I/2018

Nagaara

SPECIAL ISSUE Chardi Kalaa Conference at San Jose, California The Fifth Annual Conference on the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, jointly hosted by the Chardi Kalaa Foundation and the San Jose Gurdwara, took place on 19 August 2017 at San Jose in California, USA. One of the largest and arguably most beautiful gurdwaras in North America, the Gurdwara Sahib at San Jose was founded in San Jose, California, USA in 1985 by members of the then-rapidly growing Sikh community in the Santa Clara Valley

Back Cover ContentsSPECIAL ISSUE I/2018 49 Sikh Way of Life as inspired by C the Sikh Rehat Maryada 2 Editorial 27 Human Ideals of Guru Granth Sahib Sukhveer Singh Karlcut Staying anchored, moving forward Dr. Jaspal Kaur Kaang Dr IJ Singh, Gurinder Pal Singh and Inder Mohan Singh 53 “By Walking the Walk with SGGS and our HUKAM: What it is & What it Aint? beloved Gurus, are Sikhs designed to be civic 34 entrepreneurs, public ombudsmen, or future Dr IJ Singh leaders?” Harbir Kaur Bhatia

Hukam Rajaaee Chalnaa: 5 living in alignment with Hukam Dr. Inder Mohan Singh

38 Sri Guru Granth Sahib Scripture of Global Concerns Dr. Jaspal Singh Some questions, and answers as inspired by 12 Following the Guru’s path 58 From Human Love to Divine Love Bhai Vir Singh’s novel ‘Satwant Kaur’ Dr. Kanwaljeet Singh Anand Geeta Kaur Karlcut

43 Interconnected Ethics Living as Warrior-Saints for the Freedom and Equality of all, across Centuries, Cultures, 24 The Sikh Way of Life Religions and Continents 62 The Mool Project Harnoor Kaur Panesar Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa Sundeep Singh Bedi

Editorial Director Editorial Office I/2018 Dr IJ Singh D-43, Sujan Singh Park New delhi 110 003, India Printed by NAGAARA Managing Editor Tel: (91-11) 24617234 Aegean Offset Printers Pushpindar Singh Fax: (91-11) 24628615 Joint Editor e-mail : [email protected] Bhayee Sikandar Singh Please visit us at: Published by www.nishaannagaara.com Editorial Board The Nagaara Trust Inni Kaur 16-A Palam Marg The opinions expressed in Monica Arora Vasant Vihar SPECIAL ISSUE the articles published in the Chardi Kalaa Conference Distributors New Delhi 110 057, India at San Jose, California Nishaan Nagaara do not Himalayan Books Associated with necessarily reflect the views or Cover: Gurdwara Sahib at San Jose, 17 L, Connaught Circus, The Chardi Kalaa Foundation California New Delhi - 110001 San Jose, USA policy of The Nagaara Trust. 2 NISHAAN A unparalleledguide onhowto an ethnocentricexistence. geographyand place, culture time, surely – particular have Granth SahibandSikhitoa limitedtheGuru clearly notcentraltothe message. Suchdetailwould Such matters are nottotally shunned but they are people. Sikh the of journey colourful the narrativeof crammed orcopied.Itisnoteven adetailedhistorical numbered and outlined asinanencyclopedia tobe steps with guide reference a not is It them. for atone committed orcontemplated andprescriptions to spiritual heritage. Sikh of repository the as Singh Gobind byGuru 1708 Arjan Dev ji and was finalised a hundred years later in Instead, the Guru Granth Sahib remains anInstead, the Guru sins of catalogue a not is Sahib Granth Guru The U Word. Its first compilation was in 1604 by Guru GranthSahibastheLiving Guru celebrate everyround September year, Sikhsworldwide niversal Message Guru of Granth Shib Staying anchored, moving forward“Staying moving anchored, “ Staying anchored, moving forwardStaying moving anchored, make a life make The Timeless, as opposed fashion. the Creator that respectsthecreation inaninclusive and how aprogressive tonurture relationship with nations, and communities fashions that connectivity to majestic San Jose Gurdwara. yearThis (2017) was the California-based the by hosted was conclave first The Granth? Guru the of teachings and contents on remain will focus Symposium toreconnect with these values where the Sahib. What wouldbebetterthaninitiating a yearly Granth Guru in expressed powerfully most and guide person’sthinking a (timeless), eternal universal, unique, are Granth Guru the byrevealed as Sikhi of values The obvious: the of note Valleytook Silicon the world, wherever Sikh communities are found. Guru Granth compilation are of not uncommon across making aliving . Howmaking todiscover theuniversal Naturally then, yearly celebrations of the of celebrations yearly then, Naturally A few years ago, a Sikhs handful from of California’s Chardi Kalaa Foundation andthe ” sixth. Two years ago, SikhNet, the largest Sikh portal to our complex lives. The conference was a joint effort on the Internet also joined as a sponsor. of the Chardi Kalaa Foundation, Sikh Gurdwara San Jose and SikhNet. The Sikh Review (Kolkata) published special issues on the first two Symposia. The New Delhi-based Thumbnail sketches of the proceedings follow: Nishaan took over this responsibility from 2014 The programme opened in the morning with shabads onwards and brings you the proceedings of 2017 today. rendered by two groups of students from Guru Nanak This Editorial provides a quick and brief summary of Khalsa School San Jose. True to the spirit of Guru the day. Granth Sahib, the shabads were rendered in the Raags as prescribed in Gurbani. Students also used Sikh Our speakers remain an eclectic mix in age, heritage instruments like the Rabab, Dilruba and Taus. geography, commitment to Sikhi and this year (2017) was even more of a captivating mix. For the past Kirtan was followed by three short talks by students two years, a short segment by very young voices, from Guru Nanak Khalsa School who had received usually early teens have opened the day. They bring first positions in their respective age groups at the Sri us delightfully thoughtful voices about Sikhi; many Hemkunt International Youth Symposium held in have also mastered complex traditional instruments Sacramento a month earlier in July 2017. Harnoor of classical Indian musicology. For about an hour and Kaur outlined the Sikh way of life as prescribed by a half they connected us to Sikhi in a very sensitive Guru Nanak Dev. Geeta Kaur presented the Sikh Way rendering that is often touching. This also cuts of life as depicted in Satwant Kaur, the classic novel by across the barriers of age that seem to come between Bhai Vir Singh, and Sukhveer Singh led us into the Sikh children and their parents when talking about Sikhi in way of life as prescribed in the Sikh Rehat Maryada gurdwaras and at homes. The second part of the day (The Sikh Code of Conduct). that highlighted oral presentations and conversation about them showcased Sikh speakers from across the Dr Inder Mohan Singh, Chairman of Chardi United States as well those who are India-based. Kalaa Foundation then opened the scholarly adult presentations by one on ‘Living in Alignment with It was a day of short speeches and often profound Hukam’. He emphasised that the universe was created comments with sometimes strongly opinionated with Waheguru’s Hukam and that all physical and exchanges. The idea is to identify issues from our spiritual laws are manifestation of Hukam. Whatever complex lives and then connect them to selected lines we do, happens due to his Hukam. Living in alignment (and their meaning) from the Guru Granth. This with Hukam includes recognising and cheerfully connection is the main idea here. Clearly, the Guru accepting all that happens as His Hukam, and living in Granth must speak to us today in New York, California, tune with His Hukam which is inscribed deep within us London, Rome, Bangladesh or wherever, as it did to and is revealed to us through Gurbani. countless Sikhs in the Punjab 10,000 miles away and centuries ago. The worldwide connections of Sikhi Coincidentally, the last talk of the day by Dr IJ must be explored, clarified and nurtured. Singh, a professor of Anatomy at New York University was also on Hukam. He emphasised that Waheguru The theme of the conference as in previous years is not a micromanager. Waheguru has blessed us with remains: intellect (some less, some more) to discern between good and evil and a degree of free will to make productive “Applying the timeless, universal message of Guru choices. In his view, while macro things happen with Granth Sahib, across centuries, cultures, religions and Waheguru’s Hukam, responsibility for our actions rests continents - in today’s world.” on us. The onus to create a better world is ours. NISHAAN

A galaxy of Sikh scholars presented their insights Dr. Jaspal Singh, ex-Vice Chancellor Punjabi into the message of the Gurus and how to connect them University Patiala delighted the audience with a 3 4 NISHAAN Khalsa atAnandpur Sahib.Sri Presentlyhe isengaged the for designers content the of one was He media. visual audio through Gurbani of message the with non-Sikhs Youthand Sikh connect to more Sikhs. why sheexplored our Gurus, theworldtoday needs of lives the and Sahib Granth Guru from examples qualified to be civic entrepreneurs and leaders. Citing uniquely Sikhs make that all for liberty and justice work, everyone,honest for compassion of ethics Sikh the emphasised She Commerce. of Chamber the of Member Board a is and commission cultural serves ontheSantaClaraCounty ascommissioner a community activist andsocialentrepreneur. She religion, gender, regardless of race, etc. respect, and dignity human for argument convincing Granth Sahib; religious irrespectivelabel theyof make intheGuru abound religions and backgrounds, social languages, of DiversitySahib. Granth Guru in contained universality and pluralism of messages in absentiaby Dr. GurinderPal Singh.Itechoedthe (India), couldnotattend. Herpaper waspresented Nanak SikhStudiesat Panjab University Chandigarh onSikhi in universities.programmes at her University, as well as academic the importance of onSikhism raising theirheads.Sheoutlinedthecourses present world, hatewhere and forces separatism of are the of context the in Sahib Granth Guru in enshrined brotherhooduniversal of message the on focused Studies at Loyola University, Marymount LosAngeles, and socialconcerns. gender, political religion,race,economics,including time,spirituality, space, of dimensions to equally boundstoremainuniversalgeographic andapplies that itsmessage transcendsallcultural,linguistic,and emphasise to Sahib Granth Guru from extensively quoted He global. truly are Sahib Granth Guru of powerful presentation. His thesis was that the concerns S.(‘ Bedi Singh Sundeep Ms. HarbirBhatia, anengineer by education, is Guru of Head Academic Kaang, Kaur Dr.Jaspal Sikh and Jain of Professor Khalsa, Dr.Niranjin Bobby ’ ) has been workingbeen has ) Virasat e the 15 in dialogue interfaith of examples fantastic remain Sidh Gosht. and Guru Both of Nanak compositions of visual presentation of in theMoolProject in New Delhi. He showed an audio- and enduring meanings of Love. of meanings enduring and can intuitively realise more transcendent, subtle, through words. Byraisingourconsciousness,we love but canbeexperienced justcannotbeconveyed honey, true of taste the Likevalue. foundational a as put everyone in a state of Medicine, of School UniversityStanford at sciences success. a conference the make to cheerfully and tirelessly Many volunteers who wishtoremainnamelessworked generously. and attendees. They thank the participants Foundation andSikhNetcollaborated mightily and widespread community would be helpful. our from data surveyPerhaps interactive? more conferences conversationsand our make to best How them. demands future our them; needs community thatarea mandatesan is never-ending initiatives. Our such trans-generational communication. This more of the Sikh community.dedication of the reflected and background, and age language, of barriers transcended it interaction; for opportunities for one longer a and tea for Twobreaks talk. followedeach that Q&As the and discussion the from seen as intense was interest divine state that our exemplified. Gurus the to human from lives our transforming thereby Love lives,fourthe through stages of progress will we our in teachings Guru’s the applying consistently together. society and family,community the holds and us, around all Nature sustains that force Dr. Kanwaljeet Singh Anand, medical a professor of The SikhGurdwara Jose, San The theChardi Kalaa We are in exploring the howprocess of to encourage Their conference. the attended people 200 Over th century. Dr IJSingh,GurinderPal Singhand langar (lunch)provided ample Arti anand with his talk on ‘Love’ ….) meinthaalravi (Gagan Inder MohanSingh

Love is the primal the Loveis By

Hukam Rajaaee Chalnaa: Living in alignment with Hukam

n Japji Sahib, at the beginning, Guru Nanak Dev ji that everything is under His Hukam – nothing happens asks Kiv sachiaara hoeeai: “How can we achieve union outside Hukam. with the Divine or the True One?” I [SGGS Japji M1 p1] ਹੁਕਮੈ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਹੁਕਮ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥ And He gives us the answer Hukam rajaai chalnaa, Everything operates under His Hukam, nothing is outside Nanak likhia naal: Walk in the Hukam, which is of Hukam. inscribed within us, within all creation. [SGGS M5 p523] Let us look at what is Hukam, and what does it ਜਿਉ ਜਿਉ ਤੇਰਾ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਤਿਵੈ ਤਿਉ ਹੋਵਣਾ ॥ mean to walk in alignment with the Hukam. How do As is Your Hukam, so will everything happen we become sachiaara, or one with Truth? How do we achieve that state of union with the True One, with ਸਗਲ ਸਮਗ੍ਰੀ ਤੁਮਰੈ ਸੂਤ੍ਰਿ ਧਾਰੀ ॥ [SGGS M5 p 268] Waheguru, through hukam rajaaee chalna? ਤੁਮ ਤੇ ਹੋਇ ਸੁ ਆਗਿਆਕਾਰੀ ॥ Everything in all of creation is strung on the thread The word hukam means a command or edict. In the of Your Hukam, and since it all comes from You, it is religious context it is often translated as Divine Will obedient to Your Hukam or Commandment. Hukam also refers to the System NISHAAN or Framework ordained by the Creator under which We can try to describe Hukam and talk about everything in the universe operates. Gurbani tells us it, as we are doing here, but ultimately Hukam 5 6 NISHAAN scriptures. Gurbaniandotherreligious laws, which arethefocus of nature HisHukamismanifestedthroughspiritual of beyond But more. moreand understanding thelaws for avery longtime,andwhich they areprogressively nature, which scientistshave beenstudying the laws of which everything inthe universe operates. includes This Hukammoreasaframework orsystemunder think of micromanaging everything intheUniverse. Ilike to and directing is puppeteer, who of kind a figure, like path in alignmentwith His Will. however shows theGuru ushow towalkontheGurmat no one candescribeHisactions. HisCommandis; theHukamof great how No oneknows or explain. It is important toremember that anything Itisimportant or explain. ismuchThere morethat sciencestillcannotaddress Hiscreation. of allthe wonders just atiny fractionof progressively moreandmore, westillunderstand learnt different phenomena weseeinnature. While wehave lawsthat thereare certain underlying allthe the oneWord orHukam. from flows Everything laws. spiritual the and nature theselaws of byHukam ortheexpression God of Word! rivers began to thousands And flow.of hundreds of theUniverse withOne You of expanse thevast created ਕੀਤਾ ਪਸਾਉ ਏਕੋ ਕਵਾਉ ॥ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਨ ਜਾਪੀ ਕੇਤੜਾ ਕਹਿ ਨ ਸਕੀਜੈ ਕਾਰ ॥ ਹੁਕਮੀ ਹੋਵਨਿ ਆਕਾਰ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਨ ਕਹਿਆ ਜਾਈ ॥ incomprehensible: HisHukamis describe. Like Waheguru Himself is beyond ourabilityto fullyor understand ਤਿਸ ਤੇ ਹੋਏ ਲਖ ਦਰੀਆਉ ॥ cannot bedescribed. HisCommand By HisCommand,allbeingsare created; In Japji Nanaktellsus: againGuru God asahuman- isacommon imageThere of His Overthe centuries, scientists have discovered the Kavao We canthink of Hukam cannotbefully describedinwords, . andagochar agam [SGGS M1p3] orWord astheDivine

[SGGS M1p18]

[SGGS M1p1] ਕਰਤੇ ਕੁਦਰਤੀ ਮੁਸਤਾਕੁ ॥ ato Hiscreation, HisHukam. of a part you recognisethat itisall making abouttheuniverse if all theincrediblediscoveries thatscientists have been basic laws. You canalmostfeelspiritualreadingabout much beautyinhow allthiscanhappen fromafew withthe bigbangisawe-inspiring.starting isso There the whole processthroughwhich they have beencreated that andplanets,but thereareallthese galaxies,stars between religionandevolution, or science ingeneral. evolution.including Sothere really isnocontradiction nature, have been created through the basic laws of these theeye, orthebrain.Allof and power of chemisty andgenetics. Just considerthecomplexity physics, bio- along withtheunderlying processesof evolution, nature, throughthefascinating processof of myriad creatures throughthe laws incredible worldof wouldhaveothers onebelieve; insteadHeproducedthis ‘Intelligent Design’ and theproponentsof as existence, it,Hedidnotjustcommandeachoneinto understand are created by HimunderHisHukam.Butthe way I His creation. His the wondersawesome of reflectionglory and of of HisHukam that science does discover of isapart for you. love with filled am I creation, your Creator,beholding O fyou lookat the universe, notonly isitincredible If All themyriad living beings human beingsincluding [SGGS M5p724] , a , Gurbani also tells us that Waheguru is the Master joyful acceptance of whatever happens as His Hukam, of countless universes (kot brahmand ko thakur swami), and the other is understanding and living our lives and that He constantly creates and destroys universes. according to His Hukam or Hukam kamaana. Many physicists are now speculating about the multi- universe, and of bubble universes popping in and out What do we mean by that? Guru Nanak Dev ji of existence. says Hukam rajaaee chalna Nanak likhia naal. What does the Guru mean by likhia naal ? The universal The laws of nature are only one part of His Hukam Divine Hukam is written deep within each one of us. that we can see and talk about. There is a whole other However, we cannot understand it because we are universe of spiritual laws which are also a part of His separated from our true reality by our haumai – the Hukam and which are the subject of Gurbani. For strong sense of a separate identity, often translated as example, Gurbani talks about the law of dharma, ego. As we progress spiritually, this universal Divine whereby each of us is judged and held accountable for Hukam within ourselves is what we start to discover our actions, and we reap the results of the actions that and to follow in our lives. Gurbani instructs us about we sow. It also tells us about the path of naam simran this Hukam even when we are not yet at the stage and bhakti that we should follow. where we can understand this Divine Hukam on our own. In other words, Gurbani is Hukam, in a form Gurbani also describes how God takes care of his that is accessible to us. It tells how we should live our devotees or bhagats : lives to achieve union with the Divine. So this aspect of Hukam rajaaee chalnaa is understanding and ਅਉਖੀ ਘੜੀ ਨ ਦੇਖਣ ਦੇਈ ਅਪਨਾ ਬਿਰਦੁ ਸਮਾਲੇ ॥ following the Divine Hukam as given to us by the Gurus ਹਾਥ ਦੇਇ ਰਾਖੈ ਅਪਨੇ ਕਉ ਸਾਸਿ ਸਾਸਿ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਪਾਲੇ ॥੧॥ in Gurbani: Hukam bujhnaa and Hukam kamaana. [SGGS M5 p662] Bhana mananaa The word birad is often translated as His innate Let us take a closer look at the first aspect of Hukam: nature but we can think of it as His way, one of His bhana mananaa. What that means is to realise that spiritual laws. According to this spiritual law, He everything happens in His Hukam and to cheerfully watches over those who reach a certain stage of bhakti. accept whatever occurs as His Will. These are just a few examples of His spiritual laws given in Gurbani. Waheguru is the creator of these ਜੋ ਤੁਧੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਸਾਈ ਭਲੀ ਕਾਰ ॥ [SGGS M1 p. 4] physical and spiritual laws, but He is not limited by Whatever pleases you is good, them. He is beyond all limits and transcends these laws. He is not arbitrary or whimsical – He is just, kind and and.. forgiving. If His Will appears to be unfair or mean, it is ਤੇਰਾ ਕੀਆ ਮੀਠਾ ਲਾਗੈ ॥ [SGGS M 5 p.394] our limited understanding Whatever You cause to happen is sweet to me.

ਪੂਰਾ ਨਿਆਉ ਕਰੇ ਕਰਤਾਰੁ ॥ [SGGS M5 p 199] The Creator administers true justice. And

ਤੁਮ ਕਰਹੁ ਭਲਾ ਹਮ ਭਲੋ ਨ ਜਾਨਹ ਤੁਮ ਸਦਾ ਸਦਾ ਦਇਆਲਾ ॥ [SGGS M5 p 513] What You do is always good, but we do not understand and appreciate it. You are always kind and compassionate.

