Gurudwara Sikh Center of New York, Flushing

Flushing Gurudwara Saahab, Main prayer hall Only, will be open on Sunday May 3rd 2020 Please wear your mask & maintain 6 Feet Social Distance mandatorily.... Kindly respect and adhere to the rules

How much faith do you have in the Guru? Do you really believe the Guru will be there for you when you need the Guru the most? Did you know that your Guru itself... took the most important step of one of the Sikh Panth's greatest revolutionary movements? In 1920, the Gurduara reformers led by Jathedar Kartar Singh 'Jhabbar' and Jathedar Teja Singh 'Bhucchar' fresh off the first victory of the movement decided they should try and free the most important Gurduara at all, Harmandir Sahib. The mahants at Harmandir Sahib were particularly anti-Sikh in their views. Women, low-caste Sikhs and Muslims were banned from Harmandir Sahib. The head granthi had even written a book in response to Bhai Kahn Singh 'Nabha''s "We are Not Hindus" with a book entitled, "We are Hindus". The Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre and it's fallout, where Dyer was made an 'honorary' Sikh by the Mahants of Harmandir Sahib and Akal Takhat Sahib was the last straw. On October 12th of 1920, Jathedar Kartar Singh led a group of low-caste Sikhs who had recently converted from Hinduism. They demanded to be allowed into Harmandir Sahib and be served Karah Parshad. The Mahants refused. Neither side wanted violence in Harmandir Sahib so a compromise was reached. They would take a Hukam from Guru Granth Sahib ji: O Brother, the worthless are blessed by the Creator itself, And are put into the seva of the True Guru. O Brother, nothing is higher than seva of the True Guru, It allows one to connect to the Naam of Vaaheguru. The All-Pervading One blesses and unites us into Itself. O Brother, I am without virtues and worthless, But the Perfect Guru has united completely with me. Refrain. The shabad of Guru Amardas Sahib's was so perfect for the situation that the mahants were stunned. Not knowing what to do, they simply gave over control of Harmandir Sahib to the Reformers. Inspired by what had just happened, the Reformers marched over to Akal Takhat Sahib, but before they even reached the Takhat, the pujaris there ran away, leaving the Takhat unattended. Jathedar Teja Singh 'Bhuchhar' and his jatha were given control of the Takhat temporarily, and the tradition of having a 'jathedar of Akal Takhat' thus began (yup, only started in the 1920's). Because Nihang Singhs demanded the next day that they should have control of the Takhat, the Reformers began to call themselves the Akali Dal, showing that they were the real army of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib! Sikhs like Kartar Singh and Teja Singh were not politicians. They had no interest beyond bringing Gurmat principles into everyday Sikh life. Unlike the Snanatans, they were focused on giving amrit to women, low-caste Hindus and Muslims. It was primarily these actions which brought them into conflict with the powers that be. But that one act at Harmandir Sahib and that hukam from Guru Amardas Sahib, it was a validation of everything they had been struggling for. It provided the inspiration needed for the Akali Reformers to free all the Gurduars! From Ang 638

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P-EBT is a new program that gives food benefits to children who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals because of COVID-19 school closures. P-EBT benefits can be used to buy food at participating stores. Questions? Contact NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance at 1-833-452-0096 or by email at [email protected] . For more information, visit: HungerSolutionsNY.org/PEBT #COVID19