Khalsa Jatha: The Central Gurdwara

Our third excursion was to the London Central Gurdwara in Shepherd’s Bush, two minutes from our school. We were met by a charming Malaysian lady called Savender Kaur, who was to be our guide for the afternoon. We removed our shoes and covered our heads as custom and respect requires (some of my students chose to wrap their jumpers around their heads rather than use one of the head scarves provided by the temple…) and went into the Gurdwara to sit in the company of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib: the Sikh holy book. There are no pictures or statues in the Gurdwara as this, we're told, is discouraged in Sikhism. There is only a shrine at the centre of the hall, decorated with flowers and swords. Central to the shrine, resting on its throne, is the Guru Granth Sahib, which is revered above all things and treated with the same respect as a human; dressed daily, kept warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and put to rest at night in its own special bedroom.


The only images found on the walls (apart from text extracts from the Granth) are the two most well-known symbols of Sikhism: the inscription of Ek Onka which, we’re told, means ‘One God’, and the Khanda, a very recognizable symbol which is found on a large orange flag outside every Gurdwara, to help people find their way.

We gathered round and listened as Savender shared with us the particulars of the Sikh tradition. She began by explaining that the word Sikh means to learn, that Guru is teacher, and Dwara is hall. So, a Gurdwara (or Gurudwara) is a teacher’s hall; a place for people to come and learn.

The Sikhs follow the teachings of a line of ten Gurus (teachers), beginning with Guru Nanak Dev in the 16th century and ending with Guru Gobind Singh, who died in 1708. The teachings of the ten gurus were written down in a huge volume, which is the eleventh and final, living guru: the Guru Granth Sahib. The original, hand-written manuscript is still in the Harmandir Sahib or Golden Temple http://www.sacred-destinations.com/india/golden-temple-of-amritsar in Amritsar, in the Indian state of Punjab.


Savender explained that Guru Nanak disliked some of the long-established institutions practiced in India and sought to abolish them. These included the caste system, the practice of black magic, superstition and the worship of images and statues. He made all humans equal and, even now, in any Gurdwara, all are equal and sit down together to eat on the floor. My students and I, all being equal, sat down together at the table rather than on the floor, but the principle stands…

Other gurus established further traditions, such as institutionalized charity, that form fundamental aspects of modern Sikhism. All Gurdwaras offer food for the hungry and beds for the homeless and are run entirely on donations (Sikh’s give 1% of their income as a tithe). Another guru established ‘seva’ (voluntary service), which, with the reading of the ‘bani’ (a daily reading of the Granth, always posted on a blackboard outside the Gurdwara and often sent via email and text message to subscribers) form the two most important parts of a Sikh’s daily life.

When Savender had finished telling us about these things we were shown examples of the five Ks, which all Khalsa Sikhs wear at all times. They are (sorry if my spelling is off...):
Kesh: uncut hair – Sikh’s never cut any of their hair.
Kanga: a wooden comb to hold their hair in place.
Kara: an iron bracelet.
Kirpan: a curved sword (young initiates wear a tiny one, less than a centimeter long, attached to the kanga).
And Kachera, which are a bit like boxer shorts and are worn at all times. We were shown only a picture of these...

We then observed the Granth, being careful never to turn our backs toward it, as a woman melodiously read aloud from a page written in the original Gurmukhī language. The whole of the Granth is poetic and, as it is read aloud, you get a sense of the rhythm of the text, which is pleasing to listen to.

After this we all went down to the communal kitchen to share lunch. Savender and her colleagues kindly provided us with a mix of lentil and potato dishes with salad, rice, chapattis, and a delicious hot pickle. I think I was the only one who had the pickle – it was a little fiery…

If I have missed any details (and I have) it is for the sake of brevity, but the Gurdwara (as all Gurdwaras) is a place of learning and is always open if you wish to learn more. I’ll be going along on Wednesday evening for a recital of the Granth with traditional musical accompaniment. I might have a little more of that pickle too…

ADDITIONAL: Last night some friends and erstwhile students of mine came with me to the Gurdwara to observe the hymn recital there. It was a special occasion for the Gurdwara, a year since the passing of one of their friends, so a feast had been prepared, which was generously extended to us. After dinner we went up to into the Gurdwara proper to observe evening prayer and scriptural readings. Savender and her friends were there to guide us through and help with occasional translations and explanations. There are also English and Latinised Gurmukhī translations/transcriptions projected onto a large screen.

