Sitting there with my eyes closed, underneath the shade of trees, as the sun set, and the breeze blew past the mountains over the lake, and singing the praises of the Divine “Vaheguru, Vaheguru”, was Vismadh.

The morning before we went to the lake, in Sikhi 101, we had discussed and interpreted the meanings of the third chakka of Asa ki Vaar, where Guru Sahib talks about Vismadh and Kudrat. This is one of the best moments that I have ever experienced. When I still think about it today, I remember the feeling of pure love and the attitude of complete gratitude. Although my days in Canada are over, my Sidak experience has not left me. To be able to understand what Guru Sahib says in Asa ki Vaar, and experience the feeling, took that understanding to whole new level. I became ever more grateful for everything and everyone out there.

This was only a part of the great experience I had at Sidak. The regular divans were probably my favorite part of Sidak. In divan everyone was required to sign up to do a sabad and share what that sabad meant to them, along with making a relevant connection whether that may be historical or personal. Collectively singing Asa ki Vaar every morning, Rehras in the evening, and then interpreting a pauri, really put the bani in perspective. Personally, I really learned from questions and discussions at the end of each divan.  We were pushed to learn of the “why” behind everything that is done so that we remain grounded to our core values and principles. To make us confident in our Sikhi, who we really are, and what we stand for. We were motivated to ask questions about anything so that we may truly know who we really are and why things run the way they do, so that we don’t fall into a ritualistic attitude which creates a barrier between us and the Divine.

Everyone was on their own individual journey, but one thing that bound us all together, was the love for Sikhi, and the desire to explore it. At the end of Sidak, I couldn’t believe we had met two weeks ago, it felt like everyone knew each other from long before. The random discussions that would pop up during langar also made me realize the different perspectives that everyone brought to the table, and how the different topics and issues were approached (through a historical standpoint, Gurbani references, and what the rehit says).

I participated in the Sikhi 101 track where we immersed ourselves into the bani of Asa ki Vaar, learning about the origin and compilation of the bani, dissecting the meaning of each chakka, and working on the correct pronunciation. There were also other classes and discussions where all the Sidakers would come together for the topics such as 1984, Sarbat Khalsa, Kaur life, Free Akal Takht Movement, and leadership development. I was able to take so much away from each session. Not only were we given information and taught certain things, but we were able to interact, actively participate, and engage with the material through the workshops, which gave me an entire new perspective.

Sidak inspired me to approach certain issues differently, and exposed me to a vast array of resources to learn from further on. At the beginning of Sidak, before we started our individual tracks, Inni Kaur described Sidak as being a spark in our journey of Sikhi. It will ignite the fire, but it is up to us to find our own path and light it the rest of the way. Sidak was the spark that has lighted up my journey, and given me a path to discover on my own.

Sukhvinder Kaur (Sidak Alumni 2016)