Falsely accused I live in Brampton Ontario, Birmingham UK, Surrey BC, or Oakville California. A while ago I developed an interest in Sikhi. I was going through some bad times in my life, and sitting listening to kirtan and doing sewa really made me feel a lot less depressed. People seemed originally to like me because I showed an interest in Sikhi, but I feel like people started later on disliking me because I dared to stand up and speak about things, particularly cultural things, that didn't make sense to me. While I personally feel that taking Amrit is not on my path at this time, I respect it and people who do (which is one of several reasons why I won't just do it without it being what's fully right for me). I was recently told by the Sikh community that I should stay away from gurdwarey because there are rumours about me "taking money for sex". I have to wonder why people would tell me to stay away from doing sewa, going to the gurdwara, where if they believed I was being unholy, theoretically I could obtain salvation by doing simran? There are stories about a Ganika who recited "ramm" over and over to her parrot, in gurbani, obtaining salvation. There is a story about Ajaamal who paired up with a ganika and who named his son Narayana because of a recommendation by some holy men trying to save him, and thus went to heaven. Whether or not I personally believe this, I would think that people who do, might see past judging others, and continue to welcome them to do sewa. Sikhi is supposed to be against the oppression of people, and yet here I am feeling oppressed by the fact that I'm told to stop doing sewa, stop coming to events. By the way, here's some things you may not know about me, some things you should maybe think about before judging me: I'm somebody's daughter. Somebody's sister. Somebody's mother. I take pride in my body and it is my temple. It was abused in a bad marriage and because of that I offer support to those who would leave a bad relationship. I work hard at my job, taking great pride in doing what I do well. And no, it's not about "sex for money". I work as a teacher. Or a doctor. Or a lawyer. Maybe even a chef. Moreover, I stick around and do sewa for the panth, more than many people born into Sikh families, despite not necessarily seeing eye to eye with every aspect of Sikhi. Maybe that alone gets some dislike...jealousy-like. I'm kind and forgiving, don't anger quickly, give the benefit of the doubt mostly, and most of all, try to see the good in people and be open minded about maybe not knowing everything about them even if I see one aspect I don't like so much. Just because my cultural background is different than yours, doesn't mean I have zero morals. Even if you see me giving a guy friend a hug, on the streets, in a restaurant, or wherever, doesn't mean I'm intimate with him beyond that hug...what it means is that I come from a background that does things differently. That's all. If you see me smiling broadly at a man, don't assume there is anything behind that smile. You don't know my story, and you don't know "hers" either (any *other* person in your own home community).