What does it mean to live in alignment with Hukam NISHAAN or hukam rajaai chalna? There are two major aspects of Hukam Rajaaee Chalnaa: one is Hukam manana or 7 8 NISHAAN out the way wewant. thingsdonotalwaysputting inourbesteffort, work difficult to accept Your Will. Your Mansionisimperceptible, Omy Beloved; itisso ਤੇਰਾ ਤੇਰਾ ਮਹਲੁ ਅਗੋਚਰੁ ਮੇਰੇ ਪਿਆਰੇ ਬਿਖਮੁ ਤੇਰਾ ਹੈ ਭਾਣਾ ॥ that injustice andtyranny they didnotjustaccept as wesee the Gurus, right things.Lookingat the lives of us todoour udam,make todothe ourbesteffort be confusedwithresignationfatalism. or Gurbani tells we may notrealiseit.However, bhanamananaisnotto whateveris just.So isfor Hedoes thebest,even though [SGGS M5p613] ਤੁਮ ਕਰਹੁ ਭਲਾ ਹਮ ਭਲੋ ਨ ਜਾਨਹ ਤੁਮ ਸਦਾ ਸਦਾ ਦਇਆਲਾ ॥ Hukam isfor the best the result. We must have faith that what happens in His not work. ButIhave andthen cheerfully accept totry He isdoingwhat Hewills;what Iattempt may ormay [SGGS Rehras M1p469] ਤੂੰ ਕਰਤਾ ਕਰਣਾ ਮੈ ਨਾਹੀ ਜਾ ਹਉ ਕਰੀ ਨ ਹੋਈ ॥੧॥ tellsus really actually hardto inpractice.AsGuruji so do HisWill,It iseasytotalkaboutaccepting but itcanbe jismeetahjio. ittobesweet:considers Hukamlagai theDivine notonly accepts Gurmukh Will,The but [SGGS M5p108] ਸੋਈ ਸਿਆਣਾ ਸੋ ਪਤਿਵੰਤਾ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਲਗੈ ਜਿਸੁ ਮੀਠਾ ਜੀਉ ॥੧॥ ਜਿਥੈ ਰਖੈ ਸਾ ਭਲੀ ਜਾਏ ॥ ਸੋਈ ਕਰਣਾ ਜਿ ਆਪਿ ਕਰਾਏ ॥ devotion andlove for Him. itjoyously. our accepting expressing of ispart This that everything isHisHukamandcelebrating itand ”. meetha llagai “terakiya declared still and torture horrific most the Dev Arjan jiwho underwent Guru manana is that of Chardi Kalaa of mostinspiringexample . The have we misfortune, remain inand faith our keep to whatever happens asHisHukam.Even inthefaceof our best,but at thesametimewehave toaccept Even todotherightthingand when wearetrying We know Waheguru iscompassionate, weknow he nipratpr fliving in Hukam of part An important We do have tobe fully engaged in life and do

[SGGSM5 p1186]

is recognising bhaana

by acceptance alone? The Guru istalkingaboutmore by Guru alone?The acceptance withtheTrue one become to One, withWaheguru, just living ourwhole life accordingtothisHukam. the Universal Divine withinourselves, Hukamdeep and and the Gurus Hukam. Itisfollowing theteachingsof is realise there is so much to be grateful for.realise thereissomuch tobegrateful we blessings, our all on reflect and pause just we If blessings practice gratitude. remember Himand andto in His Will.to celebrate all our Theyare anopportunity torememberthat good thingsalsohappen is important etc.orelsewejusttake It themforsmartness, granted. ourhardwork, orour we believe that itistheresultof good thingshappen, weoftentake thecreditfor them: choice butit,orperhaps topray toaccept toHim.When effectively blaming Himbut saying that wehave no bad happens, we say oh well, it is God’s Will. We are celebrating when good things happen. When something ਜੇ ਭੁਖ ਦੇਹਿ ਤ ਇਤ ਹੀ ਰਾਜਾ ਦੁਖ ਵਿਚਿ ਸੂਖ ਮਨਾਈ ॥੩॥ [SGGS M4p757] ਜੇ ਸੁਖੁ ਦੇਹਿ ਤ ਤੁਝਹਿ ਅਰਾਧੀ ਦੁਖਿ ਭੀ ਤੁਝੈ ਧਿਆਈ ॥੨॥ suffering are allHis gifts and happiness good Dukh, and Sukh fortune, bad and the Lord. of in theCourt tobeworn given, Pleasure andpainaregarments thetwo ਸੁਖੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਦੁਇ ਦਰਿ ਕਪੜੇ ਪਹਿਰਹਿ ਜਾਇ ਮਨੁਖ ॥ n fhappiness. and of sorrow. ||3|| inthemidstof even I amjoyful, satisfied; feel still will hunger,I me You give if Even and adore You. onYou. inpain,Iwillmeditate Even ||2|| You willblessmewithhappiness,thenIworship If dukh andsukh,happen inHisWill. when thingsgo wrong. Butboth bad andgood things, Will, weusually refertohow todealwithmisfortune, great personal sacrifice. His Will, they resistedandfought against it,oftenat Hukam kamaana Hukam When the Guru asks kivsachiaarahoiai,isitpossibleWhen the Guru Beyond Hukam We pain, have to remember Himboth inmoments of , accepting His When wetalkaboutbhanamanana,accepting is not just accepting misfortune, itisalso misfortune, isnotjustaccepting or accepting theDivinebhana manana oraccepting Will,

, obeying orliving to according [SGGS M1p.149] than bhana manana, or accepting His Will. He is talking ਹੁਕਮੁ ਜਿਨਾ ਨੋ ਮਨਾਇਆ ॥ [SGGS M1 p 72] about being in alignment with the Divine Hukam, about living the Hukam. ਤਿਨ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਸਬਦੁ ਵਸਾਇਆ ॥ Those, whom God causes to abide by His Will, Have the Shabad of His Word abiding deep within. In other words, living in Hukam is to be in tune with Naam. Recognising Hukam and living in alignment with Hukam helps to overcome Haumai, which is the biggest obstacle to Naam

ਹਉਮੈ ਨਾਵੈ ਨਾਲਿ ਵਿਰੋਧੁ ਹੈ ਦੁਇ ਨ ਵਸਹਿ ਇਕ ਠਾਇ ॥ [SGGS M3 p 560] Haumai and Naam are essentially opposites. We cannot ਗੁਰਸਿਖ ਮੀਤ ਚਲਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਚਾਲੀ ॥ [SGGS M4 p667] achieve Naam without overcoming our Haumai. At ਜੋ ਗੁਰੁ ਕਹੈ ਸੋਈ ਭਲ ਮਾਨਹੁ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਕਥਾ ਨਿਰਾਲੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ the same time, living in Hukam is the way to conquer O Sikhs of the Guru, O friends, walk on the Guru’s Path. Haumai. Do as the Guru tells you – His message is wonderful. ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੈ ਜੇ ਬੁਝੈ ਤ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਹੈ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥੨॥ [SGGS M1 p1] The teachings of Gurbani can be said to cover two O Nanak, one who understands His Hukam, does not broad areas: one is spiritual or our relationship with speak in haumai. ||2|| the Divine — the path of Naam. The other is ethics or how we relate and act towards one another – our achaar. ਹੁਕਮੁ ਮੰਨਹਿ ਤਾ ਹਰਿ ਮਿਲੈ ਤਾ ਵਿਚਹੁ ਹਉਮੈ ਜਾਇ ॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ [SGGS M3 p 560] ਸਰਬ ਧਰਮ ਮਹਿ ਸ੍ਰੇਸਟ ਧਰਮੁ ॥ [SGGS M5 p266] If you submit to the Hukam of the Lord’s Command, then ਹਰਿ ਕੋ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਿ ਨਿਰਮਲ ਕਰਮੁ ॥ you shall meet with the Lord; only then will your ego depart Of all religions, the best religion from within. Is to chant the Name of the Lord and maintain pure conduct. The ethical message of Gurbani includes overcoming our haumai and our evil tendencies: kaam, krodh, It is clear that both spirituality and ethics have lobh, moh and ahankar (lust, anger, greed, unhealthy to go hand in hand. The practice of paath, kirtan attachment and pride) and all the other evil tendencies and naam simran helps to overcome our haumai and that come out of them: hatred, violence, cruelty and cleanses us of our evil tendencies. But if we go through dishonesty. Additionally, there are the positive qualities the motions of chanting Waheguru, Waheguru, doing or guns that we have to inculcate including Sat (truth), kirtan and paath, but continue to cheat, be mean to Santokh (contentment), Daya (compassion), Dharam others, or act in pride and anger, we are not going to (doing one’s duty), Parupkar (altruism) and Khima make any spiritual progress. Our spiritual life has to be (forgiveness). reflected in our actions. Otherwise we are trying to fool Waheguru, or actually ourselves. An important point to note is that the Gurbani gives us a set of key ethical values, not a list of dos and don’ts Now, Hukam and Naam are closely related. Both such as the ten commandments of Christianity, the words often refer to the all-pervading Divine presence sharia law of Islam, or the karma kand of Hinduism. or jot that underlies everything. Such core ethical values are universal and timeless, while the dos and don’ts of morality are often driven ਏਕੋ ਨਾਮੁ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਹੈ ਨਾਨਕ ਸਤਿਗੁਰਿ ਦੀਆ ਬੁਝਾਇ ਜੀਉ ॥੫॥ by cultural and historic context and they tend to be NISHAAN The One Name is the Lord’s Command; O Nanak, the specific to a time and place. What people think of as True Guru has given me this understanding. ||5|| morality differs from one group to another and this 9 10 NISHAAN should notjudge any oneasgood orbad: everything originating intheOneDivine Light,sowe all. Divine Lightpervading stranger, heseesthesame andhegoes that ontoadd or enemy Idonotseeany Jisays Guru ArjanDev [SGGS M5p.1299] ਨਾ ਕੋ ਬੈਰੀ ਨਹੀ ਬਿਗਾਨਾ ਸਗਲ ਸੰਗਿ ਹਮ ਕਉ ਬਨਿ ਆਈ ॥੧॥ our intimately connected.Onekey guidingprincipleof the corevalues advocated by Gurbani. on Most people can, onthe other hand, essentially agree saysanother group “but my religionsays thisinstead”. “We cannotdothisbecausemy religionsays so”and says group One confusion. and conflict to leads often ਸਭ ਮਹਿ ਰਵਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਏਕੈ ਪੇਖਿ ਪੇਖਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਿਗਸਾਈ ॥੩॥੮॥ Creator. the same and kindnessbecauseeachoneisachild of Divine inall.We Light must treat everyone withrespect Similarly inthisshabad,Bhagat Kabeerjisees As wediscussedearlier, ethicsandspiritualityare

achaar or how we treatis to recognise others the

is underHisHukam,wehave nopower onourown. free willandchoice.AccordingtoGurbani,everything of One questionthat frequently comesupinthe context FreeChoice and Will how weshouldtreat each other. basis of Hukam weseetheOneineveryone, which is,again,the lastlineemphasisesthatThe realisingtheDivine ਹੁਕਮੁ ਪਛਾਨੈ ਸੁ ਏਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ਬੰਦਾ ਕਹੀਐ ਸੋਈ ॥੩॥ entire up. universewelled Sowhoisgood, andwhoisbad? Power, beings.From Hemadeallmortal theOneLight, HisCreative theLight;then,by First, Allahcreated [SGGS Kabeerp1349] ਅਵਲਿ ਅਲਹ ਨੂਰੁ ਉਪਾਇਆ ਕੁਦਰਤਿ ਕੇ ਸਭ ਬੰਦੇ ॥ [SGGS M1p469] ਤੂੰ ਕਰਤਾ ਕਰਣਾ ਮੈ ਨਾਹੀ ਜਾ ਹਉ ਕਰੀ ਨ ਹੋਈ ॥੧॥ ਕਰਿ ਹੈ ਰਾਮੁ ਹੋਇ ਹੈ ਸੋਇ ॥੪॥ ਮੇਰਾ ਕੀਆ ਕਛੂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥ ਏਕ ਨੂਰ ਤੇ ਸਭੁ ਜਗੁ ਉਪਜਿਆ ਕਉਨ ਭਲੇ ਕੋ ਮੰਦੇ ॥੧॥ is the age old issue of determinism versus determinism Hukam istheage oldissueof

[SGGS Kabeerp1165]

You are the Creator Lord; I can do nothing. Even if I try, DNA which determines much of our personality and nothing happens. plays a big role in how we act in a given situation. We do not choose our parents or how the DNA from the ਕੀਤਾ ਕਰਣਾ ਸਰਬ ਰਜਾਈ ਕਿਛੁ ਕੀਚੈ ਜੇ ਕਰਿ ਸਕੀਐ ॥ mother and father is combined to generate our DNA. ਆਪਣਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਕਿਛੂ ਨ ਹੋਵੈ ਜਿਉ ਹਰਿ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਿਉ ਰਖੀਐ ॥੧॥ Furthermore, the environment in which we grow up ਮੇਰੇ ਹਰਿ ਜੀਉ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਤੇਰੈ ਵਸਿ ॥ also impacts who on we are. The actions we can take ਅਸਾ ਜੋਰੁ ਨਾਹੀ ਜੇ ਕਿਛੁ ਕਰਿ ਹਮ ਸਾਕਹ ਜਿਉ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਿਵੈ ਬਖਸਿ ॥੧॥ are also limited by the external situations we face as ਰਹਾਉ ॥ [SGGS M4 p.736] we make our choices. All that happens, and all that will happen, is by His Will. If we could do something by ourselves, we would. By Nevertheless, it is my understanding that I do have ourselves, we cannot do anything at all. to make the right choices and take responsibility for my actions and try to follow the Guru’s teachings. At At the same time, Gurbani repeatedly tells us to the same time, I must see it all as a part of His Hukam. make the right choices. My ability to do anything, including acting according to the Guru’s teachings, is through His blessing and I We are enjoined to walk on the path shown by the should be grateful. Guru. We have to do our paath and naam simran. As discussed earlier we must overcome our haumai, avoid evil If things don’t work out as I intend, I also have to and control kaam, krodh etc. and practice good achaar, accept that as His Hukam. exercise compassion, do parupkaar and seva and so on. Dr. Inder M. Singh is the Chairman of Chardi ਉਦਮੁ ਕਰੇਦਿਆ ਜੀਉ ਤੂੰ ਕਮਾਵਦਿਆ ਸੁਖ ਭੁੰਚੁ ॥ Kalaa Foundation, and has served on the boards of several Sikh non-profit organisations including ਧਿਆਇਦਿਆ ਤੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਮਿਲੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਉਤਰੀ ਚਿੰਤ ॥੧॥ [SGGS Guru Arjan p. 15] SALDEF and Sikh Foundation. Besides, he is the Chairman of We have to make an effort to practice the teachings Lynx Software of Gurbani, perform naam simran, and we will achieve Technologies and union with God and all our anxieties and worries will was CEO until be removed. 2006. He founded We are also told that we are held accountable for Excelan, and served as its our actions, that we reap the results of what we sow chairman, CEO through our actions both good and bad. and president; was a co-founder ਦਦੈ ਦੋਸੁ ਨ ਦੇਊ ਕਿਸੈ ਦੋਸੁ ਕਰੰਮਾ ਆਪਣਿਆ ॥ of Kalpana, one ਜੋ ਮੈ ਕੀਆ ਸੋ ਮੈ ਪਾਇਆ ਦੋਸੁ ਨ ਦੀਜੈ ਅਵਰ ਜਨਾ ॥ of Cisco’s early (SGGS M1 p. 433). acquisitions. Dr. Clearly, Gurbani asks us to make the right choices IM Singh has and to do the udam or take the initiative and make a served on the boards of several high-tech serious effort to follow through on the Guru’s teachings. companies and holds Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees in computer science from Yale University, an If God is directing everything and we do not have MSEE from Polytechnic Institute of New York, any real control over our actions, then why should we and B. Tech (Hons) in Electronics from IIT, even bother to try? How do we address this conundrum? Kharagpur. Earlier, he was at The Doon School, Dehra NISHAAN We have to realise that in any case, our choices Dun are highly constrained. We have no control over our 11 12 NISHAAN W Dr. Kanwaljeet Singh Anand on Following the Guru’s path path Guru’s Guru’s the the Following Following human to Divine the that Love Gurus exemplified. from ourlives transforming thereby love the four of stages through willprogress the Guru’s we teachingstoourlives, community andsocietytogether. applying Byconsistently allaround holdsfamily, us,thegluesustains Nature that theprimalforce an ingredientincosmiccreation, that We Love. is love willrealise that enduring meaningsof and realise thetranscendent,subtle, us willintuitively consciousness, all of of words. By raising our level through but canbeexperienced cannotconveyed love true honey, of taste the Like fiction. or drama, poetry, through eulogies, love of describedtheattributes have for eachother; some andexpressedlove experienced have humanbeings civilisation, human emotions.Throughout all bonding, leadsto physical but isthehighest of that Love is not a mental state isnot a mentalstate Love human sexuality”. helps usto understand toitscomponent parts “reducing love Scientists argue that islove? hat ” Love Divine to Love Human From “ “ From Human Love to Divine Love Divine to Love Human From of procreation is like labeling poison as the as poison labeling like is procreation of “reduced” to a physicalbodies in interactions the of act been can emotion human highest the that think To understand. humansexuality” What a travestyLove! of A misleading. events” of chain biochemical to a withlove associated mentalstates toreduceable certain physical bonding; to thatassert to leads that state mental a just not Loveis truth. the from farther be can nothing attained, Loveis of understanding deeper a Once immortality). of elixir accidents, hijacked planes, mass shootings, or other or shootings, mass planes, hijacked accidents, death and Often, destruction. we hear about road rage hatred, of examples and images with intellect our Current events and the media constantly bombard constantly media eventsthe and Current that journal scientific the in article n “reducing love to its component parts helps us to helpsusto toitscomponentparts “reducing love “biologists may soonbe may “biologists is both myopic and myopic both is ” ‘Nature’, argues ‘Nature’,

amrit (the catastrophes. When hatred becomes more apparent, in cannot be created without Love, the second reveals communal clashes, internecine struggles, or full-scale Love as a powerful force in Nature, and the third shows wars, we try to protect our own through any means. how Love holds the fabric of human society together, Hate becomes a soul-searing experience when a loved yet one must be consciously aware that all these are one is attacked or killed. The death of unknown people simply the aspects of one entity, Love. Just as a statue can be impersonal but the death of a loved one leaves a photographed from different angles remains one, searing hole in the fabric of our lives, and forces us to similarly, a description of the different aspects of Love seriously choose between hatred versus love. will not alter what it is.

