BACK
A Wakes up call for the Sikhs
Inderjit Singh Jaijee
Respected Jathedar Sahib, Sri Akal Takht Sahib,
On a recent visit to the USA I visited several gurdwaras there. In each case, the sangat was comprised of educated and well-to-do people. To my surprise, these sangats were being addressed by ragis whose entire discourse was recitation of one miracle after another. Not one of them spoke of cultivating the Sikh virtues of hard work, honesty, generosity, compassion, patience and courage. But it appeared that the ragis knew just what the audience wanted to hear.
Such stories might have pleased the sangat but I wondered what Guru Nanak himself would have said about it if he had been sitting in there. His verses in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib make his attitude to illogical assertions and irrational behaviour absolutely clear.
In particular, his wry reflections on the sadhus of Puri and their occult pretenses come to mind.
AKI q mItih nwk pkVih Tgx kau sMswru ]
AWt syqI nwku pkVih sUJqy iqin loA ]
mgr pwCY kCu n sUJY eyhu pdmu AloA ]
Some people try to deceive the world by closing their eyes and holding their nostrils closed.
They close off their nostrils with their fingers, and claim to see the three worlds.
But they cannot even see what is behind them. What a strange lotus pose this is!
– Sri Guru Granth Sahib, p. 662-63
Religion asserts that divine intervention can neutralise any and every misfortune; naturally, believers hope for God's help. However, the danger arises when one wants to go beyond mere hope and finds a way to somehow invoke, compel, control direct divine intervention for the sake of personal gain – or perhaps loss for someone he does not. This is the root of superstition.
Guru Nanak rejected these ideas as childish.
iriD isiD sBu mohu hY nwmu n vsY min Awie ]
Ridhi Sidhi are all worldly attachments; through them, Naam (Aatam Giaan, Spiritual Wisdom) does not come to abide in the mind – Sri Guru Granth Sahib, p. 593
One extensive expression of the Guru's ideas is found on pages 938 to 946 of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. This long hymn is known as the Siddh Gosti. From first verse to last, Nanak rejects the idea of the transactional, manipulative concepts of the Siddhas and describes spirituality in its true form.
Elsewhere too, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib is full of verses that reject superstition.
A person cannot engage in superstitious practices and consider himself a follower of the Gurus. Those who hold themselves out as exponents of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib have an even greater responsibility to dispel superstition. And yet, the opposite trend is in evidence in gurdwaras in India and even in the USA. Numerous examples in Punjab come to mind – for instance:
Dukhnivaran Sahib Gurdwara, Patiala: Salt and brooms left under a tree at gurdwara entrance result in cure for sickness, misfortune. Rubbing painful area of the body with desi ghee that has been offered in the akhand jyot removes pain
Damdama Sahib Gurdwara Talwandi Sabo: People suffering from facial paralysis come to this gurdwara to look into a mirror that once belonged to Guru Gobind Singh that is said to cure the ailment
Bangla Sahib, Delhi: Sick people drink water from a certain tank to be cured.
Dera Baba Vadbhag Singh Gurdwara, Mairi Una, HP: People suffering "possession"/ mental illness are brought to this place in the belief that they will be cured
Shahid Baba Nihal Singh Gurdwara, Talhan: People who want to go abroad offer toy airplanes at this gurdwara to ensure that their plans go smoothly
Undertaking practices, not for the spiritual benefit or insight that they confer, but for some immediate gain is another type of superstition – again, one that the Gurus rejected. This attitude is what leads to advice such as: "Recite verse XYZ a certain number of times on such-and-such day and you will get [a new car] [favourable court ruling] [spouse as per your specifications] [etc. etc etc.]
This is just another empty transaction: it is telling people to offer some sort of ritualised behaviour and gain some worldly benefit. What did Guru Nanak have to say about this:
qIrQu qpu dieAw dqu dwnu ] jy ko pwvY iql kw mwnu ]
Going on pilgrimage, performing austerities and offering alms –
Whoever feels proud of such things, whatever merit he might have gained is reduced to zero. – Sri Guru Granth Sahib, p. 4
It is also alarming to see belief in astrology gaining ground among Sikhs. Astrology is specifically condemned in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The Gurus rejected all forms of idolatry but we now see idols of the Gurus in homes and on car dashboards.
There is also no reason to attach special importance to all-night recitation of shabad kirtan (raen subhaiee) or to believe that a visit to some specific gurdwara confers extraordinary blessings. Didn't Guru Nanak tell the mullah "turn my feet in the direction that God is not"?
For most of human history, god (or more often, the gods) has been understood to be merely a grander version of man, hence susceptible to manipulation through bribes, flattery and even threat. The Gurus preached a higher realisation.
As the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, you are entrusted with guiding the Sikh community according to the principles established by the Gurus. Please use your authority to emphasise the Sikh faith's insistence on true spirituality as described in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Turning a blind eye to the infiltration of superstition and empty rituals in gurdwaras and in the practices and attitudes of Sikhs means that we are ignoring the teachings of our faith.
¤
©Copyright Institute of Sikh Studies, 2019, All
rights reserved.
