This week’s meeting took an entirely different slant, with a visit to the Sikh Temple Gurdwara Sri Guru Nanak Darbar, at Officer. After donning a head scarf and removing our shoes, we entered the prayer room, where a member of the community was reading from the holy book, seated under a very elaborate canopy. In fact, ‘reading’ was not quite accurate as he was relying entirely on his memory as he chanted the lesson for the day.
Our host for the evening, Harpreet Singh Kandra, outlined that there is very often a translation of the verses in simple language shown on the big screen, to ensure the correct interpretation of the verses. Harpreet was very informative about the history of the temple, the community it serves, the mode of worship and the core principles of the Sikh faith. What comes across clearly is that this faith, built on the principles of love and compassion, is expressed through the actions of the community. As an example, there is always food available at the Gurdwara, at no cost to those who partake.
Part of our visit was sharing a meal together, which consisted of a tasty potato curry, chickpea curry, rice, fresh roti and gulab jamun to finish. This is in keeping with Sikh traditions all around the world: one awe-inspiring example of this is the Sikh Temple in New Delhi that feeds over 10,000 people in one day.
During COVID the Gurdwara community provided bags of groceries, with a recipe book, to many families in the area who were in need of support. They are very much aware of living in harmony with nature and have planted thousands of trees on the property. A further practical project they have initiated is ‘Engaging Safely with Water’ program, in conjunction with Cardinia Leisure, which aims to teach adults from multi-cultural backgrounds to swim and enjoy the water safely.
This was a very informative visit and we very much appreciated the willingness of Harpreet to provide such a lot of information and to answer our multitude of questions.
