Gurudwara Langar Sahib

Gurudwara Langar Sahib in Nanded

By

Shri Makhan Singh

The Gurudwara Langar Sahib is ancient Langar place of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. This Gurudwara finds its origin from the fact that have an adulation of Baba Nidhan Singh Ji, who actually had ‘Darshan’ of Guru Gobind Singh Ji along with his Eagle and Horse. Dashmesh pita directed Baba Ji to start the age old tradition of ‘Langar’ at this place by uttering these words “HATH TERA KHISA MERA” which means you should do the work of preparation and distribution that is serving langar among the devotees where as I will take care of expenses.

The Langar or free kitchen was started by the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It is designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people of the world regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed, age, gender or social status. In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of Langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community, inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind. "..the Light of God is in all hearts."  For the first time in history, Guru ji designed an institution in which all people would sit on the floor together, as equals, to eat the same simple food. It is here that all people high or low, rich or poor, male or female, all sit in the same pangat (literally "row" or "line") to share and enjoy the food together.

This Gurudwara is situated at a little distance from Sachkhand Sahib on the bank of Godavari river beside Gurudwara Nagina Ghat. After the death of Aurangazeb there was a battle amongst his sons for the throne of Delhi. Prince Bahadur Shah asked Guru Gobind Singh Ji to help him in the battle with his sikh army. He promised Guru Ji that if he won the battle and when he will enthroned in Delhi he will handover all the accused who had tried to perform any sort of cruel deed on the sikhs during the time of Aurangazeb. By the help of Guru Ji Bahadur Shah won the battle and became the King of India. During that period a mutiny had started in South India. To bruise the mutiny he started to move towards south with his army and also asked Guru Ji to step with him.

After occupying the throne of Delhi Bahadur Shah slipped off his words and instead of handing over those accused to Guru Ji he started to change the topic. Guru Ji in solving this matter, moved towards South with him. At that time Guru Ji and his army halted at this place in Nanded and it was the Gurudwara Langar Sahib which was used as the place to cook and serve the langar for Guru Ji's army. In sikh world the langar service was started by Guru Nanak Dev Ji and it was being continued from that time. The langar was started for Guru Ji's disciples who use to come to listen to his preachings from far or near by villages. Apart from this the langar was also served for the poor and the needy people. To keep away the byfercation of caste and feeling of untouchability, Guru Ji ordered that all the devotees coming to the Gurudwara will have to sit in the same line and have the pleasure of langar without discriminating themselves on the basis of religion or caste. During the time of Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji, his beloved wife, Mata Khivi Ji use to look after all the responsibilities of the langar. The war of Satta & Balwand is also entered in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in which it is told that Mata Khivi Ji use to serve Kheer made up of pure ghee. Sri Guru Amardas Ji has given the order that whoever wants to have a view of him would have to first sit in the line and have langar and it was only after this that the person was allowed to meet him. His order was for everyone whether he be big, small, rich or poor, belong to high caste or low caste. Even the mughal emperor of India at that time Akbar when came to have a view of Guru Ji he had to also sit in the line and have the langar and it was only after that he had the pleasure of having Darshan of Guru Ji. He was very happy to see all the arrangements. History is witness that Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji before going on to his voyage to Sachkhand told the importance of langar to the sikhs and asked them to continue this in future. He himself handed over the responsibility of Sri Hazur Sahib to Bhai Santokh Singh Ji and asked him to continue the service of langar thereafter. Bhai Sahib Ji folding his hands urged to Guru Ji that how can he continue the service of langar at this place as there were no Khalsa residing there and asked from where will the cost of running langar be achieved. Guru Ji told Bhai Sahib Ji not to worry about the money and just obey his orders. Guru Ji told Bhai Santokh Singh Ji about the future and also made him believe that this place will no longer remain unknown to the Khalsa. If it was necessary he himself will send some great people to this place who will serve the langar permanently. In past the sikhs became unaware of their duties by the responsibility of langar and started many other services like the construction of Gurudwara, Bunga and many other things. In 1912 when Sant Baba Nidhan Singh Ji was sitting on the platform of Nanded Railway Station and was waiting for the train to Punjab, he was busy in Simran. At that moment Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave him Darshan and stopped him from going to Punjab and ordered him to go back to his ancient langar place and start the service of langar there. At that time there were very less devotees who use to come to Nanded due to the non existence of traveling medium. At that time there was a deep forest where there is Gurudwara Langar Sahib today. Hence Baba Nidhan Singh Ji urged to Guru Ji, "Sachhe Patshah! from where will I bring the money to run langar service?" Guru Ji blessed Baba Ji, "Khisa Mera Hath Tera." Baba Ji obeyed Guru Ji's order and came to this place. With great patience and trust he started the langar service here. It was just due to his hard work and the blessings of Guru Ji that the langar started at that time is running till now without stoppage. Langar is served 24 hours. Now a days hot tea is also included in the service of langar. The present responsibilities are in the hands of Sant Baba Narinder Singh Ji. By the blessing of Guru Ji the whole langar is being cooked in pure ghee for past few years. Any other oil or ghee is not being used for cooking in the Dera. All the devotees are the witness who come up to this place and have the pleasure of having the langar till today there have been no shortage in any material. Instead of being so big, a great importance is given to cleaning. There is special care taken while cooking the langar and also while cleaning the utensils. When the devotees reach this place after traveling for many days, the services provided to them make them feel happy and give them a homely environment. As this place is the home of Guru, there's no discrimination among anyone. Dear devotees, all these services are being carried out by the help of great men who have dedicated their lives in the service of Gurudwara and the other disinterested service men working under the name of Almighty. According to the holy saying “Gursikha andar satguru varte” The Almighty himself performs all the duties residing in the heart of the devotees.

