A common misconception of Sikhism is that it fits within the larger framework of the Hindu religion. Sikhs in the Ravidas Sabha – and elsewhere – vehemently deny the classification of the faith as a subset of Hinduism. The two religions are, in the words of one of the men I spoke with on April 3, 2003, “totally different.” Guru Nanak, the first guru and a Hindu by birth, “founded” the religion in 1469.[1] His original intent was to reform the Hindu religion; an eventual outcome was the establishment of an entirely new religion, which was Sikhism. He condemned the traditional Indian (and Hindu) barriers of caste and gender as they were, in his opinion, not based on divine love; Guru Nanak considered divine love to be the purpose of religion.[2] He emphasized that God did not judge based on caste standing, individual religion, gender, or any other factor other than personal devotion. As a reformer of the Hindu religion, he remained Hindu until his death.[3]

The Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha is a Sikh Gurdwara located within an ordinary brick building on a fairly busy street in the urban environment of Woodside, Queens. The name is not engraved on the building, but there are plastic banners denoting the temple as such. The first time I visited this temple, on February 9, 2003, I lingered outside to observe the worshippers who were going inside. Two concrete steps lead to the front door; right before people passed through this door, they touched these steps and then their forehead or their ears, symbolizing their understanding of self beneath Gurdwara in terms of respect warranted.

Once inside, a worshipper covers his or her head.[4] Typically, women wear channis, scarves covering their head and shoulders; men typically wear turbans. If an individual does not have a headcovering, the Sabha provides an orange scarf to use as such. The covering of the head is an important sign of respect toward the Gurdwara. After covering their heads, worshippers remove their shoes and place them in a cubby along the wall facing them as they enter the front entryway. The removal of shoes in the Sikh faith has two purposes: humbling an individual, and providing comfort (as sitting on the floor is more comfortable without shoes). Following the removal of shoes, one goes to the sink and washes one’s hands to remove any possible dirt. The Sikhs who enter this temple, almost without exception, follow the Punjabi practice of covering the legs. These actions properly prepare the individual to enter into the main room of the temple, where the Adi Granth is kept.[5] These actions serve to humble the worshipper while esteeming the Adi Granth.

            While Nanak did not consider himself to be a leader of a new religion, he did attract a following of disciples, whom he called sikhs.[6] He warned his followers against the practice (prevalent in both the Muslim and Hindu traditions) of external devotion, instead encouraging the “inward disciplines of love, faith, mercy, and humility, expressed in righteous and compassionate deeds and in the upholding of all that is true.”[7]

            Reacting against problems he felt were evident in both the Muslim and Hindu traditions, Nanak attempted to include elements from both religions in his spiritual message. He borrowed stories from both Hindu mythology and the Qu’ran in order to reconcile the fractured relationship between the two religions. The sikh movement embodied the elements of “mystical deism, contemplative worship, peace and goodwill, and the amalgamation of Hindus and Muslims.”[8] Nanak believed these internal elements were available to every human regardless of caste, gender, purity, or race and stressed the “superiority of devotion over worldly possessions.”[9] He described the ideal human as a householder who repeated God’s name sincerely and solemnly, who resisted evil, tyranny, and injustice, who humbled himself by looking at others as superior, who believed in God, charity, and cleanliness, and who earned an honest living and then shared that living with those less fortunate.[10]

These are all characteristics seen in the Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha community. The members of this community are a group devoted to taking care of one another and to the extent that they are able, the external community. The Sabha serves as a hostel for recent immigrants who have not yet found a place to reside or who do not have a job providing them with money requisite for a domicile or for food. The Sabha also provides food in the basement for anyone in need whether or not they are a Sikh.

