Dedicated to the Sikhs who gave their lives for the truth. Beautiful Shabad from : Singer unknown
by Harnaak Singh
I was amused by an article by Karminder Singh on Sikhi Vichar Forum (SVF) website. This amusement was due to the ignorance exhibit by Karminder who is making definitions on the go to suit some agenda and relying on “incredible” unreliable source to make his claims.
Before we proceed, let’s look at the track record of Karminder Singh on his previous misconstrued, ludicrous, misleading, un-Gurmat and un-Sikhi claims.
| KARMINDER’S and SVF MISLEADING CLAIMS | ANALYSIS FROM CREDIBLE SOURCES | |
| 1. | Amrit Vela is anytime a sikh chooses | Amrit Vela is the few hours before sunrise (see Link A) |
| 2. | Amrit Vela refers to the first phase i.e. Early stages of one’s life before childhood (this is from conception to about 1 year of age) | Amrit Vela is the few hours before sunrise (see Link B) |
| 3. | Mahakaal and Durga are primary Gods of Dasam Granth | Guru Gobind Singh does not believe in Devi-Devtas. Mahakaal is God, the death of deaths. Durga means Bhaghauti which stands for God (Piri) on one hand and Sword (Miri) on the other hand. God of SGGS Ji is the same as for DG (see Link C). |
| 4. | ਗੁਰੁ ਪੂਰਾ ਪੂਰੀ ਜਾ ਕੀ ਬਾਣੀ ਅਨਿਕ ਗੁਣਾ ਜਾ ਕੇ ਜਾਹਿ ਨ ਗਣੇ ॥ implies Ek Granth | Nowhere in the verse, is stated that SGGS Ji is the ONLY GRANTH though it is clear that SGGS is our LIVING GURU, the embodiment of the TEN Gurus. (see Link D) |
| 5. | “Many a time our Ragis, Kathakaars, and Kirtanias take a single verse and make just about anything out of it to establish a point of their personal choosing” and he goes on to state “…we should never attempt to use single verses from Gurbani” and then he adds “We SHOULD BE SUSPICIOUS on those who insist on taking just one or two verses and try to explain major spiritual principles to us based on that one or two single verses”. | Karminder seems to be doing exactly this i.e. using a single verse to make a global claim to meet his agenda. This appears to be his favourite practice; it is sort of endemic in him. And this also comes across as hypocritical – Do what I say but don’t do what I do! (see Link D) |
| 6. | The concept of Ek Granth Ek Panth is rooted philosophically in the SGGS on page 646 “Eka Banee Ek Gur Eko Shabad Vichaar” | The verse in the second Stanza (or Slok) of Paurdi 10 of Vaar of Fourth Guru in Raag Soorath. The paurdi has the core message and the Sloks elaborate the Paurdi. The gist of the Paurdi is “Those who are permeated by falsehood do not speak the truth. Only falsehood satisfies them. They are like crows who eat manure. Only by meditation on Naam and by the grace of God will the fraud and sin in them disappear”. There is no reference to Ek Granth or Ek Panth. (see Link E) |
| 7. | Karminder crudely states Jup is not chanting. “That has to be cleared out of our minds. We have reduced, relegated, downtrodden, trampled upon, stepped on … the process of Naam Jupnaa to chanting. Guru Nanak came all the way, for 70 years, through 10 Gurus, to tell us to chant? I’m having trouble with that.”
He says Jap or Jup ਜਪੁ is not chanting. Naam ਨਾਮੁ is not Name (as translated). |
Chant or ਜਪ is one of the methods of reciting NAAM prescribed in Gurbani.
NAAM ਨਾਮ is generally translated as Name though this word has a wide implication. NAAM is more so the process of reciting/ reflecting/ meditating/ chanting/ listening/ teaching/ understanding Gurbani. So actually it is Karminder who has reduced, relegated, downtrodden, trampled upon, stepped on….the process of Naam Jupnaa to be a MAJOR MISLEAD. He wants us to be SPIRITUALLY LAME. (see Link F) |
| 8. | Based on ਸਿਤਗੁਰੂ ਬਿਨਾ ਹੋਰ ਕਚੀ ਹੈ ਬਾਣੀ ॥ Satgur Bina Hor Kachee Hai Banee only the Banee in SGGS Ji is sachee banee implying all else is Kachee Banee. | Sachee Banee ਸਚੀ ਬਾਣੀ is utterances that are in line with our Guru’s teachings internalising which we acquire the 5 virtues and move away from Maya (the 5 evils). This also includes the utterances in Dasam Granth. (see Link G) |
| 9. | Mythological references in SGGS Ji should be discarded. | Our Gurus in SGGS Ji have made references to the various saints and disciples who existed at the time of the Hindu deities (mythological references). These references is not praise or worship of the Hindu deities but used figuratively to explain the teachings in Gurbani. The events from Hindu mythology were known to the general populace during that period and this made it easier to explain the concepts taught by our Gurus. (see Link G) |
| 10. | Nanak said he won’t wear Janeau because it was not put for his elder sister Nanaki. | This statement is false and misleading as there is no historical record of such a statement by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. (see Link H) |
| 11. | Guru Nanak’s father, Mehta Kalyan Das was a minister ਮੰਤਰੀ in the court of the then king. | This statement is also incorrect and misleading since historical records show that Guru Nanak’s father was a “patvari” meaning accountant and/or administrative officer. (see Link H) |
| 12. | Karminder lists the couplet as follows.
“Dhor, Gavaar, Shudar, Psu, Naree. Yeh Pancho Tarran Ke Adhikari” Livestock, Stupid folk, Low caste People, Animals and Women These Five are Deserving of being Caged and Beaten |
The actual couplet (from Tulsidas Ramayana) is
“Dhola Gavara Sudra Pasu Nari, Sakala Tarana ke Adhikari” A drum, a rustic, a Sudra, a beast and a woman – all these deserve instructions. (see Link H) |
| 13. | The final verse of shabads, which do not have a RAHAO, is equivalent to the RAHAO verse. | RAHAO is poetic genre related. When used, it is the climatic or key verse. When RAHAO is not used there is no particular key verse in the shabad. Our Guru Ji’s know when to include a Rahao verse. Are we smarter than our Gurus to start creating Rahao verse in a Shabad without one. (see Link J) |
| 14. | There are 5000 Rahaos in SGGS Ji | The number of Rahaos in SGGS Ji actually is 2686. (see Link J) |
| 15. | The dictionary meaning of Rahao is useless. (Rahao means Pause) | The dictionary meaning of Rahao i.e. Pause is very apt. The Rahao verse is normally of different length than the other verses and is an indication where a PAUSE should be used to maintain the cyclic rhythm when singing the shabad. (see Link J). |
| TRUTH IS A VIRTUE | Endeavour to be Truthful |
Karminder’s track record does not appear to be very convincing for anyone to trust such misconstrued, ludicrous, misleading un-Gurmat and un-Sikhi claims.
Should we choose to follow these teachings, we will surely be lead into spiritual corruption or spiritual abyss.
Let us mull over the above table. We will stop here and continue to analyse the Shabad “Deh Siva Bar Mohay Eh Hai” in the next part.
I am sure the reader, by now, can guess what we will find out as a conclusion to the analysis!
… to be continued.
Gur Vichar 