Gold Walls For Bangla Sahib Gurdwara

[Archived_Member16]

Gold walls for Bangla Sahib Gurdwara
Critics say money could have been used for educating community kids
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service​

New Delhi, June 16

If all goes according to the plan, the main prayer hall of the historic Bangla Sahib Gurdwara in the Capital will soon shine with yellow metal.

Around 125 kg of gold, costing nearly Rs 23.75 crore (as per the current market rate) will be required for the ambitious project.

The gold will be crafted in form of fixed-sized plates, which would be finally joined together and will adorn the walls of the religious place that is very close to Delhi’s commercial hub, Connaught Place.

The first lot of 30 kg of gold was handed over by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) to Baba Harbans Singh - who has launched a kar seva (voluntary service) to make the project a reality - on Friday.

DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna says the work will be completed in around 18 months and will be done in phases to ensure that devotees are not put to any discomfort.

The gold plates will be fixed at a height of six feet from the ground to prevent any damage to them. The entire inside portion of the main hall would be covered by gold. The outer portion of the dome of the gurdwara is already gold-plated.

The move has, however, sparked off a debate, with critics saying that the money required for the project could have been spent on education of community children and other welfare works.

"It is a sheer waste of resources that can be used to uplift the condition of riot victims," said Jarnail Singh, author of the now famous book on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots "I Accuse..".

Sarna’s rival in politics and the head of the Delhi unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Manjit Singh GK, says the wise move would have been to educate the community kids with the donation. But Sarna is unfazed. Lashing out at Manjit, he said: "He is jealous of the good work done by us for the Sikh community." Cost, says Sarna, is not an issue.

Some portion of the gold has been donated by managing bodies of various schools runs by the DSGMC in Delhi.

The community members are making donations, he added.

In the past, the DSGMC had gifted a golden "palki" to Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.

Bangla Sahib was built in 1783 and is associated with the Eighth Sikh Master, Guru Har Krishan. Originally a bungalow stood at the site, hence the name "Bangla Sahib."

source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100617/main6.htm

 

[Tejwant Singh]

<o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:<img src=" http:="" www.sikhphilosophy.net="" images="" smilies="" redface.gif="" border="0" alt="" title="Embarrassment" smilieid="2" class="inlineimg"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:<img src=" http:="" www.sikhphilosophy.net="" images="" smilies="" redface.gif="" border="0" alt="" title="Embarrassment" smilieid="2" class="inlineimg"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <wunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <wontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> What a shame of flaunting opulence but there is a sinister business minded plan behind it!
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The real reason behind this "Golden Elephantisation" of Bangla Sahib is the tug of war of egos between the SGPC and DGMC, the so called Sikhs who are supposed to be the care takers of Sikhi.
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Gurbani gives us the tools to lasso our ego along with the other 4 thieves-lust, false pride, anger and temptation- rather than embracing them which both have been doing for quite sometime. It would be an insult to call them the flag bearers of Sikhi. What they have been doing is prostituting this beautiful way of life called Sikhi like pimps. They have made their long cholas and turbans into pimp attires, so that they can make the blind followers who truly need the Gurmat lasix surgery so they can understand and follow Gurbani even blinder.
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This is one more way of “Derarisation of Sikhi” but this time not by any charismatic figure but by two different power hungry groups who are there to destroy Sikhi by creating the places of idol worshipping which Sikhi is not about.
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Maharaja Ranjit Singh took the first step by turning Darbar Sahib into Golden Temple with the help of looted, stolen gold from the other looters during the wars which made it “The Place” of a must visit that in result brings in lots of money most of it is wasted in its upkeep and other things rather than using it in a proper Sikhi manner which Guru Nanak taught us when his father gave him some money for business and our Guru went and fed the hungry. Rather than giving them a fish to eat for a day, he taught them how to fish with that money.
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Why have we refused to learn from our Gurus and the Gurbani they gave us as the limitless treasure to savour and make ours and others’ lives better?
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The gold will be donated by millions of the blind Sikhs from the world over as part of Me-ism in the guise of Seva. We will see delegations from DGMC hopping on the planes to sell this snake oil as a “Gurmat vision”.
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This tasteless gilded redecoration of one of the most visited Gurdwaras in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> will bring in unimaginable crowds to worship the golden walls rather than following the teachings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, our only Guru.
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Congratulations to all my Sikh mates!

Now, we will have two “Golden Elephants” to feed rather than helping the victims of the holocaust of 1984.
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Tejwant Singh