The atmosphere in the Uppal household in Melbourne, Australia was electric.
The voices chanting "Satnaam, Siri Waheguru ji" were filled with deep emotion, the hearts were buoyant, uplifted by great fervour; the air hung heavy, charged with palpable devotion and the eyes were sure that they were witnessing something very special - 31 saroops of Guru Granth Sahib, enthroned majestically on the heads of 31 sevadaars, were ready to begin a remarkable journey from Melbourne to Auckland, New Zealand: a sight so awe-inspiring in its devotional grandeur, that international law agencies, immigration, customs and other authorities made unprecedented exceptions, ensuring a smooth passage for the royal procession, across the Tasman Sea.
A group of 45 sevadaars had flown in especially from New Zealand, to respectfully escort the 31 saroops back to their country. Every minute detail had been taken care of.
The sevadars were dressed in white and saffron, wearing blue surgical covers over their socks (so they won't have to wear shoes while carrying the saroops). Additional sevadaars were traditionally fanning the chaur sahib, while reciting holy verses all the way through.
Upon reaching the Melbourne International Airport, the authorities cooperated at every security check point - they were allowed to travel without shoes, additional handbag allowances were made so that Guru Granth Sahib and the chaur sahib, both could be taken on board; special containers were used for the x-ray scan, not the usual ones in which shoes and other items pass through a conveyor belt; at the immigration point, one sevadaar handed the passport to complete the legal formalities, while the 31 sevadars carried the holy scriptures on their head and continued with their paatth recitation.
Once on board the Air New Zealand flight to Auckland, all the sevadaars sat towards the rear end of the aircraft and at their request, all the other passengers were accommodated further up in the front. With the whole cabin area to themselves, the sevadaars continued to recite the holy verses in-flight.
In a further unprecedented move, the cabin crew agreed not to serve any food or wine/ beverages where the sevadars were seated, so that no alcohol was brought into the presence of the holy Granths ... if the sevadaars needed refreshments, they walked up to the galley and ate there before returning to their seats.
The crew members not only graciously complied with every request of the sevadaars, but curiously asked questions about the Guru Granth and Sikhism in general, to understand what they were witnessing.
Upon their arrival at Auckland airport, five lanes at the immigration area had been reserved for the sevadars; again, one person handed in all the passports, while those carrying the saroops continued to chant shabads. The authorities agreed to let the sevadaars take their sacred cargo through without putting them through conveyor belts or scanners. What's more, they even provided a police escort to the exit point and the whole cabin crew was inspired to walk out along with them. Many duty-free shops were closed temporarily (especially the liquor shops), in deference to the holy procession. Many shopkeepers, mostly Kiwi, stood there respectfully, with hands folded.
But the scene at the arrival area was even more surreal.
Thousands of Sikh-NewZealanders waited outside the arrival gates, headed by senior members of the Labour party, including Phil Goff, the leader of the Opposition in the Parliament and Chris Carter (who has been Minister for Ethnic Affairs for three terms). As the sevadaars began walking out with the saroops, the sangat spontaneously went down on their knees and bowed their heads in reverence, with onlookers completely mesmerised by their utter devotion.
Once outside, the sevadaars sat in buses, escorted by a cavalcade of cars to Guru Kalgidhar Gurdwara, Takanini. The sevadaars' feet were washed before they entered the gurdwara precincts and the holy saroops were laid for their nightly rest through the traditional sukh-aasan ceremony.
The saroops are now being sent to various other gurdwaras and households around New Zealand, to continue what can only be described as an amazing journey of pure love, devotion and illumination.
As S. Daljit Singh of Auckland narrated this whole sequence of events to me, I couldn't help thinking of the fables of how the seas part, mountains recede and the earth conspires when a Divine force is in motion.
As Daljit Singh himself said," We had been making arrangements for this and negotiating with the New Zealand authorities for months; many people had warned us that international air travel laws are really stringent and it is near-impossible to bend the rules, so we should be ready for compromises. But I firmly believe that Baba Ji Himself made all of this happen - it wouldn't have been possible for us to arrange anything like this without Divine intervention".
As for S Jatinder Singh Uppal of Melbourne, whose family has provided over 200 saroops of Guru Granth Sahib to various gurdwaras and households around Australia, even he was overtaken by the emotion of this regal journey to New Zealand.
"On that day, we were touched by God - He was amidst us. As I was placing the sacred saroops on the heads of the Sikhs from New Zealand, I could see their tears of joy flowing freely...how can anyone describe that feeling? I have no words. I am indebted to God for giving us those moments of utter Bliss and will always remain mortgaged to Him for his unending Blessings".