After this there was an address from an elderly man whom I understood to be a relative of the royal family in Punjab, whose father or grandfather or something had been present at the opening of the central Gurdwara in 1908 (the first in Europe). He recounted anecdotes of his first experiences in Europe when he visited the UK on a state visit and also, if I understood correctly, rubbed shoulders with the likes of Adolf Hitler …

A little before eight O’clock, a group of musicians and singers gathered to begin the hymn recital and it was very much worth waiting for. I recognized one of the melodies from somewhere, though I’m not sure exactly where. There was tabla, harmonium and some beautiful singing. Occasionally the congregation (of around 70 or 80 people, I suppose) joined in. It’s quite something and I recommend getting along. Keep an eye out on their website http://www.centralgurdwara.org.uk/ but I believe there are similar recitals most Sundays and Wednesdays.

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan

On May 21st we made our second temple visit, this time to the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir in Neasden. The weather was beautiful so we were all in a good mood to begin with. After checking in we were met by Shashi Kanabar, a representative of the Mandir, who began our tour by showing us a short (13 minutes) film about the history of the temple. The temple was completed in 1995 after three years of intense work by a largely volunteer force. It is built from marble and limestone, sourced from Italy and Bulgaria respectively, which was first shipped to India, to be delicately carved by Indian craftsmen, before being shipped back to London for construction. It's certainly an impressive building and should be a must for any tourist visiting London.

After the film we went up into the temple proper to view the Murti (statues imbued with the spirit of God). The Murti include such faces as those of Krishna, Rama and his wife Sita, Rama's good friend Hanuman the monkey warrior, the ever popular Ganesha and, of course, Lord Swaminarayan and carvings of his various incarnations, including the present one, His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

We were then invited into a large meeting room to discuss Hinduism with Mister Kanabar. He answered a couple of questions for us and then continued to describe some of the particulars of the Swaminarayan tradition. He began by telling us that in order to be a Hindu you must be a strict vegetarian, specifying no meat, no fish, no eggs were allowed in the Hindu diet but milk, sourced from their sacred animal the cow, is apparently OK. Alcohol and cigarettes and other such pollutants are not permitted. Neither are you allowed to eat onions or garlic on account of the fact that they give you a nasty temper. I objected on the grounds that onions and garlic provide huge health benefits (apart from being delicious) and he advised that they use haldi (turmeric - also pretty tasty) in place of them for all kinds of health-associated ailments and for general well-being (I bought a bag from the market at the temple...). Instead of nasty chemicals to fend off garden pests, garlic is grown to scare away slugs, and the ash from incense is used to keep ants away – sound advice!


He then went on to the question of respect for one another, using the analogy of a rabbit living in the jungle, which seeks the respect of his sinister neighbours (snakes, tigers and such). He suggested that we must consider every one a danger, a threat and an enemy. He said that we shouldn't make close friendships because it leads to suffering when the relationship inevitably ends or goes through turbulence (as they do). We were told that this must be so in order to survive, clarifying that ‘survival’ included happiness and that this was impossible to maintain if we allow ourselves to form friendships with others. I am trying to be as objective as possible here and merely report the events of the day, and that which we were told, as accurately and unbiasedly as possible, however I should say that, to my western ears, this idea seems completely alien. I took it all to mean that one should focus on one's relationship with God, and not allow oneself to be distracted by the suffering inherent with worldly relationships: Mister Kanabar, please, by all means, correct me or respond to this if you like, for us all to better understand.


Finally he told us some of the important factors of the life and influence of Lord Swaminarayan himself. He was born in 1781, in the dark time between the Moguls and the British Raj. He embarked on a journey of spiritual enlightenment, leaving home at the age of eleven and walking for seven years, without clothes or money, across the length and breadth of India. His followers came to consider him an incarnation of God (Brahma). When he established the Swaminarayan tradition he made some important reforms, by way of abolitions. The first thing to go was the caste system, then sati or widow burning (the practice of surviving widows burning to death on the funeral pyre of their late husbands), which some claim, outside the Swaminarayan tradition of course, still occurs in India sometimes now (the last recorded instance was in 1987 – www.hinduismtoday.com). Finally, he abolished the dowry system (the practice of the bride’s family offering gifts and money to the groom at the time of a wedding). He saw dowry as very difficult for poor families, who had little to offer. The dowry system, it is claimed, has led to mass abortions of female fetuses, as well as many murders of young wives in India (up to 100 000 a year, generally aged between 15 – 34, usually through arson. – The Straits Times - http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2009/3/5/dousing-out-bride-burning), freeing up men to remarry and receive another dowry. The details I have provided here are taken from having read through numerous articles in Indian and non-Indian publications and are intended to serve to show why the abolition of these institutions has been so popular, as described by Mister Kanabar. It is not only the Swaminarayan tradition that has abolished these practices – dowry and sati are illegal in India today, though dowry is still, if we are to believe the press, widely practiced today. Our guide tells us that it was Lord Swaminarayan who first called for the abolition of these institutions (The Moguls tried to ban sati burning before that) and that for this he is celebrated and venerated.

