He exemplified the tenets of the Gita
By Raghuvendra Tanwar

HISTORY, as we know, not only leaves memorials that a nation and its people deserve but it also teaches us that within a broader frame the future is founded on the present just as the present is more usually rooted in the past. It is in this sense that the profound relevance of Guru Gobind Singh’s perception of an ideal society needs to be more widely appreciated, particularly because it appears to be increasingly the need of today and the future.

I would like to start this presentation by quoting eminent scholar Prof Puran Singh. His Spirit of the Sikh contains a fascinating chapter, Guru Gobind Singh The New Gita Himself.

"The whole of history has not produced a leader of men who could exemplify the tenets of Bhagvadgita as now interpreted. Guru Gobind Singh is the new Gita of India in himself and by himself. He is a modern type of prophet who does not care of theory... He alone had never felt sick or sorry in performance of his duty, nor shy of war or bloodshed, if he had to wade through it in championing the cause of the oppressed. And he is truly the living illustration of the modern philosophy and highest religion of the western races devoted to science and work... He introduced the deal of civic citizenship in a whole people and conceives man en masse. He brought out human character in its natural simplicity and beauty and insisted that all men shall act for the pure love of man and God... The spirit of Guru Gobind Singh as a leader of men, is an innovation like the Buddha’s spiritual democracy... Only Guru Gobind Singh’s democracy is more modern, more natural and absolutely spontaneous. There is no coercion of vows in its constitution... He is the ancient Brahmjnani who champions the cause of the poor, fights in open battle, sacrifices his all... He mingles with people as one of them... He puts in their hands the plough and sword... On this basis it must be said that intrinsically it is not in the Bhagavadgita as such but in the life of Guru Gobind Singh that the modern Gita begins its holy chant, whose note of duty has that universal appeal and comprehends so well the spirit of the human struggle that characterises the nations of the West. And the full oriental celestiality of life is intact."

For Guru Gobind, humility, hard work, honest means of living and sharing one’s earnings with the needy were imperative rules of social existence.

The state and society were envisaged to be in line with the soul. The soul in turn was to be pure in action, deed and thought. Thus the social philosophy of the Khalsa state was expected to be modern in mind, progressive, optimistic, humble and glorious at the same time. The emphasis, of course, remained on the ‘goodness of man’. Speak no evil, subdue passions, give charity, offend none, protect the poor and at the same time strive to achieve greatness and excel in whichever path of life one chooses to take.

It is the humanistic vision of Guru Gobind that sets him apart and makes his ideal truly relevant to the future. Since the time of Guru Gobind or roughly the past three hundred years, the world had changed more than it may have done in the preceding thousand. Science, technology, capital enterprise, adventurism and initiative contributed to immense generation of wealth and military power as a result of which small sections of the world raced ahead, propelled by these early advantages. Sadly, as new and progressive concepts for the creation and management of human resources were developed by the states that claimed to be leaders of the world, these states completely ignored the basic elements of human existence, that is, the value of human life.

Even as Guru Gobind’s ideas are ‘oceanic’ in form, it is his concept which appear even more meaningful today that it may have been 300 years ago. In another work Guru Gobind Singh: Reflections and Offerings, Prof Puran Singh says, "...in the Khalsa state the law of man’s natural goodness is the only law". Guru Gobind’s powerful belief in the ‘natural goodness’of man is in fact an idea that by implication means that any society will be as good or as bad as man’s consciousness will permit it to be. The Khalsa state thus is based, as Prof. Puran Singh puts it, on the essential goodness of humanity.

Guru Gobind’s complete association with rationality, practical applicability and simplicity enables one to grasp the profundity of his ideas. For example: "There is nothing equal to the bestowal of food. Blessed is the man who giveth to the really hungry. Let no one fix time for the exercise of this virtue. Avoid all delay... charity is of all gifts the greatest for it saveth life", Macauliffe (Sikh Religion, Vol. V). But here too Guru Gobind retains emphasis on the goodness of the human being. Guru Gobind underlines his concern for the dignity of the recipient charity: "If ever you make a gift boast not of it but rather strive to conceal it", Macauliffe, (Sikh Religion, Vol. V).

Take another example: "When you see an evil man avoid him like red hot iron which cannot be held in the hand. Associate with the good for in such association vice is put to shame". Macauliffe (Sikh Religion, Vol. V).

Guru Gobind’s ideal society thus has at its roots the innate goodness and strength of the common man: "Blessed and pure are the hands of the labourer who works for his living". For Guru Gobind, as Trilochan Singh says in Sikhs and Indian Society, people inspired by spirituality and wisdom were the prophets of the future and the future of civilisations lay in the hands of the morally and spiritually awake nations rather than in the hands of powerful individuals. Enlightenment was indeed one of the cherished virtues that Guru Gobind desired to promote in human life. He wanted to compose a community of clear-headed, enlightened people. He wanted people to think straight:: "Let passions be subordinated; Let reason dominate", (Wazir Singh, Philosophy of Sikh Religion).

What needs to be understood more sensitively is the distinction Guru Gobind draws between moral and spiritual strength on the one hand and physical strength on the other hand. Even as physical strength is important in Guru Gobind’s scheme of things, yet physical prowess can only follow spiritual strength and not the other way round. Spirituality and wisdom thus, appear as pre-conditions for an ideal society.

For Guru Gobind, as Gopal Singh says in Sikhism and Indian Society, even political power was desirable only "in clean, ethical and just hands". The emphasis on the ethical aspects of all human actions thus stands clearly underlined.

Guru Gobind Singh believed that in an ideal social system there could be no contradiction between protection of the poor and destruction of evil-doers. A.C. Banerjee points out in The Sikh Gurus and the Sikh Religion. "The twin processes are intended to make righteousness prevail. God chastises the wicked and cherishes the righteous". For Guru Gobind the banner of all his actions thus remains righteousness.

The emphasis of Guru Gobind that a man needs to be judged by his actions alone and not by other prejudices like profession, birth etc. (Rahitnama) makes his ideas extremely relevant to the present times and the future. The remedies Guru Gobind provides for complex social problems are basic and simple. The approach also reveals Guru Gobind’s complete understanding of the problems for which he provided answers. To tackle the problem of female infanticide, for example, Guru Gobind, prohibited matrimonial relations with such families that followed this barbaric practice.

While faith is a matter of choice, it is Guru Gobind’s perception that a ‘good man’ alone can be at the base of any good society that makes his profound concept universally appealing in the present troubled times. The Khalsa, Sri Aurobindo says in Foundation of Indian Culture, was an astonishingly novel creation and its face was turned not to the past but to the future.