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Thus, God
in Sikhi is seen as the Supreme Reality, absolute yet all-pervading, sole
creative force, who is without fear or favour, immanent in His creation
and transcending it at the same time. Sikhs don’t see God as nation, people,
or race specific. God is seen as personification of GRACE. From this follows
that He creates man not to ‘punish him for his sins’, but to serve His
purpose, a purpose which must remain beyond the comprehension of man because,
as the Guru writes, ‘a fish cannot fathom the vastness of the sea’. A
Sikh, hence, is expected to realize that he exists to serve Him and not
to indulge in material pursuits :
'O my
mind, thou art the embodiment of Light; know* thy Essence'
'O my mind, the Lord is ever with thee; through the Guru's Word enjoy
His Love.'
'Knowing thy essence thou knowest thy Lord; and knowest thou the mystery
of birth and death'.
(Guru Granth, P. 441)
The basic postulate of Sikhism is that life is not sinful in its origin, but having
emanated from a Pure Source, the True One abides in it. Thus sayeth Nanak:
'O my mind,
thou art the spark of the Supreme Light; know thy essence.'
Not only
the whole of Sikh Philosophy, but the whole of Sikh history and character,
flows from this principle.
The Sikhs
do not recognize the caste system nor do they believe in Idol-worship,
rituals, or superstitions. The gods and goddesses are considered as nonentities.
Sikhi is
a religion of practical living, believing in rendering service to humanity
and accepting the right of everyone to live their lives as they want to
as long as their decisions don’t infringe upon the freedom of others.
Love for His whole creation thus is the guiding force in Sikhi. The Sikh
Gurus did not advocate retirement from the society in order to attain
salvation. Salvation can be achieved by anyone who earns an honest living
and leads a life in harmony with Hukam.
'He alone,
0 Nanak, knoweth the Way, who earneth with the sweat of his brow, and
then shareth it with the others'.
(Guru Granth, P. 1245)
Nanak gave
new hope to the downtrodden mankind to join his fraternity as equals,
as God had intended in the first place. He was the discoverer of the MAN
as God had intended him to be, living in the World according to His Will.
Riches and
personal possessions, up to a point are not seen as a hindrance in living
by spiritual ideals. Sikhism does not subscribe to the belief that it
is easier for a camel to go through the eyes of a needle than for a rich
man to enter into the kingdom of God. On the other hand the Sikh dictum
is :
‘They,
who are attuned to the Lord, by the Guru’s Grace, Attain to the Lord
in the midst of Maya, (i.e. Wealth).'
(Guru Granth. P. 921)Sikhism does
not accept the ideology of passive living. It advocates charhdi kala —
a positive outlook on life. The maxim, "Resist not evil but whosoever
shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also", does
not find any place in Sikh way of life. On the other hand it exhorts its
adherents :
"When
an affair is past every other remedy It is righteous, indeed, to unsheathe
the sword."
(Guru Gobind Singh)
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