On the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of the Second Master -Guru Angad Sahib, WSN columnist Jagdeesh Singh narrates the remarkable contribution of Sikhs through Langar during the COVID-19 pandemic across the world. He tells us that Langar is more than food, it is a foundation for an inclusive way of life encompassing all creations of God. He blissfully wonders at this great institution started by the Gurus, congratulates every Sikh who is selflessly serving humankind in this hour of distress and hopes that this will continue till eternity -in good and bad times.

THE EVER-ENERGISING AND DELICIOUS GURU KA LANGAR is an enduring and integral part of Sikh communities across the globe. It is as inseparable and integral to our visible being as our dastaars –turbans and kesh –unshorn hair.

With the coronavirus pandemic, Sikhs in Panjaab, Delhi, New York, London, Australia, United Kingdom and many other global locations, have sprung into Langar action all over! Sikhs, small in number, but enormously big in their hearts, have gone into direct public action with either opening up their gurdwaras to surrounding communities or taking Langar directly to the homes of the needy and vulnerable or taking Langar out into the public streets and feeding people there. Sikh communities and charities have taken to funding, organising and delivering packages of food directly to the poor and destitute communities across Panjaab.

As many public figures have acknowledged, what a powerful force this Langar is, and the vigorous and mighty spirit of benevolence that underlies it! Indeed, the simple, vegetarian, rustic langar of Guru Nanak remains and will remain, like all that He did and taught -an everlasting, eternal truth and the goodness of living.

It is through such gigantic efforts, that Sikhs and Sikhi and what these represents becomes known. Sikhi and Sikhs are essentially and at the core, a force of practical action. Practical action is what defines Sikhi and by being a person of action is what gives a committed Sikh a true meaning, purpose and edge. That selfless, ethical spirit is manifest in Langar action across the world, in the midst of the current global pandemic!

Langar is not ‘religious food’. Not even ‘holy food’. It is much more than that. Religion, politics has no part or purpose in this down-to-earth, straight-forward act of sharing, benevolence, inclusion, equality and so much more.

The wonder of Guru Ka Langar is from the key ideals of equality, sharing and justice. The thoughtfulness of underpinning this is more than just about food and eating.

The whole Guru Ka Langar idealism, philosophy, mindfulness and attitude, is more than just sharing food. Indeed, it is more than just about food! It extends to a great deal more about our shared lives, collective human society and the earthly world in which we live and operate.

Langar is not ‘religious food’. Not even ‘holy food’. It is much more than that. Religion, politics has no part or purpose in this down-to-earth, straight-forward act of sharing, benevolence, inclusion, equality and so much more.

The practice of Langar predates the coming of Guru Nanak to this earth. It can be traced to Buddhists and Sufi practises. Like all things ethical and positive, Guru Nanak embraced and engaged the good and rejected the not-so-good. It is from Guru Nanak, the second Guru -Guru Angad and the subsequent Gurus, that the Sikh tradition and enduring practise of Langar have become an embedded and mainstream practice across Sikh communities and Gurdwaras.

However, the practice of cooking together, eating together and sharing together: is more than just a ritual or formalism, or keeping up a cherished tradition.

For those, who have the good fortune to understand and embrace the principles and purpose of Langar; it is the most prominent and practical feature of the great fortresses of ethical Guru-inspired living -our ‘Guru-dwaras’. The Langar spirit is deeply and profoundly about a society which operates as a caring and sharing unit, at the village level, community level, local level and global level.

It is caring and sharing in a contiguous way, in shared union and proximity. It is about the ethical responsibility and practices of sharing, with no single or individual ownership. It is a powerful principle, that later Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 1800s would be so inspired by, that they would express in their famous radical writings as ‘common ownership’ and that ‘property is theft’.

The indelible Guru Ka Langar is about the common and collective sharing of resources, physical and monetary -land, homes, water, air, soil, food and more. It is equally about shared responsibility in a non-selfish, non-usurping and non-profiteering manner. The Langar spirit is ethically gathering, managing and holding those resources for common use and benefit. It is the opposite of personal fortune, profit, greed and self-accumulation.

