by H.L. Bradshaw

October 1959

On the fourth of December, 1958, I left my home for San Angelo, Texas, where I stayed for two days with Mrs Marguerite Allen Randhawa, the former editor in chief of The Sikh Review, Calcutta. Margurerite Allen Randhawa is a very charming, learned lady and a superb hostess. My visit to her home in San Angelo was a most enjoyable one. She is an ardent Sikh and a loyal disciple of the Gurus.

From San Angelo I proceeded to El Paso, Texas, where a number of Sikh people were supposed to live. Upon my arrival in El Paso I learned that due to inter-marriage of our men with Mexican Catholic women, everything was lost in El Paso, since their children had all adopted the religion of their mothers.

Leaving El Paso, I went on to Phoenix, Arizona, where I spent two days. While there I was invited to dinner by a fine old Sikh gentleman, Jiwan Singh. His two sons, Albert and Adam, were both very interested in Sikhism, and I left several books with them. I proceeded from Phoenix to our temple in El Centro, California.

Although the congregation there arranged for my board and room in one of the finest hotels, they had planned no program for me, and I was left sitting in the hotel alone for several days. I was invited to speak at their special function commemorating the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur, on a Sunday.

I requested them to invite all their younger East Indians to this service since I hoped to interest them in the formation of an English language Sunday School. The temple management committee promised to contact the young people, and I planned a fifteen to twenty minute address. I was very dissapointed on Sunday, however, to find that none of the young people were present. This was explained to me as a lack of interest on their part due to the fact that all the young people had adopted the Roman Catholic religion of their Mexican mothers. When the secretary and I entered the temple he suggested that since none of the young people were present and the old people mostly spoke Punjabi and Spanish, that I limit my remarks to a brief talk. Knowing that it would be a waste of words to speak to people who did not understand me, I agreed.

Spanish people are as you probably know, devout Roman Catholics. The children of such mixed marriages are more likely than not influenced by the religion of their mothers, especially since the Roman Catholic Church is very tenacious about its members and dogmatic. The only time the young people go to the Gurdwara, in El Centro, is two or three times a year to some special event or gurpurab. This is a lamentable situation for here, too, we must inaugrate English and Spanish language services if we are to retain any of these young people for Sikhism.

I left El Centro that same evening for Stockton. Prior to my arrival in El Centro I had contacted a cold due, no doubt, to frequent changes of climate. I was feeling quite bad and running a bit of temperature. I arrived in Stockton very ill. Our priest in Stockton, Bachan Singh, met me and took me to the lovely Stockton hotel where the temple committee had made arrangements for my comfortable stay at their expense. Bachan Singh himself bought me medicine from his own funds, and I spent two days in bed recuperating from the flue.

On the afternoon of the second day Bachan Singh called for me and took me to our beautiful temple in Stockton. I should add here that our Stockton temple is the most progressive and beautiful temple on the North American continent. After visiting the temple, I learned that our esteemed president, Bhagat Singh Thiara, and his two capable assistants, Gurdip Singh, secretary, and Lal Singh Rai, treasurer, were driving 110 miles from Marysville to meet me and take me back up there with them. There are a very few Sikhs in Stockton proper and most of our people live in the Marysville area.

Arriving that evening in Marysville, a Yuba City district, I found that over thirty of our good men were waiting to meet me. These blessed Sikhs took me into their homes - and to their hearts - and appealed to me to teach our holy Sikh Faith to their children. I was greatly moved when I witnessed their love for their religion and their great sincerity. I shall always remember that first night in Marysville area. I spent several very pleasant and busy days meeting our people and discussing our Faith with them.

Bhagat Singh Thiara, our president, although a very busy man and a respected community leader left his many business duties to accompany me to the homes of our people. President Thiara's nephew, Harsev Singh Thiara, conducts an excellent radio broadcast for an hour each Sunday evening, in the interest of our community there. I was honored to speak, via tape-recording, over this radio broadcast. President Thiara also publishes a newspaper for our people in that area. When I left our good people in Marysville, they very kindly provided my expenses to Victoria, Canada. I shall never forget their goodness.

