The following remarks were delivered by Inni Kaur at the Pentagon’s first-ever event to commemorate the Sikh faith on April 25, 2014. Hosted by the Office of the Pentagon Chaplain, the program was organized by Major Kalsi, Captain Rattan, Corporal Lamba, and the Sikh Coalition, an organization leading the campaign for turbaned Sikhs and other people of faith to be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.
April 29, 2014: Today, we have gathered here for Vaisakhi, a spring harvest festival which is celebrated by Punjabi farmers and many South Asian communities.
However, Vaisakhi has a very special significance for the Sikh community. It was the Vaisakhi of 1699, when the tenth of the Sikh Guru-Prophets — Guru Gobind Singh — invited his disciples to join him in the city of Anandpur Sahib, Panjab.
At this gathering, the Guru formally established the Khalsa Panth (a community of committed Sikhs) and standardized a core of discipline, practice, and identity around which the Sikh community continues to be centered. He then bowed before its representatives as a way of indicating the transmission of corporeal authority and publicly entrusted the leadership to the Khalsa Panth.
Every year on Vaisakhi, Sikhs come together to commemorate and reflect on this significant historical event.
While the community holds a special place in its collective heart for this occasion, Vaisakhi is not a “holiday” in that the Sikh tradition does not regard any one time or day to be uniquely “holy.” Rather, it is an occasion for celebrating the community’s growth and for recalling a set of shared values and collective memories.
Sikhism or Sikhi is fairly young as far as world religions go. Its origins coincide with Columbus’s search for India and the discovery of America.
Around that same time, on the foothills of the Himalayas, in Panjab, Guru Nanak, the first of the 10 Sikh Guru-Prophets began sharing his thoughts with the people. He traveled far and wide spreading his message.
So who was this man? His words, not mine:
“My name is Nanak;
I’m composed of five elements.
I am no messiah;
I am no saint.
Some call me a goblin;
Some call me a sprite
Some call me a lost man.
I have forsaken reason
Searching for the True One.”
9 Guru-Prophets followed and over a period of 240 years, giving shape to Sikh thought, identity and way of life.
So what is Sikh thought?
Ik Oankar – There is One Divine Being
The primary number ‘1’ is used for the Divine. This is recognizable to people of all languages and cultures. The mathematical One is formless. It is beyond cause and effect. It is all space and time and yet transcends infinitely beyond as well. There are no borders, no male or female images, no concepts and designation of this Pure Oneness.
Furthermore, this Oneness cannot be imaged or shaped in any exclusive form.
And paradoxically, this One is within each and every being-permeating all time and space. Hence, we seek no conversions. For whom are we converting, for there is no other, but the One.
Therefore, the concept of 'the other' does not exist in Sikh thought- for the One exists in all. There are no strangers.
The paths to the One are many – we recognize and accept all paths.
Equality is paramount for us.
“The one who regards all as equal is truly religious,” says the Guru. The Sikh way of life is to create communities where all are respected and treated equal.
We recognize differences.
“Different vestures from different countries may make us different; nevertheless, we have the same eyes, the same ears, the same body, the same voice,” says the Guru.
Our challenge is therefore how do we raise our consciousness and come to the realization that we are all equally human and have the same biological and spiritual ingredients.
I’d like to share a reading from the scripture that affirms a woman’s creative and natural development in the social fabric of society:
“Of a woman we are conceived
Of a woman we are born
To a woman we are engaged and married.
It is woman who is friend and partner for life,
It is woman who keeps humanity going………..
From woman is born a woman
Without woman there can be no human birth
Without woman, says Nanak, only the True One exists.”
...........GGS page 463
A woman can therefore conduct every Sikh ceremony. There is nothing that she is excluded from.
We have no designated clergy. Any Sikh who can read the Scripture can perform a service or a ceremony – be it from birth to death.
One does not need a mediator between oneself and the Divine. The Divine is accessible to all and not just a privileged few.
The Sikh view of human life: is that the world is the creation of the Divine, reflecting the divine being and divine purpose.
A positive value is placed on this natural order, and all worldly structures – the family, social, political and economic systems – are within the orbit of religious concern.
Human life is an opportunity to develop personally by practicing piety and by devoting oneself to the service of humanity thereby improving society as a whole.
“The body,” says the Guru, “is the palace, the temple, the house of the Divine; into it rests the Divine eternal light.”
In Sikh thought, a true person of faith does not retreat from the world, but
‘battles in the open field
With the mind perfectly in control
And with a heart poised in Love, all the time.’
This in a nut-shell is the Sikh way of life.
The deeper our awareness, our connection to the divine, the more vibrant is our participation in the everyday affairs of life.
Our human obligation is to refine our mental, emotional and spiritual faculties so that we can construct a better world for all of us and for our future generations. All of us are equally responsible. This task is not left to only the learned, or the preachers, or the social workers, – this is for all.
One of most conspicuous teachings of the faith – is its spirit of affirmation – chardhi kalaa.
We live in the here and now. Sikh thought is not overly concerned with what happens after this life. For us, heaven and hell are a state of mind. When we are connected to the Divine we are in heaven and when we are separated we are in hell (a state of confusion.)
What is Salvation/Mukti/Nirvana in our tradition?
For us, salvation can be attained in the world itself – “amid its laughter and sport, fineries and food.”
So the question arises? How should one conduct oneself in the world?
There is a beautiful symbolism that is frequently used in the Scripture to answer this – be like the lotus which remains in the pond untouched by its surrounding impurities.
Strive to become a saint-warrior. One who is prepared to defend and protect the rights of all. But before you pick up the sword, make sure it is a battle for justice and not revenge.
So in the Sikh spirit, I wish everyone here a joy-filled enriching Vaisakhi. May the tradition of commemorating Vaisakhi at the Pentagon continue from here on!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Inni Kaur's presentation is featured in this full video of the event.
------------------------------------------------------------
Related Articles:
Making History - Vaisakhi at the Pentagon
The First-Ever Sikh Prayer at the Pentagon