Rehat Maryada

[rav44]

I was just wondering what people think about the Rehat Maryada?

I have been reading about it and have discovered that it was written after the Guru's were around - in fact the first part was written 10 years after Guru Gobind Singh Ji had died. It also contradicts one of the main teachings of Sikhi - the equality of man and woman - one of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's main teachings.

Should Sikhs be following this code of conduct which has been written by lesser authority?

Who gives anyone the right to write a code of conduct - e.g. could we just get together and make one?

Would really appreciate peoples views on this because it has caused confusion for me!

Thanks

Rav

[Laadli Fauj]

maharaj actually accepted 5 rehitname

Bhai Desa Singh

Bhai CHaupa Singh

Bhai Daya Singh

Bhai Mohkam Singh

Bhai Nand Lal Singh ji

the problem is that there are multiple versions and many that have been tampered with over the years

[jasleen k]

I was just wondering what people think about the Rehat Maryada?

I have been reading about it and have discovered that it was written after the Guru's were around - in fact the first part was written 10 years after Guru Gobind Singh Ji had died. It also contradicts one of the main teachings of Sikhi - the equality of man and woman - one of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's main teachings.

what do i think about it? i think that i'm required to follow it to the best of my ability.

there is currently only one Panthic rehat maryada, compiled by scholars over 10+ years. and it was written in the first part of the 20th century, so it was a couple hundred years after Guru Gobind Singh ji. however, it took into account all of the historical rehatnamas.

i don't see a lot of inequality in it... the fact that women are exempted from wearing dastaars and the fact that a man can marry more than one woman are the only two things that strike me as particularly sexist. there's also a lot about taking care of one's daughter, but that's more indian culture than sexism.

can you please point out the offensive points so that we may better address your question?

[Matheen]

I have been reading about it and have discovered that it was written after the Guru's were around - in fact the first part was written 10 years after Guru Gobind Singh Ji had died.

Rav

Please share your sources for this, Rav, also, Guru Ji still lives.

Regards

[rav44]

I was just wondering what people think about the Rehat Maryada?

I have been reading about it and have discovered that it was written after the Guru's were around - in fact the first part was written 10 years after Guru Gobind Singh Ji had died. It also contradicts one of the main teachings of Sikhi - the equality of man and woman - one of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's main teachings.

what do i think about it? i think that i'm required to follow it to the best of my ability.

there is currently only one Panthic rehat maryada, compiled by scholars over 10+ years. and it was written in the first part of the 20th century, so it was a couple hundred years after Guru Gobind Singh ji. however, it took into account all of the historical rehatnamas.

i don't see a lot of inequality in it... the fact that women are exempted from wearing dastaars and the fact that a man can marry more than one woman are the only two things that strike me as particularly sexist. there's also a lot about taking care of one's daughter, but that's more indian culture than sexism.

can you please point out the offensive points so that we may better address your question?

For example it says:

- A Sikh's daughter must be married to a Sikh.

- When a girl becomes marriageable, physically, emotionally and by virtue of maturity of character, a suitable Sikh match should be found and she be married to him by Anand marriage rites.

I find these quotes have nothing to do with religion and if Sikhi is about equality how come there are no such rules for males. Also if these ideas have come from Indian culture, shouldn't culture and our religion be kept separate? After all the book is called the Sikh Code of Conduct not the Indian Code of Conduct?

To me equality means that rules apply to both sexes not just one. Imagine if they said there's different rules for different races - that would be racism.

I have been reading about it and have discovered that it was written after the Guru's were around - in fact the first part was written 10 years after Guru Gobind Singh Ji had died.

Rav

Please share your sources for this, Rav, also, Guru Ji still lives.

Regards

I have read about this in many places a couple of them being "The Sikh Times" and wikipedia (I'm not saying this is a reliable source but it says the same things I have read about in other places)

[jasleen k]

For example it says:

- A Sikh's daughter must be married to a Sikh.

- When a girl becomes marriageable, physically, emotionally and by virtue of maturity of character, a suitable Sikh match should be found and she be married to him by Anand marriage rites.

when this was written in the 1930s, in india, issues of marriage of daughters was 100% the responsibility of the family. times were different. it may seem like common sense to us now, but obviously at the time it was written things were different.

read some of the earlier rehatnamas, some say to kill muslims when you see them. obviously this applied to the time when it was written (mughal era).

sure, maybe it's time to update the language a bit. but is it really that big a deal?

i'm much more concerned with the fact that sikh women are not required to wear dastaar...

[Matheen]

Rav44, as you say, the 'Sikh Times' and 'wikipedia' are not reliable sources.

The basic Rehat is unchanged since Guru Ji gave it to us (I'm talking of the traditional Sikh groups here, not the SGPC). The main features are found in Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Dasam Granth Ji and Sarbloh Granth, which are Guru Ji's own words.

Your question about marriage is simple - marriage was only to be between Sikhs so it applies to males as well. Which particular Rehatnama are you quoting? Also bear in mind that equality doesn't mean everything should be the same - our bodies are externally and internally different and have different roles to play.

[jasleen k]

Rav44, as you say, the 'Sikh Times' and 'wikipedia' are not reliable sources.

The basic Rehat is unchanged since Guru Ji gave it to us (I'm talking of the traditional Sikh groups here, not the SGPC). The main features are found in Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Dasam Granth Ji and Sarbloh Granth, which are Guru Ji's own words.

Your question about marriage is simple - marriage was only to be between Sikhs so it applies to males as well. Which particular Rehatnama are you quoting? Also bear in mind that equality doesn't mean everything should be the same - our bodies are externally and internally different and have different roles to play.

s/he's quoting the panthic rehat maryada from Akal Takt (not SGPC, they just print it).

who are the "traditional Sikh groups", and what rehatnama(s) do they follow that are different from Akal Takht?

[Guru_Da_Chella]

lol, no Jasleen. SGPC made this rehit maryada, and Akal Takht follow it. I would never folllow this maryada since I don't follow SGPC sikhi. I would rather follow Buddha Dal maryada if I was amrit dhari since it seems very authentic.

And traditional sikhs are the sikhs that follow sikhi the way before SGPC's British Raj version.

I was just wondering what people think about the Rehat Maryada?

I have been reading about it and have discovered that it was written after the Guru's were around - in fact the first part was written 10 years after Guru Gobind Singh Ji had died. It also contradicts one of the main teachings of Sikhi - the equality of man and woman - one of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's main teachings.

Should Sikhs be following this code of conduct which has been written by lesser authority?

Who gives anyone the right to write a code of conduct - e.g. could we just get together and make one?

Would really appreciate peoples views on this because it has caused confusion for me!

Thanks

Rav

It was made by sikhs that included those that were influenced by protestant ideas from their british masters.

[jasleen k]

lol, no Jasleen. SGPC made this rehit maryada, and Akal Takht follow it. I would never folllow this maryada since I don't follow SGPC sikhi. I would rather follow Buddha Dal maryada if I was amrit dhari since it seems very authentic.

And traditional sikhs are the sikhs that follow sikhi the way before SGPC's British Raj version.

It was made by sikhs that included those that were influenced by protestant ideas from their british masters.

please show your sources for these allegations.