Takht Tells Canada Group To Explain

[Azaad]

Akal Takht has directed members of one group of Sikhs of Canada to explain their “forging unity” after recent parleys in Surrey (Canada) with another group of Sikhs who were ex-communicated from the Sikh Panth for violating its 1997 edict prohibiting partaking of langar by Sikhs on and chairs.

Moderate Sikh leaders of Vancouver-based Ross Street gurdwara and hardliners controlling the Surrey’s Dashmesh Darbar gurdwara had met last month and had announced truce by over seven-point programme “in the larger interests of the Sikhs” .

Apart from deciding on separate Baisakhi processions on separate weekends in Surrey and Vancouver, the two sides had stipulated the “common unity programme” was to resolve issues like gang violence, dera culture and drug menace in the Sikhs .

The meeting of the hardliners and moderates following decades of “ideological differences” and subsequent “truce”, however, had splinter groups alleging the leaders of the two groups had agreed to join forces to achieve “opportunistic goals” and woo more donations.

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, sources pointed out, had asked leaders of one of one group, backing the 1997 Akal Takht edict over langar issue till recently, to explain if its meeting with any or all ex-communicated leaders.

The letter seeking explanation of persons, who had been supporting the 1997 edict so far, has reached Vancouver and hardliners, it was learnt, were busy to find out an “acceptable” explanation. Reply to the explanation was expected to be sent to the Jathedar, on US tour, in a week or so, said one of his aides.

On the complaints of certain Sikhs, then Akal Takht Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh had ex-communicated Sikh leaders, Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal, Jarnail Singh Bhandal, then president of the Ross Street Sikh Temple, Giani Harkirat Singh, Balwant Singh Gill and Tara Singh Hayer, a Vancouver-based journalist who, was later killed in Vancouver in 1998, for defying the edict barring Sikhs from partaking of langar by sitting on chairs.

These leaders, it was learnt, had supported old practice of a section of Canada-based Sikhs partaking of langar using tables and chair with explanation they were adhering to the practice since 1906 “much before the setting up of the SGPC” and owing to harsh weather prevailing in North America when central heating system was not so efficient.

[KEERPA]

These leaders, it was learnt, had supported old practice of a section of Canada-based Sikhs partaking of langar using tables and chair with explanation they were adhering to the practice since 1906 “much before the setting up of the SGPC” and owing to harsh weather prevailing in North America when central heating system was not so efficient.

Thats their lame excuse to sit on tables and chairs???????? :rolleyes:

Langar needs humbleness, you can eat at a table/chairs at home, at the Guru-ka-langar you need to sit on the floor in a row(pangat). The excuse of "its cold here" is a lame lame very lame excuss, cause the real reason is "I think Im too rich to sit on the floor while I eat, I own a liqour store or/doctor or/dentist or/insurance agent and make 1 million dollars a year, I have a $7000 dinner table at home on my marble flooring next to my grand staircase and I cant sit in pangat on the floor with people who are poor Sikhs"

I think people that fight for langar with tables and chairs have no shame. Why do they not feel ashamed for changing Guru Sahibs simple Langar???????????

Vaheguru

[buddasingh]

Thanks for that article Azaad. Please also include the source including date, author etc.

It is wise to always include sources for all articles that are posted.

and well said keerpa bro.

[Matheen]

They should apply the same rules to all Gurudwaras - in some places, like Kenya, EVERY Gurudwara has tables or benches - if you want Langar, you have no choice. It's the same at many Gurudwaras in the UK.

[KEERPA]

They should apply the same rules to all Gurudwaras - in some places, like Kenya, EVERY Gurudwara has tables or benches - if you want Langar, you have no choice. It's the same at many Gurudwaras in the UK.

No you do have a choice, its called sit your but on the floor. In Lodi when they first got a new Gurdwara they had a langar with only tables and chairs, and I said where do I eat then??? They said oh its only temporary (and it wasnt they still have majority tables and chairs) I asked then make a place for people that want to sit on the floor(pangat) they made an area about 5foot by 10foot and people really liked it (we all had to share the limited space so when you were dont eating you got up because someone else was waiting for your spot on the floor) Now they made it a little bigger so its 30feet by 20feet but to throw off the space they added these lame backrest things (which nobody uses cause youre leaning forward to eat not lounging back c ause your eating on the floor) the back rest things just make it so there isnt as much space for the people that eat on the floor, and what else did they do??? they build a platform making it like 3inches off the ground instead of just letting us sit on the floor they wasted money to build an un-needed platform then wasted even more money to build lame backrests etc.

Moral of the story is I will never in my life eat langar on a table and chair setup. Once they tried to force us to do the lame langar setup and me and my wife just sat on the floor in the kitchen and ate while everyone else sat on chairs or milk crates.

Dont sit on a chair in langar is as easy as not sitting on a chair to eat Guru-Ka-Langar. I never will ever ever.

Lame excuses are "its only temporary until we blah blah lie this or blah blah lie about that etc" "its a cold climate etc blah blah" "I cant sit on the floor it hurts etc blah blah" etc blah blah "Im lame and pretend Im handicapped etc blah blah" "I have an antiSikh agenda and want everyone to follow the bad examples of how I want to change langar by adding chairs, next its the darbar Sahib etc blah blah"

My opinion maybe them being so lazy and sitting on chairs makes them "feel addicted to chairs", so much that they do major beeaadbi to Guru Sahibs simple langar.

Do everyone a favor and sit on the floor to eat and others will take notice and start to sit too on the floor, remember the world is not flat etc.

Langar is not mandatory to sit on a chair so dont let the mislead community trap you to think youre bad for sitting on the floor. If you are handicapped to need to sit on a chair then I never condemn the handicapped but when you lie to yourself and sit on chairs then that is a lame lie you construct so you can be lazy. Langar is to eat not to chit-chat. Whoever reads this lets see if they ignore the humbleness of langar and ignore the need to sit on the floor.

I will never sit on a chair for langar, if they try to make me I will figureout a way to not sit in a chair, last resort Ill stand up and eat even without a table. Ive seen at one Gurdwara they think they are clever and stand up but eat at a table still thinking they arent doing beadbi to Langar Sahib.

VAHEGURU

(edited to add the last sentence)