Battelestar Sikhi-getting Lost? Series One

[BhForce]

We seem to have lost the ability to continually rescue Sikhism from the enclaves and stranglehold of of the standards of morality,language rituals, psyche, mindset, perceived world view, social organisation, ideals, taboos, and values of any one culture and subgroup.

If there can't be a standard of morality or taboos (bajjar kurehit), what is even the point of associating to a religious group?

Rather than following the currently fasionable trend of condemning Punjabi culture as outdated and ignorant, I laud those aspects of Punjabi culture which are helpful as a barrier from going down the wrong path in life.

Something like a tenth to a third of all Americans are bastards (sons of someone other than who they think their father is). But that'll all be OK in the New Sikhi with new taboos.

The whole point of a panth is social organisation. There were other followers of bhagats (such as kabirpanthis), but the unique insight of Guru Nanak Dev Ji was that to preserve the knowledge of true spirituality, a unified panth (religious community) was required.

ਮਾਰਿਆ ਸਿਕਾ ਜਗਤਿ ਵਿਚਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਨਿਰਮਲ ਪੰਥੁ ਚਲਾਇਆ ।

Vaar 1.45.3 http://searchgurbani.com/main.php?book=bhai_gurdas_vaaran&action=pauripage&pauri=45&vaar=1

Guru Nanak Dev ji created a panth of common platform of values and worldview. Kartarpur had a definite maryada, and it wasn't some kind of weird New Age retreat like Baba Virsa Singh where one person is reading bani, another is worshipping fire, and so on.

[hawk13]

Everywhere I see nowadays, as i read thread after thread whether its about anti dasam granth/noormelias/sarnas/sikh radio n tv channels or other current panthic issues is hatred,anger, each person/party involved believing they have the right answer whilst finger pointing at the others, and accusing the others as traitors and sell outs , and questioning their motives and real intentions. I have not seen in all my life so much disunity among sikhs as i see now. Everybody is upset with everybody else. As i go through topics and threads on this forum, I sense despair, tension, unease, discomfort, instability, and self righteousness. Everyone is blaming everyone else for every dispute, every quarrel, every problem, every incident. Everybody wishes the other was dead. Everyone stubbornly believes they are right. Everywhere I turn, I see and hear people proclaiming they are the right ones to lead be it a radio channel, a political party, a website, a thread on a website, a jethabandee. It doesnt stop! The factionalism just gets worse by the day. Leading sikh radio channels, jethabandhees, political parties, religous leaders are isolated and do not even talk to each other.

We have a weak , lame, mistrusted ,non independent, outdated, sold out, ili-informed, religous leadership good in giving orders BUT poor in listening, in brokering, in negotiating, in uniting everyone together. When it suits us, we embrace the nothing but charred remains of the institutions of the SGPC and Akal Takht, and when it doesnt we diss them.

This is becoming a doomsday scenario where we have our hands virtually on each others throoats, wish to kill and see each other dead, cannot stand the sight and presence of one another, and question each others loyalty to Sikhism, and accuse each other of betrayal .

This is what today's Sikhism has degenerated itself into. Very sad and sorry state of affairs indeed. Meanwhile the planet is dying from pain and hurt, from global warming, from religous and secterian violence, terrorism, political wars, and suffers from the ravages of nature and the plight of millions of poor,disempowered people living under the rule of cruel selfish dictators and tyranny. The world that needs us, finds us helplessly indulging in own daily internal battles and diminishing in our capability and capacity to be a beacon of hope by the day.

We have become an easily intimidated and scared community frightened and trying to ward off enemies, constantly fighting fires ,both within and without. We moan that our numbers are diminishing. We are becoming more inward and as we become more inward the pressure within the kettle is reaching boiling point.

