Ans. The fifth Nanak, Guru Arjan Dev said:
ਪਰਮੇਸਰ ਕੈ ਦੁਆਰੈ ਜਿ ਹੋਇ ਬਿਤੀਤੈ ਸੁ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਆਖਿ ਸੁਣਾਵੈ॥
(SGGS, P. 373)
“Nanak tells whatever happens at the portal of God”.
One can easily infer and, consequently, firmly believe that the founding Gurus of Sikhism have not borrowed any thing, in terms of philosophy, from anywhere else. In Sukhmani Sahib, the fifth Master further affirms the basic Sikh philosophy:
ਬਹੁ ਸਾਸਤ੍ਰ ਬਹੁ ਸਿਮ੍ਰਿਤੀ ਪੇਖੇ ਸਰਬ ਢਢੋਲਿ॥
ਪੂਜਸਿ ਨਾਹੀ ਹਰਿ ਹਰੇ ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮ ਅਮੋਲ॥
(SGGS, P. 265)
“I have studied and searched thoroughly the Hindu Scriptures (Shastras and Simrities) and reached the conclusion that all of them are nowhere near the meditation on the Divine Naam (Name of the Lord)”.
This, obviously, lays the foundation of a new, separate and independent religion. That is why it could be called “Saibhang” or self-dependent faith.
At Pushkar, a place of pilgrimage for Hindus, Pandit Chetan Das asked the Tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh, “Who are these people with long, uncut hair with you? From their attire they neither look like Hindus nor like Muslims”. On hearing this Guru Gobind Singh said, “They are ‘Khalsa’, a third religion, who are servants of God. They indeed are different from Hindus as well as Muslims. Except Akaal Purakh (One God) they do not consider any one as their Master. They address God as:
ਤੂ ਨਿਜ ਪਤਿ ਹੈ ਦਾਤਾ ॥
(SGGS, P. 666)
“You are, O God, the only provider”.
The Gurus thus toppled all the (supporting) pillars of Hinduism, some of which are as follows:
The first pillar: Hindu has forgotten the God almightyand started worshipping the visible forces of nature, e.g., Sun, Air, Fire etc., as gods and goddesses. But the voice of Sikhism says:
ਮਾਇਆ ਮੋਹੇ ਦੇਵੀ ਸਭਿ ਦੇਵਾ॥
(SGGS, P. 227)
“All gods and goddesses are enchanted by Maaya”.
The second pillar: Vedas were the second pillars ofHinduism; considered revelatory Divine scriptures. The Guru said, “The Vedas are like a trader. They created differences between high and low and inculcated bigotry. Bani (Guru’s word) on the other hand imparted spiritual knowledge”.
The third pillar: Caste system and believing in thesuperiority of Brahmins is the third pillar. The Gurus eliminated the position of a Purohit (a Brahmin only who could perform religious ceremonies). In the Sikh society Guru Arjan Dev went to the extent of saying that nothing should be given to these (bad) Brahmins because they themselves are ignorant and try to deceive innocent people. Only Satguru is the emancipator and his grace showers on the Sikhs.
The Tenth Master had also enjoined that exhortations and commandments of the Brahmins should not be obeyed. He said, “Do not make your conscience dirty with their company. Do not even think to follow the rituals of Hindus. Always have faith in the most revered ‘Akaal Purakh’ (God)”.
The institutions of Sikhs, their life style, social behaviour, spiritual, political and religious beliefs are totally different from Hindus or any other faith. They do not have even remote resemblance with anyone else. Their institution like Langar (free common kitchen), Pangat (everyone sitting at the same level to take food together), Sangat (congregation), Gurdwara, Nagaara (war drum), Nishaan Sahib (flag), Bungaas and Chaukis are distinctly their own.
The Sikh code of conduct (Rehit Maryada) tells the values to be adhered to in leading ones life. According to this code of conduct one is advised to stay away from all those customs that create doubts, absurd fanciful ideas and subjugation of any one class of people.
