Sikh Identity

An Exploration of Groups Among Sikhs

Opinderjit Kaur Takhar

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781351900102
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

It is commonly assumed that all Sikhs are the same, but the very existence of different groups who have varying beliefs and practices within the Sikh community shows that a corporate identity for the Sikh community is not possible and serves to alienate a substantial proportion of Sikhs from the overall fold of the Sikh faith. Introducing the beliefs and practices of a range of individual Sikh groups, this book addresses the issue of Sikh identity across the Sikh community as a whole but from the viewpoint of different types of Sikh. Examining the historical development of Sikhism from the period of Guru Nanak to the present day, the author takes an in-depth look at five groups in the Sikh community - the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha; the Namdharis; the Ravidasis; the Valmikis; and the Sikh Dharma of the Western hemisphere (associated with the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization - 3HO). Their history, beliefs and practices are explored, as well as their diverse and shared identities. Concluding that there is no authoritative yardstick with which to assess the issue of Sikh identity, the author highlights Sikhism's links to its Hindu past and suggests a federal Sikh identity with one or two fundamental beliefs at the core and individual groups left to express their own unique beliefs and practices.

Chapter 1

Who is a Sikh? Historical Perspectives

The issue of Sikh identity dates back to the time of the Gurūs and has not been resolved 500 years later. The first definition of a Sikh by legislation came as the consequence of the Gurdwārās Act in 1925 and was later modified in 1971. I begin with an analysis of identity at the time of the foundation of Sikhism, that is, with the early Sikh community under the guidance of the first Sikh Gurū, Nānak (1469–1539) in order to assess what a Sikh was prior to the Gurdwārās Act and, indeed, prior to the formation of the Khālsā by Gurū Gobind Singh in 1699.

Sikh Identity in the Early Sikh Community

The early followers of Gurū Nānak were known as the Nānak Panthīs. To be a follower of Gurū Nānak in the earliest times meant making bhakti (loving devotion to the Divine) the centre of one’s life through meditation on the Nām, the Name or essence of God, and concentrating on gurbāṇī. This was, essentially, an internalized, meditative focus. The Nānak Panth, therefore, had no need to be concerned with a sharp distinction, externally, from the other faiths of the time. There was no urgent need during this period for Sikhs to identify themselves as being distinct from Hindus, and they shared the same festivals, as well as the same philosophical beliefs such as karma and saṃsāra. Oberoi¹ reiterates this lack of a need for an independent identity for Sikhs in the early period of Sikhism; up to the time of the fourth Gurū, the main emphasis on bhakti, rather than any outward recognition, was characteristic.² He remarks that seventeenth-century Sikhs existed in a universe that was ‘free of fixed identities’,³ that is, there was no great concern to differentiate between the Punjabi Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs.

However, Oberoi’s views should not be pressed as far as to accept too blurred an identity for early Sikhs. Clearly, identity during this period was not an issue, but there were sufficient differences from Hinduism and Islam to differentiate these early Sikhs in some ways. The emphasis was on living a life of simplicity and purity, one in which the individual was not entangled in the never-ending saga of rituals and brāhmaṇism. Gurū Nānak offered his followers serenity through meditation on the Name of God, nām simran, and through singing praises, kīrtan, to the Divine. A ‘Sikh’ in this period was a ‘disciple’ of the Gurū: as the term Sikh itself illustrates. Interestingly, there is only one example of ‘sikkha’ used in the bāṇī of Gurū Nānak.⁴ The term alludes to one ‘having instruction, guided by teaching’.⁵ This suggests that Gurū Nānak’s aim was not to create a distinct movement, but rather to guide others towards liberation. The emphasis was on following the teachings of Gurū Nānak, not following him as the leader of a new movement.

Nevertheless, the early community must have felt some degree of separation, due to the different nature of the teachings of Gurū Nānak from those of Hindu and Muslim ascetics and the different emphases in praxis. Indeed, Gurū Nānak’s compilation of a pothi ‘book’ of his hymns further indicates that his followers were not to utilize Hindu or Muslim scriptures. The ‘truth’ that was revealed by God to Gurū Nānak was preserved in his pothi. Pashaura Singh is also of the opinion that ‘the process of Sikh self-definition began in Gurū Nānak’s lifetime during the period when he settled at Kartarpur’.⁶ Indeed, the famous couplet by Gurū Nānak:

There is no Hindu,

There is no Musalman

is in itself indicative of the already recognized separateness of the followers of Gurū Nānak from the two dominant traditions of the time. Nānak’s emphasis was on bhakti, but this was not the saguṇa bhakti of popular Hinduism that was offered to a tangible manifestation of the Divine; rather it was nirguṇa bhakti towards a formless God. It is highly likely that Nānak belonged to the Northern Sant tradition (an ‘association’ of Hindu and Muslim saints who worshipped the Absolute as being beyond form, nirguṇa) thereby rejecting a great deal of Hindu practices such as the superiority of brāhmins and their dependence on performing rituals. Furthermore, McLeod has stated that the need for an identity amongst the early community became greater in the light of offspring born into the Sikh faith.⁷ He writes that: ‘The janam-sākhīs [the birth testimonies of Gurū Nānak] reveal something of this struggle for identity, and of the tensions which it involved’.⁸ The ‘tensions’ mentioned here, involved probably the degrees to which followers should detach from their Hindu religious background. This continued link with Hinduism was inevitable since the majority of followers had been born as Hindus and, more significantly, Gurū Nānak himself was a Hindu by birth. Nevertheless, I suggest that, at this period, it is highly likely that followers remained Hindus: their following of Gurū Nānak did not necessarily mean they became non-Hindus, but they were certainly becoming different Hindus in respect of much belief and some practice.

