Why Some Gurudwaras Are Failing?

[Admin]

The Hindus have their Mandirs, the Christians their Churches, the Muslims their Mosques and the Sikhs their Gurudwaras. All these congregational centres were meant to unite people of faith and help each other grow in spirituality and stick together in times of trials, tribulations and joy. Though Gurudwaras began to be built much after our Gurus, they have nevertheless played a great role in becoming centres of Sikh teachings and in bringing communities together. Over th past few years, however, an unfortunate trend has begun to come to the fore-front. Majority of Gurudwaras around the world no longer inspire new Sangat, mostly because of the wrong people with incorrect ideas are put in charge of the House of the Guru.

There was a reason why our Gurus did not establish Gurudwaras and the foresight of Guru Gobind Singh Ji was spot on. Guru Ji’s decision to pass the Guruship to the Word of God (Guru Granth Sahib Ji) has saved the Panth from destruction at its own hands. Even today, one can witness the number of sects, deras and self-professed gurus that continue to grow in the same attempts that were made in the times of our Gurus by Prithi Chand, Ram Rai, Dhir Mal, Dattu and the massands. Our Sikh Gurus were appointed by Akaal Purakh to lay the foundations of the Sikh faith and that is why when Guru Gobind Singh Ji, as the last human Guru of the Sikhs, installed Guru Granth Sahib Ji as the final and eternal Guru of the Sikhs, we need to understand the reasons behind that decision and Hukam.

 

[Gyani Jarnail Singh]

The THREE Gs..are the heavy mills around our neck..and we are sinking..

Gurdwara...
Golak...
GREED.

The Gurus didnt have neither of these....and then we had ONLY ONE G---GURU...and it was also in 1708...BUT we decided that ONE G wasnt enough..:advocate::advocate::advocate:

 

[Gyani Jarnail Singh]

THIS IS ANOTHER BIG REASON...A SELF SERVING SELFISH GROUP WHO LOST THE GURDWARA ELECTIONS, AND TO GET BACK AT THE WINNERS "COERCED" THE AKLA TAKHAT JATHEDAR TO ISSUE A HUKMNAMA...THAT PUT THE PANTH THROUGH A DECADE OF DISUNITY...AND NOW THESE SAME PEOPLE GO AND HUG THE EXCOMMUNICATED PEOPLE AND UNITY WITH THEM ???? ARENT THESE NOW THEMSLEVES BRAEKING THE HUKMNAMA BY ASSOCIATING WITH SO CALLAED ECOMMUNICATED SIKHS ?? THIS IS POLITICS PURE AND SIMPLE...THE LANGGAR WAS JUST AN EXCUSE...GURDWARA GOLUCK WAS THE PRIME MOTIVE !!

The Tribune
August 20, 2009

Langar Row
Takht tells Canada group to explain
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service​

Amritsar, August 19
Akal Takht has directed members of one group of Sikhs of Canada to explain their “forging unity” after recent parleys in Surrey (Canada) with another group of Sikhs who were ex-communicated from the Sikh Panth for violating its 1997 edict prohibiting partaking of langar by Sikhs on and chairs.
Moderate Sikh leaders of Vancouver-based Ross Street gurdwara and hardliners controlling the Surrey’s Dashmesh Darbar gurdwara had met last month and had announced truce by over seven-point programme “in the larger interests of the Sikhs” .
Apart from deciding on separate Baisakhi processions on separate weekends in Surrey and Vancouver, the two sides had stipulated the “common unity programme” was to resolve issues like gang violence, dera culture and drug menace in the Sikhs .
The meeting of the hardliners and moderates following decades of “ideological differences” and subsequent “truce”, however, had splinter groups alleging the leaders of the two groups had agreed to join forces to achieve “opportunistic goals” and woo more donations.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, sources pointed out, had asked leaders of one of one group, backing the 1997 Akal Takht edict over langar issue till recently, to explain if its meeting with any or all ex-communicated leaders.
The letter seeking explanation of persons, who had been supporting the 1997 edict so far, has reached Vancouver and hardliners, it was learnt, were busy to find out an “acceptable” explanation. Reply to the explanation was expected to be sent to the Jathedar, on US tour, in a week or so, said one of his aides.
On the complaints of certain Sikhs, then Akal Takht Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh had ex-communicated Sikh leaders, Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal, Jarnail Singh Bhandal, then president of the Ross Street Sikh Temple, Giani Harkirat Singh, Balwant Singh Gill and Tara Singh Hayer, a Vancouver-based journalist who, was later killed in Vancouver in 1998, for defying the edict barring Sikhs from partaking of langar by sitting on chairs.
These leaders, it was learnt, had supported old practice of a section of Canada-based Sikhs partaking of langar using tables and chair with explanation they were adhering to the practice since 1906 “much before the setting up of the SGPC” and owing to harsh weather prevailing in North America when central heating system was not so efficient.

