A Call to Arms and Hearts

[tSingh]

WaheGuruji Ka Khalsa WaheGuruji Ki Fateh

Sadhsangat jio

I don't write much, and this may well sound like a preachy rant, but this is something I feel very strongly about and think others should also.

daas

Tirath Singh Nirmala

Beyond Ego:

The failure of modern Sikhs to address environmental and global issues

Pavan Guru Pani Pita Mata Dharat Mahat

Divas Raat Do Dai Dayaan Khaile Sagal Jagat

Wind is the Guru, Water the father and the great earth the mother

Night and Day are the two nurses in whose lap the whole world plays

Origin of the Ego-Species

Guru Maharaj is very clear that the ego is the trickiest of all trickeries and that maya, which arises from it, holds the self in bondage. Listening to the wisdom of the Guru, the individual crosses safely over the ocean of experience, the bhavsāgar.

Modern science has its own language for ego. We know that our genetic inheritance is out of kilter with the environment within which we exist, driving us to consume as much sugar and fat as possible, pushing us toward sexual infidelity, ensuring we maintain one-up-manship by any means whether physical, financial or psychological. Within its own logic, the nature of existence is for self-preservation and self-replication. Within a psychological sense, we repeat behaviours which offer selfish reward or gain, the id as Freud would have it, underpins our selfishness as the baser, more immature aspect of our psyche.

All this is nothing new. The Gurus teach about the same dilemma within human existence. The term within Gurbani for this baser instinctual behaviour is haumai or hankaar, self-serving actions and thoughts that exist as an competing philosophy on the purpose of existence; selfish genetic reproduction.

It is clear that this manifests itself within economic models as fervent capitalism, inevitably culminating with multi-national corporations accountable only to their own agendas, feeding on the sustained slavery of the weak and exploitable. Consequently such global manifestations of man’s ego have caused the rapid decline and destruction of the ecosystems as a side-product. Our health is faltering, the world is suffering and the future is being jeopardised. Our unchecked consumerist tendencies are simply unsustainable. The greed society indoctrinates us into seeking is killing everything including ourselves. There is no need for me to quote you statistics. These are readily available everywhere (although strangely, few within these monuments of ego seem willing to act on them). This is all sadly predictable.

Yet what is to my mind doubly sickening, far less predictable, is that those who claim to be actively fighting against these inherent drives, those who wish to combat the unrelenting ego, stand just as guilty in this whole vicious cycle of destruction.

How can it be that our tradition that’s fundamental aim spiritually is the deconstruction of the false self, and has as a social aim the end oppression and slavery, not produced any significant efforts at tackling these pressing global issues?

Surveying Sikh press, prachār, literature, internet discussion and youth activity our tradition is so caught up in itself that it criminally fails to recognise the greater issues, the greater injustices, the greater failure of our own consumerism and exploitation. While we sit around engaging our egos in bickering about what is a Sikh, and which bana looks best, we continue sleepwalking towards the point of no return; the point at which the world simply will not be able to recover from.

A Sikh surely is driven to end exploitation, to end poverty, to end suffering of the weak. A Sikh surely should be striving to counter greed and avarice within themselves, yet many have no comprehension of the consequences of their decisions on the environment and the world’s resources. Who then is a Sikh? Is this really the truthful living Guru Ji lauds so highly? Is it not questionable whether anyone is truly following Sikhi?

The root of this ignorance

Is it the lack of critique about the value we place on modernisation and on industrialisation? Clearly the elder generation still hold the Green Revolution as a success. Punjab however is on the brink of an agricultural disaster from having central and local government supported programs enforcing yields and methods on land to which it is not suited.

Perhaps it is the lack of specific guidance on modern relevant ethical living? Very little information is produced by Sikhs on ethical living in a heavily consumerist and modernised society. The maryadas people hold deal with the religio-socio context, but never broader ethical issues. However, as shall be demonstrated, if one applies Sikhi effectively to everyday life it is impossible to sustain an unethical wasteful lifestyle.

Could it be the consequence of a perspective which holds the environment as being in our ‘stewardship’? While this may well hold true for Semitic theological perspectives, it does not for Sikhi in which we ‘exist’ only through ignorance not through creation.

