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Guru Granth Sahib
Composition, Arrangement & Layout
ਜਪੁ | Jup
ਸੋ ਦਰੁ | So Dar
ਸੋਹਿਲਾ | Sohilaa
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ | Raag Siree-Raag
Gurbani (14-53)
Ashtpadiyan (53-71)
Gurbani (71-74)
Pahre (74-78)
Chhant (78-81)
Vanjara (81-82)
Vaar Siri Raag (83-91)
Bhagat Bani (91-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਝ | Raag Maajh
Gurbani (94-109)
Ashtpadi (109)
Ashtpadiyan (110-129)
Ashtpadi (129-130)
Ashtpadiyan (130-133)
Bara Maha (133-136)
Din Raen (136-137)
Vaar Maajh Ki (137-150)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ | Raag Gauree
Gurbani (151-185)
Quartets/Couplets (185-220)
Ashtpadiyan (220-234)
Karhalei (234-235)
Ashtpadiyan (235-242)
Chhant (242-249)
Baavan Akhari (250-262)
Sukhmani (262-296)
Thittee (296-300)
Gauree kii Vaar (300-323)
Gurbani (323-330)
Ashtpadiyan (330-340)
Baavan Akhari (340-343)
Thintteen (343-344)
Vaar Kabir (344-345)
Bhagat Bani (345-346)
ਰਾਗੁ ਆਸਾ | Raag Aasaa
Gurbani (347-348)
Chaupaday (348-364)
Panchpadde (364-365)
Kaafee (365-409)
Aasaavaree (409-411)
Ashtpadiyan (411-432)
Patee (432-435)
Chhant (435-462)
Vaar Aasaa (462-475)
Bhagat Bani (475-488)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੂਜਰੀ | Raag Goojaree
Gurbani (489-503)
Ashtpadiyan (503-508)
Vaar Gujari (508-517)
Vaar Gujari (517-526)
ਰਾਗੁ ਦੇਵਗੰਧਾਰੀ | Raag Dayv-Gandhaaree
Gurbani (527-536)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਹਾਗੜਾ | Raag Bihaagraa
Gurbani (537-556)
Chhant (538-548)
Vaar Bihaagraa (548-556)
ਰਾਗੁ ਵਡਹੰਸ | Raag Wadhans
Gurbani (557-564)
Ashtpadiyan (564-565)
Chhant (565-575)
Ghoriaan (575-578)
Alaahaniiaa (578-582)
Vaar Wadhans (582-594)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੋਰਠਿ | Raag Sorath
Gurbani (595-634)
Asatpadhiya (634-642)
Vaar Sorath (642-659)
ਰਾਗੁ ਧਨਾਸਰੀ | Raag Dhanasaree
Gurbani (660-685)
Astpadhiya (685-687)
Chhant (687-691)
Bhagat Bani (691-695)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਤਸਰੀ | Raag Jaitsree
Gurbani (696-703)
Chhant (703-705)
Vaar Jaitsaree (705-710)
Bhagat Bani (710)
ਰਾਗੁ ਟੋਡੀ | Raag Todee
ਰਾਗੁ ਬੈਰਾੜੀ | Raag Bairaaree
ਰਾਗੁ ਤਿਲੰਗ | Raag Tilang
Gurbani (721-727)
Bhagat Bani (727)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੂਹੀ | Raag Suhi
Gurbani (728-750)
Ashtpadiyan (750-761)
Kaafee (761-762)
Suchajee (762)
Gunvantee (763)
Chhant (763-785)
Vaar Soohee (785-792)
Bhagat Bani (792-794)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ | Raag Bilaaval
Gurbani (795-831)
Ashtpadiyan (831-838)
Thitteen (838-840)
Vaar Sat (841-843)
Chhant (843-848)
Vaar Bilaaval (849-855)
Bhagat Bani (855-858)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੋਂਡ | Raag Gond
Gurbani (859-869)
Ashtpadiyan (869)
Bhagat Bani (870-875)
ਰਾਗੁ ਰਾਮਕਲੀ | Raag Ramkalee
Ashtpadiyan (902-916)
Gurbani (876-902)
Anand (917-922)
Sadd (923-924)
Chhant (924-929)
Dakhnee (929-938)
Sidh Gosat (938-946)
Vaar Ramkalee (947-968)
ਰਾਗੁ ਨਟ ਨਾਰਾਇਨ | Raag Nat Narayan
Gurbani (975-980)
Ashtpadiyan (980-983)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਲੀ ਗਉੜਾ | Raag Maalee Gauraa
Gurbani (984-988)
Bhagat Bani (988)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਰੂ | Raag Maaroo
Gurbani (889-1008)
Ashtpadiyan (1008-1014)
Kaafee (1014-1016)
Ashtpadiyan (1016-1019)
Anjulian (1019-1020)
Solhe (1020-1033)
Dakhni (1033-1043)
ਰਾਗੁ ਤੁਖਾਰੀ | Raag Tukhaari
Bara Maha (1107-1110)
Chhant (1110-1117)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕੇਦਾਰਾ | Raag Kedara
Gurbani (1118-1123)
Bhagat Bani (1123-1124)
ਰਾਗੁ ਭੈਰਉ | Raag Bhairo
Gurbani (1125-1152)
Partaal (1153)
Ashtpadiyan (1153-1167)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਸੰਤੁ | Raag Basant
Gurbani (1168-1187)
Ashtpadiyan (1187-1193)
Vaar Basant (1193-1196)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਾਰਗ | Raag Saarag
Gurbani (1197-1200)
Partaal (1200-1231)
Ashtpadiyan (1232-1236)
Chhant (1236-1237)
Vaar Saarang (1237-1253)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਲਾਰ | Raag Malaar
Gurbani (1254-1293)
Partaal (1265-1273)
Ashtpadiyan (1273-1278)
Chhant (1278)
Vaar Malaar (1278-91)
Bhagat Bani (1292-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਾਨੜਾ | Raag Kaanraa
Gurbani (1294-96)
Partaal (1296-1318)
Ashtpadiyan (1308-1312)
Chhant (1312)
Vaar Kaanraa
Bhagat Bani (1318)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਲਿਆਨ | Raag Kalyaan
Gurbani (1319-23)
Ashtpadiyan (1323-26)
ਰਾਗੁ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਤੀ | Raag Prabhaatee
Gurbani (1327-1341)
Ashtpadiyan (1342-51)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਜਾਵੰਤੀ | Raag Jaijaiwanti
Gurbani (1352-53)
