Lessons from the Past

[TheSikhRenaissance]

Xenophon’s Anabasis:
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The Greek philosopher Xenophon (c.430 BC-c.354 BC) accompanied his friends on a military mission to Persia to aid the Persian Cyrus the Younger against his brother King Artaxerxes II. In the ensuing battles, Cyrus was slain and the Greeks reduced to mere 10,000 warriors against the multitudinous might of the Persian military. Compounding their woes further, they were far removed from any oceanic ports and deep in hostile country besieged by a savage enemy lusting for their blood. After the demise of several more veteran generals, the warriors’ assembly finally settled upon Xenophon to command them fearing that they were otherwise doomed to die in the Persian hinterlands.

For a man who had never ordered around more than a dozen slaves, Xenophon accepted the burden of command and vowed to lead the 10,000 Greeks homewards while fending off Persian advances. The desperation of the 10,000 was embodied by his selection. After all, who would entrust their fate to a man of letters who observed the action from the sidelines? But Xenophon persevered in the face of adversity by continually avoiding the baits set-out for him by envious captains, establishing unity among the fractious Greeks, and navigating the perilous dynamics of a countryside and native peoples at equally odds with the Greeks as the Persians.

Depending solely on the Persian countryside for sustenance, outmaneuvering and defeating over a thousand strong army of foes twice, and then innovating newer means of communication and operational agility Xenophon succeeded in finally guiding his men to their native Attica at minimal loss of life outsmarting the Persians while recording important intelligence about them. These, he shared with fellow Greeks whetting their hunger for a pan-Hellenistic offensive against the Persian heartland but none of them were prepared to heed his advise on the necessary military structure and strategies required. Knowing that one day his words would be instructive, Xenophon recorded them in his Anabasis.

Alexander:
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Almost a century later, the young Alexander is said to have read the Anabasis. Although no concrete evidence substantiates this, the Macedonian Prince’s strategies and tactics were eerily similar to what Xenophon recommended. Xenophon observed the divisive diversity of the Persians and how Persian commanders often abused non-Persian soldiery even whipping them into formation. Alexander resultantly incited strife among the conquered non-Persians continually underscoring their menial role as the whipped offering to make them masters of the lash if they joined him. Thus, the Anabasis’ intelligence furnished him with the means to annihilate the Persian empire.

The Power of the Past:
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The power of the past is encapsulated within its knowledge that is immortalized through the written word. When we read of the past, we are not solely engaging in an activity unique to humans. We are entering into a potent dialogue with its makers. Alexander, figuratively, entered into a semi-immortal dialogue with Xenophon seeking the practicality within his words. His aim was not to thoroughly emulate the past. Rather, it was to acquire the gems of intelligence that Xenophon had littered throughout his text and incorporate them with a sense of military practicality. The outcome? A decisive military campaign of conquest that brought half the known world under his reign at the time.

Within the Sikh paradigm, we witness a similar engagement with the past. From Guru Nanak onwards, the Sikh Gurus established a literary tradition and emphasized a self-refinement through Naam (the practicality of the divine wisdom) and Vigian (worldly knowledge). The Sikh was to be adept in worldly ways and a master of statecraft and strategy in order to build the sovereignty of his Panth and forever preserve it. This was why the tenth Guru enunciated that in the post-Guru period the Khalsa forever read the words of great men and women to comprehend the ways of the world and be prepared to answer guile with guile alongside being forever prepared for battle.

However, to unlock the power of the past within the written word a majority of the Khalsa’s reading would have to be done for practicality rather than apathetic pleasure. It was to remain forever grounded in the reality of Hukam while paving the path for its own dominance and progression. This aim was to be the cornerstone of Sikh supremacy. We witness this tradition of practical literacy at its apex within the Anandpur Court of the tenth Guru with scholars and veteran warriors constructing or translating elaborate mythologies and battlefield records celebrating the valor of countless warriors while delineating their warfare strategies.

As an insight into the military training and self-development of the Dal Khalsa leadership, Ratan Singh Bhangu in his Sri Gur Panth Prakash elaborates how during the Wadda Ghalughara (1762) or the Bigger Holocaust the 11 Khalsa commanders organized their combating contingents in the classical circular pattern mentioned in the Mahabharata retaining both agility and mobility. The Islamofascists haranguing the Sikhs would break through the circular cordon multiple times but would be driven back each time by the regrouping Singhs who would slowly rotate around their non-combatants and rebuild their impenetrable wall of weaponry.

