CASTE/ਜਾਤਿ

  

ABSTRACT

  

The caste system is against the tenets of Sikh Faith but unfortunately, the practice of any faith is different from what is written in their respective scriptures.  Individuals belonging to a higher caste egotistically consider themselves superior to others. Guru Nanak says that a person who considers everyone equal is religious and Guru oriented. On the other hand, considering oneself superior to others makes the individual narcissistic and irreligious. God does not have a caste says Guru Nanak in Raag Sorath:

ਅਲਖ ਅਪਾਰ ਅਗੰਮ ਅਗੋਚਰ ਨਾ ਤਿਸੁ ਕਾਲੁ ਨ ਕਰਮਾ ॥

ਜਾਤਿ ਅਜਾਤਿ ਅਜੋਨੀ ਸੰਭਉ ਨਾ ਤਿਸੁ ਭਾਉ ਨ ਭਰਮਾ ॥

Alakẖ apār agamm agocẖar nā ṯis kāl na karmā.Jāṯ ajāṯ ajonī sambẖa¬o nā ṯis bẖā¬o na bẖarmā.

God is unknowable, infinite, unapproachable and imperceptible & is not subject to death or karma. God is casteless, unborn, self-illumined and free of doubt and desire. -----Guru Nanak, Raag Sorath, AGGS, Page, 597-5

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Guru Nanak equates the presence of God’s light equally and impartially in all and similarly the Sabd is equal to Khatri's and Soodra's in Slokes Sahskirti:

ਖ੍ਯ੍ਯਤ੍ਰੀ ਸਬਦੰ ਸੂਰ ਸਬਦੰ ਸੂਦ੍ਰ ਸਬਦੰ ਪਰਾ ਕ੍ਰਿਤਹ ॥

ਸਰਬ ਸਬਦੰ ਤ ਏਕ ਸਬਦੰ ਜੇ ਕੋ ਜਾਨਸਿ ਭੇਉ ॥

ਨਾਨਕ ਤਾ ਕੋ ਦਾਸੁ ਹੈ ਸੋਈ ਨਿਰੰਜਨ ਦੇਉ ॥

ਏਕ ਕ੍ਰਿਸ੍ਨੰ ਤ ਸਰਬ ਦੇਵਾ ਦੇਵ ਦੇਵਾ ਤ ਆਤਮਹ ॥

ਆਤਮੰ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਬਾਸ੍ਵਦੇਵਸ੍ਯ੍ਯ ਜੇ ਕੋਈ ਜਾਨਸਿ ਭੇਵ ॥

ਨਾਨਕ ਤਾ ਕੋ ਦਾਸੁ ਹੈ ਸੋਈ ਨਿਰੰਜਨ ਦੇਵ ॥
Kẖa­yṯarī sabḏaʼn sūr sabḏaʼn sūḏar sabḏaʼn parā kirṯeh. Sarab sabḏaʼn ṯa ėk sabḏaʼn jė ko jānas bẖė­o. Nānak ṯā ko ḏās hai so▫ī niranjan ḏe▫o. Ėk krisanʼn ṯa sarab ḏevā ḏev ḏevā ṯa āṯmah. Āṯmaʼn sarī bāsavḏaivas▫y je ko▫ī jānas bẖev. Nānak ṯā ko ḏās hai so▫ī niranjan ḏev.

For the Khatri's, the Sabd is heroic bravery; for the Soodra's, the Sabd is service to others. But for one who realizes the Divine mystery, one Sole path is for all. Says Nanak, to him, I am a servant, who is the Divine God Itself. One God is supreme over all deities (gods and goddesses) as also the Universal Self. The Self is the image of the pervasive God, should one this mystery realize, Nanak is a servant to the Divine God Itself. -----Guru Nanak, Sahskirti Slokes, AGGS, Page, 1353-12,13

After Death there is no caste as expressed by Guru Nanak in Raag Asa and Guru Amar Das in Raag Maru;

ਜਾਣਹੁ ਜੋਤਿ ਨ ਪੂਛਹੁ ਜਾਤੀ ਆਗੈ ਜਾਤਿ ਨ ਹੇ ॥

Jāṇhu joṯ na pūcẖẖahu jāṯī āgai jāṯ na hė.

Recognize God's Light within all, and do not consider social class or status; there are no classes or castes in the world hereafter. -----Guru Nanak, Raag Asa, AGGS, Page, 349-13
          

ਅਗੈ ਜਾਤਿ ਨ ਜੋਰੁ ਹੈ ਅਗੈ ਜੀਉ ਨਵੇ ॥
ਜਿਨ ਕੀ ਲੇਖੈ ਪਤਿ ਪਵੈ ਚੰਗੇ ਸੇਈ ਕੇਇ ॥
Agai jāṯ na jor hai agai jī­o navė. Jin kī lėkẖai paṯ pavai cẖangė sė­ī kė­ė.

