Castes Within Sikhi

[khusbia]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Dear SikhSangat I have been thinking of Castes within Sikhi for a while and would like your opinion on this subject.

Although we are taught that Sikhi has no castes within it and all are equal in front of WaheGuru.Why then as many of us do , convince ourselves that we each belong to a better Caste than the other.The Castes in question are Jatt and Bhatt.

As we all know there are many Sikh Forums on the net and if one broweses through them one will see that there is so much bad mouthing and hatred going on in the name of theese castes.Why?

[Akaal Purakh Di Fauj]

WJKK WJKF

Do a search this topic has been discussed many times.

WJKK WJKF

[S1ngh]

khusbia.. I see two categories

Religious : If person call himself/herself religious or trying to lead spiritual life then they should follow the hukam of guru sahib jee to delete caste thingy from their mind. If guru jee do bless them with sikhi a lot, then they naturally will know these caste things are fake

Not Religious : Majority falls in this category and i see no problem of them following caste system. As they are not following the bani of guru sahib jee.. so i guess believing in caste is fine with them.

[Guest Sony]

Fateh,

there are some people who are ok with having their son marry out of caste but not their daughters the reason is not cus they believe in the caste system, but they are afraid that others still do. They will be able to accept their daughter-inlaw and treat her as equal no matter what caste but her inlaws may not. (becomes harder if its not an arranged marriage). sometimes its a cycle that just keeps going.....

pul chuk maaf

Fateh

[Jaspaul Singh]

... i hate this caste thing ...

.... Sometimes .. no wait all the time.. when your telling others that SIKHI doesnt believe in caste.. and at the same time some sikhs do believe.... you feel really embarrased... and some gorai even asked me ... why is it that you guys dont believe in caste and yet majority of you believe in it .... :cool: @

...... even my parents are strong believers in it ....... we need to wake up ..... :umm:

[DhadiMania]

Do a search this topic has been discussed many times.

regardless, its a question that has to be asked many times because it is what makes us so backward.

Dear SikhSangat I have been thinking of Castes within Sikhi for a while and would like your opinion on this subject.

well my opinion, we have to look at the history of caste.

originally, hinduism was the way, it was a sucha dharam where everyone would concenrate on brahman, even the granths of the hindu dharam mention this (source the upanishaads, minu patha, because i have read it, and its full of old sakhis!).

the hindu dharam was originally set up in the indus vally (pakistan punjab), also where the aryans first came across an indian civilisation and eventually conquered them. the tribes had eventually set out who was going to do what, example the people of this area seem to have good land, pity they are too thick not to plough the land, we will classify them as jatts and teach them how to plough.

and it went on, people were sent to all over india to work. the aryans considered the brahmins highest because they gave gyaan out etc. and then caste came from there.

as for rituals, the aryan cheiftans married the hindu girls, and brought with them the rituals we see today.

so all this caste, actually came from the aryans! and then people would compare the catse with one another and say "i am better than you because i serve my king this way!" and another would say the same.

caste has been passed on from generation to generation, but the reason for calling each other better than each other was simply the fact we thought we served our king better than another person.

As we all know there are many Sikh Forums on the net and if one broweses through them one will see that there is so much bad mouthing and hatred going on in the name of theese castes.

classic examples, i remember a few years back ikonkar.com used to have such bashings, and swearing and then it took off with people dissing each others religions etc etc etc.

Why?

because they are sad and deprived people.

gustaphi maaf

[Baldeep Singh]

Vaheguroooo Ji Ka Khalsaaaah, Vaheguroooo Ji Ka Fateeeeeh!

Here I quote from a smaller if significant book by

Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha titled `We are not Hindus', to support what has been said in the Editorial. Says Bhai Kahn Singh:

"Dear Member of the Khalsa: You may be surprised when you read what I have

written. You will ask why there should be any need of such a work as We are not

Hindus when it is perfectly obvious that the Khalsa is indeed distinct from Hindu

society. Or you may want to know why, if such a work is to be written, there

should not be books which show that we are not Muslims or Christians or

Buddhists. In answering these questions let me acknowledge that such work is

certainly not needed by those who already believe implicitly in the Gurus, who live

in accordance with their teachings, and possess a sound understanding of the

principles of the Khalsa tradition. This book has not been written for their benefit.

It has been produced for the benefit of those brethren to whom the following

historical parable applies. The tale, briefly, is as follows.

