The theme of this Seminar - "Apostasy Among Sikh Youth" may seem somewhat alarmist. But, in one sense, it is really an early warning, seeking ways and means to stem the creeping loss of faith and the identity among the younger generation.

Decline in morality and religion is, however, not confined to the Sikhs. Indeed, arguably, the mass of Sikhs are, proportionately, more religious-minded than their counterparts of other faiths. Materialism everywhere threatens to displace age-old belief systems. There is controversy in various denominations of the Christian faith. Hinduism remains mired in myth and magic. Islam harks back to fundamentalism in the face of modernity. Buddhism appears to be on the retreat. Jainism is more or less assimilated.

On a deeper level, the Sikh religion is moving to fill a spiritual void created by reckless modernism. A faith that effectively provides purpose and meaning to life on this planet holds the best promise. Guru Granth Sahib, the Scriptural Guru of the Sikhs, offers the most vigorous and durable moral and spiritual insight in every aspect of life in the modern and post-modern world. Consumerism and greed must give way to moral power, contentment and compassion. To the extent we repose faith in the holy shabad we can unburden our mind of anxiety and tension. To accept the Divine dispensation is to bring peace, joy and enthusiasm into our lives. The process of acceptance applies to congregations as well as the individual devotee. Its daily practice must begin at Amrit-vela the ambrosial pre-dawn hour - best-suited to meditation, or Naam Simran. The five daily prayers Nit-Nem make us God-conscious, awash with His love and grace. Like our daily meals, let these prayers be the diet of our mind and spirit. We shall soon start feeling uplifted, revealing untapped reservoirs of mental and spiritual strength.

The daily practice of Nit-Nem is aimed at disciplining the mind. But disciplining the mind is like taming a tiger. The tragic aspect of human nature in modern times is man's easy descent into evil. Pleasures of the flesh are given precedence and priority, triggering sickness of mind and body. Guru Granth says : To be a true Gursikh you must rise early and meditate on God's Name. That is the antidote. But we start the day with front-page reports of death, disaster and depravity. We set the wrong mood for the day and complain of mounting tension, irritability and anger, Returning home, the family is transformed into a group of strangers seeking entertainment out of the "idiot box", ready to snap at one another at the least disturbance. Television has sown the seeds of disintegration of the family.

Since the country is ruled by vested interests of majority community, with a monopoly over the media, the alien cultural invasion, via satellite television networks, has largely been neutralized with heavy doses of Hindu mythology at peak viewing hours. The majoritarian religious paraphernalia is continuously on display, and its social and psychological mores are consequently well safeguarded.

What about the Sikhs? They have the Hobson's choice of either assimilating alien culture projected into their homes from assorted satellites, or watch the official media recycle the garish mythology and a web of pseudo-miraculous ritualism from which Guru Nanak had liberated us five hundred years ago. Karl Marx once warned : "The ideas of the ruling class are, in every epoch, the ruling ideas". Struggle between the Sikh ideology and State control is a harsh reality in the present time, as it was in the 17th and 18th centuries. If hegemonic State control of the educational system, as well as media, has deprived the new generation of its moral and spiritual heritage, it is our duty, and our right, to fill the gap by Sunday school and summer camps, and special education must, therefore, be on the top of our agenda.

When the challenge is frontal and physical, (such as invasions from the north-western frontier in the eighteenth century) the youthful Sikh Khalsa nation steeled itself into a shield to protect itself and its motherland. But, now, when the invention is subtle, devious and psychological, neither we nor our youth seem able to cope with it. The only recourse is to imbibe the spirit of Gurbani, to use Gyaneh-ki-badhni - the weapon of wisdom to vanquish the invisible enemy.

Technology herein provides the tools, not the wisdom. Man's innate goodness can use technology to enhance the true virtues in man. Man's perversity, however, more often than not, directs scientific inventions for destructive uses. Atomic energy may be among the cheapest sources of power, yet Atomic weapons remain as the deadliest. Guru Granth teaches us to serve all mankind, to seek the good of all, and to preserve Mother Earth in all its splendour and diversity. The Gurbani exhorts us to manage earth's resources so as not to disturb the harmonious eco-system. Our educational system and information technology should help men discover his inner self and how to control fleshly excesses : Violence, greed, anger, jealousy and arrogance.

This is where you-as teachers, scientists, theologians, writers, artists-can guide the new generation of Sikhs. Genocidal 1984 inIndia witnessed a dramatic re-emergence of Sikhism in the West, especially United states of America. The new wave of Sikhism marked a return to classical tradition and the natural Khalsa identity. The importance of truthful conduct and practical living became key factors. Gurmat camps and Sunday schools sprang all over North America. Singh Sahib Yogi Harbhajan Singh Khalsa spread the twin-message of Gurmat and Khande-di-pahul across all racial barriers. Gurdwaras sprang up in many cities and towns providing a focal point for weekly congregations. The youth have started discovering the great Sikh heritage.

