357.The Man in Blue – The Singh Sabha Movement and Hazur Sahib

The Man in Blue

Niddar Singh Nihang has written a book about how the real Akalis left Panjab and settled in Hazur Sahib and how the Singh Sabha movement distorted the real Sikhí of these real Akalis. Going by what happens these days in Hazur Sahib I am not impressed by his argument. I met many Nihangs, both in Panjab and other states, and not just the bhang lassi types, and most of them were not dedicated followers of the Guru Granth Sahib.

 

If I was a schoolmaster and the Sikhs were in my school, I would have all Sikhs repeat at least a thousand times : ‘The main source of Sikhí is the Guru Granth Sahib’. The Guru Granth records the words of Gurus and Bhagats who are the ‘mukhvak’ of The One. The other source of Sikhí is the way the Gurus practiced the teachings in their lives.

 

I am interested in the misl period. I am interested in how at the end of the 18^th century Maharaja Ranjit Singh ended the meetings off the Sarbat Khalsa. I am interested in how after the 1857 mutiny the former Sikh freedom fighters became colonial troops in the British Indian Army.

 

But I do not want to follow a Nihang or a group of Nihangs. A good Nihang, a good Akali should be somebody who follows the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib and the example set by the Gurus. This type of Nihang is even rarer than puran gursikhs in the general population.

 

The above does not mean that the Singh Sabha was all wonderful. There were of course, in good Sikh tradition, at least two factions, partly based on different ideas about the way forward, partly based on being from ‘high’ or ‘low’ background.

 

The Singh Sabha did very good work in getting rid of Hindu practices that had come back into Sikhí, but some members in their misguided enthusiasm even wanted to remove the bhagat bani from the Guru Granth Sahib.

 

The Singh Sabha tried (with some success) to make Sikhí more like a western religion, which has resulted in granthis thinking that they are priests and some dodgy fellows in Amritsar thinking they are high priests. The fixed ‘order of service’ in the Gurdwara is also a result of the wrong direction the Singh Sabha took.

 

The Singh Sabha’s worst crime is that they have not emphasised the love between the Sikhs and the Teacher of Teachers, the All-Pervading, The All-Powerfull, The Giver without Limit. This loving relationship between the soul-brides and the God-Groom is together with the path of righteousness  the central teaching of the Guru Granth. I prefer the Singh Sabha over Niddar Singh’s purattan Sikhí, but really I want neither of them. The Sikhí that I try to follow is Guru’s Sikhí, the Sikhí of the Guru Granth Sahib.

 

The East London Line II

Brick Lane 

Roughly where the old East London Line Shoreditch Station was, is now the viaduct across the east bound tracks coming out of Liverpool Street station (click on Public Transport category to the right of this article to see the previous article and the picture of the viaduct). Once north of these tracks the new London Overground tracks go due west towards Shoreditch High Street.

The picture shows that only pedestrians can get to the main part of Brick Lane, with all the Bangladeshi restaurants and shops. The new Overground tracks run here just north of the Liverpool Street bound tracks.    

Shoreditch High Street London Overground Station

Where Shoreditch High Street and Bethnal Green meet the new Shoreditch High Street Station is under construction, together with the viaduct across the High Street.

The new station seen from Bethnal Green

It all looks very impressive, doesn’t it. I wonder what this elaborate construction is all about. At the very least it seems to promise protection against the wind and the rain.

London Overground Viaduct across Shoreditch High Street

There used to be another station north of Liverpool Street Station and from there tracks ran due north to Dalston Junction. The station has been demolished but a lot of the infrastructure between Shoreditch and Dalston Junction is still in place. This viaduct across Shoreditch High Street connects with these old railway alignments, and from across the High Street the construction work is limited to laying new tracks, making sure that the old alignments and viaducts are still fit for purpose, and build the new stations at Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction.

Bhai Manohar Singh Bikaner Wala & Jatha

How blessed am I to live in Southall, with a plethora of Gurdware to choose from ! And recently I have so enjoyed the kirtan from Bhai Gurcharan Singh and now Bhai Manohar Singh from Bikaner who puts even more rág in his one hour programme. It is  now the month of Basant, and the ragis sing lovely sabads in rág basant and/or about the spring season that in Panjab starts in this month.

