Moral Law in Sikhs Religion
Rajinder Singh Bhatia*
* Near Gurdwara Shahidan, Model Town, Ludhiana. 141 002. Punjab. Email: drbhatia@mail.usa.com.
Law cannot be defined in lay man’s language. It has different connotations for different people. A citizen may think of law as a set of rules which he must obey. A lawyer may think of law as a vocation. A legislator may think of law as something created by him. There are different types of laws for various fields, e.g. civil law, criminal law, International law, Labour law, etc. Law includes all the rules and regulations which control the administration. The rules which are set and which are to be followed by people is the law in general sense. Law is a code of conduct. Law changes with circumstances and conditions in the society. Law includes customs, tradition and general sentiments. Justice, equity and good conscience are pillars of law. If there is no specific law or custom, then these three are applied. The object of law is to provide justice as well as to establish socio-economic justice and remove the existing imbalance in socio-economic structure. Law plays important role in achieving various socio-economic goals enshrined in our constitution. Justice is given when the affected people go to law. Justice is provided by law, justice means giving a person a status of equality. Law, many a time, provides punishment to one and this punishment gets justice to another. Thus both law and justice are inter-related to each other and yet not related with each other.
Laws are made essentially for obtaining social discipline and civil decorum so as to provide justice to the sufferer but certain lacunae have been left which create a lot of difficulties for the common man to reach or approach the path of law. That is why justice, as is commonly seen, is denied most of the time, as the path to reach the stage to actually achieved justice is too difficult and too long. The more it is delayed - because of certain applied forces such as poverty or power-politics, the more there are chances of it being denied ultimately, but for few exceptions.
Shabad as Law:
Coming to the dominion of religion, Sikhism is the latest of faiths where all devotees bow before the everpresent Guru – Guru Granth Sahib. The concept of Sikhism is obedience to the Shabad Guru, accepting it as Divine Order – Dhur – ki – Bani – as this Divine Communion provides the true connection between the Guru and His followers without any bias of caste, colour or creed and everyone obeys the order in the form of Shabad – Hukamnama. It’s practical application in routine life is simply effective and totally abiding.
Whereas Simran, (recitation of His Name) has been kept at the top in Sikhism, Sewa, (service - to community and the downtrodden) and Muafi (forgiveness) has been given an equal importance. In this way, forgiveness has been kept at safe distance from Saza (punishment), and the concept of punishing for the sake of punishment (revenge) has not been given any place in Sikhism. However, punishment (in the form of realization or repentence) has been brought under the code of Sikh way of life in the form of Tankhah (punishment) for any misconduct in religious matters. This can be exercised at an individual level or at community level. It is always executed under the guidance and blessings of Guru Granth Sahib, in a royal congregation of Siri Guru Granth Sahib, in the Sangat (congregation) itself, after seeking permission from the Holy Guru before whom a total submission is made first of all in the form of Ardas (prayer). A submission in toto, alongwith an assurance to accept and act according to the Holy Order is made and an assurance is submitted that whatever is the Tankhah (punishment) passed by the Holy priest, will be abiding. This open acceptance is made before Siri Guru Granth Sahib; in the Sangat (Congregation) realising the presence of All Gurus by heart. Shabad (Holy hymns) are recited, followed by the Holy order. This is conveyed by the high priest, without any bias or prejudice and is conveyed in a calm and serene atmosphere. No force or pressure is allowed to play any role, neither there is any place of such velocious and nuclear acts in Sikhism. The noble facet of punishment is its acceptance in good cheer. The most significant part of the application of law and meeting out justice is always in the form of cleansing at heart and realisation at mind level, and never striking physically although physical acts of performance, such as cleaning of utensils, floor washing, etc. are mostly utilised. There is intermingling of punishment with continuous and simultaneous recitation of Holy hymns, while physically performing the Sewa, so as to leave behind the feeling of repentance and making him - or her - agree to never repeating the same acts in future.
Hence a step further would explain that justice in Sikhism lies in forgiving, it lies in repentance, it lies in accepting the fault by heart, and it lies in total submission, and it doesn’t rest in revenge. And the punishment for the folly is never prescribed in the form of using force or power. Rather, it is always described in bringing a state of transforming arrogance into humility.
Again, Sangat (holy congregation) has been entrusted with as much power as the Guru has, and can thus decide the fate of the defaulters. At the same time, unwanted reasoning or arrogance have no place. An humble approach or serene silence, however, should never be taken as that he is not aware of what is happening around. This judicious approach and prudently solving all the problems pertaining to Sikh community and connected and concerned with Sikh way of life, have all been credited to the Akal Takht seat of the high priest since centuries and everyone has bowed down to the highest seat of justice. Sikhs are alive, so are the Sikh laws, as all wills and walls of law flow and lead to justice in Sikhism.
Akal Takht Sahib is the highest seat of religious authority in Sikhism to give justice to the needy. It is the Throne of God in reality. The Sixth Guru of Sikhs, Sri Guru Hargobind Ji planned and himself laid the foundation of the Throne and Baba Gurdita Ji and Baba Buddha Ji placed bricks respectively to construct it’s walls. Guru Sahib sat here as spiritual Monarch as defending faith and awarding honours and punishment. Factually, the institution of the Akal Takht was a declaration that the Sikhs were not to bow to any extraneous dominance. Those who follow Sikhism, are always to obey and comply with the precepts issued by the Akal Takht. A living example of accepting the punishment passed by the high priest of the Akal Takht on Maharaja Ranjit Singh upon being held guilty is not well-known to Sikh community.
The Sixth Guru issued a unique commandment that the Akal Takht must for all times be obeyed by all Sikhs in temporal and religious matters. Any conflict, with regard to any matter, once referred to the Akal Takht, the decision of the Akal Takht becomes final and binding. The seat of justice is not only to solve the political and socio-religious problems of Sikh community but also to inspire for the process of global justice for any person of any community the world over. Akal Takht was constructed for providing justice to suffering community, affected both physically and morally, and its creation in itself is a symbol of justice - social, moral or political. The laws are equal both for ruler and his people; the applicability and practicability of laws remain same for all to reach the ultimate justice; as said earlier Sikh Monarch Ranjit Singh himself was subjected to physical punishment and he had to bow before Akal Takht Sahib to accept the order and requested to grant him pardon. This signifies Court of the Creator (God) for the justice to His creatures (community). It is with evil interest that the highest seat of justice in Sikhism should get a jolt, Operation Blue Star was launched, for which the Indian Government should tender an apology.
Gurdwara Legislation:
Do we need laws to govern Sikh institutions? Yes, we need to have our own laws that stand firm on faith and truth according to our traditions. Physiological functioning of a community within a set frame work of rules and regulations (well governed by Laws) always yield a healthy society. No doubt that there always remains a room for necessary amendments as per social needs with the positive nod from the general community, but once formed, laws remain same for all the people in a community; The equality that the laws bring forms a basis for Sikh community; even otherwise the laws must be crystal clear for the Sikh community, then laws should be for inter-community relations and deal with other communities to deal with. This shall bring forth justice not only to Sikhs, but to the global society as a whole. The time has come when these laws have to be framed for restructuring the declining values of this vital community, with a special emphasis on giving justice to the new generation that is restive, if not able to revive moral values in the elderly population. We do need moral laws to discipline the present deteriorating lot of Sikh community that has actively been engaged in a mad race for money and materialism.
- THE Sikh REVIEW MAGAZINE
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