Author: John Hislo
The Sikh community has been gaining well-deserved attention throughout the Inland Empire these past weeks with its monumental effort of providing free daily hot meals, weekly grocery bags and protective masks to thousands of people affected by the pandemic.
Those directly benefited include: senior citizens at nursing homes, health-care workers at local hospitals, out-of-work and cash-strapped families, and homeless people.
The Sikh Temple or gurdwara in Riverside is really the hub for this effort. On site up to 1,400 meals a day are served and together with area hot meal distribution, the local Sikh community has now served more than 40,000 meals.
Redlands Mayor Paul Foster praised the effort last week during a Zoom meeting with the Redlands Chamber of Commerce...
...Toor further shared, “To this day, whenever there is hardship and people are destitute we Sikhs respond by utilizing our langars.
“There are about 5,600 gurdwaras in the world and the langer is open morning until evening for everyone. No one will ask you about your race or religion or the reason why you are there. Rich or poor, everyone will be served, no questions asked. Some people ask us from where we get the money for that? We always answer that, “Our first teacher Guru Nanak invested 20 rupees in a great investment company. We are still receiving interest on that investment and serving the world.”
The Sikh Community
Where: The Sikh Temple Riverside is at 7940 Mission Blvd. Riverside.
What: Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century. It is the fifth largest organized religion in the world.
Meanings: Sikhism comes from the Sanskrit root sisya meaning "disciple" or "learner." A Gurdwara is the Sikh place of worship and acts as a community center. Information is taken from the Sikh website as well as Wikipedia.)