Holland Park Gurdowara..Children Take Over!

[laala gola]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-15595139

Dont quite agree with this..I think its ridiculous!

why should English be put in place instead of Punjabi? WHy cant parents make an effort to teach children Punjabi?

and what's up with all those hand signals?..sitting inside a Gurdowara!

If you want a playgroup go somewhere else..if you want to sit and meditate in silence and listen to Kirtan (in Punjabi) then go into the Gurdowara.

Am i the only one who feels this is wrong?? I cant be..

[liveandletlive]

This is a really nice idea.

Isn't there other Gurdwaras where children take control of Seva?

I think Mata Sahib Kaur Sikh Academy in Ilford is one.

[singh135]

children should be encouraged to keep up the good work

[Tera]

http://www.bbc.co.uk...london-15595139

Dont quite agree with this..I think its ridiculous!

why should English be put in place instead of Punjabi? WHy cant parents make an effort to teach children Punjabi?

and what's up with all those hand signals?..sitting inside a Gurdowara!

If you want a playgroup go somewhere else..if you want to sit and meditate in silence and listen to Kirtan (in Punjabi) then go into the Gurdowara.

Am i the only one who feels this is wrong?? I cant be..

First off, I have never been to this Gurdwara nor do I know about it... You talk about:

why should English be put in place instead of Punjabi? - Article actually says 'The Punjabi language is also replaced with English, or at least translated so everyone can understand.' - Nothing wrong with translations and Sikhi to the Max. Sounds like it is used along side punjabi not instead of.

and what's up with all those hand signals? - Go to any nursery, primary schools and see how young children learn, interactively. Seems this program once a month is aimed at younger children and for age group shown in the video, there is nothing wrong with this type of interaction/hand signals.

If you want a playgroup go somewhere else - Sorry but that's totally the wrong mentality and the sort of mentality the keeps a lot of Gurdwara from progressing. I think Gurdwaras are places for all types of learning and ideally there should not only be kirtan, katha, seva, simran, sangat, pangat (spiritual), but also physical (gatka, sports, seva), educational (teaching, school help), social (old people day groups, gurdwara visits, trips) etc etc. Sikhi affects all aspects of your life and Gurdwaras should incorporate them all.

So, in my opinion... It sounds like a great idea! Some nice pro-active forward thinking by the Gurdwara/Organisers, but don't just stop there, there is much more that can still be done. Well done though!

[hsisingh]

This is my local gurdwara. They put an English translation up on a screen during kirtan.

[innergear]

I lik it

[SantLUCIFER]

If you were around then, I'm sure you'd have rejected the Guruship of Dhan Dhan Guru Har Kishan Mahraaj Ji. English is the spoken language here and many people [with idiotic, lazy parents] have not been taught it, so as Dhan Guru Nanak Dev used the medium of language to spread the message, why can't they do it in English in the Gurdwara.

[laala gola]

I think you lot are just misunderstanding what I meant.

Gurmukhi is the language that was chosen for the Guru Granth Sahib. As long as efforts are made for the children to learn Punjabi alongside it, then fine..or vice versa. I have nothing against the medium of English to make people aware of Sikhi if thats the only language they speak. However, each Sikh cannot rely on ENglish alone because so much is lost in translation of the passages of Guru Granth Sahib Ji. If you go to USA you will come across many white goreh Sikhs who have mastered the Punjabi language. They could easily have said we'd rather use |English but no. They took it on board to learn the language without taking the easy option.

Now, i have nothing against using hand signals etc etc..but it should take place in

a different room I believe though in the Gurdowara..just not where Maharaj's prakash is. There should be a sense of respect. I totally believe in the incorportaion of events such as sports and other community projects..only not INSIDE the main hall where the Prakash takes place..

Now..one of the women in that clip says that they dont want to be told what to do.

Sikhism is about submission to God, just like most religions are so unless one understands this foremost concept of spirituality..you can continue to practice culture or other ideals in the name of religion..it wont be spirituality. As long as you want to rebel against something and amend it according to the times, you run the risk of seperating from the source. The Guru says dont cut your hair..dont eat meat..dont take intoxications. If we start saying this is the older generation telling us what to do, then we aren't ready to embrace Sikhism in the spiritual sense. Perhaps we are attracted to the cultural sense but then we wont move an inch towards relaisation of the soul. Or will we?

[noname27]

Good to see they are making an effort but like above said

Guru Granth Sahib is best understood in Gurmukhi

I feel ashamed not knowing much punjabi (im only 14) time to learn :D

Never will I let my kids not know punjabi