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Rahnee
rahey soee sikh mera
Guru Gobind Singh
Ji has very clearly stated that anyone
who is without unshorn hair and shaster
must not appear in his presence. Such a
person is like a sheep that can be led
anywhere by anybody.
Guru Ji also says that the Reht that is
maintained by a Sikh is more precious to
him and brings the Sikh closer to him. By
implication, this means that the Sikh who
claims to be a Sikh but does not keep the
Reht of the Sikh, cannot be as dear to
the Guru as the one who keeps the Reht.
So will the Guru see us all as the same?
Will He treat us all as equal, having
clearly stated the above in his Bani?
Oh yes, the Guru loves us all. No doubt
about that. But when it comes to
distributing the goodies, who do you
think should get and who shouldn't ? Guru
is impartial and will give everyone
equally, you will say. But let us learn
from history.
Guru Nanak loved all his Sikhs. He loved
Baba Budha Ji and all the others, but
when it came to the GurGadhi, who got it?
Did they all? No, only the one who won
the Guru's heart by obeying his every
command, got it. Bhai Lehna became Guru
Angad. Baba Budha remained Baba Budha,
not that he was not loved or respected by
Guru Ji.
Does Guru Ji play favourites? Did he
select Bhai Lehna because he liked him?
Some of us may think so, but to kill this
idea ever developing, Guru Gobind Singh
Ji came on the stage with his naked Sri
Sahib(sword). Who got the chance in a
lifetime to give Amrit to Guru Gobind
Singh Ji? There were thousands of beloved
Sikhs of the Guru present. We may think
he liked/loved some more than the others.
But he did not call his favourites.
He had none. He loved them all. So he
took out the Sri Sahib and asked for
heads. Those who gave themselves to the
Guru became the Panj Pyare. The rest
remained Pyare Sikhs. The Panj Pyare got
the chance to give Amrit to Guru Ji. The
Pyare Sikhs just watched and wondered why
the discrimination, why the favouritism,
why they and not us, we are also Sikhs
therefore we should also have the same
rights.
Any Sikh who looks down upon another or
discriminates against another has not
understood Sikhism. "na ko
bairee nahi begana" comes to mind
and the example of Bhai Khanaiya. A Sikh
tries to better himself daily. He
competes with himself and not with anyone
else, thus he should not compare his
Sikhi with that of another.
Discrimination is usually in the mind. It
is our own guilty conscience or feelings
of insecurity, inferiority, etc. We jump
at shadows and shout discrimination.
Recently, I was in a queue at a
supermarket. An Asian lady was in front
of me. One white man who was at the
counter had to go and exchange one item
he was buying. The counter cashier
started dealing with the other customers.
When it came to the Asian lady's turn,
the white man came back and the cashier
started to attend to him. The Asian lady
turned to me and said "the whites
always discriminate against us
Asians". I saw no discrimination in
serving that white man who was so much
ahead in the queue, but this lady saw
discrimination, and she will continue to
see that because she feels discriminated
against even when she is not.
"Rahnee rahey
soee sikh mera..". Guru Gobind Singh
Ji says that the one who lives the Reht
is my Sikh. the rest of us can aspire to
be Guru ji's Sikhs. Only the Guru will
decide whether we are his Sikhs or not,
we may claim as much as we want.
Autar Singh.
University of Reading
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