Salok | Gatha | Phunahe | Chaubole | Swayiye
Sehskritee Mahala 1
Sehskritee Mahala 5
Gaathaa Mahala 5
Phunhay Mahala 5
Chaubolae Mahala 5
Shaloks Bhagat Kabir
Shaloks Sheikh Farid
Swaiyyae Mahala 5
Swaiyyae in Praise of Gurus
Shaloks in Addition To Vaars
Shalok Ninth Mehl
Mundavanee Mehl 5
ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ, Raag Maalaa
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Gurmat Vichaar
Gurmat Vichar - Discussions
Basic Of Sikhism
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<blockquote data-quote="Sikh80" data-source="post: 76823" data-attributes="member: 5290"><p><a href="http://www.sikhreview.org/september2001/tsr23.htm" target="_blank">View Page</a></p><p><u><strong> Crisis of Character: A Wake-up Call</strong></u></p><p><u><strong></strong></u> </p><p>Bhagwant Singh Dalawari*</p><p></p><p>* Tapovan, Amravati, 444602 (Maharashtra).</p><p></p><p>Controversies everywhere! I am dismayed looking at - and going through - some of the Punjab’s newspapers and magazines. The headlines proclaim division, internecine quarrels, mud-slinging and intellectual jugglery. I am also astonished AT the degeneration that has befallen the contemporary Sikh affairs. We are engrossed in finding faults with others, pointing fingers at others, projecting and justifying our egos, ruining the prospects of our children’s future and, as a result, almost establishing that MOST Sikhs know only quarreling, mud-slinging and destroying the magnificent philosophy of our Gurus. In the darkness that has enveloped us in the context of our bankrupt leadership, we make no efforts to find our way, we make no headway in emphasizing character-building as the avenue to our future glory. On the contrary, we have lost character, honesty, spirit of service and sacrifice and the strength of Humility - remember, Guru says: Garibi Gada Hamari, Humility is my Mace; and we want to cover our degeneration by shameless parading of others’ faults, others’ sins and others’ negative attitudes.</p><p></p><p>When I was in the 8th class in the Khalsa High School, Jhelum (now in Pakistan), a great teacher, Sardar Abhay Singh, was our Headmaster. I had then learnt the famous words about character from him. Let us bring ourselves to realizing its impact:</p><p></p><p>- When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;</p><p>When health is lost, something is lost;</p><p>When Character is lost, everything is lost.</p><p></p><p>Truth vs Falsehood: And in my school room, the walls displayed many quotes exhorting students to be honest, truthful, service-minded and lovers of humanity in selfless actions. A warning also was displayed in the following words:</p><p></p><p>Sachai chchup nahin sakti banawat ke assoolon se</p><p></p><p>Ke khushboo aa nahin sakti kabhi kagaz ke phoolon se.</p><p></p><p>(Truth can never be hidden behind artificial display of principles. And the paper-flowers can never give fragrance)</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, the whole of our leadership - political, religious, intellectual, academic or social - is drenched in Banawati Assool and are easily seen as Kagaz Ke Phool. A more unfortunate fact is that we do not even recognize that we have lost character and the spirit of sacrifice, but we still want pre-eminence, i.e. Khalsaji ke bol baale. Khalsaji, we shall never succeed, unless we first develop character in the following manner:</p><p></p><p>1. When our heads were fetching prizes of Rs.5, 10 or 80, we never got rid of our Keshas, or deny our faith.</p><p></p><p>2. When we had nothing to eat and nothing to wear and we had only jungle and horses as our residence, we did not complain.</p><p></p><p>3. When anyone was in distress - regardless of caste or religious distinction, we helped him even at the cost of our life.</p><p></p><p>4. When foreign invaders were taking our daughters for sale to Ghazni, we staked our lives and liberated them.</p><p></p><p>5. When rulers did not stop trains for serving langar to prisoners, we threw ourselves on railway and saw to it that the train stopped even if some of us were crushed.</p><p></p><p>6. When Nankana Sahib was to be liberated, the Sikhs never hesitated to lay down their lives.</p><p></p><p>7. In the other Morchas in the beginning of the last century, the Sikhs remained non-violent despite their loss of limb and life, because they had pledged to be so.</p><p></p><p>8. Even those, like Gandhiji, who were not enamoured of the Khalsa, had to congratulate the Sikhs, treating the liberation of Gurdwaras as the liberation of the country.