Travel
Gurdwara Vermont in Los Angeles: A Haven For Those In Need
by BENJAMIN GOTTLIEB
Two months ago, Hari Singh left his family in the boroughs of West London, England, for Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., eager to enroll at a local community college and embrace a new chapter of his life in the United States. He dreamt of the quintessential college life, drawn up in the storyboard rooms of Hollywood, since he was a teenager.
But like many newly arrived immigrants, Hari Singh, 19, struggled to acclimate with the intricate multiracial relationships that define Los Angeles. His religion, coupled with his visa status, made job-hunting an arduous process. And when he failed to secure classes or a job, he turned his sights away from the decadent lifestyle he envisioned, toward the gurdwara - or Sikh house of worship - that welcomed him when he first arrived.
"When everything with school didn't work out, I came back to the gurdwara," said Hari, who now lives at the Vermont Gurdwara on Vermont Avenue near Griffith Park. "It's a good social community [for Sikhs]. They made me feel quite welcome, something I haven't felt from Americans."
Founded over 55 years ago, the Vermont Gurdwara - which translates literally to "Gateway to the Guru" - is the first Sikh house of worship in Los Angeles, according to Ajit Singh, the Gurdwara's granthi or caretaker. One of five listed Sikh houses of worship in Los Angeles, the white edifice maintains sleeping accommodations for more than two-dozen and a full, cafeteria-style kitchen for the Sikh practice of langar, a free, community meal which is open to all.
The gurdwara also boasts a spacious prayer hall, void of any seating furnture, which Ajit Singh said holds more than 200 people during their Sunday service.
"People from all over the world can stay here at Vermont Gurdwara," Ajit Singh, 53, said with Hari Singh (no relation) translating.
"These are the teachings of Guru Nanak," he said, referring to the founder of the monotheistic Sikh religion, which today has roughly 30 million followers.
Although he has lived in Los Angeles for several years, Ajit Singh does not speak more than a lick of English, a fault he attributes to working so diligently with the Sikh community. Like many living in the gurdwara, he speaks mostly Punjabi, a language originating in the subcontinent.
"People from all across Los Angeles, and even the colleges of Los Angeles, get together at our gurdwara to pray," said Ajit Singh, who opens the doors of the gurdwara at 5:30 a.m. daily.
Once people come to the gurdwara, it's fairly common for them to stay involved with the community, he explained. He estimated that 80 percent of the number of Sikhs living in Los Angeles that have come to pray at the Vermont Gurdwara have continued their connection.
"As with other immigrant populations, you're likely to find members of your own community at a mosque, church or, in this case, the gurdwara," said Vinay Lal, a professor at UCLA's Center for India and South Asia.
Sikhs adhere to a number of religious prohibitions. They refrain from cutting their hair, using intoxicants such as alcohol or drugs and are discouraged from obsessing over material possessions. Sikh teachings also reject the notion of discriminating a person by caste, a complex system of social stratification defined by different hereditary groups, or on the basis of faith, beliefs, gender, race, ethnicity. language, colour, nationality, etc.
Universal to all Sikhs is the idea that all people are equal in the eyes of God. And while the concept of equality exists esoterically for many religions, Sikhs express it in a physical way, inviting all members of their community to share a meal regardless of social standing.
Hari now prepares langar for the Vermont Gudwara, cooking up the free meals served to all visitors daily. His duties are part of the Sikh practice of seva - selfless, voluntary service.
While he pines for London and the day he can move back with his family, he said the gurdwara has helped him cope with living in Los Angeles for the time being.
When asked how he found himself in Los Feliz, far away from the traditional pockets of Sikh-Amercans living in Los Angeles, Hari smiled begrudgedly, explaining that the Gurdwara found him.
"I come from a ... Sikh family, so coming to the gurdwara here was the easiest transition," Hari said. "But it's up to each person to follow the faith. It's hard for young people this day and age."
Hari Singh's story of finding his community draws parallels to the estimated 1 million Sikhs living in the United States today, Lal said. He added that the gurdwara's practice of langar helps new immigrants acclimate because the practice of sharing a meal with fellow Sikhs, as well as other community members, is familiar.
