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By Karminder Singh Dhillon | OPINION |
In my writings, one will not find any article or video addressed specifically to Sikh youth. I have two reasons for that.
The first is that the Y and Z generation youth of today demand a level of truth, directness and honesty that someone of my X generation cannot handle, let alone propagate.
Second, the very reason Sikhs of my generation are so lost, confused and muddled is because we were denied the truths of Sikhi when we ourselves were in our youth. Those who held the responsibility of passing on the truths and realities of Sikhi presented us with shades of truths mixed with untruths. They glossed over the difficult issues and swept the contentious ones under the carpet. All in the interest of keeping the pretentious peace and maintaining the status quo.
Our parent’s generation pussy-footed around the truths of Sikhi in the belief that we, the youth of that era – were incapable of handling the truth. The outcome was that, for my generation at least, the truths were distorted and twisted until everyone of us ended up with our own warped versions. The sort of truths that the ostrich holds – with its head buried in the sand.
It is thus admirable of Dya Singh, through his Opinion piece titled Attempt to Clarify the Dasam Granth Issue (Asia Samachar, 15 September 2020) – to want to present this issue to our younger generation.
This response of mine is to remind ourselves that when it comes to our next generation, the hard and difficult truths must be laid out with open-ness and honesty – no matter how contentious the issue. Glossing over uncomfortable truths, pussy-footing, sugar coating touchy issues, advocating the status quo and avoidance has never worked, and will therefore not work.
There is a need to trust our youth to be able to handle the difficult truths. It is only when they have the bare truths that they will be able to make the right decisions for themselves, their loved ones and the panth – something Sikhs of my generation are incapable of doing because we were denied answers to our questions, let alone be given truths. In short we were denied the tools to deal with our problems as a community.
Dya Singh’s opening statement will illustrate my point. He says “the DG issue is bewildering to those who just wish to practice simple Sikhi like Naam Japna, Vand Shekena and Kirt Karni, especially the younger generation of Sikhs.”
Naam Japna, Vand Shakena and Kirt Karni is “simple Sikhi” only when understood in the fog of half-baked truths that we have been fed by the self-appointed custodians of Sikhi. We were told that Naam Japna is to sit in a corner and chant a word, verse or a mantar. We were told that Vand Shakena is what happens in the langgar in our Gurdwaras. So contributing to that process was all we needed. Nam Japna and Vand Shakna thus become “simple Sikhi.” The concept of Dharam Di Kirt Karni was shortened to just Kirt Karni and translated as “honest labor” because the world Dharam complicated matters and took Kirt to a level that was too demanding for us.
Have we told our children and teenagers what is truly meant by Nam Japna? Have we told them the Gurbani truths pertaining to Nam Japna, Vand Shakena and Dharam Di Kirt Karni? Have we read the verses pertaining to these concepts from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) ourselves? Have we studied the meanings of these verses – without relying on the half-baked translation done by that 3HO chap whose agenda is to give Gurbani a yogic and vedantic slant? Have we mustered the courage to say truthfully to our child “Son, this is what Nam Japna, Vand Shakena and Dharam Di Kirt Karni really is, according to Gurbani?”
When viewed from the perspective of truths that are contained within the SGGS, Nam Japna, Vand Shakena and Dharam di Kirt Karni are the most difficult milestones on the path of spirituality. Naam is not name. Naam is Divine Virtues. Japna is not chanting. The Punjabi word for chanting is Ratuna. Japna is Realization. So Naam Japna is the process of Realizing Divine Virtues. It is a process of BECOMING Divine Virtues, of BECOMING Divine. Virtues must be understood, accepted, believed, practiced, and habitualized before Realizing them and BECOMING them.
The Gurbani verse is on page 304 of the SGGS. It’s about BANNEAY, meaning BECOMING.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਣੀ ਸਤਿ ਸਰੂਪੁ ਹੈ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਬਣੀਐ ॥
Satgur Ki Bani Sat Sroop Hai Gurbani BANNEAY.
Isn’t the truth contained in this verse the Sikhi as practiced by a miniscule number of Sikhs? Perhaps one percent? When are we going to tell our next generation these difficult Gurbani truths?
