BACK
Three
Centuries Down
Dr Birendra Kaur*
The ideological beliefs of Sikhism were laid down by Guru
Nanak (1469-1539). Over the next over two centuries, various
institutions were put in place from time to time by succeeding
Gurus to give practical shape to those beliefs. Institutions,
such as, sangat, pangat, dharamsal, langar, manjis, kirtan,
daswandh, masands, gurdwara, sewa, miri-piri, akal takht,
khalsa, sant-sipahi, sabd-guru, were created from time to
time to cater to needs of the time.
The Tenth Nanak, Guru Gobind Singh, considered the Sikhs
to be mature enough to guide their own destiny as a quom.
He thus ended the personal guruship, and made practical
the belief that bani guru, guru hai bani. Guru Granth Sahib,
the repository of the divine hymns, was thus anointed the
spiritual guide, the Guru for eternity. Guru Gobind Singh
had earlier equated himself to the committed panj piaras,
who had literally offered their heads at the instance of
the Guru.
The Gurus did not rigidly outline / prescribe any practice,
but merely defined the concepts, so the Khalsa may move
with the moving times. Thus, by 1708, the year the personal
guruship ended, the Sikhs had the institutions of akal takht
as the throne of the Almighty, the granth as spiritual authority,
and the panj piaras as temporal authority of the Guru. The
Khalsa was to owe allegiance solely to Akal Purakh, and
serve as His fauj towards sarbat da bhala. The panj piaras
were to make collective decisions regarding their own destiny,
at any given time in the course of history, in the presence
of the Guru Granth Sahib and execute these through the Akal
Takht. Thus was made practical the doctrine guru granth
– guru panth, which authorizes the Panth, for all
times to come, to chalk out the course of its own history/evolution.
Let us see how we have evolved: In 1708, the Sikhs had the
Word as Guru, one takht of Akal, and five piaras. By 2008,
three centuries down, we have countless sants and babas
enjoying the status of Gurus, five takhts, five jathedars,
and no piaras. We have thus become far removed from the
base on which we were to conduct ourselves; the niarapan
of the Sikhs is wanting and, therefore, the tej of the Guru
is amiss amidst us.
When and why did the later four takhts come to assume that
their status is equivalent to that of the Akal Takht? Why
were these called takhts at all? One Akal Takht was to have
five piaras. But we have five takhts and five jathedars,
with the result the Ultimate Authority of the Akal Takht
stands diluted five times, and the temporal authority of
each jathedar multiplied five times. And, the piaras are
figuring nowhere. Actually, we have come to use the term
jathedar interchangeably/synonymously with piaras (beloved
ones) of Guru Gobind Singh in whom he placed authority equal
to the Guru.
Today, Jathedar, Akal Takht is the most representative face
of the Sikh nation. Let us review what face we are presenting
to the world, in the light of other religions, in which
their religious heads too play a significant role, such
as in Buddhism and Christianity:
Status
The religious/spiritual heads of Tibetan Buddhists and Catholic
Christians, the Dalai Lama and the Pope, respectively, are
world-renowned figures. Although their status and powers
are different as compared to one another, or with those
of a jathedar for that matter, they are the most representative
faces of their religion.
The Pope, by virtue of his position, as successor of St
Peter, is the chief pastor of the whole Church, the Vicar
of Christ upon earth. The Pope is the supreme teacher of
the Church, whose role is to prescribe what is to be believed
by all the faithful, and to take measures for the preservation
and the propagation of the faith. Pope is considered Infallible,
although the Infallibility is not attributed to every doctrinal
act of the pope, but only to his ex cathedra (literally,
from the chair) teaching. As the supreme governor of the
Church, the pope has authority over all appointments to
its public offices. He can legislate for the whole Church,
with or without the assistance of a general council. The
pope alone can prescribe the liturgical services employed
in the Church.
For Tibetan Buddhists, the institution of Dalai Lama serves
as a potent symbol of national identity. The present Dalai
Lama is the spiritual as well as the political head of his
people. Identified since the age of two, today, he has international
contacts, and he embraces democratic rule for the Tibetan
people. He has fought for Tibet’s independence in
international forums, and his advocacy of a program of a
non-violent resolution to the conflict with China won him
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987.
