Destruction Of Sikhi By The Uk Youth

[bhai sahib ji]

Vaheguroo Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguroo Ji Ki Fateh

I have been logging on and reading numerous posts on Sikh Sangat for a couple of years now. I appricate that numerous people would advocate the wonderful networking platform that this site provides and the number of members, posts and viewings are demonstration of the sites success.

My reason for posting though is to highlight a worrying trend I have come across in the mindset of the 21st Century Sikh youth, which is advocated and supported via this forum. It may be me just getting old but I don’t think so since I am still only 33!!!!

There appears to be at present a significant acceptance of numerous ‘lifestyle’ choices for Amritdhari Sikhs which where not long ago considered inappropriate. I want to highlight some of these areas. I am not looking to begin yet another debate on these areas since as we would all agree they have been debated to death, but I am very confused as to how over the last 3-5 years these actions are accepted as the norm and considered appropriate for Amritdhari Sikhs. Like myself many of the elders are very confused, but from ‘having their fingers burnt’ after trying to explain the foolishness of the actions to some individuals, who they cared about, they have now decided to remain quite and concentrate on their own jeevaan and assist those who seek their support.

The main areas I am referring to are:

Removal of hair by Bibia

To date I am not aware of any Jathabandi which condones the removal of any hair after an individual has taken amrit. I appricate that the renowned scholar Nidaar Singh Nihang has stated on his website that kesh are only referred to as the hair on your head i.e. above your eyebrows the rest is raum and as such it is not a kuraet to remove them. However all of the Bhuddha Dal Guteka state at the front in their rehatnamae that amritdhari Sikhs should not remove their kesh or raum.

I appricate and acknowledge the social pressures which lead bibia to take the decision. However Guru Nanak has said:

guramukh rom rom har dhhiaavai ||

The Gurmukh meditates on the Lord with every hair of his body

Therefore I am at a loss to understand how it can be justified within Sikhi for an amritdhari bibi to go wearing her kirpan to a laser removal clinic. In my mind if one has given ones head to Guru Ji you belong to Guru Ji and you do what Guru Ji says. Guru Amar Das states:

man rae gur kee kaar kamaae ||

O mind, work to serve the Guru

Guru Nanak Dev Ji states:

bin gur karanee kiaa kaar kamaae ||

Without the Guru, what lifestyle could we practice, and what work could we do?

So my question is why are bibia and Singhs accepting of this practice and condoning it as being ok to do? Would we condone a Singh who chose to wax his chest or trim his beard? If not why not?

But at all times don’t forget that Guru Nanak Dev Ji states:

maal kai maanai roop kee sobhaa eith bidhhee janam gavaaeiaa ||1|| rehaao ||

You are wasting this life in the pride of wealth and the splendor of beauty. ||1||Pause||

and Guru Arjun Dev Ji staes;

raaj kapatta(n) roop kapatta(n) dhhan kapatta(n) kul garabatheh ||

Power is fraudulent, beauty is fraudulent, and wealth is fraudulent, as is pride of ancestry.

Relationships

It has also now become the norm for amritdharis to have a boyfriend/girlfriend. To some extent this could explain the need for bibia to undertake hair removal! At the moment this appears to be an endemic running throughout all of the youth. But why? At that same time these people are saying all is in Guru’s hukam and your partner in life is preordained. If that is the case what is the need to date and MSN etc etc? It shocks me that a lot of the lead youth parcharks are in relationships or trying to get into a relationship. I won’t name names but a so called chardikala kirtani sits on stages with a bibi who is known to be dating him. Another akaali nhiang is so full of kaam that he spends most of his time on MSN and travelling around flirting with girls.

Why the acceptance of this behaviour though. Is it really ok for amritdhari to date? On one hand we are praying to be saved from the five vices yet on the other we are indulging in the main and most destructive vice there is of kaam.

Dancing

It is staring to become common practice that it is ok to dance at weddings and parties. We have seen videos put up and taken off YouTube showing such activity. However Guru Nanak Dev Ji states;

nach nach hasehi chalehi sae roe ||

Those who dance and dance and laugh, shall weep on their ultimate departure

oudd n jaahee sidhh n hohi ||

They do not fly to the heavens, nor do they become Siddhas

nachan kudhan man kaa chaao ||

They dance and jump around on the urgings of their minds

naanak jinh man bho thinhaa man bhaao ||2||

O Nanak, those whose minds are filled with the Fear of God, have the love of God in their minds as well. ||2||

Are we forgetting that the reason Guru Gibind Singh Ji gave us Sikhi saroop was that so that His Sikh could be identified wherever he/she may be? If we truly believe that Guru Gobind Singh Ji is our father how can we go into a venue where there is alcohol and partake in dancing for the pleasure of our maan? Does this again go back to kaam so that you can attract a partner?

