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The Sikhi we see around us today may not be exactly the pristine teachings of Guru Nanak and the subsequent Sikh Gurus. Along the way, it got corrupted. But who did it? One of the parties responsible is the Udasi, a sect started by Baba Sri Chand – the eldest son of Guru Nanak.
So, it looks like the rot may have started early, and in the home of the Guru himself.
“Sri Chand hijacked Kartarpur for his anti Guru Nanak drive, anti Guru Angad push and his anti-Sikhi work,” observed Karminder.
In this video series, the speaker intends to reveal why, how, when and who were the hijackers of Sikhi. The series will lay out the roles played by the hijacker group in corrupting, distorting and damaging Guru Nanak’s Sikhi. Click here to catch the first video.
The Hijacking of Sikhi is a 420-page book containing 17 chapters that stitches together the author’s more recent writings, fortified further with argument as to what has gone wrong in transmitting Sikhi for so long now. If you have read the book, you cannot but notice the author’s strong views on the topic. Now, you can listen to them in this video series.
Below are some quotes from the video and the The Hijacking of Sikhi book.
FOUR INITIAL FACTS ON SRI CHAND
Refused to accept Guru Nanak decision to instal Bhai Lehna as second Guru
Laid claim to Guruship himself, but failed
Took control of Kartarpur (Guru Nanak’s Ashram)
Guru Angad forced to move to Khadoor
“We further know that Kartarpur was the established Ashram where Guru Nanak spent the final 12 years of his life preaching Sikhi. Kartarpur was recognised, famous and well attended by big crowds of Sikhs.
Yet Guru Angad was sent to Khadoor – a totally new place that had to be built from scratch. Guru Angad was instructed to relocate to Khadoor by Guru Nanak because of the intensity and ugliness of the conflict that was incited and caused by Sri Chand’s desire for revenge, take over and control at Kartarpur. Sri Chand kicked up a storm over his failed bid to be appointed as successor to Guru….Kartarpur would thus become Sri Chand’s home and the centrer for the establishment of his deviant udasi sect. In other words, Kartarpur would be hijacked from being the center of Sikhi to becoming the epi-center of anti-Sikhi.”
“Guru Nanak himself stayed back at Kartarpur till his last…Guru Nanak’s inheret purpose thus was keeping authentic Sikhi away from the Kartarpur of Sri Chand. This became Guru Nanak’s mission till his last breath.”
SRI CHAND & UDASI SECT: 6 BASIC FACTS
Sri Chand maneuvers to break away from Guru Nanak’s Sikhi rooted in devious plot of Bippar (Brahmin clergy)
Roots of plot go back to day Guru Nanak refused to adorn janeyu
Brahmin clergy could not target Nanak, so went after his two children (Sri Chand & Lakhmee Das)
“The conversion of Sri Chand into the ash-covered, loin cloth-wearing, janeyu-clad, wandering yogi branch of Shiv panth was ultimate revenge and success on the part of the Bippar [Brahmin clergy]. He managed to cultivate a destructive mole right in the hear of Sikhi, inside Guru Nanak’s household and right within the psyche of Gurmat. This mole would serve the Bippar objective for centuries to come.”
Udasi sect started in OPPOSITION to Guru Nanak’s Sikhi
“Its objective was to challenge Sikhi, REJECT Guru Nanak’s Gurmat and if possible, to REPLACE with himself as the Guru.”
Sect revengeful because Guru Nanak did not pass Guruship to Sri Chand
“Guruji acted such because he found Sri Chand unfit for the responsibility; and did not subscribe to the principle of hereditary passing of Guruship. Instead, Guru Nanak found Bhai Lehna ji spiritually qualified to be the successor Guru.”
Sri Chand and Udasi rejected everything Sikhi
“Sri Chand rejected Guru Nanak’s spirituality in total – beginning with the Sikh notion of the Creator within, to the advocated family living of Ghrist Jeevan. Even Sri Chand’s garb – the wearing of a loin cloth or langoti and janeyu stood in stark contrast to Guru Nanak’s.”
Guru Nanak did not approve Udasi sect
“Sikhs of Guru Nanak abided by such disapproval and did NOT associate themselves with Sri Chand in their spiritual endevors.”
