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Death Penalty

Punishment For Beadbi

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Also available to listen to on |

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Disclaimer

This output explores the punishment for Beadbi as a personal set of opinions following on from the conclusions set in the

Official Bunga Azaadi Position (OBAP) on the Death Penalty⁠

document (as of 18/12/2023). As with all outputs not marked as a “Official Bunga Azaadi Position" document, this piece represents the opinions of the author only, and not the whole Bunga. However, just like OBAPs, scrutiny is more than welcomed. Anything said here is up for being contested (respectfully) and you are encouraged to articulate your counter-arguments and/or feedback by emailing us at contact@azadism.co.uk.

Before we begin, it is crucial to understand that when I am talking about the Death Penalty, I am talking about the decision as to whether or not it is justified to kill someone for a crime after they have been apprehended and are no longer able to cause further harm. I am not referring to killing someone evading, resisting capture, or being caught in the act of a crime when talking about the Death Penalty specifically. Please keep this distinction in mind!

I also again want to stress that this is all my personal opinion and I am offering it as something to contribute towards your own Vichaar process. I am not a Dera Baba who you must accept every word of like a sheep. You can question and grill me on any of this.

Part I

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Beadbi, who decides?

Firstly, let's start with who gets to decide what is classed as "Beadbi"?

There are some things we can all pretty much agree on, for example the intentional destruction or damaging of Saroops are pretty clear cut. However, it starts getting a bit trickier when advocating for punishment on the basis of "respect". The reason being is that what constitutes as "disrespectful" is not an objective measure. It depends heavily on culture, upbringing, personal family values and individual experiences. This makes the concept of "respect" less acute in its application than something like destruction, which can also be classed as a respect violation, but can be more objectively assessed as a property violation (which I'll talk a bit more about later).

What person A constitutes as "disrespect" may be different to person B. Obviously, there are some more objective indicators that most people can agree on as I mentioned previously with destruction; but can you see how monopolising the decision making in some singular authority can present problems in of itself? Hence, answering the question of "who gets to decide" is an important precursor discussion that must be considered seriously.

And if you say something as silly as "the Akal Takht" (i.e the current corrupted SGPC "Sarkari" pseudo-papacy that are currently swatting the Khalsa's parliament building) then you have proven to me you are not capable of having this discussion. Read this post if this is you before moving on:

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Sikhs Have No Pope · Khalsanama The Jathedar of the Akaal Takht is NOT the Sikh "Pope". What should be the true role of the Akaal Takht today? coda.io⁠

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Part II

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Sargun vs Nirgun

This is an important concept that I don't think gets talked about enough and is overlooked. There seems to be a lack of general understanding regarding what our current Guru exactly is. Too often do I see lists of Sikh Gurus missing out the Guru Khalsa Panth for instance, often from Sikhs themselves! This is a tragic display of our Panth’s lack of awareness of our own traditions, but for more on this specific Vichaar, I encourage readers to view this post on the topic:

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The Khalsa Is The Guru · Khalsanama Namo Sri Guru Khalsa coda.io⁠

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It is imperative to understand the following things:

1) GuRu = Darkness to Light — "Enlightener”

What exactly the "Guru" is. It is not just a word for "teacher" as it is so poorly translated into these days. "Gu" means darkness (representing ignorance) and "Ru" means light (representing wisdom and knowledge). Therefore a GuRu could be seen more as a verb than a noun and describes a process of bringing light into darkness — enlightenment! The way it is used as a noun is to denote specific individuals who embody this verb and are able to share it with others.

When we believe in the Gurus, we are not revering the flesh body and bones, we are revering the the very thing that is enlightened to itself — Ik Onkaar, for which the vessel is a conduit for. That vessel does not always have to be a single human body either.

2) One GuRu, Many Vessels

Which brings us on to the second point. Technically, there isn't 10, 11, or 12 Gurus. There is only one Guru that passes its metaphorical "light" from one vessel to the next. This is known as Jotijot — passing on the light (jot) to another, like a lit candle lighting another.

3) Guru Granth & Guru Panth

For most Sikhs, this process is traditionally accepted to have occurred 10 times as the "Gurgaddi" (Guruship) was passed on through Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh, and then something special happened — the Guruship passed on to a non-human vessel and decentralised amongst many conscious Sikhs.