</p><p></p><p>9. Considering our sacrifices and universal spirit of service of equality, Madan Mohan Malviya exhorted all Hindus to have one Sikh in the family.</p><p></p><p>10. We did not hesitate to live up to our Gurus’ commands whether it meant being sawn, burnt, boiled, buried alive, or being killed in the battlefield.</p><p></p><p>Divine Power: I have just thought of Bhai Tara who sprinkled water over the fires raging in Lahore under the orders of the ruler; someone asked him; "Do you know that the Sarkar has ordered the whole city to put on fire? How dare you put out the fire anywhere?" He replied: "My Sarkar’s orders are to put out fire wherever it rages, and I am obeying my Sarkar, my Guru." We have all heard about Bhai Taru Singh’s scalp removed because he refused to have his hair cut, and Bhai Mani Singh’s sarcastic remarks: "What kind of Jallad are you? You don’t obey your Master. You have to cut me up joint-by-joint. And you are leaving our many joints". Even death did not lessen the enthusiasm of the men of character.</p><p></p><p>Instead of wasting so much time on word-jugglery, mudslinging, finding fault with others, why don’t we concentrate on the reasons for our degeneration, on the Basics of Sikhism which emboldened us to challenge Death, which prepared us to lay down our lives but not surrender. My first and foremost belief is that we have degenerated because we no longer live the commands of our masters. We parade them and we are now slaves of money, vadiai, ostentation, alcohol, hypocrisy and we hide our inner rottenness by our external apparel of religiosity without remembering: Jananhar Prabu Prabeen, Bahar Bhekh Na Kahoo Bheen. (The all-knowing Lord is expert antarjaami and is not pleased with external masks - Sukhmani Sahib.)</p><p></p><p>I put myself to shame over the fact that we could not all, including myself, march towards Punjab, and those of us, who were in the Punjab, why could we not march towards the Harmandir Sahib, when Bluestar was perpetrated? After all, Indira Gandhi had first come to the conclusion that our leadership is hollow, and she could get away with murder of many pilgrims on Guru Arjun Dev’s martyrdom! But if, like the stopping of Railway train at Hasan Abdal, Panja Sahib, we all - all the Sikhs - decided to be willing to be put to death, how many could the troops kill? How many could the troops silence? Remember, the Filipino Army refused to kill its own people when it was ordered to shoot the protesters for the ouster of Filipino President. If all of us were sincere in our protestation to be Sikhs, if all of us had character, and were not dominated by money and possessions, no Government, no army, no police could kill all of us.</p><p></p><p>Hypocrisy: Today our character is at the lowest ebb. Those entrusted with the guidance to the Sikhs in the SGPC, or in political leadership, are themselves so far away from true character that there is no hope. Those involved in intellectual scholarships are concerned with splitting hairs, and those entrusted with the control of Gurdwaras are concerned with Golak. In fact I have heard that the schools and colleges allotted to a Member for management are the sources of illegal wealth for these Members. Apostasy in Sikh schools is growing and, in any case, drugs, dishonesty, and un-Sikh practices abound. The Sikh boys in Sikh schools - as also the Sikh girls - do not present a picture of Sikhi Character. On the contrary their teachers give them no example and everyone is satisfied with intellectual one-upmanship.</p><p></p><p>Philanthropy: When I see the news of Sikhs quarreling, I hang my head in shame, and ask myself why can’t I see the news of Sikhs establishing hospitals for the poor in one State or the other, establishing poor houses for the hungry, establishing shelter for the shelterless street children, setting up moral schools for humanity to practice morality and ethics, and why can’t the highly placed Sikhs in every State show in their attitude the Graciousness of the Gurus in dealing with the people by setting up in every major town of India, Libraries, Hospitals, Schools and Social Centres? But I know Sikhs themselves have lost character. How would they teach others, how would they give examples. Let me share an incident here. The other day, on Guru Arjun’s martyrdom day, I was riding the pillion of a young scooterist. I asked him whether he knew what we were celebrating. He said it was Shahidi Gurpurab. "Of whom"? I asked, but he could not reply. When I asked him another question on Gurmat, he, a student in B.A., told me serenely and defiantly" "I don’t know, but why do you ask me, ask my parents they do not know"! And how true it is can be seen from my own experience with a retired Executive Engineer and his family, otherwise very kind persons. When I asked how many Gurus and which Bhagtas were there in Guru Granth Sahib, neither the husband nor the wife knew correctly. They just said: Ten Gurus, and they were not sure of how many and which Bhagtas there were.