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When you first look at this picture, do you see a man sitting amongst a selection of worn men and women’s shoes? Or .. Do we see a man cleaning his karam and clearing his destiny? Do we see a man wiping his own self clean of ego? Do we see a Sikh of the […]

When you first look at this picture, do you see a man sitting amongst a selection of worn men and women’s shoes?

Or ..

Do we see a man cleaning his karam and clearing his destiny? Do we see a man wiping his own self clean of ego? Do we see a Sikh of the Guru?

In Sikhi there is a great importance laid on the cleaning of the Sangats shoes. Sangat is where people have come to meet the Guru or learn about the Guru or get together and sing the praises of Guru Sahib. When the sangat take off their shoes, the very dust is considered sacred as it is attached to the shoes of those who realised the wonder of the Guru! For those that walk towards the Guru or walk the path of the Guru (Sikhi) every step is a blessing and in their humility Sikhs will view this Sangat as being blessed and will humble themselves by cleaning their shoes.

They will often take a cloth to wipe off dust. In Panjab and India the leather shoes will also be polished and waxed.

You may also see some Sikhs touching their forehead with the dust or the cloth, again this is to form humility in trying to recognise that one is not even dust compared to the great beings and souls that recognise Guru Sahib and Vaheguru.

All of this will happen while the shoes are stored in safe keeping for the owner to return to after meeting Guru Sahib.

Doing this seva reminds us of the humility needed to walk the path of Sikhi. Guru Sahib teaches that to be the highest (spiritually) we must become the lowest (in terms of ego).