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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sikhism promotes peace through love, compassion

The Spokesman-Review

Having trust in God, singing praises of the true Lord and praying for the welfare of humanity are the teachings contained in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs.

Sikhism is the fifth largest organized religion in the world. There are about 25 million Sikhs, and the majority of them (about 21.5 million) live in the state of Punjab/India.

The remaining 3.5 million Sikhs live in various countries throughout the world, including England (750,000); the United States (500,000, with about 150 in the Spokane area); Canada (400,000); Afghanistan (250,000); and Malaysia (100,000).

About 500 years ago, Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion, experienced a divine revelation and proclaimed that there is no difference between any human beings. Everyone is of equal status, without distinction or discrimination of gender, caste, creed, race, origin or class.

He said there is only one omnipresent God (IK ONKAAR, in Punjabi language) for the entire universe. He described God as: His name is true, he is the creator of everything in the universe, he is without fear, he is without enmity, he is without form and shape, he is without birth and death, he is self-existent, and he is the eternal light, which can only be realized with the guidance of a guru (SGGS 1:1).

This is the fundamental concept of Sikh religion. Guru Nanak preached that humanity should sing praises of IK ONKAAR, who he said existed from the beginning of time, exists now, and shall exist forever (SGGS 1:4).

Guru Nanak preached to live a truthful life and said, “Truth is great, but greater is the truthful living” (SGGS 62:11).

He outlined three principles of truthful living: 1) Earn an honest living; 2) Share your fortunes with others; 3) Sing praises of IK ONKAAR.

He said by practicing these principles, vices such as lust, hatred, greed, anger and ego diminish or fade away, and basic virtues of life such as truth, contentment, compassion, humility and love develop within oneself.

Practicing these three principles will balance our lives by strengthening us physically, mentally and spiritually, which will lead us to live in peace and harmony with each other.

Humanity needs these things in this uncertain atmosphere of hatred, terrorism and war. If every religion preaches love and service to humanity, why is there so much bloodshed and suffering?

One reason is our ignorance about understanding God’s universal message of love and compassion. Humanity needs to understand the development of universal brotherhood of love and compassion.

Teachings in SGGS provide the basic understanding of love and compassion, universal brotherhood and equality. For instance, SGGS 1349:19 as translated says, “God created light first and from that light he created entire humanity.”

This verse emphasizes the universal brotherhood of mankind. It is noteworthy to know that this verse was written by Bhagat Kabir, a Hindu saint, who refers to God as Allah and is included in the Sikhs’ holy scripture. It conveys the message of oneness of one omnipresent God.

Once this concept is extended to and understood by all communities of the world, it will help in treating each other with respect and love and world peace will prevail.