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Sikh-Britons Feed Britain's Homeless
BBC NEWS
Homeless people in the UK are getting free meals, thanks to a centuries-old Sikh tradition.
"We come here because we get food ... A hot meal. It's a luxury for me." John Davidson is 55 and homeless.
He is one of 250 people who have just received a hand-out of hot soup, drinks, chocolate bars and other supplies from the Sikh Welfare and Awareness Team van parked up on the Strand in central London on a cold Sunday evening.
The ‘SWAT’ team, as they're known, park at the same spot every week so a group of volunteers from the Sikh community can hand out vital supplies. Homeless people, who overwhelmingly are not Sikh, patiently wait in line to be served.
For the volunteers handing out food here, this is more than just good charitable work. For them this is a religious duty enshrined by the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak, over 500 years ago. At a time of deep division by caste and religious infighting between Hindus and Muslims on the subcontinent, Guru Nanak called for equality for all and set forward the concept of Langar - a kitchen where donated produce, prepared into a simple and wholesome meal by volunteers, is freely served to the community on a daily basis.
Today, thousands of free Langar meals are served everyday in Sikh gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship) throughout the world, including the United Kingdom.
The Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Southall, one of the biggest gurdwaras in the diaspora, says it alone serves 5,000 meals on weekdays and 10,000 meals on weekends. Every Sikh has the duty to carry out Seva, or selfless service, says Surinder Singh, a senior member of the Gadara management team.
"It means we're never short of donations or volunteers to help prepare the Langar."
In recent times the Langar meal has acted as a barometer for the state of the economy. After the 2008 recession many gurdwaras reported a surge in the numbers of non-Sikhs coming in for the free Langar meals. It's now common to see non-Sikhs inside the gurdwara, Surinder Singh says: "We don't mind it. As long as people show respect, are not intoxicated and cover their heads in line with our traditions, then everyone is welcome."
The Swat team say they decided to take the concept of Langar outside its traditional setting in gurdwaras and out onto the streets when they saw a growing homelessness problem in London.
Randeep Singh who founded SWAT says: "When you go to the gurdwara, what's the message? The message is to help others, help your neighbours. That's what we are doing."
[Courtesy: BBC News. Edited for sikhchic.com]
February 22, 2015
Conversation about this article
1: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), February 22, 2015, 8:56 PM.
One of the reasons why I love Sikhi is because our religion teaches us to help others without expectation of any any reward, especially when those others may not belong to our own community or faith. The adherents of other religions may try to claim the same thing, but many times they condition their actions on the hopes that it will encourage conversion to their faith. We Sikhs are unique in solely focusing on increasing self-quality, not numbers.
2: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), February 23, 2015, 10:05 AM.
In The House of Nanak, all are fed; no one leaves empty handed.