As far as religious beliefs are concerned; from initial invocation to observing and celebrating important days, births, weddings, naming (of a baby), etc., and even the consumption of the kind of foods, are all different. The political objectives are also quite different. When the Sikh empire was established, its first blow fell on the feudalistic system. In Nanderh Sahib the Sikhs said to Guru Gobind Singh that they would not help anyone who would want to be a king (by himself). It is Khalsa (as a nation) that is to be known as all powerful. Guru Gobind Singh once said, “Khalsa has been bestowed upon with a kingdom by God Himself”. Sikhism has its own spiritual ideas and objectives. A Sikh does not believe in salvation after death. He wants emancipation while he is alive. He believes that in the end taking of Amrit, which leads to a life lived according to the Khalsa code of conduct, is going to help in attainment of eternal peace and vision of Akaal Purakh.
Once when a Sikh passed away and his relatives and friends expressed their concern (about his next life), Guru Gobind Singh told them not to worry. He said, “the Sikh had led his life in humility and observed the Khalsa code of conduct therefore he has gone straight to Sach Khand (the realm of truth), i.e., merged in the supreme truth Arubindo Ghosh once said, “A Sikh always puts his step forward”.
At this point it will not be out of place to write the observation made by Indira Gandhi in her book, “Eternal India” (P. 217). This will give some food for thought to those people who do not tire saying that Sikhs are only Hindus with unshorn hair. According to her, “the actions of Guru Nanak and the Sikh movement after him were astonishingly original and novel. On no account would this be called revivalism of any religion. It was an outburst of fresh creativity like that of a volcano that conserves energy for ages and then suddenly erupts.Guru Nanak gave an entirely original idea:
ਸਚਹੁ ਓਰੈ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਉਪਰਿ ਸਚੁ ਆਚਾਰੁ ॥
(SGGS, P.)
“Truth is higher than everything, but higher still is truthful living”.
In his book, “Bhagat Mala of Sikhs”, Bhai Mani Singh writes: When the quazi asked Guru Nanak if he was a Hindu or a Muslim, his reply was, “I do not know anyone except God”. It is the body (of a human being) that is either Hindu or Muslim, but I go beyond the body”.
In his book, “Dabistan-i-Mazahib”, written between 1630 and 1640 A.D., Mohsin Fani writes in the very first line of the chapter on Nanak Panthis: They (the Sikhs) neither believe in idols nor in idol worship. They neither believe in the doctrine of Avtaras nor they consider Sanskrit as the language of Gods”.
McCaliff, addressing the world said, “Let me introduce to you a religion from East whose followers neither believe in idol worship nor in meaningless rituals. They do not believe in caste system or in the terrible custom of burning a widow on the funeral pyre of her dead husband. They do not consider a woman to be inferior to man and do not use intoxicants. They do not worship rivers and places of pilgrimage like Hindus do, and refrain from calumniating others. On the contrary they lead their lives with gratitude to the Creator, patience, sharing, justice, truth, honesty, brotherly love and other high ideals of leading a clean life without taking any sides.
“The officials of the Delhi emperor, Ibrahim Lodhi, the successor to Behlol Lodhi, informed the emperor that a faqir whose tenets were different from those of the Quraan or the Hindu scriptures (Vedas), was openly preaching in the public; and the way he was being accorded respect and the importance he was gaining might, he may, in the long run, prove to be a threat to the state.An imperial order was immediately issued and Guru Nanak was brought before the emperor. After listening to Guru Nanak’s ideas on his religious philosophy the emperor was convinced that it was different, and in some ways contrary to that of Islam. He ordered that the Guru be kept in prison. Guru Nanak was kept in the prison for seven months where he bore the hardships of grinding corn. He was released just before Ibrahim’s defeat in the battle of Panipat from Babar’s hands.
Those who read the Sawaiyya of the Tenth Master in the evening prayer of Rehraas Sahib:”Ever since I came unto Your feet, O Lord, I do not (care for) anyone else. I do not follow the ways preached by various religions and do not believe in Ram, Mohammed, Puranas or Quraan. The Simritis, Shastras and Vedas lay down different doctrines but I do not recognize any of them”.
Thus one should never even think that Sikhism is a branch of any other religion. It is an independent and sovereign faith.