Yesterday eighty four people received Siropas at the Central Gurdwara (Khalsa Jatha) in London.
A siropa is bestowed by a religious or social figure or institution and may comprise, as is usually the case, a single garment or a length of cloth, two to two-and-a-half metres long, usually dyed in saffron colour.
Siropa among the Sikhs is a symbol of honour or benediction. The practice can be traced back at least as far as Guru Angad who bestowed upon Guru Amar Das a scarf every year. The latter treated these siropas as sacred gifts and carried them tied on his head one above the other.
The Siropa is the highest award that a Sikh may receive in sangat.
It is a gift bestowed by the sangat on behalf of the Guru Granth Sahib upon someone who deserves the honour by virtue of his or her dedication. It is given as a mark of recognition of piety or as an acknowledgement of unswerving devotion to a moral or philanthropic purpose.
It is the most precious gift of the Guru made through the Sangat. This is the highest honour in Sikhi. Saropas are given when the service rendered by the recipient is truly extraordinary and selfless.
The fine tradition of bestowing of Siropa is frequently totally desecrated.
At times the practice of giving a siropa to anyone who makes an offering of or exceeding a certain value or who happens to be socially or politically important is, an aberration.
The good points of this tradition are not questioned, nor is this tradition to be cheapened by giving a siropa for every little thing, especially money donations.
At times it has become so ubiquitous that it is almost worthless.
Siropa is earned through high merit and dedication. Siropa commands significance.
Gurpreet Singh Anand, committee member, stated from the stage of the Gurdwara:
“These people [named below] deserve the siropa one hundred percent. They actually signify what the siropa is about. People who have given their blood, sweat and tears for this Gurdwara”.
Anand then went on to invite the following persons on to the stage of the Gurdwara to receive Siropas. Those present were then given a Siropa by Hardeep/Peter Singh Virdee and Rajinder Singh Bhasin. The Siropa ceremony culminated by Anand, Bhasin and Virdee giving a Sirpoa to each other.
