Khushwant Singh and His Continuing Distortion of Sikhism

 

- Baldev Singh

 

 

If Khushwant Singh needs to be applauded for adhering to any degree of consistency, then it is his constant changing views of Sikhism, especially after his stint at the Princeton University in the early 1960s. He is one of the major sources of misinformation on Sikhism. What he has been saying or writing about Sikhism since the 1980s is nothing short of subversion of Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat, the teachings of Sikh Gurus), a unique and revolutionary philosophy of universal humanism, enshrined in Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AAGS). His scurrilous and outright false statements in his interview with J.S. Tiwana in 2003 published in the Sikh Review1 prompted me to write this article.

 

Khushwant Singh is widely quoted by those whose agenda is to distort Sikhism, representing it as part and parcel of Hinduism. For example, in the India Tribune of September 20, 2002, Niaranjan Shah claimed that Sikhs are Hindus. To support his claim, he quoted Khushwant Singh and the Indian Constitution, as under Article 25, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists are classified as Hindus. However, the editor ignored my rebuttal to this absurd claim. The Hindu elite and media take delight in deriding Sikhs and Sikhism because Sikhs remind them of their humiliating and shameless past from the time of the expedition of Mohammad Bin Qasim to Sindh in 710 CE to the departure of the British colonists in 1947 CE.2 Hindu intellectuals are generally devoid of dignity and integrity as their psyche is deeply wounded due to a millennium of foreign subjugation. But they have survived by becoming masters of manipulation, deception and hypocrisy by practicing perverse morality -- morality turned upside down -- the teachings of Kautilya (Chanakya) and the sermons of Lord Krishna to the Pandvas in Mahabharata advocating deception, manipulation and lies in pursuit of victory.

 

To hide their psychic pain and sense of shame, Hindus console themselves by ridiculing Sikhs and other minorities. In contrast to the degrading and humiliating history of the Hindus, the history of Sikhs is a saga of sacrifices to uphold the principles of Nanakian philosophy of universal humanism. Unlike the Hindu elite who used to prostrate before the mighty Mughals and sing paeans “Ishwaro va Dillishwaro va, (the Lord of Delhi is as great as God),”3 Sikhs fought against the tyranny of Varna Ashrama Dharama (caste ideology), oppression of Mughals and foreign invaders. With dogged determination, eternal optimism and firm faith in the “sovereignty” 4 bestowed upon them by Guru Nanak, they fought for more than half a century to establish Khalsa Raj (Sikh rule) over a vast tract of Northwestern India, which was the envy of its neighbors and won the admiration of Europeans.5

 

“The Austrian traveler Baron Charles Hughel remarked that the state established by Ranjit Singh was the ‘most wonderful object in the whole world’. Like a skilful architect the Maharaja raised a ‘majestic fabric’ with the help of rather insignificant or unpromising fragments.”6

 

Discussion

 

In his interview published in the Sikh Bulletin with J.S. Tiwana, Khushwant Singh remarked:

 

“Sikhs are Kesadhari-Hindus. Their religious source is Hinduism. Sikhism is a tradition developed within Hinduism. Guru Granth Sahib reflects Vedantic philosophy and Japji Sahib is based on the Upanishads. … Unity of God and casteless society etc. were also preached by other Vaisnava bhakats [saints] of the time.”7 

 

But then Tiwana reminded him that in his earlier works he had stated that Sikhism is a blend of Hinduism and Sufism. “Yes, McLeod’s works did change my thinking. A scholar must keep his mind open,” replied Singh.7

 

Notwithstanding Khushwant Singh’s continuously changing views of Sikhism, Saran Singh, the editor of an international Sikh publication, The Sikh Review, devoted the entire February 2003 issue to the writings of Khushwant Singh, thereby projecting and promoting him as a great Sikh scholar. Surprisingly, Saran Singh also trampled over journalistic ethics by publishing the sanitized version of Tiwana’s interview by removing Khushwant’s outrageous statement, “Sikh are Kesadhari-Hindus”.7 Moreover, Saran Singh published Tiwana’s interview without any editorial comment whereas Sikhs in general find the label “Kesadhari-Hindu,” offensive.8

 

Further, nowadays we encounter a regular stream of “writers or scholars” whose knowledge of Sikhism is limited to what they have learned from their close-knit elders or favorite preachers or holy men (sants and babas) supplemented by Khushawnt Singh’s writings on Sikhism. In light of these circumstances, it is appropriate and necessary to evaluate Khushwnat Singh’s statements on the touchstone of Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS), which is the only authentic source of Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat).

 

To understand Khushwant Singh’s current views about Sikhism, we have to look at his background. He is probably the most well-known journalist in India. So whatever he writes, whether right or wrong, fact or fiction is published. When he was the editor of Illustrated Weekly of India, he startled a Hindi writer by asserting that his mother tongue is English. Little did the naïve writer realize that Khushwant Singh is the son of Sir Sobha Singh! He was educated in the English medium from the very beginning; studied law in England and practiced law for few years in the Lahore Court. However, according to him, his heart was in some place else, journalism. He has been working as a journalist since 1951 without any formal training. In his earlier days he was a bold and straightforward guy who didn’t hesitate to call spade a spade. It was Khushwant Singh who used to arrange Master Tara Singh’s press conferences/interviews with foreign journalists. However, in the 1960s, he underwent metamorphism and started sniffing the scent of politicians thereby losing his sense of objectivity.

 

During the Emergency (beginning in 1975) imposed by Indira Gandhi, Khushwant was one of her strongest supporters, and to surpass others in sycophancy, he used to serenade her son Sanjay and his wife Menaka. Khushwant addressed Menaka as his orally adopted daughter (munh boli dhi). But later he wrote a book detailing juicy tales about the Gandhi family including that of Menaka. Outraged, Menaka took him to court to stop the publication of the book. 

 

During the Government sponsored murder and rape of Sikhs and the looting and burning of their properties in India following Indira Gandhi’s assassination in October 1984, terrified Khushwant Singh saved himself by seeking refuge inside the Swedish Embassy. Understandably he was disturbed and described the killing of Sikhs as “pogrom”--a situation that reminded him of the plight of Jews in Nazi Germany. However, later under the compulsion of depravity and addiction to sycophancy, he changed “pogrom” to “riot.”

