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Gurdwara Etiquette


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Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

My dear Mr. Khalsa Bond aka Khalsa _007 , we should not wear socks inside the gurudwara sahib, the reasons have been stated above by Sangat.

In Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, Delhi and even in our area's gurudwara sahib there is instruction near the Jorha Ghar "PLS. REMOVE YOUR SOCKS". I heard one sakhi long time back (which I forgot) which was also quoting that we should not wear Socks inside gurudwara sahib.

Being Sikh we are r suppose to bow only to SGGS Jee, the other Sikhi symbols like Nishan Sahib, Shasters etc. we should say Guru Fateh. I find no reason to bow before the Parkash of SGGS Jee Parkash on the Palaki/ Peera Sahib.

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

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great post!!!

ok i didn't know bout the socks removal....i wear socks in the winter at gurdwara cuz my feet cold. :wub:

my buddy wants to know why our head must be covered when eating in the langar hall. he doesn't get it. he thinks one's head should be covered if he is doing seva in the langar hall but not necessary if you are sitting there eating.

could somebody plz give a REALLY GOOD explanation as to why it is important to cover head when eating in langar hall? maybe there is a story from Guru's times about rules they had for langar hall? or some other reason. my buddy says that langar is same as home food... :cool: :T:

thanx ^_^

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great post!!!

ok i didn't know bout the socks removal....i wear socks in the winter at gurdwara cuz my feet cold. :wub:

my buddy wants to know why our head must be covered when eating in the langar hall. he doesn't get it. he thinks one's head should be covered if he is doing seva in the langar hall but not necessary if you are sitting there eating.

could somebody plz give a REALLY GOOD explanation as to why it is important to cover head when eating in langar hall? maybe there is a story from Guru's times about rules they had for langar hall? or some other reason. my buddy says that langar is same as home food... :cool: :T:

thanx ^_^

simple paeenay ;) Sikhs hair should be covered all tha time... 24/7

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could somebody plz give a REALLY GOOD explanation as to why it is important to cover head when eating in langar hall?
during the days of kings, many people would cover their heads on visiting him in the palace. but why? simple, because of the fact it tried to show the beggar was begging from his king for worldy items.

how does it apply to us?

we need to show inside humility, as well as outside humility. inside humility can only be done by maharaj da kirpa, but outside shows the head being covered, i believe the gurus used the example above to show we must cover our head because we must show we feel humble on going to the guru darbar. of course we go to the gurdwara and do our ardas for whatever.

my buddy says that langar is same as home food...

some people recite paath over the food made in the langar. seeing its guru ghar, maharaj blesses the food as well.

ok i didn't know bout the socks removal....i wear socks in the winter at gurdwara cuz my feet cold

guru arjun dev ji and baba buddha ji were such high souls, they carried sggs on their head 9baba buddha ji did, guru ji did the chaur). our we higher souls to wear sockes in the presence of maharaj, if the gurus never?

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Ok I guess no one’s adding anything anymore, so here’s the full list. Please send it out to everyone on your list as well as any email groups/other forums you belong to. Also, if we keep circulating it between people who already know all this, there’s really no point so if anyone ever visits those Punjabi/desi chat sites (eg. desiclub.net, mahiram.net, i think theres one called brownchat or something..) please also post it there (but don’t act as if you’re ordering them to do anything)... we need to reach out to the punjabi youth. You may or may not want to include the following message (or your own) with it:

>>>>

Here are some basic rules that should be enforced in the Gurdwara Sahib. Please try to follow as many as you can, MOST of them are common sense. If you have any questions about anything, ASK SOMEONE. If you don’t know anyone to ask, ask the heads of your gurdwara. Feel free to add anything you think needs to be added, but please ensure that it is in line with Gurmat. Lastly, please forward this to anyone who goes to the gurdwara. You may also want to print it out and post it up at your gurdwara.

>>>>

Basics:

1. Cover your head

2. Wash hands (if your feet are dirty wash them too. Many gurdwaray have a separate place for washing feet. If not, wash them in the sink or with water on your hands.)

3. Take shoes and socks off

Other stuff:

**most of these are common sense if you pay attention to number 4.

4. Keep in mind that sitting in darbaar where Guru Granth Sahib Jee is is the same thing as sitting in darbaar where Guru Nanak Dev jee/any other guru sahib is.. this point cant be stressed enough...most people would be m

ore careful as to how they behave in darbaar if it was any other guru than guru granth sahib jee. Have as much respect, humility etc. in Guru Granth Sahib Jee's darbaar as you would in Guru Gobind Singh Jee's darbaar.

5. If someone has their eyes closed DO NOT DISTURB THEM (unless absolutely necessary). They are most likely concentrating on whats going on.. not sleeping.

6. When matha tekking, do it as if guru nanak dev jee is there... because he is.

7. Dont wear inappropriate clothing (i.e. tight clothes, shirts with low necks, shirts that show half your stomach, bright flashy sparkly suits, multicoloured suits, extravagant suits...)

