 Pure Longing Fulfilled  |
Pure Longing Fulfilled
SS Guru Kirn Kaur Khalsa
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Khalsa, wife of Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji and the Bhai Sahiba of Sikh Dharma, Siri Bhrosa Kaur Khalsa, and myself had traveled from America at the invitation of the Jethadar of Akal Takhat, Singh Sahib Professor Manjit Singh Ji, to do the early morning seva of washing the floors of the Harimandir Sahib. During the past year, I had sent two paintings with poems to India entitled Pure Longing, that conveyed the longing of women to do this seva. After several wonderful days at the Golden Temple, the day finally came when we were to wash the floors. It was Saturday, March 9, 1996. We were expectant and excited as we started down to the Siri Harimandir Sahib at 12:10 AM on March 10th. This was the night for which we had prayed for years. Tonight we would be graced with the blessing of doing seva of our Guru's House in the Amrit Vela. Together, we walked around the parkarma and made our way in silence to the Darshani Deori. We sat down with the other Gursikhs who had gathered there for seva. Soon we were joined by Bibi Amarjit Kaur (wife of martyred Bhai Fauja Singh), Guru Terath Kaur Khalsa, Hari Kaur Khalsa, Jiwan Shakti Kaur Khalsa, Nirbhao Kaur Khalsa, and other Gursikh ladies from Amritsar. We meditated and read our Banis in humble preparation for this blessed Amrit Vela.
Soon most of the men who had been sitting stood and moved away, joining a crowd which had formed by the Nishan Sahib. We stood up to see what was happening, and though we sensed hostility, we felt assured because the Jethadar of the Akal Takhat Sahib was there speaking to the men. Within minutes, the voices became loud and angry. Suddenly the crowd began to move and swept over to us. We were surrounded and engulfed by a crowd with angry faces and loud voices. The mob argued and screamed. With pointing fingers and hostile voices they opposed us. The men screamed at the top of their lungs -- and one man beat his chest -- yelling, "Bole so Nihal" and "Deg Teg Fateh," as if it were theirs and not ours.
In the face of that opposition, we kept chanting and maintained our grace. S. Inderjit Singh Ji, Chief Administrator of the All India Pingalwara Society, Amritsar, told the men in the loudest voice that no one is allowed to be disrespectful to the Jethadar of Akal Takhat and that no one is allowed to say “Bole so nihal” in the premises of the Golden Temple, and they must stop these actions.
In addition to the Jethadar of Akal Takhat, many people were there to support our doing the seva of the Harimandir Sahib. These included the Jethadar of Takhat Dam Dharma Sahib, Singh Sahib Kevel Singh Ji; the Granthi of Harimandir Sahib, Bhai Sahib Vaidanti Singh Ji; the General Manager of the Golden Temple, S. Raghbir Singh Ji, and some employees of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (the Chief Administrative Body for Sikhs). In a short time, more sevadars of the Golden Temple arrived, so that the situation could be handled, commotions controlled, and the seva could proceed undisturbed.
The Jethadar Sahib Ji motioned to a group of men, moving them away from us and over to the small office to the left of the main doors. The group moved with him, but maintained its anger and intensity. At that moment, it seemed he stood alone against the crowd, and we feared for his safety, and then Kulbir Singh, the Siri Singh Sahib Ji’s son, stood behind the Jethadar as a security person. Singh Sahib Manjit Singh Ji stood his ground and kept up the dialog.
With the crowd away from the doors, we were left in relative quiet. A Gursikh resumed reciting the Sukhmani Sahib which brought some peace to the morning air. But the crowd's mood remained unchanged. We sat down and joined in the recitation.
It was getting late and the Jethadar Sahib sent a group of men to go do the Harimandir Sahib seva; and, meanwhile, five representatives from the crowd came forward to discuss the situation with him. With a sense of triumph, men from the knot of people around the Jethadar made their way to the small gate in the door and entered. In meditation, we sat and waited.
At about 1:20 am, Singh Sahib Ji appeared at the door, motioning to us, and said in a hushed voice, "Come!" We walked down the long causeway, our breath short and anxious. It was the prayer of a lifetime with each step. We came to the front door of the Harimandir Sahib, bowed our heads low and grateful, and then stood to one side. We waited for a sign of what to do, but we were completed avoided and ignored. All of the washing had been done already. Singh Sahib Ji motioned for us to go outside and do whatever cleaning needed to be done. There were brooms, and several kind Gursikhs gave us cloths and showed us to wipe the brass and marble.
We put our whole hearts into that cleaning -- wiping and polishing with utmost devotion. Tears blurred our sight, and emotion shook in our hands. I looked up at the clock tower, and saw that it was 1:30 am. I wondered when it was that a woman last had that same view at that time in the Amrit Vela. I wondered when I would have that blessing again?
A little after 2:00 am, the seva was completed and we sat to the right of the Manji Sahib. Soon the traditional chanting began in preparation for the opening of the gates; prasad was brought in, and the morning routine continued. The sangat arrived at 2:45 am. We stayed to listen to the holy Asa di Var, and then left through the main gates which, by this time, were open to all.
The next morning, the news of women doing seva in the Harimandir Sahib became a huge topic of discussion, and it was carried in every Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, and English newspaper, on BBC radio, and in the foreign press.
The following night I returned to do evening seva at the Golden Temple. When this was completed and the doors were closed at 11pm, I sat outside the gates to the right of the line of men sitting and waiting to wash the floors. I brought with me prints of the painting I had made of a woman washing the floors and the poem Pure Longing, translated into Punjabi. I sat in silence and read Sukhmani Sahib. One by one, the sevadars came over and took the prints until they were all gone.
At 12:50 am the line of men stood up to go in for seva, and I stood up with them. But tonight I had decided not to enter unless I was invited. A tall man with a white beard spoke for the group in a respectful voice, "Madam, it is ordered that women not wash the floors." I nodded my head and continued to wait.
The men presented their passes and one by one they filed past the sevadar at the gate. The sevadar was a tall, man and he very carefully and thoroughly questioned several of the men. I recognized them as key agitators from the previous night. One of these men was not let in, and he argued fiercely. His right to seva had been revoked because of his actions. Finally, the door was closed and we sat to begin Sukhmani Sahib.
As I turned to leave, I was stopped by an old woman. She smiled at me and asked for one of the prints, as did many other people that I encountered on my way around the parkarma. I had accomplished what I had set out to do: to repeat the prayer in a quiet way, by my presence, for women to wash the floors of the Harimandir Sahib. Time will do the rest.
Addendum: Before these women had gone to do seva at Harimandir Sahib on the first night, it already had been approved for them to do the seva. There had been a meeting of the Jethadars of four Takhats. All four Jethadars said that women should be allowed to do this seva. The Administrative Body of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) declared that since the Jethadars of the four Takhats have approved, then SGPC must approve.
In the few days following that blessed Amrit Vela, the General Manager of the Golden Temple revoked the seva passes of those men who had opposed and been rude to the Jethadar of Akal Takhat. Those same men then came and met the Jethadar Sahib and gave him their written apologies. On March 12th, the Jethadar Sahib took five Gursikh women into the Harimandir Sahib and they did the complete seva, including washing the floors with milk, along with the Jethadar. We can only think that the heavens resounded with Wahe Guru. The Administrative Body of the SGPC met again and passed resolutions in accordance with the Rehit of Guru Gobind Singh, Father of the Khalsa, that Khalsa knows no gender and women shall be able to participate fully in all aspects of seva and other duties at the Harimandir Sahib, including Kirtan, serving as Granthis, carrying the Palki Sahib, and all other ways.