By Jasmine Harrup and Kiraniit Kaur
In this day and age there is a greater need for spirituality. The religions of the past have not been able to fulfill the needs of modern man. However Sikhism is competent in satisfying the necessities of the human race. It is the only religion which has enough values to survive in the present and future ages.
Sikhism has unique aspects of which some are: the equality of caste color creed religion and sex; the prohibition of alcohol drugs and adultery which have all been proven to be fatal because of the diseases they cause; the religious scriptures were authenticated by the Gurus themselves as well as holy men born to other faiths.
Guru Nanak the founder of the Sikh Faith was a revolutionary of his time. He was the first who raised his voice against discrimination towards the needy and the helpless. He had the courage to speak out against the ruthless rulers in fact he called them bloodsuckers of the poor. He established the holy institutions of Sangat and Pangat the praying and eating together of people as equals without any type of discrimination. He constituted the brotherhood of humanity and the free will to praise God by any name they chose. He was the first to defend women in the unjust ritual called sati in which they were burned alive along with their deceased husbands. In fact he glorified them by saying: ”so kio munda akhiay jit jummay rajan (why call her inferior who gives birth to kings). This dignified women by placing them in a respectful position in society.
The Sikh Faith parallels with science. Scientists have recently discovered that the intake of drugs and alcohol directly lead to life-threatening diseases. In fact at this very moment scientists are discovering countless STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). The Gurus forbade pre-marital and extra marital sex over three centuries ago. .
“ patalan patal lakh agasan agas…”
This quote further supports the fact that the Sikh Faith coincides with science by saying that there are many more earths and skies even though this is being discovered today.
The Guru Granth Sahib is the only religious scripture which preaches a practical and democratic way of life beneficial for all. It is given the status of a religious preceptor. Therefore the Guru Granth is the perpetual guru
The Gurus laid down the guidelines for the Code of Conduct which are meditation on the name of God honest living sharing with others accepting the will of God and wishing for the good of all of humanity:
“Nanak nam chardi kala teray bhanay sarbat dha bhala.”
In. a world of changing values and morals the Sikh Faith will outstand among the others. They will prove to be the only just and reasoned values in this coming age. We are proud of the morals by which we stand.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 1, 1991
