Murakh khoji gurusikh
SPNer
- Oct 19, 2004
- 4
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What are your thoughs about wearing socks in the gurudawara on a cold day?
This is not an issue. Sikhism does not say to dress and Indian way as Sikhism is universal. As long as you are dressed modestly it is ok.Murakh khoji gurusikh said:Sat Sri Akal
Thank you very much . What about ladies wearing Sari, Pants or westren dress in the gurudawara. Men do wear Pants, a western dress to gurudawara.
maff kerna ish Murakh Khoji nu.
Regards
CaramelChocolate said:This is not an issue. Sikhism does not say to dress and Indian way as Sikhism is universal. As long as you are dressed modestly it is ok.
Sikhism is not an Eastern religion - it is UNIVERSAL. This is why it is ok to serve western vegetarian food in Gurdwara.
~CaramelChocolate~
The little philosopher
Guess what, I must have been living in a cave and never came across this thread when I was more active at SPN in the past.
However, I woke up and realized that this indeed was staring me in the face over the last few months. Once at the service for my mother's passinng and the cremation after service and the other more recently at a visit to a Gurdwara. I will cover these separately as there are different nuances.
1. About two years ago: Carrying SGGS on your covered head at the end of a program at a Gurdwara
At a ceremony for my mother's passing, I was asked to carry SGGS to the resting/storage room. Remember I sat through the whole service with socks on. I asked for the rationale and some of the others with me suggested to let it be. Matter got resolved as my brother carried the SGGS instead and he was happy to remove his socks. It still did leave a nagging feeling in my head and the reason is from what I have learned from way back when living in India.
There are many occasions when SGGS is brought home from a village Gurdwara near or far under uncertain pavements with some almost unbearable to walk bare feet on. My recollection is that maryada even allows you to wear shoes in such situations.
Now when you wear socks or don't wear socks in Gurdwara in the west, you are carrying the junk and crap you bring into the shoe room. Shoe room is perhaps the dirtiest and least well kept places in a Gurdwara only worse place generally are the washrooms. Just that you dip your feet into a bit of water ain't going to clean your feet it will only perhaps that all have similar dirty feet.
So what have we achieved with no socks! The argument that in sangat you still close and dirty socks can be smelly. Trust me people smell lot worse than dirty socks with or without socks based on their personal hygiene habits. Are in the future homeless and possibly smelly people are going to be prevented from coming to Gurdwara? Are we going down a slippery slope to create such gimmicks and artificial rules and create enforcers and wise to matter such nit picking?
2. Last weekend: Visit to a Gurdwara and noticed a new sign in the shoe room to take socks off
So the practice has crept up and has not abated or stalled. I did not challenge anyone but kept my socks on. Shoe rooms are dirty and outside dirt brought in by the shoes is everywhere. So some of the observations or descriptions I have written also apply. The question of leather touching the socks is childishly frivolous. Remember our skin is soft leather that has not dried up and all leather comes from life where all life is of one.
Please let us help each other and keep Sikhism logical and gimmick free. Our Guru ji's went to great lengths much of such junk whetehr it was throwing water towards the sun, sleeping with your feet away from mecca, etc.
Sat Sri Akal.
PS: Technology may be employed to keep shoe rooms squeeky clean so that when you visit, you enter the hall without socks with feet cleaner than how these were in your socks. It must be complemented by when you leave the technology is there that when you put the socks back on your feet are cleaner going into the socks as compared to when you first took the socks off. I will stand first in line to take my socks off in such a configuration.
When I was going to Gurdwara and doing seva in the kitchen with bare feet my feet would get really disgustingly dirty - they would get black! I'd have to go to the washroom and get paper towel and try to wash my feet although there was only high basin for washing hands. It would have been so much cleaner if I kept my shoes on in the kitchen!
Ishna ji thanks indeed and I was thinking the same after I posted. Say I go to the langar hall before I go to the congregation hall, I will be having very dirty feet.When I was going to Gurdwara and doing seva in the kitchen with bare feet my feet would get really disgustingly dirty - they would get black! I'd have to go to the washroom and get paper towel and try to wash my feet although there was only high basin for washing hands. It would have been so much cleaner if I kept my shoes on in the kitchen!