 

In his columns, Khushwant frequently extols the virtues of Mahatma Gandhi-–peace and nonviolence. However, he had no compunction in traveling all over Punjab with KPS Gill (a sadistic hired killer) and exhorting police officials to kill the “bastards,” referring to young Sikh men. Both of them stopped-by at the Dera of Baba Thakar Singh of Dadami Taksal seeking his blessings to wash their bloody conscience. What is more astonishing is that Thakar Singh is the successor of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala, whom Khushwant Singh has not stopped vilifying! Further, throwing human decency to the winds at a press conference, he vigorously defended the extra-judicial killing of Sikhs by saying “police had no option but to take law into their own hands.” Reacting to this abomination, Col. Partap Singh remarked, “Khushwant Singh’s behavior is reminiscent of the 58 Jews holding senior jobs in the Nazi regime who gave approval to Hitler’s policy of extermination of Jews. The Jewish community remembers them as Judean rats.” And he reminded Khushwant Singh that the UN General Assembly, in its resolution adopted in December 1989, had condemned and sought to stop this type of extra-judicial executions.9 Moreover, Khushwant Singh didn’t believe that Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra was a human rights activist. However, after reading “Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab,” his dormant conscience suddenly woke up and whispered, “These stories are spine-chilling, Punjab Police has to do some explaining.”10

 

What Khushwant Singh is doing is not new or unusual, as there were people like him throughout human history. For example, during the Muslim rule, Hindu elite used to call them malesha (polluted ones) privately, but used to hail them “Ishwaro va Dillishwaro va, (the Lord of Delhi is as great as God)” publicly.3 After the annexation of Punjab, the British concocted absurd stories that Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh had prophesied the advent of British colonists.11 Toadies like Sir Baba Khem Singh Bedi and ignorant preachers used to narrate these fables to ignorant and gullible Sikhs to mislead them  to promote British interests. The knighted Sikhs and the pujaris (clergy) controlled by the British, used to denounce and declare revolutionary Sikhs--Gadharites, Babar Akalis, Tat Khalsa reformers and peasant leaders like Sardar Ajit Singh, who were fighting against the British occupation, as non-Sikhs.12, 13 

 

That said, now let us examine Khushwant Singh’s statements he frequently makes to claim that Sikhs are Kesadhari-Hindus, Sikhism is an offshoot of Vaishnava bhakti movement and AGGS is a reflection of Vedas and Upanishads.

I was reminded of two Punjabi proverbs while reading Tiwana’s interview with Khushwant Singh: goongi da bole nal ishak (romance between a mute woman and the deaf man) and ahnee nu bola ghreesee jave (a deaf man dragging a blind woman). In other words they did not know what they were talking about! Both of them are ignorant of the teachings of AGGS, Vedas, and Upanishads as demonstrated by the discussion that follows.

 

1. Preponderance of Hindu terms

 

Khushwant cites McLeod’s observation14 that there is a preponderance of Hindu terminology versus Islamic terminology in AGGS. Of course that is true, but it does not in any way or manner prove that Sikhs are Hindus and Sikhism is rooted in Hinduism. There is a logical and obvious explanation for why this is so. Guru Nanak was born in a Hindu family and he grew up among Hindus when the population of India was predominantly Hindu. It was the Hindus with whom he had most of his religious discussions, debates and discourses. It was the Hindus to whom he preached most of the time. So it is natural that he used their terminology - names for God, religious beliefs and customs - to explain his own thoughts to them. However, their meaning is not the same in Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat) as in Hinduism, as aptly observed and emphasized by Prof. Puran Singh in the 1920s:

 

“The words Brhman (Braham) and Para-Braham also come in Guru Granth, but as Cunningham says “by way of illustration only”. Similarly the names of all gods and goddesses of Brahminical Pantheon.”15

 

It is to be regretted that Sikh and Hindu scholars are interpreting Guru Nanak in the futile terms of the colour he used, the brush he took; are analysing the flesh of his words and dissecting the texts to find the Guru’s meaning to be the same as of the Vedas and Upanishads! This indicates enslavement to the power of Brahminical tradition. Dead words are used to interpret the fire of the Master’s souls! The results are always grotesque and clumsy translations, which have no meaning at all. Macauliffe’s almost schoolboy-like literal rendering into English, following possibly the interpretations given him by the Brahminical type of gyanis, the un-illumined theologians who lacked both the fire of inspiration, and the modern mental equipment and who were decayed and eaten up by the inner fungus of the Brahminical mentality, has made the live faith of the Sikh a dead carcase. It has produced neither the beautiful artistic colour of the idol and the shrine, nor the fervour of the inspiration of love. And from his translators, one thinks Sikhism is weak Brahminism. Much that is redundant is put before a world-audience, without the light that made every straw and every little dust particle, every pretty detail even, radiant and beautiful.16

 

For sake of Khushwant Singh, let me reiterate, Guru Nanak rejected all the essentials of Hinduism and the moral authority of Hindu scriptures.17, 18, 19 He rejected Varna Ashrama Dharama, reincarnation of God, karma and transmigration, hell and heaven, and Hindu view of salvation (mokhsa).20 The names of Hindu gods like Rama, Krishna, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in AGGS are used only for God, the “One and Only – Supreme Being.” When the Gurus refer rarely to Hindu gods and goddesses, in such instances they are depicted as mere mortals.

 

It is the teachings of Vedas, which has created the notions of sin and virtue, hell and heaven, and karma and transmigration. One reaps the reward in the next life for the deeds performed in this life -- goes to hell or heaven according to the deeds. The Vedas have also created the fallacy of inequality of caste and gender for the world.

AGGS, M 2, p. 1243.

 

Neither the Vedas (four Hindu texts) nor the four Kateba [Semitic texts: the Torah, the Zabur (Psalms), the Injil (Gospel), and the Quran] know the mystery of the Creator of the cosmos.

AGGS, M 1, p. 1021.

 

Nanak, the only Sovereign is the Formless One; the other numerous gods like Rama are insignificant. The numerous exploits of Krishna and the numerous sayings of the Vedas are also insignificant.