Mister Kanabar spoke enthusiastically about the coming technological age, and how we will soon have cars that take you from A to B automatically while all passengers sit and read the paper - an exciting prospect! I asked about whether he believed that some of the stories we had encountered at the temple (for example that Lord Ganesha had his head replaced with that of an Elephant) were true; whether he believed that such things literally happened, in the way that, for example, some Christians believe in the virgin conception, or other such miracles, literally happened. He confirmed that he did not. His focus is on the truth of Shri Swaminarayan, and that the old stories of the epics provided such things as moral guidance, but are not considered to have literally happened.


After our time in the temple we visited the market, which is well stocked with all kinds of Indian (and non-Indian) goodies, including lots of sweets. Some of my students and I took advantage of the buffet lunch of Gujarati specialties at the restaurant there – highly recommended!

The Mandir is open to the public throughout the week. More details can be found at http://www.mandir.org/


ADDITIONAL: On the bank holiday Monday just gone, at the invitation of Shashi, I went along to the opening festival of the new Shri Sanatan mandir in Alperton in Ealing, a few minutes from my house. From the outside it’s an impressive building, as you can see, but inside it is really quite something. It’s like a greatly expanded version of the temple at Neasden – there must be thirty or more Murtis, few of which I recognized, but there were some familiar faces like Ganesha and Hanuman. There are two great domes, colourfully lit up and beautifully adorned with all kinds of figures including swans and peacocks as well as human figures. It’s not far from Neasden so, if you’re making a trip to see one mandir, it’s as well to see the other while you’re in the area.

Wat Buddhapatipa Thai Temple

The first of our class trips to the temples of London was the Wat Buddhapadipa Temple in Wimbledon, south London on Friday May 7. We were met by Phramaha Paisan Khemacaro - one of the temple's monks and a very friendly fellow. We all sat together in the temple itself, before the enormous shrine of the Buddha and amidst the murals of the temple walls. The vibrant murals depict scenes from the the Buddha's life, as well as various scenes from around time and space including the faces of Charlie Chaplin, Margaret Thatcher and other well-known characters. Some of the great structures from around the world, such as the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower, are also included in the paintings.

Paisan began by explaining Buddhism as he sees it, as a monk of the Thai Theravāda tradition. He tells us that the man Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, was just that; a man. He explained that when Lord Siddhartha broke the cycle of Samsara (the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), he left the world and the universe and is, effectively, no more. It is the ambition, we're told, of the Buddhist monk to do the same: to bring an end to suffering, to attain Nirvana.

He explained that many lay Buddhists believe that when the man Siddhartha died (in around 410 BCE), he became a god, and that praying to him can help in their lives, or that he can offer some kind of protection. They believe in certain miracles such as that when the prince Siddhartha was born in a forest in India, he immediately began to walk and that where ever his new-born feet touched the ground, there sprung forth a lotus flower to cushion his tiny feet.

When certain of my class pressed him about his idea of God, Paisan explained that, as a monk, he does not trouble himself with such questions or beliefs. There is no question of God for him - no concern of any divine creator and sustainer. Ever-grinning, he teased my students as they earnestly and avidly attended his words, explaining that it was his parents that created him. He explained that asking questions about who or what created us was not unlike a warrior, struck by a poisoned arrow, inquiring of his doctor first about the nature of the poison, or the name of the man who fired the arrow, before allowing the doctor to treat the injury or purge the poison.

After answering some more questions and discussing Buddhism a little further, he kindly demonstrated a chanting of the Pali canon for us. It was lovely to hear and he clearly enjoyed giving the demonstration. Then we all went out to explore the beautiful four-acre site of the temple, from the ponds and gardens, to the little thoughts and messages inscribed on tablets here and there and the many little shrines, statues, gods and memorials about the place.

www.londontemplevisits.blogspot.com

The temple is open to the public at weekends and there are free meditation classes offered on certain evenings. For more information: http://www.buddhapadipa.org/