521.The Man in Blue – Sat Nám

On the ‘Sikh News Discussion’ yahoo group some members are discussing Nám and although the participants are meant to be ‘learned’ gentlemen, they all seem  keen to narrow down Nám to either one word or to specific texts.

I am only a sixteen year old Singh and do not claim to fully understand God and his or her nature. I also do not have a handy exact definition of what Nám means, just like I am not arrogant enough to even try to define God.

But I will explain my understanding of Nám without entering in the dialogue of the deaf that goes on in the ‘Sikh News Discussion’ group.

Nám is introduced to us by Guru Nanak on page 1 of the Guru Granth Sahib and is the third word after the figure one, the word Ongkár and the word Sat. This opening line, which Bhai Gurdas named the Mul Mantr, contains nine words/ combinations of words that all point to God.

Seven of those highlight aspects of God, but I think that the first two are more comprehensive. Ongkar is often explained as highlighting God who is both All-pervading and Almighty, both Imminent and Transcendent (inside all and over and above all) or Nirgun and Sargun (no qualities and all qualities).

Sat Nám is an even more all compassing statement. Sat of course means true, but it has been explained to me that in this context it is as if you are saying with much emphasis: Nám IS. So What or Who IS ? There is of course only one possible answer in a spiritual context: God IS, God IS the Absolute Truth.

I think that Nám is something like the Godly essence, the Godly principle and/or the Godly constitution of the Universe. Nám is present in all Gurbaní and in all other truly spiritual writings. Like God Nám is infinite and all-pervading, present on and in the planet Earth, in our solar system, our milky way and other milky ways, in the entire universe.

You and I are part of that system and therefore are part of Nám, and equally words like Vahiguru, Nirankar. Saibhang, Mukande, Paramatma and other descriptions of qualities of God are part of Nám, but they are not Nám.

You can do Nám simran using such words, you then do what is also mentioned in Gurbani, you sing God’s qualities. As we are only humans it is highly unlikely that we would come to a full understanding of all that is contained in Nám, or of all the different qualities of God.

Instead of trying to restrict God to one word we should be happy to have in the Guru Granth Sahib a guide that shows us the awe inspiring greatness of The One ! In the Gita Krishan showed Arjun the image of God, but God has such radiance that Arjun could not see God, just like you cannot look straight at the sun.

Our highest authority is the Guru Granth. This article reflects my understanding of our Guru. I hope I have not made too many mistakes.

520.The Man in Blue – Benti Chaupaí

According to the Sikh Rehat Maryada we should as part of our nitnem daily read Tav Prasád Svayé, Jáp Sahib and Benti Chaupaí. These are texts that are found in the ‘Dasam Granth’.

I think that Tav Prasád Svayé and Jáp Sahib are in tune with the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib, but I feel uneasy about Benti Chaupaí.

In this article I will highlight words or phrases in Benti Chaupaí that I do not understand. I hope that others will help me to come to a better understanding. I would prefer a dialogue about facts over a debate on opinions.

I will restrict myself to the discussion of the 25 verses that are specified in the Sikh Rehat Maryada as being part of the nitnem banis.

Hamré dust sabhai tum ghávho – Destroy all my enemies – 1st line of verse 2
Does dust mean wicked and ghávho stab ? Stab all the wicked ?

Sabh bairan ko áj sanghriyai – Destroy all my enemies today – 2nd line of verse 3
Sanghriyai = companions ? Bairan = alien ?

Chun chun satr hamáré máríhi – Kindly kill all my enemies after singling them out – 4th line of verse 4

The above translations are by Harban Singh Doabia. I am not convinced that he has translated correctly, and I wonder about these ‘enemies’ and the ‘killings’. These verses, whether they are written by Guru Sahib or not, date from the period when the Mughal regime saw the Sikhs as their enemies.

But Gursikhs see God’s presence in all, and have no enemies. Of course when those that see us as their enemies attack us or other communities we have not just the right, but the obligation to protect ourselves and others.

But even then, as the Bhai Ghanaya story illustrates, we keep seeing those ‘enemies’ as our fellow human beings.

Another way to look at these quotes is to consider the enemies as the five ‘thieves’ that steal away our balanced state of mind. Please let us know what you think.

I am not interested in a debate on whether these verses have been written by Guru Gobind Singh or by person or persons unknown.

I want to come to a better understanding of Benti Chaupaí, and want to establish whether it is in tune with the Guru Granth Sahib.

As we all should know it is Guru Gobind Singh who emphasised the key role of the Guru Granth as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs.