ਬਾਬਾਣੀਆ ਕਹਾਣੀਆ ਪੁਤ ਸਪੁਤ ਕਰੇਨਿ ॥

ਜਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਭਾਵੈ ਸੁ ਮੰਨਿ ਲੈਨਿ ਸੇਈ ਕਰਮ ਕਰੇਨਿ ॥

ਜਾਇ ਪੁਛਹੁ ਸਿਮ੍ਰਿਤਿ ਸਾਸਤ ਬਿਆਸ ਸੁਕ ਨਾਰਦ ਬਚਨ ਸਭ ਸ੍ਰਿਸਟਿ ਕਰੇਨਿ ॥

ਸਚੈ ਲਾਏ ਸਚਿ ਲਗੇ ਸਦਾ ਸਚੁ ਸਮਾਲੇਨਿ ॥

ਨਾਨਕ ਆਏ ਸੇ ਪਰਵਾਣੁ ਭਏ ਜਿ ਸਗਲੇ ਕੁਲ ਤਾਰੇਨਿ ॥੧॥

“The tales of the righteous elders make the youth pure and wise. If they accept the truth (Satgur) within their minds then they only do that which is virtuous. You may go and inquire from the Simritees, the Shastras, Beas, Suk and Narad who preach to the world at large all you want. But only those individuals accept the truth who allow it to transform them and then immerse them within itself. Nanak says that the coming of such individuals is welcomed by their Maker and their forebears are redeemed as well.”

-Guru Granth, 951.

The power of the past, for the Khalsa at least, resides within its ability to delineate the dual paths of vice and virtue for their reader. As the founder of Kyokushin Karate, Mas Oyama, once elaborated: to read good books is to seek good company. The Guru Granth as a canonical scripture guiding each and every facet of Sikh life enjoins that the Sikh spend their entire life learning. But to be able to learn forever, one is required to sacrifice their arrogance and hubris at the altar of divinity before immersing themselves in the divine truth that is Satguru.

ਇਸੁ ਜੁਗ ਮਹਿ ਕੋ ਵਿਰਲਾ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਜਿ ਹਉਮੈ ਮੇਟਿ ਸਮਾਏ ॥

“Among these masses, there are only a few who may be declared the (followers) of the all-knower because they have immersed themselves in the truth by effacing their hubris.”

-Guru Granth, 512.

Despite their all too human failings, mighty commanders ranging from Grant to Patton to even Rommel have repeatedly driven the same point home over and over again in their works: the effective commander and leader is not one who is able to furnish the most decisive strategy or the most effective set of tactics. But one who has surmounted their ego to not causelessly underestimate their foe or needlessly tax their men. Such a humane commander who is simultaneously a consummate warrior is entirely rare in the annals of human history and a generational phenomena. Only rarely do such individuals grace the lives of men to evince the power of the past from which they derive inspiration.

Virtue:
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Sun Tzu in his The Art of War elaborates that the consummate commander is one whose men will follow him into the deepest of valleys and to the very gates of hell and beyond for he treats them like his sons. He is iron-fistedly fair but also gracious enough to realize their achievements and award them beyond what they may deserve based on the passion they exhibit on the battlefield. He encourages innovation and integrates the individual with the whole to ensure the succession of the faith or nation over the singular being. Only a commander who is perpetually engaged in surmounting his hubris or has already surmounted it is worthy of such soldierly virtue.

The principles of war as enunciated by Sun Tzu are timeless and one can easily discern glimpses of the Gurus’ unique command style within his words as well as those of subsequent Sikh commanders. The highest aim for any commander, as advised by the trailblazers of the past, is to overcome his own base self. This is a purpose also emphasized by the Guru Granth. But while the warriors of the past may have overcome their own base selves through multiple means, the Sikh canon provides a surefire method through the constant remembrance of one’s impending demise,

ਅਮਲੁ ਸਿਰਾਨੋ ਲੇਖਾ ਦੇਨਾ ॥

ਆਏ ਕਠਿਨ ਦੂਤ ਜਮ ਲੇਨਾ ॥

ਕਿਆ ਤੈ ਖਟਿਆ ਕਹਾ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

ਚਲਹੁ ਸਿਤਾਬ ਦੀਬਾਨਿ ਬੁਲਾਇਆ ॥੧॥

“Your addiction (to base mindedness) has ceased and now you must pay your due. That stone hearted adversary who heralds your demise has arrived to receive it. What have you earned and what have you lost? Hurry onwards for your Master’s court demands your presence.”

-Guru Granth, 792.

