{"id":71192,"date":"2023-10-03T15:39:27","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T21:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=71192"},"modified":"2023-10-03T15:39:27","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T21:39:27","slug":"a-new-way-of-life-after-baptism-into-sikh-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2023\/10\/03\/a-new-way-of-life-after-baptism-into-sikh-religion\/","title":{"rendered":"A new way of life after baptism into Sikh religion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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REBORN<\/strong>: Balraj Singh Grewal ties his turban at his house in northwest Calgary. (Photo by Jasnayak Singh Dhaliwal\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

B<\/span>aptism brought Balraj Singh Grewal back from the brink.<\/p>\n

After being in a depressive state, Grewal held on to his faith and embraced baptism into the Sikh religion, which brought his life back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a changed man, my ethics and responsibilities are different,” said Balraj. “From an aggressive, impatient person to a calmer and more composed one.”<\/p>\n

Balraj used to drink excessively as an alcoholic, which had a negative impact on his family and his life.<\/p>\n

Due to his drinking habits, he was unable to establish a bond with his children and used to feel awful about it.<\/p>\n

Balraj decided to make a change and began visiting gurdwaras<\/a><\/em>, a place of workship for the Sikh community, with his kids. He eventually started participating in charity work there, and that made him feel blessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy children had a great influence on me, as they used to go to Sikh Gurmat Camp, and shared their experiences that they had over there,\u201d said Balraj.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese camps showed a viewpoint on how getting baptized can change your life for the better,\u201d said Balraj’s son Jagveer Singh Grewal.<\/p>\n

Jagveer and his brother aspired to live a religious and meaningful life. This led them to go through the Amrit ceremony of baptism, and they encouraged their family to do so too.<\/p>\n

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NEW LIFE<\/strong>: Balraj Singh Grewal takes off his religious blade, a kirpan<\/em>, before going to sleep. (Photo by Jasnayak Singh Dhaliwal\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Amrit ceremony of baptism<\/a> is a sacred ceremony in Sikhism that allows everyone to become members of Khalsa<\/em> which means \u201calliance of the pure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0The five main parts of Amrit are worship one God; read the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh\u2019s religious scripture; serve others; refrain from worshipping any created object or living things; and join the Sikh congregation.<\/p>\n

After the ceremony, Balraj\u2019s lifestyle and behaviour drastically changed. His life improved more than he could have ever imagined. He thinks the life he once had was a deception, and religion offers a colourful alternative that teaches people how to live simply.<\/p>\n

Balraj wants to promote Sikh ideals and teachings that have assisted him in achieving mental peace. Since the whole family has been baptized, Balraj believes it is easier to communicate and exchange thoughts as they all follow the same principles.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has [their] own choice, but I would say that people born in Sikh families should follow these principles, as it is a part of their culture,\u201d said Balraj.<\/p>\n

It also benefited him financially, as he used to spend a lot of money on liquor which he could save now and use for a better purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was jeopardizing my physical health but now I feel like I have made a transition of treating my body,\u201d said Balraj.<\/p>\n

Being baptized is not an easy thing, Jagveer recommends anyone who thinks of getting baptized should be fully ready and committed to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter baptism, we have to do prayers in the morning, afternoon, and night. that can help us throughout the day gives us peace of mind teaches us,\u201d said Jagveer.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I saw a big change in my father because he went from someone who used to drink a lot and eat meat, to becoming this person that, is all about religion and more connected with God, my mother and father both became less stressed, happier.\u201d<\/p>\n

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CLOSER CONNECTION<\/strong>: Balraj Singh Grewal poses with his son Jagveer Singh Grewal at their house. (Photo by Jasnayak Singh Dhaliwal\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Baptism brought Balraj Singh Grewal back from the brink. After being in a depressive state, Grewal held on to his faith and embraced baptism into the Sikh religion, which brought his life back. \u201cI am [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":842,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S1 Amrit Baptism JD","footnotes":""},"categories":[711],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-71192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-featured"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/842"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71192"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71512,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71192\/revisions\/71512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}