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Book Review :
A
Remarkable work on Khalsa Rahit
by
Jagpal
S Tiwana
McLeod, W. H. : Sikhs of the Khalsa ; A
history of the Khalsa Rahit. New Delhi : Oxford University Press, 2003, p
282.
The New Zealand-based scholar, Dr. Hew
McLeod, has published about two dozen well researched books on Sikhism. At
present he is easily the best brain on Sikhism in the
Western world. His research on Guru Nanak, origins of Sikh thought,
philosophy and heritage has influenced many Sikh scholars. The noted Sikh
scholar, Khushwant Singh has publicly acknowledged that he changed his earlier
syncretic view that Sikhism combines both Hinduism
and Sufism after reading McLeod’s
works. He now agrees with McLeod that it is much
closer to Hinduism. Every book that comes from McLeod’s pen is eagerly
awaited and keenly read as he always has something new and original to say. In
this latest work “ Sikhs of
the Khalsa ; A History of the Khalsa Rahit”,
he has again given us something which was not delivered in such depth and
detail before.
This book is the result of his hard work and
research for the last 30 years ever since he came across
the Chaupa Singh’s Rahit-nama in 1972. To trace the history of Khalsa
rahit, he read almost every Rahitnama and document on the subject,
took pains to establish its date, studied the prose or poetic style of the
author and checked if it fitted into the period he was writing in and
examined if the text was original or some interpolations had been made
later. This book is indeed a great lesson for budding scholars to learn on how
to conduct a research.
The book consists of two parts. In part one,
McLeod traces proto-rahit in the
hymns of Gurus Ram Das and Arjan Dev, Vars of Bhai Gurdas, hukamnamas
of Guru Hargobind and Guru Tegh Bahadur, pothi Bibi Rup Kaur, Granth Bhai
Painda, and Prashan –Uttar Bhai Nand Lal . Then he proceeds to
documents and Rahitnamas of the 18th and 19th
centuries -, Gur Sobha, Dasam Granth, Bhat Vahis, Guru kian Sakhian, Tankhanama of
Nand Lal, Prahilad Rai Rahitnama, Sakhian Rahit ki, Chaupa Singh Rahitnama,
Desa Singh Rahitnama, Daya Singh Rahitnama, Sarab Loh Granth, Sau Sakhi,
Prem Sumarag, Namdhari Rahitnama,
Nirankari Hukamnama, Vajib-u’l-Araz b, and the Sikh Rahit
Maryada. McLeod examines each document critically from all sides and angles,
establishes their dates, checks their veracity and analyses various issues that
arise from them.
Part two of the book has translations of all the Rahitnamas and related material.
Some provisions in the Rahitnamas are
good injunctions for the Khalsa Sikhs to practice
religion in full sincerity and devotion. They all lay great stress on the
importance of kes (hair) and the
duties of a true Sikh to rise at
dawn, take a bath, and then meditate
on the divine name. In some others, however, some
items are quite ridiculous and embarrassing – treat all Muslims as
disease; do not bathe naked; do not
seduce Guru’s wife; never trust a woman; after defecating use earth to clean
oneself; avoid tobacco, hemp, charas, but opium and bhang are allowed. Desa
Singh went to the extent of allowing consuming
alcohol before going to fight in the battlefield. They actually do not
represent the views of the Guru, but reflect the ideas prevalent at that time,
and the beliefs of their authors. One feels relieved to read the modern ideas of
Singh Sabha leaders in the Sikh
Rahit Maryada (1950). McLeod duly recognizes the contribution of the Tat
Khalsa who worked hard for several years to produce this document and to
them panth owes a
considerable debt. “ The Tat Khalsa deserves commendation for
eliminating superstition, granting at least theoretical equality to women,
opposing most caste differences, calming feelings towards the Muslims, and
reducing the jumble of inherited traditions to a systematic pattern,” remarks
McLeod.
McLeod is a trained historian. He believes
that things are not suddenly created; they evolve over a period of time, taking
shape according to the influence of the environments, beliefs and forces of the
time at play. McLeod differs with most of the modern scholars who believe that
the Sikh Rahit Maryada of 1950 is exactly what Guru Gobind Singh gave to
the panth. Instead, he claims that only a portion of the Rahit
dates from the time of Guru Gobind Singh ; “most of
it evolved according to the conditions of the time, producing
significantly different patterns as the circumstances of the Sikh Panth
changed.”
