Sikh Theology
SPNer
- Oct 31, 2024
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Taken from: Is Alcohol Permissible in Gurmat?
Gurbani is very clear when it comes to the consumption of alcohol. It is never permissible under any conditions.
In fact Gurbani says, even if Alcohol is prepared using holy water it is still impure and Gursikhs should not drink it:
Again, Gurbani rejects the drinking of alcohol:
ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਕਾ ਵਾਪਾਰੀ ਹੋਵੈ ਕਿਆ ਮਦਿ ਛੂਛੈ ਭਾਉ ਧਰੇ ॥੨॥
One who is a trader of Amrit (meaning one who enjoys the pleasure of Amrit Naam), how can he/she then love the false wine of the world.
Gurbani explains why the drinking of Alcohol is considered impure:
The consumption of alcohol has ruined millions of lives and families. Gurbani has clearly told Gursikhs to not drink it, doing so one is punished by Akaal Purakh.
Historical Rehatnamai also prohibit the consumption of alcohol.
Bhai Daya Singh Ji, the first Gursikh to offer his head to Guru Gobind Singh Ji during Vaisakhi 1699, in his Rehatnama writes:
Although it becomes quite clear when reading Gurbani that alcohol is prohibited, there are still those that believe alcohol is permissible within Gurmat.
They use often misunderstood lines or, lines taken out of context from Dasam Granth or Sikh historical texts. One such line is the following from Charitropakhiaan, written by Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji:
Firstly, the process in which a person becomes a Sikh of Akaal Purakh Vaheguru is already well established in the Panth. One presents themselves in front of the Panj Pyare and receives Amrit. In the above Charitar, a princess makes a Brahmin a sikh of Maha Kaal through the drinking of alcohol and cannabis. Any Sikh with common sense would already understand that this scenario is not one of a person becoming a Sikh of Guru Sahib, but it is something entirely different.
The above line comes at the very end of the entire Charitar, using it alone out of context to prove the use of alcohol is permitted is a foolish endeavor. One must read the entire Charitar or at least the few lines preceding this line to fully understand the message of this Charitar.
In this Charitar, a princess debates a Brahmin priest. She informs him that worshipping stones will never get him anywhere. She condemns him for being a beggar going from king to king asking for money. They have a long debate in which the Brahmin is angered. When the Brahmin tells her that she has slandered him and his gods and that he will inform her father, the king, who will punish her, the princess says that she will tell her father that the Brahmin had tried to molest her and thus he will be severely punished. The princess also pushes him into a river and tries to drown him. In the end, in order to avoid a severe punishment, the Brahmin accepts that he is wrong and he throws his stones into the river and becomes a sikh of Maha Kaal by drinking alcohol and cannabis.
Nowhere in this Charitar is it mentioned that by drinking alcohol and cannabis one becomes a Sikh of Guru Sahib. In fact the entire debate is between two Hindus and how they think the correct way to worship their god is. Yes, the princess does not believe in idol worship and other anti-Gurmat beliefs, but this does not make her a Sikh of Guru Sahib and Akaal Purakh. Throughout the Charitar she calls herself a sikh of Shiv Ji, who is also known as Maha Kaal.
Throughout Gurbani, Guru Sahib has used words with different meanings. When Guru Sahib says to worship Raam or Hari, he is not instructing Sikhs to worship Hindu gods, rather these words are used for Akaal Purakh. Similarly, the word Maha Kaal has several meanings and one must use context to understand which meaning of this word is being used.
For example in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the word Maha Kaal is used with a negative connotation:
In other places Maha Kaal is referred to as Akaal Purakh.
For example:
So in the line where the Brahmin is made a Sikh of Maha Kaal by drinking alcohol and cannabis, is not talking about a person becoming a Sikh of Guru Sahib or Akaal Purakh, rather it refers to Maha Kaal, a hindu god.
When reading anything, one must always use context to ensure the correct and true meaning is understood. Taking lines out of context to try and prove certain beliefs is not correct.
Even when reading Sikh historical sources such as the Gurpartap Suraj Granth or Rehatnamai, one must use the litmus test of Gurbani. No text is infallible. Writers will always have a bias and can make mistakes. Only Gurbani is completely True and without imperfections.
