L E T T E R
An Attempt to Confuse Sikhi
Harpreet Singh

July 25, 2002: Massachusetts, USA
Re: Practicing the Wrong Maryada, Jasvinder Singh, Virginia, USA

Jasvinder Singh's article is full of inaccuracies and conjectures and lacks substance to warrant serious consideration. Such conjectures, however, can lead to confusion within the Panth.

He is right when he considers the Gurbilas Patshahi 6 as antithetical to Sikhi. However, he fails to provide a single fact that supports that the Sikh Rehat Maryada stems from this Brahminical work.

Much of the article consists of a description of the Gurbilas Patshahi 6 but utterly fails to provide a single fact on how it is even remotely related to the Panthic Sikh Rehat Maryada. The Sikh Rehat Mayada represents the first effort by the Panth worldwide to establish a code of conduct through the consensus of the Sikh people. It is a cherished document for the Panth because it reflects Sikh values as understood by the Panth a little less than a century ago.

According to the Sikh Coalition's website:

Rehat Maryada is the code of conduct that every Sikh must follow in their day to day life. It also outlines conduct during special ceremonies like birth, death and marriage. The original Rehat was verbally communicated by the tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh to the Five Beloved Ones in 1699. Following that event the rehat was primarily transmitted orally. During the eighteenth century some individuals wrote down what they understood of the rehat. None of these written versions, however, seem to have comprehensively captured the original verbal communication to the Five Beloved Ones.

After the Guru, one person cannot document the rehat as the Guru transferred his authority to the Guru Panth and the Guru Granth. So it is only the Panth, the collective of all committed Sikhs, who has the authority to draft the rehat in light of the teachings of the Guru Granth. Through out the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the Khalsa would assemble at the Akal Takht, or elsewhere when the Takht was inaccessible and make decisions for the Panth through consensus. The rehat during these years was never disputed and it remained an oral tradition, although disputes in the correct code of conduct started becoming prevalent. By the end of the 19th century the rehat and Sikh practice had deteriorated so much that the Sikh identity was pretty much lost. As with the Buddhists, the Sikhs had been engulfed into the larger Hindu fold. The Sikhs had also become complacent about their practices and identity.

In the later half of the 19th century, Sikhs realized their own plight and several reform movements started that sought to revive the original intent of the ten Sikh Masters. One of these movements was the Singh Sabha lehar. These movements also addressed the issue of the community not having a uniform rehat.

In 1925, after much debate and discussion, a rehat was drafted by scholars from several differing schools of Sikh thought. This draft of rehat was then sent to Sikhs all over the world. After eleven years of debate and discussion, a final version was agreed to in 1936. This version is what most mainstream Sikhs today accept as the Guru Panth's rehat.

http://www.sikhcoalition.org/SikhismQA.asp

In the future the Sikh Sentinel should not publish baseless conjectures. The longstanding traditions of our Panth are sovereign and any attempts to challenge them must accompany thoughtful criticism and proper evidence. I admit that the Sikh Rehat Maryada is not perfect, but only the Guru Panth has the authority to amend it and through consensus -- one individual has not right to change or discard what has been built through the collective will of the Panth.

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