History of the Sikh Temple - Case Study Example

Gopinathan Case Analysis 10 May 2007 The Case Of The Sikh Temple Places of worship According to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia on Web), "A place ofworship or house of worship is a building or other location where a group of people (a congregation) comes to perform acts of religious praise, honour, or devotion. The form and function of religious architecture has evolved over thousands of years of both changing beliefs and architectural style. The term temple is often used as a general term for any house of worship; but churches and mosques are not generally called temples." Every religion is an attempt to discover the truth of nature. A visionary arrives at the scene and unfolds a philosophy. Those who believe in that philosophy join together and a religion is born. Those believers congregate in one place to reinforce their faith and thus places of worship come into existence. It is a long drawn progression whence a religion becomes a reality. It is an ongoing and continuous process that never has an end. The problem starts when places of worship become displays of religious supremacy. The imposing constructions and their special signature are nothing new at places of worship. History is replete with many such edifices to honor conquests and subjugation of their subjects. Many victories have been dedicated to some gods and impressive temples built to commemorate the victories. What is a Gurdwara The word "Guru" is made up of two words- "GU" meaning DARK and "RU" meaning LIGHT. The word Guru means from darkness to light or from ignorance to enlightenment. The one who enlightens is called "GURU". Among the Sikhs the title "guru" was given to the 10 leaders of the community from Nanak (1469-1539), the founder to Govind Singh (1666-1708) the tenth and last Guru. During the times of the early Gurus, Sikh places of worship were referred to as dharamsalas. They were places where Sikhs could gather to hear the Guru speak or sing hymns. As the Sikh population grew, Guru Hargobind the sixth Guru introduced the word Gurdwara, meaning the gateway through which the Guru could be reached. Thereafter all Sikh places of worship came to be known as Gurdwaras. Govind Singh, in 1708, ended the succession line of personal Gurus and installed the sacred book of "Guru Granth Sahib" as his eternal successor. Guru Granth Sahib was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru in 1604. It is a compilation of the actual words spoken by the Sikh Gurus and various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism and Islam. The Background of San Jose Gurdwara Sikh Gurdwara - San Jose, was founded in the Evergreen district of San Jose, California, USA in 1985 by leaders of the then-rapidly growing Santa Clara Valley Sikh community. Initially they congregated in a rented East Bay Community Center. In 1986 they bought a small building on White Road in East San Jose and later added some nearby land. Soon they realized that it would be too expensive to build a Gurdwara of their requirements in the city limits, so they sold that land and in 1996 the Gurdwara Committee under the tutelage of Bob (Bhupinder) Singh Dhillon bought 40 Acres of land near East San Jose Foothills in Evergreen District. The first phase of the project of approximately 20,000 square feet built-up area was completed in August 2004 at a cost of 10 million dollars. With an estimated investment of another 10 million dollars in the second phase the completed Gurdwara will have over 90,000 square feet built-up area, housing all the essential features of a Gurdwara. The Fremont's temple in the Bay area, built in 1991 at a cost of 1.8 million dollars is, at present, the nation's largest. With its completion San Jose Gurdwara will overtake the Fremont temple in size. The Controversy The 90,000 square feet structure sparked controversy when Sikhs first unveiled their aspiration. Ironically, beauty of the site is the chief cause for concern among Evergreen residents; many of them believe the temple may become a tourist's attraction, causing traffic problems and degradation of the tranquil lifestyle of the neighborhood. The only two-lane road approach to the site will cause commuting problems and threaten the children in the neighborhood who frequent it riding bicycles. Increased traffic will pollute the otherwise clean village surroundings adversely affecting the health of the residents. Thousands of Sikhs are expected to visit the temple regularly. There are more than 45,000 Sikhs living in the Bay Area. Many Evergreen residents feel their neighborhood is not suitable for an edifice of this size. The Gurdwara plans to have congregations of up to 1,500 people, which experience shows will go up with passage of time. Many temple proponents see racial and religious prejudice as the reason behind the opposition. They refer to the petition by the opponents to the city council where Sikhs were termed as "undesirable neighbors." Public hearings in San Jose City lasted late into the night and at times erupted into name-calling. Protesters carried signs reading "No Sikh Jose.'' Ultimately the residents of Evergreen filed a lawsuit against the project citing environmental concerns and violation of city construction regulations. A decade long conflict ensued with city council, law courts and interacting with angry neighborhood groups. The Sikhs learned in a hard way the art of compromise and agreed to reduce the number of domes and lower