Publications
Turn of the century – Sikh concerns and responses
| Afterword | ||||
| BIRENDRA KAUR | ||||
| As I have mentioned in the Editor’s Note, that before this publication in hand could be sent to the press, Dr Kharak Singh ji departed for his Divine Abode on the 6th August, 2008.* Having completed the job that I set out to perform, I feel that this volume would be incomplete without this Afterword about the noble-valiant soul! Dr Kharak Singh truly lived the whole-life religion preached by Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak differed radically from the pirs and bhagats of his times or those from the earlier times. He did not remain confined to his kutia nor did he recede to the jungles/parbats. He addressed and engaged himself in every sphere of man, be it social, moral, political, or religious, to raise him to higher levels of existence. The bani he composed and collected and passed on to his successor was not merely to add to the list of subjects. Nor was the Gurmukhi script created to merely add to the list of languages. The Guru’s subject was—the human beings, and his discipline—how to mould their thought process so that they act as instruments of Almighty and strive for justice and equality for one and all. No wonder those who are dyed in the love of the Lord are blessed to lead exalted lives in the service of the Guru, irrespective of their field of study, or any at all. The Guru can only be approached through the heart, through devotion, through complete surrender to His Will; mere education, chaturai (cleverness), and/or sianpaan (wisdom) avail not. While the gursikhs of the Guru-period and shortly thereafter stemmed the tide of invasion by the Mughal emperors into our Land, those of the Gurdwara Reform Movement freed our gurdwaras from the Mahants. Bhai Kahn Singh, Prof Gurmukh Singh, Giani Ditt Singh, and their committed team, stemmed the tide of invasion into the uniqueness of our Ideology from the so-called reformers of the East. More recently, it was reserved for Sardar Jagjit Singh, Sardar Daljeet Singh, Dr Kharak Singh and their dedicated team to stem a similar tide of invasion—coming, this time, from the Western missionaries, attempting, in a very subtle manner, to demolish the very foundations of our Beliefs. But for such vigilant, dedicated souls, the adversaries, to suit their whims and fancies, could have hijacked the true essence of the lofty message preached by the Gurus for salvation of humanity. It is worthwhile noting here, that in spite of belonging to different disciplines of education, other than the studies of Gurbani, these souls will go down in history for their contribution to the cause of the Guru. Actually, they breathed Gurbani and lived Gurbani. Sans blessings, none can serve the Guru. While Dr Kharak Singh was an academician par excellence, his heart beat for the Guru. He said one day, “I feel as if I am a flute, and Parmatma is playing the same.” On the one hand, he addressed and engaged himself in every issue/need of his people worldwide, be it religious, legal, educational, economic, or political, and, on the other, he strived tirelessly, to his last breath, to spread the message of the Gurus, in its true spirit, to the entire mankind as envisaged by the Gurus. Truly living the ideology of Sikhi, Dr Kharak Singh was the Sachiara of Guru Nanak, the Sant-Sipahi of Guru Gobind Singh. 30th April, 2009 |