GURMAT - THE PATH OF LIGHT 

THE THREE CIRCLES OF PROTECTION

The three rings of protection are the discipline of gurmat. This discipline is comprehensive and comprises a dress code, institutions, and ideological beliefs. These are symbols of personal, social, and universal transformation from a lifestyle and a world based on munmukhs to one shaped by gurmukhs.

The dress code is the five ks. These are uncut hair (kesh), short sword (kirpan), knee-length breeches (kaccha), comb (kanga), and steel bracelet (kara). These are the universal symbols and dress of humankind. They have been worn from the first forest and cave-dwellers through all the saints of the various faiths till today. Hair is a part of you. Why would you have it cut? For fashion and acceptance. Fashions are social and national cults of this world. Whose acceptance is more important - this world's or God's? God designed all evolution. Humans are born with uncut hair. Cutting the hair is telling God that Divine Design is inferior to fashion. The shamen of North America, the Taoists of China, the druids of Europe, the rishis of India, and the Prophets of the Middle East all had uncut hair. Samson had uncut hair. Strict Jews even today do not cut their hair. All Jews cover their hair in a synogogue. Jesus had uncut hair. The oldest Christians in the world, in Ethiopia, have turbans. The pointed hats of the Christian clergy in Europe are the distortions of these turbans. Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon Him (PBUH) had uncut hair which is why the imams of Iran and the sufis have turbans. Uncut hair symbolises non-attachment to the fashions of this world and attachment to God.

Non-attachment is also shown in the design of the gurdwara - the Door to the Guru, Bridge/Book of Enlightenment. It has four doors symbolising openness to all the world, all races, women and men, all castes, all tribes from all directions. Finally, there is the unique sacrifice of the Ninth SatGuru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. No other Messenger from God has ever died as a martyr for a different religion. In 1675 there was a government policy of forcible conversions to Islam. Hindus were not allowed to wear their sacred thread. The Tenth SatGuru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, revealed:

"Tegh Bahadur broke the mortal vessel of his body by striking it at the head of the Emperor of Delhi and retreated to his Original Abode (i.e. God). Truly incomparable is this great deed done to assert and protect three basic human rights: the first, to secure for everyone freedom of worship; the second, to uphold the inviolable dignity of everyone's private and personal point of contact with God; the third, to uphold every good person's right to pursue her/his own vision of happiness and self-fulfilment." (Dasam Granth, p.54)

We should support and protect the rights of people to live as they please, whether we agree with their beliefs and lifestyle or not, as a duty to the One God. This belief in freedom of conscience is part of support for human rights.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji campaigned non-violently and was beheaded for this campaign for tolerance. All peaceful methods had failed and righteousness could only be saved through force.

The kirpan or short sword is to defend the weak. It is used with and for "kirpa", meaning mercy and compassion. It is not a concealed weapon of offence like a dagger, as in "cloak and dagger". It is a defensive weapon for the weak, needy and helpless worn openly like the knight-saints of medieval Europe or the warrior-monks of Tibet or samurai Japan. All martial arts have grown from the spiritual realisation that anger is essential to human survival. If it is going to be used to solve problemsas a last resort, rather than become a problem, it must be disciplined. Gurmat is the only religion today which comes with an integral martial art, gatka.

Similarly, lust is essential to human life. Without sex, there are no children. However, a society dominated by lust is full of people who have no inner peace. They feel the need for others, or simply want others for pleasure, or fear rejection. Some are being used and some are abusing. The covering of the genitals is the beginning of human civilisation. Marriage is an institution which regulates sex and, therefore, protects people. The marriage ceremony is called Andn Karaj, the Rite of Bliss. Only sex with one's spouse is lawful. Sex is a very powerful bond and such a close bond should only be made with your marriage partner, when your family and society support such a marriage. Otherwise, you will only bring a lot of pain to yourself and the other person.

