Dr. Gurprit Sekhon – Room for Prayer
BY VAL SCHOGER; PHOTOS BY VAL SCHOGER
[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]
What’s In Your Closet?
Closets hold heirlooms, closets hold secrets, and closets
hold treasures, dreams, and hopes.
We were not after dirty laundry when we asked local residents the question: “What’s in your closet?” The question quickly became a wonderful way to learn more about a person’s life and bits and pieces about their past, the paths they have taken, the lessons they have learned and the plans they had. Have a peek into local personalities’ homes and lives as they open their closets and share anecdotes and stories with us while showing off the items that have emotions attached, items that they will never part with and items that will always be vivid reminders of what once was and still is special. [/box]
Dr. Gurprit Sekhon, a primary care physician specializing in Internal Medicine and Family Medicine, is the practicing physician at NuWave Medical Center in Panama City Beach.
She lives with her husband of 23 years, Dr.Malvinder Ajit, a board certified physician for both, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and her youngest daughter, Namisha, in a quiet neighborhood in Lynn Haven.Her oldest daughter, Meghna is in college but comes home often to visit.
Entering the house and being greeted by Dr.Sekhon and her daughter Namisha, the excited family dog is the first to show the way to the kitchen where tea with milk and Indian spices and a sweet and delicious Indian dessert dish, Gulab Jamun awaits.Being hospitable and welcoming is part of the Indian culture. Dr. Sekhon explains that it is part of her belief to share food and treat every person equally.
Her devotion to God has brought forward a most unusual way to use closet space. Dr. Sekhon felt the need to have a dedicated space for prayer and found the space that would be the quietest in the entire house is the closet off the study room. The small space now holds an intricately decorated cabinet that takes up half the space in the closet.It is called a puja mandir and it was imported from India. Puja translates to prayer and mandir translates to temple. Dr. Sekhon usually closes the door for prayer so the small space becomes very quiet and serene.
As she lights up an incense stick, her daughter, Namisha Ajit, takes a seat next to her on the floor in front of the mandir. “There is nothing difficult if you want to get close to God. It is very simple.If you want a connection with God, then you have to meditate and pray. I pray every day in the morning after taking a shower. I pray for enlightenment and for making the right decisions throughout the day.” Dr. Sekhon explains.
In the mid ’90s, Dr. Sekhon and her husband moved to the US from the city of Patiala in the northern part of India. “There is a long line of men in my family who have a military background. My great-grandfather was the first Indian to serve as an officer in the British Army. He was an Aide-de-Camp, a personal assistant in the field, to King George V. My Father was a major and my uncle was a colonel. We were raised in a Catholic School, which was very prestigious. I own a rosary and I go to St. Benedict Catholic Church, off and on. I kneel down and pray, as I have been taught how to pray in a Catholic church.”
“Every god teaches the same path,” states Dr.Sekhon. She speaks in a quiet voice about her religion, Sikhism. It is the fifth largest organized religion in the world. “We do not distinguish between caste, creed or religion.Human beings are all equal and we all worship one god.”
“I have read the Old Testament and the Hindu scriptures and, of course, I have read the Sikhism part of it. I tell my girls, it does not matter who and where you are, you just need to learn to bow down and pray to God and thank Him for what He has given you and learn to accept everybody else. I have raised my kids this way. They are very down to earth. Sikhism teaches you about the equality of man and the equality of religion.When you go to my temple, if you sit there, they will not ask you who you are or where you came from. They do not judge you by the color of your skin.Everybody is the same and we will all share the same food.”
Her daughter, soon to graduate from North Bay Haven Charter Academy, shares her mother’s beliefs but also admits that she often has to rush out of the house in the mornings – so the mornings are not the times she prays. With a laugh she adds, “My mom always gives me extra lunch to take to school so that I can share with my friends.”
Dr. Sekhon adds, “I think we often get rushed and taking the time for prayer and worshipping God gives me a lot of strength. Whatever religion you believe in, you have to give 100 percent of yourself to get 100 percent back.”
[author image=”https://www.panamacityliving.com/media/2013/08/Val.jpg” ]Val studied communications and marketing in Germany and holds a marketing degree. She had a corporate career and has worked for nine years in media, PR and marketing internationally in Germany, England, the Caribbean and the United States. During an extended sailboat cruise n 2003, she traveled to the Gulf Coast and subsequently to Navarre, Florida and was immediately smitten with Northwest Florida. She started her first business in 2004 in Fort Walton Beach and as of July 2013, she became the sole owner and publisher of Panama City Living Magazine. She obtained her Merchant Mariner Credential (Captain’s License) right here in Panama City at SeaSchool and enjoys being on the water when she finds the time. [/author]