GUARDIANS

Who Will Save The World?

Premise:

The Sri Gur Sobha, of Kavi (poet) Sainapati, is a late 17th century to early 18th century contemporary account of the tenth Guru’s life and times inscribed by an eyewitness intellectual employed in the Khalsa’s Anandpur court. Irrespective of the idiotic unsubstantiated allegations made by some self-proclaimed Sikh historians claiming it to be mistranslated, the text is a concise delineation and record of Guru Gobind Singh’s actions and injunctions informing the Sikhs on their rites and rituals in the post-human Guru epoch. Of particular interest is the Guru’s address to the Sikhs on the purpose and perennial mission of the Khalsa.

Khalsa:

The ancient Sikh histories rarely treat the Khalsa as some rent in the fabric of the Sikh tapestry. They refrain from classing it as some break or rapture in the continuity of Gurmat from Guru Nanak to the Guru Granth. Rather, they delineate it to be either a manifestation of Guru Nanak’s conception of the perfect mortal or the ratification of the progenitor Guru’s encapsulation of the divinely enlightened individual. In this vein, Sainapati underscores that Guru Nanak’s divine mission was to awaken the human individual to his divine origin and then guide him to shield it from the mental and physical onslaughts of those of his mortal counterparts mired in unenlightened ignorance. Thus, by this observation, the Gurus not only became the custodians of divinity on earth but also its protectors; a mission they passed onto the Khalsa.

“In a state of emotional exuberance the Guru thundered forth. The Sikhs and the non-Sikhs froze hearing his mighty proclamation. He had guided the emergence of the Khalsa with passionate zeal. Being inexhaustible, the Khalsa was to confront each and every aggression the ignorant imposed upon it.

The Khalsa was to renounce the Masands and forsake all obsessions. It was to renounce the five vices and adhere solely to the commands of Akal. It was to retain the mandated Khalsa appearance and forever remain committed to it while distinguishing itself through deed. It was to be forever armored and waging war on the unsubmissive.

And in this way the Guru missioned the Khalsa to expand well into the future reducing all in its path. Becoming valorous, the Khalsa was to grasp the sword and be embroiled in war. It was to annihilate the sinners and reform the world in its own image to emancipate it from itself.”

-The Sri Gur Sobha.

Guru Gobind Singh in a regal pose.

Affliction:

It is incumbent upon each and every believer of Gurmat to openly acknowledge and recognize the truth and validity of Sikhi in comparison to the spiritually unclean and false faiths that lead the world astray. The neo-spiritualist school’s interpretation of Sikhi professing that each and every faith leads to the same divine outcome is illogical and ignores the fundamental cornerstones of Sikh spiritualism. If indeed all faiths lead to one divine source that they are unagreed upon, what then was the need for Guru Nanak to reveal Sikhi and inspire countless generations to shed their lives solely for its upkeep? The Guru Granth is emphatic that any non-Sikh path is afflicted with hubris and resultantly diseased.

ਨਾਨਕ ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗ ਬੁਰੇ ॥

ਜਹ ਦੇਖਾਂ ਤਹ ਏਕਾ ਬੇਦਨ ਆਪੇ ਬਖਸੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਧੁਰੇ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਆਪੇ ਪਰਖੇ ਪਰਖਣਹਾਰੈ ਬਹੁਰਿ ਸੂਲਾਕੁ ਨ ਹੋਈ ॥

ਜਿਨ ਕਉ ਨਦਰਿ ਭਈ ਗੁਰਿ ਮੇਲੇ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਭਾਣਾ ਸਚੁ ਸੋਈ ॥੨॥

ਪਉਣੁ ਪਾਣੀ ਬੈਸੰਤਰੁ ਰੋਗੀ ਰੋਗੀ ਧਰਤਿ ਸਭੋਗੀ ॥

ਮਾਤ ਪਿਤਾ ਮਾਇਆ ਦੇਹ ਸਿ ਰੋਗੀ ਰੋਗੀ ਕੁਟੰਬ ਸੰਜੋਗੀ ॥੩॥

ਰੋਗੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਬਿਸਨੁ ਸਰੁਦ੍ਰਾ ਰੋਗੀ ਸਗਲ ਸੰਸਾਰਾ ॥

ਹਰਿ ਪਦੁ ਚੀਨਿ ਭਏ ਸੇ ਮੁਕਤੇ ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਵੀਚਾਰਾ ॥੪॥

ਰੋਗੀ ਸਾਤ ਸਮੁੰਦ ਸਨਦੀਆ ਖੰਡ ਪਤਾਲ ਸਿ ਰੋਗਿ ਭਰੇ ॥

ਹਰਿ ਕੇ ਲੋਕ ਸਿ ਸਾਚਿ ਸੁਹੇਲੇ ਸਰਬੀ ਥਾਈ ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰੇ ॥੫॥

