Some weeks ago some Canadians brothers were taking delight in bashing Americans. I thought today would be a good day to educate these brothers on American history and philosophy and perhaps they can see Americans and Gursikhs have much in common.
Today the Fourth of July marks the day when Americans received independence from the slavery of the British. On this day I cant help but notice many similarities between the history of Americans and the History of Sikhs. The first people to settle in America were the pilgrims aka “ the puritans”, The puritans were fleeing religious persecution they longed for an autonomous government which was free from the tyrannical and hierarchical Church of England. They came to America so they can freely worship God without the dictates of a political regime. Upon arriving in America they set up religious colonies free of English rule, these colonies became known as the common wealth. The common wealth eventually fell under control of the British which would later lead to the American Revolution. Similarily, the Sikhs of India wanted autonomy from both the Hierarchical Brahmin caste system and tyranny of the ruling Mughals.
The American Revolution was started by an armed militia who would engage in gureilla warfare to overthrow the tyrannical regime of the British. This militia were largely from the farming class. The farmers were tired of working hard night and day just too see their profits in the hands of British aristocrats/feudal lords. Likewise the Khalsa who fought the Mughals largely came from a farming class they too were tired of seeing their hard work fall in the hands of Brahmin land lords . Also, both Sikhs and early Americans knew that independence does not come from passive resistance.
When the founders of the United States framed the constitution they made sure to include an important amendment ” The right to bear arms”. They knew if the citizens did not have the right to bear arms then any foregin militia could subjugate the country to a state of slavery. In 1699, Sri Guru Ji also afforded a similar right when he gave us [Sikhs] the Hukum [commandment] to bear [a] kirpan. Without this Hukum or shall I say right we too can become victims of tyranny and oppression of foreign rule.
When declaring independence from the British, the Americans formed a declaration stating:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.The original stating was"
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of property.The right to private property allowed people to live freely. The original founders knew that without having the right to ones own property a person will always be subjugated and forced to work under cruel condtions of a feudal lord.The Persian word Khalsa means pure and it also means land holder. When Sri Guru Ji sent Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur (Baba Gurbaksh Singh) to Punjab to destroy the tyrants he also made sure Baba Ji would destory the feudal system. After destroying the feudal system the farmers/serfs were no longer working for the Bahman Feudal Lords; instead he [the farmer] took over ownership of the land and created a common wealth of Sikh principalities.
Our very nature longs for peace and happiness. Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji states how nobody wants pain instead we all make attempts to be happy.
ਜਤਨ ਬਹੁਤ ਸੁਖ ਕੇ ਕੀਏ ਦੁਖ ਕੋ ਕੀਓ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥
The founders of this country knew that man wants to be happy and they knew private property lead one closer to this goal of happiness. But private property alone does lead to happiness. Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji says if one really wants to be happy then happiness alone comes from Naam Jaap. Those of us who are blessed to live in America we are fortunate to live in a land where there is political, social and economical freedom and we can worship freely. American has lots of wealth and many people including Gursikhs use this opportunity to chase wealth. Wealth does not lead to happiness. Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji states
ਏਕ ਭਗਤਿ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਜਿਹ ਪ੍ਰਾਨੀ ਕੈ ਨਾਹਿ ਮਨਿ ॥ ਜੈਸੇ ਸੂਕਰ ਸੁਆਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਮਾਨੋ ਤਾਹਿ ਤਨੁ
Those who do think about God in their mind their bodies are like a dog and a pig- Waaheguru!
On this American holiday may we use this opportunity to earn the wealth of Naam.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਬਚਨਕਮਾਵਣੇਸਚਾਏਹੁਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥
