Shap Journal 2001/2002

Living Community

Community in the Sikh Religion

W.Owen Cole

The Sikh religion besides being fiercely
monotheistic is also completely egalitarian. It
has no priesthood even though visitors to
gurdwaras may be introduced to someone and
told: 'He is our priest'. This is really a kind but unhelpful
gesture towards Christians who are thought to belong to
the Roman Catholic or Anglican denominations. It is
not generally known by Sikhs that for members of the
URC or Quaker denominations, for example, 'priest' may
be a big turn off for people who hoped to find Sikhs
sharing their theological views. The person called
'priest' will be a granthi, someone who reads the Guru
Granth Sahib or acts as its custodian whenever it is
open. He, (it could be she but never is because of Indian
culture, not Sikh theology), may be highly educated or
have few skills beyond the ability properly to intone the
scripture. He is a functionary not a theologically
educated person. In this he is parallel to a Hindu priest,
who can perform rituals correctly but may be able to do
little else. When visiting a gurdwara the secretary or
another member of the sangat, local community, is the
woman or man to look for if enthusiastic children or
students are to be properly informed. There are schools
or colleges for training granthis but the standard of
students offering themselves for education is often low
and what they are taught tends to be how to read the
scripture and take services. To my knowledge there are
no places in India which prepare granthis for service
abroad, by teaching them English for example, and none
in the English speaking world. The result is the Diaspora
is an impoverished sangat where third generation Sikh
youths are given no help in remaining Sikh and being
British for example. The granthi, known as the 'Bhai
Sahib', brother, is despised by children in the way that
he has usually been by generations of adults.

The Bhai Sahib is unnecessary but an example of how a
community has adapted in sangats where there is a
need to keep gurdwaras open for much of the day and
the wealth to pay for his services, though he is not well
paid and accommodation in the UK is likely to consist of
a room or small flat on the premises. Many gurdwaras
are only open at times which the community decides,
this may be early in the morning or in the evening. In
the Diaspora the gurdwara may only be open on
Sundays and at festivals when most members of the
sangat are free to attend. There are, however, exceptions
to the poor quality of granthis. Some have a calling to
serve and are very helpful to young people who wish to
learn Punjabi and read the book upon which their faith
is based.

lust as there are no rules governing the need to have
ministers so there is no uniformity relating to the
administration and organisation of gurdwaras. In some
villages the sangat is the committee, as perhaps it should
be. Strictly speaking a gurdwara is only a building. It is
the scripture and the believing community which
matter. Sikhs do have an organisation known as the
Shromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC)
which is based in Amritsar. It was established in 1920
during the agitation by Sikhs for them to have control of
their gurdwaras. Prior to this they had often been the
property of Hindus who had introduced non-Sikh
practices. The SGPC is theoretically responsible for all
historical gurdwaras in the states of Punjab and
Haryana but it seeks to control all gurdwaras in India
and to extend its authority world wide. To this end it
includes members from parts of India outside the
regions under its immediate control but as yet none
from overseas. The annual income of the SGPC is over
Rs 1,000,000,000. (The rupee pound sterling exchange
rate is about Rs 60 to the £1), With so much money
involved power struggles are not infrequent. It is not
surprising, therefore, that some Sikhs are scornful of the
institution and scarcely recognise it. Even in the area
over which the SGPC is said to assert control there are
sangats which will go their own way. There may be a
local committee if there are funds to dispense and
schools or hospitals to maintain, but if the gurdwara is
merely the place where Sikhs gather for worship such
organisation is unnecessary and might result only in
family disputes. The influence of the SGPC is not
negligible however. In the 1990s it decreed that langar.
the shared community meal, should be eaten sitting on
the floor. Many of the gurdwaras which had used tables
and chairs for years conformed to this ruling. Whether
this shows the authority of the SGPC or a sangat's
response to the argument that this is the way in which
langar was served in the days of the Gurus is uncertain.

In the UK there is again no uniformity. In the conduct
of worship and other ceremonies the Rehat Maryada or
Khalsa Code of Discipline may be used as a guide even
though many Sikhs will not be Khalsa members or even
keep the kesh, uncut hair, not to mention the other four
Ks. Where there are elected committees voting often
takes place at Vaisakhi and may be confined to
keshdharis. Candidates may be required to be amritdhari
women or men who have been initiated into the
institution of the Khalsa. Books often suggest that the
only Sikh is one who wears the turban and five Ks but
the reality is very different; a large minority of Sikhs
may be Khalsa but they still constitute a minority. To
add to the variety, there are sant gurdwaras, established
by teachers whose headquarters is in Punjab.
Management of these sangats will be delegated to a
group of the sant's devotees but he will retain control.

