SikhNet Discussion Forum


Sikhism - " Khalsa And It's Emancipatory Logic "....2(end)
Posted by Preet Mohan S Ahluwalia Send Email to Author on Monday, 3/13/2000 7:04 AM MDT
Related Articles:
Sikhism - Concept Of Freedom

http://sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/3d8d6eacce83bad8872564280070c2b3/1d8a3155794ae6f1872567b2004f967f!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,muthumohan

Sikhism - Unity Of God And Man

http://sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/3d8d6eacce83bad8872564280070c2b3/a728390112dd08f787256754000976b9!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,muthumohan

Sikhism - An Ecosophical Religion

http://sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/3d8d6eacce83bad8872564280070c2b3/e7f22812075f3c478725673f0051a476!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,ecosophical

Response To Varsha Bhosle's Post

http://sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/3d8d6eacce83bad8872564280070c2b3/a59492311e76edf087256856006e1638!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,muthumohan

Sikhism - Concept Of Religious Coexistence

http://sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/3d8d6eacce83bad8872564280070c2b3/6506c5dd4c660a688725674500500b1e!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,co-existence

Sikhism - God's Kingdom On Earth

http://sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/3d8d6eacce83bad8872564280070c2b3/d1fd8137f3c569f287256725006da822!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,kingdom

Justice In Sikhism

http://sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/3d8d6eacce83bad8872564280070c2b3/590741c5764637c28725685d0075f403!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,kingdom

*******************************************************************************

Editor The Sikh Review

This paper was presented at the Khalsa Tercentenary Seminar at the Madurai Kamaraj University in March 1999.

Author's Note:

I record my thanks to Dr Muthumohan, Head, Guru Nanak Devji Chair, for creating this reflective moment of Khalsa which provided a conducive opportunity to enter into serious academic orientation to the understanding of the Khalsa and the Sikh history in its social and political involvement for justice.

*********************************

THE KHALSA AND ITS EMANCIPATORY LOGIC

Dr S Lourdunathan
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy
Arun Anandar College
Madurai, Tamil Nadu



The Context
--------------------

The political India that professes democracy and secularism is dangerously faced with a social practice of politically motivated religious fundamentalism and communalism. Such a social practice is but a political power of cultural destruction, and ethos of power-domination and "the ethos of the denominator is militant and military."[1] It organizes terror, torture, bombings, kidnapping, burning, killing or sweeping away the minorities, evidenced by the recent atrocities on the minorities. It is, a planned political attack that amounts to the denial of human rights and lives of the minorities. The practice, namely, the negation of the lives and rights of the minorities, calls for a serious understanding, explanation, realization and affirmation of the rights of the minorities in the context of the heterogeneous religious and cultural existence of Indian society.

The Issues
--------------------

In the context of the third centenary celebrations of the creation of Khalsa, this paper is a simple attempt to analyze the logic of the social spirituality of Khalsa, as it would allow for the advocacy for responding to the present day problems more effectively by being rooted in one's own tradition.

Taking to this urgent need for understanding the logical meaning of Khalsa the purpose of this paper is to understand and enumerate the principles of Khalsa Social Spirituality, (the spiritual meaning of Khalsa's social living) in relation to the logical principles of human reasoning. Hence, the essential theme of this paper is to discuss the constitutive and operative logical principles, involved in the praxix of Khalsa. Accordingly, the issues that are taken for analysis and exploration here are as follows: What is the logic of enslavement or domination which compelled the Nativity of the Khalsa Revolutionary Movement?

And, what is the alternate logic to combat, the logic of enslavement and domination, which was practiced by the Khalsa? In other words, what is the logic of affirmation of life according to Khalsa? And, what is the logic of emancipation or emancipatory logic, that is constitutive of the Praxix of Khalsa? Could Khalsa Social Spirituality be logically, cognitively and factually justified?

