Sir,
I would like to report my experience at the “Samagam” held in July this year at Calgary, Canada.
I was received at the airport by Sikhs living in Calgary. I was provided good accommodation with a Sikh family, who accommodated others visiting like myself. We were made welcome and treated as family. Basic Sikh principles of “Bhai Bandi” and “Sewa” were being practised, not just preached. And our hosts did not claim any credit for the “Sewa”: they said that God gave them the opportunity to be of service.
Gurbani teaches us that when we leave this world, nothing goes with you, except “Simran”. This was emphasised over & over again.
Children were taught what Sikhism is all about. The children did a lot of “Sewa” and they were genuinely proud to be Sikhs. There was “Amrit Parchar” also and about 30 people of all ages took part.
My experience of our “Gurdwaras” is that most of us have forgotten the basics of Sikhism & are more interested in politics of one kind or another. It would be nice if we could learn from the sort of experience I have had at the “Samagam” and put it into practice in our “Gurdwaras”.
Dr. Jasbir Kaur TRACY, CA
Article extracted from this publication >> July 27, 1990
