For the last several days, from the comfort of my home, I have been reading the news and watching images and videos of protestors peacefully trying to make a point as well as opportunistic people taking advantage of the situation and performing violent acts. Each time I read these news, another piece of my heart seems to break. The state of affairs of our country is inexplicably painful — not only because of the unrelated violence that is trying to drown out the message of the protests, but also because of the actual reason why the protests are happening in the first place — racism.
Racism against our brothers and sisters of color that has now been brought to the spotlight. I read the news at night and then try to get some sleep before I have to wake up and be cheerful for my 2 and 4 year old daughters, who have no idea about the chaos that is brewing outside the safety of their home. They have somewhat learned to be content within the confines of their home, given the inability to go anywhere since the coronavirus quarantine began in mid-March. Who would have ever imagined that in this moment, a part of me would be thankful for the pandemic quarantine because I didn’t have to explain to my little ones right
away why it might not be safe to go anywhere right now. With tensions high among all people already suffering from the financial, physical, and emotional toll the coronavirus pandemic has taken, I can’t help but wonder if our lives would also be in danger as we walk outside the walls of our house — a Sikh family with skin that is varying shades of brown and a father who wears a turban on his head.
The more I thought about all of this, the sadder I felt. So, I decided to turn to our Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji for guidance and prayed. As prayer usually does, it helped to uplift my spirits — the thought that came into my mind was this : this fight against racism that we are fighting now as a human race is not new in 2020, this is the same fight not only as old as the 1960s but was actually the same fight for which Guru Nanak Dev Ji had come to this earth in 1469 and many others before him.
So I began to think about how Guru Nanak Dev Ji approached the problem in his times. He did it simply with education — he took it upon himself to travel the world, to find those who were in the wrong and to educate them with love, kindness and humility. He did not allow ego to get in the way when people didn’t believe him or even get angry when people made fun of him. He did not give up his cause, despite the discomforts his body had to tolerate. He was able to do this because his mind was strong — was one with Waheguru and was always in Sehaj.
Hence, the resolve to better myself was born. I must start by changing myself — by educating myself. I must work on becoming the best person that I can be, so that my children can learn from my example and grow up to be the human beings that are part of the solution. Writing this article is my first humble attempt at encouraging my family and friends to do the same — the change must begin at home. Then, it can travel into our workplaces, or any other roles we might play in life. As parents, we can be willing to have the difficult conversations with our children, and lead by example. As managers or leaders, we can ensure our teams are free
of racism by creating zero tolerance policies and actually enforcing them. As teachers, we can teach these lessons to children who will then grow up to bring further change. As physicians, we can ensure that we educate ourselves and are sensitive to the issues of race and culture, thus, providing care that is truly holistic in nature.
One of the key things to remember is that we must do all of this with kindness, humility, and lots of love. Similar to Guru Nanak Dev Ji who won over Babar, the king who imprisoned him without right cause. Instead of complaining, Guru Ji remained in Sehaj and continued to recite Gurbani and work hard. He led by example and inspired other prisoners to do the same, who started to perform their daily duties without complaining even a bit. Babar was so impressed by Guru Ji and the change he had brought, that he freed him from jail along with all the other prisoners.
Therefore, we must lead by example. In order to do this, we must lift ourselves up spiritually so that we can have the capacity to remain calm, kind and loving even when the person in front of us is clearly in the wrong. We must let go of our ego— which is at the root cause of the problem — a sense of me, myself, and I — and learn to be US - all of us who are the children of the same God. All of us, whose purpose in this life is to be humble, kind, and loving towards all creatures of His creation, and sing His praises day and night, so that we can learn more about Him and strive to become more like Him — and eventually merge into His light.
The next time the current state of affairs leaves you feeling saddened, helpless, enraged, frustrated, or exhausted, I hope you will remember that there is always something you can do and start to channel those emotions positively by turning to Gurbani to help you process. Read the Gurbani, apply it on a day-to-day basis and continue to better yourself, because change must always begin at home.
Won’t you join me in helping to heal the world by becoming the best human being you can be?