Introduction
Khalsa, the army of God for protection of human rights of the weak and the poor, was formally founded in 1699. This was the climax of the revolution initiated by Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539) to protect innocent and helpless people from the slavery of religious and political leaders.
The mission assigned to Guru Nanak by God is mentioned by Bhai Gurdas, the scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib. He writes:
ਭਈ ਗਿਲਾਨਿ ਜਗਤ ਵਿਚਿ ਚਾਰਿ ਵਰਨ ਆਸ੍ਰਮ ਉਪਾਏ॥…
ਗੰਗ ਬਨਾਰਸਿ ਹਿੰਦੂਆਂ ਮਕਾ ਕਾਬਾ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਣੇ॥…
ਸਚ ਕਿਨਾਰੇ ਰਹਿ ਗਇਆ, ਖਹਿ ਮਰਦੇ ਬਾਹਮਣ ਮਉਲਾਣੇ॥
ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ, ਵਾਰ ੧
“The evil infected society the day it was divided into superior and inferior castes. Evil grew in volume and in strength when society was split into mutually hating different sects and religions i.e. Hindus, Muslims, Yogis, Sanyasis, etc. The Brahmans and Muslim priests wasted time in futile arguments; one claimed Ram alone can save people while the other believed Allah is the only Almighty. One advised people to take a dip in the holy Ganges to wash their sins while the other advised them to go to Mecca on Haj for cleansing themselves. Both had forsaken the truth that God is the Creator, the Operator and the Destroyer. The Guru was sent by God to explain the Truth that all people are equal, being children of the same Father, the Creator.”
The Guru himself described the situation of his time as thus:
- ਰਾਜੇ ਸੀਹ ਮੁਕਦਮ ਕੁਤੇ॥
Guru Granth Sahib, page 1288 - ਕਾਦੀ ਕੂੜੁ ਬੋਲਿ ਮਲੁ ਖਾਇ॥ ਬਾਹਮਣ ਨਾਵੈ ਜੀਆ ਘਾਇ॥
ਜੋਗੀ ਜੁਗਤਿ ਨ ਜਾਣੈ ਅੰਧੁ॥ ਤੀਨੇ ਓਜਾੜੇ ਕਾ ਬੰਧੁ॥
Guru Granth Sahib, page 662
1) “Kings and their agents rule like blood-thirsty beasts.”
2) “Judges and religious leaders, who should have opposed the despotic rulers, have joined hands with them to suck the blood of the common man.”
The Guru observed that the most powerful enemy of the masses is Brahmanism, the doctrine of division of society into four castes by birth to serve the interests of Brahmans and their allies.
ਮਾਣਸ ਖਾਣੇ ਕਰਹਿ ਨਿਵਾਜ॥ ਛੁਰੀ ਵਗਾਇਨਿ ਤਿਨ ਗਲਿ ਤਾਗ॥…
ਮਥੈ ਟਿਕਾ ਤੇੜਿ ਧੋਤੀ ਕਖਾਈ॥ ਹਥਿ ਛੁਰੀ ਜਗਤ ਕਾਸਾਈ॥
Guru Granth Sahib, page 471
The Guru set himself to release people from their religious and political slavery. He told them that there is only one God, of course, with many names. All humanity has been created by Him as equal. People will be judged by their actions and not merely by the beliefs they hold.
Earlier, Buddhism rejected the philosophy of Vedas and Brahmanism. It preached human equality and provided the needed relief to the caste-ridden society for about 1000 years. Brahmans lay low till Shankaracharya during the 7th century CE came on the scene. He cunningly defeated Buddhists in religious debates and thus obtained political support to force them to give up their faith or leave the country. Any Buddhist, who did not leave India, was forced to become a Hindu or was murdered.
All liberal movements which originated in India soon found their graveyard in Brahmanism. It is Sikhism which now is under its attack. With political authority in the hands of the Brahmans, they aim to economically weaken Sikhs or physically eliminate them. For the purpose of religious muddling, increased Brahmanism is being injected into the Sikh philosophy and the Sikh code of conduct (Rehat Maryada). The purpose is to keep Sikh masses ignorant of their great philosophy and not let them free themselves from the shackles of retrograde caste-system and idol-worship. Thereby, they want to slowly absorb Sikhs into the Brahmanical system to make them its slaves. Under the Indian constitution, Sikhs are listed as a sect of Hindus. The Hindu Code Bill applies to all sects of Hindus and also to the Sikhs but not to the Muslims or the Christians living in India. This may, of course, be the last battle of Brahmanism against liberalism and humanity.
Devices to assert the superiority of a race or of a caste exist or existed in almost all countries in many different forms. Color, caste or profession have been responsible for considering some members as second class humans. This is why, today, all humanity is in trouble and is suffering from strife everywhere.
In the Middle East and the West, rich people bought poor helpless persons as their slaves. In these cases, the relationship was that of a master and a servant on individual basis. Keeping not only the existing generation of the whole community but also their future generations to be social slaves under the caste system is unique to Brahmanism alone. The people, however, have now been awakened through education and have rejected the doctrine of considering human beings as low class or as high class just because of their birth, or worth.
The modern philosophy is that it is the character as revealed by the actions of a person which makes him good or bad. Goodness is not related to one’s caste, intellect, physical features or wealth, all of which, quite often, have been misused to harass common people rather than help them.
The final battle has already started and is in full swing all over the globe. Some people want to take away the basic human rights of the weaker sections of society, and force their own culture or beliefs on them or to make them subservient for economic exploitation. The weak want to assert their human rights as given by God, and have laid their lives at stake. They have decided to live as equal human beings or die instead and bring an end to the slavery along with them.
It is heartening to read the proceedings of the World Conference of Religions for Peace in which they decided to stop the exploitation of helpless people by the people in power. In their meeting of 1979 at New Jersey, USA, they observed: “Too often the names and practices of our religions have been associated with warfare and strife. Now we must reverse this by:
- Breaking down the barriers of prejudice and hostility between religious communities and institutions.
- Confronting the powers of the world with the teachings of our religions rather than conforming to them when they act contrary to the well being of humanity.
- Building inter-religious understanding in our local communities, particularly where prejudices run strong.”
This endorsement of human rights by the representatives of the major world religions is going to encourage a lot and provide the necessary confidence to the weak and the deprived people for their struggle against Brahmanism. These representatives also confirmed their unequivocal support to the philosophy of Miri Piri, the unique Khalsa doctrine. It directs that the religious leaders, instead of joining hands with despotic rulers, should confront them with the principles of justice and equality, whenever they commit a crime against any section of humanity. This is a great morale booster for the Sikhs in their struggle to help people get rid of the Brahmanical yoke and the political slavery.
Brahmanism, wrongly claimed to be Hinduism (Hinduism is not a faith but a collective name given to many faiths contradicting each other), is secretly and silently working to destroy the basic principles of Sikh philosophy or to change them to fit into Brahmanical thinking. Before discussing the influence of Brahmanism on the Sikh faith and the Sikhs, let us first know what Brahmanism is, and study how old liberal movements were modified to be absorbed into Brahmanism.
Read other parts at these links:
Sikhism Under Brahmanical Siege – 1
Sikhism Under Brahmanical Siege – 3
Sikhism Under Brahmanical Siege – 4