Let The Battle Commence - Part 1

Sometimes, I feel really sorry for those who begin their Sikhee journey.

Most often, these people can be split into two groups – non-Panjabees, and Panjabee youth whose family aren't committed Sikhs. As a result, these bright, enthusiastic and spiritually thirsty people naturally wish to soak up as much information and inspiration as possible from external sources. As far as they’re concerned, they’ve been stuck in the wilderness for far too long and are only now coming in from the cold.

Wide-eyed, they turn to the www in their zealous hunger for information. However, they soon realise that trying to learn about Sikhee via various sources, like most things in life, isn’t straightforward. Things don’t seem so warm inside after all.

It’s saturated with a plethora of websites, forums, blogs, social networking groups and e-groups, all of which to varying degrees promote a different Sikhee soup. "What does he mean by soup"? Schools of thought, schools within those schools and the most fascinating and perhaps most powerful phenomenon in recent times, the ‘charismatic individual’. The latter can often be found in the frontline amongst some of these vying perspectives.

Caustic debates, vicious flame-wars, accusations, slander – it’s a jungle! And all the newcomer wanted was some soup for their soul. Ok, I’ll stop the whole ‘cold wilderness’, ‘warm log-cabin’ and ‘campbells soup’ thing right now!

One fresh example, which makes me a feel a bit sorry for the author and anyone who reads the material, is a blog which barely having taken birth has begun by brazenly attacking a major well-respected Jathebandee (Sikh organisation). The reason? The blogger argues in his profile that he has been maligned by ‘members’ of the said Jathebandee, and so felt the need to prove how this Jathabandee is fundamentally opposed to The Satguroo’s teachings. Question: Do we really need to expose the whole Sikhee-seeking cyber population to such personal spats?

Look, my concern isn’t the truth behind the matter - which probably could have been discussed, dissected and decided over a telephone line between certain parties. I'm more concerned about the thirsty and wide-eyed newcomers, and the impressionable youth, who are constantly subject to these all too often occurrences. After-all, amongst the cyber-battlefield, it is they who suffer the paralysing aftermath, as they seek out 'The Satguroo's Teachings'.

...to be continued...