This new wave is, in certain respects, reminiscent of the golden era of Singh Sabha movement of last quarter of the nineteenth century, which produced such matchless scholars as Bhai Vir Singh, Bhai Kahan singh, Sir Jogindra Singh, Prof. Puran singh, Sir Sundar Singh Majithia, and many other stars in the Sikh constellation, who ushered in the renaissance, setting personal example, inspiring the youth, writing immortal prose, poetry, history and lexicography - yet retaining rare nobility and humanity. Every challenge breeds the appropriate response. You and your colleagues are no less capable of triggering another such Gyan-ki-andhi, or spiritual revolution, as we approach the year of Destiny 1999 - the Birth Anniversary of the Khalsa Panth. Our options are, unfortunately, limited. Our leadership no longer inspires. The charisma of Sants or holy men is a thing of the past. Our youth is disillusioned. As the poet said of the leaders :

"Kucch to apki inayat ne dil tor diya, Aur kucch talkhiye halat ne dil tor diya"

Guru Nanak's admonition : "rog gavaye apna, ta Nanak vaid sadai" applies to our contemporary malaise: "Physician, heal thyself" was never more truly spoken. Look around us. Does the Shiromani Akali Dal have, for example, an expert panel on : education, Sikh history, economics, employment, social behaviour, dangers of intoxicants and drugs, the Punjab's adverse man : woman ratio, or other issues of vital concern for the new generation? How far have our Universities and Foundations contributed to the development of Sikh Culture? They should be the nurseries of Sikh scholarship. yet we have few teachers of Divinity, fewer professors of comparative religion : instead of setting up new colleges, our existing Gurmat missionary colleges are languishing for want of incentives; there is no missionary college for women. One wonders whether University Senates and the powerful SGPC spare a thought for these glaring shortcomings. An annual seminar, such as this one, can scarcely do justice to the emergent problems. What we need is a crash course for our leaders and educationists in crisis management.

Let every one of us return to basic principles of Gur-Sikhi, dedicate ourselves to Gurbani and live upto its precepts : Rise early, practise Simran and pray with recitation of Nit-Nem; attend Gurdwara, reflect on Gurbani, arrange for our children to be taught Gurmukhi script, organize compulsory Dastar-bandi and Charni Lagna ceremonies for children and prepare them for the Khande-di-Pahul in early teens, both for boys and girls. Every family may dedicate one member for Prachar, duly qualified in Divinity and Gurmat philosophy. Let us work together to restore glory and honour to Sikhism because it is the best value system for us and our future generations :

Harakh anant, sog nahi biya So ghar Guru Nanak ko diya.

God in his infinite Grace has endowed the House of Guru Nanak unending happiness, without a trace of sorrow. This brings me directly to the target-group that this seminar seeks to address : young boys and girls, teenagers in towns and cities, in farms and factories, in or out of jobs. Typical skepticism in them runs something like this : Look, this is my life. We live in 1996, not in 1699. Hair is a hassle. Turban is an encumbrance".

Ignorance and naivete are writ large, in this line of argument, arrogance is palpable. The callow youth has not been taught the moral truth that the body is God's gift. We have a lease on it for specified time. The law of God demands obedience and daily discipline. Achievement demands sacrifice. Kesh is integral to body, its care is a duty we owe the creator. Other K's are our moral commitment to Guru-Prophets. Normally, our mothers, grandmothers, aunts and elder sisters would gently rub in these truths. They would recite Gurbani Shabads, tell stories of courage and heroism, nurture faith and plant thoughts of dignity and decorum expected of a Sikh. By a conspiracy of circumstances, our womenfolk have either been deprived of the opportunity or failed to make any impact on the young minds. Many have themselves been brought up on a secular or Convent-based sterile system of education.

Mother and teacher are the two pillars of our society. Each reinfores the other. Both must be fully equipped to perform the task of being the guide, friend and philosopher to the new generation. Apostates are not born, they are made. If the gardener plucks the rose-bud. it is not the fault of the rose plant, nor of the roots which are hidden below the surface. It is the permissive parents who make apostates of their children. They scarcely realise that a true Sikh is born of the marriage of heaven and earth. To be born a Sikh is no accident : chir-jivan up jiya sanjog.... By design your son or daughter is yours - by God's ordinance, not by chance.

All identity is an instinctive gift. Every human-indeed all creatures - seek and cherish identity. The world social order confirms the need for an identity in every sphere of life - as citizen, as a soldier, professional, civilized being, as anybody. Kesh, the hair, is an integral part of human body that is a gift of Nature. Over centuries, and in virtually all continents, long tresses and healthy locks have remained a sign of dignity and holiness, their charismatic and occult powers still a mystery. It is in the biological nature of hair to grow. Lack of hair or baldness are a disease over which all humans agonize, whatever their belief. To cut the hair, knowing it will continue to grow, is shortsighted and unnatural; it is tantamount to mutilation. Sikhism did not invent hair. The Gurus, however, disapproved of mutilation of body wherein God Himself dwells. Honour and hair, courage and Kesh have been synonymous in all ages and every continent. The Chinese punishment for grave offences consisted in the public disgrace of a hair-cut. You can spot a widow in Bengal by her shaven head. Hurt by Delilah's betrayal Samson declared : "There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb; If I be shaven, my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man." [Bible : Judges XVI-17] In modern times, Sikhs are God's chosen people. The Khalsa of Dasmesh can never be weak or timid, nor wanting in courage to preserve and cherish their identity.

The British historian, Arnold J. Toynbee once wrote to the effect that since the future is unknown, the only way we can hope to illuminate it is by looking at the past. Let every child and every teenager be reminded of the story of Baba Atal Rai's sacrifice, Guru Harkrishan's determination, Guru Gobind Singh's courage, at age nine, the martyrdom of four sahibzadas and the captive youth in Banda Singh Bahadur's army who won't deny his faith and identity in the face of sure death. They all, and thousands more, sacrificed their lives so that we may live as proud Sikhs, resplendent in the very image of our Father, Guru Gobind Singhji. Times may change, but some things remains the same. Human nature is one such thing. In these critical times we need a warm heart. a cool head, and our feet firmly planted on the ground, even as our spirit soars in charhdi kala. Let us not reject the apostate. Let us win him with love. He is our flesh and blood. Practical wisdom can solve most of the dilemmas of our new generation, flexibility - not rigidity - should be the policy to reclaim the apostate :

"Come home, my friend,
The good Lord shall save you from evil
And all your troubles shall pass!"
- SGGS: 678.