Daily Fix

The Man Who Knew Everything:
Khushwant Singh
Part III

T. SHER SINGH

[The earlier segments -- Parts I & II -- of this essay can be accessed from the sikhchic.com homepage by clicking on the DAILY FIX icon on the top right hand corner.]

PART III

I wish Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist, was still around.

Author of seminal tomes like the “The Power of Myth” and “The Hero With a Thousand Faces”, he died over a quarter of a century ago. But not before identifying for us the archetypal heroes that shape our psyches, rooted in a variety of developments in human thought.

He talks, for example, of the Greek Hero who, though colossal, has no defence against hubris and the forces of predestination and Fate ... a predicament faced by every man and woman.  

Or of the Shakespearean Hero who, though regal and imperial, succumbs to human failings that are common to us all and inherent to our very existence.

If only Campbell had lived a little longer because had he done so, inevitably he would have stumbled across yet another one: the Sikh Archetypal Hero -- the man or woman who, despite super-human adversities, rises to the top, only to be then pulled down to earth by his fellow-Sikhs.

Heir to a DNA that requires every Sikh to excel, and equipped with the tools that help attain that goal, the Sikh was uniquely blessed with the knowledge that all human beings are created equal.

But carrying the weight of these ideals has not proved easy. Because balancing these gifts, which often seem in juxtaposition with each other, also requires the discipline of the saint-warrior. Without the work required to keep our skills honed and on track, they turn into negatives within us and make us do things that are counter-productive to our Sikhi.

Thus, when encountering one amongst us -- the Sikh Hero -- who has achieved great heights against heavy odds, we immediately set out to cut him/her down to size. Why? Because we have an inbuilt recognition of equality which, when uncoupled with a spiritual grounding, drives us to resent the heroic status, and invokes the pathological need to bring the Hero down to earth.

Thus, we revere the Arthurian figure of Ranjit Singh in our history, but simultaneously feel guilty the moment we praise him. So, we immediately, in the same breath, point to his physical ugliness, or his failings.

Tara Singh, who led the beleaguered Sikhs during the tragic days of Partition? We are quick to point out that he hailed from a Hindu ancestry, and never get past it to usefully assess his real strengths and failures.

The poet/mystic Vir Singh, hailed as the Sixth River of Punjab? “Oh,” declaims the boor who has never even read a single book by him, “he doesn’t amount to much because he never wrote a word in English!”      

Blessed with more than our fair share of real heroes, we resent them all, always tripping on their flaws and failings, insistent on making sure that we are never blinded by the greatness of their achievements. 

So is it with our treatment of Khushwant Singh.

Here’s a man who laboured for years to pen two incredible volumes revealing our history and development as a community. In a language that the world could understand. From our -- Sikh -- perspective: as honestly, accurately, independently and objectively, fully and completely, as his personal limitations would allow. So many of us have turned to his scholarly work as the starting point when we seek to understand ourselves as a people. So do our children today.

Yet, those amongst us who have, at the very most, done but an infinitesimal fraction of what Khushwant Singh has done in his life for the Sikh community, hesitate for not a nano-second to question his Sikhi.

He studied Sikh scriptures long and hard and created some of the most beautiful translations of our key banis in English. They opened the eyes and hearts for so many of us, and led us to continue the journey on our own, a little bit more confident and enlightened.
  
Yet, there are those amongst us who have but a smidgen of Sikhi in their daily lives, who dare to suggest that he was anything but a Sikh, or in any way less than them.

I know of no Sikh stalwart in the last half a century and more who has done more to present our true values and our ideals to the world -- and ourselves -- than this man. No leaders, no jathedars, no scholars, no writers, no exegetes, no souls steeped in any level of piety, who have actually done anything meaningful for anyone other than themselves. 

Yet, we are quick to point to Khushwant Singh’s flaws, and shrug off his life-work as if we have a leg to stand on, while in judgement of him.

He was no saint.

But you know, I’ve met many a ‘saint’ in my lifetime, but I have yet to meet one who I’ve found interesting enough to learn from, or follow.

I’ll go even a step further.

I don’t believe Sikhi is a sangat of saints. We aspire all our lives to be gurmukhs, but none of us come even close, ever, to the ideal. We are doomed to strive life-long to grapple with our own inadequacies … and those of others.

So, the trick -- I have learnt in my own life -- is to find a way to accept the failings of others as deftly as we forgive our own, and develop the ability to appreciate their strengths.

I am fully cognizant of Khushwant Singh’s loud proclamations about his personal agnosticism, and his doubts over the concept of what we loosely call “God”.

I must confess that I particularly like that most about Khushwant Singh.

Let me hasten to explain myself, before any of you go into paroxysms and develop a coronary. 

Not too long ago, I hosted a talk-show for a TV network and had the privilege every week to interview at some length people from different faiths. What I tried to do during the years that I did this -- over the course of a number of different series -- was to get them to talk about their own beliefs, to share with the viewers what they found most beautiful in their own faith, what gave them inspiration, what brought them peace, what took them to greater heights.

In the role as host and interviewer, I was able to do this with hundreds of extraordinary men and women from around the world. Amongst them were religious leaders and scholars of every ilk, ranging from the learned to the pious.

And I must tell you, quite honestly, nobody, not a single soul, impressed me more with his or her piety than the ones who genuinely and sincerely spoke of their self-doubts, of their personal struggles with even the most basic of beliefs -- such as the very existence of God.

