Significance of the Bhatt Swayias
Prof. Devinder Singh Chahal, Ph. D*
*
Institute for Understanding Sikhism, 4418 Martin-Plouffe, Laval, Quebec, Canada H7W 5L9. Email: Sikhism@iuscanada.com
Dr Wazir Singh writes about ‘
Swayiay by Bhatts’ in his recent article, “
Bhatt-Bani in the Holy Granth Sahib” (The SR, Vol. 55:2 February, 2007) as follows:
1. The Bhatts belonged to Brahman community and were followers of the Vaishnav faith. They held Sri Ram and Sri Krishna as divine incarnations, and on meeting the Gurus in Punjab, believed that Guru Nanak and his four successor Gurus were Ram and Krishna reborn. Bhatt Kalsahar says, during Satyuga it was Guru Nanak who overpowered Bali; in the Treta-age, Nanak was Ram of the Raghu clan; in Duapar Nanak was in the form of Krishna who delivered Kans. And in the Kali-yuga ‘You are called Nanak, and Angad and Amar Das’.
2. The Bhatt poets who sang encomiums to Guru Amar Das included Jalap, Kirat and Bhikha. Salh and Bhalh also put down one Swayya each in praise of the Third Guru. According to Kirat, God (Narayan himself) descended on the earth for salvation of humanity.
3. … Guru Arjun, for him, is Hari himself.
4. The bard Mathura is convinced that whosoever meditates on Guru Arjun, would not be subject to transmigration.
5. The Bhatt insists that by having ‘
Darshan’ of the Guru, all sufferings vanish.
6. They endorse the name ‘Waheguru’ for the godhead.
7. Bhatt-Bani has ideological affinity with Guru-Bani as well as Bhagat-Bani.
So far as I understand there has not been any academic and unbiased discussion on the ideology of Bhatts in their Swayiay about the Sikh Gurus. When I read Dr Wazir Singh’s article I thought let us look into the ideology of Bhatts strictly according to Nanakian Philosophy embodied in the Gurbani. I think
The Sikh Review is the best platform to discuss this issue seriously.
The statement # 7 of Dr Wazir Singh may be acceptable as correct by many Sikh theologians, but critical analysis of his statements from 1 to 6, and testing them on the Bani of Guru Nanak and other Sikh Gurus – the touchstone of truth, will indicate that all the above statements of Dr Wazir Singh have no affinity with the Gurbani. However, all these statements strongly contradict the basic principles of Nanakian Philosophy embodied in the Gurbani.
Statement #1 is contrary to Gurbani because Guru Nanak says that God is
AwjUnI (
Ajuni) in the Commencing Verse of the Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS). It means that God does not come into birth and death cycle, to appear as Ram or Krishna or any other deity, or in human form. This fact has also been accepted by Albert Einstein, the Nobel Laureate, who said: “
God does not come into anthropomorphic form.”
Guru Arjun explains and confirms the above basic principle of Nanakian Philosophy as follows:
jnm mrx qy rhq nwrwiex ]1] …
so muKu jlau ijqu khih Twkuru jonI ]3]
The God is free from birth and death. ||1|| …..
Let that mouth be burnt which says that God is subject to birth and death. ||3||
Therefore, the statements # 2 and 3 are also contrary to Gurbani as explained above.
Statement # 4 is contrary to Gurbani because Guru Nanak and all other Sikh Gurus recommend meditating on the One and Only but none else:
swihbu myrw eyko hY ] eyko hY BweI eko hY ]
The God is One and Only, Hey Brother.
ijin isir swjI iqin Puin goeI ]
iqs ibnu dUjw Avru n koeI ]
T
he same One, Who has created; the same One can destroy.
There is no other than the One and Only.
Statement # 5 is contradictory to Gurbani because Guru Amar Das has rejected this practice of
Darshan of the Guru to get salvation:
siqgur no sBu ko vyKdw jyqw jgqu sMswru ]
ifTY mukiq n hoveI ijcru sbid n kry vIcwru ]
“All the humans of the world desire to see the True Guru (Sat Guru).
One is not liberated by merely seeing (True Guru), unless one deliberates/contemplates on the Sabd (word) of the True Guru.
The above recommendation of Guru Amar Das is based on the following principle of Nanakian Philosophy:
sBsY aUupir gur sbdu bIcwru ]
Highest importance is given on the deliberation / discussion on the sabd (philosophy) of the Guru.
The statement # 6 is also incorrect according to Gurbani since neither Guru Nanak nor any other Sikh Guru, who succeeded to the ‘House of Nanak’, has ever used ‘WAHEGURU’ for God in their Bani incorporated in the AGGS.
Finally, I want to pose a simple question to the readers of
The Sikh Review:
Should the Sikh follow the recommendation of Bhatts to meditate on Guru Arjun:
jp´au ijn@ Arjun dyv gurU iPir sMkt join grB n AwXau ]6]
(AGGS, Bhatt Mathura, p 1409)
Whoever meditates on Guru Arjun Dev, shall not have to pass through the painful womb of reincarnation ever again. ||6||
Or
Should the Sikhs follow the recommendation of Guru Arjun:
srb Drm mih sRyst Drmu ]
hir ko nwmu jip inrml krmu ]
The highest religion of the human is to do good deeds.
That is equivalent to the repetition of God’s name.
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