Sikh Religious Society holds two-day conference

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CHICAGO, IL

The Sikh Religious Society hosted a two-day Mool Nanakshahi Calendar Implementation Conference in Palatine, Illinois, Nov. 11 and 12, attracting speakers and guests from various Sikh organizations in the United States, Canada, India, and Australia.

The focus of the conference was how to preserve the unique Sikh heritage and prepare the Panth for the next millennia, according to a press release from Asian Media USA. Knowledgeable speakers explained the history and importance of the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar. Sardar Pal Singh Purewal, the brain behind the Calendar, spoke about the practicality of the calendar and emphasized how important it is for next generations to adopt it.

Bibi Jasbir Kaur of Ohio, threw light on the need to pass on the heritage to the next generation to secure Sikh identity; the importance of kids to understand Gurbani and apply it in their daily life. Other speakers at the conference were S. Sarabjit Singh of Sacramento, Prof. Niranjan Singh Dhesi, S. Surinder Singh of Talking Punjab, and Harkirat Singh Ajnoha from Australia.

Speakers stressed the role of the overseas Sikh community in accomplishing this mission. One presentation explained how the Calendar works and helps maintain the consistency of Sikh observations like Gurpurabs, Vaisakhi and so on. Accurate recurrence of these Sikh historical dates and preservation of Gurbani’s relevance has profound implications for future generations, speakers observed. The Mool Nanakshahi Calendar forever fixed drifting Sikh historical Bikrami dates and synchronized these dates with the Common Era (CE) tropical calendar.

The resolutions passed at the conference entailed that, in 1999, the Sikh scholars and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, SGPC, introduced the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar on the 300th anniversary of Khalsa’s Saajna  conforming to Gurbani.

Many Sikh organizations have already been following the Nanakshahi Calendar for many years, except for the three dates of Guru Nanak’s Gurpurab, Bandee Chhorrd Divas, and Holla-Muhalla. The Chicago conference emphasized that everyone fully adopt and forever follow The Mool Nanakshahi Calendar and its methodology to observe Sikh historical events on the following fixed dates for the three occasions:

1. Guru Nanak’s Parkaash Purab on April 14th (1-Vaisaakh), Vaisaakhi

2. Bandee Chhorrd Divas on February 12th (1-Phaggan)

3. Holla Muhalla on March 14th (1-Chet), Mool Nanakshahi New Year Day
Heeding the call of the conference for unity, many Midwest gurdwaras also adopted these resolutions simultaneously, according to the press release.