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Summary of Question:	Why Some Sikhs Are Using Chairs And Tables In Langarhall??
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Monday, 10/15/2001 10:33 AM MDT

waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh

i heard about this thing goin on in some gurudawara in canada that they are using chairs and tabels in langarhall, infact i've also seen a movie of that langarhall in which people dont cover heads, they dont takeoff their shoes in langarhall for langer.
i dont know wheather its a modernization of sikh religon or the whole thing goin on is totally wrong.
kindly try to post it on net and let everyone know about this thing and let us know is it right or wrong.

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REPLY
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Sat Siri Akaal. This is indeed true. People there (Vancouver) have fought each other over this matter, and one person died, although you can be assured that the issue really is deeper than langer lines or tables. To their eyes, it may be 'modernization' of the faith. I suspect it is also a problem of
(mis)understanding the point of our langar hall tradition and feeling that Sikhi can be observed however the Gurdwara's management wants it to be.

The only real reason I can think of to offer a couple of tables and chairs is to accommodate those people whose physical disabilities make it impossible for them to sit on the floor (this is also a matter for Gurdwaras everywhere! Sri Darbar Sahib cannot accommodate Sikhs who are unable to walk/those in wheelchairs!) I have a close Sikh friend who has such bad rheumatoid arthritis she cannot stand for longer than about 10 minutes without being in pain. She is unable to sit lower than a standard chair, so she puts a chair far back in the Gurdwara and sits there during Gurdwara service. Should she be kept from Gurdwara or langar hall because she cannot sit on the floor?

I will also tell you that sometime in 1998, I think it was, then-Jethadar of Akal Takht Bhai Ranjit Singh issued a Hukum that said Sikh Gurdwaras should observe tradition of shoeless langer lines on the floor, not tables and chairs.

Guru rakha,
-DKK