In this video, Jagraj Singh from the Basics of Sikhi youtube channel, shares his thoughts on reforming our Gurdwaras into learning institutions.
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We don't have a school system (in England) to learn Sikhi as a higher education. If someone wants to learn they have to go to India. So we don't have a place for young Sikhs to learn, get trained, and become leaders. No leadership Academy or training colleges. Also we don't have any female kathavachaks. In the 3rd Guru's time there were 52 female parcharaks. Even though our population is so much bigger now, do we even have that many female parcharaks? We have gone backwards since Guru Amar Das's time. As time and technology progresses we don't see Sikhi progressing. We don't see youth being proud to say that the Gurdwara is the beacon of light.
We need to relook at our Gurdwaras. For example Jagraj Singh has started asking sangat not to bow and donate during the lecture. He asks the sangat to wait until the end. This is to not distract everyone. This is to bring more focus to the lecture. When you go to a lecture hall you are not allowed to come to the front if you are late. You sit in the back, and no one gets distracted by your entrance. This is how it works in a learning institution. So are the Gurdwaras schools of learning?
Business people evaluate their businesses to ensure it's success. Gurdwaras usually don't have a system of checking if it's been successful. So when Sikh kids come to Gurdwara and don't know anything about Sikhi that reflects on the way the Gurdwara is being run. Schools take children, give them a learning plan, challenge them, and test them. The schools with better teachers where the kids learn more are more desired by parents. Jagraj shares his experience that he had been coming to the Gurdwara for years before he knew about Sikhi and no one ever checked in with him or challenged him to see what he knows. All he knew to do was to give a donation, get parshad, and go home. If someone would have asked him what he knew about Sikhi, he would have said, "nothing". The thing to do with someone who knows nothing is not to have them sit and nod their head to something they don't understand. That person needs a class or a course. A Gurdwara's responsibility to the sangat is like a teachers responsibility to the students.
The problem with a Gurdwara is that the teachers aren't in a position to teach. Who knows about Gurbani is the Granthi, but the Granthi is not in charge of the Gurdwara. That is like have a business person run a school, but schools aren't run by admin people, they are run by educators. Let's compare the Christian Church system and how Gurdwaras are run. An archbishop of a Church has to start as a preacher. Then he progresses to being a Bishop, and then an Archbishop. So what we have is someone who is the most knowledgeable in their religion administering the religion. Gurdwaras are typically run by a committee. There is no test or apprenticeship to be on a committee. No one checks their knowledge and commitment to Sikhi. This committee is chosen by vote, and these elections are often not representative of the sangat because of vote stacking strategies. Jagraj Singh talked to a Jewish friend whose Synagogue has an interesting system; each congregant has an electronic ID card with they swipe every time they come to the congregation. At the time of voting the people who participated more in the Synagogue had a higher weight while voting for the leadership. This is a great example of having people who participate having more power.
So the Gurdwara committees are usually populated by successful business people, and not Gianis, Granthis (knowledgeable Sikhs) or parcharaks (teachers). This system has some negative impact on the the way Sikhi is being taught and passed down. For example the committee might want to build more buildings, hire more employees, and have more Akhand Paaths that they can charge the sangat for. This might make sense for a business person, but not to an educator. While these things are very good, focusing on them might be misguided. During these paid Akhand Paaths, the average Sikh can't understand it, and are not learning Bani from it. Most of the youth aren't engaged in the all Punjabi katha (explanations), and can be found playing on their phones. Most Sikhs don't know what they are doing when they undertake the Lavan (wedding) ceremony; what the Lavan signifies, and what the aim of a GurSikh is. So, unfortunately most people aren't being helped by having a big Gurdwara, with more Akhand Paaths happening. Those things might seem impressive to a business person who can then tout about them. However what about the spirit of the sangat? What about the comprehension of the youth about Gurbani?
Jagraj Singh points out that the average Sikh can't tell you what the Mool Mantra means, or explain the basics of our religion. So the Sikh community is not using the Gurdwara as a learning institution. And there are usually no resources at a Gurdwara for people who want to learn. There is no library or bookshop to even get books if you want to read more.
What is needed most is engaging katha in English to get the younger people inspired in Sikhi. This is the point of view from a grass-roots parcharak.
We need a dramatic shift in focus. We should be focusing more on educating and inspiring the youth. We could be investing in creating libraries, learning resources, traning kathavachaks, and starting educational programs. There is a big responsibility on the Gurdwara leaders to make this happen because they have the most power.