DESCRIPTION OF THE RELIGIOUS SITE
DESCRIPTION The Sikh Temple of Marene was founded in 2010 to give a place of worship to all Sikhs present in Piedmont who have been working in the surrounding area for several years. The building is located in a street a little 'peripheral than the center of the small town of Piedmont and has arisen in the place where there was previously a nightclub. The initiative to build a temple in Marene is attributable to the deputy mayor of Orbassano, a city where Sonia Gandhi spent her childhood.
The temple of Marene bears the same name as that of Novellara, in Emilia, Gurdwara Singh Sabha. Gurdwara means Temple (literally: "the door of the Guru", where the supreme Guru is God); Singh means Leo; Sabha means Association or Brotherhood. Therefore: Temple of the Confraternity of the Lions, where with the word "lions" we mean all the Sikhs who took the vows (ie they are "baptized") thus entering the "community of the pure", the Khalsa, the Sikh orthodoxy.
In the temple the Sikh holy scripture - the Shri Guru Granth Sahib - is installed in the main room that is used for prayer and daily services. Every person, regardless of caste, belief, culture or nationality can visit it. Before entering the Gurdwara, you have to take off your shoes and cover your head.
HISTORICAL RELEVANCE The Sikh community in Italy is the second largest in Europe, after the one in the United Kingdom.
Enlisted in the British army during the Second World War, the Sikh Indians, along with their fellow Hindus and Muslims, fought alongside the Americans, contributing in particular to the liberation of Rome and Florence.
Since the nineties of the last century, their presence in our country is constantly increasing: they work in the countryside, as farmers and as "bergamini" (employees of dairy cattle) and in the dairy industry. They are highly appreciated workers, for their seriousness and their experience: the Sikhs in fact come mainly from an agricultural state known as "the granary of India", rich in cattle breeding, the Panjab. For this reason they are more and more sought after, and there are now tens of thousands in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Piedmont and Lazio.
INTER-RELIGIOUS RELEVANCE The Italian Sikh communities wish to build a bridge between the values of their culture, of the Italian culture and of all the others present in Europe.
To this end they disseminate aspects of their culture through the publication of books and the creation of events dedicated to anyone curious to know the Sikh tradition.
Their commitment is based on the belief that only dialogue and mutual understanding can break down the wall of ignorance and that only a deep knowledge of the other leads to true integration, understood as exchange and cultural approach.
The Gurdwara are places open to everyone, because at the base of Sikhism there is the concept of welcoming towards the other, so much so that attached to each temple there is always a large kitchen (chimatalangar) where anyone arrivals must be fed and hosted for free, as a sign of the fact that God welcomes everyone, regardless of his religion or ethnicity.
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE The relations with the prevailing faith are positive: the parish priest of Marene has given his approval to the initiative. At the inauguration of the temple, Avtar Singh Rana, thanking the Catholic community and the civil community, declared: "Our space is truly open to all. It will be up to us that we are hosted to work to show that we are up to the trust they have given us ».
HOW TO USE WITH THE STUDENTS - Direct visit
- Classroom activity (pre and post the visit):
Insights on some characteristic terms of Sikhism: amrit, gurdwara, langar, kangha, kirpan.
Fact sheets on the history of the Ten Gurus and their Sacred Scriptures.
Activity of verification of the acquired knowledge and skills
REFERENCE TO THE GUIDELINE
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