In the world hereafter, social status and power mean nothing; hereafter, the soul is new. Those few, whose honor is confirmed, are good. -----Guru Nanak, Raag Asa, AGGS, Page, 469-6

Caste puffs up the individual’s ego.  If one belongs to a higher social class (caste), he regards himself as being better than others. Guru Nanak and other Gurus admonish us against this view, in the following hymns:

ਜੋ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਸੋ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਦੇਖਹੁ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ਕੋਈ ਜੀਉ ॥

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਏਕ ਦ੍ਰਿਸਟਿ ਕਰਿ ਦੇਖਹੁ ਘਟਿ ਘਟਿ ਜੋਤਿ ਸਮੋਈ ਜੀਉ ॥
Jo anṯar so bāhar ḏėkẖhu avar na ḏūjā ko­ī jī­o. Gurmukẖ ėk ḏarisat kar ḏėkẖhu gẖat gẖat joṯ samo­ī jī­o.

God is within and seen outside as well. There is no one, other than It. As Guru oriented, look upon all with the same eye of equality because,in every heart, the same Divine Light is contained. -----Guru Nanak, Raag Sorath, AGGS, Page, 599-2

Messages are clear.  What motivates us to ignore the tenets of our faith or act against them?  Is it our belief that we would not suffer the consequences? We should seriously reconsider this position.

.ਕੀਤਾ ਆਪੋ ਆਪਣਾ ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਲੇਖਾ ਸੰਢੀਐ ॥
ਜਾ ਰਹਣਾ ਨਾਹੀ ਐਤੁ ਜਗਿ ਤਾ ਕਾਇਤੁ ਗਾਰਬਿ ਹੰਢੀਐ ॥
Kīṯā āpo āpṇā āpė hī lėkẖā sandẖī­ai. Jā rahṇā nāhī aiṯ jag ṯā kā­iṯ gārab handẖī­ai

Everyone receives the rewards of his own actions; his account is adjusted accordingly. Since one is not destined to remain in this world anyway, why should he ruin himself in pride?-----Guru Nanak, Raag Asa, AGGS, Page, 473-12

Consistent application of the teachings of AGGS and the daily review has led to significant changes in my personal life. It seems like a return toward one's original state in the eternal scheme of things. Why so few persons have ever become perfectly evolved, selfless beings? This involves a glacially slow process of unlearning and restructuring of the self.  It turns out, that initially, one has to simply learn to unlearn. Then the receptive process of relearning opens. As it unfolds on its own, it seems to reconnect the person to the others in new and vital relationships. They may have always been there but were veiled by one’s ego, passions, and other lower instincts. The remedy is prescribed by Guru Amar Das in Raag Parbhati:

ਇੰਦ੍ਰੀ ਪੰਚ ਪੰਚੇ ਵਸਿ ਆਣੈ ਖਿਮਾ ਸੰਤੋਖੁ ਗੁਰਮਤਿ ਪਾਵੈ ॥
ਸੋ ਧਨੁ ਧਨੁ ਹਰਿ ਜਨੁ ਵਡ ਪੂਰਾ ਜੋ ਭੈ ਬੈਰਾਗਿ ਹਰਿ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਵੈ ॥
Inḏrī pancẖ pancẖė vas āṇai kẖimā sanṯokẖ gurmaṯ pāvai. So ḏẖan ḏẖan har jan vad pūrā jo bẖai bairāg har guṇ gāvai.

The persons, who have controlled the five senses and the five vices, have realized forgiveness, patience, and contentment through Guru’s guidance. Blessed, blessed, perfect and great is that humble servant of God, who is inspired by the Fear of God and detached love, to sing Its Glorious Praises. -----Guru Amar Das, Raag Parbhati, AGGS, Page, 1334-16

     ਜਾਤਿ ਕਾ ਗਰਬੁ ਨ ਕਰੀਅਹੁ ਕੋਈ ॥

ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਿੰਦੇ ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣੁ ਹੋਈ ॥

Jāṯ kā garab na karī­ahu ko­ī. Barahm binḏė so barāhmaṇ ho­ī.

No one should be proud of his social class and status. He alone is a Brahmin, who knows God.

ਜਾਤਿ ਕਾ ਗਰਬੁ ਨ ਕਰਿ ਮੂਰਖ ਗਵਾਰਾ ॥
ਇਸੁ ਗਰਬ ਤੇ ਚਲਹਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਵਿਕਾਰਾ ॥

Jāṯ kā garab na kar mūrakẖ gavārā. Is garab ṯė cẖaleh bahuṯ vikārā.