Simple Sikhi is the Sikhi of talking about Sikhi “principles” without having read the SGGS for ourselves, without having understood the messages of Gurbani, and without having to base anything on the verses of the SGGS. Simple Sikhi is based on everyone having their own half-baked truths. Simple Sikhi is based on hearsay of this or that person, clergy or baba. Simple Sikhi is about “liking a shabd” because of its melodious tune and sweet voice of the singer.
Simple Sikhi is the forming of the strongest of opinions on the DG without having studied at it at all. Isn’t this the Sikhi of a vast majority of us? Our youth included?
THE TRUTH MUST BE TOLD.
The truth must be told all costs. It must be told especially to those Sikhs we call youth because they are going to take over the steering wheel of Sikhi. It must be told because our generations were denied it. It must be told because we do not want to reinforce the failures of our generation and the ones before us.
Dya Singh writes: “Sikhi issues appear to rear their ugly heads from time to time needled by those who have their own agendas.”
The very reason why these “agendas” have worked and will keep working is because we are unaware of the truths of Sikhi, the SGGS and DG. No agenda can work on people who are enlightened with the truths of the issue.
He further writes: “Added to all that, is the inept current Akal Takht administration from Darbar Sahib strangled by the political power brokers in Punjab and broadly India.”
When will we tell the truth to our youth? The truth that the Akal Takhat, Darbar Sahib, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Takhats ARE the CAUSE and the ROOT of the rut and rot that Sikhi is in today. The truth that the AT, SGPC, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Managing Committee (DSGMC), Sikh Institutions, and our Intelligentsia are under the control of, and are actively working hand-in-glove with the anti-Sikh forces on the agenda of destructing Sikhi. The truth that some 300 PhD’s are currently being funded and pursued on DG in Sikh Universities under the auspices of the SGPC – with none being pursued on the SGGS, Bhai Gurdas, Bhai Nand Lal, and other authentic Sikhi issues.
When will we tell the truth that our AT stands as the only institution of a religion helmed by people schooled in other religions. Remember Jathedar Vedanti of AT? Vedanti is a scholar of the Vedas – a philosophy soundly rejected by the SGGS. The current Jathedar of AT claims to be a scholar of the Islamic scriptures. Can anyone imagine the Pope of the Catholic Church, the Dalai Lama or the Grand Mufti at Mecca being a scholar of the Vedas? Why must such cruel jokes be played only on us Sikhs? And why must we accept such nonsense? Our youth deserve to know these truths.
THE TRUTHS OF DG THAT MUST BE TOLD
Dya Singh writes of the sexually explicit and morally decadent erotic tales of the Chitropakhyan chapter of the DG: “It is not necessarily written by Guru Gobind Singh Ji but recounted perhaps by other poets in his court, just like we have bani of bhagats besides our Guru Sahibs incorporated in the SGGS.”
To what level must one descend, to compare the vile, decadent and depraved sexually explicit charitars that fill up some 600 pages of the DG with the divinely inspiring, spiritually elevating, and Creator connecting Gurbani of the Bhagats?
The lie that were told to my generation was that there was NO such stuff in the DG, and those who said such tales existed in DG were “Guru Nindaks” or “enemies of Guru Gobind Singh.” And the AT ex-communicated many brave and honest Sikhs for alerting the Sikh panth to the truths of DG’s depraved content – destroying their lives, careers and families in the process.
And now that our internet and social media savvy youth have discovered the truth of the existence of the sexually explicit content of DG, we will resort to the blatant lie that the depraved stuff of DG is “just like the bani of bhagats.”? Are we telling our youth that it is fine to drag down our bhagats of the SGGS into the gutter that these charitars want to take us into?
Dya Singh writes: “The common grouse against this work (Charitars) is that it espouses the wiles of womenhood.” The truth is much worse. What is espoused in these tales of sexual depravity is adultery, prostitution, incest, homosexuality, bestiality and decadence of every kind imaginable.
The notion that women are the root of all evil is espoused explicitly in the DG. It is stated with a finality and certainty that is shocking. It is expressed, not as a tale, but as a CONCLUSION of the writer.
The relevant verse is as follows. It appears on page 1267 of the DG. Verses with worse conclusions appear on page 828, 829, 1170, 1278 and 1297.