I have downloaded three sabads that were brought to us by this jatha from Bikaner in the north of Rajastan (just north of Bathinda). I will publish at least one of them in translation, but there might be a bit of delay as I have another busy week ahead of me.

Basant M 3 Page 1177

basant chariá fúlíbanráe |

Spring has come, and the plants are flowering.

ehi jía jant fúlhi har chit láe |1|

The beings flower when they fix their mind on God. ||1||

in bidh ihu man hariá hoi |

In this way, the mind becomes green.

har har nám japai din rátígurmukh haumai kadai dhoi |1| raháu |

Repeating Nám day and night, Har, Har, the Gurmukh’s self-conceit is removed, is washed off||1||Pause||

satigur bání sabad sunáe |

The True Guru hears the Word, the Speech.

ihu jag hariásatigur bháe |2|

This world becomes green, through the True Guru’s love. ||2||

fal fúl láge já ápe láe |

One flowers and fruitions, when Her/Himself so wills.

múl lagai tásatigur páe |3|

One attaches to the Root of All, when one finds the True Guru. ||3||

áp basant jagat sabh várí |

Her/Himself is the spring season; the whole world is the garden.

nának púrai bhág bhagat nirálí |4|5|17|

O Nanak, by perfect destiny this unique devotion [is achieved]. ||4||5||17||

Please if you have any comments and/or positive criticism, please use the comment box or send an email to harjindersingh.amritsar@yahoo.co.uk! Especially the last line needs revising ! And what to do with all the he/she or him/her that pop up in English but are not their in Panjabi. God is not a man, nor a woman and ‘it’ sounds bad too. It is my Father, It is my Mother … ?   

Gurfateh,

Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

 

356.The Man in Blue – A Greener Lifestyle ?

I wrote about a greener lifestyle before and will write about it again. This is because many Sikhs in the UK are less aware of green issues than the average person in the UK, and are less willing to change their lifestyle.

 

This is amazing for a people guided by the Guru Granth Sahib, which teaches us that God is present in all creation and that all Creation comes from The One. You would expect that Sikhs would have respect for God’s creation.

 

Gurbaní teaches that God has given us enough for ever, but we are insisting to spend Her/His Gifts at a rate that is totally unsustainable. Gurbaní teaches that there is no value in amassing worldly goods, but amassing worldly goods is the first priority of many UK Sikhs.

 

One of the reasons why more people visit the old Southall Singh Sabha at Park Avenue than the new Havelock Road Gurdwara is that Park Avenue has more parking spaces. This in spite of the fact that many members of the sangat live within walking distance and that the Gurdwaré are served by many buses and trains. The local buses are often stuck in traffic jams caused by cars with on average no more than 1½ persons in them. Let’s get out of our cars, walk more and bus more.

 

There are a lot of small shops in Southall that offer very good deals, but many of us prefer to go by car to the Tesco at Bulls Bridge because ‘it is more convenient’. Why it is more convenient to go to Tesco’s once the week for the big shop, rather than just hop into your local shop when you are low on milk, low on flour or whatever else is beyond me.

 

The goods at Tesco’s and other similar supermarkets are usually of less quality and higher price than the equivalent in the local shop, they tend to be over-packaged (more rubbish in the bin) and they encourage you to buy larger quantities which leads to more waste. 

 

I get milk, cheese and a few other foods from local supermarkets like Iceland, and buy everything else from the local South Asian shops. Household utensils, coat hangers etc are also cheaper in local shops.

 

Shopping local ticks all the boxes, you save money on petrol and on the goods you buy, you support the local shops which makes for a better society where people know each other. And it is good for the environment.

 

The ‘local lifestyle’ is a more social lifestyle, a lifestyle that will make you happier. A local lifestyle will make you meet the people of all backgrounds that live in Southall. Did you know that there many friendly Somalis ? Did ever meet the sangat of the Dr Ambedkar Vihara ? And you missed those 10 p plates that one of the shops in King Street had for sale around Christmas !

 

The East London Line I

Whitechapel Station, east bound District and Hammersmith & City line tracks crossing the East London Line. 

New East London Line viaduct across the National Express tracks east of Liverpool Street.