Could it be the reverse, a resignation arising out of a doctrine that holds the reality around us as total illusion? If this were the case it would make Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s actions inconsistent with Sikh doctrine. Sikhi manifests the importance of actively challenging injustice and ending suffering.

Could it be that all religions have little to offer on this issue? Within other traditions greater efforts have been made to raise awareness of these issues. Satish Kumar, once a Jain monk, has given so much to the world through his actions and writing. Within the Buddhist tradition there have been sustained efforts by the likes of the Dalai Lama, the Pure Land tradition overseas and the Zen tradition. Among Christians there has been much work and support for charity work and fair trade. For example a church in which I have given talks in interfaith meetings in my city has events, talks and advertising for Fair Trade products along with charity work. Why then should it be that Sikhs have so little to their name other than Bhagat Puran Singh’s tree sanctuary?

Gurbani and the environment

Gurbani at its core provides us with the means to realise ourselves and thus become liberated from the chains of illusion. As such, the more particular minutiae of ethical and environmental considerations must be understood through the application of the Guru’s teaching to lifestyle. Guru Gobind Singh Ji clarified for his Sikhs that one must perform one’s duty to truth within the context one lives in. Within Gurbani we find references to the natural environment as metaphors; Kabir’s blissful evocation of the blossoming earth and sky in Raag Basant, Guru Nanak Dev Ji enlarging the whole cosmos as the manifestation of the energetic celebration of its source in the Aarti shabads.

Even within the simple maxim of naam daan ishnaan, proportion is given to charity; the application of the fruits of our meditation to everyday action. From the meditation arises an increased awareness of the consequences of our actions on the environment around us. In striving to become less egotistical we must practice humility and moderation. Can this really be reconciled with careers in industries that function along capitalist models?

Those of us who have taken amrit gave our head to the Guru for the protection of dharma and to defend the weak but in our everyday living, do we consume products produced unethically, fail to recycle, aid the exploitation of farmers by not buying fair trade, buy products and thus sustain a market for foods which cause great pollution through being imported by air? These actions to my mind produce only hypocrisy.

A Khalsa; an individual who sacrifices their own interests for the sake of others, the upholder of truth, fighting to protect dharma. Surely it is not too hard to recognise that in this age the individuals who have given up their comfortable lives and have risked themselves in standing up to these powerful foes for the good of everyone are not the boys in blue who sit in warm Gurdwaras in the UK tucking into langar, but the likes of Greenpeace through their active protests against environmental exploitation and destruction*.

So therefore, what is the need of the moment? What is the dharm yudh we should be engaging in? Who are the real oppressors who need to be tackled? Even the smallest actions can have some positive effect.

For those of you who hold to more ‘puratan’ values, clearly Guru Gobind Singh Ji in Sri Dasam Granth Sahib and Sri Sarbloh Granth Sahib propounds the greatness of the divine feminine, the shakti, the energy of manifestation. This Mata is dharat mahat, is the cosmos, that of treh-guna. We should ensure she is respected for it is through this that the Shabad Guru exists.

These are only words. What is needed right now is your actions and attitudes to change, and for you to actively support projects and campaigners in these fields.

* Anyone interested in the spiritual aspects of the ecological movement should read up on the Deep Ecological philosophy of Arne Naess. Bill Devall is a good starting point on this.

[Guest]

Vahiguroo, amazing peace of writing veer ji

Keep it up !

[Guest Maha_Pavitar]

Veerji, your article was much needed. Sadly, most people I encounter tell me that where do you draw the line? What you're doing will not make a little difference and so on. Your post gives some positive energy, some inspiration and hope. There are so many so called little things we can do in our every day lives, as you've outlined above--recycle, buy fair trade, recycle your carrier bags by taking them to the store, use public transportation, perhaps cut even one plane journey a year, and so on. These are just the tip of the iceberg, we should be getting out there on charity walks and fundraisers, last summer I attended a charity walk and counted just one Singh...

We just have to look back home to see the plaguing difficulties on the environment in Punjab, if we don't act quickly the 'bread basket' of India could soon be nothing more than a mere desert. Please PM me for more information on this specific issue.

I affirm with my veer, it is our duty to do what we can to lead more ethical lives....

[amardeep]

very good article, thanks

Edited December 20, 2009 by amardeep

[Malwe Da Sher]

Great thought provoking article

[amardeep]

Great article in the light of the recent climate conference held in dnemark