Theos-Talk Archives (September 2001 Message tt00136)

Monday, September 17, 2001

I found two interesting source reports on the Sikhs in early
theosophical literature written by H P B.

1.

In CAVES AND JUNGLES OF HINDOOSTAN, [ Theosophical Publishing
House, 1975 edn.] on pp. 209-11 H P B wrote some notes
concerning the Sikhs which seem to be useful for us to know
about:

" [At] the "Golden Temple" on the banks of Amrita-Saras (Lake of
Immortality) ...the head Guru or teacher of the Sikhs resides
there. He never leaves the boundaries of his temple, where he
spends his days in endless study of the "Adi-Granth"--the sacred
scripture of this strange warlike sect.

The Sikhs look upon him as the Tibetan lamas look upon their
Talay [Dalai] Lama. As the latter represents for the lamas the
embodiment of the Buddha, so the Maha-guru of Amritsar is looked
upon by the Sikhs as the embodiment of the founder of their sect,
Baba Nanak [1469-1538], although the latter, according to their
ideas, never was a divinity, but merely a prophet inspired by the
Spirit of the One God....


2.

In an article that H P B published in the early days of the T S
named THE AKHOOND OF SWAT [see A MODERN PANARION, p.. 179 ] she
not only gives more detail about the history of the Sikhs and
their defense of India from the invading Mohammedans from
Afghanistan and Persia, but she also gives a hint concerning the
present group within the shelter of ISLAM that may be the source
of the terrorist activity that has plagued us for several years,
culminating in the tragedy in New York last week.

Best wishes,

Dallas