In the contemporary scenario, a jathedar remains a mere
local political boss in Sikh politics, owing his allegiance
to the Shiromani Akali Dal which might be one or more than
one organization, each claiming itself as the true and genuine
spokesman for the Sikh causes. He is appointed by the Head,
SGPC and, as such, is a mere employee. No, worse still:
An employee is hired for a fixed tenure, but the jathedar
can be removed/sacked, even unceremoniously, by the employer
any time. Under the circumstances, a jathedar is no more
than a pawn – a pawn leader, that is. This, thus,
is a contradiction in terms, not only as far as the role
is concerned but also the designation. The jathedars are,
in fact, the piaras, but of the ‘elected’ political
chief. And, the fact that the electoral process involves
drugs, cash, gifts, etc., is too well known.
Title
The titles used for the Buddhist and Christian religious
heads signify knowledge, love, and/or humility, in spite
of the great powers that their Heads are invested with.
The Tibetans address the Dalai Lama as Gyalwa Rinpoche (‘Precious
Victor’), Kundun (‘Presence’) Yishin Norbu
(‘Wish-fulfilling Gem’), and so on. The Panchen
Lama, the second most prominent religious leader of Tibetan
Buddhism means the ‘Great Scholar.’ He is believed
to be a physical emanation of the Buddha Amitabha, whose
name means ‘Limitless Light.’ The title ‘Benedict’
chosen by the current Pope stands for ‘benevolence.’
The title pope is a derivative of papa from Greek papas,
a variant of pappas – father. Another noteworthy title
for the Pope is Servus servorum Dei (servant of the servants
of God). This phrase is now so entirely a papal title that
a Bull (an Apostolic letter with a leaden seal) in which
it should be wanting would be reckoned unauthentic.
The title jathedar, literally means ‘leader/captain/boss/head/chief.’
Not stopping at this, ‘Singh Sahib Bhai’ is
further added as a prefix. The love and humility reflective
in the piaras is missing altogether; the Singh Sahib Bhai/Jathedar
so & so ji can only inflate one’s ego, which a
Sikh is rather expected to rid altogether.
Selection Process
Further, the process through which the Buddhists and Christians
select/elect their religious leader is indeed intricate,
complex, and extremely thorough – only to ensure that
the person in position chosen is worthy of the status he
is to symbolize. A cursory look at their methods of selection:
The Dalai Lama: Dalai Lama is the leading spiritual figure;
the Panchen Lama is the second most important figure in
religious authority. Both are seen as the reincarnations
of their predecessors.
Upon the death of the Dalai Lama, a search for the Lama’s
reincarnation is conducted. The process can take around
two or three years to identify the Dalai Lama. The High
Lamas used several ways in which they can increase the chances
of finding the reincarnation. High Lamas often visit the
holy lake, called Lhamo La-tso, in central Tibet and watch
for a sign from the lake itself. This may be either a vision
while meditating or some indication of the direction in
which to search.
High Lamas may also have a vision in a dream or if the Dalai
Lama was cremated, they will often monitor the direction
of the smoke as an indication of the direction of the rebirth.
Once the High Lamas have found the home and the boy they
believe to be the reincarnation, the boy undergoes a series
of tests to affirm the rebirth. They present a number of
artefacts belonging to the previous Dalai Lama and if the
boy chooses the items which belonged to the previous Dalai
Lama, this is seen as a sign, in conjunction with all of
the other indications, that the boy is the reincarnation.
If there is only one boy found, the High Lamas will invite
Living Buddhas of the three great monasteries together with
secular clergy and monk officials, to confirm their findings
and will then report to the Central Government through the
Minister of Tibet. Later a group consisting of the three
major servants of Dalai Lama, eminent officials and troops
will collect the boy and his family and travel to Lhasa,
where the boy would be taken, usually to Drepung Monastery
to study the Buddhist sutra in preparation for assuming
the role of spiritual leader of Tibet. However, if there
are several possibilities of the reincarnation, the individual
is chosen by placing the boys’ names inside an urn
and drawing one lot in.
For the present 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, it took
four years to find him. When he was two years old, a search
party of Buddhist officials recognized him as the reincarnation
of the 13 previous Dalai Lamas and he was enthroned before
he turned four. He was educated at a monastery and went
on to achieve the Geshe Lharampa Degree, a doctorate of
Buddhist philosophy.