</p><p></p><p>Integrity: When I was twenty years old, I had read the definition of integrity as follows, and I had noted that this exactly was the definition that our Gurus would have liked every Sikh to live.</p><p></p><p>"When Wrong is beneficial, when Wrong is productive, when Wrong can never be found out, when Wrong</p><p>will bring no opprobrium and when right is hurtful, when right will be punished, when right will bring insults and condemnation, the man of integrity</p><p>(my own concept of a Sikh, too) will follow the right."</p><p></p><p>Why can’t we improve the character of the functioning of Gurudwaras; but who will do so? If the qualifications for the election of committee members of gurdwaras almost everywhere in the country are money, position, chicanery and domination, and not the piety or purity of the candidates, how can we improve the situation? True, Gurdwaras are now air-conditioned, or at least air-cooled in summer, but our hearts continue to burn for lack of character. Wine-merchants and alcohol-drinking Presidents and Secretaries in various gurdwaras can be noticed and the commercial nature of Akhand Paath, and other ceremonial rituals, can be seen. So also, in many cases the sale of Siropas in exchange for Rs.50, Rs.100 or some other amount in Kara Parsad. How will the improvement come when we do not even aim at improving our character and are satisfied with our external embellishments - both of the Gurdwara and ourselves?</p><p></p><p>True Teacher - Guru Granth: Can’t we, for instance, reserve our publications, our programmes in gurdwaras and our general educational system in Sikh schools, for imparting moral and spiritual education to not only the youth but our own Gurdwara managers and general public? And, there can be no better guide than Guru Granth Sahib, from where the gems for character-formation can be selected at random. The ocean of peace, the ocean of Anand and the ocean of Truth, that is the real attribute of Guru Granth Sahib, has been preparing us for facing all kinds of onslaughts. We have faced two major ghallugharas in the past and two in 1984, one in the attack on the Golden Temple and the other in anti-Sikh carnage. But what shall we do when we ourselves have lost the will to regain our character? What shall we do when we have decided to be in deep slumber of Maya, just as our Gurus have described and we shall wake up in deep repentance:</p><p></p><p>Soi rahi prabh khabar na jaani bhaur bhaya bahaur pachhtani (SGGS 389)</p><p></p><p>I remained in slumber and did not enlighten myself with the news of the Lord; when the whole life was wasted, I began to repent.</p><p></p><p>Let us look at how Guru Granth Sahib builds our character, not only in small matters but in highly complicated situations. The path of Truth, says the Guru, is the most dependable factor in building, maintaining and enforcing true character.</p><p></p><p>Let us not forget that the five mighty thieves are always on the prowl when we are unprotected with the Ramkaar of the Lord, and when we writhe in pain ourselves, we lose our moorings and are prepared to indulge in anything, right or wrong, in the belief that our suffering will be alleviated. Thus we lose our character - the most dependable attribute of Man’s capacity to come out in flying colours in any situation.</p><p></p><p>Bhai Gurdasji’s Bani is considered to be the key to the understanding of Guru Granth Sahib’s message and is, therefore, the best for character-building. Fortunately, Bhai Sahib has delineated the character of a Gursikh in various formulations, but let me share his two shabads:</p><p></p><p>l Hown tis ghol ghumaya gurmat ridae garibi awai...... I am sacrifice unto the one who has developed humility in Gurmat-style, who does not go near a woman other than his wife, who does not touch others’ wealth, who removes himself immediately from the place where slander is indulged in, who Lives the teachings of Gurus, who sleeps and eats less, Because he alone lives in equanimity. - [Var 12, Paudi 4.]