AGGS, M 1, p. 464.

 

 

What advice can Vedas and Semitic texts give to the helpless when these texts themselves do not understand the “One and Only”?

AGGS, M 1, p. 1153.

 

In exile, Ram bewailed when he was separated from Sita and Lachman. Even the Pandvas who lived in the company their Master (Lord Krishna) were forced to do hard labor in destitution.”

AGGS, M 1, p. 953.

 

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were afflicted with self-centeredness (Haumai) as the rest of the world. Only those are free from this affliction, who have realized God by comprehension and practice of the Sabad (Word, Truth, Guru’s teachings).

AGGS, M 1, p. 1153.

 

 “I have searched many Shastars and Simrtis; their teachings do not show the way to God, but dwelling/contemplation on God’s attributes is invaluable,” says Nanak

AGGS, M 5, p. 265.

 

Many a Brahma got tired of studying Vedas, but they could not estimate even an iota of Your (God) greatness. Ten incarnations of Vishnu and the famous ascetic Shiv who even got tired of smearing his body with ashes, could not fathom the greatness of God.

AGGS, M 5, p. 747.

 

Hindus are utterly mistaken and going on the wrong path. They worship whatever Nard told them to worship. They are spiritually blind and dumb and groping in the darkness. The ignorant fools worship stones. How could a stone that itself sinks in water help a human being across the ocean of worldly temptations?

AGGS, M 1, p. 556.

Furthermore, Guru Nanak did not assign any specific name or gender to God. He used the prevalent names of God in usage by both the Hindus and the Muslims without any distinction along with addressing new names of his own. Most often in the AGGS, God is described by Its attributes like Creator, Formless, Transcendent, Omnipotent, Infinite and Ineffable or simply as True One, One, You, Oh (That or He/She) and Eh (It, This). Since the creator of the Cosmos is beyond time and space (Eternal), what appropriate word or term can describe the “Infinite and Ineffable One”?

Tongue describes You (God) by names people have given whereas “Everlasting One/Truth” is Your primordial name.

AGGS, M 5, p. 1083.

Additionally, Guru Nanak rejected asceticism and celibacy. It is the householder who sustains society whereas an ascetic is a parasite. It is the householder, who makes an honest living and practices charity, finds the path to God, not the ascetic who goes with a begging bowl to the householder for alms.

Never bow at the feet of the one, who claims to be a great spiritual guide, but goes begging for alms.

AGGS, M 1, p. 1245.

Nanak, one who works hard to make an honest living and practices charity finds righteous path (recognizes the Truth).

AGGS, M 1, p. 1245.

That is why the Gurus were the champions of householders and they emphasised and promoted householder life. In the AGGS, the relationship between God and man is depicted in the imagery of family life, God as husband and human being as wife. God is also called father, mother, brother, friend and lover.

 

There is another point that needs our scrutiny. In our contemporary culture, upon encountering names such as Rama, Krishna, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva we automatically assign them a term of “Hindu.” Is it accurate or even fair to lump these names as Hindu? For sake of discussion, let’s assume that Vishnu, Brahma, Ram, Krishna etc. are the names of some respective individuals buried in the ancient unhistorical past. In that particular ancient times, were these individuals called Hindus? The answer is, no.

 

The derogatory word “Hindu” was coined in the 7th century CE, thrust upon the Indians by the invading Persians and Arabs. In the process of assimilation through centuries following the Islamic conquests, the term “Hindu” became acceptable and then reapplied to the ancient unhistorical personalities such as Vishnu, Brahma etc. One thing is sure that if these gods and goddesses ever existed in history their contemporaries did not call them “Hindu” nor these deities called themselves Hindu. Then why should we? And, why should Khushwant Singh? The time has come for us to adopt accurate terms. We must discard the word “Hindu” in favour of something like “South Asian.” This paradox of naming might not be resolved satisfactorily once you take into consideration that a number of Vedic deities had its origin outside the territory of South Asia.     

 

2. Upanishads and AGGS

 

Any learned Hindu may find reference to Upanishads like any learned Muslim may find reference to Quran in the AGGS. For example, commenting on the victory of Khalsa over the Muslim rulers, celebrated poet, Prof. Mohammad Iqbal remarked,

 

“The Khalsa snatched away the sword and Quran from the Muslims.”21

 

People like Khushwant may conclude from this remark that AGGS is based on Quran whereas the poet is talking about the religious conviction and determination of the Khalsa forces to fight for their faith like early Muslims did for Islam.

 

People of other faith may make similar claims. For example, a colleague who shared laboratory with me asked, “Baldev, what is that mantra you hum so often while working and observing your experiments? Does it really expedite your research work?” “Stan, it is not a mantra, I am humming the words (thoughts) of our fifth Guru, Guru Arjan. They are about you and me and the whole humanity” I replied.

 

Enmity to none and none is stranger; we get along with all.

AGGS, M 5, p. 1299.

 

All are partners in God’s commonwealth, as It does not look at anyone as a stranger.

AGGS, M 5, p. 97.

 

After a moment’s reflection, Stan exclaimed, “Oh, that’s Bible!”

 

That is why non-Sikhs like George Bernard Shaw, novelist Pearl Buck, poet Mohammed Iqbal, historian Arnod Toynbee, Reverend H. L. Bradshaw and Swami Ram Tirath Danda Sanyasi -- recognized the teachings of Guru Nanak as a philosophy of “universal humanism” and Aad Guru Granth Sahib as the common heritage of mankind.

 

When Khushwant says that Japji Sahib is based on the Upanishads, I wish he had elaborated his claim further. Lumping “Upanishads” as some monolithic religious entity is blatantly false. Upanishads, being Vedic literature, comprises 1,180 separate Upanishads. Each Upanishad is different and some simply contradict others. Many simply make no sense. Some are even pornographic in nature. I will spare the readers the details. However I will advise Khushwant to open the Upanishads and read them for himself before falling prey to the propaganda. Khushwant believes that Guru Granth Sahib reflects Vedantic philosophy. I wonder if he ever read the Vedanta-Sutras of Badarayana (or Brahma-Sutras).