When we talk of Sikhism, our eyes seem stubbornly stuck on the tiny state of Punjab and its going ons. We hold on to dear past and lament of leaders gone before, holding them sacred in our minds as if they were virtual latter day incarnations of Guru Gobind Singh. We forget Sikhism is a democracry among equals and venerate religious celebrities in our midst, thus forging the panth into an authoritarian heirarchy. Meantime, Tibetan buddhism has moved on from Tibet and become a successful western phenomena, Islam has its biggest following away from Saudi Arabia in Indonesia, and Christianity has moved to Africa, South America and Europe, leaving tiny Jerusalem as an optional historical place of visit which doesn’t make you any better a christian if you didn’t visit it. Right under our noses, new religions like Subud, Hare krishna and Bahaism, amongst countless others have emerged that organise themselves to be led by a united nations type council with leaders from different earth zones, all with equal voting rights, with millions more followers. Within christianity, a nigerian pastor has organised a church which is found within a 1 mile radius of every major city of the world. We do however cover our apathy, and failures in international parchar to all races by the lame excuse that Sikhism is a two edged sword meant just for a few chosen few, just the way the jews like to think of their 12 chosen tribes. The Gurus who proclaimed ''khendeo tikki valo nikki'' were also the same Gurus who worked tirelessly to preach Sikhi to people of all and any race, go to faraway places learning and speaking different languages and dialects, and start new towns and places of worships wherever they went, thank you very much! Compare that to todays supposed sikh saints and preachers who very much love to confine themselves to be master orators within the confines of the punjabee language and punjabee community as they fly from country to country with pre-bought ticket gifts of their supporters. Are we making our ten Masters our role models, or are we becoming blind followers of those who refuse to learn another language to preach in, and apart from Sikh issues seem very ill informed about how this world is being currently reorganised politically , economically and socially , as compared to the uptodate knowledge our Gurus had of current affairs , of science , of nature as is transparent in Guru Granth Sahib.

We have the shameful sight of 70 year old Sikh MALE priests running around to arrange colourful rose and carnation FLOWERS before Guru Granth Sahib in the Harmandir Sahib every morning because women are deemed ''impure''. We do not allow women to do an ardas, or keertan in the same place, we do not allow women to be one of the 5 piaras in most places, BUT we boast we are a religion that practises perfect eqality between the sexes. Yet we are modelled along a a male dominated patriarchial system of punjabee social organisation that is fast becoming outdated and irrelevant.

We seem to have lost the ability to continually rescue Sikhism from the enclaves and stranglehold of of the standards of morality,language rituals, psyche, mindset, perceived world view, social organisation, ideals, taboos, and values of any one culture and subgroup. We are very proud when some white person becomes a sikh but we immediately become defensive and withdrawn , when the same person tries to interpret and practise Sikhism within the context of their own culture and we dont call them 'sikh' , we call them gore sikh, as if our eyes cannot be lifted off even for a moment from the colour of their skin towards the light of Gurujee within. We are very prepared to preach within our 'own' punjabee community but our feet get cold wanting to learn other languages and preach to non punjabees . We are proud of what Yogijee did but we regard that as a one off and none of our business.

Even on websites like these, three quarters of the time we argue in the name of Sikhism, but what is spewing out of us is nothing but a punjabee not Sikh way to talking to each other, yet dare anyone say we aint sikhs. This hyprocrisy is like a subtle veil that separates us from that which we claim to possess but dont , claim to love but dont , claim to kiss but dont , claim to know but dont.

Brothers and sisters wake up! Rubbish me if u want , but think about what I am saying. You have a choice. Either keep indulging in your little wars you serve and seem to live for within the panth, or either become forces of unity within the panth. That’s your choice. We live by our choices, we die by our choices.. You have one chance –either use it to think you are damn right and try to kill everyone else or ….. try to calm down and get back to your senses and start talking the language of reconciliation , of tolerance , of love , of unity. Tell me im wrong , but Sikhism is not about hating no one, Sikhism is not about loathing no one, Sikhism is not about intolerance to different viewpoints and opinions, even if they are wrong and incompatible to ours. Sikhism recognises truth as a flower that well knows how to blossom and bring a shade to blind off untruth. The history of Sikhism we like to remember is one where we stood shoulder to shoulder no matter what our differences were, where we kissed each others feet in love, where our hearts erupted in joy meeting one another. That’s the Sikhism I fell in love with, the one where everyone was a carpon copy of Guru Gobind Singh, never looking back, always adapting to the present, always planning for the future, the Sikhism of radical overnight change when necessary from saintliness to sipahiness, the Sikhism that did not depend on places and people and personalities but on the power and presence of Gurujee in every inch of the soil of this planet!.

