A Customizable Personalized Sikh History - Vegetarian or Meat-Eating Satgurus? By James Bean
Image Credit: "Shiva's Support is Sarbloh":
https://manglacharan.com/Sarbloh+Guru+Granth+Sahib/Shiva's+Support+is+Sarbloh
A History-based Middle Ground of Sikh Vegetarian History
In the Beas publication about the life and teachings of Guru Nanak there is cited a passage from a Muslim historian saying that Nanak abstained from animal food and enjoined against cruelty to animals: "Having prohibited his disciples to drink wine and eat pork, he (Nanak) himself abstained from eating flesh and ordered not to hurt any living being." (Mohsin Fani, Persian historian, Dabistan-e-Mazahib)
"The Dabestan-e Mazaheb (Persian: دبستان مذاهب) 'school of religions' is a Persian language work that examines and compares Abrahamic, Dharmic and other religions of the mid-17th century South Asia and the Middle East." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabestan-e_Mazaheb
Usually authorship of this book is attributed to Mohsin Fani, a scholar of comparative religion and who also was friends with the Sixth Sikh Guru Guru Hargobind. "Born around 1615 in Iran, Mohsin Fani was once migrated to India, for the study of the religions there, in the time of the sixth Sikh guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib with whom he had friendly relationships." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohsin_Fani
I found several volumes and translations of the Dabestan-e Mazaheb online including English editions. The one at Scribd seems fairly complete and nicer than some of the others so I downloaded it.
It does contain the passage that's found in the RSSB book about the teachings of Guru Nanak
https://scienceofthesoul.org/books-EN-007-0.html but it's far more informative to cite the whole paragraph of material where the quote is found, bringing greater clarity to the question of vegetarianism and Sikhism from this early source that predates many texts that mainstream Sikhs rely upon. The English translation of this old edition is not ideal but clear enough. I've bracketed in the correct spellings of the various Sikh Gurus.
"Nanac [Guru Nanak] had a great number of disciples. He professed the unity of God, which is called the law of Muhammed, and believed the metempsychosis, or transmigration of the soul from one body to another. Having prohibited his disciples wine and to eat pork, he himself abstained from eating flesh and ordered not to hurt any living being. After him, this precept was neglected by his followers; but Arjun mal [Guru Arjan Dev], one of the substitutes of his faith [successors of Nanak], as soon as he found that it was wrong, renewed the prohibition to eat flesh, and said, 'This has not been approved by Nanac [Nanak].' Afterward, Hargovind [Guru Hargobind, 6th Sikh Guru], son of Arjunmal [Guru Arjan Dev, 5th Sikh Guru], eat flesh, and went to hunt, and his followers imitated his example." (THE DABISTAN OR SCHOOL OF MANNERS, TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL PERSIAN BY DAVID SHEA AND ANTHONY TROVER, page 285, section on the Nanak sect, 1901 edition)
The short passage from the above as quoted by Janak Raj Puri in the Beas publication does make for a good proof-text for the vegetarianism of Guru Nanak and his immediate disciples, but as we can see from the context of the whole paragraph, with this wider field of vision things aren't looking so good for Sikh vegetarianism after the time of Guru Nanak.
The Fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev rediscovered? this lost? prohibition about eating flesh once taught by Guru Nanak and revives the precept of vegetarianism during his day. But then, soon enough, it fell by the wayside again with even Arjan's own son Hargobind eating meat and going on hunting trips.
So the above-quoted short passage from the Dabistan-e-Mazahib about the vegetarianism of Guru Nanak initially sounded quite good in support of vegetarianism, but a wider view of the whole text portrays vegetarianism as being forgotten by Sikh Gurus number Two, Three, and Four. Guru Five brings vegetarianism back. And I should also include Guru Arjan Dev's Adi Granth scribe Bhai Gurdaas, as his collection of poetry verses or vaars called Vaaran Bhai Gurdas, also affirms vegetarianism. Bhai Gurdaas Ji said: "They eat meat by cutting throats, what will their own condition be?" (Vaar 24, Pauree 17)
And then, according to the very same Dabistan-e-Mazahib by Mohsin Fani, Arjan's own son Hargobind, Sikh Guru Number Six, ate meat, went on hunting trips, thus presenting the latter Sikh gurus as meat-eating sat gurus. No more mandated* vegetarianism in the sangats of the Sikhs after the time of the Fifth Sikh Guru and his scribe Bhai Gurdaas.