These good souls moved me to the brink of tears, and encouraged me for a long time thereafter, to search within myself for answers. They helped me in my personal journey. I saw in each one of them the agonizing struggles of Job himself -- my favourite character in the entire Christian Bible, ‘old’ and ‘new‘.

I heard in them echoes of Nanak’s quests, and of Farid and Kabir. I saw in their eyes the shadows that lurked around Guru Gobind Singh in the wilderness of Machhiwara. I saw in them, in their questioning, in their self-doubts, in their constant searching, searching, searching, a level of spirituality that I never get to see in the religious types of any stripe imaginable.

I’ve seen them all.

At the turn of the millennium, I was invited by the Vatican to spend a week as their guest, to confer with approximately 200 religious leaders from around the world. Why I was invited is beyond me, but I’ve learnt never to look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe in my role as a journalist?   

I met a lot -- yes, a L-O-T -- of pious types. I even had the good fortune to meet the Pope (the good John Paul II). The Dalai Lama was there too, during one of the sessions. And so were the heads of many a religion and an infinity of sects and denominations.  

But not one that impressed me enough with his or her spirituality. I’ve struggled with that -- I chalk it off as my failure, not theirs -- and have come to realize that certainty in matters spiritual does not impress me. Probably because it is antithetical to Sikhi itself.

In such matters, I find certainty foolish. I find self-doubt productive and healthy. Even, deeply spiritual.

Hence, when I come across people who are genuinely agnostic or atheist -- as opposed to those who use the terms frivolously and flippantly as some kind of a badge of honour, or to project a flattering "bad-boy" image of themselves -- and are sincerely searching with an open mind, I admire them more than all the living ‘saints’ in the world today put together.

Khushwant Singh was no ordinary agnostic.

I found in his honest declamations Sikhi to the core. His pre-occupation -- I didn’t see it as an obsession -- with death most healthy. I find his questioning the existence of God more spiritual and Sikh-like than the crane-like pretensions of the ‘religious’ crowd.

Briefly, let’s talk about his political leanings, especially a la Sikh matters.

I’ll be brief on this one. By citing 1984 as an example.

All of us pontificate endlessly about 1984 … and do nothing. We haven’t even looked after our own, those who were victimized by the cowards who hid behind the only strength they had -- numbers.

Khushwant Singh, while being known around the world as Indira Gandhi’s biggest supporter and fan, stood up and condemned her for her criminality. And then, stood up again and spoke out publicly, at great personal cost and exposure, against the pogrom unleashed that November.

I don’t know too many Sikhs around who displayed similar courage and conviction. Especially not amongst those who are so quick to question his Sikh bonafides.

And his criticisms of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale or of the Sikh resistance fighters? Sure, I may agree or disagree with many of Khushwant Singh’s public stances, but how does that give me permission to question his Sikhi? Since when did our community become a monolith, or take away the freedom of expression, or the right to hold our opinions, no matter how wrong others may consider them to be?

I disagree with him on many a point, but I’m sure he -- and you -- do so on much of what I have to say about anything. All it proves is that we as Sikhs are thinking individuals, not lemmings, and we respect the basic rights and freedoms of all people, not just those who agree with us.

Then, let’s move on to Khushwant Singh’s brand of humour and bawdiness.

I liked that too.

I loved his sense of humour, even though it’s not my own brand of choice. Remember, we don’t get to choose or dictate how others live … or think.

In fact I did think his humour to be so Sikh, so Punjabi. Especially when it was directed against Sikhs. Isn’t self-deprecating humour a fundamental Sikh trait? Have we lost it in the aftermath of 1947 and 1984? I don’t think so.

And then, his bawdiness.

Well, I like that too. It’s so Sikh, so Punjabi. There’s nothing wrong with bawdy humour. Nothing wrong with talking freely about sex, as long as it doesn’t cross into the level of porn and/or begins to be hurtful.

I don’t understand the hang-ups that people have about sex. I really don’t. Other than that it reveals deep-seated insecurities. I mean, aren’t we, each one of us, created through a sexual act? There’s no ifs and buts about it. Even the Pope. And the Dalai Lama. And you and me.

Sex dictates much of our personal struggles, mental … and physical … and social. All our lives.

Sikhi recognizes it. And celebrates it. Even in our Guru Granth Sahib!

So, I give no truck to the criticism that all the little minds have over Khushwant Singh’s mountain of joke-books, bawdy or otherwise.

No, Khushwant Singh is not my ideal. Or my hero.

What I mean by this is that my thoughts on Khushwant Singh are no mere gushing by a fan blinded by hero-worship. 

I actually like him. I admire him. I have learnt from him. I feel indebted to him for what he has done for our community and his country. Sure, I think he had flaws and failings, that he occasionally made mistakes, and sometimes even showed poor judgement. Like any and all of us.

But, pray tell me, how does THAT make him less than me or you or anyone else you can point to who walks the earth today?

Here, you can do better. Name me the Sikhs who you think did at least as much in their lives, not as a mere flash in the pan, but consistently, relentlessly, unflinchingly, all their lives. No, don’t tell me of people who held vacuous positions or wielded meaningless power. Tell me of those who did something meaningful with their lives.

Like Khushwant Singh.


To Be Continued … When I finally Got To Meet The Man.
April 3, 2014       

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