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Summary of Question:	Am I One To Point Out The Wrong?
Category:	Gurdwara
Date Posted:	Friday, 4/13/2007 9:35 AM MDT

In my eyes, i do try...try to live life as a sikh, but i can say, that im not perfect..nobody is! But in the gurdwara i saw a Granthi ( now im not sure what to call them...i think its a granthi..but he was translating the shabd into everyday easy understandable punjabi and giving examples). Some of the things he was saying was very nice...how we should feed langar to those who are hungry..and not just say to relatives..come and have langar)

I saw a lot of people put money in front of him........ive seen that a lot of time, yet never questioned it berfore as i was too young. But when i saw the big cheesy smile on his face when he picked up the money after he was finished...i was thinking..he could have put it in the Golak (is that what you call it?). That money (it only consisted of a few pounds) could have gone to a hungry persons langar. I really felt like going up to him and saying that.......but then i thought, who am i t say anything..16 year old girl....dont do half the things she ment to.....dont follow her religion to the best of her abblity! So was i right in thinking i could say something? and was he wrong in taking the oney with such a chessy smile!
I dont even know..im so confused..all i know is that Waheguru didnt want me to say enything to him.......otherwise he would have given me the strenght to goup to him..but Waheguru did want me to ask here...thats why he gave me the strenth to ryt this.
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Reply
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Dear one,
This is a very interesting concern you have posed.
In the Punjabi Gurdwara, the pracharak's (Giani's) actually support themselves from the donations of the Sadh Sangat. Other wise they need a salary for doing what they do which is preaching. Now, I do not necessarily subscribe to this.

Let me ask you something: Was his smile a smile of sincere joy that he touched some people's hearts and they gave to him? Could this be? Was your seeing his smile as "cheesy" be based in the assumption that recieving money for inspiration is cheap or inappropriate?

Yet, you can empower yourself in another way. Go beyond your judgement and disgust and for a moment ask him......about himself. See beyond the smile into his core for your own benefit of understanding. There are all kinds of people in the Gurdwara and most important is your unfettered attitude of grace and inspiration. If the guy is a cheesy fake, then rather than be excited to anger, feel the amusement of knowing this without the big reaction, but with a love for all that God has created. This would be a mark of your being beyond the judgement of right or wrong. This is Divine...because there is no right or wrong.

Musch love to you,
skkk