 

In the English literature you can’t even find the Vedanta-Sutra without the added burden of huge commentaries thus camouflaging the inner meanings. The reality is that Vedanta-Sutras absolutely make no sense when read in isolation of the commentaries. Khushwant has a lot to learn. At this old age, it’s better if he exercises silence on matters that he knows nothing of. Moreover, like all other Hindu scriptures, Upanishads also support the validity of the caste system whereas AGGS repudiates the caste system and the scriptures that support it. According to Subal Upanishad, Brahman came from the mouth of Brahma, the Kshatriya from the shoulders, the Vaishya from the thighs, and Shudra from the feet.22

 

 

3. Vaishnava Bhagagts (bhaktas)

 

The term “Bhakti movement” is a Western construct like “Sant tradition.” There is no equivalent term in contemporary Indian language, nor is there any evidence that the Vaishnava bhagats as a group or as individuals had any specific objective/agenda for the Hindu society, which was conquered by Muslim invaders. If anything it was symbolic of total political surrender of Hindus to Muslim rulers¾Ishwaro va Dillishwro va (The emperor of Delhi is as great as God).3

The Vaishnava bhagats were generally upper castes/Brahmans like Ramanuja, Madhava, Nimbarka, Ramananda, Vallbha and Tulsidas. They were dualistic, monotheistic and pantheistic at the same time. They worshiped and adored God whom they called Narayana and Hari but they also had their favourite deity, the reincarnation of Vishnu¾Lord Rama or Lord Krishna. They adored Rama and his wife Sita as well as Krishna and his consorts. They accepted the authority of Vedas and Upanishads and all the doctrines and systems prescribed therein including the caste system and its social ramifications. They also accepted the doctrine of incarnation and the external forms of worship, sanctity of Hindu pilgrim places. Above all they were ascetics who advocated celibacy and their thoughts represented the mainstream of Hindu philosophy going back to the Vedas.23 Additionally, their “bhakti” was an escape from their societal responsibilities. It was devoid of any spiritual merit altogether.

 

The advent of political Islam thrust on the Indian horizon in the medieval age resulted in the alienation of Hindu society from political power. Instead of responding to this situation in a positive way, Hindu society of that period adopted an escapist attitude. Through the bhakti ethos, the drifting of the “Hindu collective alienation” from political power was completed in due course of time. The compulsive surrender to political Islam was a way homologous to voluntary self-surrender to God; the political alienation brought forth compensation in re-union with the Divine in hypothetical life hereafter.

 

The conservative, retrogressive, nihilistic and pessimistic nature of the Vaishnava bhakti provided the Hindu elite an ideological legitimatization to their political alienation, thus rendering them incapacitated and paralyzed on the sociopolitical level. In other words it was an “illusionary” compensation of moksha (salvation) in Baikunth (heaven) for their loss of political power and all the privileges that come with it. Niharranjan Ray hits the nail on the head when he points that the “Vaishanava bhakti movement betrayed an attitude of surrendering abjectly and absolutely as much to their personal God as to the established social order.”24

 

Professor Mohammad Iqbal, a celebrated poet and a great Islamic thinker of the twentieth century, does not see any impact of the bhaktas/bhagats on the India society:

 

The Indian people did not pay any attention to the message of Gautam. They did not recognize the value of their ‘flawless diamond’ … India is a land of sorrow and suffering for the Shudar. There is no compassion in this place. … Eventually, a voice rose from Punjab proclaiming the unity of mankind under “One and Only God.” A “perfect man” from Punjab awakened the conscience of the Indian people with his message of “universal love and humanism.”

(Poem: Nanak)

 

The abnegation by the Hindu elite of its responsibility to Hindu society and the country, and their abject surrender to Muslim onslaught did not go unnoticed by historians:

In the history of the fateful forty-five years (1295-1345) traced by us so far, the one distressfully disappointing feature has been the absence, in Maharastra, of the will to resist the invaders. The people of Maharastra were conquered, oppressed and humiliated, but they meekly submitted like dumb driven cattle.25

What is painful is that, sometimes, a handful of foreigners overran vast tracts of the land without countering any sizable resistance. Shihab-ud-din Gauri won the second battle of Tarain (near Delhi) in 1192 C.E., and within fourteen years his General, Bakhtiyar Khilji had reached the bank of Brahmputra. Nadiya was occupied with an advance party of no more than eighteen horsemen and this opened the way for the establishment of Muslim rule in Bengal.25 (parenthesis by B. Singh)   

4. Radical Bhagats

 

On the other hand, radical bhagats like Namdev, Kabir, and Ravi Das repudiated Vaishnava beliefs. Calling these bhagats as Hindus or Hindu reformers betrays ignorance of their ideology or it is a disingenuous attempt to hijack their ideology. These bhagats denounced the tyranny of caste system on the one hand and bigotry of the Muslims on the other. They were neither Hindus nor Muslims; they were humanists. That is why Jagjit Singh and Daljeet Singh have characterized these bhagats as “radical bhagats”26, 27 to distinguish them from Vaishnava bhagats.

If one worships Bhairo (dreadful incarnation of Shiva), one becomes bhoot (evil spirit). If one worships the goddess of small pox, one rides a donkey like her covered with a cloud of dust. I meditate only on the Beautiful One, God. I will exchange all your gods for God. Pause. Anyone, who worships Shiva, rides a bull, beating a tambourine. A man who worships Parvati (great mother) shall be born as a woman. You say Bhawani (goddess Durga) is the source of all power, but where does she hide when her devotees ask for deliverance? My dear friend, Namdev appeals to you to seek shelter in God--that is the right way to praise God.

AGGS, Namdev, p. 874.

Bhagat Namdev is speaking to his audience, who understand the context of Hindu worship and imagery. In a satirical humor he explains that the maximum reward one can achieve by worshipping gods and goddesses is to become like them (one could become what one worships is a Hindu belief). So a man who worships the great mother (goddess) could expect to be incarnated as a woman.

 

Bhagat Nam Dev was tormented by the Brahmans who did not allow his entry into the temple because of his birth as a Sudra. He expressed his anguish in a hymn addressed to a Brahman priest (pandey).

