This Above all
KHUSHWANT SINGH

Sikhism: Bridging the gulf

Thanks to the vagaries of the Indian calendar, two important events in the birth and development of Sikhism fall on the same day this year—-the birthday of the founder, Guru Nanak (1469-1539), and the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadar in 1675. It happens to be on the full moonlit night of November 24.

One facet of Sikhism we should keep in mind is its attempt to bridge the gulf between Hinduism and Islam. Guru Nanak’s life-long companion and first disciple was the Muslim minstrel, Bhai Mardana, who put the Guru’s hymns into different ragas of Indian classical music. Nanak has many hymns on Islamic themes. I will quote a couple of them:

Mehar masit sidak musalla…

If you would be a Muslim true; 
Let your life these rules pursue; 
Let your mosque be the abode of kindness;

In it spread your prayer-mat of faith;

And as you read the Koran, think of righteous acts; 
And gentle acts the fasts you keep;

Let the reward of good deeds be your Kaaba;

And truth your preceptor; 
Let the Kalima be your acts of mercy;

And as you tell the beads of the rosary;

Dwell upon the Lord’s commandments;

Says Nanak, the Lord will preserve your honour.

And

Musalman kahavan muskal …
To be a Mussulman is not easy; 
Only he who is one should make the claim;

He should first follow in the footsteps of the holy;

And accept their bitter words as sweets;

Rid himself of worldly goods; 
As sandpaper rids iron of rust; 
A Muslim’s faith is to follow his leader;

Caring neither for life nor death;

To believe that there is a God above;

Whose will is law; 
And abandon all thoughts of self;

O Nanak, if the Creator is

merciful;

Will you become a true Mussulman.

The attempt at bridge-building continued till the Fifth Guru Arjan Dev, who compiled the Sikhs’ sacred text, the Adi Granth, in 1601 AD. He not only included hymns of holy Muslims and Sufi saints but also invited Mian Meer from Lahore to lay the foundation stone of Harmandar Sahib (today’s Golden Temple) in Amritsar. He became the first Sikh martyr to bigotry.

The second was the Ninth Guru Teg Bahadar who was beheaded in Delhi in 1675. I quote one of his hymns which his son, the Tenth and last Guru Gobind Singh, incorporated in the final edition of Granth Sahib:

Jo nar dukh main dukh nahi mania…

He who in adversity grieves not;

He who is without fear; 
He who fails not in the snare of sensuality;

Who has no greed for gold knowing it is like dust;

He who does not slander people when their backs are turned; 
Nor flatters them to their faces; 
He who has neither gluttony in his heart;

Nor vanity nor attachment with worldly things;

He whom nothing moves; 
Neither good fortune nor ill; 
Who cares not for the world’s applause;

Nor its censure;

Who ignored every wishful fantasy;

And accepts what comes his way as it comes;

He whom nothing can lure; 
Nor anger command;

In such a one lives God Himself;

On such a man does the Guru’s grace descend;

For he knows the righteous path;

O Nanak, his soul singles with the Lord.

As water mingles with water (Sorath)

Akhond of Swat

The north-western half of Pakistan seems to be breaking loose from the rest of the country. It is tribal, traditional and extra-masculine — all men carry guns, women stay indoors or emerge encaged in burqas. Shariat laws take precedence over Pakistan Penal Code. Two semi-independent regions — Chitral and Swat — had chieftains of their own — Mehtars in Chitral and Akhonds in Swat. Swat is located amidst high mountains. It is a rugged country of rugged and handsome men addicted to Polo.

Their women, no doubt, are good looking but not to be seen. Their chief, if he is still around, was immortalised by the great composer of limericks Edward Lear (1812-88): 
Who, or why, or which, or what,

To Akhond of Swat?

HOME