PurewalShahi Calendar & The Sikhs ( A comment on FB )

PurewalShahi Calendar & The Sikhs

( A comment on FB )

( Sirdar Anurag Singh, Prof. )

Guru Nanak in his Babarvaani hymn in Raga Tilang says:

ਆਵਨਿ ਅਠਤਰੈ ਜਾਨਿ ਸਤਾਨਵੈ ਹੋਰੁ ਭੀ ਉਠਸੀ ਮਰਦ ਕਾ ਚੇਲਾ ॥
Coming in seventy-eight (1521 A.D.), they will depart in ninety-seven (1540 A.D.),
and then another strongman will rise up.
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib p 723)

In our evening prayer Sohilaa, we recite:
ਵਿਸੁਏ ਚਸਿਆ ਘੜੀਆ ਪਹਰਾ ਥਿਤੀ ਵਾਰੀ ਮਾਹੁ ਹੋਆ ॥
The seconds, minutes and hours, days, weeks and months…

In Sri Guru Granth Sahib, we have the following compositions:

i) ਥਿਤੀ ਗਉੜੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥ (SGGS p 296-300)
Tithi ~ The Lunar Days: Gauree, Fifth Mehl

ii) ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ ਥਿਤੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਕੀ॥ Raag Gauree, Tithi ~ The Lunar Days Of Kabeer Jee:

ਪੰਦ੍ਰਹ ਥਿਤੀ ਸਾਤ ਵਾਰ ॥ There are fifteen lunar days, and seven days of the week. (SGGS p 343-44)

iii) ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ਥਿਤੀ ਘਰੁ ੧੦ ਜਤਿ (SGGS p 838-40
Bilaaval, First Mehl, Tithi ~ The Lunar Days, Tenth House, To The Drum-Beat Jat

iv) ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ ਥਿਤੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਕੀ॥ (SGGS p 343-44)

Raag Gauree, Tithi ~ The Lunar Days Of Kabeer Jee

All these units of time, described in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, are part of the lunar Calendar. And to understand the hymns in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and live our life according to Gurmat philosophy, we are supposed to understand these units of time. Why the followers of Guru Nanak discard the Bikrami Calendar, used by Guru Nanak in his Babarvani, quoted above? When we will try to interpret these hymns even according to Hindu Saka Calendar (Samvat), the entire interpretation will be historically misleading. All the theologians have interpreted this hymn of Guru Nanak according to Bikrami Samvat.

In July 1994, a South African teacher, Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, aptly described the separate identity of the Sikhs, given by the Gurus, when he said: “The Turbaned Sikh looks like a lion; the rest of us look like sheeps, afraid to be identified (The Toronto Sun, July 11, 1994).” Strange are the Sikhs, who have found the Indian National Saka Calendar in the garb of Nanakshahi Calendar, as symbol of their separate identity. Here we are reminded of a Sloka of Guru Angad Sahib:

ਨਾਉ ਫਕੀਰੈ ਪਾਤਿਸਾਹੁ ਮੂਰਖ ਪੰਡਿਤੁ ਨਾਉ ॥ The beggar is known as an emperor, and the fool is known as a religious scholar.

ਅੰਧੇ ਕਾ ਨਾਉ ਪਾਰਖੂ ਏਵੈ ਕਰੇ ਗੁਆਉ ॥ The blind man is known as a seer; this is how people talk. (SGGS p 1288)

Our Gurpurabs are not seasonal festivals but historical events. By changing our historical dates to suit seasonal changes, and adding a difference of 14 days, we have already converted our established facts of history into mythology by the ingenious device of Mr Pal Singh Purewal. There is a classical example: In 1995, Purewal considered Asu Vadi 10, 1596 BK/September 7, 1539 AD as the correct date of death of Guru Nanak but in the so-called Nanakshahi Calendar he has fixed September 22, 151539 AD as the date of death of Guru Nanak as well as date of succession of Guru Angad. With this willful distortion, Guru Nanak is made to nominate his successor Guru Angad, fifteen days after his death.

Only lunar calendar has been considered original, perfect and correct, and seasonal calendar will always be running in advance due to the precession of the Sun. Even the western thinkers too have subscribed to this view:
i) Natural time was God’s Time, and time interpreted by an authority, such as the Church can be mistaken (Roger Bacon, 1214-1292 AD).
ii) The Authority of God’s Time superseded the others (Veneralbe Bede, 673-735 AD).

That’s why all the religious calendars of the world are lunar to ensure accuracy and avoid confusion. For this reason Crescent Moon (Al-Qamar) is the

Religious emblem of Islam, derived from the Quranic Sura (36:39) recognition of waxing waning of the Moon as a sign of God’s Unchanging  Purpose and Control.

In the so-called Nanakshahi Calendar, out of 95 festivals mentioned, 74 (77%) are related to Sikhism, and all the dates fixed are wrong; whereas 21 (27%) festivals are of other religions, and the dates have been correctly fixed. How these blind supporters are supporting such a Calendar, which is impure, distorted and misleading. It reminds us of an adage: Blind leading the blinds, and we request to all of them:Look before you leap, read before you speak!”