Satsriakaalji Saadh Sangat
I was shocked to find this data on
SSI Canada
Was Giani Sant Singh Maskeen "Vidya Maartand" and "Brahm Giani"?
Author: Prof. Inder Singh Ghagga
Translated from Punjabi by Akashdeep Singh Aulakh
Vocabulary: -
Vidya Martand = Sun of Knowledge
Brahm Giani = He who knows the truth of the universe, he is the creator of the universe, he is formless, yet he is present in every form on this earth. (Shri Sukhmani Sahib)
Gurmat = the ideology/intelligence given by Sikh spiritual gurus, the Sikh faith.
Bhog = conclusion ceremony after Paath is complete.
Paath = the act of reading and understanding the Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib.
If you put Maskeen ji's lecture audios aside and read Osho's (Rajneesh's) books first, you will feel it yourself that Giani Maskeen Ji exactly repeated Osho's words and scarcely talked about Sikh faith.
The management of one gurdwara in England imposed a restriction on Maskeen ji (for his lectures in that gurdwara) requiring him to talk only about Gurbani and Gurmat, and not Brahamanical fables and stories. Maskeen Ji replied, "If you want me to talk only about Gurmat (the knowledge/instruction from the Sikh gurus) then turn off all the video cameras. I cannot talk just about Gurmat while being recorded". By getting recorded talking just about Gurmat, he did not want to disappoint his followers who adhere to Hinduism.
He often used to make this 'anti-Gurmat' claim that angels came to listen to his lectures and were visible to Maskeen Ji only.
He was already considered to be a millionaire preacher, what good for the Gurmat has been done by presenting his family with tens and tens of lakhs of rupees?
At the time of bhog (related to funeral ceremoney of Maskeen Ji), special efforts were made to promote him as "Brahm Giani" with the help of banners declaring so. On the other hand, Gurbani only calls "Akaal Purakh" as Brahm Giani and mentions that Brahm Giani never dies.
He was a big fan of mythological gods, the salacious idols of Khajuraho, and the nudity-ridden stories from the Dasam Granth and kept using Gurbani wrongly to prove the carnal-lust instigating stories that he used to tell.
Maskeen ji has written a book on Gurudwara Management and has distributed this book free of cost. In that book he mentions that the present Gurudwara Management is incompetent and the solution that he mentions in the book is that the Gurudwara Management be given back to "Nirmaliye". Maskeen ji got education from a "Nirmaliya" teacher and he himself is a follower of "Nirmaliya" sect and is a disciple of Baba Shri Chand. These Nirmalye were the people who spread the "Brahmani" beliefs in the Gurdwaras in the past. He always talked about people rather than talking about the Panth (Sikh Panth).
Had I not gotten the chance to watch the continuous, seven-hour live telecast of Sant Maskeen Ji's last rituals and tribute ceremonies on the channel ETC TV, I would never have written this essay. It is not possible for one to knowingly gulp a fly in the milk. In the tribute ceremony, the following incomplete line from Gurbani was written in bold words in front of Guru Granth Sahib Ji -
"Brahm Gyani sad jeeve nahi marta"
Watching and reading this shocked my mind and heart. This big blunder? Did this person - who, all his life, kept lecturing on the stages meant for preaching Gurmat, who earned his living by supposedly preaching Gurmat - not teach the essence of Gurbani to his family and his disciples and the likes (of Ranjeet Singh Gohar, etc., who were managing these ceremonies)? The incomplete line mentioned above has been culled from 8th ashtpadi of Shri Sukhmani Sahib and has been used by these people in a way to emphasize that Giani Sant Singh Ji Maskeen was "Brahm Giani" and he has not died but is alive because being a "Brahm Giani" he cannot die. Now kindly pay attention to the 8th ashtpadi from where the incomplete line mentioned above has been picked, and note who has been called "Brahm Giani" in Gurbani
Braham Giani sabh srishat ka karta ||
Braham Giani sad jeeve nahin marta ||
Braham Giani mukt jugat ka daata ||
Braham Giani pooran purakh bidhata ||
Braham Giani anaath ka naath ||
Braham Giani ka sabh upar haath ||
Braham Giani ka sagal aakaar ||
Braham Giani aap nirankaar ||
There are 7 other paudiyaan of this 8th ashtpadi but summarizing and understanding just the 8th paudi removes all the doubts about who should be called Brahm Giani.
