Could someone guide me the exact meanings of word Sangat ?
Is listening to Keertan and Kathas at home on TV or thro any electronic media in todays world means same as Sangat at Gurdwara sahib? Since we do the same at Gurdwaras. So what 's the difference except a community gathering.
Pl advise.
Hardip Singh ji,
Guru Fateh.
Here is my 2 cent worth. People who visit Gurdwaras in India do it for different reasons than in the diaspora in my opinion. In the former, it is a personal quest/ritual/chiliah etc. etc. Mind you the latter two are anti Sikhi.
People in the diaspora do it for social and personal reasons because Gurdwara is the only place where they can meet once/twice a week.
Now, coming back to you question about Sangat, Sangh means company in Sanskrit. So, in my opinion, one has to do sangat (self-contemplation) with oneself first. Then the rest is gravy, the icing on the cake. I personally do not like kathas because it has to be spiced up a lot for people to "savour" it which makes the kathavachak add his "own spices" in the guise of fairy tales and other made up stories about Guru Sahibs. As a result, the listeners end up remembering the anecdotes- the fairy tales added-, than the real Gurmat.
Thanks & regards
Tejwant Singh
