The beauty of Sikhi for me

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source: from barficulture.com

The beauty of Sikhi for me

by Miss Kaur

I feel like I've just passed a crossroads - there was the half of me which believed in the pureness of religion and wanted to pursue a 'religious' life and then there was the other half which did not have the patience and time to research into Sikhism. Well I did not have the amazing transformation that people sometimes talk of when it comes to religion, its more like a slow, very slow progression. I oscillate, at times I have such an amazing love for Sikhi and then a week later I'm too caught up in other business to care or to stop and think, and be grateful for all that I have been blessed with.

Religion is amazingly unique for each individual, I think in that lies some of it's beauty. It's personal, you take out what you want from it, at your own pace, with your own interpretation. Interpretations as such you can laugh at - mine of Sikhism consisted of the five K's and that was literally it, with very little understanding about the real meanings and principles. I can hardly state that I have that understanding now, but I intend to work at increasing my knowledge and with knowledge comes understanding, or so I hope.

I have just found that for me, when I am so wrapped up in my own world, when I feel like I am getting swallowed up and when there seems to be too many things to do and so little time, something always comes up to put myself back on track. Things that I am sure that I would not have realised when I was younger and I would have carried on in my own whirlwind, but things which now make me stop and pause and be grateful to God. I find that sometimes just putting on a tape of Kirtan does wonders, I can be mad angry and upset and it calms me down amazingly.

I think when it comes down to the basic tenets of sikhism we have the three major principles - Naam Japna, Kirat Karna and Vaan Chhakna - devotion and rememberance of God, honest labour and work and the duty of sharing with others. Three so very very simple things it appears, but also three very elusive things for many. It is not so much the actions of these three principles but also the intentions and emotions it brings with doing these three things. For example rememberance of God instills us with a belief to be grateful, it sometimes rids us of the importance we attach to the petty misfortunes we face.

Honest labour and work extends to any task we face and helps us turn towards a more 'moral' way of life. Finally the duty of sharing with others - this helps to make us more compassionate people, hopefully slowly teaching us that to love one another is the greatest gift you can give to another and possibly to yourself. To be full of love is far better than to be full of hate. These three principles have knock on effects so as you work towards them you incidentally improve on so many other aspects of your personality.

Then there is the concept of seva - selfless service - this can be in any sphere of live, not solely related to religion. Merely seva in the Gurdwara is not really enough, how many of us take time out in our daily routine to actually help someone else without looking for some kind of gain or benefit out of it? It something we should aim towards - I'm really not one to talk, i can be the most selfish person in the world sometimes, but I know I want to change that. Selfless service can be such a humbling experience, and in some ways there is a benefit greater than any other that you get out of it - it in a way works to purify and improve your natural well being.

Finally the other concept that comes out of Sikhi which I love is the tolerance and acceptance of all religions. For me, I see religion as a tool to help mould you into a more moral, righteous person, it is a means to an end. So if for some they find their strenth or peace in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddism and it helps them to improve oneself then who am I, or anyone else for that matter to say that it is wrong?

Sikhi for me is a new found hope, an ideal to work towards, an amazing chapter to be explored. And whilst I sometimes waiver of the path, it always remains there for me to return to. It's a companion which helps rid me of negativeness, and comforts me with the knowledge that God is forever there, further it prompts and pushes me towards a more caring, compassionate and less selfish life. I have got a long long long long way to go, but so long as my belief stays with me I am happy.

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chardi kala chardi kala chardi kala