By: Surjit Singh Flora
The Sikh community brought the festival of Vaisakhi to life by celebrating it with tremendous passion and excitement. Thousands of devotees flocked to gurudwaras to take part in the ancient rites and feel the joy of the occasion.
On Friday, April 15, all day long, followers flocked to gurudwaras to pray and be blessed. In the evening, Gurdwara Nanaksar Brampton on Timberlane held special prayers. Drive Kirtan (spiritual songs) were sung and prayers were read, and their rhythmic melodies filled the air.
During the Vaisakhi celebrations, the spirit of community devotion and selflessness known as ‘seva’ was also evident. Devotees enthusiastically volunteered for a variety of duties, including tidying the Gurudwara’s grounds, serving “langar” (community meal), and assisting the elderly and incapacitated.
After that, Bhai Sewa Singh ji congratulated the entire Sangat on the creation day of Khalsa Day. He said that in today’s times, there is a need to fight for the Guru by enunciating the evils and following the message of the Gurus. We should work for the good of all. At this time, Ontario Government Treasurer Minister Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria and Federal Government officials, including MP Sonia Sidhu from Brampton South, reached the Gurdwara and congratulated the entire Sikh community on the special event of Vaisakhi. A copy of the Vaisakhi congratulations message sent by PM Justin Trudeau to the Sikh community was presented to Head of Sikh Temple Swaranjit Singh.
Also, Minister of Seniors of Canada and MP Brampton West Kamal Khera along with Iqwinder Gaheer, M.P. Malton, Ali, Shafqat – MP Brampton Center and Ruby Sahota MP Brampton North visited at Gurdwara Sikh Sangat and wished the Sikh community a very happy Vaisakhi day. She also sat on the floor and enjoyed the langar. A langar is a gurdwara’s communal kitchen that distributes free meals to everybody, regardless of faith, caste, gender, economic background, or ethnicity. People dine together on the floor, and the kitchen is maintained and served by volunteers from the Sikh community.
Also on Sunday, April 16, if anyone wants to be baptized as a Sikh, they may want to call the Nanaksar Gurdwara at 905-452-1313. A baptized Sikh always carries The Five Ks are the markers of Sikh identity, and they consist of: uncut hair, a short sword or knife, a steel wristband, a wooden comb, and shorts worn as an undergarment. The observance of the Five K’s was originally the mark of the Khalsa.
Sikhs observe Vaisakhi as the day the Khalsa was founded (the pure one). On this day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh (the tenth Sikh Guru) instituted the Khalsa, abolished distinctions between high and low, and declared that all humans are equal.
