By Karminder Singh Dhillon | Opinion |
THE HIJACKERS’ RALLYING TOOL: THE BACHITAR NATAK GRANTH
It is clear by now that the ties that bound the udasis, nirmlas, and dera sants as the hijackers of Sikhi was their subscription to snatanism, bipparism and vedanticism.
The common thread of a force that motivated all three groups was their desire to see Sikhi engulfed by vedantic and snatan dictates. They wanted a Sikhi that was hollowed out of its originality and engulfed instead in bipparism.
They were thus united in this one singular quest.
The centuries of distorted maryada imposed in Sikh Gurdwaras by the three groups provided them with the “ritualistic basis” to their distortion and corruption of Sikhi.
The 35 Classical Texts led by nirmla Kavi Santokh Singh’s Sooraj Parkash and the voluminous but distorted Sakhi literature provided the hijackers with the “historical basis” to inject the virus of Bipparism into Sikhi.
The Fareedkoti Teeka – translated with full vedantic slant as the ‘fifth Veyd’ – provided all three groups with the “philosophical basis” in their quest to distort Gurmat and Gurbani.
BUT IT WOULD BE THE BACHITAR NATAK OR DASAM GRANTH THAT WOULD PROVIDE A FRESH IMPETUS, BECOME A RALLYING POINT, AND PROVIDE NEW VIGOR FOR THE HIJACKERS IN THE 21st CENTURY.
All 21st Century Hijackers of Sikhi (including the Stockholm infected ones) are one voice in their united stand on the Dasam granth (DG). They accept it as the writing of the tenth master and an accepted scripture of the Sikhs, worthy of being installed side by side the SGGS.
Why did the BNG / DG become the pivotal tool for the Stockholm syndrome infected Sikhs in their quest to be the new hijackers of Sikhi? (The author provides seven reasons. See the video or the the book for the reasoning).
In the hands of the 21st Century Hijackers of Sikhi then, the DG is the nuclear weapon of mass control of their victims. It is the perfect weapon. Sikhs would never be able to free themselves of the hijacking of their faith so long as the DG remained the weapon of choice of the 21st Century hijackers.
THE STATE OF SIKHI OF THE SIKH TODAY.
Asan individual human being, a spiritual seeker and traveler on the path of Guru Nanak’s Sikhi, the Sikh stands dangerously lost, astray and betrayed. We have managed to stab our Gurus and Bhagats in their backs with daggers placed in our hands by the hijackers of our spirituality.
At the individual level, since the Sikh’s understanding of the SGGS is heavily reliant on translations and teekas, and since virtually all translations (including the English ones) are derived from the vedantic Freedkoti Teeka, he or she is unconsciously pushed into the hands of the hijackers of Sikhi by virtue of his need to understand Gurbani.
At the Gurdwara level, the individual seeker Sikh is met with granthis who mostly function as agents of the distortion and corruption that the udasis, nirmlas and dera sants have propagated.
At the Gurdwara too, the individual seeker Sikh is faced with clergy ~ ragis, kirtanias, and parcharaks who peddle the corrupted material that the nirmlas produced through their 35 or more “classical texts” and the fifth Vedas that is the Freedkoti Teeka.
Also at the Gurdwara, he is inundated with the rituals of Sikhi — be it strings of nonstop akhand paths, sampat paths and chanting of various banis and mantras. It is at the Gurdwara that the Sikh is made to partake in the blasphemy of listening to “kirtan” of compositions from nirmla composed texts (the Bachitar Natak or DG for instance) in the presence of the SGGS.
The original function of the Gurdwara as a Dharamsaal – an institution for the learning of Gurmat has been lost. It is no wonder that Sikhs in search of this original function of Gurdwaras are heard opining that it was the Gurdwara that acted as the primary place where the distortion and corruption of their individual / personal Sikhi understanding took place. And that to keep the Sikhi of their children from being hijacked one actually has to keep them away from their local Gurdwaras.