Most Sikhs today are consciously aware that the Gurugaddi was then passed onto to the Guru Granth Sahib (Shabad), but for some reason forget about the Gurgaddi given to the Guru Khalsa Panth. Therefore, it must be stressed that the current Guru for most Sikhs who accept and believe in the mandates of Guru Gobind Singh, is both in the form of the Guru Granth Sahib and the Guru Khalsa Panth.

4) Nirgun and Sargun

Lastly, there is the concept of Nirgun and Sargun mentioned in Sikhi. Nirgun refers to formless (no qualities, attributes), whereas Sargun refers to the opposite as tangible realities that possess qualities, attributes and forms. This is then how we can describe the seemingly dual nature of the Guru and the "vessel" I have been using as a placeholder [1]. The underlying Guru nature is the Nirgun aspect, whereas the outward "interface" / vessel is the Sargun aspect.

Applying this to the Guru Granth, the Sargun Saroop (form) is the physical "book" with the pages and ink etc we see enthroned in Gurudware (sort of, I have a personal qualm with this which will be covered later in this piece). During the time of the human manifestations of the Guru, the human bodies of Nanak→Gobind were the Sargun Saroop, but the inner Guru nature that was passed on between them (and eventually to the Khalsa) was the Nirgun aspect.

So now given the above clarification of my own personal understanding, we can tie this back to our discussion on Beadbi.

Beadbi of the Sargun Saroop of Guru Granth Sahib occurs when there is destruction or damage done to the physical Granth, and/or any subjective respect-based additional factors we may apply. However, it is crucial to understand that despite what may happen to the Sargun aspect, the Nirgun aspect is unaffected. The Guru is not just the Sargun and so no one can ever "destroy" the Guru via physical harm.

Nirgun Beadbi is slightly more obscure, but in my opinion, far more common yet ignored. How do you commit sacrilege to something that is formless? Through degrading its philosophical status. This occurs when Sikhs themselves take the Guru for granted and blindly ritualise the experience of having its Darshan. Everyone goes to the Guruwara and bows their head, but how many know and understand what the Shabads being read are revealing? How many just simply go in, smack their head on the floor and leave? As someone said recently, people have reduced the Gurudwara experience into a “headbutt buffet”. In small Gurudwaras who may do Sukhasan early and place the Saroop in Sachkhand, it is not uncommon to see Sangat arriving later come and just Matha Tek to an empty palki not having a clue.

But the greatest dishonour to the Shabad is when Sikhs do not make effort to read it, learn from it, sing it or hear it being sung. If you are bowing to it but do not take Sikhiya from it and apply it to your lives, then you are making it into a Moorti (idol). This is the exact Bhamanvaad the Gurus in their human Sargun forms came to urge us against! This sort of Nirgun Beadbi happens everyday and we need to be equally against this also.c

In my opinion, blind literalism is also a form of Nirgun Beadbi as well. Particularly the manipulation of Gurbani or doing mental gymnastics to justify your Baba's or offshoot tradition's interpretations and then impose it on everyone as if it is the only legitimate perspective all Sikhs must have. The Guru is Jagat Guru, for all the world and hence resonates with each individual Sikh, specifically at their own level.

Bani is designed in such a way that different parts will be more or less relevant to you depending on your own level of understanding and life experiences. This may change over time and hence why so much of true Sikhi is about the development of a personal relationship between the Guru and the Sikh. The

introduction of the Azadist Manifesto⁠

covers this Vichaar extensively and I encourage you to read that for more detail on this.

This concludes the preamble in preparation for the next part.

Part III

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Punishment for Beadbi

Before we discuss this, I must remind you of that important caveat to this whole debate that I mentioned in the beginning which is that the "death penalty" is the decision to execute someone for a crime after they have been apprehended and are no longer able to cause further harm. I am not referring to killing someone evading or resisting capture, or being caught in the act of a crime when talking about the death penalty specifically.

In light of the recently released

OBAP document on the death penalty⁠

, I want to now explore why death may not necessarily always be the appropriate punishment for perpetrators of Beadbi. Some of you may have an instant allergic reaction to that, but I implore you to hear out the following arguments to at the very least see it from my perspective. I too used to believe up and till recently that giving a death penalty should be a common sense, even an obvious consequence of such an action. But a short while before the Darbar on this I started to have doubts and became undecided. Since that Darbar and hearing out various arguments for and against the death penalty in general, I have also spent some time now contemplating it on my own as applied to this topic specifically. The following is a result of that contemplation.

