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Batting a Century: A Writer's Journey

by I.J. SINGH

 

EDITOR:   This week, sikhchic.com presents to you, with immense pleasure, our columnist I.J. Singh's 101st column: a distinction which is, to borrow a term from the game of Cricket, no less an achievement than "batting a century" while playing on the writer's pitch. Our heartiest congratulations to him, as we look forward with unabated breath to the second century!  

 

On a cruise for a few days - asea but not entirely adrift, I hope - my thoughts went to the art of writing and my preoccupation with it.

I have heard it said that, at best, a writer has a single idea that he keeps dissecting and parsing all his life in a myriad different ways. When I first came across this, I was offended. I had always admired writers and writing. And I had not yet written much, but wanted to.

So I felt baffled and insulted at the same time. How could one be a writer by beating up on the same hackneyed idea time and time again, for years on end? I had more ambitious pretensions than that and hoped to do better.

Now, some years later, having published reasonably respectable research articles in experimental biology, spent time with some excellent scientists, supervised the research and writing by doctoral students, and then having published just as many essays and ruminations on Sikhs and Sikhi, I have come to understand and treasure the alluring beauty and the possessive power of a single good idea.

Now I see that happy should be the author who has one good idea in his lifetime to explore and develop. If he is lucky and the theme has any merit, the journey will never end and his whole life would become a commentary on it. It will become the dance of a moth around a flame.

What, then, is that single idea that enthralls me?

It seems to me that being a Sikh, for most of us, is an accident of birth or habit; whereas, becoming a Sikh - the journey - remains the more critical reality.

The one theme that drives all of my writing, then, is to explore the idea of becoming a Sikh in its rich multi-faceted splendor. I really don't see how a Sikh could be otherwise and still stay true to the label Sikh that brands him a student of life, for as long as life lasts.

The idea is to connect Sikh teachings that come to us from three to five hundred years ago, to our complex, contemporary lives in North America or wherever we live in the diaspora. The Sikh way of life must speak to us today outside Punjab just as completely and meaningfully as it did to countless Sikhs on the sub-continent over the course of five centuries. It must offer sense and substance today, or else it becomes fossilized and irrelevant.

How did this one good idea come to possess me? An apple did not fall on my head, nor was there an electrifying flash of revelation or an epiphany. It must then be pure grace as manna from heaven.

But this single theme is a rainbow of many hues and shades.

There is history. But history has many convoluted, cunning passages and contrived corridors that can and do deceive and defeat us. Yet, history is important; we neglect it at our own peril.

Then there is the very rich tradition of Sikhi. But traditions are rooted in the culture in which they arise and flourish. So, they end up with an enchantingly baffling mix of language, ritual and interpretation, in which the context is rarely free of cultural and mythological baggage. Yet, culture can never be entirely ignored or casually dismissed.

Then there is the pristine purity of the message at the core, hence, divine to those who experience it. But it is framed, articulated and tweaked by the quirks of language, tradition, history and culture.

Ergo, I do not dismiss quite so easily the habits of the heart that we label traditions. Yet, we must continue to weigh them carefully to ferret out what is strictly cultural baggage that may be safely modified or jettisoned, and what connects us to the practice and meaning of Sikhi that we need to nurture.

My meanderings in Sikhi often remind me of the words of T.S. Eliot:

"We shall not cease from exploration

And at the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time."

Exploration of this splendored existence allows me much pleasure but, more importantly, it allows me to track my own trail along the path.

Why write?

It is indeed a form of self-indulgence, but it remains a most precise, effective and economical way of examining oneself as minutely and microscopically as one's talents and inclinations allow. It is like holding a mirror to oneself, and a good mirror can reflect with brutal honesty.

It also holds the seeds of ecstasy.

I find myself standing astride the past, present and future. As I face the future to discern its promise, I stand in the present, on a pulpit for which the bricks and mortar come from the past. When I step off that dais and close my eyes to the past, I have no sense of the present - nothing to stand on, and will have diminished myself to only the tunnel vision of a fancied and unrealistic future.

Thus are the past, present and future inseparably interconnected in the endless march of time.

One thing I have no intention of doing is to preach the message of Sikhi to anyone, for that would require a degree of hubris on my part that I hope and pray I do not have.

The idea is not much different from what I tell my students in human anatomy in the first lecture every year: "I am not here to teach anatomy or, for that matter, anything in particular. I am here to make it possible for you to learn as much as your talents and inclinations allow."

Whether it is the subject of anatomy or Sikhi, the best I can hope for is to foster a discussion - a need to learn - in the readers' minds.

Though both my parents were dedicated Sikhs, my mother's take on Sikhi was purely devotional, while my father's was largely analytic. It took me a lifetime to see that Sikhi is best accosted by the dual lenses of faith and reason - head and heart. Either one alone is insufficient.

What I do wish for is the camaraderie of fellow travelers - those who do not rob me of my solitude without giving me company. The Sikh savant, Bhai Gurdas, reminds us that some congregations will liberate us, while other associations consign us to everlasting hell ("Kahoo ki sangat mil jeevan mukt hoe, kahoo ki sangat mil jum pur jaat hai.").

What is the essence of good writing?

Again, T.S. Eliot tells us: "Common words exact without vulgarity; formal words precise but not pedantic."

For me, personally, that remains a distant but much admired goal on my wish list. A bit of fantasia!

Even a cursory reading will convince us all - skeptics and believers alike - that the Gurus practiced that and much, much more. They dissected - simply, directly, minutely, effectively and thoroughly, often with a dollop of humor - complex but essential questions on our sense of self and the goals, constraints and freedoms that constitute our existence.