Sikh Rahit Maryada has survived for about half a century and has served the community well. If we apply McLeod’s understanding of the historic development of Rahit to it, we find a few provisions in the SRM getting out dated and need revision or omission. Benati Chaupai is getting unpopular, chairs for the handicapped in the divan hall and in the Langar hall have started entering in some Gurdwaras, non-Sikhs (Muslims in Nankana Sahib) are allowed to sing kirtan in some gurdwaras, almost all Sikh women get their ears pierced, many Sikhs color their beards or trim them, most Sikhs enjoy taste of the liquor, especially at weddings, turban is gradually giving place to patka, baseball cap in summer and woolen cap(Topa) in winter. About 85% of the Sikhs are non-Amritdharis and if we add in them those Amritdharis who associate with the roda (clean shaven)Sikhs against the injunction in SRM, number could add upto 99%. Clean shaven Sikhs have received Siropas on their visits to many gurdwaras including Harimandar Sahib. Political correct terms should be used. ‘Men and women’ should be replaced by ‘persons’ and Khalsa brotherhood by Khalsa order.
Either the SRM
should cover only the Khalsa as was the practice in 18th
and most part of the 19th centuries or if it has to cover all
the 25 million Sikhs it needs to take into consideration the changes and new
evolving practices in the panth. If some provisions of the SRM are ignored by 99
% of Sikhs, they need revisions.
McLeod’s study and analysis will further
contribute to some of the controversies that are
currently taking place in the panth. He makes a distinction
between a Sikh and a Khalsa. All Sikhs are not
Khalsa, but all Khalsa are Sikhs. Rahit covers only the Khalsa
and to be a Sikh of the Khalsa one must observe it. According to McLeod,
only a small portion, about 15 % of
the panth strictly follow Rahit or
are Amritdharis.
On Dasam Granth, he claims that only a small portion of Dasam Granth is the work
of the Guru. He is fully aware of the present controversy on the subject and
takes due notice of protests coming from a section of the Sikhs( Pritpal Singh
Bindra and S. S. Sodhi).
On Five Ks, McLeod carefully examines each
document to establish that no Rahitnama or book before the Singh Sabha period
list them as Five Ks. He tends to agree with J. S. Grewal that Five Ks were
there as part of the Khalsa initiation in 1699, though were not called Five Ks
as we understand them now. They started appearing as Five Ks in the last quarter
of the 19th century in the works of the Singh Sabha leaders. The
first to mention them as
requirement for the Khalsa was Sumer Singh, author of Khalsa Panchasika,
published in 1883. According to
Pashaura Singh, the requirement was five weapons in time of Guru ji, but since
the British banned the carrying of weapons, they were changed to 5 Ks by the
Singh Sabha leaders.
In this book, there is enough evidence to an
unbiased mind to reject the allegation that McLeod is a part of Christian conspiracy to damage and malign Sikhism. Though
Piara Singh Padam, an authority on Rahitnamas, accepts Chaupa Singh Rahitnama to be the one approved by Guru Gobind Singh himself in 1700, McLeod rejects
it as “hopelessly confused and
corrupted” due to its Brahmanical contents and adoration for goddess
Durga. Chaupa Singh went so far as to claim that he was the first to take Amrit
from Guru Gobind Singh and patashas(candies) in Amrit were mixed
by two Brahmins, not by Mai Jito. McLeod has been pointing a finger at the
obscene portion in Dasam Granth since 1975 when he published his second
book, “ The Evolution of the Sikh Community”. He also finds Prem
Sumarg as unreliable as it is full of Hindu influence. He questions the date
of its origin which some claim to be the time of Guru Gobind Singh or closer to
him. He disfavors the Nirankari Hukamnama or Rahitnama as Nirankaris believe
that line of Gurus continued after the tenth Guru.
McLeod has done a yeoman’s service to the
Sikh community by collecting all of the rahitnamas, which were lying hidden or
scattered, into one book. Chaupa Singh’s rahitnama was consumed by fire that
engulfed the Reference Library during
the Operation Blue Star in 1984, but McLeod had already made a copy which
is the only version available now
“ Sikhs of the Khalsa” is a valuable reference book on the subject of rahitnamas for all time to come. It is a deluxe-bound edition with a color picture of an imposing Nihang Singh on its title. It has a useful glossary, a helpful index and a resourceful bibliography. Highly recommended for individual and library collections. Price at Amazon is $49.95; at South Asia Books - sabooks@juno.com it is $34.including S&H
Back Home .Pl send your comments to Jagpal S. Tiwana :
tiwana@istar.ca
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