I dont think its a good idea to discourage people from attending Gurdwara Sahibs. People think by renouncing society there spiritual jeevan is going to be approved. This is not the case.
Im not sure I understand this concept of not attending Gurdwara Sahibs? When the Siddhas ran to the mountains as a means to maximize their meditation , Guru Sahib checked them for their cowardness. He said how is society going to change when people are running away from their societal responsibilities? Guru Sahib founded the Gurdwara Sahib and it wasnt merely a monastery for meditation. Gurdwara Sahibs are also the centers of political life for the panth and they are places of social learning. They are places of social learning because people pray and eat together thus breaking caste taboos. Guru Gobind Singh Ji says my Sikhs belonging to all caste will meditate on Gurmantar and caste distinctions will disappear. By becoming jot viagasi Gurmukhs people will see the jot in one another and not ones jat pat. The architecture of Sri Harmandir Sahib demonstrates this. The four doors of Harmandir Sahib illiustrate the social principles of Sikhi. The darbar sahib , the golak, the sarovar illustrate the three pillars of SIkhi " Naam, Daan , and Ishnaan which are not only spiritual practices but societal practices.
Secondly, the Gurdwara is were the oppressed are protected and fed. Gurdwaras are not monasteries. Most of the main Gurdwara Sahibs in India are in the midst of cosmopolitan areas such as Amritsar. When I go to Harmandir Sahib I know the original maryada is no longer in place and the place has been hijacked by unprincipled politicians but I can never avoid going to Harmandir Sahib just because of its management. I am optimistic that the malechh management is going to be changed to the khalsa management when the time is right.
I understand the function of our Gurdwaras are no longer serving their original purpose. But I think its cowardly to avoid them all together. If we dont like the maryada of our Gurdwaras then we need to change them through personal example or we need to attend Gurdwara Sahibs which are partly committed to Maryada. The concept of " Dera" originates when the Udasis/masands took over the Gurdwaras and were no longer following Gurdwara Maryada instead they were following their own maryada. In our daily Ardas we address this issue and we pray " that those Gurdwaras which have been separated from the panthic maryada are in the hands of masands be free, and we can take over these places and do seva". We should avoid deras which have completely strayed and there is no hope but we should still continue to do sangat with those who are committed to maryada.
As previously mentioned Gurdwara Sahibs are the center of political life in the panth. Originally ( pre sikhi era) local politics in villages were managed by secular 5 committee member ( panchiyat system). Guru Sahib took this secular concept of rural punjab and created a miri piri system where 5 Sikhs managed local affairs through divine direction. Gurdwara Sahibs had both judicial, legislative, and executive functions . Even when the Singhs were in the Jungles they still were able to have darshan of Harmandir Sahib and make panthic decisions during Diwali and Visakhi. Miri Piri concept is tied into the Gurdwara. Panthic affaris ( local and wide) are suppose to be dealt with by 5 singhs in their respective localities. By completely boycotting all Gurdwaras we are breaking from a gurmat tradition. Gurdawra Sahib has always been the center of both spiritual and political matters. Why else did the Singh Sabha movement start off with reforming the Gurdwaras which were in the hands of masands/mahants.
History is changing but the problems are still the same. We have to come up with innovative ways to improve our Gurdwara Sahibs instead of avoiding them all together. Because we live in a Protesant world we have overly secularized our institutions. We think we make contributions to Gurdwara Sahib by slipping a dollar in the golak or by voting for our favorite candidate on the Gurdwara ballot or in some extreme cases we avoid Gurdwara Sahib/sangat all together and try to practice Sikhi on a individual level.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਬਚਨਕਮਾਵਣੇਸਚਾਏਹੁਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