Kamalla Rose has raised a beautiful and very apt point. There is no question that Guru Nanak's Sikhi is a very unique phenomenon. But are Sikhs, as they are today, up to it and can meet the obligations entrusted upon them by Guru Nanak?

To answer this we will have to look into history and understand its implications.

At that time of His martyrdom Guru Arjun said to His son that the time has come for our faith to be defended. When Guru HarGobind ascended to the throne of Guru Nanak, He immediately separated spirituality from worldly matters. He even wore a plume in His headgear, which was like staking claim to royalty.

Many Sikhs were upset about Guru ji adopting military postures. Some influential Sikhs made representations to Mata Ganga ji as also Bhai Buddaji. Mata ji was very emphatic that her son, HarGobind, now on the throne of Guru Nanak, cannot make mistake and we have no reason to judge His wisdom. Bhai Buddaji, however, was persuaded by the Sangat to seek an audience with the Guru to discuss this important matter.

Bhai Budda ji brought up this subject of military posture before the Guru. Guru HarGobind did not reply in words but fixed His glance on Bhai Buddaji, which made Buddaji reel back saying, " Master does not err, Master cannot err."

Guru HarGobind further strengthened the concept of Miri Piri by building the Akal Takht, which was to be seat of Miri (worldly matters) as distinctly separate from Har Mandir which was the seat of Piri, or spirituality - our sanctum sanctorum. This was to emphasize that rules of Piri are for Ever and inviolable but rules of Miri are to meet the exigencies of the situation of the moment and hence can be changed, if circumstances so demand.

The grandson of Guru HarGobind, Guru Gobind Singh, after the martyrdom of His father, decided to defend the faith. After deliberating for almost 24 years, He called for the Sikh Sangat and initiated the formation of Khalsa, which was never a new religion, but only an army of the Sikhs.

Guru Gobind Singh asked the Khalsa to keep long unshorn hair. But this order was for the army, Khalsa - a worldly affair and not a spiritual one. When Guru Gobind Singh joined Akal Purakh, He clearly separated Miri from Piri by giving the gadi of Guru Nanak to the spirit of Guru Nanak, that is Sri Guru Granth Sahib, and by handing over miri to a worldly mortal being, Banda Bahadur.

It is very unfortunate that when we talk of Sikh Maryada, we talk only of unshorn hair and five K's. We are now going to ridiculous lengths when we start talking of eyelashes, eyebrows and hair in the nostrils or in the ear canal also. Removing hair from legs by waxing or by laser is also coming under fire. Our priests and even high priests call those 'Patit' who have shorn hair or trim their beards but not if the person is a liar, cheat or smuggler. We are so obsessed with unshorn hair that we would willingly strangle Guru Nanak's Sikhi in the tangles of hair only.

You raised a very important question about Sikhi and western culture. A little page from history could be helpful to answer that question. When Islam spread from Saudi Arabia to neighboring countries, this problem did crop up. In Iraq, whereas they accepted Islam as their religion and followed Mohammad as the Prophet, they did not give up their traditional customs and rituals.

The High Priests in Saudi Arabia objected to this practice but eventually recognized the Iraqi rituals and customs and Islam then spread in Iraq unhindered.

In India, Muslims follow all the Hindu rituals, customs and traditions but use verses from the Koran and make Hindu customs Islamic.

Even in Sikhs, there were no rituals or customs up to the time the Khalsa captured the Lahore throne and Maharaja Ranjit Singh was installed as the ruler. Until then Sikhs had no time or inclination towards rituals. Now that they had peace and they were rulers, they started thinking of ceremonies and rituals. Unfortunately the Maharaja himself succumbed to temptations of rituals in order to add glory to his Court. He followed Brahminical rituals replacing Mantras with Shabads. I feel very uncomfortable to admit that today Sikhs are more Brahminical than Brahmins themselves.

My point in bringing this is that when Sikhi has come to the shores of America, there is no reason to follow Punjabi traditions and rituals. Rituals, traditions and ceremonies have nothing to do with the core substance of religion that is purely spiritual. Rituals, traditions and culture are always local of the region and are worldly affairs. Here in America, at present Buddhism is spreading fast. Americans accept the religion but not the customs or practices of Buddhists in India, Tibet or Japan. No body here wears saffron or orange colored robes. Why should American Sikhs adopt Punjabi customs and culture? The idea is to spread Guru Nanak's message, the essence of His wisdom and not Punjabi culture. I think it wouldn't be bad idea at all if Sikhs in North America, immigrants or local, should organize and make their own rules and customs remaining strictly within the teachings as prescribed in Guru Granth Sahib.

Sikhs can pull off another amazing act of righteousness when they see the truth that Sikh spirituality is not tied with hair but with strong moral ethics and that culture of other lands is not to be looked down upon but accepted gracefully. Sikhs should not forget the saying of Will Roger, " Even when on the right track, if you continue to sit there you run a very real risk of being run over." Become static, even on Guru Nanak's Path, you are for sure asking for trouble. Guru Nanak's Sikhi can save only if we prove ourselves up to it.

Thank you for your patience to listen. Guru Nanak asked us to use discriminative wisdom, " Bibek Vichar". With full devotion and faith we must sort out our path as said in Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Fateh

Dr. JaiDev Singh Kohli
Ontario, Canada