TheSikhRenaissance
SPNer
- Nov 7, 2020
- 47
- 8
Allegiance:
Early European accounts of the Sikhs like those of English parliamentarian Richard Joseph Sulivan record that when asked who they owe their loyalty to, Sikh aristocrats and horsemen would solemnly answer that their allegiance was to no earthly ruler but their transcendental Maker. Remarkably, this was often done in the presence of their Sirdars or leaders who did not demur from confessing similarly that their loyalty was only to their God and his earthly emulation: the ten Gurus.The question of loyalty in the 21st century, for the Sikhs, is the same as it was in the historic period: who truly do Sikhs owe their loyalty to? The earthly human state rooted in dialectical materialistic realism or a preternatural divine Being, the Akal, whose values are transcendental and perpetually perfect? The Sikhs of Sulivan’s era knew that Akal’s values as the constitutional foundation for their state did not ensure it perpetuity but guaranteed it peace and prosperity based on adherence.
Summarily, if the Sikhs remained totally adherent to the timeless values of Akal they would dominate from dawn to dusk. But even a slight concession on belief, and they would lose all they had consolidated through their triumphs impelled by their belief in the divine destiny of adherence to Akal. With dissolution and nihilism being the mainstay of the 21st century’s byproducts, it is imperative that the Sikhs return to and relive their traditional principles to rise anew.
Ideologies:
How does Sikhi differ from other ideologies that transcend allegiance to the materialistic state? Conventional religiosity, underpinning all non-Sikh faiths, pivots on the notion of an otherworldly reward effectively divorcing adherents from wholehearted participation in this world. Materialism and naturalism are entrenched in abstract philosophy while corollaries like politics are decentralized and offer no singular moral code bifurcating their followers into either left or right wing supporters with each spectra relativizing its adherents perceptions.Nationalism, as a force for unity, is highly generalized and a nationalist can espouse any cause from fascism to leftism as long as the overarching nationalist gradient remains untouched and unopposed by their secondary proclivities. If anything, it may be Marxism that may be strikingly more similar to Sikhi than different but even this similarity is highly superficial. Both Marxism and Sikhi are concerned with the total realm of human activity in the human existential life, but there are profound differences.
Marxism is rooted in materialism opining that mankind is dispirited and retains no real destiny. Sikhi, contrastingly, professes belief in the unseen actuality that transcends the empirical and materialist world and that is the cause of all causes controlling all natural and supernatural laws that fuel human existence and beyond. The Sikh praxis posits an individual that is by no means dispirited nor lacks real destiny. Rather, the individual is the highest emulation of Akal when enlightened.
ਹਰਿ ਕਾ ਸੇਵਕੁ ਸੋ ਹਰਿ ਜੇਹਾ ॥ ਭੇਦੁ ਨ ਜਾਣਹੁ ਮਾਣਸ ਦੇਹਾ ॥
“When one wholeheartedly serves their Maker, their virtues start mirroring those of their Maker. The only distinction is that of the human frame.”
-Guru Granth, 1076.
What is Man?
Marxism’s philosophical origins plagiarized from Feuerbach and new humanists, it is important to consider its perception of man. How do these ideologies define man and how does this differ from the Sikh purview? The new humanists aim to liberate humanity from the clutches of what they declare to be the commodification of life itself as an economic entity. But what supplants economic pursuits? An unflinching emphasis on atheistic, scientific progress. But herein lies a great contradiction.The humanist purview defines man within a materialist cosmology excluding anything immaterial or metaphysical. Thus the humanist exaltation of mankind is rendered insensate considering that materialism denotes only one foundation for existence and that is empirical. However, simultaneously, they concur humanity is immeasurable by materialist analysis. How can one reconcile the hypocrisy of claiming material humanism while attempting to bestow an independent existence upon it sans materialism while arguing that materialism alone exists?
Is man then a byproduct of the materialist world with no independent existence of his own other than that defined by economic want? Marx would have us believe yes considering his conclusion that mankind retains no real destiny outside materialism. But let us consider the alternative, those who would deny the material world for the metaphysical like the Sanataanis. Does their position hold any merit considering that the non-materialist ideologies are more recipient to the metaphysical?
The Sanataan mistake lies in the fact that by wholly divorcing man from materialism and, by default, denying the scientific method altogether it removes man from the medium of his primacy effectively dethroning man from his existence as a primary being thus disallowing him from judging right from wrong in the perennial battle between ignorance and wisdom. So what is man in the non-Sikh world? Either a materialist byproduct lacking a sense of self and destiny or either an anomaly to be removed from the illusory plane of materialism.
