~ Ideas To Have Your Dream Gurdwara ~

[N30S1NGH 3,143]

~ Ideas to have your dream Gurdwara ~

Ok now that i got everyone's attention, i want to dedicate this thread for all the sangat to post their ideas how to run the gurdwara if you were the head, in other words, what things would you implement to run an dream gurdwara of you have perceived to be an perfect model of an gurdwara?

I will start off with most important thing which is maharaj darbar.

1. Guru Maharaj darbar-

a). Pehradars in maharaj darbar with either small soti or barcha to ensure proper respect is paid to maharaj. eg- men/womens chatting, kids running around and crying etc. I honestly beleive these pehradars should be paid or salaried to keep consistency in their daily duties.

b). Make a small room for bibiya with cranky kids and have an audio input with glass facing the maharaj darbar so they can take laha too.

c). Having an serious morning/afternoon/evening Gurmantar/Mool Mantar chanting with lights dimmed with body fully straight...chanting should be done in a way where shabad spontenous resonance is vibrating all around maharaj darbar... i am not a fan of high speed simran - sorry.

d). Golak for maya should be downstairs, only offering in maharaj darbar should be flowers/shastars/different types of incense for sachkhand darbar and fruit/anaj(wheat/rice/milk etc for langar). Reason for golak should be downstairs - who are we offer maya infront to maharaj..we are beggers..we should fullfill our daswanad in galok downstairs in the langar hall.

e) Sachkhand room is already perfect in most gurdwaras, just small additions nishani of royalty for maharaj i.e- diamond malas, shastars in miyan with gurbani written on it

e). There should be criteria (course on sikh theology/sikh mysticism/sikh history/gurbani) to be an Kathavachak/Kirtanis/Dhadivaar and after passing the course, they should be paid to overcome poltics within kathavachak/kirtanis circle (how come i get less time, he get more time, how come he gets more charva and i don't). I am not suggesting they should get paid for all of it..if kathavachik/kirtanis/dhadivaars is doing duty for 2 hrs, he should be getting paid 1 and other one is form of seva which he needs to fullfill in maharaj darbar.

f). All the politicans mps/vips should do their baashan(speeches) downstairs 2nd floor in seminar room/inter faith/conference room/presenation room. Maharaj Darbar should be only for patt/kirtan/katha/dhadi varans.

Optional -

Lotus is very symbolic. I always wondered about this, it will look extremely beautiful to have guru maharaj parkash on huge customized lotus flower made out of gulab tile. Even though i think it would be great idea, i m reluctant to share that idea with anyone in real life because they may think its beadi as it would replace palki sahib. i m bit confused on this, what you guys think? Does that break maryada in anyway?

2. Gurdwara Structure (addition to what's already there in gudwara)

a) GYM in the last floor beside langar langar along with offices/guest rooms to stay. Activities like yoga, gym, kusti, dand bhataka, gatka can be held in the gym.

b) Large hall dedicated to Sikh History/relics of maharaj ( Guru maharaj histories/Saints/Soldiers/Scholards contributions, sikh war history, sikhs in 20th century) all should be representated into pictorial form (sometimes picture have amazing effect on person than words because of beginners surti of this jev). This should be in 2nd floor along with seminar room/conference room/inter-faith room.

c) Another large hall dedicated to sikh manuscripts (this hall should be at the same level at maharaj's darbar) as we are dealing with priceless sikh manuscripts (old and new), caligraphic items with gurbani written on it.

d) Sikh Research Center(2nd floor), which should be sikh library along with computer lab for youth singhs to do research on gurmat, make presentations to present in either maharaj's darbar or seminar's darbar.

e) Master room sizes room for classes for punjabi/turban typing in 2nd floor

f) Gurdwara should be built with huge property surronding developements of garden, senior homes/ multiple permanent huge tents for family akhand patts/anand karaj- same protocol should be followed of main maharaj's darbar.

g) Elevators should be there for elders

3. Langar Hall

a) Golak should be there

b) Perhadards should be there full time and should be paid.

c) Main langar as in (afternoon and evening ) should be distrubted after the sampati and ardas with mool mantar patt and jaikara followed by it.

d) Small snacks - samosas, pokariaies, sweets, cold drinks can be vartah all the time to keep maintaing 24/7 concept of langar.

d) Everyone in langar hall contribute to the seva first to organize langar for sangat prior to sampati.

e) Mid size rooms near langar for people who like to yap away.

f) Everyone should be allowed to do seva of langar monaie/amritdhari alike together to like we are already doing.