Unregulated lust prevents intimacy (into-me-see) between people. It destroys any chance of mutual respect and companionship. Thus, it tends to reinforce a male-dominated society. Sikhism is the only religion which is feminist. The Voice of God spoke through the First SatGuru, Guru Nanak Ji: "Of woman are we conceived, of woman are we born. To woman are we bethrothed and married. It is a woman who is a friend and partner for life. It is woman who keeps the race going. How may we think low of her to whom are born the greatest. From a woman a woman is born: none may exist without a woman." (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, p.73)

The SatGurus commanded their Sikhs not to have any dealings with those who killed widows (satis) or female babies. They encouraged the remarriage of widows. They opposed the segregation of men and women into different occupations and places (purdah). Out of the 146 missionaries of the Third SatGuru, Guru Amar Das Ji, 52 were women. Sikhism is the only religion in the world where women can have the highest religious as well as material position. Marriage was a time when women would accept that the husband was head of the house. In Islam this is a religious duty. God spoke condemning this practise. In marriage women and men are still equal. "Only they are truly married who have one spirit in two bodies." (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, p.788)

The distortions to the Gurbani (Word of God) in the other religions had left the world in darkness. People had to conquer greed, but how could they do this? The seekers of those faiths interpreted this to mean that people should leave the world. They became ascetics living in caves, forests, deserts, islands, and monasteries. They should have abandoned the worldly attitude, but not the world. In the langar we learn to share and serve in a communal meal, a small vision of how we should live and change the world. The kanga or comb keeps us physically clean and respectable for the world, but through running through the hair and taking nothing also reminds us that we take nothing with us. We can take nothing from this world. We can enjoy it and clean it. The distorted religious systems had no vision of social justice. Social stability was all-important as the kings and priests exploited the masses. The Firth SatGuru, Guru Arjun Ji revealed: "Henceforth, such is the Will of God: no one shall coerce another; no one shall exploit another. Everyone, each individual, has the inalienable birthright to seek and pursue happiness and self-fulfilment. Love and persuasion is the only law of social coherence." (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, p.74)

The self-respect which is natural to humans is distorted in the munmukh into pride. To combat this we wear the kara, the steel bracelet on the right wrist, as a slave bond to Akal Purukh, the One Eternal Spirit. Our five fingers represent our five impulses - pride, anger, lust, greed, attachment. In the gurmukh these five are directed by the Spirit of Life through the circle of life, represented by the kara. We shape the world breathing the Name and drinking the Name. The GurManter is WaheGuru. A mantar is that chant which breaks the wall of ego and so reveals the "WOW" of the God of Light known through God's Grace. We breathe in and out, "Wah" and "Guru". We drink the Gurbani through Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The munmukh breathes in the pollution of worldliness and breathes out the bad breath of cravings -hopes, desires, and fears. S/he drinks the wine of ego or "haumai", from "mai" = I, "hau" - am. This "I am" is the idol standing defiant against the One God of Life and Death.

To control pride at the institutional level is to "mata tek", bow before the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. At the universal level it is to have a democracy - a society where people make the decisions under which they live. The Sikhs carry out the purest form of democracy which they call "gurmata" or decision of the Guru's Panth. Sitting together in the Presence of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji they discuss various points of view about an issue. Arguments are supported from relevant passages of Gurbani, wherever possible. All participants help each other to come to a true understanding and decision is always made by consensus, not by majority voting. This is a vital point. The decision represents the higher will of each of us, as we try to be gurmukhs. It does not represent the majority opinion or even the compromise of different munmukhs. The European writers of the eighteenth century have described the Sikhs as using this system where women as well as men, followers as well as leaders, young as well as old discussed together. It bears a striking resemblance to Rousseau's ideal state. Freedom means living subject to laws which you yourself have made. Laws can only be made by consensus because everything else represents a particular interest, not the general interest. This general interest can only be known through the general will, not any particular will. The general will is the higher will in each of us (gurmukh), the particular will is the lower will (munmukh). This collective higher will is decided by free, open, friendly discussions among the followers of the Religion of the Supreme Being, the Spirit of Nature. Rousseau guessed that such a system was used by the first people. He was right.

The first people had uncut hair, the earliest artefacts are combs, swords, clothes, and art and jewels with circles and spirals. A sacred tablet or stone would have recorded the communication from God, Gurbani. They would have bowed before this gateway of spiritual life. This place would have become holy and the site for marriage, sharing food, and practising the discipline of the Name. They would have made their decisions all together, for as yet there would be no rich and no poor, and women and men shared their lives as equals. Love and persuasion would have been the basis of this society. Running through time, ages untold, with parts corrupted, then purified, this eternal faith is gurmat.  It was Revealed again to and re-established by Ten Masters between 1469 and 1708. 