There appears a line in Kavi Santokh Singh’s Gurpartap Suraj Granth in which Guru Gobind Singh Ji asks for two bottles of alcohol to be brought to him. This line appears in the 12th Chapter of the 5th Rut (Season) of the Granth:
In this story a person named Har Gopaal, whose father is a Sikh, comes to Guru Gobind Singh to give him 500 rupees at the behest of his father. He sees that Guru Sahib is feeding his hawk animal meat. Seeing this, he wonders to himself what kind of Guru is this? Why has my father adopted him as his Guru? He starts to think that Guru Sahib is not worthy of being a Guru, due to his own hatred of meat. Although Guru Sahib was not eating the meat themselves, rather feeding their bird meat that they had hunted. This person cannot sleep at night as he is horrified at the thought of a Guru handling meat or feeding meat to his hawk. He believes that Guru Gobind Singh has no compassion. He starts to think that he needs to adopt a proper Guru, one that does not go near meat and one that does all of the rituals of Hinduism. That whole night he cannot sleep because of these thoughts. It is ridiculous to let such a small thing (a hawk eating meat) to bother you to such an extent that you cannot sleep all night. It is because of the extremity of this belief of his that Guru Sahib teaches him a lesson.
Gurbani says:
This entire story is an elaborate lesson used to rid Har Gopaal of his false sense of righteousness. No where did Guru Sahib drink the alcohol, or tell his Sikhs to drink it. Throughout Gurbani and Sikh history, Guru Sahib has used examples and metaphors to teach us lessons. One cannot become obsessed with the tools Guru Sahib uses to teach us a lesson, rather one must focus on the moral of the story.
In Asa di Vaar, Guru Sahib says:
Furthermore, Guru Sahib talks about meat:
Guru Sahib has used metaphors and symbolism to teach us lessons. One cannot take these lessons literally. Just as Guru Sahib taught Baba Banda Singh Bahadur a lesson by pretending to cook meat in his Dera, so too does Guru Sahib teach a lesson to Har Gopaal in this Sakhi.
Kavi Santokh Singh actually prohibits the consumption of alcohol in the same granth:
To conclude, Gurbani very clearly prohibits the consumption of alcohol. Over and over in Gurbani, the consumption of alcohol is rejected. Sikh historical sources too prohibit alcohol. One must always make Gurbani the basis of Gurmat, all other sources are of Sikh history and philosophy can be erroneous.
Gurbani is very clear when it comes to the consumption of alcohol. It is never permissible under any conditions.
In fact Gurbani says, even if Alcohol is prepared using holy water it is still impure and Gursikhs should not drink it:
Furthermore, Gurbani says:
Clearly Gurbani rejects the drinking of Alcohol. In fact, the drinking of alcohol has always been considered a Cardinal Sin within Gurmat.
Again, Gurbani rejects the drinking of alcohol:
ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਕਾ ਵਾਪਾਰੀ ਹੋਵੈ ਕਿਆ ਮਦਿ ਛੂਛੈ ਭਾਉ ਧਰੇ ॥੨॥
One who is a trader of Amrit (meaning one who enjoys the pleasure of Amrit Naam), how can he/she then love the false wine of the world.
Gurbani explains why the drinking of Alcohol is considered impure:
Gurbani says that drinking alcohol, one loses their senses and becomes mad. In this madness he cannot tell the difference between his loved ones and enemies. Drinking alcohol causes one to forget Akaal Purakh and thus one is punished by Akaal Purakh for drinking it.
The consumption of alcohol has ruined millions of lives and families. Gurbani has clearly told Gursikhs to not drink it, doing so one is punished by Akaal Purakh.
Historical Rehatnamai also prohibit the consumption of alcohol.
Bhai Daya Singh Ji, the first Gursikh to offer his head to Guru Gobind Singh Ji during Vaisakhi 1699, in his Rehatnama writes:
Furthermore, in another Rehatnama by Bhai Desa Singh he writes the following:
Aside from these there are countless are Rehatnamai that prohibit the consumption of alcohol.
