Sports and Sikhism

By Rajinder Singh 'Arshi'Articles General

SPORTS AND SIKHISM

by Rajinder Singh ‘Arshi’

THE HUMAN BODY

The human body is made of the five elements air, water, earth, fire and space (akaashic ether). Apart from the asthool sareer (MANIFEST BODY), the jeeva also has a sookhsham sareer (SUBTLE BODY). The subtle body is the capsule, the case that carries the jeevatma (jyot, soul). When a person leaves this earth it is the asthool sareer that dies but the jeevatma (encapsulated in the subtle body) lives on until it finds another form or eventually, the blessed soul spirit, consciousness), merges into the universal Light/Soul – param atma.

THE FIVE KOSHAS (SHEATHS)

In one of his katha (discourse) on TV, the late Sant Singh Ji Maskin mentioned that the jeeva has five (seven according to vedic scriptures) koshas (sheaths, covers) covering the jeevatma. The inner-most layer Anand-mai Kosh is almost an integral part of the soul. These sheaths overlap the asthool sareer (the physical manifest body) and sookhsham sareer (the subtle body). They are:

1. Ann-mai Kosh

The ann-mai kosh is the inner lining of the SUBTLE (physical body). This has to be sustained primarily by food and water. The body needs its physical requirements to be served and nourished by ‘ann’ for a healthy physical lifestyle.

2. Pran-mai Kosh

This covering around the soul comprises life-preserving airs. The mind and the air combine to produce a vibration, and when attuned to the shabad the soul experiences the unstuck melody (anhad).

har jee-o gufaa andar rakh kai vaajaa pavan vajaa-i-aa. (SGGS 922)

By first placing the soul in the cave of the human body the Lord then filled it with pavan (air) and the musical instrument of the body (vaajaa) came into play.

3. Man-o-mai Kosh

This sheath that the cognitive soul wraps around itself reacts with prakriti (matter). This acts as an inter-face between the cognitive soul and prakriti (matter). The mind then begins to impact the jeeva’s innermost conscious.

4. Vigyan-mai Kosh

This covering contains the mental mechanism which to a certain extent overlaps the Man-mai Kosh in that the latter acts as a feeder in providing the basic gyan (knowledge). This knowledge blended with spiritual pursuit and development brings enlightenment (vigyan), rasing the jeeva to a higher level of perception. The human being, whilst seeing the world with his developed and sharpened intellect, is also able to reflect on the spiritual aspects, progressing through the three qualities tammsic (lowest strata of spiritual existence) and rajjsic (middle strata of spiritual existence) and sattvic (the higher enlightened level of spiritual existence). At the third level (sattvic) the subtle body is both cognitive and perceptive.

5. Anand-mai Kosh

This is the finest of the coverings and almost an integral part of the soul.  When this layer is reached one may experience gentle but brief spells of bliss, a kind of a hazy perception of anand.

It should be the jeeva’s real and earnest aim (through meditation and practical application of the teachings of Shabad Guru) to disentangle his soul from the sheaths and restore it to its original and spotless condition to facilitate its merger with the Creator.

The vedic texts mention two additional sheaths Chitta Kosh and Sat Kosh):  The development of all the sheaths, summarized as below, is necessary for complete spiritual evolution and liberation.

Ann-mai Kosh: matter in the form of physical body sustained by intake of food and water

Pran-mai Kosh: the life force

Man-o-mai Kosh: mind as distinctly different from intelligence

Vigyan-mai Kosh: intelligence blended with spiritual pursuit brings enlightenment (vigyan)

Anand-mai Kosh: bliss or ceaseless joy not connected with body or mind

Chitta Kosh: spiritual wisdom

Sat Kosh: The final state of merging with the Infinite

THE PHYSICAL ASPECT

The first two koshas (sheaths) are related to our physical well being, because without good sustenance we cannot have a healthy body and the main requisite of a healthy mind must be a healthy physical disposition. Thus, an important part of maintaining a healthy body is to eat the right food which is conducive to both our physical and spiritual needs. The smooth working of the body’s mechanism i.e. the digestive system, the composition of the blood cells, muscular and nervous balance etc requires the right food and good, healthy discipline and lifestyle. Proper and disciplined training of the human body is essential to ensure not only a healthy mechanism but also a active responsive mind. This we refer to as exercise and sport.

The Sikh Gurus has placed great emphasis on the upkeep of the manifest body through regular disciplines , such as:

Proper and balanced diet;

Timely and effective sleep;

A balance of meditation, work, social activity and play (sports)

Sikhism is a way of life and must not be confined only to the intellectual appreciation of the Sikh Philosophy. The teachings of Guru Granth Sahib must be put into practice, since without that all learning is futile.