The Motivation to Punish

To begin with, let's first ask the question "why do we punish someone for a crime?". There are three main angles to this we can identify alongside their underlying motivations:

1) To take revenge or retribution against someone.

Motivated by Anger & Hate (Krodh)

2) To prevent them from causing further harm.

Motivated by Justice & Duty (Dharam)

3) To act as a deterrent for others who may do something similar.

Motivated by Logic & Reason… at least in theory.

For point 3, I say "in theory" because, like many, I used to think that severe punishments indeed act as effective deterrents for crimes. I no longer believe this is the case and changed my mind when finding out about the large body of research presenting the case against this view and highlights the insufficient evidence to back up the claim that the death penalty deters certain crimes. This point was covered in the

OBAP⁠

too, and I encourage you to go and research it for yourselves. At the very least, I no longer have confidence in the claim that simply imposing capital punishment for certain crimes is an effective way to prevent Beadbi from happening.

But, studies aside, let's have look a this through a "Logic & Reason" exercise. If you believe that the way to prevent this crime is to establish strong deterrents, then would you advocate for keeping a perpetrator alive but brutally torturing them? Death is simply too easy. We could skin them alive, amputate their limbs without anaesthesia, burn, electrocute and water board them. On top of this, let's publicly broadcast the experience for all to see, what could be a stronger deterrent that this? The perpetrator would be begging for death as a mercy! Why should there be a limit on the punishment handed out to someone committing Beadbi?

Now most people are going to be put off the above (sarcastic) suggestion. Why? I thought the goal was to create a deterrent? Surely, if we broadcast the most brutal torture imaginable it would soak fear into the hearts of any potential perpetrator. The reason why is because people are not truly advocating for death for these crimes, they are advocating for a satisfaction of their Krodh. Since people's "tolerance" is different, some people's krodh is deeper so they are willing to go further, hence why I described some of the worst tortures imaginable to try and capture the most amount of people in disgust (and even then, there are probably some sadists who would go further).

If you have already apprehend someone and removed all their ability to cause further harm, what then is the need to kill them? As I just stated, you have already stopped and incapacitated them from doing further harm, so it can only ever be to satisfy your own Krodh if you wish to kill them despite this. Therefore, I do not think many who advocate for death are motivated by logic and reason, and instead more driven by the underlying motivators of the first angle. The irony is that the very Granth that is being attacked is urging people to abandon Krodh! But the funniest part is that most people calling for a death penalty won't even

Jhatkaa a chicken!⁠

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There must also be an appreciation that there are indeed different scenarios which demand tailored consideration. If you have captured someone who has willingly surrendered and accepted to be held subject to a trial to face justice, then this should be taken into account when determining an appropriate punishment. It should be a different, less severe punishment than someone who was captured unwillingly trying evade accountability. If the punishment is the same either way, then you have removed any incentive for a perpetrator to come forward on their own which would conserve the Panth's resources. We should also be giving them an opportunity to explain themselves both from a moral and strategic perspective. Not all perpetrators of such a crime will be motivated by the same thing, and it is important we investigate if we are to develop effective strategies to prevent further instances (as we shall cover a bit later). Everyone envisions a stereotype of a person that commits Beadbi as some fascist Indian nationalist fuelled by blind hatred. This makes it easy, hence why we are quick to jump to a death penalty as punishment. But, the real world is complex. When you start to factor in people with genuine mental illnesses who may have no control over their actions, or people in poverty being paid to do it, or maybe even consider hypothetical scenarios where people have their own lives or the lives of their families threatened to pressure them to do it. Now what seems black and white becomes a bit greyer. Doesn’t mean the actions are justified, but it does mean that the method we choose to punish may be different. It may also turn out there is more to do than just punish and wait for the next issue to be outraged by. Hence why I don't believe in a “one size fits all” solution with this, and why I think we need to do our best preventing and minimising the risk from different factors individually.

