Current Events
A New Scam From The Subcontinent:
A Scheme To Sell ‘Amrat Jal’ to Gullible Sikhs
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, et al
Here’s the latest scam from the Indian sub-continent, this time emanating from across the border in Pakistan.
Preparations are underway to start export of Amrat Jal – water from a well in Nankana Sahib - Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Chairman Siddiqul Farooq has announced.
Himself a Muslim, he now wants to sell the water to those Sikhs who have fallen prey to Hindu- and Muslim-style superstitions.
Farooq said the first initiative he has taken as the board chairman is to restore the Bebe Nanaki well in Nankana Sahib. He said the board would soon start bottling and exporting water from the well.
Sikhism accords absolutely no significance to any kind of such ‘holy’ water or any associated superstitions, even though there is no dearth of those in India, surrounded by a superstition- , scam- and ritual-plagued majority which pervasively delves in such practices.
There is already a widely and wildly successful scam in India whereby water from the already fithy and dangerously unhealthy River Ganges is sold to, and bought by Hindus as ‘holy water’ under the rubric ‘Ganga Jal‘.
September 14, 2016
Conversation about this article
1: Mohan Singh (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), September 14, 2016, 8:29 PM.
O Nanak, there is only one Ambrosial Nectar; there is no other nectar at all. O Nanak, the Ambrosial Nectar is obtained within the mind, by Guru's Grace.[GGS:1238 - Guru Angad).
2: G J Singh (Scottsdale, Arizona, USA), September 14, 2016, 10:34 PM.
Humanity has reached a new low, thanks to Siddiqul Farooq. And add the corrupt politicians in Punjab who will allow the importation of this 'amrat jal'.
3: Arjan Singh (USA), September 15, 2016, 1:19 PM.
The entire Sikh community around the world must counter this absurdity. As far as I understand Sikh scriptures as well as Sikh culture never believed in these superstitions of any kind of 'holy water' or any nature of idolatory. Therefore we have gone around the world and built gurdwaras free of superstitions and meaningless rituals. In fact, I would dare to say that one of the reasons for the success of the Sikhs in military, business and every aspect of everyday life is that we do not subscribe to such stupid superstitions such as auspicious or inauspicious days of the week, idol worship, taking dips in the so-called holy rivers, etc. Both Hindu and Muslim communities in the subcontinent have numerous superstitions that govern their daily lives in relation to diet, worship, treatment of women, etc. Sadly, many Sikhs are falling prey to these same superstitions that were eliminated more than 500 years ago. I have personally seen many Sikh families and relatives practice some of these absurdities and walked away with a feeling of disgust and disbelief. The Hindu community has time and again played mischief by introducing such practices into mainstream India and the fact that this ‘Amrat Jal' scheme is coming from the neighboring Islamic country is cause of concern too. I have always used Science to improve my life personally, and as far as water is concerned, I always check the scientifically generated water report from my local government water department to ensure that I drink clean water. The question of the water being holy or unholy is total balderdash in my household and amongst all I know within the Sikh community. I had a good laugh reading this article and thank you, sikhchic.com, for informing us so promptly. On a serious note, why not clean the rivers of the subcontinent to ensure that clean and potable water is available to all the children in these countries instead of wasting precious money/resources in shipping such bogus products. Now, that would be truly holy!
4: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), September 16, 2016, 4:29 AM.
Not just the holy water. Not long ago one of the historic takhts came up with the idea of packing the 'Charn Dhoor' dust of the feet from dusted carpets. What a fast way to turn a beautiful concept involving humility into an ugly scam!
5: Kulwant Singh (Oakville, Ontario, Canada), September 17, 2016, 11:05 AM.
This superstition is unfortunately followed by some others as well. The sarovar at Harmandar Sahib has been cited some through the years as having special powers to heal. People are encouraged to bathe in it and drink from it. I am sure Guru Arjan did not mean this when he wrote: "Ramdas sarovar naahtey / sabh utrey paap kamaatae".
6: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom ), September 17, 2016, 9:13 PM.
Non-Sikh Punjabis, like all other South Asian peoples, are morbidly superstitious but the followers of Guru Naanak and the Khalsa understand that superstition, magic, and mindless and senseless rituals and practices were condemned by Guru Nanak. So were the hatred of the female and fellow humans as practiced by the prevalent religions. It's the duty of all Sikhs to stop all superstitious and ritualistic practices within the community. We should always live up to Guru Nanak's timeless message of truthful living.
7: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), September 18, 2016, 7:32 PM.
Kulwant Singh ji # 5. We cannot dismiss and generalize the inspiration of the Harmandar Sahib Sarovar. Let’s recap the well known story of Duni Chand, a rich landlord like King Lear who asked his five beautiful and talented daughters: “Tell me who provides your meals and everything else.” Four daughters readily said: “Father, it is you who provides us everything." But the youngest daughter Rajni replied: “It is Waheguru who sustains all living beings.” Duni Chand was enraged and to teach her a lesson married her off to a leper. She accepted it as the Will of Waheguru and served her husband with love and devotion. This was the time when Guru Ramdas was constructing the new city of Amritsar. She arrived there and devotees of Guru Sahib provided her a room. Rajni happily joined other devotees to cook Guru ka Langar. She would take her husband along. One day she left him under the shady Ber tree near the bank of the pool. This tree still exists. While sitting there he saw a couple of crows dip into the pool and fly away with their colour changed from black to white. Seeing this the leper concluded that this was no ordinary pool and crawled in to take a dip. A miracle happened: he came out hale and healthy and was no longer a leper. When Rajni returned she could not recognize him. He told her the full story. To this day it is known as Dukh Bhanjani Ber and thousands of people take bath and take a sip of this Amrit to commemorate the saga. Let’s not mix or confuse this with the commercial bottled variety of ‘Amrit Jal’.
8: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA), September 20, 2016, 9:27 AM.
S. Sangat Singh ji's comments in reference #7 (the story relating to Duni Chand and his daughter) may be correct. However the word Ramdas does not refer to the Fourth Guru Ram Das. It means servant (das) of God (Ram - nothing to do with the Hindu deity, Ram, either!). When God accepts the service, only then when he takes a bath in the amrit sarovar (the nectar of Naam, not to be taken literally), are his sins washed off.
9: Manbir Singh Banwait (Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada), September 22, 2016, 3:21 PM.
Superstition or not ... hopefully the money made from this can go into the restorations and improvements of Paksitani gurdwaras. What they did in Peshawar with the main prayer hall is beautiful!