Above: Courtesy, Gurumustuk Singh.

Top - Guru Nanak confronts Kauda the Demon. Bottom - Banda Singh Bahadar.

How often have we seen character flaws in people we consider to be icons? And then, aren't we disappointed, even hurt, at the shortfall between expectation and reality?

If we look closely enough, if we know anyone intimately enough, we will likely discover that even those we most admire have feet of clay.  And in moments of honesty, we know that all of us fit the description, in spite of our superlative efforts and our impeccable intentions.

T.S. Eliot reminds us:

Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow

I couldn't resist thinking along this vein while listening to a teenager trying very hard to read from the Guru Granth.  Many of those hearing her were visibly mortified.

Why? Because she couldn't read the Gurmukhi script very fluently, correctly or clearly.  She was young and new on the path; also, she had been raised outside Punjab and one could cut her accent with a knife. 

A seemingly sensible graybeard had the temerity to suggest that such an error-filled reading was an insult to the Guru.  Such novices, he insisted, should not be allowed near the Guru Granth.  I suppose her reading the Guru Granth was somewhat like learning to play the violin while performing on the stage - painful to the aspiring musician and the audience, as well.

In view of the unsolicited advice that she shut up, I wondered how she was ever going to improve without the trauma of practice. We are looking for perfection that only comes from experience; no one is born error-free. 

It is like the truism that good judgment comes from experience, but experience itself is born of poor judgment.

Often, I see similar reasoning used to tar some who are aspiring to management positions - opportunities for service  -  in our gurdwaras, when shortcomings in their lifestyle are highlighted in order to diminish them. 

The arguments are always couched in language suggesting that political opponents are imperfect Sikhs, and granting them a position or a prominent role in Sikh society would be tantamount to insulting or demeaning the Guru. 

When we look at our Sikh friends, we are often quick to judge.  This inevitably steps up a perpetual civil war in the community. 

Yes, there are expectations of a Sikh; after all, Sikhism, like other religions, demands a code of conduct. It is clearly not enough to merely look like a Sikh, and nimbly sweep aside the requirements of character and deportment. 

Yet, it is not easy to sort out the demons that drive us, much less know those that compel our friends and foes. 

So, when we select leaders of the community, we often demand only that they look like Sikhs.  And many of those whom we anoint are often woefully ignorant or fall short of how a Sikh life is to be lived. And when they do so, they become open to villification and our attacks  - all in the name of the Gurus. 

I wonder if God or Guru would be so thin-skinned.  I wonder if gurdwaras are only for perfect Sikhs. 

I am not being hypocritical in suggesting that we welcome with open arms any individual who is clearly and unambiguously on the path of Sikhi, and not seek only those who seem to display perfection in their Sikh lives.  And I am certainly not diminishing our desire and the need to have human role models.  Just keep in mind that the best of them will have feet of clay.

If gurdwaras are academies for education and character building, then isn't it obvious that those who come to them are on the path of learning, not adept scholars yet.  It is like any student who comes to school or college for education.  The student is there because he/she wants the education and understands the need for it.  If the students already knew everything before they entered the university, the institutions would be unnecessary, and so would the teachers.

I would argue that gurdwaras exist for sinners, for imperfect people like you and I who are willing to try walking the path of Sikhi.  Perfect Sikhs - saints - don't require gurdwaras, churches or temples.

The first place we need to show some charity is in gurdwaras when we see some obvious sinners walking in, for these may be their first baby steps at introspection and looking within the self.

Don't be too quick to promote them to role models, but they do not deserve to be rejected and cast out of our hearts and our society.  I am reminded of Oscar Wilde who said that "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future". 

No Guru ever turned away a sinner who knocked at his door.

In Guru Granth, Guru Nanak repeatedly identifies himself with the lowly and poor  -  those that society had rejected. 

Before judging and condemning others, let's think of his words, "Hum nahee(n) chungey buraa nahee(n) koyae" (Guru Granth, page 728). Literally, his words translate to "I am not good, no one is evil".

In essence, Guru Nanak is telling us "to not dwell on our own virtues or the sins of others". Or, if you like, keep in mind the lines of Emma Lazarus that adorn the Statue of Liberty welcoming the "tired and the poor..."

So then, what goal do we shoot for? 

I would say the best goal is a little better world than the one that we inherited.  That should be the star to steer our lives by.  Keep in mind that ideals are not to be clutched in the palm of the hand, but are like stars that guide a sailor to his destination. 

A partial solution is better than no solution at all.

"Le mieux est l'ennemi", Voltaire warned us. "The perfect is the enemy of the good".