Although it becomes quite clear when reading Gurbani that alcohol is prohibited, there are still those that believe alcohol is permissible within Gurmat.
They use often misunderstood lines or, lines taken out of context from Dasam Granth or Sikh historical texts. One such line is the following from Charitropakhiaan, written by Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji:
This line appears in Charitar 266. One must read the entire Charitar before concluding that Guru Gobind Singh is instructing his Sikhs to drink alcohol and cannabis.
Firstly, the process in which a person becomes a Sikh of Akaal Purakh Vaheguru is already well established in the Panth. One presents themselves in front of the Panj Pyare and receives Amrit. In the above Charitar, a princess makes a Brahmin a sikh of Maha Kaal through the drinking of alcohol and cannabis. Any Sikh with common sense would already understand that this scenario is not one of a person becoming a Sikh of Guru Sahib, but it is something entirely different.
The above line comes at the very end of the entire Charitar, using it alone out of context to prove the use of alcohol is permitted is a foolish endeavor. One must read the entire Charitar or at least the few lines preceding this line to fully understand the message of this Charitar.
In this Charitar, a princess debates a Brahmin priest. She informs him that worshipping stones will never get him anywhere. She condemns him for being a beggar going from king to king asking for money. They have a long debate in which the Brahmin is angered. When the Brahmin tells her that she has slandered him and his gods and that he will inform her father, the king, who will punish her, the princess says that she will tell her father that the Brahmin had tried to molest her and thus he will be severely punished. The princess also pushes him into a river and tries to drown him. In the end, in order to avoid a severe punishment, the Brahmin accepts that he is wrong and he throws his stones into the river and becomes a sikh of Maha Kaal by drinking alcohol and cannabis.
Nowhere in this Charitar is it mentioned that by drinking alcohol and cannabis one becomes a Sikh of Guru Sahib. In fact the entire debate is between two Hindus and how they think the correct way to worship their god is. Yes, the princess does not believe in idol worship and other anti-Gurmat beliefs, but this does not make her a Sikh of Guru Sahib and Akaal Purakh. Throughout the Charitar she calls herself a sikh of Shiv Ji, who is also known as Maha Kaal.
Throughout Gurbani, Guru Sahib has used words with different meanings. When Guru Sahib says to worship Raam or Hari, he is not instructing Sikhs to worship Hindu gods, rather these words are used for Akaal Purakh. Similarly, the word Maha Kaal has several meanings and one must use context to understand which meaning of this word is being used.
For example in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the word Maha Kaal is used with a negative connotation:
It is important to note here that Guru Sahib has used the word Maha Kaal to refer to death.
In other places Maha Kaal is referred to as Akaal Purakh.
For example:
Guru Gobind Singh Ji here is very clearly calling Maha Kaal, Akaal Purakh. He first rejects the Hindu gods Ganesh, Krishan and Vishnu. He then calls Maha Kaal and Maha Loh (both in reference to Akaal Purakh) his protectors.
So in the line where the Brahmin is made a Sikh of Maha Kaal by drinking alcohol and cannabis, is not talking about a person becoming a Sikh of Guru Sahib or Akaal Purakh, rather it refers to Maha Kaal, a hindu god.
When reading anything, one must always use context to ensure the correct and true meaning is understood. Taking lines out of context to try and prove certain beliefs is not correct.
Even when reading Sikh historical sources such as the Gurpartap Suraj Granth or Rehatnamai, one must use the litmus test of Gurbani. No text is infallible. Writers will always have a bias and can make mistakes. Only Gurbani is completely True and without imperfections.
There appears a line in Kavi Santokh Singh’s Gurpartap Suraj Granth in which Guru Gobind Singh Ji asks for two bottles of alcohol to be brought to him. This line appears in the 12th Chapter of the 5th Rut (Season) of the Granth:
Reading this one line out of context, one can believe that Guru Sahib is asking for two bottles of alcohol to be brought to him, and many people use this line to prove that the consumption of alcohol is permitted in Gurmat. However once again, one must read the entire story to understand the context of this one line.