Sikhi, though, rubbishes both notions. In the Sikh purview both man’s subjectiveness and materialism are the manifestations of a single divine essence that transcends the otherwise superficial conflict between both seemingly polar opposites. Even in consideration, both are united because both emanate from the same divine source and it is man’s own blindness that witnesses him rapidly oscillate between one and the other without mastery of any due to his own unenlightened state. It is not the tool at fault but its wielder.
ਅੰਤਰਿ ਅਗਿਆਨੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਭਰਮੁ ਹੈ ਗੁਰ ਗਿਆਨਿ ਗਵਾਈ ॥
“All our internal pain arising from ignorance is only dispelled through the Guru’s (Guru Nanak’s) wisdom.”
-Guru Granth, 1291.
Theolatry:
New humanism’s most significant attack on faith, equally plagiarized by Marx, claims that a transcendental Maker is a byproduct of man’s materialistic struggles and that the Maker is made in the mould of man by man himself. But let us consider this in its entirety. Is this attack on theolatry, the worship of a transcendental Maker, justified? Let us extend this further, man has superimposed upon his alleged Maker what he himself possesses. What is the Sikh stance then on this issue of man and his ignorance?Sikhi underscores that man’s alienation from himself before Akal should be evolved into man’s comprehension of himself in relation to himself! That essentially man’s Maker is within and by surmounting his bestial self he can transcend his unenlightened state to truly acquire the state of a Gurmukh or the divinely enlightened Sikh. The epitome of Khalsa perfection.
ਗੁਰ ਪਰਸਾਦੀ ਵਿਦਿਆ ਵੀਚਾਰੈ ਪੜਿ ਪੜਿ ਪਾਵੈ ਮਾਨੁ ॥ ਆਪਾ ਮਧੇ ਆਪੁ ਪਰਗਾਸਿਆ ਪਾਇਆ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਨਾਮੁ ॥੧॥
“Through the grace emanating from divine wisdom, the Sikh contemplates the (true) knowledge accruing honor by repeatedly imbibing it. Within themselves, they reveal the elixir of Naam (the divine wisdom in practicality).”
-Guru Granth, 1329.
If the human awareness humanists so ardently espouse is the human awareness of itself in relation to itself then wouldn’t theolatry logically define a faith where man would be the worshipper of his own transcendental values that he has supposedly imposed on the God of his own making? After all, it is the humanist contention that humanity exists outside material bounds though there is no immaterial cosmology. Humanism’s own innate contradictions wound whatever propositions it so ardently propagates.
The Negation of God:
We now come to the modern negation of God and transcendental values. The Feuerbachian school of thought loathes the notion of a transcendental Maker considering obedience and worship corrupt and vulgar; the reasons beyond humanity’s afflicted state. Sikhi disagrees positing that afflictions orient man towards his Maker and establish the primacy of his freewill to decide between morality and immorality. Without evil, there would be no triumph or even acknowledgement of what is innately good.ਜੇਹਾ ਬੀਜੈ ਸੋ ਲੁਣੈ ਕਰਮਾ ਸੰਦੜਾ ਖੇਤੁ ॥
“Whatever I have sowed so will I reap, even if the field of my deeds is sown with thorns.”
-Guru Granth, 134.
Man cannot appreciate triumph without failure and vice versa. The relationship between Man and his Maker is reciprocal because by imbibing the virtues of his Maker Man emulates him on the materialistic plane. Through an internal cleansing by the Shabad (the divine words) of the Guru Granth, the Sikh becomes a true Khalsa; a vice-regent of Akal solely under Akal’s command and none other. The knowledge of the self is not negating of God as the materialistic humanist conception casts it but rather affirming of it.
ਨਾਨਕ ਚੀਨੈ ਆਪ ਕਉ ਸੋ ਅਪਰ ਅਪਾਰਾ ॥੮॥
“Nanak, those who recognize themselves (attain knowledge of the self) they are unparalleled in their greatness.”
-Guru Granth, 229.
Contrary to the humanist argument then, it is not man that has formed his Maker but the Maker who has formed Man and bequeathed within him the capability to either surmount himself as the Khalsa and become his vice-regent in the materialistic mortal world or succumb to his beast self and atrophy his life away; a corollary of his free will.
Returning to Marxism, Marx devolves all the high achievements and sentiments of man to a regressive economism. While in the Sikh purview, the primacy of man is bound by the timeless and transcendental values of his Maker; in the Marxist and new humanist purview it is nothing but a chance outcome of materialism and no better than any other tool on the productivity scale. After all, man’s existence solely revolves around acquiring the means of production weathering the burden of those means belonging to someone else. The incessant march of Marxist contradictions.
