Current Events
The Curse of Prosperity
by I.P. SINGH
After
industry and agriculture in Punjab, it seems even the institution of
community kitchen or langar in gurdwaras - started by the first Sikh
master and a symbol of equality among all sections of the society -
can't do without migrant labour.
The waning interest among Sikhs in the
tradition of sewa (volunteer service) is forcing gurdwaras to hire this
workforce to run langars on special days like gurpurabs.
Though
the community takes great pride in the institution of langar and
tradition of sewa, the lack of interest among devotees to perform sewa
was amply apparent during the birth anniversary celebrations of the
founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, at Jalandhar, Punjab, this year.
At several gurdwaras, especially in urban areas, unlike the earlier
days when devotees would rush to gurdwaras to pay obeisance and get busy
helping in the langar, on Thursday, one could only see hired labour
preparing langar or doing other related work.
At Gurdwara Dewan Asthaan, migrants had been hired for preparing chapattis while the local Sikhs were supervising them and distributing langar.
At the historical gurdwara of the Sixth Sikh Guru in the Hadiabad locality of Phagwara, the in-charge of the langar had to hire three migrants for the preparations and five women
for preparing chapattis.
''Lack of volunteers forced me to engage three
daily wagers for the work. We get people only for serving langar,''
said Nirmal Singh who supervises the community kitchen.
''Earlier local Sikh women would participate with great devotion in
rolling out chapattis and would offer help in preparing vegetables and
dal, but now very few come forward,'' he rued.
''I am a
rickshaw-puller and have been hired for working in the langar,'' said
Jagdish, a migrant from Bihar busy at work, sporting a saffron head
scarf.
''It is not like any other job, we are working with devotion,'' stressed Dular Chand, his co-worker.
They also joined young Sikh volunteers in serving langar. ''We are doing this on our own,'' added Jagdish.
''The participation of volunteers, especially women, is falling every
year and is confined to cutting vegetables and cleaning dals. The rest
of the work is done entirely by this army of hired men and women. We
have engaged the services of 20 persons for preparing chapattis as the
devotees are not keen on doing it,'' said Atam Parkash Singh, president
of cash-rich Singh Sabha Gurdwara at Model Town, Jalandhar.
However,
cleaning of utensils, keeping shoes in the Jorra Khana is still done by
volunteers.
Seeing a paradox of sorts in the situation,
Charanjiv Singh Lalli, who volunteers at Guru Nanak Mission Gurdwara,
Jalandhar, said, ''Donations are increasing and magnificent buildings
are being built, but the spirit of sewa, signifying humility and
dedication, is clearly decreasing among Sikhs.''
[Courtesy: Times of India]
November 11, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Lakhvir Singh Khalsa (Nairobi, Kenya), November 11, 2011, 10:06 AM.
Sikhs are more comfortable today than they have ever been before. Seva is being eroded at the hands of commercialisation of gurdwaras - the sangat rarely comes to join with the Guru in preparing and serving langar. They come to fulfill a personal obligation to feel blessed for a ritualistic act of piety. Cleaning the dishes, footwear of sangat and gurdwara premises are almost gone now. Sikhs have indeed prospered to a level that the humbling forms of seva that form the part of one's way of life have been taken over by extracting a few minutes to do just that once in a while. Inspiration for the children is waning as the adults are rarely seen in committed and devoted seva. I would lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of the disintegrating family values and of gurdwara committees that have turned everything in the gurdwara into a business - everything now costs money to please those that spend money to perform their rituals - akhand paatths, langars, anand kaaraj's and other forms community functions. Seva was blessed as a form of personal spiritual development and not because the Guru needed some extra pair of hands to serve the needy or the devotees. but have lost ourselves in the race of the world and forgotten the very reasons why Sikhi was given to us in its variant forms - to become humble, content and grateful. Clearly, we no longer value these things anymore.
2: Baljit Singh Pelia (Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), November 11, 2011, 2:11 PM.
It is so hard to go do seva at a gurdwara with a hangover from the previous night's drinking, for that is the state of the State Of Punjab nowadays ... and of many a so-called Sikh. I beg your pardon - but truth is hurtful.
3: Manjeet Shergill (Singapore), November 11, 2011, 9:01 PM.
Baljit Singh ji: I wish people would stop whining and complaining and judging - do the right thing yourself and start inspiring others, including the drunks or the not so perfect. If you are not doing that yet - please remain quiet and think about life a little more. My mum goes to the gurdwara and her girlfriends do langar seva - she loves the idea of feeding the foreign workers who have come from India to work as construction workers - they are like sons to her and she feels good that they come to the gurdwara. The gurdwara she goes to makes the best langar - known island-wide. The committee members of the gurdwara don't share the same thoughts or feelings. It does not stop mum or the sangat from doing what they do. Mum and her elderly girlfriends make the boys do the washing up and - the boys do it happily. People in the gurdwara committees are chosen because of how prosperous they have become - prosperity does not perhaps equal intelligence. A shame ... I am not worried as long as Mum and her girlfriends are not intimidated by silly men/ women who are "in-charge". Mum and her friends at the gurdwara kitchen will definitely be missed when they don't or can't make it to the gurdwara.
4: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), November 12, 2011, 10:05 AM.
Seva is perhaps the most important word in Sikhism, only second to Naam. In its absence, the rest is of no use.
5: Baljit Singh Pelia (Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.), November 12, 2011, 12:40 PM.
Manjeet ji: I was not being judgmental. That is just my take on reality from my recent visit to our dear Punjab. We must face up to it. Additionally, all of us abroad are somewhat responsible for this by repatriating funds that feeds this frenzied culture. Many of us value our hard earned money and precious time and share it through langar seva at the local gurdwaras.
6: Harpreet Singh (Delhi, India), November 12, 2011, 2:46 PM.
Great and timely article. In my city Sikh men and women have become so much fashionable, so how can they do seva as their costly dresses may get spoilt. So everyone is standing in the long queues in jorra ghars when sevadars are needed for other seva such as langar or cleaning the surroundings, etc. But some shining examples are still there in all gurdwaras. In our colony, two elderly gursikhs are very active and expert in doing all type of langar cooking seva. My mother tells me to learn this art. Now, after reading this article, I and we all must start learning/ doing langar seva regularly.