Takht Sachkhand Shri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib is the historical shrine at Nanded. It is situated at a walking distance from Godavari River. It is one of the five Takhts of the Sikhs and is much respected by them. Nanded is associated with the first and the tenth of the Sikh Gurus. The first Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji passed through it during his travels at far south. Guru Gobind Singh Ji spent the last few days of his earthly life here. He arrived here with emperor Bahadur Shah towards the end of August 1708, and, while the later went on to Golconda after a few days rest, the Guru decided to stay on here.  After the departure of the emperor Bahadur Shah, the tenth Guru held his court and congregation here. It is the site of his own tent where he was convalescing after he was attacked by assassins. It is the place from where the tenth Guru rose to heaven along with his horse Dilbag.

It is called "Takht Sachkhand Shri Hazur Abchal Nagar Sahib". It is a two-floor building. The architectural design resembles that of the Golden Temple. It's' interior is artistically ornamented in the style of Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar. The walls of the inner room called Angitha Sahib have been covered with golden plates. On the first floor, recitations from Shri Guru Granth Sahib, go on day and night. The dome is polished and on the pinnacle is the kalash made of gold plated copper. Some of the sacred relics of Guru Gobind Singh Ji are also preserved here. These are, a golden dagger, a matchlock gun, an archer with 35 arrows, two bows, a steel shield studded with precious stones and five golden swords. Guru Gobind Singh Ji while conferring Guruship on the holy Book, had himself named Nanded as Abchalnagar (lit. steadfast city) after the first word of a hymn read at random on the occasion.

The building complex of the Takht Sahib about is half a Kilometer from the left bank of the river Godavari and is spread over several hectares. Besides the Takht Sahib it also includes two other shrines, Bunga Mai Bhago Ji (comprising a large room where Guru Granth Sahib is seated and some historical weapons are at display), and Angitha (lit. place of cremation) of Bhai Daya Singh and Dharam Singh. These two survivors of the battle of Chamkaur, who were among the Panj Piare (five beloved ones who had offered their heads at the Guru’s call when the Khalsa Panth was created) in Kesgarh Fort of Anandpur Sahib on the Baisakhi Day of 1699, had accompanied the Guru to Nanded and had left for heaven here subsequently. The complex also has a 300 room rest house for pilgrims and office blocks of the Gurudwara Board besides a press and publishing house and a school for scripture-reading and kirtan.

Guru Granth Sahib is seated in the room in front of the sanctum from early morning to late evening and is placed in the sanctum only during the night.  Guru Gobind Singh Ji ended the physical Guruship before his departure from this world and passed on the permanent Guruship to Shri Guru Granth Sahib on October 6, 1708. He declared that the temporal functions of the Guru will be performed by the Five Beloveds. The spiritual guidance will be given by Shri Guru Granth Sahib. “Whosoever wishes to find (Behold) God, let him search Him in Shri Guru Granth Sahib....Where ever five Amritdhari Sikhs are assembled together, there will I be present”. “Agya Bhaiee Akal Ki,” the Last sermon of Guru Gobind Singh Ji did not appoint any human successor in line of human Guruship as per tradition. The Guru declared Granth Sahib to be the ultimate preceptor and the Guru-Eternal for the Sikhs. He conferred Guruship on Granth Sahib at Abchal Nagar, Nanded by circumambulating five times and bowing his head before it. He declared that after him, the living Guru would be embodied in the Sabad (Word) as contained in Shri Guru Granth Sahib by uttering the sermon:

"Agya Bhai Akal ki tabhi chalayo Panth,

Sab Sikhan ko hukam hai Guru manyo Granth.
Guru Granth Ji Manyo pragat Guran ki deh,

 Jo Prabh ko milbo chahe khoj sabad men leh
Raj karega Khalsa aaki rahe na koe,

Khawar hoe sabh milainge bacheh sharan jo hoe."

