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OP
- ED July
30, 2003 The original rehat was verbally communicated by our 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. These written versions are ascribed to Bhai Nand Lal, Bhai Desa Singh, Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Chaupa Singh and others. None of these written versions, however, seem to have comprehensively captured the original verbal communication to the Five Beloved Ones. It could also be that over the years the original versions of Bhai Nand Lal's rehat or the rehat written by others were altered. Chaupa Singh's rehat is problematic because Chaupa Singh was a Chibber brahmin, and he has chosen to write the rehat according to his ideas and not those of the Guru. For instance, Chaupa Singh says that brahmins should be considered supreme or that women should never be trusted. So all the existing written rehats seem to be unsatisfactory for one reason or another. After the Guru, one person in any case cannot document the rehat. The Guru transferred his authority to the Guru Panth and the Guru Granth. So it is the Panth, the collective of all committed Sikhs, who have the authority to draft the rehat in light of the teachings of the Guru Granth. This would mean building a consensus among all the members of the Panth, which may seem to be a tall order for our community. Through the eighteenth and nineteenth century, however, such consensus did exist. The Khalsa would assemble at the Akal Takht, or elsewhere when the Takht was inaccessible and make decisions for the Panth through consensus. We have at least on eye witness account from 1805 when John Malcolm was present at a Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar. The rehat during these years was never disputed and it remained an oral tradition, although disputes in the correct code of conduct starting becoming prevalent. The debate on meat for instance, seems to have started as early as the middle of the eighteenth century, not more that fifty years after the passing of Guru Gobind Singh. But such debates never became the focus of the Khalsa's attention, as they were other more significant issues to deal with. 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. This was partly due to the Hindu or Aryan approach towards undermining and swallowing up any Indic creeds that sought to assert a separate identity and challenge the Hindu caste structure. The other reason was the Sikhs were complacent about their practices and identity. In the later half of the 19th century, Sikhs woke up 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 rehat was then sent to Sikhs all over the world. This was a serious attempt at building consensus among the community. Principal Teja Singh was convener of this effort. Other people involved in this effort included notable Sikhs such as Bhai Vir Singh, Akali Kaur Singh and Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha. So serious were these Sikhs at hearing from all Sikhs that they sent this draft to Canada, USA, Kenya, Malaysia and other foreign countries. Remember this was the 1920s when air travel did not exist. After eleven years of debate and discussion during which some Sikhs chose to walk out of the process because they did not get their way, a final version was agreed to in 1936. This version is what most mainstream Sikhs accept as the Guru Panth's rehat. Some Sikhs, such as the author of this note, revere this document because it reflects the closest Sikhs have come to a consensus in a long time. Rehats written by individuals, no matter how great their practice of Sikhi, still remain the ideas of just individuals. Bhai Randhir Singh, Baba Gurbachan Singh Bhindranwale and other such Sikhs were no doubt devoted Sikhs, but were not the Master; and cannot speak for the Guru Panth. Their ideas are those of individuals, and their rehats are not any more acceptable than those of Chaupa Singh or Desa Singh. The Guru Panth's Rehat, therefore, is the 1936 version accepted by the SGPC in 1945 and other Sikh institutions. Note that this rehat is not the SGPC's rehat, it is the Panth's rehat. The SGPC is one organization that accepts and prints this rehat. Other smaller organizations such as the Sikh Missionary college also print this rehat. This rehat has seen two small changes in the 1960s (the addition of a fifth takht) and 1990s (the addition of reading the complete Anand Sahib during Amrit Sanchar instead of 6 paurees). No one, including the Jathedar of Akal Takht, has the authority to amend this document. If the Panth is to see any form of unity today, it is imperative that they rally around this maryada, until we can be free to come up with something better. We would encourage all young Sikhs to read and reread this document, and live by it." note: Register for the next Sikh Network Retreat at http://www.sikhnetwork.org/index.php?p=Summer2003 Copyright
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