We can apply the term “survival of the fittest” to religion as much as we apply it to communities. Religions that cannot stay afloat with modern technology of today’s society are likely to suffer and fall through.
It can be seen that Sikhism is Suited to the need of today’s society. Sikhs are encouraged to inter act with the society around them, and develop their personality to the maximum extent. In my view, any religion that encourages its followers to interact with society is helping them to be aware of the everyday triumphs and trials.
Guru Nanak states that “every man has a power of merit he is a part of the divine.” Nanak states man is not a useless weakling, Sikhs can be classified as men of action; they also have an over whelming sense of self-confidence. They, however, rely very much on the blessing of the Guru at every step they take, and they are always searching for Divine Favor and Grace.
Sikhism is also modern because it helps the followers to question the motives of the faith; it is not just following a religion blindly. One must be willing to experience what they are learning. Guru Nanak exposed the worthlessness of carrying out meaningless rituals and formalism. In today’s society everything is questioned and people no longer are spoon-fed information without knowing whether it was right or wrong. We are all earning to explore our own wor Ids and make our own perceptions, and since many religions try to let Us take their teachings as the truth, the Sikhs are doing very well in not letting themselves become secluded from the world around them.
Unlike the Hindus, the Sikhs do not find any distinctions of caste and creed. They stand for the “Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man”. Sikhs, unlike the Muslims believe in equal opportunity for women, in a time when women were being degraded and regarded as footstools to men, the Guru stepped. In and placed women on a high pedestal. Guru Nanak states “Why call her inferior, who gives birth even to Kings!”
Finally, the Sikhs believe that man’s responsibility to society lies in making his contribution to the social welfare as a sacred duty. The Sikhs are a caring set of people who feel very much a part of what goes on in the world around them, and they are willing to give their time to help in whatever way Possible to make their society a happy place to live.
I have found the Sikhism to be the best of the four religions I studied, For a while I was beginning to wonder whether or not all the Eastern cultures were so strictly bound by rules and regulations, The Sikhs show they are an independent people; they encourage their followers to take an active interest in what is going on in their society; they stress the fact that everyone should be treated with the same respect. Of the four religions, they are the only ones who actually talk about women as being equal to men. The Sikhs even go as far as fighting for this equality for women; we can see that there is definitely a distinction between Sikhism and other Esteem Religions. The Sikhs classify themselves as having something to offer to others.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 29, 1986
