I have been concerned with the problem of APOSTASY ever since the Lord changed my own path from hollow show-window exhibition of Sikhi to a purposeful following of Guru Granth Sahib. I have witnessed horrendous scenes of external kakkars with absolute indifference to the values of Sikhism in practice. I have been aghast at almost a total hiatus between the words and deeds of so called Sikh-looking persons, amritdhariand non-amritdhari. And I have hung my head in shame in learning about the acrobatics of amritdhari Raagi Jathas wedded to commercialization and denial of Sikh practices in their lives, preaching solemnly in Gurdwaras. And finally, the so-called religious, political and even social leader's incident power and pelf, riches and rites, have given, it appears a license to the Youth to do whatever they like. And the youth rightly points out.

1. Our elders talking of and reciting Gurbani and lecturing to us, are cheats in business, smugglers, hoards, drunkards in spite of the fact that they uoutwardly look IDENTIFIED SIKHS with their hair and beard.

2. Whatever we see around in Gurdwaras is generally a quarrelsome atmosphere between this party and that and sometimes they drag each others turbans in the presence Guru Granth Sahib-WITH THEIR KIRPANS VISIBLE IN THEIR GATRAS.

3. At home we see the quarrels among our relations for money, for prestige, for dowry and we also see ill-treatment of daughters in-law even in amritdhari homes

4. Atmosphere of bribery, corruption in offices, courts and business houses involving amritdhari Sikhs is as rampant as in the case of others.

5. We are told to adhere to the principles of Sikhism when our elders themselves are engaged only in lip-service to Sikhism and present a poor ideal to be followed.

I am sorry I am pained to MISS the real cause of degeneration of Sikhs-not only the Youth, but of all ages-among the causes mentioned in the circularinviting people to the Seminar. I am nearly amused that we are always unwilling or unable to pinpoint the MAIN CAUSE of our degeneration. We must recall the ghalugharas, the fall of Banda Singh Bahadur, the ceaseless ZULUM of Mughal emperors and almost always, hostile environment which our forefathers had to face and then find out the reasons how they always came out with flying colors even if they had to lay down their lives. Their mainstay was Guru's bachan. Guru?s life, Gurus example, Gurus ideal and Guru's exhortation. Today, while we are anxious that our children should not shave off their hair and get absorbed in the Hindu Brahmin fold, we are anxious that they should keep their identity with a turban and untrimmed beard but we are notAS ANXIOUS to ensure that our children have the teachings of their Gurus entrenched in their practical life. Imagine the spectacle of Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Dayala and Bhai Sati DAs cheerfully laying down their lives just as Guru Tegh Bahadur had groomed them by his teachings and earlier (Guru) Gobind at the age of 9 had sacrificed his father, for the freedom of worship of Kashmiri Brahmins.

What we need today IN ADDITION TO THE THEORETICAL TEACHINGS enumerated under Cures and Positive Steps, is THE PRACTICAL EXAMPLES for our young people to watch and emulate. Unfortunately the so-called religious leaders divided, as they are in different groups and camps, seem to think that religious leadership is a spring board for political advancement with no holds barred as far as the means are concerned. The so-called political leadership may show its Sikh identity with beards and turbans and to impress the gullible, they may even leave the beards unfurled, but would go all out employ questionable methods to gain or retain their political positions. Imagine the effect on young minds when, the so-called leaders always call others names when our Gurus maintained that a Sikh would follow Gurbani:

1. Ham nahin change bura nahin koe
2. Howo subhna kee renka tau aao hamare paas
3. Kabir sab te ham bure ham taj bhalo sab koe
4. Manda jaane aapkau avar bhala sansar
5. Aapas te oopar sab jaano tan dargeh sukh pawo

We somehow have peculiar notions about the greatness of Sikhism. Our Gurus who established their greatness with DEEDS, not mere talks, and enjoined on us to LIVE IN IMITATION OF THEIR LIVES, are now remembered in rituals. The sagacity of Guru Goibind Singh in giving us Guru Granth Sahib as our perpetual Guru has almost always been subordinated to our external Obeisance.

