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We returned from our countryside bus tour of Gurdwaras to the Niwas for lunch and then some of us headed to the Takhat to catch what we could of special events. I have already missed the Nihung's colorful jaloose through town and gatka demonstrations. Nothing here seems to happen at the scheduled hour.
Going with the natural flow, my friends and I chanced upon a shocking spectacle I would never have imagined taking place at a holy Takhat.
A crowd was beginning to gather in front of the steps to Sachkhand--a gatka demonstration, I hoped. A member of Cherdi Kala Jatha was majestically making his way toward to the inner circle. "What's happening?"
His reply, "There is going to be a goat sacrifice."
I followed close behind him, determined to immerse myself in the crowds, in the yatra experience with open acceptance of Guru Gobind Singh's divine plan.
Still, it was hard to accept that the darling baby goat I saw in the center of the circle was going to be killed. For what? It was sweet, innocent and trusting. The attending Sardar was petting him with calming loving caresses, like I pet my dog, lamb and rabbits.
The goat stood relaxed and content in the midst of pressing crowds even as the Sardar unsheathed his sword. The Sardar listened attentively to Rehiras, the evening prayer from within the Takhat, stroked the goat's neck to straighten it and, on the prayer's final word, raised his sword and chopped off the goat's head with a single blow.
The bleeding head was scooped up, placed in a stainless steel Prashad bowl raised high above the carrier's head and rushed up the Takhat steps to the inner sanctuary.
I could not figure out why. It was a stupid thing to do, killing a baby goat for its blood, sanctifying the act by timing the moment of sacrifice with a prayer. My daycare sanctuary nurtures and protects animals. They are playful friends that bestow healing on troubled children by their living interaction. It would never enter my mind to purposefully kill one for its blood.
The curious horde of people crushed inwards to catch a glimpse, some to dab goat blood upon their foreheads and others to follow the Sardar to the Temple. I made my way along a crooked trail of splashed blood to the shoe stall near the steps to remove my boots. Blood from the goat's headless body led down into a dark corridor beside the stall where I stood, aghast. We had just cleaned everything yesterday during a joyful Takhat Ishnaan. Why to befoul the holy Takhat? How could the beautiful chief Jethadar, Kulwant Singh, allow it? He was there, assisting!
It does not matter. This Takhat is not under the guidance of SGPC like the Golden Temple is. There are major differences in how the Rehit of Guru Gobind Singh is practiced here, which we knew before coming to Nanded.
Regardless, this horrific event engulfed my psyche for the remainder of the day.
We stayed at Sachkundh Takhat for an enthralling, extended kirtan and Rehiras stanzas by our beloved New Mexico Cherdi Kala Raagi Jatha and viewed another graceful, dynamic display of Guru's Shastras, beaming with Guru Gobind Singh's essence, not the goat's!
Home at the Niwas afterwards for Langar dinner, I approached a member of the Cherdi Kala Jatha and asked why the goat was sacrificed, impressing upon him how backwardly stupid it is for Amritdhari Sikhs to sanction such an act and adding I would write it up that way unless he could give me a reasonable explanation.
From what I understand of his words, the goat sacrifice is deeply entrenched in local customs. Guru's Shastras crave the taste of blood, a craving this sacred ceremony is said to satisfy. The ceremony entails blessing the goat during a long prayer, sacrificing it at the prayer's end and discarding the entire goat if the neck is not severed completely in one blow.
Shastras crave blood? Human beings crave blood, through their swords.
There must be another way, without a ritualized call for death. Guru's Shastras tasted blood a plenty with both killings and woundings in battles of yore. Human blood. We need not sacrifice human beings to give a "taste". Not when we give and sell our blood to blood banks to sustain life.
Sachkhand Sikhs are hot to draw their swords for any misdeed. Pray those who sanctioned the goat's sacrifice ply the sword of truth upon themselves and draw lifeblood of Guru's teachings to help people in need.
Today's Hukam from the Golden Temple:
SGGS, page 891:
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