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The Sikh Bulletin m`Gr- poh 544 nwnkSwhI November-December 2012Christ, as written in the Bible, the founder ofChristianity and so is a Hindu or a Buddhist whofollows the teachings of Gautama Buddha irrespectiveof his country of origin or where he lives.Tracing the definition back to the founder of the SikhFaith, Guru Nanak, whosoever followed and practicedhis philosophy was called a Sikh, a spiritual discipleirrespective of who he was, where he was born, how hedressed, had uncut hair or was clean shaven and atewhatever he liked. Then a Sikh is a person who followsthe teachings of Sikhism, as enshrined in Guru GranthSahib. But these Sant Babas and their followersneither understand nor want to understand thedifference between the words Sikh and Singh.Ignorance has driven their reasons away where either isconcerned and they have created a good deal ofconfusion in explaining and defining these words.There is a vast difference between what these twowords stand for, they are diametrical to each other inevery sense of the word. One has spiritual connotationand other is defensive and naturally, if these words arenot clearly understood, these Sadhs will continue tobaffle the gullible and so will remain the word Sikh.Let us look at these words:-SikhThe word Sikh, a disciple aiming to gain spiritualknowledge to get salvation to realise the Creator,invokes or refers to that divinity within us thatmanifests in us by virtue of its consciousness thespirituality of oneness of humanity and oneness ofGod. Which is the philosophy of Guru Nanak andthe essence of Sikhism and hence the definition ofthe person who follows it, the Sikh. Below this stateof mind of a Sikh everything looks dividedseparated.SinghOn the other hand the word “Singh” refers more tothe militant supremacy of one section of the samecommunity over the other, and is not the religious orspiritual part of our constitution.It is a consciousness of our being separate fromothers “I”, “I-ness”. Contrary to Guru Nanak’sphilosophy and hence it cannot be the definition ofthe disciple of Guru Nanak, the Sikh. It had noreligious connotation even when Guru Gobind Singhadopted it as a warrior status, not religious orspiritual, for the baptized Sikhs.So what is our identity, our marker---- warrior/fighter? a detested term, or Godliness. Surely it isdivinity and hence our identity as a Sikh --- and NotSingh.The word Singh has been in use, for centuries, as atitle or surname by many tribes in various IndianStates and in Sri Lanka and even in Bangladesh andthey still use it as hereditary title without any warriorstatus but as the caste system, to show that they aredifferent / superior to their tribes -- (separateness).Guru Gobind Singh adopted the word “Singh” becauseof its meaning “Lion” to evoke marshal spirit in them.It had no religious or spiritual significance. Our Gurusfought against tyranny of the oppressors and notagainst any religion and gave it due respect. Historytells us that Guru Gobind Singh had a number ofPathan soldiers in his army and he always addressedhis army as “you are my Khalsa” then definitely hedid not attribute the word Khalsa for the baptizedSikhs only as these people claim. Guru Gobind Singh,who all his life preached, practiced and propagatedGuru Nanak’s philosophy of Oneness of God andhumanity and said, “ Maanas ki Jaat sabho eakpahchan”, couldn’t have said that, “ I love thechosen few (the baptized ones) more than the nonbaptized ones and only the baptized ones will getsalvation”, as these people claim. True meaning of theGuru’s words, theses people only partially understandand perhaps misinterpret through ignorance ordeliberate perversion.Amrit ceremony discrimination and myths inSikhism.No nation will make any progress if it continued livingwhile adhering to centuries old norms and traditionsset by its elders. Social behavior and cultural traditionsmust be modified with the changing circumstances andthe environment we live in.Amrit ceremony was a unique, sacred and moralboosting ceremony and served its purpose very well atthat time. It invoked the sleeping giant amongst theSikhs and it still does, but not for the same purpose.During Guru Gobind Singh’s time those who tookAmrit were religious Sikhs and became Singh, thedefenders, protectors of the oppressed, irrespective ofK. T. F. of N. A. Inc. 3524 Rocky Ridge Way, El Dorado Hills, CA. 95762 24