In this story a person named Har Gopaal, whose father is a Sikh, comes to Guru Gobind Singh to give him 500 rupees at the behest of his father. He sees that Guru Sahib is feeding his hawk animal meat. Seeing this, he wonders to himself what kind of Guru is this? Why has my father adopted him as his Guru? He starts to think that Guru Sahib is not worthy of being a Guru, due to his own hatred of meat. Although Guru Sahib was not eating the meat themselves, rather feeding their bird meat that they had hunted. This person cannot sleep at night as he is horrified at the thought of a Guru handling meat or feeding meat to his hawk. He believes that Guru Gobind Singh has no compassion. He starts to think that he needs to adopt a proper Guru, one that does not go near meat and one that does all of the rituals of Hinduism. That whole night he cannot sleep because of these thoughts. It is ridiculous to let such a small thing (a hawk eating meat) to bother you to such an extent that you cannot sleep all night. It is because of the extremity of this belief of his that Guru Sahib teaches him a lesson.
Gurbani says:
In the morning, he went before Guru Sahib and sat in sangat. It is here where this line about alcohol appears. Guru Sahib, to test him and to teach him a lesson, asks his Sikhs to bring two bottles of alcohol. Bhai Vir Singh in his foot notes writes that the Sikhs did not bring actual alcohol. Giani Harbhajan Singh Udhike, a student of Jatha Bhindra, in his katha of this story, says that Guru Sahib asked his Sikhs to bring water with red food colouring mixed in it to give the appearance of alcohol. This again was to test Har Gopaal. Guru Sahib in a way was playing a prank on him. Guru Sahib has done similar things in the past. So too have Bhagats, such as Bhagat Kabir Ji. To rid Har Gopaal of his ego and false beliefs, Guru Sahib begins to test him by asking for alcohol. A long conversation then starts, and at the end Guru Sahib tells him that you are not a Sikh of mine, you are a sikh of Vishnu, because of the false rituals you believe in.
This entire story is an elaborate lesson used to rid Har Gopaal of his false sense of righteousness. No where did Guru Sahib drink the alcohol, or tell his Sikhs to drink it. Throughout Gurbani and Sikh history, Guru Sahib has used examples and metaphors to teach us lessons. One cannot become obsessed with the tools Guru Sahib uses to teach us a lesson, rather one must focus on the moral of the story.
In Asa di Vaar, Guru Sahib says:
Guru Sahib here is not saying that keeping cleanliness and suchamta is wrong. However, Guru Sahib is calling out the hypocrisy of the Brahmins who do not let anyone make (or touch) their food, yet they themselves are impure because of the evil deeds that they commit.
Furthermore, Guru Sahib talks about meat:
In this Shabad, Guru Sahib is not saying that eating meat is acceptable, he is calling out the hypocrisy of certain people who make it their entire religion not to eat meat, but still commit evil. Just as wearing only Bana, but committing evil actions is wrong, and one would rightly be criticized for wearing Bana, does not mean wearing Bana is wrong.
Guru Sahib has used metaphors and symbolism to teach us lessons. One cannot take these lessons literally. Just as Guru Sahib taught Baba Banda Singh Bahadur a lesson by pretending to cook meat in his Dera, so too does Guru Sahib teach a lesson to Har Gopaal in this Sakhi.
Kavi Santokh Singh actually prohibits the consumption of alcohol in the same granth:
Therefore, it is clear that Kavi Santokh Singh himself did not condone the drinking of alcohol. There are other historical sources that mention Sikhs or Guru Sahib drinking alcohol or using other intoxicants, however as mentioned earlier, no texts are perfect. The authors of these texts are not perfect and can make mistakes. Many authors, to cover up their own weaknesses, have written a lot of falsehood. One must always use the litmus test of Gurbani when reading and studying historical sources. Only Gurbani is perfect.
To conclude, Gurbani very clearly prohibits the consumption of alcohol. Over and over in Gurbani, the consumption of alcohol is rejected. Sikh historical sources too prohibit alcohol. One must always make Gurbani the basis of Gurmat, all other sources are of Sikh history and philosophy can be erroneous.