            The history of the construction of the basement in the Ravidas Sabha exemplifies the notion of devoting what one can to the community. This particular Sabha originated in 1985 on Jamaica Avenue. The space was not large enough, and the community purchased a warehouse in the Woodside area in order to have more space in 1997. Originally, the Sabha as it stands (in Queens) did not have a basement; it needed one in order to practice the tradition of a communal meal shared by all worshippers. A member of the community, Avtar Singh, built the basement in his spare time. He was not paid for his services; rather, he felt that this was a contribution he was able to make and so he made it. Members of this community often try to donate at least ten percent of their earnings to the Gurdwara in donations of either money or food.[11]

            Nanak’s egalitarian philosophy had a tremendous impact on the lives of his followers, who were, by following his path, “freed” from social restrictions placed upon them, preventing them, in some cases, from even entering houses of worship. He believed that because “[t]he basis of human equality and brotherhood is the conception of God as the creator of all,” such distinctions had little or no relevance to religion.[12] He advocated that the goal of life – transmigration – was open to all, directly rebuking the Hindu notion that only the twice-born (males of upper castes) were capable of the achievement.[13]

Nanak also espoused the belief that purity and impurity were strictly internal states; impurity could be defined as earthly desires that needed to be eliminated in order for the immortal soul to be reabsorbed into the ‘eternal light.’ This union with God was the goal of each individual.[14] “Guru Nanak’s fundamental teaching was that those who wished to transcend the constant cycle of birth and death should live in accordance with the will of the Creator, which meant…remembering the Divine Word.”[15]

            The concept of female impurity evident in both early Muslim and Hindu faiths distressed Nanak. His teachings were blind to gender: “Any man or woman who acknowledged the loyalty and joined with others to observe a particular pattern of worship would be plainly identified as a Sikh of Guru Nanak.”[16] He insisted that gender had no bearing on the internal devotion, purity, or eventual liberation of an individual. According to Sodhi, “Woman was not looked upon as a source of sin, rather as an active participant in the full spiritual life available to her.”[17] He taught that purity was an internal state of all individuals; it was not transferable from lower to upper caste, from women to men, from any individual to any other individual.          He emphasized that impurity was the result of internal attachments to the wrong things: greed, fleshly desires, and falsehoods.[18]

            Although Nanak stressed egalitarianism in theory, the Sikhs did not always follow his ideal. The third guru, Guru Amar Das, made further efforts toward establishing equality for all within Sikhism. During his time as Guru (1574-1581), the caste system was still being observed by some Sikhs. Caste observation within marriage patterns and eating customs remained. Certain Sikh Gurdwaras were prohibiting outcastes from entry. According to Grewal, “The Sikh Gurus made converts from the lower castes or even from the outcastes. However, they were not received by the Sikhs of higher castes as ‘social equals’ and sometimes ‘equality of worship’ was not accorded to them.”[19] Amar Das insisted that the caste system could not and did not have any relation to religion. In an effort to combat what he perceived to be a pernicious feature lingering within the religion, Guru Amar Das borrowed from the Sufi Muslims’ notion of ‘compulsory commensality.’ He established, as part of the method of worship, the practice of langar, which is still seen as an essential part of worship in Sikh temples.

            Langar translates literally into free kitchen. In the Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha, it has two main purposes. First, it provides food for those who are in need in keeping with the Sabha’s mission to take care of its own. Second, it brings the community together regardless of caste, gender, race, and in the case of this individual, even religion. The Sabha maintains a ready supply of food provided by worshippers. When worshippers enter the main room, they often drop off food at the altar where the Adi Granth is placed; this food is collected and taken to the basement, where the langar is. I was shown this space as an area where food and drink are kept for anyone who walks in and needs a meal. This is a place where not only members of the community in need can always come and receive food, but those outside the community as well. This kitchen is open 24 hours a day and is known to feed homeless people as well.[20]

            The second purpose of langar is to unite. Guru Amar Das, when establishing this aspect of the religion, “ordered that any one who wished to see him must first sit with common people and share the same food from Langar…When Akbar, the Mogul emperor, came to visit the Guru, he first had to sit with the common people and share the Langar.”[21] Langar in the Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha follows the traditional method of seating arrangement. Men and women and children of all castes sit in pangat, status-free lines on the floor. No seating arrangements are made. This is the type of langar that Amar Das first demanded of the Sikhs, and participation in it is expected of the members of the community.

            Sikhs at the Sabha are expected to contribute as they can. They provide the food when they can; they cook when they can; they are expected to partake in langar with every temple visit. Eventually, I have been told, everyone in the community partakes in the preparation of and serving of the food in the langar. This responsibility is taken quite seriously. The servers take great care to walk up and down the aisles of people, making sure everyone has whatever it is that he or she wants, continually offering more food or drink. Langar, it is interesting to note, takes place throughout a worship service, so individuals can move freely between the upstairs room housing the Adi Granth and the basement. When any aural event is taking place in the large room upstairs (i.e. a ‘sermon,’ or music), it is broadcast downstairs so that those participating in the meal can hear it as well.