* Not a precept all disciples must follow.
For a One Hundred Percent Vegetarian Version of Sikh History We Have the Namdharis
Now what's presented above represents a kind of middle path or middle ground on the question of vegetarianism and Sikhism. There is the smaller Sikh sub-sect called the Namdhari's that, in their timeline or version of reality, present all Ten Sikh Gurus as being staunch and adamant vegetarians, including Guru Gobind Singh. For instance in alternative Namdhari texts this is attributed to Guru Gobind Singh:
"One who does not steal, commit adultery, slander anyone, gamble, eat meat or drink wine will be liberated in this very life (i.e. Jeewan Mukt)". (Guru Gobind Singh, 10th Sikh Guru, Sudharam Marag Granth -- Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s “Updesh” to Bhai Daya Singh ji which is mentioned in “Sudharam Marag Granth”, and also found written in some old handwritten volumes of Sri Guru Granth Sahib): https://web.archive.org/web/20180329213659/http://www.info-sikh.com/PageM1.html
“His Disciples, Soaked in The Bliss of Nam, gave up opium, hashish, poppy, liquor and various other intoxicants. They would not eat meat. They would not steal. They foreswore adultery and deception. They Practised Saintliness.” -- Sri Guru Panth Parkash): http://namdhari.faithweb.com/panthparkash.htm
If one reads those alternative Namdhari scriptures and histories, according to them there were no meat-eating satgurus going on hunting trips after all. That would be the one hundred percent vegetarian version of Sikh history.
Meet the Meat-Eating Satgurus Going on Hunting Trips, A Carnivorous Version of Sikh History
If one wishes to customize their personal version of Sikh history in the pro-meat direction, this is easily accomplished as well, with many supporting scriptures at hand and much pro-meat lore about each of the Ten Sikh Gurus, even with a critical critique of Mohsin Fani's Dabistan-e-Mazahib, AND yet another Granth attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. This one's called the Sarbloh Granth or Sarabloh Granth, "a voluminous scripture, composed of more than 6,500 poetic stanzas. It is traditionally attributed as being the work of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbloh_Granth
Representing mainstream Sikhism we have, Dr. Ganda Singh, in his book of translation and commentary, Nanak Panthis or The Sikh and Sikhism of the 17th Century (Translated from Muhsin Fani's Dabistan-i-Mazahib, Sikh Digital Library, ਡਾ. ਗੰਡਾ ਸਿੰਘ) Edited With Notes By Ganda Singh, JOURNAL OF INDIAN HISTORY: https://archive.org/details/NanakPanthisOrTheSikhsAndSikhismOfThe17thCenturyDr.GandaSingh/page/n3/mode/2up?q=nanak
"The Dabistan-i-Mazahib, from which I have culled and translated the account of the Nanak-panthis, the followers of Guru Nanak, is generally acknowledged to be the work of Shaikh Mohsin Fani." (from the Introduction)
"I have been strictly literal in my rendering, with the result that not unoften the diction and idiom of the English language had to be sacrificed to keep it as near the original as possible. For this I crave the readers’ indulgence. I have given my explanations of the doubtful points in footnotes, and, although some of them have grown disproportionately lengthy, I hope the discussions therein will not be found wholly uninteresting." (page 198)
He quotes the Dabistan-i-Mazahib and adds some footnotes/commentary:
"'Holding wine and pork unlawful, he abstained from animal food 6 and enjoined against cruelty to animals. After his death meat-eating became common among his disciples. And when Arjan Mai, who is one of the prophetic order of Nanak, found that evil, he prohibited people from meat-eating and said: “This practice is not in accordance with the wishes of Nanak.” 7 Eventually Hargobind, son of Arjan Mai, ate meat and hunted, and most of his disciples followed his practice.'
[footnote] 6. "Here Mohsin-Fani or his informant seems to have erred. There is nothing in the teachings of Guru Nanak to condemn the use of animal food. On the other hand we find him cooking a deer, which a disciple had presented to him at Kurukshetar during his visit to that place. When the Brahmans expressed their horror at his cooking of flesh on the occasion of a Solar Eclipse..."
[footnote] 7. "There is no such sentence traceable in the sayings of Guru Arjan in the Guru Granth Sahib."