ਅੰਤ ਤ੍ਰਿਯਨ ਕੋ ਕਿਨਹੂ ਨਾ ਪਾਯੋ।ਬਿਧਨਾ ਸਿਰਜ ਬਹੁਰ ਪਛਤਾਯੋ।ਜਿਨ ਇਹ ਕੀਉ ਸਗਲ ਸੰਸਾਰੋ। ਵਹੈ ਪਛਾਨ ਭੇਦ ਤ੍ਰਿਯਾ ਹਾਰੋ।
Unt Triyan Ko Kinhu Na Payeo. Bidhna Sirj Bahur Pachtayeo. Jin Eh Keyo Sagal Sansaro. Vhey Pechan Bheyd Triya Haro.
Meaning: Even the Creator regrets having created woman. The one who created creation, even he failed to understand them.
Then Dya Singh writes: “What is not often mentioned is that the composition also has numerous stories about the wiles of men too.”
The plain truth is that every sexual act – with the exception of bestiality which implicates an animal – involves persons of both genders. The question we need to ask is: What message are we are sending to our youth. Are we suggesting that stories about the viles of woman become acceptable because these same stories talk about the viles of men? What kind of truth is this?
Then Dya Singh lays out what is surely the biggest lie of the DG pertaining to the charitars. He writes: “The main thrust though, of all these stories is, to remain faithful to one’s spouse – to love one’s spouse and not seek sexual gratification outside marriage even in dreams.” And that “It is therefore a fairly ‘secular’ piece of literary work about the weaknesses of men and women and about ideal conduct of married life.” Really?
Here are FOUR truths pertaining to this biggest lie.
- In the 404 charitars that depict sexual decadency, there is NOT a SINGLE one that involves sex between a husband and a wife as the primary story. Yes, husbands and wives are mentioned in some of the charitars. But in a way that multiplies the immorality of it all. There is one charitar for instance where the husband walks into his house while his adulterous wife is engaged in sexual activity with a lover. She hides the lover under the bed, goes to great lengths to cover spilled bodily fluids, and continues the sexual act with her husband.
- NONE of the charitars contain the message to “remain faithful to one’s spouse.”
- None of the charitars contain even ONE verse of a positive message. In the charitar mentioned as an example above, the depraved message is plain. Adultery can be done, husbands can be fooled even when they walk in onto an adulterous wife, and evidence covered up with trickery.
- There is not a word about the “ideal conduct of married life” in any of the 404 charitars.
There is a narrative of a Guru telling his son in his final parting message to “not seek sexual gratification other than his own personal woman (Nij Naree) even in his dreams.” This does sound like decent advice. But there is an ugly truth hidden behind it. This truth comes out by considering a simple fact – the child is NINE years old when this advice is being given. More truth comes out by asking a simple question: Which father gives his NINE-year-old son a FINAL PARTING message that pertains to sexual gratification?
The intended agenda of the writer of this tale in the DG is to portray the NINE-year-old child as so sexually depraved that his father has to give the child such a message as his FINAL advice. We need to understand the agenda here. The writers of DG knew that the lie about the Guru composing the 404 charitars will be objected to. This narrative therefore prepares the ground work to deal with that objection. The Guru is portrayed as sexually consumed right from his childhood – at age 9. So much so that his father had to give him that dire “advice.” It is thus easy to believe another lie about the Guru – that he kept a copy of the 404 charitars in his belt at all times for easy reference. The lie continues: he did so to indulge in his childhood obsession.
Dya Singh writes: “I urge youth to ignore the contentious issues surrounding DG. It cannot be elevated to Guru status by any stretch of the imagination.”
The truth that must be told to our youth is simple: The reason why the DG is being elevated, and will continue to be elevated to Guru status is BECAUSE the Sikh community has all along adopted the ostrich mentality. Labeling a text (the DG) that provides a primary challenge to the sacrosanctity, authority and inviolability of the SGGS as “contentious issues” and then asking our youth to ignore it is to play into the hands of those who desire for the DG to be given a status on par with the SGGS.
I have urged the three youth that look up to me as their father to study the DG (and some 35 other problematic classical texts such as Sooraj Parkash) for themselves and make their own conclusions. It is ONLY when they do such that they will be able to separate the truth from the lie.
