Sublimity to subversion

Given the unerring instinct with which we reduce our finest traditions to a trite and tasteless level, we have converted the celebration o...

Given the unerring instinct with which we reduce our finest traditions to a trite and tasteless level, we have converted the celebration of our Gurpurbs too into excessive and garish extravaganzas. Let us go back in time to see what the word Gurpurb means. It is a combination of Guru and purb: a celebration of an anniversary connected with the Gurus. And so Guru Nanak Dev8217;s Gurpurb this month honors the birth of the man who founded Sikhism.

The gurdwara, the house of prayer and the magnetic core of the Sikh faith, has provided congregations from the 17th century onwards, with the most intense and elevating moments of their lives. In a large, high-ceilinged hall with lime-washed white walls 8212; bare, since idols and depictions are antithetical to Sikhism 8212; people sit cross-legged on the ground on carpets covered with freshly laundered white cotton sheets to add to the mood of serenity and listen in respectful silence to readings from the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scriptures. These readings are interspersed with the singing of excerpts from the holy book, in an atmosphere which is enhanced by the calm and silence which attends these readings; people leave inspired and enriched by the insights of their spiritual forefathers.

Of course, there have always been many outdoor, festive events to celebrate the contributions and certitudes of a man whose contemplative and inquiring mind came up with the nucleus of a strikingly modern faith: free of caste distinctions, inequalities and intolerance of each other8217;s beliefs; who insisted on seeing God in every human being.

But the festivities, the jousting, the display of martial arts, horsemanship, the camaraderie and the conviviality were never allowed to intrude on the mood within the gurdwara8217;s sacred space. Not so now. Blaring loudspeakers mar the sensitive poetry of the scriptures, which are set to the classical ragas, creating instead an ear-splitting din which leave congregations stunned. And when you see devotees drifting in 8212; not before the first light of dawn 8212; but at ten or eleven or even later, you realise the degree to which the dignity of this noble tradition has been eroded by the crass indifference of those who manage our gurdwaras. Clearly the sense of sewa, or service, no longer motivates organisations like the SGPC and the DSGMC which manage most of the gurdwaras. The concept of sewa has had to make way for the pursuit of political power, personal pelf and perks. And no one is more guilty of such deviant behaviour than the Shiromani Akali Dal headed by Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Parkash Singh Badal. Byusing his political power to wrest the SGPC away from Sardar Gurcharan Singh Tohra and making it, quite literally, an adjunct of the government, he has shown his contempt for the dignity, authority and sanctity of the Akal Takht, the supreme emblem of the Sikh faith. He has shown that subordinating every Sikh institution to his writ is what matters most to him. Even his appointee as the president of the SGPC, currently involved in a criminal case, is being supported by him, irrespective of the sordid nature of the charges.

As if enough is never enough, the heavy-handedness of the Punjab government is evident even in preventing 2,400 Sikh pilgrims from crossing into Pakistan at Attari, while on their way to attend the Gurpurb at Nankana Sahib, the Guru8217;s birth place 65 kms from Lahore. According to the former president of the DSGMC, this was the handiwork of the Badal government and the SGPC, proving once again the extent to which lowly political moves have subverted the sanctity of sacred events like our Gurpurbs.

There are countless persons of courage, integrity and strongly-held beliefs in the Sikh faith who can help restore the moral authority of Sikhism8217;s sacred institutions. It is time for them to stand up and be counted.