Justification of Actions

There are numerous other areas I could discuss but then this post will become too long. I do feel the above three are at present the three areas which are destroying our Sikh youth. However I am sure that the majority of you will not agree with me since as Guru Nanak Dev Ji states:

sabh ko pooraa aapae hovai ghatt n koee aakhai ||

Everyone calls himself perfect; none call themselves imperfect.

Everyone I have spoken to in relation to the undertaking the above activities justifies their actions by giving examples of other people who are doing much worse things i.e.

• I might have a boyfiend but we just talk about Sikhi there is nothing wrong with that since look at that big up taksali who does lectures and takes his 15 year old girlfiend to hotel rooms
  

• So what if I have laser treatment at least I still do my paat and do seva unlike all those people who do their paat when then feel like it
  

• I am not harming anyone when I dance and least I am not hiding what I am doing. What about those people who listen to music in their homes and watch porn in their house?
  

I however do fail to comprehend how by citing examples of individuals who are doing worse things than yourself can justify what you are doing as being right. The bottom line is what is wrong is wrong there are no grading of it and it does not become exempt if you can find another individual with a greater sinful action.

Then of course there is also the excuse that Sikhi is personal and in my mind there is nothing wrong with what I am doing. However Sikhi is not personal. Sikhi belongs to the Guru and Guru Ji has told us what it entails. Guru Nanak Dev Ji had already stated:

lab paap dhue raajaa mehathaa koorr hoaa sikadhaar ||

Greed and sin are the king and prime minister; falsehood is the treasurer.

kaam naeb sadh pushheeai behi behi karae beechaar ||

Sexual desire, the chief advisor, is summoned and consulted; they all sit together and contemplate their plans.

a(n)dhhee rayath giaan vihoonee bhaahi bharae muradhaar ||

Their subjects are blind, and without wisdom, they try to please the will of the dead.

Should we not be doing as Guru Ji says rather than doing what pleases us and then attempting to justify it? That was the Sikhi I grew up with, learning that we should:

• Follow Guru Sahibs teachings
  

• Do not do anything which will bring dishonor to your parents or to Guru Ji
  

• If you are unsure if you should do something, then you don’t do it
  

Since Guru Arjun Dev Ji clearly states:

kahu naanak jin hukam pashhaathaa ||

Says Nanak, one who realizes the Hukam of God's Will,

prabh saahib kaa thin bhaedh jaathaa ||5||9||

knows the secrets of his Lord and Master. ||5||9||

Failure of Sikhi Camps

In my mind this distortion of Sikhi has propagated since the establishment of Sikhi Camp, Khalsa Camp and Sikh Student Camp. I acknowledge that the sevadaars involved in all of these camps do so to propagate Sikhi. However if we look at the outcomes from these camps there is very little positive life changing impact that occurs. I made an effort to attend all three of these camps last summer and discovered that the majority of the parchar happens informally in the rooms and around the camp by people who advocate that there is nothing wrong to adopt the modern version of Sikhi of having relationships and partying. These individuals are destroying all of the positive parchar which happens in the formal environment of the camps. Particularly when upto 80% of attendees at this camps are amritdhari, I found that a large proportion of them walked away with a very different and liberal view of what was condoned in Sikhi. Not the reason I am sure parents sent their children to these camps. After the camps of course the main ‘informal parcharks’ keep in touch with the youth via msn and e-mail which the main organisers do not do. Mainly because they spend significant time organising the camp and making sure it runs smoothly they do not have time to create that personnel link with the campers that these ‘informal parcharks’ have the ability to do.

Yes I agree that since the camps the quantity aspect of Sikhi has increased but look at the quality aspect, it has decreased significantly and it pains me to see this happening. I worry for my children as the grow up and what will happen to them and what will this modern version of Sikhi look like in 15 years time?

What should be done?

This is the question I do not have an answer for. In my mind we are all forgetting that:

sa(n)jogee aaeiaa kirath kamaaeiaa karanee kaar karaaee ||

By the good fortune of good deeds done in the past, you have come, and now you perform actions to determine your future.

