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THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG
97
initiation bequeathed by the tenth Guru, does not mean keeping
unshorn hair. I can only say that this is not only deliberate distortion
but a mischievous remark to confuse the readers. It will be pertinent
here to share with you one question put to me in one of the discussions,
on the internet regarding unshorn hair. I was asked to show a single
line from Jap Ji Sahib wherein Guru Nanak has asked his followers to
keep unshorn hair. I was told that since Jap Ji is the quintessence of
Guru Granth Sahib, we must find these instructions in it. My answer
to this question was very simple. Every line of Jap Ji asks us to follow
the teachings of the Guru in total. This is exactly what S Hardev
Singh is refusing to do here. If he has a mind to follow the Guru’s
teachings in totality, he will definitely find a mention of uncut hair.
Now S Hardev Singh starts listing his reasons for liberating
diaspora Sikhs from the clutches of bana (which should be read as 5 ks
as per his definition). To summarize his points:
- S Bawa Singh from Australia has given some literature about
Sikhism to a student. The student and her brother are impressed
by the philosophy of Sikhism, but are scared to adorn the 5 ks
especially the hair and the sword.
- Claudia G S Martin from Brazil says that her country is ripe for
conversion to Sikhism. But the traditional Sikhism with saffronised
Amritdharis carrying long kirpans have no chance to succeed there.
- Garon Lee, a young student corresponds about Sikhism with Mr
Hardev Singh Shergill. He has done enough study of our faith
and discovers that our Rehat Maryada is full of rituals.
It is apparent that all these points are baseless. I know Bawa
Singh here in Australia. In one of the meetings, he said that he is a
Sikh of Guru Nanak and has nothing to do with Guru Gobind Singh.
How can you expect a person with this opinion to be able to convince
a student about the significance of unshorn hair S Hardev Singh has
picked up a line that suits him from the article by Ms Claudia. Ms
Claudia in her article has repeatedly emphasized the need for gatka
training. At the very outset of her article she admits that she was
“drawn to Sikhism by the fascinating code of conduct marked by
indelible symbols – the so called 5 kakkars”. Obviously, she did not
mean discarding of 5 ks in the quote picked by the editor. Similarly,
the queries arising in the mind of Mr Garon Lee do not substantiate