Sikhs invite all to ‘become one with God’

BOTHELL — The rooms were filled with songs.

Downstairs, mothers adjusted small girls’ head scarves. In the kitchen, people lined up to fill plates with food from steaming aluminum pans.

In another room, families sat on the floor to eat along rugs set in rows parallel to the walls — except for the oldest guests, who sat on benches, nodding to greet each person who entered.

Upstairs, people prayed. They made an offering of small bills at the front of the room. They bowed, head down, arms stretched forward. Children watched their parents for guidance. People talked softly.

Sunday was Vaisakhi Day, an annual sacred celebration for the Sikhs. Hundreds of people went to the Sikh Centre of Seattle in Bothell, just north of where I-405 crosses the Bothell-Everett Highway. Children played outside. People hugged and ate.

“This is a pure place of God. This is a temple. Every wish is fulfilled here,” center spokesman Harjinder Sandhawalia said.

Everyone is welcome, Vice President Manmohan Dhillon said. The kitchen is open around-the-clock, he said.

“The food is always good, you know,” he said.

Vaisakhi Day celebrates a message given to the Sikhs in 1699, temple president Jaswinder Singh said.

The message was to be compassionate above all, he said. The people were told that compassion leads to faith and courage.

“They can become one with God,” he said. “That was a special message.”

The Sikhs are a people of peace, Dhillon said. Men and women are equal.

Children are taught classes at the center in the native language, Punjabi.

Jasmine Banga, 15, of Bothell, came to Vaisakhi Day with her mother and sisters. She and her friend Simran Daind, 13, knew almost everyone there, they said.

“It’s just really fun coming and spending time with friends and family,” Banga said. “You get to listen to the prayers and everything. It’s a big thing, and you get to be a part of it. It feels good to be part of a big family.”

Each Sikh temple has its own way of celebrating Vaisakhi Day, Daind said. Each way is accepted.

Her friend nodded in agreement. “People should come and watch and see how everything’s done,” Banga said.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

Sikh Centre

Sikh Centre of Seattle in Bothell, 20412 Bothell-Everett Highway. 425-487-4878, www.sikhcentreofseattle.org/, info@sikhcentreofseattle.org. Construction on a large-scale addition is almost complete.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.