Picked up the newspaper this morning to be greeted with the gloomy news of communal tension in the industrial hub of Punjab. Immediately I remembered how many of my close ones were stuck in the riots in Jalandhar few months back.
Again, agenda was same, the hot favorite: Religion.
Religion seems to be the favorite topic of us Indians to create a fuss upon. We seek religious excuses to get together, to rejoice and most of all to create a fuss the examples of which we have witnessed in the recent times as well as the past(1947, 1984, Godhra, Babri Masjid etc).
Talking of the Sikh community, I wonder what has made our (Sikhs') faith in their faith so vulnerable so that we have to defend it with veined swords every now and then?
An X, Y, Z person makes some remarks and we get together to teach a lesson forgetting completely the lessons that our Sikh gurus have taught us since Guru Nanak Dev ji.
How can we forget that Guru Nanak Dev Ji blessed the people who threw stones at them leaving his accompanists, Bala and Mardana, wondering?
Can we forget how when Sri Guru Amar Dass Ji responsed when he was kicked off his seating position by a person in front of everyone claiming his Gurgaddi? He had asked him if he was hurt by his old and seasoned bones.
How he responded to the person who made fun of his long saintly beard? By saying that it is to wipe the feet of holy people like yours.
Why Guru Ram Dass ji had doors on all the sides of the Golden Temple? So that people of all the religions may be welcome to the holy place. So that Sikhism may coexist with every other religion through mutual respect for each other.
Did the Sikhs at that time created such a scene as yesterday when Guru Arjun Dev ji was punished with hot Tava and red-hot sand from above for no offense of his?
Does anyone remember that the 5 beloveds from the 5 different Hindu casts?
Every single day in the millions of Gurdwaras and homes, the holy Ardaas is recited. An excerpt:
"Sikhaan da man neevaan matt uchhi, mat pat da raakha aap Waheguru" which means "
Bless your sikhs with a humble mind and high moral thought. You yourself protect their morality and respect
The recent acts do not reflect anything of that sort. Has the Guru stopped bestowing morality and humility on his Sikhs?
What if a saint says a few words against your religion? Someone who does not knows about a principle will either try to learn about it or discard it based on his own reasoning and sense of understanding. I think we are here to brace the core teachings of all the religions and not judge them on the basis of someone Else's remarks.
What if someone dresses like Dashamesh Pita, Guru Gobind Singh ji? Did he become one? How are they sure Guru Ji looked or dressed that way? Do we have any painting of that era on record? I am not sure that how the paintings made by an artist come to be known as immortal images of the Gurus. By following those images we are ourselves insulting them as they are definitely imagination of someone and not a real image of the Gurus. The real image that Guru ji would like us to follow are the teachings enlisted in the Granth.
It is clearly inscribed in Sukhmani Sahib that anyone denouncing a saint will be put to shame and punished by the Akal Purakh himself.
So if Ahutosh Maharaj has said something that has insulted any of the Sikh faiths, he has already registered himself for the punishment of theAkal Purakh. So has the Dera saint who dressed up as Guru Sahib.
Why we all have to pick up swords in the broad daylight and instill terror and rage for the people in the communities from other faiths and establish ourselves as a fragile and raging community rather than humble and sturdy one.
Does these puny acts of these persons hold the strength to uproot Sikh faith? I would laugh if someone says yes to that. And if they do, I think we do not need to call ourselves Sikhs anymore. With such a fragile faith, we are better off as lunatics who have no sense of civilization altogether.
Burning property of fellow Indians, shouting against other faiths wont even get anyone to listen to our genuine issues. These situations are best handled through peaceful display of remorse. Ahutosh Maharaj's words must be on record. There is law, take them to court. Instead, now we are the ones to testify our acts of disrupting public life, insulting another faith and spoiling property. While they hold the distinction of being oppressed by Sikh faith.
So great is the contribution of the various Sikh religious heads that encouraged all this. Rather than asking the fellow sikhs to stay calm and practice humility and patience that the Gurus have been teaching us all the way. They were silently watching the foolish people face the bullet under a false impression that they were protecting the faith.
Who stands accountable for Darshan Singh who died on the spot? Will these religions leaders who sat in comfort while random people were being beaten by the police sticks?
But I know there are millions of people in all the communities that know that the core of all the religious beliefs is the same. That all have both stemmed from the same divine halo. That we all are children of same GOD. That insulting one of us is like insulting ourselves only.
It is the undying faith of these people that is holding the country and the world together since the times of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
May Peace prevail.
Good Night.