Viewed from anger or cynicism, hatred appears Love as an ingredient in Cosmic Construction powerful and permanent, whereas love appears During his lifetime, Albert Einstein (1879-1955) weak and transitory. Deep down, however, below the realised the apparent existence of the universe, also chattering of the mind or arguments of the intellect, eloquently stated by another great physicist, Sir our heart refuses to accept that Love is weak or James Jeans, who wrote: “The stream of knowledge is transient, it longs for deeper meanings of Love. If heading toward a non-mechanical reality; the universe animal instincts are overcome, all human beings will begins to look more like a great thought (rather) than intuitively seek more sublime, subtle, and enduring like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an meanings of Love. If solely driven by self-interest or accidental intruder into the realm of matter . . . it is the sense-gratification, we may find little or no purpose creator and governor of the realm of matter”. in these meanings, but those inspired to explore the spiritual realms by the Guru’s Word may feel the Guru Nanak said that Maya is a product of the burning desire to undertake this journey. mind, investigating it with the tools of the mind – like reason, or logic, or deduction, proposing or rejecting Since the dawn of civilisation, human beings hypotheses, like a fish (or a shoal of fish) trying to have experienced and expressed Love for each map the extent of the ocean! What a futile and foolish other; gifted beings described the attributes of endeavour. The human mind, which exists within and Love through eulogies, poetry, drama, or fiction; functions through the facility of consciousness, can based on feelings or fantasy, or fable or folklore. never fathom the extent of consciousness and beyond. Poets, philosophers, and scientists have pondered Whereas scholars and intellectuals, scientists and the question “What is Love?” but they could come philosophers have had partial success, the saints and up only with reductionist or simplistic answers that seers made greater headway through intuition and were unsatisfactory even to themselves. Like honey, revelations about the nature of the manifest universe. Love can be experienced, but cannot be described. No They realised and proclaimed an Absolute Reality, amount of knowledge about honey will create that that one that exists eternally, without undergoing any indelible experience gained from a drop placed on change or modification, which remains beyond time the tongue. Love, as experienced by human beings, and space. The human mind, using the five organs of has the same result – no amount of talk about can sense and capable of recognising sound, touch, sight, supplant the beauty, inner joy, the fulfilling aspects taste and smell, can only comprehend the properties of that experience, one that has inspired the greatest of this reality, not the substance of absolute reality achievements of mankind. itself! Einstein referred to this “perceived reality” as an illusion, but remained silent about the nature of Though all of creation can experience Love, only the Absolute Reality. human beings can understand the essence of Love, realise the deepest meaning of Love, or access the So, to examine spiritual aspects of Love, we must inner, inexhaustible bounty of Divine Love. Let us understand the process of Creation, how the Uncaused all approach an understanding of Love from the Cause, the Anhad Shabd behind all this kaleidoscopic NISHAAN spiritual, the mental, and the practical aspects of reality created the manifested universe. From popular human experience. The first proves that our universe science, the ‘Big Bang Theory’ is a commonly accepted 13 14 NISHAAN expansion, however, the ‘Big Bang’ theory does not does theory Bang’ however,‘Big the expansion, ever listened.” haveI which to creation of explanation satisfactory Januarysaying,1933, accepted Lemaître’s theory after seminars a in series of finally Einstein proposed, was it after years 6 Almost speeds. high at awaymoving were galaxies that showing 1929, Hubble’sdiscoveryin Edwin needed it Relativity,acceptance General gain to but of Theory atom”. This cosmological model was built on Einstein’s primevalthe of “hypothesis the it called he although Bang, Big the of theory the propounded first priest, Catholic and mathematician Belgian a (1894-1966), day.Lemaître this Georges to expand to continues it that and ago), years billion 0.12 ± 13.73 (around past the in time finite a at nucleus dense extremely and hot extremely primordial, a as existed initially ‘Big Bang’ generally refers to the idea that the universe the available bysupported most of scientific evidence. best is that one universe, the of model cosmological Without any evidence for thethe earliest instant of “This is the most beautiful and beautiful most the is “This ytrosoiiso our universe.mysterious origins of the explain cannot and flaws haveserious theories current the all but variants, different 50 proposed has community scientific the then, Since Origins). Cosmic of Theory Quest for aNew Universe: The Inflationary (The 1990s late the in Guth Alan with other Inflationary UniverseTheories, perhaps starting the universe? From the Big Bang theory have emerged of cooling and expansion rapid initial the triggered Or,what from? come nucleus primordial dense, that did where onwards and Bang’ ‘Big the after universe the of evolution general the explain may it though condition, initial an such for explanation provideany discoveries in science. greatest the of most us havegiven tools same these that realise Fewscientists revelation. or intuition like spirituality of tools the using universe, the of thereby forcing us to look at metaphysical explanations powerless, space exploration or technology cannot help, astronomy are worthless, the mind and the intellect are To develop Creation, an physicsunderstanding of or Before the Universe comes into creation, nothing hear the sound AUM through his right ear.” exists – there is no Time or Space, no galaxies, no – Nad Bind Upanishad Milky Way, no light, no sound, no matter exists – not even the ‘dense matter’ that made up Lemaître’s  “By communion with the Word he will become deaf ‘primeval atom’. Yet, there is an Absolute Reality, to the external sounds, and will attain the Turiya a Divine and Blissful Awareness, the Akaal Purakh, Pad or a state of equipoise within a fortnight.” who remains absorbed in the self as Pure Being. – Nad Bind Upanishad To know itself, this Divine Awareness creates a primordial energy – the Aadi Shakti. The innate and  Islamic texts speak of Kalma, the Word of God, and inherent nature of energy is propulsive, so it starts exalt this vibration as Amin, calling it the Sultan-ul- expanding in all directions. But the intrinsic nature Azkar (the king of prayers) or Saut-i-Sarmadi (the of the Pure Being is Love, which attracts, which divine song) or Nida-i-Asmani (sound from Heaven) brings close to itself, which abhors separation or and describe its role in Creation: any centrifugal forces. Between this expansion and contraction, a vibration is set up, which became the  “The fourteen regions were made by the Kalma.” source of all Creation. The Source of this vibration – the Holy Qu’ran is only One, the Ik Onkaar prescribed by Guru Nanak.  “Take the stopcock from thy ears, and hear thou the voice of emancipation, coming to thee. Attach not This primal vibration has been described in to material world, the elixir of life is showering from the scriptures of various religions. Christian texts above.” – Khawaja Hafiz described it as the Word of God, or Amen:  “Grow not sceptical, but attune thyself to the  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word sound coming down from the Heavens. Thy soul was with God, and the Word was God. The shall have revelations from afar. What are these but same was in the beginning with God. All things glimpses of the Unrevealed; were I to speak of these were made by Him, and without Him was not sweet melodies, even the dead shall rise from their anything made that was made.” – St. John I: 1-3 graves.” – Maulana Rumi

 “These things saith the Amen, the faithful and  “…the Voice of God comes unto my ears as any true witness, the beginning of the creation of other sounds.” – Prophet Mohammed God;” – Revelation 3:14 The Sikh scriptures speak of Omkaar (the Word)  “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth but the or Shabd Gurmat (the divine counsel) or Gurbani as Word of God shall stand forever.” – Isaiah 40: 8 the Word of God and describe it as immanent in all of creation:  Ancient Hindu texts identify the Word of God by various different names, such as AUM or Nad “The Word is both earth and ether. These Bind or Akash Bani or Shabd Brahman had their being through the Word. This Word expressed itself in other aspects as well. The whole  “…the Sound principle AUM becomes manifest creation sprang up after the Word… O Nanak, as prakrithi or Nature” – Hatha Yoga Pradipaka that endless Word is reverberating in each heart.” – Guru Nanak  “He hath taken the support of the Word, the melodious tune.” – Chandogya Upanishad “The all-pervading Word has attracted my entire

mind. What else have I to think of? Communion of NISHAAN  “Let the Yogi sit on Sish Asan and while the soul with the Word creates everlasting Bliss.” practicing the Vaishnavi mudra, he should – Guru Nanak 15 16 NISHAAN Being contracts it back into nothingness again. Divine the until infinitely expand to continue will it so inexhaustible, and infinite universeis this creating spirituality,energy primordial the of students to But postulated within black holes have not swallowed it up! massivethe thatyears and billion gravitational forces 14 after even expand to continues universe the that amazing is it scientists, To structures). scale large gravitational lensing, redshift change, measurements of microwavebackground, cosmic the of measurements by corroborated later 1998, in Type IaSupernovae the from (deduced rate accelerating an at expand to primordial energy, with which filled is whyis the Space universe This continues born. was ‘Space’ of notion powerful the concept, imaginary an but nothing is of idea the inserted Being Divine the indivisible, essentially and frame that allows reality.us to make sense of idea, mere a concept, imaginary an just is Time that show lovedexperiences a these with All are one. we when up quiescent, or slows down when we are suffering, or speeds is mind the when still stands Time that wonder,then, Creation.No of all with interact or experience to order in Time of assistance conceptual the needs therefore and this of sense make cannot mind human feeble Now,the of moment present the in occur directions) infinitum (ad future the all and past the of all BecauseCreation all happens of in one glorious moment, Universe. manifest the comprehending of incapable is mind human the Time, of facility this Without Time. with inexorably linked is change and change by measured is Time Thus, born. was ‘Time’ of construct powerful the notion, conceptual a or imagination of figment a but nothing being idea, this of Out changeless, the Divine Being inserted the idea of reverberatingthe manifest universe. as source of which from vibration invisible eternal, an is: it what of or Creation. Whether we call it Amen, or of beginning the at Vibration Primal a same: the is about talk they entity the that evident clearly is it , the name does not change the true essence Omkaar, the name does not change the true Within this vibration, which is eternal, continuous, Within this vibration, which is eternal and essentially but religions, between exist s difference Semantic , like a moving mental moving a like inthemind, only it exists

countlessstreams

division. Out of this idea, again, which again, idea, this of Out division. of creation sprang up, still up, sprang creation of AUM , or

change in both both in Amin, . ways in which it is loving us and receiving our love. Creation around us revealingwill start the innumerable Justfeet! two on live forwhile,thought and a this with in us essence, is each Love a of manifestation of walking actually, Love – with filled is Love;being eventhis our Love, expression of all its myriad forms are suffused with God, Love aspect God. of is the dynamic aspect of that cannot be separated from God. Truth is the static it, similarly Divinity has two aspects – Truth and Love- aspects – heat and light that cannot be separated from Creation in the entire universe! Just as a flame has two Divinity the that supports Loveverythe of is essence occupies a position even greater than the Word God! of manifest Universe. the created that ingredients two only the are Energy and is the only must realize – as deeply as our Being allows – that Love repelling repelling each other. without proximity close such in stay could atom every in protons that miraculous seemed it nucleus, the within forces gravitational no were there Since his life, Einstein was puzzled by this seeming anomaly. between similarly charged particles. Even at the end of generated be would that forces repulsive intense the of because simply proximity, apart close fall not does extremely in protons chargedpositively contains which nucleus, every why to as baffled was Einstein to answer an for looking of importance the realise to start may we universe, the create to used ingredients Having realised that Love and Energy are the primary LoveForce asthe Primal Nature in of source the becomes it that widespread, and persistent so is illusion This Whole. the from rest, the from ‘separate’ somehow was it that illusion an particle, each for creating, consciousness: as particles these of one each in contained is AwarenessDivine object. that hitting photons discrete as appears object an illuminating light of ray a like particulate, was it if as appear it make to vibration cosmic the on acted

Haumai From this perspective, the entire universe is simply an therefore, Loveis, These four entities (Being, Energy, Space ) entities Time, four These Onkaar – so they are very source theand essence of antidote to ego and the thatdisease of Love or Ego.or To overcome powerfulthe Ego, we ; it ; allCreation core the of at Einstein’s dilemma Love , or perhaps start start perhaps or , . Albert Albert . Given our knowledge from the previous section, it warms our fingers and toes, the moonlight soothes and is easy to see why the only force holding the nucleus lights our way playing hide ‘n seek in the clouds, the of every atom together is Love. Atoms come together stars twinkle loving messages in a Morse code entirely to form molecules, their chemical bonds are strands of their own, the birds and the bees, the flowers and the Love, physically manifested as a sharing of electrons or trees, the rainbow and the raindrops – all of these exist ions, and dancing in unison with all of Creation. Fritj simply for the sake of sharing their love with the rest of Capra, an Austrian-born American physicist, who of creation. Nature behaves in myriad ways to clearly performed ground-breaking research on subatomic proclaim the ingredient of love… particles and systems theory, describes this experience in a preface to his book, The Tao of Physics: “I was  Love always expands – and so does Nature, sitting by the ocean one late summer afternoon, overcoming all obstacles through the power of love; watching the waves rolling in and feeling the rhythm of my breathing, when I suddenly became aware of  Love is selfless – and therefore Nature provides her my whole environment as being engaged in a gigantic bounty for all beings to share, never holding back cosmic dance….. As I sat on that beach my former anything for herself; experiences came to life; I “saw” cascades of energy coming down from outer space, in which particles were  Love is forgiving – human beings may exploit created and destroyed in rhythmic pulses; I “saw” Nature for their personal benefit, but all the damage the atoms of the elements and those of my body perpetrated by selfish beings can be repaired quickly participating in this cosmic dance of energy; I felt its if we treat Nature with love and respect… rhythm and I ‘heard’ its sound…….” Love expands constantly and so does Prakriti or All of Nature is engaged in a loving play between Nature. Not only is the manifest physical universe creation and consciousness…. The sunlight lovingly expanding, but all around us, Nature is constantly NISHAAN

17 18 NISHAAN a tree ever bear fruit for its own consumption? Do the that are insurmountable. we can, to break down or barriers overcome difficulties whatin excel to best, manydo,as we touch to lives as Lovepower of that drives us to each aim one forof the expansivethe is it Again, time. and space of frontiers the transcend to humans or legs two on walking start to drovechimpanzees lovethat expansive is it sing; to nightingales the or fly to dinosaurs lovethe taught of power expansive the reptiles; or snails, or plants, air-loving evolve into and life oceanic of confines the escape to proto-organisms earliest Lovethe caused of powerexpansive The obstacle. everybeyond expand lovinglywill to allowingspecies forms thus the adapt, life these forms, life of expansion the for obstacle an forcesNaturewithin thatsuch aligned are they create When fittest. the of survival and evolution behind Love from within. This is also the underlying principle of power the using expansion, through expressed is Life within. from comes change the all but outside, the from it to added is nothing – within from expands it grows leaf a as within, from expands just it – within, as a flower opens – nothing forces it to blossom from expands it grows tree a As well. as expanding Love is selfless and so is Prakriti or Nature. Does h ed fmankind. the needs of serveto eager are Nature of universe,aspects the all in life of form highest the Being Nature. on depends mankind of well-being the which in ways myriad are shelter,there to food to oxygenFrom man. to mammals, lower mammals serve or provide sustenance sustain to eggs) their (or themselves offer fish and birds birds, for themselves sacrifice worms man, orherbivores or insects to themselves offer Plants to support higher creation.and itself higher forms of sacrificing and bounty its giving is Nature of aspect love, hoard clouds water for each themselves? Out of bees consume the honey they collect? Do the rivers or powers were progressively lost, only because they were history,human Throughout culture. and intuition their losing are and ownership,selfishness, or of sense the remote world parts has of forced them to develop a or India, Australia, in living now tribes aboriginal of Today,survival. sufferingtheir forthe clairvoyance telepathy,intuition, of tools the used effortlessly they life, to approach unselfish their of because but, comforts, havemany not community.did their They in harmony with Nature, sharing its bounty with all in their love and respect for Nature. Ancient cultures lived A common characteristic of early civilisationswas early of characteristic common A used for personal benefit, without caring for all of humanity and all aspects of creation.

A tendency to garner the benefits of Nature or products and services of society for oneself, or one’s extended self (family, friends, clan, race, or country), although considered normal, is a learned and unnatural habit. Self-interest has become the primary driving force, the commonest motivation, or the only consideration for our choices and actions today. Very few can overcome our conditioned selfishness that starts from infancy, is confirmed during childhood, and becomes ingrained in youth and early adulthood. This ubiquitous conditioning leads us to believe that an individual is “separate” from the rest of creation, and therefore, it must “protect” its interests Numerous stories abound of recovery and repair from the rest of creation. The relentless pursuit of in ecosystems that were damaged potentially greater personal benefits, coupled with the constant beyond repair, because of uncontrolled human exploitation of Nature, has resulted in an increasing greed and pollution. The Caribbean reefs were frequency of natural disasters, global warming, degraded by massive disease-induced mortality epidemic diseases, wars and internecine struggles – of the herbivorous urchin Diadema antillarum bringing mankind to the brink of disaster! in 1983. Declining reef health was characterised by progressive increases in macroalgae. Despite Love is forgiving and so is Prakriti or Nature. All scientific predictions of irreparable damage, recent the damage perpetrated by selfish beings can be repaired discoveries showed that the reef has rebounded quickly if we collectively start treating Nature with love much faster than predicted, even following and respect. The greatest of environmentalists have desultory efforts to rescue it. Another example recognised this aspect of Nature, how it quickly forgives relates to the South China tigers, smallest among the excesses or exploitations perpetrated by mankind. the tiger species that numbered 4,000 in the early 1950s. These tigers were critically endangered “My fourth reason for hope is the incredible resilience when Communist leader Mao Zedong labeled them of nature. I have visited Nagasaki, target of the second as “pests” and ordered their extermination. South atomic bomb that ended World War II. Scientists had China tigers were considered extinct and had predicted that nothing could grow there for at least 30 not been seen in the wild since 1964. Soon after years. But, amazingly, greenery grew very quickly. One Chinese farmers became aware of environmental sapling actually managed to survive the bombing, and concerns and tried to protect the few remaining today it is a large tree, with great cracks and fissures, all forests, a South China tiger was sighted and black inside; but that tree still produces leaves. ….I have photographed in the wild as recently as 12 October seen such renewals time and again, including animal 2007. If humans show sincere love and respect for species brought back from the brink of extinction. … Nature, it will respond by repairing the damaged Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us try to ecosystems with remarkable speed and efficiency replace impatience and intolerance with understanding – again, teaching us how Love can be giving and NISHAAN and compassion. And love.” forgiving. Could these virtues, manifested by Nature, also help us to repair all the ills of human 19 Dr. Jane Goodall (1934 – ) http://www.janegoodall.org society? 20 NISHAAN that children and adult chimpanzees had chimpanzees adult and children that found They schooling). or literacy before year,1 than less for language used had (who children two-year-old 105 and orangutans 32 chimpanzees, 106 tested Anthropology Evolutionary for Institute Planck Max The values.human and interactions social to linked be advancescan these of Most culture. and art and music to reasoning, scientific and balance, to complex languages, to mathematics and dexterity from primates, other in seen yethavethey evolved not are thatmany skills evolution,in us to closest apes, great the than it means win, changing evencourse. if for ourselves. What matters is helping others to lose. What matters in life is more than winning thing: one telling the story. Why? Because deep down we all know for several this eventminutes….. Witnesses are still of finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood up, cheering all nine children linked arms and walked together to the Then better”. it make will “This said, and him kissed around and went back to him. One girl bent down and turned all they Then back. looked and down slowed they cry; cry.him to heard began others and The fell, boy,little One race. the win to however, stumbled and 100-metre dash. At the gun, they all started out running contestants were assembled atline for the starting the nine children, handicapped for meet sports a At society and community Lovefamily,in istheGlue Human brains are only three times larger times three only are brains Human when one of us falls or fails, we all usfallsorfails,we when oneof willingness to happily sacrifice one’s self-interest. one’s sacrifice happily to willingness a needs, their to sensitivity a others, of well-being the for concern as up shows family the Lovewithin society.within livesucceed to and skills social the or peers, with friendships or relationships, supportive mutually form to ability their for consequences havedire infancy in experiences early these of emotional regulation. Any disruption or derangement child’s a of basis the becomes also but behaviours, exploratory and developmentcognitive child’s the enhances it only not world; the views child a which with template the becomes bond mother-infant early Love.This of meaning the learns loveand experiences consistently child The intelligence”. “socialdevelopingchild’s into a go that things other countless and impulses, and urges bodily of control the communication, of means the behaviors, social lovingly - a mother teaches her child basic values and patiently,consistently,andplayfully, - joyously from their mother or surrogate mother-figure. Slowly, this social-cultural conditioning is The first source of The Mother’sLove procreation or the forstruggle survival? with do to havenothing which relationships, social build to ability human unique the ignore we Can dealing with social constructs than the two ape species. for sophisticated more far were children but world, comparable cognitive skills for dealing with the physical From affectionate interactions in the family emerge When leaders are making the most difficult decisions, altruistic motives in society. Unlike material goods they may well ask: “what is our most loving option?” or worldly credits, love grows when it is shared. or even consider the words of Emmet Fox: “There is no Love is the basis for building character in children. difficulty that enough love will not conquer, no disease The highest human qualities: patience, forbearance, that enough love will not heal, no door that enough love truthfulness, charity, speaking sweetly and/or softly will not open, no gulf that enough love will not bridge, – these are different manifestations of Love. Verily, no wall that enough love will not throw down, no sin love is the core of all human values! Great leaders that enough love will not redeem. have recognised and propagated these values. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. realised “a web of mutuality”, It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the President John F. Kennedy recognised “our common trouble, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the humanity”, and used it to fight injustice. As our innate tangle, how great the mistake – a sufficient realisation oneness between human beings is recognised more and of love will dissolve it all.” more, collaboration overtakes competition, service supersedes selfishness, being together is more than Just as the body’s cells are organised into tissues, being better. Love literally is the glue that holds a organs, and organ systems, each of which contribute to family, a community, or a society together – because the overall well-being of the body, so too, all individuals, it allows humans to rise above the motives of self- groups, and organs of society must contribute to preservation and self-interest. Examples of love are its well-being. Cells or tissues that garner additional around us all the time. A mother’s love for her infant resources for themselves leading to unbridled growth even under the most trying circumstances, a family’s are cancerous, ultimately threatening the survival response to the sickness of a loved one, a community’s of the body they arose from. Similarly, the organs of support for accident victims, or society’s response to society (like health care, or banking, or industry) that a natural disaster. Love manifests as “random and gain excessive influence or resources and disregard their senseless acts of kindness” all the time and allows us responsibility for the overall well-being of society can to experience a higher calling than other creatures. threaten its survival. More and more we see people simply helping people, children sharing their lunch box with less fortunate What is called for, to solve the current economic, classmates, high schoolers volunteering at homeless environmental, social, or political crises, is our ability shelters, young adults launching or enrolling in social to rise above our narrow self-interests. In the Recession entrepreneurship programmes. Indeed, despite what of 2008, “greed layered upon greed, frosted with the popular media may project, waves of violence and recklessness” brought the entire banking system to fear-motivated actions are becoming more stark, but disaster. To avoid mishaps like this, our emphasis must fewer and more restricted; whereas love-motivated shift from accumulation of wealth to sharing of wealth, actions are slowly gaining ground and popularity. with an equitable distribution of the resources and Philanthropists like Bill Gates and Warren are the role benefits in society. And the motive for this approach will models of today. come from Love, not from a desire for power or privilege or self-aggrandisement of any sort. The underlying As the current economic, environmental, social and intent is as important as the actions performed. political problems seem to overwhelm even the most powerful governments and multinational corporations, Only selfless love between communities will solve today can the power of Love help us heal the wounds the Israel-Palestine conflict (or India-Pakistan! Ed), or of greed and selfishness and hatred? Or solve the most heal the wounds of hostility, or repair the ravages of complex and pressing problems facing humanity today? war. Returning violence with violence only escalates Families, communities, societies, and governments conflict and increases human suffering. Love alone can NISHAAN must rise above their selfish motives, to cooperate, build trust in the stock market, safeguard the rights collaborate, and collectively address the problems that of factory workers, or strengthen the moral fibre of 21 threaten our planet. corporate America. A health care system driven by 22 NISHAAN prism breaks up into the colours of the rainbow,the of colours the into up breaks prism a through passing when light white pure as Just of Love Stages The four that by Love.through progressing the four stages of do to opportunity the has being human Every that? sharing our love Creation. Howof with do all we of do benefits the reap and planet this of pulse the to beats humanity in its wake. Or, we can synchronise our heart steadyanarchyto march destroyingexploitation, and society’s promoting thus instincts, animal other or sexuality human understand to loveonly use can love,we of stages four the through progressing by humans, as love.So through repaired be can and wovenlove,is love,bywith maintained garment This as world the to created by or distrust, greed, self-interest. binding force in Nature, to solve the pressing problems powerful most the Creation, of cause underlying the emotions, human of sublime most the harness must today of leaders The all. for care health universal enable and prevention, promote waste, eliminate and or will greed, make the right decisions for each patient power not reimbursement, not – compassion loveand The German The poet German and playwright, Goethe, referred “the living visible garment of God”. of garment visible living “the around you, and grow into love for all mankind, and and mankind, all lovefor into grow and you, around to ‘me’ and ‘mine’; let it sprout into love for the group mind: our to comes Baba SathyaSai Sri of advice the love.Again, misdirected their of impact the understand knowand – or recruits others to their cause! Instead, they need to torturing these individuals simply hardens their stance or Ostracising 9/11. on those like attacks to lead or Holocaust, the justify or crime, hate a as crystallise and mind human the of faculties discriminative or rationaloverwhelm the can obsession this conditions, right the Under dispensable. thus and insignificant, or threatening, as creation of aspects other consider they so ideal, an or idea an – creation of aspect some love. love extreme with obsessed are Extremists for of direction – the opposite direction perceives an absence particular one lovelovein whenintensely focused – is of absence the simply is Similarly,hatredentities. separate as exist really not do cold and darkness heat – in reality,light, or cold is simply the absence of of absence the as defined paradox.Justis darkness as this understand us helps world physical love?The case, then what about hate? Does that also come from the is that If ask: would sceptics the But emotions. human of spectrum entire the manifests mind, the of prism the through passing love,whensimilarly, pure “Foster the tiny seed of Love clings that “Fosterof seed tinythe spread out its branches over animals, birds, and Love, all relationships and interactions are based on those that creep and crawl, and let that love enfold Love. Indeed, the fourth stage of Love is imperishable, all things and beings in all the worlds. Proceed from it is eternal. This degree of love is immanent in each less love to more love, from narrow love to expanded and everyone – with the Guru’s Grace, we all have Love”. the potential to attain the fourth stage of Divine Love. Whenever any human being develops such love, The expansion of love occurs in four stages, they will be established in a peace “that passeth all outlining the natural progression of human love. In understanding”, they will be remembered by generations the first stage, the widely prevalent form of human of sincere men and women; they will be living answers to love is like a lamp kept in a room. A particular lamp the question of “what is love?” illumines only that room. The glow of this love illumines a small group of people, like family and friends, and does not extend to others. The second Dr. Kanwaljeet Singh stage of love is like the moonlight. This love goes Anand graduated from beyond direct relationships and bathes everyone MGM Medical College, (inside and outside the room), but is not very Indore (India). As a effulgent or intense. Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, he received the D.Phil. degree, followed by post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School. His pioneering research was recognised by the British Paediatric Association (1986), American Academy of Pediatrics (1992), International Association for Study of Pain (1994), American Pain Society (2000), Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health (2004). He received the highest international honour in Pediatrics, the 2009 Nils Rosén von Rosenstein Award (given by Swedish Academy of Medicine every 5 years). Dr. Anand presented the “In Praise of Medicine” Public The third stage of human love is selfless, like the Address at the 100th Anniversary of Erasmus sunlight – it brilliantly illuminates those both inside University Medical Center (2013), the 2015 Journées and outside the room – and indeed, all of creation Nationales de Néonatologie Address at The Pasteur feels its presence. But, it is not constant in the sense Institute in Paris, and received the Nightingale that the sun is not visible at night. Of course, this is Excellence Award (2016) from Stanford Children’s not a permanent absence, because the sun rises each Healthcare. His community service activities morning. Likewise too, selfless love may appear to be founded the Harmony Health Clinic, promoted absent at some times, but it inevitably appears again. inter-faith harmony, and served victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Recognised by Father Joseph Eternal Love Biltz Award (2007) from NCCJ and Dr. Martin The fourth and final stage is reached when human Luther King “Salute to Greatness” Individual love is intense and is always present, beyond the Award (2008) from Governor of Arkansas, Dr. confines of worldly relationships, in all places, at all Anand is currently Professor of Pediatrics, times, under all circumstances. For such a person, all Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine at NISHAAN experiences and perceptions are suffused with Love, Stanford University School of Medicine. all thoughts, words and deeds emanate from intense 23 24 NISHAAN trust inthe ONEbelovedtrust Lord.” praying our weshould keep toMANYGods, instead of So, devotees. their of needs the fulfill to Waheguru theONE beg Gods These thisworld. goddesses’ of to ONE Waheguru rather than MANY ‘gods and to BhaiLehnaisthat, “We should serve andpray primemessage by NanakDevThe asexplained ji Guru Dev Nanak Guru the Sakhis and There were severalThere young Sahib speakersGranth attheSixthAnnualConferenceonSriGuru Jap naa’m. naamsadaasat man sat The Sikh Way Life of the ‘Sikh Way Life of inspired by Guru Nanak’ Harnoor Kaur Panesar spoke on Guru NanakDev jiwalkingbesidehishorse,withBhaiLehnaridinguponit

