The Sikh Bulletin
swvx 535
July 2003
The Sikh Center Roseville, 201 Berkeley Ave, Roseville, CA. 956781
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The Sikh Bulletin
A Voice of Concerned Sikhs World Wide
July 2003
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sikhbulletin@surewest.net
Volume 5, Number 7
Published by:
Khalsa Tricentennial Foundation of N.A. Inc;
Sikh Center Roseville, 201 Berkeley Ave, Roseville, CA 95678.
Fax
(916) 773-6784
Khalsa Tricentennial Foundation of N.A. Inc. is a religious tax exempt California Corporation.
EDITORIAL
SIKH COMMUNITY AND ITS FUTURE
Guru Nanak conveyed the massage from waheguru to the world in verysimple terms. He said, let your life be one of praise of the Word (Nam),Charity (Dan), Ablution (Ishnan), Service (Sewa), and Prayer (Simran).Whosoever makes this his/her life’s mission will be saved. Yet, this simplemessage, because of self centered thinking and interpretation of Gurbanigenerated by many schools, sects, and sant/baba deras over the centurieshas resulted in a veritable labyrinth of legends, traditions, and complexdoctrines. What was meant to be a simple solution to the complicatedproblems of life has resulted in a religious and philosophical system that isbeyond the comprehension of most people.
The average follower of Sikhism has become preoccupied with relics and rituals.
Such practicesand rituals connected with them have become too deep rooted in the Sikhway of thinking that they are accepted as unspoken truth. Often it is verydifficult to talk to a Sikh about the simple truth that Guru Nanak taught,because the concept has become so foreign to him.
Unlike Hinduism, Sikhism is rooted in history and not mythology
. Yethistory is not immune to distortions and revisions. We have beenwitnessing revision of Sikh history and misinterpretation of Sikhphilosophy as a matter of official policy of the Government of India.Distortions and misinterpretation of Gurubani have been made easier bythe enthusiastic and willing cooperation of Sant/Babas, various Sectsemphasizing symbols to define Sikhi, post 1984 Dam Dami Taksal, andmany well meaning but misguided idealists. Regardless of differenceswithin the Sikh community,
we all agreed that Shri Guru Granth Sahibwas the only eternal Guru of the Sikhs.
Now with the promotion of the
so called Dasam Granth to the level of Guru
and doing
parkash
alongside Shri Guru Granth Sahib
at two of the five revered SikhTakhats
, there appears to be no common feature of Sikh Dharma.Like Hinduism, Sikhism today has become such a fluid religious ideas,beliefs, cults etc. that it is next to impossible to say what Sikhi is, where itbegins and where it ends. Conformity to the dictates of the Sant/Babas orfounders of sects rather than the ideology enshrined in the Shri GuruGranth Sahib has become the criterion for defining the true Sikh. Theintellectuals within the community have presented the biggestdisappointment in the recent past. Some of them have their own agendas topromote and glorify concepts such as sehajdhari or some other type of Sikhs. Those who retired from scientific fields are fond of calling
In This Issue/
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Editorial.................................................................1Was God Invented or Discovered………………...3Hukamnama of Akal Takhat Sahib……………….4Hukamnama or Biparnama………………………..5Who is Tankhaiya? ………...……………………..8A Day in the Life of Jathedar Joginder SinghVedanti in USA……………………………………9Bharti Mukherjee: A Propagandist………………10Sikhs Do Not Spread AIDS……………………...12Sikh Scholars From USA and Canada …………..13Bodies oppose Sewa by Women…………………15Akhand Kirtani Jatha’s Stand, Denial of History..15Distortion of Sikh History…………………….…16Nanakshahi Calendar………………………….…18Why the Nanak Shahi Calendar?……………..….19Clergy Exonerates Badal……………………...…20
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………………….23
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……………………………..…..24
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27
Letters To The Editor..........................................30Book Page...........................................................32
Editor in Chief
Hardev Singh Shergill
Editorial Board
Avtar Singh DhamiGurpal Singh Khaira
Production Associates
Amarjit Singh PaddaJasnain Singh
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The Sikh Bulletin
swvx 535
July 2003
The Sikh Center Roseville, 201 Berkeley Ave, Roseville, CA. 956782
themselves Sikh Scholars. They pride in coining new wordsand phrases to interpret Gurbani. They engage in intellectualgymnastic in the name of research and Sikh studies.N. G. Barrier reviewed the literature from the Singh Sabhamovement period and summarized the objectives of thereformers. These were a) Elimination of non Sikh elementsfrom the Sikh customs, b) Defining and maintaining Sikhreligious boundaries, c) Sikh identity, d) Cultivating sense of Sikh community and strengthening it against internal andexternal threats, e) Service for the panth. They were the braveindividuals who stood up and rose to the challenge of successfully defending Sikh way of life against the onslaughtof Christian missionaries and Hindu revivalist movement‘Arya Samaj’. However, like all Sikh movements through outthe history organized effort disintegrates in disunity beforethe victory is completely sealed. It is important to know whatis the other people’s assessment of the Sikh community. ASikh reacts to actual or perceived external threat and wants totackle the problem single handedly without regard to theeffects of his actions on the community. Sardar Kapur SinghICS records on page 19 of his famous book Sachi Sakhi whatSir Fazal Hussain wrote in 1925 for private circulation of Muslim political intellectuals.