Do not be proud of your social class and status, you ignorant fool. So much sin and corruption come from this pride. -----Guru Amar Das, Raag Bhairo, AGGS, Page, 1127, 1128

ਅਗੈ ਜਾਤਿ ਨ ਪੁਛੀਐ ਕਰਣੀ ਸਬਦੁ ਹੈ ਸਾਰੁ ॥
ਹੋਰੁ ਕੂੜੁ ਪੜਣਾ ਕੂੜੁ ਕਮਾਵਣਾ ਬਿਖਿਆ ਨਾਲਿ ਪਿਆਰੁ ॥
Agai jāṯ na pucẖẖī­ai karṇī sabaḏ hai sār. Hor kūṛ paṛ­ṇā kūṛ kamāvaṇā bikẖi­ā nāl pi­ār.

Hereafter, no one is questioned about social status.  Excellent and sublime is the practice of the Word of the Sabd! Any other pursuit is false. Other approaches are false. Their followers are people are in love with poison. -----Guru Amar Das, Raag Maru, AGGS, Page, 1094-1, 2. 
                            
Sabd Guru advises about virtues of spiritual wisdom, devotional worship, and the righteous path of compassion, contentment, truth, Divine existence, equality, and courage.  Sabd of the Guru leads all to the realization of Universal Self in the individual self.  The result is the eradication of ego (ਹਉਮੈ) veiling the Higher Self, to be replaced by humility by bathing in the pool of Truth as Guru willed says Guru Amar Das, in Raag Suhi:

ਸਚਾ ਤੀਰਥੁ ਜਿਤੁ ਸਤ ਸਰਿ ਨਾਵਣੁ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਆਪਿ ਬੁਝਾਏ ॥

ਅਠਸਠਿ ਤੀਰਥ ਗੁਰ ਸਬਦਿ ਦਿਖਾਏ ਤਿਤੁ ਨਾਤੈ ਮਲੁ ਜਾਏ ॥

Sacẖā ṯirath jiṯ saṯ sar nāvaṇ gurmukẖ āp bujẖā­ė. Aṯẖsaṯẖ ṯirath gur sabaḏ ḏikẖā▫e ṯiṯ nāṯai mal jā▫e.

True is that place of pilgrimage, where one bathes in the pool of Truth, and achieves self-realization as Guru willed, who understands his own self. God has shown that the Word of the Guru's Sabd is the sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage; bathing in it, filth is washed away.-----Guru Amar Das, Raag Suhi, AGGS, Page, 753-15

ਸਭ ਏਕ ਦ੍ਰਿਸਟਿ ਸਮਤੁ ਕਰਿ ਦੇਖੈ ਸਭੁ ਆਤਮ ਰਾਮੁ ਪਛਾਨ ਜੀਉ ॥

ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਜਸੁ ਗਾਇਆ ਪਰਮ ਪਦੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਤੇ ਊਤਮ ਜਨ ਪਰਧਾਨ ਜੀਉ ॥
Sabẖ ėk ḏarisat samaṯ kar ḏėkẖai sabẖ āṯam rām pacẖẖān jī­o. Har har jas gā­i­ā param paḏ pā­i­ā ṯė ūṯam jan parḏẖān jī­o.

Look upon all with equality, and recognize that the One Supreme God is pervading among all. Those who sing the Praises of the Eternal God are acclaimed among the people.  They obtain the supreme status and are most exalted. -----Guru Ram Das, Raag Asa, AGGS, Page, 446-12

Bhagat Kabir rather satirically and sarcastically states that all of us have been created by the same seed of Universal Brahman:

ਗਰਭ ਵਾਸ ਮਹਿ ਕੁਲੁ ਨਹੀ ਜਾਤੀ ॥

ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਬਿੰਦੁ ਤੇ ਸਭ ਉਤਪਾਤੀ ॥ 

ਕਹੁ ਰੇ ਪੰਡਿਤ ਬਾਮਨ ਕਬ ਕੇ ਹੋਏ ॥

ਬਾਮਨ ਕਹਿ ਕਹਿ ਜਨਮੁ ਮਤ ਖੋਏ ॥

ਜੌ ਤੂੰ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣੁ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਣੀ ਜਾਇਆ ॥

