It is a Sikh's sacred duty to defend the weak and protect the innocent.

GUIDELINES FOR
GURDWARA SECURITY AND SAFETY

GENERAL ORDERS FOR SEVADARS
The Security and Safety Sevadar's duties include...

Monitoring all activities occurring in the presence of the Guru as well as other activities of the members in order to maintain a safe, hazard-free environment, and a peaceful, respectful Gurdwara decorum.

Assisting the Sangat in the performance of their worship and other activities, especially to include the arrival and departure of families with young children, giving aid and comfort to the elderly and the infirm, and greeting visitors.

Taking direct Protective and/or Defensive Action in the event of emergency circumstances such as fire and medical response, disruptive or disorderly activity, or any act of aggression occurring within or without the Gurdwara or amongst members.

The gathering and dissemination of intelligence data, and the subsequent alerting of sangat members, and appropriate local authorities to the existence of issues or circumstances involving imminent or potential risk to the security of the Guru, sangat members, or Gurdwara property.

Interfacing with, and assisting Local Fire and Medical Emergency or Law Enforcement Response Team members in order to maintain appropriate and respectful decorum in any emergency conditions occurring in the presence of the Guru or upon the Gurdwara property, circumstances permitting.

NOTE: The above mission statement is intended to be general in nature as opposed to specific, since it applies to the commonalities of all Gurdwaras. ‘Special Orders’ are to be formulated and disseminated mostly by local sangat members after consultation with local Fire, Medical Emergency, Law Enforcement or other agencies, and thereafter applied to the conditions peculiar to local requirements, which may vary according to the Gurdwara layout, structure, or the other unique geographical, economic, and technical considerations of a specific Gurdwara.

Security does not happen by accident.

Security is herein defined as those actions or systems,
which minimize or prevent any adverse impact on our
sense of well-being, and our pursuit of happiness.

We can choose to be proactive-secure or reactive-sorry.

With rare exception, we want and expect security without sacrifice.

SPECIAL NOTE: We can view the subject of Security as an unpleasant, even terrifying concept, or as a fearless, even exhilarating exercise in courage. We can choose to be passive, wimpy victims, or proactive, fearless survivors. To those members of the Sadh Sangat who choose to remain in denial with regard to matters of Security and Safety, who either claim that Gurdwara Security is unnecessary, or who dismiss any thought of improving Gurdwara Security, I suggest that you not only recall the tragic events of the August 5, 2012 Gurdwara assault in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and the Sandy Hook Elementary School killings in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012, but that you recall the days of Operation Blue Star, the tragic assault on the Guru in Amritsar, India, June 1-6, 1984, a week which will live in infamy... the event that involved the desecration of the Golden Temple, and the destruction of the Akal Takht. Going back much farther, remember Aurangzeb? Keep in mind also that the Siri Singh Sahib of Sikh Dharma established a policy whereby a Security and Safety Sevadar is posted at the door of the House of Guru Ram Das Gurdwara in Los Angeles, California, even to this day. His vision being that Gurdwara Security and Safety is not about acting out of fear, it is about selflessly serving the Guru and the Sangat while fearlessly defending the weak and protecting the innocent for which Sikhs have a sacred duty. See Refuse To Be A Victim Course. See World's Worst Mass Shootings. See How To Build A Team at Plus1Equals11.com. See Women: Wimps or Warriors?. See Are You Among The 'Unchurched'?

SANT SIPAHI - SOLDIER SAINT
JAPJI SAHIB - 37TH PAURI

Karam khand ki bani jor. Tithai hor na koi hor.
In the realm of Karam, the Word is Power.
No one else dwells there,

Tithai jodh maha-bal sur. Tin meh ram rahia bharpur.
Except the Warriors of great power, the Spiritual Heroes.
They are totally fulfilled, imbued with the Lord's Essence.

Tithai sito sita mehma mahi. Ta ke rup na kathne jahi.
Myriads of Sitas are there, cool and calm in their
majestic glory. Their beauty cannot be described.

Na ohi marahi na thage jahi. Jin kai Ram vasai man mahi.
Neither death nor deception comes to those
within whose minds the Lord abides.

Tithai bhagat vasahi ke loa. Karahi anand sacha mani soe.
The Devotees of many worlds dwell there.
They celebrate; their minds are imbued with the True Lord...

