Gurmat (Sikhi) and the borderless world

Takeaways

• Guru Nanak actively preached to people outside Panjab. He must have spoken languages they understood to communicate with them, for example, Arabic in Baghdad. This has implications for the use of local languages in the diaspora as well as outreach to non-Sikhs.
• Unlike Jesus who preach in Palestine or the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who lived in Arabia or Buddha who lived in a small section of South Asia Guru Nanak’s mission marks the end of local regions and the beginning of the modern, global world, around 1500. Sikhs should push for an open, global culture.
• The global message of 1Light, one humanity he promoted is expressed in the Ardas or congregational prayer that ends with a wish for “sarbat da bhalla”, the benefit of the whole world. Boundaries were porous and involved dialogue between 1 and 0 rather than an exclusionary 1 or 0.

Guru Nanak did not recognise any borders and travelled 30,000 miles to places including Tibet, Mecca and Sri Lanka. Waheguru is the owner of the world and we should be free to travel all over it. We should be open to diversity and use it to create fresh combinations.

Dialogue between 1 and 0 is a central idea. The 1Mind talks with the 0Ego, the inner dialogue of divine and self. The mind and body are, at the same time, one person and separate areas so that medicine can treat the body while psychology is the study of mind. One humanity does not imply a monolithic world culture with one world religion, whether Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam or Christianity but an interplay between one spirituality and one love-infused politics. This specific balance between 1 and 0 is what Sikhs refer to as meeri-peeri, the balance of spiritual and material life, a shadow of the reality that 1Spirit and the material world are 1 and yet 0, not 1. The dialogue of 1 and 0 is not simply within the person, but in their relations with other persons.

When Guru Nanak says that, “there is no Hindu, no Muslim” he is rejecting the reduction of a person to a reified subject “Hindu” or “Muslim” as well as the rejection of the outcast and rejected person, “outcaste” or “kaffir”. It is an inclusive vision of dialogue best expressed in the sangat. This is a place where people from all backgrounds can meet and share. The sangat created in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture, contains Muslims, Hindus and people of no particular religion, such as Kabir, joining across thousands of miles and hundreds of years, embodying 1Spirit.

The phonetic script that Sikhs use today has the ability to include sounds from a wide variety of languages. This was essential as Guru Nanak had included words and phrases from around 17 languages that he encountered in his life. He used musical styles from the areas he visited in the hymns he wrote. He ignored the traditional beliefs about the ‘kala pani’ (black waters) that surrounded India as he was rejected Hindu and, therefore, caste identity.

For example, Dakhani as an instruction in the Guru Granth Sahib tells musicians to play in the sounds of the Deccan region and Hyderabad in particular. This again demonstrates that Guru Nanak wanted to meet people on their own terms. There is something specific about that Music that brings the Words of the hymns to life. Again, an interplay of 1 and 0 as the hymns are neither simply words or music.

The global society of the future will be united by 1Spirit and work towards 1humanity but in a way that includes and does not “other” spiritual traditions or people.

The Gurus themselves enjoy a pantheistic vision in which they find God within themselves and all things. “One Light fills all creation. That Light is You” (Guru Granth Sahib, p.13). The implication of this is an attitude of meeri-peeri, mystic revolution, seeking God within yourself and serving God in others. The meeri-peeri ideology is formalized in the saint-soldier ideal of the Khalsa.

Guru Gobind Rai created the Khalsa and then became the first person to join it and became Guru Gobind Singh. Therefore, he is praised as being Guru and disciple. He showed that he would accept the will of the people, the Khalsa as his Guru. The rules of the Khalsa are made by consensus, the agreement of all members of the Khalsa, rather than voting. This is because rules are not just about intellectual debate and argument but also feeling the will of Waheguru. As the numbers of the Khalsa has increased, it is difficult to get everyone together and so different organisations and individuals represent people when making decisions.

Regarding what rules should be made, “From now: such is the Will of God: No one shall force another, no one shall take advantage of and use another. Everyone, each individual, has the right to look for and work for happiness and self-fulfilment. Love and persuasion is the only law of social cohesion.” (Guru Granth Sahib, p.74). Sikhs have an active obligation to disobey any law that violates its principles of freedom, e.g. Guru Nanak breaking the ban on music in Baghdad. Guru Hargobind commanding Sikhs to bear arms and ride horses in violation of Islamic law on dhimmitude is another example of an obligation to disobey a law that limits freedom.

Several of the Gurus took part in wars. The basic principle is that armed conflict is only acceptable when all peaceful methods have failed. No one should be attacked once they have surrendered since you are attacking oppression, not a person. This makes it important to distinguish between those who are fighting and those who are civilians and makes use of indiscriminate weapons, such as weapons of mass destruction, wrong. There is no enemy in the combat — what is being opposed is the oppression being resisted. Therefore, when any person is wounded they should be helped. Bhai Kannayya performed this noble service during the wars of the Tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

The Ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was martyred, which means killed for his beliefs, for leading a non-violent political campaign to protect Hindus from forced conversion to Islam. “The first human right is to secure for everyone freedom to worship” (Dasam Granth, p.54). “The second human right is to protect the respect of every person’s private and personal point of contact with God” (Dasam Granth, p.54). The third human right is to promote every good person’s right to pursue their own vision of happiness and self-fulfilment (Dasam Granth, p.54).

Equality is a basic principle, which is implemented in the langar. People of any race or religion are welcome to eat and seek shelter. Basic needs should be provided for all. Inclusion is an important principle: as God is in every person, everyone should be treated with respect and honour. Progress in the world will be based on the spiritual sovereignty of the individual.

Guru Nanak did not recognise any borders and travelled 30,000 miles to places including Tibet, Mecca and Sri Lanka. Waheguru is the owner of the world and we should be free to travel all over it. He combined styles of music and collected holy writings. We should be open to diversity and use it to create fresh combinations.