Issue - Watch Out Boy Here She Comes..... Part III(end)
Posted by Preet Mohan S Ahluwalia
Issue - Watch Out Boy Here She Comes..... Part III(end)
Posted by Preet Mohan S Ahluwalia on Saturday, 7/28/2001 2:15 PM MDT
| Related Articles: Women's Liberation Movement - The Sikh Perspective http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/3d8d6eacce83bad8872564280070c2b3/c04a6f90892969d18725671100786aa2!OpenDocument&Highlight=0 Emancipating India's Women - Sikh Ban Revolutionary http://www.sikhnet.com/Sikhnet/discussion.nsf/3d8d6eacce83bad8872564280070c2b3/7f9992c54afa42d387256a37004d2a27!OpenDocument&Highlight=0 ******************************************************************************** THE MAN EATER (Part III) Preet Mohan S Ahluwalia July 28, 2001 In the foreward of his book, Sikh Religion, M.A. Macauliffe writes:"I have brought to you such a religion from the east which is simple and straight, in which there is no place for artificiality. In which idol worship, hypocrisy, caste system, widow-immolation, use of intoxicants, slandering, making women slaves, killing the infant or baby girls, drinking and smoking and all evil practices or bad customs are forbidden. A religion in which loyalty, thankfulness, charity, humility, honesty, truthfulness, justice, and all other ethical and social virtues are advocated and commended." Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Prophet, laid down Sikh attitude toward women when he said: from the woman is our birth, in the woman's womb are we shaped; To the woman we are engaged, to the woman we are wedded; The woman is our friend and from woman is the family; Through the woman are the bonds of the world; Why call woman evil who gives birth to the leaders of the World? From the woman is the woman, without woman there is none. (Guru Granth Sahib, 473) Sikh philosophy believes in gender equality. Sixth Sikh Prophet, Guru Hargobind, called woman "the conscience of man." Undoubtedly, in Sikhism both men and women are considered equal partners in life. This forms the basis of a Sikh marriage. "They are not said to be husband and wife, who merely sit together. They alone are called husband and wife, who have one soul in two bodies."(Guru Granth Sahib, 788) "The blind fool abandons the wife of his own home, and has an affair with another woman. He is like the parrot, who is pleased to see the simbal tree; but in the end, he dies, stuck to it."(Guru Granth Sahib, 1165) In the words of prominent Sikh theologian, Bhai Gurdas, "Woman is one half the complete personality of man, and is entitled to share secular and spiritual knowledge equally."(Var 5, Pauri 16:59) Referring to Sikh uplift of women, Alice Basarke writes, "By the time Jacques Cartier was raising the cross on Mount Royal, Guru Amar Das was putting Sikh philsosphy into practice for daily living. His innovations were based on equality, and raised the status of women in a manner that was never known before. He organized the new religion by establishing 22 manjis or parishes to preach the word of God. Four of these were headed by women. This would be the equivalent of Bishop, for it conferred economic power, decision making and status. Thus, Sikhism had four women Bishops in the late 16th century. What other religion can claim such an accomplishment? He trained 146 persons to go out as missionaries. Of these, 94 were men and 52 were women. Sikhism had 52 women missionaries at the time of the third Guru (Prophet)." Sikh philosophy considers woman a Batees-Sulakhani -- woman embellished with thirty two qualities. Qualities attributed to a woman are, beauty, cleanliness, modesty, humility, concord, observance of religion, intelligence, knowledge, service, compassion, truth, dedicted love of spouse, purity of mind, patience, frugality, beneficence, sobriety, chivalry, active habits, house decoration, respect of elders, proficiency in music, poetry, painting, domestic science and embroidery, respectful attention to guests and upbringing of children." Boldness and chivalry are also important for her. "Women have become submissive, while men have become tyrants."(Guru Granth Sahib, 1243) It was this sense for justice that encouraged Sikh women to lead men in battle. George Thomas writes:"Instances indeed have not infrequently occured, in which they (Sikh women) have actually taken up arms to defend their habitations from the desultory attacks of the enemy, and throughout the contest behaved themselves with intrepidity of spirit, highly praiseworthy." |
