Tod Rasmussen/The Reporter Paveta Singh symbolically dusts the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, at the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Fairfield.

Temple of Tranquility

By Barbara Smith/Reporter Staff

The double doors of the Sikh temple in Fairfield swing open on a Sunday morning to reveal scores of worshipers who have come from all across Solano County.

There are families, children, even babies. And yet, the peace is startling.

Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in rural Fairfield has a congregation of several hundred, but its worship services on Wednesdays and Sundays can draw many more from across the Bay Area.

Worshipers remove their shoes and cover their heads as a sign of respect. Sikh men and women entering the temple first bow to their hands and knees before their holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, a 1,430-page tome that contains the sacred writings of historical religious sages, Guru Nanak and four of his nine successive Gurus.

It rests on embroidered, intricately beaded silk. Two antique swords sheathed in royal blue velvet with steel handles are placed at dueling angles in front of the book.

It sits on a throne-like structure called the palki sahib, imported from India.

The Sikhs touch their foreheads to the floor, stand and place token offerings upon the throne.

Sikh women and their tiny children sit on one side of the court, like rows of exotic flowers in outfits of brilliantly colored silk and like fabrics traditional from their native Punjab, India.

There are no hard, wooden pews in the court, but soft, blue carpeting.

Sitting on the floor is the most optimum form of meditation, common in eastern cul

tures, said Manjit Purewal, secretary of the temple committee.

"Every eastern culture sits on the floor. The Hindus, Buddists, Muslims or Sikhs," Purewal said. "Sitting on a chair is not a meditation posture."

There is little solemnity in a Sikh service, but more an atmosphere of enchantment, beginning with the first hymns and ending with the final prayer, the ardas and the blessing of "prashad" - a dough made of wheat, sugar and oil offered to congregants.

"Gianis" play musical instruments - a tabla, or drums, and the harmonium, a wind instrument.

"Music plays a great part in Sikh theology," Purewal explained. "The hymns are all spiritual, they are all in the praise of God."

Purewal's job as secretary of the temple committee is to give verbal translations of the script from the archaic language of the early Gurus to Punjabi.

"I am quoting it and keeping that flow going so people sitting here don't feel lost," Purewal said.

The hymns come directly from the Guru Granth and teach everything a man needs to know about earthly life, said Parmjit Singh, an orthodox Sikh. "We believe that heaven is with the Guru's love."

The ultimate goal of Sikhism is to become one with the Guru and God, but getting there depends on how one lives, Singh said.

Sikhism, and many other religions or customs dictate the wearing of a turban, but that doesn't mean purity, Singh said.

"Anyone can wear the turban ..." he said.

The primary practices in Sikhism include intensive prayer and recitation of the name of God, hard work, a focus on charity and the fight against injustice.

"Work hard - honestly - to make money, share your happiness with the world, with the needy," Singh said. "And third, recite the name - remember God."

Sikhism also rejects all distinctions of caste, creed, race or sex.

The Guru Granth contains four principles in defining and achieving what is true, along with its benefits and virtues, Singh said.

It also contains lessons on what it calls the five vices - lust, anger, greed, worldly attachment and pride - and describes how they bring about problems in life, Singh said.

Sakandar Dhawal, 58, a Cordelia resident, explains that all hope comes from the Guru.

"The Guru helped me when I started my business, studied, or worked hard," Dhawal said. "I pray to God, but it's not enough. We come here to get peace of mind, to feel blissful, and to have our wishes fulfilled."

Savitri Hasrajani, is a Hindu who visits the temple every Sunday.

"It's very peaceful," she said. "You come here, you feel you're in heaven."

Her sister, Kamla Bidichandani is ill, and both find solace in the temple. Hasrajani, 66, insists that her sister accompany her.

"I have a strong feeling we should go. This place is lucky," Hasrajani said. "I have so much belief in the power of the prayer. This is our strength. Sometimes, my hair stands when they sing. It touches my heart, it goes so deep."

Barbara Smith can be reached at dixon@thereporter.com.