The birthday of the Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism was celebrated at the Milford Gurudwara with “Akhand Pat” or the reading of the entire Guru Granth Sahib. Over 750 people came to offer their prayers and listen to the singing of the Gurubani which continued over a period of two days. In an interview with Lokvani, Randhir Singh spoke about Sikhism and the Milford Gurudwara.

Lokvani: Thank you for extending a warm welcome on this very special day. Is this special celebrated only at Milford?

Randhir Singh: It is our pleasure to welcome you. Each year Milford and Millis Gurudwaras come together to celebrate this event. People come all the way from Vermont and Maine since there are no Gurudwras in those states.

Lokvani: Could you tell us a little about the Milford Gurudwara?

Randhir Singh:The Milford Gurudwara has 200+ members. We have two “Sevadars” or priests - Gopal Singh and Amrit Pal. It is open seven days a week from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm. Our goal here is to uphold the basic tenets of Sikhism.

Lokvani: What are those tenets?

Randhir Singh:Seva (Service) and Simran (thinking of God) are the two pillars of Sikhism. All Sikhs have a duty to uphold this. At the Milford Gurudwara we do "Simran" through prayers and reading of the Gurubani. "Seva" is done through the many service projects to help all those in need. Every Sunday we have “Langar” or free food for every one that comes to our door. The Gurudwara can provide temporary shelter for anyone in need. The “Sevadar” or the priest of the temple can provide food for these temporary boarders. We provide items to the local homeless shelters based on their needs. We also have a women’s support group lead by Mrs. Channi.

While "Seva" and helping others is an important part of Sikhism, I should also mention that Sikhism insists on hard work and asks that each person contribute to the society to the best of their ability. Begging is forbidden in our religion which is why you will never see a Sikh beggar.

Lokvani:How do you manage to serve free food every week?

Randhir Singh: Families sponsor the "Langar". We do not take money from anyone for the food we serve nor do we accept sponsorship money. The family that sponsors the meal has to bring the ingredients and cook it. We have volunteers who assist them. People in our community are so eager to sponsor “Langar” that we have a three month wait for sponsorship.

Lokvani:Are non-Sikhs welcome at a Gurudwara?

Randhir Singh: Absolutely. Our religion forbids discrimination on the basis of caste, religion or gender. We never question anyone about their beliefs. The only thing we ask is that as a mark of respect, when you are in the Gurudwara, you remove your shoes and cover your head. Here at the Milford Gurudwara we have had Christians, Jews, Hindus and others visit and we are glad to welcome them.

But by the same token, I would like to mention that we do not practise evangelism or conversion. We firmly believe that everyone is free to pray in their own way. Sometimes I feel Sikhishm is nothing but a way of life.

Lokvani:We see many Sikhs of non-Indian origin here today. Who brought Sikhism to the West? Is their practice of the religion the same as your practice of the religion?

Randhir Singh: There was a person by the name of Yogi Bhajan Singh. He came to the West to teach Yoga. As he was teaching Yoga to his pupils he also got them interested in his religion, Sikhism. He has a huge following. They follow all the Sikh traditions. The only difference is that they insist on doing Yoga, because of the influence of their teacher. While we have nothing against Yoga, traditional Sikhism does not insist on practising Yoga.

Lokvani: What do the words "Sikh" and "Khalsa" mean?

Randhir Singh:“Sikh” means one who has to learn all his life. Our first Guru, Guru Nanak gave us that word. “Khalsa” means pure. Our tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh who is credited with formal establishment of Sikhism gave us that word.

Lokvani: What are the other activities of this Gurdwara?

Randhir Singh: We have a Sunday school where we teach our children Gurubani and Gurumukhi (Punjabi script). Since our children dress differently they sometimes get teased at school. We have a volunteer base that works with the children to feel secure about being Sikh and to help their non-Sikh friends understand the practice of their religion. We sometimes go into our children's school and make a presentation to help their friends understand our religion.

Lokvani:As I listen to Gurubani it seems to be based on classical music and the singers seem to be good musicians. Is knowledge of music important for singing the Gurubani?

Randhir Singh: The rise of Sikhism happened during the Mugal period when people like Tansen had elevated music to great heights. The influence of that is felt in the Gurubani where all sayings are set to Raag. Our Gurubani teacher at this Gurudwara, Saravapreet Singh teaches Sur and Taal to the children before teaching them the Gurubani.

Lokvani:Thank you for enlightening us today and we thank you for your time.

Randhir Singh: It is pleasure to talk to you. Thank you.

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