A Sikh place of worship is a Gurdwara. Gurdwara means the threshold, or gate, of the Guru/Teacher. Often Sikhs simply call a Gurdwara the house or home of the Guru.
In Sikhi (the Sikh religion) the Guru, or Teacher, is the scripture. It is a hymnal, full of sacred devotional poetry that was written by 6 of the original embodied teachers (Gurus/Teachers) of the Sikh faith, and several Hindu and Muslim saints who shared the same teachings as the Sikh Gurus. These teachings are radical equality of all people, love, honest work, devotion, care for the natural world, and generosity, particularly towards those less fortunate than ourselves.
There were 10 human Sikh Gurus, beginning with Guru Nanak who was born in 1469 in Talvandi, a place now renamed Nankana Sahib, in the state of Punjab in present-day Pakistan. The 10th Sikh Teacher, Guru Gobind Singh passed the Guruship to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (Great Teacher Book) in 1708, making the Holy Book of the Sikhs the 11th, and final, Guru/Teacher.
As you enter any Gurdwara on earth you cover your head, as a sign of respect and you drop your shoes, placing them in the cubbies provided. Shoes are never worn in Southeast or East Asian homes. This maintains cleanliness.
The next thing you do is wash your hands. And you wash your hands again every time you move between rooms in the Gurdwara. Sikhs run the largest community kitchens in the world and copious hand washing keeps everyone safe.
All Gurdwaras have a Langar Hall and a Worship Hall. The Langar Hall is the community kitchen, where everyone is welcome and served delicious vegetarian food. Around the world Langar Halls commonly serve more food to nonSikhs than Sikhs. Sikhs feed an estimated 1 million people everyday. And Sikhs take food and emergency supplies into every part of the world ravaged by war or natural disaster.
The tradition of Langar was started by the founder of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak, when he was 18. Nanak’s father was a businessman and Nanak was expected, by the Indian caste system, as well as his family, to follow in his father’s footsteps. One day Guru Nanak’s father handed Nanak 20 silver coins and instructed him to walk to a neighboring town and commercial center. Nanak was to buy low and sell high, and thus return to his father having made a profit. Except that, while walking to the market, Nanak ran across a group of traveling holy men, and they were hungry. So Nanak spent his coins on food, and he prepared a large meal for the mendicants.
Later in life Guru Nanak officially established the Langar – community kitchens to feed all people willing to break the Indian caste system.
Regarding the Indian caste system – similar to the time in USA history, when Black people in the South were forced to use separate kitchens and bathrooms – in India kitchens and bathrooms were segregated between the 4 major castes for thousands of years. Langar breaks caste because people of all kinds sit humbly together at the same level – traditionally on the floor – receiving and eating food. So, if a President of the United States wished to eat Langar, they might easily find themselves sitting next to someone who is homeless.
When you visit a Gurdwara, it is not required that you visit the Worship Hall, though you are welcome to, of course. It is against the Sikh religion to proselytize, and delicious, nutritious food is always served freely to guests in the Langar Hall. Again, Sikhs never have a chapati (roti) in one hand and a book in the other. This is strictly prohibited. The food and labor to run Langar kitchens come from volunteer contributions.
In the Worship Hall of every Gurdwara, what appears to be the altar up front is actually a throne, where the Holy Book the Sri Guru Granth Sahib is placed each morning. The throne is called the Palki. There are other Punjabi words for different parts of the throne – like the beautiful cloths that the Sikh scripture is wrapped in, are called Rumalla.
The Sikh Guruji (beloved Teacher), although it is a book, is experienced as a living being. This is similar to how we can come to recognize the poetry of Robert Frost, or Maya Angelou, and feel like we know them. In a much more sacred sense, by reading the Sri Guru Granth you not only recognize the different writers in the Holy Book, but also the Sikh Teachings the authors all promote. The Great Guru Granth is the Voice of the Sikh Guru and holder of Sikh teachings.
Sikhs, when entering the Worship Hall, walk up to Guru’s throne and bow. If you are not a Sikh, just take a seat on the floor, or if you can’t sit on the floor, there is seating for you along the walls. Though, you can technically sit anywhere, Sikh women take their place on the right-hand side of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib as a symbol of women’s equality and power.
A Sikh worship service includes live musicians (ragis) playing hymns from the Great Guru Granth. There is usually a homily in Punjabi (though it can be in any language). The service ends with a community prayer, called the Ardas, and then a reading from the scripture.
Unlike synagogue, mosque, or church services, it is normal for people to move around the Gurdwara. Again, a Gurdwara is the Sikh Guru’s home, and you are welcome to wander around freely. You can meditate or sing in the Worship Hall, or cook, or serve Langar, or wash dishes, or eat Langar, or drink chai (pronounced chah) chatting quietly with friends or strangers alike in the Langar Hall.
For people new to the experience, visiting a Gurdwara can seem exotic and you can wonder if you are doing everything right – not wishing to insult anyone. But if you have dropped your shoes upon entering the Gurdwara, and if your head is covered with a scarf or beanie you bring from home, or with a kerchief provided by the Gurdwara, and if you wash your hands, that is all you need to worry about. Gurdwara’s are much more casual than the average synagogue, church or mosque.
Enjoy your first visit. It is fun and a profound cross-cultural adventure available any Sunday between 10:30am and 2:00pm.