The constant kowtowing to one’s own imperfection only ceases when death is augured. Then, one realizes that there is no escape and it is too late to start anew and adhere to the path of virtue. All that is left to do is accept the summons of death and prepare to die. Those, though, who surmount themselves do so in the company of the like-minded. For the Khalsa commander, this is the Sadhsangat.

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਿ ਜਾ ਕਉ ਹਰਿ ਰੰਗੁ ਲਾਗਾ ॥

ਧਨੁ ਧਨੁ ਸੋ ਜਨੁ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਸਭਾਗਾ ॥

ਈਤ ਊਤ ਜਨ ਸਦਾ ਸੁਹੇਲੇ ॥

ਜਨਮੁ ਪਦਾਰਥੁ ਜੀਤਿ ਅਮੋਲੇ ॥੩॥

“Within the company of the virtuous (Sikhs), those who immerse themselves within the divine truth are truly blessed and such individuals are indeed fortunate. In this life and after, they forever remain in equipoise. They win the valuable wealth that is life.”

-Ibid.

The path to virtue is trekked when the Sikh, remembering his demise, seeks the company of virtuous fellow Sikhs and emulates them in treading the Gurus’ path. The injunctions of the Guru Granth themselves consist a timeless dialogue, from the past, instructing the Sikh on how to transform into the Khalsa. Once successful, the Sikh now become a Khalsa is more than competent to command others and lead them to victory much as his Khalsa forefathers did before him. With his arrogance and hubris gone, he becomes a consummate commander much as the Gurus before him. He reads of past warriors to learn their practicality and seek inspiration from them while creatively furnishing his own.

The Challenge of Command:
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Roger H. Nye in his The Challenge of Command concludes that the meritorious commander is one who remembers their mortality and seeks inspiration from the past on how to creatively engage the timeless principles of war in his own way and for his own time. He is not a prisoner of the past but its continuation ensuring its profound lessons are not lost on his current generation. What Nye wrote in the mid-20th century, the Sikh Gurus furnished centuries earlier. Tragically, the Sikhs have been unable to reveal the lessons of the Gurus to the world at large. However, as we lapse into mediocrity today it is even more imperative that we pursue the power of the past to reclaim our legacy.

The consummate warrior-general is a leader. He comprehends the necessity of creativity and the responsibility of deriving inspiration for this from the past. Similarly, he records his deeds and his perspectives for posterity. For future generations to derive inspiration and instruction from. The Khalsa mystic, likewise, looks to his forefathers for inspiration while inscribing his own legend for history. He memorizes the immortal injunctions of the Guru Granth, an immortal dialogue of divine beings itself, to live by in his daily life. By his daily conduct and how he meets his fate, the Khalsa mystic inspires and influences another generation of Khalsa mystics to arise to traverse the Guru’s path.

The challenge of command for the Khalsa is multifarious. He must preserve his Guru bequeathed Sikhi while ensuring the Panth’s triumph above the false faiths and their adherents mired in falsity. Alongside, he must remain aloof from the mundane and trivial solely focusing on his cause and mission. He must set the moral and operational standard for his men while zealously adhering to them himself brokering no slight deviation even on his own part.

ਆਪਣਾ ਮਨੁ ਪਰਬੋਧਹੁ ਬੂਝਹੁ ਸੋਈ ॥ ਲੋਕ ਸਮਝਾਵਹੁ ਸੁਣੇ ਨ ਕੋਈ ॥

“Awaken your mind from its slumber and comprehend the truth. Otherwise, whatever you teach people will fall on deaf ears.”

-Guru Granth, 230.

The challenge of command, as exemplified by the above verse, is to live what one preaches. To be observed adhering to the same exact taxing standards that one expects others to conform to. Such a commander is effective and efficient. The leader of Sun Tzu’s envisioning; a warrior-leader who men will follow to the very gates of hell and beyond. One may derive whatever inspiration they want from the past but if they forego the critical ingredient, the essence, of practicing what they preach then all else is obsolete.

The Past:
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Similar to Alexander’s readings of Anabasis, Sikh and non-Sikh commanders throughout history have relied on the power of reading to unlock their future potential. The dire straits Sikhs find themselves in today where they are unable to outmaneuver the foe’s offensives reflect their current avoidance and distaste for learning from the past. They are used to the emotional blackmail of history where the past is weaponized to snatch at their heartstrings, but desperately avoid any discussions of their history and how their forefathers applied strategy and tactics for their triumphs. The path to virtue is in the Guru Granth, the different modes of living it are exemplified in our past. But are we prepared to accept it?



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