Doing nothing is not an option at the moment since we are loosing the essence of our Sikhi and it is happening at such an alarmingly fast rate that it is truly shocking. The majority however do not wish to do anything about it since they welcome the loop hole which has been created to partake in such activities. They love the fact that they can have laser hair removal and have a boyfriend (the reason the hair removal was done in all probability) and yet still call themselves an amritdhari Sikhs because they do more paat than the person who does not do any of these activities.

However if all we had to do was our paat why would Guru Sahib give us rehat and the Punj Kakkar? What was the need for these two core elements of our Sikhi?

All I can do is beg that the Sikh Youth of today wake up to their actions and what damage it is doing. I would also urge the youth parchark to reflect strongly upon their own actions.

The damage being done will take generations to resolve unless action is taken now. Activities being undertaken by the youth are also having detrimental effects within their families. With distance created with loved ones, who do not know what to do since their child seems to know better. If this continues the strong family network we have today will disappear and we will all look back and regret our actions.

Can I please urge you not to discuss if it is right or wrong to remove hair, dance or have a relationship since there are numerous threads on these issues. What I want to know is why are all of these activities considered ok when only 7-10 years ago they were not?

Forgive the long e-mail but as I hope you concur there was no other way to get these point across.

[THE WARRIOR]

You need a hobby

[Gurbar Akaal]

He has got one, viewing Sikhsangat and studying the actions of Sikh Youth.

[Akaali]

THE WARRIOR,

If you don't have something good to say its best not to say anything at all. Instead of trying to point out things that are wrong and in trying to rectify them you criticize the person who is doing this with good intentions next time think before you post.

[THE WARRIOR]

THE WARRIOR,

If you don't have something good to say its best not to say anything at all. Instead of trying to point out things that are wrong and in trying to rectify them you criticize the person who is doing this with good intentions next time think before you post.

Ye, sorry I forgot Judging people and distorting Bani to project a narrow mindset is totally “the moral crusade” and the cure people so long for.

Hitler also had good intentions.

[JustME]

Waheguru its about time someone actually sed exactly what nearly everyone is seeing going on all around them...................To the origional poster, i think you made some very valid points but at the same time its important to remember that not everyone is falling into these treands but u highlight a very worrying aspect about what was wrong 10yrs ago is suddenly being justifed in todays culture...............

But hey we can scream to at the top od our lungs about the state of todays youth and how rehit and sikhi takes a back seat for some but hey as long as we got "the look" this being Bana, massive Dumalleh, fancy shaster donned we are realy true gursikhs innit

Whatever is happening is waheguru's will............We are very shallow being indead if we think our private actions are indead private.....WAHEGURU knows and sees all.............and when this moral shell finally cracks................Dharam Raj will untimalty shine the mirror to Truth into our blackened sinful faces........................

Bhul Chuck Maafi

[Guest peacemaker]

I don't really care about what anyone else does because it just gives me a big headache. I especially can't stand a list of negative things.

[_anon_]

In my mind this distortion of Sikhi has propagated since the establishment of Sikhi Camp, Khalsa Camp and Sikh Student Camp. I acknowledge that the sevadaars involved in all of these camps do so to propagate Sikhi. However if we look at the outcomes from these camps there is very little positive life changing impact that occurs. I made an effort to attend all three of these camps last summer and discovered that the majority of the parchar happens informally in the rooms and around the camp by people who advocate that there is nothing wrong to adopt the modern version of Sikhi of having relationships and partying. These individuals are destroying all of the positive parchar which happens in the formal environment of the camps.

thats news to me and i was there.

[Akaali]

Good reply JustME bhainjee,

Ye, sorry I forgot Judging people and distorting Bani to project a narrow mindset is totally “the moral crusade” and the cure people so long for.

Hitler also had good intentions.

How has he distorted gurbaaNee? If you have such gyaan of gurbaaNee then share what you think those tuks mean? If they mean something else I will agree, people are so quick to point fingures instead of working towards a solution, the warrior, I don't mean to attack you or your views but this is the outlook that is digging a bigger hole for us.

Bhul chuk muaaf.

[Babbar Shere]

right on bahi sahib ji paji, good post bro.

the warrior paji, its that kind of thinking that is getting us nowhere.

why do we ignore the things that bahi sahib ji said?