PSALM 82:3-4

"Human is a blend of saint and soldier; this is a complete person. If you
are not a soldier your sainthood will be kicked around. If you are only a
soldier, not a saint, you will start kicking others around." -- Yogi Bhajan

"I can think of a number of fanatical, over-zealous religious groups who
would do us all well to take Yogi Bhajan's advice." -- Hari Singh Khalsa

Sat Nam. The Siri Singh Sahib was asked to express his priorities for a community gathering in the early ‘70s. His reply, “Security, Security, Security.” I share his vision. I have the concern that with the passage of time, nay, even as we speak, the memory of the Oak Creek massacre will fade away just as the memory of the infamous 1984 Operation Blue Star attack on the Sikhs in India seems to have disappeared from our recollection. Many Sikhs simply tag these events as the will of God and Guru, which is true, but we cannot stop there. There is a deeper message, a challenge, that has apparently gone unnoticed, i.e., our sacred duty to fearlessly "defend the weak and protect the innocent," just as Guru Gobind Singh taught us. So, I am requesting that the Sikh ministers act to meet our present day challenges. Not out of a sense of fear or apprehension, but with the same courage and fearlessness as did Guru Gobind Singh and our beloved Siri Singh Sahib. I urge my fellow ministers to answer this call by purchasing the Active Shooter Survival Training DVD shown below, and sharing it with their respective sangats. See Jai Jagdeesh Kaur's Ad Guray Nameh.

Humbly,

Mukhia Singh Sahib Hari Singh Bird Khalsa

LAST RESORT ACTIVE SHOOTER SURVIVAL TRAINING

BE PREPARED
AVOID BECOMING A HELPLESS VICTIM
GET THIS SURVIVAL TRAINING DVD, NOW!

A reality-based training production.
Training covers the following topics.

Planning for Survival
Stopping the Shooter
Escaping the Violence
Hiding from the Shooter
Preventing Violent Intrusions
Collective Survival Strategies
Disrupting the Shooter’s Intentions

Training includes a step-by-step how-to, such as:

Protecting yourself from extreme violence
Responding to an active shooter
Managing workplace violence
Improving Gurdwara security
Becoming better prepared
Saving innocent lives
Surviving terrorism

Points To Ponder

 

Who is responsible for your security?

Most people are reactive when it comes to their safety and well-being.
Most people respond only after threats have materialized and the problem is acute.
This approach brings little solace to the victims and is dangerous.
The most effective security is preventative as well as pro-active.
The radicalization of fringe elements in society is increasing.
The targeting of minorities is nothing new and will continue.
Community preparedness is a must; its absence is a liability. --
Alon Stivi, CEO, Direct Measures International

"Your value is not in how many experiences you have had.
It is in your stability -- in how much sacrifice you can do.
Your value is in how effectively and how consistently you can
live for others. Your value is in how you can take command of
yourself and others in any situation. Your value is in your capability
of firmly planting yourself in the neutrality of your higher consciousness
and standing as a pillar of strength, turning every negative to a positive.
Your value is how quickly you are there when the call comes." -- Yogi Bhajan

"Security consciousness is a state of being whereby we live in service
to humanity, inspiring and assisting others to do the same. And while
it is our sacred purpose to celebrate Naam and live as saints, it is our
sacred duty to defend the weak and protect the innocent." -- Hari Singh

FEMA'S ICS - INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM

TAKE A SELF-ASSESSMENT SURVEY

GET ANTI-TERRORIST TRAINING

THE SIKH WARRIOR'S ANTHEM

TO SERVE IS TO SUCCEED

HOW SECURE IS YOUR GURDWARA?

 

 

WILL YOU BE THERE WHEN THE CALL COMES?

GURDWARA SECURITY SURVEY

Q: DOES YOUR SANGAT OR GURDWARA NEED MORE SECURITY?
CONTACT YOUR POLICE DEPARTMENT TO GET A SECURITY AUDIT.

Q: DOES YOUR SANGAT HAVE A GURDWARA SECURITY COMPONENT?
IF NO, YOU CAN GET HELP ORGANIZING A SECURITY MISSAL HERE.

IF YOUR SANGAT AND GURDWARA SECURITY IS ADEQUATE,
SHARE YOUR STORY HERE OR CALL 800-528-0413 EXT 354 EASTERN.

ALL RESPONSES ARE CONFIDENTIAL

A POST 9-11 HISTORY OF DISCRIMINATION

It remains true today, in the ancient tradition of ignorance,
that people of faith and otherwise good sense hasten
to ostracize and demonize any person or group
whose beliefs and customs are unlike their own.

Vandalism at the Sikh Gurdwara in Fresno, California
Photo courtesy of Christian Parley, The Fresno Bee.