Guru Nanak’s Command: Accept Guru Angas as successor Guru, reject Sri Chand
HIJACKING UNFOLDS
“Eight years after the demise of Guru Gobind Singh, and months after the defeat of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1718, the udasis would finally get their big break. The opening was created by a vacuum that resulted from the brutal hunting and killing of authentic Sikhs by the regime of the day. Throughout the Shaheede Era (60 years after 1718) while the authentic Sikhs were being massacred as individuals, groups of in holocaust methods; and while Sikhs were being hunted with a price of 80 rupees on their heads; the udasis moved in to occupy one Sikh Gurdwara after another that was left vacant. Anandpur Sahib, Hazoor Sahib, Darbar Sahib were taken over followed by virtually all Gurdwaras of importance.”
“The udasis would be in exclusive control of Sikhs Gurdwaras for about 60 years, before they would have to share control with the other more powerful deviant groups (nirmlas, Mahants and dera sants) for a total of 207 years till 1925.”
CONCOCTED TALES
Guru Ramdas visits Sri Chand as he ‘needed the blessings of Guru Nanak through his son.’
“Sri Chand is said to have asked Guruji ‘Why is your beard so long’ and Guruji is said to ave replied ‘do dust your feet’ and went on to do just that.
Growing up in Guru Nanak’s household, Sri Chand would have seen his own father in long unshorn beard. So why would he have expressed such amazement as the unshorn beard of Guru Ram Das ji? In any event had Sri Chand ever posed that question to Guru Ramdas ji, his answer would have been “for the same reason that your father Guru Nanak kept his own beard and instructed us Sikhs to do the same.”…Not only is the question to Guru Ramdas cooked up, the answer too is concocted to show Sri Chand’s ‘exalted position’.”
Guru Arjan Suffer Writer’s Block
“Another fake tale related to Guru Arjun ji. Guru ji is said to have suffered a writer’s block when composing Sukhmani bani….The Sikhs then suggested that Guru Arjun ‘seek the blessings of Guru Nanak’s son Sri Chand’….In reality, such a tale is an insult to Guru Arjun ji. The fifth Guru has the most voluminous bani within the SGGS ji.”
Guru 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Suffer Leprosy
“Another fake story is that Gurus Angad, Amardas, Ramdas and Anjun suffered from the curse of leprosy. No reason is given for the ‘curse’, but the Sikh is expected to ‘know’ that it was because they were not the rightful Gurus to beginwith. The rightful Guru after Guru Nanak was Sri Chand, and because of that the ‘curse was eventually’ removed by Sri Chand when Guru Arjun went to see him.”
Guru Hargobind deputes his son Gurditta to succeed Sri Chand
HOW UDASIS DISTORTED SIKHI
The udasi control over our Gurdwaras (and by extension Sikh psyche) corrupted and distorted Sikhi to the core and in more ways than can be imagined.
Altered maryada, practices and ceremonies at Gurdwaras
“A great variety of practices at the Darbar Sahib today – the ban on women from performing spiritual acts in the Darbar, washing of the floors with milk and non-stop burning of lamps and incense are examples of practices that have their origins in deviant udasi (and, on equally deviant nirmala) beliefs.”
Introduced udasi rituals and practices into Sikhi
“The ritual of reciting mantras repeatedly; the recitation of Gurbani verses during the performance of yoga asans and kriyas; the linking of vegetarianism to Sikh philosophy; the exalted position of celibacy for spiritual persons (sants and mahants); bathing at selected locations as acts of spirituality; the making of offerings to the gods and performance of penance – all of which have become accepted norms as ‘Sikhs practices’ have their roots in udasi beliefs. These rituals and practices will be consolidated, expanded and rooted deeper into Sikhi by the other groups who will control Sikh Gurdwaras subsequent to the udasis – namely the nirmalas, Mahants and dera sants.”
Weaned 2 Gens of Sikhs from Shabad Guru
“In 60 years, they had managed to wean two generation of Sikhs off the divine messages of the Shabd Guru. The englightenment of the messages of the shabd was slowly but surely replaced by maryadas, practices, rituals, mantra recitations and ceremonies as adequate spirituality. Some Sikhs had already begun to believe that this deviant practices were indeed sanctioned by our Gurus as authentice Sikhi.”
Changed Guru Nanak’s birth date from Vesakh to Katakh
“A child born on the puranmashi of Katakh was considered most inauspicious according to Bippar [Brahmin clergy] propagated beliefs. It thus served the sinister Bippar Clergy to push this day as the birthday of Guru Nanak ji.”
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
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
“I found out recently that my asli pind used to kill the baby daughters and only keep 1 out of 5-6. It was like a tradition. This info has been haunting, especially because I grew up with a violent misogynistic dad. I would like to know what to do with this.
