For more than five hundred years, the Panth has faced a decisive challenge from Brahminism and its ideologues, the individuals that sit at the apex of the caste pyramid and have much incentive to maintain their stranglehold.

The day Guru Nanak refused to wear the janao, which is the sacred Hindu thread symbolic of caste apartheid, the founder of the Sikh faith made an emphatic declaration of his intention to topple the tyrannical caste-system through his revolution. Each successive Nanak's nation building efforts struck at the roots of this oppressive system that enslaves human beings under the hegemony of the Brahmins and as a result limits human potential.

To undermine Sikh ideology, Brahminical forces have largely been responsible for the creation of antagonistic movements - purporting to be mere schisms within the Panth-by individuals such as Prithi Chand, Meharban, Dhirmal, Ram Rai and Harbhagat Niranjania, to name just a few.

On commenting on these movements, Sirdar Kapur Singh elucidates, "Sikh Gurus in their lifetime and the Sikh people subsequently have tried to suppress and extirpate root and branch, through all legitimate means available." (1)

These movements, in their attempt to destroy Sikhism, also colluded with the despotic regimes of the times for sustenance. In recent times, unprincipled scholars of Sikhism have tried to undermine the Sikh cause by employing extensive literature created by these adversaries of the Panth. We are all familiar with controversies about use of anti-Sikh literature such as the Goindwal Pothis and GNDU Manuscript # 1245 that was created to subvert the Sikh religion after the compilation of the Adi Granth. (2)

These aforementioned movements might have waned, but new ones have emerged and they are subtle and far more dangerous than the earlier ones. Nakli Nirankaris - also know as Narakdharis, Radhaswamis, Rashtria Sikh Sangat, Sikh Sangat of America and Gobind Sadan are more recent groups that seek to destroy the sovereign Sikh identity in order to promote interests of the Indian state. They enjoy state patronage, as proven beyond a reasonable doubt during events surrounding the Sikh and the Nakli Nirankari clash of 1978, and they have a considerable support base.

Manyy preach that Sikhism is a sect of Hinduism, denying the supremacy of the Guru Khalsa Panth, the physical manifestation of the Gurus to whom the Gurgaddi, the pontific throne of Guru Nanak, was bestowed in conjunction with Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture in 1708. Others practice alchemy of religion by mixing Sikh and Hindu practices to confound the world though subtle means. The members of all these groups wear turbans and beards, even though they seek to undermine the very doctrines these Sikh articles of faith represent.

Why this discussion?

On November 18, 2001 in Palermo, New York, as stated by Lenny Hartle, the first assistant Palermo fire chief a "suspicious fire" was reported at Gobind Sadan that "started near a rear first-floor door of the temple, possibly outside." On November 21, 2001, the Associated Press reported that the fire had been declared a case of arson.

This was a horrific act, which ought to be condemned unequivocally. Crimes motivated by racism and bigotry, even against those we don't approve of, are out of bounds. This case of arson appears to be a hate motivated crime because Gobind Sadan's possessors, like Sikhs, wear turbans and beards; we all know that Sikhs and other communities have been victims of such crimes in the aftermath of September 11 attacks. The sympathy of all Sikhs across the country is with the followers of Gobind Sadan, just as our thoughts were with our Muslim brethren upon the attempted destruction of a Mosque in Cleveland, Ohio not too long ago.

The existence of Gobind Sadan, unfortunately, is perhaps just as disturbing for Sikhs as its destruction. According to eyewitness accounts and Gobind Sadan's website, idolatry and havans - a Hindu practice involving worship of fire - are a mandatory practices at the center. More insulting to Sikhs is the chanting of hymns from Sikh scripture along with Hindu rituals that are specifically condemned by the Sikh Scripture itself. Gobind Sadan is able to carry its subversion of Sikhism under the garb of interfaith activity. This insidious alchemy of religion by non-Sikhs is to be condemned unmistakably.

With the recent unfortunate arson, Gobind Sadan has been given legitimacy. All news media sources, local police and fire departments now recognize it as a "Sikh temple." Some uninformed Sikhs have also started calling it a "Gurdwara." Others, even more reckless, have started publicizing to the media and to Sikh discussion forums that a "Sikh temple" was burnt. Just because the Sikh scripture is placed in a room and worshipped as an idol alongside Hindu bon fires, as performed in Palermo, does not make it a Gurdwara. For a place to be declared a Gurdwara, the activities within its four walls must conform to the practice prescribed by Sikh Rehat Maryada, the code of conduct ratified by the Guru Khalsa Panth.

Virsa Singh, a known detractor of the Sikh Panth and the head of Gobind Sadan, gave "Amrit" to members of fascist Hindu groups such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and RSS during the tercentenary of the Khalsa and initiated them into the Order of the Khalsa, as reported in the mainstream media. These right-wing groups believe Sikhism to be a sect of Hinduism and the Khalsa to be the militant arm of Hindu culture. As Hindus under Adi Shankracharya embraced Buddhism and destroyed it from within, today similar attempts are being made with Sikhism.

Did not Guru Gobind Singh deny Amrit to the Hindu hill chiefs, who refused to reject the caste system? The above Hindu groups seek to promote the caste ideology inherent in Brahminism. How can members of such organizations receive Amrit and that too from a man who does not practice Sikhism himself?

The Sikhs face a clear and present danger from Brahminical outfits that have been enacted to subsume the Sikh religion into the sea of Hinduism. According to Mohandas Gandhi, "Hinduism is an ocean into which all the rivers run. It can absorb Islam and Christianity and all other religions and only then can it become an ocean. Otherwise it remains merely a stream along which large ships cannot ply."(3) The vigilance of the Khalsa that leads to guarding of our religious practices and the sovereign Sikh identity is essential to ensure that this vision of Gandhi does not become a reality.

As Sikhs, we should certainly be outraged by the arson at Gobind Sadan and hope for the expedient capture of the felons. At the same time, we should be careful not to dilute Sikh ideology by referring to Gobind Sadan as a Gurdwara or a Sikh place of worship. It is unfortunate that Virsa Singh has duped the followers of Gobind Sadan into practicing a mutated form of Sikhism intended to strangle the religion itself. The Sikh community at large should reach out to these souls with love and seek to educate them on the Sikh doctrine revealed to the Sikh Gurus. Our thought and prayers are certainly with them today.

1. Singh, Kapur, "Sikhism and Politics"
2. For an excellent discourse, see Dhillon, Balwant Singh, Early Sikh Scriptural Tradition: Myth and Reality, (Amritsar: Singh Brothers, 1999).
3. The Collected Works of Mahatama Gandhi, Publications Division, New Delhi, Volume XC, p. 177 - as quoted by Gurtej Singh in Tandav of the Centaur: Sikhs and Indian Secularism (Chandigarh: Institute of Sikh Studies, 1996), p. 100-101.