And Another Gurdwara Sahib In California!

[jivan]

And Another Gurdwara Sahib in California!

Sunday 13th March, 2005

Saffajang Singh - Panthic Weekly Staff

The Five Beloved Ones lead the way toward the official groundbreaking for the new Gurudwara in Selma. Kirpal "Paul" Singh Sihota, president of the Selma Sikh temple, said the $2.5 million project will be four times larger than the present facility. It will include two main buildings totaling more than 21,000 square feet--the main temple building and a kitchen/social hall.

Selma, California (KP) - You heard it right; the Sikh community of Central California (Selma) held a ground breaking ceremony for another Gurdwara Sahib building on March 5th, 2005, which was attended by people of many different faiths and communities and also included representatives of social and public organizations. Though this Gurdwara Sahib did have a smaller building before, a new one is being built on a different site to serve the Sikh Sangat of Selma better.

Summer of last year brought forth the ground breaking ceremony of Gurdwara Gur Nanak Parkash, and soon after that, the Sikh Community of the Central California ‘enjoyed’ the news of another ‘Ramgarhia’ Sikh Gurdwara, and in a matter of another couple months, there was a building built for another Gurdwara Sahib by Bhagat Ravidaas Ji Sabha!

All these new Gurdwara Sahib buildings might give one an idea that these towns must be major cities of the state, but they truly are not. In fact, what makes them separate from each other is merely a street. Not only are the towns of Fresno and Selma close to each other, but so are the Gurdwara Sahibs. The ‘old’ Gurdwara Nanaksar is about three miles from the new Gurdwara Sahib which was built by the Bhagat Ravidaas Ji Sabha, and about five miles away from Gurdwara Gur Nanak Parkash.

Same is the story of the Gurdwaras in Selma. The above mentioned Gurdwara Sahib in Selma which is undergoing construction for its new building is no more than two miles away from Gurdwara Kalgidhar Sahib, and with its new building, it will only be about a mile away from the gurmat center which is in the planning stages of being built on the same street.

A ceremonial shovel is used Saturday during the groundbreaking for a new Gurudwara in Selma which will be built within the next year in a former grape vineyard at 11685 Highland Ave.

Though it is a good idea in a way that so many places are being devoted towards service of sangat, we have to remember the words of Bhai Desi Singh Ji which mention that Guroo Sahib looks at rehit first over anything else. All these buildings can only serve the sangat in the true sense after they practice and promote the principles outlined by Guroo Granth Sahib and enforced by the Khalsa Panth.

Hopefully the new building will bring along new changes and the committee of the Gurdwara Sahib will realize the mistake that occurred about a decade ago by not following the edict issued by Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib of removing chairs from the langar hall. It is important to mention that the root factor of so many splits within the Sikh community of Central California arose from this very Gurdwara Sahib when the committee disregarded sangat’s wishes of having a Gurdwara Sahib which was run solely according to Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib’s maryada.

Sikhs of Central California also await the completion of the new building of Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Fresno, Gurdwara Kalgidhar Sahib, Selma, and the Khalsa Phulvardi Gurmat School, Selma, which is expected to finish in the middle of this year.

Hold steady, the gurdwara construction express is moving fast, creating divisions and splits on paths it cannot cross.