The Panchen Lama: Tibetan Buddhists view the Panchen Lama
as a ‘tülku,’ a spiritually advanced being
who consciously chooses to reincarnate in successive bodies
in order to work for the benefit of others. When a tülku
dies, the search for his or her successor begins, and the
child identified as the reincarnation is usually brought
to a monastery for training in Buddhist philosophy and meditation
practice. Their fellow tülkus are generally responsible
for locating and identifying reincarnations. This process
is also often aided by divinations, pronouncements by oracles,
and predictions by the tülkus themselves prior to their
deaths. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the selection by
tülkus is not a matter of luck and that the search
process should be rigorous in order to ensure that the correct
reincarnation is identified.
The Pope: In theory, any practicing Roman Catholic man can
be the pope. In reality, the pope has for centuries been
chosen from within the Sacred College of Cardinals.
There have been a number of methods for choosing a pope
over the centuries. Local clergymen who lived near Rome
chose the first popes, but kings, emperors and other interested
bystanders have done what they could to influence the process
as well.
But in 1059 Pope Nicholas II decreed that henceforth all
papal electors must be cardinals, and in 1179 Pope Alexander
III ruled that all cardinals would have an equal vote in
the election. In 1274, Pope Gregory X decided that the cardinals
must meet within 10 days of a pope’s death, and that
they should be kept in strict seclusion until a pope was
chosen. By the late 1500s, most of the electoral procedures
now used were in place.
The new pope will be chosen from among 117 cardinal-electors.
There are short lists everywhere of the leading contenders,
these so-called papabili.
The pope can be elected by one of the three methods. A unanimous
voice vote is permissible, as is the unanimous selection
by the cardinals of a 9- to 15-member committee, which then
must agree on a pope. The most common method, however, is
election by ballot, which works as follows:
When the pope dies, the dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals
notifies the cardinals and calls a meeting — always
held in the morning — that must begin no more than
20 days after the pope’s death. The cardinals draw
lots to select three members to collect ballots from the
infirm, three tellers to count the votes and three others
to review the results.
The Cardinals must take an oath when they first enter the
Conclave that they will follow the rules set down by the
Pope and that they will maintain absolute secrecy about
the voting and deliberations. (The penalty for disclosing
anything about the conclave that must be kept secret is
automatic excommunication.)
Blank ballots are then prepared and distributed. After writing
the name of one man on his ballot, each of the approximately
120 active cardinals — those under 80 years of age
— walks to an altar and pledges to perform his duty
with integrity. He then places his ballot in a container,
which is covered by a plate. After all votes are cast, the
tellers tally the ballots and the result is read to the
cardinals.
If there is no winner, another vote is taken. If there is
still no winner, two more votes are scheduled for the afternoon.
After the votes are counted each time, the ballots are burned.
If there has been no winner, a chemical is mixed with the
ballots to produce black smoke when they are burned. Sight
of the black smoke emerging from the roof of the Vatican
Palace tells the crowd waiting in St. Peter’s Square
that a pope has not yet been selected. When a winner has
been selected, the ballots are burned alone, and the white
smoke indicates there is a new pope.
On 6 April 2005, it was announced that, in addition to the
white smoke, the bells of St Peters Basilica would be rung
to signal the election of the new Pope. This will avoid
any doubt about whether the smoke is white or black.
Once there is a winner, the pope-elect is asked if he accepts
the decision. If he does, the dean asks what name he chooses
and announces it to the cardinals, who then come forward
to offer congratulations. The oldest cardinal then steps
out on a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square and
says to the crowd, “Habemus papam” – “We
have a pope.” He then introduces the Pope, who steps
out on the balcony to bless Rome and the people.
Father Thomas Reese, editor of the Catholic magazine America,
said there are three factors that will be important in the
selection of pope, and the first is age. Second, the next
pope must speak a number of languages. English, which has
become the world language, is a must, as is Italian since
the pope is also the bishop of Rome. Third, he’s got
to have a public presence. He can’t be a media disaster,
because so much of the media will be focused on him.
On 19 April 2005, at the age of 78, Cardinal Ratzinger was
elected as the successor to Pope John Paul II on the second
day of the papal conclave after four ballots. He chose to
call himself Benedict XVI.