"Guru Gobind Singh once clothed a donkey with lionskin and set it loose in the

scrubland. Men as well as cattle thought it was a lion and were so frightened of it

that none dared approach it. Released from the misery of carrying burdens and

free to graze fields to it's heart's content, the donkey grew plump and strong. It

spent its days happily roaming the area around Anandpur. One day, however, it

was attracted by the braying of a mare from its old stable. The donkey cantered

to the house of the potter who owned it and stood outside the stable. There it

was recognized by the potter who removed the lionskin, replaced its pannier-bags,

and once again began whipping it to make it work as beast of burden".

"The Guru used this parable to teach his Sikhs an important lesson. `My dear

sons and daughters,' he said, `I have not involved you in a mere pantomime, as in the case of this donkey. I have freed you wholly and completely, from the bondage of caste.

You have become my sons and daughters and Sahib Kaur has become your mother. Do not follow the foolish example of the donkey and return to your old caste allegiance. If forgetting my words and abandoning the sacred faith of the Khalsa, you return to your various castes your fate will be that of the donkey. Your courage will desert you and you will have lived your lives in vain.

"Many of our brethren are in fact neglecting this aspect of the Guru's teaching.

Although they regard themselves as Sikhs of the Khalsa they accept the Hindu

tradition. They imagine that it is actually harmful to observe the teachings of

Gurbani by acknowledging that the Sikh religion is distinct from the Hindu religion.

The reason for this is that they have neither read their own scriptures with care

nor studied the historical past. Instead they have spent their time browsing

through propagandist material and listening to the deceitful words of the self-

seeking. The tragedy is that these brethren are falling away from the Khalsa.

They forget the benefits which the Almighty Father has bestowed on them - how

he has exalted the lowly, raised paupers to be kings, turned jackals into lions and

sparrows into hawks. Seduced by those who oppose the Guru's teachings, they

are ensnared by deceit and thereby forfeit the chance of deliverance which this

human existence confers.

"The book is restricted to the difference between Hindu tradition and the Khalsa

because our brethren are already aware that they do not belong to other

religions. This much they know, yet they mistakenly regard the Khalsa as a Hindu

sect. I am confident that my erring brethren will return to their own tradition when

they read this book. Realising that they are indeed the children of Guru Nanak and

of all ten Gurus they will stand forth as members of the Khalsa, firmly convinced

that we are not Hindus.

Having thus pressed its vigorous claims to a separate Sikh identity the book

concludes on an ironic note.

Our country will flourish when people of all religions are loyal to their own

traditions yet willing to accept other Indians as members of the same family, when

they recognize that harming one means harming the nation, and when religious

differences are no longer an occasion for discord. Let us practise our religion in the

harmonious spirit of Guru Nanak, for thus we shall ensure that mutual envy and

hatred do not spread.

"Beloved brothers in the Panth of Guru Nanak, I am fully persuaded that having

read the discussion recorded above you will recognize your separate identity as

the Sikh community and that you will know beyond all doubt that we are not

Hindus. At the same time you will grow in affection with all your fellow

countrymen, recognizing all who inhabit this country of India as one with yourself."

(Translated from original in Punjabi)

Bhai Kahn Singh was a remarkable personality, a many-splendoured individual and

a revolutionary in his time, particularly in the social sphere. He was a Jat Sikh

(Dhillon) with a very distinguished lineage. He set an example as early as in 1914

by marrying his son - his only child to a non-Jat Sikh lady who later shone with

literary achievements in her own right; I refer to the Punjabi poetess Harnam Kaur

(1898-1976). His son, Bhai Bhagwant Singh Hari Ji (1892-1968) was also a

distinguished author who shed all caste barriers both in belief and practice. I have

had the privilege to meet them all.

I have designedly used a nautical term in the title of this article, for when a ship

goes astern, it either does so for a tactical manoeuvre to obtain an advantage

later, or when in retreat. I starkly fear that we are in retreat - especially in the

social sphere. Regrettably, our children, youth and even adults are increasingly

unaware of the Khalsa traditions and we appear toward a drift to accept and

participate in this retreat. The question is : being the children of the great Gurus

who shed their last drop of blood-unequalled in the annals of any history - to

fortify us with a strong moral fibre and a casteless society, we no longer remain

what they wished us to be. And what could be a better occasion than Vaisakhi to

take a pledge to shed caste and clan which is totally alien to the Sikh ideal.

Today majority of the punjabi culture have shed their lionskin and become mere donkeys believing in hypocracy and living in duality. These donkeys go around roaring like lions saying "I am a Sikh, I am a Sikh" in all eventuality they have limited knowledge.

"Hypocracy is not devotion speaking, Duality only leads to misery"- Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Amar Das Sahibji [Nanak III]

[Jaspaul Singh]

Wahegurooo .... wow .... :umm: