Sikhi Is In Ruins. How Can We Save It?

[spnadmin]

SIKHI IS IN RUINS; HOW CAN WE SAVE IT?

Jagat Jalandha Raakh Laye apni Kirpa Dhhar.
Bawa Singh Jagdev, Australia,
A Paper Read at the Singh Sabha Canada Conference
September 9, 2012

The authors talk extensively about the problems of Sant Babas, but also about misuses of religious terminology, the kakkars and the amrit ceremony; idols and rituals; the SGPC, Jathedars and Hukamnamas; and qualifications of Sikh “clergy.” Here is a sample. Download the pdf file of the September issue, or

Read more at this link from Sikh Bulletin http://www.sikhbulletin.com/Bulletins/SikhBulletinNovDec2012.pdf


I am presenting these facts as I have experienced while dealing with them back home in Australia. You may or may not agree with some of them, but I stand by them and the statements I have made in it. I am presenting these facts without, any derogatory intent, to belittle anyone here or otherwise or prejudice against any one.

Sikhi is being sandwiched between two formidable canker worms, self styled Sant Babas (Sadhs) and their followers on one side and SGPC and Jathedars on the other and they are working hand in hand to destroy this noble faith from within and without. We are on a rollercoaster ride sliding back into the same cesspool from where Guru Nanak pulled us out.



According to the Sikh faith God is the unity of Oneness in which everybody dwells. Guru Nanak
founded the Sikh religion or Sikhi which people, from all walks of life and faith, could practice and follow without conforming to any social or cultural norm or abandoning their own faith, and in which the plurality of the world became One. It was all about “Oneness of God and Oneness of humanity” and in which there were no others. It was a journey to discover who we were and how to realize the Creator? Today it has been divided into clusters of clans of Sant Babas and Dehra Walas, where head of each clan claims to be the only one having direct contact with the Almighty God and gets guidance from Him and cannot make mistake in interpreting Guru Bani.

A Sikh should have his heart to God and hands to work to earn an honest living. Religious preaching is not a profession in Sikhism; a preacher should preach without expecting or accepting any monitory gain or favors in lieu of and should support his family by doing honest work, as did Guru Nanak. But these Sadhs have made preaching their profession and sell Gurubani for money, contrary to the sacred Hymn which they recite almost every day:

“Thrig tenhan da jeevna jo lek lek bache Naam”

They amass money from their followers to service their nefarious activities by manufacturing and narrating tall tales about our Gurus, their lives and travels and their followers believe them as gospel truth. Blind faith in their sermons and ignorance of the people has driven the reason away. Every Sunday they batter the gates of Gurudwaras with storms of prayers to get a place in the heaven and spellbound by their fallacious discourses, gullible obey their master’s command keep uncut hair, wrap themselves in colourful religious attires, swing their heads like a twister and continuously chanting “Waheguru” -“Waheguru” at the top of their voices for hours as if their God was deaf. Pleased to console themselves that their religious obligations finish there and then when they pay their reverence to these Sadhs and by prostrating in front of Guru Granth Sahib, forgetting that that’s when their solemnly promised religious vows and commitments begin, to understand Gurubani to steer their lives accordingly.

Fear springs from ignorance and though Sikhism is not based on fear of punishment or promise of rewards these agents of God preach, practice, and believe in demons and magic charms, perform miracles, claim to have the power to change the sex of the unborn children, solve domestic problems, cure cancer and put fears in the minds of their followers to keep them subservient.

One of these self styled Sant Babas, not with us anymore, has claimed in his autobiography that he made Gold by melting different metals while he was in prison. Forgetting that Gold is an element and cannot be made, had he been alive he would have been the first and only “Sant” who would have been awarded the Noble Prize for making Gold. Defying all scientific logics his followers still believe that he did make Gold by mixing different metals.

No man can serve two masters at the same time, the Creator and these Sadhs. A naked person cannot drop anything, we are all beggars and we beseech supplicate God for directions to get salvation; then what a beggar can give to another ... continues at http://www.sikhbulletin.com/Bulletins/SikhBulletinNovDec2012.pdf

 

[Kanwaljit.Singh]

Another problem is our understanding of Guru Granth Sahib. I wonder if any prachar is being done to think of Guru Sahib as the living Guru. Say you have some problem, regarding studies, work or personal. You go to Gurudwara, you do an Ardas detailing what you are thinking and what really bugs you. Then you sit down and take a Hukamnama. Wow that is a great conversation. But we don't think that way. We don't have interaction with them as a Guru, but only as a holy book. It is really sad to see how the swaroops at home are treated sometimes. And of course we don't have any relatable respect for the Pothis and Gutka sahibs.

 

[linzer]

I haven't had experience with Sant babas, but they sound a lot like Yogi Bhajan.
This fellow seems to dismiss Guru Gobind Singh call for Sikhs to take Amrit out of hand. I don't find the Ceremony of Amrit out dated at all and I really don't find the definition of a Sikh in the SRM all that restrictive.

 

[spnadmin]

linzer ji

The baba problem is real, and it is worldwide. I believe the authors were talking about the problem of amritism not the taking of amrit per se. Amritdhari are treating themselves more and more like a select group, who cannot stoop to teach in small ways or admit others into the circle of learners whose spiritual understanding has merit. In fact, more and more, amrit is less about spiritual growth and more about defining identity along lines of exclusivity. That is why the comparison to brahmins is made so frequently.

On the baba front, I have had first hand experience, and fortunately I can walk away, and that has limited my exposure and experience deliberately. However, my experience can't define the bigger picture.

 

[linzer]

I imagine these Babas a lot like charismatic preachers in protestant christianity that set up their own church to make a buck fleecing the flock.

 

[Ishna]

If Sikhi had a stronger centralised authority which was educated, not corrupt and had the best interests of the global sangat it mind, wouldn't that help combat the problem of freelance babas and sants, and provide a more stable foundation for Sikhi? Wipe the slate, take stock of history and where the community is at today, and start again. The current system is broken. Catholocism might not be perfect, but it's held itself together for a long time due to a very strong leadership structure. Perhaps it's something to consider. Not the idea of 'god's representative on earth' (the Pope) but a formal leadership structure.

Babas and sants are not necssarily bad though. Gurbani talks about seeking out such wise people and learning from them. It goes pear shaped when they become a cult figure seeking money and making up their own doctrine.

And that's probably the primary indicator of whether a baba or sant is genuine.

 

[spnadmin]

I imagine these Babas a lot like charismatic preachers in protestant christianity that set up their own church to make a buck fleecing the flock.

Exactly exactly like that. And they are both also good at using media, YouTube, TV, Press Releases, the newspaper, getting pictures taken with important politicians. Make a list.

Also sexual abuse of congregation members, or fleecing them for large sums of money even to bankruptcy, huge funded projects that serve as cover-ups for who would expose someone who has built a clinic or nursing home, all can be found in both campsl

 

[linzer]

If Sikhi had a stronger centralised authority which was educated, not corrupt and had the best interests of the global sangat it mind, wouldn't that help combat the problem of freelance babas and sants, and provide a more stable foundation for Sikhi? Wipe the slate, take stock of history and where the community is at today, and start again. The current system is broken. Catholocism might not be perfect, but it's held itself together for a long time due to a very strong leadership structure. Perhaps it's something to consider. Not the idea of 'god's representative on earth' (the Pope) but a formal leadership structure.

Babas and sants are not necssarily bad though. Gurbani talks about seeking out such wise people and learning from them. It goes pear shaped when they become a cult figure seeking money and making up their own doctrine.

And that's probably the primary indicator of whether a baba or sant is genuine.

Historical Sikhi has been plagued with this sort of thing, false gurus, splinter cults, the mahants,etc. but I don't think a centralized structure will work either, paticularly one based in India. Look what we have now.
Something as monolithic as the church wouldn't be appropriate.
Perhaps some type of international congress, a international Sarbat Khalsa, could be organized. This could be organized in a different country every determinate number of years to address issues and resolve conflicts, educational seminars could be given, Kirtan lessons, it could be fun.

 

[spnadmin]

linzer ji

I agree. And I do not have an answer. The Sikh Rehat Maryada already prescribes a solution for problems that affect the panth at large. The age-old tradition of Gurmatta. Without jathedhars who see their role as tradition defined it, as servants, rather than powerbrokers, even that comes to a lame end. There have been Sarbat Khalsa in recent times. These became opportunities for even more splintering along the lines of political ideology.

 

[chazSingh]

If Sikhi had a stronger centralised authority which was educated, not corrupt and had the best interests of the global sangat it mind, wouldn't that help combat the problem of freelance babas and sants, and provide a more stable foundation for Sikhi? Wipe the slate, take stock of history and where the community is at today, and start again. The current system is broken. Catholocism might not be perfect, but it's held itself together for a long time due to a very strong leadership structure. Perhaps it's something to consider. Not the idea of 'god's representative on earth' (the Pope) but a formal leadership structure.

Babas and sants are not necssarily bad though. Gurbani talks about seeking out such wise people and learning from them. It goes pear shaped when they become a cult figure seeking money and making up their own doctrine.

And that's probably the primary indicator of whether a baba or sant is genuine.

In all walks of life there are true traders and false one.
if you need a builder, there are some fakesters amongst the honest and hard working.

Its the same with babas and sants. of course there are going to be fake ones. but if we are to believe in Gurbani, that we can become what gurbani describes, then we must believe that there are a few out there that have achieved this...otherwise gurbani has failed.

I for one don;t believe gurbani has failed

 

[SaintSoldier1699]

I think the problem is the expectation of Sants/Baba's is to look a certain way (wear white, nice decoratd dumalas, big kirpans) be surrounded by groups of people who believe the same thinking as the baba etc. When realistically Gurbani says its the actions/lifestyle that depicts who a holy person is.

So, this could be random people you come across in life, your teacher, your uncle who works at the petrol station, the old lady next door etc. Yet the typical Sikh looks for the ones riding on big elephants who show lots of pompous ie major brands which means foresaking the hidden gems in the sand who we may come across on a daily basis but do not understand that they are living the Gurmat lifestyle and we can learn from them.

 

[chazSingh]

I think the problem is the expectation of Sants/Baba's is to look a certain way (wear white, nice decoratd dumalas, big kirpans) be surrounded by groups of people who believe the same thinking as the baba etc. When realistically Gurbani says its the actions/lifestyle that depicts who a holy person is.

So, this could be random people you come across in life, your teacher, your uncle who works at the petrol station, the old lady next door etc. Yet the typical Sikh looks for the ones riding on big elephants who show lots of pompous ie major brands which means foresaking the hidden gems in the sand who we may come across on a daily basis but do not understand that they are living the Gurmat lifestyle and we can learn from them.

yes ji,

i'm sure there are many hidden gems amongst us that help humanity tick along without being in the limelight...
but other true 'saints' 'enlightened ones may need to act like a lighthouse....but i do agree, it is quite easy to distinguish the fakes from the enlightened...

gurbani is filled with the Guru's describing themselved as the lowest of the low... they were so humble

mai oulhageeaa oulhagee ham shhoroo thhaarae ||
I am the lowest slave of Your slaves; I am Your most humble servant.
Guru Nanak 421

neech thae neech ath neech hoe kar bino bulaavo ||
I am the lowest of the low, absolutely the lowest; I offer my humble prayer. Guru Arjan 812

Many people mock Yogi Bhajan, but there are so many of his followers spreading peace, love and compasion across the globe.
I also believe he uplifted his consciousness in the latter stages of his life...

watch this video, a section of his japji explanation...
Japji Sahib - Lecture by Yogi Bhajan - part 1 - YouTube

He uncovered a jewel in his explanation which never used to make sense to me...
only through long hours of amrit vela Simran did i return to this video and realise that Yogi Ji had experienced the 'Truth'.

It's only through our own focus on God, our own Amrit Vela dedication, our own seva, that we come back to what some so called 'Sants' said and then realise who was talking the truth..who had experienced the 'truth'.

It's the same with Gurbani...we dont know that it's the truth...until we put into practice...do our own science like experiement and experience it ourselves. then when we come back to gurbani and realise so many jewels have been unlocked.

until then we just continue to judge others...when Guru Angad ji said to do the following:
naanak parakhae aap ko thaa paarakh jaan ||
O Nanak, if someone judges himself, only then is he known as a real judge. 148


God Bless

 

[BlazinSikh]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

Ok well were to begin, well we have the SGPC a.k.a "the parliment of the sikhs", who are escorted by so called Baba's/Sants. Well the problem does not lie with the SGPC, nor does the problem lie with in the so called Baba's/Sants, the problem is us. Why you may ask? During the time of the Guru, thing such as SGPC never exisited, Why? because in those times Sikh only had one head in charge which was the Guru's themselves, and even after Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Sikhs continued to remain unified and were able to fight of problem like this, because before Guru Gobind Singh Ji left to go Waheguru Ji, he himself had initiated the Shiri Guru Ganth Sahib Ji (SGGS) as the living/eternal Guru, so in other words any problems one had he/she should go straight to SGGS Ji for advice and help, as any help for any problem the answer is in the SGGS Ji.

Now as time past on a couple of sikhs forgot the teaching of the Guru, and started feeding Maya, which lead them to believe that they themselves are given a divine job of teaching sikhi to the world, which then leads them to making there own Dera's/Occult, which starts to serperate sikhs, as each occult has there own little ideaology on what the Guru's had taught, and as time continue to progress with the rise of these so called Sant/Baba's the SGGS ji had become nothing but a big giant book with words that we should recite at certain times of the day (kinda like some sort of ritual), rather then a Guru in which we learn something new everyday to help our soul to connect with Waheguru Ji.

Long story short what i am trying to say is that sikhi has seperated in to different occults, which divides us as a huge family that we are meant to be, to be honest we should need to have a SGPC as our head (man! they should not even exisit). Our SGGS ji should be our head in command, and we must reunite as a strong family to really fight of these twats.

And anyway when ever anything includes Goverment, please never think that this is good, throughout life, and time Goverment has done nothing but slave and kill people, and the only we can get rid of them is by ignoring them. Instead of complaining about what the SGPC does? We need to go out in this big world today, and start teaching (no not preaching) sikhi, teach sikhs that we need to stop listening and running to the SGPC for help or advice, and that the SGGS ji is not just a book you open to read morning, noon and night, but it is a Guru is wants to help you from your problems and take you to Ik Onkar Ji to become one. The less we interfere with SGPC, so called Sant/Baba's, and anything else, the less they will exisit and eventually die (not literal death), however the more we feed them the more they will live and haunt us.

I now leave you in the hand of Public Enemy - Fight The Power.

Public Enemy - Fight The Power - YouTube

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

 

[chazSingh]

Good post blazing singh.

The problem is (from my own experience) i spent all my life going to the gurdwara...2-3 times a week....what did i learn? nothing...absolutely nothing...

no one wanted to teach me real sikhi...all i understood was we should do 'paat'.

it's only when i was at work at the age pf 26 did i have an inner feeling/thought to find out what this guru of ours is really teaching..so i went onto sikhi to the max and started reading the english version...came across referenced to 7 seas, dassam duar, amrit, anhad shabad, inner vision, tasting the inner necter. and i wanted to find out what this was.

NO ONE IN THE GURDWARA teaches this? or explains it, or promotes doing simran etc

i had to do it myself....Guru ji is always my reference and guidance.

i'm not saying all gurdwaras are like this, but many just teach, promote the surface of sikhi so as not to offend anyone, to get the maximum numbers of people through the door..

real sikhi will offend people because it's there to destroy our EGO's.
its directing us to the opposite of what our ego wants.
If real sikhi was taught, most people would leave and there would be a few left that are willing to walk this path the correct way.

maybe one day i can hit the path and never walk off it again.

~So they go to a baba and seek guidance from them....but in the end they still need to make the effort to do all the things anyway like amrit vela. long hours of simran. when they fail, they go looking for another. It's a shame really. the good sants/souls only want whats best for humanity. If i reached the heights of whats described in gurbani, i think all that would be left to do was to help others do it also...with the aid of gurbani


God bless ji

 

[kds1980]

Sikh only had one head in charge which was the Guru's themselves, and even after Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Sikhs continued to remain unified and were able to fight of problem like this, because before Guru Gobind Singh Ji left to go Waheguru Ji, he himself had initiated the Shiri Guru Ganth Sahib Ji (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji) as the living/eternal Guru, so in other words any problems one had he/she should go straight to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji for advice and help, as any help for any problem the answer is in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

This is a myth. Sikhs were never united after Guru Gobind singh .Difference occured with Banda bahadur,then Bandai Khalsa and then dividing themselves in 12 misls.

 

[BlazinSikh]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

The problem is (from my own experience) i spent all my life going to the gurdwara...2-3 times a week....what did i learn? nothing...absolutely nothing...


no one wanted to teach me real sikhi...all i understood was we should do 'paat'.


it's only when i was at work at the age pf 26 did i have an inner feeling/thought to find out what this guru of ours is really teaching..so i went onto sikhi to the max and started reading the english version...came across referenced to 7 seas, dassam duar, amrit, anhad shabad, inner vision, tasting the inner necter. and i wanted to find out what this was.

NO ONE IN THE GURDWARA teaches this? or explains it, or promotes doing simran etc

i had to do it myself....Guru ji is always my reference and guidance.

i'm not saying all gurdwaras are like this, but many just teach, promote the surface of sikhi so as not to offend anyone, to get the maximum numbers of people through the door..

Oh My Waheguru! mr chazSingh Ji i totally understand what you are on about, i've had the same experience and it through Waheguru ji kirpa i was able to understand sikhi. I rarely used to go to Guardwara, even now i do not go, and reason is the Guardwara around my area is not even a Gurdwara, it is a social event for punjabi's to meet and greet, no one in Gurdwara actually guided me or taught me Sikhism untill one day Waheguru ji made me research Sikhi out of the bloom.

real sikhi will offend people because it's there to destroy our EGO's.
its directing us to the opposite of what our ego wants.
If real sikhi was taught, most people would leave and there would be a few left that are willing to walk this path the correct way.

maybe one day i can hit the path and never walk off it again.

~So they go to a baba and seek guidance from them....but in the end they still need to make the effort to do all the things anyway like amrit vela. long hours of simran. when they fail, they go looking for another. It's a shame really. the good sants/souls only want whats best for humanity. If i reached the heights of whats described in gurbani, i think all that would be left to do was to help others do it also...with the aid of gurbani

Man! I totally agree with you there, if real sikhi was taught i would probably see big decrease of punjabi's, but i would notice an increase of Gursikhs. Obviously i am not saying that Gurdwara should only be for Gursikhs, but what i am saying is more true devotee's would help sikhi be taught to those who are new to it, and probably when i go to Gurdwara, i will feel a strong vibrate vibe of Akal Purak light through the people.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

 

[BlazinSikh]

This is a myth. Sikhs were never united after Guru Gobind singh .Difference occured with Banda bahadur,then Bandai Khalsa and then dividing themselves in 12 misls.

WOW! i actually never knew about that, please forgive. i never knew Banda Bahadur Ji was like that, i am not saying he is a bad man, i just thought as a man who was very commited to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, this such thing would not had occured. I think i had my mind on 1800.

 

[chazSingh]

but what i am saying is more true devotee's would help sikhi be taught to those who are new to it, and probably when i go to Gurdwara, i will feel a strong vibrate vibe of Akal Purak light through the people.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

This is true...
but i have seen what i believe highly spiritual people talk real sikhi in the gurdwara and the commitee have got upset with them because they offended some of the sangat.
Ego of Sangat gets upset, so they remove the spiritual person

so then what happens? these spiritual people continue guiding outside of the gurdwara... which is what we're now discussing here

the truth be told, it doesnt matter where we indulge in Bani. Guru is the bani, and bani is the guru...it is not confined to a building. The complete guru is available on CD, on the internet...the internet can be called the door to the guru (gurudwara).

The real gurudwara is within us....outer guru just directs us to look within ourselves

God bless you.

 

[BlazinSikh]

This is true...
but i have seen what i believe highly spiritual people talk real sikhi in the gurdwara and the commitee have got upset with them because they offended some of the sangat.
Ego of Sangat gets upset, so they remove the spiritual person

so then what happens? these spiritual people continue guiding outside of the gurdwara... which is what we're now discussing here

the truth be told, it doesnt matter where we indulge in Bani. Guru is the bani, and bani is the guru...it is not confined to a building. The complete guru is available on CD, on the internet...the internet can be called the door to the guru (gurudwara).

The real gurudwara is within us....outer guru just directs us to look within ourselves

God bless you.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!

True words have never been spoken. I completely agree with you, probably opening the Gurdwara in us is the 10th door which is the secret door, which is said in Anand sahib, sorry I can't give page, as i'm on mobile. And chazSingh ji, I know what you're on about when you talk about spiritual people, as I've had first hand experience with dealing with these sort of people, the end result of this was a lot of money stolen from under our nose. All i can do is thank Akal Purakh Ji for what happened as it taught my mother a lesson, and event that followed that help find GOD and then sikhi, but i still think these Sant's/Baha's be exposed, so the world can begin it's journey back to Akal Purakh Ji.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ke Fateh!