 

Listen! O pandey, I meditate on the Almighty God and I have found Him. O ignorant one, what have you gained from your holy mantras and gods? I have heard that your Gyatri was a cow in previous life. When she strayed into the field of a farmer, named Loda, he broke her leg with a club and she became lame. I have heard about your god Shiv Ji, the rider of white bull. He went to the house of a devotee for a feast. He didn’t like the food, so he killed the host’s son with a curse. I have also heard about your god Ram, who fought with Ravan, who kidnapped his wife. Hindu is blind whereas a Muslim is one eyed, spiritually. Wiser than both is the one who sees God in all. Temples are sacred to the Hindus and mosques are sacred to the Muslims, whereas Nam Dev focuses his mind on the One and Only, Who is not restricted either to the temple or the mosque.”

AGGS, Namdev, p. 875.

 

“O mullah, ponder over the fact that God resides within all.” Kabir proclaims loudly, “That the same God is within both Hindus and Muslims.”

AGGS, Kabir, p. 483.

“O my brothers: Simrti is daughter the Veda. It has brought the ropes of the caste system and strings of liturgy to entrap you.”

AGGS, Kabir, p. 329.

I shall not sing the endless songs and verses of Vedas, Purans and Shastars. I shall play a steady tune on the flute of love for the Formless One Whose abode is Eternal.

AGGS, Namdev, p. 972.

I shall not sing the endless songs and verses of Vedas, Purans and Shastars. I shall play a steady tune on the flute of love for the Formless One Whose abode is Eternal.

AGGS, Namdev, p. 972.

If one determines good or bad actions on the basis of Vedas and Puranas, one’s mind is filled with doubt and worry. These scriptures do not tell how to cure self-conceit.

AGGS, Ravi Das, p. 346.

O Brahman! Inside the womb there is no lineage or caste! All are created from the seed of Brahm (God). If you are Brahman born of Brahman mother then why did not you take birth by some other route? How come you are Brahman and I am Sudar? How come I am defiled (blood) and you are holy (milk)?”

AGGS, Kabir, p. 324.

After thinking over the meaning of ‘Ram’, Kabir says, “There are differences in the usage of this word. While everyone uses ‘Ram’ for God, the actors use it for Ram Chandar, the son of Dasrath. Kabir dwells on ‘Ram’, Who is God. The one Ram (God) is present in all whereas the other (Ram Chandar) was only himself.”

AGGS, Kabir, p. 1374.

 “One stone is adorned, another is trodden under feet. If one is god then the other is also god. I worship only the Supreme Being,” declares Namdev.

AGGS, Namdev, p 525.

 

These Bhagats used their occupation as “suffix” with their names to awaken the down trodden masses: that honest work of any kind is nothing to be ashamed of and they are inferior to none, nor being labeled as low caste is an obstacle in the path of God realization.

 

 

“I was born into a clico-printer’s house, but I followed God’s voice (inner conscience). Nama is one with God in the company of saints.”

AGGS, Namdev, p. 486.

 

 “My caste is low, lineage is low and I am born low. O the Sovereign One, Ravi Das, the cobbler is under Your shelter.”

AGGS, Ravi Das, p. 659.

 

]

“Though I am low caste weaver, I have forbearance/contentment as I (Kabir) praise the Lord in a state of tranquility.

AGGS, Kabir, p. 328.

 

The Sikh Gurus echoed the same message directed at the masses:

 

Namdev, who was regarded as worthless due to his low caste, devoted himself to God and became very wealthy spiritually. Pause. Kabir discarded the inferiority complex of his caste and fell in love with God. The so-called low caste weaver became an embodiment of virtues. Ravi Das, whose daily routine was to drag dead animals, became famous far and wide after realizing God in the company of saints.

AGGS, M 5, p. 487.

 

5. W.H. McLeod’s views about Sikhism

 

In his interview with Tiwana, Khushwant Singh asserted that McLeod’s works changed his views about Sikhism. It seems that either Khushwant Singh failed to read McLeod’s works or he didn’t comprehend them properly. McLeod did not say anywhere what Khushwant Singh told Tiwana about Sikhism and Sikhs. He does not say anywhere in his works that “Sikh are Kesadhari-Hindus or that Aad Guru Granth Sahib reflects Vedantic philosophy and Japji Sahib is based on the Upanishads”. It is a figment of Khushwant’s imagination. For example, after searching for Guru Nanak’s antecedents, McLeod came to the following conclusions:

 

Conventional Hindu belief and Islam were not regarded as fundamentally right but as fundamentally wrong.

 

Neither the Veda nor the Kateb know the mystery.

 

The two were to be rejected, not harmonized in a synthesis of their finer elements. True religion lay beyond these systems, accessible to all men of spiritual perception whether Hindu or Muslim.

 

The pattern evolved by Guru Nanak is a reworking of the Sant synthesis, one, which does not depart far from Sant sources as far as its fundamental components are, concerned. … This is not to suggest, however, that Guru Nanak’s thought was a precise copy of what earlier Sants had developed. … He received a synthesis and passed it on, but in a form, which was in some measure amplified, and in considerable measure clarified and integrated. This applies in particularly to his understanding of the manner of divine communication with God. Guru Nanak’s concept of the Sabad, the Nam, the Guru, and the Hukam carry us beyond any thing that the works of earlier Sants offer in any explicit form…. The result is a new synthesis, a synthesis, which is cast within the pattern of Sant belief but which nevertheless possesses a significant originality and, in contrast with its Sant background, a unique clarity. It possesses, moreover, the quality of survival, for it remains today the substance of a living faith.28  

 

The comparison would, however, be misleading for Guru Nanak was not a Vedantist.29

 

There is much to be said in defense of the claim that the Panth constitutes a separate nation.

