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REPLY
Dear Tony and Beverley,
It is with sadness that I read your email and decided to respond immediately. The so-called custodians,
or employees of the custodians, of the Golden Temple Complex, do not perhaps reflect the love that my
faith radiates. This sad state is so with most faiths. 'They' consider themselves the caretakers and feel
they have the right to dictate terms. They perhaps do not consider themselves as servants of the people
- rather the 'owners' of this sacred place. Allow me to shed some light on the past history of this
heavenly monument and its so-called 'custodians'.
The monument was started by our fourth Guru Sahib, Guru Ram Das. The legend of this site is that a
monarch of the region in times immemorial condemned his daughter to be married to a leper because she
refused to accept him as the most powerful being that lived. She believed in God as her guardian and
saviour. As she started her new life as a beggar also fending for her invalid husband, she came across a
pond in the jungle. She parked the trolley that her husband sat on beside this pond and told him that she
will go and look for food as he rested there. While he sat in the trolley, he spied a black raven dive
into the pond and come out a white swan! He dragged his badly disfigured and rotting body off his trolley
and crawled into the pond. The waters cured his disease and he was whole again. His wife the princess on
returning, found a handsome young man instead of a leprosy ridden invalid...
Guru Ram Das excavated this pond and built a lovely pool. The job of finishing the task of building the
Darbar Sahib within the pool fell on his son and our fifth Guru, Guru Arjan around 1600AD.
So you can see that firstly, this sacred site should give special, privileged treatment to those who are
incapacitated in any way. The Darbar Sahib precinct, you will notice, does not even have adequate
wheel-chair access! I am not even sure whether 'they' allow a wheel-chair ridden person in!
After the sixth Guru, the son and grandson of the original founders of this monument, Guru HarGobind
moved away and set up his centre in a place called Kiratpur. This sacred place was taken over by other
relatives of the past Gurus. For their own selfish motives and greed they stopped recognising the
following Gurus fearing that they might come back to claim their heritance. This reached such a state
that the ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was not allowed into the precinct when he visited. There is even
a shrine to commemorate this rather shameful event in the history of this site. The tenth and last Guru
in human form, Guru Gobind Singh Ji came nowhere near this sacred place all his life!
From time to time, the 'custodians' of this monument have displayed their high-handedness.
For example, womenfolk are not allowed in the early morning cleaning service of the inner sanctum. Women
have launched an agitation against this un-Sikh practice of the custodians, especially American-Sikh
women of the Western Sikh Dharma. The agitation is ongoing. Women are also not officially allowed to do
Kirtan in the Darbar Sahib - another very un-Sikh practice.
Last year, we had an interesting episode, which further highlights their high-handedness. Guru Nanak,
the founder of our faith, had one close companion who accompanied him on a number of his 'Udasis'
(spiritual journeys). He was a proficient musician and accompanied Guru Nanak's hymn-singing on the
rebeck. He was a low-caste Muslim called Bhai Mardhana. We of course hold him in very high regard - not,
it will appear, the custodians of the Darbar Sahib. His descendants, who are also proficient singers of
'Gurbani' were not allowed to do Kirtan in the Darbar Sahib because 'they' have an edict that non-Sikhs,
in fact non-Amritdharies (those who have not partaken of the Khalsa baptism and are not practising
Khalsas) are not allowed to do Kirtan in the Darbar Sahib. So my friend, as you can see, even I, with my
non-Sikh group members, will not be allowed to do Kirtan at the Darbar Sahib.
As for their excuse that it says in the Guru Granth Sahib that one should approach the Guru with bare
feet - that is a matter of interpretation. That is not an edict, just a reference to approaching the
Guru in all humility. Other incapacitated devotees could come in wheel chairs, or even on hospital beds.
It is rather high-handed that one is not allowed to pay their respects on such a flimsy excuse/reason.
Finally, to inform you of the double standards of these custodians. A few years ago, the Queen of
England, Elizabeth, was allowed to wear white socks when she visited the inner sanctum of the Darbar
Sahib! She was, of course, in a privileged position being a queen! (Another un-Sikh practice - no one
must be held higher than others).
Tony and Beverley, I feel your anger and sadness too. There are a great deal of things wrong with the
so-called custodians of my faith, but in the end, it is the 'truth' of my faith that I prescribe to - not
the way it is portrayed by some of my brothers and sisters.
As for the monument, remember, it is only a monument - bricks and mortar... and water. You have seen it.
Keep it in your heart and drive away the anger. Spirituality is beyond human existence and its follies.
Your trip was not wasted in any way. On my last visit to the Golden Temple I sat with my youngest
daughter just inside the outer complex and gazed upon this wonder ship image, heard the ‘Kirtan’, which
wafted across the sacred waters of the 'Sarovar', and left. That outer image is good enough for me. I do
not even have to go 'inside'. We are blessed with the ability of having our Guru in our homes - The Sri
Guru Granth Sahib, or at the nearest Gurdwara. We do not need to go on pilgrimages to 'meet' Him and
even pay our respects at the Golden Temple complex. He resides within us!
I look forward to meeting you folks when I am next in Tamworth. Meanwhile,
Dya Singh CD’s available for sale now at www.ethnicisland.com
Cherdhi Kala
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