The idea of capture too is an important one. Too often do we in our emotion just jump to the extreme without any consideration or moderation of our own mental states (even if it is completely understandable). However, if we are going to be the Guru Khalsa, and live up to our status of the Guru, then we must work harder than others to regulate ourselves and remain just and rational. There is a difference between vengeance and justice, but that line is blurred the more we give in to anger and hatred. If we accept the Guru to embody the qualities of Ik Onkaar, then the Guru Khalsa must also strive to emulate the qualities of "Nirbhau Nirvair".

Even with that famous Sakhi attributed to Guru Gobind Singh of the response to a stone being cast is to throw back a brick, and then if they throw a boulder in response, you throw a mountain. The escalation is still measured and conducted step by step. You don't just jump to "throwing a mountain" straight away.

Saam Daam Dand Bhed

There is also another concept associated with the Guru of Saam, Daam, Dhand and Bhed (which has earlier appearances in the works of Chankya, which were also studied in the Darbars of the Guru, Kavi Sainapat being a principal example). Through this, we can model our responses to things to help ensure we are fighting as Kshatriye on the basis on Miri and Piri, not just Miri.

Saam — Negotiation, reconciliation and persuasion

Offer an opportunity for a fair trail. Hearing out the motivations as to why the perpetrator did such a thing. This allows an opportunity for understanding on both sides. As I mentioned above, not everyone's motivations are going to be the same even if the outcome is. There is more than one way to a destination, and uncovering the route taken is valuable in our endeavour to stop occurrences happening again. For instance, a trial may reveal that the perpetrator was framed and the real instigators are someone else. If we just killed the accused straight away without thinking, we sabotage our own investigations. Perhaps, their family has been taken hostage and hence why they did this, and so then it must be the duty of the Khalsa to go save them also. Again, doesn’t mean a punishment is not still given to the accused if found guilty. There are many possibilities that require more nuanced approaches and a greater sense of professionalism that we as a Panth clearly lack.

Daam — Material inducement or offering monetary or other material incentives

If the above is not possible and no one comes forward on their own, then we could use this principle. Money is a tool, that can be used against you or for you. These days most people just see it as something you chase blindly like an animal chases its next meal. As the Khalsa, our Khazana must be varied and contain more Shastar than rusty old medieval blades. Money is perhaps one of the most important Shastar we can wield, if we know how to use it. In this case, we can pool funds and set a bounty offering a reward for information about perpetrators, helping us bring them to justice. We can also use money to "grease the wheels" of substandard justice systems so they are more inclined to put in the effort to help us. Money allows us to hire full-time investigators, hunters and trackers. Through this many opportunities and scope in which to act become available, but it is imperative that we build the correct systems of accountability in which to siphon funds through, otherwise this method can easily be corrupted and turned against us and our intended goals.

Dand — Physical Punishment through the use of force

If these fail, then it is appropriate to use force in whatever way is appropriate. Again, in respect of appropriate escalation, the priority should be to capture alive and put through an investigation and a trial. However, resistance should be matched to protect the lives and property of innocents. If the perpetrator(s) presents violence, then the Khalsa should use it's Bibek Budhi to analyse a situation and apply the right amount of force as needed. If it results in a shootout or something and the perpetrator(s) is killed, then fine, so long as all other means were tried and the intention was there to capture alive. Only the participating Khalsa taskforce would truly know that, but I suppose we can do debriefs and post-operation investigations to ensure lessons are learned and check that excessive force was not applied. Bodycams may also be a good idea. Otherwise, without adequate accountability and monitoring, we'll end up providing avenues for psychopaths and sadists, just as we see with some modern police forces today.

Bhed — Division or sowing discord

This may not apply to cases of individuals acting upon their own whims, but may be a tactic to apply against more organised group efforts. Bhed revolves around disuniting and causing internal strife amongst an enemy. The Vichaar of this I will leave out for here as it is a conversation more appropriate to have privately.

You may think that trying to capture perpetrators is too much hassle, it would be easier to kill them and be done with it. Especially if it would put lives at risk trying to capture them alive (which is where the discussion of a military action vs an internal state function starts to kick in). Of course, I would agree with this, in fact one the strongest arguments in favour of even a death penalty post-capture is that why should we be forced to pay for the upkeep of people if we don't want to? (I do have some ideas to work around this, but I'll save that for another time). But given modern technology and tactics, capturing people alive, although not always possible, is more possible today than ever. So all I am saying is that if we have the means to, we should try it. If not, then oh well, but at least we tried. Trying, intention, is the important part since that is what is considered, not so much for the worldly battlefield, but the spiritual battlefield when fighting the true enemy: Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moh and Hankaar.