THREE BURNING ISSUES

There are three movements which need to be examined. The first is how gurmat relates to the modern world. As "Sikhism Explained" discussed, Guru Nanak was sent by God as the means to provide the Revelation for the modern age in 1469. Guru Nanak's is the spiritual guidance for the modern world which began at much the same time. Its three basic principles - globalism, science, humanism, merely confirm the teachings of gurmat. There is no religion except God, no religious discipline except spirituality, no acceptable politics and society except humanism.

The second is other religions which are targeting Sikhs for their missions. The only shame is that we don't target these for our missions. While it is true that Guru Nanak was sent to change what people did, rather than what they called themselves, it is also true that Sikhism is made up of converts from Hinduism, Islam, and in the West, increasingly from Christianity. Some people have become angry about missionary targeting, but there is no place for anger. Anger thrives on fear and there is nothing to fear. Rather one should feel pity for their confusion and contradictions. One part of Guru Nanak's Mission was to clarify the distortions in these faiths, to reaffirm the universal truth of the Name, while another part was to herald and provide the spiritual guidance for the modern age.

Christianity teaches that God is Love, Jesus is God, but that those who reject Jesus will burn in hell. Their confusion is based on the fact that the Gospels were written after Jesus had died and thus his followers have misunderstood the real meaning of his message. While saying that God is One they talk of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Son, Jesus, is half-man, half-God. Through His Blood, symbolised by wine, a bridge was established to God. Through His Flesh, symbolised by bread, a community eating out of Him, the Church, could be saved. This is the only Bridge. Those who reject Jesus will burn in hell. In reality. God is One, Alone. God is the Name, the Living Presence, the numenon. God is known through Divine Grace, gurprasad. God has produced the gurbani, Revelation, as a bridge/spiral ladder of perfection and since the Prophet-Enlighteners it was Revealed through were attuned to it, they are regarded as perfect people, but never God. The Amrit Bani is the Nectar-Sweet Revelation and those nourished on this drink are the sadh sangat, the company of the pure, the Guru's Panth. The misunderstandings of the Christians are shown below:

It is easy to see the way in which the Christians have misunderstood the message of the Guru, Jesus. Because His Ministry only lasted three years there are more chances of misunderstanding spiritual doctrines than with the Sikh Gurus whose Divine Mission lasted from 1469 to 1708 through Ten Masters. Instead of talking of the One Universal God who will reject none that seek God, they have made a personality cult of Jesus. Those who reject Jesus will burn in hell. Instead of the spiritual drink of the Name or the Revelation, their scriptures were written later so that their spiritual life is based on stories about Jesus, the Gospels. Jesus, rather than any Revelation, Gurbani, became the bridge to God.

Islam clarified the error of Christianity that a person could be God. However, it fell into error because the Holy Qu'ran was not written till after the Guru, Mohammed had died. Thus, the Holy Qu'ran makes an error in describing the Christian Trinity as God, Jesus, and Mary rather than God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Holy Qu'ran calls for prayers at sunrise, sunset, and  bedtime. The Sikhs have these three prayer times but the Muslims have made five out of three. The Muslims describe non-believers as kafirs. All non-Muslims are kafirs and will burn in hell. The Christians claim that those who reject Jesus will burn in hell, the Muslims claim that those who reject Muhammed (PBUH) will burn in hell. The Truth is that those who love God will find God. Going to hell depends on how you live, not what you call yourself. Islam, therefore, failed to bring the universal faith of God. It also hid the spiritual life. If God is All-Pervading then what is the point of bowing toward a black stone in Mecca when praying. Guru Nanak, asked this question in Mecca almost five hundred years ago and there is still no answer. If it is argued that the Kaaba focuses prayers, then is this not the same plea of the Hindus about their idols. Indeed, Muslims in the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca which they have to do, kiss the Black Stone yet they claim that the Kaaba is not comparable to the idols of the Hindus.

