Some things which I have noticed amongst the Sikhs or rather people who call themselves “sikhs” including me, tend to forget the real sikhi once they arrive in USA or “Amricaa”. For some people just wearing a turban and having a beard is being sikh; for some people just coming to gurdwara on sundays is being sikh. For me getting baptized and doing nitnem is being sikh, I don’t wake up in amrit vela or early hours before sunrise. I try to follow some but don’t follow all the codes and conducts of a Sikh’s daily life as stated by our Guru Sahibs and Rehat Maryada. We all have created our own little fancy disciplines and yet we want all the happiness of Guru Sahib.
I personally tend to be more careful about the physical aspect of being Sikh rather than the spiritual aspect- open flowing beard, kurtas/chollas, turban, dummalaa, kirpan over kurta. I focus more on avoiding materialistic things than the five vices inside that’s why I never worked at the gas station/grocery store to avoid contacts with liquor, tobacco, cigars etc.
Some People have just no fear of God/Guru. They feel they are their own demi-god in some sense or the other, the more dollars you have the more respect you get from others. I was surprised on seeing that how come my Sikh brothers are selling all the stuff that is banned in our religion-animal flesh, liquor, cigarettes, tobacco, beers and other intoxicants. The jathedars of Akaal Takht visit their homes and they even agree with their living style. And if you ask them why; they would say guru sahib said to do any kind of livelihood or Kirt, we are not consuming these things just selling because people want these. This is how we tend to modify the teachings of our Gurus for own benefits. The question is; the things Guru Sahib prohibited for us because they are harmful like poison, then why should we be selling to others and ruin their lives even if that person wants to die. The answer comes, we sell it for money, forget others we cannot change the society.
A sikh’s duty was to make people aware of the good and bad. A sikh should be helping others to give up such addicting things. A sikh role was to clean the society and pour in the teachings of his GURU for “sarbat daa bhalaa” but nowadays Sikhs only care for their means and benefits. This is what you hear when you question a sikh-“These are modern times, one should move with time and society. One should maintain his status.” Just to make money and fame we can do anything and “hello” this is USA. Better leave your wisdom and spirituality in India.
People told me to wear gloves and work at the grocery store so as to avoid contacts with filth. Clever people! I refused and said; the horse which Guru Gobind Singh ji used to have was more faithful to him than me, for it refused to walk when it sensed tobacco fields miles ahead and knew that Guru sahib won‘t like to go near such filth. The horse, Neela, knew about such a forbidden thing in sikhi. And it doesn’t matter if you murder someone with bare hands or with gloves on, you are still a murderer. Why only liquor and cigarettes why shouldn’t the sikhs open hair cutting saloons, why not open a prostitution centre, why not. We won’t be directly involved in these things just making money, no physical contact. These are also means of livelihood. But just imagine if these ideas come true in the near future. Sikhi would be broken into pieces. Our children now who think it is ok for my dad to sell this filth would one day consider it ok to do it physically or consume it and then the parents would realize what harm they have done to themselves.
This is what happened with the Hindus. All their gods have had long hairs and beards. Liquor and tobacco used to be considered food of the demons but with the passage of time their religion got modified and now we all know what they do and look like. In the end we all tend to listen to doctors and well wishers but never listen to Guru Sahibs in the first place.
What we Sikhs don’t know is that there are agencies in India which want the downfall of Sikh religion, to absorb it in the Hinduism. That’s why the whole of Punjab is getting attacked by drugs and alcohol. The idea is simple, ruin the young generation so that there is no future for sikhi. All the deras and false gurus are doing exactly what the government agencies want them to do, ruin the sikhs. Change their history and fundamental principles. The other day I was shocked to see a couple marketing beauty and hair removing products outside the gurdwara and no one was bothered. What's next, could be a barber’s shop in a sikh neighborhood cause every one wants to trim beards and eyebrows. I have even seen some Sikh women with their under-arm hairs trimmed or clean shaven. Sorry, Mata Bhaag Kaur ji, this is modern sikh women. And when mothers are like this, think about the state of our children. The moment they are 18 or 20 they have their own ideals and start questioning the role of hairs in sikhi. They say that sikhi should be inside not physical. Yes they are true but what about the 5 Ks Guru Gobind Singh ji made mandatory for every sikh. I don’t know why, when it comes to sikhi, we say it should be inside but we do all the other things physically or outside. Then why not eat inside/mentally, why not wear our clothes inside/mentally, let us then do all the things we can inside our mind, just like sikhi. There are always two aspects to religion- physicality and spirituality.
