Chapter XIII
Facets
of Corporate Sikh Life
Article XXII
- The essential
facets of Panthic life are:
- (1) Guru Panth
(the Panth’s Guru status);
(2) The ceremony of ambrosial initiation;
(3) The statute of chastisement for aberrations;
(4) The statute of collective resolution;
(5) The appeal against local decisions.
Panth’s
Status of Guruhood
Article XXIII
The concept of
service is not confined to fanning the congregation, service to and
in the common kitchen-cum-eating house, etc. A Sikh’s entire life is
a life of benevolent exertion. The most fruitful service is the service
that secures the optimum good by minimal endeavor. That can be achieved
through organized collective action. A Sikh has, for this reason, to
fulfill his Panthic obligations (obligations as a member of the corporate
entity, the Panth), even as he/she performs his/her individual duties.
This corporate entity is the Panth. Every Sikh has also to fulfill his
obligations as a unit of the corporate body, the Panth.
(a) The Guru Panth
(Panth’s status of Guruhood) means the whole body of committed baptized
Sikhs. This body was fostered by all the ten Gurus and the tenth Guru
gave it its final shape and invested it with Guruhood.
Ceremony
of Baptism or Initiation
Article XXIV
(a) Ambrosial baptism
should be held at an exclusive place away from common human traffic.
(b) At the place
where ambrosial baptism is to be administered, the holy Guru Granth
Sahib should be installed and ceremonially opened. Also present should
be six committed baptized Sikhs, one of whom should sit in attendance
of the Guru Granth Sahib and the other five should be there to administer
the ambrosial baptism. These six may even include Sikh women. All of
them must have taken bath and washed their hair.
(c) The five beloved
ones who administer ambrosial baptism should not include a disabled
person, such as a person who is blind or blind in one eye, lame, one
with a broken or disabled limb, or one suffering from some chronic disease.
The number should not include anyone who has committed a breach of the
Sikh discipline and principles. All of them should be committed baptized
Sikhs with appealing personalities.
(d) Any man or
woman of any country, religion or cast who embraces Sikhism and solemnly
undertakes to abide by its principles is entitled to ambrosial baptism.
The person to be
baptized should not be of very young age; he or she should have attained
a plausible degree of discretion. The person to be baptized must have
taken bath and washed the hair and must wear all five K’s - Kesh (unshorn
hair), strapped Kirpan (sword), Kachhehra (prescribed shorts), Kanga
(Comb tucked in the tied up hair), Karha (Steel bracelet). He/she must
not have on his/her person any token of any other faith. He/she must
not have his/her head bare or be wearing a cap. He/she must not be wearing
any ornaments piercing through any part of the body. The persons to
be baptized must stand respectfully with hands folded facing the Guru
Granth Sahib.
(e) Anyone seeking
to be rebaptized, having committed an aberration, should be singled
out and the five beloved ones should award chastisement to him/her in
the presence of the congregation.
(f) One from amongst
the five beloved ones administering ambrosial baptism to persons seeking
to be baptized should explain the principles of the Sikh religion to
them:
The Sikh religion
advocated the renunciation of the worship of any created thing, and
rendering of worship and loving devotion to, and meditating on, the
One Supreme Creator. For the fulfillment of such devotion and meditation,
reflection on the contents of Gurbani and practicing of its tenets,
participation in the congregational services, rendering service to the
Panth, benevolent exertion (to promote the good of others), love of
God’s name (loving reflection on the experience of the Divine), living
within the Sikh discipline after getting baptized etc. are the principal
means.
He should conclude
his exposition of the principles of Sikh religion with the query: Do
you accept these willingly?
(g) On an affirmative
response from the seekers of baptism, one from amongst the five beloved
ones should perform the Ardas for the preparation of baptism and take
the holy Hukam (command). The five beloved ones should come close to
the bowl for preparing the amrit (ambrosial nectar).
(h) The bowl should
be of pure steel and it should be placed on a clean steel ring or other
clean support.
