Hoosier Sikhs Participate in Fifth Anniversary of 9/11

Members of The Sikh Satsang / Sikh Educational & Cultural Society of Indianapolis participated with a display in the annual Community Fair on Monument Circle in Indianapolis on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 sponsored by the Office of the Mayor and United Way.

Later in the day, the Sikh community participated in a beautiful interfaith prayer service, “A Prayerful Service for Peace” with presentation of Sikh hymns led by Giani Pritam Singh, head priest of the Sikh Satsang and a special prayer by Indianapolis artist and community leader, KP Singh. The moving and beautiful service at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church was followed by a stimulating panel discussion with religious leaders representing Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian faiths.

(Left to Right): Maninder Waila, KP Singh, Deputy Mayor Scott Campbell, Harpreet Sandhu, Baljeet Oberoi, Jaswant Atwal

2. (Left to Right): Maninder Walia, Harpreet Sandhu, Narvinder Bhola, Mayor Bart Peterson, KP Singh, Darryl Dixon, Jaswant Atwal

(Standing L to R): Maninder Walia, Jaswant Atwal, KP Singh
(Seated): Harpreet Sandhu, Narvinder Bhola

KP’s prayerful remarks made to the large interfaith audience gathered at the Church for the solemn occasion and personal reflections on 9/11 are attached below:

A PRAYERFUL SERVICE FOR PEACE
St. Luke’s United Methodist Church
September 11, 2006

Self-created, Self-illuminated, Supreme Immaculate Reality, Wonderful Lord, Benevolent King;
Embodiment of all virtues that we can imagine and attributes that we cannot possibly understand or fathom.

Lord, Your Light illuminates and pervades throughout the entire unfathomable Universe studded with stars and galaxies strung across the mighty heavens by your Power and Command;

“You are the Father and Mother of all Creation and we are Your children.” You have “fashioned each living being from the same clay, same basic elements of Life, and made each one unique and distinct;”

Your Messengers have revealed and reminded us: “Every living being is a repository of Divine Light, the same Universal Spirit, and commanded us to “Recognize all humanity as One Race, One Brotherhood.”

LORD WE PRAY, Give us the wisdom:

To honor all Life, Nature, and Creation as the sacred manifestations and reflections of Your Majesty, indescribable Grandeur, and awesome Mystery;

To see all Faiths and Sacred Traditions as the colorful panels of Your Spiritual Tapestry, Your inspired Ragamalas: breathtaking composites of the Arts, Spirit, and Nature embellishing the human experience; enshrining spectrums of Divine Wisdom in sacred texts that radiate Your Light, affirm Your Presence;

LORD, You know the innermost thoughts of every heart and our individual and collective concerns;

You know our national anguish over the shattering events of 9/11 that changed the course of human history and the efforts of the world community since to formulate an effective response to the menace of global terrorism directed against the innocents caught in the confrontation of ideologies and personal grievances.

LORD, the human civilization continues to struggle in its search to strengthen the framework for peace, justice, dignity, and inalienable sacred and human rights as the universal umbrella over the entire human race. We have made strides in this area, but our answers and responses are far from perfect.

The aftershocks of 9/11, a day of unimagined horror and tragedy, continue to challenge and frighten humanity. American emotions remain raw, intense, and outraged over the events of September 2001.

We are distracted as a civilization. Inordinate human energy and resources are being spent in combating this many-headed monster of global terrorism, short-changing other constructive pursuits and investment essentials. The deafening noise of conflicts and constant fear and reality of terrorism have overshadowed the great leaps of progress and landmarks triumphs in many important fields of human endeavor.

GIVE US THE WISDOM, O LORD:
To focus on the Light and not darkness,
On healing and not hurtful pursuits,
Inherent optimism and not on pessimism or defeat,
Sound and imaginative investments and not on unwise choices;
IN FAITH, IN SERVICE, AND IN A POSITIVE SPIRIT:
May we build monuments that enhance peace and the human promise;
Be willing and open to learn from each other,
Seek ideas and alternatives that may have the power and possibility to unite;
Strengthen our vital common interests and hopes,
Dispel suspicions, divisiveness, and destructive confrontations.