Sentence wise, brief meanings are as follows:-
1. Brahm Giani is he who has created this whole universe.
2. Brahm Giani always lives, he never dies.
3. Brahm Giani shows the way to salvation, shows the way to live life.
4. Brahm Giani is, in truth, the puran purakh (consummate), and the one who gives birth to all.
5. Brahm Giani helps the helpless.
6. Brahm Giani showers his blessings on everyone.
7. All visible forms/shape (the world, the universe, the nature) are images (embodiments) of Brahm Giani.
8. Brahm Giani is nobody else, but the Supreme Power (God) himself.
Everyone knows that since we live in human bodies we all are bound to die one day - all the saints and our own ten revered Gurus had to leave as well. Whoever has foolishly tried to convince people to call himself God, has lost respect in the eyes of intelligent people. If the misuse of above mentioned line were being done by Maskeen Ji's family only, it might have been a little less painful, but the preachers who have been taught by Maskeen Ji did blunderous interpretation of Gurbani as well. Extremely painful is the fact that when all these blunders were visibly and noticeably made in such ceremonies, all the five heads of our five Takhts were present there. The heads of Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee (DGMC) and Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) were also present there. There were other numerous preachers and honorable personalities present on this occasion and none of them could say a word till the end about this self-created doctrine. Now should we simply drink this bitter pain and be calm that all these people don’t even have the slightest understanding of Gurbani, or should we think that these people have become so much cowardly that they could not dare to speak the truth? At least somebody could have said this at sometime, “Saadh Sangat! This line means God (IkOnkar) himself, and God (IkOnkar) never dies. We all corporeal beings are bound to destruction.”
Now let’s consider some of the comments by the responsible people during the 2nd March 2005 tribute ceremony: -
Role model for Sikh society: Every speaker who came onstage reiterated again and again that Maskeen Ji was a role model for our life and was a source of inspiration for the Sikh Panth. Note that in today’s world our revered “Guru Sahibaan” are seen no more as role models for the Sikh society; Gurbani is no longer the source of inspiration for Sikhs.
Sun?: More trumpets of praise were blown on the stage, “Maskeen was like sun of knowledge, he was “Vidya Martand”, he was great Gurbani speaker (kathawachak).” Note that all other shining things do not have their own source of light rather they shine by reflecting the light from the Sun. The Sun is the only unique power which does not need to borrow light from somewhere else, the shine and heat is of its own. What Maskeen Ji told his audience (sangat), was that knowledge his own? The learned people in the Sikh society know that this “glitter” of knowledge was from the great writers of our Gurbani. The treasure in the form of Gurbani bequeathed to us by our Gurus is the sun of knowledge for us. If we use the title of Sun for Maskeen Ji, then what words would be used for our Guru Sahibaan? If anybody has a doubt then please listen carefully Maskeen ji’s lectures and start reading Osho’s (Rajneesh’s) books. You will find a word-by-word repetition, barring a few exceptions here and there. And the difference that seems to be counting is that general Sikh population has not read Osho’s books.
Just repeated Osho’s words: Now if you call Maskeen Ji a great speaker of Gurbani - my apologies for differing with you - I'd say that in his 40 years of exposure to public he has not done any preaching of Gurbani. If he has spoken of anything other than Osho’s words, they were the poems of Sheik Sadi, Meer, Daag, Mirza Ghalib and Faiz etc. In his one hour of lecture one finds very few lines from Gurbani and that too incomplete. He never spoke about any whole “shabad” from Gurbani. He never remained stationed at any place for one or two months to do continuous recitation and preaching of Gurbani. But yes, he adored the Dasam Granth which is full of obscene stories. He used to tell with great enthusiasm the carnal act-ridden stories from the Dasam Granth.
