The Quest for Ethical Life in Sikhism:
During the Guru Period (1469-1708), the Sikh Gurus were keen to uplift the morally degraded Medieval Indian society. They not only laid down ethical code of conduct but also established various institutions to divinize and democratize the social order based on higher ethical principles. Sikh ethics open the door of spiritual salvation, social development and emancipation of humankind in letter and spirit. Looking at the helplessness of his fellow citizens, Guru Nanak discovered that moral degradation was at the root of it all. When asked by his companion, Bhai Mardana, why such a suffering had come to the people during the foreign invasion, he replied, 'It is ordained by the Creator that before coming
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He had rightly said that, “In words, we are good, but in deeds bad. Within mind we are impure and black, but white from without.” (Singh, Manmohan., 1993) .
At the advent of Sikhism, the human being under their sway loses the power of judgement and discrimination. He is unable to distinguish between good and bad and is completely in the grip of the devil. The evil forces weaken him physically and mentally. He needs a remedy for his ailment along with a diagnosis of an expert physician. The ethics fulfils this requirement. The preceptor i.e. the Guru comes to the rescue of Jiva (human being) and prescribes a schedule for him. If he follows the schedule in right earnest, he recovers fully from the malady (Kohli, S. S., 2002) .
Sikhism rejected the Western notion of secularism, which causes deviation from religious path and underplay the role of religion in the life of an individual. Secularism is incapable of reversing the present trend, or finding a solution of the existing malady. The causes for this failure have been stressed by the Sikh
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It synthesises the practical with the ideal and can satisfy both the spiritual and temporal aspirations of man. It provides an ethical code of human behaviour, which represents a very high yet perfectly attainable ideal. In other words, to become a good Sikh is to become a good man. It is humanness at its best. Morality and religion are intimately connected in the teachings of Guru Nanak. According to him, morality constitutes the primary test of a true religion. In fact, the intrinsic value of a religion is judged not by its metaphysical thoughts but by its ethical principles (Chopra, R. M., 2002) . He emphasized his ethics of Creative Enlightenment and Activism, in which he demanded that every enlightened person should cease to live for himself and work for the betterment of society. The discipline enunciated by the Sikh Gurus is a universal discipline and requires the disciple to perform his worldly duties along with his spiritual responsibilities (Bagga, B. S., 1991) . The morality in Sikhism is inseparable from its spiritual core and history. Truth is achieved by living a life of faith, charity and courage. The key Sikh work ethics are kirat karni (earn a living by one’s own labour), wand chhakna (share one’s income with others) and Naam Japna (practice the discipline of Naam). They form part of fundamental principles, which mould the Sikh attitude toward work. The individual should
In this paper, I will be explaining how Siddhartha had arrived at the Four Noble Truths. The first paragraph contains how Siddhartha’s life was full of suffering, pain, and sorrow. The second paragraph will be the cause of suffering is the desire for things that are really illusions in Siddhartha’s life. Following, in the third paragraph I will be explaining how the only way to cure suffering is to overcome desire. Finally, I will be explaining that the only way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold Path.
With guidance from principle beliefs and the XIVth Dalai Lama, Buddhist bioethics and the devotional practice of Temple Puja have an impact of high significance on individuals, and the Buddhist community in ultimately, guiding the life of the adherent to achieve total enlightenment. As the modern figurehead for Buddhism, the XIVth Dalai Lama has contributed to the formulation and reassessment of the Buddhist approach to ethical issues.
Sikhism is free from any claims and dogmas. To attain salvation, Sikhism rejects all rites, rituals, and fasts. It rejects the claims of mortification of body, self-torture, penance or renunciation. It does not believe in worship of gods and goddesses, stones, statues, idols, pictures, tombs or crematoriums. Devotees are supposed to desist from working miracles, uttering blessings and curses, and believing in omens. They wear God's name as a necklace and try to practice Nam (remembrance of God's name), Dan (charity) and Ishnan (purity), truthfulness and openness, self-restraint in temper, labor for the purpose of mutual benefit, profitable and edifying speech, humility and forbearance.
