This is definitely one of my most memorable experiences:
Last year myself and another Singh were asked to show around a group of year 5 and year 6 primary school students around a Gurdwara Sahib in Gillingham. Dass wore Bana and the other Singh wore English clothes.
As we waited in the car park the minibuses arrived. I could see and hear that while the children were on the minibuses, the teachers were going around to all of the pupils and making sure they had all covered their heads! Unlike our people that wait until they are in the Gurdwara Sahib to actually pick up a bandanna to cover their head. Vaheguroo. Whilst the children were coming out of the minibuses, they were becoming more and more excited, and it made me think - this is how a Sikh should become when they are receiving darsan of Guroo Sahib!
The children were really energetic and talking quite loudly and excitedly amongst themselves with their friends. They were really surprised to see a Singh in Bana and they seemed really intrigued and interested so I explained to them what the Bana is and what it means. I thought that they needed a medium of letting the energy flow out of their bodies before they enter the Gurdwara Sahib, as they would need to sit down for a while. So we got them to do a few exercises in the car park to release their energy which was quite beneficial (for me aswell!).
As they entered, we explained to them the importance and reason why we take off our socks and shoes and they seemed really happy to do so - no back chat like you get from punjabis!
We also explained the significance of doing Matha Tek to Guroo Sahib and what it means. The kids seemed really excited at this point. It was a really amazing experience watching the kids and teachers do Matha Tek. The majority of kids were bowing down to Guroo Sahib for 10 seconds at time! Which is more than you see at your local Gurdwara. It really looked as if they had found a great amount of peace just from being inside the Gurdwara.
Straight after that they sat down in rows infront of Guroo Sahib, as quiet as anything. It was really amazing to see children sitting so still and quietly in a Gurdwara Sahib rather than running around screaming with their heads uncovered! The amount of times I've witnessed that.
I asked the children and teachers what Religion they followed or if anyone was an atheist, to get them involved and to find out more about them and their beliefs. There were about 6 atheists and the majority were Christians with a couple of Hindus.
I then explained to them before I began the powerpoint that the highest action you can do in life is to Naam Jap. I asked them if they had ever meditated in their lives and the majority said they hadn't. I told them the "magic word" that we repeat is "Vaheguroo" and the meaning.
We then explained what Keertan is and the importance. The kids still seemed really interested and even knew what a Vaja and Tabla was! We then said that we would do a quick 5 minutes of Sirman through Keertan. I told them to close their eyes and imagine what ever they believe God to be. Think of everything that God has done for you and what you have been blessed with. We then started doing Simran to the tune of
Dhan Guroo Nanak - never fails!
It was such an amazing exerience. The kids did not once open their eyes, but kept still with their backs up straight. Some even them even started singing!! When we finished and they finally opened their eyes that just had a look on their faces that just said "woaah". The children were smiling and all saying how amazing and peaceful that felt - even the atheists! Dhan Guroo Nanak! Never once have I seen a punjabi child sit through 5 minutes of Simran the way these children did.
We then asked them if they knew the names of the 10 Guroo Sahibs and to my surprise they knew the majority of them apart from a couple. They even knew that we consider Guroo Granth Sahib Jee to be a living Guroo. We then moved onto 5 Kakkar, luckily I had brought them with me so the kids could have got to see them. As we held up a Kakkar one by one
all of the children knew what they were called. I was so amazed. They had really done their research before they had come to the Gurdwara. We then showed them a nice heavy Kara, which they loved. We showed them an 11" Taksali Kirpan which they found to be amazing. I showed them one of my knee length Kachera and they were amazed at how big and wide it was, especially for a skinny bloke like me! (note: I did wash it!).
We then moved on to other subjects such as Amritvela, the reasons why both men and women wear a Dastaar. They were pretty shocked to hear that women also wear Dastaara, it would have been nice if there were some bibia around to show them that women do wear dastaara but chalo what can you do. We spoke of the jeevan of a Gursikh and the concept of God. Throughout the whole presentation they remained silent and unbelievably focused. Some even asked questions.
At the end we put the children in to small groups had a small quiz with them. There were roughly 10 questions and we told them the winners would get a bag of sweets. Although it seemed as if we didn't need to 'tempt' them with the sweets as they seemed enthusiastic anyway. We asked them basic questions e.g. what are the 5 Kakkar etc, and then moved on to some tougher questions e.g. what is Keertan etc. The kids were really talking amongst themselves and generally having fun.
At the end we asked each group for the answer and everyone was so energetic and really wanting to answer the questions. It was as if they wanted to learn more and more about Sikhi. All the groups had got the majority right with only a couple wrong. I was really shocked. From experience, I would say a good 60% of Punjabi's do not know what the kids had learnt within the space of a few minutes. Really makes you think.
We gave each team a nice big bag of sweets - courtesy of the Gurdwara! The children and staff then went into the langar hall where they were given langar of 1 parshada and dhaal. Everyone had finished everything that was on their plate! Apart from a couple who said they couldn't finish it. The Gurdwara also gave them some chocolate and a bag of crisps. If only Gurdware were kind and generous towards our own people!!
The kids then headed out and started saying thank you and how lovely a Gurdwara Sahib was. They even attempted to say the Fateh, bless them.
The whole experience really made me think. We try and try to educate others about Sikhi through various means. Some people are too busy, and some people are just not bothered. Some people come to the Gurdwara and just put on a bit more weight each time. But these children and adults had taken away so much more than alot of Punjabi's I know.
It just makes you think how big of a Gem Sikhi is and how some people are totally oblivious to that. Then some 'outsiders' remind how much of a gift we have.
Dhan Guroo Nanak.
