Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
292Social
Devotees and scholars cite the Guru Granth widely for its rejection of c aste and
c lass; however, it s bold rejec t ion of sexism is barely not ed. T he Sikh t ext
dramat ic ally affirms women’s c reat ive and nat ural proc esses in t he soc ial fabric.
Not only are there images celebrating her gest at ion, birt hing and lac t at ion
proc esses, but also a c ondemnation of taboos surrounding menstruation and post-
part um pollut ion. T he Gurus also c rit ic ise t he inst it ut ions of purdah (c onfinement of
women) and sati (the self-immolation of women on the funeral pyres of their
husbands). Their passionate poetry relays their empathy, and discloses their
intention that soc iety should disc ard oppressive androc entric c odes.
Even now, soc iety in general is horrified at the sight of women’s blood –
whether it is her monthly period or the blood that ac c ompanies every birth.
Considered a privat e, shameful proc ess, menst ruat ion is equat ed wit h being ill or
weak. Because of their menstrual periods, women are barred from religious
servic es. As feminist sc holars have been reminding us, disdain for t his nat ural
feminine phenomenon has c ontributed to the low status of women. The Sikh Gurus
were aware of the sexism prevalent in their society and denounced taboos against
women. The fear of the gaze, touc h and speec h of a menstruating woman had been
int ernalized by Indian society for centuries. These deeply-rooted negative attitudes
to women have seeped into all of India’s religious traditions. The Guru Granth
dramat ic ally dispels c onvent ional t aboos against female pollut ion, menst ruat ion and
sexualit y. Menst rual bleeding is regarded as an essent ial, nat ural proc ess. Life it self
begins wit h it. T he first Guru reprimands those who stigmatize the garment stained
wit h menst rual blood as pollut ed (GG: 140). Many scriptural verses celebrate the
female body, and affirm the c ent ralit y of menst rual blood in t he c reat ive proc ess:
‘from mother’s blood, and father’s semen’ is c reated the human form (GG: 1022).
Here, priorit y is given t o ma ki rakt u (mother’s blood). Anot her sc ript ural passage
confirms it: ‘from blood and semen is one c reated’ (GG: 706).
Like menst rual blood, blood of part urit ion is also st ereot yped by soc iet y as
impure and dangerous and ritually avoided. T he mot her giving birt h is a biologic ally
natural and organic mode of c reation. Yet birth, every mo t h e r’s mo s t f a ntastic
mirac le, is deemed t o be dirt y, wit h all sort s of lingering fears of pollut ion at t ac hed
to it. In medieval India, any home with a new birth was c onsiders to be toxic for 40
days, and only the performance of elaborate rituals could bring it back to normalit y.
It is quite remarkable how public ly the Sikh Gurus c ondemned suc h notions of
pollut ion:
If pollut ion at t ac hes t o birt h, t hen pollut ion is everywhere (for birt h is
universal)
Cow dung [used as fuel] and firewood breed maggots;
Not one grain of corn is wit hout life;
Wat er it self is a living subst anc e, impart ing life t o all veget at ion.
How c an we then believe in pollution, when pollution inheres within
staples?
Says Nanak, pollut ion is not washed away by purific at ion rit uals;
Pollut ion is removed by true knowledge alone. (GG: 472)