Is langar meant to be taken home?

By Rishpal Singh Sidhu | Opinion |

This article is an examination of the principles and practices of langar in our gurdwaras, different gurdwara management committees’ considerations pertaining to this practice, and particularly the angst surrounding the questions of allowing taking langar home from a gurdwara. It looks into traditional Sikh teachings, Rehat Maryada discipline, and contemporary Sikh diaspora practices.

The phonetic Latin (English) spelling is frequently written as Guru ka Langar. In Punjabi, “Guru ka langar ” is spelt as ਗੁਰੂਕਾ ਲੰਗਰ in the Gurmukhi script and refers to a free community kitchen that serves vegetarian meals to visitors regardless of their background. Its linguistic roots are uncertain. Some scholars trace its roots to the Sanskrit word analgrh, which literally means “cooking room” while others trace its origins to a Persian word meaning “anchor” or “a place for resting.”

The physical institution of Guru ka langar was introduced and began with Guru Nanak as a deliberate social revolution to neutralise caste hierarchy and create a lived practice of equality. Everyone, regardless of caste, religion, gender, or status – sat together and ate simple food. This was considered a radical act in a society where caste dictated who could eat with whom. Each successive Guru expanded, formalised, and institutionalised this practice, and by the time of Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan, langar had become a fully organised daily community kitchen, and is a model still followed worldwide by gurdwaras today.

Importance of Seva

The Sikh Rehat Maryada (SRM, ਰਹਿਤ ਮਰਯਾਦਾ), Section Five, Chapter XII, Article XXI denotes the importance of voluntary service as a prominent part of Sikh religion.  The Punjabi word ‘seva’ (ਸੇਵਾ) stems from the Sanskrit root sev which means “to serve, wait or attend upon, honour, or worship.” In Punjabi and Sikh traditions, it has evolved to mean “selfless service,” volunteering time and effort without expectation ofreward, praise or personal benefit and a person who performs this selfless service is called a sevadar (ਸੇਵਾਦਾਰ).

In Gurbani, seva often implies serving the wisdom of the Guru and treating humanitarian work as a form of devotion to God. Voluntary service takes many forms including sweeping floorsand dusting shoes of visitors to the gurdwara.  It is a foundational practice and central pillar of Sikh life and trains Sikhs in humility, service, and equality. Serving in langar -cooking, preparing, serving, and cleaning up are regarded as the highest forms of service. While the SRM (Section Three, Chapter VIII, Article XII, Karhah Parshad (ਕੜਾਹ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦ), does prescribe the method of preparing karah parshad, it is one of the few areas where the SRM gives explicit, detailed instructions. The SRM does not however lay out rules for how langar should be prepared and served. It is more a cultural practice than a scriptural requirement, and encouragement is not the same as requirement.

Pangat

In langar, visitors to the gurdwara sit together on the floor in lines or rows called pangat (ਪੰਗਤ). This word traces its origins from the Sanskrit ‘pankti’ meaning a line, row, or group. In Sikh tradition, this basically refers to the practice of people sitting together in straight rows to share a communal meal (langar), emphasizing universal equality, humility, and community. There is no clause in the SRM that specifically requires a visitor to first pay obeisance in the darbar (from Persian, meaning “court,” “audience chamber,” or “hall of a ruler”) where the Guru Granth Sahib is kept before partaking langar. Langar is and has always been open to all travellers, including non-Sikhs who may not know gurdwara protocol, and to anyone who is hungry. Interestingly, it was Guru Amar Das who formalised and institutionalised langar as a mandatory practice. Anyone wishing to meet the Guru had to first sit in langar and eat with everyone else. This rule applied to even high-status visitors, including royalty. The principle of sangat-pangat (spiritual congregation + communal eating) became central and the moment when langar became non-negotiable Sikh discipline, and not just a charitable act.

A noteworthy exception took place on how langar was served in gurdwaras around the world during the Covid19 pandemic. Communal sitting and dining (pangat) stopped but the core Sikh principles of seva, sarbat da bhala, and feeding all without discrimination remained unchanged. Across India and globally, gurdwaras rapidly redesigned langar operations to meet lockdown rules, food security needs, and publichealth requirements. Instead, meals were packed and/or collected or delivered to sangats, elderly people isolated at home, neighbourhood shelters, and migrant camps. Many gurdwaras adopted “langar on wheels” models—mobile vans delivering cooked meals to highneed areas. The scale of assistance was unprecedented, but the spirit remained unchanged: seva, equality, and feeding all who are hungry.

A major innovation took place during the second Covid wave in India, with some gurdwaras setting up oxygen langars—free oxygen beds, cylinders, and medical support. This extended the concept of langar from food to lifesaving aid. It has been reported that  worldwide Sikh organisations distributed well over 3 million meals during the pandemic.

Akal Takht directives on Langar Discipline (Chairs, Tables, Pangat)

When the SRM was finalised in 1945, there was no mention of having langar served while sitting on chairs and at tables because the practice did not exist at that time. The first diaspora deviations appeared in the early 1980s and 1990s when gurdwaras in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the US began experimenting with chairs/tables for elderly congregations.

