Harmandir Sahib

from AZ quotes

For many Sikhs, coming to Canada has been the opportunity to be free… to have freedom of speech, religion, media, and peaceful assembly that we didn’t otherwise have. It has been similar for Sikhs coming to the UK, US, and Australia. It really resonated with me when my friend Sarah, a lawyer who works to represent Indigenous people in Canada, wrote about being the granddaughter of a holocaust survivor. She wrote, “To recognize that the place that your family has felt to be a refuge can come at the cost of so many other families’ unspeakable losses.” As I remember the atrocities of 1984, I think of the Indigenous families here fighting to have the genocide that was perpetrated against them recognized. All communities who have experienced genocide understand and unite in this fight for justice and having the truth known. 

I cannot emphasize how critical it is to research our own history. I read a quote the other day (Ricky Singh) “… I urge everyone to understand and study your history. History that’s been sculpted and censored to benefit the oppressor and leave the oppressed powerless.” So many Sikhs aren’t even sure of our history. They might know that the Akal Takht was bombed, as those pictures are widely distributed. They don’t know our reference library was looted and burned, that poisonous gas was spread, that the Red Cross wasn’t allowed to enter, no one was allowed to leave, how 70-150 000 soldiers were sent to Punjab, that 74 other Gurdwaras were attacked at the same time, that 20 000 from Bohiwal, 30 000 from Harike Patla, and 20 000 from Mehta Chauk were killed trying to get to Amritsar. There were maximal people at the Gurdwara Sahib for the Shaheedi Divas of Guru Arjan Dev Ji and they weren’t warned or allowed to leave. We must not blame ourselves for our own genocide, as Bhai Manvir Singh Ji says “they killed us, they oppressed us, they attacked our Harmandir Sahib and they make us believe that we are at fault.” When I went to Harmandir Sahib, I was very emotional thinking about this as I entered the complex. I looked down at the white tiles thinking of the blood that stained these tiles and the sarovar. 

We are a resilient people, our struggles are a celebration of our resilience and strength. Do not ever forget the actual reason why we came here. If we want to remain a resilient people, then each generation needs to be continuing to work on the mind, to beat the 5 dhoot and win this game. Gurbani tells us only then are we warriors. You are not brave until you know how precious each breath is, until you know the game of maya. As one Gurmukh told me recently, we do many things to please others and they will be happy. Your parents and the world will be happy you have achieved things, but it is all useless without fulfilling your life purpose. He said "bachai, wherever you go and travel, spread the message of God."