Two commonly misunderstood, vital pronouncements of Guru Gobind Singh

It is possible to point out some words and phrases, misunderstanding of which have altered the beliefs of millions of people for very long time and have thus altered human behaviour and may be, even the course of history. Sometimes deliberate interpolation with a view to misleading has achieved the same result. It is believed that the diabolical practice of sati or widow burning owes its origin to the change of a single word ‘agre’ to ‘agni’ in a crucial word of the relevant Hindu scripture. Many thousands of women over as many years have entered the lighted pyre of their husbands just because a greedy Brahmin priest schemed to replace the word ‘fire’ for the word ‘home.’ Likewise the use of Sarkar as synonymous for Ranjit Singh instead of Sardar (meaning ‘leader’) in the popular Vaar of Shah Muhammad convinced us of our fate and delayed our revolt against the British colonial rule for over half a century. It was left to the great Sirdar Kapur Singh to correct the impression some seventy five years after the Vaar had been written. More examples like “Ashavsthama hato” that altered the course of the Mahabharat war and conversion of Nelson’s last words to “England expects every man to do his duty” had the immense patriotic effect they were intended to have. These examples will suffice to illustrate the theme.

There are entire concepts that have been misinterpreted and have changed, it can be believed, the course of history of the Punjab and the sub-continent. The most recent is the vilification of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution and the gross misinterpretation of ‘Sikhan de bol bale’ that was used by the government of India to deflect attention from the entirely healthy debate that the Akali morcha of the eighties of the last century was supposed to set in motion. There is evidence to suggest that these misconstructions were connived at by a section of the Akali leadership, comprising of collaborators. The intention here is to basically highlight two other distortions of fundamental Sikh belief system that are crippling the Sikh response to situations.

The legend used above my name in this blog, is a slightly abbreviated form of the Tenth Guru’s last words and has been understood to convey the essence of the Guru’s preaching. In its full form it reads: pooja akaal ki, parcha sabad ka, didar khalse da ate sikh bhala sarbat da lochai. My translation of it is as follows: ‘Worship the Deathless alone and accept the Word (of the Guru as dispeller of darkness) as the touchstone of human conduct. Consider Khalsa form to be the ideal (model to emulate). Under all circumstances, strive for the welfare of the entire Creation.’

Jo bole so nihal: sat siri akal is another morally and spiritually elevating statement of the Tenth Guru that has been misunderstood for long. It is not a ‘war cry’ as some believe. It is not a form of greeting though there is no harm in using it as such. It has something to do with a situation of helplessness in which all those who would like the Truth to triumph are invited to join the struggle. In that light its translation would be something like: ‘he who, (on hearing the call of activists in distress), responds in the name of the Deathless, the epitome of Truth and Spiritual Grandeur, shall obtain everlasting felicity.’ The Guru promises every happiness to him, who stands by Truth and God.

How failure to correctly understand these profound words have caused immense harm to the Sikh psyche, needs no elaboration. In today’s world, reaching out to those impoverished by policies of the state, to those being killed by police bullets, to those perishing in domestic violence and those tortured in police custody and so on, can all be deemed to be letting out cries of anguish. Those wedded to Truth, spirituality, divinely revealed ethics and morality must consider whether the Guru’s instructions embodied in the phrases discussed above, are indispensable for correct human conduct.

These interpretations are inspired by the correct reading of our history and our faith. I wish I could persuade our great scholars to ponder over the above suggestions and to guide the future seekers on the correct path that they must take.