What has been written so far is descriptive of an
organisation and not necessarily a religion. One must
remember, however, that the way a religious institution
is organised reflects its theology. The egalitarianism of
Sikhs and their resistance to the imposition of a
hierarchy from within (attempts by the SGPC to
dominate the Panth) or from outside (by the media and
governments or other faith groups) happily shows no
sign of diminishing. The Times may describe the Akal
Takht as the Sikh Vatican but it is not. The real purpose
of it and four other similar 'seats of authority' is only to
ensure that rituals are properly performed. Governments
or the BBC love to know who the representative Sikh is.
There is no such person. Someone may emerge as the
man or woman who is turned to, generally when there
is a crisis, and a sense of solidarity may let them appear
representative, but the community will not acknowledge
them within its own four walls. It would be a great
shame and a denial of religious principle if the Sikhs
were to establish a hierarchy. One day they may form a
national committee to negotiate with the government
over the provision of religious schools, for example, but
its raison d'etre will be practical, one might say secular
and not religious.

Sikhs exist for two principal purposes, to worship and
witness to the one God, and to serve their fellow human
beings. It is with the second of these that we will end. In
Punjab and all over India, as well as such countries as
Thailand and Malaysia, service, sewa, may take the
form of building dispensaries or schools adjacent to the
gurdwara on Sikh - owned land. On a visit to Varanasi
I was shown the two bed dispensary where a Sikh doctor
from a nearby hospital gave his services freely. A few
years later I heard that the dispensary was now a
hospital. Guru Har Krishen schools in Delhi were
established and are maintained by the Delhi SGPC. In
Amritsar, which I know well, there are several
orphanages and similar humanitarian institutions. One
to visit is the Chief Khalsa Diwan. It runs a school for
blind boys, some of whom go on to serve the Panth as
granthis or ragis, musicians. As yet it cannot afford a
similar establishment for girls. At Taran Taran, some
twenty miles away there is an old people's home. a
school, and a hospital.

In the English - speaking countries of the Diaspora, at
least, it is not possible to make these kinds of provisions.
Long ago the state assumed responsibility for health and
education and no individuals or voluntary groups could
compete with them, such is the cost of social provision.
Instead, Sikhs in such places as the UK support agencies
like the Chief Khalsa Diwan generously. (In 1972 after
visiting a home for people of any faith who had been
rejected by their families because they had mental
disorder, leprosy or other illnesses, I spoke to the sangat
in Leeds. Within five minutes they had collected £77, a
spontaneous gesture. This was a large sum of money in
those days). They also help Sikh relief agencies such as
the one that went to help earthquake victims in Gujarat.
We don't hear of what other religions do in the Sudan
or India and can easily conclude that they do nothing!
They also take old people from Southall to the seaside on
day trips. The first group went with some misgivings.
which says something about attitudes we have to people
who don't look like us or act as they should - last week
I had to do some adjusting as a young woman came
from behind her desk to examine my car and estimate
what repair was necessary - surely a job for a man! The
Sikhs have some adjusting to do also. No women
granthis - those who go to the colleges end up teaching.
Few women leading worship or serving on gurdwara
committees, though long ago the Sikh women of
Smethwick voted all the men off the committee except
for one statutory male! After a year they gave the men
back their toy!

There can be no such thing as an individual Sikh:
fellowship is of the essence of the religion. The gurdwara
should be the laboratory in which service for humanity
is learned. Langar, vegetarian so that no one should be
offended, conveys the principle of equality and
inclusiveness. Only those who consider themselves
superior to others and fear ritual pollution are likely to
refuse it. In India the food may be eaten off disposable
leaf plates rather than metal ones as in Britain, but the
meal is still one which men, women and children, are
likely to prepare. In India, also, langar and the provision
of karah parshad tends to be ongoing throughout the
day, certainly in major gurdwaras. In the Diaspora they
may be served at the end of worship. Local variations,
however, should not stand in the way of a generosity
that recognises that the service of humanity is essential
if one wishes to serve God. When the Emperor Akbar
came to see Guru Arjan he was instructed first to sit in
a row with other people from all walks of life: the Guru
then granted him an audience.