Previous

Next

Ask a Question

Summary of Question:	Help Understanding A Part Of The Rehit
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Monday, 7/02/2001 1:06 PM MDT

Whaeguru ji ka Khalsa, waheguru ji ki fateh!

I was reading through the Rehit (emglish translation) and was confused by the folowing rule:

(page 38, q, 2) "anyone who eats/drinks the leftovers of the unbaptised or the fallen sikhs" (is liable to chastisement)

Could you explain to me why this is so?

I am also confused as the Rehit says that sikhs should use the salutation I have used at the top of this mail, yet I used to use Sat Sri Acal. Should I discontinue the use of the latter phrase? If not then when can I use it (maybe when saying goodbye?)?

*******
REPLY
*******
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

Dear One:
The Rehit you are talking about was codified by the S.G.P.C. While I respectfully beg to differ with SGPC that Guru Gobind Singh actually gave this as part of His Rehit, the SGPC thinking behind this point in Rehit is that an Amritdhari Sikh is a very special Sikh. And that eating (as described above) pollutes the Amritdhari Sikh with the energy and/or the karma of the unbaptised or fallen Sikhs.

When I took Amrit, this point was never made to me by the Panj Piaray. And your question has made me think this point in SGPC's Rehit contradicts the long Sikh tradition of eating langar with others, no matter their status. Can you imagine Guru Nanak observing this rule? Can you imagine Guru Gobind Singh in the jungle with his followers and warriors observing this rule? I cannot. Siri Guru tells us that no man is above another, that God is in all. This restriction in SGPC's Rehit does not accord with Sikh teachings, but is more closely akin to Brahministic practices of Hinduism.

Moreover, I know many many Amritdhari Sikhs, some of them rather well-known internationally, who do not observe this restriction.

You might wish to contact SGPC directly about this: http://www.sgpc.net.

As for the salutation at the top of your post, it is the greeting given by one Amritdhari Sikh to another. If you don't KNOW if he/she is Amritdhari, then you can use Sat Siri Akaal or Sat Nam.

Guru ang sang,
-DKK