We must also recognise that death is a finality. It is the end of an individuals opportunity to get Mukti in this life, and removing someone's ability to attain that is no small thing. We, in our egotistical perspectives may believe people are too far gone yet the same Guru in its earlier vessels were able to convince cannibals or murderers like Sajjan Thaag to come into Sikhi. So too then must the Guru today in the form of the Khalsa recognise the ability for humans to reform and provide avenues in which this can be facilitated where possible.

Here is an excerpt from the

introduction of the Azadist Manifesto⁠

Almost every cell in the body is replaced multiple times throughout the course of one’s life. The skeleton replaces itself every ten years, red blood cells every four months and the skin between two to four weeks. The human being at birth is completely different to the one at death. To even call this a human being is misleading as it suggests a static entity. Perhaps a more accurate term is human process. Not even the mind is safe, as it constantly changes its ideas and beliefs. Memories themselves can be updated, manipulated and distorted or simply forgotten.

People can change. Again, if we claim to be inheritors of Guru's status as the Khalsa, then we too must make an effort where possible to reform and rehabilitate criminals. Not all will be able to sure, but making an effort is our Dharmic duty. And why wouldn't you want to try? In a conversation with Jordan Peterson, Sam Harris gives an example when talking about a hypothetical pill that can eradicate the evil nature of people (specifically the root cause of ignorance) and the ludicrousness of refusing to administer it to criminals if we had such a thing.

"It's like "withholding the cure for diabetes from diabetics because of all the bad things they did when their blood sugar levels were too low".

—

Jordan Peterson & Sam Harris Try to Find Something They Agree On | EP 408 - YouTube⁠

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It may not be so simple as pill, but if you have faith that Sikhi can change the nature of a person, to destroy their ego and raise the level of consciousness, then why wouldn't you figure out ways to administer this "medicine" as the most appropriate action to take after you have apprehended someone for a crime? If we recognise the motivations that lead people to commit such acts as a "disease of the mind" of sorts, a result of Haumai and the Panj Chorr, then the cure isn't something as simple and easy as a physical death. Instead, it is ego-death. Observe and be honest about the true underlying motivations as to why you suggest certain actions.

There is a reason why Guru Gobind Singh says in Zafarnama:

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ਚੁ ਕਾਰ ਅਜ਼ ਹਮਹ ਹੀਲਤੇ ਦਰ ਗੁਜ਼ਸ਼ਤ ॥

ਹਲਾਲ ਅਸਤੁ ਬੁਰਦਨ ਬ ਸ਼ਮਸ਼ੇਰ ਦਸਤ ॥੨੨॥

When all other methods fail,

it is then permissible (halal) to pick up the sword ||22||

Sri Gobind Singh, Zafarnama

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To me, it is not so much for the protection of the enemy we try other methods. It is more so for our sake, spiritually. There should of course be consequences, but let's make it as fair as possible because with such an emotional topic like this, it is easy to fall under the influence of Krodh. Remember that the real battle underneath all this worldly drama is your own internal battle against the Panj Chor.

The Sakhi of Bhai Khanaya

And this is where I will now play my "trump card" — the Sakhi of Bhai Khanaya. This one story helps us directly answer the question of imposing death penalties for Beadbi, since the exact same thing was happening in this Sakhi. Just as enemies today tear the Angs of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the enemy forces back then would cut the limbs and even kill members of the Sri Guru Khalsa Panth! Yet, Bhai Khanaya ultimately realized the same Ik Onkaar in all and served them all equally as the survivors lay wounded on the battlefield. In both instances, the Sargun Saroop of the Guru was damaged and destroyed, yet Guru Gobind Singh praised Khanaya for his gyaan as he understood the true message of Sikhi. Hence why, when a criminal is apprehended for Beadbi, we shouldn't escalate to a death penalty now that they are already incapacitated. We must make the effort to recognize the Ik Onkaar inside them just as Bhai Khanaya did. Treat such cases as a test of your Sikhi, and perhaps if you succeed, the Guru will commend you despite the protests of onlookers, just as he did with Bhai Khanaya.

