Why you are the cause of decay

[SAadmin]

Why you are the cause of decay

By Jagdeep Kaur

Ever wondered why youth do not come to the Gurudwaras? Where have we gone wrong? Why have we failed to encourage them to attend the Sunday Diwans, or particpate in religious ocassions? The reasons are simple, but hang on to your seats, you may not want to face the truth.

To begin with, the youth have little understanding of what a Gurudwara really is. Their understanding is, that it is a place where we go and bow down to our Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, sit down quietly and try and concentrate on what the Granthi is reciting, or to understand what the Ragis are singing. Their mind is never in the Darbar because they claim that they do not understand an iota of what is going on in there. Ask them and all you’ll hear is babbling, you will not imagine what these youth do not know. They rarely look forward to stepping foot again into the Darbar. The only aspect of the Gurudwara they may actually enjoy is the Langar and catching up with their friends. Their perspective of the Gurudwara is a grim one. Why go to a place, they say, where we don’t understand anything, people come there to gossip and show off and are constantly fighting over power?

They have not made up that persepctive. They have witnessed it. No one has explained to them what the meaning of a Gurudwara is and what its place is in our spiritual development. We have failed them and with time to come, they will fail us in return. Any wonder why the youth are rolling in apostasy? Our youth are now amongst those in the world who are known to do drugs, smoke, hang out in dark places and even indulge in the pleasures of the senses. To them that is the real world. We know who these youth are and yet we have done close to nothing to try and bring them back to Sikhi. Our failure is our own selves.

When we are not in Sikhi ourselves, why do we even bother trying to comprehend why the youth are straying? Everything begins with the self. The way you portray yourself is the way you will see the world. If you are in Sikhi, so will the youth be. Just try it. You will need less reason to coerce them back. All they need are role models which they cannot find anymore. The few they do find are seen as old-fashioned, traditional or orthodox because the ‘modern’ Sikhs way out number them.

If you and I will adopt Sikh values and commit ourselves to the Guru and promise Him that we will do all that a Sikh is required to do, believe me, the world will follow our examples. You set the wrong examples, you will see for yourself the results of your actions in your own children. We have forgotten our important role in our community and many do not even care. We already know so much but do nothing to refine our beings because we are ourselves weak in spirit.

If we want our youth back in the Gurudwaras, let’s see you there first.

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This article was published in 'Akaal' Magazine and targeted towards the Sikhs of Kenya. Your comments and input is welcomed.