Guru Nanak
founded Sikhism in 1469 in Pakistan. A Sikh is a person who believes in One God
and the teachings of the Ten Gurus. The Sikh Holy Scripture is the ultimate
spiritual authority and sits in the center of the Sikh temple and lays in a
special resting area at night. Sikhs do not cut their hair, refrain from
alcohol and tobacco and cover their hair in the temple.
We visited
the largest Sikh temple in Delhi. We first visited the kitchen area of the
temple where volunteers provide meals as an act of community and service.
Anyone is invited and welcome. They serve meals to thousands of people from all
walks of life. We helped prepare roti, a type of bread.
After we
helped, we sat down in the feeding room and got served the meal surrounded by
thousands of others. Sikhs consider eating together a type of worship and
chanted prayers while they were served the food.
The sense
of hospitality in India has been overwhelming and one of my favorite
experiences on this trip, and our meal at the Sikh temple was no exception. The
man next to us was very concerned that we got enough food and kept telling the
servers to fill up our trays, and then promptly cleared all our trays for us
once we were finished. Eating a simple
meal with hundreds of people in one room was a powerful experience. After our
meal we walked through the temple where the Sikh Holy Scripture is located.
