id: sikhs-langer
title: Sikh Langar Free Kitchen
description: >-
  A Sikh practice of preparing and serving a free communal meal to all who
  come, regardless of caste, religion, or status, and eating it together
  seated on the same level. Originating with Guru Nanak in the 15th century
  and central to every gurdwara.
source: Sikh tradition / Sri Guru Granth Sahib
source_url: https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Langar
tags: [sikh, langar, food, equality, community]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Prepare the meal
    description: >-
      Volunteers (sevadars) prepare a simple vegetarian meal — roti, dal,
      vegetables — in the gurdwara kitchen. All food is vegetarian so all
      can eat.
  - headline: Serve to all
    description: >-
      Servers offer the meal to each person who comes, regardless of
      background, caste, or faith. No one is turned away.
  - headline: Sit on the same level
    description: >-
      All eat together seated on the floor in rows, at the same level. The
      equality of the seating is the point — no one sits above another.
  - headline: Clean together
    description: >-
      Volunteers and guests clean the hall, wash dishes, and restore the
      space. Seva (voluntary service) continues through cleanup.
  - headline: Renew the practice
    description: >-
      Langar is prepared daily in active gurdwaras; the practice renews
      itself each day, funded by the sangat (congregation) and served by
      sevadars.
outcome: >-
  All who come are fed equally, and the equality of shared food embodies
  the Sikh principle that all are equal before the Divine.
practice: >-
  The same-level seating is the practice — not just the free food. If
  seating is reintroduced hierarchically, the langar is diminished.
  Vegetarian food ensures all can share.