To react to this column either use the comments button underneath or send an email to
harjindersingh_amritsar@yahoo.com

519.Man in Blue – The Sikh Identity

I am an Amritdhari Sikh and wear the five Ks and a turban. I do this because the Guru asked me, and because I believe it is a useful part of my spiritual discipline. My turban and beard make me a recognisable Sikh, but that does not mean that I am a Sikh because I look like one.

I am not a Sikh because I took amrit and I am not a Sikh because my parents were Sikhs (they were not). The definition in the Sikh Rehat Maryada is quite clear : the main element of being a Sikh is following the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib and the example set by the Gurus through their Gursikh way of life.

The SGPC is rarely able to do anything that is in line with Guru’s Teachings. But this time they have been caught by their own foolishness. Under pressure of the Badal Dal the union government issued a notification saying that only those who have uncut/unshaven etc hair can vote in the SGPC elections.

The 2011 SGPC elections were held on that basis, but have since been successfully challenged by another un-Sikh outfit : the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation. I do not think that the Supreme Court has ruled on the merits of being Keshdhari or Sehajdhari, but on the grounds that a law should not be changed by a notification.

The Sikh identity is defined by behaving as the Guru taught us. Live in the world, but do not be ruled by it, see God’s presence in all, be ready to serve all, make an honest living, think about God with all you do, recognise that there are people in all traditions who are true Students of the Teacher of Teachers etc, etc.

I know too many ‘Keshdhari’ Sikhs who practice none of the above and a good few moné who do quite well. It is impossible to make a relevant voters list of ‘Sikhs’ based either on the status of their hair or on who their parents were.

Looking the part without living the part is useless. If you call yourself an athlete but do not train and do not have a disciplined way of life you are living a lie.

The Gursikh that we should all try to be, regardless of being amritdhari, keshdhari or mona, is like a spiritual athlete. Some of us might reach to Olympic level, others play in the local league, but all should try to get nearer to God by following Guru’s teachings. Going by the Guru Granth Sahib (our eternal teacher) this way of life is not defined by the length of your hair, the length of your kachhera or by any other outward sign.

Walk in hukam, walk with God, be her/his humble child; if you do not see God in all you will not see God at all; be different and look different, these are the kind of  things a Gursikh should practice.

If you wear all or part of the Sikh uniform but have no Sikh behaviour you are like an empty shell. Sikh or Khalsa behaviour without the uniform does has value. Just like good the Muslims and good Yogis that Guru writes about can attain to God, so can good moné. But being ‘pure from outside and dirty inside’ means that you are a hypocrite, and Guru does not like hypocrites at all !

518.The Man in Blue – Sikhí VII

This is the last of the series of ‘Sikhi’ columns. In it I am wrapping up things and am emphasising principles already mentioned.

Nám japo, (meditate) think about God at all times, if you do this it should automatically lead to more ethical and less selfish behaviour.

Kirat karo, (honest work or honest study) Guru does not want his Sikh to be ‘holy beggars’. Sikhs should do an honest job regardless of the type of work they do. If you are a student the same principles apply.

Vand chako, share with others, share money, goods or time.

Before Guru passed away in 1708 he told the Sikhs not to look for a human successor, but to accept the Guru Granth and the Guru Panth, acting under the teachings of the Guru Granth, as their eternal Guru.

This is not practised by many Sikhs, who follow autocratic Pardhans, Jathedars without Jatha, various Babas and other so-called ‘spiritual leaders’ as ‘Guru’. Sant Babas, Jathedars etc are not the Guru Panth.

It is perfectly legitimate to read other books like Dasam Granth, Sarbloh Granth,  Al Quran or the Bible, but our benchmark should always be the Guru Granth.

Transmigration of the soul : in the Guru Granth both the Gurus and the Bhagats regularly refer to the cycle of birth and death. I do not think this is a dogma, in the sense that if you do not believe in it you are not a good Sikh.

I think that it is not the personality that migrates, but the soul. To me the journey of the soul through many existences is some kind of spiritual evolution, where the Godly spark, God’s light that is present in all, travels through different life forms, developing to higher states of awareness on the way.

Harjinder Singh will not be reborn, but Harjinder Singh’s death will lead to his soul going to another life. I think that Sikhs should not believe in avtars as in Tibetan Buddhism or Hinduism.

Shahids. A Sikh should be willing to give her/his life in the struggle against injustice. But this struggle, including giving your life if needed, should be part of your humble seva, and not to make the ‘shahid’ into a hero.

The Guru Granth Sahib tells us not to worship or follow human beings. Our Guru points to God, not to himself as many Sant Babas do. So remember the sacrifices made, but our main effort should go into living a Godly life.

