By Hb Singh | Opinion |
My 10-year-old son came to bed excitedly, all set to tell me a story that his Nana Ji had just told him for bed time. So, I’m about to hear his remake of the story.
It was about Guru Nanak’s encounter with the supposed low caste carpentar Bhai Lalo and the mighty government officer Malik Bhago. The story is replete with milk and blood. A sakhi familiar to gurdwara going Sikhs, probably heard in younger days.
The incident was supposed to have taken place in Saidpur, presently known as Eminabad in Pakistan. Guru Nanak and his travel companion Bhai Mardana stayed in the home of Bhai Lalo. Lalo is poor in wealth, but rich at heart. What he had, came on the back of honest labour. Malik Bhago is the exact opposite – rich, haughty and a slave driver.
Guru Nanak happily ate food cooked at Lalo’s house, but was reluctant at Bhago’s place. Why? When pressed for an answer, he held in one hand a bread from Lalo’s home, and in the other a sweet pancake from Bhago’s kitchen. Guru Nanak squeezes them. Lo and behold! Blood drips from Bhago’s pancake, milk flows from Lalo’s dry chapati. What a dramatic moment.
So, what’s the lesson, I asked.
“Don’t scam people. The rich man had scammed all these poor people. They work hard but he pay them so little….Take the milk, don’t take the blood,” he said. “Guru Nanak then taught him [Bhago] prayer…Ik Oangkaar, Satnaam….”
Not bad for a 10-year-old. And a sakhi well presented by the Nana Ji.
What role does such sakhis play? Are they real life accounts? We will come to that shortly.
LIFE CHANGING
For a kid, such a story can be life changing.
I have my own sakhi that made an imprint on my life. When I was about my son’s age now, my Nana Ji told me the story of Guru Gobind Singh and his horse and the tobacco fields.
The story goes like this. Guru Gobind Singh was on his horse, galloping to some mission (now, guys, it has to be a mission. We want to make the story dramatic. That’s the blood part of this story, I guess). As they reach a field, the horse comes to a screeching stop. The Guru, of course, was fine. (He’s the hero, remember).
“What happened?,” I must have asked. Even if I didn’t, the expression on my face would have said it all. I can picture my eyes wide open, and my jaw dropping.
Once all primed up, Nana Ji throws the punchline.
“It was a tobacco field. You make cigarettes from tobacco. Guru Ji’s horse didn’t want to touch the tobacco,” he explained. “You see, we Sikhs don’t smoke cigarettes. Cigarettes are made from tobacco.”
The story penetrated deep into my consciousness. It instructed me not to consume drugs or cigarettes. When I around 12, some classmates were trying out cigarettes. I declined. I was not tempted. I think the lessons from the story earlier had something to do with it.
MIRACLES
Of course, as you grow up, you no longer believe the milk and blood story, literally. You no longer believe that Guru Gobind Singh’s horse actually came to a screeching halt at a tobacco field. But the lessons underpinning the stories stay.
For some, denying the story is to deny the miracles of the Guru. It’s as if we’re saying that Gurus are not capable of miracles.
Well, here’s a news break. Guru Nanak and Bhai Mardana travelled thousands of miles on foot, and not on a magic carpet. And not on some flying horse, either. Definitely not the Tesla.
Guru Nanak’s miracles, if you want miracles, is changing the way we think. He went around and gave the people a new worldview, one that allowed them to overcome fear of superstitions. It’s a worldview that gave them strength to walk the good life – hukam rajaai chalnaa.
As we grow, we need to learn to move in to the essence, and to let go of the make belief stories. I’m not asking you to discard them. There’s a time and place for them. What my son picked up from his Nana Ji was invaluable and instructive. He has instilled in him the value of honest labour and why we should not exploit others. Those are good values to drive into a young mind, with the hope that he will grow up looking at the world with a sympathetic and loving eye.
NOW, SHABAD INSTRUCTS
Many centuries ago, sakhis played a critical role in imparting knowledge or entertainment to the masses. You didn’t have cinemas and the handheld devices were still way into the distant future. So, story telling was the way to go. You embellish the stories to make them exciting. You turn your heroes into giants, and villains into monsters.
As you grow, you now know that the details in those stories may not be all true. In fact, some of the stories may have been cooked up from thin air, or copied from the other prevailing traditions. But by then, you start learning Sikh values from shabads embedded in the Guru Granth Sahib.
The values derived from the Shabad affirmed my decision not to smoke cigarette, as it is harmful to the body. So, I continue not smoking cigarettes or cigars or what have you.
At some point of time, a Sikh should move on from living life instructed by stories to living life instructed by the Shabad. The Shabad, as captured in the Guru Granth, is the real deal.
In the coming month of Vaisakh, we will celebrate the establishment of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The Khalsa provides a discipline to disciples who want to embrace the drill, governed by the Shabad. And the story of the Shabad begins with Guru Nanak Sahib Ji.
So, it was no coincidence that Guru Gobind Singh unveiled the Khalsa on Guru Nanak’s birthday. So, when we celebrate the Khalsa on April 14, we are actually also celebrating Guru Nanak’s birthday. To unwrap this, you may have to grow out of a story or two that you grew up on. I certainly had to do it.
Be mindful of allowing stories alone to define your Sikhi. The stories may have served a purpose as you were growing up. Now that you’re all grown up, with a fully functioning mind, it’s time to REFINE your understanding aided and guided by the Shabad. As a grown up, it’s the values taught in the Guru Granth that will make a difference.
In the process, if the stories hinder living a life instructed by the Guru Granth, then the stories must make way.
Hb Singh is a Kuala Lumpur-based journalist with some experience in dealing with Sikh organisations, both from within and outside.
* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
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What makes you think the way you think? (Asia Samachar, 13 March 2021)
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