COMMON
QUESTIONS
Guru
Gobind Singh gave one Amrit. Now, we have
so many Amrits - Akal Takhat Amrit, sant
Amrit, Jatha Amrit, etc. Why is there
such a conflict about what an Amritdhari
should do or should not be?
***If a lady takes Amrit she must tie
a turban. Why?
Amrit
Reht
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1) |
The
Guru gave one Amrit and one Maryada,
then why are there so many Amrits
today? This is rightly a big question
in the minds of all Sikhs. We know
the reason for they're being so
many Maryadas, but we don't know
how to convince these different
groups to accept the approved Maryada
as the one given by the Guru.
The Guru authorized the Panj Pyaras
to give Amrit to anyone desirous
of joining the Khalsa Panth. Thousands
joined this brotherhood on Baisakhi
Day of 1699 after the founding of
the Khalsa Panth. When these Singhs
came to their villages they started
giving Amrit to more people. They
passed on the code of the Reht Maryada
verbally to the new members of the
Khalsa. This procedure is still
going on today. During the Amrit
ceremony, the candidates for Amrit
do not take a paper and pen to record
all what is told to them. They listen
to it, remember it and try to practice
it in their lives.
When Amritdhari Sikhs explained
the Maryada to the new members,
they did contribute, unintentionally
of course, some variations in the
instructions. It is now a known
social phenomenon that when one
hears a message and passes it on
to another person, it is impossible
to convey the message in the same
spirit. He cannot help giving his
own interpretation to the message,
because of which the message may
sometimes be totally changed. This
happens even when one takes all
precautions to communicate the message
correctly without adding or deleting
anything from it. It is easy to
imagine the changes which could
take place in the Maryada when there
is a desire to make the Maryada
"better and holier" than the one
practiced by other Sikhs.
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2) |
We do not have a complete set of
systematically written directions
regarding Reht from the Guru. Of
course, many Sikhs, some contemporaries
of the Guru and others descendent
of those who attended the Guru,
have written their observations
and instructions regarding the Reht
to be practiced by the Khalsa. When
all these writings are put together,
not only do they not agree, but
some observations contradict each
other. In a few cases the instructions
go against the principles of Gurmat
(Gurbaani in Guru Granth Sahib).
Sikh scholars, therefore, fear that
some sections of the Reht Namas
were not written by the persons
whose names are associated with
those writings. They must have been
modified later on.
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3) |
During
the 18th century, the Khalsa were
always harassed by the government.
They had to leave their Gurdwaras
and move to the woods for protection
from the police and army. This situation
prevailed for more than half a century.
During this time, the Sehjdharis
(without long hair) were in charge
of the Gurdwaras. Later, the Gurdwara
management slipped into the hands
of Mahants, who became hereditary
custodians of the Gurdwaras. Because
of the Hindu environment and Brahmanical
influence, they introduced many
Hindu rituals in the Gurdwaras.
During the rule of Maharaja Ranjit
Singh no effort was made to crystallize
the Sikh Reht from the mixture of
Hindu rituals.
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4) |
It
was during the British rule that
Sikhs, having lost all political
power, thought of their religious
principles to get guidance for their
future. The Gurdwara management
under the Mahants had so much deteriorated
during the previous 100 years that
the Mahants had become corrupt and
started leading immoral lives. To
increase their income they introduced
worship of Hindu gods in the Gurdwaras,
an act strictly prohibited for the
Sikhs. There was no discipline,
and women visiting the Gurdwaras
were often harassed or even molested.
This irreligious and immoral behavior
of the Mahants gave birth to the
Gurdwara Reform Movement.
The intellectuals, the Sikh scholars,
and the Sikh Sants supported the
movement. They all got together
to protest the anti Sikh and non
Sikh rituals forced on them by the
Mahants managing the Gurdwaras.
For political reasons, the Government
supported the Mahants in order to
keep the Sikhs away from the control
of the Gurdwaras. After enduring
a long struggle and paying a heavy
price in the form of blood and money,
the Sikhs won control of their Gurdwaras
in 1925. The first and one of
the best actions they took was to
appoint a committee to decide and
put in writing the Sikh Reht Maryada
to be followed by all Sikhs.
The committee worked for many years,
and sifted through all the available
scriptures and writings of the times
of Guru Gobind Singh. They finally
presented the results of their research
to the Sikh community. After receiving
comments from all sections of the
Sikh community, the final form of
the Sikh Reht Maryada was approved
and published by the Gurdwara Committee,
Amritsar.
It is this booklet which we should
popularize and follow, even if we,
individually, have different opinions.
If a Sikh wants a change in it,
the best course for him is to present
his suggestions with logical arguments
and authenticated evidence to the
Khalsa Panth for consideration.
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5) |
It
must be mentioned here that interference
in the Sikh faith by certain forces
against Sikhs and Sikhism is always
widespread. Concerted efforts are
often made by these forces to confuse
the issues more, rather than let
them to be decided by Sikh scholars.
The Nirankari Sect, practicing anti-Sikh
Reht, but claiming themselves to
be Sikhs, are supported and helped
by the political enemies of the
Sikhs. These false Nirankaris disrespect
the Guru Granth Sahib publicly and
criticize the Reht in their writings
and speeches. Sikhs have protested
against this strongly. The government
in power, rather than stopping Nirankaris
from hurting the Sikh feelings,
sided with them, resulting in the
1978 episode and later genocide
of the Sikhs in 1984. There are
many other anti Sikh splinter groups
sponsored and supported by the government
to mislead the Sikhs.
There are, however, many genuine
Sikhs who want certain changes /
additions in the Sikh Reht Maryada
booklet. The suggestion to such
Sikhs is that they observe the Maryada
already prescribed by the Gurdwara
Committee, Amritsar, and hold on
to it for the present for the sake
of Panthic unity. This is not the
proper time for making changes and
asserting individual thoughts on
the Khalsa Panth. Let the Khalsa
first resolve the current life and
death struggle before this topic
is put on the agenda.
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Turban
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|
It
is required of every Sikh to keep
his/her head always covered. Males
do so by typing a turban while most
of the females keep a big scarf
(chuni) to cover their heads and
upper part of the body. Women who
tie a turban (keski) are not infringing
on any Reht; rather this is quite
convenient and looks more graceful.
Furthermore, by typing a Keski,
the hair remains properly covered
all the time. Scarves often keep
coming off and the women are observed,
even while sitting in Gurdwara,
trying to keep it on their heads
again and again.
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