We are proud and happy if ?

a. Our children say PANJ PAURIS of Japji Sahib before eating something;
b. Our young children bow to Guru Granth Sahib before going to school, before opening their shops or before going for an examination;
c. Akhand paath Sahib is ceremoniously completed at a wedding or a death, even if attendance is nil;
d. We get hukamnaamas from Harmandir Sahib through the post for an Akhand path performed through our postal remittance;
e. We see our young children keeping their hair and beard, even if they indulge in bribery, corruption, eve-teasing, drinking, political chicanery and other ills. As for the cures I would humbly suggest that we first establish the REAL CAUSES of our degeneration in our hearts and as parents, as highly-placed rich individual Sikhs, Advocates, Teachers. Doctors, businessmen pledge ourselves to become examples of Sikhism in that-

- we should always remember that we are THE KHAAS ROOP OF Guru Gobind Singh as KHALSA

- we should never be sharp or rude (PHIKA NA BOLIYE)

- we should be representative of Guru's following teachings:

a. Dekh prayian changian mawan behana dheeiyan jaane
b. Ninda bhali kise ki nahin
c. Karan na sune ka hoo ki ninda
d. Sabko meet ham a-apan keena ham sabna ke sajan
e. Farida bure da bhala kar Gusa man NA handaye
f. Farida jo tehn maran mukian tinan NA maare Ghum;

Aapanre Ghar jayiye peir tinade chum
g. Hown bal bal jayoun ramia karane.
h. Man beche Satgur ke paas
i. Manas ki jaat sabhe eke pehchanbo
j. Deora masit soi pooja namaz ohi
k. Saas saas man naam samaee

In terms of our lives as Sikhs. We should ensure that our kakkars represent the sweetest and the best in human life. Our kirpan should indicate compassion and contentment and steely determination for the defence of the weak against tyranny.

My KARA should always be a warning against greed.
My KESH should always be blessed in dusting, the feet of my Master.
MY Kachcha should indicate complete self-control.
My KANGA, should besides cleanliness of my hair, indicate throwing out the negative

thoughts from my head.

In other words, the examples before children should be of a Sikh who can represent Ham tum beech bhayo nahin koi tumhee so kant naar ham soi (Lord, no one should come between You and me because You are my husband and I am Your wife), and not "Gallin asi changian achari burian" (we are good in talking but bad in practice). Like Bhagat Ravidas we should be able to say: "Eh jannam tumare lekhe" (This life is dedicated to You, my Lord). Indeed when as ordinary Sikhs, we have established an environment of spiritualised living, all the positive steps and cures in terms of lectures, TV shows, Gurmat Camps, etc. would be effective. My thrust, again and again, would be:

LET US TURN TO THE PRACTICAL LIVING INTERMS OF THE DICATES OF OUR MASTERS IN GURU GRANTH SAHIB.

