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Summary of Question:	Cleaning In Gurdwaras
Category:	Gurdwara
Date Posted:	Monday, 7/12/2004 8:47 AM MDT

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

I am a fourteen year old girl in the US and I recently visited India.
I went to many Gurdwaras including Tarn Taran, Goindwal, Khadur Sahib and many others and I noticed one thing in common in all of them. The cleaning at the Gurdwaras were not as good as I thought. When you take of your shoes you go to wash your feet and the water you are stepping in is so filthy. The reason the GUrdwaras made that feet washing place was so that if any person was walking their feet would be washed before they went into the Gurdwara. THe water in that section was not even flowing so it was the same water everyone was using. We go to wash our feet and instead our feet get more dirty as we walk into Gurdwara. I would really appreciate it if you could tell me why this is this way and any suggestions for what I could do about it. Thank You very much.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

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Sat Siri Akaal. India is not like the USA. Power is shut off, water is shut off, throughout the day. The water for feet washing (when I was there at those places) did indeed flow, but if the water is shut off so the farmers can water crops, then it won't flow, and it sits. The flowing water in those feet washing spaces keeps the dirt from accumulating. As you saw there (no offense here--) it is harder to keep things clean in India than in the USA, for these reasons and others. I do not know what to do about it. Remember that these gurdwaras are cleaned daily, and that what didn't come off one's feet is cleaned out of the gurdwara. Hope this helps. Guru rakha,
-DKK