"I want to share about how Sikhi was my form of inspiration. As a kid I grew up with a lot of difficulties personally and with my family. I faced issues of not having much diversity around me and racism as well. One thing that kept me going was doing NitNem and doing a lot of Paath. When my brother and sister were feeling down, I would take them up to my room and we would read some Banis together. Doing this would give us so much peace, and make us forget about what was going on. It gave us hope and a connection to something bigger than ourselves. Throughout my life if I felt lost or confused I would always turn to Sikhi. I found that the things
I naturally believed and felt were just affirmed by Sikhi. Sikhi teaches that men and women are equal, and more than that, we are all one. We are all made of energy, and aside from what diversity we have on the outside, are all made of the same universal energy. Because I loved my mom and my sister, it didn't make sense for me to treat them differently, and Guru Nanak Dev Ji's teachings affirmed this. Guru ji's teachings are so simple and powerful. "So kyo manda akhiyai jit janmai raajaan - Why call her bad who gives birth to kings?" So why would we treat women poorly if they are the source of all of us? It just doesn't make sense.
People from other religions sometimes have a tension with others because of their belief system. In Sikhi we have a really simple way of looking at it that you can be on any path and it doesn't matter as long as you are a good person. So this gave me so much confidence that I could be friends with Chrisitians, and Muslisms, and Hindus. This beautiful concept from Sikhi just made so much sense to me. I found a lot of strength in Sikhi. It gave me guidance in my dark and difficult times. Sikhis has literally been my guiding light to help me out of the darkness. "
- Jagmeet Singh