We don’t care about the 5 Ks but we care about the fashion. We don’t care how Guru Gobind Singh ji would feel about us but we care more about our friends and relatives in the society. On the one hand we have all the blessings of the Guru Sahib and other hand we have all the filth of this world and yet we choose the filth, for we know Guru sahib is running nowhere, He is always there on the Sundays. Turbans are getting replaced by the topis/caps, there is no chunni/duppatta any more on heads of our sikh girls/ladies. They are ashamed to wear the 5 Ks. And 5 ks also have changed for the modern sikhs. From Kesh, Karaa, Kirpaan, Kacheraa and Kanghaa to Kothi, Kudi, Car, Cash and Kukkad. We all want to live in Amricaa happily, we are all smart enough to take care of ourselves and when something happens we can all blame it to God or go to our family baba Dera wala for getting some quick help.
We don’t care that our sisters and daughters are running away and getting married to Hindus and Muslims and it is all a big conspiracy against the sikh religion. Sikh girls don’t like boys with beard and turbans. But then we can blame Kaliyug, the dark age, as it is explained by Guru Granth Sahib ji that in Kaliyug; women(depraved) would become advisors and it would be easy for men to hunt them down. “Ranna hoyia bodhiaa, purush hoye saiaad”. We always find somebody or the other to blame to explain why we committed mistakes.
salok mehlaa 1.
slok mÚ 1 ] (1242-18)
Shalok, First Mehl:
kal ho-ee kutay muhee khaaj ho-aa murdaar.
kil hoeI kuqy muhI Kwju hoAw murdwru ] (1242-18, swrMg, mÚ 1)
In this Dark Age of Kali Yuga, people have faces like dogs; they eat rotting carcasses for food.
koorh bol bol bha-ukanaa chookaa Dharam beechaar.
kUVu boil boil Baukxw cUkw Drmu bIcwru ] (1242-19, swrMg, mÚ 1)
They bark and speak, telling only lies; all thought of righteousness has left them.
jin jeevandi-aa pat nahee mu-i-aa mandee so-ay.
ijn jIvMidAw piq nhI muieAw mMdI soie ] (1242-19, swrMg, mÚ 1)
Those who have no honor while alive, will have an evil reputation after they die.
likhi-aa hovai naankaa kartaa karay so ho-ay. ||1||
iliKAw hovY nwnkw krqw kry su hoie ]1] (1243-1, swrMg, mÚ 1)
Whatever is predestined, happens, O Nanak; whatever the Creator does, comes to pass. ||1||
mehlaa 1.
mÚ 1 ] (1243-1)
First Mehl:
rannaa ho-ee-aa boDhee-aa puras ho-ay sa-ee-aad.
rMnw hoeIAw boDIAw purs hoey seIAwd ] (1243-1, swrMg, mÚ 1)
Women have become advisors, and men have become hunters.
seel sanjam such bhannee khaanaa khaaj ahaaj.
sIlu sMjmu suc BMnI Kwxw Kwju Ahwju ] (1243-2, swrMg, mÚ 1)
Humility, self-control and purity have run away; people eat the uneatable, forbidden food.
saram ga-i-aa ghar aapnai pat uth chalee naal.
srmu gieAw Gir AwpxY piq auiT clI nwil ] (1243-2, swrMg, mÚ 1)
Modesty has left her home, and honor has gone away with her.
naanak sachaa ayk hai a-or na sachaa bhaal. ||2||
nwnk scw eyku hY Aauru n scw Bwil ]2] (1243-2, swrMg, mÚ 1)
O Nanak, there is only One True Lord; do not bother to search for any other as true. ||2||