By Paguman Singh | OPINION |
Missionary work, an extension of the process of delivering the spiritual and sacred message of the prophet, guru or divine being over time, is like a fountain that quenches the thirst of the seeker. The process of delivering the message is governed by the principle that the content remains original and is presented skillfully to be acceptable to the new learner. In line with this principle, messages of the Sikh Gurus need to be shared with clarity, honesty and joy, emanating from the heart of the parcharak or missionary, who should have a free mind and hopefully has lived in accordance with the principles being shared.
Over the years the Sikh parcharaks have used and relied on methods that were relevant to a period where unquestionable faith was regarded to be important to practice Sikhi. This faith was built by narrating stories and events relating to the lives of the Gurus using a process to emotionalize the listeners. The language used was generally Punjabi and the mood created through emotional words expressed in tones swayed the sangat. As many of these were expressed in poetry the dadis and kevisars refined the emotional process to great heights and in their desire to fire the sangat made additions that are difficult to find in history of the Gurus.
These stories of the historical events were based on sources and writings, which appeared many years after the Guru period. The writers of these documents also carried a bias due to their own leanings and faith. They added numerous matters that were incorrect, then doctored and distorted the facts. The writers also colored the events in the lives of the Gurus with mythological happenings despite their colorings being contrary to the principles enshrined in Gurbani and the principles practiced by the Gurus. Over a period of time with the constant repetition, such stories became accepted by generations of Sikhs to be true. As it was faith based many feared questioning what was being stated and silently accepted them as truth. As faith was used as the driving force to acceptance of whatever the preacher said and in addition to the belief that the parcharak was more learned with a higher level of knowledge, these historical events became a part of the Sikh parchar system.
The main institution used for missionary work was the Gurdwara where programs had a set process beginning with kirtan, the singing of holy hymns relevant to the occasion, followed with preaching by self-trained parcharaks. This became the modus operandi of parchar or missionary work. Low rates of literacy in Gurumukhi, a lack of factual knowledge and a strong belief that religious matters cannot be questioned due to fear of divine retribution led to blind acceptance of all messages delivered from the stages of Gurdwaras. The parcharaks were themselves persons who had acquired the knowledge from some seminary or dera by mostly hearing it from their teachers or other parcharaks. There was and till date there is no institution that examines and awards certification for qualification as parcharak. In this void, many found being a parcharak was a stable economic endeavor which had the added value of respect shown by the sangat. This lack of proper intellectual missionary institutions with a formal system of training led to unlearned parcharaks occupying posts in all Sikh institutions and Gurdwaras.
The British had destroyed the education system of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, which had made Punjab the state with the lowest literacy rate. The low literacy combined with the loss of strong leadership opened the doors to create a missionary system mentioned above. The corruption began when Nirmalas, who were basically Hindu trained and who were supported by the British Rulers of Punjab, began to occupy and run gurdwaras. These events allowed and added to the process of distorted historical events purportedly from the lifes of the Gurus being driven into the minds of Punjabis and Sikhs. The Sikhs having lost Punjab could only find solace and strengths from the emotionalized miraculous stories rendered by these parcharaks.
As Sikhs have now general risen educationally and economically over the last century the mind set of the sangat seems to be transforming. The educational system in schools itself has changed in this century and is driven by inquiry learning and a willingness to think outside the box and discover creative solutions. Children and students are guided through the process of creative thinking to make them question all aspects of knowledge as this enables them to arrive at knowledge and logical based opinions. This transformation in thinking has been witnessed in many Sikh youths and children in Gurmat camps. Youths and children are more ready to accept logical stories and feel a pride in being followers of intelligent Gurus. The thirst for knowledge-based faith for living is ever increasing and Gurbani and the lives of the Gurus, if presented in accordance with reality, would receive greater acceptance. As the logic and rational facts will be in line with the mind set and daily life, taking the path of searching on ways to quench the thirst could be more easily accepted. Many youths who attend camps and are fed the old dry fodder. They flow along with the religious requirements as required by the parents only waiting to be economically stable to wave goodbye to the myths they had endured silently.
The changed mind set of the Sikh children and youths provide all the budding parcharaks with an opportunity to change the paradigm and present the Gurus as intellectuals, researchers, social activists, reformers, financial wizards, master town planners, human rights fighters, administrators, architects, creators of social and economic support systems and supporters of all humans. As family men they displaced behavior as exemplary fathers, grandfathers, brothers and husbands giving equal rights to their spouses which is relevant and required today. All our Gurus were well educated and had the best teachers in languages of the time, great musicians, physically fit and masters in the art of defense, horse riding just to name a few. Gurus were people centered and used their knowledge and capability to develop people in arts, business and self-reliance while being caring and kind. Gurus established medical centers for all who needed them and did not discriminate. This list is not exhaustive.
The sources of history can remain but the ability to change the narrative to one that is acceptable to the requirements of the times is needed. Guru Nanak Sahib was the most intelligent child, youth and person of his time. His obedience was remarkable as he was willing to abide by the requests of his father. This can be promoted. Guru Ji did not oppose the ceremony of the thread but at the pinnacle of it being performed, he very politely requested of the learned Pandit to provide an explanation of the objective of wearing the thread, this is inquiry. After hearing he further asked about its limitations and stated that as it needed to be changed with time how it would travel with the person after death. It was only after the Pandit had stated fully the traditional view, Guru Ji present that he wanted to wear only a higher value thread that was everlasting and was the support and guide to spiritual enlightened living. A similar inquiry method was used when attending school with the Panda. It was not just one day of schooling, as we are made to believe, Guru Ji had the best teachers for a period of 8 years, being intelligent, Guru Ji mastered languages, sciences and mathematics. These are but a few examples of the process of shifting the paradigm.
It was this acquired knowledge that allowed Guru Nanak sahib to plan his travels and calculate precisely the date of arrival at the center where a huge gathering was celebrating a ritual. Guru Sahib was so brave he was a warrior of true spirituality armed with divine knowledge. Imagine challenging the millions of Hindu pilgrims in Benares who were sending water to their ancestors in another world by throwing water towards the rising sun. A single person against a million, Wah! what bravery and yet without any weapon only intelligence and a loving caring smile. Guru Angad made us body builders, Guru Amar Das showed the light to aging healthily, Guru Ram Das the orphan who succeed against all odds to become a wealthy businessman and the greatest musical mind are a few other ideas.
The development of the internet and the latest media has also given us the tools to reach every youth. It is not only the reach but it allows a phased learning process with the learner being guided and moved at the learner’s pace using the inquiry learning method. “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete,” said Richard Buckminster Fuller. In this change the challenge is to keep the message short, sweet and interesting, full of graphics and music. It also has to provide guidance to the Sikh learner on how the principles of Sikhi as practiced by the Gurus can be applied to his life as a student, employee or adult. Another challenge is that presently, there exist many versions of each “Sakhi” the paradigm shift is to bring forth the rational values and logical approach which will appeal creating new insights. These will be accepted by intelligent persons who are educated in the processes of logical thinking. After acceptance they may to be applied for successful living as well as being able to advance it in non-Sikh societies with pride.
Start the movement “I stand with my wonderful Guru: Guru Granth Sahib Ji” the divine fountain of spiritual knowledge.
Paguman Singh, a retired senior official of a Malaysian-based social security organisation, has been involved in Sikhi parchaar for more than three decades. He now resides in New Zealand.
* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
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