The purpose of baisakhi was not to create cylone type non thinking robots programmed to wake up, recite , think, speak, act, be opiniated in one exactly similar style. That was never meant to be the purpose and spirit of rehat. Rather, the glory of Baisakhi was to create a race of super intelligent, dynamic, self empowered, fearless yet humble warrior saints, like resurrected copies of Guru Gobind Singh, each with their own unique identity serving to guide humanity and the entire human race. The purpose of Baisakhi was not to marry and enslave a people to traditions of the pastor present but to transform weak sparrows and release them as powerful reborn hawks in the sky perfectly capable of finding their own destiny and guiding humanity towards its greater good. But today we are sparrows again squabbling amongst ourselves, fighting each other for a grain, living in fear, feeling intimidated, totally sensitive to any move of the other, frightened to bring about a single change in anything to do with Sikhism. We fight over our religious texts , our daily prayers, our dressing, our habits, our rituals and boy, don’t we fight like there’s no tomorrow. All you need to do is say one thing, think one thing, do one thing, that’s not religously correct to the other person and you are in deeep trouble with everyone. Yet we go about boasting of our martyrs, we parade Guru Granth Sahib in nagar kirtans , we celebrate gurpurabhs with great pomp to tell the world that we are a great people with a great religion.

We do not need a race of cylones to destroy us as in Battlestar Galactica . We seem to be perfectly capable of nuking ourselves as every new daily breaking news twist of khalsa panth seems to show.Think , think , and think again!

I do not want to end this on a cliff hanger of negativity . I have not been very well recently and this has been a time of prayer and deep reflection about khalsa panth and its survival and direction. As the latest X-FACTOR Joe Elderry's winning song The Climb says, there will be always be another mountain to climb , there will be failures along the way but we got to keep the faith and strive along. Somehow , something in me tells me, we can be what we were supposed to be, we can go where we were supposed to go. What we are today tells nothing of what we could be. But we will need to live and let die . Somethings gotta go, tough choices have to be made. We need to stop living in the past, we need to look to a future perhaps thats going to be quite remote from our past . Guru Hargobind made that choice and we survived . Guru Gobind Singh made that choice and we survived. Today we have to make the choice. Choices involving tearing yourself from your past are never easy , but the prize as a reward is too irrestible.

Glory to Khalsa Panth , this series shall continue ............

These issuses u raised r may be true but u have missed out most important points and shows outward concept of sikhi not the deep meaning of sikhi first u say in ur post every one should be carbon copy of GURU GOBIND SINGH JI which is impossible even Great singhs like Taru Singh, Mani Singh ji, mati dass ji regarded themselves as humble servants of guru how can u imagine every one to be carbon copy. It is true ego among socalled sikh scholars has led to controversies these r paid agents of anti sikh forces. Noormehalias r worst enemies of sikhi. U talk about the language Gurmukhi not the punjabi is language of GURUS UNIQUENESS OF GURBANI IS THAT IF A PERSONS WITHOUT THE KNOWLDGE OF GURMUKHI LISTENS TO GURU BANI WITH TRUE HEART HE CAN UNDERSTAND IT AND PUTS HIS SOUL ON TO IT.U CAN ASK SINGHS LIKE AMERICAN sikhs, DID THEY KNEW GURMUKHI answer is no they became singhs with just listening on many occasions the Guru shabad Guru NANAK used gurmukhi and people understood it . This is the mystery of Guru Shabad if u even listen it u can experience divine pleasure u talk about rituals there r no rituals but displine. Akal Takaht is no institution but the Supreme governing body of sikhs

[BhForce]

We are very proud when some white person becomes a sikh but we immediately become defensive and withdrawn , when the same person tries to interpret and practise Sikhism within the context of their own culture and we dont call them 'sikh'

When someone views Sikhi as simply a vehicle to implement some eco-feminist agenda, Sikhs object.

Sikhs also object when people preach astrology and horoscope reading, worship of Baba Sri Chand, and so forth as a part of Sikhi.

we call them gore sikh, as if our eyes cannot be lifted off even for a moment from the colour of their skin towards the light of Gurujee within.

