Tag: Sikhism

On a beautiful sunny day, I got a call from a childhood friend. It has been a long time since we got the chance to talk or even catch up. His name is Singh. We both thought it would be a good day to just talk and to catch up. We decided to meet up at his house, which was in Lenexa, Kansas. He lives about 30 minutes away from downtown Kansas City. I was very excited to see my friend. Once I got to his house, we started to talk about how India was.

Before we continue Singh’s story, let me tell you about a little bit about me. I’m also Indian but my religion is Hinduism, which is different then Sikhism. I was born in America and grew up in America my whole life. I never lived in India but I have visited India. Sikhism has always fascinated me and I wanted to learn more about the culture.

Singh is from Jalandhar, India. His parents moved to the United States when he was very young. His parents moved to the United States because they wanted Singh to have a better life than they did in India. Singh told me that in India, many people are starting to do drugs at a very young age. Almost every child around drug starts doing them because of peer pressure. That’s the number one reason Singh’s parents moved to the United States. After we caught up on life, I told Singh that I have a project for a class. The project involves interviewing someone that has different views or are from a different culture. I asked him if I can interview him for the project. He agreed. Singh has a different religion and culture than me. I was born and raised in the United States. Singh was born in India, then moved here.

We started the interview at his house. I was wondering how different living in the United States and living in India could be different from each other. Singh said, “Well the biggest difference is how in America that you flip the light switch and it is on, but in India, it isn’t like that. In India some or even the whole day we don’t get any electricity. Another one is how we must fill up water in a tank for the whole house, but in America, you constantly have water any time of the day. People in India mostly wash their clothes by hand instead of machine like in America” (3:00). Those are some of the things we take for granted living in the United States. I asked Singh if he liked living in the States or India better. He replied by “Yes, I do like living in the States more than India because the quality of life here is better.” The only thing Singh doesn’t like about the States is that he really misses his aunt and uncles. I don’t blame him. If you are close by your family you feel more at home. Singh also added that India has trash everywhere on the streets. The way you get hot water in India is by boiling water, but in the States, you just turn the handle to red and it’s hot. Singh also mentions that in India the temperature outside is the temperature inside of the house. I never really thought about how people still wash their clothes with their hands in India. People in the United States never really know how easy life in the United States is. Most people take this for granted. People should be happy about the little things in life than be complaining about conditions that can’t be changed. Singh and I both agreed that many people in the United States complain too much about how hard life really is.

What fascinates me most was Singh’s culture and religion. I asked if Singh can tell me a little bit about his religion. He said, “Yes, the religion is based on ten gurus were the messages of god. The ten gurus where human beings. There is the holy book called the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. It’s about the lineage of the ten Gurus. It’s like the Bible in way but different” (12:00). I wanted to learn more about his religion and the meaning of the word Sikh. So, I did some research of my own over the religion. The word Sikh means disciple, seeker, and learner. Sikhism firstly originated in northern Punjab (a state of India) around the end of the 15th century. Sikhism is also the ninth largest religion in the world. Sikhism is based on the first Guru Nanak’s spiritual teachings also the nine gurus after Guru Nanak. Guru Gobind Singh named the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the Sikh bible. There is also a baptism in the Sikh religion, it’s called ammrit sancar. During the baptism, a sweetened water is stirred with a double-edged sword while prayers are sung. It is then drinking by the person who is being baptized. Most Sikhs don’t get baptized. Sikhs who are baptized wear the five K’s. The five K’s are kes (uncut hair), kangha (small wooden comb), kara (circular steel or iron bracket), kirpan (sword), and kacchera (special undergarment). That’s what Sikhism is in a nut shell and it’s an amazing religion in my opinion.

One of the prejudices I heard about Sikhs is called the 1984 Sikh massacre. This was a series of pogroms against Sikhs in India. It was a response to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguard. There was an operation called Blue Star that happened between June 1 to 8,1984 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to remove religious leader Jarnail Bhindranwale and his armed militants from Amritsar, Punjabi. These led the two Sikh bodyguards to assassinate Indira Gandhi. The government and the common people started to beat Sikhs and kill Sikh. About 8,000 to 17,000 Sikhs were killed in 40 cities across India. This was just like what Hilter did in getting rid of the Jews.  

Another thing I wanted to know was what holidays Singh celebrated. Singh said, “There is Vaisakhi which is the celebration of the Khalsa brotherhood. You go to the temple. In the temple, there is many varieties of food and a lot of other activities you can do. They have volleyball tournaments and even basketball tournaments. My favorite part is when we have a parade that goes around the block, which is five to six miles. There is a trailer for people who can’t walk or for older people. Also, on the trailers are were the priests sing the cultural songs. There are also people carrying drinks like water and juice. People carrying trash bags and chips too. It’s a very cool experience. Another one is Diwali which is the celebration of freedom. It’s just like the fourth of July. In Diwali people light candles unlike the fourth of July. We also turn on every light in the house and put the candles in the middle or around the house. Other than that, it’s just like 4^th of July” (14:45). I went to Vaisakhi with Singh and it was one of the best days of my life. Vaisakhi was packed with excitement and the people were so kind, it was just amazing. Especially the food was so delicious, the food was packed with out of this world flavoring. I would recommend anyone to go and you will love the experience, plus you won’t forget about Vaisakhi.

Overall, this interview with Singh was just a beautiful experience. I learned so much about another culture and religion. A religion that is just beautiful in every way. I am really appreciative for Singh spending his time valuable time with me. I would encourage other people to go out and explore the different cultures that we have in the United States. It really changes your perspective on life because you learn about different religions and cultures. Explaining a different culture or religion is complicated, but you must experience the culture for yourself to fully understand it.