Even though each of its three legs is equally critical and indispensible to a stable stool, today, I will zero in on only one of the three legs — giving and sharing. I leave the other two for another day.
A long standing President of the Gurdwara who had been in that position for a decade and was resisting all calls to step down, “This would be a demotion. I am the President. Create a new title that is higher and I will accept that. Nothing else is acceptable.”
And if there is a purpose that's common to all humanity then it should be able to stand without necessarily leaning on one or many religious systems of mankind.
Perhaps we are still at the stage where we do not see any visible sects or denominations within Sikhi. As I stated at the start of this essay, for immigration and sponsorship purposes the question that remains is...
If history speaks of the evil that lurks in men’s hearts, truly there is, at times, nothing nobler than human character given the right choice and frame of mind. Quiet decency is a very human trait.
The lesson is not that this is an impossible task but that the engagement with the Guru never ends. We climb mountains not because they are climbable but because they are there.
Has the model of a Sikh changed since the Gurus or have I regressed to a prehistoric place in my head? I remind you that in the post-Guru period the Sikhs (through its 12 misls) knew how to disagree without undermining the nation.
Sikhi dwells heavily on the five fundamental evils that haunt and command us. They define our life; its purpose and demeanor - the kind of person we become....further we learn that haumae...
Clearly, in Sikhi, the flesh of the Guru-Founders is not important; the ideas and teachings are paramount and eternal. Sikhi and Nanak's message needs to travel outside the four walls of gurdwaras, our community TV, and radio media.
Clearly the ideas of reincarnation and transmigration are both powerful and sophisticated; they define an exquisite model of finely calibrated justice at the end of life. They also interweave all creation into one large tapestry.