At the societal level, the individual awakened Sikh discovers that his circle of spiritual friends, relatives and family have put their spiritual faith in the hijackers of Sikhi, namely the dera sants, babas, and our nirmla and udasi attuned clergy. They consider the hijackers to be “spiritually elevated” beings who are true Sikhs.
Also at the societal level, one discovers that one’s friends, relatives and family are comfortable with and at ease with their hijacked state. A vast majority do not know, do not believe or do not care that anything is wrong. Those who know are unwilling to take the difficult steps that are tequired to escape the clutches of the distortions.
In other words, one soon learns that most Sikhs around us are in deep slumber. And that they are very content being in that situation.
At the institutional level, the individual Sikh is aware that the highest institutions of Sikhi — the SGPC and Akal Takhat have embraced any and all forms of deviancy of Gurbani principles. He is also aware that both institutions have come under the control of the political elements of Punjab and India as a result of their slide into become politicized over the past few decades. He is further aware that these institutions act as a sword of Damocles over the head of those who desire awakening. And that the sword will be wielded in the form of excommunication should one become sufficiently influential in spreading un-corrupted Sikhi.
At the parchar level, the individual is witnessing an ugliness in the form of hooliganism and violence that is being perpetuated by the dera and taksali groups against parcharaks, management committees and sangats who wish to shed the shackles of nirmla, vedantic and bippar thought. Such violence is seen within diwans across the world in the presence of the SGGS. The physical assaults on Prof Inder Singh Ghagga, Bhai Panthpreet Singh, Bhai Amrik Singh, Prof Sarabjit Singh Dhunda, Bhai Baljit Singh Delhi, Bhai Nirvair Singh Khalsa; the attempted murder of Bhai Ranjit Singh Dhadreanwala; and the incessant demands by the dera and taksalis to the Akal Takhat to ex-communicate these and other Sikhs are merely examples involving the more prominent parcharaks. Similar or worse abuses of ordinary enlightened Sikhs, granthis, kirtanias and parcharaks have largely gone un-noticed.
In short, the awakened individual Sikh discovers that the Stockholm Syndrome has descended upon Sikhs. Sikhs have become the hijackers of their own spirituality. And that there is no one he or she could turn to.
LEFT TO ONE’S OWN DEVICES.
As a consequence, the individual awakened Sikh is mostly left to one’s own devices in the quests to escape the ongoing hijacking of his spiritual psyche; escape the abyss of a religion that stands distorted, corrupted and tainted; get to the original and unique path; and ensure that one’s next generation does not walk into the same trap.
One is left to one’s own devices to UNLEARN the corrupted and distorted Sikhi and RELEARN the original and authentic Sikhi. In this respect then, the internet has become the “gurdwara” that was supposed to be the Dharamsaal. Other seekers of authentic Sikhi wanting to escape the hijacking have become the cyber sangat.
One’s own resolve and determination has become the parsaad (blessing) that comes with the learning of authentic Sikhi.
One’s sense of QUESTIONING everything becomes the DEFIANCE against the hijackers that will eventually become our route of escape from their clutches.
The right to question that has been denied in our gurdwaras and institutions — the absence of which allowed the hijackers to corrupt and distort our Sikhi with impunity ~is accorded in abundance within the cyber sangat. It is such questioning of everything that will allow the realization, the awakening, the need for unlearning and relearning.
(Extracted from the writer’s book The Hijacking of Sikhi, published in 2020]
Sikh thinker, writer and parcharak Karminder Singh Dhillon, PhD (Boston), is a retired Malaysian civil servant. He is the joint-editor of The Sikh Bulletin and author of The Hijacking of Sikhi. He can be contacted at dhillon99@gmail.com.
* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
LINKS TO VIDEOS AND LECTURE NOTES FOR ‘THE HIJACKING OF SIKHI’
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 1 (The Plot): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 2 (Udasis): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 3 (Udasis): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 4 (Nirmlas): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 5 (Nirmlas): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 6 (Nirmlas – Sooraj Parkash): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 7 (Distorting Gurbani: The Nirmalas): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 8 (Dera Sants & Taksali Babas): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 9 (The Hijacked Turn into Hijackers / Stockholm Syndrome): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 10 (Dasam Granth: The weapon of mass control): Video | Notes
RELATED STORY:
Hijacking Sikhi (Asia Samachar, 19 Dec 2020)
Sikhi Concepts: Complete links to videos and lecture notes (Asia Samachar, 3 July 2021)
The Hijacking of Sikhi: After releasing book, Dr Karminder starts 12-part video series (Asia Samachar, 18 July 2021)
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Rawel Singh Ji, please read my comment in relation to the article on the date we celebrate Baba Nanak’s birthday.
Bhagwant Singh Ji, please appreciate that things are achieved by constructive approach, not only criticism.
Rawel Singh Ji everyone writing something has an agenda or mission. They present the arguments to support that agenda. This is natural. Negative or positive is not the issue. I feel Karminder Singh Ji is entitled to hold the views he has and be free to state in the way he sees fit. We can agree or disagree with him and that is our respective position. Gurmat is not being debated here. It is a view of the history of our institutions.
As always, Koomar Singh responds without thinking. I said I agree with Karminder Singh’s view but he should also say what is right. He is only negative all the time.
Rawel Singh, your logic is defective. You “totally agree with Karminder Singh,” and then say he only “engages in saying things are wrong.” So that means you “totally agree with all the wrong things.”
Exposing what is wrong with our community is a courageous and noble act. We need to accept our shortcomings and learn from it. Labelling the act of exposing what is wrong with our own society as “negativity” – as you have done – is the hall mark of a small, narrow and backward mind-set. Such ostrich mentality has done our society a great disservice.
I just wonder if Karminder Singh does do the Ardas which opens with a stanza at the opening of Chandi Di Var in the Dasam Granth. If so then he acknowledges the possible connection of the Granth to our values. If he doesn’t then he is out of step with the Sikh Rehat Maryada and all that the Singh Sabha Movement has put into Sikh practice or Maryada.
We have bigger issues at hand like being hijacked by the Christians and the RSS while our Khalistanis are playing into their hands with silly ballots for a nation state which is a minute fraction of the Sikh Raj. Let’s. get pragmatic nd get real about where we are.
All faiths get canonised. It happened to Christianity, Islam developed its stack of hadiths and we had Bhai Gurdas who created Sikh practices. Santokh Singh in his Suraj parkash attempted the same. Our Rehat Maryada is the product of our process of canonisation of Sikhism..
The Guru Granth Sahib is a collection writings and not an instructional guide to life. Scholars respond to it by creating guides on how we should treat and respond to the messages. Bhai Gurdas was referred to as providing the key to the Guru Granth Sahib. Which means interpretation to apply to the life’s of people. The other scholars had their own attempts at doing the same. They came from different directions and backgrounds and with that brought their varying perspectives. Likewise the scholars who works fores the basis of the Singh Sabha Movement. The Nirmalas and Udasis are just such scholars as well.
I think it is harsh to imply the existence of conspiracies.
VjkkVjkf ji
Karminder Singh has done a superb job by exposing everything wrong that is happening in the panth. Therefore it is indeed almost all negative, but nevertheless excellent seva done by Karminder Singh.
The only positive step a seeker of Sikhi can take is to study (firsthand himself or herself) with the help of dictionary / encyclopaedia authored by Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, and NOT expect either Karminder Singh or anyone else to teach Sikhi.
Amazingly the rhao pankti of the very first shabad in the very first raag (Siri Raag) in SGGS ji tells us this very point. Go to the Guru (not expect from anyone else).
” Har bin jio jal bal jao, mein apna Gur pooch dekhiya, avar nahi thao”. So let us seek positive guidance from our Guru ji.
VjkkVjkf
I totally agree with Karminder Singh on the subject. However, he should not engage only in saying things are wrong. He should say how they are wrong, what is right and how that is to be expounded. Negativity is the hallmark of all his articles, videos and the book he is trying to promote. And as I have pointed out many times, he manipulates Gurbani verses to suit his agenda. No, he is not trying to expound Gurmat but just shows his negativity. That is not what Sikhi is about.