A Veil Lifted

For more than a hundred years, two double-storey buildings with Indian style porches and domes with a metal grille gate painted in blue have been sitting quietly at the bottom of Stubbs Road at its junction with Queen's Road, opposite to the later added Elizabeth Stadium. I don't know how many times I passed them by on my way to Happy Valley. I only knew that it had something to do with an Indian religion. But I had little inkling as to what exactly it is. The veil over this mystery was finally lifted last Saturday afternoon. Thanks to the efforts of a member of the small non-creedal liberal religion for all faiths dedicated to the exploration of the world's religions, spiritualities and life philosophies called Unitarian Universalists of Hong Kong( "UUHK"), I finally got the chance to go inside those buildings to get my first glimpse of their beautiful interior and some ideas as to what it is all about.

I met the other members of our small group at the appointed time outside the buildings, walked past the metal gate painted in bright blue, through a covered corridor and arrived at the waiting hall where I found some wooden shelves lined against the parapet walls facing Queen's Road. On the racks to the left were all kinds of head scarves in different colors and styles for men and women and on the right, I saw several wooden racks for putting one's shoes, rather like those one finds outside of the Muslim Temple in Tsimshatsui. On the bottom of one of the walls opposite, I found a tap above a rectangular shaped enclosure on the ground. From time to time whilst waiting for the tour to start, we saw some
turbaned young men in white robes with a crescent-shaped dagger around
their waist talking  to each other in a language I did not understand. After a short while, we were greeted by an Indian looking turbaned sheik. He told us his name was Gurdel and that he would be looking after us during the visit. He exchanged civilities with our tour leader, one of the members of the UUHK and then told us that before going into the temple, we must take off our shoes, wash our feet and then put on a scarf over our head. We did so.

We were then led into the main hall of the temple,officially called Khalsa Diwan and popularly known as the Sikh Temple. There is a famous Sikh Temple in Amritsar, Punjab called Siri Harimandir Sahib (The Temple of God), popularly called "the Golden Temple" in front of which is the famous pool called Amritsar (The Pool of Nectar") discovered by their third Guru, Guru Ram Das Ji in 1577 . The relevant excavation was completed by their fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji  . The Temple's construction started in 1588 and was completed in 1601 and the first recitation of the Holy Granth of the sikhs --the Guru Granth Sahib was held there in 1604. But it was destroyed in 1761 by Ahmad Shah Abdali, a Muslim ruler of Amritsar and had to be rebuilt in 1764.

The Sikh religion is monothestic. They believe in One Supreme God (Waheguru),: he is one, the creator of everything, not born, the cause of all causes, self-illuminated, self-generated and self-sufficient, above the cycle of reincarnation, there is none before him, without  fear, without enmity, without hate, eternal, infinite, both immanent in his creation and beyond it, he(It) is formless, colorless and is present in all creation rather like the Chinese Tao. He is not just a God of one nation but a God of Grace for all people and according to their theology, God created man not to punish him for his sins but for the realization of his true purpose in the cosmos and to merge with him and he finds realization in the kindness of the true Guru.To find God, we have to immerse ourselves in his name, through faithful living and remembering his name in all things, something Guru Nanak Dev Ji calls "jap" . We may merge with God when we call him with deep love and devotion and when we recognize the God within us, when we shall know the mystery of birth and death.. They believe that our mind is the spark of the Supreme Light and that we should strive to know our own essence as part of God. To Guru Nanak Dev Ji, we have to live within society and criticize those who left society behind to meditate in the forest to reach Weheguru (God) but that we should treat our daily lives as our "meditation" and our contemplation of Weheguru so that we shall act righteously.

