ESSENTIALS OF SIKHISM DALJEET SINGH © Author 1994 ISBN 81-7205-117-4 First Edition July 1994 Price Rs. 180-00 Publishers : SINGH BROTHERS, BAZAR MAI SEWAN, AMRITSAR Printers : PRINTWELL, 146, INDL, FOCAL POINT, AMRITSAR To Master Gurbax Singh (Grandson), Miss Payal K Singh, Miss Bani Singh, and Miss Sukhmani Singh (Grand Daughters) Essentials of Sikhism 5 CONTENTS SECTION 1 Mehodology 1. Issues of Sikh Studies 11 SECTION II IDEOLOGY 2. Idea of God in Sikhism 25 3. Naam in Sikhims 34 4. Sikhism, Vaisnavism, Vedanta and Nathism 61 5. The Sikh World-View 81 6. Sikh Theory of Evolution :Haumain, and Problems of Hermeneutics 108 7. The Concept of Maya in Sikhism 144 8. Essentials of Sikh Bhakti and Hindu Bhakti 165 9. Guru Nanak — The Prophet of a Unique Ideology 179 10. Sikh Religion and Politics 199 11. The Gurmukh 217 12. A Critique and A Clarification of Sikhism 231 13. The Idea of Freedom and Responsibility in Sikhism 250 14. The Sikh Identity 255 SECTION III GENERAL 15. Sikhism and Inter-Religious Dialogue 268 References 283 Index 317 Sikhism is a system radically different Following a bright academic from the Indian Bhakti Creeds record, the Author competed with which it has often been successfully for the Civil confused Alhough quietist myics Services and retired as and saints appeared the world Secretary and Commissoner over in all ages and countries, Education, Government of yet none of them had ever Punjab in 1969. Since then accepted social responsibility or he has devoted himself to used force for a righteous the study of Comparative cause, which are the basic Religion and Sikhism in concepts of the Sikh Philosophy. particular. His Works The author elucidates all the include a number of books and Sikh Concepts in this context numerous papers on the in a forceful manner. He Religion of Guru Nanak. he clarifies the misconceptions has delivered Guru Nanak made about Sikhism in an Memorial Lectures and Guru effective and logical way. While Tebh Bahadur Commemorative Lectures at the Punjabi comparing the fundamentals of University, Patiala, Punjab. Sikh Theology with the other Among the living scholars, he religious systems, he relics the is the most authentic and authoritative writings on the prolific exponent of Sikhis. other religions and quotes His views on Sikh Theology profusely from the Sikh are sound and unchallenged, Scripture. being based entirely on the In short, this work is an attempt to doctrines in the Guru Granth give a comparative picture of Sahib and the lives of the Gurus Sikh concept and doctrines, so that their reality is brought in sharp focus, and their significance and implications in the overall structure of Sikhism are grasped by the reader easily. Essentials of Sikhism 7 SECTION I METHODOLOGY Essentials of Sikhism 8 PREFACE After a two year study of Guru Granth Sahib I started writing notes on its important concepts. My understanding of them revealed that Sikhism was a system radically different from the Indian Bhakti creeds with which it was often confused. For, although quietist mystics and saints had appeared the world over in all ages and countries, yet none of them had ever accepted social responsibility, or used force for a righteous cause. Therefore, I wrote a paper on the concept of Naam in Guru Granth Sahib, and sent it to my friend, late Dr. Prem Nath, Head, Department of Philosophy, Panjab University, Chandigarh. He was happy to go through it, and wanted me to publish it, since it expressed a new and logical picture of the identity and theology of Sikhism. Thereafter followed my ventures in Sikh Studies. The papers in this volume are divided into three sections. In the first section is a paper dealing with the problem of religious studies in the present academic world, where the materialist philosophies quite often form the base of Social Science disciplines. The second section comprises thirteen articles, namely, 'Idea of God in Sikhism', 'Naam in Sikhism', 'Yaisnavism, Yedanta and Nathism', 'The Sikh World- view', 'Sikh Theory of Evolution: Haumain, and Problems of Hermeneutics', 'The Concept of Maya in Sikhism', 'Sikh Bhakti and Hindu Bhakti' (Reproduction of a paper contributed at a Seminar organised by the Council of World Religions at Sri Nagar in July 1988), 'Guru Nanak -The Prophet of a Unique Ideology', 'Sikh Religion and Politics', 'Gurmukh', 'A Critique and a Clarification of Sikhism, 'The Idea of Freedom and Responsibility', and 'Sikhism - Its Identity'. The third section has a paper under the Caption 'Sikhism and Inter-Religious Dialogue'. The selection of papers in this volume has primarily been made in order to clarify, in the light of Gurbani, topics about which some confusion has arisen, or which are fundamental to the Sikh thesis. Many a time one finds scholars saying that Sikhism has Vedantic, Bhakti, or Islamic