I’ve heard about other women in my pind who were abused by family too. When I was 10 on a trip home, out of nowhere a woman asked if my dad abuses me. I lied and said no. I can’t stop thinking about that day now. How long have we been suffering?
I watched Kaali Khuhi the other day and was basically given a visual of all this.
Yes, unfortunately, it’s quite common and still happens. Even in the Punjabi community living outside of Punjab, too.”
The (edited)entry by @beynaam attracted the following comments:
@guppy: Kaali khuhi is a horrifying movie. My cousin had a baby girl the other day (it’s her 3rd kid) and they kept the news super quiet and I noticed my dad’s side of the family in India didn’t seem as happy compared to when my other cousin had a baby boy a while ago. It’s heartbreaking.
@sikhwomensaid: We feel your pain. I read a book once called India’s missing daughters. It is is estimated that millions of girls are missing because of this horrific practice which has led to a huge gender disparity in India. There are even folk songs that used to be chanted. Take care of yourself
@kaurraga: I am so sorry. Please seek support and take time to process your emotions. And when you are ready and I f you can, help others who may still be in that situation.
@raniriner: It’s so sad. The worrying thing is that the killing of daughters doesn’t just happen in our pinds, it happens here too in the “first world country”. You talking about it is helps as it allows discussions like this to take place. Please take care and from personal experience, talking helps.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
14th Anniversary. Passed away peacefully on 30th July 2007.
Wife of Late Lawyer Markhan Singh
Deeply missed, forever cherished and fondly remembered by children and grandchildren, in-laws and nephews.
Mummy you have never gone away, u walk beside me everyday, unseen, unheard but always near, still so much loved and missed – Dharamjit
| Entry: 30 July 2021 | Source: Family
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Group photo at Penang Wadda Gurdwara and Panjabi school, dated 1955. Giani Harchand Singh Bassian is seated 1st left facing the photo and Giani Dasaundha Singh Mustak 4th from left. Both – both Panjabi school teachers. Giani Harchand was a Kirtania and Giani Mustak, a poet – Photo courtesy of “Bassian” family collection / Gurmukh Singh
(If you have more information on the above photo, do get in touch with us).
Seated in the front row 3d from right is Sardar Chanan Singh Dala President of Gurdwara Sahib Khalsa Dharmik Jatha Penang and 4th from the right Sardar Sarban Singh (Malay States Guides Pensioner). Thanks for the memories. Sincerely, Rajindar Singh Bedi (Message received via email)
Seated extreme right Late Sohan Singh (Assistant official assignee of Penang High Court) father of late Brig Gen Baljit Singh & Late Ranjit Singh (Ranjit Thomas & Kula). (Message from Jasvinder Singh)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Two Sikhs took centre stage at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) this week as their companies went public.
On Wednesday (28 July 2021), PowerSchool Holdings Inc CEO Hardeep Gulati had the honour of ringing the morning bell at the stock exchange, a tradition at the exchange that goes back to 1870s with the advent of continuous trading.
The cloud-based education software provider was valued around $3.57 billion.
Hardeep, who joined as chief executive in 2015, has successfully led PowerSchool’s growth to become most comprehensive K-12 education software suite, including recent acquisitions of Schoology, Hoonuit, and Naviance. Additionally, he oversaw the expansion of talent from 500 to nearly 3,000 employees. PowerSchool is now the largest education technology provider serving more than 45 million students in over 80 countries, according to the company website.
On Monday (26 July 2021), Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria took centre stage when UpHealth Holdings Inc took up listing status after the merger of GigCapital2 Inc. with UpHealth Holdings Inc and Cloudbreak Health LLC.
UpHealth is a global comprehensive digital health technology and tech-enabled services platform that empowers providers, health systems and payors globally to manage care for people with complex medical, behavioral and social needs, while dramatically improving access to primary care.
Dr. Kathuria co-founded several leading companies in the medical field that include: American Teleradiology NightHawks, Inc., Ocean Biomedical, and UpHealth. American Teleradiology NightHawks, Inc. merged with NightHawk Radiology Holdings, Inc., and the combined company went public on NASDAQ. Dr. Kathuria also co-founded Ocean Biomedical which recently announced a Malaria Vaccine discovery.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
SASKAAR / CREMATION: 10.30am, 29 July 2021 (Thursday) at Templer Crematorium Seremban (Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, only family members are allowed to attend the funeral) | Malaysia
Saskaar / Cremation: 10.30am, 29 July 2021 (Thursday) at Templer Crematorium Seremban (Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, only family members are allowed to attend the funeral)
Path da Bhog: To be confirmed
Contact:
Imerpal Singh(Son) 0176897620
Beldesh Singh (Son) 0169583201
| Entry: 29 July 2021 | Source: Family
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick (GNGS), which claims a weekly congregation of approximately 10,000, is now 60 years old.
