The Gurudwara

Its an interesting place. Its a place we go to pray, to introspect, to be with 'our kind'-other Sikhs/Punjabis/Indians. Sit together and eat (and take some food home in a big plastic da lafafa (bag)), gossip and -for some people, as my dad says-'its just a social outlet-they go to look at the other gender'. The local gurudwara is small. Hindus and Sikhs both come to the services as do a significant number of non-punjabi Indians. Its very refreshing to see a diverse mix of people here as opossed to only Sikhs at gurudwaras!
I am almost always late. Sit at the back, listen to keertan (hymns) being performed by the priest, and though I try to pay attention, its impossible to keep the mind on keertan. The crowd is the same every week so if a new person shows up they stick out like a sore thumb. If your are new, everyone comes up to you to talk to you, offer you more tea or more food during langar (community kitchen).
There is a guy who sits at the front who ALWAYS has the same shirt and turban on. I wonder why. He certainly looks like he could afford another shirt-I am very curious about this-maybe one day I will ask him? Yeah right!
The president of the gurdwara stands up to traslate the hukumnama in english. "Oh laard" he starts-and then goes on and on about how we should submit our will to the 'laard'. I think our preachers need a lesson or two from church priests! Outside of reading from the granth-they never try to fit the sermon to the various issues facing the Sikhs today. They dont talk about the two biggest issues facing the sikhs and punjabis-alcohol and female infanticide. Well, here in the US, its mostly alcohol and pursuit of 'dallay' (dollars).
One day, I asked one of the more prominent characters in the drama that is the gurudwara, about what Sikhs feel about the creation myth-do we have a creation myth? What do we really believe in? That life just arrived on the planet in a bang like the creationists believe? The guy (also a daktar) had no answer. I will ask the priest he says. I guess he is mostly at the gurudwara so his kids can 'learn the culture you know'. Hmmm. Yeah, thats a good way to teach 'em.
I still like going there though even though I am a borderline atheist. It does still force me to think that there is probably a 'God' or some powerful entity out there that is keeping us all from blowing up the planet...at least not in a big bang-just letting us blow it up in tiny pieces I guess..
So, as Saachi says shataanum vaheygooloo!