</p><p></p><p>l Kurbani tinan gursikhan pichchal raati uth bahande...... I am sacrifice unto those Gursikhs who rise at the ambrosial hour, who have a complete bath at amritvela, recite the name of the Lord with concentration of mind, who go to sadhsangat and sing Gurbani day in and day out, who make the Guru-Sikh meetings possible, who celebrate anniversaries of the Guru and who, through Seva, flourish in every activity. - [Var 12, Paudi 2.]</p><p></p><p>Is there any doubt now as to what kind of character was envisaged for a Gursikh by our Gurus? And if we can develop this character - as once we had - kingdoms would be at our feet. Would it not be best to leave small controversies of Langar on tables or on mats, this date of birth or that, this calendar or that, this book or that, the martyrdom of Lajpatrai or Bhagat Singh, the truth of the sayings of Master Tara Singh or Sirdar Kapur Singh, and various controversies of relatively minor nature, and concentrate on character building which will automatically take care of the truth. Let us remember Bin Nawen Kaisa Achar? - how can we develop character without the Lord’s Name? </p><p></p><p>Remember Guru Nanak telling the Pandit that he would wear the Janeou only if there is cotton of compassion, yarn of contentment, knots of self-control and turnings of truth. It is incumbent upon us to develop compassion, contentment, self-control and truth. And I very much hope that a Sikh being offered Amrit would humbly ask whether his five kakkars are a guarantee that he will be protected from lust, anger, greed, attachment and haughtiness. I am afraid the Amritdhari Jathedars and Amritdhari leaders do not give us the confidence that they have learnt to live the character envisaged for them by the Gurus. Controversies can wait because they are making us a laughing stock of not only our detractors but also of the well-meaning ordinary devoted Sikhs, who yearn to follow the Guru, but are confused.</p><p></p><p>If the leaders continued to follow the path of greed, lust and mistrust, political and religious chicanery, I am afraid our youth will be lost, and the intellectuals will be responsible because they go on parading their intellectual conceit rather than guiding the youth in character-building by showing themselves as examples.</p><p></p><p>I conclude with a prayer that from now on, everyone who writes on Sikh affairs keeps the following verse from Guru Arjun in mind:</p><p></p><p>Att sundar kuleen chatur mukh gyani dhanwant </p><p></p><p>miurtak kahiye nanaka je preet nahin bhagwant [SGGS, p. 263]</p><p></p><p>One may be the most handsome gentleman or the most beautiful woman, one may belong to the highest and noblest family, one may be the cleverest person or be incredibly rich. But he is moribund if he has not developed the love of the Lord (-in other words, the love of Truth - which builds our character).</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/SearchView/92D1F4150D28A9DE87256D600004EC4D!OpenDocument" target="_blank">Crisis of Character: A Wake-up Call</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sikh80, post: 76823, member: 5290"] [url=http://www.sikhreview.org/september2001/tsr23.htm]View Page[/url] [U][B] Crisis of Character: A Wake-up Call [/B][/U] Bhagwant Singh Dalawari* * Tapovan, Amravati, 444602 (Maharashtra). Controversies everywhere! I am dismayed looking at - and going through - some of the Punjab’s newspapers and magazines. The headlines proclaim division, internecine quarrels, mud-slinging and intellectual jugglery. I am also astonished AT the degeneration that has befallen the contemporary Sikh affairs. We are engrossed in finding faults with others, pointing fingers at others, projecting and justifying our egos, ruining the prospects of our children’s future and, as a result, almost establishing that MOST Sikhs know only quarreling, mud-slinging and destroying the magnificent philosophy of our Gurus. In the darkness that has enveloped us in the context of our bankrupt leadership, we make no efforts to find our way, we make no headway in emphasizing character-building as the avenue to our future glory. On the contrary, we have lost character, honesty, spirit of service and sacrifice and the strength of Humility - remember, Guru says: Garibi Gada Hamari, Humility is my Mace; and we want to cover our degeneration by shameless parading of others’ faults, others’ sins and others’ negative attitudes. When I was in the 8th class in the Khalsa High School, Jhelum (now in Pakistan), a great teacher, Sardar Abhay Singh, was our Headmaster. I had then learnt the famous words about character from him. Let us bring ourselves to realizing its impact: - When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; When health is lost, something is lost; When