Localized and Distributed Panth: A Pathway Towards Resource and Effort Efficiency

Dismissed Potential

For any Panthic concern there is, our community often stays on the surface level without going beyond generalizations. Although this makes it easier to propagate to the majority, it comes at a cost: our individual potential to serve the Panth becomes irrelevant.

When we have continuous exposure to generalizations, our mental growth is compromised. We miss out on spiritual, intellectual, and social opportunities to solve important problems. This is because a generalization is primarily self-serving, as it aims to make you repeat itself, not to stimulate your problem-solving potential.

Within this prevalent state of inefficiency, our potential finds no place at all. Our personal skills, abilities, and unique talents get dismissed right from the beginning. This is a major concern that completely gets overlooked in the Panth.

We continue to skip nuanced analysis and are comfortable in echoing generalizations. This dismissive state causes our cognitive suppression and jeopardizes our potential to serve the Panth. This needs to change.

Mismatch with Opportunities

When we show no regard to the potential of individual Sikhs, we also end up discarding all opportunities for constructive contributions that we desperately need in our community. This is a serious internal crisis that we have created ourself.

Most Sikhs are never matched with effective Sewa opportunities based on their skills. Even those currently engaged in the Panth were not provided with optimal opportunities. We continue to suffer this unquantifiable loss every single day.

Unfortunately, we have not even acknowledged this a Panthic issue. Our structural misalignment has been dysfunctional for so long that now all of this is perceived and accepted as the Panthic norm.

The Problem of Abstraction of the Panth

How can we expect Sikhs to make actual productive contributions if there is way too much distance between the problems to be solved and the means to solve them? We need to provide clarity in the Panth so we can we can effectively serve as Sewadars.

A major obstacle to making this possible is the prevailing perception that makes it difficult to understand the Panth. When it is something abstract, we cannot see how to operate in it. If we don’t understand our mobility and relation with the arena we are supposed to work in, how are we going to make any significant thing happen?

The underlying problem is the distance between us, the problem, and the means to do something about it. If we do not get clarity on how to gather resources and talent within the Panth, even the effective plans are going to fail.

In order to overcome this obstacle that holds many of us back, we need to adopt a model to get clarity on what is accessible to us in the community and how we can optimally operate in it.

Currently, because of the mind numbing bombardment of generalizations, our mental perception is conditioned to see everything on a mass scale without having a clear insight into the intricate details required for effective problem-solving. This forced abstraction of the Panth needs to be clarified so that instead of being disoriented, we can recognize Sewa opportunities all around us.

Solution: Localized Panth

When we cannot see an individual path to contribute to the Panth, but get constant exposure to how we are in an existential crisis, we are naturally going to feel an extreme sense of helplessness and despair. If we allow such feelings to persist long enough, we put our potential to serve the community at risk. Therefore, we need to make it possible to align our skills and abilities with matching opportunities to have a higher rate of success.

One major obstacle to accomplish constructive objectives is access to insights and nuanced details of the context to be operated in. Farther away you are from it, more difficult it becomes to operate with the clarity that’s needed to take initiatives to fruition. That is why our issues need to be broken down into a regional context where, with proximity, the chances of success increase as well.

Of course, we should not divide everything up like this or limit it to a region. We should focus on a local level to solve most Panthic issues.

The closer you are, the more concrete and clear the Panth becomes for you, instead of being far away and abstract. You gain direct access that’s not possible at a distance. Getting clarity on the existing set of resources and talent pool in your area helps you evaluate what objectives to work towards and excel at.

When you pick what is possible, given your experience and sphere of social connections, your effort is going to be more efficient with a high chance of success. This is the most practical starting point to serve the Panth.

You do not have to stay focused on the local level forever. But in our current crisis, we don’t even have full coverage of basic objectives in our Panth. That’s why it is effective to first work on those at the local level and gain insights and experience to do more later on.

If we skip on building solid foundations that are the backbone of our community strength, even initiatives that go beyond the basics are likely to fail, as they so often do.

