Southall

Southall London

September 11, 2009

Sikh Gurdwara

Our first stop in Southall was the Sikh temple, known as a Gurdwara. We had the opportunity to go into the prayer hall and observe the worshippers there. The one thing I noticed was the obvious respect and reverence of the people worshipping there. I even saw a little boy, who was probably no more than three, touch his head to the ground as a sign of respect like his parents. Another example of the Sikh’s reverence is how they treat their sacred book. They wave a chaur sahib over the book to show respect and keep the air around it clean. I noticed that both men and women do this. This connects to what we discussed in class about how Sikhs believe that men and women are equal. The man who spoke to us about Sikhism explained that they believe men and women are equal because our spirits are genderless. I found that really interesting especially when you compare it to our LDS belief that gender is crucial to our role.

I really enjoyed learning more about Sikhism. The word Sikh means student, learner, or disciple. Members of Sikhism view it as a way of life, similar to how we believe the gospel is a way of life. They also believe that we must change ourselves to fit God, not the other way around. Sikh’s are also very accepting and open of other religions. They believe that God is everywhere and resides in everyone. Regardless of your faith, they believe you should be the best you can be in your faith and have the closest relationship with God possible.

Following the Sikh temple we went to two Hindu temples. Hindus believe in many gods and their temples are filled with statues of these gods. The Hindu temples were quite different from the Sikh temple. The Hindu temples were much more elaborately decorated, with lights, bright colors, icons, and rich fabrics. This is also very different from our places of worship. However, as I sat and watched the people I realized that although they worship in very different ways than I do, they are still showing respect and reverence in the best way they know how. The people I saw took their time in front of each of the gods they wished to worship and showed their reverence. Many people brought offerings of money or of food to place in front of the icons of the gods.

Even though these two religions don’t hold all of the same beliefs as our religion and they worship in a different way, I can still feel their reverence and how much they love their faith.

Front of Sikh Gurdwara