People talk about heritage and inheritance. There are two values that I have inherited from my maternal Grandfather. Today I am going to talk about one of these two values. The other is more personal, I may talk about it some other time.
A Gurdwara, meaning “the doorway to the Guru”, is the Sikh place of worship and is referred to as a “Sikh temple”. My Grandfather would get off his bicycle whenever he reached a Gurdwara and walked the part of the road in front of the Gurdwara. Reaching the other side he would hop on to the bike once again and ride away. “Why do you do this?”, I would ask. His reply would be “Its a way to respect the Guru”.
A small thing, we may feel. However, doing it patiently every single time, especially if the Gurdwara is close to your home and you have to pass it 2-3 times a day, both while coming and going – its tedious to say the least.
Today I have a car but each time I pass by a Gurdwara, I think of this. Will I be able to pass on the legacy to my kids? When I am traveling by the Metro, and I pay homage when I pass by a Gurdwara, people around me (from different religions) copy me. I hope they don’t just forget it – they take it with them. My cab driver started doing it after seeing me. To me it means a lot.