ਧਰਤੀ ਦੇਗ ਮਿਲੈ ਇਕ ਵੇਰਾ ਭਾਗੁ ਤੇਰਾ ਭੰਡਾਰੀ ॥੨॥
The earth is Your great cooking pot; Your beings receive their portions only once. Destiny is Your gate-keeper. ||2||

Guru Granth Sahib

It extends deeply and powerfully to our use of the earth’s resources. Langar is about sensitivity, care, concern, appreciation, responsibility, input and output.  In Gurbani, the earth is referred wondrously as a ‘Degh’ from which we receive endless outputs.

ਧਰਤੀ ਦੇਗ ਮਿਲੈ ਇਕ ਵੇਰਾ ਭਾਗੁ ਤੇਰਾ ਭੰਡਾਰੀ ॥੨॥
The earth is Your great cooking pot; Your beings receive their portions only once. Destiny is Your gate-keeper. ||2||

Langar is an all-inclusive, totalised approach to life. It is the foundation of an ethical economic system for human living. It is about caring for the earth, whilst taking carefully and considerately from the earth.

Langar integrates all the above principles into one whole cyclical and inclusive action. It is about receiving and giving back into the earth. It is about feeding the animals and all forms of life on the earth beyond human.  It is about nourishing and enabling the earth.

The entire Guru Ka Langar is about an equalised system of life, in mind, body and spirit. It is about a non-exploitative, earth-centric, shared economy. It is about using the earth and the foundations of existence that it provides in a thoughtful and mindful way.

It is about a just and ethical system of living -human-conscious and earth-conscious. “Nothing is mine, not even my body, mind or consciousness. These are all products of a much wider existence.”

So, when I receive my next sweet ‘Karah parshad’ -sweet pudding served at the end of a service in a Gurdwara, roti, –Wheat flour bread, dal –lentils and sabji –vegetables: let me remember, understand and appreciate the source from where these have come and how I should be part of the great cycle of benevolence. Let me contribute and add to that entire spectrum.

The Guru has given us the example of Sacha Sauda -the ‘truthful deal’, the anecdotal teaching to differentiate between legendary characters Bhai Lalo -the poor and the humble as against Malik Bhago -the rich exploiting the poor, the generosity, supreme and infinite benevolence of the earth which so diffuse and widespread,

-ਪਵਣੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਪਾਣੀ ਪਿਤਾ ਮਾਤਾ ਧਰਤਿ ਮਹਤੁ ॥
Air is the Guru, Water is the Father, and Earth is the Great Mother of all.

The Langar ethos and spirit is beautifully epitomised in the great national, uplifting, empowering, transforming slogan of ‘DEGH O TEGH O FATEH!’ Victory to the cooking pot -the source of life energy and nourishment and victory to the sword -the source of protection and justice!

Guru Ka Langar is about food, feeding, sharing, equality. It is about loving and embracing the earth from where all comes. It is about justice and non-exploitation. It is about shared and equal governance. It is about responsible citizenship, contributing, sharing and benefiting together. It is about commonality and collectivism. It is about humility. It about attitude. It is about making the correct choices -to drive and forge slowly and surely towards a just and benevolent world -socially, ecologically, economically, politically.

This is beautifully epitomised in the great national, uplifting, empowering, transforming slogan of ‘DEGH O TEGH O FATEH!’ Victory to the cooking pot -the source of life energy and nourishment and victory to the sword -the source of protection and justice!

May the wonders of Guru Ka Langar spread and send out a soaring and inspiring message across world conscientiousness about life, responsibility, nature, animals and humans -one gigantic family with so many interdependent parts!

May the force of Waheguru’s inspiration and activism be with us! May the Sikh revolution of kindness, justice and good proceed onwards and forwards!