ਰੋਗੀ ਖਟ ਦਰਸਨ ਭੇਖਧਾਰੀ ਨਾਨਾ ਹਠੀ ਅਨੇਕਾ ॥

ਬੇਦ ਕਤੇਬ ਕਰਹਿ ਕਹ ਬਪੁਰੇ ਨਹ ਬੂਝਹਿ ਇਕ ਏਕਾ ॥੬॥

ਮਿਠ ਰਸੁ ਖਾਇ ਸੁ ਰੋਗਿ ਭਰੀਜੈ ਕੰਦ ਮੂਲਿ ਸੁਖੁ ਨਾਹੀ ॥

ਨਾਮੁ ਵਿਸਾਰਿ ਚਲਹਿ ਅਨ ਮਾਰਗਿ ਅੰਤ ਕਾਲਿ ਪਛੁਤਾਹੀ ॥੭॥

ਤੀਰਥਿ ਭਰਮੈ ਰੋਗੁ ਨ ਛੂਟਸਿ ਪੜਿਆ ਬਾਦੁ ਬਿਬਾਦੁ ਭਇਆ ॥

ਦੁਬਿਧਾ ਰੋਗੁ ਸੁ ਅਧਿਕ ਵਡੇਰਾ ਮਾਇਆ ਕਾ ਮੁਹਤਾਜੁ ਭਇਆ ॥੮॥

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਸਾਚਾ ਸਬਦਿ ਸਲਾਹੈ ਮਨਿ ਸਾਚਾ ਤਿਸੁ ਰੋਗੁ ਗਇਆ ॥

ਨਾਨਕ ਹਰਿ ਜਨ ਅਨਦਿਨੁ ਨਿਰਮਲ ਜਿਨ ਕਉ ਕਰਮਿ ਨੀਸਾਣੁ ਪਇਆ ॥੯॥੧॥

“Nanak, hubris is an insidious affliction indeed. Glance around and you will see the same torturous agony all around. Only you the Creator can bless us with the cure of the Shabad (adhering to the divine injunctions of the Guru Granth).

You, the Creator, assesses us mortals for our worth and there are no other appraisements thus. Those who the divine glance falls upon, they meet with and receive the divine wisdom. This is the true will of the Creator in action.

Air, water, and fire are afflicted; this entire world, with all its illusory pleasures, is afflicted. The mother and the father are afflicted. This temporary body is afflicted. The household is afflicted, those who we meet are afflicted.

Brahma (the creator archetype), Vishnu (the preserving archetype), and Shiva (the destructive archetype) are afflicted; this whole existence is afflicted. Enshrining the Creator’s feet within your minds by adhering to the Shabad is the only means to escape this affliction.

The seven seas, the rivers, the continents, the underworld-all of these are afflicted. The Creator’s adherents, meanwhile, remain immersed in the truth and distinguish themselves by resultantly earning the divine glance everywhere.

The six Hindu Shastras and the systems they propose are afflicted; the garbs of all other faiths, their multiple superstitions and their multiple followers are afflicted.

What can the Vedas and the Abrahamic scriptures do you poor fool when they fail to comprehend the one and only Sustainer? Pursuing illusory pleasures and worsening their symptoms, the fools fail to realize their own worth.

Discarding the Naam (the path of personifying Gurmat), the fools follow other faiths and then moan regretfully at the end. Wandering from one pilgrimage site to another, the mortal is not cured of his affliction nor by reading scriptures.

Doubt is an inimical affliction and it ensnares one in illusion. The Gurmukh embodies the true praiseworthy Shabad and cures themselves of their afflictions. Nanak, the Creator’s adherent purifies themselves everyday and through their actions they earn the right to wear the divine insignia.”

-Guru Granth, 1153.

The erudite Sikh theologian Giani Ditt Singh (1850-1901) would explain that without Naam, all other faiths are doomed to failure.

“All non-Sikhs irrespective of their creed, whether it be Hindu or Muslim, are all mistaken in their beliefs. They can be said to be on ships doomed to be swept away from the true path to God. Ours is the ship of Vaheguru’s Naam and the one abroad it will be safely ferried across. It is open to all irrespective of their birth as Hindu, Muslim, or Christian but as long as they become Sikh for Sikhism is open to all. Whosoever becomes Sikh by taking the holy elixir (Pahul) is purified.”

-Giani Ditt Singh, ‘Khalsa Akhbar,’ c. 1900.

Consecutively, as established by the aforementioned, only the adherent of the Guru Granth and its Gurmat philosophy is able to cleanse themselves of hubris and awaken to the divine existential reality that underpins the human purpose for being in the first place.

The World Savior:

It is crucial to make a distinction here. What is Naam?