life holdingmy faithandpraying totheONE Lord.I Waheguru. Dev wasvery peaceful, conveying hismessage onOne showing Bhai Lehnathe way Nanak tohis place.Guru he walkedwhen andletBhaiLehna rideonhishorse NanakDevthat jiwasvery Guru humble, even as I will always follow this the Sakhi teachings in of my areseveralThere messages inthissakhi.We learn decreased with the arrival of Guru Angad Dev ji at Village Khadur. At the time of drought, when it did not rain at all for a year, the farmers were instructed by the ascetic to tell Guru Angad Dev ji to leave the village. The ascetic was punished by Guru Amar Das ji but soon thereafter, Guru Amardas ji, realised that we should not punish anybody who makes a mistake. It is our duty to forgive other people’s mistake.

It is from this very important message that I learned about the power of forgiveness. Because of the ascetic, Guru Angad Dev ji had to leave the village, but Guru ji nurtured no grouse against him. Nor was he angry.

Farida bure da bhala kar, gussa man na handaye Do good to evil. Do not fill the mind with anger.

I will surely face a situation where someone of my family, friends or even a stranger would hurt my feeling Guru Amar Das ji with disciples in some manner. But I will not carry any negative will also learn to become more humble while dealing with feelings as bad feelings do not give happiness and peace fellow students, teachers, friends or my family members. of mind. Forgiveness is very powerful.

In the Sakhi on the ‘Jealous Ascetic’, one person In the Sakhi, ‘Merger with God’, Guru Angad Dev ji called Shiv Nath was a master of sorcery but his fame decided that Amar Das ji would be the next Guru. NISHAAN

25 Mughal Emperor Akbar partaking langar with Guru Amar Das ji at Goindwal Sahib 26 NISHAAN to Mughal Emperor Akbar job. Theythencomplained only Brahmins coulddothis not answer. Inthose times, questions which they could pose and matters clarify Das jitwiceayear and Amarwould meetGuru other issues.Manjidaars anysolving and Sangat; the among doubts clearing values; Sikh spreading for Manjidaars were responsible manji andcalledmanjidar. a verya appointedwas highcharacter of asaleader with . Aperson calledmanjis jicreatedDas zones 22 faith in the Word. and respect havefull should all we and Sahib Granth AmarDasji.Ourliving isGuru tekna for Guru Guru the otherfollowers bowed matha inrespectorperformed follow andrespectthe leader. AngadDev jiand Guru for best person thepurpose. and unbiased when selecting the should be impartial favour our family over members other people. We Guru. AngadDevyears, jiappointed Guru himasthenext many for Sevaselfless his to owing but sevadaar a AngadDev ji.AmarDasjiwantedtoremainGuru Guru, second the to Sevahumble and selfless done selfless service. perform should we that is lesson first The sakhi. this fulfill this duty. responsibilityandonly AmarDasjicould is agreat true Sikh spirit. Guru Angad Dev ji felt that being Guru but he ignoredthem astheyGuru didnotdisplay the ji’s twosonshaddesiredthatGuru they bechosenas To expand Sikhi across the country, Guru Amar country, Guru the across Sikhi expand To third lessonThe I have is that we should learned isthat weshouldnot secondlessonIlearned The and he had Amar Dass ji was the third Guru Guru kare safalhaijaiko chitlaye kisewa Satgur areseveralThere lessonsthat Ihave from learned

young age. is anaccomplishedspeaker at avery She friends. and family her with chess enjoys paintingand playingHarnoor general, Kaur.In Japleen sister her gets from herinspiration toparticipate Competition for thelasttwoyears and Speech Hemkunt the in participating been has She School. Elementary IIIinTomstudying ingrade Matsumoto Harnoor Kauris8years oldandisHarnoor Waheguru jikakhalsa,Waheguru fateh jikee Nának dásihaisukhmágaimokaokarsantankídhure. Antarjámí purakhbidhátesardha mankípure. Granth Sahib. Iwillbow class. my tononeother but kirtan theGuru in anewshabadthat Ilearn to readthe meaningsof Sohila Paath before going to bed. I will make an effort Kirtan do to routine a make will I Sangat. Sadh in Mail KhoeeKott AghHaraeNiramalBheaeCheethaa Mehimaa SaadhhooSangKee SunahuMaeraeMeethaa the OneWaheguru. anyone else?” To ji stated that this Guru Sikhs bow to ascetic questioned, “Why do Sikhs bow only to you not about Heaven.and were notconcerned Finally, the happiness and sorrow equally or with the same spirit of state the treated Sikhs that replied ji heaven?”Guru naamhai jao,tirath navan tirath Sangat “Sadh that replied ji Guru towashtheir sins. orpilgrimages did notgo totiraths Ram meet Das Guru ji and asked him as to why Sikhs by silly old tales. He came toAmritsar narrating livedthere Sakhi, foolto whovillagers used ascetic an the Ascetic’. In this the mostis‘Misapprehension of him at Goindwal Sahib. Amar Das ji was doing and even of partook about it.ButAkbarwasvery pleasedwithwhat Guru I will always find any opportunity to participate participate to opportunity any find always will I to go Sikhs will “How inquired, then ascetic The like I one the but Sakhis, all reading enjoy truly I ”. is the besttirath langar with with Human Ideals of Guru Granth Sahib Bringing Stability in the Global Community

eligion is closely linked to the conscious as well devotees while scriptures also help in maintaining the as the sub-conscious of a particular social group. distinct entities of respective religions. Guru Granth Religion gives expression to transcendental and Sahib is the cherished scripture of the Sikhs, containing Rspiritual experiences and takes the shape of a social exclusive Sikh philosophy and religious code of conduct organisation by providing members of the group with to be adopted by followers of the Sikh religion. a definite code of conduct and a life-style governed by strict discipline. On the one hand, religion creates the Guru Granth Sahib enshrines, on the one hand, possibilities and ways of bringing human beings into matchless elaboration of spirituality and, on the other, unity with God and, on the other, promotes feelings of a powerful expression of the message of revolutionary fraternity and cooperation by advising human beings to ideals of social welfare, multicultural distinctness and adopt a humanistic approach while dealing with others, eternal ethical code aimed at cultural reconstruction. It an approach which forms foundation in development of is accepted that Sikhism is related to the most modern any social group. There are a number of religions in the philosophy and the concepts and doctrines expressed NISHAAN world, many of these having their specific scriptures through Guru Granth Sahib contribute to all-round which contain the tenets to be adopted by their welfare of the modern global community. Through 27 28 NISHAAN emerges which asauniquetext presentsamulti-layered understanding. GranthSahib Guru Inthiscontext, everlasting peace, harmony, balance andmutual in this globalethical village norms for establishing multi-cultural society and globally relevant creation of to activate intra-faith dialogue,multi-religionism, hasbecomenecessary and culturalidentities.This problems communal, related gender toracial,regional, comes facetowithinnumerable challenges and multi-regional world. As aresult, the world community racial, multi-cultural, multi-religious, multilingual and decay. livehuman beings of process Modern multi-a in linguistic limitations areinthereligious, regional, culture. However, cultural,racial, many of forms market andconsumer the modern system representing system andemerges as ahighly developed economic capitalistic globalisation withthe arrival begins of of level. at theinternational co-existence process The and need for emigration economictransportation, communication techniques, revolution inmeansof modern come intobeingthroughdevelopment of universal a as ‘global or village’. Suchnuance has thought- processandhuman consciousnessisdescribed A world-level informative culture based onpost-modern Village Global Our its timelessandmulti-facetted relevance. human transformation thereby maintaining process of views and inter-cultural exchange of dimensions of gives perception combined withmodern tovaried form GranthSahib)whenGurbani (verses inGuru included its insights and dialogue the underlying meaning of and understanding ismaintainedinsociety.and understanding peace these inany mannersothat anenvironment of withoutdistorting others religious creedsandbeliefsof own aimisonly religion.The togive respecttothe nortoassimilate theseintoone’s others activities of oradoptreligiousbeliefs,doctrinesand is nottoaccept diversity. religious tolerance Inthismanner, theaimof to shape unified a giving of diversityinstead in unity Gurbani develops communalthem. The tolerance of withthe distinctiveagree tenetspropagated through with one-anothereven thoughwedonotnecessarily is essentially thattreat weshould allreligionsat par GranthSahib tolerance aspresentedthroughGuru Communal established. firmly is tolerance communal be functionalinaneffectively productive mannerunless dialogue areplaying avery active roleandthese cannot inter-faith pluralismand of concepts this context, andmulti-cultural in society has become necessary developing inthemodern andharmony uniformity for religion of essence the Re-defining ago. years 500 at theinter-cultural andglobal level asthese were which arepracticalandrelevant times inmodern insights Granth Sahib includes mankind.Guru of consciousness andhumanitarianvisionfor the welfare GranthSahibpresents a revolutionaryGuru Granth Sahib Religious Tolerance andRole of Guru human life. therealitiesof and multi-dimensional assessmentof n ol rcie.Tecmiainadceto fand noble compilation practices.The andcreation of honourable deeds status solongasitpreachesvirtuous been treated with respect, every religion enjoys an to anyone’ Granth Sahib because there isnoconsideration given can seereligioustoleranceat itsmostsublime inGuru have been selected without any discrimination. We belong tolower but theircompositions castegroups them some belong tohigher caste sections while some of Bhagats Hindus include as well as Mohammedans, the Gurus. Bhagats, 11Bhatts and 4devotees of 15 sects,these Sikh 6 holy Gurus, including persons varied provinces, and beliefs faiths, states, regions, verses by composed with connected holy 36 persons Granth Sahib isbased directly on this. It comprises Guru creativity editingof and of process The tolerance. uuGat ai sauiu xml freligious of Granth Sahib isaunique example Guru s religiousfaithorcaste. Every castehas Guru Granth Sahib, therefore, builds a harmonious and every religion possesses the capacity of reaching society removing walls created by sectarianism. Such selected truths and values. A truly religious person is a spirit of tolerance is also apparent in the language of the one who believes in religious pluralism and attaches the compositions. The varied diction used in the Granth similar importance to all religions. The monopolistic comes from multiple sources. The verses included in feeling or any specific claim carried by any religious Guru Granth Sahib preach the message of “I have but sect regarding the ultimate truth only leads to violence, only one master, that is, God.” hatred and tension. Religious pluralism is an effort to remove the conflicts among different religions and to There is but the same spirit emanating from God bring them closer to one another through the elimination and pervading all human beings and, thereby, emphasis of their mutual differences. But, in modern times, is on the idea that we cannot afford to be intolerant religion reflects the serious, rather, critical situation at towards God’s creation and His offspring, that is the the world level. Moving away from its genuine spiritual entire mankind because we all have only one Master. meanings, religion has fallen into clutches of violence When this belief takes roots in the human mind, all and distrust. Globally, human society is facing decadence conflicts disappear. Guru Granth Sahib, in totality of in religious, social, economic, and political fields and, its compositions, promotes the concept of ‘welfare of as was the case during the medieval period, terror all’ and never humiliates any religion. Gurbani does created by hostility, hatred, caste-system, selfishness, not teach partiality, discrimination or fault-finding, regionalism and violence prevails everywhere. Thus, but instead imparts a lesson of self-assessment and the role of religion has become extremely challenging self-realisation through self-study. In this way, the in modern times: religion may be a significant need of compilation treats the world as a closely related entity, human beings today but what is more important is craves for its welfare without any selfish motive and recognising how other religions are treating them, having prays for the grant of bounties and happiness for all: due respect for each other.

I beseech you O’, Almighty ! Be merciful and save the Guru Granth Sahib is such a creative work through burning world; save it in whatever way it can be saved ! which different layers of religious pluralism are identified. In terms of time and place, Guru Granth The cosmic vision of Guru Granth Sahib exhorts Sahib is a historical document, incorporating a variety followers of all religions of the world to rise above of geographical regions, occupations, languages, mutual differences and conflicts and provides them with communities, and includes compositions of saints, a common pattern for the welfare of mankind. Religious bhagats and Sufi faqirs, besides the Sikh Gurus, all Pluralism is a concept of ‘global responsibility’ based on of whom, though connected with different beliefs, the mutual relation of respect for differences, tolerance sects, provinces and doctrines are engaged in guiding for other’ views and healthy exchange of ideas. mankind. This is a genuine illustration of religious pluralism. Guru Nanak travelled through many parts Religious Pluralism of the world to preach and spread his religious message. Religious pluralism recognises all the religions of the His long-drawn journeys (each called an Udaasi) were, world as authentic and pure. Every religion is authentic in reality, aimed at preaching religious pluralism. as it is capable of providing a human being with suitable guidance for attaining peace and happiness. Religions Every language has been accorded respectful status of the world describe the same ultimate truth in various in Guru Granth Sahib. In modern times, languages of ways and, therefore, are similar to a great extent in the minority communities are shrinking, with some of their approach. In fact, every religion aims at reaching them being at the verge of extinction. Guru Granth the ultimate truth under different circumstances and Sahib maintains the distinctiveness of such languages, prepares norms for the welfare of mankind. Religious giving them place amongst the dominant languages. NISHAAN pluralism is therefore, a particular approach vis-à-vis “Basis of the thought process of the authors of religious traditions according to which no single religion Gurbani is focused on that metaphysical expanse of 29 is an exclusive expression of supreme or complete truth cosmic consciousness where feelings of disagreement 30 NISHAAN h xsec f ifrn eiin n iesye f differentreligionsandlife-styles of of the existence to fromdifferentfaithsalsohadreferred persons who compiledtheArjan verses Guru but the holy Pluralism Pluriform in theopeninglines( (different fromHindu god Brahma) are described Brahm mainfeatures Pluralism.The of as Unitary appears pluralism of form first the Here, Cosmos. Brahm the unityof Granth Sahib presents Guru quintessenceThe of Pluralism Unitary mutual love andunderstanding. in anatmosphere of fanaticism andnarrow politicalapproach, how tolive teaches mankind,divided intosectsby the religious an idealhumanbeingliving in a peacefulsociety;it Granth Sahib isincreating Guru contribution of for unifyingmankind intoonefraternity. Sublime such, thisscriptureemerges asacommonplatform and discrimination lose their significance. ” ” ascompared totheothers. So nooneisbetterorworse Hiscreation. of all thehumanbeingswho apart form couplet composedby Bhagat Kabir: Granth Sahib isprovidedGuru by the following very The are recognised. ideologies foundation of cultures, communities and dimensional of expanse (Brahm), the Supremedays Soul. These multi- composition. olwr n edr fvarious sects. followers of andleaders sect, cunningness andhypocritical practices of a particular presents argumentsagainstasymbolof religions. Gurbani does not reject any religion, but thedifferent of each to theutilityandidentityof GranthSahib,Guru which accordsduerecognition discrimination. in Noreligionisignoredorneglected allcompletely eliminates the feeling of of father as well isthemotheras Brahm message that The Soul) doesnotsuggestill-willagainstany one.The Eyk noor tey sab jag upjia kaun bhaley ko mandey. ko upjiakaunbhaley jag sab Eyk noortey bandey sab Avval key Allahnoorupaaiakudrat God the unityof GranthSahibrepresents Guru Tecneto uiyo theBrahm(theSupreme unityof of concept The Almightycreated“The onespiritwhich pervades (the Supreme Soul)and the Mool Mantra f) of Japji Sahib As As