4. Gurdwara committe structure

a) Committe members should be all keshadhar/amritdhari (can follow samparda/jatha maryada but should advocate panthic maryada when speaking to sangat), and should be part of panj pyares appointed by sri akaal takth sahib jathedar(may be too far fetched) with meeting of other takth sahiban and samparda's.

b) Gurdwara Committe should have web centeralized database to report to Sri Akaal takth sahib as form of communciation and providing additional funding and this should be also used to acknowledge and enforcing the edicts and hakumnamas.

c) Gurdwara committe should have khajan ji (which they already have) but also should have another body to do audits and oversee the fianicies

d) Gurdwara committe should have army of Public relations/Media relations singhs/singhanis..this is extermely important from holding seminars to presentations to speaking to media to holding inter faith sessions.

e.) All the gurdwara committe members and sevadards should be paid in a sense not salaried but percentage of full gurdwara revenue per year. This decision should be carefully made by jathedards of five takth sahiban we have.

f) Gurdwara committe members should be transparent as neera jal(crystal clear water) when it comes to year end income, mortages payments, cost, percentage going to their pocket to win confidence of the sangat.

Please share your own ideas...!!!!

[S1ngh 1,837]

Very nice thread.

My suggestion would be to replace golak with commercial grade credit cardmachines. Two reasons: people will donate more and most important is financial accountability in papers.

[MS1NGH 35]

Excellent thread. I agree with the majority of the suggestions you've made. I will try not to duplicate what you have suggested. Here are some of my thoughts for the future.

1. Regular weekly English Katha on sunday's at all UK gurdwaras.

2.Every gurdwara should have a feedback mechanism where sangat can provide feedback on current services, services which they would like the gurdwara to provide and ideas for improvement.

3. Support groups for- single parents/widows/divorcees. alcoholics/drug users.

4. Improved use of media- facebook, youtube, email, text message, gurdwara website,

5. education- weekly sikh classes, gatka, kirtan, santhiya, free sikh education books to families to learn about sikhi and for parents to teach their kids the basics.

6. Panj kakkars and gutkas should be freely available to sangat

7. cresh/child care facilities

8. support wider non sikh community- homeless

9. gurdwaras should start purchasing farmland to produce their own food requirements, milk, surplus can be sold for income

10. Each city should create a local council of gurdwaras where represantitives meet regularly to discuss local issues, and work together to promote sikhi. perhaps sikh council could organise this.

11.promote healthy lifestyles- Healthy langar, less butter in dhaal/sabji. gym.

12. university scholarships for intellectual gursikhs whom cant afford to go to university to study top degrees

13.Teach all gyanis English, CRB checks on them, purchase accommodation locally for them, Should receive at least minimum wage. Incentive to learn English- bonus/pay rise? Also need to raise caliber and qaulity

14. more bibiya and youth in committees

15.weekly/monthly "challenges" for sangat eg amritvela for 1 month, stop alcohol for 1 month etc. if they know others are doing this they can help each other to persist with it

[N30S1NGH 3,143]

For the lack of better word- mega bump :lol2: ..concentrate on the message please not the messenger..everyone is disposable except the message...message remains in vayu mandal forever :biggrin2:

[chatanga 1,058]

The ideal gurdwara should also have stables and horses, for Sikhs to learn horse-riding.

[N30S1NGH 3,143]

That's great suggestion chatanga veer.. sorry i missed that in my initial post...keep the great suggestions coming guys, may be once everyone is done..we can send these suggestions to our local leaders at our local gurdwara (not that it will make a difference- but its good to be optimistic).

[N30S1NGH 3,143]

While we are at it:

What you guys/all sikhsangat members think of contributing our daswand- making real life sikhsangat gurdwara - made by youths for youths?

Surely, it probably sound unrealistic at the moment but so as most of revolutionary ideas on draft. Once gurmat idea(tree) of gurdwara is planted abroad, guru maharaj will do kirpa and shower his grace in form of rain to flourish the seed.

What you guys think??????????????????????

We got 24225 members, realistically probably 1000+ active users, but site does have potential reach out to 20000 + registered sikhsangat members to try to get input from everyone and daswand from everyone.

I really think this could work... :D :D :D...sorry if it sound to amateurish/ idea disconnected from reality at this point...may i am in la la land, but may be i m not :D :D

[UKLondonSikh 163]

MS1NGH Paji great ideas (not too sure re buying farmland). N30Singh ... only further things i'd add from yesterday would be "ke SGGS Ji saday dhill de Maharaj ne" so we don't perhaps need "flash" outward signs of royalty though of course Maharaj has to be elevated above us and in appropriately clean surroundings. As for youth Gurdwara idea ... i think we'd be guilty of splintering ourselves off too then ... but perhaps it could be a revolutionary way to kick sense into the older divided managements ... and 1day it really could happen as the majority of decent youth are sick of disunity within the Panth for pathetic reasons. If political differences of opinion are there that's fair enough but the existing separate Gurdwaras are simply unjustifiable + have to be merged somehow before the next generation is brainwashed into accepting this apartheid nonsense.