The more I delve into Gurbani [here, GGS:261], the more I am thrilled by the limitless meaning in "Ek akhar hur munn basat Nanak hote nihaal," meaning that one blossoms when the Word is enshrined in the heart, and that the entire creation inheres in the Word ("Akhar meh tribhavan prabh dharay").

Our trouble is that our perceptions, always small and circumscribed, have changed. The allegories, similes and metaphors in Sikh teaching often escape us. These teachings come to us rooted and framed in culture and language that are now often very much alien to us. We lack the context of the time and place when Sikh teaching was elaborated in order to understand the message.

But let me step aside from this and related matters and defer their further consideration to another time.

An examined life and a reality explored is the essence of a life grounded in Sikhi. A line of Gurbani by Guru Amardas comes to mind. It bluntly challenges us with the words:

In your life here, what footprints will you leave in the sands of time? - "Eh sareera mairya, iss jug may aaye kae kyaa tudh karam kamaaya" [GGS: 922]

My writings have enjoyed such a magical and miraculous run that I am reminded of the words of David Ben-Gurion: "Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles is not a realist."

And then my thoughts go to an idea expressed more than once in Guru Granth: "My aimless life has been graced with purpose and direction" - "Moorakh kaaray laaiya" [GGS:449] and "Hum dhaadhi vekaar kaaray laaiyaa" [GGS:150].

Sometimes, however, my thoughts go to Hilaire Belloc's doggerel:

"When I am dead,

I hope it may be said;

His sins were scarlet,

But his books were read."

 

ijsingh99@gmail.com

July 27, 2009

Conversation about this article

1: Baljit Singh Rihal, JP (London, U.K.), July 27, 2009, 6:06 AM.

It's always a pleasure reading I.J Singh's writings. I am looking forward to the next 100!

2: Aryeh Leib (Israel), July 27, 2009, 10:34 AM.

"The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called, the present" - Alice Morse Earle. Thank you, Professor I.J. Singh, for another observation along the path ...

3: Tejwant (U.S.A.), July 27, 2009, 12:38 PM.

Inderjeet ji, your columns, books and our telephone chit-chats have helped me think aloud and put my thoughts into words. Without your presence and indulgence, none of this would have been possible. So, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and looking forward to reading your 201st column.

4: Harbans Lal (Arlington, Texas, U.S.A.), July 27, 2009, 1:12 PM.

Inderjit Ji, welcome to your next centennial of I.J. Singh scholarship. Many of us who read with great interest and attention your last 100 columns are eagerly looking forward to your next 100 columns. You are one of the rare Sikh writers who could connect to our youth who were born and educated in the West. You succeeded in presenting the Sikhe-ness in the idioms that caught attention of many who were feeling lost in the world away from home. I take special pride in your achievement, as we have been colleagues for the past half a century. I am thankful that I was blessed with friends and colleagues like you.

5: Irvinder Singh Babra (Canada), July 27, 2009, 6:49 PM.

Please write a book/masterpiece on Sikhs today which is easily available in the book stores, shelves libraries, homes, newsrooms, etc; and which can be translated in other languages also. Sikh books written so far are obsolete, make no sense to the readers for they are deep, hard to understand, and focused narrowly on history; and many of the self-published books on Sikhs are blunders! As discussed with you, Professor I.J. Singh, you can find a great international publisher, which could be a long journey, but you can make it. There is no Sikh best-seller in this millennium and the Sikh news, reports, columns, photos, websites which dominate now are newsworthy but not guidance for readers and readership.

6: Doris Jakobsh (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), July 27, 2009, 8:52 PM.

Dear Inderjit: Many congratulations on another milestone - one of a long line of milestones, I would wager. I too am one of your fans who eagerly awaits the latest column from our favourite sikhchic.com columnist.

7: Inni Kaur (Fairfield, CT, U.S.A.), July 27, 2009, 8:58 PM.

Congratulations, Inder: You have many more innings to accomplish ...

8: Manjyot Kaur (New York City, U.S.A.), July 27, 2009, 10:02 PM.

To me, the most formidable strength of I.J. Singh's writings, whether in sikhchic.com or in his books, is the subtle way they reveal Sikhi as a vibrant path of multifaceted meaning and timeless relevance. What I have come to value immensely about them is the very same aspect that gave me the most pause when I first encountered them: their complete lack of spoon-fed, black-and-white "answers". I find them a highly effective aid to cultivating the process of critical thinking, the vichaar that is so vital to living a Sikh life. Heartiest congratulations, Inder! Here's to your next 101!

9: Ravinder Singh Taneja (Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A.), July 29, 2009, 6:39 AM.

Dr. Singh's 'self indulgence' (as he puts it) has been a boon for his readers. His writings offer a peek into the wondrous, magical world of Sikhi, inviting us to sing along. Like others, I too look forward to his latest column, but I believe we may be overlooking the deeper import of what Dr. Singh is doing. That he is a Sikh living in the West (for most of his life) and makes a living teaching anatomy (or running a body shop, if we were to hear him describe it) with a flair for writing in English about Sikhi - is quite an uncommon occurrence. For those of us - like me - with no emotional connection to the Punjab and unfamiliar with the metaphor of the Punjabi landscape that the Gurus used - his writings have offered a way to extract the essential kernel of Sikhi by stripping it of its cultural baggage; of showing that one can - and indeed should - approach Sikhi with the head and heart; that being an American and a Sikh is not mutually exclusive. Dr. Singh may have taken to writing as a form of self indulgence and self examination, but in doing so, he has offered others a tool and a methodology for approaching our faith through the dual lenses of devotion and logic. And that is a breakthrough. On a personal note, it must have been synchronicity that brought us face to face 15 years ago on the Long Island Railroad. Thanks for being a mentor and a friend - and convincing me that I could, if I tried, string a sentence together.

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