Jasbir Singh (Edmonton)
During the past seven years our minds have been constantly bombarded with messages intended to Create and strengthen a perception in the minds of most people that the Sikhs are an undesirable variety of home-sapiens who have no regard for people’s lives law and order or other niceties generally considered essential for orderly human existence in an organized society.
People have been led to believe that the Sikhs including the Canadian Sikhs are terrorists and incorrigibly bad individually as well as collectively.
Since there is no factual or documentary evidence to justify Canadian Sikhs being labeled as such it may be reasonable to assume that the suggestions and the stimulus for such slanderous labeling of an easily identifiable group of people were not indigenous but were cleverly planted by some outside interests and unwittingly picked up propagated and rendered credible by our highly respected media and political leaders of the time.
When people have come to hold such belief it is not easy to talk about Sikh beliefs ideology way of life and their sense of values which are totally opposed to the implications contained in slanderous propaganda? we have been hearing for the past seven years.
OF course it is possible that people no longer believe in or practice the fundamental teachings of their religion and culture However we need to establish if that is really the case.
Even the most distorted picture of the Sikhs presented to us shows them as religious God fearing traditional fanatic hanging-on to their old ways and values proud and even uncompromising. Does it appear to be a portrait of people who have abandoned faith in their religion culture or values? Absolutely not.
Let us proceed further and take a look at these values. Human values way of life and beliefs develop over a long period of time. Fortunately it takes equally a long time to change or transform these values.
In the case of the Sikhs the process of transformation began with Guru Nanak Saheb the first spiritual leader of the Sikhs. He saw the plight of the humanity and human exploitation under the guise of religion and chose to embark on a path of social spiritual and ideological reform. His initiative unleashed the most powerful human revolution seen in that part of the world in thousands of years.
His message was extremely simple and extremely effective. He said if you are a Hindu be a good Hindu and if you are a Muslim be a good Muslim’ He asked people to understand the difference between the rituals and the religion and urged them to pursue true religion which will show the way to God.
Guru Nanak’s message appealed to a lot of people who sought more of his guidance and light. These people with strong faith in God curious minds courage to be different and strong urge to forge ahead were the first Sikhs.
The Centre point of Guru Nanak’s philosophy is Truth. He advocated that all human activities and thought must be based on truth. One must always speak the truth and stand for the truth.
One may consider this to be the passive aspect of Guru Nanak’s advocacy. But he did not stop there. He urged his followers to have the courage to actively counter untruth it is not enough that one believes in and practices truthful living one must also be prepared to take a firm stand on a position of truth.
The other main ingredients required to complete the picture were Equality and Justice.
If one is truthful views others as equals is just in one’s conduct and has the courage to uphold these values even at personal cost and suffering then one comes close to being a Sikh.
In fifteenth century India it was not customary for mere mortals to stand up against the authority of the Mughal emperors. Guru Nanak did precisely that. Not for any personal gain but in the interest of justice and Human Rights. That is exactly what is expected of every Sikh.
Guru Nanak rebelled against the institutionalized denial of learning and knowledge. He viewed it as totally unjust and inexcusable exploitation of fellow humans. He sought to liberate the enslaved human spirit by lighting a candle of learning knowledge and wisdom to clear the fog of ignorance.
It was an act of unparalleled significance in support of fundamental Human Rights.
The Second Guru of the Sikhs Guru Angad Saheb struck a massive blow to the barriers of ignorance facing large segments of the society by introducing Gurmukhi script and putting a powerful tool for learning at the disposal of millions of people who had been denied all avenues for acquiring knowledge for thousands of years.
It was a revolutionary step towards restoration of esteem dignity confidence and fundamental Human Rights for the people.
While people recognize the religious historical and architectural significance of Sri Harmandir Saheb The Golden Temple the underlying concepts are not as well known.
Until the advent of Sikhism large masses of people were not only denied opportunities for learning they were also not permitted access to places of worship.
The design of Sri Harmandir Sahib with four entrances along the four cardinal directions was to welcome the people from the four classes of the traditionally divided society and from the four corners of the world to freely participate in prayers learning and worship of Almighty God.
This was a strong and significant affirmation of the fundamental principle of equality justice and goodwill.
Guru Arjan Sahib the Fifth Guru of the Sikhs was asked by the ruling Mughal Emperor Jehangir to stop the process of reformation and let the traditional practices prevail. The Guru reiterated his faith in the Sikh principles and chooses to make the supreme sacrifice instead of compromising the principles of justice and Human Rights.
The Sixth Guru of the Sikhs Guru Hargobind Sahib called upon his followers to become even stronger activists in pursuit of justice equality and individual rights. He himself wore two Kirpans one symbolic of the strength of his belief in nights principles and ideology and the other symbolic of his resolve to defend these rights and principles against oppression tyranny and injustice. He called upon his followers the Sikhs to adopt more effective organizational patterns and equip themselves with means to defend peoples’ rights from being eroded by the tyrannical and oppressive rulers.
