Langar

[Big_Tera]

What are the origins of Langar. I have read that its not something unique to Sikhism. It was first started by sufi muslims and the was later adapted and copied by Sikhs. 

 

[MrDoaba]

37 minutes ago, Big_Tera said:

What are the origins of Langar. I have read that its not something unique to Sikhism. It was first started by sufi muslims and the was later adapted and copied by Sikhs. 

 

Proof? Sufi Muslims...even if they did have such a thing and even if was open to everybody, would not be compatible with many dietary restrictions.

Yeah sure there may have been and probably are things similar to Langar but I am almost certain they are not as inclusive as Langar as started by Satguru Ji.

Most religions have some concept of a communal meal but in no way, shape, or form does that mean it's "adapted and copied" lol.

Langar is for anyone, anytime, irrespective of...well anything.

[namespace]

The Guru's wife Mother Khivi cemented langar in Sikhi whereas before it was feeding the poor as caring for people in general.   I assume more so than now there were so many people whose entire day was spent trying to feed themselves before they went to sleep.  So much so we have these stories of the jotts eating their calves and grain instead of farming with them.   To alleviate a person's hunger lets them free to do any other thing.  A shame many (at least around here) see it as a method for conversion, as I can only assume this is why many christian orgs put up soup kitchens.

[puzzled]

14 hours ago, Big_Tera said:

What are the origins of Langar. I have read that its not something unique to Sikhism. It was first started by sufi muslims and the was later adapted and copied by Sikhs. 

 

Langar is a dharmic concept and started with Hinduism. 

[jkvlondon]

32 minutes ago, puzzled said:

Langar is a dharmic concept and started with Hinduism. 

not the concept that Guru ji gave us birthed from samm drisht , in hindu 'langar' they give more or less quality foods according to status and caste  and only on festivals , there are a few south Indian temples that do langar but are we sure that they were not influenced by Guru Nanak Dev ji's southern udasi to change its nature ?

[MrDoaba]

41 minutes ago, puzzled said:

Langar is a dharmic concept and started with Hinduism. 

Really? Is this sarcasm and has it gone over my head?  Do you have any examples? As someone who considers himself well outside the realm of Hinduphobia even I find this a little hard to believe.

On the few occasions I have actually been to a Mandir, I saw that Langar or Prasad as they call it is only prepared if 1) someone has a family event (Puja etc) 2) it is festival.

Mandirs are usually not open all day either. Individuals also stick to one Mandir due to various factors - deity/samparda, linguistics, caste (all of which is actually not that different from Gurdwaras lol) but my point is they seem to be more exclusive; while there's nothing stopping people from going to any Mandir, they typically don't. The different castes (tradtionally) wouldn't eat from a caste lower than them either...not sure about now, however, many Brahmins do keep next level sucham to this day - like Taksalis.

I personally do not think they ever had anything like Langar given what I know and my own experiences. I could be wrong.

 

[MokhamSingh]

Thousands of years ago, the dharmi rajas of India had a free meal service. This free meal was available to anyone. The name given to this free meal service was shaatar. It was usually served near the gates to the kingdom.

The word ‘langar” is a Persian word.

Even today, there are many free meal services, by various organisations. 

We have to concede though, the taste, and the bliss in Guru Nanak’s langar is unparalleled.

Waheguru...

[puzzled]

Well Hindus had a langar system but due to the caste system  it was obviously limited. Guru Nanak ji made langar for all. But remember Hindus have ashrams where people donate food etc.

It is a very old concept but it's been changed and altered a lot if times, but guru Nanak dev ji made it firm and solid.

[Guest AjeetSinghPunjabi]

Nope ! Langar word is  a Sufi concept . Sufis have "langar" . Giving food in temples is another thing , but lower castes were not allowed in temples. And caste was "supposed" to be from birth , although vedas consider it to be based on your "karams" . 

There were no temples in vedic period in india. Vedic period ended 2600 yrs ago. The oldest hindu temples in india are 1500 yr old , long after Brahmins had successfully divided the society into 4 varnas and Shudras were not allowed inside. To justify this caste system , they quoted the "Purusha Suktam" from Rig veda mandala 10 , which BTW MANY hindu scholars themselves today believe is a later day creation and was inserted into rig veda with inferior motives. 

However vedas say that this learning (veda - lit meaning 'gyaan')  are to be taught to everyone , incl Shudras and women and even foreigners and that your caste is by your karam. So 'neech' is someone doing neech karam and 'sucha' is someone doing 'suche' karam. 

May I speak the sacred word to the masses of the people (janebhya) (1) to the Brahmana, Kshatriya, to the Shudra and the Arya (2) and to our own men and the strangers (3).

Shukla Yajurveda 26.2

 

I do hereby address this salutary speech for the benefit of humanity, for the Brahmanas, the Kshatriyas, the Sudras, the Vaishas, the kinfolk and the men of the lowest position in society.

Yajur Veda 26.2

The whole mess of caste system and oppression of shudras started with the Smritis . Smritis (lit. 'remembered') have less authority in Hinduism as opposed to Shruta (lit. 'Heard') . Shruta means vedas only. Perhaps for same reason , Gurbani refers to vedas in a more respectful tone than for smritis. 

Even Buddha reflected this karam-based caste in his dhammapadas. And same is found in gurbani.

Langar however I think started with the sufis , esp Chisti order. Although food meals in the temples are a long practice. Whether this practice was universal is debatable. 

[S1ngh]

does not matter who was doing it in a very limited scope.

Langar in sikhi concept started with guru Nanak dev jees 20rs langar for hungry pilgrims/sadhus/beggars/poor etc etc/