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The Straight and Narrow

T. SHER SINGH

 

 

 





The path is narrow …
And ‘tis sharp as a blade

[GGS: 1028]


I like the fact that those who understand Sikhi never fail to realize that no matter how much we value our ideals, the path before us is not of preaching or proselytizing, but instead, one of ourselves being immersed in Sikhi, and of living it.

The issue always come up whenever frustration surfaces over the fact that many, in ignorance, misunderstand us, even mistake us or confuse us with others. ‘Let’s educate them!’ is the clamour we always hear in response, but mercifully, never is there a clarion call to embark on a mission of converting others to our way.

Education, education, education, is the battle-cry.

I like that. Even though the intended target is a bit lop-sided -- directed to others, not ourselves.

The sentiment reflects that we never stray from the central core of Sikhi, we never give in to the lure of playing fast and loose with the ’means’ in order to achieve an otherwise noble ’end’. [That ‘end’, I would suggest, for all of us is to be better human beings.]

The question then arises: what do we mean when we say that we need to educate the ignorant and the misinformed? That is, how are we to go about it?

I’m afraid that’s when many of us get off track or take the easy road instead of the one which, though difficult, is the one that will take us to our destination. ‘Easy’, we should know by now, almost never produces the desired results.

Let’s distribute pamphlets and brochures, we tend to declare, and then busy ourselves accordingly; we publish broadsides and full-page newspaper ads, hold bigger Vaisakhi parades, hire PR experts, and so on …

I’ve been thinking about this and have come to the realization that I’ve personally never read a religious brochure handed to me by anyone … on or by any faith group! Ever.

Why? Because I have an inherent distrust for anyone who offers me unsolicited ’pearls of wisdom’. That doesn’t mean that I have kept myself insulated and sheltered myself from knowledge about the beliefs of others. On the contrary, I love learning about others because it is the fastest way, I’ve found, of getting to know myself, to better myself.

What happens when a pamphlet is handed to me unasked, or mailed to me, or somehow shoved in my face? I wait for a respectful interval and then throw it in the garbage, unread.

Am I the only one who does this? Not if the garbage cans in malls and other public places are any indication?

I suspect this is what most of the discerning people in the world do when in the same situation.

Why then would others do anything differently when we shove our own info into their unwilling hands?

That doesn’t mean that pamphlets, brochures, and their various permutations and combinations don’t have a role to play. They sure do, but not in the way we think or hope we can change bad attitudes and behaviour.       

Moreover, I have yet to come across a single example of a pamphlet or brochure that has been done professionally enough to fit the bill: easy and quick reading, simple and correct language, not in-your-face, not judgemental, neither bragging nor condescending, understated, not ‘slick‘, etc. And, trust me, I’ve seen many, many of them from across the globe.

I know that we -- a community of passionate activists -- like to go this route because it is a quick fix, it gives us the satisfaction of knowing that we are doing something which is tangible, and it makes us feel good.

But it does nothing, on the long run, to educate anyone.

The proof is in the pudding. We’ve been holding parades for ever, and doing this knee-jerk ’public relations’ thing for long as I can remember, and yet we know that we’ve not managed to pierce the veil of ignorance out there.

I have a theory as to why this is so.

It’s because we fail to do the one thing, in fact the only thing, that achieves good, solid, meaningful and lasting PR: living in Sikhi. If I may use the examples given in our teachings, living like the lotus -- that is, smack in the middle of it all, not standing on dry land handing out homilies -- is the only path we are to take, and guess what, it is the one route that we so deftly ignore.

Or, by immersing ourselves in the water, like the swan, and yet being able to emerge dry -- instead of standing at a distance and playing it safe.

Walk the straight and narrow, we’re told. It’s the only way.

From my own readings, I have found nothing in Sikh writings that ever asks us to replace living with preaching, in the manner of Jesus’ purported instructions to Paul. Our mission as Sikhs is NOT to spread the ‘good news’, but to BE the good news.

Nothing in the Guru Granth Sahib. Nothing in our spiritual or secular literature.

You can read all of Bhai Vir Singh’s works -- from the historical novels of Sundari, Satwant Kaur and Bijay Singh, to his mystical tomes such as Rana Surat Singh and Baba Naudh Singh, and you’ll find nary a word which suggests we are to do anything other than to work on ourselves to uplift OURSELVES spiritually. And civilly, as useful citizens of the world.

What I find even more distressing is how so many of our activists, well-meaning and committed that they doubtlessly are, never interact with the community which they want to ’educate’. The road between home and the gurdwara is the only one they travel, the sole diversion being to work and back. Then, to worsen things, they insist that their children remain ’secure’ in the ghettos they have demarcated around themselves.

And yet, with no interface with the larger community in daily, normal, secular living, they continue to scratch their heads and wonder why they’re so widely misunderstood!

Sure, teaching Gatka and Bhangra and Kirtan to our children is important but it all becomes counter-productive if they are the only things they get to learn before they venture out into the world.

Of course, what I’ve said here doesn’t apply to the entire community or even most of it. But it does apply to many of us.

And to each one of us who fall in this category, I say -- in the fullest sense of the phrase: Sure, let’s continue to do all the wonderful things that we do, but first “Get a Life!”


March 4, 2016
                  
 

Conversation about this article

1: Pardeep Singh Nagra (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), March 04, 2016, 2:00 PM.

Well said. Actions speak louder than words!

2: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA), March 04, 2016, 10:01 PM.

Guru Nanak went beyond India to Tibet, China, Arabia and many other countries to bring together all that was good and true there. He accepted most of the doctrines, synthesizing, enlarging and reinterpreting them; and at the same time rejecting those which did not give an integrated view of life. Sikhism is a dynamic faith with a message for all. Its emphasis is on essentials: Truths that put a living purpose into life and confer peace within the human body.

3: Chintan Singh (San Jose, California, USA), March 07, 2016, 12:33 PM.

Sher, as always, you've hit the nail right on its head. When soon after 9/11 in the year 2001 I was traveling to meet different Sikh communities within the U.S. to promote the "Books on Sikhism" distribution program to libraries, schools and local government, from the office of the Palo Alto based institution, The Sikh Foundation, I heard one fine gentleman from the Sikh community of Connecticut say to me - "The best way Sikhs can educate mainstream Americans about themselves is by being Sikhs and acting like Sikhs". These words have ever since stayed with me and to some extent guided me. We spend so much time and resources on these PR programs and building organizations to run those PR efforts but unfortunately oftentimes end up fighting amongst ourselves because in the end the matter becomes of control and power, basically 'haumai' (egotism). The recent so called "historic" elections in the San Jose Gurdwara and now in Fremont Gurdwara have stemmed out of nothing but haumai. Why not first try to reduce the haumai and krodh (anger) which are the source of this infighting, and then work on teaching the core Sikh values to everyone. As Pardeep Singh says above - Actions always speak louder than words.

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