Nanded is connected to all the major cities in India and it is at a distance of 600 km from Mumbai. It is near about equidistance from some important cities like Aurangabad, Hyderabad and Solapur. It is having direct connectivity by Train from Mumbai, Pune, Banglore, Delhi, Amritsar, Bhopal, Indor, Agra, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ajmer, Aurangabad and Nasik. Considering development of the city; the National Airport Authority has approved a plan for expansion of the airport. Coming to Nanded by bus of State Transport or by private travels is also very convenient because of large frequencies of buses. The Central Bus Stand and Railway Station are at the heart of city. One can conveniently go to any part of the city by shared auto rikshaws and also by city buses. Tourist places around Nanded like Aundha Nagnath, Parli Vaijnath, Mahur, Basar, Matasaab, Shikar Ghat, Sahastrakund, Jamboolbet, Kedarguda, Kandhar can be easily approached by State Transport buses as well as private travels.

The Langar is an open kitchen found in all Sikh Gurudwaras, which provide free meals to visitors and sevadars. The Langar was instituted by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, and is open to the public. The food served in the Langar is vegetarian in deference to the food restrictions of visitors of other faiths. Participants in the Langar are served while seated on the floor, a tradition emphasizing the equality of all persons. Sharing food is important as the Gurus taught that all Sikhs should share their possessions. All the work involved in preparing the food, serving it and clearing up afterwards is called 'Seva' which means voluntary, selfless service.

The institution of Langar abolishes the corruption of rigid castism and varna ashrams. It was put on permanent footing by Guru Amar Das Ji, the third Guru of the sikhs who made it obligatory for all who came to seek his blessings, to take meals in the common kitchen first. Even emperor Akbar had to dine first when he came for Darshan of the third Guru at Goindwal Sahib.

From that day Guru ka Langar is running in its splendid manners for its worthy cause. Here priority of Seva goes to Langar which is available 24 hours, day and night, round the clock, without any discrimination. Hot tea is also served in the Langar whole day and one feels quite at home while reaching here after long journey. Langar is also provided for devotees in Train and for their long journey. About two thousand people can dine together in the huge hall of Langar. Preparation of lunch starts at night 2 a.m. Sevadar and devotees contribute for cutting vegetables, making chapattis for the preparation of Lanagar. Very big utensils are used for preparation of food. Hot water required for cooking food is taken from very big solar water heater. All the used utensils are washed and cleaned with hot water for sterilization. Now a hi-tech solar plant is installed for generation of steam required for food preparation. Gurudwara is geared up for such use of non conventional energy sources. Neatness and cleanliness are strictly observed in the kitchen and langar hall for quality food for devotees.

Langar Sahib Gurudwara Management is always ready to help government as well as the public in the situations of natural calamities. Langar is freely served in rehabilitation camps in floods, in affected schools, collages and at places when ever there is starvation because of some natural calamities like flood, earthquake, and food shortage etc. Devotees feel themselves blissful after taking langar at Gurudwara Langar Sahib as they suppose it like Guru ka prasad.

The service of the Gurdwara Langar Sahib was initiated by Sant Baba Nidha Singh ji and thereafter the Sant Baba Harnam Singh ji, Sant Baba Atma Singh ji Moni, Sant Baba Shisha Singh ji Kar sewa wale, Sant Baba Gurmukh Singh ji, Sant Baba Sadhu Singh ji, Sant Baba Jhanda Singh ji, Sant Baba Jiwan singh Ji, Sant Baba Dalip Singh ji, Sant Baba Hari Singh ji, Sant Baba Shisha Singh ji carried on the service of the Gurdwara Langar Sahib.  At present Baba Balwinder Singh and Sant Baba Narinder Singh ji (Kar Sewa Wale) are doing the sewa at Gurdwara Langar Sahib.  Shri Bhupinder Singh Suri is the Managing Trustee of the trust of Gurdwara Langar Sahib.

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