The Christian community is confronting the development of the “Sixth American:” those individuals who do not exist in or identify with any particular space and ultimately congregate together. These integrated congregations are hopeful signs that the elements of discrimination and racism which infiltrated most churches over the last two centuries are slowly being eradicated.
Strangely enough, Sikh-Americans aren’t evolving in the same direction. In less than fifty years, Sikh-Americans have (get this) provided an anti-model for our adopted culture by dividing into self-identifying congregations, sects and denominations!
This may in part be explained by our natural connection to our social networks. Like members of other faiths, we choose to go to a place of worship that is attended by our families. We go where our friends attend. We go where our language is spoken. We are segregated by whether we are brand-spankin-new-citizens or third-generation Sikh Americans. We are separated by our interests and our jobs.
Yet now in nearly every major US city, ego, anger, and political infighting have helped to split a unified gurdwara into five polarized ones. We now have different ways of worshiping and understanding our Guru. We may choose to go to one that has a langar hall with tables and chairs. We have waiting lists for getting married at the gurdwara with the fancy zip code that is sprawled out on a grassy knoll, but we either don’t make efforts to get involved with seva otherwise or aren’t accepted by the self-segregating sangat that usually attend. We bicker intensely over who is behind our gurdwara fund management and invest a huge amount of energy crafting lawsuits against one another, but our energy suddenly fizzles out when it comes to addressing how to make these funds work for our community, both Sikh and non-Sikh.
Perhaps I can offer a firm slap to the back of our heads to remind us what a gurdwara is: it is a place of individual learning and spiritual growth and a center for the sadh sangat as well. It is a place where thoughts may be debated and challenged openly and then acted upon by the community as a whole. It is here where we continue to develop a spirit of chardi kala among our community.
When will we see ourselves as part of a sangat? When will we start to see our currently fractionated community as an extension of our family? When will we be willing to take ownership of and responsibility for ourselves and community? We’re moving backwards at a pace faster than I’m comfortable to admit, and a majority of us don’t even recognize it. As long as we continue to ignore or think lightly of the situation, today’s divided gurdwaras will (and are already starting to) quickly recreate the social, economic, and political injustice and inequalities our Gurus and sangat steadfastly fought against centuries ago. What are you going to do to stop this?
Strangely enough, Sikh-Americans aren’t evolving in the same direction. In less than fifty years, Sikh-Americans have (get this) provided an anti-model for our adopted culture by dividing into self-identifying congregations, sects and denominations!
This may in part be explained by our natural connection to our social networks. Like members of other faiths, we choose to go to a place of worship that is attended by our families. We go where our friends attend. We go where our language is spoken. We are segregated by whether we are brand-spankin-new-citizens or third-generation Sikh Americans. We are separated by our interests and our jobs.
Yet now in nearly every major US city, ego, anger, and political infighting have helped to split a unified gurdwara into five polarized ones. We now have different ways of worshiping and understanding our Guru. We may choose to go to one that has a langar hall with tables and chairs. We have waiting lists for getting married at the gurdwara with the fancy zip code that is sprawled out on a grassy knoll, but we either don’t make efforts to get involved with seva otherwise or aren’t accepted by the self-segregating sangat that usually attend. We bicker intensely over who is behind our gurdwara fund management and invest a huge amount of energy crafting lawsuits against one another, but our energy suddenly fizzles out when it comes to addressing how to make these funds work for our community, both Sikh and non-Sikh.
Perhaps I can offer a firm slap to the back of our heads to remind us what a gurdwara is: it is a place of individual learning and spiritual growth and a center for the sadh sangat as well. It is a place where thoughts may be debated and challenged openly and then acted upon by the community as a whole. It is here where we continue to develop a spirit of chardi kala among our community.
When will we see ourselves as part of a sangat? When will we start to see our currently fractionated community as an extension of our family? When will we be willing to take ownership of and responsibility for ourselves and community? We’re moving backwards at a pace faster than I’m comfortable to admit, and a majority of us don’t even recognize it. As long as we continue to ignore or think lightly of the situation, today’s divided gurdwaras will (and are already starting to) quickly recreate the social, economic, and political injustice and inequalities our Gurus and sangat steadfastly fought against centuries ago. What are you going to do to stop this?
