A Rationalist’s View of Ardas

Can Ardas change the Laws of Nature? The obvious answer is no. However, according to Bibi Baljit Kaur from Sri Guru Nanak Mission, it can.

Bibiji was a guest on Harpreet Singh show on May 25, 2018 taking part in the religious segment of the show. The topic of discussion was the “Importance of Ardas” in Sikhism. During the discussion, Harpreet Singh raised a question related to Nagar Kirtan in Surrey, BC. It was said, that, the weather forecast for the day of the Nagar Kirtan was rain, but due to change in weather it did not rain. The organizers and the religious leaders for the Sikh Parade claimed, the reason for no rain was sangat’s Ardas. In simple words, the Ardas changed Laws of Nature. Bibi Baljit Kaur’s response was very positive, she said it can happen as Ardas is very powerful, especially when it is recited by large number of people in the form of Sangat. She said it is possible that God listens to people and grants their wishes. It works as “Collective Energy.” She also said, collective energy is now recognized by medical science.

Please excuse my ignorance, I am a retired Medical Laboratory Scientist as a department head and have never heard that collective energy can diagnose or cure diseases such as infections, diabetes, autoimmune, hematologic, cardiovascular and malignancies, etc. However, it inspired me to write this article.

Ardas is a Persian word “Arazdashat” meaning a request, prayer or an address to a superior authority. Guru Arjan composed Ardas in Sukhmani, SGGS,pg. 268 as:

Tu Thaakar tum peh ardas, jio pind sabh tayree ras…

Due to lack of Gurbani knowledge, most Sikhs are not aware that this verse is the actual Ardas given to us by our Guru and therefore don’t pay more attention and give more importance to it. This Ardas largely expresses gratitude in humility to the Divine for abundant resources provided to us. It is the voice of the entire Sangat gathered together at that moment. In general, this verse is not considered Ardas, though it commonly precedes the SGPC-invented Ardas. I will only discuss this SGPC prepared Ardas in this article.

Ardas is considered one of the most important prayers in modern Sikhism, even though it was not written by any of the Sikh Gurus and cannot be found in Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS.) The present form of Ardas was prepared by SGPC in Amritsar and implemented in 1945. This Ardas is not part of Gurbani and one should not expect any spiritual wisdom or knowledge by reciting it. The most important part of this Ardas is a reminder that thousands of Sikhs sacrificed their lives in most cruel way for just cause. This Ardas also consists of a big list of needs and wants.

Guru Nanak the founder of Sikhism described the Creator (God) in two forms:

1. Visible or Manifested form as Cosmos (Universe) - SARGUN
2. Invisible or Unmanifested form as Laws of Nature or Cosmic Law - NIRGUN

Guru Nanak called the Cosmic Law that pervades the Cosmos “Hukam.” Hukam is omnipresent and constantly flows through and permeates the universe. Guru Nanak explained in Japji bani as follows:

Hukmai ander sabh ko bahar hukam na koe

Nanak hukmai je bujhai ta haumai kahai na koe.   SGGS, Jap1, pg1

Everything in the Cosmos is subject to Hukam and nothing is beyond it. Nanak, one who understands Hukam, does not speak in ego (self- centeredness.)

Chaleh gurmukh hukam rajai    SGGS, M1, Pg227

A Gurmukh walks royally in hukam.

So kio andha akhiai je hukmahu andha hoe

Nanak, hukam na bujhi andha kahiai soe.   SGGS, M2, Pg954

Why call a blind person blind? Blind is the one who does not understand the Hukam.

 

Naam ke dhare sagle jant…………………..

Naam ke dhare sagle akar  SGGS, M5, Pg284

All living beings, all galaxies, stars, planets, space, underworlds and all the celestial bodies are under natural law. (Naam.)

In the above Gurbani quote, Guru Arjan describes the whole universe controlled by Naam (the laws of nature.) Every action and reaction in this universe and all living beings are governed under the Laws of Nature. It also explained by Guru Nanak as the basic principle of Hukam.

Kaho Nanak jin hukam pachhata,

Parab sahib ka tin bhed jata.   SGGS, M5, Pg885

Says Nanak, one who realizes the Hukam knows the secrets of his Lord and Master.

Hukam is an Arabic word and in Punjabi it is known as “Bhana”. It is also translated as order, permission, mandate or command. The compliance with Hukam is called “Razza” also an Arabic word (1.)  

The above Gurbani quotes clearly indicate that everything in the cosmos (universe) is governed by natural laws or Hukam and that nothing is outside these laws of nature. In other words, no person, nor any type of prayer, can change these Laws of Nature.

