:Y2K: " Khalsa n Sikhism n Cyberspace * : AN APPEAL TO THE CYBER SANGAT
[ * Abstract of Paper read in the International Conference on Sikh Studies,
sponsored by the Center for International Programs, Oakland University, Rochester,
Michigan, USA on Saturday June 10, 2000: ]
INTRODUCTION: The mission of preservation of the message of their faith for
passing on and spreading it, in all its original authenticity to their succeeding
generations, and connected problems thereof, have been faced by all faiths and
also by the Sikh Gurus, and now is being experienced in the cyberspace. This
paper proposes to discuss the interacting factors and suggest some action plan
resolutions, Sikhism in cyber space.
HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND: Preservation and sharing of the authentic
message of the faith remains one of the most major causes of the problems faced
by Sikhism, in cyber space. This problem was there even in the Gurus times,
and still is today, and will remain so in all forms of media, even more acutely
in cyberspace too.
ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM AREAS: Authenticity has always been a problem, and has
been faced right from the time of the Gurus. Most of their followers, while
making improvements in reproducing the message, some in good faith, usually
ended up in some divergence or the other from the original authentic norms;
even more so today with all the available gadgetry in cyber space. Seva vis-à-vis
Maya, since the Gurus era, who in their wisdom introduced the'daswand' tradition:
continues in cyberspace resulting in showmanship. Moreover both the sevadhars
and the employees have similar needs, which have to be met. The Gurus tradition
of Daswand still
continues in cyberspace with some modifications. Since the results are globally
transparent, this does at times affects the authenticity of the seva. Further
knowledge and resources require a careful optimum balance. Today, at the dawn
of the Y2K era, we find the gurus' followers continuing the same tradition in
cyber space, and even a casual search in all the major cyber space search engines
makes the seeker behold the wonders achieved by our cyber Sikhs, in presenting
the message of the Gurus: some of whom may not be able to even read the Guru
Granth Sahib: for example a CD has been produced by a group of sevaks with the
full text of the SGGS.
SGGS/Gurbani: This has been put in the form of a CD # 2000, on various web sites.
The most difficult part of this project has been to eliminate all mistakes of
text entry. That required extensive proof reading, a task that may seem simple
but is very difficult and time consuming. Many dedicated individuals were helpful
in this regard. The names of those individuals who associated with Dr Kulbir
Singh Thind for this project are hereby acknowledged below.
1. Dr. Kulwant Singh, who in addition to being an ophthalmologist (a retired
medical doctor) is also a Sikh studies scholar and a writer of many books on
Sikhism. His "Mansrovar" and some other documents are included on
Gurbani-CD. He did a commendable job of 'full proof-reading' of the whole of
Siri Guru Granth Sahib, twice. His 2nd proof reading is done recently. He also
helped in this project in many other ways as described in the CD.
2. In addition to the correction work done before, S.Paminder Singh Aujla of
Hopewell Junction, New York; USA did a recent, very extensive correction work.
3. Many other individuals helped in proof-reading the typed text from Siri Guru Granth Sahib and many of them edited it a number of times. Their names are: S. Jagdev Singh Beasley, Bibi Avtar Kaur Beasley, Giany Amarjit Singh-ji, S. Rajinder Singh Dhaliwal, Bibi Surinder Kaur Dhaliwal, S. Manjit Singh Sahota (with the help of his niece) and Bibi Dr Khushdev Kaur Thind. We are thankful to Dr. Harbans Lal, Ph.D., the Chairman of Department of Pharmacology, University of North Texas, and the founder of Academy of Guru Granth Studies for providing moral support and for his participation in some decision making processes.
4. The most difficult part of this project has been to eliminate all mistakes of text entry. That required extensive proof reading, a task that may seem simple but is very difficult and time consuming. Many dedicated individuals were helpful in this regard. The names of those individuals are mentioned below.
5. Dr. Kulwant Singh-ji, who in addition to being an ophthalmologist (a retired
medical doctor) is also a Sikh studies scholar and a writer of many books on
Sikhism. His "Mansrovar" and some other documents are included on
Gurbani-CD. He did a commendable job of 'full proof-reading' of the whole of
Siri Guru Granth Sahib, twice. His 2-nd proof-reading is done recently. He also
helped in this project in many other ways as described later.
6. In addition to the correction work done before, a recent, very extensive
correction work was done by S.Paminder Singh Aujla of Hopewell Junction, New
York, USA. Many other individuals helped in proof-reading the typed text from
Siri Guru Granth Sahib and many of them edited it a number of times. Their names
are: S. Jagdev Singh Beasley, Bibi Avtar Kaur Beasley, Giany Amarjit Singh-ji,
S. Rajinder Singh Dhaliwal, Bibi Surinder Kaur Dhaliwal, S. Manjit Singh Sahota
(with the help of his niece) and Bibi Khushdev Kaur Thind. We are thankful to
Dr. Harbans Lal, Ph.D., the Chairman of Department of Pharmacology, University
of North Texas, and the founder of Academy of Guru Granth Studies for providing
moral support and for his participation in some decision making processes.
DISCUSSION: SIKHISM IN CYBERSPACE There is a need to have a dedicated Sikhism
authentic information guide cum 'watch-dog' seva on-line with the Dharam Prachar
committee of Darbar Sahib, Amritsar. A dedicated domain registration seva providing
capable support to Gurbani and Punjabi language. Portal 1 platform search engines
seva where all Sikh sangat web sites and email addresses directories can be
centrally logged in and accessed globally. A dedicated network Sikhism information
seva for exchanging news and views and maintaining contact for any SOS sewa.
CONCLUSIONS: It is no mean achievement that not only the Guru Granth Sahib but
also the works of the non computer literate serious scholars of Sikhism find
a significant presence in cyber space. For this achievement, major credit goes
to our pioneers of the North American Sikh sangat Diaspora. The visitors' feedback
on these websites also suggests urgent actions to be taken in the cyber space,
to meet the needs of the hour for our Y2K global village sangat, for which the
North American sangat naturally should take the lead.
[ *by : Colonel (Retd.) Perminder Singh ]