Muslims claim that the law established in the seventh century Arabia for economy, politics, society is the Divine Law of God for man. Those who obey it are the Muslims, those who reject it are the rebels of God and will burn in hell. The Muslims should carry out Holy War (jihad) to bring the world under this law. Yet this law is based on the Holy Qu'ran and hadith (sayings of Muhammed (PBUH) which were written after he was dead. Where the hadith  contradict each other, there is no way to establish the truth.

One of the laws of Muhammed (PBUH) was that any Muslim abandoning Islam should be killed, wherever found. Another was that a man could have four wives. Another is that killing a non-Muslim is not a crime. Suppose someone wanted to reform this. There is no way. For how can you change perfection? Either a Muslim must accept all the laws established in the hadiths or accept that s/he has rejected Islam and should get ready for the death penalty themselves. Or they could accept Sikhism. Most Muslims would agree that God is One, those who love God will find God, that people are judged on deed, rather than their creed. These are Sikh teachings, not Muslim. Of all Sikhs today, about 30% are the descendants of Muslim converts from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. They left Islam even though they knew that the government could execute them for this because they did not want to live as hypocrites, believing in universal spiritual humanism while claiming to be Muslims.

To conclude, first the Sikh concept of God is universal. Those who seek God will find God. The Christian and Muslim concepts are personality cults. Those who reject Jesus will burn in hell. Those who reject Muhammed will burn in hell. Second, The Sikh Scripture is the only one written by the people to whom it was Revealed. The original copy still exists in Kartarpur. Both the Bible and the Holy Qu'ran were compiled after the death of Jesus and Mohammed (PBUH), respectively. This is why the followers added the histories and  science of the time. For instance, the Bible and the Holy Qu'ran repeat stories about the world being made in six days and Noah saving all the animals, two by two, on a boat. Neither science nor archaeology offer any support to these stories. For this reason, gurmat is the only spiritual discipline established by the Enlighteners-Prophets themselves. Its core is Nam Simran - the praise of the Living Presence through Gurbani, the Revelation. Third, the comprehensive spiritual system of gurmat provides the spiritual guidance which God sent to underline the humanism of the modern world. Jesus provided no guidance in social and political matters, and both progressive and/or spiritual Muslims are trying to lose as many of the seventh century laws of Muhammed (PBUH) as possible. They don't realise that the orthodox are correct to say that the Islamic reformer is a non-Muslim, a rebel to the law, for how can you dream of reforming something that you believe is perfect? Gurmat may be defined as universal spiritual humanism. It is the natural religion, has been and is followed by all saints and Prophets, and was revealed again because of the distortions of other faiths, and as the Revelation for the modern age. Sikhism is the fastest growing religion in history with 100 million followers projected for the middle of the next century, after only six hundred years of mission, a number it took Christians and Muslims 1200 years to achieve.

The final problem is the situation in India. The Sikhs must work with all progressive forces to liberalise the country politically as well as economically. Justice should be sought against the evil-doers who have killed 100,000 young Sikhs. Sikh protection should be extended to Muslim and Christian minorities and Untouchables as a matter of faith. With economic decentralisation exports from Punjab can reach the heights of southern China where the expatriate Chinese community is providing most of the investment and export markets. Regional decentralisation is a better option than separation for both the Sikhs and the Indian government. After 1984, the Sikhs have been cast to the winds of the world. They should aim at the financial and media power to dominate global agendas to achieve Guru Nanak's universal mission, part of which will always involve keeping India on the right path. When the seed (Sikhs) will join with the Divine Light (Gurbani), then the saffron fields will bloom in a promised springtime, the Khalsa Raj, which will cover the world. The ancient sages singing the Name across the continents of a new-born world and the Kartarpur of Guru Nanak, a place of worship and love in the sixteenth century, will have given birth to a universal, spiritual, humane world, the Khalsa Raj. First, we must give birth to it in our hearts.

Finally, I must apologise in advance if I have offended anyone, Sikh or non-Sikh. I hope that I write with Spirit and with Truth. To hurt anyone's feelings is not my intention. It is sinful, and I hope that no one is offended.

"The Khalsa is the force of Almighty God, and Victory is destined to God!"

Dr Kanwar Ranvir Singh