The tragedy today is that not many of us read Gurbani and those who do perform a ritual. Many of us are not even interested in understanding it, much lesser practicing it.The real cause of our degeneration is, as I repeat ad nauseam, that we do not even know what our Guru wants and care even less whether we live his teachings or not, only if the number of bearded and haired Sikhs goes on increasing and their kakkars visible in identity, even if we are absolutely hollow inside. When we worry about image, I think we should worry MORE-and certainly not less about what a Sikh is like in his daily life because with his total identity of hair and beard and kakkars, he is noticed in his bad actions, in his foolish, irreligious deals, also. Only the other day, a Marathi teacher in a village school, invited me to talk to his students because he thought of me worthy of this honor. After a few months of the function, where the eminent people of the village were present and were happy that someone from Tapovan had come there, some Sikh salesmen with their beards and turbans in tact went for selling some pots and pans. They booked orders and received money and when they were leaving, someone asked them, "We hope you will not cheat us and send the goods in time". They proudly said: "We are Sikhs of Guru Gobind Singh, we will certainly send you everything." But they were cheated. The teacher, almost in tears and in a complaining mood told me this story. I too was sorry but I had heard such things before. I merely bowed out by saying: "Even I am a thief but I hoodwinked you into believing that I was not. In any case there is degeneration among all the sections of the people and Sikhs cannot be an exception." But my chagrin is that much less attention is paid to raising the character of our people-we are all rotten, not only the youth and this rottenness is visible more pronouncedly at the top, exceptions notwithstanding - because we are satisfied if we look pooran Gursikhs! When I was a child, I remember one old man was very much annoyed to hear that his son shaved off, but, even as a child, when I inquired from him why he had not been worried when he knew that his son used to trim his beard and accept bribes as a small functionary in the army's supply corps. That is it! We are worried when externals bring up the question of lok laaj but when Guru's hukam is violated, we do not care. Once again I repeat that we have all almost forgotten what the Guru's hukam is because the PATIT Commissioner, the PATIT Headmaster, the PATIT MLA, the PATIT Doctor, the PATIT Commander, the PATIT Police Officer and the PATIT businessman is respected everywhere in the same way as a Gursikh would be. The other day in Hyderabad, on a Gurpurab day, the Head Granthi of Harmandir Sahib had publicly honored the PATIT rich man with a saropa and words of grand tribute because he had donated lakhs - of rupees for Raagi Jathas to be called for kirtan. In a Sikh Public School, where some efforts were made for the PATIT children to grow hair and tie turbans, complaints came from their parents and some parents even at home cut their children's hair BECAUSE THEY DO NOT KNOW THE SANCTITY, VALUE and POWER of obedience to Guru's hukams.I suggest, IN ADDITION TO MY EMPHASIS ON THE INTERNAL ADHERENCE TO GURU'S COMMANDS IN DAY-TO-DAY LIFE OF ELDERS, we should ensure that in Sikh Public Schools, admission of Sikh PATIT children should be effected only if they are prepared to keep their Sikh maryada. As for the non-Sikh children, there would be no compulsion.


The same should be important for the Sikh teachers. No Sikh PATIT teacher should be appointed. Nor should there be any relaxation in the case of other employees. Also, the hostel wardens in Sikh schools must be Sikhs who are devoted to the Guru. I am now going to touch a point which might lead to raising of eyebrows. When I was a child, there was never a question of Hindu-Sikh animosity. And there were hundreds of Hindu families devoted to Sikh value system and Sikh culture. I am told that even Muslim Rababis used to sing at the Harmandir Sahib. Today when I personally know that some really spiritual Hindus,who are not formal Sikhs, but who lead in Teaching Sikhism in Sikh , Public Schools and many of them are kirtanias with a high Spiritual life,question is raised about the validity of their doing so. I think, we will be narrowing our beliefs if we adhere to this understanding or misunderstanding. Ours is wonderful universal system for raising manhood to godhood. And it so happens that Hindus who devoted themselves to our Gurus, but did not formally become Khalsa, are now being considered unfit to be Guru's disciples. I do not know the intricacies but I do think that we must make a distinction between THE PATIT Sikhs, who merely shaved off even when they were born in Sikh families, AND the Hindus who sold themselves to our Gurus in perfect devotion without growing hair and beard. And finally, let me advocate another suggestion for bringing our youth back to Sikh purity and identity. Our quarrels at home between brothers, sisters, neighbours, uncles, etc. must end with Guru's hukam in our heart, Sagal sang hamko ban aai (we get on with everyone). If we display our dogged attachment to wealth-and that too, ill gotten-we cannot get rid of enmities, we cannot give up attacks on others and we cannot be REAL SIKHS, we can have no hope that our children will be better than we are. For me, the goal will be reached when the youth of today also displays this SIKHI SPIRIT, but for that, we elders must show it first. "When Banda Singh Bahadur was defeated and there were hundreds of Sikhs being killed, a mother brought an order from the Mughal ruler that her young son in the Sikhs' ranks was not a Sikh and had been wrongly imprisoned and should be spared. When the young Sikh was separated and came to know the reason, he said. MY MOTHER IS A LIAR. I am proud to be a Sikh and I must meet the same fate as my other brothers are meeting".....

(I'll end this story: He insisted that he should be executed with his fellow Sikhs and was finally martyred.) AND, WHEN IT DAWNS ON THE YOUTH THAT THE VALUE, POWER and SANCTITY of the identity comes from THE HUKAM of the Guru, I am sure that our YOUTH willfollow the elders.