Some of the main qualities the Sikh Gurus instilled in Sikhs and expect of them today are:

  • Compassion
  • Diplomacy: live and let live approach to life
  • A clean disciplined and vice-free lifestyle
  • Honesty in thought and deed – honest living
  • Justice and fairness for all – i.e. stand up against injustice and protect the weak and oppressed

These qualities have made Sikhs into Saint-soldiers and the world over people view them as a martial (warrior) race. This aspect of the Sikh character has driven them to be proficient in all aspects of sports and martial arts. No matter which activity they put their minds to Sikhs always excel.

GURUS’ BLESSINGS

Guru Nanak instituted the concept of langar ‘free kitchen’ to ensure that a Sikh never goes hungry and that for healthy spiritual pursuits one needs a full stomach and a healthy mind and body.

Guru Angad Dev (the Second Sikh Guru) must have foreseen the needs of the times to come when he introduced programmes towards the physical development of his congregation. In 1540, he built Gurdwara Mal Akhara – ‘mal’ means wrestle and ‘akhara’ means arena or ring (as in a boxing/ wrestling ring). This enabled the Sikhs to keep in good physical condition and soon they began to excel in sports. Gradually they progressed on to the more advanced and ‘expensive’ activities such as archery and horse riding. Expensive, as these needed the essential ‘equipment’ but there was no stopping since the Guru Ghar always enjoyed generous contribution from the Sangat which were deployed in its spiritual and social development.

One of the lesser known facts about Guru Arjan Dev Ji (the Fifth Nanak) is that he was an accomplished archer and a horse rider. This foundation ensured that Guru Hargobind ji became adept in all skills of the martial arts, including archery, horse riding, sword fighting, javelin (nagini) throwing and the use of other weaponry of the day. Guru Hargobind instilled all these skills in his Sikhs as he knew that they were to adopt the unique identity of sant-sipahi (saint-soldier). The whole Sikh World knows the great emphasis that the Tenth Master Guru Gobind Singh placed on sports and martial arts and how his Sikhs excelled in the battlefield leading to the slogan – sava lakh sey eik larra-oon tabhai Gobind Singh naam kahan-oon “I will only live up to my name when one Sikh will have the courage to take on 125,000 on the battlefield”. The Sikhs never let their Guru down. Bhai Bachittar Singh single-handedly faced a huge and drunken elephant and stopped it from breaking down the gate of the besieged Anandpur Kila. There are numerous other examples of valour and bravery demonstrated by the Sikhs, some famous names are Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, Baba Deep Singh, Mai Bhago, Baba Ajit Singh, Baba Jujhar Singh and the Sikhs who gave their lives at Chamkaur Sahib (just forty against thousands of moguls). In the current times the 1984 Ghalughara at Amritsar stands as witness to the lengths Sikhs would go to defend their integrity, self esteem, sovereignty and honour. The Gurus thus laid a firm foundation for the generations to come to produce great sportsmen (and women) and warriors. It is well known that at one time, at least, one-third of the Indian army comprised of Sikhs.

SIKHS IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA

Milkha Singh: Sikhs have participated in games at the highest level, be it Asian Games, Commonwealth or Olympics Games. The first Sikh who took centre stage in athletics was the flying Sikh, Milkha Singh through his success in the 1958 Asian Games, where he won Gold Medals in both 200m and 400m. Later in the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff (Wales, UK) he bagged a gold medal. Milkha Singh became a beacon of excellence and a shining ambassador of Sikhism as his presence in the sports arenas generated a lot of world attention in respect of his faith. He also represented India in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games. Throughout his career Milkha Singh maintained his Sikh identity and did the Sikhs proud. We owe him a lot. He is one of the great sporting heroes of our times, and in 1959 this was recognised by the Government of India by awarding the Padma Shri.  As they say ‘like father like son’, Jeev Milkha Singh currently enjoys great success as a professional golfer.

Diversity in sport: Sikhs have been participating in the Olympic Games since 1924 and took part in a diversity of disciplines including hockey, tennis and athletics. They particularly excelled in hockey where more than half the team comprised of Sikhs. I remember the Indian hockey team’s tour of Kenya in the late 1950s where they met tough competition from the Kenyan hockey eleven. The hockey greats Udham Singh and Pritipal Singh were in the team. However, the Indians struggled against the Kenyans and only won by the narrowest of margins. This should have come as little surprise to the Indians since a large part of the Kenyan contingent was also made up of Sikhs, including the manager and the trainers. Sikhs were pitched against Sikhs – but fortunately it was only a game.

