Sikh Temple

As I promised, a feature on the Sikh Temple:

We walked into the temple and we were surrounded in chaos (what else is new). A man with a bright turquoise turban and the infamous bushy moustache picked us out of the crowd and said “shoes off, shoes off! Go to the visitors’ center (of course accompanied with funny intervening head nods)!” We shuffled along, embarrassed, thinking to ourselves:  are dressed modestly? Are we allowed inside the temple? Is there a separate section for women?

The visitors’ center provided a head bandana which is compulsory for the temple. It was in bright tangerine- there is always a way to fashionably conscious! ;)

We strolled around, admiring the large gold gilded domes and white marble columns and floors. Out of the blue (the white) another blue turban was walking towards us, by this point I was thinking to myself “ Ohhh shit, what did I do now? Did I contaminate the Holy Sweat, I mean Holy Water??” (Please refer to previous post).

No, everything was fine, we were fine, life was fine… the sun was shining, birds tweeting… (pheeeww that was a close one!), the nice man just came to us to take us on a spontaneous tour!

the temple pool

wade in the water

The principles and ethics of Sikhism and the temple were explained to us, the man’s (I’m terrible for 

forgetting his name!) explanation was very elaborate, embellished with poetic proverbs and detailed quotes. My criminally short memory will only allow me to share the simplified version of his explanation.

The main ethos of Sikhism is that man is as one, all humans are equal. This complies to all of humanity, disregarding your race, colour, social/economic status, background, religion.. Etc. This particular ethic of equality has been manifested throughout history, politics and philosophy- not only in Sikhism. However, I am amazed how well the Sikhs have translated this principle into a practical, most importantly- realistic form.

Chapatti machine

the "standard" size

Each Sikh Temple (and there are many!) has a public kitchen that caters fresh food (hot food!) to everyone! You could be a tourist, businessman, the president, a hobo and homeless and still enjoy a meal and drinking water 24/7. The kitchen is absolutely amazing! Hundreds of volunteers every day, come to peel potatoes, chop onions, make Chapatti (flat bread), stir curry, steam rice, serve food and most importantly clean up! People sit on the floor having there meal thin straight lines in a giant dining hall, everyone happily gobbling away. It’s quite a sight! What’s even more amazing is that the whole process from making to feeding to cleaning is very organic; there are no patrol people barking orders or manager dictating your every move, everything is very liberal and is purely administrated by the willpower of the people.

Some more interesting facts about Sikhism:

1. A child that is born into a Sikh family has the choice to adopt Sikhism, it is the parents and His/hers responsibility to expose himself/herself to other cultures and religions.

2. Sikh are allowed to marry non-Sikhs.

3. Men and Women are equal, in the temples there are no barriers of separation.

*note: these facts are facts that the guide told us, I have not acquired enough research or knowledge to determine if they’re only theoretical or also put into practice.

To sum up this amazing experience I’d like to note that I am not trying to impose Sikhism onto anybody (I am myself not Sikh), I am only reflecting what I saw and heard at the temple. Please be indifferent when reading the information that is given and if you are truly in doubt about the material presented I’d recommend going into deeper research (Google it, go to the library, resources are endless!)

Quotes from our wonderful guide:

“Minds have their boundaries, like closed pools. Closed pools are nearly always dirty, so let your mind be an open river.”

“I regard Sikhism less like a religion but more like a way of life.”

Enjoy your summer holiday,

Little Frames xxxxx