MACGREGOR — Harvinder Singh is one of those fortunate people that see a miracle in everything, so when God told him to build a Sikh temple in the village of MacGregor, Singh set upon his mission.
Now 47 years old, Singh has been studying and practicing the Sikh religion for most of his life. When he was nine years old, he met a Sikh monk near his home in India, and since then, his life has revolved around his faith.
The principal belief of Sikhism is faith in the universal god. Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God. A key distinctive feature of Sikhism is a non-anthropomorphic concept of God, to the extent that one can interpret god as the universe itself.
Singh takes the teachings of Sikhism to heart. He explained that when he first discovered his faith, it changed his life for the better, and the Sikh guru he originally learned from made him a better person.
“The holy man near my village had a light within him; I wanted to have that light in me. He teach to me (sic) how to love,” said Singh.
After studying under the guru for many years, Singh moved to Clermont, Fla., to begin his mission. While in Clermont, Singh started the first of five temples. He claims the temple he plans to build in MacGregor will be the second ordained to him by God.
“I want to open five temples because God told me to,” said Singh.
Although the purchase of land for the temple in MacGregor is not yet finalized, he has filled the paperwork and hopes to begin construction this summer.
“I have already filed the papers, and I should get the land in about two months. Maybe I will begin building soon after that,” explained Singh.
Part of the reason Singh came to MacGregor was the low cost of land. However, he did stipulate that money isn’t important to him, and his only concern is to help people.
“The property in the States is very high (in cost), but the property here is not too much. I want to help poor and sick people. Anybody who has a problem, you know, I need to go there and help. I don’t care about money, just love,” stated Singh.
Already, he has converted two rooms in his home in MacGregor into prayer rooms, and he invites people of all races religions or creeds into his home to pray. Singh and his family are the only Sikhs in MacGregor and his hope is to attract Sikhs, and anyone else willing to join, from all over the province to visit his temple.
“Anybody can pray here, not only holy men, anybody can pray. Doesn’t matter what is your religion (sic), anybody can pray here,” said Singh.
As for the temple he is planning to build, there is additional acreage set aside for farming, in order to feed the people who come to his temple. According to him, anyone who needs food or shelter will be welcome to stay and eat with him and his family in the temple they want to build. However, all food served must be first offered to God.
Despite there already being several Sikh temples in Winnipeg, Sikhs from the capital have already expressed interest in his temple, and people are already coming to visit the prayer rooms in his home. Singh’s temple will be the first in Manitoba to open outside of Winnipeg.
“Right now, I have Sikhs coming from Winnipeg. Every day, maybe one or two people,” Singh said.
In MacGregor, it was difficult to find anyone willing to comment about having a Sikh temple built in the community. Also, attempts to reach Mayor Doris Moore were unsuccessful.