Bunga Azaadi: House Paath Services

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Bunga Azaadi: House Paath Services

Bunga Azaadi: House Paath Services

FAQ (WIP)

If you have any other questions you think may be good to add in the FAQ, please get in touch: contact@azadism.co.uk

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What Is Bunga Azaadi?

Bunga Azaadi (Institute for Azadist Studies) is a Think Tank set up to discuss, debate and do the necessary Vichaars to apply a Sikh perspective to the modern world. With the rapid rate of innovations in technology and a constantly changing geo-political landscape, it is imperative that the Guru Khalsa Panth is conscious and evaluating the world around us to keep up to date. This Think Tank forms a network of individuals passionate about using Sikhi to inform our positions in order to navigate these changing times and make informed decisions moving forward. We hold a particular emphasis on statecraft and economics and use the Sikhi based political-economic ideology of Azadism as a foundation for our Vichaars. In Sikh tradition, a Bunga is a building or facility used for resting, meeting, and other community activities. The word "Bunga" itself is a Persian term for a hospice or dwelling place, and they had been incorporated by Sikhs to initially provide places to stay for Misldhars around Harmandir Sahib. However, they also developed to fulfil a variety of functions from fortifications to telling the time of day. The most popular purpose was to be centres of learning in a variety of subjects such as raag kirtan, medicine, calligraphy and much more. Fundamentally, a Bunga was a place where people could come together to discuss ideas and share knowledge.

Today, Bunga Azaadi serves as a modern-day example of this tradition, providing a space for Sikhs to discuss and deliberate on the challenges and opportunities facing the community in the modern world. Through its research, publications, and events, the Bunga strives to apply Sikh principles to contemporary issues and promote a deeper understanding of the Sikh worldview to a wider audience. As the world continues to evolve, institutions like the Bunga Azaadi are essential in ensuring that Sikhs remain connected to their roots while navigating the complexities of the modern world.

For more information visit

www.azadism.co.uk/bunga⁠

(scroll down to the FAQs)

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“Why are you turning House Paaths into a business?”

It already is a business! This industry has been going strong for years and is the reason why corrupt committees and Masands can continue to secure their grip on Gurudwarai. We can either complain about it, boycott it and isolate ourselves, or we can compete, carve out our own "market share" and redirect the industry. Bunga Azaadi has chosen the latter approach. And we shall compete in such a way that offers far more value than the current broken Bhamanvaadi system. What we are trying to do is offer an alternative. We are not trapped into the reductive thinking that "money=bad". We recognize money as a tool, or perhaps more accurately, a Shastar. It is a means to enable opportunity.

In our case, instead of raising money to throw at just more halls or paying off large mortgage debts Gurudwarai have taken on etc. we aim to use the Sangats money to finance the various Bunga Azaadi (research) projects. When people buy expensive clothes, go out to eat, gift each other fancy presents whenever it comes to time celebrate, we never hear the accusations of "business" then. But when it comes to members of the Khalsa raising money to build a knowledge base in preparation for Khalsa Raaj, conduct Sikhi-based research, develop sustainable roadmaps to uplifting the Panth and the whole of humanity, then people get apprehensive? These broken attitudes and hypocritical double standards are the very reason why our Panth is so unbelievably behind these days.

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“What about Saroops?"

So many forget that The Guru is present in two forms, the Guru Granth and Guru Khalsa Panth.

Secondly, most of the time when a Sukhmani Sahib Paath is read, a Pothi is used anyway.

Instead we opted to do Shastar Prakash.

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“How should we prepare?”

Please clean your house, for the king of kings will be coming. We recommend preparing an area of the house for the Singhs to be able to come and sit comfortably on the floor to recite Bani and converse in Vichaar with your family. Please also prepare a space in that area for the Singhs to erect a palki for Shastar Prakash (the Singhs will bring these). If possible, please lay clean sheets of fabric for Sangat to sit on.

Shoes must be taken off in a separate entrance area and head must be covered.

IMPORTANT: If you have chosen a Vichaar service, please prepare your questions or doubts about Sikhi (both Miri and Piri topics are acceptable). If you have children, we highly encourage them to do this as we will prioritize their questions first.

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“Why are you paying the Singhs/Kaurs? Shouldn’t it be free Seva?”

If you want something to last, you must establish an economy. Without a reliable income, outputs are hard to sustain for long. One of the aims with this endeavour is to establish such microeconomies in our community so that efforts can last.

Secondly, we really need to establish the correct incentive structures so that Sangat can see that if they learn Raag, or Santhiya there is always a potential avenue for them to be rewarded for the effort they put in to acquire these skills in a way that serves the Panth.

No one seems to have an issue when we all work to support foreign economies, so why is there an issue when we pay our own people for their time and skill for our own needs? We all happily pay £11 a month for a Netflix subscription, but get hesitant to pay members of the Guru Khalsa for taking their time out to give you their Darshan and Sangat?

If we can not fix these sorts of double standards then do not be surprised when Raag and Santhiya become a rare, obscure and dying tradition.

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“Why not just do it myself?”

You literally can, and are even encouraged to. Most of these services do not require you purchase anything. For instance, the

Khalsa Darshan⁠

service especially is something every Sikh should aspire to do themselves. If you want the Darshan of the Guru Khalsa, then become Khalsa and look in the mirror! However, that being said, the reason why you should consider it is primarily due to the answers given for both these questions:

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"It's sounds like a business?"⁠

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“Why are you paying the Singhs? Shouldn’t it be free Seva?”⁠

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We wish to establish economies for best practices in Sikh rituals so that they may be sustainable and flourish. We also wish to raise money for our Bunga by offering a service of value rather than just asking for donations. Additionally, it is an opportunity to compete with existing Gurudwarai committees who raise money for things that most Sangat do not seem to be impressed or get much value from. Instead, if you believe in our Bunga’s mission to build a knowledge base in preparation for Khalsa Raaj, and advance our own long term strategies to “plant seeds of trees, that we may not taste the fruits of”, then supporting us by trading with us in this way helps serve these purposes.

We don’t envision disrupting the whole industry, or even doing these that often. Only a minority in the Panth seem to care much about these sorts of things, but it is the Ekta we form with this minority that we appreciate nonetheless. As you may be aware, the Pareto Principle suggests that is only ever the minority that is responsible for the majority of the change anyway. If we can show Sangat a better way, then hopefully we can reach a critical mass point in our Sikh culture to shift towards a less blindly ritualistic and more meaningful way of doing things. So by using our services, you help contribute to these goals.

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