“Hindu considers political matters and their implications years ahead. Musalman tries to tackle them just in time. But Sikh never think of them unless the time is actually past and the matter is well settled. The Sikh brain is intoxicated and obscured with the memory that once they ruled over Punjab,and they quite forget that the tail of the Sikh lion has beentwisted by the British.”
It would appear that the tail of the Sikh lion is now beingtwisted by the majority community in India as it has neverbeen twisted before.While the Singh Sabha disintegrated, Arya Samaj went on todevelop and strengthen at the grass root level by openingfinest schools, colleges and hospitals.
Sikhs sing the glory of the past, disregard the realities of present and ignore thefuture.
This lack of foresight element of the Sikh characterwas greatly expounded by A. E. Barstow in his 1928 book,‘The Sikhs, An Ethnology”:
“…Always asserts personal freedom as against communal or tribal control, more strongly than any other class. He hasneither prudence nor is he gifted with foresight, rarely can he foresee, nor does he care about effects of his actions…”
If the Sikh community is to survive in the modern world itwill have to foresee that without developing ways and meansto impart Sikh values at the grass root level, it will cease toexist. Elimination of Sant/Baba deras, the Taksals, and sectsfrom within the community will not save the community.While I recommend to continue to aggressively expose antiSikh practices, deliberate distortion of Sikh history, andmisinterpretation of Gurbani, Sikhs need to focus bulk of their energies and resources to actively educate Sikh publicabout Sikh ideals and Sikh way of life as enshrined in ShriGuru Granth sahib. The primary source of Sikh ideology isShri Guru Granth Sahib and all else is secondary supportmaterial. Sikhs must learn not to make petty issues asprestige or honor/dishonor affairs for the whole community.The Lofty goals of the Singh Sabha International can be theblue print the Sikh community can use to prepare the agendafor community development programs. I propose thefollowing for serious consideration:
1.
Set up a
Sikh Health Care Foundation
in NorthAmerica to build and run hospitals in rural Punjab.
2.
Set up a
Sikh Educational Foundation
in NorthAmerica to recruit Khalsa Schools and Colleges in Punjab.Those willing to adopt standards of the foundation will beprovided generous financial support.
3.
Create a
Sikh Economic Development Foundation
inNorth America to help needy Sikh communities in theireconomic advancement. A case in point the Sikligar andBanjara communities. (See SB April 2003 ).
4.
Establish
Sikh missionary college
in North America totrain English-speaking Granthis who are truly indoctrinatedin Sikh fundamentals.
5.
Promote
Sikh Sewa Dal
to teach young Sikhs the Sikhiideal of service to humanity by developing projects in ruralPunjab.6. Create
Sikh Think Tank
to purge all Sikh historicalliterature of all sakhis and stories, which are contradictory tothe Sikh fundamental principles.
Doing nothing will be the death sentence for the Sikhcommunity.
In closing, I am reminded of the 1998 Visakhicelebration at Alhambra Gurudwara. A sincerely dedicatedclean-shaven young Sikh recited a poem. He detailed thecommunity’s failures and lack of foresight. He started andfinished his poem with the following verse:
“Lakh Lahnat hai sardaran nu”(Hundred thousand shames to Sikhs)
This verse will truly express every body’s sentiments if theSikhs failed to take action to strengthen the community’sfuture.
Gurpal Singh Khaira, USA
*****
ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF SSI
Annual Conference of Singh Sabha International will be held onAugust 1st and 2nd, 2003 at Sikh Centre Roseville, California.Registration will begin at 09:00 AM and proceedings at 10:00 AM.Those who subscribe to the SSI agenda above and objectivespublished in the April 2003 issue of SB are invited to participate.
Hardev Singh Shergill, Secretary General
*****
The Sikh Bulletin
swvx 535
July 2003
The Sikh Center Roseville, 201 Berkeley Ave, Roseville, CA. 956783
WAS GOD INVENTED OR DISCOVERED?
