What is the meaning of Langar?

In detail

Sikh tradition traces the practice of shared, free meals to Guru Nanak Dev Ji, especially at Kartarpur, where the community farmed, prayed and ate together. It was developed as an institution under the Gurus who followed. Gurbani itself records the service of Mata Khivi Ji, wife of Guru Angad Dev Ji, in the Langar, and describes the Langar as running by the Guru's Word, with its stores never running short.

At the heart of Langar is pangat — sitting in a line on the floor, side by side. In a society divided by caste and status, eating together from the same kitchen was a powerful, practical rejection of inequality. According to tradition, Guru Amar Das Ji asked visitors, however important, to eat in the pangat before meeting him; the story of Emperor Akbar doing so is a well-loved traditional account. The principle it expresses is simple: before the Guru, all are equal.

Langar connects closely with the three pillars of Sikh life: earning honestly (kirat karni), remembering the Divine (naam japna) and sharing (vand chhakna). Ingredients and money are donated by the Sangat, and the cooking, cleaning and serving are done by volunteers. Food is usually simple and vegetarian, so that everyone can eat it. Many Gurdwaras now use tables and chairs for elders or people who need them; practice varies by place.

Langar is not charity handed down from giver to receiver. The volunteer who serves and the guest who eats sit in the same line and eat the same food. That is why Sikhs speak of taking Langar as receiving the Guru's blessing, and why so many Sikhs extend Langar beyond the Gurdwara — to hospitals, disaster zones and streets — whenever people are hungry.