I agree that mere skin colour should not be a basis for any kind of discrimination.

Even on websites like these, three quarters of the time we argue in the name of Sikhism, but what is spewing out of us is nothing but a punjabee not Sikh way to talking to each other

I agree that Sikhsangat can get rowdy at times. We should try to say whatever we want to say without getting nasty. See also this thread: Egotistical Sikhs .

[BhForce]

That’s the Sikhism I fell in love with, the one where everyone was a carpon copy of Guru Gobind Singh

You say this, and yet the idea that every Sikh should be a copy of his Guru, expressed in these lines:

ਗੁਰੂ ਸਿਖੁ ਸਿਖੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਹੈ ਏਕੋ ਗੁਰ ਉਪਦੇਸੁ ਚਲਾਏ ॥

The Guru's Sikh, and the Sikh's Guru, are one and the same; both spread the Guru's Teachings.

p444 http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=444&english=t&id=20245#l20245

ਖਾਲਸਾ ਮੇਰੋ ਰੂਪ ਹੈ ਖਾਸ। ਖਾਲਸਾ ਮਹਿ ਹਉ ਕਰਉ ਨਿਵਾਸ।

ਪ੍ਰਭ ਮਹਿ ਮੋਹ ਮਹਿ ਤਾਸ ਮਹਿ ਰੰਚਕ ਨਾਹਨਿ ਭੇਵ।

These are the basis for the fundamentalism displayed by the Nihangs and the AKJs.

Yet, I doubt you would see that as favourable, given your other statements.

[BhForce]

The purpose of baisakhi was not to create cylone type non thinking robots programmed to wake up, recite , think, speak, act, be opiniated in one exactly similar style.

Yet, that's exactly what Gurbani asks us to become.

Robots, copies, whatever.

Gurbani uses the word slave.

ਮੈ ਬੰਦਾ ਬੈ ਖਰੀਦੁ ਸਚੁ ਸਾਹਿਬੁ ਮੇਰਾ ॥

I am Your purchased slave, O True Lord Master.

ਜੀਉ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਸਭੁ ਤਿਸ ਦਾ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਹੈ ਤੇਰਾ ॥੧॥

My soul and body, and all of this, everything is Yours. ||1||

p396 http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=396&punjabi=t&id=18260#l18260

Sikhi is a personal covenant in which one hands over the control over one's mind in exchange for the Word (the Gurmantar):

ਮੁਲ ਖਰੀਦੀ ਲਾਲਾ ਗੋਲਾ ਮੇਰਾ ਨਾਉ ਸਭਾਗਾ ॥

I am Your slave, Your bonded servant, and so I am called fortunate.

ਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਬਚਨੀ ਹਾਟਿ ਬਿਕਾਨਾ ਜਿਤੁ ਲਾਇਆ ਤਿਤੁ ਲਾਗਾ ॥੧॥

I sold myself at Your store in exchange for the Guru's Word; whatever You link me to, to that I am linked. ||1||

p 991 http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=KeertanPage&K=991&L=1&Lang=1&I=8817

You say that we don't need to speak and have similar opinions, but according to Gurbani, a true Sikh speaks only in accordance with the Guru, not himself:

ਹਉ ਆਪਹੁ ਬੋਲਿ ਨ ਜਾਣਦਾ ਮੈ ਕਹਿਆ ਸਭੁ ਹੁਕਮਾਉ ਜੀਉ ॥

By myself, I do not even know how to speak; I speak all that the Lord commands.

p 763 http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=763&english=t&id=32745

Abandon the mind's thinking and forget other loves:

ਤਿਆਗੇਂ ਮਨ ਕੀ ਮਤੜੀ ਵਿਸਾਰੇਂ ਦੂਜਾ ਭਾਉ ਜੀਉ ॥

Ibid.

[BhForce]

frightened to bring about a single change in anything to do with Sikhism.

The work of the Perfect One is perfect

ਪੂਰੇ ਕਾ ਕੀਆ ਸਭ ਕਿਛੁ ਪੂਰਾ ਘਟਿ ਵਧਿ ਕਿਛੁ ਨਾਹੀ ॥

http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=1412&punjabi=t&id=59953

There's no need to change it.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Sikhi is fine. We just need to preach the Sikhi we currently have.