model for religiouspluralism.Paul Knitter’s viewneeds are, however, notthesame,inter-faithdialogue beinga necessity. Religious pluralism andinter-faith dialogue situations yet too inter-faithdialoguehasbecomea bodies areengaged todealwithsuch insincereefforts among different religions.Although international tension andconfrontation created an atmosphere of and trendinfundamentalistreligiousintolerancehave activities terrorist times,the riseof In contemporary Dialogue Inter-faith humanbeings. collective lifeof for bringingaboutexcellence intheindividual and code which serves asasolidandhealthy foundation GranthSahibbuilds amoral conduct,Guru virtuous suchteachingsof words.Through as the sweetness of such virtues for entiremankindthroughinculcation of forgiveness. Gurbani aimsat preachinghumanvalues respectfulness,austerity, renunciation, patienceand sweetness, humility, sympathy, service,welfare, which beingcommon,for love, example, many of theworldpreachsomefundamentalvalues, of auniversalwhich supports ethicalsystem.Allreligions religious pluralism Ethical pluralismisthat of form Ethical Pluralism recognised by oneandall. sects but there only one ultimate reality needs tobe physical appearances and designate their respective worship, their arrange their deities,adoptways of Granth Sahib: in Guru pluralism,whichpluriform ispresentedinmany forms of Suchapropensityleadstoexpression the authors. There areinnumerableThere ways when devotees name jaata. sahibkatinbheyd Prabh Kahu Nanakjinhukampachhaata. Koi surgind. baachheikoi Koi kaheihindu. kaheiturakkoi supeyd. neelkoi Koi odhey kateyb. koi beyd Koi parhey sirnivaai. poojakoi Koi karey hajjjaai. koi Koi tirath naavei Kirpa dhaarraheem. Koi karankareem. Allahi. koi gusayaan Koi sevei Raam-Raam Khudaai. Koi koi boley Inter-faith dialogue in Sikh philosophy was began by Guru Nanak. The four voyages (udasis) undertook by him were with knowledge of the real form of religion. He visited different religious centres during his travels and talked to devotees on the facts of truth and purity. He assimilated religious hymns from various places during the course of his journeys. Sidh Goshit composed by Guru Nanak is an example to be given deep thoughts that religious pluralism does of inter-faith dialogue between him and members of not aim at making different religions of the world look Yogi sect to create awareness about genuine faith not similar. It is, rather an approach of criticising of others enshrouded by useless rituals, insignificant rites and and any assessment of one’s self through positive and religious symbols. Bhagat Kabir also spoke on irrelevant face-to-face dialogue for development of human being and unnatural practices adopted by Yogi ascetics. and welfare of all. Peace and harmony cannot be The Guru lays bare the futility of ritualistic practices created among various communities and nations until adopted and preached by certain members of Brahmin mutual understanding is established among different class of Hindus as well as Mohammedan devotees and religions. Such an atmosphere of mutual understanding their religious leaders. Such dialogue emerges as an can be built up when inter-faith dialogue is established. inter-active cultural process leads to building up an In contemporary times, inter-faith dialogue has become exclusive life-style and contributes significantly towards a prime necessity and persistent efforts need to be the growth of a composite Indian culture. made. We should encourage the process of interaction, tolerance, learning and teaching vis-à-vis other faiths. Gurbani teaches us that “No one is Hindu or Such a dialogue should not denigrate other religions, Mohammedan” and all belong to the same fraternity. or one which does not encourage assimilation of Being equally so from an individual to entire mankind. religions into a particular religion but tries to encourage Contributors to the Guru Granth Sahib, devoted as appreciating the points of view held by other religions. they were to the service of humanity were committed Guru Granth Sahib bestows inter-faith understanding to development of pure and truthful character. for keeping mankind united. Mutual interaction which And they paid similar respect to all religions of the is being encouraged in modern times was shown by Sikh world. Adoption of the model of inter-faith dialogue Gurus centuries back and they incorporated in their as in Guru Granth Sahib plays an important role compositions. in dealing with challenges of unsavoury situations created by religious fanaticism and intolerance. Guru Jab lag duniyan rahiyei nanak kichh suniyei kichh Granth Sahib, which is affinity between unity and kahiyei. diversity, builds up multi-cultural society in laying the foundation of world community for the development This dictum preaches one’s expression before others of diverse cultures,classes, races and, especially the and lays stress on the need to listen to what others have minority groups. to say. This approach removes ignorance and spread purposeful knowledge among the peoples. Interaction Multi-cultural Society NISHAAN at a common platform brings various religions together Guru Granth Sahib is not the holy-scripture of an and removes fear of assimilation. intolerant religion or of any particular community, 31 32 NISHAAN society, where each individual enjoyed freedom of society, freedom of where eachindividual enjoyed relevant:particularly respect values cherished by following The allothers. is Granth Sahib teaches one to recognise andGuru dialogue these beingintrinsicinmulti-cultural society. communal and tolerance, inter-cultural racial harmony animosity, discrimination andviolencepromotes effective andmeaningfulmanner. Gurbanidiscourages and tocontribute towards establishing thesamein eachcultureonequalbasis the identityanddignityof care for having theunder-privileged. by theAlmighty of thegrace placed peoplebecauseoneearns He prefers incomparison to thesehighly theircompany thelowly, of heisintunewiththelowest that Nanak says castes. Asexample, reverence for peoplesbelongingtotheso-calledlower related. Gurbanicontainscoupletswhich deep express astothosecloselythe samerespecttostrangers dimensional basedonthe welfare-of-allwhich extends GranthSahibismulti- multi-cultural societyinGuru does notadmitany discrimination oranimosity. The appear Sahib Granth which dialogue futuristic as cosmic harmony. ideals preached The through Guru provinces, communities andfaiths,peoplesattuned to thepeoplefromdifferent or castegroup. Itisof The Gurus wanted to create a classless, casteless classless, a tocreate Gurus wanted The Gurbaniistorecognise essential messageThe of living and tohonest utmostimportance ethics. Gurbaniimparts decencyand human beingsthroughitsmessage of that Gurbanicantore-establish the balanceamongst for restoring equilibrium in human life. It is here the wayswith human welfareareexploring andmeans However, various institutions and systems connected affection andsympathy for arefastdisappearing. others love,has over-powered humanpsyche. of feelings Thus, havetheir value lost relevance and degradation moral as individualism and selfishness. Human relations rise of globalisation, but the racefor material gainshasledto sharing one’s earnings with others. sharing one’s earnings We thoughts. norexpressevil shouldneither inculcate ailments as physical mentalaswell speakroughinvite we we if Nanak says, feelingsOne shouldnotinjure. anyone’s toanevil-doer.One shouldbehelpfuleven One must eraseone’s ego. the wholeworld. control over one’shaving mindislike control over Having such as exhortations againsteviland, therefore, actionsthrough warns mentally poised and morally sound human beings living. withtheneedy. earnings your of is theidealway This Nanak says, earn by the sweat of your brow andshare brow your of thesweat by earn Nanaksays, Gurbani aimsat developing spiritually prosperous, seva (service to others), particularly through through particularly others), to (service these is material progress and these ismaterial progress values. of impact Major adversely affected the moral times havein modern quite technological development andScientific explorations ValuesMoral faiths is certainly asin. faiths iscertainly and intolerancetootherreligious but disrespect expected is faith adherence toone’s religion and such amulti-cultural society, accordedequal Inimportance. where dutiesandrightswere andsocial equalitytolerance, adherence toreligion, religious and observance expression; Such advice greatly contributes towards developing tends to recognise the significance of the spiritual as well sound moral character. Making one’s conduct simple as the practical aspects of ethical values. and straightforward through a disciplined mind is one of the distinct and special aspects of the teachings of Unfortunately, the world seems to have became prey Gurbani. Qualities of ignoring pitfalls of others and to selfishness, disorder and tension-ridden atmosphere being soft spoken and sweet in speech go a long way born out of mutual differences and conflicts beset with in becoming foundation of an ideal way of living. terror and barbarity, and on the verge of disaster. It Utterances replete with sweetness and humility is essential to disseminate and adopt the message of contribute in big manner towards building a congenial universal brotherhood given by Guru Granth Sahib. and pleasant environment. The practicability of the message of religious tolerance, awareness of religious pluralism and model of inter-faith On the other hand, Gurbani rejects the habit dialogue, as contained in Guru Granth Sahib has the of vilification and opposes the slanderers because potential of establishing an international fraternity or such people really pollute the social and cultural multi-cultural system, to stir human consciousness. Such environment. Conveying feelings of humility and virtuous conduct can certainly unite the whole world as courtesy, Gurbani teaches that inculcation of one family strengthening human fraternity and mutual virtue and humility eradicates one’s ego completely. understanding and being a medium for solution of world Once the barrier of ego is removed, feelings of problems. hatred, backbiting, jealousy, slander and anger disappear as well. The model of morality presented It is relevant to quote Arnold Toynbee here: through Gurbani imparts the qualities of patience, contentment and continence to human beings and Mankind’s religious future may be obscure, yet one teaches how to develop self-control and self-discipline thing can be foreseen: the living higher religions are going to for help in freeing oneself from evil deeds. The influence each other more than ever before, in these days of principles of morality endow a human being with increasing communication between all parts of the world and mental alertness and building up such awareness in all branches of human race. In this coming religious debate, human beings, equips them with qualities of firmness, the Sikh Religion, and its scriptures, the Adi Granth, will boldness and resourcefulness in leading new and have something of special value to say to the rest of the world. successful lives. The moral code of Guru Granth Sahib This religion is itself a monument of creative spiritual forms a healthy amalgam of Indian philosophical intercourse between two traditional religions whose relations tradition though it is not supplementary to it. It have otherwise not been happy. This is a good augury

Working in Panjab University, for the last 38 years, as Professor and Academic-in-charge Dept. of Guru Nanak Sikh Studies, Dr. Jaspal Kaur Kaang has translated the universal wisdom and ethical values represented in the lives and works of Sikh Gurus into the interdisciplinary pedagogical modules for the dissemination of value education through Punjabi Language, literature and culture. Moreover, as an administrator (being the member of Senate, Chairperson, Dean, Member of Finance Board and Member of Academic Bodies of various Universities), she has promoted Indian languages and culture as directed by UNESCO and contributed to the reconstruction and the restructuring the policies, programmes and pedagogic practices to nurture the idea of Indianism.

Her objective is to spread the eternal values symbolised by our great NISHAAN Gurus, which are so very relevant in today’s world. 33 34 NISHAAN H n et,btmntao and our death,existence as but well. minutia of birth unpredictableof moments onlyseminal not the – already predetermined to be or not. Yet, our lives remain then, not even a breath, is “T” already crossed and every “I” dotted. No one action exerting our precise individualcontrol of lives with every such ideas. of Twain’s serious fealty to these formulations. I refer you to Mark up ramping havedifficulty I decent. sometimes the to banal or evil hopelessly the from ranging mine, and yours – shenanigans one’s every on tabs detailed that I or anyone will make. That He/She keeps precise, moveevery and each controls Creator all-pervading creation. overall control precise divine, without happens nothing that the creation by theCreator – of micromanagement implies . structure organised also but Command, or Edict concepts: both HUKAM: WhatHUKAM: it is & What it Aint? random disorder. to opposed as organisation, systematic also edict, or Directive meanings: two has or Sikhism, Encyclopaedia 1996. of McLeod, in Punjabi University’s of exposition religions? I also refer you to the Sikhi, nay, inprettymuch all . In English, In Command. I grant that it is reassuring to envision a Creator a envision to reassuring is it that grant I topopularbelief,Contrary Idonotmeanthat an In popular usage popular In Hukam is Arabic for Arabic is Hukam a defining expression in expression defining a “Hukam”– meaning of ow do I perceive the for parody rib tickling a Letters Earth from The in Sikhi embraces Sikhi in Hukam by Hew Hukam mine to perform, because it is Order Order

many(?) days.” Sounds familiar? Very human? everySahibs daySukhmani many (?) forso so recite to “You promise negotiate? I we forgive(Creator)and me becomes a bartering system – entirely transactional. Can pass-out-of-jail contemplate. contemplate. door held responsible wrong orstandtrialfor Imay any canIbe doing, fault;noway I doismy nothingismy his answer thutaepaal”) asksGuruNanak;his koorae kiv asunder (“Kiv sachiara hoyiyae torn falsehood of veil – attained be to Truth is How Hukam. of ideas with engages Granth Guru 1, page On How Sikhi defines Hukam? Wouldn’t a micromanaging Creator become a a become Creator micromanaging Wouldn’t a micromanager, a is Creator the that nothing then If card? And our relationship with him with relationship our And card? free- is the next line: By walking the Way of Hukam a micromanaging Creator is to diminish and discount (“Hukum rajai chalnaa Nanak likhyaa naal”). the greatest achievement of the Creator.

The next stanzas tell us that all existence is the Notwithstanding Hukam, in fact, at some level we visible expression of Hukam. It transcends all recognise that within the larger system that remains description and nothing exists outside Hukam. The mysterious, humans have considerable free will. If laws of cause and effect are an aspect of Hukam. The there were absolutely no choices open to us, then Guru Creator in his fullness is beyond human comprehension, Nanak would not have said “As you sow so shall you so too, is Hukam, which is the revelation of Akal reap (aapay beej aapay hee khaahu Guru Granth p.4). Purkh. Hukam is a mystical experience that cannot Nor would Guru Granth advise us to live well and be fully elaborated. Thus, Hukam gathers into a single joyfully by our own honest efforts (Uddam karendia(n) principle all of God’s activity. jio too p. 522) or to resolve our own affairs/needs by our own efforts (aapan hathee aapnaa aapay hee kaaj Remember also that we have been endowed with savareeyae p. 473). the faculty of reasoning. Every human organ is built to perform its functions that help to sustain life and Do not rue the results, nor lose the self in pride and NISHAAN make us what we are. The human brain was not pelf, but be at peace with life. Why? To live another designed to fill the space between our ears. To look to day through both defeat and triumph. Engage with 35 36 NISHAAN fof it. defines that breath single that in hilt its to present the livein to then best is It life. is alone that present; the defines in are we breath nevernever guaranteed. future, certain, the is taken be to yet breath the past; the in already is it moment. givenany at in engaged is one that breath one the really is life that (Hum aadmihae(n)ikdami….). one single breath only tells us that we are creatures of meaningful citationGranth (p. from the Guru 660). It p.jo anhonihoye 1426). Granth: anything(Guru happens when worry why so impossible, the of realm the in not is whateverhappens Hukam; accepting by worry the past, nor the moment that is yet to come. Discard to the present moment, not the moment that is now in turn to needs focus our and be, will be will what that accept we when only shifts paradigm Our present. be buried andthe futureyet weoverlook unborn, the to needs that past the with obsession our With be. not might or might that worries of full as just future am not recommending it here. approveI not and does practice Sikhi such life. all of our puny,nature of but not pointless, existence, indeed transitory the with terms to come to them enable present. the on refocus to (corpses) In Thailand, Buddhist monks meditate on dead bodies yesterday (the past) is the same – languages, the word for both tomorrow (the future) and Keep inmindthat andrelated inPunjabi Indic What does it mean to live in the present? cheerfully what life offers in return. make honest choices, do the best with them and accept to is here goal The Hukam. experience to present the dystopia. our misalignment — our existence between utopia and of crux the is This passions. enduring these between lost then is present the future; rosier but unknown or divine will that pervades Sikh teaching Sikh pervades that will divine or Hukam And then we encounter a most challenging and challenging most a encounter we then And the regrets, with loaded is past Undoubtedly,the How then to redirect the mind towards the present? an for pining past, We imaginary livean largely in The breath that preceded that breath The In fact, to me the idea the me to fact, In This tells us bluntlyus tells This kull. Chinta ta ki keejiyae Chinta takikeejiyae This is meant to meant is This Only the Only

come”. number, primal first where “Aa” andDum as parsed be can human a for it is essential. time. present momentof the moment. thatlivingexactly — means fullyproductively and in a bitter pill, because no alternative exists. what is willing butacceptance of more like swallowing helplessness, it is then not a confession of Hukam? If desperation. What does it mean to accept the Creator’squiet of lives as existence human bewailed Thoreau But People will be People do, that my neighbour is a no-good jerk and God knows won the lottery and I didn’t?” Surely God knows, as I neighbour my “Why us: tortures thought underlying an But time.” next perhaps – out pan didn’t ticket linguistic and philosophic antecedents. shared from us to come that terms related are Admi Biblical the if wonder I but singlea breath. of reality singular on a clean slate. start, fresh a on embarking and past the with closure attaining of powerfullyprinciples the most illustrates the future – the next moment – to write anew. a the new start day.of It effectively clears the slate for hubris and pride. Every moment then is a new dawn – deep with trust the unknown, the of unseen. death – in other words, we need develop a relationship the the moment reality thatof stands between life and livesour alivebecome to to livingby of realignment a constant renewal in life. of promise the Hence moment. the in fully live to fully, honestly, and purposefully – to live in the present, In Punjabi and related languages, the word “Admi” inthe remainsOur existence limitedtotheonebreath Then Then we cavil, “Well! It’s God’s will that my lottery Briefly, Hukam asks us to stop worrying and start start and worrying stop Briefly, to us asks Hukam In short, the directive of Walking inHukam Dum So, admi means breath and breath means paso a one creaturebreath,speaks of of the , as well for an invitation “to invitation an for well as One, Is it that easy? frees us of guilt, misplaced guilt, of us frees Hukam Adam Aa stands for both the both for stands I am not a linguist a not am I becomes living life andthe Punjabi Not really, but Hukam as I do that I am a good person. I regularly attend to accept what I cannot change and the wisdom to know services at gurdwara and say my requisite prayers, I the difference.” The third clause is crucial. feed the homeless, so on and so forth. … ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Which battles to fight and from which battles to walk away with grace. This, the most difficult to see as a And then an easy way out of the dilemma governing commandment of life, is a major determinant appears: lean on an imaginative string of past lives, of our sanity and survival. It is the wisdom of Hukam cyclical birth and so on and on…of the Creator’s and sets the trajectory of our lives. mysterious ways for transferring responsibility to unknown others. Hindu mythology certainly helps, To live with equanimity means to accept the doesn’t it? As does literal interpretation of such unexpected turns that life offers – pain and pleasure, references in the Guru Granth. success and defeat – and see them as two robes in the wardrobe that each of us wears interchangeably (Sukh A Possibly Reasonable Alternative dukh doey dar kaparay pehrey aaye manukh p. 149). A more rational explanation exists. A benevolent Guru Granth also advises that much in life is beyond Creator created the systems in which life exists and our design, so accept it with good grace as the essential evolves. (A version of intelligent design!) He/She allows reality – whatever pleases (the Creator) is the good deed us considerable free will to rewrite our own narrative. (Jo tudh bhavae saayi bhali kaar p. 3). As a popular adage We live and die as per the laws that govern us on Earth. goes: Que Sera Sera. Our lives are shaped by a complex interaction of our genes and the environment – our nature and nurture. Thus, we cultivate positive lives without obsessing its And despite the many who pretend to read the past downturns. And to face life with a realistic but hopeful and foresee the future, life remains a mystery; a box, and positive stance. fuller than Pandora’s, that delivers pain, suffering, even death. This box also bestows on us heavenly Sikhi takes this issue head on. A plethora of citations delights and unequaled success. Unearned and can be mustered but I drive home my point with only uninvited come the many defeats, as do life’s triumphs. two. The Guru Granth (p. 922) pointedly challenges us Like manna from heaven, they are best not seen as with Eh sareera meriya iss jug meh aye ke kya tudh karam entitlements or earned. kamaaya (What footprints will you leave in the sands of time?) and then it adds (p. 1102,) Pahila marn kabool kar Hukam, then, becomes a state of mind. It jeevan ki chhudd aas (Accept first the reality of death and determines how we engage, in Shakespeare’s words, abandon all hope of endless life). with “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” An ancient prayer goes, “O God grant me the courage How then to leave the world? An iota better would be to change the things that I can change, the serenity plenty!