You may be justified in fighting and winning great victories against the worst tyrants but if you lose your ethics, mental state or focus on Ik Onkaar, then you would lose the ultimate war. This is why our Gurus were at the calibre they were, because no matter what the situation, whether they be confronted by cannibals or battling against the State, they never lost that presence of mind. If we expect to live up to the Khalsa's Guru status, then we too must strive for this.

So therefore, if a perpetrator has surrendered or been apprehended, we are honour-bound to only ever use the appropriate amount of force. If they resist and use violence to evade justice, then it is justified to match that. Escalate and deescalate accordingly, this is a true test of mastery over the mind for the Khalsa. The ability to kill the enemy if needed, but then also serve the same wounded enemy if not killed to ease their suffering. Treat it like how the Guru would attach gold to arrows so that if an enemy was hit but did not die, he could pay for treatment or if he did die, their families would recieve compensation.

Hence why no discussion on justice can occur without compassion, even for those with evil intentions. Only compassion allows us to truly administer justice and not hateful vengeance. Compassion is the line that separates them, and the stronger the compassion, the easier it is to tell the difference and act accordingly.

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ਧੌਲੁ ਧਰਮੁ ਦਇਆ ਕਾ ਪੂਤੁ ॥ The mythical bull is Dharma, the son of compassion;

Sri Jap Ji Sahib

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Part IV

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Prevention is the Best Cure

I understand people would be upset, who wouldn't. But the goal isn't simply just to punish people, it is to prevent cases from happening in the first place. To achieve this, it requires a more rational mind, not an emotional one. If we were more proactive and less reactive as a Panth, then we wouldn't be crying about it on social media for about a week every time it happens and then forget about it when the next issue pops up to anger us. We would be making it a priority and working towards preventing it!

Problems

If we don't want it to happen we must understand why would someone want to do Beadbi in the first place? The following are 4 possibilities:

Paid by others

Desperation

Ignorance (of its value)

Mental Illnesses (clearly something wrong with your head if you think this is acceptable)

Then we should also ask, how can it be allowed to happen despite the above? We as a Panth must take some responsibility ourselves too, simply blaming the evil nature of others for suffering is like blaming gravity for a plane crash. In Kalyug, there are always going to be enemies and those seeking the destruction of our Panth. Hence, we must also take care in covering our bases and embodying the virtue of being Tyar bar Tyar before blaming anyone else. No point blaming others when we don't take any precautions ourselves. There are a two main factors as to why we are failing in this in my view:

No Pehredaars

Too many Saroops

Solutions

I am now going to list a range of solutions now, not as list in which we should just pick one from, but as a set of things I believe should be done in tandem. In cybersecurity there is a concept of redundancy where there is no reliance on any one single system for security. What they do is stack up multiple security measures to account for the imperfections if each were applied on its own. By layering multiple solutions on top of each other, you reduce the gaps and lower the risk of failure. I used a similar approach when outlining Azadism's conception of a modernised Misl system in the Azadist Manifesto, and I am going to use a similar approach here. I will list them out, but bear in mind that my recommendation is to do them all, not just one or two.

Let's start with our own Panths responsibilities first, since honestly, there is no point changing others unless we change ourselves.

Pehredaars

This should be fairly obvious and I wouldn't expect much resistance to the ideal that we should hire full-time security to guard Saroops. We claim Sri Guru Granth Sahib to be the king of kings and all that, yet we don't seem to treat it like it is. What monarch is just left unattended? There are so many gurudwaras where Saroops are just left on the Palki or in the Sachkhand and there is at best a half asleep Gyani in the vicinity — sometimes not even that. There is nothing stopping members of the public walking straight in and doing whatever they want — which we have seen plenty of times now. Yet, look at worldly kings, PMs and presidents who we consider to be minor in comparison. Every movement is tracked and no one can get close to them without standards and procedures. They are guarded intensely by security details, with the best training and equipment.

If we truly believe in the status of the Guru, then we should make effort to show it. Full-time, salaried positions should be commissioned for such roles where there are fully armed Pehredaars guarding the Palki around the clock. The Gurudwaras themselves should have risk assessments done to assess weak points in security. There should also exist plans and procedures in place to detail what to do in this or that scenario, and then these should be drilled regularly.