In differentiating his followers from brāhmaṇic Hinduism, Gurū Nānak continuously stressed the irrelevance of rituals that dominated popular Hindu devotion. He also denounced the prejudice of the Hindu caste system (AG 747), himself refusing to wear the sacred thread that would demonstrate his spiritual rebirth as a member of the dvijā classes. These are the top three classes of the Hindu class system who alone are entitled to undergo the sacred thread ceremony that indicates the spiritual rebirth of the individual. There was much to distinguish his followers from Muslims too, and this included the elevation of the position of women. But Gurū Nānak retained in his teachings the concepts of karma and saṃsāra, which stand in opposition to the Muslim belief in the day of judgement: such Hindu concepts were accepted in Sikhism rather than Muslim ones. The acceptance of such concepts further obfuscates the Sikh break from Hinduism in the early Sikh community. There was, however, no real break from Hinduism at this point, rather it was the ritual aspect which found no place in Gurū Nānak’s message. It is this simplicity, together with the lack of insistence on intermediaries such as the brāhmins, which would have attracted his first followers.

From his teachings it appears that Gurū Nānak would have been against any symbols or markers of external devotion. Therefore, it is to be expected that the early Panth concentrated on the internalization of religion, rather than an outward identity. This is indicative per se of some degree of differentiation. Although the Nānak Panth was not concerned with issues of identity during Gurū Nānak’s period, or in the immediate aftermath of his death,⁹ a certain sense of belonging must have existed for his coterie to be able to identify themselves with Gurū Nānak. It is very doubtful that the Kartarpur community would have had any external markers to symbolize their loyalty to Gurū Nānak’s message.

The works of Bhāī (‘brother’, indicating respect) Gurdās, which are the earliest extant sources available as witness to the development of the early Sikh community, provide a clearer picture of the nature of the Kartarpur community. Bhāī Gurdās’ works are of significance with regard to what was expected of a Sikh during the early evolution of the Panth. In the context of investigating whether there was a prescribed norm of behaviour for Sikhs prior to the creation of the Khālsā, Bhāī Gurdās provides no reference to the importance of the kes or, in fact, to any other distinguishable feature, for the early community. He is, nevertheless, aware that the followers of the Sikh Gurūs are not to be regarded as either Hindu or Muslim. According to Bhāī Gurdās the people of these faiths are ‘selfish, jealous, proud, bigoted and violent’.¹⁰ The qualities of a true Sikh are clearly indicated by him: ‘They having loving devotion in their heart remain jubilant. Such people are the emperors full of delight. Becoming egoless they serve the saṅgat, congregation, by bringing water, grinding corn etc. for it. In humility and joy they lead altogether distinct life (sic)’.¹¹ This kind of emphasis on interiorized religion and faith as being the hallmark of a Sikh is repeatedly stressed in his works. A true Sikh is one who keeps the company of Sants and meditates on the Name of God: ‘He with full care keeps his consciousness attuned to the Word and listens to nothing except the words of Guru. He beholds the true Guru and without the company of the saints feels himself blind and deaf’.¹² Participation in exteriorized religion, in the form of irrelevant rituals, is the seal of the manmukh (the ignorant and selfish individual, literally ‘one who is self-orientated’) who stands antagonistic to the teachings of the Sikh Gurus. One must become a gurmukh (the spiritually awake individual whose orientation is towards God, rather than the self, literally ‘one who is God-orientated’) and hold the Name of God as being the one saving act: ‘The life led in the light of omens, the nine planets … incantations, magic divination by lines and by the voice is all futile … The gurmukhs who reject all superstitions enjoy happiness with their Lord and get across the world-ocean’.¹³ Further indication that the gurmukh is essentially a spiritual being is emphasized in the importance of rising in the early hours of the morning (amritvelā) and meditating on the Name of God.¹⁴ Overtly and repeatedly, a true Sikh, according to the Vārs of Bhāī Gurdās, is one who centres his/her life on the Gurū and the śabad: ‘Adopting the teachings of the Guru, the individual is called a Sikh of the Guru’.¹⁵ The importance attached to initiation for the followers of the Gurūs is indicated by Bhāī Gurdās. To become a Sikh – a disciple – one must take initiation: ‘Getting initiated by the Guru the disciple has become a Sikh’.¹⁶ It is important to note that initiation in the Vārs of Bhāī Gurdās refers to charanamrit¹⁷ and not to khaṇde-dī-pāhul.¹⁸ Therefore, the form of initiation in the early Sikh community had no requirements to uphold any outward symbols of faith. The emphasis was placed throughout on spiritual elevation.

The true Sikh, in the early community therefore, w...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Glossary
• Introduction
• 1 Who is a Sikh? Historical Perspectives
• 2 Gurū Nānak Nishkäm Sewak Jathä
• 3 Nämdhäris
• 4 Ravidäsls
• 5 Välmlkis
• 6 Sikh Dharma of the Western Hemisphere
• 7 Conclusion
• Appendix: Illustrations and literature from the groups
• Bibliography
• Index