To the individuals who believe that Ardas can change the Laws of Nature, I would like to ask them the following questions:

1. Why did Guru Nanak not recite Ardas to supply food and other essentials of life to Indian society to get rid of hunger, sickness, and poverty?
2. Why did Guru Nanak not recite Ardas to free the society from the claws of the corrupt rulers and the administrators?
3. Why did Guru Nanak not recite Ardas to spread his message while staying home with his family?
4. Why did Guru Nanak write in Babar bani that no Mughal was blinded?
5. Why did Sikh Gurus not recite Ardas to change the psyche (thinking) of the Muslim rulers? E.g., Guru Arjan’s martyrdom by Jahangir, Guru Tegh Bhadur’s martyrdom by Aurangzeb and Guru Gobind Singh’s life long struggle with Aurangzeb and his administrators. This could have saved thousands of innocent lives.
6. Why did Gurus not recite Ardas to do sarbat da bhala?
7. Why did Guru Gobind Singh not recite Ardas during the siege of Anandpur sahib, in the battles of Chamkaur and Khidraney dee Dhaab?
8. Why did Guru Gobind Singh not recite Ardas to stop the flood in Sarsa rivulet (Nadi) or lower the water level?
9. Why did Baba Banda Singh Bhadur not recite Ardas during the siege of Gurdas Nangal?
10. In 1947, why did no one recite Ardas to save more than million innocent lives?
11. In 1984, thousands of innocent Sikhs (men, women, and children) were murdered by the Indian army and police, why did no Sikh religious leader or the Sangat recite Ardas to save their lives?
12. There is lot of poverty, sickness, and hunger in developing countries, why did our Gurduaras Sangat not do Ardas for them to have better life?
13. There are lot of wildfires, floods, crimes, earthquakes, hurricanes and other disasters in the world, why did the Sikh Sangat not recite Ardas to stop them?
14. To those who believe that Ardas is very powerful when recited by the Sangat in the form of “Collective Energy,” why not perform Ardas to establish Peace and Happiness in the world?

The above questions clearly indicate that Sikh Gurus rejected the idea of special prayer or Ardas. They believed in Akal Purkh (Creator) and did not interfere with his Laws of Nature/ Cosmic Law (Hukam.) As Guru Nanak said in Japji bani Sacha sahib saach naye……. the Creator exists permanently, his naye (Hukam) is permanent as well. It means the Creator never changes his Hukam, under any circumstances or for anybody.

In this 21st century of science and technology, it is common knowledge that all creation in the universe is continuously changing, such as weather or climate which never stay the same.

The scientists studied the Cosmic Law/Laws of Nature (Hukam) and made wonderful inventions. These inventions brought industrial and technological revolution for the betterment of the humanity. These are parts of our lives now: Telecommunications, Transportation, Information Technology, Medical Science (diagnostic procedures and therapeutic agents,) Agriculture (farming, livestock and food processing,) Space exploration, Social Media and much more. The countries who took advantage of these inventions are controlling the world (2).

For Guru Nanak, the God is Universal Truth, Knowledge (Sabad) and Treasure of Virtues, understandable through wisdom and discerning intellect (bibek buddhi.) Sikhism is based upon reason, truth, relevance, purpose, facts, and logic. Guru Nanak rejected the thousands of years-old belief system. Today, Sikh religious institutions (Gurduaras), religious leaders (SGPC,) Taksals, Deradars, Babas, Sants and some Sikh organizations are actually promoting the old belief system.

Ignorance stimulates belief systems, which in turn encourage rituals. Whereas Knowledge discourages belief systems and one becomes ritual free. The interesting point is that all these people who believe in “belief systems” are enjoying the full benefits of science and technology themselves, but they preach against it to the innocent Sikh Sangat.

My personal belief that Guru Nanak (1469 - 1539) was perhaps the first philosopher the world ever produced with such a discerning intellect (bibek buddhi.) His contemporary, Polish mathematician and astronomer Copernicus (1473 – 1543,) who placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center of the universe, was way behind Guru Nanak in his perception of vastness of cosmos (3.) It is sad to me that Guru Nanak was born in dark and dead India instead of being born in Renaissance Europe. What a waste, I say; what a tragedy; how shameful!

 Conclusion:

The countries or societies who studied the Cosmic Law/Laws of Nature (Hukam) are enjoying the full benefits of their inventions and sharing  Telecommunications, Transportation, Information Technology, Space exploration and the International Space Station with rest of the world for further research and development etc. However, Sikh religious institutions (Gurduaras), leadership (SGPC) and the Sikh clergy are working towards changing the Laws of Nature with prayers like Ardas. How embarrassing!

Sikhism is considered most modern religion in the world, but the way it is practiced seems very outdated. What a shame!

My personal suggestion to the Sikh community is invest in Education instead of religion (for example building bigger and more Gurduaras.) Education will help our youth compete with rest of world.

I would like to remind every Sikh living in Canada about Principal Teja Singh. He was an academic who applied his wisdom and intellect to lobby the Canadian government on behalf of Sikhs at that time. One thing is for sure, he did not use Ardas as a tool for his success in this mission and he is the reason we all are enjoying better lives in Canada today.

I would like to request those Sikh community members who believe in a belief system to change their conscious wisdom (inner transformation) rather than attempting to control the Laws of Nature. This would be only achieved by understanding and practicing Gurbani principles.  

Ramjit Singh Mann

I would like to thank Harpreet Singh and Bibi Baljit Kaur for their discussion on “The Importance of Ardas” which in turn motivated me to write this article.

References:

1. Dr. Baldev Singh; Gurmat, Guru Nanak’s Path of Enlightenment; First edition 2015.
2. Moninder Singh; Realizing Hukam; Singh Sabha Canada, May 17,2018.
3. Hardev Singh Sherrgill; The Sikh Bulletin; Editorial, March - April 2017.

Acknowledgment: My special thanks to Simran Kaur Gill for her expert help in editing this article.