History and the Logic Of Enslavement for the Emancipation of Khalsa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The emergence of the Khalsa Revolutionary Movement in the Sikh culture, is a significant socio-political alternate whose main crusade is to restore human rights and dignity, against the historical practice of enslavement. In the Indian cultural history there have been two important forces of enslavement that practiced the annihilation of Indian social and cultural order. They were the political imperialism imposed by the Mughal rulers, and the caste colonialism practiced in the Hindu social system. Both these forces brought about inhuman domination and discrimination of the poor, namely the dalits. Such practice of domination has a specific logic of enslavement:

"Between X and Y if X is militantly powerful than Y, then X is justified in enslaving Y, the suffering-other. This has been the logic of political imperialism of the Mughal kingdom. The logic of domination of casteism is as follows: Between X and Y, if and when X is conceived as superior by religion and ideology, then X is justified in treating Y as an outcaste."

The history of Sikhism and Khalsa revolutionary movement stands opposed to this kind of logic perpetuated both by imperialist rule and by the social rule of casteism. The Sikh Khalsa movement conceived its religion not only for the trans-world liberation of the individual, but also to orient man towards the removal of social injustice, shouldering the company of the suffering people. This is the transontological or practical metaphysics of Sikhism - a metaphysics of justice.

In other words, unconditinal commitment to the removal of social injustice is the logical necessity of the spirituality of Sikh religion and removal of social injustice is the logical necessity of the spirituality of Sikh religion and culture. It was in pursuance of this mission, that Guru Gobind Singh said, "Go and spread my religion there, and restrain the world from senseless acts."[2]

"The Sikh Dharma meant the creation of the kingdom of God on earth. By all practical means a just order had to be established. Social and political inequality, including the injustice of the Varna Ashrama Dharma, had to be combated and eliminated. Power had to be captured for the poor and the downtrodden."[3]

Professor Nirbhai Singh, in one of his articles on 'Khalsa as Redeemer of the Dalits' invokes philosophical necessity to articulate a sound theoretical structure of the Khalsa ideology. He suggests that:

"it should be articulated through an epistemic process of distancing or separating theory and practice."

And, what he means by 'distancing' is the need for philosophical 'involvement' in the existentiality of the social praxis of the Khalsa Movement - apart from purely religious involvement.[4]

This paper is one such philosophical involvement in the sense that it tries to explore the logical and epistemic foreground constitutive of The Khalsa, a socio-political movement, in the history of Sikhism.

In the history of mankind, there have been many political, economic, social and cultural invasions whose net result is a chaotic destruction of the indigenous cultures and societies. The invaders, (usually armed) with their so-called 'superior culture' imposed devastation and enslaved the people of the local or indeginous traditions, and in the long run, impeded the growth and progress of the people of the regions. But, then, the story does not end there. Whenever there arose the militant practice of chaotic invasion of anykind, simultaneously there emerged, socio-philosophical forces for encountering such invasions. History of humankind has progressive record of such revolutions - the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the Peasant Revolution, the Black Revolutionary movements, the Dalit Revolutions, and Women Revolutions, the Green Movement and so on.

The Sikh religion has established the Khalsa Revolution to the praxis of liberation, opposing the logic of domination inherrent in political imperialism and casteism. According to the Sikh thesis, resistance to the practice of tyranny and dehumanization is a spiritual duty. Given the practice of the logic of enslavement, let us find out the logical principles of liberation advocated in the Sikh Khalsa tradition. The basic principles of logic, namely, The Law of Identity and Non-Contradiction, The Law of Double Negation, and the Law of Excluded Middle are treated as the necessary and sufficient conditions for the practice of liberation in the existential ground of Khalsa's social spiritual living. The argument of this paper is that the existential - or factual - significance of Khalsa Revolutionary Movement does have formal - cognitive truth foundations, and the ontological truth of these logical principles has their significance in Khalsa's social code.