            While during the langar there is an eradication of “external” distinctions between individuals, in the main prayer hall this is not the case. Men and women sit on opposite sides of the room and behave quite differently on Sundays when the priest reads from and lectures on the Adi Granth. On my two Sunday visits to the Sabha, on February 9, 2003 and March 2, 2003, I noticed that the men sat on the side where the priest was reading and paid what appeared to be close attention. The women sit on the opposite side of the room and seem to be more interested in socializing with one another than paying attention to what is being said. The women also appear, from my observation, to be largely in charge of the children, who appear to have little or no interest in what is being said and mill about freely among the seated women.

            On my April 3, 2003 visit, I inquired about this segregation of the genders. While entering the main prayer hall, I made some comment about sitting on the men’s side of the room.[22] The men I spoke with were very intent on stressing that the sermons were for both men and women and that everyone paid attention, which seems to be in direct contradiction to what I had previously observed. As I felt uncomfortable contradicting the members of the Sabha from whom I was receiving my information, I changed the line of questioning and asked about the history of the division of the sexes during worship services. I was told there was actually no separation of the genders, and that it was just “habit” that caused the men and women to sit on opposite sides of the room.

            Guru Amar Das, the third Guru, also attempted to level the spiritual discrepancies between men and women. He denounced sati, the practice of widows (either by internal choice or external pressure) burning themselves alive on their husbands’ funeral pyres. He viewed the practice as forced suicide and proposed the alternative of honoring the widow for her strength in continuing to live without her husband. He prohibited female infanticide, believing that every child, male or female, was a gift from God; the murder of any child was therefore a rejection of God’s gift and a heinous crime. He viewed marriage as a sacred institution, banning the practice of men marrying another woman while his first wife was still living. He also ended the practice of not allowing widows (within the Sikh community) to remarry.[23]

            Following in Amar Das’ tradition, the fourth Guru, Guru Ram Das, included women regularly in temple services. Women preached and were referred to as mais, mothers. Because women maintained an active role in the Sikh society, purdah, the Muslim practice of a woman covering her face with cloth, was heavily discouraged; women were not even allowed to enter the temples in purdah.[24] Although a primary reason for banning the practice was an attempt to eschew the Muslim practice, another significant reason was that Ram Das felt that purdah made women invisible in a society in which they were actively involved.

            The emphasis on breaking down all external barriers was further fortified by the building of the Hari Mandar[25] in Amritsar overseen by the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev. This temple was constructed with “front” doors on all four sides, symbolically portraying the idea that people from all directions and all faiths[26] were welcome to enter.[27] The Ravidas Sabha in Queens strongly relates itself to this temple in ideology; however, according to one member of the community, “a true Sikh has no one temple” [emphasis added]. As Sikhism stresses the internal rather than external devotion of an individual, geographical location of a temple is moot so long as a temple exists for the worshipper to visit.

            Guru Arjan Dev’s more significant contribution to the Sikh faith was the Adi Granth, a collection of the hymns of all previous Gurus as well as some hymns authored by prominent Hindu and Muslim saints. The tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Rai, added to this collection and upon his death in 1708 declared himself the last human guru[28] and instructed the Sikhs to recognize the Adi Granth as their eleventh, and final, Guru. The book thus became known as the Guru Granth Sahib or the Adi Granth Sahib. This collection is written in Gurmukhi and is inaccessible to many modern Sikhs as a result. In order to make the holy book available to its community, the Ravidas Sabha provides explanations of various passages as part of its weekly worshipping ceremony. On Sundays, the priest reads from the Granth Sahib and explains the text.