"A gurdwara, in this sense, is a place that make Sikhs, particularly a young Sikh, feel comfortable," Lal, whose body of work focuses on the Indian diaspora, specifically in North America, said. The gudwara serves as "a nexus for Sikhs looking to find a sense of community" in the United States.
Hari Singh's experience with Los Angeles living may not mirror that of the greater Sikh-American community in California, estimated at nearly 200,000. However, his connection with the Vermont Gurdwara accentuates the facility's value to newly immigrated Sikhs keen to connect with their community.
"Whether you're Sikh or a non-Sikh, everyone is welcome here ... that's what [Sikhism] is all about."
[The author is a multimedia journalist currently enrolled at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. He serves as the Executive Editor of Neon Tommy.]
[Courtesy: KCET. Edited for sikhchic.com]
March 14, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), March 14, 2012, 5:50 PM.
How do we count the blessings that our Gurus have bestowed on us by making gurdwaras haven as benign as the Father's House for the helpless and the needy. Here is one example: [GGS:262.17]. This incident took place at Toba Tek Singh (Pakistan) at the end of the 19th century, when a canal system was built by the British. People all over Punjab thronged there when the farmlands were allotted to them. Also came the poor farmhands looking for work. Among them was a poor Muslim, Ari, by the full name of Abdul Karim from Jalandhar, desperately looking for work. One day he was found sitting at the threshold of the gurdwara where Sant Sangat Singh of Kamalia did kathaa (discourse). At the end of the kathaa, while going out, Sant ji spotted this dejected human being and asked him if something was troubling him. He started to relate his sad story but Sant ji stopped him and told him to follow him as he was going for his usual walk, and he could relate his story on the way. Ari explained that he had arrived some five days earlier and was driven away from the Hindu Temple and the Mosque. He had at last found shelter in the House of Nanak, where he had a roof and meals. He had been listening to Sant ji's kathaas for three days and was totally bowled over. He was destitute. He was married for 12 years but had no children. He was waiting for the opportunity to touch the Sant's feet and seek his blessings. He saw in him, Sant ji, 'Allaha da walay'. Sant ji asked him if he could read or write. Ari replied that he had studied up to 'teeji jammaat' (3rd grade). "All right then, write on a piece of paper this 'kalaam' - 'prabh kai simran ridh sidh na-o nidh' and start doing simran om it immediately, and at all times," Sant ji told him. Ari, by the time he returned to the gurdwara, had memorized the line and got deeply immersed in it. He also retrieved an old 'tasbeeh' (Muslim rosary) and got totally lost in it. The very next day, at the end of the divan, an army subedaar saw him and asked who had given him this kalaam. He related the previous day's encounter with Sant ji. The subedaar said that he was looking for a man to work on his fields and offered him a job there and then. Abdul Karim put his heart and soul in his job but never for a minute abandoned that wonderful kalaam. Within months, the fields started yielding more crop, and he got an immediate raise in his salary. Also, the subedaar gave him a plot of his own to work on and within a few years, due to his honest and hard work and loyalty, became a 'numberdaar' and owner of his own fields. He also had four children by then. In 1908-09, he made a special thanksgiving trip to Kamalia to visit Sant Sangat Singh ji and said that he had now all the worldly wealth but had a void and now he wanted something for his 'lok' and 'pralok' - "Here and hereafter." Sant ji said, "you go to the next line: 'prabh kai simran gin dhian-aan tat budh' [GGS:262.17] - 'Remembrance of God consists of knowledge, meditation and the essence of wisdom." [Source: 'Kathriayan Sant-an' - Biography Sant Sangat Singh ji Kamalia, vol. 1).
2: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), March 14, 2012, 8:09 PM.
Beautifully explained by Benjamin Gottlieb! Fantastic attitude by Hari Singh with the 'cushion' of the Guru if things go 'wrong' and a great comment by S. Sangat Singh! ... Los Angeles Sikhs should be proud for making their gurdwara a 'home from home'. It is for all ... whether you are successful and have mansions or are penniless and have no food or shelter!
3: Jus Kaur (Singapore), October 16, 2013, 7:15 AM.
How can I visit this gurdwara? Where can I stay if I want to vist Gurdwara Vermont?