The miri-piri doctrine affirms political role for the Panth, and the claim can be more generally defended in terms of distinctive culture which the Panth embodies.30

 

It seems clear that a very substantial majority of the Sikhs now reject the claim that Sikhs are Hindus or that the Panth is a Hindu sect. The Panth’s origins were Hindu and its partial retention of the caste must be acknowledged, but the experience and responses of the past five centuries have together created a sense of separate identity. A few Sikhs may still regard themselves as Hindus. Most do not.31

 

Given the evidence that what McLeod actually wrote one ought to ask Khushwant: Why he missed reading such important theological elements before wrongfully citing the works of Dr. McLeod? The same can be asked of Mr. Tiwana. I would imagine Tiwana must have at least read McLeod’s books before declaring McLeod as his “favorite scholar” [http://home.istar.ca/~cye/articles.html]. Had he read McLeod carefully, Tiwana should have been able to pick Khushwant’s strategic lies while interviewing the latter.

 

Furthermore, McLeod fails to point out the unique features of Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS). Unlike the founders of other religions, the Sikh Gurus themselves wrote their understanding and experience of God (Divine revelation) in the form of sacred hymns (Gurbani) and compiled the AGGS. I am awe-struck at the similarity of the layout of the contents of my Ph.D. thesis, published in 1967 with that of the Adi Granth32 compiled in 1604 by Guru Arjan, the fifth successor to the house of Guru Nanak. In my Ph.D. thesis the titles is followed by the summary of research results, background material or prior art (references to research related to my thesis that was done earlier), and the discussion of experimental results, in that order.

 

In AGGS, the Commencing Verse commonly called Mool Mantar or Manglacharan erroneously, is the creedal statement, foundation of Nanakian philosophy, followed by Japji (Japu), the summary (essence) of Nanakian philosophy. The remaining Gurbani is the discussion of Nanakian philosophy whereas Bhagat-Bani provides the background material. It is remarkable that four centuries back Guru Arjan acknowledged the contributions of bhagats and Sufis, who preceded the Sikh Gurus, by incorporating their sacred hymns (Bahagat-Bani) in the Adi Granth. This is the primary reason for the inclusion of the works of bhagats and Sufis in AGGS and this is another unique feature of AGGS among the religious scriptures of the world. However, only those earlier compositions were incorporated, which were consistent with the Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat). Wherever there were minor differences, the Gurus added their comments alongside the hymns of bhagats and Sufis. It is well known that due to their lack of consistency with the Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat), Guru Arjan rejected the compositions of his contemporary poets like Shah Hussein and Kahna.33 The compositions of bhagats and Sufis would have been distorted beyond recognition through interpolation, had they been not incorporated in the AGGS.

 

Further the incorporation of Bhagat-Bani in the AGGS does not in any manner diminish the uniqueness of revolutionary Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat), as new ideas or philosophies grow/develop on the exiting ones, and that is how human civilization has developed from prehistoric to the modern age. There is no reason why different people can’t have similar thoughts without knowing each other or influencing each other.

 

In contrast to what Guru Arjan achieved 400 hundred years ago, some modern scholars/writers indulge in plagiarism, manipulation, deception and hypocrisy. For example, McLeod questioned the authenticity of Kartarpuri Bir (Adi Granth, 1604 CE) and asserted that it is a copy of Banno Bir (manuscript, 1642 CE) without even looking at Kartarpuri Bir or Bano Bir, and without studying the related literature on the subject.34 And some of the researchers35, 36 who have carried out textual analysis of Aad Guru Granth Sahib have no clue of the Adi Granth or understanding of AGGS.37, 38, 39

 

Oddly, McLeod also failed to point out the magnitude of the differences in the impacts of the Sikh Gurus vis-à-vis the bhagats on the Indian society. Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat) is much more and far wider in scope than the thoughts of bhagats. The bhagats were concerned more with individual salvation than with the salvation of the society at large. For example, radical bhagats like Kabir, Namdev, and Ravidas, who opposed the caste ideology vehemently, took no steps to set up any organization to carry their message forward. Soon after their death, their followers were absorbed in the caste society.40 On the other hand Sikh Gurus created an egalitarian society, Sikh Panth (Order) outside the pale of caste society and made it a springboard for giving shape to a new humanistic revolutionary movement. After rejecting the sacred thread at childhood ceremony, Guru Nanak proclaimed his solidarity with the downtrodden at the very beginning of launching his movement.

Let compassion be the cotton, contentment yarn, continence knot and truth as the twist thereof. O pundit (priest), a thread of this type awakens the inner-self (conscience). If you have such a janaeu, then put it on me?

AGGS, M 1, p. 471.

 

Nanak will stand by the lowest of lowest, not with the elite. Societies that take care of the downtrodden have the blessing of God.

AGGS, M 1, p. 15.

 

Two centuries later, people who had been dehumanized by the tyranny of caste system and the oppression of Muslim rulers -- whose mere shadow could pollute the Brahmans/upper castes -- rallied under the banner of Guru Gobind Singh as a “brotherhood” of the noble Khalsa Order. They challenged the mighty Mughal rulers before whom the Rajput warriors used to prostrate41 and the Brahmans used to sing paeans: “Ishwaro va Dillishwro va, (The emperor of Delhi is as great as God).”3 They carried on the struggle of life and death against injustice and oppression for half a century. The more they were persecuted and killed, the more they filled the ranks of the Khalsa.42 With dogged determination, eternal optimism and firm faith in the “sovereignty” 4 bestowed upon them by Guru Nanak, they defeated the forces of “caste ideology,” mighty Mughals and foreign invaders, and established the Khalsa (Sikh) rule over a vast tract of Northwestern India.43

 

Who was Guru Nanak’s Guru and who was the founder of Sikhism?

 

Contrary to McLeod’s assertions about Guru Nanak’s antecedents, it is very clearly explained many times in the AGGS that God is Guru Nanak’s Guru, and Guru Nanak is the founder of Sikhism. For Guru Nanak, God is knowledge and the source of all knowledge. God made “Itself” manifest through “Its” creation, the Cosmos. God’s creation is the laboratory for gathering knowledge and testing it. Guru Nanak attributed all his knowledge, understanding and experience to God. For example, what he was saying and doing was at the behest of God’s command is clearly stated in the following verses:

 

I was an unemployed minstrel (dhadi), but the Master (God) gave me an occupation. The Master called me to the abode of Truth, ordered me to sing Its praises day and night, and honored me with a robe of “propagating the glory of the True One.” 

AGGS, M 1, p. 150.

 

O, Lalo), I describe to you what the Master reveals to me.