After the death of the richest story-teller lakhs more were given from the religious funds: A check worth fifty thousand was given to Maskee Ji’s wife as a help from the Delhi Gurudwara Management Committee. In addition to this, a promise was given of no interference in all those places which were in the possession of Maskeen family. Those properties belonged to the committee and hence were the public religious fund generated properties but were given away to Maskeen Ji’s family. Forgetting all ancient scholars and brave Sikhs, the Delhi Gurudwara Management Committee’s head announced to start an award in the name of Maskeen Ji. Perhaps these people have accepted Maskeen Ji as the greatest among all those ancient scholars and brave men.
Why so much fondness for Maskeen ji?: Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) went one step ahead. In memory of Maskeen Ji, Bhai Gurdaas award was declared. Reward of one lakh rupees was reserved for Maskeen Ji’s wife. Ten lakh rupees were given to Maskeen Ji’s family by SGPC right away ......
The Maskeen Ji, whose three sons own well established businesses in foreign lands, who had earned enormous money by selling audio cassettes of his lectures, by selling books and by delivering lectures, was given even more money. The money that public is faithfully donating in the Gurdwaras is being wasted in acts like this. Ones who are already flourishing are being given even more. No education centers have been opened to train financially weaker Sikh youth in reciting/preaching Gurbani; rather, Maskeen family, which was already playing in millions, was presented with even more big gifts. These type of gifts were never given to the greats of the likes of Professor Sahib Singh, Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, Dr. Ganda Singh, S. Narain Singh (Guru Nanak Mission, Patiala) and others. Why only Maskeen Ji was given this great honor? ... It’s worth thinking.
Preaching against Gurmat: There are numerous examples of how Maskeen Ji taught wrong meanings of Gurbani, how he told wrong meanings of Gurbani at his own will. Let’s consider a few examples:-
Naam and Kaam: - Sadly, in one of his one-hour lectures Maskeen Ji used to declare Satguru Ji as lover of “Kok Shastra” (ancient unscientific brahminic work). He used to do the blunder of picking incomplete lines from Gurbani for reasoning. He used to present carnal proofs using these. Note this line picked by him, “Baal kanya ko baap pyara....” (596) and now note his explanation, “A daughter loves her father, and a son loves his mother. Fathers love is more for daughter as compared to his love for son, a mothers love is more towards her son as compared to her love for daughter this is because there is deep attraction between opposite sexes” The place from where Maskeen Ji picked this incomplete line, there the actual subject was that of death; sex is not at all referred there. In reality the complete lines are:-
Mai baap ko beta neeka, sasurey chatur jawai ||
Baal kanniya ko baap piyara bhai ko ati bhai ||
Hukam bhaya bahur ghar chodya khinn meh bhai parai ||
Fan of naked idols of Khajuraho: The nudity ridden, carnal-lust instigating idols of the Khajuraho temple in the state of Madhya Pradesh, which were placed there by people who lost their way, are seen as Gurmat by Maskeen Ji. He has openly praised the nudity and the sculptures of these idols and has crossed all limits of morality by using Gurbani wrongfully to provide instances. He has also done the mean act of relating our Gurus with these idols. Our Gurbani has shown us path to live life with self-control. These idols which have been praised by Maskeen Ji break all limits of self-control and represent shameless acts to the public. Yours truly got a chance to see these idols at Khajuraho, the guide of that place was speaking of these indecent carnal-lust ridden idols in the same way as Maskeen Ji and was representing them to be the work of great saints. The guide also mentioned that after seeing these idols for a while, I would become peaceful and then go inside the temple and would have the sight of the God. Yours truly apprehended the guide for his wrongful saying and asked, “You ignorant human! I am an old man of 58 years and watching these idols have made me uneasy and restless. It will take me at least a weak to get normal and peaceful again. What would have been the effect of watching these idols on the young people?” And our Maskeen Ji visualized these idols in accordance with Gurmat.
