the middle path

it seems like everywhere i go these days, i meet extremists.  everyone is fanatically anti or pro something.  everyone wants to fit us into neat little boxes.  the idea of simply being Sikh seems to be beyond the grasp of most of the Sikhs i talk to online these days.

if i believe in Dasam Bani, i'm RSS.  a hindu.  a pujari.  or worse.  if i say Sikhi is a defined religion with a unique identity, that makes me missionary or Tat Khalsa.   if i say it's ok to eat jhatka meat (as per Sikh Rehat Maryada), i'm a heretic who needs to be beaten for my words.  even though i'm a vegetarian myself.  but if i say i'm a vegetarian, i'm a bhaman, even though i think it's ok to eat jhatka.  if i disagree with right wing viewpoints that sound more like Islam than Sikhi, i'm anti-gurmat.  and if i suggest that Sikhs should keep kes and follow SRM, i'm a fundamentalist.  people see my dastaar and assume i belong to a certain Jatha. but members of that Jatha find my thoughts unorthodox and call me manmukh.

why can't i just be Sikh?  where do all of these labels come from?  do they make us feel better- to prove someone else is wrong or bad by calling them names and putting them in boxes?  

what is a Sikh anyway?

according to the Sikh Rehat Maryada,

Any human being who faithfully believes in
i. One Immortal Being,
ii. Ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Sahib to Guru Gobind Singh Sahib,
iii. The Guru Granth Sahib,
iv. The utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and

v. the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru, and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion, is a Sikh

seems easy enough. 

according to Guru Raam Daas sahib:

ma 4 ||Fourth Mehla:

gur sathigur kaa jo sikh akhaaeae s bhalakae out(h) har naam dhhiaavai ||One who calls himself a Sikh of the Guru, the True Guru, shall rise in the early morning hours and meditate on the Lord's Name.

oudham karae bhalakae parabhaathee eisanaan karae a(n)mrith sar naavai ||Upon arising early in the morning, he is to bathe, and cleanse himself in the pool of nectar.

oupadhaes guroo har har jap jaapai sabh kilavikh paap dhokh lehi jaavai ||Following the Instructions of the Guru, he is to chant the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. All sins, misdeeds and negativity shall be erased.

fir charrai dhivas gurabaanee gaavai behadhiaa out(h)adhiaa har naam dhhiaavai ||Then, at the rising of the sun, he is to sing Gurbani; whether sitting down or standing up, he is to meditate on the Lord's Name.

jo saas giraas dhhiaaeae maeraa har har so gurasikh guroo man bhaavai ||One who meditates on my Lord, Har, Har, with every breath and every morsel of food - that GurSikh becomes pleasing to the Guru's Mind.

jis no dhaeiaal hovai maeraa suaamee this gurasikh guroo oupadhaes sunaavai ||That person, unto whom my Lord and Master is kind and compassionate - upon that GurSikh, the Guru's Teachings are bestowed.

jan naanak dhhoorr ma(n)gai this gurasikh kee jo aap japai avareh naam japaavai ||2||Servant Nanak begs for the dust of the feet of that GurSikh, who himself chants the Naam, and inspires others to chant it. ||2||

a little less simple, but i still don't see the labels or boxes we're pushing each other into.

this isn't a new thing...  Sikhs have been labeling each other since Guru Gobind Singh ji left this world and the Tat Khalsa and Bandai Khalsa split.  now we have so man divisions, sects, sampardas, and jathas that most Sikhs don't even know half of them.  why do we need to divide ourselves?

in the west, we see Gurdwaras split along caste lines.  caste?  we're Sikhs, we don't have caste, do we?  there are Gurdwaras for working class Sikhs and for upper class Sikhs.  some Gurdwaras for white Sikhs and others for Punjabis.  some Gurdwaras split over management comities, over people with short hair being allowed to do seva, or simply because someone wants their "own" Gurdwara.  have they forgotten that Guru-Dwara is the house of God?  how can it belong to any man?

what is the solution?  it's called Ekta.  it means "oneness" or unity.  how do we achieve it?  now THAT is a good question.

through humility. through simran, seva, and living as a Guru ka Sikh.  by respecting others.  by controlling our anger when we disagree.  by seeing all as equal. 

the problem with that is that these must be done at an individual level.  i can do my best, you can do yours...  but will the big picture ever change?  do we have it in us to ever find Ekta?