PAROPKAR SINGH PURI
In our faith, all “baptized Sikhs are required to keep their hair-kesh intact, covered with a turban. We also wear the four other symbols prescribed by Guru Gobind Singh ji. We are required to live a simple and truthful life as per the code of conduct laid down by the Gurus. That is how we receive God’s Grace-every single day.
The kesh and four symbols have a special meaning and purpose, besides giving the Sikhs a visible distinct identity, This discipline has been prescribed by Guru Gobind Singh, at a time when India was ruled by the Mughals, who were bent upon forcible conversion to Islam. Hindus and Sikhs were afraid to disclose their identity for fear of persecution by the tyrnical and bigoted Mughal rulers. Our Gurus taught all Sikhs to have the courage of their conviction and to profess their faith fearlessly, and proclaim their identity with pride! The Tenth Guru indeed put us to a severe test- at the alter of death, to everyone who volunteered to give up his life to the Guru as a “sacrifice” to lay the foundation of the uniquely dedicated Khalsa Panth.
This distinctive discipline was not “externally imposed” but was accepted with gratitude as the Guru’s grace, which gave the Sikhs a life of freedom and dignity. The symbols thus became like a badge of honour which only a Sikh of Guru Gobind Singh was entitled to wear.
History is replete with instances when the Sikhs gave their head but not their hair, affirming their deep resolve to carry forward the legacy of their Gurus, by preserving their distinct identity. The symbols, therefore, represent strong traditions of faith, fidelity, courage and sacrifice. That is why the symbols are not considered as mere emblems but articles of Sikh faith.
Guru Gobind Singh was convinced that without a permanent, common and visible Sikh identity it was not possible to keep the Sikhs united in faith and in their fight for survival. He therefore, categorically declared that as long as the Khalsa maintained its distinct identity, he would bestow all his blessinge for the glory of the Khalsa.
“ਜਬ ਲਗ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਰਹੇ ਨਿਆਰਾ ਤਬ ਲਗ ਤੇਜ ਦਿਉ ਮੈਂ ਸਾਰਾ।
ਜਬ ਇਹ ਗਹੇ ਬਿਪਰਨ ਕੀ ਰੀਤ ਮੈਂ ਨਾ ਕਰੂੰ ਇਨ ਕੀ ਪਰਤੀਤ॥”
SIKHS STOPPED FOREIGN INVASIONS FROM NORTHWEST:
History tells us how, with the blessings of Guru Gobind Singh ji, the Sikhs, with their tiny armies, blazed a trail of victory across the plains of India and within two years after his death, captured Sirhind and established the first independent Khalsa State.
But Guru Gobind Singh never wanted his Sikhs to be mere soldiers. He wanted them to be Saint Soldiers.deeply devoted to God, always singing His praises, bearing a high moral character and observing Rehat-Maryada as was followed and demanded by his predecessors. When Guru Gobind Singh made the symbols mandatory for the Sikhs to wear, he also made it obligatory for them to observe the code of conduct (Rehats) that he had enunciated. He made it abundantly clear that the symbols were not an end in themselves; they were only means to an end. Symbols were meaningless if the inner qualities they signified were not cultivated. If the symbols did not inspire the Sikhs to uphold the lofty traditions and moral values for which they were prescribed then they were of no value and purpose.
Guru Gobind Singh was quite clear on this point when he said:
“ਧਰੇ ਕੇਸ ਪਾਹੁਲ ਬਿਨ ਭੇਖੀ ਮੂਰਖ ਸਿਖ, ਮੇਰਾ ਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਨਾਹਿ ਤਿਸੁ ਪਾਪੀ ਤਿਆਗੇ ਭਿਖ॥”
Foolish and hypocritical is the Sikh who merely grows unshorn hair without abiding by the baptismal vows of the “pahul.”Let such a vicious person cut off his guile and never come into my presence.
SPIRIT OF THE KHALSA:
Strict observance of the code of conduct prescribed by Guru Gobind Singh, therefore, can only keep alive the spirit of the Khalsa and give relevance and legitimacy to the Sikh Symbols and the Sikh identity for which the Guru had sacrificed almost his entire family.
The question therefore, is not what is more important the Sikh values or the Sikh identity. Both Sikh values and Sikh identity must go hand in hand if the Sikhs want to revive and sustain their past glory.Sikh religion cannot survive without the distinctive Sikh identity created on Vaisakhi of 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh ji. Without the Sikh physical identity, Sikhism will become a misnomer and would need to be redesignated. And without the Sikh values and Sikh ethos a Sikh will remain, in the words of Saran Singh ji “as a show-piece and the hollow as a bamboo,”iso
It is sad to find that there is a pronounced laxity in maintaining the Sikh “Bana” and neglet of Sikh values and Sikh ethos today, especially in Punjab, the Sikh homeland. Apostasy seems to be spreading like wildfire. The Sikh youths have mindlessly resorted to shaving, badly shingling and trimming their beards. This laxity in maintaining the symbols has brought a fall from the faith leading to the gradual erosion of the basic Sikh values. It is not surprising; therefore, to find the very rites, rituals and practices which the Sikh Gurus vehemently opposed to have crept back into Sikhism.
DECLINE & FALL OF SIKH KINGDOM:
The condition of the Sikh community today can be compared with a similar situation in Sikh history after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the annexation of Punjab by the British in 1849. The difference is that the degradation of the Sikh community then had occurred after the Sikh Raj had ended whereas the socio-religious fabric of the Sikhs today is being damaged during the Sikh rule in Punjab.
The main difference, however, lies in the attitude of the Sikh leaders, then and now.It was then a rude shock and awakening for the Sikh community, resulting in the birth of the Singh’ Sabha Movement. The leaders of the Singh Sabha Movement worked dedicatedly and zealously not only to check the tide of apostasy among the Sikh youth but also reversed the flow by bringing back those who had renounced Sikhism. A large number of new entrants also received “amrit” and took the baptismal vows of the Khalsa Panth. The pristine purity of Sikhism was restored. In contrast, our leaders, both panthic and political, are still sleeping over the matter and appear comprehensively ignorant of the issues facing the Sikh community. Had the Sikh leaders taken appropriate steps at the initial stages to grapple with the problems that beset the Sikh community today, the situation would not have been so alarming.
21st CENTURY RESTORATION OF FAITH:
The revival of the Singh Sabha Movement therefore, is urgently required to carry the message of the Gurus to every Sikh, in the villages and towns, that only strict observance of the code of conduct as enshrined in Guru Granth Sahib can keep alive the form and spirit of the Khalsa and the glory of the Khalsa Panth.
Sikhism has always shown remarkable resilience and potency to fight all odds and surmount all obstacles during their turbulent history of more than five hundred years without compromising the basic and enduring values of its faith.All attempts in the past to annihilate, convert or subjugate it have failed. All prophets of doom who predicted the extinction of Sikhism in the past have been proven totally wrong. Sikhs are here to stay. As Arnold Toynbee, the renowned historian puts it,”If human life survives the present chapter of man’s history, the Sikhs for sure, will still be on the map.”