Tenure
The selection process of the Pope and the Dalai
Lama is so thorough, that there is literally no scope of
going wrong. The previous Pope John Paul II remained in
office for 27 years till his death. The current Dalai Lama
has been identified as the reincarnation of previous Dalai
Lamas since the age of two, and was enthroned before he
turned four. He is now 73 years old.
On the other hand, as mentioned earlier, our jathedar may
be dismissed, even summarily. Most recent is the sacking
of Jathedar Vedanti in August 2008 to install Gurbachan
Singh in his place. This is not the first time that a jathedar
has been removed unceremoniously by the SGPC. The removal
of Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode as the Akal Takht Jathedar started
the trend of sacking jathedars. Jathedar Manjit Singh was
sacked following allegations of corruption and misuse of
his position, by the then SGPC President, Kirpal Singh Badungar,
to pave the way for Bhai Ranjit Singh. Bhai Ranjit Singh
was sacked on April 28, 1998 and SGPC installed Giani Puran
Singh as the new Jathedar on February 15, 1999. Vedanti
was appointed as acting Jathedar of Akal Takht on March
28, 2000 after the SGPC, then led by Bibi Jagir Kaur blamed
Giani Puran Singh of violating the maryada (Sikh code of
conduct) and sacked him. It is common knowledge that even
the wrong persons have sometimes, somehow been installed
as jathedars due to certain inimical forces becoming overbearingly
operative at those times – again due to a lack of
a proper system in place.
Back
to the Basics
We
need to go back to basics. The status of piara was earned
through absolute submission to the Guru. We cannot repeat
the method of selection of the Guru, but we have to identify
the spirit of absolute commitment somehow in those, in whom
we trust the future of our community, and who represent
us to the world.
Let there be only one supreme takht, the Akal Takht, with
five piaras collectively representing the authority of the
Guru Panth. No one person should be the representative face
of the Panth, but a body of five. This body would then be
comparable to the Pope or the Dalai Lama, and the uniqueness
of our institution of collective leadership will stand out
amongst the institutions of other religions. These five
piaras could be selected from amongst or elected by a body
comprising about a hundred odd devout Sikhs, say rattans,
from various walks of life, who enjoy an unblemished reputation
of a lifetime. The remaining could act as the advisors to
the institution of Akal Takht. They could be further grouped
into committees, on the basis of their expertise, so as
to focus and address various Panthic issues. Thus the selection/election
of the panj piaras should be de-linked from the election
process of the SGPC altogether. The sangat of each city
could select a rattan to represent that city, from India
as well as abroad. (Modalities could be worked out in detail.
Even a Form could be created or have a point-system like
the immigration departments of various countries to qualify
one to be a rattan. Each could be further required to take
exams in gurmat, world history, current affairs, etc.) The
decisions of the rattans could be the gurmattas, which should
have the approval of all panj piaras, before it can be announced
as a hukamnama from the Akal Takht.
Mine is one voice; let us have a platform where every concerned
voice can be heard. And this is only one issue. We have
piled up countless other issues that need to be resolved/addressed
on an urgent basis at the Panthic level. Delay in handling
these can only spell disaster. Let us hold brainstorming
sessions to put our house in order. Such a model is, in
fact, already in place in the constitution of the International
Sikh Confederation (ISC), Chandigarh, and many devout Gursikhs
of national and international fame are already devoting
their time and expertise to issues concerning the globally
settled Panth.
What the political and religious leaders did not do in spite
of their resources and the following, the intelligentsia
has done. Now the ball is in our court; we have to do our
bit. Let individual organizations/panthdardis come together
in the ISC,* with a sense of urgency and responsibility,
to reflect upon the current scenario and the future plans,
and reach a consensus, so that we may all pull in the same
direction for significant progress and an honorable standing
amongst world communities. If we still fail to unite, then
we have only ourselves to blame, and not the politicians
or the jathedars.
As followers of the great visionary Gurus, we should have
had a perfect system in place by now to guide the quom through
thick and thin – rather a system that should act as
a model for even others to follow. It’s never too
late. Let this centenary year mark the accurate decoding
of the gurmat doctrine of guru granth – guru panth,
as applicable in this day and age. Let us become worthy
of the Guru’s tej.
United, even sparrows can achieve the inconceivable. Assin
taan phir baaj haan!
¤
©Copyright Institute of Sikh Studies, 2007, All
rights reserved.