Dr. IJ Singh came to the United States in 1960 on a Murry & Leonie Guggenheim Foundation fellowship. He received a PhD in anatomical sciences from the University of Oregon Medical School (now Oregon Health Sciences University), and a DDS from Columbia University. He is a professor emeritus of anatomical sciences at New York University and serves on the Editorial Advisory Boards of The Sikh Review (Calcutta) as well as Nishaan (New Delhi), and writes a regular internet column on Sikhi. NISHAAN

37 38 NISHAAN Sri Guru Granth Sahib A Harmandar Sahib forHarmandar the timefirst in 1604. Following in Sahib Granth before Bhaktas and Guru installing Saints compiled andeditedthecollectedBaniof Gurus, the Dev Arjan inaddition toBaniof Guru Sikh Guru, visiblethe Guru. History bodytells us of that the fifth upon by the Sikhs notasonly ascripture but as the Itislooked theGuru. which occupiesthestatus of the world. scriptures of religious of inthetradition issingular Granth Sahib the Guru the least doubt that the place and position of Gurdwara atHazoor Sahib Guru Granth Sahib isthe unique holy scriptureGuru our livesour inone wayor theother. Butthere is guides allscriptures reverence. message The of theworldhave ll religiousscripturesof Scripture Global of Concerns what are its essential features. I firmly believe that a that believe firmly I features. essential its are what and global as identified be can composition which to Granth Sahib. Sometimes aquestioncomestomind,as Guru discussed predominantly inthespiritualscopeof are its reachismanifestly global. global The concerns Baniand areglobal.nature The of that itsconcerns for alltimes tocome. aGuru status of givenwas and 1708 in Singh Gobind Guru theexalted was then installedat Abchal Nagar, Sahib by Hazoor and directionat DamdamaSahib. Damdami Bir This Gobind Singhunderhisown Guru supervision Guru, theBir,to Dev, editedby Arjan Guru by thetenthSikh Tegh Guru BahadurSahibwasadded this, theBaniof The distinctness of Guru Granth Sahib is in the fact Guru distinctnessThe of global composition is the one which has the capacity to He, the Lord, knows their condition, bridge the gap between human beings and the potency O Nanak, having created the beings, to cross all hurdles and impediments of the world by the Lord takes care of them all. talking about them in all candidness. The Creator, who has created the world. He takes care of it well.” An in-depth study of the Bani very clearly brings out the fact that it transcends all walls of discrimination Arti is another beautiful composition of Guru and divisions. Every barrier and obstacle caves in before Nanak Dev which is recited at every Sikh shrine. its forceful and spontaneous flow of words. The entire Nothing can be written better than this to depict the humanity is immersed into its fold. It is a gateway for whole universe and its creation. These lines reflect the resolving all kinds of problems inflicted upon human enormous and panoramic wisdom of Guru Nanak: society and the entire world and its concerns are the subject-matter of the Bani. Gagan main thalu ravi chandu dipak bane tarika mandal janak moti Questions such as what is the global scope of Guru Dhup malanlo pawanu chavro kare Granth Sahib and who is covered in its ambit also come sagal banrai phulant joti to my mind. Here, the following lines from Asa-Di-Var, Kaisi arti hoi Bhav khandana teri arti composed by Guru Nanak, seem quite befitting while answering this: “The sky is Thy salver, The sun and moon Thy lamps, Purkhan birkhan tirthan tattan meghan khetanh The galaxy of stars as pearls scattered. Dipan loan mandlan khandan varbhandanh The woods of sandal are Thine incense, Andaj jeraj utbhujan khani setjanh The forests Thy flowers, So mit janai Nanka sran meran jantah What a beautiful worship is this O Destroyer of fear.” Nanak jant upai kai samale saabhnah Jini kartai karna kia chinta bhi karni tah It is quite obvious from the above lines that the nature and scope of the Bani of Guru Granth Sahib “Men, trees, holy places, is global and its sensitivity is responsive to all global banks of sacred streams, concerns. clouds and fields, islands, spheres, universes, continents and solar system. One of the major concerns of the Guru Granth Sahib The sources of creation, egg-born, is religious pluralism, very important in the situation womb-born, earth-born and sweat-born that exists in the world today. In fact, Pluralism has and oceans, mountains and sentient beings; become a key challenge in a contemporary globalised world. On one hand, the present globalisation has brought the whole world closer together, while on the other, the world has become divided and fragmented. Undoubtedly, we are living in an era of possible conflicts and violence. Strengthening religious pluralism and mutual understanding is more important and required than ever before.

In today’s situation, what we need is a true pluralistic model which teaches tolerance towards each other, understanding each other and appreciating each other. A model through which we learn to share what NISHAAN is common in our religious philosophies. This is, in fact, 39 The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh the very essence of pluralism. 40 NISHAAN and customs: recognition totheir established anddiverse traditions the different religions, has given due identities of hymns the independent Ramkali, accepting inRag the pluralisticsystem. consolidation of to promoteandhow tostrengthentheprocessof GranthSahibshows Guru theway forward the Baniof the world in all its beauty and strength. Furthermore, of plurality the considers and pluralism glorifies and GranthSahib appreciates the Guru this, theBaniof thedifferentreligioustraditions.Notonly identities of the accepting in explicit quite is and plurality on Bani,veryrecognition. The emphatically, lays stress traditions andtheiridentitieshave beengiven due present scenario. In this model, different religious Granth Sahibtoguideusandgive usdirectioninthe alarge, liberalandprogressive world. emergence of seekthe also Bani followerstendencies. The of discriminatory as itdoes notcater toany kind of torighteousnessina pluralistic society,corresponds Bani that thequintessenceof clear It iscrystal this world facing agrave confrontational situation. to direction affirmative an giving of capable fully is oepromHnurta fworship, bow others Hinduritualof Some perform Some go to Hindu bathing-places; some to Mecca; merciful. He is All-powerful, bountiful, beneficent and Some callHimGosain,someAllah. “One callsHimRam, anotherKhuda; sahibkaatin bhedjaataa. Prabh Kah Naanakjinhukampachhaataa. Koee surgindoo. koee baachhaibhisat Koee kahaihindoo. koee kahaiturrak Koee suped. odhaineelkoee Koee kateb. paraibedkoee Koee sirnivaee. karaipoojaakoee hajjaae. koee Koee teerath naavai Kirpaa dhaarraheem.Rahaao. Kaaran karankareem. alaahe. gusaeeaakoee Koee sevai Koi khudaae. bolairaamkoee his of Dev, one in Arjan Master, Guru fifth The We have aperfectpluralisticmodelintheGuru GranthSahib Guru I believe that themessage of rteho fman: brotherhood of Godandcommon on thecommonfatherhood of andlay emphasis caste,creedorreligiousbelief birth, differences and divisions of amongmen onthe grounds over-rules which Singh, Gobind Master,Guru Tenth denominations. Hesays: allreligious theidentityof respectfully accept Hishymns says: salvation. AmarDas,inoneof Guru dispensations areequalandleadthehumanityto The Guru Granth Sahib declares that GranthSahibdeclares allreligious Guru The He aloneknows Hisways.” commandment, God’swhohe Nanak, Saith has understood Some covet Bohisht,someSwarga. Some arecalledTurk; Hindu. others Some wearblue; white. others Some readthe Vedas; the Koran. others down innamaz. Dusro na bhed koi bhul bharm manbo. Dusro bhulbharm na bhedkoi Karta karimsoi,rajak rahimoei; pehchnbo. ekey sabe Manas kijaat, Hindu turak kou, rafzi immam safi; Kou anmanbo. jati brahmchari,kou bhaio; jogi kou Kou mundia sanyasi, bhyo the Let mealsoquoteapoeticcompositionof To all Thy Names am I a sacrifice.” Is placedNanak’s headin reverence. thoseutteringThy names, At feetof whole theSoleLord. The worldproclaims “What canpoorNanaksay that isnew? Balihaaree hai. jaaojetetere naav hai Sir Nanaklokaapaav loksalaaheeksai, Sabh kiaakahai Nanak wechaaraa NanakteachesushowIn hisBani,Guru to considerbest.” Thou Save itthroughwhichever dispensations, thy mercy,Out of world is burning,“The save it,OLord, Jit duaaraiubraititailaihubaar. Jagat jalandaaraakhlaiaapneekirpaadhaar. Ek hi ki sev, sabh hi ko Guru Dev ek; traversed all boundaries. It should also be noted that Ek hi sroop, sabe eke jyot janbo. this historical step led to the preservation of precious Bani of saints and bhaktas on one hand and on the “Many believe that they have become superior other, added glow and grace to the Sikh tradition. Dr. by accepting celibacy or undertaking meditation, by S Radhakrishan, so very aptly observed, “A remarkable giving up material comforts, or by making themselves feature of the Adi Granth is that it contains the look different, or by wearing matted hair or no hair. writings of the religious teacher of the Hinduism, Others feel higher by joining a particular sect of Islam Islam, etc. This is in consistency with the tradition as, Shia, Sunni, and so on. of India which respects all religions and believes in But no one should overlook the basic fact that freedom of the human spirit.” followers of all religions are the same human beings. The Creator of all provides for the needs of all This aspect should also be clearly understood that humans. Pluralism cannot be confined to only knowing each There is one Lord and that Lord alone should be other. Knowing each other’s traditions is also not worshipped. enough. Having a dialogue between different religious Do not remain an ignorant and believe in anyone else communities is extremely important and necessary except the one Lord. All humanity is equal, each one for peace and understanding. The times are gone when of us carries the reflection of the Creator in us, and people of one religion could afford to live as separate we are all manifestations of one Creator.” religious groups without much interaction with other religious communities. The people of different religions Another salient feature of Guru Granth Sahib is and the people who have faith in different religious that its structure is Pluralistic. The exclusivity of Guru philosophies have to live together and are bound to Granth Sahib is in the fact that in addition to the Bani interact with each other. Constructive and meaningful of Gurus, the Bani of Bhaktas has also been included Inter-faith dialogue is a must in the world of today. in it. Not only this, their hymns have been given the same degree of esteem as the hymns of the Gurus I am reminded of the process of inter-faith dialogue, and this Bani enjoys the same status and reverence which was started by Guru Nanak five centuries ago for the Sikhs. In fact, the range of contributors in and of the pluralistic model of Unity in Diversity which Sri Guru Granth Sahib is quite vast. A contributor emerges out of the Bani of the Gurus and various belonging to any caste, religion or occupation had the bhaktas compiled in the Guru Granth Sahib. privilege to find space for his hymns in the Granth. He could be a Hindu-Jaidev or a Muslim-Baba Farid, a Over five centuries ago, Guru Nanak initiated inter- Brahmin Parmanand or a so-called low caste-Ravidas, faith dialogue to establish the Universal Brotherhood Namdev of Maharashtra or Bhagat Kabir of Banaras. of men. During his travels to Multan, Pakpattan, Evidently, by including the hymns of Bhaktas Haridwar, Kurukshetra, Kashmir, Banaras, Gaya, belonging to different castes and faiths, the Gurus Rajgir, Puri, Ceylon, Tibet, Mecca, Medina and eradicated the caste system and inculcated true spirit Baghdad and elsewhere, Guru Nanak opened a dialogue of tolerance among the people. with all the existing faiths. He filled the inter-religious void with love, ethical humanism and spirituality for It must be stated that to incorporate the hymns the first time. He approached every religion as his of saints and bhaktas in the Guru Granth Sahib was own and presented his own faith and philosophy as a revolutionary step. The decision of the Gurus took everyone’s religion. In all his dialogues with the Yogis, the shape of a crusade to give boost to the concept of Siddhas, Vedantists, Vaishnavas, Shaivas, Buddhists, religious pluralism in India. From the historical point Jains, Sufis, Mullas, Pandits and so on, Guru Nanak of view, it must be said that the influence of these told them that religion is worthless till it joins the main saints and bhaktas, which spanned over five centuries life-current of humanity and implies itself socially and NISHAAN and belonged to different parts and regions, stands spiritually into mankind. Certainly, Guru Nanak, for testimony to the fact that their geographical influence the first time, introduced ecumenism in religion and 41 42 NISHAAN scriptures including Guru Granth Sahib. Guru scriptures including Sikh on focus particular with literatureMedieval on articles over300 authored has He Sahib. Granth Punjabi-2020 as the highlighting factors. Mission and Conferences, Punjabi Regional and All-India Wikipedia, of lines the on Punjabipedia of launching with area thrust major the been has culture and literature language, Punjabi, of overalldevelopment The Sciences. Social of School and Centre; Media monumental a Centre; Centre for CensusStudiesandResearch; Sophisticated Instrumentation Studies; Diaspora for Centre Studies; FaridSufi Baba for Centre College, newinstitutions:Women’s a number of Study Centre,AcademicStaff establishedUniversity the tenure, his During 2017. to 2007 from India Vice Chancellor, Patiala.UniversityPunjabi of heldthepost He Patiala, University,lately,Chancellor,Punjabi Vicetill and Swaziland and Dr. Jaspal Singh has authored five highly acclaimed books on Sikh religion, Sikh politics and Sri Guru Dr. Jaspal Singh is Indian former High Commissioner to Mozambique Bhai ManoharSinghandjathainkirtan tt fothers.” to protecttheidentityof and others, respect theidentityof to others, theidentityof accept we must make thecommitmentto among differentdenominations, and tohave meaningful dialogue “To maintain Pluralism in true spirit very andcanbesummedupas: clear GranthSahibis Guru message of The remain indialoguewithothers. respectdiversitiesand always and life.Itteachesustoaccept way of the is Pluralism that manifests GranthSahibvery clearly the Guru of Bani The Pluralism. is context, inthepresent concerns, its major . Itisalsoafactthat oneof Concerns Global scriptureof isa Sahib Granth like toreiterate thefactthat Guru ToIwould once again conclude, humanity andunityindiversity. of to attain peace and progress dialogue istheonly approach through inter-faithunderstanding of toeach other.closer religions andreligiousphilosophies philosophy andbroughtdifferent Today, Nanak’s philosophy Guru Interconnected Ethics “Living as Warrior-Saints for the Freedom and Equality of all, across Centuries, Cultures, Religions and Continents”

hen discussing how one can apply the timeless Gurbani Sangeet parampara, hosted by Dr Gurnam and universal message of Sri Guru Granth Singh and the The Gurmat Sangeet Department at Sahib across time, space, cultures and Punjabi Univeristy Patiala. My graduate study with Wreligions, here and now, in today’s world, it becomes Dr. Arvind S. Mandair at the University of Michigan, important to acknowledge how the Sikh teachings Ann Arbor expanded my horizons in Sikh Studies shape our own lived experiences. I was born and raised through its history, philosophy, language and culture. a Sikh in the 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy) Sikh dharma community with Harbhajan Sikh Khalsa Yogi ji’s Now, as a professor of Sikh and Jain Studies emphasis on “experiential knowing.” Since 2000, I have at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, been studying Gurbani Kirtan and the jori-pakhawaj I teach an upper division undergraduate course with 13th generation exponent Bhai Baldeep Singh ‘Sikhism: Warrior Saints,’ where students visit multiple (photograph above) who honoured me as the first gurdwaras in the area, attend Baisakhi and Guru female exponent of the Amritsari-Kapurthala Baaj. I Nanak’s Birthday at the LA Convention Centre, sit have attended classes, spent time with and interviewed in on Sunday school classes and get to know the lived his grand uncles, Bhai Gurcharan Singh, Bhai Avtar aspects of Sikhi by interviewing community members. Singh and son Bhai Kultar Singh. During 2010-2011, Students also are given opportunities to perform NISHAAN I travelled throughout Northern India as a Fulbright seva both at the Sikh gurdwaras as well as with the fellow, interviewing the extant memory bearers of the Khalsa Peace Corps’ Share a Meal programme where 43 44 NISHAAN and minds. Guru Nanakstates: “thehighest yogicand minds.Guru Granth Sahib,Guru andimprintedinourhearts by enshrinedinthe Sri thesucceeding SikhGurus, are ONE,arevolutionary that wascontinued concept revealed by NanakDev jiasIkOngkar, Guru that we phrase clearlyillustrates the“Interconnected Ethics” you in all, God can’t popular at seeGod This all.” youSingh KhalsaYogi can’t see ji’s who said“If a common message clearly conveyed by Harbhajan raag, and ashared musical language(Gurmukhi), of acommonscript throughacommontext, harmonised castes. Within Granth Sahib, SriGuru this diversity is languages,multiple faiths,and religions,regions, pan-Indicspiritual insightsand wisdoms,from authorship, language, script and content. It aligns throughitsmateriality, thisharmony musicality,of divisions. Itencapsulates theinterconnectednature beyond vision harmonious and borders, boundaries, here and now. Granth Sahib conveys SriGuru a practicedandLIVED–today–be experienced, read, recited, sung, and studied, but ismeant to Sahib therefore isnotmeanttoonly be Granth wisdomenshrinedintheSriGuru The Message Universal Timeless, the world. ethical andmoralguidelinesforoffers living in spirit, students experience first-hand how Sikhi thought and action, between mind, body and between perspectives andpractices,between life. Byobservingthe symbiotic relationship of theinterconnectedness on based paradigm egolessnessthat adynamic offers ethical of that sacrifices theego-self. It is this core concept is characterisedby love for oneanother, alove inrelationSucharelationship toallothers. self move towards amindset that acknowledges the their own self-centeredtendenciesordesiresand torecognise (ahankar) , they their ego begin when example, astudentchooses to workon drives: five the of one relinquishing or vegetarianism simran, namjapna,meditation, seva, veganism/ their choosing(ie.nam a forty-day practiceof Sikhi by performing aspects of of experience Angeles. Additionally, students gain first-hand they thenserve tothehomeless aroundLos whichthey make onafood burritos truck kam, krodh, lobh, moh, and ahankar.) For hs nne o h reo n qaiyo All. those inneedfor thefreedomandequalityof have the courage tostand againstinjustice and defend us topracticelove-in-action asWarrior-Saints who Sikhethics.Itencourages isthefoundationego-loss of interconnected perspective of basedonanexperience GranthSahib6). This jit)”(Siri Guru (man jitaijag conquering your own mind,you conquertheworld mankind;through order istoseethebrotherhoodof our Sikh brothers andsisters. our Sikhbrothers aimedat violence,particularly rhetoric andactsof religious, ethnic,andrace lines,escalating hate being erected alongnationalistic,ideologies currently living aresponse totheseparatist intheworldoffers anddiscrimination.ethicalmodeof This segregation, inequality, against stand to –willing householder a mutualrespect, while careand living also life of the shared humanityandallows ustoserve with others that behavior, renouncesego-centric recognisesour living saintly a through intheworld mindset of Nanak.Hetaughtarevolutionarywith Guru mode h ihcneto the Warrior Saintbegan of Sikh concept The Guru Nanak Dev ji’s socio-religious intervention in contains the tools towards one’s own liberation from the early 16th century promotes an ethical paradigm the ego-dominated self towards a path of Love. This based on an interconnected oneness that resists revolutionary notion of sovereignty allows us to live religious and social inequality and communal violence. as Warrior Saints who, through conquering our selfish Guru Nanak Dev ji paved the way for the Fifth Sikh ego-centered minds and behaviour, recognise the shared Guru, Guru Arjan Dev ji to transcend social, religious, humanity of all beings and stand courageously for the and linguistic divisions in compiling the Adi Granth, equal rights and freedom of ALL. a musical-poetic scripture unlike any other with firsthand expressions of divine experience from the Guru Gobind Singh ji poetically expresses: Sikh Gurus themselves, from their disciples, court musicians and saints of differing religious, ethnic, “All men are the same though they appear different. linguistic, and social backgrounds. The Tenth Sikh The bright and the dark, the ugly and the beautiful, … Guru further transgressed socio-politico-religious All human beings have the same eyes, the same ears, norms by proclaiming that the Adi Granth scripture The same body build composed of earth, air, fire and would henceforth be the eternal, living Guru of the water. ... Sikhs, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The names Allah and Abhekh are for the same God … The same is referred to in the Puranas and the Quran. Guru Gobind Singh ji, recognising the faulty All human beings are the reflection of one and the same nature of human authority that can lend itself to Lord. unethical behaviour, removed any possibility of ego- Recognise the whole human race as One.” posturing in relationship to the Guruship. He ceased the lineage of human successors and instead invested Guru Gobind Singh ji, like the Sikh Gurus before the sovereign authority of the Guruship into the him, led by example, recognising the interconnected Guru Granth, the Shabd Guru. This act effectively nature of the hukam at play within the world. Even displaced human authority that is subject to time after his great-grand father, father, sons and disciples and space, and invested it in the eternal Word as Guru had been martyred for taking a stand against religious that each Sikh can embody within their self, through persecution and forceful conversion at the hands the practices of nam jap, nam simran, and Gurbani of Mughal rulers, he understood the importance of kirtan. In this way the Sri Guru Granth Sahib as Shabd fighting for justice without vengeance, greed, pride, Guru offers a radical mode of sovereignty that unifies attachments, hate or enmity. Instead, he fought so that rather than divides, that is not subject to laws of those of all faiths may live and worship freely rather succession and infighting. It is an authority that itself than submit to an oppressive, unjust rule.