The Law of Identity and Non-Contradiction
------------------------------------------------------

The simplest form of the Law of Identity is the formula that P is P. It could be expressed in the following way:

"Everything is what it is; every existence is its own nature. Truth must ever be in conformity with itself."[5]

And, what is the Law of Non-Contradiction. It says:

"P cannot be P and not-P at the same time in the same manner."

That is, a thing or existence cannot be said to be P and not-P at the same time and in the same manner; existence and the denial of the same is a contradiction. That is, the absence of contradiction is a necessary condition for the formal correctness of truth. An existential example might explain this factor. A Khalsa-person cannot at the same time be both a Khalsa person and a non-Khalsa person in the same manner. He/She cannot negate himself/herself and as well neither can he negate the-other in order to affirm himself. Coupled together, the Law of Identity and Non-Contradiction affirms the logical truth that P is P and it cannot be both P and not-P simultaneously.

What is the existential meaning or implication, of these logical principles when applied to the Khalsa brotherhood? A Khalsa-person can affirm his Khalsa-hood (P) and deny the same (not-P) simultaneously is not possible. This is the Law of Identity and Non-Contradiction. It means: If a person (X) claims that he/she believes in a particular faith (in the brotherhood of Khalsa) that X is rooted in a particular faith and not another. X affirms P and only P. He/she enriches his/her meaning of life by being rooted in his/her own faith tradition, the Khalsa brotherhood.

If a person is rooted in one particular faith-tradition, it means that he/she affirms his/her belonging-ness, and does not deny the rooted-ness of the other. And if anyone denies the rooted-ness of the X, then it is categorically imperative to deny such denials in order to affirm the rooted-ness of X in his/her tradition. Therefore, to force X to trans-place to another religion is against being rational. And, also to deny X's rooted-ness in his/her own religious identity (however small the group may be) is inhuman. For example:

"If X is a Sikh-Khalsa person it means that he/she affirms being rooted in the Khalsa brotherhood, and it does not amount to the denial of Q."

This is the significance of the law of identity and non-contradiction, coupled together, in the problematic context of religious fundamentalism. Each one's religious game is different. Therefore, to deny the other is rationally invalid. Each one's life is single - yet related and dignified. And, therefore, any attempt to monopolize (i.e. either to Hinduize or bring under any imperialist rule by force), tactically to assimilate or politically subjugate and socially monopolize the suffering-other, is both cognitively and factually false.

Political and religious colonization into someone's life without his/her freedom of choice is anti-socio-spiritual. When one affirms one's religion/culture, it can only mean that he/she has the right to affirm his/her culture/religion and as well, he does not have in any right to negate the rights of the religious and the cultural-other. We shall derive the existential meaning of the logical principle of affirming P in the Khalsa tradition. In the context of the Khalsa Revolutionary Movement, the affirmation of P (the principle of identity and non-contradiction) implies a total surrender to Khalsahood, and that it necessarily includes the restoration of the sovereignity of God against the practices of any denial of affirmation (dignity) of life of the poor and the downtrodden. That is why it is said:

Waheguru ji ka khalsa
Waheguru ji ki fateh

Which means: Khalsa belongs to God and so does victory belong to Him.[6]

Belonging to God is to affirm one's rooted-ness and a total surrender to the Khalsa brotherhood. Accordingly,

"the acceptance of Khalsa means becoming full-time revolutionaries who dedicate their all tan(body), man(heart) and dhan(wealth) to the cause of poor, the discriminated and God."[7]

A rooted-ness in the Khalsa brotherhood is inherently connected with the idea of affirmation of the identity in the life of the poor and the downtrodden. It is to bestow the 'hawk' in the hands of the poor. In the words of Guru Hargobind:

"I will not give the hawk to them (the Mughal emperor), instead I will bestow this all on the poor and the helpless."[8]

Affirmation of P implies yet another sense in the Khalsa tradition. The Khalsa person has to face struggle in his mission towards the affirmation of the lives of the poor and the downtrodden. The claim of Khalsa is that it is through struggle for justice that the affirmation of P is possible, for it is said, that the Khalsa-person has to suffer