AGGS, M 1, p. 722.

Guru is Enlightener, Formless/Invisible and Mysterious (incomprehensible in totality). One, who understands the Guru (God), comprehends the nature of the universe.

AGGS, M 1, p. 1125.

Nanak met the Guru, Who is Sovereign/Self-Sufficing, Formless/Invisible (beyond the material world) and Almighty.

AGGS, M 1, p. 599.

I, Nanak speak the Word of God (Truth) and I would continue doing so as the purpose of life is to speak the Truth.

AGGS, M 1, p. 723.

 

Furthermore, when the Jogis asked Guru Nanak, “Who is your Guru or whose disciple you are of?” He replied, “The Sabad (Word, Divine knowledge, Truth)) is my Guru and my mind which is focused on the Sabad and comprehends it, is the disciple. Here Nanak has made it abundantly clear that Guru is the Sabad (Divine knowledge), not the Guru person. Guru person is the medium for transmitting the Divine knowledge.

AGGS, M 1, p. 942.

 

Guru Nanak’s successors affirmed the same that Guru is God or Sabad:

 

It is marvelous that Bani (Word) is the voice Formless One, nothing equals it.

AGGS, M 3, p. 515.

 

Word is the Guru and Guru is the Word as it contains the elixir of spiritual life. Guru utters the Word; the Sikh, who accepts it, certainly finds salvation through the Word.

AGGS, M 4, p. 982.

The One, Who created the whole world, uttered this Word.

AGGS, M 4, p. 306.

I salute the Guru, Who is Primordial. I salute the Guru, Who is Primeval.

AGGS, M 5, p. 262.

I don’t know what to say I speak what God orders me to say.

AGGS, M 5, p. 763.

The true Guru is the Immaculate One/ beyond the material world, do not believe that God is in the form of a man.

AGGS, M, 5, p. 895.

That Guru Nanak is the founder of Sikhism is confirmed in the AGGS

What teachings can be imparted to those who have been taught by Guru Nanak!

AGGS, M 2, p. 150.

The people say that Nanak is like the Controller (Nath) of the world. He has promulgated a philosophy of the highest order that has reversed the flow of Ganges.

In other words Guru Nanak’s philosophy challenged old religious traditions, and political, economic and social systems of his time.

AGGS, Satta Doom, p. 967.

 

Nanak the person speaks of “goodness,” as his words are the voice of God (Truth).

AGGS, M 4, p. 494.

 

Nanak the person, the Guru, an image of the Formless One, has appeared in the world as light in darkness to dispel the ignorance of the world with Divine wisdom.

AGGS, M 5, p. 1387.

 

God entrusted Guru Nanak with the treasure of “Divine love” for distribution to all, and never asked for the account.

AGGS, M 5, p. 612.

 

Through Guru’s advice one sees the truth and falls in love with God. When God showed kindness to Guru Nanak, he saw the “Formless One, Who is without lineage” in everyone.

AGGS, M 5, p. 612.

 

Those who have heard and accepted Guru Nanak’s teachings don’t fall into the womb of “falsehood and ignorance”.

AGGS, M 5, p. 612.

 

Nanak, the true Guru, is the greatest of all Gurus, who protects my honor.

AGGS, M 5, p. 750.

 

Sikh Gurus rejected all the essentials of Hinduism and the moral authority of Hindu scriptures

 

When Shaikh Braham asked Guru Nanak: “Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?” “I will be telling a lie if I say that I am a Hindu but I am also not a Muslim,” replied Guru Nanak.44 In the following hymn addressed to Bhagat Kabir, Guru Arjan made it abundantly clear that they were neither Hindus nor Muslims.

 

“Neither we fast like Hindus, nor observe Ramdan like Muslims. We dwell only on the One, Who protects everyone.  We don’t follow the Hindu or Muslim religion. We dwell on the One, Whom Hindus call Gusai (Lord of the Earth) and Muslims call Allah. Neither we go on a pilgrimage to Mecca nor to sacred Hindu centers. We serve only the One, not anyone else. Neither do we follow the Hindu worship or the Muslim prayer. We meditate on the Formless One.  We are neither Hindus nor Muslims. Our bodies and breaths belong to the Almighty God, Whom people call Allah or Ram. Hey Kabir, make a declaration: “After testing the paths of Hindu gurus and Muslim pirs, I have found my Master myself.”

AGGS, M 5, p. 1136.

 

Guru Nanak’s successors preached and taught his philosophy over a period of two centuries. They enriched it and strengthened it by introducing innovative practices in the Sikh community to challenge the tyranny of Mughal rule and caste system.

 

How did Khushwant Singh become an expert on Sikhism?

 

From the Gurbani verses often quoted in Khushwant Singh’s columns, it quite evident that he has not studied AGGS seriously. His interpretation is usually literal and invariably wrong. He was a member of a team consisting of Dr. Trilochan Singh, Bhai Jodh Singh, Bawa Harkishan Singh and Kapur Singh, which translated selected portions of AGGS for UNESCO [Selection from the Sacred Writings of the Sikhs, Samuel Weiser, Inc., New York, 1973]. I believe Khushwant Singh was invited for his mastery of the English language, not for his knowledge and understanding of AGGS. Besides, many verses in this translation are interpreted erroneously under the influence of Brahmanism and ancient mythology.45

 

He is well known for his two volumes of Sikh of History, though he has also authored several other books and many articles on Sikhism. Khushwant Singh’s thinking about Sikhism has almost undergone 180-degree change from his earliest writing to the more recent ones.46 In 1963, he recorded in his History of Sikhs under the caption “The Teaching of Nanak,” “Nanak not only founded a new religion and started a new pattern of living, he also set in motion an agrarian movement whose impact was felt all over the country.”47

 

In 1984, he wrote in the Punjab Story (Shourie et al.), “Being himself a Hindu was at the same time concerned with reforming Hinduism. But as the years went by and his message caught on among the masses, he decided to give his teachings permanency through a sect of his own sect.”48

 

In 1991, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, he stated: “Sikhism is an offshoot of Hinduism and is only distinguished from it by external symbols of the Khalsa. The theology is entirely Hindu. Almost nine tenths of Guru Granth Sahib, composed largely by Guru Arjan is in fact Vedanta, and the essence of all you read in the Upanishads and the Gita.”49

 

Similarly, in an entry in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (15th ed. Vol. 27) Khushwant observed, “Sikhism was historical development of the Hindu Vaisnava bhakti movement--a devotional movement among the followers of god Vishnu--that began in the Tamil Country and was introduced to the North by Ramanuja.”