Artificial Scarcity

The above may sound great to many of you, but only the naïve would think it is realistic to implement such a thing for every Gurudwara in the world. There are simply too many to account for. So, what should we do? I think let's scale it back and reduce the amount of available Saroops for the time being. This will allow us to concentrate efforts and adopt a quality over quantity mindset with this.

There are frankly far too many Saroops in circulation to manage effectively, and evidently, serious cases of Beadbi occur as a result of this negligence. The proliferation of Saroops also contribute to the Nirgun Beadbi of them as well as mentioned earlier. Because there are so many these days, it is just taken for granted and value is evidently lost. The reason why gold is so expensive is because everyone wants it but there is not enough of it. It is a basic economic concept, and it works the opposite way too. When something is so readily available relative its demand,

then the "price" of it goes down⁠

. This is what I believe has happened to the value of Saroops in people's subconscious minds. This is why we may say all the praises and act all holy outwardly in the Gurudwara but as soon as we are out of the building we go back to our same old ways, which is again another example of Beabdi of the Nirgun aspect of the Guru. Can pay all the lip service you want, but as a community our double standards and hypocrisy is clear to see. Therefore, I state that...

We as a Panth have not yet earned the privilege to have so many Saroops all over the place.

There are few ways in which we can attempt to reduce the supply, such as unify Gurudware and Sangat in cities into one central location and pooling resources (something I may cover in more detail elsewhere). However, the single biggest resistance to such an idea is current committees themselves, who use Saroops as a prop to make money with via the golak, weddings and “

(p)akhand paaths⁠

”. It is just a revenue generator for them.

Therefore, I propose the following. Relegate the status of any Saroop that does not match these three criterion:

Hand Written

Larivaar

Match spellings and include all characters and sections of at least one of the Puratan Birs

All Saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib that do not meet this criteria should no longer be considered a Sargun Saroop of the Guru at all. Since most currently available in Gurudware are not hand-written or larivaar especially, this instantly creates the desired scarcity of Sargun Saroops and now allows us to prioritise efforts on a far more manageable supply.

Any "Saroops" that does not match the above criteria, at best, would now be seen as a Gutka or Pothi Sahib (obviously, still worthy of Satkaar), and at worst an unverified "Saroop" . The latter is particularly important as it would take away any power philosophically from those who print Saroops with sections removed, or spellings or Panktis altered (I shall call this the "Ram Rai Protocol"). The hand-written requirement also helps mitigate the risk of manipulators since writing all of Gurbani by hand is a long, resource and labour-intensive process. This will not only make it far harder for the ill-intentioned to create Sargun Saroops of the Guru that match the above criteria, but all people in general. This is desirable because it will keep the supply low and will likely require community effort to produce new Saroops, not just the effort of a printing press. Which would be really nice to be honest. Jewish communities do something similar with their scriptures today and when it is completed they have a big celebration. That's how we should do it so that Sikh communities around the world, be they towns or cities, come together amongst themselves for a combined purpose. You could get members of the Sangat to contribute to Angs as well and it will be an experience that sticks with them for life. We need to make Sikhi so much more interactive in general, rather than just going to a Gurudwara, matha tek, eat langar and go home.

Additionally, how do you think we used have Saroops before the printing press? Exactly like I am explaining above. Producing a new one would be a big thing, and there were so few in existence. You would need to go out of your way to go see a Sargun Saroop of Guru Granth Sahib (and even the human manifestations of the Guru) and that would increase the perception value that we seem to have lost today.

But what about existing Gurudware? Gurudware without Saroops of this calibre, are no longer Gurudware since there is no Sargun Saroop of the Guru enthroned there. Henceforth, these should be re-classified as Dharamsaals or Shastargarhs. Just as was the case before the printing press. This will do us some good as well as it will take some power out of the hands of committees and Sangat who do all sorts of puthe kam in those building right now with no regard to where they are at.

The best part about all of this is that it requires no top-down team of enforcers to go round and conduct removals. All it needs is for people to change their perception. I, for one, have done this already, so I have already taken this first step and I encourage others to do the same. Obviously, it is not the whole solution, but it allows us to more effectively prioritise and focus efforts on the reduced supply.