And finally, fighting against people because they do not agree with you is not part of the Sikh dharm, it is not the duty of a sant-sipahi. Throwing bricks through Gurdwara windows or breaking the legs of an old man is the work of thugs !

517.The Man in Blue – Sikhí VI

If you go back to my previous column you will notice that I have not given any specific reasons for having uncut hair, steel bangle, cotton boxer short or wooden comb. This is because authors of books about Sikhí all give different reasons for wearing these 4 Ks, which do not seem to be based on authentic pronouncements of Guru. The Kirpan of course stands for the fight against injustice.

To me the main reason for wearing my 5 Ks is because Guru asked me to offer my head and wear the 5 Ks and the turban. I also see the value of being a visible Sikh. It reminds me that I have committed myself to Guru’s path, and is a signal to others that here goes a Sikh who promised to serve all.

Many religious traditions have rules about not cutting or shaving all body hair, part of the body hair and also of course about having bold heads or shaving part of the head. To me all these have in common that they are signs of commitment.

Rings or bangles are often symbols of unity, unity within marriage, within a group, with God or with God and all humanity.

Guru’s fighters often wore a number of heavy steel bangles from their elbow to their hand to protect the sword arm.

Cotton boxer shorts are very comfortable when worn underneath a traditional long wide shirt (chola), underneath an Indian style pijama or any wide type of trousers. Cotton clothes keep you warm in winter and cool in summer and absorb perspiration, which avoids prickly heat (rash) during the monsoon time.

The wooden comb is useful to comb your hair and pulls out less of it than modern western combs. If you tie you hair in a topknot, as many Sikhs do, you can stick the comb in your topknot, which helps to stabilise it.

The outer five Ks and the turban should go together with a Sikh way of life. The way of life is often associated with the five qualities. They are: Sat (Truth), Santokh (Contentment), Diá (Compassion), Nimratáh (Humility) and Piár (Love).

God is Truth, and Her/His followers should strive to live in Truth. We should be ‘content’, we should accept what is given to us and not constantly look for more, more, more. We should have compassion and care for the poor, the discriminated, the ill etc and we should also be willing to forgive those that have hurt us.

Humility is very important for a Sikh, and even more for an amritdhari (initiated) Sikh. It is so easy to become proud of the fact that you wear the 5 Ks and have given up habits that most people take for granted. Pride leads to ego and where there is ME there God is not !

Just like God is Truth, God is also Love, real Love, unconditional Love. We who claim to be God’s followers should try and nurture this Love, also when those we try to truly Love do not respond with even ordinary human love.

If you thought walking in God’s will would be easy I have to disappoint you, God puts many challenges on our way, but also gives us the strength to overcome them.

516.The Man in Blue – Sikhí V

Vaisakhi 1699, the Khalsa uniform : the Turban and the Five Ks. In 1699 Guru Gobind Rai, the tenth Sikh Guru, asked his Sikhs to come to Anandpur Sahib for the Vaisakhí festival. On the day he stood before the sangat, holding a sword, asking the Sikhs to offer their head.

The first five who came forward are called the Panj Piaré, the five beloved ones. They were the first members of the Khalsa, the order of initiated Sikhs who are totally committed to the Sikh way of life. They initiated Guru Gobind Rai and many more followed. Since then Khalsa men are known as Singh (=Lion) and Khalsa women as Kaur (=Princess). Guru Gobind Rai became Gobind Singh.

This took place during the reign of one of the more intolerant Mughal Emperors, who then ruled most of India. Being a Khalsa involved physical fighting against the oppressors, to achieve freedom of worship for all.

Guru stipulated that the sword was only to be used as a last resort, after all other means had failed. Guru wanted his Khalsa to be Sant-Sipahi (Saint-Soldiers), who do not fight for material gain or out of anger, but who fight against injustice.

As visible signs of their commitment the members of the Khalsa are to wear the turban and the Five Ks.

The 5 Ks are :

• Kesh (uncut hair, no cutting, trimming or shaving)
• Kara (a steel bracelet)
• Kangha (a wooden comb)
• Kacchera (cotton boxer short)
• Kirpan (small steel sword)
  The kirpan stands for the fight against injustice referred to above

The Five Ks symbolise dedication to a life of devotion and submission to the Guru. For an initiated Sikh or Khalsa the fact that the Guru has asked the Sikhs to wear the Five Ks is sufficient reason and no more needs be said.

The Khalsa cannot be anonymous. Her/His religion is known to all. She/He stands out among people, and any unseemly behaviour on her/his part would be noted as unbecoming for a follower of the Gurus.