(i) Clean water
and sugar puffs should be put in the bowl and the five beloved ones
should sit around it in bir posture [Sitting in bir posture comprises
sitting resting the body on the right leg, the right calf and foot gathered
inward and the left leg upto the shin kept in a vertical position.]
and recite the undermentioned scriptural compositions.
(j) The scriptural
composition to be recited are: The Japuji, the Jaap, The Ten Sawayyas
(commencing with sarawag sud), The Bainti Chaupai (from “hamri karo
hath dai rachha” to “susht dokh te leho bachai”), the first five and
the last one stanza of the Anand Sahib.
(k) Each of the
five beloved ones who recites the scripture should hold the edge of
the bowl with his left hand and keep stirring the water with a double-edged
sword held in his right hand. He should do that with full concentration.
The rest of the beloved ones should keep gripping the edge of the bowl
with both hands concentrating their full attention on the ambrosial
nectar.
(l) After the conclusion
of the recitation, one from amongst the beloved ones should perform
the Ardas.
(m) Only that person
seeking to be baptized who has participated in the entire ceremony of
ambrosial baptism can be baptized. One who has turned up while the ceremony
was in progress cannot be baptized.
(n) After the Ardas
as per clause (1) above, thinking of our Father, the tenth Master, the
wearer of the aigrette, every person seeking to be baptized should sit
in bir posture, putting his/her right hand cupped on the left cupped
hand and be made to drink the ambrosial mix five times, as the beloved
one who pours the mix into his cupped hand exclaims: say, Waheguru ji
ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh! (The Khalsa is of the Wondrous Destroyer
of darkness; victory too, is His!) The person being baptized should
after imbibling the ambrosia, repeat: Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru
ji ki Fateh. Then five handfuls of the ambrosial mix should be sprinkled
into the eyes of the person being baptized and another five into his
hair. Each such sprinkling should be accompanied by the beloved one
administering baptism saying, “Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki
Fateh”, and the person being baptized repeating the chant. Whatever
ambrosial mix is left over after the administration of the ambrosial
baptism to all individual seekers, should be sipped by all (men and
women) baptized, together.
(o) After this
the five beloved ones, all together in chorus, communicating the name
of Waheguru to all who have been administered the ambrosial baptism,
recite to them the mul mantar (basic creed, seminal chant) and make
them repeat it aloud: ik aunkar satnam karta purakh nirbhau nirwair
akal murat ajuni saibhang gur prasad.
(p) After this,
one from amongst the five beloved ones should explain to the initiates
the discipline of the order: Today you are reborn in the true Guru’s
household, ending the cycle of migration, and joined the Khalsa Panth
(order). Your spiritual father is now Guru Gobind Singh and, spiritual
mother, Mata Sahib Kaur. Your place of birth is Kesgarh Sahib and your
native place is Anandpur Sahib. You, being the sons of one father, are,
inter-se yourselves and other baptized Sikhs, spiritual brothers. You
have become the pure Khalsa, having renounced your previous lineage,
professional background, calling (occupation), beliefs, that is, having
given up all connections with your caste, descent, birth, country, religion,
etc.. You are to worship none except the One Timeless Being - no god,
goddess, incarnation or prophet. You are not to think of anyone except
the ten Gurus and anything except their gospel as your savior. You are
supposed to know Gurmukhi (Punjabi alphabet). (If you do not, you must
learn it). And recite, or listen in to the recitation of, the undermentioned
scriptural compositions, the daily repetition of which is ordained,
every day: (1) The Japuji Sahib, (2) The Jaap Sahib, (3) The Ten Sawayyas
(Quartrains), beginning “sarawag sudh”, (4) The Sodar Rahiras and the
Sohila. Besides, you should read from or listen in to the recitation
from the Guru Granth. Have, on your person, all the time, the five K’s:
The Keshas (unshorn hair), the Kirpan (sheathed sword) [The length of
the sword to be worn is not prescribed.], the Kachhehra [The Kachhehra
(drawers like garment) may be made from any cloth, but its legs should
not reach down to below the shins.], the Kanga (comb), the Karha (steel
bracelet) [The karha should be of pure steel.].