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਜਿਸ ਨੋ ਮਤਿ ਆਵੈ ਸੋ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮਾਹਿ ਸਮਾਨਾ ॥ ਇਹ ਬਾਣੀ ਜੋ ਜੀਅਹੁ ਜਾਣੈ ਤਿਸੁ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਰਵੈ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮਾ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

“Those who refine their intelligence as per the divine truth immerse themselves within the divine truth. The one who lives this Bani invites the Naam to reside within them.”

-Guru Granth, 797.

Naam is the divine wisdom, bequeathed by Akal the Creator, to guide mortals to live purposefully and acquire immortality in the process. Simply, the divine wisdom of the Guru Granth in action. Gurmat in practicality. It is Naam that makes the Khalsa and by this virtue, the Khalsa is to remake the world in its own image. This is why the tenth Guru declares it as ਅਕਾਲ ਪੁਰੁਖ ਕੀ ਫੌਜ॥ or the army of Akal in his writings. Its adherence to Naam Marg or the path of imbibing the divine wisdom is what makes it capable of re-writing human fate.

ਬ੍ਰਹਮੈ ਬੇਦ ਬਾਣੀ ਪਰਗਾਸੀ ਮਾਇਆ ਮੋਹ ਪਸਾਰਾ ॥

ਮਹਾਦੇਉ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਵਰਤੈ ਘਰਿ ਆਪਣੈ ਤਾਮਸੁ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਅਹੰਕਾਰਾ ॥੨॥

ਕਿਸਨੁ ਸਦਾ ਅਵਤਾਰੀ ਰੂਧਾ ਕਿਤੁ ਲਗਿ ਤਰੈ ਸੰਸਾਰਾ ॥

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਗਿਆਨਿ ਰਤੇ ਜੁਗ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਚੂਕੈ ਮੋਹ ਗੁਬਾਰਾ ॥੩॥

ਸਤਗੁਰ ਸੇਵਾ ਤੇ ਨਿਸਤਾਰਾ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਤਰੈ ਸੰਸਾਰਾ ॥

ਸਾਚੈ ਨਾਇ ਰਤੇ ਬੈਰਾਗੀ ਪਾਇਨਿ ਮੋਖ ਦੁਆਰਾ ॥੪॥

“Brahma revealed the teachings of the Vedas and, in this way, spread illusions. Shiva, the purported spreader of wisdom, remains confined within his own self and is forever arrogant and wrathful. Vishnu is forever incarnating in one form or another-who will save this rudderless world? It is the Gurmukh who imbibes the divine wisdom in each and every age. They eradicate their frailties within. By serving the divine truth the Gurmukhs liberate themselves and cross over worldly treacheries. Immersed in the true Naam, they become renunciates and reach the threshold of the divine court.”

-Guru Granth, 559.

The Khalsa is tasked with emancipating the world from itself because each and every one of its fraternity emancipates themselves from their base frailties each and everyday. It is this ability that distinguishes it from the adherents of the false faiths because it eradicates its fear of death and the aftermath by battling its base mind.

ਕੰਟਕੁ ਕਾਲੁ ਏਕੁ ਹੈ ਹੋਰੁ ਕੰਟਕੁ ਨ ਸੂਝੈ ॥

ਅਫਰਿਓ ਜਗ ਮਹਿ ਵਰਤਦਾ ਪਾਪੀ ਸਿਉ ਲੂਝੈ ॥

ਗੁਰ ਸਬਦੀ ਹਰਿ ਭੇਦੀਐ ਹਰਿ ਜਪਿ ਹਰਿ ਬੂਝੈ ॥

ਸੋ ਹਰਿ ਸਰਣਾਈ ਛੁਟੀਐ ਜੋ ਮਨ ਸਿਉ ਜੂਝੈ ॥

ਮਨਿ ਵੀਚਾਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਜਪੁ ਕਰੇ ਹਰਿ ਦਰਗਹ ਸੀਝੈ ॥੧੧॥

“The fear of death is the greatest torment. There is no other torment so great. It entraps the entire world and the sinners wrangle over it. Through the injunctions of the Divine Wisdom (Gurbani), the adherent merges with their Maker and focuses only on consistently recalling the Creator and in this way comprehend their essence. Only they are worthy of being in the Creator’s presence who war with their own minds. Through contemplating their own mind, through consistently remembering their Maker, the adherents enter their Master’s court.”

-Guru Granth, 1090.

Guru Gobind Singh: the Khalsa archetype.

Conclusion:

While delusional secular fantasies of Sikhs standing up for everyone’s rights permeate our intellectual and political spaces today, the Guru Granth and historic Sikh chronicles concur on one simple fact: the Khalsa’s mission is to rebuild human society in its own image. This is not an Utopian ambition considering that Gurmat furnishes that the battle of life is fought on each and every waking minute. It is emancipatory in uplifting man from the depths of the self-imposed cynicism and nihilism which the false faiths and false ideologies have buried him under. This is why Sikhi exists.