Relevance of Guru’s Message in Today’s World While the world has changed much in the last 550 years since the time of the Sikh Gurus, there are many things that remain the same. People continue to struggle against unjust power structures. Owing to the pervasiveness of fear and hate rhetoric, we continue to see boundaries erected along nationalistic, NISHAAN religious, ethnic, and race lines, separating ourselves 45 46 NISHAAN unity andwithforgiveness in the heart. education aboutwhogreater Sikhsare,withprayers for with hate andrage the Sikhcommunity hascalledfor their own turbansandbeards. Rather than responding Sikhs who owing continue tobe targeted asterrorists, to then, there have been countless hate crimes against evil –theenemy. of and beard,astheepitome Since continually showed Osama BinLaden,withhisturban intotheTwintheir airplanes Towers andthe media flew terrorists when 2001 September 11 since Sikhs and equalityfor all. honour,contentment, acceptance, strength, justice given by GobindSinghjiwhich represent Guru rather thantheKhalsaattributesand distrust as public,toan un-informed fear, represent terrorism, whose visuallybeards and turbans identitywiththeir sons, and grandfathers, brothers, husbands, uncles, aimed at ourKhalsa Sikhparticularly fathers, violence. from oursharedhumanityandcausingactsof Thousands of hate havecrimes upon inflicted been of Thousands In the USA, there have been many hate crimes lost hismother Paramjit Kaurinthe attack,worked prayers and hearts. Singh, and BabaPunjabSingh, now paralysed, inour Singh, Katwant Singh Kaleka, Prakash Singh, and Sita ParamjitKaur Saini, SuvegSingh Khattra, Ranjit Sunday Gurdwara service,killingsixpeople.We keep a during sangat Sikh the on fire opened supremacist Creek, Wisconsin when on 5August white a 2012, shootingat theGurdwara inOak thehorrific of Singh offered himforgiveness. Sikhi, Rana Rana Singhover the phone. Inthespiritof tospeakwith serving alifesentence,the killeragreed forgiveness,even for your enemies.” or opponents “revolutionary love and to spreadthe Sikhmessage of working withactivistSingh Sodhibegan Valarie Kaur Singh’s Balbir crime, brother,horrific this After Rana and hate becauseheperceived himasthe“enemy.” rage byPhoenix, Arizona amanwho killedhimoutof murdered was Sodhi Singh station hisgas outside in After thisatrocity, SinghSaini, who had Harpreet We recently commemorated the 5th daysA few September, 11th after Sikh,Balbir a anniversary While with the Sikh Coalition, to pass a resolution that the warrior-saint tradition that calls us to stand against FBI’s national hate crimes database would finally track injustice and defend those in need; whereby serving hate crimes against Sikhs. His testimony in front of others we serve the Divine interconnected whole. The the US Senate demonstrates the Sikh capacity to stand Sikh Gurus teach us that the root cause of injustice with courage and love in the face of enormous tragedy, and oppression is our haumai. That our selfish desires loss, and grief. build walls between you and me but never make us truly happy. They teach that our desires are thirsts “He killed my mother, Paramjit Kaur, while she was that can never be quenched while our minds beg for sitting for morning prayers. He shot and killed five more more, blind to the gifts we have already been given. It men –all of them were fathers, all had turbans like me. is our selfish nature that obscures our recognition of And now people know all our names: Sita Singh. Ranjit the Divine Light within ALL and separates us from Singh. Prakash Singh. Suvegh Singh. Satwant Singh our humanity. Kaleka. This was not supposed to be our American story. This was not my mother’s dream… Senators, my Psychoanalysis teaches us that separation from the mother was our biggest fan, our biggest supporter. She greater whole causes a deep existential pain, lack or was always there for us, she always had a smile on her void that the ego tries to fill by creating an economy face. But now she’s gone. Because of a man who hated of exchange that treats others as objects that can be her because she wasn’t his colour? His religion?…I want used, bought, or sold. This existential grief and pain to tell the gunman who took her from me: You may have is then externalised, expressed as an economic lack, been full of hate, but my mother was full of love.” that can only be fulfilled through accumulation and oppression and that can only be solved by vilifying This eloquent proclamation of love from a young and hating the other rather than looking within Sikh man who had just lost his mother exemplifies one’s own mind, heart and self. Today, we see this how Sikhs continue to respond to these hate crimes. existential cum economic grief and pain projected Rather than giving in to hate, anger, revenge, and fear onto precarious minority communities worldwide. Sikhs continue to stand with strength, courage and From the killing of Srinivas in Kansas and the compassion. shooting of Deep Rai, a Sikh in Kent, Washington, who were both told “go back to your country,” to the The Sikh Gurus teach us how to live in Ik Ong Kar, bomb threats at Jewish community centres and fires with Nirbhao and Nirvair. How to be fearless warriors and shooting at mosques, to the most recent killing who also do not cause fear. How to be without enmity, of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville who, though to have no enemies and recognise our shared humanity. concerned about the potential violence that would The warrior saint concept can serve as an ethical occur, decided to follow the path of love and protest model for us all – to not vilify the other, but to act with the hateful white supremacist rally. She offered her compassion, grace, dignity, and understanding, even in heart and head to stand against social inequality and the face of hostility and adversity. injustice, and was killed by a motorist full of hate and rage. Guru Nanak Dev ji in this shlok instructs: Jo to praem khaelan kaa chaao || Sir dhar talee galee Sikh teachings, enshrined in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, maeree aao || offer an ethical model to train our bodies and minds to live as Warrior Saints who have the courage (‘cor’ If you desire to play this game of love with me, then is the latin root for heart) to give of one’s head, to give step onto my path with your head in hand, and do not of one’s ego, to stand against injustice and defend heed public opinion. those in need, for the Freedom and Equality of ALL. (Sri Guru Granth Sahib,1412) The Fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev ji in Sukhmani Sahib gives a formula for how humans can remove their NISHAAN The Sikh perspective that we must first conquer inner turmoil, pain, and sorrow to find peace, love and 47 the ego-centred-mind to serve others, underpins the acceptance. He instructs: 48 NISHAAN And Peace dwells in our hearts andmind And Peace inourhearts dwells Depart Our Pain andSorrow Creation ontheDivine Unity of By meditating With for All love Replace self-centered thought,speechandaction within the devotional sphere. it relates as gendered to norms institutionalised and particularly diaspora the jori-pakhawaj.ongoing Her investigates research diversity intheSikh the Amritsari-Baaj on Gurcharan Singh) as exponentthe female of first Bhai Avtar and Bhai of Singh (grandnephew Bhai Baldeep kirtaniya paramparaandwashonouredby the GurbaniKirtan 13thgeneration of bearers India,interviewingtheremainingmemory throughout Northern Devotional Music.’She hasconductedextensive research ethnographic Sikh Renaissance Michiganin2014on‘The of from theUniversity of Professor Khalsareceived herPh.DinAsianLanguages andCultures where sheteachesahighly‘Sikhism:Warrior popularcourse Saints.’ Studies at Loyola University, Marymount Los Angeles, California Nirinjan KaurKhalsa, Ph.D. isClinical Professor Sikh &Jain We enemiesandfriendsalike aretotreat thenable within ALL shines theDivineLightthat aretorecognise Once we able andothers ourself between seenoseparation Because we We perform good deeds and selfless for service Others Breath andBone.Breath Mind andSoul toGodandGuru ourlives Give asstone Strong assteel,steady Stand astheKhalsa We All aninchat give won’t Until thelaststarfalls standtallest whenwe That’s anddarkest thingsareWhen down it live must we that death It’s inthefaceof it Speaking cannotgive courage speakof Many happens acceptwhatever And to peacefully that ALLmay live in darkness, so stand tallinthefaceof usto GranthSahibinstructs Guru is not an easy one, it is difficult. Sri Anand Sahib: 3HO SikhGurdwara, before the every Khalsa” sungat the end of the Iofferthe “Songof example, Tept fthe Warrior Saint path The of As a reminderAs tolead by ChardiKalaa ! “Sikh Way of Life as inspired by the Sikh Rehat Maryada” Sukhveer Singh answers the questions put to him: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee took on the task to enshrine the Sikh Rehat Maryada.

The Committee involved Gursikhs and Sikh scholars from across the world. Those who debated over the initial draft sought to bring consistency to our practices so we could be more united, advance ourselves collectively, and resist external disruptive influences.

Guru Gobind Singh ji, the Tenth Master What is Sikh Rehat Maryada? When and why was it instituted? To what extent it is relevant in present times? The Sikh Rehat Maryada is the code of conduct for Sikh social, religious, and general living that follows the teachings of our Gurus. After Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji left for his heavenly abode, many contradictory practices, often drawn from the religious traditions of Hinduism and Islam, had forced their way into the Sikh way of life. Furthermore, as Sikhs were not custodians of many Gurdwaras, they could not ensure that correct practices were followed. NISHAAN The Khalsa Panth was being led astray and there The doctrine of the Sikh Rehat Maryada was need to have a code of conduct to protect the 49 unique tenor of our religion. Starting in 1927, the 50 NISHAAN rnlto.Js stegeteso Waheguru cannot translation. Just of asthe greatness We cannotget the fullmeaningoressencefroma asthisis centraltoouridentity.original writtenform GranthSahibjiinits in ordertoreadtheSriGuru ourcorevalues. constant remindertousof for fostering theKhalsabrotherhoodandserve asa religious beliefs and practices. They are essential By wearingthem, wesetasideallother ourGurus. of the aimsandideals of our commitmenttothe pursuit collectively define ourexternal appearance and express and piouslife as itiswhen wemake thecommitmenttoleadapure ceremonies ourmostimportant Ceremony isoneof Amritthat weshouldleadadisciplinedlife.The aManmukh. To emphasised dothis,ourGurus that of andnot aGurmukh Waheguru by living thelifeof with one become isto thislife of purpose The principles impactyour lifestyle? these ornotpracticing does practicing Nitnem andspeaking Punjabi? How asvisitingGurudwarasuch ,doing life Sikhway of aspects of to different adhering isthesignificanceof What theGurus. principles of how toapply theuniversal spiritual Sikh Rehat Maryada asaguideon at Sikhceremonies.We tothe canturn for Gurdwararules services, and conduct andcommunalpersonal obligations, Sikh, a of definition the as such issues measure themselves. It addresseskey communities aroundtheworldcan against which allSikhindividuals and practices. Itprovidessocial guidelines inourreligious and uniformity of successfully achieved ahigh level published. relevantas now asitwaswhen first by SriAkal Takht Sahib. It remains only version that hasbeenauthorised theis 1936 and October instituted on12 We needtomake every Gurmukhi at effort learning The The SikhRehatThe Maryada was Panj Kakkar Itsimplementation has aeatce ffaith that of are articles The panjkakkar

translated. Gurbanicannot be of be described, the greatness everyday life of aSikh? everyday lifeof the affect life Sikh corporate How five do of facets ourGurus. according totheteachings of and visitingtheGurdwara that Icanmouldmy life aligned with Waheguru. It is only by doing Nitnem, negativity and sinsare dispelled and I become more joining with the Sadh Sangat. fornecessary ustovisitthe Gurdwara for and worship attitude, andoutlooktowards iswhy This others. itis companyThe hasmajoreffects onourmind, wekeep bettermy life, and thusbecome bettera Gursikh. helps provide inspiremeto and guidance spiritual intomy daily bringsthe Gurus lifeand Simran. This Waheguru by recitingtheNitnemBanisanddoing We shouldwake upearly tobecomeonewith ykeigcmayo the Sadh Sangat, my companyBy keeping of Sangat in gurdwara

Our life has both individual and corporate or Panthic Avoidance of discrimination based on caste, religion, aspects. Each one of us is expected to take part in the or gender is a key tenet of the Sikh faith. However, life of the community as a matter of our sacred duty to Sikhism also urges its followers to respect the views build a better Panth. The Guru Panth is the total body of other faiths who do discriminate based on caste, of Sikhs who live according to the teachings of our religion, or gender. How can you reconcile this seeming Gurus. Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji gave its final shape, contradiction? passing temporal leadership of the Sikhs to the Guru Our Gurus taught us that everyone is equal, regardless Panth and spiritual leadership to the Sri Guru Granth of religion or caste or colour. The object of religion is Sahib ji. to unite mankind and not to divide it. It is our duty to respect, understand, and co-operate with other faith The Amrit Ceremony opens the path to become part communities. We should focus on the essential shared of the Guru Panth. A Sikh that breaches any of the elements of other faiths rather than the superficial four major transgressions: hair cutting, adultery, using differences that separate them. alcohol or tobacco or eating of kutta meat are called Patit and are required to take Amrit again. The positive virtues and moral values of different faiths foster unity and cohesion of mankind. It is only If a Sikh has a lapse in observing discipline against through love, compassion, and truthfulness that we can lesser transgressions, they need to appear before reach the deepest fathoms of the heart and enlighten the Panj Pyaras for undergoing Tankhah. When an others. However, we also need to respectfully disagree issue arises that impacts our entire community, a with any practice of prejudice or discrimination based unanimous decision is sought from the Panj Pyarae on caste, race, gender or religion. at one of the five Takhts in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. I view the worship of idols and deities by others as simply their worship of Waheguru’s creations. As this decision is deemed to have been endorsed by As Waheguru is above all of His creations, I will the Guru himself, it is called Gurmata, and is binding to only worship Him. In our Ardas, we ask for Guru’s all Sikhs. If there is a need to appeal against a decision blessing for the welfare of all. This comes from the NISHAAN made by the local congregation, it can be made to teachings of our Gurus that the same One God the Sri Akal Takht Sahib. As with the Gurmatta, the resides within all of us and we are children of that 51 decision is also binding to all concerned. One God. 52 NISHAAN fthis. of GranthSahibjiareareminder Guru ChaarPherefaith. The aroundtheSri an AnandKarajmustadopttheSikh in wishingtotakepart Those Gurus. our according tothe teachings of living they have nointentionof if couple togo throughtheAnandKaraj couple. However, itiswrongfor any the thought shouldbegiven tothecasteorcreedof the couple. The Sikh Rehat Maryada specifies that no onthephysicalbe based state andindividual of traits aSikhmanandwomanshould of one God.Marriage treat everyone asequalbecausewewereallcreated by themajorprinciplestaughtby isto ourGurus One of How doyou explainthisanomaly? decreed thataSikhwoman mayaSikhman. only marry equality for Sikhismpreaches allhumankind,itis While different paths andstillremaintogether people cannotsimultaneously walkon to travelpartner onthat path. Two spouseisacompanion,life- God. The h olo humanlifeistorealise goalThe of

San Jose Gurdwara. Nanak KhalsaSchoolat the Guru and Gurbanitoyoung children at Sundays, hehelpsteachPunjabi orchestra at hishighschool.On thechamber of violin andispart ten years. He enjoys playing the Foundation Symposiumfor over inthe Sri Hemkuntparticipant Hehasbeenaregular in Cupertino. senior at MontaVista HighSchool The AnandKaraj ceremony Sukhveer SinghKarlcutisa in accordancewith the SikhRehat Maryada. by ourGurus, living embrace the glorious teachingsof samefaith. that thecouplebefollowers of and wifelive asonesoul.Therefore, itbecomesessential relationshipThe shouldbesostrongthat thehusband lifebecomestroublesome.ignored, otherwise married cannotbe thepartner as acouple. Religious feelingsof During these difficult and troubled times, we need to Harbir Kaur Bhatia suggests that “By walking the walk with SGGS and our beloved Gurus, are Sikhs designed to be civic entrepreneurs, public ombudsmen or future leaders?” ikhi’s universal principles of Naam, social values designed and developed the character of activists and and their birth across over 200 years of turmoil leaders. I have always found religions interesting and and invasions, religious oppression by foreign explored many with the empowerment of Sikhi to Sinvaders and religious abuse under Brahmic leadership, accept others, which helped my understanding of Sikhi have presented a way of life that is resilient, practical, more and also allowed me to appreciate other stories inclusive, and of high ideals! It enjoins the Sikhs to as well. Having worked and served in various forms of live a God (Divine) conscious, moral, and socially public, service, and private sectors for more than 30 ethical life. Sikhi has fundamentally given high value years, I share this perspective from personal experience. to activism, equality, justice, community service and brotherhood and have empowered all for direct When we look at the issues affecting modern day connection with the Divine, irrespective of social status society, you will see similar themes in history time and or religious affiliation. time again. An article in the New York Times ‘What Do You Think is the Most Important Problem Facing This “Recognise the human race as one”, said Guru Country Today?’ shares the results by Gallups polls Gobind Singh ji, and “the betterment of all, sarbat da from 1935 through February 2017, from the times bhalla”, proclaimed Guru Nanak. By walking the walk of President Franklin Roosevelt to the beginning of of Sikhi, as a Sant-Sipahi, could the future Governor be President Trump’s term in office. I share the 1935 and a Sikh? Could the future US President be a Sikh? One 2017 results. The themes and issues are surprisingly does not have to be an expert theologian or have a common through history, and looking back into our doctorate in Sikhi to see the opportunity, possibility Sikh history the concerns remain the same. - and reality! I will cite specific examples from SGGS and stories of our beloved Guru in our history, which Need For Equality, Liberty and Justice for All endorse that Sikhs can be effective activists and leaders, The summary of what is affecting us today is the lack those who can help create successful societies. of those willing to serve the whole community fairly and equally. There is a strong need for independent, fair To provide a frame and perspective around as to and just, and inclusive mindset. The teachings of Sikhi why I share this view, let me recount a little about my provide that. Let us examine the times of the Gurus own background. I grew up in the Midwest USA with and South Asian history. For centuries after centuries, my parents, a brother, and a sister. My educational and the Indian Sub-continent faced constant foreign professional background has been in Engineering. Our invasions and with it varied philosophies, traditions, family taught us the values of social service, and Sikhi and communities of people. In the earlier phases of was a central part of our upbringing. It was a pillar invasions, cultures were largely incorporated and of strength and identification for us as children. Sikhi absorbed into the way of life from early BCE, Greeks directly impacted our actions and choices. Through (Alexander), Scythians, Parthians, Ionians, Bactrians, Sakhis of the Gurus and Gurbani we gained most of Huns and others a thousand years over. our fundamentals. The Sakhis (stories of our Gurus) NISHAAN and examples of Gurbani to be shared are not unknown Thereafter, in the times of late-Medieval period to you, but I hope to provide a perspective on how they in India, invasions from Arabs to Mughals, India’s 53 54 NISHAAN provider for all beings–May Inever forget this. hasmade one thing clear: the One Godis the Guru The mai visar na jaa-ee. so daataa ik kaa jee-aa sabhnaa bujhaa-ee. dayhi ik Guraa all We of lookfor thebetterment daBhalla, Sarbat Recognise the humanraceasone Manas Kee Jaat EkKo Pachaniya at all. onlyis otherno thereis God; Lord Supreme theOne There Párbarahm parabh Equality and alsoinspireyou more. toexplore andIhopethefollowing examples, provide aperspective Instead, wemust helporserve aremany them.There others. inequality,should notignoreharm, orinjusticeof thereinwe mankind, andamongst unityGod themes of common the of examples find we Gurbani Throughout Examplesthe Gurbani from andKeeratwith others, Karna– honestwork. reciting aresummarisedas:NaamJapnathree pillars –reflecting/ Sikhi’s or others. golden rules one’s own lifeandthoseof higher thinking,fairness, and empowerment for bettering activism, mankind, inall equality unity and justice and God, unityof stories highlightandpromotethe values of see that thebasicandfundamentalprinciples,practices, their own futureandsociety as anentity. empowered andactivated in the community toparticipate invasions, whilst it forthe groundwork astouthalt of laid It times. all for guide and Guru final the and Sikhi, life, this periodwhatThrough resultedwasanewway of showsSikhi theway fair andsocially responsible society. security, access,andsomuch wasaneedfor more.There a powerlessness of resourcesandopportunities, andlack of poverty, injustice, foreign invasions, divided society, lack religion,spiritualandmoraldecline, power andmisuseof inequality. the timeswere Thus, covered with abuse of weakened bycountry ritualism,castesystem,apathy, and oppressive and foreign regimes religions impacted on a with culture facedtwodifferentchallenges: foreign rulers Through the immensechallengesThrough andtheteachings,we Naam esneo God);Vand Ke(essence of Chakna–sharing ˉ ekhaid ˉ uˉjá náhí koe. Jithai neech samaalee-an neech Jithai those who (rich)? arefromthe upper-class the low.the low the very class, lowest of Why with NanakDev ji Guru Rees! SeKiyya Baddian SangSaath, Nanak Tinke Neecha UndarNeechJaat, Neech! NeechiHoonAat with Being theUnderprivileged and the poor. Like thewind,which blows equally uponthe king o lágait Jaise ráj rank ka God-conscious beinglooksuponallasalike,The Brahm giání kai dristi saman. justice andfreedom. a The badgetrue solider of is to fight to the end for Purja purja marekat kabhi na khet Soora so pehchaniye jo lare deen ke het ActivismDefendingand Rights are madeby ouractions. haves insocietyareirrelevant,(High) Levels we of Sa Jaat SaPaat Hai,Jaise Karam Kama Jaat Paat NahinPoochhiae, SachGharLehBasai! Action andEmpowerment vs. Entitlement in advance (before they wereborn). He providedstones (tiny worms), their livelihood Even for thosecreatures Hecreated and inrocks Kar Dharia. TaaJant Me PatharAagae Upaaye KaSail Rijak abouttheresults. buteffort notworry livelihood. But,that oneshouldmake the honest doesnotmeanthatThis oneshouldnotwork for a it. istakingcareof livelihood, when GodHimself O’ my about mind,why onworrying keep Paria, Kahe Re Udam Ja MaChitvae Aahar HarJeeo Faithand Integrity reinforced as Gurbani in the Guru Granth Sahib.reinforced asGurbaniinthe Guru lsig fYour Graceraindown. Blessings of placewhereThe the lowly are caredfor, therethe bakhsees. h auso highcharacterwere laiddown and valuesThe of ˉ ul paván as tn ihtelws fsays, standwiththe lowest of t ithai nad ar t ayree Through Nitnem, Amrit Kirtan and SGGS explanation love and devotion. Malik Bhago came to know that the is provided poetically to help us understand this Guru was in his town and invited him to a feast, but was through the lives of the Ten Gurus, from where we offended when Guru Nanak refused to join him. “Oh learn that holy Man, I have prepared so many dishes for you, but why are you staying with a poor carpenter and eating • see all as equal his dry bread?” The Guru replied, “I cannot eat your • have courage to act food because your bread is ill-begotten and has been • work as per hukam, the highest order made with money taken from the poor through unfair • think practically, innovatively, and means, while Lalo’s bread is made from his hard-earned independently money.” Guru ji then squeezed the chapati made by • to standup, defend, care and serve Bhai Lalo and one other from Malik Bhago. Bhai Lalo’s • to be inclusive and accessible chapati dripped of milk while Malik Bhago’s dripped • to do what is right blood! Malik’s life was changed as he realised his • imbibe togetherness character and thereafter shared his wealth to redeem • stand up for liberty, equality and justice for all himself. This story presents multiple principles and Lives of the Gurus characteristics, first, that truth and love are greater Sikh history provides examples of the practical wealth than money and riches. Secondly, our methods applications of such characteristics in religious matter. Thirdly the through art of conversation and practice, activism, leadership, righteousness, and a strong argument. The most important is courage, service to humanity. to speak up against wrong, irrespective of power and Let us now take a look at a set of Sakhis: status.