 

Contrary to Khushwant Singh’s patent lies, Guru Nanak rejected janeu (sacred thread) that was mandatory for a Khatri male. He dined in the homes of Sudras, Untouchables and Muslims. His closest friend was a Muslim minstrel. He went to mosques and Muslim countries. Muslims were considered so much outside the pale of Hindu society that Hindus once converted to Islam could never be taken back in the parent fold even though converted forcibly.50 The mere shadow or touch to the utensils or food of upper caste by an untouchable was an act of pollution deterred by severe punishment. I would like Khushwant Singh or anyone else to cite a single example of a Khatri Hindu who was considered Hindu after doing what Guru Nanak routinely did? Besides, Guru Nanak rejected all the essentials of Hinduism and denounced the Khatris for their cowardice and hypocrisy:

The Khatris have abdicated their duties. Instead they have adopted the language and manners of their masters (Muslims)) whom they regard as malesha (unclean, polluted). The whole society has degenerated abdicating moral obligations.

AGGS, M 1, p. 663.

I will leave it to the historians to evaluate Khushwant Singh’s credentials as a historian, and the quality of his works as compendium of Sikh history and Sikhism! However, I have no hesitation in stating that his History of Sikhs fails to give a clear picture of Sikh philosophy, its purpose and its accomplishments. On the other hand after reading his works, any serious student of Sikhism should realize the superfluous nature of Khushwant’s portrayal of Sikhism, and his unprofessional and disingenuous attempt to distort Sikhism to advance his personal agenda.

 

A rejoinder to one of Khushwant Singh’s article is reproduced hereunder so that the readers can draw their own conclusions about his expertise on Sikhism. In 1979, Khushwant Singh wrote the article “Sikhs Elect their Mini-Lok Sabha,” pp. 40-42, in his fortnightly, New Delhi of April 16, 1979. This 3-page article is a pack of erroneous statements, misquoted adages, derogatory language and misinterpretations. Fortunately, it came to the notice of Professor Hazara Singh, Head, Department of Journalism, Punjab Agriculture University at Ludhiana, who sent a point-by-point rebuttal. Khushwant Singh acknowledged his mistakes, however, refused to publish the rebuttal on the pretext that his was a casual write up. Fortunately, Professor Hazarar Singh published both Khushwant Singh’s article and his rejoinder in The Sikh Review, October 1979, pp. 52-58. For the sake of briefness only the rejoinder is reproduced below:

 

Incorrect Statements

 

(1) The five Takhats are Akal Takhat at Amritsar; Patna; Kesh Garh at Anandpur; Damdama at Talwandi Sabo; and Hazur Sahib at Nanded according to their historical order. Fatehgarh is not one of them.

 

(2) The State Legislature which passed the Sikh Gurdwara Act (No. VIII, 1925) was called Punjab Legislative Council and not Punjab Legislative Assembly.

 

(3) The demarcation of Punjab on linguistic basis was announced in 1965, after the Indo-Pakistan conflict and not in 1964. The re-demarcated Punjab, wrongly quoted by many as Punjabi Suba (state), was not exclusively achieved as result of the agitation launched by Akali Dal. After the repulsion of the attack by the Indian Army and threat posed by Pakistan Armored Corps to cut across the Khem Karan border in September 1965, there had been a thinking in New Delhi to have Indian forces retreated up to Beas and fight back Pakistan from that strategic position. The Sikh officers pointed out that the surrender of Darbar Sahib, Amritsar to Pakistan would demoralize the Sikh soldiers and might result in a greater debacle at other fronts. It was Sikh peasantry of Amritsar, which helped maintain the supply line of disorganized Indian Defense Forces. It was reported to New Delhi that the Sikh women were playing a vital role in the struggle for survival by cooking meals for the army; VIPs from Delhi came incognito to verify that and went away convinced that the Sikhs would get what they had been agitating for. Khushwant Singh was at Los Angles then contemplating the draft of a communication, which he posted to President Ayub Khan from Hong Kong. The contempt with which his epistle was treated deserves to be extended to this contribution also.

 

(4) Khushwant Singh may like to ascertain whether Bakhshi Gopi Chand, father of Master Tara Singh was a Brahman or a Khatri.

 

(5) It was not Guru Ram Das, Nanak IV, who acquired the site of the present city of Amritsar.

 

“In the time of Guru Amar Das, a site, about twenty-five miles from Goindwal was purchased. Bhai Jetha (who later was consecrated as Guru Ram Das) was sent there by the Guru. He built himself a small hut and started digging the tank. This is how the modern city of Amritsar began.” (Harbans Singh and Lal Mani Joshi. An Introduction to Indian Religions. Punjabi University: Patiala, May 1973, p. 220.)

 

(6) It is incorrect that after the annexation of the Sikh  

     kingdom (Punjab) by the British in 1849, the English rulers  

     won over the Sikh soldiery by taking them in the company’s  

     forces and further rewarded them for their support during

     the Mutiny of 1857 by granting large tracts of land and

     privileges in the services.

 

“The Sikh assistance to the British has been misunderstood. In fact by and large the people in Punjab viewed the British Government with distrust and resentment. Disarming the entire Punjabi population had left them bereft of the means of self-defense. Many of the Sikh dignitaries who had taken part in fighting against the British were languishing in prison; many others were living under humiliating conditions. The lands of Jagirdars had been considerably cut down. The Khalsa Army having been disbanded, a large number of the erstwhile soldiers had been driven to the plough.” (Fauja Singh, Who is Who – Punjab Freedom Fighters, Vol. I, Punjabi University, Patiala: February 1972, p. xii)

 

The grant of large tracts of land to the Sikhs in the canal areas is a mere fancy. Solitary cases do not make a rule, but the