8.24.09

Journal Excerpt (7.3.09):

We are in the library of a Sikh Gurdwara which is a beautiful and peaceful place. The spirits of pilgrimage and devotion predominate the building. We arrived this morning and after taking off our shoes and covering our heads, went upstairs to the main room where the sacred text is kept. It was a very large room; the architecture and sacred monuments again whispering of devotion and brotherhood. I was pondering on the devotion of those in the room--their beliefs and feelings. I'm sure there are many different stories and reasons for coming, but I reflected on that wonderful humility and inner awe that pulls men toward religion. In the end, the actions--fanning the book, reading the sacred text, bowing, giving money, and prostrating oneself--are simple and natural, baring their devotion in consistency and loyalty. And that, I think, was both my favorite and hardest part of my visit: craving to learn a new and beautiful path for my own dedication, but only being able to catch a sacred glimpse. It is a path I hope to learn more about in the future as I feel it is so incredibly edifying and fulfilling; another feeling by which our most basic human drives and characteristics can be connected in the spirit of literal brotherhood. A connection which transcends cultural and historical differences.

Now I am sitting in the library with some of my fellow students. We are listening to a local Sikh tell us about the Sikh lifestyle and beliefs. I felt very peaceful, especially when he spoke about trying to become one with God: like a river pouring into the ocean he said. A beauty unbound by the words of men; it is a feeling of our loving Father's hand.