I arrived in Victoria on December 21^st. I spoke to a small group of people at the Akali Sikh Temple, 2721 Graham, Victoria, that same afternoon. I requested to be taken to our old temple in Victoria so that I might also address the congregation there. When I arrived at the old temple the congregation had already been dismissed. I was able, however, to speak to several of the temple officials who were present. My visit to the old temple on Topaz Avenue in Victoria convinced me that the overwhelming majority of our people attended there in contrast to the small group at the Akali Centre on Graham Street. There I was lucky to meet Mr Kuldeep Singh Bains who invited me to lunch.

I was disappointed to note that our good East Indian people in Canada and the United States have, for many years, been the innocent victims of a huge number of 'collectors' from India. These 'collectors' from India, who are coming here at an average rate of atleast one per month, are soliciting funds for all sorts of enterprises in India, some charitable, some fraudulant. I call upon the Government of India, together with their leaders, to correct this lamentable situation which has brought such shame and disgrace, mental agony and great personal expense to our Sikhs and East Indians in both Canada and the United States.

From Victoria I went to Duncan, British Columbia, where I was the honored guest of Bhaiji Karam Singh and his lovely wife over the New Years. I shall always remember these good people and the enjoyable hours spent with them - watching the old year 1958 go out and the birth of the New Year of 1959. Bhai Karamji translated Gurbani for me - and this was a good way to begin the New Year. I should also like to add that his fine wife is the best Panjabi cook I've met in my 2,300 mile tour! As New Year's day drew to a close, Bhai Meetow Singh drove Karam and I to Nanaimo to catch the boat for Vancouver.

Since coming to Vancouver, I've been the honored guest of our Khalsa Diwan Society of the historic old temple at 1866 West 2nd, in Vancouver. Our Vancouver and Victoria Sikhs both need new temples - and indeed could have built a dozen of them at great cost - for the money which they have contributed to various collectors from India. Their young people are eager to learn Sikhism in English language and the Sikh organizations in India should send this English language material at once. In Vancouver I've met Bhai Kartar Singh, who, alone for many years, has given selflessly of his time, efforts and money to help our people here. He is an astute student of Gurbani and comparative religion, and a truly dedicated soul.

In Canada, Sikhs are divided into liberals and Akalis, there being 5 liberal, 2 Akali and I neutral gurdwaras. Other than on the occassion of funerals, marriages and gurpurabs, the 'High Holy Days,' the young Canadian Sikhs are not exposed to the Gurus teachings. Any attempt to teach Punjabi and to include religious instruction, meets with very little response. Nearly all the younger Sikhs in the USA and Canada are sehajdharis and many of them do not understand or read Punjabi.

Regular Sunday Services or Sunday Schools are non-existent at present. This presents grave problems, particularly in the West where Sunday is the traditional 'church day'. At Stockton, California, very few Sikhs live in the city of Stockton itself. Oue people are widely scattered and gather at the Gurdwaras, two or three times a year. In California these Sikhs are more often than not called Hindus, and this should certainly be remedied!

Since most of the young Sikh people in Canada, the USA and in England and Scotland speak English, we need to develop some types of training programs for them. At the present time the best idea that occurs to me is that we could utilize the services of The Sikh review. Possibly they could be persuaded to include in their excellent monthly publication an article or section devoted to a systematic presentation of Sikhism for these young people. Four or five lessons, depending on the number of Sundays in a given month, each lesson devoted to some aspect of Sikh teaching and practice, for each given Sunday. In that way we could have lessons for each Sunday of the month. I'm sure that such outstanding scholars as Dr Tarlochan Singh, Dr Gobind Singh Mansukhani, or others of like ability could prepare lesson material for inclusion in The Sikh Review. This lesson material could also be used in the formation of Study Groups, such as that in Tulsa, Chicago and elsewhere.

In connection with the above, the adoption of The Quintessence of Sikhism, by Dr Gobind Singh Mansukhani as a standard textbook, required also of all converts to Sikhism would be valuable. The eight chapters could be discussed on each succeeding weekly meetings, or Sundays. Converts should also be required to study and learn 'Sikh Catechism' contained in the Gospel of Guru Granth Sahib by the emminent Duncan Greenless.

It would also be valuable if the SGPC could send missionaries to be resident teachers to these various isolated Sikh communities. Said missionaries to be well qualified in both Punjabi and Western literature and between 25 and 45 years of age. We also need to develop some type of correspondence course in Sikhism which could be mailed in weekly instalments or lessons to isolated believers and families.