Sakhi 1: Bhai Lalo and Malik Bhago Sakhi 2: Guru Hargobind and the 52 Princes During one of the many travels of Guru Nanak Dev ji, he went to the city of Saidpur (Eminabad). Stories about the Guru had reached many in the region and that he may be visiting the town of which Malik Bhago was the Chief. Malik Bhago was known for creating much wealth by corrupt means and unfairly taxing poor farmers and taking most of the harvest for himself, leaving the famers very little. Arriving at Saidpur, Guru Nanak chose the house of a poor carpenter, Bhai Lalo, to stay with. Having little means, Bhai Lalo was able to offer only simple fare but much

Guru Hargobind had been arrested by then Mughal king along with 52 other Indian princes. After constant protests from his devotees, the King agreed to release Guru Hargobind from Gwalior jail but with conditions. He refused to leave unless all other princes were also released with him, so as to be fair. Then the authorities ruled that anyone who could hold Guru ji’s garment would also be able to walk out free along with him. Guru Hargobind had a robe creatively made with 52 NISHAAN tabs that became quite large, thus allowing all the 52 princes to hold a tab each so all walked out along with 55 him. This demonstrated importance of equality in 56 NISHAAN were sent toSirhind in Das andBhaiSati Das Dayala, Bhai Mati Together Bhai heand at Malikhpur.departing soonafterwas arrested way ji toDelhi, Guru to succeedhim.Onthe Rai Guru asthe next appointed hissonGobind foreseeing thetimeahead, he could Islam first convertonly if the Guru. Pandits notifythe Emperor that they would accept Aurangzeb himself. Tegh Guru Bahadursuggestedthe this wasfor himtostandagainsttheMughalemperor TeghGuru that realised Bahadur theonly way do to Bahadur torequestprotectionfromtheMughalrulers. either convert Tegh orfacedeath. TheycametoGuru the Kashmiriparticularly Pandits who were told to toconvert madestrenousefforts rulers peopletoIslam, Tegh Guru Bahadur, theMughal During thetimesof Pandits orReligions,Sakhi 4: Equality Kashmiri community. servedand thriving ina peoples all andcooperative defended,supported theirfaith.Guruji irrespective of caring andleadingone’s community fairly andequally, forof isanexample theMuslims.This be constructed and therefore allfaiths, orderedamosqueto respect of Hargobind wasknown(mosque). Guru for his equal inbuilding jifor amasjid Muslims asked support Guru for asecular settlement near the River Beas. Soon,local settled inthistown following Hargobind’s Guru desire allfaiths thecitywallsremainthere.People of many of invasions Mughal withstand to townfortified was and was known asSriHargobindpur, nearGurdaspur. The a smallsettlementwhichintotown expanded and by theRiver near theMughals heestablished Beas, battle even washeavily thoughhisarmy outnumbered HargobindAfter Guru Sahib was victorious in a fierce the Riveron Hargobindpur Beas, Sri Guru’s Maseet and Sakhi 3:GuruHargobind and fearlessnessinchallengingunjustrule. their stature insociety,human beings,irrespective of Guru TeghGuru Bahadhur and Guru TeghGuru and Bahadur

Gurugaddi: Compilation ofGuruGranth Sahib Gurugaddi: Compilation sound like commonsenseprinciples,these areaunique principles tobeapplied toserve society. these Though the day.day andendingof be inalignment with the the teachings, at the beginning Itresetsus to the principlesandvirtues. daily basisof Tackling theseenables theleadertoseekbestfor all. (compassion), humanity: thefiveexplained which arethebestof virtues and civic also service.Atthesametime,Gurus society, works requiredinleadership for good of greater overcome, which reducesone’s own selfishnessand moh (attachment) andahankar of vices five effectiveto betruly good. The andservingthe greater one’s plays ego challenge the greatest in our abilities and forever. life.Auniversal message then, now show usthe way of Granthto messages werecompiledasthe Guru eternal becausethe Blind faithinaliving isnotnecessary Guru power. for desire the including vices, five the battling that humanconditionisnotperfectandwearealways usareallonourown wemust recognise journeys, of Muslim sages wereimbibedby Sinceeach the Gurus. Hindu and teachings andselected wisdomof Gurus The giving upone’s own life. fighting forimportance of human rights iteven means if themostpowerfulidentity, onthe examples oneof theirfaithor allpeople, irrespective of of and liberty reinforces This thevalue others. given tofreedom of India’, giving uphis life toprotectthereligiousfreedom been known Shield of or‘The asHindkiChaddar alive.third burnt Tegh Guru Bahadurjihasthereafter boiling hotwater, the otherbeingcutby asaw, andthe 1675. Hisfollowers andkilled,onein werealsotortured was thenbeheadedat ChandniChowk on24November toprove miracles to perform his powers. He refused and jimaintainedhisfaith, hewasthenasked Since Guru and moved toDelhi, where he waschained and tortured. November inanironcage 1675,kept inBassiPathana Sikhi teachings, examples, and manners allow andmanners Sikhi teachings,examples, the gave Gurus The usNitnem,which remindsusona that Gurbani,theShabadsexplain Throughout (Truth), Daya (contentment), Santok Sat kaam (lust),krodh (rage), lobh(greed), (humility), and Nimrata (arrogance) aretobe (arrogance) (love). Pyaar

leads to the constant need for service towards freedom, opportunity, equality, and justice.

Sikhi provides the principles for social justice, stands for all humans to live free and fair lives in where they have the liberty to create their own just future. Such inclusive and unifying humanity is the key to bettering society. There are few traditions or faiths that promote and accept a multicultural and multi-faith world for healthy and successful unified existence. Our Gurus gave us the courage to stand for rights and to always serve with integrity and activism. combination of principles that are needed to lead and Sikhs have been in North America since the serve at all levels of society. early 1900s and share the common values and a long heritage of building the nation. It is time for Sikhs Alignment with American values to increasingly participate in society at all levels and Through the various levels of leadership and support bring courage, equality, liberty and justice for all by the needed in society from neighbourhood leaders, school principles and virtues provided, selflessly! boards, public servants in City-State-National roles, one sees the need to be innovators and entrepreneurs Sikhi Is Timeless! bringing the best of private and public sector together. There are various forms and opportunities as leaders, Harbir Kaur civic entrepreneurs, trusted ombudsmen, and other. remains a very active Looking back at the American Declaration of community leader in Independence, we see the alignment of core values, Santa Clara County. including the right to question the authority and Her background government if it is not in consonance with those values. includes 20 years of Engineering and an Sikhs hold these truths to be self-evident, in that all even longer history men are created equal, that they are endowed by their of volunteerism and community Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among Harbir Kaur Bhatia these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. development. She is a Commissioner with the City of Santa Clara That to secure these rights, Governments are Cultural Commission, Board Member of The instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from Chamber of Commerce, a Rotarian, Library the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form Foundation Board Member, founder of Joy of of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is SEWA, and most recently was appointed CEO of the Right of the People to alter or to abolish those, and HI5 Youth Foundation, amongst others. Harbir to institute new Government, laying its foundation on Kaur was recognised as a ‘Community Hero’ by such principles and organising its powers in such form, the State of California and was given ‘Women’s as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety Empowerment: Inspiring Achievers Award’. She and Happiness. has become known for bringing ‘Sikh Awareness’ in the cities of Santa Clara and South Bay and Throughout Sikh history and including recent have hopes to activate increasing number of Sikhs to NISHAAN been concerns, the issues are the same, similar themes become community leaders. have been occurring again and again over time, which 57 58 NISHAAN The courageous Satwant Kaur Kaur lived by. that Satwant the virtues Courage. Faith. aresome of Compassion.These lives? daily thisandapplyinour lessonscanwe from be anddo?What should learn In thestory, what didSatwantsay Kaur toFatima Sikhs aboutwhat alltrue Geeta Kaur the on Sikh Way Life of Bhai Vir Singh’s novel ‘Satwant Kaur’ Some questions,Some and answers as inspired by recite Gurbani from the heart. recite Gurbanifromthe heart. will always be with uswhen we everyone withrespect. Waheguru to avoidlearn ritualsandtreat this message Gurbani,we from outer world.Byunderstanding andnot in the within ourhearts, spiritual happiness can be found remember that the source of not loseourselves init.We should us alifetoenjoy, but wemust challenges. Waheguru hasgiven the strengthtofacethese blessing, wewillbebestowed and praying for Waheguru’s hardships, by recitingtheGurbani going ourway, orweencounter lived her life.When thingsarenot fromhowwe canlearn Satwant relationships. attached toworldly pleasuresand They must alsonotbecometoo the Gurbanitopurifyminds. waking upat AmritVela torecite live accordingtotheRehit by andcompassionate. Sikhsmust human beings, who are truthful Sikhsshouldbegoodall true Fatima. Satwant toldherthat and bravery, impressed greatly challenges head on. Chardi Kalaandfacedher situation, she always lived in and Fatima’s household. was kidnapped and sold intoKhan There aremanyThere lessonsthat purity Satwant’s lifeof Despite Satwant’s difficult She wasamerechild when she Gurbani kirtan

Using examples from Satwant Kaur’s life, describe how return to her homeland. She shows us that if we have her faith and belief in God afforded her with protection? complete faith in Waheguru, He will always protect What does faith mean to you? us. Faith is believing in Waheguru, no matter what. When Satwant first arrived at Fatima’s house, she was It is about having trust and belief in the presence of given only meat to eat which she refused. Even though Waheguru. she was weak and hungry, she never gave up on her Dharam. Instead, she prayed to Waheguru to help and To live by faith means to surrender myself to Guru protect her. Her prayers were answered when Fatima’s ji, and acknowledge that everything I have, including son gave her grapes to eat and she ended up becoming his nanny. Banda Singh Bahadur

Just as Fatima helped her in her time of need, Satwant then saved Khan’s life when he was arrested by the Amir. Sometimes our needs are fulfilled by Waheguru through someone else.

By setting a room on fire in the Amir’s palace, Satwant escaped from being married to him, and hid in a room in Fatima’s house. Satwant still kept her faith, by continuing to meditate and recite Gurbani daily. NISHAAN

By disguising herself as a man, she had an opportunity to escape with Baba Ladha Singh and 59 60 NISHAAN accepted death todefendthem andtheir faith.Baba accepted practice theirown Tegh religion,Guru Bahadurji MughalEmperor Jahangir. Sothat Hinduscouldof theorders on martyrdom Dev accepted Arjan ji Guru converting toIslam, give uponher religion.Instead of Without thischoice,webecomeaslave toothers. religion. It isabasichumanrighttohavefreedom of believe that protecting one’s faith is the utmost priority. to practiceyour religion,then itisbettertodie.Sikhs you’re notallowed withSatwant Kaur,I agree that if not,why not? so,why; andif better todie?If it theiris someone able topractice religion isn’t in peace, Do you withSatwantwhen Kaur shesaidthatif agree times aswellbad. Gurbani teachesmetohave faithinWaheguru, ingood on,even orhavingto carry when I’mhurt abadday. my life,isagiftfromHim.Faith gives methe strength Martyrdom ofGuruAngadDev ji Agha Khan’s mother scarified her life, but did not did but life, her scarified mother Khan’s Agha religion. lives our their defending sacrificed all ji Singh Gobind Banda SinghBahadur, theChaarSahibzaadeandGuru havea son,he adoptedAghaandhadhimconverted to her promisetohismother.keep SinceHassandidnot and heridentity, soshecouldlove andcarefor and Agha convert toIslam.Saeengave upher religion,her name his mother waskilled by Hassan Khanfor refusing to with his motherandayah, Saeen. Agha was aSikh boy who had been abducted along thisstory? from dowe What learn reaction when thetruth? heheard give Saeen did What why? and up was What Agha’s overchoose truth lies. freedom, then wecanmake therightdecisions;wecan we have our life. If freedom tolive the Sikh way of Life isliving accordingtoyour faithandhaving ae rmsdt aecr fAgha Khan, after Saeen promised totake care of Islam. When Agha Khan grew up, Saeen told him the truth about his past and his mother’s sacrifice. His face became red with anger and his eyes turned blood-shot. He picked up his sword, to seek revenge and kill Hassan. However, Saeen was able to calm him down.

From this story, I learned that Sikhs are courageous and forgiving. Even on her death bed, Agha Khan’s mother forgave her killer and did not want her son to avenge her death. Sikhs offering ardaas

Sikhs have the highest of character and are brave warriors. They do not pick up swords to take revenge, but only to fight against evil and tyranny. Indeed, in our Ardaas we pray to Waheguru for the welfare of all humanity.

In this book what other messages did you take away other than the ones discussed in these questions and how would you apply that in your daily living? There are many important messages that can be taken from this book. Bhai Vir Singh reminds us that as Sikhs we should always remain humble. Even when we become successful or powerful, we should never develop egos or feel superior to others. We should always avoid saying things like “I did this” or “I did that”. This is not the way to get Waheguru’s blessing. Geeta Kaur is in VIIIth grade at Kennedy Remembering this helps me avoid getting an inflated Middle School in Cupertino. She has been ego and knowing that everything that happens is due a regular participant in the Sri Hemkunt to Guru ji’s Hukam. Foundation Symposium for the past seven years and this year has been placed first in group III Satwant Kaur inspired me to live my life as a true at the International Sikh Youth Symposium. Gursikh and follow the teachings of our Gurus. It is She enjoys playing the rabab, harmonium and only by praying to Waheguru for the gift of Naam, violin as well as performing kirtan. On Sundays, obeying His Hukam, and helping those in need, that she helps teach Punjabi and Gurbani to young we become good human beings. children at Guru Nanak Khalsa School at San Jose Gurdwara. In her spare time she loves NISHAAN Can you imagine how much better this world would reading books of fiction. 61 be if we started living by the messages in Gurbani? 62 NISHAAN M A representationof Gagan Mein Thaal, partof the Mool Project S. Sundeep Singh on fa faith or religion. of actions and then takes on the shape set of programmed lifematures intoa time,suchaway of Over aperiodof a master and attemptsrole of to life. redefine a way of takes onthe person andsomeenlightened correction Contemporary relevance Guru of Granth Sahib: communication ‘undesirable space,’thereisa needfor shown that whenever mankind strays into have history yearsof any thousands of The Mool Project with cutting edge AV technology years BuddhaandMahavira back, walked thisearth onceagain! onto theworldandwestart led astray, thecycle iscompleteandanewMastercomes from spirituality and into blind faith. People are again in letter, perhaps notinspirit, which leadspeopleaway Krishna and Moses existed morethan fourKrishna andMosesexisted thousand beingfollowed suggestedpracticesstart Thereafter passed into eternity. The Qutub Minar, in fact, was already dominating Delhi’s skies two centuries before Nanak was born. The Unsurpassed beauty is that Sikh philosophy is available with us in its original form, fully authenticated and set to music in specified ragas. This is the story of a very young religion. Its concerns are immediate; its message, absolutely fresh.

However, even though Sikhi is the most recent and probably the most relevant faith, it is still centuries away from the present world, especially the youth of today. The development Guru Nanak Dev ji in conversation with Siddhas of AV technologies in the past few decades have two thousand five hundred years ago. Five hundred rapidly pushed even current written matter into the years later there was Christ and four centuries after past. Science text books are supported by animated Christ came Mohammad. In that context Sikhism is diagrams, comics have become animated films, novels a very young religion. The five centuries that have and books are now films and TV. Virtual and augmented elapsed since its founder Guru Nanak walked upon this reality have enabled people to transport themselves earth are thus, but a blink of an eye in the history of into immersive experiences and environments. All this men. Events happening at that time are well known; just means that today’s young people are very unlikely men who lived at that time are easily remembered. have either the inclination or the languages or even the It was at that the time that Christopher Columbus time to read the spiritual texts, be it the Gita, Bible, stumbled upon the new world, that Vasco da Gama Quran or even the recent Granth Sahib, the words of found the route to India, that Magellan completed his masters or Gurbani. This is very unfortunate because first voyage around the world. many of the values captured in our Gurbani are relevant and even taught today. William Shakespeare was writing his plays and his complete works were compiled before compilation of Some of them are: the Granth Sahib. All this serves to demonstrate as to how recent and contemporary Guru Granth Sahib Secularism is, more recent than Shakespeare which is taught in Gender equality schools till today. The use of violence only in the defence of the

defenceless, not for personal gain NISHAAN The Lodhi tombs existed from the time of Nanak’s lifetime; Humayun, whose tomb is in New Delhi, was Caring and sharing 63 battling to save his fledgling kingdom when Nanak Deep respect for nature and environment 64 NISHAAN aua omo evolution. natural form of their aesthetic and their technology. I believe it is a people aboutcore values usingtheir language, that uses motion, breeze, perfume, we talk to young multichannel sound,andholography andtechnology such asdome projection, mechanised seats, and even negative impressions and actions. them andconfusionnaturally leadstouncertainty confusing is Sikhs the of identity distinct the that haveworld the shown of parts other and US the in understanding Sikhism. the Recenttenets of events in difficulty or reluctance havea who People community. international the is audience relevant equally and second The faith. their of values the children who wouldotherwisebeunwillingtoimbibe audiences. The first and primary target are our own values andcommunicates themtotwokey target abovefivethe expresses or to relates that Gurbani Deploying the latest Audio-Visual technologyAudio-Visual latest the Deploying takes thatinitiative an is Project Mool The Picture Producers Association and a Vice President of the Film Federation of India. He is also on the TiE. on also board of is He India. Federationof Film the of President Vice a and Association Producers Picture Motion Indian of board the on is Bobby (2012). Treaty Beijing the at and (2016) Mexico Guadalajara, Governance Body)Producer world (the FIAPF the at Internet represented has Forum and (2015) Brazil Bobby has conceptualised the building and is designing and producing the content. Bobby has been invited to speak several times on Intellectual Property issues at WIPO,Genevaat and issues Property Intellectual on severaltimes speak invitedto been Bobbyhas using holography, 360° Projection, and 4DX Technology in New Delhi. At present Bobby is creating the Mool Project, a multi-dimensional show Museum at Patna and the Baba Baghel Singh Museum at Bangla History Sahib. Bihar The Kurukshetra, at Gallery Multimedia Mahabharat for include Museums. These films and directing documentaries, Bobby designs, and produces content by the Valladolid Film Festival in Spain. Apart from producing feature India Presidentand in of 2016 he received a lifetime achievement award his films are Valladolidand London Pusan, Goa, Montreal, festivals.film of Some films which have featured in Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, Bobby has produced several national and International award winning Sony before he Kaleidoscope Privatestarted Entertainment Limited. and Philips TechnologiesLtd. HCL with worked has He Finance. in Bobby has twice received the National Award for Best Film by the by Film AwardBest Nationalreceivedfor the twice Bobby has S. Sundeep Singh (Bobby) is a graduate in Economics and an MBA Bandit Queen, Fire, MangalPandey,Bandit Queen,Fire, . Maqbool andSaathiya oain ftheir choice. locations of available globally toanyone who wantstoshowcase itin Google Glass etc. devices usingimmersive and wearable technologysuchas on subsequently and Washington DC of Institution Smithsonian the to akin location a parliament, India’s from throw stone’s a Sahib) Rakabganj to (next Delhi, showa permanent housedinaspecialbuilding inCentral and produced by a many time Grammy award winner. traditional mannerby singersandartists contemporary non- a in done be will music other and Gurbani The directors. young of host a by directed be will and Bedi byHolographs Kabir presented through the medium of be will It talk. this in reproduced are words whose of Sarna (presently Indian Ambassador in the USA ) many written by well-known writer and diplomat Navtej Singh shownas be will severaltakeit Initially will forms. It is designedasashow which is Project Mool The Finally, the content will be formatted to be made be to formatted be will content Finally,the Virasat EKhalsa at Anandpur Sahib, The Back Cover The Nishaan: Collection 2003

The Nishaan Collections for 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 are now available in bound volumes, also including the Premiere Issue of the Journal released in April 1999 at the Tercentenary of the birth of Khalsa. The Nishaan, published quarterly, is considered a collector’s item, to be read and kept with pride and faith Published by The Nagaara Trust, New Delhi, India.

Limited copies available from: The Distribution Department Nishaan D-43, Sujan Singh Park, New Delhi 110 003, India Tel+91 11 24617234 Fax+91 11 24628615 e mail: [email protected], [email protected] • Website: www.nishaannagaara.com