Established in 1961, the Birmingham gurdwara badges itself as the first and largest gurdwara in the United Kingdom to be purchased using funds solely raised by the Sikh community.
Like many gurdwaras around the world, the team organises regular prayer sessions and kirtan lessons. They have also taken part in organising Covid-19 vaccination sessions.
On Wednesdays, a group of ladies (bibian) have been organising the weekly prayer gathering. The session, said to have started when the gurdwara was established, attracts a committed group who show up whether its rain or snow, with some said to be coming from as far away as Derby.
“For 60 years, the Gurdwara has been a beacon of faith and hope in Smethwick, guiding a community full of life and love and spreading the message of our Gurus,” said GNGS committee president Jatinder Singh in an entry at the gurdwara’s official Facebook page.
One of the oldest Sikh Gurdwaras in the United Kingdom, the Smethwick gurdwara first opened its doors to the public in 1961, in the county borough of Smethwick which later became part of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough.
The Gurdwara soon became a centre for social and recreational activity and to this day remains a vibrant part of the life of Smethwick/Sandwell. #60YearsOfGNG
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਆਇਓ ਸਰਣਿ ਤੁਹਾਰੀ ॥ Saṯgur āio saraṇ ṯuhārī. My True Guru, I have sought Thy protection.
ਮਿਲੈ ਸੂਖੁ ਨਾਮੁ ਹਰਿ ਸੋਭਾ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਲਾਹਿ ਹਮਾਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ Milai sūkẖ nām har sobẖā cẖinṯā lāhi hamārī. ||1|| rahāo. Grant me the peace and glory of God’s Name, and remove thou my anxiety. Pause. (SGGS, 713)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
As Sikhs work towards making a global civilisation it is important that they bring their distinctive worldview to the enterprise. This unique ingredient will only enhance the final stew. The Guru Granth Sahib teaches us, “Ignoramus, follow gurmat; without this, even the smartest have drowned in the ocean of worldliness.” (Guru Granth Sahib: 288) Sikhs commonly distinguish between gurmat and manmat, following the Guru versus following one’s own mind.
When the British encountered the empire of the Sikhs, Sikhs were described as people of a rival great power. Once they had conquered the Sikhs they began to consider the religion of these people. They simply added -ism to a narrative of their belief system, in the same way as ‘Hinduism’ or ‘Buddhism’, which are also colonial creations.
While physical decolonisation ended in 1947 Sikhs are still in need of a mental decolonisation, to be able to contribute fully to the emerging global civilisation Guru Nanak had introduced.
If Sikhism is to go, what about ‘Sikhi’? We should reject this as hapless and hopeless. The argument for it is that it is a halfway house. It is like using Sikh temple, a halfway house that is justified as it allows a non-Sikh audience to understand that here is a religious building and it is connected to Sikhs. Of course, the problem is that a gurdwara is more than a religious building and it is not strictly speaking a temple at all. A temple is the house of a statue of the divine. Gurmat teaches us that the body is the temple of the divine and therefore that each person is a sacred space. By failing to apply our own term, ‘gurdwara’, we deprive others of understanding our unique perspective.
We should look at Hindus who are unashamedly promoting ‘Sanatana dharma’ as the decolonised term, or Muslims who replaced Mohammedanism (that I myself read in British textbooks in the 1970s) with the respectful and correct term, ‘Islam’. In some ways this debate reminds of 1947 when the Sikh leadership did not propose a separate homeland as they had not realised that Switzerland was landlocked. Gurmat is a possibility and we should not betray our principles because of an imagined fear that it is a step too far.
Gurmat, the wisdom of the Guru is our unique and distinctive concept that the world deserves to know about. Who are the Sikhs? Followers of the Guru. Sikhi tells us that we are followers, but not what we follow. If we are not about following and promoting the Guru’s Way, what exactly is our purpose? We should not be ashamed of the Guru and should put it front and centre in explaining to others who we are and what we believe.
Ranvir Singh is a UK-based human rights activist and member of Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
