Travel
Reciprocating Alexander: Musings of a Sikh in Athens
Part One
Dr. BRIJ PAL SINGH
"Are you from Sudan?" asks the conductor of the tram (or trolley, as the Greeks call it ) as I sit down in a seat next to him. I say 'no'.
He
suggests 'Somalia'. I repeat 'no'.
Both of us are amused and, to
have some fun, I refuse to tell him my country until he names half a
dozen lesser known countries from Arabia and Africa. He smiles in
defeat. As I utter the word 'India', he gives out a big breath, 'Ah'.
He had least expected such a well knowncountry.
Then he turns his head
immediately to his job of issuing tickets. At the next respite, he
beckons me with his friendly gesture and asks, 'You are Buddhist? My
'no' makes him curious and he suggests such names as Brahmin, Islam,
Christianity, Hinduism and Judaism until his glossary is exhausted.
He gasps his defeat and his eyes open
wide with astonishment when I tell him, "I am a Sikh".
No, he has never heard the word. He has never read about it. He has never met a Sikh. And then I am compelled to explain what Sikhism is and what it stands for, to a small group who has gathered around us by now. All what I said was Greek to them, in Greece!
Such incidents occur frequently as I walk in the busy avenues, visit offices, libraries or even the crowded departmental stores in the course of my ordinary business of life.
I have been in Athens, Greece, for the
last eleven months or so, on a Greek government scholarship for
doctoral research. My topic of research is 'Tourism and Greek Balance
of Payments'. I have to visit libraries and offices to collect data and
information.
My professors, two specimens of the finest among
Greeks, had told me - rather, warned me - that to collect statistics in
this field would be the most difficult task in Greece, not only because
of the language problem but also because research traditions of ancient
Greece are not somehow grounded in the grassroots of modern public and
private offices.
It was therefore indeed a pleasant surprise that my exterior
Sikh form turned out to be my greatest asset. The moment I enter any
office, the receptionists - noticing my turban and beard - seem instantly interested
in me. It is easy to get to the person concerned. Here again I am asked,
first of all, to explain my religion, my religious beliefs, the state
of politics and economy in India and so on. The discussion makes the
person friendly and my formal work proceeds more smoothly.
Thirst
for knowledge is an age-old tradition with the Greek people. The
distance of India from Greece running into thousands of miles and its
ancient culture and civilization lend more charm. My religion and its
form prompts them to know more.
Even otherwise, Greece is a fairly good exception to the whole of
Europe. Here a foreigner feels at home. Racial feelings are
non-existent. Africans mix up freely with the local population.
Greeks
take the initiative in talking to foreigners. And when a Sikh presents
himself as a Sikh, they show unusual interest. A Sikh is a foreigner
beyond doubt; indeed he is a hundred percent foreigner.
Fortunately
or unfortunately, it seems, I am the only Sikh living in Athens; may be
in Greece. Athens is the birth-place of the western version of democracy and European
civilization. But modern Athens is a highly urbanized city like any
other European capital. In some respects it is unique. Almost 25-30
percent of the total population of Greece lives in Greater Athens
alone. Millions of tourists visit this country every year and almost
all of them come to Athens.
Any foreigner is lost and invisible in this
vast ocean of humanity ... but not a Sikh. Thanks to our Gurus, he is
spotted at once. And he is rather made all the more welcome. The Greek economy is
heavily dependent on tourist receipts and the Greeks realize it quite
well. The government has a well-executed tourist policy. Greeks are
very hospitable and extrovert people. A Sikh should have an easy time
maintaining his religion.
Why am I the only Sikh seen here, I ponder?
After a stay of about eleven months, I have come to know that there are
hundreds of my brethren here but they are all 'monas' or 'shaven'. I
have met dozens of them by now. To be true, they have met me;
invariably they call me from a little distance in a sweet Punjabi tone,
"Sat Sri Akal, ji." I am so pleased. But it is distressing to note that
not one of them has kept his identity.
I always ask them, "Why so?" Do they face any problem from the government, industry or people if they keep unshorn hair? No,
surely, there is no such problem and they do agree with me on that.