"as the elephant suffers the goad, and the anvil the stroke of smith, so should one surrender one's body and mind to the service of the poor/God."[9]

Thus the law of identity implies the three basic interlocked layers of existential meaning for a Khalsa person. That he is to abide in God, the God who restores justice to the poor and such obedience is mediated in the belonging-ness to Khalsa brotherhood. This calls for self-sacrifice, with the sole purpose of restoring the rights and dignity of the suffering-other, and the suffering-other in India has all along been the untouchables and the poor. According to Guru Gobind Singh:

"the temple and the mosque are the same;
the Hindu worship and the Mussalman prayer are the same;
all men are same;
it is through error they appear to be different (deny each other)."[10]

Let there be no distinction of caste, creed, language and race. And if any such discrimination is practiced, the vocation of a Khalsa-person is to provoke and protest for justice. By creating the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh waged a relentless struggle against the religious tyranny and political oppression of the dominant for the liberation of the poor and the downtrodden.

The Principle of Double Negation
--------------------------------------

Stated formally:

"the law of double negation is P = P. No non-P is equivalent to P."[11]

Double negation of a thing or existence is equivalent to the affirmation of the thing/existence that is twice negated. In other words, to deny the very denial is to affirm what has been denied leading to the affirmation of the same. Two negations when joined together is equivalent to the affirmation of it. In the language of logic it is, ~~P = P. Now the issue is how, or in what way, this principle of double negation is applicable to the Khalsa social life.

The Law of Double Negation: Meaning In Khalsa Social Action
-------------------------------------------------------------------

The existential meaning of the Law of Double Negation is the negation of the social negations (imperialism and casteism and communalism, etc.) practiced in the Indian society. The praxis of Khalsa stands witness to the negation of domination and enslavement on the basis of caste, or political rule, or on any other stratification. The Sikh history and culture, guided by its Gurus from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh, has all along been protesting against any kind of imperialism and enslavement in the Indian society. Both the Sikh history from 15th to 18th century, and its Scriptural tradition, namely the Guru Granth Sahib and the Dasam Granth manifest a Social Spirituality of Protest for restoring Justice and Equality.

The focal point of Guru Gobind Singh's life has to be understood in order to find out the operation of the principle of double negation in the Khalsa Movement. When we go deeper in the life of the Guru we understand that his entire life is an event of negating the negations prevalent in the Indian society of his times. Guru Gobind Singh says:

"I assumed birth for the purpose of spreading the faith, saving the saints, and extirpating all tyrants."[12]

At the centre of the Khalsa brotherhood, Guru Gobind Singh commanded to the first five man army of the Khalsa:

"to erase their caste clinging, and embrace new brotherhood."[13]

By erasing caste clinging means that a Khalsa person should first and foremost attempt to purify himself from his own (self and socially imposed) negations. Such as:

"freedom from shackles of earlier religions, freedom from the earlier karmas, freedom from the earlier caste clinging, freedom from the taboos and customs, freedom from superstitions and undue rituals."[14]

Thus a Khalsa person according to Guru Gobind Singh, is:

"one who does not speak ill of others...who fights in the front rank...who conquers the five evils...who destroys doubt...who gives up ego...who practices purity of mind and body...who attunes himself with God."[15]

The corporate meaning of the life of a Khalsa-person is symbolized in the Double Edged Sword (need to embark on the praxis of double negation), in the transfer of Guru-hood from human authority to Scriptural guidance in the person of Guru Granth Sahib, and his ceremony of initiation into Khalsa-hood, and his readiness to humble himself to be baptized by his own disciples, and so on. At the creation of the khalsa, the amrit ceremony he introduced for initiating the Khalsa disciples, namely the Five-pyaras (beloved ones, most of them hailed from the so called untouchable communities) into the fold of Khalsa, at the double edged sword symbolizing a revolutionary negotiation of the social negations. It is the readiness to fight and the readiness to give one's life for the cause of Khalsa. The double edged sword symbolizes the praxis of double negation.