ਤਉ ਆਨ ਬਾਟ ਕਾਹੇ ਨਹੀ ਆਇਆ ॥

ਤੁਮ ਕਤ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣ ਹਮ ਕਤ ਸੂਦ ॥

ਹਮ ਕਤ ਲੋਹੂ ਤੁਮ ਕਤ ਦੂਧ ॥

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬੀਚਾਰੈ ॥

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣੁ ਕਹੀਅਤੁ ਹੈ ਹਮਾਰੈ ॥
Garabẖ vās meh kul nahī jāṯī. Barahm binḏ ṯė sabẖ uṯpāṯī. Kaho rė pandiṯ bāman kab kė ho­ė. Bāman kahi kahi janam maṯ kẖo­ė. Jou ṯūʼn barāhmaṇ barahmaṇī jā­i­ā. Ŧa­o ān bāt kāhė nahī ā­i­ā. Ŧum kaṯ barāhmaṇ ham kaṯ sūḏ. Ham kaṯ lohū ṯum kaṯ ḏūḏẖ. Kaho Kabīr jo barahm bīcẖārai. So barāhmaṇ kahī­aṯ hai hamārai.

In the dwelling of the womb, there is no ancestry or social status. All have been created from the Seed of God. O, Pundit and religious scholar, tell me since when have you been a Brahmin? Don't waste your life by continually claiming to be a Brahmin. If you are indeed a Brahmin, born of a Brahmin mother, then why didn't you come by another special way than the common way? How is it that you are a Brahmin, and I am of low social status? Is it that I am formed of blood, and you are made of milk? Says Kabir, one who contemplates God, is said to be a Brahmin among us.-----Bhagat Kabir in Raag Gauri AGGS, Page, 324

It is only the individual ego that causes discrimination against others because of their caste in many faiths. In Sikh faith too, even to this day, such discrimination is prevalent despite being against its principles. Yet no attempt is being made to stop this practice.  Many other traditions and rituals carried on to this date in Sikh faith are of Brahminical origin, and are forbidden in Sikhism. Ego is an inflated feeling of pride being self-consciousness of one’s own identity. It imparts a false sense of superiority above others. It is an outcome of certain mental attitudes, such as misperceptions, false memory, and defensive mechanisms. Ego is neither an entity nor a process. It is only a notion of I-am-ness, which exists only in one’s mind.  Having an ego does not depend on our choice.  We are born with it. It is the nature of the mind to experience its individuality. All our desires, attachment, experiences in the world are due to the ego controlling our minds.  In our complex psyche, Ego is at the center of our field of consciousness.  It persists with a high degree of continuity in our identity.

People may be aware of the messages in AGGS condemning discrimination based on the caste system.  They may also fully understand their meaning.  Yet such discrimination is still prevalent.  There may be occasional discussions or debates about it.  But few understand the implications and spiritual consequences of such discrimination.

ਕਬੀਰ ਮਨੁ ਜਾਨੈ ਸਭ ਬਾਤ ਜਾਨਤ ਹੀ ਅਉਗਨੁ ਕਰੈ ॥

ਕਾਹੇ ਕੀ ਕੁਸਲਾਤ ਹਾਥਿ ਦੀਪ ਕੂਏ ਪਰੈ ॥

Kabīr man jānai sabẖ bāṯ jānaṯ hī a­ugan karai. Kāhė kī kuslāṯ hāth ḏīp kū­ė parai.

Kabir, the mortal knows everything, and knowing, he still makes mistakes. What good is a lamp in one's hand, if he falls into the well?-----Sloke Kabir 216, AGGS, Page, 1376

By devotional love, fear of God, the study of AGGS, and honestly following the teachings of Sabd Guru, the ego becomes subtler. The gross ego is the ego of individuality, which expresses itself in the worldly desires and attachments. Subtler ego emerges when those desires and attachment get weaker and individual self-interests to start disappearing. Then the mind identifies with the subtle ego in its own pure state. Some understand and follow, but others ignore these instructions and later repent in the next word as pointed out by Sheikh Farid in his Slokes:

ਇਕਨਾ ਨੋ ਸਭ ਸੋਝੀ ਆਈ ਇਕਿ ਫਿਰਦੇ ਵੇਪਰਵਾਹਾ॥

ਅਮਲ ਜਿ ਕੀਤਿਆ ਦੁਨੀ ਵਿਚਿ ਸੇ ਦਰਗਹ ਓਗਾਹਾ॥ 

Iknā no sabẖ sojẖī ā­ī ik firḏė vėparvāhā. Amal je kīṯi­ā ḏunī vicẖ sė ḏargeh ohāgā.

Some understand this completely, while others wander around carelessly. Those actions, which are done in this world, shall be examined in the Court of God.-----Sloke Sheikh Farid, 98, AGGS, Page, 1383

Conclusion:

Acceptance in Sikhism has taught us that there is a bit of good in the worst of us and a bit of bad in the best of us; that we are all the children of God, equal in every respect and we each have a right to be here. Sikh faith is a set of principles, spiritual in nature, which if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession of the ego.  These principles enable one to become “Happy and useful Whole” if he regards all as his equals created by One Creator.