Values:
The Gurus emphasized their Sikhs owe allegiance to Akal for Akal is the fount of all moral virtues. The erstwhile founder of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha and anti-colonial revolutionary Bhai Randhir Singh (1878-1961) in his treatise ‘Is Bowing to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Akin to Idolatry?’ highlights the Sikh metaphysical aspect that one cannot be divorced from either their values or virtues as these provide the foundational matrixes for their identity. Similarly, Akal’s paramountcy for mankind lies in Akal’s values and virtues that can guide human life.ਜਨੁ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਬੋਲੇ ਗੁਣ ਬਾਣੀ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮਿ ਸਮਾਇਆ ॥੪॥੫॥
“Slave Nanak utters this Bani of virtues and it this Bani that is Gurbani through which adherents can immerse themselves in divine wisdom.”
-Guru Granth, 494.
And,
ਬੰਦਨਾ ਹਰਿ ਬੰਦਨਾ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਵਹੁ ਗੋਪਾਲ ਰਾਇ ॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
“Obeisance upon obeisance, I pay obeisance to the emperor of this earth by singing of his virtues (to live them).”
-Guru Granth, 683.
The capacity for imbibing these virtues is inherent in man from the onset of his existence. It is, however, dependent on his freewill to be activated or ignored. These virtues create values within the human mind. These values in the human context transcend both history and time empowering heroes from each and every generation of man to arise and quaff the cup of virtue to alight anew the flame of morality against the forces of nihilism and totalitarianism.
ਗੁਣਾ ਕਾ ਹੋਵੈ ਵਾਸੁਲਾ ਕਢਿ ਵਾਸੁ ਲਈਜੈ ॥ ਜੇ ਗੁਣ ਹੋਵਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਿ ਸਾਜਨਾ ਮਿਲਿ ਸਾਝ ਕਰੀਜੈ ॥ ਸਾਝ ਕਰੀਜੈ ਗੁਣਹ ਕੇਰੀ ਛੋਡਿ ਅਵਗਣ ਚਲੀਐ ॥ ਪਹਿਰੇ ਪਟੰਬਰ ਕਰਿ ਅਡੰਬਰ ਆਪਣਾ ਪਿੜੁ ਮਲੀਐ ॥
“You retain the capacity for living divine virtues within you, take it out and embody it. If you want to live a life of virtue, then befriend your Maker meeting whom you can contemplate the path of virtue. Befriend your Maker, and then imbibe his virtues while effacing your vices. Adorn the apparel of virtue and make joy for you will have truly met your Maker by then.”
-Guru Granth, 765-766.
What are these eternal human values transcending history and time? Liberty from compulsion, the pursuit of perfection, justice, truth, self-awareness, establishment of fair precedents, selflessness, commonality for impartiality, achievement, equality of opportunity, the effacement of conflict etc. But some might question, aren’t these values the foundation for humanism as well? The divergence is one of interpretation and pursuit of how exactly these can be established for all concerned.
Is it not amazing that the very eternal values that are transcendental in nature and credited to a divine source are plagiarized by Marx and his humanist inspirations who simultaneously dismiss them as arising from socio-economic mores thus having no independent identity of their own? That while disparaging these values as being mutable they hold them dearer than bread? That while holding them as being sacred and making them the lynchpin for their atrocious movements, they hypocritically aim to negate them?
The Question of Loyalty:
Now we come to the imperative question, why the Sikhs of yesteryear claimed to owe allegiance to no earthly master other than God and their Guru. The divine values that furnish a holistic and satisfactory life arise from the virtues of Akal. The Guru, as the personification of divine wisdom, whose essence resides within the Guru Granth guides the Sikh on how to live these virtues. The Sikh’s loyalty is not to human imperfection and its byproducts of imperfect democratic and non-democratic states, but rather to the perfection of Akal.The Sikh state is constitutionally dependent on the virtues of Akal. The Sikh is dependent on the beneficence and grace of Akal for his daily breath and daily sustenance. The Sikh’s very life and the way they live their lives is dependent on Akal. The orthodox Sikh, essentially, is the Khalsa with the 5 K’s and all; a mystic of the highest order who is an emulation of Akal in this materialist world. They use materialism for their own benefit and the benefit of their Gurus’ cause. Why then should the Sikh owe loyalty to the vagaries of imperfect mankind?
Why must the Sikh not engage in a battle for his responsibilities and his rights against the modernist state? Why must the Sikh not war to preserve his way of life against the offenses of modernity and the unravelling post-modernist state? Why must the Sikh not exclude those from their company who swear loyalty to humanism and Marxism that arise from human imperfectness? Why should the Sikh not oppose them?
