A Weekend Retreat Uniting Sikhs from Different Ancestry
A Weekend Retreat Uniting Sikhs from Different Ancestry
S.S. Shakta Kaur Khalsa
Herndon VA, U.S.A.
In November here in Virginia we held a precedent-setting weekend retreat. Sikhs with origin in the Punjab and America, who have for so long smiled and nodded at each other, and sung kirtan and served langar together in our Sunday Gurdwara, came together to open their hearts to each other, enjoy the humanity of each other, and touch the Khalsa soul in each other.
The purpose of this retreat was to allow all of us to get to know one another better and have lots of fun doing it! Our community is at the threshold of a time when we will be creating a wonderful new Gurdwara. This vision includes pooling our resources and removing the cultural barriers. Our ashram sangat, which consists of about 80 people, has been joined over the past few years in our Sunday Gurdwara by our brothers and sisters of Indian origin, doubling the amount of people in Gurdwara. Because of this, we have found the need and the means to create a new Gurdwara, supported by a united sangat.
The inspiration behind this retreat came from our brother, Harinder Singh. Siri Gian Kaur and Kartar Singh joined with him to bring this vision to life. We had an enthusiastic response from the entire sangat, and our weekend was well attended by all.
We arrived Friday night, amidst rain and flash-flood warnings, over dark and winding country roads, that led us to the autumn beauty of the Shenandoah Valley. Our lodges were quaint, cozy, and (thankfully!) fully equipped and decorated. I was happily surprised to see several families already there when we arrived. They had braved the weather, some not feeling totally well -- yet there they were, trusting and ready for whatever the weekend would bring.
Sometime during the night, our dear friend and beautiful ragi, Sardarni Amarjit Kaur, arrived with her family. With only a few hours sleep, they began playing Asa Di Var at 4 a.m. We all experienced the blessing of the Guru’s Kirtan, singing and meditating in the glow of the fireplace and the glow of our own hearts, as we shared our love of Gurbani.
Throughout the weekend, we had plenty of time to talk, prepare meals and eat together, and get to know each other in the way people do when they camp together.
During the first day of our retreat, the heavy rains and the warm fire set the scene for a very cozy, safe sharing circle around the fireplace, where we "checked in" with each other. Each person said their reason for being there, what their hopes were, and what their lives were like. Everyone was free to impart whatever they wanted to in the sacred trust of the circle. So many honest feelings were expressed. No one was the same after touching and being touched by the human heart in all.
After an afternoon of free time, spent napping, walking among the colorful wet leaves, or just relaxing and talking, we met again around a delicious langar. Following langar, it was party time--silly and just plain fun games, which had us all laughing until we couldn’t stop. Whoever said "laughter is the best medicine" was right! I could feel myself subtly healed in many ways, both mentally and physically, just from that night of laughter. It was so good for us all to see this side of each other. One sister who came, Sarjit Kaur, said she had never had so much fun.
On Sunday, after sadhana and breakfast, we began again with our meeting time. The organizers had not planned exactly what the meetings would be. Instead they trusted the Guru to reveal the plan. He did, in the form of a suggestion by Gurusimran Kaur that we go around the circle appreciating each person. This simple idea was profound in its effect. The preciousness of each individual soul became very clear as we went around the room finding the beauty, the value, and the special qualities in each person that made them so dear to each of us. We ended the session with a group "hug" in which prayers were spontaneously offered, for loved ones, for those who wanted to be there but couldn’t, for the Siri Singh Sahib, for peace on our planet.
We ended our weekend with a whirlwind group clean-up, hugs all around, and a promise to do it again in the spring, bringing many more along. We made a path to each other through the heart, and by Guru’s Grace, it leads to the vision of the Siri Singh Sahib when he says, "There is no American Sikh and there is no Indian Sikh. There is only the Gursikh."