the structure of the building, among other concessions. Finally in 1998 the Sikhs won a favorable verdict from the court stating that the community had met all laid down regulations. The Gurdwara issue necessitated heightened Sikh involvement in local public life. As discussed by Lisa Fernandez, "New House Of Worship Taking Shape In San Jose After A Decade Of Effort," Mercury News, San Jose dated 14 May 2003, on Sikh Net, http://www.sikhnet.com/Sikhnet/discussion.nsf/All+by+Date/670C6CE5013E434C87256D26006E9943!OpenDocument, the Sikh community ran for public offices and formed political clubs and sports groups. After years of battles, Bob Dhillon, the head of the Gurdwara building committee, ran for the Santa Clara County Planning Commission, a seat he held for three years. He also made an unsuccessful bid for city council in 2002, but says he will try again. "Joining the mainstream is important for Sikhs,'' Dhillon said. "Sikh Americans are indeed Americans, and they are equally loyal to America as they are to their faith." This type of activism is unusual for a group that tends to remain insular mainly because of cultural and language differences. Other Sikhs involved with building the temple also immersed themselves in civic life. Surjeet Singh Bains has held a seat as a San Jose traffic appeals board member for five years. Bernie Nijjar of Cupertino is a founding member of the American Sikh Democratic Club. Bob Gill of San Jose does fundraising for local politicians. After seeing so much resentment directed against the temple, Jasvider Singh Sohal of Los Gatos decided to form the Bay Area Cultural and Sports Association, where young Sikhs could entertain the community as well as kick around a soccer ball with other groups. He said second-generation Sikhs have better communication skills than the elders, and should use them. "We have to shed the idea that we are immigrants,'' he said. "We are Americans even though we look different.'' "We were shocked at how much opposition to the temple there was,'' said Jasvider Singh Sohal of Los Gatos. "It's too easy to say it was racism. We had to ask, "What are we doing to tell the community who we are and what our values are" Our goal is to integrate with the rest of the community.'' "They're making an imprint on foreign soil,'' said Nikky-Guninder Kaur, a professor of Sikh studies at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. "This boosts their confidence. It leads them to open up and say, We're with it; we're part of the community.' Building the Gurdwara helps Sikhs shatter the barrier between self and other.'' Now the question arises whether it is racial prejudice that is agitating the Santa Clara community who is opposing the Gurdwara project. As brought out in an article by Staff Writer, Maria Alicia Gaura, titled "Sikh Temple Plans Run Afoul of Neighbors" in the San Francisco Chronicle dated 25 December 1997 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-in/article.cgifile=/chronicle/archive/1997/12/25/MN31976.DTL a resident of San Jose Mike Callaway worries that his quiet street will come alive with sightseers and with hundreds of cars carrying worshipers to and from temple events. " I don't want to live next to a landmark,'' Callaway said. " We like the peace and quiet. Ninetyfour thousand square feet isn't a neighborhood church." " Sure, it's very beautiful, but it's not appropriate to the neighborhood,'' said Bob Lanza, a 15- year resident who opposes the temple. We're saying, Jeez, downsize the darn thing' ''. Are these concerns real or camouflaged racial biases More than racial biases can this be termed "stereotyping" In his article "Sept 11 & Sikh Stereotyping in the US" Nirmal Singh, former Principal, C.O.O. & CF&AO of the largest independent provider of pre-hospital health care services in Connecticut says, "Stereotyping is a common experience everywhere. It is forming a standardized, oversimplified mental picture of members of a group. Certain fixed or general traits are attributed to all its members without regard to individual qualities. This tends to eliminate the need to know them as individuals. They are placed in a group and assigned its stereotyped characteristics." The shocking stereotyping of Sikhs happened after 9/11. A day after the incident a Sikh was searched by the Police in Providence because of his looks fitting the suspect profile and arrested for carrying a concealed weapon kirpan (a small knife carried by all true Sikhs as dictated in their scripture). By the late evening news, his handcuffed image was all over the TV news channels. Given the surcharged atmosphere these images create suspicion about Sikhs' and their association with the Bin Laden terrorist group and exposed them to grave dangers. Such incidents leave inedible impressions in the minds of people. Sikhs might have become "undesirable neighbors" in San Jose by such stereotyping. Can the San Jose Council ignore such concerns of the residents Though the opposition is from a very small virulent group. Can the Council overlook the fact that legally there is nothing to bar the construction of the Gurdwara since they comply all regulations of the land What about the feelings of thousands of Sikhs living in the area; do not they have their religious freedom guaranteed under the U S Constitution These people have migrated to US seeking fortune and in the bargain enriched the American society economically and culturally. They have gone through the thick and thin of the destiny of America. Can