THE GROWTH OF RESPONSIBILITY IN SIKHISM
GURU
AMAR DASS 1479-1574
EQUALITY
Obedience,
though extremely useful in the early stages
of spiritual training, is not always helpful
in bringing a man forward towards the
goal of responsibility. When indulged
in too indiscriminately, it might do positive
harm by making men slavish. Guru Angad
himself had realized this danger, when
he set down the following ideal of obedience:
Nanak obey him who is worthy to be obeyed
(Ramkali ki Var, 11)
He, who acts according to the will of
the Lord, receives. His reward, Nanak,
he is worthy of homage. (Sarang
ki Var, 11)
Obedience
is, therefore, dangerous to the spirit
of truth, unless it is allied with Discrimination
and Fixity of Purpose.
Guru Amar Dass, the third Guru, followed
up with an opportune teaching.
Such stories as those of Prema of Talwandi
and Paro of Dalla, who would seek the
company of the Guru in the face of all
difficulties, show that constancy to the
fixed ideal had become a common feature
of the Sikh character by that time. But
more needful was it for the Guru to see
that too much was not made of wordly position
or religious differences. He, therefore,
developed into a regular institution the
custom of inter-dining started by Guru
Nanak. He would oblige all his visitors,
Hindus and Mohammedan alike to partake
of his free kitchen before they would
consent to see them. Even Akbar and the
Raja of Haripur, when they came to see
him, had to do the same. All had to sit
in a line and eat together, There was
no superstition of the chauka. The third
Guru says that, even if he were a most
learned Pundit of would wide renown, "He
would take care to remember that nothing
is polluted in the kitchen. All outlined
kitchens are false. Only He is pure"(Maru
ki Var, III). In this way, the
people were made to renounce their social
prejudices and look upon each other as
brothers.
This
feeling was further strengthened in men
by their being made to practice virtues
that spring out of the sense of brotherliness.
The greatest virtue of the third Guru
was his self restrain in dealing with
others.
When Datu, the son of Guru Angad, attacked
Guru Amar Dass and kicked him off his
seat, the latter's only reply was, "honoured
Sir, pardon me. My old bones must have
hurt your tender foot." The same humility
and self-restraint he taught others; O
Sheikh, restrain thy mind which now wanders
towards the four cardinal points the sport
of the four winds. Bhai Jetha's and Bibi
Bhani's patient service clearly shows
how the Sikhs had fully imbibed this spirit.
The Mohammedans in those days often annoyed
the Sikhs. When they went to take water
for the kitchen from a well, the Mohammedans
would set upon them and break their earthen
pitchers with stones. When the Sikhs complained
to the Guru, he told them to use goatskins
instead. When these, too, were pierced
with arrows' the Guru asked them to use
vessels of Brass. But these, too, were
not safe against the pellets of the mischief-makers.
The Sikhs were driven almost to desperation;
but the Guru insisted on patience, and
only prayed for the softening of the enemy's
hearts. He would not allow his Sikhs to
retaliate, because the wrong came from
the people and not from the Government;
because the Emperor could still be appealed
to, and often with much success. At this
time patience was the rule. Guru Amar
Dass once said to a village headman, "God
is patient, and patiently He rewardeth.
If any one ill-treats you, bear it. If
you bear it three times, God himself will
fight for you the fourth time and extirpate
your enemies."
But the qualities of forbearance and patience,
so needful for acquiring self-control,
have often led people, especially in India,
to be very careless about the higher duty
of self preservation. In the time of the
Gurus, many persons would willingly immolate
themselves at the alter of Shiva, get
themselves sawan alive at banaras or be
crushed under the car of Jagannath. The
nation as a whole had acquired the spirit
of servility and object contenment. It
was most necessary for the regeneration
of the higher self of India that the Guru
should teach the true value and sanctity
of human life. Man, who was considered
to be a mere wretched vermin crawling
on the face of the earth, was declared
to be a great manifestation of God's divinity.
For this purpose, the belief in particular
incarnations of God had to be rejected.
This ideal was amply realized in the time
of the next Guru. Read the beautiful story
of the conscientious daughter of magistrate
Patti. She did her duty by her leper husband
even under most trying circumstances.
Truly has Bhai Gurdas (1554-1629), the
missionary Sikh of the time, said, "From
temporal as well as from spiritual point
of view, women is man's other half and
assists him to salvation. She assuredly
brings happiness to the virtuous." Guru
Amar Dass was also against the custom
of Purdah, as may be seen from his exhortation
to the Rani of Haripur.
The effect of all this was that the man,
with whom it was usual in troubled times
to leave their females to the mercy of
the invader, now came forward as defenders
of the honour of their homes, women too
came to realize their position; and after
this we often hear of their making a bold
stand for their own defence.
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