It is when they do their own study that they will realize that Dya Singh has got it wrong when he says “there are instances when Guru Gobind Singh Ji appears to clarify the pristine Khalsa position. For example: Main n Ganesai pritham menauun, Kishan Bishan kabhoo na dhiaoon (Chaubis Avtar) {I do not, foremostly, worship Ganesha, nor meditate on Krishna and Vishnu.”
There is no “Khalsa Pristine position” within these verses. The origin of the verse is the Shiv Puran. From the Puran it makes it into the DG. The Shiv Puran is authored by writers who are devoted disciples of Shivji. Ganesh and Kishan are reincarnations of Vishnu. The author of the verse – a devotee of Shivji – is saying his allegiance is to Shivji alone – never to Vishu or any of Vishnu’s reincarnations such as Ganesh and Kishen. Our Sikh youth can choose to label this truth as “contentious” and “ignore it.” Or they can call the bluff and say it has nothing to do with Guru Gobind Singh.
It is when they do their own study that our youth will realize that all the hogwash about X number of “birs” of DG being found in Y number of places is a smokescreen to provide legitimacy to a text that has no legitimacy. It’s like saying fake jewelry is real because it can be found in X number of jewelry outlets.
This is what Nirmla historian Gyani Gyan Singh says about the Moti Baag Gurdwara bir of DG.
ਸੁਖਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਗ੍ਰੰਥੀ ਔਰ। ਰਚੀ ਬੀੜ ਪਟਨੇ ਮੈ ਗੌਰ। ਪੁਨਾ ਚੜਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਤਾਕੇ ਪੂਤ ।
Sukha Singh Granthi of Patna Sahib and his son Charat Singh wrote the Bir themselves.
ਔਰ ਗਰੰਥ ਇਕ ਵੈਸਾ ਕੀਉ।ਸੋ ਬਾਬੇ ਹਾਕਮ ਸਿੰਘ ਲੀਉ।
They created a duplicate granth and Baba Hakam Singh purchased it.
ਸ਼ੋ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰੇ ਮੋਤੀ ਬਾਗ।ਸੋ ਅਬ ਹਮਨੇ ਪਿਖਿਉ ਬਿਲਾਗ।
That is the one at Gurdwara Moti Baag. I have seen it for myself.
ਦਸਖਤ ਦਸਮ ਗੁਰੂ ਕੇ ਕਹਿ ਕੇ। ਕੀਮਤ ਲਈ ਚੌਗਣੀ ਕਹਿ ਕੇ।
They forged the signature of Dasam Guru and sold it for four times the price (to Hakam Singh).
Finally, a word about the “status quo” that Dya Singh is asking for. He writes: (the status quo) is good enough for me. That should be good enough for you youth.”
The truth is that it is the status quo that has brought us to the mess we are in today. The Sikh Panth has an opportunity to solve the issue in 1925 when the SRM was being deliberated. Instead, we were told to compromise and maintain the status quo. Two decades ago, AT issued a hukumnama to preserve the status quo. The order was that no one should speak in favor or against the DG until a decision is made. Those who continued to speak to expose the DG were excommunicated, while those in favor printed one million copies with the words “Sri Guru Dasam Granth” – all paid for by the anti-Sikh groups and had it installed in numerous deras and even some gurdwaras. Two of our takhats have it installed on par with the SGGS. Now we can see the truth of those who helm the AT.
I applaud Dya Singh for writing to the youth and for the youth. It’s a step in the right direction, but only if we will live by our duty to lay out the truth and the whole truth. And then let the youth decide. Anything less is to say our youth are incapable of handling the truth. Anything less is to reinforce the failures of our generation on the next.
Sikh thinker, writer and parcharak Karminder Singh Dhillon, PhD (Boston), is a retired Malaysian civil servant. He is the joint-editor of The Sikh Bulletin. He can be contacted at dhillon99@gmail.com.
RELATED STORY:
The God of Agendas (Asia Samachar, 26 Aug 2020)
Reignition of Dasam Granth controversy (Asia Samachar, 21 Aug 2020)
Lost in Translation (Asia Samachar, 8 May 2019)
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