The ordinary Sikh is in a dilemma. He is in search of his home - the place he belongs to. The place where he can enjoy the nectar of Gurbani. The place where he can practise his faith and attain the eternal bliss as promised in Gurbani. He finds that most of his Sikh fellows are divided in two camps. He does not know which one to join to practise his faith. This is his dilemma. This is his ordeal. Sikhs in both camps claim to be true Sikhs.

In one camp there are Sikhs who adorn all the 5 ks and look like perfect Sikhs. Most of them are followers of a Dera or a Sant. When he goes closer to these Sikhs he finds that most of them believe in miracles and have fallen in the deep pit of janter, manter, jap and tap. Guru Nanak travelled thousands of miles, gone through unspeakable hardships to take his Sikhs out of this deep pit But ironically these Sikhs have plunged back into it in their bid to follow Guru Nanak. They have abandoned rational thinking or Vivek Budh that our Gurus asked them to adhere to and practise in life. They have woven an intricate web of magic and miracles around the lives of our Gurus that it is almost impossible for them to see the real import and meaning of Gurbani as lived by our Gurus in their lives. They passionately believe in many stories about our Gurus that contradict their teachings. Some of these stories go to the extent of character assassination in the guise of miracles. They have started practices in our Gurudwaras that are against the teachings of our Gurus. They have converted Gurudwaras into places for idol worship instead of Shabad Vichaar. They have ignored the warning given by the Guru that it does not behove a Sikh to come to the Gurudwar if he/she does not indulge in Shabad Vichaar. (Jab Lag Sabad Na Bhadia Kion Sohe Gurduar- Page 19) They have reduced Shabad Vichaar to a tale full of miracles interspersed with some lines from Gurubani quoted out of context to suit their stories of miracles. They have introduced rituals in the Gurudwaras in the name of Marayada. Marayada is their black box and is often changed to suit the whims of the Dera chiefs with the help of cooked up stories about the lives of our Gurus. In some places the Dera Chief is even given more importance than Guru Granth Sahib is. Guru Granth Sahib is only a titular head and it is the Sant or Dera Chief who dictates the terms.

In the other camp there are Sikhs who say they don't have to follow the dictates about 5 ks to be a Sikh. No one can recognise them as Sikhs just by looking at them. They can be easily mistaken for followers of any other faith. But they claim to be Sikhs and some of them go to the extent of saying that though they do not look like Sikhs but in fact only they are the real Sikhs. Only they have understood the message of Guru Nanak in its real sense. Some of them say that they are the followers of Guru Nanak and have nothing to do with Guru Gobind Singh. In their opinion the concept of 5 ks is obsolete now. They project themselves as torchbearers of the new age Sikhi. They say appearance is superfluous and all that matters is good deeds. But when it comes to practical terms they conveniently say they are not supposed to act like a Sikh, as they do not look like a Sikh. They say that let those who look like Sikhs should first set an example of good deeds. If they are convinced about their good deeds then they will think about it and do something about it. Or they will retort that when the persons who look like perfect Sikhs are not acting in accordance with the teachings of Gurus then no one has the right to ask them to follow the teachings of Gurus. They think they are more intelligent than Guru Gobind Singh who could not visualise the modern times where 5 ks are absolutely redundant. They claim to be great rational thinkers. But they throw all logic and rational thinking to the winds and go to the extent of counting Gursikhs like Bhai Mardana, Bhai Nand Lal and Bhai Ghanya on their side, as they do not have Singh in their names. What a logic? They believe only in their own reason. Their action is akin to throwing away the baby with the bath water. They say since the Sikhs who adorn 5ks are not doing any good deeds or are acting contrary to the instructions of Guurs, so it is best for the Sikhs to discard 5 ks. They say that Sikhism is the latest religion compatible with modern Science. But the concept of 5 Ks is the most conservative and retrogressive part of it and it is high time the Sikhs should get rid of it. They ask absurd questions like the benefits of growing hair. There was a time when Guru asked for the head and there was a long queue of Sikhs to die for him. But these Sikhs now question his wisdom and rationale for his dictate to the Sikhs to keep unshorn hair. They are responsible for sending the confusing signals to the world at large regarding the concepts of Sabat Soorat.

Both camps have some striking similarities. Both of them follow their own mind and believe in their own wisdom. They have forgotten one of the basics of Sikhism, to subjugate our minds to the will of Guru and to sacrifice our wisdom at altar of Gurmat. They are two sides of the same coin. Both of them are like a malady that has infected that tree of Sikhi and is devouring its leaves and flowers. The ordinary Sikhs desperately hopes for the new Spring to come

Both camps are serving as a marshalling area to facilitate the smooth transfer of Sikhs into other faiths/sects or atheism. The ordinary Sikh shuttlecocks between these two camps, gets frustrated and falls an easy prey to those waiting in the wings to convert him.

It will be in order here to relate the story of my own village. I come from a small village in Punjab. As a kid I remember vividly going to our Gurudwara. It was housed in a small room. The Gurudwara was always filled with Sikhs having flowing beards and some of them were having all the 5 ks. Now the Gurudwara is housed in a big and beautiful building. But only a few people are Saabat Soorat in the village. The people from so called lower castes have gone back into Hinudism. One Jat family has embraced Chritianity. Ninty nine percent of the youth in the village are addicted to some sort of drugs. There is a liquor shop in the village. Every evening there are more people at this shop than in Gurudwara. People who are addicted to drugs and do not have even one K on their bodies are managing the Gurudwara. As far as I remember SGPC has never visited our village Gurudwara. They have never sent any Parcharak or any literature to the Gurudwara. But preachers of other sects and Deras did visit the village. Akhand Path was a rare occasion but now there is Akhand series of Akhand Paths at the Gurudwara. Probably there is not even a single person in the village who has done the Sehaj Path himself at his home.