anyone forget what made Silicon Valley, who the main contributors are to it The Council has to dispassionately debate on these issues. The aboriginals of America constitutes of a very thin marginalized section. Whom we call Americans today has migrated from all corners of the world. They vastly differ in appearance, culture, language, religion, ethnicity et al. and are so perfectly poised that no single section or group can tilt it without jeopardizing themselves. The resultant society that developed from this conglomeration is the strength of America. Every one has unlimited personal freedom in America. No other nation in the world can boast of such liberty that an American enjoys. Therefore it becomes the responsibility of all Americans to ensure that they do not trample on one another's territory. The Sikhs have a responsibility to ensure the anxieties of the locals are proven wrong. Similarly, San Jose citizen has to be sensitive to the religious sentiments of other communities living amongst them. We are living in an era where great tolerance is called for. The problem of transport is not confined to the opponents of the project. Those visiting the Gurdwara also need to have good open roads. This is not an insurmountable problem. Roads can be realigned or new alignments can be made to cater the increased traffic accommodating the pollution anxieties raised by the residents. Landscape of any place deserves prime consideration. No construction activity should be undertaken which obliterates the pristine hilly landscape of San Jose. The Sikh community has to scale down on their ostentatious architecture and gargantuan size without compromising the divine requirements. There is no minimum or maximum size for a temple. After all what is a temple It is a place of worship. It should be able to accommodate the devotees without any squeeze. The San Jose Gurdwara should also be able to accommodate the Sikh community residing in the neighborhood. This Gurdwara does not have any historical claims wherein believers come on pilgrimage like Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple at Amritsar, India). It came up for the convenience of the community living in Ever Green. Converting this need for an ostentatious showoff by the community's wealth and guile is what creating the problem. Imposing places of worship and other institutions becomes a symbol of strength and wealth of a community. A one-religion nation may accept such brazen indulgence. But in modern multi-religious and multi-ethnic society objections are bound to rise from some sections. It may be due to jealousy, prejudice, real or perceived concerns of harmony or pollution. The claim that the size has religious connotations is not supported by any evidence. There are thousands of Gurdwaras around the world. Many of them are just shanties barely sufficient for small congregations. Of course wherever possible befitting edifices should be made for the believers to find solace from the hustle and bustle of life. But must ensure that they never go overboard. The city elders have to embark on a compromise mission so that frayed tempers can be cooled and different communities live in peace in a rejuvenated atmosphere in San Jose. In conclusion it may not be out of place to quote a rephrase of the wonderful poem titled "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer by a Sikh musician Dya Singh. The original version reads: Trees I think I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed Against the earth's sweet-flowing breast A tree that looks to God all day And lifts her leafy arms to pray A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair Upon whose bosom snow has lain Who lives intimately with rain Poems are made by fools like me But only God, can make a tree! -Alfred Joyce Kilmer, 1913 The rephrase version of the original poem by Dya Singh reads: Trees I think that I shall never see A temple as lovely as a tree A tree that looks to God all day And lifts her leafy arms to pray A tree knows no restrictions or limitations Of race, religion, cult, color or denomination All the great sages, in nature and wilderness free Sought enlightenment and held discourses On the 'mound', by rivers and under the Tree Temples are made by fools like me But only Waheguru (God), can make a tree. The above work can be accessed at: http://www.sikhpoint.com/community/DyaSingh/Temples_or_trees.php Works Cited 1. Fernandez Lisa, "New House Of Worship Taking Shape In San Jose After A Decade Of Effort," Mercury News, San Jose dated 30 August 2004, Posted by Vikramjit Singh in the Web site Sikh Net, on 14 May 2003 (09 May 07) visit: http://www.sikhnet.com/Sikhnet/discussion.nsf/All+by+Date/ 670C6CE5013E434C87256D26006E9943!OpenDocument 2. Gaura Maria Alicia, Staff Writer "Sikh Temple Plans Run Afoul of Neighbors" in The San Francisco Chronicle dated 25 December 1997 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi- in/article.cgifile=/chronicle/archive/1997/12/25/MN31976.DTL 3. Singh Dya article containing the poem can be accessed at: http://www.sikhpoint.com/community/DyaSingh/Temples_or_trees.php (Visited 09 May 2007) 4. Singh Nirmal Former Professor - Chair, Operations Management and Dean, Administrative Staff College of India, Bella Vista, Hyderabad; consultant to the United Nations and First Secretary, Indian High Commission in the UK; Colonel in the Indian Army. For more on stereotyping visit: http://www.sikhreview.org/september2002/pers2.htm (accessed 9 May 07). Read More