The significance of the praxis of double negation in the khalsa tradition is to negate the social and political negation practiced in the society. It is to:

"fight the religious and political domination of the tyrant Mughal rulers on the one side, and on the other, removal of the caste dehumanization. Khalsa negated these negations. That means that it never agreed to the marginalization of the people, the so-called outcastes of the society, but sided with them openly and bravely, and fought against the oppression or the negation, through its praxis, even if it demanded one's life on the battle. Thus the Khalsa-person negates the very negations - or denies what is denied in society. And this is what we mean by the principle of double negation operative in the life of Khalsa Revolutionary Movement. The existence of the poor, the oppressed, who in their death suffer pain of domination and discrimination indicates the necessity of the praxis of double negation."[16]

There is yet another significant meaning of the principle of double negation in the context of Khalsa. Death is negation. The politico-religious Power that brought death to the people has to be brought to death. It is in this sense bringing death to those who have brought death to the poor, the people of God, of Sikhism. The Khalsa person is the army of God and Khalsa is one who takes care of the poor. It's duty is to fight the oppressor and bring death to the oppressiveness. He who dies (fighting) will be liberated.

The Khalsa social action for justice is not mere:

"sympathy towards the suffering-other, not even an act of charity for, both are functional parts of the unjust social system. Rather, it is placing oneself with (cum) the suffering-other in their misery (miser); it is an act of commiseration; it is a counter-act\react to unjust violence, to injustice and to discrimination. It cannot be a passive response, or a pious religious act of ritualism; but it is an affirmation of life and the rights of the suffering-other; it incorporates a double moment, in that it is denial of a denial in the dominant syatem."

The Principle Of Excluded Middle
------------------------------------

Stated formally, the Law of Excluded Middle is that:

"P is either P or not-P and not somewhere in between."

It means that there is no middle course. We shall consider, how does this principle of not-in-betweeness is applicable to social life and spirituality of the Khalsa.

Either X is a Khalsa or ceases to be a Khalsa-person. He cannot be both Sikh and non-Sikh at the same time in the same manner.

We know from the lifestyle of the Sikh Gurus, if one has to be the follower of the Gurus, he/she should be ready to identify himself/herself with the sufferings of the oppressed, that is, to the affirmation of life; even if it demands the whole life of the person. If so, a Khalsa-person is not the one who advocates any kind of class discrimination or class stratification. Perpetuating destruction and ending in death of the suffering-other. In this sense, one is either a Khalsa-person or not a Khalsa-person; his life is either in Khalsa (P) or in caste (~P) and neither in in-between nor in both. This is the law of excluded middle.

That one is a Khalsa person as well as a caste-ridden person is a self-contradiction. Either it is P or not-P, and not anything in-between. One who follows caste cannot be a follower of Khalsa tradition. Casteism and Sikhism cannot go together. It is a contradiction both in principle and in Khalsa practice. One could recall the reluctance of Brahmins and the Rajputs to join the Khalsa, for it (and Guru Gobind Singh) admitted the members from downtrodden communities. Therefore, to be Khalsa-person, one should necessarily fall outside the practice of caste system and falling outside the caste system, would necessarily mean that he/she practices the negation of caste discrimination and he/she does not remain silent about it. If he/she remains silent, it would also mean that he/she indirectly supports the evil. If so, his/her life is not in Khalsa (P) but in caste (~P). In a specific sense a Khalsa person is "an outcaste" (the sparrow) the one who denies casteism and imperialism.

If someone is rooted in his or her own religion in the subjective and emotional level, then it is not possible to be rooted-out and come to accept other religious faiths that practice inequality and domination. When someone deeply feels that his or her religion is not catering to the emotional needs of the person and lead him to find the ultimate meaning of life in order to be at home with himself or herself, then, he or she is free to accept the religion that would provide him/her the ultimate meaning and satisfaction of life. And here is the advocacy for conversion or (amrit) and not compulsion. It is like the personal choice of the 'Beloved Five' who dared to give their entire life to the divine call of Guru Gobind Singh, at moment of the creation of the Khalsa.