The Sikh Bulletin m`Gr- poh 544 nwnkSwhI November-December 2012their religious affiliation. Amrit did not change theirreligious status or constitution; it simply made theminvincible warriors.Guru Gobind Singh ordained and used what wasavailable at that time for defense but with thetechnological advances more sophisticated weapons arenow available for self defense and the once mightysword has become a relic, only to be found in antiqueshops and cannot be used for self defense. The 5K’shad no religious significance whatsoever , except thatsome of them were simply visible symbols, an armyuniform and a weapon. It wasn’t the plan of GuruGobind Singh to divide the Sikhs, a casteless andclassless Nation, into different classes of Sikhs(combatant and non combatant Sikhs, Amrit Dharis andnon Amritdharis). Although the SRM clearly states thata person to be baptized must be of mature age yet theseSadhs insist that everyone in the family, including theminor children, must be baptized, because an Amritdhariis not supposed to par take meals with or from a nonAmritdhari. What a joke of the sacred Amrit ceremonythey have made.Our Guru gave us hundreds of reasons to suggest thatwe are all equal; but these agents of God are all the timeexploring ways of establishing hierarchies to lookdifferent from other Sikhs. They recite the hymn“Maanas ki Jaat sabhay aek pahchanio” every daybut don’t practice or believe in it. By taking Amrit theyclaim to become the sole recipients of spiritualguidance from God and it is this extraordinarycapacity of self-delusion, for their refusal see fault intheir purity and unwillingness to accept others asequal that threatens them most. Spiritual tranquility,happiness and peace cannot be attained by just drinkingAmrit if it doesn’t invoke divinity within; equality ofhumanity and oneness of God.They live in ghettos and a fantasy world of their own inwhich others don’t exist. They have an arrogant conceptof the superiority being baptized and are suffering fromissues of self-image and imagined greatness and cannotrise above this personality disorder. They have coined anew term for their cast and call themselves “SINGHS”which they promote so vehemently that it has becometheir lifeline, their breath and these Sadhs and theirfollowers are even leading the campaign in destroyingthe Sikhi by prescribing their followers the length oftheir beard, colour of the dress, mode of recitingGurubani and even what must or must not be eaten bythem.TurbanTurban for a Sikh is a part of his dress, and the wearercan no longer hide in anonymity. It has been in use inIndia and other countries for centuries as a head coverand distinction. There used to be just one simple styleof turban, look at the turban of the Indian Primeminister or the Chief of the Indian Army a true turban.But, to look different from other Sikhs these SantBabas tell their followers to ape the style of OsamaBin Laden’s turban style with loosely flowing beard.And no wonder in an effort to look different from usall they have often become the victims of their owncreation, mistaken identity. Forgetting the fact that theuniqueness of the Sikh religion and its universalappeal lies in its ability to welcome into its foldwhosoever is willing to act and follow Guru Nanak’sphilosophy without putting any conditions aboutperson’s appearance or what the person should wear,eat or shouldn’t eat. But here we are being told that ifyou are not baptized you are not a Sikh. Theythemselves are only weekend Sikhs, you scratch theveneer of their orthodoxy what you will find beneath isthat they are perfect Western Oriented Gentlemen.They are suffering from an incurable contagiousdisease called Compulsive Obsessive Faith Disorder.Unwilling temporarily to part with their 5 K’s theyhave disqualified themselves voluntarily fromcompeting in many human activities. They cannot takepart in almost any of the Olympic Games and cannotapply for many jobs. Sikh Council, over the years, hasdealt unsuccessfully, with many cases in Australiawhere baptized Sikhs were refused jobs in DefenseForces, Fire Brigade, Police, Engineering, Buildingconstruction and other industries because they refusedto, temporarily, part with some of their 5 K’s while onduty to comply with the Occupational Health andSafety Act. Last year in spite of Sikh Council’sobjection and submission to the Queenslandgovernment, Queensland’s Weapon’s Amendment Billwas passed without extending the reasonable excuse ofwearing Kirpan in Schools. As a result now inQueensland State a baptized Sikh cannot be employedas a teacher or an ancillary staff in any schoolenvironments, or any tradesman wearing kirpan canenter the school premises.K. T. F. of N. A. Inc. 3524 Rocky Ridge Way, El Dorado Hills, CA. 95762 25
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