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Guwahati, Nov 8: The Sikh belief in service to others is an important element of the religion. Be it celebrations, calamities, protests or natural calamities Sikhs are always at the forefront and are known to serve people tirelessly and selflessly. The concept of ‘Sewa’ which means selfless or voluntary service is at the core of Sikh culture.
“Guru Nanak Dev jee the founder of Sikhism by preaching universal brotherhood and equality gave the main concept of service to the needy irrespective of one’s social, religious or ethnic origin through Sewa which is done by Tan Man aur Dhan (Body, Mind and Wealth),” said Captain PP Singh, Chairman, North East Khalsa Centre.
All over the world the Sikh community continues to serve on the front lines of humanitarian crises, whether it is the Rohingya refugees fleeing violent protests, the farmers’ protests in New Delhi, the disaster or the annual floods in Assam. The essence of Sewa in Sikh teachings can be seen in the service they render without any thought of reward.
PP Singh said, “Guru Nanak’s idea of Langar also feeds millions of people all over the world and his followers relate to him. Guru Ka Langar those in need whether in war zones or disaster-affected areas who do not care about their own safety and serve humanity.”
Khalsa Center North East, is one such organization which has been doing exemplary work in Assam and North East. The concept of langar has been widely implemented in the union State. From serving langar at B Baroah Cancer hospital, feeding 5000 people daily during lockdown, organizing blood donation camps at regular intervals to building a school in Lahorigat, the concept of Sikhism is in the service of people irrespective of caste. ethnicity, religion, language, gender, social or economic status or political considerations of the organization.
“Our aim is to do Sewa, teaching Sewa is the biggest contribution to the Assamese community, when I say Assamese it includes everyone in Assam, we don’t see or discriminate people based on Hindu, Muslim, Christian, etc,” he said. said PP Singh.
“As we celebrate Guru Nanak Jayanti today we are focusing our efforts. During Guru Nanak Jayanti our aim is that no one sleeps hungry and my goal is Guru Nanak’s langar for zero hunger. We are very eager to build a community kitchen to serve them. “People have even asked the government for some land for more than a year and a half and have not received any response from the government so far,” said PP Singh.
Sikhism and Assam
The history of Sikh relations in Assam goes back to the time of the Sikh gurus. Although the development of the Sikh community in Assam had different patterns, according to many stories surrounding the Sikhs, they adopted Assam as their home in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh, visited Assam in 1505 when he traveled from Dhaka to Assam. Later, the 9th Sikh Saint Guru Teg Bahadur came to this place and established the Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib in the 17th century which is located in the beautiful state of Assam and the beautiful bank of the river Brahmaputra in the town of Dhubri. Every year more than 50,000 Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and all devotees from across the country and the world gather at this historic temple to commemorate the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur. The martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur is remembered as Shaheed Divas. The festival starts with a celebration and a big party. Sikhs call this ceremony Sahidee-Guru-Parav.
If we go back in history, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur visited Assam in 1670 and played a major role in bringing peace to the region during the war between the Mughals and the Ahoms. The Gurdwara was built on the site when the saint was there and negotiated peace during his stay here. The establishment of peace was brought about by the efforts of Guru Tegh Bahadur who jointly celebrated the devotion of Guru Nanak to the Mughal and Ahom armies. The peace monument in Dhubri was erected with red sand and the soldiers of the army carried shields. This permanent monument to successful peace efforts stands in Dhubri to this day. There are two temples in the state – Gurudwara Damdama Sahib and Gurudwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib.
According to the studies though the records are not clear to show when and where exactly Guru Nanak met Sankardeva, yet the similarities between the writings and actions of the two great philosophers show that they met in Assam. , Dhubri or Nagaon area of Guru Nanak’s travels in Assam.
PP Singh highlighted that the ideals of Sikhism were similar to that of Sankardeva. Following these values, most Sikhs are coming voluntarily to develop educational institutions, provide health facilities, to eliminate social inequality in the society and also ensure food for all.
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