Character is lost, everything is lost. Truth vs Falsehood: And in my school room, the walls displayed many quotes exhorting students to be honest, truthful, service-minded and lovers of humanity in selfless actions. A warning also was displayed in the following words: Sachai chchup nahin sakti banawat ke assoolon se Ke khushboo aa nahin sakti kabhi kagaz ke phoolon se. (Truth can never be hidden behind artificial display of principles. And the paper-flowers can never give fragrance) Unfortunately, the whole of our leadership - political, religious, intellectual, academic or social - is drenched in Banawati Assool and are easily seen as Kagaz Ke Phool. A more unfortunate fact is that we do not even recognize that we have lost character and the spirit of sacrifice, but we still want pre-eminence, i.e. Khalsaji ke bol baale. Khalsaji, we shall never succeed, unless we first develop character in the following manner: 1. When our heads were fetching prizes of Rs.5, 10 or 80, we never got rid of our Keshas, or deny our faith. 2. When we had nothing to eat and nothing to wear and we had only jungle and horses as our residence, we did not complain. 3. When anyone was in distress - regardless of caste or religious distinction, we helped him even at the cost of our life. 4. When foreign invaders were taking our daughters for sale to Ghazni, we staked our lives and liberated them. 5. When rulers did not stop trains for serving langar to prisoners, we threw ourselves on railway and saw to it that the train stopped even if some of us were crushed. 6. When Nankana Sahib was to be liberated, the Sikhs never hesitated to lay down their lives. 7. In the other Morchas in the beginning of the last century, the Sikhs remained non-violent despite their loss of limb and life, because they had pledged to be so. 8. Even those, like Gandhiji, who were not enamoured of the Khalsa, had to congratulate the Sikhs, treating the liberation of Gurdwaras as the liberation of the country. 9. Considering our sacrifices and universal spirit of service of equality, Madan Mohan Malviya exhorted all Hindus to have one Sikh in the family. 10. We did not hesitate to live up to our Gurus’ commands whether it meant being sawn, burnt, boiled, buried alive, or being killed in the battlefield. Divine Power: I have just thought of Bhai Tara who sprinkled water over the fires raging in Lahore under the orders of the ruler; someone asked him; "Do you know that the Sarkar has ordered the whole city to put on fire? How dare you put out the fire anywhere?" He replied: "My Sarkar’s orders are to put out fire wherever it rages, and I am obeying my Sarkar, my Guru." We have all heard about Bhai Taru Singh’s scalp removed because he refused to have his hair cut, and Bhai Mani Singh’s sarcastic remarks: "What kind of Jallad are you? You don’t obey your Master. You have to cut me up joint-by-joint. And you are leaving our many joints". Even death did not lessen the enthusiasm of the men of character. Instead of wasting so much time on word-jugglery, mudslinging, finding fault with others, why don’t we concentrate on the reasons for our degeneration, on the Basics of Sikhism which emboldened us to challenge Death, which prepared us to lay down our lives but not surrender. My first and foremost belief is that we have degenerated because we no longer live the commands of our masters. We parade them and we are now slaves of money, vadiai, ostentation, alcohol, hypocrisy and we hide our inner rottenness by our external apparel of religiosity without remembering: Jananhar Prabu Prabeen, Bahar Bhekh Na Kahoo Bheen. (The all-knowing Lord is expert antarjaami and is not pleased with external masks - Sukhmani Sahib.) I put myself to shame over the fact that we could not all, including myself, march towards Punjab, and those of us, who were in the Punjab, why could we not march towards the Harmandir Sahib, when Bluestar was perpetrated? After all, Indira Gandhi had first come to the conclusion that our leadership is hollow, and she could get away with murder of many pilgrims on Guru Arjun Dev’s martyrdom! But if, like the stopping of Railway train at Hasan Abdal, Panja Sahib, we all - all the Sikhs - decided to be willing to be put to death, how many could the troops kill? How many could the troops silence? Remember, the Filipino Army refused to kill its own people when it was ordered to shoot the protesters for the ouster of Filipino President. If all of us were sincere in our protestation to be Sikhs, if all of us had character, and were not dominated by money and possessions, no Government, no army, no