Selected Editorials - The Sikh Bulletin

Luther otherwise he would have been advised to not to appear before the servants of Badal family,
themselves servants of BJP and RSS.
His second mistake was to muddy the waters of his otherwise admirable stand against Dasam Granth
when he chose to obey the dictates of so called Sikh Rehat Maryada, that nobody follows, to keep on
reciting the three ‘banis’, which are clearly ‘kachi banis’, as part of his Nitnem, which in itself is a ritual.
In my editorial of Nov-Dec 2009 Sikh Bulletin, which was dedicated entirely to S. Dalbir Singh M. Sc. of
New Delhi’s research on sources of Dasam Granth, following is what I suggested to him and would urge
Darshan Singh Khalsa to consider my suggestion:
“In his third letter to Jathedar Akal Takhat dated October 15, 2008, none of which were answered, S.
Dalbir Singh expresses his dilemma that if out of respect of hukam of GGS against kachi bani he does
not recite Jaap, Swaiyya, and Chaupai, he is panth-dokhi and if he recites them he becomes Gurudokhi
by disobeying Guru’s hukam against kachi bani. He is beseeching the Jathedar to guide him; he
can until the hell freezes over. You have to be Lamba to get Jathedar’s ears. Do not become Gurudokhi,
one cannot become panth-dokhi because there is no Panth. Badal/Tohra killed it long time
ago.”
May Guru spare us the tragedy that occurred in Europe 500 years ago. Guru Nanak had ushered a
new movement of universal brotherhood. He rejected centuries old ritualistic and discriminatory practices
that had crept into the society. By doing so he gravely hurt the feelings of not only his parents and family
but also the entire high caste society, the establishment of the day. Unfortunately within 500 years we
have turned away from the path shown to us by Guru Nanak. Instead new but similar organizations have
been created, who under the pretext of hurt ‘religious’ feelings are threatening the revival of Gurus’
message. Guru did not waver under that threat; nor shall we. What Guru said during his time “rfjy sLINh
mukwdm kuwqy” is apt today. You know who are the rulers of today and who are the dogs. We are not
advocating a new faith. All we are asking for is necessary reformation as per teachings of Guru Nanak.
Hardev Singh Shergill
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EDITORIAL
Editorial from the September-October 2010 Sikh Bulletin
Special Issue on Bhajan Yogi
Letter to the Editor, The Register-Guard
Eugene, Oregon
Recently, a friend who knew that I have written about Bhajan Yogi in my magazine, The Sikh Bulletin, in
the past, sent me a couple of articles on Yogi’s organizations involved in litigation in Oregon, that
appeared in The Register-Guard. This was no surprise to me. But the letters to the editor that followed,
critical of the reporter and some implied criticism of writing negative about minorities, prompts me to
briefly throw some light on the subject. Bhajan Yogi was extremely good at what he did but propagation
of Sikhism it was not. Criticism of Bhajan Yogi’s cult cannot be construed as criticism of Sikhism.
Bhajan Yogi’s cult was based in Los Angeles and New Mexico but Oregon has had its own share of cults
of Indian origin. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh moved into the central Oregon town of Antelope and created a
commune of free love, immigration scam, mass murder plots and 93 Rolls Royces, gifted to him by his
very wealthy twenty and thirty-some things, during 1981-85, before his deportation by Presidential
intervention.
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