The Sikhs' ideal is to live the life of a soldier saint "sant-Sipahie" ie. to fight for justice and fairness. They were staunch supporters for the abolition of the caste system in India and wanted to do away with the elaborate ceremonies and rituals of the Hindu religion. They believe in earning an honest living in practical life and in sharing what they have earned with others and not in a life of seclusion in some mountains etc. Like the Medieval Christians, modern day Protestants and Muslims, they have to contribute one tenth of what they have earned above their daily needs towards helping the poor. To them, "they, who are attuned to the Lord, by the Guru's Grace, attain to the Lord in the midst of maya (ie. wealth)".( SGGS 921)  They believe that a Sikh should be distinguished from non-Sikhs by five symbols and qualities: kesh (long and unshorn hair because hair is a gift of God and is a symbol of saintliness and dharma, the law and the God's way of living to indicate that the Sikhs live in harmony with the Will of God), kanga (a comb, for keeping the hair tidy), kara (a steel bracelet. to symbolize humility, restraint and gentleness and as a symbol of the Sikh's bond to the Guru and to foster the sense of brotherhood ), katchera (a pair of specially made white shorts to symbolize their chastity) and kirpan (a sword, a symbol of courage and adventure and to vindicate his honour when needed but it should be used only for self defence never attack), which they wear upon being baptised. When Khalsa becomes apostate (patit) when he shaves his hair. When they are baptized, he undertakes to uphold the principles of the Sikh faith and its Code of Conduct as prescribed by the Gurus. There are no restrictions as to nationality, race, age, gender, social standing. Its faith is open to all. When they are baptized, they would have 5 "initiators"  to recite the five Banis: the Japji Sahib, Jap Sahib, Ten Swayas, Chaupai and Anand Sahib, whilst stirring the water with double-edged sword called a Khanda, held in one's right hand and one of them would explain the principles of Sikhism to the intended disciple and after the intended disciple indicates his consent, one of the five will offer Ardas (prayers) and then all five will sit around an iron vessel containing fresh water and a quantity of sweets called "patasas". After the recitation of the five Banis, all five will stand up and hold the vessel in their hands and one of them will then offers a prayer for the prepared "nectar" after which each intended disciple will receive 5 handfuls of Amrit (holy water) and have to drink it and say, "Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh" (meaning "The Khalsa belongs to the Holy God, Victory belongs to the Holy God" . Then they'll sprinkle the holy water on the eyes of the disciple and five times on his hair whilst he repeats the above prayer and after that the holy water is shared by all intended disciples to remove their caste prejudice. After baptism, (amrit), the disciple will get a new name ending in Singh for male and Kaur for female. Then all the baptized sikhs eat Karah Parsard from the same vessel. When a Sikh commits any of the prohibited acts, he must confess it , do penance and then undergo a re-baptism. 

A sikh must abstain from cutting his hair, eating the meat of an animal slaughtered by torture (halal) (similar to Muslim) adultery and cohabiting with anyone but one's spouse, using any kind of drugs or alcohol. They have to undertake to abide by the Code of Conduct before they will be permitted to be baptized. The Code of Conduct called "Sikh Rehat Maryada" is based on the teaching of Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh traditions and conventions and no one is permitted to amend them or to frame new ones. All Sikhs must get up before dawn and after taking a bath, should do some meditation in the name of God (Waheguru) and do the Japji Sahib, Jap Sahib and Ten Swayas in the morning, the Rehras at dusk and the Sohila before going to bed.  Women shall receive the utmost reverence for her role in society and in the family and all Sikhs should regard another man's wife as his sister or mother or another's daughter as his own and all widows got the right to remarry and a woman sikh has all the rights of her male counterparts including acting as initiators in baptism. Women do not put on any veil (purdah) and should not dress in a way to expose her body so as to breed lustful desire. They are not permitted any dowry nor to divorce.

Every year, Sikhs may celebrate the anniversaries of the birth and death of the 10 Gurus, the installation of the Holy Granth as the spiritual guide (guru) of the Sikhs, the birth of the Khalsa ie. Baisakhi Day, generally 13th April of each year, the days of martyrdom of the prominent Sikhs who died for defending their religion or in defence of the oppressed and certain other days associated with important events in the history of Sikhism.

