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Youth of the Month
Its the end of another year and we at United Sikhs always like to bring end the year on a high note. Thisyear is no exception.Meet Sukha Singh. Young. Bright. Talented. An inspiration not only in the United Kingdom , but around
the world. We caught up with him so we can why…
Firstly, tell us a little a bit about yourself. Your full name, your age, where you come from, what youdo and that sort of thing!
My name is Sukha Singh, which was what the Panj Pyare named me
when they blessed me with Amrit. Physically I’m 19 years old, but inAmrit years I’m only 12. I was born and raised in the UK and my familycurrently lives in a small town in Kent. I’m studying in central London,
in free time from studies I teach a Santhiaa class, and also generallywork with the local Sikh societies.
Were you brought up as a Sikh or was it something that you got intoyourself? What was your family like?
No one gets into Sikhi himself or herself; it’s only through major
blessings of Waheguru Ji that anyone walks on this path that is thinner than a hair and sharper than a
sword. I wasn’t brought up as a Sikh, my father was an atheist and my family did the usual Punjabi thingof going to the Gurdwara only if there was a relative’s Akhand
-paath going on. However my mum alwayshad an immense love for Sukhmani Sahib, she always tells me that when she wasexpecting me she used to recite Sukhmani Sahib 5 or 6
times a day. It’s mymum’s love for Gurbani that implanted the love inside me. When I w
as 7 yearsold my family and I went to Harimandar Sahib for new years. There was no placeto stay at night everywhere was fully booked so we slept in the parikarma. In theamrit vela when the golden throne of Guru Granth Sahib Ji came towardsHarimadar Sahib, my grandfather took me to place my hand on the throne. Assoon as my hand touched the paalki sahib, it was as if I had been electrocuted, Ifelt an immense power surge through me and I fell unconscious. When I re-gained consciousness I decided there and then that Sikhi was the path for me, Iwanted to experience that ultimate energy again and again. A year from that day
I was blessed with Amrit by Guru’s grace. In 1999 my mum took Amrit and
recently my younger brother took Amrit as well, as Guru Ji says
, ‘The colour of divine love spreads, andspreads and spreads.’
What inspired you to keep on the path of Sikhi then whilst growing up? Was there any one thing thatkept your motivation and faith sky high?
My one great inspiration, in fact my greatest inspiration was always
Gurbani. Anytime I’d feel depressed or lonely it was always Gurbani
 
that brought me out of the depths of despair. I don’t think we realise just how much power the mere
recitation of Gurbani has, the vibration of the sound current of Gurbani has the power to change your
whole view of the universe. Every time I’ve been in need, and many times when I thought I was ok butinternally I needed guidance, Gurbani has always been there to guide and uplift, whether it’s a Shabad
playing on the stereo, daily Nitnem, or a Hukamnama.
What’s it like living in London? How is the sangat there? Do you enjoy it? Is there anywhere else in the
world you would rather live?
The pace of life in London is always ultra-fast; it seems to me that peopleher
e are constantly saving time and in the end they run out of it! It’s great to
be in London, because I meet people with so many different points of viewfrom all over the world. The sangat here is full of pyaar, they have theirproblems like every sangat but they overcome them through love, which isthe only way. The only place I long to be is in the Dal in India, the army of the
Nihang Singhs. I’ve never felt as much pyaar anywhere else in the world, andthe seva I’ve seen those Singhs do is so immense. Everyday I’ve seen those
Nihang Singhs who own next to nothing awake with a smile on their faces at12.30am, have a cold ishnaan no matter what the weather and then spend
all day tyaar bar tyaar in seva and simran. There’s nowhere in the world like
it.
In America, you were invited to a camp in New Mexico. Tell us a bit about that.
I attended the Summer Solstice camp hosted by the 3HO, it was anexperience I will remember and keep with me. The thing that amazedme was the love that those guys have for the Gu
ru’s bana. The
youngsters out there are proud to wear bana they love it and embraceit. It was an honour to visit the home of Siri Singh Sahib HarbhajanSingh Ji Khalsa, the peace and tranquillity of the place was beautiful. AtSummer Solstice people came from all over the world and wereconnected by a spiritual yearning, the atmosphere was out of thisworld. I would recommend a visit to Espanola to any member of the sangat, the Gurdwara is beautifuland the sangat has so much love to share.
You are also one of the speakers at JagoMiami. What exactly is that and how did you get to beinvolved with it?
Jago Miami is a conference aimed at young Sikh professionals, the idea behind it is to give young Sikhprofessionals a platform through which to explore their faith and makeconnections for the future. There was a lecture series at the conference of which I was one of the speakers; my topic was Gurbani and Sikh Identity. Iwas also blessed with the opportunity of doing kirtan at the Miami GurdwaraSahib. At the end of the conference there was the Spinning Wheel Film
Festival, where I got the chance to see the film ‘Divided We Fall,’ by Valerie
of 00

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