There were no formal Akal Takht rulings yet, but the SGPC committees began raising concerns about this practice. The Panch Singh Sahibans landmark ruling of 1998 declared that pangat is not merely a seating arrangement — it is both a spiritual discipline reflecting equality and humility, and a collective practice integral to langar’s purpose. It called pangat the Gurmat ki riti (the Gurmat way), and that sittingon chairs and tables was seen as diluting this discipline and violating maryada. It did however allow only physically disabled persons to sit on chairs, and this ruling became the reference point for all future enforcement. A subsequent clarification issued by the Akal Takhat on 24 October 2000 reaffirmed the 1998 ruling with the addendum that separate seating must not reduce the honour of Guru Sahib and that exemptions for disability must be strictly controlled. Furthermore, this directive must be taken into account by gurudwara management committees when designing disability seating areas.

Langar in the Guru Granth Sahib

The Guru Granth Sahib (GGS) does not describe the modern, physical practice of langar (community kitchen). It speaks only of spiritual langar, and the word langar appears once (GGS, 967), saying:

ਲੰਗਰੁ ਚਲੈ ਗੁਰ ਸਬਦਿ ਹਰਿ ਤੋਟਿ ਨ ਆਵੀ ਖਟੀਐ ॥

Langar chalai gur sabad har tot na aavee khattei.

“The langar — the kitchen of the Guru’s Shabad — continues without shortage.” This is from Rāg Rāmkalī, in the Vār of Bhai Satta & Bhai Balwand. Sikh scholars interpret ShabadLangar as continuous, universal spiritual nourishment. The physical langar tradition expresses the same values: equality, humility, seva, and abundance.

Gurdwara committees’ debates on langar as takeaways

In earlier times there was no concept or consideration of takeaway. Langar was eaten on site.

Recent years have witnessed discussions and debates reflecting the tension between traditional discipline and liberal minded gurdwara management committees approaches on expanding humanitarian service and allowing langar as takeaways.

Langar is a collective act, not an individualised meal. The spiritual discipline lies in sitting together and noting the food itself. Langar is part of sangat pangat discipline and seen as essential to egalitarian practice with no caste-based or status-based separation.

Questions have been asked whether allowing takeaways by some sangat members normalises or encourages misuse, whether strict bans by gurdwara management committees appear unwelcoming, and how to balance maryada with modern community stresses and needs. The SRM does not draw rules and moral directives about taking langar home from the gurdwara, portion sizes, queuing, who may or may not serve langar, and how langar leftovers are handled or managed. These matters have hitherto largely been left to the discretion of local gurdwara management committees.

Some gurdwara management committees have taken principled and sometimes rigid stands on the practice of allowing taking langar home on the grounds that pangat is a spiritual discipline, langar is not intended as a takeaway meal, and Sikhs are expected to take only what they are able to finish on gurdwara premises. Routine takeaways can turn langar into a “free food pickup”, encourage skipping seva, and create inequity in distribution. Uneaten or excess food taken home violates respect for langar. Although not explicitly mentioned, taking food home also removes the communal element.

When is takeaway langar is acceptable?

Does allowing this action honour the Guru’s langar or reduce it to a takeaway meal? This practice is not formally prohibited by gurdwaras everywhere, but it sits in a grey zone where intent, context, and maryada matter. Taking langar home for sick, elderly, and infirm family members is accepted as seva. The giving away of excess leftover langar at the end of the day in preference to throwing it out is a practical, not doctrinal allowance. Food health and safety laws and considerations influence leftover decisions as perishable items such, as dal, sabzi, and kheer must be discarded if temperature control lapses.

Gurdwaras as food banks and community kitchens

Recent years have seen gurdwaras in India, the UK, Canada, US, Australia, and Malaysia repeatedly stepping forward as community kitchens during forest wildfires, earthquakes, floods, landslides, and other natural disasters, providing largescale langar, shelter, medical aid, and volunteer manpower. This is not occasional, and it is a consistent pattern rooted in Sikh principles of seva (selfless service) and langar (free community kitchen). Their humanitarian efforts have been widely recognised and deeply appreciated by governments and the communities at large.

Some gurdwaras in these countries also increasingly operate as food banks and community kitchens serving meals to thousands of non-Sikhs, especially the poor, homeless, and needy on a weekly basis.

In this context, preparing langar inside the gurdwaras and explicitly taking and distributing food as takeaway packets outside the gurdwara is seen as an extension of seva and not a breach of maryada. More importantly, it is seen as sarbat da bhala (ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦਾ ਭਲਾ) which is a core tenet of our Sikh faith and aptly serves as the concluding line in our daily Ardas congregational prayer.

Rishpal Singh Sidhu is a retired library and information services professional, now serving as a casual academic with the School of Information & Communication Studies, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. He can be reached at rishpal.sidhu@gmail.com

* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.

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