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Summary of Question:	Gurdwara / Bani Vs. Gurdwara Infighting
Category:	Gurdwara
Date Posted:	Tuesday, 10/29/2002 2:09 PM MDT

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Dear fellow sikhs

I have been reading your questions and answer for a long time and wanted to write to you for a while but just got the courage to write today. My question is how can we teach our kids and ourself to follow the teachings of the ragis and the grantis
that we hear every sunday in the Gurudwara when there is so much fighting among the managment in almost every Gurudwara in the USA . Everyone tells us take Amrit and give yourself to Guruji and everyone i see fighting in the Gurudwara's are amritdari sikh's what does that tell us . I have more but just want an answer for this for now. Thanks for all the good work you are all doing SSA.

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REPLY
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Sat Siri AKaal. Now that's a central question! The first thing Sikh parents need to do is give their children values and virtues in accord with Siri Guru Granth Sahib/gurbani/Sikhi. So it starts at home, no matter what. The 2nd thing Sikh parents could consider doing is, if the local gurdwara is nothing but a battleground, to get together with other Sikh families tired of the fighting and create their own gurdwara. The beauty of Sikhi is that you can have a gurdwara just about anywhere, so long as SGGS is properly set up and the place and people honor SGGS while in Prakash. I have always thought it so cool to go to kirtan/gurdwara in people's homes (for whatever reason). Most faiths require services in a church/temple edifice of some sort. So protest the fighting by NOT going to that gurdwara. So, those that don't want to raise their kids in a faith community beset by fighting and violence can set up an alternative. You don't NEED a granthi to understand Gurbani. There are many books available for interpreting Gurbani. The first thing is to have some kind of translation available in your native tongue. Gurbani is mystical, and some of its lessons are not easy to understand unless and until one has practiced bani, bana, simran and seva as a Sikh. But the values of Sikhi can should be taught from day one. Guru Nanak started Sikhi as a way to teach the common people that they do not NEED a priest or bhai sahib to intercede for them to God, or to tell them exactly HOW to worship. The greatest worship is meditation on the naam and singing God's praises. Now, how hard is that?


There is also some idea that how many amritdhari sikhs a gurdwara has means it is better than one that has fewer. This is of course, nonsense. Taking Amrit is a major PERSONAL, spiritual commitment and one to be taken seriously and conciously, (which means taking it as a 5 year old is absurd). While gurdwara leaders can encourage becoming Amritdhari, they must do so recognizing that for some, it ain't gonna happen and for others, they must not be PUSHED.

Understand that Sikhi and politics in India have always been intertwined. This has unfortunately spilled over into gurdwaras, whether in India or the USA. ANother thing that encourages this is that the granthis and ragis are paid by the management, which may have a specific political or religious agenda that has little to do with Sikhi or gurbani. The way around THAT is to make gurdwara seva a strictly community effort and to not HIRE anyone to serve as the local minister or granthi or management. If you are earning your living as a bhai sahib, are you going to cater to the ones that pay you or to the sangat? Since gurdwaras throughout the USA do this (I'm in one) I know it can be done.
Hope this helps. Guru ang sang,
-DKK