Open letter to Gurbax Singh Kala Afgana

Dear Sardar Gurbax Singh,

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki fateh.

I have been immensely perturbed by your comments in print in The Sikh Bulletin, on some of the basic Sikh isuues like Amrit, Punj Piarey and more. I had a chance to meet with you in Roseville Gurudwara, during the recent conference on July 20^th 2002. I expressed my desire to sit with you, one on one, to try to understand where you really stand. In the conference you had promised in public, you won't mind explaining what you really stand for. I had also sincerely hoped that with Guru's grace, you would be able to shed some of the ignorance.

However, your response to my straight questions was very confusing, defensive, misleading and even foolish. To me, you sounded close-minded, adamant, inconsistent and unwilling to listen to other viewpoint. I was surprised to know that you had failed miserably in comprehending some of the rudimentary principles of Sikhism, e.g. Nitnem, humility, the five kakars and surrender to the Guru. How childish was your reasoning on Amrit. Yes, there is only one ultimate amrit, the name of Waheguru.  However, that nectar is only achievable through a true Guru's grace,

siur nr miun jn  AMimRqu Kojdy, su AMimRqu gur qy pwieAw]

sur nar mun jan amrit khojday so amrit gur tay paa-i-aa.

The angelic beings and the silent sages search for the Ambrosial Nectar; this Amrit is obtained from the Guru.  

Guru's grace comes only after a person makes the commitment to the Guru, as the original Punj Piarey did. Of course, the physical ceremony is the Khande di Pahul through which the metaphysical kirpa manifests.

Out of the five Banis of Amrit Sanchar and Nitnem, the Japji Sahib and the Anand sahib are from Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The others are composition of The tenth Nanak, the great Guru Gobind Singh Ji. If Guru Sahib, in his infinite wisdom and foresight, did not include these in The Guru Granth Sahib, does it reduce their significance to nothing? You are badly mistaken in thinking so. You work quite hard at what you are doing. Alas! most of it is not only going in waste, it also is hurting the Sikh tenets and interests. I sincerely hope that Waheguru is kind to you and shows you the correct path so that your efforts could be of some benefit to the community you claim to be serving and also help to uplift you spiritually.

I still would like to sit with you in an open discussion.

Yours truly,

 Narinder Singh Parhar, M.D.

Roseville, CA