The East London Line was one of the oddest parts of the London Underground system. Using a tunnel underneath the Thames build by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for a different purpose, it connected Shoreditch to New Cross and New Cross Gate stations. The fact that it had an interchange with the District line at Whitechapel and since  recent years with the Jubilee Line at Canada Water and with the DLR at Shadwell created some traffic on the line, but it never did a roaring trade.

All that is now going to change. The East London Line will become part of the London Overground. There is a project and building work connecting West Croydon via New Cross Gate, and from there following the East London line to Shoreditch and ending at Dalston Junction, to connect with the Richmond – Stratford East London Line. This work should be finished by June 2010. By February 2011 the line should be connected to the North London Line and trains should be running through to Highbury and Islington.

The plan (no finance, but a good idea) is to build another connection from Surrey Quays to Queens Road Peckham and from there on existing track to Clapham Junction, to connect in many directions, including the London Overground to Willesden Junction.

(More pictures and info to follow)

Bhai Gurcharan Singh Delhi Wala & Jatha

Bhai Gurcharan Singh and his Jatha are regular visitors to Southall, and the more I listen to them the better I like them. They are  good at doing kirtan in rág and have an interesting choice in sabads.

They also encourage the sangat to take part in the singing, which works well in the Park Avenue Gurdwara, where usually in front of the divan near the stage you’ll find what I in the past have called the ‘Kabuli Male Choir’. This does not mean that all the ‘members’ are Afghani Sikhs, but there is a good number of them.

Sitting in sadh sangat near our eternal Guru and joining with the kirtanis in praising The One, The Stainless, The Formless, The One without Fear, without Anger is wonderful (Vahu !).

Underneath one of the sabads that Bhai Gurcharan Singh sang in the Gurdwara. In Panjab it is now Basant, the month of spring !

I have tried very hard to convey something of the beautiful poetry in the translation. I have consulted the Manmohan Singh translation, Sikhitothemax.com and Surinder Singh Kohli’s dictionary of Guru Granth Sahib. 

Basant M 5 (Guru Arjan, 5th Guru), Pana 1185

ik oankár satigur prasád ||
One All-Pervading All-Powerfull; the True Guru’s Grace.

dekh fúl fúl fúle ||
See the flowers, the flowers blooming.

ahan tiág tiáge ||
Abandon, abandon your egotism.

charan kamal páge ||
Grab hold of the Lotus Feet.

tum milhu prabh sabháge ||
Meet with God, O blessed one.

har chet man mere || raháo ||
O my mind, remember God. ||Pause||

saghan bás kúle || 
The tender plants smell good.

tum milhu prabh sabháge ||
Meet with God, O blessed one.

har chet man mere || raháo ||
O my mind, remember God. ||Pause||

saghan bás kúle || 
The tender plants smell good.

ab kalú áiu re ||
Now, the kal yug has come.

ek nám bovhu bovhu ||
Sow, Sow the One Nám.

an rút náhí náhí || 
It is not, it is not the season for other seeds.

mat bharam bhúlhu bhúlhu ||
Wander not, Wander not in doubt.

gur mile har páe ||
Meeting Guru you obtain God;

jis mastak hai lekhá ||
if this destiny is written for you.

man rut nám re ||
O mind, this is the season of the Naam.

gun kahe nának har hare har hare ||2||18||
Nanak sings the qualities of God, God, God, God. ||2||18||

Bhai Kharak Singh Paonta Sahib & Jatha

Bhai Kharak Singh Paonta Sahib & Jatha in the Park Avenue Singh Sabha, Southall.

farídá kále maide kapare kálá maidá ves ||

Farída, black are my clothes, black my appearance.

gunahí bhariá mai firá lok kahai darves ||61||

I wander without qualities, yet people say that I am a dervish ||61||

A dervish is a Sufi holy man, the meaning of the salok is clear : Farid says that he is without qualities, yet people people call him holy beacuse of the clothes he wears.

For the ‘Man in Blue’ this is a very appropriate salok. People often assume that because I always dress in bana I must be a Gursikh.

This is of course nonsense. I have met people who were not just ’sinners’ but who were involved in criminal acts, but looked very ‘Sikh’ with open beards and (white) bana.

I am not a criminal, I am committed to Guru’s way, but I regularly make mistakes, wander off Guru’s path, which is as narrow as the cutting edge of a sword.

Bhai Kharak Singh and his jatha do nice kirtan, they sing in such a way that it is easy to understand the words. They also have a slightly different choice of sabads, sabads that you do not hear every day in the Gurdwara.