LORD, watch over us and guide each nation and community as we make such a commitment to Peace and undertake concrete steps towards it. May we make room for individual dreams and achievements; honor diverse perspectives, cultural experiences, and spiritual interpretations of Your Truth. May we know and understand that there is One Truth, One Source of Divine Knowledge and Light. All faiths originate from, and all Divine Wisdom converges at Your dazzling Cosmic Throne.

Let us embrace this revealed Wisdom, enshrine it deep within our soul, and be guided by its Power at every temporal crossroad and human encounter, trusting always that the Lord will take us from there.

Tonight, in prayer and thanksgiving, in and outside this beautiful sanctuary, we stand in spirit beside the survivors as friends and anchors to assure and express our solidarity as Americans, as citizens of one world, as people of many faiths, and ethnic and cultural traditions. We, as one American family, take refuge and strength in faith and prayer, the eternal and universal anchors in all spiritual traditions, to lead us through our storms, struggles, and darkness that may sometime eclipse our horizon but never our spirit.

We are grateful for our freedoms and raise our voices in prayer Lord:

“By Your Grace, in Your Name, may there be Peace and Goodwill among all people and cultures, faiths and spiritual traditions, communities and nations that share this Planet and the collective human heritage.”

Kanwal Prakash “KP” Singh
Indianapolis, Indiana USA
www.KPSinghDesigns.com

SEPTEMBER 11: A PERSONAL REFLECTION & AFFIRMATION

Many emotions crowd my mind at this Fifth Anniversary of 9/11 attack on America.

The events of September 11, 2001 were a crime against humanity:
It was one of the darkest days in recent memory that shall live forever in infamy in our collective experience. It ended our innocence and sense of security as an unconscionable evil intruded into our sacred space and left behind unimagined destruction, loss of so many innocent lives, a staggering jolt to our cherished freedoms, and devastating images that will outlast living memory. We are still in shock that a few misguided and cowardly men could bring such evil upon a proud nation. Five years later, the aftershocks of the tragic events of 9/11 have not diminished in intensity or our moral outrage that it happened in the first place.

The events of September 11, 2001 also offer us another image:
A nation united in grief over the horrific nightmare that we, and the world, witnessed live as it unfolded before us. Stunned and shaken, but unbroken by the deep anguish over our losses and painful scars, we are even more determined to build daring dreams and new testimonies to human greatness in loving memory and as a fitting tribute to the victims, survivors, all nations, and future generations. We resolved to fight the menace of global terrorism as a major threat to peace, security, great achievements, and human survival.

September 11, 2006 remembrance ceremonies are a solemn reminder:
Throughout history, faith, undaunted courage, creative innovations, and humanitarian concerns have been the hallmark of the American spirit. What is our sacred collective responsibility to those who have lost and suffered so much since that fateful day in September, five years ago? The victims and survivors of 9/11 stand beside us and are urging us to go forward, to go to great heights of achievement, to imagine and to offer hope, promise, peace and prosperity to people everywhere. Americans have done just that in a thousand memorials and moving expressions of generosity and goodwill since September 11, 2001 at home and around the world.

In prayer and thanksgiving, in and outside our beautiful sanctuaries, we stand beside the survivors as friends and anchors in spirit to assure and express our solidarity as Americans, as citizens of one world, as people of many faiths, and ethnic and cultural traditions. We, as one American family, take refuge and strength in faith and prayer, the eternal and universal anchors in all spiritual traditions, to lead us through our storms, struggles, and darkness that may sometimes eclipse our horizon but never our spirit. We are grateful for our freedoms and raise our voices in prayer to God for peace and goodwill for all humanity.

Kanwal Prakash “KP” Singh
Indianapolis, Indiana USA
www.KPSinghDesigns.com