ਕਿਸੁ ਹਉ ਜਾਚੀ ਕਿਸ ਆਰਾਧੀ ਜਾ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੋਸੀ ॥
ਜੋ ਜੋ ਦੀਸੈ ਵਡਾ ਵਡੇਰਾ ਸੋ ਸੋ ਖਾਕੂ ਰਲਸੀ ॥
ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੁ ਭਵ ਖੰਡਨੁ ਸਭਿ ਸੁਖ ਨਵ ਨਿਧਿ ਦੇਸੀ ॥੧॥
ਹਰਿ ਜੀਉ ਤੇਰੀ ਦਾਤੀ ਰਾਜਾ ॥
ਮਾਣਸੁ ਬਪੁੜਾ ਕਿਆ ਸਾਲਾਹੀ ਕਿਆ ਤਿਸ ਕਾ ਮੁਹਤਾਜਾ ॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
“Whom should I entreat among mortals and whom should I worship among them when all are created by the Maker? The grandest among them create vast dust upon dying. Only the fearless, formless destroyer of fears can bestow the nine joyful treasures. Respected Master, you are the true emperor blessing us with our needs. Why fawn over wretched mortals? Why submit to them?”
-Guru Granth, 608.
The Khalsa Gursikh acknowledges the reality of life and death, submitting to the will of Akal and reflecting their Maker’s virtues on this earthly plane. Enjoying life but refraining from drowning in hedonism. The bestial non-Sikh Manmukh, meanwhile, wiles away their life in apathy.
ਜਉ ਲਉ ਭਾਉ ਅਭਾਉ ਇਹੁ ਮਾਨੈ ਤਉ ਲਉ ਮਿਲਣੁ ਦੂਰਾਈ ॥
ਆਨ ਆਪਨਾ ਕਰਤ ਬੀਚਾਰਾ ਤਉ ਲਉ ਬੀਚੁ ਬਿਖਾਈ ॥੧॥
“While associating with and inclined to enmity, this mind is far removed from meeting its Maker. Drowning in arrogance, such a mind is mired in illusions.”
-Guru Granth, 609.
The Manmukh is unable to accept the reality of life. Thus they are prone to catastrophic failures impacting their companions and loyalists.
ਰੇ ਨਰ ਕਾਹੇ ਪਪੋਰਹੁ ਦੇਹੀ ॥
ਊਡਿ ਜਾਇਗੋ ਧੂਮੁ ਬਾਦਰੋ ਇਕੁ ਭਾਜਹੁ ਰਾਮੁ ਸਨੇਹੀ ॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਤੀਨਿ ਸੰਙਿਆ ਕਰਿ ਦੇਹੀ ਕੀਨੀ ਜਲ ਕੂਕਰ ਭਸਮੇਹੀ ॥
ਹੋਇ ਆਮਰੋ ਗ੍ਰਿਹ ਮਹਿ ਬੈਠਾ ਕਰਣ ਕਾਰਣ ਬਿਸਰੋਹੀ ॥੨॥
ਅਨਿਕ ਭਾਤਿ ਕਰਿ ਮਣੀਏ ਸਾਜੇ ਕਾਚੈ ਤਾਗਿ ਪਰੋਹੀ ॥
ਤੂਟਿ ਜਾਇਗੋ ਸੂਤੁ ਬਾਪੁਰੇ ਫਿਰਿ ਪਾਛੈ ਪਛੁਤੋਹੀ ॥੩॥
“Mortal, why do you foster apathy within this body? It will dissipate like clouds of smoke. Knowing this, why do you still refuse to remember your beloved Creator? There are three ways your cadaver will be funeralized. Either it will be thrown in water, either thrown to the beasts, or either cremated. Thinking you are immortal within yourself, you forget the Creator who is the primary cause behind causation. Just like countless beads positioned on a weak thread of rosary, this is how the Creator has fashioned our lives and slung them on a thread. And when your thread snaps you wretch, then you will repent and regret.”
-Guru Granth, 609.
Why then should the Sikh pledge their loyalty to the ephemeral? The imperfect? The weak? Who should the Sikh swear allegiance to? His Guru’s precondition before accepting him is:
ਤੁਮ ਦਾਤੇ ਠਾਕੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਪਾਲਕ ਨਾਇਕ ਖਸਮ ਹਮਾਰੇ ॥
“You are the only giver, you are the only Master, you are the only nourisher, you are the only emperor, you are our only superior.”
-Guru Granth, 673.
Thus the tendency of Sikhs to die before subordinating themselves to earthly powers and the supremacy of their religion above all other religions is comprehendible when one reads the aforementioned verses of their Guru. The Khalsa is the true Akali, the worshipper of Akal. The 18th century fraternity of Sikh mystics, the Misl Shahid of Akalis, exemplified this principle of loyalty to their transcendental Maker even penalizing Sikh rulers for their perceived transgressions. Such is the character of Sikhs required today.