Religious Coexistence
--------------------------

If we claim that the logic of Khalsa Social Spirituality has its rational foundation on the laws of human thought - the principle of Identity, Non-Contradiction, Double Negation and Excluded Middle - then, what is its role as religious movement with reference to the religious-other?

By applying the same principles of logic , Khalsa social spirituality upholds a sense of belonging and relatedness, a face to face relationship with the religious other.

"To belong (to Being) means to be in the order of being...Face-to-face with Being...Man is essentially this relationship of responding (Bezug der Entsprechung) to Being, and he is only this. This 'only' does not mean a limitation...but rather an excess (UbermaB)"[18]

The social practice of co-existentiality is antagonistic to the social practice of claiming supremacy over the other. If any religion claims any such superiority, then, the logic of Khalsa Social Spirituality would strongly disagree with such claims and practices. Instead, it would strive to promote co-existentiality of other, religions and societies, affirming each ones identity through Critical Communicative Action for Justice - Relationship. In the context of religious pluralism, co-existentiality is both factual and relational with the religious other and it could only be carried out on the essential fore-ground of the suffering-other, in their struggle for justice. A person in-Khalsa participates in it. This is the logic of the Gospel of Guru Gobind Singh embodied in the institution of Khalsa.

Conclusion
-------------

In fine, it should be pointed out that in the context of religious pluralism [many-ness], the specific identity (Principles of Identity and Non-Contradiction) of a Khalsa person is maintained but not in-between-ness, (Excluded Middle) nor inclusivism, nor naive pluralism, nor promoting dignified difference-in-plurality, but solely on the existential and essential ground of the struggle for Justice (double negation) siding with the oppressed. This is the Sikh-Khalsa logic of Justice.

The life of Guru Gobind Singh is constitutive of this logic and metaphysics of socio-political liberation because, it is a struggle against the structures of social sins which negated the fundamental rights of the suffering-other. Thus, logic of Khalsa animates the untiring missionary haste that a Sikh-Khalsa person should negate the negations enforced in their society.

It is a liberative act and not a timebound experiment (projected welfare/development programs). It is an on-going way of life, inflated in the evryday-ness of the authentic person. Categorically, it is a struggle. A way of the Khalsa for restration of life. The life of the poor and discriminated.




NOTES AND REFERENCES

[1] Dussell, E., Philosophy of liberation, Orbis Books, New York, 1990, p.70
[2] Singh, Jagjit, The Sikh Revolution, Kendri Singh Sabha, New Delhi, 1984, p.174
[3] Ibid., p.99
[4] Refer to the article on Khalsa as redeemer of the Dalits, Nirbhai Singh, Sikh Review, Vol. 46, Oct. 1998, No. 538
[5] Refer any text book on logic, for a detailed presentation of the laws of human reasoning.
[6] Singh, J., op. cit, p.175
[7} Ibid., p.178
[8] Ibid., p.138
[9] Ibid., p.178
[10] ibid
[11] Refer a text book on symbolic logic on the chapter on the rules of Equivalence.
[12] Singh, J., p.159
[13] Ibid., p.121
[14] Ibid., p.182
[15] Ibid., p.181
[16] Dussell, F.
[17] Ibid., p.
[18] Puthenpurackal, Johnson, J., Hiedegger Through Authentic Totality To Total Authenticity, Leuven University press, 1987.

*****************************************************************************


[Previous Main Document]

Sikhism - " Khalsa And It... (Preet Mohan S Ahluwalia - 13.Mar.00)


[Next Main Document]




by Date (Threaded) Expanded Collapsed by Date (Flat) by Category by Author


History - Donation - Privacy - Help - Registration - Home - Search
Copyright © 1995-2005 www.SikhNet.com All Rights Reserved