The aroma of cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves wafted through the air at the small chai house where Edmund and Charan met. Edmund, a visiting student from England, looked puzzled when he asked Charan about equality and Sikhism. "I know that you are from the Ramdasia caste of weavers. Yet you have a huge and successful textile business! How did the Ramdasia Sikhs move from their menial jobs as weavers to being so successful in business?"

Charan explained, "In the middle 1800s our Sikh society was starting to decay. Old Hindu caste practices were starting to take over. Then in 1873, Guru Singh Sabha started a movement to turn Sikhism back to its spiritual roots. He taught us to get back to understanding that we are all equal, despite the Hindu-imposed caste system. Many Ramdasia Sikhs began to drop their traditional weaving jobs and started to advance in other areas such as agriculture, industry, business, education, science, and the military. I'm certainly one who benefited from that change. To be sure that our society does not go back into old ways, we have strong accountability for our people. We have gatherings to discuss not only spiritual manners, but actions needed to maintain equality and brotherhood among our people."

* Scripture Prayers for the Ramdasia (Sikh traditions) in India.

Pray that the Ramdasia Sikhs will hear God's Word, accept it, and enter the Kingdom of God, knowing that He created us to be equal in His eyes.