Sardar or Sevadar?

The word “Sardar� (?????)�is of Indo-Aryan descent, literally meaning �holder of authority�, ie – leader; ruler; in command; a man of power.

The word �Sevadaar� (???????)�is the opposite. With roots in Sanskrit, the word refers to one who is a servant; one who works without pay; one who puts himself at the bottom of the social ladder.

The words seem to conflict, don�t they? In fact, they�re almost antonyms�

But then there�s us, Sikhs�who are supposed to be both. #dilemma

Guru Maharaj could be quite the perplexer sometimes, ey? Directing us to be both the lowest of the low and the highest of the high. It�s no wonder that we find ourselves lost trying to balance the two.

Interestingly, every guy with a dastaar on his head is dubbed �Sardar Ji�� not much thought goes into that – it�s just the way it is. I guess it does come with the territory�after all, the dastaar our men (and some women) don is reflective of royalty, isn�t it? However, I think we need to be a little more careful just throwing that word around.��Sardar� does NOT mean turban-wearer. It does not mean kes-rakhan-valaa.�It means leader� and sorry to break it to y�all, but not every long-haired, turban-wearing guy really lives up to that title.

Yet, everyone claims to be Sardar�.

Even MORE rare, though, is that man�who can call himself a true �Sevadaar�.�(Okay I know I�m referring to men a lot but really, this article applies to women too� so substitute sardar with sardar/sardarni and man with man/woman� make it easier for me!)�One who is humble enough to take on the gravest insult without a bruised ego; one who is willing to DO more, speak less, give more, gain less; one who lives in humility ��now that�s something.

Conversing with a dear bhai sahib recently, he said something that really stood out.�???? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?? ??????? ??� ??? ?? ???? ????? ???�?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ??????? ??? ??�???��Guru Sahib ne saanu sardaar vee banaiyaa te sevadaar vee. Ajj kal saarey sardar banan nu phirdey ne par sevadaar nahi ban sakai���(Translation:�Guru Sahib made us both Sardaar and Sevadaars�in today�s world, everyone�s trying to be a leader and gain power but no one dares to be a real sevadaar and serve�)

Perhaps, we are so used to this title of Sardar that we forget our harder-to-earn, more valuable, and more esteemed title of Sevadaar. Perhaps we need to get a little less comfortable self-asserting ourselves as leaders� how can we lead if we don�t know how to follow?�Follow our Guru, that is��Perhaps, we need to get off our high horse and find our place at the service of�real�Sardars.

This may just be my theory, �but what if a REAL Sardar is he who understands what it takes and demonstrates what it is to be a straight-up Sevadaar first. What if the two words aren�t antonyms-but rather the one leads into the other?

Food for thought!