The next steps would be to make an openly accessible database of all currently available Saroops that match the above criteria and to record any new ones that are made by communities. This database should include all relevant information such as live location, what Bir it is based upon, etc. Maybe we could even leverage the use of blockchain technology to facilitate this (an actual practical use case for blockchain technology perhaps rather than just making gambling tokens), or perhaps we could use alternative decentralised data solutions like

IPFS.⁠

Ideally, we would have many independent bodies who would make and maintain their own databases, just like we have multiple Bani search engines today (it diversifies our risk when we do this since if one goes down we have backups). We really need to start become more professional as a Panth and leverage the latest technologies around us rather than it using us.

Then we can pool funds to hire Pehradars who would be assigned for the protection and preservation of a Saroop whose information should be also added to the database. As part of this, a contract must be drawn and signed by these individuals stating their commitment to this role as well as any punishments if anything is to happen to a Saroop they are assigned to. For example, infractions could range from the modification of a single character to destruction of the Saroop. This will be handed out regardless if the Pehradar is at fault, since it was their responsibility to ensure no sacrilege occurs as per the terms of that contract. Regardless of who does the Beadbi to that particular Saroop, it's their head on the line. This helps ensure the incentive is always there to avoid negligence. Even now, before we get to the Pehredar stage, or perhaps in conjunction with it, we should have "accountable persons" named and attached to Saroops who should be the actual Jathedar or committee members of the Gurudwara. Hopefully, that makes some of the power hungry in the Panth think twice about taking up such responsibilities.

Lastly, these Saroops should be made accessible by Sangatan who follow set procedures alongside an appointed Pehradar and check to see for any mistakes in any new Saroops. This could even be done digitally by setting up a high definition camera inside the Palki itself as the Granthi reads through the Angs so that Sangat from around the world can help regulate this aspect. If even a single letter is missing or smudged, that Saroop would be flagged on the database, alerts sent out and it is declassified with the Guru status until corrected. If any tearing or damage is done, that too can be picked up and rectified ASAP. We could also be utilizing artificial intelligence to set up automated detection systems and warning alerts for things.

The whole idea with this is to scale back, get it right and to a standard we should expect for the king of kings, and then expand as per these standards. Quality over quantity first, and then later quantity of quality with the correct foundations. But the first step of recognition of what constitutes a Sargun Saroop of Guru Granth Sahib is an individual responsibility, not any institutions’ — don't be a sheep waiting for the Akal Takht Jathedars to tell you what to do,

they are not popes⁠

. The more of us who adopt this line of thinking the faster we can move to the next steps. So first, conquer your own minds.

⁠

ਮਨਿ ਜੀਤੈ ਜਗੁ ਜੀਤੁ ॥

Conquer your mind, conquer the world.

Sri Jap Ji Sahib

⁠

If we don't take this first step then many of the other suggestions are so far outside of realism it poisons optimism in any effort! But if we can scale down and prioritize the Saroops that match the 3-criteria (going to dub this the "Tregun"), then it is a more achievable task and it can snowball into greater accountability via the systems we build. Eventually, with those systems, we can expand efforts to non-criteria Saroops too as appropriate. But let's do this step-by-step, then ask Panthic orgs to get involved too! We create so much rola on social media for problems and self-victimisation, but no one ever shares solutions? Are we that demoralised as a Panth that only victim narratives are pushed? Do you want to stay in constant cycles of outrage culture? I don't, and I don't think a lot of you do either.

⁠

Now lets deal with the first set of points I listed at the start of this section, as to why would people do such acts in the first place? I'll repeat them here:

Paid by others

Desperation

Ignorance

Mental Illness

Economics

So firstly, if there are people so desperate for money they are willing to do such acts, then let's solve the desperation. The Sikh community and Gurudware in particular should be providing employment opportunities or rejuvenate the economy of its surrounding regions so that there is opportunity and prosperity wherever Sikhs are found. It should become known that wherever there is a Gurudwara, there is wealth and opportunity for anyone who is willing to cooperate and adhere to our standards. This should apply on the local, regional and global level.

Disclaimer

Beadbi, who decides?

Sargun vs Nirgun

Punishment for Beadbi

The Motivation to Punish

Saam Daam Dand Bhed

The Sakhi of Bhai Khanaya

Prevention is the Best Cure

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