8. Cover your head PROPERLY at all times. "it slipped off my head" shouldnt be an excuse.

9. Don't talk while in the darbaar, even if you can't understand doesnt mean other people aren't paying attention. Your talking will disturb them. Try to listen to whats going on and you'll catch onto a few things. Even if you dont, ask your parents or just keep quiet and do simran.

10. If you see a friend sitting nearby or walking across, dont start frantically waving at him/her. If you must talk to him/her right then, go outside and do it.

11. NO TALKING whatsoever during ardaas.

12. When getting parshad, put your hands up high so that its easier for the sevadaar and make sure to use both hands.

13. When eating parshad, dont play around with it.. just accept it and eat it.

14. Do not DANCE, or even move your shoulders to the beat when kirtan is going on. Its not bhangra.

15. Dont pay attention to what other people are wearing.

16. LISTEN to what is going on.

17. keep cellphones, pagers etc off.. or if you must, keep it atleast on vibe so that it disturbs no one but you.

18. If your cell DOES ring, take it out immediately and turn it off. Don't leave it ringing in your pocket/purse thinking that no one else can hear it. DO NOT EVER talk on your phone in teh darbaar.

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19. If you see someone else talking, kindly ask them to quiet down.

20. for ANY seva in the darbaar, your hands MUST be washed and you should have a hazooria (long piece of cloth around your neck)

21. For deg di seva, hands obviously must be thoroughly washed. When giving out deg, don't talk to people.. dont even sing "satnam vaheguru" (or whatever they're singing) with the rest of the sangat because its possible that some spit from your mouth could fall into the deg. the best thing to do would be to wrap your hazooria around your mouth.

22. In the langar hall, while doing seva, hands MUST once again be thoroughly washed. This is very important.

23. If you're serving langar, dont talk to teh people unnecessarily.

24. When your serving OR eating langar, your head must be covered.

25. Dont go boasting to people of how much seva you do (or how many times you go to the gurdwara), this just defeats the whole purpose.

26. The Gurdwara is not a social place. You dont go to meet up with people or to show off your new suit.

27. Don't push when you're in line to matha taak. This seems to be more of a problem with the women.

28. Do not bow down to anything other than Sri Guru Granth Sahib jee; this is considered an insult to Maharaj jee. Even if there is another pothi in the darbaar with other bani in it, the ultimate jyot of Guru Sahib is in SGGS.

29. Try to sit cross legged when in the gurdwara.

30. Don’t sit against the wall, please reserve this area for the elderly.

31. Don’t sit at the back, find a nice spot from where you can pay attention to what is going on.

32. Dont bring any food into the darbaar

33. Teach your kids the proper way to matha tek. Some kids throw money towards SGGSJ like they're doing Guru ji a favor and then don't even bow down.

34. NO GUM!!!!!!

35. Try to stay inside the gurudwara at most times. You disturb people when you go in

and out ....or if you know you're going to leave in the middle of the services, sit near the exit.

36. Participate in the programme currently going on in Gurudwara sahib like if Kirtan is going on then sit and listen and try to understand the Kirtan. Many people start doing other Paath (sukhmani sahib or others) in the Gurudwara Hall when Kirtan or katha (lectures on gurmat) are going on. A student (Sikh) should listen to what is going on (katha/ kirtan) in classroom (gurudwara) at that particular period of time. If any body really needs to do other paath then they should go to a separate room instead of doing it in the main hall.

37. The Gurdwara is not a playground, if you wanna play, play outside, not in the guru darbar or guru ka langar.

38. No Gameboys or any other portable game consoles or mobile phones with games. I have seen teenagers playing these during a diwan (session in the gurdwara).

39. No T-shirts or clothes with offensive writing like FCUK tops or beer ads or anything anti-Gurmat.

40. When coming to the Gurdwara, try to spend more time in the darbar rather then spending more time outside talking. Some people might spend 15mins in the darbar and then 2-3 hours talking outside. As mentioned before, the gurdwara is not a social meeting place.

41. Teach younger kids to sit inside the darbar... they're never going to learn anything if they play outside during kirtan!!

42. Try to stay in the darbar for as long as the program is going on. Stay to listen to the hukamnama, even if you don’t understand. If Guru Gobind Singh jee was giving an order to his Sikhs, you would most likely want to stay and hear what he has to say. Same thing at the gurdwara.

Vaheguroo jee ka Khalsa Vaheguroo jee kee Fateh!!!

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Guest noonespecial

I was recently reading Se Kineyha by Sant Seva Singh which outlines the life of Sant Baba Harnaam Singh Jee (Rampur Kheray)

In this book Sant Baba Harnaam Singh states that all those who come into Guru's Darbar should wear a hazooria because it shows politeness and humility. He goes on further to say that Singhs in the past used to wear hazooria when they came to do Guru's Darshan all the time.

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