With various claims to martyrdom, ranging from self-immolation to suicidal terrorism, I wonder sometimes if we ourselves understand what is true martyrdom and who is a true martyr in the Sikhi tradition.
One clear impression gained from the referendum debate is that UK is caught up in a most difficult Catch-22 situation. If UK gets out of EU, the immediate and middle-term damage to the economy can be considerable while new deals are being negotiated. Yet, to stay in would mean that the present unsatisfactory situation will continue.
The Khalsa's responsibility to face today's challenges faced by humankind derives from the egalitarian Khalsa tradition of sharing and serving enshrined in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and evolved over many centuries.
Sikh faith perspective suggests that acquisition of knowledge is part of human quest for union with the divine, because all knowledge contributes to individual as well as collective abilities to hone the quality of action choices [gian].
An accurate record of Anglo-Sikh heritage, which also acknowledges colonial mistakes, can strengthen the future of Anglo-Sikh relations. There are episodes in Anglo-Sikh history which continue to hurt the Sikhs.
The ecological changes due to pollution and overuse of earth's resources are causing much concern. They may not be reversible and threaten life in many parts of the world.
There are many good reasons why any award or honour for community “seva” is a humbling and spiritual experience. The obvious reason is that Waheguru gave us human birth, body, mind and wealth (tann, mann and dhan). In gratitude, we should be serving Waheguru by serving His creation, including fellow human beings and the environment...
Sikh women are remembered for their great sacrifices during this period. Later, during the golden period of the Khalsa raj, they continued to play a leading role in Sikh affairs.
Perhaps, today, there is an important lesson to be learnt from that incident: that the Sikh response to every situation has to be reasonable, informative and lawful. That has been the Sikh tradition...
This is the season of Gurmat camps in the UK. This year, the Society is holding its 38th Gurmat Camp at the beautiful location of Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, at Chigwell in Essex...