Can a human become invisible?: In his stories Maskeen ji tells big lie that, “By reciting Naam human being can become as minute as an atom. He can then go anywhere he wants including Moon, Sun, or stars in the flash of an eye. He can minimize or enlarge his body as much as he wants.” Lines used for providing instance are the following: -
Parmanoo parjant aakaasheh deep loye sikhandaneh ||
Gachchen nain bharen Nanak, Nanak bina sadhoo na sidhtey ||
In reality, Guru Arjun Dev Ji was well aware of the enormous strength of atomic power. The lines above said by Guru Arjun Dev Ji mean that a human being can generate enormous power by understanding how atoms work. Using this strength, humans can travel very long distances in very short time. But the abundance of materials and super fast speeds will not be able to provide any happiness to humans; everlasting happiness will only be achieved from Satguru Ji’s orders.
Blind praise of Devi/Devtey: Maskeen Ji has spoken for hours and hours in the praise of Raam, Krishan, Brahma and Vishnu. He has been promoting King Ram Chander as an ideal human being, has been praising limitlessly the ancient mythological gods. It is sad that he never remembered those who have been cut into pieces by saws, those innocents who have been hanged, those who had to live in jungles, the big and small Sikh holocausts etc. Hindus gods and goddesses were dear to him but in his entire life he did not describe any principle from the Gurbani.
He spread rumors himself that angels come to listen to his lectures: On one hand Maskeen Ji used to tell good things in his lectures, but on the other hand he used to tell unscientific and ludicrous things very often. Recorded audios and videos are witness to my writing. One lie that he often used to tell on his stages is: “angels and gods come to listen my lectures. They are not visible to anybody but just to me”. Maskeen Ji had no regret to tell this one more lie that with faith in Naam a human can become bodyless and within a flash of an eye can go anywhere he wants to. In Maskeen Ji’s own words, “I have seen these type of people”. I don’t know which religion Maskeen Ji had been serving with these kinds of lies? Why he himself could not become bodyless with the power of 40-50 years of his own Naam faith? There would have been no need for automobiles, planes and ships.
Our so called jathedars: What to expect from others to speak against the wrongdoings when all five jathedars (leaders of the five Takhats) were also present there. They are the same jathedars who just three days ago were mud slinging each other, were ready to smash Paggs (turbans) of each other in front of ETC TV channel and our Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Akal Takhat. Someone was engulfed in bribery case, whereas some other was facing the charges of having three wives. The same Vedanti, with the connivance of other jathedars, declared Dhanwant Singh Saint not guilty. A court in Gurdaspur declared this same Dhanwant Singh Saint guilty and pronounced ten years jail with labor and also fined him with ten thousand rupees. A jathedar charged with case of taking bribe questioned another jathedar Iqbal Singh (from Patna) for keeping three wives. Iqbal Singh raged out of Akal Takhat blaming Satguru Ji. In the tribute ceremony of Maskeen Ji, the same Iqbal Singh had again become “Singh Sahib” and was preaching people.
When Maskeen ji was bound by UK Gurudwara Management: The South Hall Gurudwara Management in UK bravely bounded Maskeen Ji telling, “We want to listen Gurmat from you, we do not want to listen to self created stories less we have to cancel the program”. Maskeen Ji replied, "If you want me to talk only about Gurmat then first stop recording all the video films, I cannot talk just about Gurmat while being recorded". The cameras we shut down and he did very good preaching from Gurbani. With his TV channels programs he seemed to be more worried about pleasing his Hindu followers, and remained step-motherly to Sikh philosophy. On these channels he was seen talking more about mythological Hindu gods and goddesses and very little about Guru Sahibaan.
Gurudwara Management to Nirmaliye: Maskeen Ji has written a book on Gurudwara management and has distributed this book free of cost. In that book he mentions that the present Gurudwara management is incompetent and the solution that he mentions in the book is that the Gurudwara Management be given back to "Nirmaliye". Maskeen Ji got education from a "Nirmaliya" teacher and he himself is a follower of "Nirmaliya" sect and is a disciple of Baba Shri Chand. These Nirmalye were the people who spread the "Brahmani" rituals in the Gurudwaras in the past. Maskeen Ji talked about people but has never talked about Panth (Sikh Panth).