Optimization: Distributed Panth

One reason we may find it difficult to focus on the local level is concern for wider impact of our efforts. This would be totally valid if operating in isolation. Fortunately, that is not the case. The model proposed here is inter-connected and distributed to boost innovation and maximize efficiency.

Let’s say some Sikhs in a region decide to work on a specific problem. After some iterations and persistent effort, they find a solution. However, its implementation will be inefficient without developing it long enough. Because of that, they may discard it as a non-solution. If this confusion happens in a vacuum and without careful analysis, then the loss of innovation will be inevitable. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens in our community all the time.

In order to avoid this unrecoverable loss, we need to contextualize better. A solution may incubate in one place, but its implementation may be effective in another region instead. That’s why the model of Localized and Distributed Panth incorporates a continuous exchange of insights, experiences, mistakes and procedures to boost innovation and increase productivity across its distributed structure.

Once a solution is further optimized, other regions can benefit from it as well. This can save effort and resources that the adopting region can redirect towards other initiatives. All of this is inbuilt into the long-term problem-solving offered by this model.

Besides that, working as clusters can also further boost our efficiency. Since we face the same problems everywhere, a group of regions could commit to focusing on a solving a specific problem. As efforts progress, they can share their insights with each other. That can happen either continuously, or after being isolated for some time to maintain focus. This way, we can have multiple experiments in parallel that boost our rate of innovation and increase efficiency.

Removal of Negative Panthic Karma

When solving Panthic issues, one of the major obstacles we face is excessive negative amount of Panthic Karma. We have accumulated way too much of it, mostly because of the continuous neglect of our responsibilities as Sikhs. A major example of it is our complacency in creating circumstances that make it possible to do beadbi of Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Right now, we are being crushed by the weight of our negative karma. Why shouldn’t we? All those Saroops of Guru Granth Sahib Ji that we have allowed others to disrespect and damage are our unforgivable crimes. We allowed that extent of beadbi to happen, and now we are under this infinite amount of spiritual debt.

Asking forgiveness and spiritual removal of negative karma created by our mistakes must be part of our Panthic problem-solving.

We have made too many mistakes that now it’s impossible for us to get rid of the negative consequences. With a distributed model, however, we can manage even that enormous amount of negative karma. There is too much of it accumulated at the wider Panthic level. That is why our only option is to have a regional focus so that it can get divided up into a fraction of the whole.

However, given the extent of our Panthic mistakes, even that smaller fraction is still going to be beyond our capacity. That’s why having your local Sikhs get together to do Ardaas as a Sangat is critical. We need to tap into the strength that Sikhi provides us. Admitting our mistakes begins the first stage of this healing process.

Let this be as clear as possible. Asking forgiveness from Guru Sahib Ji a crucial step we cannot skip. We absolutely cannot. Without it, there is no way get can get out of consequences of this catastrophic self-sabotage we have continued for so long.

No model can do anything significant if we do not admit our mistakes and seek blessings from our Living Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

If we continue to do Ardaas for forgiveness and start feeling a genuine sense of responsibility, only then our Panthic spirit can get rejuvenated.

This is how the impossible can become possible. We really can transform our current dysfunctional situation into an era of infinite possibilities to serve the Panth.

Yes, You Can

Ultimately, though, the decision to unlock this future is up to you. Can you align your efforts, talents, skills, mental abilities, and Ardaas to serve your Guru Sahib?

You want to focus on Gurmat Vidia and you envision a future where all young Sikhs get to learn Gurbani Santhia, Itihas, and more at their local Gurdwara? Yes, it can happen. Do you dream of a future where every Pind in Punjab gets access to the best possible educational mentorship or startup resources? All of this is certainly possible.

Most important than all, do you also want to be part of a future where there is no incident of beadbi of Guru Granth Sahib Ji and it’s almost impossible for anyone to even do it? Yes, this absolutely can be done.

All you need to do is Ardaas for the opportunity to serve the Panth. Take this initial step towards your Guru Sahib Ji and let your amazing journey begin. The decision to do so, however, is Yours.