They are, however, mostly illegal entrants to this country and almost
all of them are illegal residents. They want to conceal their identity.
Most
of them come here attracted by higher wages and a search for a better
life. Unscrupulous travel agents first lure them and then dump them
here. Most of them work on ships as unskilled crewmen. Because of
inflation, a scarcity of this type of labour and the psychological
temperament of all of us to convert all money into our (Indian) currency figures, they
feel happy to find such work on ships.
Visa and resident permits
are not required on the high seas. They can save some money and send home
as well. So the parents are made to believe that they are earning
'decent' salaries and living in 'phoren' lands. Shipping companies
welcome the cheap labour supplied by India and Pakistan so long as they
do not create problems of law and order.
Everything seems to be in the knowledge of the government here as well.
They simply tolerate it in their own economic interest. The fair name
of my country is blemished.
The name of my religion is not,
because they dare not keep their religion. They dare not declare who
they are. They are not Sikhs. If they want to indulge in misdeeds they
have to conceal it. In order to conceal, they forsake the religion
which is so open, so conspicuous that always one has to have an
insignia, something like a flag on the very face and the head.
At
first I felt sorry that these brethren of mine, who were my own
brothers born of one father - Guru Gobind Singh - have forsaken their faith. But why do I feel that way? I reasoned with myself; because
the number of Sikhs has been reduced by some few hundreds or even
thousands?
Ah! Our great Guru knew how an ordinary Sikh would
feel about it. So he made the exterior form compulsory, which only a
person with very deep conviction to the content of this great eligion
could adopt and maintain. Any one with a superficial belief in the
basic tenets of Sikhism would be the first to question the need,
relevance and significance of his unique Sikh
face.
To the
modern man whose philosophy of life is to lead a superficially easy life, this form would seem to be difficult, almost a burden.
On the other hand, one who is fired with Truth, one who has realized
the meaning of life, one who wants to live a good, dutiful and
purposeful life, beyond worldly goods and commodities, and one
who seeks to live as the Gurus ordained us to live, for that person
this identity of Sikhism is the central to this great
religion.
Indeed the more one reflects, the more one realizes
that this form is actually, truly and basically a part of the content
of the Sikh way of life. Every Sikh must ask himself or herself these
questions. Have I conquered my ego (haumai) if I want to appear as most
others are according to the contemporary concept of beauty, smartness
and easy life?
Are these concepts not relative to time, place
and even the current economic power of an alien culture? Have I
understood the concept of God's Will (hukam), if I object to one part
(the so-called exterior aspect) of Sikhism but give lip-service to the
other?
Those who do not believe in the basics of Sikhism but
keep its form just by tradition or only at the behest of their social
group, are more likely to slide downside when they want to lead the
loose life of crime, illegal existence, extramarital sex and alcohol
abuse.
[Continued ... tomorrow]
The author, Dr. Brij Pal Singh, was in Athens from 1977 to 1980 on a doctoral study. He worked as Professor of Economics from 1984 to 1996 at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, which trains the top administrators of the Government of India.
Courtesy: BookPalz
January 27, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Chintan Singh (San Jose, California, U.S.A.), January 27, 2010, 11:40 AM.
An inspiring piece on how the exterior symbols given by our great Gurus strongly link with the philosophical concepts. Secondly, a Sikh can go to any part of the world, fit in any culture, as long as he/she is held close by the Guru. Ours is a truly practical religion - no, its a way of life. This is the message I got from the above piece.
2: N. Singh (Canada), January 27, 2010, 10:17 PM.
I visited the Greek Isles on vacation in the 90s and was surprised when the locals constantly mistook me for being a Greek! It was a surreal experience because even though I had never been there before it felt strangely like home ... as though I had been there in some other life. At the time I was convinced that perhaps this is where my ancestors had migrated from or that we were somehow connected to the soldiers of Alexander the Great who had come as far as Punjab and had been stopped by the Punjabis from conquering the subcontinent! So much for the argument that we are all descendants of hindus which I find both ignorant and offensive!