Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

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life. In principle there could be a vocational dharma for prostitutes,
robbers and thives. 45 But there was no universal ethics.” There was no
ort of ‘natural law’. There was simply no ‘natural’ equality of men
before any authority, least of all before a super-worldly god.” The
orthodox dharma hindered that development of any sort of idea of
‘human rights’; and its main thrust was directed towards establishing
and maintaining the caste order, the Varna Ashrama Dharma. The
Buddhist Dharma laid emphasis on the value of moral conduct as
opposed to the orthodox values based on birth and hierarchy. But, for
Buddhism life was a suffering. Buddhist Dhardma was clearly linked
with other worldliness and Ahimsa and Buddhism was basically
monastic. As such, the effect of Buddhist Dharma on the general
society was just subsidiary and incidental.
But, for the Sikh Gurus, Dharm (the Punjabi equivalent of
Dharma) had entirely a new meaning. The Sikh Dharm meant the
creation of the Kingdom of God on earth. By all practical means a
just order had to be established. Social and political inequity, including
the injustice of the Varna Ashrama Dharma, had to be combated and
eliminated. Power had to be captured for the poor and the downtrodden.
Guru Gobind Singh says, that his father ‘suffered martyrdom for
the sake of Dharma’ and he elaborates his own mission thus:
“I assumed birth for the purpose of spreading the faith, saving
the saints, and extirpating all tyrants.” 46
As will be seen, the Guru later institutionalised his ideal of
defending dharma by creating the Khalsa.
e) Devotion to Gurus
Devotion to religions preceptors is common to all religions. It is
a double-edged weapon. When harnessed to serve a noble purpose it
could work wonders; otherwise, it could lead to aberrations as well.
Devotion to Prophet Muhammad contributed a good deal in arousing the
zeal which carried his message of human equality to far-flung counties,
but it also assumed the form of religious exclusiveness and Shariatic
bigotry which frustrated the fulfillment of this lofty ideal. In India,