Sati

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Sati

This term refer to an old Hindu practise prevalent during the time of Guru Nanak when the widows of husband would throw themselves into the funeral pyre of their dead husband as a sacrifice. The Sikhs Gurus preached against this practise and as a result this practise has been almost completely being eradicated from India.

The term is also extended to refer to the widow herself and is often written using the old English spelling of suttee. Although the practise was supposed to be voluntary, it has been known often be enforced on the widow by various social pressures, emotional and also by the use of drugs.


Sikh Gurus Preach against this practise

The Sikh religion explicitly prohibited the practice, by about 1500 AD. The Sikh faith was founded by Guru Nanak who was born in 1469 AD. The Ten Sikh Gurus introduced many new and radical practises, some of which we take for granted today. One of these was the equality of women. (see article Women in Sikhism) The third Sikh Guru, Guru Amar Das targeted the evil and degrading practise of Sati which was prevalent at the time. Following hymns (Shabads) from the Sikh Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib outlines some of the teachings in this respect:

From woman, man is born;

within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.
Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.
When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.
So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.
From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.

Guru Nanak, Raag Aasaa Mehal 1, Page 473
By burning oneself, the Beloved Lord is not obtained.

Only by the actions of destiny does she rise up and burn herself, as a 'satee'. ((1)(Pause))
Imitating what she sees, with her stubborn mind-set, she goes into the fire.
She does not obtain the Company of her Beloved Lord, and she wanders through countless incarnations. ((2))

SGGS Page 185


Do not call them 'satee', who burn themselves along with their husbands' corpses.

O Nanak, they alone are known as 'satee', who die from the shock of separation (from the Lord). ((1))
They are also known as 'satee', who abide in modesty and contentment.
They serve their Lord, and rise in the early hours to contemplate Him. ((2))
The widows burn themselves in the fire, along with their husbands' corpses.
If they truly knew their husbands, then they suffer terrible bodily pain.
O Nanak, if they did not truly know their husbands, why should they burn themselves in the fire?
Whether their husbands are alive or dead, those wives remain far away from them. ((3))

SGGS Page 787


Quotes

from www.indianchild.com

Sati is the practice through which widows are voluntarily or forcibly burned alive on their husband's funeral pyre. It was banned in 1829, but had to be banned again in 1956 after a resurgence. There was another revival of the practice in 1981 with another prevention ordinance passed in 1987 (Morgan 1984). The idea justifying sati is that women have worth only in relation to men. This illustrates women's lack of status as individuals in India


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