Last Monday I was invited to Bishop Carpenter Primary School. It is a small village school where many of the children have not seen a Sikh before. The school is a Church of England school and has only 100 students.
The day started with the school assembly. The students began with their usual Christian worship and singing of hymns. I was then given 15 minutes to speak to the children about Sikhi. All the children were really respectful and listened very carefully. Afterwards I had an opportunity to talk to the children during their break time and then after the break there was a questions and answers session with the two elder classes.
Below is a short write-up of what was said in the assembly for the benefit of those who wish to have some ideas of what to can say when given the opportunity to speak about Sikhi with young school children from a non-Sikh background.
"Good morning everyone! Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you!
Put your hands up if you have heard of a Sikh before? [Some hands go up]
Today I am going to share with you about my faith.
God made the world and wants to see us happy. However, people became fed up, frustrated, angry and behaving in a not so nice way because they didn't realise how to work the mind and body that God has given. So God decided to come to earth as a special teacher, called a Guru. Can you say "Guru" for me? [They all said Guru]
God decided I will tell you whats inside your mind and body and how to use it wisely so you can be happy. The name of the Guru was Guru Nanak. Can you all say Guru Nanak for me? [They all repeated after me]
Guru Nanak taught us that there is one God. Different people in the world call different names like Raam, Allah, God or Vahiguru. Does anyone know different words for water? [Someone said H2O, wasser, and agua]. If someone said that they wanted H2O, but not water. Or that they wanted agua but not wasser, would that sound right? [Children said no]. At the end of the day, it is the same thing but with different names. Similarly, there is one God but people call Him different names.
Guru Nanak taught us that God made this world by saying a Word. The vibration from that Word made all the world and that vibration vibrates in everything that was created. It's pretty cool and amazing! That vibration vibrates in everything you see around you - inside me and you.
When you are tuning the radio, it makes some sounds and eventually you tune into the radio station and you can hear the words. Similarly, the vibration of God when tuned into make a word, that is the Name of God. So to connect with God, we use the Name of God to feel that special vibration of God or the Holy Presence of God. It similar to the Holy Spirit in one sense.
In order to connect with the Presence of God, this amazing vibration of God that is within us and around us, we follow a special way of life that Guru Nanak has shown us.
Who likes sleeping? [Everyone's hand went up] I do as well! I love my duvet and like sleeping. But Guru Nanak taught us that we can give God a very special gift. That gift is giving up our sleep time and waking up to remember Him and connect with Him. So Sikhs wake up before sunrise, when all the iPads are still off, when most people are not watching TV, and people are not up working. It's really quiet and lovely. But its not just Sikhs waking up that time, you can hear the birds and other animals waking up around the same time. It's really peaceful.
So when we wake up, we have a shower, wash our hair, and then we sit down and chant God's Name. By chanting God's Name we feel connected with God's vibration and presence. It's really relaxing and gives you lots of energy and positivity to have a nice day. We then say some special prayers which we read everyday.
During the day we are supposed to remember God in everything we do, and see God's presence and vibration vibrating in all. Then when we come back home from school or work, and say a special prayer to make sure our scattered mind becomes nice and focused and ready for the evening. We sing prayers, go to the Gurdwara - the special place where Sikhs pray with others, and help others. In the evening before going to sleep, we sit on the bed and say a special prayer to make sure our mind is really focused and we are ready for a nice sleep, ready to get up for the next morning....
To be continued...
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