WASHINGTON DC: The martyrdom anniversary of Si Guru Arjan Dev Ji the 5th Guru of Sikhs and the first martyr in Sikhism who set lofty standards for the Sikh Nation was observed with reverence at The Washington Sikh Center The program included Shabad Kirtan from the Gurbani of the 5th Guru by children of different age groups and Bibi Amarjit Kaur and party. All the children performed magnificently. Their efforts and dedication were exemplary. The entire congregation consisting of nearly 200 persons was truly impressed.
Besides the speaker on this occasion was Dr. Ujaggar Singh Bawa whose topic for the day was ‘Sacrifice’. In his message he emphasized that the deliberations in our Gurdwaras and other institutions in the western word should be geared more towards the needs of our children. Such program should be tailored to the interests of the children more than those of the adults. Their participation should be raised from the cosmetic and ceremonial levels to more effective and substantive levels. The children should be impressed upon the significance of their religion and tradition; they should be told these significance of 5 K’C’ we are so proud of; they should be advised of the significance of wearing a turban that gives us the conspicuousness they should be informed about our social and moral values that we have ail cherished and treasured; they should be made aware of the significance of learning to read write and speak Punjabi (and Gurmukhi script); they should be told about the significance of Shabad Kirtan Naam Simran and the significance of the eventful Sikh history and we should reinforce them educationally culturally politically and above all religiously to shape up their future and the future of the Sikh nation. The program ended with Guru ka Langar. Ranjit K. Bawa
Article extracted from this publication >> June 28, 1991