While the individual has the ability to do good, they also have the ability to do wrong. Atticus points
Sharma, Arvind (ND) The Hindu Tradition Religious Beliefs and Healthcare Decisions. Retrieved on January 17, 2013 from http://www.academia.edu/1774717/Religious_Beliefs_and_Healthcare_Decisions_The_Hindu_Tradition
Despite being one of the world's largest world religions, Sikhism remains one of the most unknowledgeable and misunderstood traditions in America now. It is overseen and viewed in a lens based off assumptions of events that have occurred over the years. The lack of understanding has brought up too many serious consequences for their community including discriminatory policies, prejudiced stereotypes, shocking school bullying and violent hate crimes. To begin, Sikhism is a religion originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent about the end of the 15th century. It is known as one of the youngest of the major world religions! The vital beliefs of
Ethics are basically the procedures of personal acts that are based on ideas or a person, about what is ethically good or bad and they are range of statistics that involves these statistics. So basically, ethics are rules a person sets for himself or herself about what is ethically right or wrong. They involve legal issues and if something is illegal, it does not always mean that it is unethical, consequently if something is ethical, it does not mean it is legal.
Sikhism is reported as the largest non-Christian religious group. There are 22 million followers worldwide. The founder, Guru Nanak Dev, was born in 1946, in Punjab, a region in India. This religion is not one that worships supernaturalism nor does it believe in devils, angels or heavenly spirits (Reimer-Kirkham, 2009). Sikhism faith starts with cheer and hope.
The spirit of Gurbani couplet, "The one Lord is the Father of all and we are the children of the one Lord rules supreme in every Sikh heart." Charles Hugal, writes in his book, "Travels in Kashmir and Punjab", that, "probably no person in the world could have established such a large empire with minimum bloodshed as Ranjit Singh has established his kingdom."
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the moral principles and values that govern our behavior as human beings. It is important in the human experience that we are able to grasp the idea of our own ethical code in order to become the most sensible human beings. But in that process, can ethics be taught to us? Or later in a person’s life, can he or she teach ethics the way they learned it? It is a unique and challenging concept because it is difficult to attempt to answer that question objectively because everybody has his or her own sense of morality. And at the same time, another person could have a completely different set of morals. Depending on the state of the person’s life and how they have morally developed vary from one human
10 Taken from Singh’s interview, available online at http://www.narmada.org/archive/tehelka/eh100200arundhati1.htm. Seen Works Cited for complete citation.
Religion is a big part of our world, as it dictates our beliefs and how we act towards other people. Though all religions have different beliefs, it is the core values of that religion that shape the way we act as people towards other humans, plants and animals. This essay will be looking at Christianity and Sikhism and how the core values of each of these religions compare to each other. Firstly looking at a brief summary of Sikhism and Christianity and a look at their beliefs. Then looking at the core values as protrayed by Christianity and Sikhism. Finally then comparing the core values of Sikhism and the core values of Christianity.
We live in a world full of different religions and all of them have, for the most part, a lot of similarities between them. Some of said similarities include beliefs or practices, art, statuary and architecture or buildings such as temples or churches. They serve as reminders of teachings or beliefs and also a place to gather and worship. The architecture or structures are so revered by the people who build them that they themselves become intricate works of art. Another form in use is statues. Most religions use some form of statuary as shrines to visit or pray to, also as a representation of the image portrayed by their chosen religion. A religion with a strong representation of this practice is Buddhism. Today, Buddhism is recognized as one of the world’s major religions.
McLeod, W. H. (2004). Sikhs and Sikhism. Oxford India paperbacks. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Hinduism is regarded as the world’s oldest organized religion, but it’s also a way of life for much of India and Nepal. Unlike other religions, Hinduism allows and encourages multiple paths to the divine. There is no single founder and no single scripture, but is rather a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. They are often understood to be different means to reach a common end. But this acceptance of variety makes it difficult to identify religious tenets that are specifically Hindu. Still, there are some basic principles common to Hinduism that are essential to one's approach to life.