All Sikhs are required to attend the Gurdwara (the Sikh Temple) as part of their daily routine: first the Sangat (Congregation) and the Pangat (Community Kitchen otherwise known as Guru-Ka-Langar, meant for providing food to all devotees, pilgrims and visitors: a symbol of equality, fraternity, without distinction of social status, knowledge: all share exactly the same food. The kitchen is run by contributions of the Sikhs. It helps foster social equality and the brotherhood of man.

This is prayer hall. People were simply sitting, doing their reflections.

This is their altar. We see a turbaned sheik paying respect to something covered with a blue cloth. I found out later that under that blue cloth, is a copy of their Holy Scripture, the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. Unlike other religions, it was simply decorated with just some flowers and plants. Nothing elaborate.

Behind the Holy Scripture(called "Adi Granth"), compiled by and edited by the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji in 1604 , we see a "priest" with a feather fan. He was constantly wafting it over the Holy Scripture to keep the air above it moving and clean. The Granth is supposed to be the Guru for the Sikhs. It was ordered by the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind /singh Ji that after his death, there would no longer be any further "Gurus" and that thereafter, the guru for all Sikhs and their ultimate spiritual authority would be the Siri Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh Holy Scripture) and that all temporal authority would be vested in the Khalsa Panth (the Sikh Commonwealth). The Adi Granth is a collection of devotional hymns and prayers to the Supreme God. Its philosophy is propounded through the songs of love, of truth, of contentment, of humility, of fatherhood of the Almighty, of the brotherhood of man, of restraints of all passions, of mercy for all living beings, of purity of mind and body, of search for the self and higher soul, of equality between man and woman and of service to others.

A man paying his respect to the Holy Scripture.

Close to the side entrance, through which we entered the prayer hall, we found this man with a huge bowl/bucket covered in white cloth. We found out that underneath the cloth was some kind of Indian pudding and all who entered the hall may get a handful which must be received with both hands cupped together for the gift.

At the side of the prayer hall, there is a "social hall" for holding various religion related gathering. It would seat about a hundred or so. We were later given an introductory talk in this little hall.

According to what I gathered from the talk, a tiny pamplet and some internet sources, it seems that the Sikh religion was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nank Dev Ji, born in 1496 in the village of Talwandi, in the that part of Northern Inida called Punjab (Five Rivers) now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore, now in Pakistan and their baptism ceremony was invented by their tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib (166-1708). After the relevant baptism, there would be no difference between the Guru and his disciples. The word "Sikh" means simply "disciple".

According
to what I gathered from the talk, a tiny pamplet and some internet
sources, it seems that the Sikh religion was founded in the 15th century
by Guru Nank Dev Ji, born in 1496 in the village of Talwandi, in the
that part of Northern Inida called Punjab (Five Rivers) now called
Nankana Sahib, near Lahore, now in Pakistan and their baptism ceremony
was invented by their tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib (166-1708).
After the relevant baptism, there would be no difference between the
Guru and his disciples. The word "Sikh" means simply "disciple". I asked
whether they got an institution like the Christian seminary or school
of theology before they are permitted to preach. I was told that they do
not but those who want to preach must equip themselves and have the
relevant standards and be accepted by their fellow disciples in their
community. And Sikhism is the fifth largest organized religion in the
world with over 30 million Sikhs all over the world.

The first Sikhs arrived with the British in about 1845 as surveyors, civil servants, soldiers and policemen and some as merchants shortly after Hong Kong was ceded to Britain after the Opium War 1839-1841. The first Sikh Temple was built in 1901. According to our guide, there would be more than a thousand Sikhs at their Gurdwaras whenever there are any religious ceremonies..

A portrait of the fifth Guru who compiled their Holy Scripture.

Our guide exchanging a souvenir to commemorate our visit. He has an MA in Sikhism at an Indian University.

After the talk, we were invited to share in one of their free meals at their Pangat or Community Kitchen.

Another view of the Community Kitchen.

One of the volunteers helping to distribute curry.

The entrance of the Khalsa Diwan in Happy Valley.