            The selections from the Granth Sahib are chosen to include all of the saints whose poetry it contains. No saint, including Ravidas, is quoted more often than any other saint, except on the occasion of Ravidas’ birthday. Ravidas was an untouchable Hindu saint and poet who lived roughly in the late 14^th and early 15^th century, judging by references in his works to contemporaries of that time. Ravidas’ philosophy is also followed in India by people who do not consider themselves Sikhs, as one can see in the Ravidas temple at Sri Govardhanpur in Varanasi. At this temple worshipers can have darsan of Guru Ravidas, roughly following the predominant Hindu practice. Image worship is strictly forbidden within the Sikh faith, which instead emphasizes a textual basis. Ravidas is an important figure to this Sikh Gurdwara because of his work towards the emancipation of the lower castes in the same way he is important to Hindus in the Punjabi region of India.[29]

            The teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib include the basic Sikh principles of “love of God and mankind, community service, gender equality, honest living and tolerance of other religions.”[30] It emphasizes the gender-less aspect of God as neither man nor woman.[31] A definition of Waheguru, God, in Guru Gobind Singh’s Sikh catechism conceptualizes God as both Father and Mother, and the relationship between an individual and God as analogous to that between a child and a mother.[32] The Adi Granth explicitly states its position condemning the subjugation of women:

            From women born, shaped in the womb, to women betrothed and wed,

            We are bound to women by ties of affection; on women man’s future depends.

            If a woman dies we seek another, source of society’s order and strength.

            Why then should one speak evil of Women, they who give birth to kings?

            Women also are born from women, as are all who have life and breath.

            God alone is excepted, Nanak, the one true Master and Lord.

            Blessed are they, both men and women, who endlessly praise their Lord.[33]

 

            In the Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha, the veneration of the Guru Granth Sahib is clear. After an individual has prepared by the removal of shoes, covering of head, and washing of hands, he or she enters the large room on the first floor and walks down an aisle toward the altar where the Adi Granth is placed. The individual walks down the blue runner rug directly toward the holy book. He or she places money in a basket near the book or leaves any offerings for the langar. After doing so, one prostrates oneself before the book, touching the forehead to the ground in an expression of deference, respect, and humility. Often there are flowers in this area. The Adi Granth is kept free of flies, dirt, and dust by the constant waving of a horsehair brush over the book.

            Guru Gobind Singh also created the Khalsa Panth, the army of God, in an effort to provide protection against Mughal invaders in 1699 and to prevent assimilation into the Hindu community.[34] Some Hindus had begun including the Sikh Gurus in lists of Vishnu’s incarnations and the Sikhs felt that their identity as being distinct from Hinduism was being threatened. The Sikhs did not believe in avatars, which made this attempted inclusion repugnant to them. As a direct result, Guyru Govind Singh insisted that a Sikh must eradicate any alliance with his or her previous religion to become a member of the Sikh Panth—the Khalsa.[35] Sikh pride in maintaining their distinct religious identity and resisting assimilation into either the Muslim or Hindu faith stems from this time.[36]

            The Khalsa Panth was marked by the practice of wearing the five Ks: Kachh, Kes, Kanga, Kara, and Kirpan. Kachh is a specific type of undergarment; Kes is uncut hair; Kanga is a wooden comb tucked inside the uncut hair, which is typically worn in a topknot; Kara is an iron wristband worn on either wrist; Kirpan is a sword or dagger used to protect the wearer from danger. This movement also included the baptism ceremony of amrit, undertaken by men and women wishing to enter. Women and men were encouraged to come to the Gurdwara in their area and to perform the same daily prayers. When men joined the Khalsa they adopted the surname Singh; women adopted the surname Kaur.

            There is some debate within Sikhs as to the legitimacy of the “Sikhism” of an individual who does not practice the five Ks. At the Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha, stronger emphasis is placed upon the lessons of the Adi Granth and the practice of langar than on practice of the five Ks. While some members of the community practice all five Ks, some feel that this is something for “the real Sikh” or Orthodox Sikh and that an individual must truly be mentally prepared to undertake all five. One member explained to me that he practices kes and kara as a constant reminder of what he is trying to become: a better Sikh. He wears kara to remind himself visually to not do wrong. When he is about to do something wrong with his right hand, he sees the kara that reminds him he has “devoted,” in a sense, that arm to God and he therefore should not sin with it. Most Sikhs, men and women, in the Ravidas Sabha practice at least kes, as evident by the long hair and unshorn beards.

