Current Events
The Third Sikh Presence On The Stage
CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Dr. Gunisha Kaur, who translated her father, Sardar Satpal Singh’s reading of a Sikh prayer into English onstage at the Inter-Faith Memorial ceremony, is pregnant and asked the Pope to bless her baby.
The event was held at Ground Zero in New York, on Friday, September 25, 2015.
Onstage, before the crowd, Pope Francis placed his hand on her belly.
“He held my hands over the baby and bowed,” she said, adding it was “a beautiful moment.”
"That is the power of this pope, that he means something to all religions," her husband, Simran Jeet Singh, said after the service.
Gunisha said she was moved by Francis -- and all the faiths that were part of the program.
"During prayers that were in languages that I don't know, I found myself singing along," she said. "It really felt like we were all there praying together."
[Courtesy: CNN, et al. Edited for sikhchic.com]
September 28, 2015
Conversation about this article
1: Tony Singh (Canada), September 28, 2015, 8:25 PM.
This is quite ironic. Sikhs don't believe in superstitious rituals like 'holy men" giving blessings. Yet, we have a purported representative of Sikhs asking for a "blessing".
2: Harpriya Singh (India), September 28, 2015, 11:15 PM.
Sometimes we're so passionate about finding ourselves that we lose our focus, adherence, identity, so that our personal agendas take over our thinking and mindfulness. It's a matter of being alive to oneself.
3: Jasbeer Singh (New Delhi, India), September 29, 2015, 8:16 AM.
"Onstage, before the crowd, Pope Francis placed his hand on her belly. 'He held my hands over the baby and bowed,' she said, adding it was 'a beautiful moment.'" Why only the Pope blessed, while representatives from other religions were also present for such blessings? Or she went emotional? That generally happens with Sikh-Indians too when they visit local popes (Babas) here. Ah. Blackmail = Emotions + Professionalism. Seems Sikhi is no longer "Dhan" for these new Sikhs, Guru's blessings no longer working, it seems.
4: Sarvjit Singh (Millis, Massachusetts, USA), September 29, 2015, 9:39 AM.
I agree with #1: in an individual capacity you can seek any blessing you like but representing Sikhs on an international stage is not a private audience. Seeking the Pope's blessing is different contextually than asking for an elder to bless someone. It probably amounts to accepting Christ as Son of God and channeling a blessing through his representative on Earth. touching a pregnant woman's belly is a Italian custom. Also, when you take sacrament in a Catholic church it is not the same as taking parshad in a gurdwara. Just for my curiousity, is there a formal way in which we chose our representative(s) in such settings? While I think Sikhs were represented well on the stage (except for this 'blessing' bit), who decides and picks our ambassadors?
5: Arjan Singh (USA), September 29, 2015, 9:44 AM.
#1 Tony: It is true that the majority of the Sikh community does not believe in the superstitions and rituals. However, similar to other communities, we do have our share of folks who are misguided. In this case I do not believe that Dr. Gunisha Kaur attended the event just to get a blessing from the Pope. She is a practicing physician as I understand and must be very logical in her approach to life. It would have appeared quite rude on her part had she stopped the Pope from putting his hand on her belly to bless the new born on the stage. My hunch is she attended the event to represent the community and be part of a multi-faith event as a show of solidarity. As far as I can read she thought of that as ‘a beautiful moment,’ nothing more. I suggest you take a look at the non-Sikh majority in India, and you will find all sorts of rituals, superstitions and falsehoods prevailing in the land. I can give a few examples: half-moon/full moon rituals, women are restricted to participate in certain events for all sorts of reasons, treatment of widows, a coconut has to be broken a certain way, certain days are more ominous for business than others, etc. The list is endless but I am sure you get the measure of the foolishness.
6: Priya Kaur (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), September 29, 2015, 2:12 PM.
While I appreciate it was an emotional moment, I sense a double standard. Had a 'blessing' been requested of a "Sant Baba" the Sikh community would have been up in arms. But because it was the Pope, it's a heart-warming story. Really?
7: Tony Singh (Canada), September 29, 2015, 9:36 PM.
Dr. Gunisha Kaur has inadvertently provided a good example of why we Sikhs need to remain true to our Gurus' teachings and not blindly follow useless rituals and practices. For non-Catholics, the Pope is just another kind, old man and nothing more. He has no power to bestow any blessings. Our Gurus said the same of the brahmins - that they are no more special than the shudras.
8: Rup Singh (Canada), September 30, 2015, 1:43 AM.
I don't think we should consider a individual participating in a multi-faith event as a representative of the whole Sikh Panth. As far as seeking the blessing from the Pope, well maybe the moment got the best of her. One must question though: did she go to represent her faith or seek blessings from a leader of another?
9: Ishnan Kaur (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), October 01, 2015, 12:18 PM.
Many years ago I traveled with Bhai Jiwan Singh from Columbus, Ohio, to Toronto. While making a pit stop at a gas station in a tiny town off the highway, a caucasian man asked me who "this gentleman" was. "He looks very holy. My family is in the car and we have a long way to go. Could you ask him to bless my family and our journey?" Bhai Sahib was attired in his full garb, long blue chola, and all his "jewelery" as he called it, his simrana, several karras, and maala and chakr in his turban. Bhai Sahib was more than happy to oblige. He stepped up to the car, flashed one of his mega watt smiles, and then gently put his hand on the occupants' heads, turn by turn as they stepped forward. This is all to say that we look for the good, whether it be in the Pope, or a gentleman in a flowing blue chola, or any stranger on the street who will stop and ask a pregnant woman when her baby is due. No superstition involved, it's simply our abiding faith in the goodness of all of humanity.
10: Rup Singh (Canada), October 01, 2015, 5:10 PM.
@9: Ishnan Kaur ji, is it not against Sikh principles to display any kind of spiritual powers? Would it not have been enough if Bhai Sahib ji did an ardaas for the family and told them that only the One Creator has the power to bless? The family would have been led out of superstitions, and perhaps stop seeking blessings from anyone whom they perceive as holy.
11: Tony Singh (Canada), October 01, 2015, 10:05 PM.
Ishnan Kaur ji, other than our living Guru, Guru Granth Sahib, there are none that have any God-given power to bestow any blessings. Our religion teaches that the likes of the Pope and Bhai Jiwan Singh have no more power in this regard than you or I.
12: Kaala Singh (Punjab), October 02, 2015, 4:26 AM.
@1: There is nothing wrong in seeking blessings and building bridges with people considered holy by other faiths. The real "blessing" here is that you live in a country where Christians form the majority and some of their societies are guided by people like the Pope. Many Sikhs have a direct experience of living in countries with Hindu and Muslim majorities and know how it is. This young woman and her father having been directly affected by the events of November 1984 will surely consider it a blessing.
13: Nav Kaur (Australia), October 02, 2015, 9:10 AM.
Thank you, Ishnan Kaur. I think we're all missing the simple beauty in the interaction between the Pope and Gunisha Kaur. We have our own doctrines and protocols in Sikhi, but Sikhi is also about love before anything else. Can't it just be a gesture of love and respect?
14: JeeJay Singh (Delhi, India), October 04, 2015, 8:30 PM.
Showing courtesy and respect for other religions is what Sikhism is all about. The line is drawn if you start believing and following those rituals.
15: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA), October 05, 2015, 3:08 PM.
Guru Gobind Singh categorically asserted: "Those who call me God shall fall into the pit of hell. Recognize me as God's servant only". Our Gurus reminded us of the fact that other than Waheguru, there are to be no other deities. And made this Truth the principal belief of Sikhism.