First and foremost, Sikhs are good people and they do so much for the communities they reside in. I am grateful for the Gurdwara and I look forward to visiting the Gurdwara when I can.
Unfortunately, there are a few in the Gurdwara who do not welcome westerners. They by no means represent the majority of friendly welcoming Sikhs. Also, the few in the Gurdwara who do not welcome westerners may not even be Sikhs as the Gurdwaras welcome all faiths, so the few that do not welcome westerners may be of other faiths.
I have encountered these other participants in the Gurdwara who didn't appear to want me there. I have tried to be polite and considerate and be respectful as I could, hoping maybe they would realize that I do respect the Gurdwara and I mean no disrespect to them or the Sikh religion.
Usually it is just stares which I just try to cope with the best I can and when I do see them, I smile even if they frown at me. (Note: these stares are not the friendly curious kind, they have a strong angry look on their face.) I have greeted them as I do others in the Gurdwara, but usually get a strong stare and no response. I had one man wave his hand in my face as to let me know that I should not greet him or talk to him (a gesture similar to trynig to wave off a mosquito as to say go go get away). I just smiled and walked away. Under normal circumstances, if you greet a Sikh, they greet you back, ex. sat sari akal, they smile and sat sari akal back or start a conversation.
Once again, these few do not represent the majority at all. I hold Sikhs in high respect.
The reason I am asking this question is because maybe there is a way I can make friends with the people who don't welcome me? Maybe they had a bad experience with a westerner in the past and maybe I can help them realize that not all westerners are the same. I really just want to be at peace in the Gurdwara. It is a holy place and it gives me a bad feeling that this is happening there.
Additional note, this is not one of those cases, where I didn't remove my shoes or cover my head or break some Gurdwara rule. It has gone on around 3 months now and I kept hoping it would get better or go away on its own. Being kind is not working. I actually think it has inspired them. The stare downs are real creepy.
Another Sikh offered to help me fix this (as he witnessed it) and said they were just trying to intimidate me. I told him not to intervene fearing that it could make it worse.
If I had to guess I think they are Hindus, but am not sure. They are definitely not Khalsas. Matter of fact, it was a Khalsa who offered to help me.
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Unfortunately, there are a few in the Gurdwara who do not welcome westerners. They by no means represent the majority of friendly welcoming Sikhs. Also, the few in the Gurdwara who do not welcome westerners may not even be Sikhs as the Gurdwaras welcome all faiths, so the few that do not welcome westerners may be of other faiths.
I have encountered these other participants in the Gurdwara who didn't appear to want me there. I have tried to be polite and considerate and be respectful as I could, hoping maybe they would realize that I do respect the Gurdwara and I mean no disrespect to them or the Sikh religion.
Usually it is just stares which I just try to cope with the best I can and when I do see them, I smile even if they frown at me. (Note: these stares are not the friendly curious kind, they have a strong angry look on their face.) I have greeted them as I do others in the Gurdwara, but usually get a strong stare and no response. I had one man wave his hand in my face as to let me know that I should not greet him or talk to him (a gesture similar to trynig to wave off a mosquito as to say go go get away). I just smiled and walked away. Under normal circumstances, if you greet a Sikh, they greet you back, ex. sat sari akal, they smile and sat sari akal back or start a conversation.
Once again, these few do not represent the majority at all. I hold Sikhs in high respect.
The reason I am asking this question is because maybe there is a way I can make friends with the people who don't welcome me? Maybe they had a bad experience with a westerner in the past and maybe I can help them realize that not all westerners are the same. I really just want to be at peace in the Gurdwara. It is a holy place and it gives me a bad feeling that this is happening there.
Additional note, this is not one of those cases, where I didn't remove my shoes or cover my head or break some Gurdwara rule. It has gone on around 3 months now and I kept hoping it would get better or go away on its own. Being kind is not working. I actually think it has inspired them. The stare downs are real creepy.
Another Sikh offered to help me fix this (as he witnessed it) and said they were just trying to intimidate me. I told him not to intervene fearing that it could make it worse.
If I had to guess I think they are Hindus, but am not sure. They are definitely not Khalsas. Matter of fact, it was a Khalsa who offered to help me.
More...