Immediately after September 11, 2001, an epidemic of hate crimes against minorities swept the United States and other countries. The wave of hate crimes and hate violence affected Muslims especially, and anyone perceived to be a Muslim, e.g., Sikhs, Arabs, South Asians, Latinos, and other brown-skinned people. Incidents occurred in every part of the public sphere: houses, roadways, workplaces, airports, school grounds, and street corners, as well as churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras in nearly every major city in the United States. In targeted communities, places of worship have been burned, homes vandalized, families threatened, jobs denied, children bullied, women harassed, men and women beaten and murdered.

RECENT VIOLENT ACTS AGAINST RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES

SIX SIKHS SLAIN
Sunday, August 5, 2012

Sikhs murdered at their Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
Top left to right, Satwant Singh, Sita Singh, and Paramjit Kaur,
Bottom left to right, Ranjit Singh, Prakash Singh, and Suveg Singh.

Sikh community members in the wake of the Oak Creek murders.

ANOTHER SIKH SLAIN
Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Dalbir Singh of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, murdered in his store.

TEENAGE MUSLIM GIRL WOUNDED
Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Before Assault

After Assault

Malala Yousuf Zai, a 14 year old girl, was seriously wounded by
religious fanatics for speaking out for peace and human rights. More.

Hate Groups Numbers In U.S. Are Growing

See Hate Groups Map Here

OPEN LETTER
TO THE SADH SANGAT

Hari Singh

Security does not happen by accident.

Security is herein defined as those actions or systems,
which minimize or prevent any adverse impact on our
sense of well-being, and our pursuit of happiness.

We can choose to be proactive-secure or reactive-sorry.

With rare exception, we want and expect security without sacrifice.

Sat Nam, Brothers and Sisters!

I am a former U.S. Marine and someone who has been involved with Gurdwara and Solstice security for decades. I would like to address what I see as a general absence of security/soldier consciousness within Sikh communities by quoting the Siri Singh Sahib, who said: “Human is a blend of Saint and Soldier; this is a complete person. If you are not a Soldier your sainthood will be kicked around. If you are only a Soldier, not a Saint, you will start kicking others around.”

The Siri Singh Sahib was once asked to express his priorities at a 3HO Solstice Sadhana gathering in the early ‘70s. His reply was, “Security, Security, Security.” And since the establishment of the Guru Ram Das Ashram in Los Angeles, and until this very day, a sevadar is posted at the door of the gurdwara as ordered by the Siri Singh Sahib. Security has been a priority consideration since the earliest days of 3HO/Sikh Dharma.

While recently speaking with a sangat member regarding the subject of Gurdwara Security and Safety, she mentioned how she thought she would engage an active-shooter incident within her community. She said her first instinct would be to physically cover any potential victims with her body as a shield. I advised her that this would be exactly the wrong action to take. I suggested that she think about the instructions given by airline attendants concerning an in-flight emergency. Passengers are advised to take self-saving actions first by utilizing their oxygen mask on themselves before attempting to assist anybody else.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but self-preservation must be the first response in order for other potential victims to be protected and defended. Contrary to the unfortunate outcomes of numerous recent horrific events, an active-shooter event is not a situation where potential victims are without recourse. This is addressed in numerous, simple, and surprising ways in a survival training video called Survival Edge: Active Shooter Survival, available at ACTCert.com (ACT stands for Attack Countermeasures Training), which I urge all communities to acquire and view. This DVD provides a reality-based, step-by-step training program that covers how to protect yourself and others from extreme violence, including responding to an active shooter, managing workplace violence, improving Gurdwara security and safety, becoming better prepared, saving innocent lives and surviving terrorism.

Though the outcome of the shooting event in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in 2012 was horrific, those murders might have been preventable to a significant extent. There are specific actions (some even at the time of the attack) that could have possibly mitigated the outcome.

Since the incident, many Sikhs have opined that as unfortunate as it was, it was the will of God and Guru. This is true. But I opine that the event did not just happen in order to happen. It happened with a clear and challenging message to the Sadh Sangat: as Sikhs of Guru Gobind Singh, it is our sacred duty to defend the weak and protect the innocent.

My question is, what are we collectively doing to meet this challenge? What are we doing in the way of securing our communities, whereby we honor our sacred duty?

My concern is that with the passage of time, the memory of the Oak Creek massacre and other tragedies will fade away. I strongly encourage all members of the Sikh community – and especially Sikh Dharma Ministers – to act now to meet this ever-present challenge – not out of a sense of reactionary fear, but with the same attention and fearless dedication as our beloved Siri Singh Sahib.

As a member of the 3HO Solstice Security and Safety advisory team, I am working to help develop programs and awareness, and I am happy to receive communication from sangat members.

My web site at www.GurdwaraSecurity.com provides resources, tips, and thoughts about this important topic.