Dr. Ganda Singh is correct that the Adi Granth doesn't contain that passage from Guru Arjan Dev. Mohsin-Fani didn't say it was from the Granth. Mohsin-Fani was friends with Hargobind, the Sixth Sikh Guru and son of Guru Arjan Dev. In other words he was there, was a contemporary, was not just relying upon the Granth. It would be absolutely wonderful to know the source for that particular citation. Indeed! Indeed!
In his footnote # 6 Dr. Ganda Singh then goes on to quote a few standard Granth verses that are often used to call into question the legitimacy of vegetarianism. The same passages are used over and over and can be found here -- see key word search of "meat" in this topical edition of the Granth: https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.1918/page/n263/mode/2up?q=meat
Dr. Ganda Singh mentions a story about Guru Nanak cooking a deer but doesn't actually share with the reader where he found this. No citation is given, just a mention of the story followed by the standard verses from the Granth used to bolster the position of mainstream Sikhism in opposition to vegetarianism. However, I am acquainted with that particular deer meat story, where it's located!
It's interesting to notice that Dr. Ganda Singh here has attempted to refute the vegetarianism of Guru Nanak as recorded in a mid-17th century history book by the Persian scholar Mohsin Fani, a contemporary and friend of the Sixth Sikh Guru, by calling upon a hagiographical collection of apocryphal verses composed at a later date long after the time of the Tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh mainly used by the Nihang sect. (Usually historians give more weight to earlier texts over later ones, and neutral ones over self-serving sectarian ones.) This collection of stories about the Sikh Gurus, including about Guru Nanak eating deer meat, are attributed to Gobind Singh in a collection of writings known as the Sarbloh Granth. Most don't believe the Sarbloh Granth to really represent the compositions of Gobind Singh. "It is traditionally attributed as being the work of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru. Scholars, on the other hand, attribute the work to after the Guru's death, being authored by an unknown poet. The work is mostly revered by the Nihang sect." -- Sarbloh Granth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbloh_Granth
Life and Sikhism according to the Nihang sect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihang
Rare Selections in English of the Sarbloh Granth Online: https://manglacharan.com/Sarbloh+Guru+Granth+Sahib/Sarbloh
"The Sarbloh Granth is a text associated with Guru Gobind Singh - which has not been translated into English. This website holds the only repository of translations of the Sarbloh Granth."
Guru Nanak As Meat-Eating Satguru? Guru Nanak and Meat
"When Guru Nanak visited Kurukshetra he cooked deer meat which attracted the attention of the local Pandits who questioned the Guru's actions. In a reply the Guru mentioned that this is the Dharam of a warrior, to which the Pandits replied:
ਸੁਨਿ ਕਰਿ ਬੋਲੇ ਪੰਡਿਤ ਸਭਿ ਹੀ । 'ਖਤ੍ਰੀ ਨਿਕਟ ਸਸਤ੍ਰ ਹ੍ਵੈ ਸਦ ਹੀ । 30।
ਤੁਮਨੇ ਬੇਖ ਫਕੀਰੀ ਲੀਨੋ । ਬਿਨਾ ਸਸਤ੍ਰ ਕਿਉਂ ਛਤ੍ਰੀ ਚੀਨੋ ।
"The Pandit then said, "Warriors always have weapons with them, you have adorned the garb of an ascetic. Without weapons how can I recognize you as a warrior?"
ਗੁਰੂ ਕਹੈਂ ਆਯੁਧ ਹਮ ਪਾਸੂ । ਉਚਰਹਿਂ ਨਾਮ ਸੁਨਹੁ ਮੈਂ ਤਾਸੂ । 31।
ਤੀਛਨ ਖੜਗ ਨਾਮ ਕਰਤਾਰਾ । ਸਤਿਸੰਗਤਿ ਹਿਤ ਧਨੁਖ ਸੁ ਭਾਰਾ ।
"Guru Nanak said, "I do have weapons with me - the recitation of the name of the Creator Kartar is my sharp sword. The large bow that I have is the True Congregation Satsangat.
