I've been wearing my pagri, my turban. On Wednesday it brought me a new friend: Jagdeep Kaur. She saw me and asked if I was a student of Yogi Bhajan, an American Sikh. Her grandaughter's name is Amrita! She invited me to her house for Langar, Kirtan and Gurdwara. She blessed me. I am so happy still. I told a Sikh friend, and they were more focused on the fact that she is not an Amritdhari Sikh, rather than how wonderful it is to have another Sikh friend. There is a danger in spiritual elitism...you lose opportunities for more friends.
Just before I met Jagdeep, I had been listening to a recorded lecture by a British Sikh woman explaining how important the Sangat is to one's spiritual growth:
"A Bibi will help you on your path. Like-minded friends, the sangat, is the biggest help in overcoming obstacles on your path. If you take one step to the guru, he will walk toward you."
So, I want to wear my guru's crown on my head. When I look in the mirror I want to see my guru's sacrifice on my body, to walk the path and be reminded by my bani of the geis (vows) that so many have taken to be a good person walking the Sikh path.
I wish I had a proper pagri with an Adi Shakti gem:
"She is the most beautiful among women; upon her forehead she wears the jewel of the Lord's Love."
~ Guru Nanak Dev Ji
To me, moving onto the Sikh path is a natural progression from being a Hindu. Being a Hindu is fine. There are Hindus who who worship form, and also Hindus who worship the formless. There are Hindus who ignore ideas of caste. In Sikhism is a blend of openess to all faiths, with deep roots in the Hindu and Muslim faiths. Wearing the pagri is a way of reminding yourself how important devotion is, and the Adi Shakti seems to me to be much like the bindi Hindu women wear ~ it is the jewel of the Lord's Love.
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