Reflection:
‘A Society which disallows judgements on the grounds it hurts emotions is unable to comprehend that even helping a fellow human being necessitates judging them to make them self-reliant and truly free. Such a disoriented Society dies a slow, decadent and meaningless death.’
Heavy words but a complex truth to fathom in this day and age where the term judgement has come to denote intolerance. On their own these terms mean nothing unless lent context which then comes to define their effect and how significant it is. The human brain has developed an efficient software to essentially judge what it comes across in our daily lives. It is the perennial warrior forever battling hordes of data and subconsciously processing them to inform our choices. It can only do this if it judges.
Sikh Gurus & Judgement:
The Sikh Gurus observed that judgement was an offshoot of our intellect or Bibek. Bibek is an individual’s greatest tool which, when applied properly, transforms the mind from an unbridled foe to a temperate ally. But in this day and age the latter is easily said than done. After all, human society consists of practising Abibekis or individuals lost to Bibek. But nor do the Gurus emphasize that society be renounced, that is Vedism and such a principle will fundamentally negate their initiation of the SadhSangat. Rather, what the Gurus emphasize is the wholescale recalibration of oneself and then society towards the path of Bibek the purpose of which is to synchronize our lives with Hukam or the reality of/behind existence.
To better ourselves and those around us it is only natural we apply judgement. Our entire brain is geared towards transcending emotions and judging situations to discover the most significant response for ourselves and others. How potent our judgement proves is substantiated by the results we accrue from it. The hypocritical and transgressive nature of human society today disallows it from comprehending that self-introspection and judgement are the two foremost tools which historically allowed it to progress. Today what is perceived as being dissent is silenced by cancel culture while ethical and moral norms are violated in the name of liberalization.
Dissent:
Human society, irrespective of the plethora of otherworldly faiths with their prophecies of Utopia orbiting it, is dying a miserable death. Its atrophying is evident. It silences judgement believing it to be a sign of dissent. Dissent is the mirror it shirks from glancing at. With the existence of society at stake the Sikhs must work to reseed its originality and renew its sense of self-worth. They should exemplify the template on which it can be rebuilt. A critical starting point for this endeavor would be self-autonomy and self-confidence in one’s own life. Guru Nanak succinctly drives this point home:
ਆਪਣ ਹਥੀ ਆਪਣਾ ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਕਾਜੁ ਸਵਾਰੀਐ ॥੨੦॥
“Resolve your own affairs with your own hands.”
-Guru Granth, 474.
This line forms the crux of what we recently discussed in The Most Dangerous Scripture . That the Guru Granth is continually targeted for destruction because it underscores that the true pathway to liberty (in all modes of life) is through self-freedom and self-responsibility. Our current Society has brainwashed us into believing that the Equality of Outcome is assured for everyone. Put simply, if Person A puts in the hard miles and Person B doesn’t both will be awarded with the same outcome. This substantially nullifies an individual’s desire to perform; stand out from the crowd and achieve something in their lives. This glaring delusion of providing the same outcome is provided either by religion or either by politics. After all, wouldn’t it be nice to throw your feet back and relax safe in the knowledge your apathy will get you someplace luxurious in life? The bitter reality that it won’t will meanwhile be silenced by the watchdogs of the Societal regime.
The Way Forward:
So is judgement then intolerance? In the hands of a Sikh judgement is the sword which neither brokers nor tolerates falsity and speciousness. The reason for Sikh society’s survival in the most dangerous of extremes was its ability to judge the failings of others. The reason for its cataclysmic fall-the medium of which proved the Dogras and the British- was its inability to judge itself. The current discourse of wounding sentiments, requiring safe spaces to weep, actively upping participation at the expense of perfection and even accusing the enforced regression of our physical fitness (fatshaming, fatphobia) all indicate a world gone awry; a society gone astray. This all can be summed up with one single expression: The Death Of Dignity. Our individual and collective dignities are both being sacrificed at the altars of newfangled desires to stay mum in the face of mental and psychological devolution.
So, what can Sikhs do? Or what must Sikhs do? Guru Nanak has provided a precise answer:
ਆਪਣ ਹਥੀ ਆਪਣਾ ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਕਾਜੁ ਸਵਾਰੀਐ ॥੨੦॥
“Resolve your own affairs with your own hands.”
-Guru Granth, 474.
He has been repeating himself for over 5 centuries. That is another matter altogether that after the first few centuries we stopped listening to him. The way forward now consists of cultivating virtue and fanatically pursuing the path of Bibek. What will it be then? The denial of judgement or its acceptance? Just remember, a society unable to judge is a society unable to uphold itself. This is what we tackle in the episode linked above.