There should be clearly understood that this did not represent any change in ideology or philosophy of Sikhism It just added another dimension to Sikh Gurus campaign to restore human rights dignities justice and self-esteem for the masses. Had a need arisen earlier any of the earlier Gurus would have taken similar appropriate steps.
The martyrdom of the Ninth Sikh Guru Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib represents a very significant mile stone in the History of Sikhism and the entire Indian subcontinent. Persecuted by the tyrannical agents of the Mughal Empire some representatives of the Kashmiri Brahmins approached the Sikh Guru and sought his help in protection of their religious and human rights. It needs to be noted here that these Brahmins were not Sikhs they were not the Guru’s disciples or the subjects of the Guru’s state. The Guru could have served them some sermons or political platitudes and sent them home. It would have been very convenient and expedient. But it would have also been abdication of responsibility and a betrayal of the principles
The point to be noted here is that the Sikh Gurus were not pursuing a self-aggrandizing campaign: by soliciting ever increasing number of devotee’s followers or disciples. They were working towards much higher objectives of providing a fundamentally different set of values based upon truth equality and justice these values were not intended for the Guru’s disciples along these were meant for everyone. The Sikhs were in the meantime being prepared for the responsibility of upholding these values upholding human rights standing for the truth and standing against injustice manipulation tyranny and oppression.
Guru Teg Bahadur realized the gravity of the situation and also the burden of responsibility. He sent the Brahmin representatives back to their villages with a message for the Mughal Emperor’s administrators and prepared himself for the supreme sacrifice which followed a few days later in Mughal India’s capital Delhi.
Very rarely have people laid down their lives defending the rights interests and liberties of others Guru Teg Bahadur stands out as a glowing excepting in the history of our world.
Guru Gobind Singh the Tenth Master of the Sikh’s carried this revolutionary activism in pursuit of human rights liberties and justice to new heights.
I regret that time limitations do not allow me to mention more than a few of the most significant developments taking place during Guru Gobind Singh’s leadership.
He organized the Sikh followers into a strong brotherhood called Khalsa. The first five Sikhs chosen for the honour of establishing the new Sikh order came from humble backgrounds traditionally ostracized in the predominantly Hindu society.
After this initiation to Khalsa Panth the new Sikh order he demonstrated his unshakable and uncompromising belief in equality and mutual respect by asking those first five members of Khalsa to accept him the Guru in the new order by initiating him in to Khalsa Panth.
This is one of the most outstanding examples of a leader abandoning the traditional elitist position and becoming one of the team.
Could there be a more effective way of expressing strong commitment and faith in the fundamental principle of Equality?
After two hundred years of continuous rigorous and broad se training character building preparation the Guru felt that the time was right for establishment of Khalsa Panth.
When the Guru commanded the Khalsa to view Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru which will always show light and way out of dilemma and difficulty He was again reinforcing the founding Principles of Sikhism… Guru Nanak sought to provide free access to learning and knowledge to the millions of people denied such freedoms Guru Gobind Singh commanded that the Sikhs seek leadership and light through knowledge and wisdom contained in the teachings and saying of the Sikh Gurus and other learned saints and holy men.
In conclusion a simple observation by Guru Nanak that large masses of humanity were being enslaved exploited and denied their basic fundamental human nights by a ruling elite supported by the clergy triggered an appropriate and effective response in the form of a reformation movement led by Guru Nanak This movement was reinforced and nurtured by ten successive Gurus of the Sikhs over a period of two hundred years. The Sikh Gurus and their followers faced extreme opposition from the state and the established interests of the clergy and embraced martyrdom to preserve and promote the values and principles of Sikh spirituality and ideology.
Sikhism started in the form of the quiet revolution. Although the focus of attention has changed from time to time the revolutionary zeal and enthusiasm has remained unabated. Today the Sikhs are facing a threat to their very existence as a cultural social and religious entity and brotherhood. While the Sikh youth in the Punjab are caught in a battle for their survival and are holding their ground admirably well we the Sikhs in the Western democratic nations insulated against direct military threats but more susceptible to psychological warfare unleashed by the enemies of Sikhism have a historical role and responsibility. We all need to find and understand our roots in a physical as well as intellectual cultural and religious sense. Our Gurus taught us to stand for and if need be fight for the rights and interests of any one Oppressed and persecuted. Today our Gurus and our martyrs beckon us to realize our historic responsibilities and stand up for our rights and our very existence.
Let us just ask ourselves how our Gurus would have responded to the situation facing the Sikhs today and then just try to follow our own conscience. I don’t believe our Gurus would have opted to sink deeper in an imaginary security blanket and done nothing. T don’t believe they would have been dissuaded from taking effective action by their families [don’t believe they would have subscribed to the enemy’s propaganda and discredited the martyrs and the freedom fighters It isn’t easy being a Sikh but nobody said it was Jasbir Singh.
Vice President (Alberta) WSO (Canada)
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