Anybody seeing somebody wearing the Five Ks and the Turban should know that they can go to her/him for help. If you wear the Khalsa uniform you are a visible Sikh. Unfortunately many Sikh ladies, even initiated ones, choose not to wear a turban, and are therefore not easily recognisable as Sikhs.

The Turban (Pag, Pagri, Dastár) was both in the Muslim and the Hindu community a sign of high worldly or spiritual status. Just like the names Singh and Kaur, that before were only used by those of high caste, the Sikh turban is a symbol of the elevation of the low-caste to the same status as those of high-caste.

515.The Man in Blue – Sikhi IV

Kám (lust), Krodh (anger), Lobh (greed), Moh (attachment) , Ahankár (ego). These are the five vices or the five ‘thieves’ of the South Asian spiritual traditions. These vices are all based on natural inclinations.

My understanding is that we should not suppress these, but that we should recognise them and give them a positive direction.

The vices should not rule us, we should rule the vices.

Kám (lust). Sikhs are to live a natural life and having a sexual relationship with husband/wife is part of such a life. But a relation that is only based on sexual attraction will not last. A sexual relationship should be embedded in the mutual respect and true love between wife and husband. We often use the word love when we mean sexual attraction !

Krodh (anger). Anger damages you more than it does those you are angry with. Anger turns against you. But when a Sikh sees injustice she/he should feel anger and use the energy of the anger to take action against the injustice.

Lobh (greed). Greed is like human needs that get out hand. We need food, we need clothes, we need housing and we need a life partner. But we should not eat huge rich meals all the time, we should wear practical, modest clothing, no need to pay over the top for ‘branded’ stuff or for products of the Paris fashion houses, and one life partner is more than enough for us.

Moh (attachment). I think this is a key teaching of the Dharmic religions. To fully understand this we have to start from the notion that both being too wealthy and being too poor leads to an obsession with ‘maya’, with worldly goods.

I think the right way is the middle way. Have enough for a comfortable life. Be not attached to your worldly goods or to your family and friends. You cannot take these with you to your next life or to the All-Soul when you merge with our Mother/Father.

We should also be able to live on when relatives or friends die or when we have to spend less because of the economic malaise that has been with us since the 2008 banking crisis hit us.

I live a simple life and even with that I have to be careful because I should not be attached to my simple life or to my blue chola and big kacchera.

Ahankár (ego). Ego and pride are close companions. I am Harjinder Singh, I am a product of the culture and family I come from. I have good qualities but also not such good ones. Learning to understand myself and accepting both my good and bad qualities was part of my spiritual path.

But being egoistic, only living for me, me, me is not spiritual. Feeling satisfaction when you achieve something is fine, as long as you realise that we cannot achieve anything without God’s blessings. Where there is ME, God is not !

514.The Man in Blue – Sikhi III

Love God and open yourself to God’s Love. This is where it gets complicated ! Most of what I wrote in the two previous columns can be practiced by humanists. Many humanists recognise that mankind is more than the physical elements that we are made off and that this ‘more’ is what makes us human.

Opening yourself to God’s Love can only be done if you have experienced God, and many people who follow a religion or dharm believe in God without having met Her/Him. They might love God, but they have not felt God stir inside themselves.

I think that if you follow Guru’s teachings you have a good chance to reach that state of mind where you have darshan, where you realise God’s presence inside you. I cannot prove this, this is not scientific, but for me it is True.

I do not believe in God, I know that God is !

Guru writes that you have to open your ‘third eye’ or your ‘tenth body opening’ to experience God. God is always with us, inside us and around us, but many have their spiritual eye firmly closed and do not notice Her/Him.

Guru also writes that where there is ‘me’ there cannot be He/Her. The ego has to go to make place for God.

Remember that God is not an old man with a long white beard, God is a Spiritual Entity. Guru Sahib called himself Nanak Nirankarí, Nanak the follower of the Formless One.

Guru is in love with God and writes about the soul-bride who is enjoyed by the God-Groom, about how he longs for God like the chatrik longs for the raindrop.

God’s love is quite different from the love that we usually see in Bollywood or Hollywood films, where love is mostly related to good looks. In films and in daily life love is often conditional : If you are nice to me then I will be nice to you.

Between parents and children there is a better chance to see true love. However troublesome they are, many parents still love their children. Children often love parents who do not treat them well.

God’s love, and the love that a Gursikh should feel for fellow human beings, for God’s creation, is unconditional. There is no limit to God’s Love, God keeps pouring his love even if we do not notice it.

My first steps towards a changed life were when I deeply loved somebody who was not able to return that love. This was not easy to handle but in the long run it worked out well.