Humbly,

Mukhia Singh Sahib Hari Singh Bird Khalsa

OPEN LETTER
TO WOMEN OF SIKH DHARMA

Hari Singh

Security does not happen by accident.

Security is herein defined as those actions or systems,
which minimize or prevent any adverse impact on our
sense of well-being, and our pursuit of happiness.

We can choose to be proactive-secure or reactive-sorry.

With rare exception, we want and expect security without sacrifice.

Sat Nam, Khalsa ji!

In the wake of the attention now being given for and against gun ownership, I have frequently recalled a scene from many years ago with a wince, even a shudder on one hand, and a smile with a head-shake on the other.

Women: Wimps or Warriors?

I was in a mixed group discussing security and gun safety training in which a young woman reluctantly picked up a handgun between her thumb and forefinger as if picking up a dead mouse. The scene stuck with me ever since. And all the recent talk about guns and violence has especially caused me to recall that silly albeit sad scenario. Silly because it looked so comical, sad because it is indicative of where I see many women, today.

"If a woman is attacked by a gun-toting assailant, her chance
of survival diminishes greatly if she has no training in
survival skills, e.g., martial arts and firearms training."

    
Wimps

    
Warriors

"You can view security as a terrifying concept, or as an exercise in courage.
You can be a passive and wimpy victim, or a proactive and fearless warrior."

Regardless of where you stand on gun control, knowledge of firearms equates with power, ignorance of firearms equates with weakness. See For Women Warriors Only. See Refuse To Be A Victim Course.

I am a passionate proponent of a more equitable balance between our collective Saint-Soldier mind set as Sant Sipahi. In this context I strongly urge Khalsa parents, especially women, to consider the following points.

1) Become more familiar with leadership and survival skills, and acquire a working knowledge of firearms in general, and handguns specifically.

2) Consider enrolling your children at the New Mexico Military Institute, located in Roswell, New Mexico. My kids graduated high school with honors at NMMI in the early '80s, the first children of Sikh Dharma to attend a military school in America. The Siri Singh Sahib expressed pleasure upon observing cadet training when he visited NMMI in 1983. He advised us then that he would have enrolled his own children at NMMI if he had known of its existence. A larger group of Sikh children who attended the school in India also attended NMMI in the early '90s.

"If you cannot walk together, you
cannot work together." -- Yogi Bhajan

"Those who shall not learn to obey shall never
be in a position to command." -- Yogi Bhajan

"The Synergistic Equation is: 1 Plus 1 Equals 11.
When this synergistic equation is applied, the individual's
'me' morphs into a collective 'we' perspective. The result:
Tasks are accomplished exponentially." -- 1Plus1Equals11.com

NMMI provides an outstanding two year college option for your sons and daughters upon completion of their time at Miri Piri Academy. For those families for which MPA is not an option, NMMI has an excellent four year high school college prep program in addition to their two year college program, which is ranked #2 in the nation, and for which scholarships are available. See NMMI Strategic Measures Statistics. The former Sikhi students/graduates of NMMI provide a testament to the advantages of attending NMMI, which include a rigorous and challenging lifestyle, camaraderie and fellowship, and outsanding leadership training especially, along with NMMI's excellent scholastic program, which prepared them for additional university training and exciting careers anywhere in the world. NMMI is the only American prep school that has a history of accommodating the Sikhi lifestyle, i.e., sadhana, kesh, turban, sipahi training, and vegetarian diet. And it is an excellent environment for our children to learn leadership and soldiering skills for which the Siri Singh Sahib was a passionate proponent. The NMMI program offers MPA students and other Sikh youth is a unique and reasonably cost-effective opportunity to transition from the Indian to the American experience together, and continue bonding with their Sikh peers. See NMMI Admissions. admissions@nmmi.edu 800-421-5376

3) Support a resurgence of the Women's Close Order Drill Team, about which the Siri Singh Sahib frequently commented, "If you cannot walk together, you cannot work together." He initiated this training back in the late '70s at Khalsa Women's Training Camp in addition to the Women's Select Rifle Drill Team, and Firearms Training.

4) Reflect on the Siri Singh Sahib's words, "Human is a blend of saint and soldier; this is a complete person. If you are not a soldier your sainthood will be kicked around. If you are only a soldier, not a saint, you will start kicking others around." See Women Warriors. See Gurdwara Security. See Refuse To Be A Victim Seminar.

I know of no readily available source of formal leadership training available to our Sikh youth other than the New Mexico Military Institute.

Humbly,

Mukhia Singh Sahib Hari Singh Bird Khalsa

See Memories of Khalsa Women's Rifle Drill Team. See How the Marines transform a Me into We. See Amazon Women.

FACTOID          

"All security is local.
Homeland security begins with hometown security."