- The undermentioned
four transgressions (tabooed practices) must be avoided:
- (1) Dishonouring
the hair;
(2) Eating the meat of an animal slaughtered the Muslim way;
(3) Cohabiting with a person other than one’s spouse;
(4) Using tobacco.
In the event of the
commission of any of these transgressions, the transgressor must get rebaptised.
If a transgression is committed unintentionally and unknowingly, the transgressor
shall not be liable to punishment. You must not associate with a Sikh
who had uncut hair earlier and has cut it or a Sikh who smokes. You must
ever be ready for the service of the Panth and of the gurduwaras (Sikh
places of worship). You must tender one tenth of your earnings to the
Guru. In short, you must act the Guru’s way in all spheres of activity.
You must remain
fully aligned to the Khalsa brotherhood in accordance with the principles
of the Khalsa faith. If you commit transgression of the Khalsa discipline,
you must present yourself before the congregation and beg pardon, accepting
whatever punishment is awarded. You must also resolve to remain watchful
against defaults in the future.
- (q) The following
individuals shall be liable to chastisement involving automatic boycott:
- (1) Anyone maintaining
relations or communion with elements antagonistic to the Panth including
the minas (reprobates), the masands (agents once accredited to local
Sikh communities as Guru’s representatives, sine discredited for their
faults and aberrations), followers of Dhirmal or Ram Rai, et. al.,
or users of tobacco or killers of female infants;
(2) One who eats/drinks left-overs of the unbaptised or the fallen
Sikhs;
(3) One who dyes his beard;
(4) One who gives off son or daughter in matrimony for a price or
reward;
(5) Users of intoxicant (hemp, opium, liquor, narcotics, cocaine,
etc.);
(6) One holding, or being a party to, ceremonies or practices contrary
to the Guru’s way;
(7) One who defaults in the maintenance of Sikh discipline.
(r) After this sermon,
one from among the five beloved ones should perform the Ardas.
(s) Thereafter,
the Sikh sitting in attendance of the Guru Granth Sahib should take
the Hukam. If anyone from amongst those who have received the ambrosial
baptism had not earlier been named in accordance with the Sikh naming
ceremony, he should renounce his previous name and be given a new name
beginning with the first letter of the Hukam now taken.
(t) And finally,
the karhah prashad should be distributed. All the newly launched Sikh
men and women should eat the karhah prashad together off the same bowl.
Method
of Imposing Chastisement
Article XXV
(a) Any Sikh who
has committed any default in the observance of the Sikh discipline should
approach the nearby Sikh congregation and make a confession of his lapse
standing before the congregation.
(b) The congregation
should then, in the holy presence of Guru Granth Sahib, elect from among
themselves five beloved ones who should ponder over the suppliant’s
fault and propose the chastisement (punishment) for it.
(c) The congregation
should not take an obdurate stand in granting pardon. Nor should the
defaulter argue about the chastisement. The punishment that is imposed
should be some kind of service, especially some service that can be
performed with hands.
(d) And finally
an Ardas for correction should be performed.
Method
of Adopting Gurmatta
Article XXVI
(a) The Gurmatta
can only be on a subject that affects the fundamental principles of
Sikh religion and for their upholding, such as the questions affecting
the maintenance of the status of the Gurus or the Guru Granth Sahib
or the inviolability of the Guru Granth Sahib, ambrosial baptism, Sikh
discipline and way of life, the identity and structural framework of
the Panth. Ordinary issues of religious, educational, social or political
nature can be dealt with only in a Matta [resolution].
(b) A Gurmatta
[Holy resolution] can be adopted only by a select primary Panthic group
or a representative gathering of the Panth.
Appeals
against Local Decisions
Article XXVII
An appeal can be
made to the Akal Takht against a local congregation’s decision.
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