ਸਮ ਦਮ ਆਦਿਕ ਬਾਣ ਬਿਸਾਲਾ । ਮ੍ਰਿਗ ਰੂਪੀ ਮਨ ਹਤਿ ਤਤਕਾਲਾ । 32।
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਅਗਨਿ ਮਹਿਂ ਹੋਮ ਸੋ ਕਰਿ ਹੀ । ਨਿਤਾਪ੍ਰਤਿ ਐਸੇ ਹਿਤ ਧਰਿ ਹੀਂ ।
"The practice of controlling the senses are the numerous arrows, and I use all of them to quickly kill the Deer-like-mind. In the fire like awareness of Braham the All-pervasive I cook this meat in an offering hom*. This is forever my mindset.
* as in homage
"Gurpratap Suraj Prakash Granth 1843, author: the Great Poet Santokh Singh
Nanak Prakash Utararadh Chapter 7."
https://manglacharan.com/1843+Suraj+Prakash/Guru+Nanak+and+Meat
Suraj Prakash "published in 1843": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suraj_Prakash
For those desirous of customizing their Sikh history in a pro-meat direction, the Sarbloh Granth and other related writings of the Nihang sect will not disappoint. Do a few key word searches of "meat" at the Manglacharan Sarbloh Granth website and you'll find lots of stories about all ten Sikh gurus being meat-eating satgurus.
Final Thoughts, My Conclusions About This Particular Hall of Mirrors History
Out of all these versions of Sikh history the Namdhari one seems the most pleasant. Being vegan, my personal preference or confirmation bias would be to have all ten Sikh gurus portrayed as lacto-vegetarians if not "level five vegans" (Simpson's reference). Unfortunately, the claims of the Namdharis fall short. An ethereal, visionary or ghostly apparition of Gobind Singh in the year 1812 appointing Balak Singh as the 11th Guru is a rather strange fictitious tale, making the Namdharis not exactly a reliable go-to source on matters of Sikh history.
Guru Gobind Singh would have been one hundred and forty six years old in the year 1812. A Wiki Entry for Guru Balak Singh, Founder of the Namdhari Sikh Sect:
"Namdhari Sikhs believe he was the successor of Guru Gobind Singh, a stance that differs them from mainstream Sikhism. According to Namdharis, Guru Gobind Singh did not die from the wounds inflicted by the assassination attempt on his life in 1708, but instead lived-on as a recluse under the pseudonym of "Ajapal Singh", passing on the guruship to Balak Singh before his death. Namdharis believe Guru Gobind Singh lived to the ripe-old age of 146 when he died in the year 1812, long enough to be contemporary with Namdhari Guru Balak Singh and pass on the Guruship to him."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satguru_Balak_Singh#cite_note-14
The extra-meatiness and sword collecting of the Nihangs seem to represent a later, much different version of Sikhism attempting to rewrite Sikh history, to remake it after their own image, doctrines, dogmas, and diet.
Mainstream orthodox Sikhism's deliberate ignoring of pro-vegetarian passages that are to be found in the Adi Granth, also in the Vaaran Bhai Gurdas, and references by historians such as Shaikh Mohsin Fani, have a familiar religious ring. If one needs to turn a blind eye, to be in denial or ignore something, that something is probably worth exploring.
See, Sikh And You Will Find: The Vegetarian Diet, Sikh Gurus and Scriptures, A Collection of Passages:
https://santmatradhasoami.blogspot.com/2019/01/sikh-and-you-will-find-vegetarian-diet.html
I do suspect the 'middle path' account of Shaikh Mohsin Fani, author of the Dabestan-e Mazaheb (Dabistan-i-Mazahib) is likely to be closest to the truth on the question of vegetarian ethics and Sikhism.
The line of succession will truly continue.
But when it is mixed with outer rituals and display of external garbs,
My Sound Current will part company.
My divine essence will depart
And souls will go into the mouth of Kal."
Note: The account in the Dabistan-i-Mazahib states: "After him [Nanak], this precept was neglected by his followers; but Arjun mal [Guru Arjan Dev], one of the substitutes of his faith [successors of Nanak], as soon as he found that it was wrong, renewed the prohibition to eat flesh, and said, 'This has not been approved by Nanac [Nanak].'" And history repeats. Others in Sikhism would do the same and adopt a vegetarian diet. There's always been a minority of Sikhs who have been vegetarian. No doubt much more could be said; more texts from various Sikh sects could be cited. Vegetarianism @ Sikh Wiki: https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Vegetarianism
Video: The Wise Guru Nanak: Passage from Sarbloh Granth:
https://youtu.be/-aF_MOZoOPI?si=pBu2Rq_lKzBh_sJJ