We fight over our religious texts , our daily prayers, our dressing, our habits, our rituals and boy, don’t we fight like there’s no tomorrow. All you need to do is say one thing, think one thing, do one thing, that’s not religously correct to the other person and you are in deeep trouble with everyone.

I agree that there's room for minor differences in maryada. Nihangs, taksalis, sant followers, AKJs, SGPCs and other should be able to sit down in one place.

Let that not be an excuse to wholesale change our traditions.

Choices involving tearing yourself from your past are never easy , but the prize as a reward is too irrestible.

What about the choice to conserve the past? That's hard too, and it also has a big prize.

Guru Hargobind made that choice and we survived . Guru Gobind Singh made that choice and we survived. Today we have to make the choice.

No, we don't.

First, Guru is Guru, and we are Sikh. Guru has the right to do anything, and it was pre-planned anyway. We have only the right to follow.

The only possibility would be those panches who are totally absorbed into Guru and God making such changes. But the problem is such absorbed souls are the total slaves of the Guru, and they don't doubt for a second the Guru's maryada and traditions.

[raj_karega_khalsa]

This post was definitely needed and will hopefully be a wake up call for a lot of people. Lots to think about!

[humkire]

BHForce veerjee,

I think you worry too much. Gurbanee says ''chinta chadh , achinth rhoh''. Mehtab singh and anyone else who administers this forum very well know my sincere intentions to ONLY ever wanna write anything that will benefit the panth , and that this aint about playing traitor but about playing DIEHARD PATRIOT!! thank you very much for your humble concern but it aint needed , and i say this in humbleness and love!

Thank you for the time you have taken to read and reply bit by bit. However, you needed to stand a bit further back and see the entirety of what i'm saying, and questioned yourself whether this essay was an attack on anything near and dear to Sikhism that elicited an immediate counter strike!!!!! My post does NOT equate itself to a criticism of Sikhism, its expression , or its institutions. Neither does it postulate a futuristic western orientated vision of Sikhism. If you painstakingly care to go through any post i have ever posted on this forum, i have made it absolutely clear that i envisage Sikhism as God's ultimate answer to the sufferings of mankind, whether or not anyone agrees with me. Sikhism is a heavenly gift unequalled and unparalled to lead mankind to a golden future, hence we sing RAJ KAREGA KHALSA.

However, to reach that ideal, this aint no time to go around trying to defend some either liberal or conservative view of Sikhism. You know what, i have spend enough time trying to be the nice guy around the block trying to appease everyone . I see Sikhism as revolution , as a divine force, as beyond race , religion and colour , beyond culture and language. I am sick and tired of people treating Sikhism as something that belongs in their pocket . I tell you what , i really dont care anymore , my death might be near , and thus my gloves are off , they really are! i have been on earth for 5 long decades, i have sang , preached , talked , argued , and i have seen with my eyes how we who claim to be sikhs have just screwed up ourselves . Look around you , stop trying to defend the status quo . Wake up! We only go forward wen we have a reality check of what we are up to , where we are , and where we need to be.

You can go line by line trying to use your western derived intellect to try to tear down anything and everything i have said . It does not bother me . I am not here to play intellectual mind games about philosophies , about sexism , or racism or feminism or democracy and what they mean or dont mean . What bothers me is that we all see a panth that is very disorganised , disunited , and an increasing amount of intra conflict , an inward looking tendency focussing on trying to hold on to dear life, instead of extending LIFE that Sikhism offers to save humanity. What bothers me is a clergy disunited , aligned to different factions and stubborn to innovate, to improve , to understand ,encompass and thrust forward the ideals of Guru Gobind Singh to reach a suffering humanity . What bothers me and perhaps you for all your defensiveness is the squabbling ,infighting and political mindedness of our leaders , where they needed to stand side by side , hand in hand in single focussness towards a common goal, good for the panth and good for the world.