I was able to stimulate her into believing in herself, and she is now happily married. Because of this experience I started looking for the something that was missing from my life, which resulted in going to Amritsar and meeting with God.

513.The Man in Blue – Sikhi II

Sikhí is a Dharmic tradition, which means that we do not follow an elaborate system of dogmas (things you have to believe in) but we are to follow guidelines that indicate the way we should live our life in order to get nearer to God.

Just believing in One God and One Humanity is not good enough, we should actively practice these beliefs. And when in doubt how to apply these teachings we can look at the clear examples set by our Gurus.

Many Sikhs will say that our dharm is superior to others because of the equality taught and practiced by Guru, and then arrange their children’s marriages according to caste ! Looking down on people with dark skin is common in India and so is treating women as second class citizens, but these are not Sikh practices.

Simran, meditation, thinking about God. Always keeping God in mind should lead to better behaviour towards fellow human beings and towards creation in general. Just sitting in certain postures and endlessly repeating a ‘mantr’ without practising ‘seeing God in all and everything’ is useless.

Repeating words that highlight aspects of God (Vahiguru, Nirankar, Mukandé) or which are generic words pointing to God (Allah, Prabhu, Har) is good practice if it leads to seeing God in all. I personally prefer reading or listening to Gurbaní as a way of thinking about God, but what works for me might not work for you.

The yogi Sikhs devised the brilliant slogan : ‘If you don’t see God in all, you won’t see God at all.‘

Seva, selfless service to all goes together with seeing God in all. Sharing food, money and time with others is good for those you help and good for you. You will only profit from seva if you do it quietly, not seeking publicity for your good deeds. It should also not be done as a way to ‘buy’ favours from God.

Standing up against injustice and oppression as taught by tenth guru is also a form of seva. When we campaign for our right to wear the turban in Belgium we should also include the rights of other communities who equally suffer from bans on the wearing of head cover or the wearing of religious symbols.

Nám, books have been written about the exact meaning of ‘Nám’ in Gurmat, but if you read God for ‘Nám’ you are not far wrong. I tend to think of ‘Nám’ as representing the Godly principle or the Godly essence, while a friend of mine sees it as God’s constitution for her/his creation.

Saint John in the New Testament of the Bible writes : In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The biblical notion of ‘Word’ is similar to Nám.

The three first descriptions of God in the Guru Granth Sahib, Ik Ongkar (One Almighty, Omnipresent), Satnám (True Nám), Karta Purkh (Creator Being) represent God who is present in all and the cause of all.

512.The Man in Blue – Sikhi I

In the following articles I will not write anything new or amazing. I will only try to explain some basic notions of Sikhí in a more systematic manner than before.

One God. Guru Granth Sahib starts with the figure 1 followed by a word representing God. There are many words describing aspects of the One God, both in the south Asian spiritual traditions and outside it. God is the Father, the Mother and the Son, God is the Creator and the Destroyer, God is the Omnipresent and the All-Powerful. All these descriptions, all these ‘names’ are part of the One.

There is no Sikh God, no Hindu God, no Muslim God, no Jewish God and no Christian God, there is only One God.

God is All, All is God. God is present in all and everything. This is wonderfully illustrated in rág dhanásrí mahalá 1 árthí, which is on page 13 of the Guru Granth Sahib as part of Sohila, and in its rág on page 663.

Thousands are Your eyes, and yet You have no eyes. Thousands are Your forms, and yet You have not even one form.

Thousands are Your lotus feet, and yet You have no feet. Without a nose, thousands are Your noses. I am enchanted with Your play ! ||2||

God has no eyes, no form, no feet and no nose, but God is all forms and hence has all the eyes, all the forms, all the feet and all the noses.

One Humanity. One humanity regardless of gender, caste, nationality, skin colour, creed. All humanity is part of the same human family, all are the children of the One Father/Mother.

I think I would be within the spirit of the Guru Granth Sahib to go even further and say that the Universe is One, that the Universe is the physical and spiritual expression of the One God. The physical Universe comes from God, and all the souls come from God who is the ‘All-Soul’.

Even from the point of view of physics this makes sense as all beings and all matter are made of the same basic particles.

God is always near to us, God is always within us, but we are often blind and do not see Her or Him. When we follow the ethical way of life as will be explained in these articles, we will feel closer to God, and closer to Creation. When we lose the ‘I’ and become part of ‘Us’, part of Him or Her, we have achieved Liberation.

I will regularly refer to higher spiritual states, of which I have experienced the initial stages only, but I must emphasise that we all have to start from the first relatively simple steps of moving towards being a good human being. These first steps will also have the reward of increased contentment and true happiness. We will soon learn to be happy with a simple life.