affinities. There is a fundamental failing in such views. A Essentials of Sikhism 10 religion is not a cultural or social growth. Every religion has esoteric and exoteric aspects. So far as the spiritual, ontological or esoteric roots of a religion are concerned, those are entirely its own. It is these roots that shape its personality. The exoteric aspects of a system naturally have their relation to time and space. The difference between a spiritual and a social system is, that the former draws its sap from the realm of the numenon, and the later from the world of the phenomenon. In order to enable the reader to have a clear understanding of Sikhism, an attempt has been made to give a comparative picture of Sikh concepts and doctrines, so that their reality is brought in sharp focus, and their significance and implications in the overall structure of Sikhism, are grasped. Another aspect that is sought to be emphasised, is that Sikh history of the Guru period is an extension, demonstration or a product of the Sikh ideology; and neither of them can be understood in isolation. Just as the Ten Masters working over a period of 240 years, are a unique feature of Sikhism, this unity of Sikh ideology and the lives of the Gurus, is an essential aspect of the Gospel of the Gurus for its authentic interpretation. In this venture my profuse thanks are due to my brother-in-law, Professor Jagjit Singh, and my friend, Dr. Kharak Singh, for their help in writing and compiling these papers. For, in matters of ideology, discussion with knowledgeable persons always leads to clarity and precision. I should also like to express my gratefulness to my wife, Sardani Amarjit Kaur, for her continued assistance in my work, studies and preparation of these essays. 127, Sector 9, Daljeet Singh Chandigarh CHAPTER I ISSUES OF SIKH STUDIES It is a welcome sign that in the last few decades interest in the study of Sikh religion, its institutions and history has grown both in India and abroad, both among Sikh and non-Sikh scholars. It is indeed a healthy development. But, partly because of the variant background from which scholars are drawn and partly because of the methodologies of study followed by them, a few problems have to be faced and solved. In this brief article we shall consider a few of them. The first problem that has arisen concerns the methodology adopted in the study of Sikhism. This issue relates not only to the study of Sikhism, but also to the study of other religions, or of religion as such. In fact, the problem is ontological in nature. It is basic to almost every religion that there is a Spiritual Reality that is different from the empirical reality we perceive with our senses. Irrespective of the fact whether or not the phenomenal reality is considered to be real or not, the Spiritual Reality is regarded as more real or true. It is the description and definition of this Reality by a religion that form the very basis of the study of that religion. Answers to questions whether that Reality is creative, attributive or otherwise, determine the structure of a religion and furnish valid clues to its study and classification. For example, no student of the Guru Granth Sahib can fail to understand that for the Gurus, God is not only Creative and Attributive but He is also Immanent, reveals Himself to man, and operates in history with His Will. The Gurus have repeatedly emphasized these aspects of God. Guru Nanak says, "O Lalo, I say what the Lord commands me to convey."l Similarly, the scriptures and the basic doctrines of every religion define Reality in their own way and no study of any religion would be true or even valid unless that definition is kept in view. It is, therefore, Essentials of Sikhism 12 axiomatic to say that the study of the ontology or the spiritual base of a religion is essential to the proper understanding of it and its development. Yet it is this very issue that raises the first problem. Since the advent of science and more particularly since the last century, materialistic philosophies have gained considerable relevance. In fact, in the fields of sociology, economics, political science, psychology and history, it is the materialistic interpretations that are by and large accepted as valid. Each of these social sciences has developed its own particular discipline and methodology of study. As all these studies relate to the phenomena of the empirical world, either taking little account of or denying the transcendent world, their world- views are from the point of view of religion, partial or lopsided. Seen from the angle of social sciences, there is substance in the argument of these scholars of phenomenology that the acceptance of the existence of transcendence is an uncalled for assumption that would knock off what they consider to be their scientific basis.