You have misunderstood me totally that the past is to be buried , to be replaced , or to be erased . The past is there to help us measure our present , and to be an inspiration as to what can be achieved beyond believe in the future! I thought you would have intelligently sussed that out, if you had read carefully with anakh in between my lines! But the God of Sikhism is a God of unpredictibality who is NEW everyday as Gurbanee says , and Sikhism can be a new awakening , refreshing , exciting , energising , experience EVERY DAY! and for every generation that passes , only if we choose it to be! Now dear bro that was what i meant, had you been sharp instead of playing goal keeper. You dont just save to win , u gotta lose to win . Look back at our history .

Every generation has had to cleanse Sikhism of forces out to dilute the core and essence of Sikhism . For that process to happen , we need a continued honest appraisal and evaluation of where we are , and where we need to be , what to improve , what to do away with , where we see a dead end , and where we see newshoots of new oppurtunities. This requires not an attitude of defensiveness and a fear of letting go , but the braveness of lion power which the khalsa is. Gurbanee says 'pacheh pao na kijieh , aageh hoe so hoe'' . we need a 'lemi nadar' not short sightedness , which will deny us beholding the glory of the future vision of khalsa panth .

And dont you dare lift even a single finger of yours and accuse me of questioning the importance of our historical gurudwaras , of akal takt , of any of our scriptures or of gurmukhi and anything else that constitutes the inerasable centre core of Sikhism as you seem to have implied by your scant surface analysis or interpretation of what i have written. Read again! I am saying THATS our heritage but do not be all complacent just because you have a golden heritage . You have gurudwaras all over the punjab . great! now look after them BUT aim to increase what THE FATHER planted . gurbanee says ''vdee vel boh piri chaleh''. You have the dying ones in punjab ., fine! look after them , but equally reach to all those people out there who NEED sikhism . You have 70 year guys loving arranging flowers before an altar. fine! get the women involved 100% in the golden temple . you have the akal takht . fine! now get rid of those who are desecrating the mighty importance and sanctity of this great institution . you have people proclaiming themselves as saints. fine! now tell every sikh that EVERY sikh is meant to be a sant sipahee!, dont be content with just a small bunch of themselves calling themselves that! . you say sikhism aint no democracy . fine! but indeed we have the institution of the 5 piaras ! lets strengthen that! and treat each other equals in a spirit of humbleness!! . Now my dear had you stood back and read carefully what i wrote , you would have immediately have recognised that THIS is what i was trying to say. You say we are meant to be robots . fine! be one! but each and every sikh is special and unique to Gurujee , like different pearls put together in a priceless necklace. Each of us are given our individual duties , responsibilities and callings and gifts and fruits . All our unique beauties pooled together creates the GRAND SPLENDER and BEAUTITUDE of Sikhism!

This world as kabir says is a 'khet' , and every sikh is a soorma , EVERY sikh HAS , GOT , to be. Thats what im screaming about my dear. and the battlecry and drum of EVERY sikh has to resound in the skies-gagan demama bajeo!. Cummon , lets cut out the crap out of our fears , our inconfidence and lets reach THAT which is beyond reach . All a sikh cares about is the chardikela of the panth but that aint gonna come through complacency , through a looking back mindset , through a mindset apprehensive of things new , THATS going come about by being visionary , by being brave , by changing our skin , our tactics , our methodology , and anything else that matters .

Anyway my battleship series shall continue so prepare your missiles for further attacks hahaaaaaaa .

Anything and everything i have to say to you or to anyone no matter how harsh i seem is always said in a spirit of Gursikhi love deeper than that between mortals . i do not boast , but if it was required i would offer my life and all for your sake as my dearest and darling khalsa brother/sister before my eye could wink or twinkle .

[ladli-fauj]

true bro this is kalyug. We Sikhs are always fighting with each and never find our selves sticking with each other, we always find differences in oursleves and start fighting with each other. A great example is in the 1980's. Even Sikh Militants were fighting and shooting at each other, Sikhs were snitching on us other Sikhs. We never get knowhere.

[BhForce]

I want to say you have an eloquent writing style and you have obviously thought a lot about the issues. I hope that all those reading with such gifts will use them glorify the tradition of the Satguru instead of tearing it down in favour of a Marxist Shangri-la.

Prof. Puran Singh was also a great intellectual. He came back to the Sikh tradition, and in the end acknowledged the smallness of his intellect and the greatness of the Gurus.