Sajjan S. Bajwa, Ph.D., Porterville, CA
Guru Nanak Dev Ji started Sikhism because the religions of that time were becoming and more complex to practice. The writers and speakers after the Sikh Gurus have brought in several rituals from other religions making Sikhism hard to follow. For example, Amrit Parchar is conducted in several Gurdwaras. However, our gran this and Sikh preachers, instead of convincing people to take the Amrit, they frighten people by saying that if you cannot adhere to Amrit, then don’t take it. Or, they say that it is difficult to be a Sikh or that it is difficult to keep Amrit we all, some people say that it is a sin to break Amrit which is quite wrong. Should we continue to frighten people, we will not see too many Sikhs with turbans in the next few years. The management of Gurdwaras must inform such preachers that they should appreciate people who are Amrit dhar is, encourage and convince others to take Amrit, as well as answer their questions to their satisfaction. In addition, the management should inform preachers to let public know that they can re take Amrit whenever they do something wrong by following the method of Tankhahiya. The simplicity of Sikhism is described in this paragraph. Guru Nanak and other Gurus preached for three principles recitation of God’s name (Nam Japna), honest earnings (Dharm Di Kirt), and sharing with others (Vand ke chhakna), Guru Gobind Singh Ji added the fourth principle of protecting yourself (Teg Fateh). Toenforce the last principle, he started Amrit Parchar, including the five Rahits (do’s) and the four Kurahits (don’ts). The four don’ts include: not to cut hair from body, not to en gage in sexual activity with another person’s spouse, not to use tobacco, and not to eat meat which has been killed by Muslim rites. Anyone who commits one or more of these four acts (Kurahits) is called Tankhahiya. Such person must explain the reason for his wrong doing, accept the advice of the Panj Payaras, and retake Amrit.
The Procedure of Tankhahiya was followed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh when he broke one of the Kurahits. The rule of Tankhahiya is applicable only to the four Kurahits and not to any other Sikhism principles. An Amritdhari who did not follow any other principles by mistake, or due to any other hardship does not have to re take Amrit and he is still a Khalsa as he was before. Re taking of Amrit is only for breaking Kurahits. For ex ample, if anyone has forgotten his/her kanga or kasha at home in a hurry, while rushing to school, does not mean that he/ she is no longer a Sikh. He/she is still a Sikh and such a person is to be encouraged and congratulated, because he/she at least remembers it. Such are the basic principles of Sikhism and they show that Sikhism can be followed easily. Sikh gurus were very reason able and they did not believe in minor stuff, rituals and practices. Actually, they were good to let people know about forgiveness by the grace of God (Bhul Bakhshinth Guru). We Sikhs should take advantage of the simplicity of our religion and should not allow unnecessary and unclear practices to creep in. We should keep Sikhism as simple as possible so that other people can adopt and follow it. Four Sikhism principles are so simple that if we were to apply them to our five to ten year old sons/daughters, they would already be following them by the time they are teenagers. Hence, there would be no problem for them to take Amrit. Sikh preachers in Gurdwaras should tell about these four Sikh principles and the method of Tankhahiya all year around, so that when the right time comes, people can take and retake Amrit respect fully.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 11, 1996
