The Sikh Bulletin

he Sikh Bulletin cyq-vYYyswK 542 nwnkSwhI March-April 2010
Unlike Martin Luther, Darshan Singh Khalsa did respond to
the summons of the Jathedar (Sikh ‘Pope’) by appearing at
Akal Takhat before what would have been a kangaroo court
anyway. That was his first mistake. Obviously he did not
have companions and well wishers of the same caliber as did
Martin Luther otherwise he would have been advised to not
to appear before the servants of Badal family, themselves
servants of BJP and RSS.
His second mistake was to muddy the waters of his
otherwise admirable stand against Dasam Granth when he
chose to obey the dictates of so called Sikh Rehat Maryada,
that nobody follows, to keep on reciting the three ‘banis’,
which are clearly ‘kachi banis’, as part of his Nitnem, which
in itself is a ritual.
In my editorial of Nov-Dec 2009 Sikh Bulletin, which was
dedicated entirely to S. Dalbir Singh M. Sc. of New Delhi’s
research on sources of Dasam Granth, following is what I
suggested to him and would urge Darshan Singh Khalsa to
consider my suggestion:
“In his third letter to Jathedar Akal Takhat dated October
15, 2008, none of which were answered, S. Dalbir Singh
expresses his dilemma that if out of respect of hukam of
GGS against kachi bani he does not recite Jaap, Swaiyya,
and Chaupai, he is panth-dokhi and if he recites them he
becomes Guru-dokhi by disobeying Guru’s hukam against
kachi bani. He is beseeching the Jathedar to guide him; he
can until the hell freezes over. You have to be Lamba to get
Jathedar’s ears. Do not become Guru-dokhi, one cannot
become panth-dokhi because there is no Panth.
Badal/Tohra killed it long time ago.”
May Guru spare us the tragedy that occurred in Europe
500 years ago. Guru Nanak had ushered a new movement of
universal brotherhood. He rejected centuries old ritualistic
and discriminatory practices that had crept into the society.
By doing so he gravely hurt the feelings of not only his
parents and family but also the entire high caste society, the
establishment of the day. Unfortunately within 500 years we
have turned away from the path shown to us by Guru Nanak.
Instead new but similar organizations have been created, who
under the pretext of hurt ‘religious’ feelings are threatening
the revival of Gurus’ message. Guru did not waver under that
threat; nor shall we. What Guru said during his time “rfjy
sLINh mukwdm kuwqy” is apt today. You know who are the rulers of
today and who are the dogs. We are not advocating a new
faith. All we are asking for is necessary reformation as per
teachings of Guru Nanak. Hardev Singh Shergill
*****
UNDERSTANDING JAPJI - 7:
THE CORE CONCEPTS.
By Karminder Singh Dhillon PhD (Boston).
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(Editor’s Note: [Part 1 appeared in Nov.-Dec. 2007; Part 2 in March-April
2008; Part 3 in May-June 2008, part 4 in November-December 2008 part 5
in May-june 2009 and part 6 in September-October 2009 issues of The
Sikh Bulletin. Readers may access them at www.sikhbulletin.com ]
The supremacy of the Creator is one concept that is
pivotal in Sikhi. Guru Nanak’s Japji introduces this
concept in the banee’s first salok Awid scu jugwid scu ]
hY BI scu nwnk hosI BI scu ] Aad Sach Jugaad Sach Hai
Bhi Sach Nanak Hosi Bhi Sach and goes on to talk
about the preeminence of the Creator’s Will (Hukam)
in the opening paurees. After laying out a formula and
flow chart for Sikh spirituality that begins with Gavna
(3 rd pauree), moves on to Suneay( 8 th – 11 th paurees),
which in turn leads to Maney (12 th to 15 th paurees) and
on to Parvaan (16 th pauree), Guru Nanak returns to
the concept of the Creator’s supremacy in order to root
this concept firmly in the mind of the journeying Sikh.
The flow chart (see previous article) will only take the
Sikh to its ultimate goal if the journeying individual is
forever focused on the destination – the supreme
Creator. Guru Nanak thus attempts to ground this
focus for the Sikh by devoting the next 10 paurees
(after Parvaan) to the issue of the Creator’s
supremacy.
Guru Nanak lays out his spiritual wisdom regarding
the supremacy of God through a three pauree
combination called the Asankh Paurees (17 th till 19 th ),
followed by four paurees (20 th till 23 rd ) that compare
existing views on the Creator with Guru Nanak’s own,
and conclude with three paurees that lay out the
limitless (the Aant pauree 24 th ), unfathomable (Kaytay
pauree 25th) and invaluable (Amul pauree -26 th )
nature of the Creator. In the 27 th pauree, Guru Nanak
returns to the concept of Gavna – the starting point of
the flow chart. It thus appears that the flow chart of
Guru Nanak’s spirituality is framed within the
supremacy of the Creator. And the concept of God’s
supremacy is captured through Gavna, Suneay and
Maney. The logic and flow of Japji is marvelous, to
say the least.
AsMK jp AsMK Bwau ] AsMK pUjw AsMK qp qwau ]
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