police could kill all of us. Hypocrisy: Today our character is at the lowest ebb. Those entrusted with the guidance to the Sikhs in the SGPC, or in political leadership, are themselves so far away from true character that there is no hope. Those involved in intellectual scholarships are concerned with splitting hairs, and those entrusted with the control of Gurdwaras are concerned with Golak. In fact I have heard that the schools and colleges allotted to a Member for management are the sources of illegal wealth for these Members. Apostasy in Sikh schools is growing and, in any case, drugs, dishonesty, and un-Sikh practices abound. The Sikh boys in Sikh schools - as also the Sikh girls - do not present a picture of Sikhi Character. On the contrary their teachers give them no example and everyone is satisfied with intellectual one-upmanship. Philanthropy: When I see the news of Sikhs quarreling, I hang my head in shame, and ask myself why can’t I see the news of Sikhs establishing hospitals for the poor in one State or the other, establishing poor houses for the hungry, establishing shelter for the shelterless street children, setting up moral schools for humanity to practice morality and ethics, and why can’t the highly placed Sikhs in every State show in their attitude the Graciousness of the Gurus in dealing with the people by setting up in every major town of India, Libraries, Hospitals, Schools and Social Centres? But I know Sikhs themselves have lost character. How would they teach others, how would they give examples. Let me share an incident here. The other day, on Guru Arjun’s martyrdom day, I was riding the pillion of a young scooterist. I asked him whether he knew what we were celebrating. He said it was Shahidi Gurpurab. "Of whom"? I asked, but he could not reply. When I asked him another question on Gurmat, he, a student in B.A., told me serenely and defiantly" "I don’t know, but why do you ask me, ask my parents they do not know"! And how true it is can be seen from my own experience with a retired Executive Engineer and his family, otherwise very kind persons. When I asked how many Gurus and which Bhagtas were there in Guru Granth Sahib, neither the husband nor the wife knew correctly. They just said: Ten Gurus, and they were not sure of how many and which Bhagtas there were. Integrity: When I was twenty years old, I had read the definition of integrity as follows, and I had noted that this exactly was the definition that our Gurus would have liked every Sikh to live. "When Wrong is beneficial, when Wrong is productive, when Wrong can never be found out, when Wrong will bring no opprobrium and when right is hurtful, when right will be punished, when right will bring insults and condemnation, the man of integrity (my own concept of a Sikh, too) will follow the right." Why can’t we improve the character of the functioning of Gurudwaras; but who will do so? If the qualifications for the election of committee members of gurdwaras almost everywhere in the country are money, position, chicanery and domination, and not the piety or purity of the candidates, how can we improve the situation? True, Gurdwaras are now air-conditioned, or at least air-cooled in summer, but our hearts continue to burn for lack of character. Wine-merchants and alcohol-drinking Presidents and Secretaries in various gurdwaras can be noticed and the commercial nature of Akhand Paath, and other ceremonial rituals, can be seen. So also, in many cases the sale of Siropas in exchange for Rs.50, Rs.100 or some other amount in Kara Parsad. How will the improvement come when we do not even aim at improving our character and are satisfied with our external embellishments - both of the Gurdwara and ourselves? True Teacher - Guru Granth: Can’t we, for instance, reserve our publications, our programmes in gurdwaras and our general educational system in Sikh schools, for imparting moral and spiritual education to not only the youth but our own Gurdwara managers and general public? And, there can be no better guide than Guru Granth Sahib, from where the gems for character-formation can be selected at random. The ocean of peace, the ocean of Anand and the ocean of Truth, that is the real attribute of Guru Granth Sahib, has been preparing us for facing all kinds of onslaughts. We have faced two major ghallugharas in the past and two in 1984, one in the attack on the Golden Temple and the other in anti-Sikh carnage. But what shall we do when we ourselves have lost the will to regain our character? What shall we do when we have decided to be in deep slumber of Maya, just as our