Saturday, October 01, 2005
Harsh Bazithee
My sister's Religious Studies teacher at Trinity Western University asked her a couple of years ago if she could arrange for one of his classes to visit a local Gurdwara. Since then, once a semester, the instructor has been bringing his religious studies class to Dashmesh Darbar for a discussion and a tour.
The first time the group visited Dasmesh Darbar, the discussion and tour were done by someone from Khalsa School (I'm not sure who it was). The instructor was very impressed, saying that the tour was much better than the one given by the Surrey Gurdwara.
Today, the instructor once again brought his religious studies class to Dashmesh Darbar. Everything went well, with Gianni Swarn Singh leading the discussion. When it was time for the class to leave, guess what? One of the students' shoes had been stolen. Wow, that's so embarrassing.
Imagine going to a place of worship, and having someone tell you how great the religion is, how followers of the religion believe in doing service, helping fellow humans, earning an honest living, remembering God in everything you do, etc... Then you get up to leave and see that your $80 pair of shoes aren't where you put them... aren't anywhere to be seen. So what would you remember about visiting the Gurdwara, and about Sikhs in general?
I've had three pairs of shoes stolen from the Gurdwara. Not all of them were even expensive. One pair was only $16. It's different for me because I know that the thievery isn't a reflection of Sikhi, but I wonder what those students are going to tell people about Sikhs.
The first time the group visited Dasmesh Darbar, the discussion and tour were done by someone from Khalsa School (I'm not sure who it was). The instructor was very impressed, saying that the tour was much better than the one given by the Surrey Gurdwara.
Today, the instructor once again brought his religious studies class to Dashmesh Darbar. Everything went well, with Gianni Swarn Singh leading the discussion. When it was time for the class to leave, guess what? One of the students' shoes had been stolen. Wow, that's so embarrassing.
Imagine going to a place of worship, and having someone tell you how great the religion is, how followers of the religion believe in doing service, helping fellow humans, earning an honest living, remembering God in everything you do, etc... Then you get up to leave and see that your $80 pair of shoes aren't where you put them... aren't anywhere to be seen. So what would you remember about visiting the Gurdwara, and about Sikhs in general?
I've had three pairs of shoes stolen from the Gurdwara. Not all of them were even expensive. One pair was only $16. It's different for me because I know that the thievery isn't a reflection of Sikhi, but I wonder what those students are going to tell people about Sikhs.
Comments:
By , at
10/01/2005 5:45 PM
That's awful. I went to this gurdwara in India, I think it was Anandpur Sahib and it had a shoe check-in, similar to a coat check-in in clubs. Maybe that's what our gurdwara's need to do as well. Maybe the gurdwara should pay for stolen shoes, especially if they're people of another faith. These were students from a Christian University. They already think Christianity is a superior religion than any other as it is. This probably did not help. What a shame.
By , at
10/02/2005 3:11 PM
hahahahaha.. i get why u think this is shameful, i think so too.. however... hahaha this really doesn't reflect Sikhi. If they are intelligent/considerate enough to take the time and consider the incident, they'll realize it as well, that just because they got their shoes stolen, doesn't mean Sikhs are thieves. And even if they let this incident have an effect on their style of thought, it's quite alright. We know the truth, and one day, they will too.
Cheer up Bhainji. =]p
bhull chuk maaf
Cheer up Bhainji. =]p
bhull chuk maaf
By , at
10/02/2005 8:49 PM
I don't think it's funny at all!
The whole purpose of going to the Gurdwara is to reflect on God, not go shoe shopping and stealing.
One thing Pavandeep didn't mention is that my dad gave the girl money to reimburse her for the shoes- but it never should have happened. Those kids were kind and considerate enough to take off their shoes and cover their heads- look what they got.
The whole purpose of going to the Gurdwara is to reflect on God, not go shoe shopping and stealing.
One thing Pavandeep didn't mention is that my dad gave the girl money to reimburse her for the shoes- but it never should have happened. Those kids were kind and considerate enough to take off their shoes and cover their heads- look what they got.
By , at
10/03/2005 6:12 PM
Of course the Guruduara Sahib isn't for stealing shoes. You comment above implies that I condone what happened. By all means, no. But you need to stop and understand that whatever happens, happens according to Waheguru Ji's will. Who are we to change what has occured, or will occur? No one! So accept it as it comes. It wasn't right, but it shouldn't be seen as a shame to Sikhi, because face it - whoever stole the shoes wasn't a Sikh anyway.
bhull chuk maaf
bhull chuk maaf
By , at
10/03/2005 6:12 PM
