Sir,
This is in reference to Sukhbir Singh’s letter published in WSN on 6-29-90 where he argues that Guru Nanak and Granth Sahib and quotations from Gurbani should not be used as a source of Sikh studies.
Guru Nanak created a revolution by giving us a new religious thesis, a new World view and new ethnics. All this embodied in the Guru Granth which forms the foundation of the Sikh Religion. Consequently, the veracity of every thought and deed has to be measured by Sikhism without knowledge of Guru Granth as of understanding Christianity without reference to the Bible or of Islam without knowing the Koran.
Historically, higher religious studies in Judaism, Christianity Islam or Hinduism started within the domain of the concerned community with firm roots in its religious scripture and traditions. The modern secular University is a multi-disciplinary structure, but it is rootless so far as human values are concerned. Hence, the phenomenon of men like Oberoi and McLeod who, whatever their pretensions have no understanding of Guru Granth. Hence, the problem of the existing chair at BC, and the futility of more chairs as suggested by Dr. Sukhbir Singh. It is the creation of a center of higher religious learning that along can solve the problem. A university chair can be a supplementary institution but it cannot be a substitute of a genuine center of Sikh studies. Community who pays the donation for chair must have some control in selection of person for the chair. Credentials of the person in selection must be verified and whether the person concerned is a believer or not. BC Chair is a good example for other new chairs. This Is very crucial at this juncture or Sikhs with serious political crisis in Punjab as apart from the paucity of authentic literature about Sikhism in West, another tendency has significantly appeared among post-Independence scholars of majority community in India that suggests Sikhism has no separate religious identity and that it is a part of Hindu complex of religions, Certainly work of Oberoi has developed contraction and irony in objectives of community and has hurt her feelings and perceptions, so serious consideration must be given to this issue, Sukhbir must commit to his judgment rather than using words may be. My article was based on reasons and revelations of Sikh Identity per Guru Granth and I do not know which line of it Sukhbir interprets as angry condemnation. Sukhbir should understand according to Ten Gurus and Guru Granth which is being destroyed.
I have no contempt for any chair or person. But we have to understand and analyze the situation and educate our people about that. The chair at BC has been created so that it presents an authentic image of the Sikh religion. As to the work of Dr. Oberoi, Dr. Dhillon has documented how Dr. Oberoi has used the art of suppression, distortion, misrepresentation and in academic conduct while representing the Sikh position. The primary problem today as emphasized by the Soviet Foreign Minister, is “the priority of common human values over class, group, or other interests.” We certainly have to be vigilant about the doings of Oberoi and others so. that we are not misled or do not get divorced from our fundamental source of human values, which give us strength, courage and direction and are well inscribed in Guru Granth.
Jasbir Singh Mann M.D. Anaheim CA
Article extracted from this publication >> July 13, 1990
