Hosting Chanting to Guru Ram Das
SS Soul Singh Khalsa
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
For years now, my wife and I have been inspired by the Herndon Sangat’s commitment to having chanting each night to Guru Ram Das. Last Solstice we committed ourselves to host chanting each Friday night at our house.
When we changed the light fixture over our mirror, that’s when I knew something was happening. For years that light had been okay. The chrome base was rusted but it was okay. But now, a few months into hosting Friday night chanting at our home, I knew it was all definitely being transformed.
It had been adequate for us. But now the Sangat and Guru had moved in and it wasn’t okay any longer. Our house changed. Out went the old coffee table, out went the couch. And finally out went the identity of the house itself. The Siri Singh Sahib graced the house with the name "Seva Sadan" and we had a beautiful plaque installed right next to the front door.
All types of people began to attend the chanting. Some I hadn’t seen in a while, some I never knew. A type of joy would grab me, we were providing a channel for the community’s love for Guru Ram Das. Sometimes my Kundalini would rise just experiencing everyone there.
I could feel the rhythm of the community being changed with the power of chanting to Guru Ram Das. It reminded me of our early days. Before there were turbans, and bana, and the Siri Guru, there we were, guitar in hand, chanting to Guru Ram Das. It is our primal memory and our most futuristic one as well. So it is with that gratitude that in our small way we are carrying on and encouraging that tradition.