh Ji have done a good job in being some of the first Historians in translating lunar dates into fixed solar dates. History became understood in a logical sequence. It was during this education era of the Sikhs where Gursikhs started to understand history more clearly as solar dates make history more clearer and comprehensible. How would you explain events of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Jis life in a comprehensive and logical sequence. You tell any child "on Kattak Sudi , Sri Guru Ji went to so and so and on Maagh Vadi he arrived at so and so I can guarantee most children if not all well get lost in translation. We use to teach history as a Substitute teacher and when teaching history students want to understand history in a logical time frame which they can understand to they can puzzle all the pieces together. For example, its much easier to say:
On April 20, 1705 Sri Guru Gobind Singh left Sri Anandpur Sahib. In the same year on December 07, 1705 there was a battle in Chamkur Sahib where the two older Sahibzadey became shaheedi. Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji breathed his last on October 7,1708.

The following sequence puts events in a logical sequence which is comprehensible for wider society especially for children including Indian children as India and Indian schools no longer uses Bikrami Calendar. This logical time frame entices the students to be critical and think and ask important questions such as what happened between the time periods from Decembe 07 1705 to October 7, 1708. They begin to understand Sri Guru Ji went to many places all over Punajb and spent a duration at difference places. They can then learn certain events associated with a fixed date. This puts history in a PERSPECTIVE. I history cant be understood and thers is not a clear perspective then what is the real use of History? History should be passed on to further generations through ease.

When Sri Guru Ji developed Gurmukhi he made it so it was easy for the current society to understand. He developed a script ( Gurmukhi) which was similar to Hindi because it would be easy for the people to adopt a written script which they were familiar with. When he alphabetized the letters he made it easy and adopted alphabetic order of Puratan Sindhi because this is what people were use too. But nowadays nobody uses this alphabetic order. Does the order have anything to with spirituality? No its a preference for the present situation. As education progressed people started understanding structure of language and phonics. They understood language has vowels and consonants. Modern Gurmukhi is alphabetized with first the Vowels of Gurmukhi which are Oohra, Ehra, Eeree and then they are alphabetized according to the phonic sound of the consonants such as Kakka and Khakha. Why? Because its more simpler. Sri Guru Ji arranged the alphabets according to the simpler method of his time. Likewise Gurmukhi was realphabtatized according to easiest means in the present society. Does changing the alphabet of the script effect Gurbani? No! The alphabetical order has nothing to do with spirituality but if we are going to teach children Gurmukhi we should use the easiest method of our time. Children first use language by phonic sounds of vowels and consonants. So ordering Gurmukhi alphabet accordingly is the best method. It has nothing do with spirituality or changing what Sri Guru Ji had started. The alphabetical order of original Gurmukhi was already in existence before Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jis time it was part of Puratan Sindhi scripts. Likewise the Bikrami calendar was in existence before Sri Guru Jis time ; Sri Guru Ji used this calendar as it was best understood by the people of that time. Nobody fusses about Gurmukhi alphabet being changed because the alphabet doesn't change the original script of Gurbani or its message. The change was made for practical reasons. So why fuss about a Solar calendar? Changing to a strictly solar calendar doesn't change Sikh history. It makes Sikh history easier to understand. These uneducated Babey are keen on criticizing Western measurement of time but they don't hesitate in wearing Westernized watches the very watches that measure time through Western . What next such marriages be arranged according to Lunar dates instead of solar dates. Are those people who arrange their marriage according to a solar date instead of consulting the local Brahmin are they straying from Gurmat tradition.

It's fine to convert Bikrami dates to Western calender for information purpose and no one has done any opposition to writing Bikrami dates and Western calender dates when writing history but without the consent of whole Panth, it was not wise to impose the Purewal's Western calender on whole of Sikh Panth. What was the compulsion to do so right now when we are already severely divided?

Siri Guru Nanak Dev jee's Gurpurab can only be celebrated on the pooranmash if Kattak and Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee's Gurpurab is Poh Sudi Saptami. The Western calender will ignore these nature's positions when setting the date for these Gurpurabs. The Janamsakhis say that when Siri Guru jee took Avtaar, it was pooranmashi but Purewal's calender ignored all this. I know spiritually, it makes no difference whether you choose solar or lunar or solar-lunar (Bikrami) calender but you can choose only one of them. The other two have to be ignored.

Simply put, all Sikhs today are not prepared to make the move from solar-lunar Bikrami calender to pure solar Purewal calender and no one has any right to force such Sikhs to go with their opinion. The ideal thing would have been to leave things at status quo instead of creating a new point for disunity in Panth.

Kulbir Singh

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Siri Guru Nanak Dev jee's Gurpurab can only be celebrated on the pooranmash if Kattak and Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee's Gurpurab is Poh Sudi Saptami. The Western calender will ignore these nature's positions when setting the date for these Gurpurabs. The Janamsakhis say that when Siri Guru jee took Avtaar, it was pooranmashi but Purewal's calender ignored all this. I know spiritually, it makes no difference whether you choose solar or lunar or solar-lunar (Bikrami) calender but you can choose only one of them. The other two have to be ignored.

We don't think anybody who is Pro Nanakshai Calendar believe its a complete work. Everyone agrees improvements need to be made by learned Gursikhs before its complete and accepted by the complete panth. For example a new calendar should always celebrate Sri Guru Arjan Dev Jis shaheedi and Khalsa Vasakhi on dates date correspond to June 4th and April 13th. The reason being we have modern history ( Operation Blue Star , Vasakhi Massacre 1978) associated with these historical celebrations. This is important history for future posterity to remember.

We disagree that a solar calendar can ignore Gurpurbs such as Kattak Pooranmashi. Solar calendars are very flexible . For example, ,the Christian Gregorian Calendar which is solar celebrates Christian celebrations such as : Ash Wednesday, Lent, and Easter according to the Lunar calendar. According to the Christians , Jesus was resurrected rite around the Jewish Passover so they celebrate these holidays each year according to the Lunar Calendar, but his actual birthday is on a fixed date ( Dec 25) every year. This is proof that the solar calendar can make adaptions accordingly. The same adaptions with Kattak Pooranmashi while proceeding Gurus can be celebrated according to a fixed date. To me it makes no sense why Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jis birthday has to be celebrated on a full moon. Why does it matter that he was born on a full moon? What spiritual significance does it make? Either way we understand people will never celebrate Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jis birthday on a fixed date so until the calendar should make an adaption to celebrate according to a lunar date.

On a side note not all Sakhis claim Sri Guru Ji was born on Kattak some Puratan Sakhis say Vaisakh. According to the family pandit of Mehta Kalu , Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born on Kattak Pooranmashi. Bhai Bala Ji himself did not make this claim , this date was recorded according to the birth horoscope of Pandit Hardayal. Many other puratan sakhis say Sri Guru Ji was born in Vaisakh . I think more research needs to be done on the matter before there is a date to be determined on Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jis birthdate. Prominent learned GurSikhs such as Professor Sahib Singh Ji and Sardar Karam Singh claim its on Vaisakh but they haven't provided any valid evidence for their claim; however, the opposing party hasn't provided any solid evidence its on Kattak Pooranmashi. I don't think the date matters as much as the actual events and the meanings behind the avatar of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Either way there should be a consensus on the date and the consensus should come from learned Gursikhs, and the day chosen should be celebrated collectively by the entire panth.