 

[Gyani Jarnail Singh]

A MAIL FROM A CONCERNED SIKH IN THE WEST...SHOWS WHAT POLITICS IS PLAYED IN GURDWARAS...

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

This is a significant development.

Sri Akal Takhat Sahib has asked the Sikh hardliner group (Dashmesh Darbar group), which almost coerced Sri Akal Takaht in issuing the Langar Hukamnama in 1998, as to why they have forged "unity" with those who were excommunicated from the Khalsa Panth by then Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh on the Langar issue. The Hukamnama issued in April 1998 under the seal of Sri Akal Takhat and bearing the signatures of Jathedar Sri Akal Takhat Bhai Ranjit Singh, directed the Sikhs to partake Guru Ka Langar while squatting on the floor as per the Sikh tradition, not on tables and chairs.

People who now control Dashmesh Darbar at Surrey once controlled the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple of Surrey for many years before the excomminicated group (Balwant Gill, Bhandal, Harkirtat Singh, etc) took over the Surrey Sikh Temple. They had fought with them with swords in that Gurdwara. They lost the elections that followed to Balwant Gill's group. After that they raised the chairs and tables issue and almost forced Sri Akal Takhat to issue Hukamnama against the Gill and co. After losing elections, they started Dashmesh Darbar in Surrey.

I had written a personal letter to Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh IN AUGUST 1997 (8 MONTHS BEFORE HE ISSUED THE LANGAR HUKAMNAMA) and advised him not to act in a hurry on this issue. (The letter was written as a concerned Sikh. I had no relationship (direct or indirect) with any of the persons belonging to those two groups. I had urged him to send a fact-finding team to Canada before taking any action because he matter was more complicated than it looked on the surface. I wish he had paid attention to my cry!

I have some questions:

1. How can a Sikh group forge a unity with excommunicated Sikhs, which itself caused the Hukamnama to be issued in the first place against them?

2. How can they meet with them when the Hukamnama, which is in full force, explicitly forbids any social, religious contact or marital relationship with them unless they admit their guilt and present themselves in front of Sri Akal Takhat and receive religious punishment?

3. Hasn't this group itself violated the Hukmanama by forging a unity with the excommunicated group?

4. Can someone tell us who put tables and chairs in the Gurdwara Langar Hall in the first place over there before the Gill and Co. took over? If they were going to be lovey-dovey with this group, why did they put the entire Panth through untold misery for more than a decade?

5. I do not know who exactly made the deal. If any secret deal with the excommunicated group is not a violation of the Sri Akal Takhat's Hukamnama and a stab in the back of Khalsa Panth, what is it?

There are countless number of Sikhs who fought for Sri Akal Takhat and backed the Langar Hukamnama, suffered for it and are still backing it. Countless people have suffered for taking a stand for Sri Akal Takhat. I am one of them. I resigned along with four other Singhs from the San Jose Gurdwara (California) committee on this issue over 10 years ago! However, we kept the pressure on the committee and now people partake Langar over there on the floor.

Please share your thoughts on this.

Tarlochan Singh