Monday, May 13, 2013

At a Gurudwara in Croydon



I believe in the power of prayer. I love chanting too. I used to pray to alleviate anxiety or towards some such end, but now just to quieten the mind and to experience that contemplative state that prayer brings on. It's a first person encounter with my own divinity. I am not partial to any religion or God in form or formless. I love the ritual of prayer, so wherever i am in the world I chant the Vishnu Sahasranaman and Lakshmi Ashtothram everyday, read Mother Mary Novenas on Wednesday, visit the Durga temple on Tuesdays, fast to be in communion with Shirdi Baba on Thursdays and practice yoga while observing my sensations and responses to this worldly life at least 5 days a week. I often get teased that I have left out several religions and need to increase the diversity of my contemplative practices.

Recently, I had the opportunity to do just that. I was visiting a close friend in the UK and accompanied her to a Gurudwara to mark the second anniversary of her father's passing. At 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning, we drove twenty minutes to one in the town of Croydon, a suburb in Greater London.

With few people around at that early hour, we reached the modest premises in 15 minutes and squeezed our car into the tiny 4 car lot. We covered our heads with our scarves and scaled a small stairway to reach the meditation hall. We were beckoned at the entrance by the mellifluous voices of the Shabad Kirtan singers rendering the verses from Sikh religious texts in song, interspersing them with interpretation for advice on worldly living. They played the tabla and harmonium, as they sang. In that long hall covered with immaculate white sheets devotees sat on the floor with eyes closed taking in this divine music. The sound had a simple purity to it in the silence of the morning when not much life had stirred in this part of the world. We were among the privileged twenty or so, blessed to be in this place at this time. We walked the length of the hall to where the holy book of Sikhs the Granth Sahib lay covered in a bright brocaded turquoise cloth. We bowed our heads and made an offering into the collection box located in front of the altar, as is customary, and then sat among the women on the left hand side of the room.

The singing had a light classical quality and the cadences varied with the verses, some slow and melodic perfectly synchronized with the harmonium, others fast paced and rhythmic with greater emphasis on the tabla. I had listened to this music often in the Yogi Bhajan inspired kundalini yoga teacher training course I had attended. Awash in this music, I was transported to a place of serenity and mental quietitude. I envied the Sikhs who had grown up in this religion, where the worship was marked with simplicity, was devoid of rituals and included such divine music. I could have remained there for hours! Alas the service ended in about half an hour with blessings, giving of thanks to the many volunteers and patrons and distribution of a sweet made from wheat, and oozing ghee.

After the service we were invited to partake of a simple yet delicious meal in the dining hall located downstairs. The volunteers who had prepared it served us as if we were cherished guests in their home. Cardamom flavoured masala chai complemented a meal consisting of fresh hot rotis, potatoes cooked in a tomato and curry sauce and vermicelli sweet pudding, all of which had been prepared earlier that morning by the volunteers. We left there with a smile on our faces, our bellies full and our spirits lifted. I have now added the Gurudwara as another venue for contemplation. I only wish I had not waited 50 years to visit one. I urge you all to visit one if you have not!

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