Sikhi Vs Personality Cults(Love&Light, Aug. 24) concludes with this forceful exhortation:

"No Sikh should allow him or herself to ever be called Sant or Baba (or Yogi, of course) nor need we ever let the Sant or Baba trip happen in our Gurdwaras. It is time for Sikhs to take a strong stand against cults and stop massaging the feet of people who claim religious superiority and grant Darshan - yet call them Gursikhs."

By giving Guruship to the Shabad-Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh, with wonderful foresight, freed the Sikhs forever from falling prey to Personality cults. Here are a few selections from Gurbani, which state the characteristics of real Sants.

Guru Arjan defines the perfect Sants thus:

ijnw swis grwis n ivsrY hirnwmw min mMqu] DMnu is syeI nwnkw pUrnu soeI sMqu]

Those who do not forget God's name even for the duration of a breath or when swallowing a morsel, are praiseworthy. They are the perfect Sants. (GGS p.319)

In another Shabad, Guru Arjan describes the Sant's way of life:

sMq rihq sunhuuu myry BweI…

AwT pihr inkt kr jwnY] pRB kw kIAw mITw mwnY]
eyk nwm sMqn AwDwr] hoie rhy sB kI pg Cwr]…
imqR sqRRu jwkY eyk smwnY] pRB Apny ibn Avr n jwnY]

Day and night, a Sant feels himself in the presence of God and cheerfully
obeys God's will. God's name alone is the Sants' support and they live in humility as the dust of the feet of all. Friends and foes are alike to them. They acknowledge no one other than God. (GGS p.392)

According to these quotes, a true Sant never puts away God's simran from his/her mind, always experiences the closeness of God, surrenders his ego to the will of God, is humble, treats friends and foes alike and regards nothing/none equivalent to One God.

When someone claims or is promoted to be a Sant or Baba, a Sikh should apply the touchstone of these qualities to determine his/her personality and conduct, rather than being impressed by how many followers, how much knowledge or wealth and what kind of robes etc that person exhibits.

I saw some so-called Babas who feel offended and ignore you if you greet them with Fateh instead of touching their feet. There were others who rose from rags to riches by tricking innocent followers to offer their hard earned money to them. Some took pride in sanctifying the believer womens' chunnis spread under their feet as red carpets.

The trips of fake Babas to Gurdwaras will continue as long as the sangat does not try to understand Gurbani for guidance, the Gurdwara managements invite them to please their followers or are in need of increased charhawa.

Some of us believe that we can get our worldly wishes fulfilled by serving the so called Babas or Sants. But Gurbani enlightens thus:

mwnuK kI tyk ibrQI sB jwn] dyvn kau eykY Bgvwn] (suKmnI swihb)

God is the only giver. Consider the dependency on humans as fruitless.

iqsih iqAwg mwnuK jo syvhu qau lwjlon hoie jweIAY]

One has to lower one's eyes or lose one's dignity by worshipping humans, instead of seeking God's help. (GGS p.1214)