            In 1873, the Singh Society was formed with the intent of reforming and reviving the Khalsa Panth. It was intended to combat disloyalty and decay within the faith. Teja Singh, a prominent member of the society, encouraged the destruction of images within Sikh temples, discouraged the continued caste observations in marriage, and challenged the notion of untouchability. He looked toward the education of women as a valuable resource in maintaining the unitary vision of Sikhism, playing up their vital role in both politics and ritual.[37]

            In 1892, a male Sikh college in Amritsar and a female Sikh college in Ferozepur were constructed. These colleges were an attempt by the Singh Society to provide for the correct transmittal of Sikh values to the next generation. The education included knowledge of the Adi Granth and the teachings of the Gurus for both sexes.[38]

            This concept of education within the Sikh faith about the Sikh faith is one that the Ravidas Sabha wishes it could implement. Ideally, the Sabha wants to have enough money to purchase an area that could be used to provide schooling for Sikh children to maintain their culture. The Sabha as it is is strictly used for religious activities in order to maintain its holiness and sacredness. Members of the community feel closer to God in this space and when they pray together. Guru Ravidas emphasized that worshipping together was important because “[o]ne’s spiritual progress depends on the company of holy men.”[39]

            Once an individual enters the Ravidas Sabha, all restrictions of caste, gender, and race fall away. Everyone is “just a human being, like me.”[40] This follows Ravidas’ belief that “outer distinctions of caste, creed, and religion are hollow and worthless.”[41] While Sikhism stresses egalitarianism and this ideal is reflected in the practice of langar, it appears that this egalitarianism does not necessarily translate into other Sikh practices. Some scholars have argued that the inequalities viewed among Sikhs are not due to the faith itself, but the economic and social factors in which the religion operates.[42] Gurnam Kaur is quick to point out that women are typically the downtrodden in all religions and defends the doctrine of equality within Sikhism, stating that “The man and woman are treated as one human being.”[43]

            Sikh textual sources all point to the equality between all castes, genders, and creeds. However, this ideal egalitarianism, clearly visible in the practice of langar at the Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha, may not be as easily achieved as the early Gurus, as well as modern Sikhs, have wished. It is this observer’s opinion that while in theory this Sabha practices egalitarianism, in practice it may not appear to be such. I think it is difficult for an “outsider” to ascertain what might be the actuality in practice because this is a close-knit community and I have a feeling that they “close ranks” when necessary. This is a community that has been historically discriminated against and it is natural for such a community to want to protect itself and present itself in the best light. Perhaps it is impossible for any community to strip away societal barriers to true equality and egalitarianism. I think the Sabha comes closer to such ideals than most other religious institutions I have been exposed to, but even here it seems impossible to completely ignore distinctions of caste and gender.

 

 

Bibliography

 

 

Primary Sources

 

Visit to Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha, February 9, 2003

Visit to Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha, March 2, 2003

 

Visit to Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha, April 3, 2003

 

 

Secondary Sources

 

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Cole, W. Owen. The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. New York: Routledge, 1989.

 

–––. “Status of Women in Sikhism and Christianity.” Khera 15 (1995): 62-69.

 

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Hawley, J. S. and Juergensmeyer, Mark. Songs of the Saints of India. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.

 

Helweg, Arthur W. “The Sikh Diaspora and Sikh Studies.” In Studying the Sikhs: Issues for North America. Edited by John Stratton Hawley and Gurinder Singh Mann. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1993.

 

Kaur, Gurnam. “Place and Role of Woman in Sikh Society.” In Current Thoughts on Sikhism. Edited by Kharak Singh. Chandigarh: Institute of Sikh Studies, 1996.

 

Macauliffe, Max Arthur. The Sikh Religion, vol. I, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1909.

 

Mann, Gurinder Singh. “Sikh Studies and the Sikh Educational Heritage.” In Studying the Sikhs: Issues for North America. Edited by John Stratton Hawley and Gurinder Singh Mann. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1993.

 

McLeod, W.H., trans. & ed. Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism. Dover, New Hampshire: Manchester University Press, 1984.

 

­­­­­­­­­––– ­. Who is a Sikh? Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.

 

Oberoi, Harjot. The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994.

 

Singh, Gurbakhsh. The Sikh Faith: Questions and Answers. Amritsar: Dharam Parhar Committee, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, 1999.

 

Sodhi, Jaspul. “Status of Women in Sikhism.” Khera 15 (1995): 48-61.

 

Upadhyaya, K. N. Guru Ravidas: Life and Teachings. Punjab: Model Press Private Ltd., 1982.