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UK Sikh Temples Feel Strain Of Helping The Homeless

Jan 6, 2005
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3,762
Metro-Vancouver, B.C., Canada
BBC NEWS - 8 March 2013 Last updated at 05:13 ET

Sikh temples feel strain of helping the homeless
By Divya Talwar

_66273959_gurdwarapic3.jpg


BBC Asian Network Sikh women preparing food in the temple kitchen


The smell of onions and Indian spices fills the large room.

The kitchen is open from 05:00 each morning and will feed langar - the free meal available to all worshippers - to nearly 300 people throughout the day.

Peter Lowe is a non-Sikh and is one of the people here this lunchtime, sitting on the carpeted floor of the langar hall with the worshippers.

Mr Lowe, 28, starting coming to the gurdwara when he was homeless a few years ago.

''I didn't have a job and I couldn't access any benefits, and I was struggling to feed myself'', he recalls while eating the langar.

"Someone told me about the gurdwara and how I could come here to eat a hot meal.

"When I first came, I didn't know what to expect. But everyone was very friendly and welcoming - they showed me around and never asked me for anything.

"I would come to the gurdwara a couple of times a week.

"It gave me a lot of support knowing that there was somewhere I could go to when it was cold and wet outside and I had nowhere else to go.

''The gurdwara was like my sanctuary.''

Mr Lowe is now back on his feet and is studying at the University of Leicester.

The Guru Nanak gurdwara in Leicester is just one of the places of worship which has seen a sharp rise in the number of people turning up for food and shelter.

Anyone can enter a gurdwara, irrespective of religion, sex or background and all visitors are welcome to have langar.

There are about 300 gurdwaras across the UK and the Sikh Council UK says thousands of Sikhs and non-Sikhs are turning up each week for meals and shelter.

''The homeless and hungry people coming to our gurdwaras is a growing trend we have seen in the last couples of years,'' said Sukhvinder Padda, the assistant secretary general of the Sikh Council UK.

''The economic situation has affected many families and gurdwaras are experiencing the outcome of that.

''More people are turning to our places of worship because there is growing awareness about gurdwaras and the fact that they are open to everyone,'' said Mr Padda.

Continue reading the main story What is langar?Every gurdwara has a langar where all people are welcome to a free meal regardless of their sex, colour or religion. There are no rituals observed in the langar and everyone eats together. All the food is vegetarian so that no religious group is offended.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji established the langar because he rejected the Hindu caste system where people of different castes do not eat together. Guru Nanak Dev Ji wanted to stress the idea that everyone is equal. Everyone shares the tasks of preparation, cooking, serving and cleaning. This shows sewa - selfless service to the others in the sadhsangat (community), the gurdwara, and the world outside.

The teaching of the langar was continued by Guru Amar Das Ji (the third Guru) who made a rule that no one, however important, could see him until they had first eaten in the langar.

Many gurdwaras are having to cope with problems of anti-social behaviour on their premises.

''This is a place of worship and on the board outside we have a clear sign saying, 'Please do not bring alcohol, cigarettes or drugs into the gurdwara','' said Sulakhan Singh Dard, the vice president of the Guru Nanak gurdwara.

''But we are having problems every single week with anti-social people who are drunk or taking drugs coming into our gurdwara.

"I have had to clean vomit in the toilets and pick up cigarette butts left in the langar hall.

''Some people become threatening or violent when we turn them away and we are regularly having to call the police.

"On one occasion someone we turned away told us he would come back with a double-barrel shotgun and shoot us all down," he said.

While most gurdwaras are happy to welcome homeless people or anyone that is hungry on to their premises they will not tolerate individuals who do not abide by the rules of the temple.

''It is not acceptable to have to deal with anti-social behaviour in our premises," said Mr Padda.

''The government, the social services and local authority should be doing more to help these people. It has become a real burden and stress for our gurdwara."


What is langar?

Every gurdwara has a langar where all people are welcome to a free meal regardless of their sex, colour or religion. There are no rituals observed in the langar and everyone eats together. All the food is vegetarian so that no religious group is offended.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji established the langar because he rejected the Hindu caste system where people of different castes do not eat together. Guru Nanak Dev Ji wanted to stress the idea that everyone is equal. Everyone shares the tasks of preparation, cooking, serving and cleaning. This shows sewa - selfless service to the others in the sadhsangat (community), the gurdwara, and the world outside.

The teaching of the langar was continued by Guru Amar Das Ji (the third Guru) who made a rule that no one, however important, could see him until they had first eaten in the langar.

Source: BBC Religion

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21711980#
 

findingmyway

Writer
SPNer
Aug 17, 2010
1,665
3,778
World citizen!
This is what langar is all about! Its wonderful to read that Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike are the seva of langar to access food and shelter. I do hope a problem for the anti-social behaviour can be found as it is not fair to deal with that. Perhaps local health services and police can help to set up pathways to help with drug, nicotine and alcohol addiction identified in the troublemakers?
 

Mai Harinder Kaur

Mentor
Writer
SPNer
Oct 5, 2006
1,755
2,735
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British Columbia, Canada
A few years ago when there was violence during the elections in Kenya, my sister-in-law in Nairobi ran out of food because no food was coming into the city. Money we could send would not have helped.

I suggested she go to a gurudwara. "If there is any food to be had, they'll have it and be happy to share."

She was reluctant because those big, Indian men with turbans scared her. I assured her that they were perfectly safe and reminded her, "I'm a Sikh. You aren't afraid of me." She giggled. "Before you, I didn't know what the
were called or that they even had women." Strange.

In the end she went and, of course, was welcomed with open arms.

:welcomemunda: :kaurhug:

They gave her langar to eat there and some to take home and uncooked staples as well. And most important to her, no one preached to her. "You know at my church, we wouldn't give food to strangers, but if we did, we'd make them listen to the Gospel first."

I explained that, while we welcome people who want to become Sikhs, we don't believing in trying to convert people.

She was impressed and I felt very proud of the Sikhs of Nairobi.

:kaurkhalsaflagblue:
 

Luckysingh

Writer
SPNer
Dec 3, 2011
1,634
2,758
Vancouver
This wonderful service offered to everyone has only come to the full attention of the public because there have been inner city anti-social problems.

I have been told that in some cities the sangat can encounter threatening behavior from troubled citizens.
A gurdwara does not exclude anyone and all street folk are welcome providing they have appropriate dress (no mini skirted hookers..etc.) and are not intoxicated.

But there have been problems with these street folk themselves in between each other, and they shouldn't bring these issues in with them!
The threat and burden is experienced in rare cases when only a few bibiyan will be in the kitchen and only handful of elder babey present. This is usually at quiet time periods of very early morning hours or very late at night.
Most of them close or lock entrance doors after 9.30pm but a few numbers are always present and the lights will be on!
This is when the odd ill tempered being may start banging the doors and issuing threats.

Sadly, the police don't help and when higher numbers of general sangat are there, it's fine.

These problems do happen and it can be scary for the few elders who can't actually understand what's being said, but the numbers are low -but still need to be addressed by the Gurdwara committees in terms of having some security and supervision.


It can be done and has been done, when internationally UK gurdwaras made it known that they can defend the gurdwaras and surrounding areas when the riots were happening !
If they can get the numbers for man power at times like that, then this should be easily taken care of.
 
Last edited:

Rory

SPNer
Jul 1, 2012
218
323
Ireland
It can be done and has been done, when internationally UK gurdwaras made it known that they can defend the gurdwaras and surrounding areas when the riots were happening !
That made me smile too!
 

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