Gurdwara which means the Door of the Guru or the House of Guru is a place where the Sikhs go to seek the blessings of God Almighty under the suspires of our last Guru Shri Guru Granth Sahib. It is a place to communicate with inner sole and to do soul searching for the sake of leading a meaningful life. By reciting Gurbani we try to get rid of sinful behavior and attain tranquility in the pursuit of salvation. “Nanak bhagta sda vigas-Sunia dukh pap ka nas.” It is a place where we come to get rid of our personal egos and restrain the demon of violent behavior which resides in each one of us. We recite Gurbani, “Mithal nivi Nanka gun changiya tut.”

But it is a pity and a matter of great shame for the entire Sikh community when the so-called Sikhs resort to senseless violence in Gurdwara premises against their own brothers to achieve their selfish motives and to fuel the fires of their egoistic desires. Obviously, the intentions of those who come to Gurdwaras lashed with Lethal weapons and live ammunition cannot be anything else but malignant. They directly play into the hands of our enemies and blemish the fair name of Sikh community in and around the world. There cannot be anything more insulting or disrespectful to the Faith of Nanak than the bickering and shooting at each other in Gurdwara or the House of Baba Nanak. The bizante incidents of violence would only make the enemies of the Panth to laugh in their sleeves.

If we revere our religious institutions and have a bleeding heart for the Sikh Nation, we should,

  1. Condemn all kinds o within Gurdwara premises in the strongest possible terms.
  2. Gurdwara constitute be fair so that every Sikh of the Sangat gets the serve and participate in the Gurdwara affairs.
  3. The provisions of the constitution should be followed in and spirit and a meticulous record kept of the minutes of all the meetings.
  4. The constitution should be structured in such a way that the ultimate control of the Gurdwara rests with the local community and not the outsiders of the week end visitors.
  5. No personal attacks of any kind should be allowed against ny individuals, communities or religions from the Gurdwara Stage.
  6. All individuals involved in violence within Gurdwara premises should be required to apologize not only to the Sangat of that Gurdwara but also to the entire Sikh community in writing to no for their sins. In the event of usual to do so they should be ostracized from the Sikh community to avoid any further damage

e image of the Sikhs around the world.

  1. The management committees of Gurdwaras should convene annually to share their experience: and to formulate guidelines to keep the evil of violence out of our Gurdwaras. Never forget the old adage. “Love begins love and violence begets violence.” Let all of us pray that Waheguru gives the wisdom to the Sikhs to stay humble and nonviolent and contribute immensely towards the welfare of all mankind.

Dr. Mohinder S. Poonia Fresno, CA

Article extracted from this publication >>  January 13, 1995