Sangat & Pangat

Sangat and Pangat

Guru Nanak felt that the real cause of the misery of the people was their disunity born of diversity of belief. He therefore, refused to recognize any distinction between man and man and tried to bring his followers together both in thought and deed. He inculcated a common mode of worship and a common social institute by laying the foundation of Sangat and Pangat. Sangat means "association". It is getting together of noble and good people. Pangat literally means a same row. It stands for people sitting and eating together in the same row in Guru-ka-langar. From the time of Guru Nanak, Sangat and Pangat have gone together, for the Sikhs, both in percept as well as in practice. Wherever there was a Sangat there also was a Langar, as these Sangats were 'not merely places of worship but also wayside refectories which gave food and shelter to indigent wayfarers.

The Institution of Langar:

The institution of Langar in Sikhism is commonly known as Guru-Ka-Langar which means langar of the Guru, langar in the name of the Guru or langar attached to Gurdwara. Langar is Persian word meaning: 'an alms house', 'an asylum for the poor and the destitute', 'a public kitchen kept by a great man for his followers and dependents, the holy men and the needy.' Guru-Ka-Langar conveys more the last meaning then other meanings as it was 'run by the Guru' and is being 'run in the name of the Guru'. Bhai Kahan Singh and Kapur Singh are of the opinion that the word langar is from Sanskrit analgrah, meaning 'the cooking place'. Kapur Singh says Guru-ka-langar was an Aryan institution which was revived by the Sikh Gurus. He writes that this institution was used by the Gurus as powerful lever for equalitarian uplift of the people, by demolishing caste barriers and the economic apartheid of Varan-asram-dharma is a pristine Aryan institution, non-Brahmic, but having Vedic sanction. A reference to the Community Kitchen or the Guru-ka-langar occurs in the Artharva Veda, which says, "Identical shall be your drink, in common shall be your share of food".