Gurus have described and we shall wake up in deep repentance: Soi rahi prabh khabar na jaani bhaur bhaya bahaur pachhtani (SGGS 389) I remained in slumber and did not enlighten myself with the news of the Lord; when the whole life was wasted, I began to repent. Let us look at how Guru Granth Sahib builds our character, not only in small matters but in highly complicated situations. The path of Truth, says the Guru, is the most dependable factor in building, maintaining and enforcing true character. Let us not forget that the five mighty thieves are always on the prowl when we are unprotected with the Ramkaar of the Lord, and when we writhe in pain ourselves, we lose our moorings and are prepared to indulge in anything, right or wrong, in the belief that our suffering will be alleviated. Thus we lose our character - the most dependable attribute of Man’s capacity to come out in flying colours in any situation. Bhai Gurdasji’s Bani is considered to be the key to the understanding of Guru Granth Sahib’s message and is, therefore, the best for character-building. Fortunately, Bhai Sahib has delineated the character of a Gursikh in various formulations, but let me share his two shabads: l Hown tis ghol ghumaya gurmat ridae garibi awai...... I am sacrifice unto the one who has developed humility in Gurmat-style, who does not go near a woman other than his wife, who does not touch others’ wealth, who removes himself immediately from the place where slander is indulged in, who Lives the teachings of Gurus, who sleeps and eats less, Because he alone lives in equanimity. - [Var 12, Paudi 4.] l Kurbani tinan gursikhan pichchal raati uth bahande...... I am sacrifice unto those Gursikhs who rise at the ambrosial hour, who have a complete bath at amritvela, recite the name of the Lord with concentration of mind, who go to sadhsangat and sing Gurbani day in and day out, who make the Guru-Sikh meetings possible, who celebrate anniversaries of the Guru and who, through Seva, flourish in every activity. - [Var 12, Paudi 2.] Is there any doubt now as to what kind of character was envisaged for a Gursikh by our Gurus? And if we can develop this character - as once we had - kingdoms would be at our feet. Would it not be best to leave small controversies of Langar on tables or on mats, this date of birth or that, this calendar or that, this book or that, the martyrdom of Lajpatrai or Bhagat Singh, the truth of the sayings of Master Tara Singh or Sirdar Kapur Singh, and various controversies of relatively minor nature, and concentrate on character building which will automatically take care of the truth. Let us remember Bin Nawen Kaisa Achar? - how can we develop character without the Lord’s Name? Remember Guru Nanak telling the Pandit that he would wear the Janeou only if there is cotton of compassion, yarn of contentment, knots of self-control and turnings of truth. It is incumbent upon us to develop compassion, contentment, self-control and truth. And I very much hope that a Sikh being offered Amrit would humbly ask whether his five kakkars are a guarantee that he will be protected from lust, anger, greed, attachment and haughtiness. I am afraid the Amritdhari Jathedars and Amritdhari leaders do not give us the confidence that they have learnt to live the character envisaged for them by the Gurus. Controversies can wait because they are making us a laughing stock of not only our detractors but also of the well-meaning ordinary devoted Sikhs, who yearn to follow the Guru, but are confused. If the leaders continued to follow the path of greed, lust and mistrust, political and religious chicanery, I am afraid our youth will be lost, and the intellectuals will be responsible because they go on parading their intellectual conceit rather than guiding the youth in character-building by showing themselves as examples. I conclude with a prayer that from now on, everyone who writes on Sikh affairs keeps the following verse from Guru Arjun in mind: Att sundar kuleen chatur mukh gyani dhanwant miurtak kahiye nanaka je preet nahin bhagwant [SGGS, p. 263] One may be the most handsome gentleman or the most beautiful woman, one may belong to the highest and noblest family, one may be the cleverest person or be incredibly rich. But he is moribund if he has not developed the love of the Lord (-in other words, the love of Truth - which builds our character). [url=http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/SearchView/92D1F4150D28A9DE87256D600004EC4D!OpenDocument]Crisis of Character: A Wake-up Call[/url] [/QUOTE]
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