Recently Sikhs have shown their skill and might in the world of cricket by producing great cricketers (batsmen and bowlers) in the shape and form of Bishen Singh Bedi, Navjot Sidhu, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Monty Panesar, and Ravi Bopara to name just a few. Monty Panesar (Mudhsuden Singh Panesar) truly caught the eye of the world, the Sikh World in particular, because of his strict adherence to the Sikhi Saroop despite playing for his parents’ adopted country and also his own birth place, England. It is not easy to get into the English team for a foreigner of any denomination and least so for a Sikh insisting on his Sabat Soorat form. This unflinching loyalty to his faith not endeared him to the Sikhs but also to the indigenous British population.

JABE BAAN LAGEO TABE ROESS JAGAIO

“Jabe baan lageo tabe roess jagaio” meaning the military wrath in me awakened, said the Tenth Master, as the arrow landed on target causing righteous indignation. The Sikhs in the sporting arena have lived up to this utterance of Guru Gobind Singh. Two glorious examples are (also see author’s article ‘Krodh’):

Cricket 2007 20/20 World Cup:  When Yuvraj Singh was teased and taunted by the famous English all rounder Andrew Flintoff, the latter’s idea was to annoy and anger Yuvraj into making a mistake.  However, Yuvraj controlled, harnessed and channeled his anger into positive action and replied with six glorious sixes which won the match for India.

2008 Cricket Triangular series: Similarly Harbhajan Singh defied Australian sledging (2) and frustrated the Australian bowlers in his late-wicket stand with Tendulkar. Harbhajan went further and stood steadfast amidst the Andrew Symonds controversy. His courage won him countless supporters world wide, not to mention the rank and file of Indian population back home. On one occasion he observed that Guru Gobind Singh said one Sikh is sufficient for all the ‘sledgers’ and critics in the world. Through his courage he unnerved the Australians so much that the latter went on to lose the one day finals in their own backyard. The whole of Team India became focused and fought the finals with courage and resolve. A lot of the credit for this goes to ‘Bhajji’, as he is affectionately known, for spurring India to victory. Bhajji’s stand unnerved Australia and this may be one of the reasons for their recent decline in this sport.

Other great sports men worth mentioning with pride are:

  • Udham Singh; Indian hockey player
  • Vijay Singh, Sikh Golfer from Fiji
  • Dara Singh: Former Indian wrestler
  • Abhinav Bindra: First Indian to win Olympic Gold medal (Shooting)

Sikh women too are emerging as great exponents of sports and athletics. A few commendable examples are:

  • Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: First Indian woman to win Asian Games Gold.
  • Rupa Saini: Led Indian women’s hockey team 1980 Olimpic Games
  • Rajbir Kaur: Olympian
  • Kiran Kaur Matharu: teenage prodigy – considered Britain’s highest talent in golf.
  • Ashpal Kaur Bhogal: First British Sikh female selected in the England Woman’s Hockey international programs.
  • Baljit Kaur: adjudged the fastest athlete in 100 and 200 metres titles in the 15th Haryana State Women’s Sports Festival held at Rewari.
  • Paramjit Kaur of Ambala won gold in the long distance category
  • Gurmeet Kaur of Punjab created a solid impact on the field when she cleared over 53 metres in her first attempt which won her the silver in the women’s javelin throw.
  • Manjit Kaur a sub-inspector from Punjab Police smashed the national record clocking in 400 metres.
  • Harwant Kaur: Discuss thrower

THE FUTURE

There are still many areas of games and athletics where the Sikhs are untested as little interest has been shown in these fields, for example football, rugby, gymnastics, tennis etc. Indians (including Sikhs) are more drawn to games like hockey and cricket. It is time we had diversification of interest.

Punjab would appear to have a bleak future due to drug addiction amongst the youth. The irishtimes.com reports that “Punjab teeters on edge of crisis as 70% fall into drug addiction”. Rahul Bedi writes in the letter from Punjab writes that “drugs are seen by many as a bigger threat here than the Sikh insurgency, during which more than 60,000 people died”. These are damning statistics and corrective action is overdue. Ingesting opium and heroin is commonplace. Once virile and athletic the youth of Punjab are rapidly sliding towards the abyss of darkness and disaster with no way back.

The near future of Sikh potential lies amongst the Sikh Diaspora and hope they can show there brethren in Punjab what they are missing out on by adopting a life fuelled by drug and waywardness. If Sikhs, world wide, were to adopt the values and discipline instilled by their Gurus they would undoubtedly be the dominating force in world sports and athletics. They have not to date realised their true potential as they are only a shadow of the character, physique and fitness enjoyed and demonstrated by their ancestors.

Author’s notes:

This is the first draft of the article and may undergo changes for quality and accuracy.

Rajinder Singh ’Arshi’Copyright: ISBN 0 948522 02X 2012

 

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