Building Gurdwara and Community
United Sikh Sangat of Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Dr. Jaswant Singh Sachdev
Respected Sadh Sangat ji,
Wahe Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Ji Ki Fateh!
With great humility and utmost respect, we the Sangat of Sikh Gurdwara in Phoenix, Arizona, have taken the liberty of writing this letter to you about the Kar Seva of a magnificent Guru's house here in Phoenix for the United Sikh Sangat of Phoenix.
The Sikh community here in Phoenix has had the fortunate opportunity of having a sizable number of American Sikh families who have lived around a Gurdwara/ Ashram for over 25 years. Over a decade ago, immigrant Sikh families who then averaged about 100 in number met with their American brothers and sisters and decided to hold Sunday Gurdwara functions together. Many members of the Sikh faith became fully involved in all the different activities of Gurdwara.
Over these many years, we have slowly and continuously been learning how to work and worship together in great creativity. It is well known that Sikhs of Indian origin, having been born into the religion, take certain things for granted. Our weaknesses have been lack of discipline during Gurdwara services and a general sense of apathy, and we tend to leave religious process and tradition for paid Granthis. By contrast, our American brothers and sisters, having entered into this religion by choice later in life, needed to learn certain intricacies on a daily basis and as a continuous process.
Working together hand in hand, our strengths are complemented.
As immigrant Sikhs, while we talked democracy and votes, we actually meant fulfillment of our personal, political agendas. We felt that when others were not listening to our point of view, they must be wrong. Sitting together with our teenagers and children and American Sikh brethren, it became more and more obvious that, while we emphasized Punjabi, we were wasting precious time. Instead of learning what was needed to be learned, we were more concerned about in which language it was being taught. We lost the ‘power of the medicine’ and instead focused on how the ‘knowledge was being administered.’ It became obvious to us that although Punjabi is important, and it has to be learned, yet we have no right to deny the divine knowledge to those who seek it.
So we realized that the Path to our Gurus could be opened through the language of America, at the same time that all our children are learning to read, speak and understand the language of the Gurus. The principle of keeping Punjabi has never been lost, and we have been working through both channels of communication, depending upon the situation at a given moment.
At the Gurdwara functions, when kirtan is being sung by the entire Sangat, it is complemented by circulated copies of shabd translation in both English and Punjabi. Hukam is followed by translation read aloud in both English and Punjabi, making it easier for everybody in the audience to understand the Guru's message. Each member of the Sangat is encouraged to take turns in doing Ardas, Hukam seva and translations.
The results are wonderful. Teenagers who never came to Gurdwara started bringing their parents to Gurdwara. Many children, who had forsaken their Sabat Surat, reembraced the code of conduct prescribed by our Tenth Guru. The Sunday Gurdwara here in Phoenix is managed under strict discipline. Programs are very well organized and very dignified. On two occasions a year, Nishan Sahib seva is performed, on Baisakhi and on Guru Gaddhi gurupurbs, followed by a Nagar Kirtan. These and other events and gurupurbs are enthusiastically attended by the entire combined Sangat.
We are also greatly blessed as a combined Sangat to have a very well-trained person of high spiritual living, Gianiji Harbhajan Singh Sandhu, who lives on the premises and performs kirtan seva. Though blind since childhood, Gianiji is well versed in Gurbani and has good command of English, and therefore he is able to serve the American and Indian communities. Gianiji is equally revered by the entire community as by all the children.
Recently, as the economy of Southern California took a downward plunge, we have seen a surge in Sikh population in the Phoenix area. In order to serve the larger population, a survey of the entire Sangat was taken in Gurdwara two years ago. A majority of members felt a need for a bigger facility. They also felt that the present Gurdwara was well organized and disciplined, and that the emphasis on "management by involvement" should continue. The majority felt that the present location in the heart of central Phoenix was ideally suited for expansion.
An empty parking lot behind the present Gurdwara that is owned by Sikh Dharma has been graciously donated for the construction of a new Gurdwara. This donation was done with the understanding that our robust, ever-progressive Sikh community will be able to raise the funds to help create this first-ever Gurdwara for the United Sikh Sangat, without any consideration for country of birth or authenticity. We plan to maintain the present management style of humility, seva and involvement. The funds for this project will be managed locally, as has been done consistently over the past several years.
During the last year, several meetings were held and a Project Team for the new Gurdwara Sahib was selected. Based on the recommendation of this Team, SS Jai Singh Khalsa of Millis, MA, an internationally well-reputed Sikh architect, was contacted. SS Jai Singh Khalsa had done some Gurdwara projects here and abroad, and he kindly agreed to perform this project as Kar Seva without any fees.
Over the past six months, a series of Sangat meetings have been held with the architect to ascertain community needs, and an architectural site design plan has recently been completed and approved by the Sangat.
The project, as currently envisioned, consists of a two-story building with a 7500 square foot foundation. Below ground will be a langar kitchen, langar hall, yoga center, family room, children’s classrooms and resident ragi quarters. The ground floor sanctuary will be the Guru's place and Gurdwara, with an additional mezzanine of 3000-4000 square feet above.
Outside, there will be a terraced area for expanded langar seating or outdoor gatherings, along with an adjacent parking lot with space for 60 cars. We expect the new Gurdwara will have the capacity to serve hundreds, and eventually thousands, of devotees.
We are hopeful to have as much funds as are needed to complete the project before we move on to ground breaking which will be November 24th, 1996. We are not eager to carry the burden of a heavy bank mortgage, and we are hoping that through your generosity, we will be able to complete this unique project.
What is being built here is really quite remarkable, inspiring and very unique, and the purpose of this letter is to share our excitement with you, and encourage you to participate.
Quite frequently, as a Sikh of the Guru, you may have been approached by managements of various Gurdwaras in North America for help in building a new Gurdwara. In keeping with the spirit of giving, you may have helped those efforts. Also, you must be aware of various, complex issues that exist with our religious institutions in this country, such as elections, infighting and personal politicking.
While we are acutely aware of the need for Gurdwaras in every town for passing on the Sikh traditions to our younger generations, we all are cognizant of the fact that this goal has eluded us. Our younger generation has been growing averse to the Sikh way of life, primarily due to lack of communication between parents and children about Sikh history, culture and real understanding of our religion.
We feel that, once built, this Gurdwara will set an example for Sikh Sangats around the world to follow. Here the emphasis is on seva rather than position; the emphasis is on spreading the word of Guru rather than the language in which it is spread; the emphasis is on humility and unity rather than infighting and bickering. In this way we can best serve our future generations.
Therefore, we humbly request you to do whatever you can to assist us in this unique project. Please send all your contributions to attention: ‘New Gurdwara Sahib Project’. Please do not hesitate to contact me (602)996-3180 or Darshan Singh Khalsa (602)254-8268 if you have any questions. It will be our privilege to share what we have been blessed to accomplish.
Humbly,
Jaswant Singh Sachdev MD
Building Committee Sevadars
Mailing Address: Guru Nanak Dwara,
2302 N 9th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85006