There is a down side, Bhai Kharak Singh does mix one sabad with lines from others. Why so many ‘professional’ and ‘voluntary’ jathas do this I just cannot understand. If you feel that lines from another sabad will help to explain or strengthen the point made, than either sing that sabad after the first one, or after finishing the sabad do a little explanation.   

   

355.The Man in Blue – Who Runs the Gurdwara II

In my first article on ‘who runs the Gurdwara’ I discussed Guru’s teaching on ‘Guru Granth – Guru Panth’ and the lack of experience of sangats and prabandhaks with democracy and equality. This time I will try to raise some more practical points.

 

There are three very important issues that prabandhak committees need to address, the first is our old friend maya, the second getting to grips with the constitution and last but not least working on a new way of doing things, ‘collective raj’ instead of ‘pradhan raj’.

 

Maya : The money the Gurdwara has in the bank, or that is invested in the bricks & mortar of the Gurdwara belongs to the institution. Regardless of what the constitution says, the institution belongs to the sangat, not just to big donors and members, but to all who use the Gurdwara.

 

New prabandhaks have to come to grips with the financial situation as soon as possible. They have to realise that the land owned has real value, but that buildings like on the Southall Havelock Road have been costly to build, but have limited money value. These buildings can only be used as Gurdwaré or possibly as a place of worship for people of other religions.    

 

Constitution : I am convinced that within the framework of the existing laws on charities we can write constitutions that include the Guru Granth – Guru Panth principle and panj piaré as mediators. Under the new rules for charities it is not sufficient to be a religious organisation, you actually have to do good works, do seva ! That should be no problem for Sikhs, but might be a problem for some prabandhak types.

 

Collective Raj : One of the biggest problems that we face is the fact that many of us find it difficult to work as a team, which gives authoritarian pradhans, sant babas, jathedars without jathas and other anti-Sikh forces the chance to run the show for us.

 

The Guru teaches that there is One Humanity, most Sikhs believe that some are automatically better because of their heritage, education, skin colour or whatever. Guru teaches Guru Granth – Guru Panth, which means that the panth should rule itself following the guidance of the Guru Granth. We are all responsible and we should stop blaming others for our failings.

 

Finally, having conversations with the sangat only once a year at the AGM is not democracy as I understand it. Through websites, printed material and updates supplied after the divans, the sangat should know what the Prabandhaks plan to do, and should be asked for their opinion. If we do not treat the sangat as our partners, they will not grow in understanding.

 

 

FGW and Heathrow Connect trains at Southall Station

First Great Western (FGW) train from Paddington to Reading, stopping in Ealing Broadway, Southall, Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton and then on to Reading via Slough.

These trains run 2 x an hour in both directions and are noisy diesel trains.

Trains going beyond Reading also operate 2 x an hour, but do not stop in Southall.

Coming from Reading or Slough on one of these trains there is a good connection to Southall in Hayes with the Heathrow Connect trains.   

Heathrow Connect train to Paddington, starting from Terminal 4, Terminal 1-2-3, Hayes and Harlington, Southall, Hanwell, West Ealing, Ealing Broadway and Paddington.    

These electrical trains also run 2 x an hour, and give Southall a 4 x an hour connection to Paddington. West Drayton has 4 trains an hour too, as both the Reading and the trains going beyond Reading stop there. Hayes & Harlington has 6 trains an hour.

There are two sets of two tracks in both directions from Paddington to Reading. The trains we discussed all run on the two northern tracks, used by all the slow trains.

All fast trains use the southern tracks, including the Heathrow Express. None of these stop between Slough and Paddington.

Which Sant Baba should I follow ?

The Guru Granth on the palki in the Hounslow Singh Sabha. 

The Guru Granth is the only Sant Baba a Sikh can follow.

The Guru Granth includes the writings of six of the ten Sikh Gurus and of Sufi Muslims and Bhakti Hindus with similar teachings. 

The Sikhs follow The One, God, Vahiguru.

Vahiguru (the Wonderful Bringer of Light into Darkness) is the Guru of Gurus. The Sikh Gurus, the Sufi Muslims and Bhakti Hindus are the instruments of God, their lips are used to speak God’s words, their hands are used to write God’s words.