Dr Gurbakhsh Singh, USAThe two institutions of science and religion have played amajor role in directing the life of human beings. As the twohave different approaches to the human knowledge, theyoften clash with each other. To begin with, religion ruled thethought of man. As science advanced, its achievements,particularly in the field of creation and cosmology, shook thevery roots of many religious beliefs. Even the faith in Godwas challenged. Most religions hold that God has nobeginning; He is the ever-existing Lord. He made all thecreation we know, and the one we may know in future. Somepeople, on the other hand, argue that God does not reallyexist, and has only been invented by shrewd persons to servetheir selfish interests. There is a third view as well; itsuggests that the institution of God is essential and that if Heis not there, it is necessary to invent (assume, create) one.Otherwise, our social structure will crumble and animalculture will prevail. For, only belief in God as Father of theentire humanity can provide the basis for true morality andethics. Modern youth exposed to science nurture doubtregarding the existence of God, and question the religiouspractices of their faith. I wish to share one such experiencewith the readers. In a Sikh youth camp held in Vancouver,BC, Canada, for teaching principles of the Sikh faith, astudent asked me, "Why have we to believe in God and whyare we required to follow rituals of the faith? One should befree to do what one likes or what makes one happy." I wascaught unaware. I did not expect such a question from ateenage son of the parents very much committed to the Sikhfaith. After some thought, a simple practical method toanswer the question occurred to me. There were two burlystudents also attending the camp. I asked them, "Would youlike to have his (the boy's) pants?" Quick came the reply,"Yes, certainly." I continued, "O.K. Then go ahead, and helpyourself." This startled the boy, and he exclaimed, "No! No!These are my pants." I repeated my suggestion to thestudents, "Do not listen to him. You like his pants, youshould take them." The boy objected even more vehemently,"This is unfair, wrong. Why should they take my pants?" Itwas time for me to remind him of his statement, "Did you notsay that one should do what one likes? They like to have yourpants." Our debate led us to the conclusion, "One should nottake what belongs to others." I asked the boy to write it onthe board. That day we swapped our roles. I acted as a learnerand started asking questions, while the trainees responded.We ended up writing many more sentences on the board. Forexample: 'Do not tell lies to fool others, do not bully ortorture the weak and helpless, help the needy, speak truth,etc. As a teacher of the group, I concluded, "Well friends!What you decided means that we should be good to eachother and behave as members of one big family. In otherwords, you agree that to create a peaceful and happy societywe should behave as if all humans are children of the samefather. Wise men have named Him God. Let me assure youGod has not been assumed. He is there and there is ascientific proof of that." The boys immediately questioned,"How can you give a scientific proof when everyone saysthat God is beyond the field of science?" I answered:"Asstudents of science, you accept that new findings become afact if more than three or four scientists independentlyobtain the same results. More than half a dozen spiritualscientists (prophets), independently of one another andliving in different parts of the world in very differentcultures, have reported that there is One Almighty Lord whocreated the world. Why not accept their independentfindings, their intuitive experiences, as a scientific fact?"According to your arguments, because we cannot observeHim and cannot react with Him, there is no God. Dearyouth! There are, however, many other facts, which weaccepted without being able to verify them by our ownphysical senses. We have to believe our scientists andgeographers. "Newton observed that there is a force in ourdead earth, which attracts everything towards itself. We callit gravity and you all know about it. We cannot verify it byour physical senses (eye, ear, touch etc.). I tried to explaingravity to an illiterate 70-year-old man in 1940. He found itdifficult to believe that gravity (force) exists but it was notput into the earth by anyone, that it does not grow old or getsick, that it will never die and that it has no shape, form orcolour. The old man could not imagine the existence of sucha thing. However, you all know it and understand it. Allthese characteristics belong to God as well and you also findit impossible to believe in Him.” Let us accept the word of the spiritual scientists that there is a spiritual Force whichGenerates, Operates and Destroys (in short, GOD) thecreation. Believing in Him is essential to maintain social,moral and ethical discipline of our society. We shouldaccept Him even if we cannot observe Him or describe Himto a layperson in words as in the case of gravity. "Anothersuch concept, which you cannot explain to a layman, isalready being used by you in your mathematics class. Wename this number 'infinity'. We have a symbol for it becausewe cannot write it in the digit form. This number is biggerthan the biggest number we can imagine. Without thisnumber we cannot work out many mathematical equations.For example, 'one' or any other positive real number dividedby zero is equal to infinity. There are some other facts of science also which we cannot perceive through physicalsenses. Have any of you seen a gene or an electron? Howcan you explain to a layman that all the food, grains, fruits,vegetables, trees, and all vegetation are produced by soil,water, air and sun? You know that the energy of the sunhelps water and carbon dioxide to chemically react,synthesizing simple carbohydrates (sugars). From sugar,other more complex organic compounds are built. "Pleasebelieve me, we are lay men in the spiritual field. We shouldtherefore, accept the findings of the spiritual scientists.There have been many holy people who experienced mysticcommunication with God. About two-dozen of them have
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