Sikhism Quotes

For each and every person, our Lord and Master provides sustenance. Why are you so afraid, O mind? The flamingos fly hundreds of miles, leaving their young ones behind. Who feeds them, and who teaches them to feed themselves? Have you ever thought of this in your mind?

What should the yogi have to fear? Trees, plants, and all that is inside and outside, is He Himself

Even kings and emperors, with mountains of property and oceans of wealth - these are not even equal to an ant, who does not forget God.

Your Mercy is my social status.

He Himself makes the mortals anxious, and He Himself takes the anxiety away.

What you know can never be the beyond. Whatever you experience is not the beyond. If there is any beyond, this movement of 'you' is absent. The absence of this movement probably is the beyond, but the beyond can never be experienced by you; it is when the 'you' is not there. Why are you trying to experience a thing that cannot be experienced?

When there is incest, adultery, atheism, hatred of religion, no more dharma, and sin everywhere, the impossible Iron Age has come; in what way the world will be saved? For the helpless, the Lord Himself will manifest as the Supreme Purusha. He will be called the Kalki incarnation and will be glorious like a lion coming down from heaven.

To speak of “God” properly, then—to use the word in a sense consonant with the teachings of orthodox Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Bahá’í, a great deal of antique paganism, and so forth—is to speak of the one infinite source of all that is: eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, uncreated, uncaused, perfectly transcendent of all things and for that very reason absolutely immanent to all things.

I maintain that Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism all hold up love as an ideal, seek to benefit humanity through spiritual practice, and strive to make their followers better people. All religions teach moral precepts for the advancement of mind, body, speech, and action: do not lie or steal or take others’ lives, and so on. Unselfishness is the common foundation laid down by all great spiritual teachers.

One of these individuals, whose apparently divine subjective experience of transcendence led to the birth of one of the relatively modern religions of planet earth, was a man named Nanak. In an effort to diminish the contemporary conflicts between the Hindus and the Muslims, he ended up becoming the founding patriarch of yet another circle of religious ideologies – Sikhism – a child religion born from the wedlock between Hinduism and Islam.

When I walked out of the temple to reclaim my leather chappals, I found they had been polished. I couldn’t help but marvel at Sikhism: the most practical, pragmatic, and progressive of religions, built on selfless service and sacrifice. And yet, being a Sikh has never been easy.

By forgetting the Supreme Lord, all the ailments cling to the man.

God is immanent and all-pervading This is not too surprising when we remember that the Gurus were mystics and that the vision of such people is one that finds the presence of God in every experience and object. They also shared with many Hindus the belief that the atman, or jot (divine spark) or individual soul, is one with the Primal Soul, Brahman, though Sikhs tend not to use this particular term.

...the strong attractive force of Hinduism, which, in days of peace, when martial instincts have less influence, retains its hold of the people. Its ivy-like vitality, enfolding and strangling everything which it has once grasped, has been fatal to almost all creeds which, like Sikhism and Buddhism, both heterodox forms of Hinduism, have put themselves in competition with it. As the Church of Rome in the West so is Hinduism in the East.

The soul’s unquenchable eros for the divine, of which Plotinus and Gregory of Nyssa and countless Christian contemplatives speak, Sufism’s ‘ishq or passionately adherent love for God, Jewish mysticism’s devekut, Hinduism’s bhakti, Sikhism’s pyaar—these are all names for the acute manifestation of a love that, in a more chronic and subtle form, underlies all knowledge, all openness of the mind to the truth of things. This is because, in God, the fullness of being is also a perfect act of infinite consciousness that, wholly possessing the truth of being in itself, forever finds its consummation in boundless delight. The Father knows his own essence perfectly in the mirror of the Logos and rejoices in the Spirit who is the “bond of love” or “bond of glory” in which divine being and divine consciousness are perfectly joined. God’s wujud is also his wijdan—his infinite being is infinite consciousness—in the unity of his wajd, the bliss of perfect enjoyment. The

Baha’i—Lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself. Buddhism—Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. Christianity—Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Confucianism—Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you. Hinduism—Do not to others that which if done to you would cause you pain. Islam—None of you truly have the faith if you do not desire for your brother that which you desire for yourself. Jainism—In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self. Judaism—What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary. Native American—Respect for all life is the foundation. Sikhism—Don’t create enmity with anyone as God is within every one. Wicca—If it harm none, do what you will. Zoroastrianism—Do not do unto others all that which is not well for oneself.

All these stories of Janamsakhi were like an artistic instrument that was yielded more to spread Nanak’s spiritual sovereignty as a mystical prophet than as an effective teacher in flesh and blood. In the midst of ignorance and mystical craving, they provided a simple method to guide people, or rather allure them to a newly formed religious path by sermonizing through stories of mystical non-sense.

The holy books of all religions serve as our pathfinders. The Quran of Islam, the Bible of Christianity, the Gita of Hinduism, Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhism, the Tipitaka of Buddhism, and the Agamas of Jainism are all examples of scriptures that dig deep into the perennial questions that have been plaguing mankind since time immemorial. They try to answer them in their own ways. The great souls and prophets who have pioneered various religious movements in the world have left behind their treasure of wisdom in the form of written words available in those Holy Scriptures. Not only such scriptures, but also the many non-religious texts such as the ancient epics of Greece, the writings of Confucius and the celebrated tragedies of Shakespeare, all throw light on the unending questions that mankind has been struggling with. We would be deprived of a lot if such a legacy of contributions down the ages is lost sight of. It would have been nice if we could delve deep into the vast ocean of insights presented in each one of this line-up of classics and holy books in our quest for the necessary answers. It is not that all these scriptures necessarily provide a straight and conclusive answer. Had it been so, the human race would not have been struggling with it even today.

Question: But I have heard people say that Buddhists worship idols. Answer: Such statements only reflect the misunderstanding of the persons who make them. The dictionary defines an idol as ‘an image or statue worshiped as a god.’ As we have seen, Buddhists do not believe that the Buddha was a god, so how could they possibly believe that a piece of wood or metal is a god? All religions use symbols to represent their various beliefs. In Taoism, the ying-yang diagram is used to sym-bolize the harmony between opposites. In Sikhism, the sword is used to symbolize spiritual struggle. In Christianity, the fish is used to symbolize Christ’s presence and a cross to represent his sacrifice. In Buddhism, the statue of the Buddha reminds us of the human dimension in Buddhist teaching, the fact that Buddhism is human-centered rather than god-centered, that we must look within, not without to find perfection and understanding.

Khalsa means freedom from hate, Khalistan means nationalizing hate.

What religion came after Islam? 'Islam is the oldest religion in the world, founded by Adam, and it was reborn with Abraham and a second time with Muhammad. Between Abraham and Muhammad, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity emerged in this order. Then Sikhism emerged after the time of Muhammad. These are the six world religions.

You have seen the world and read many books, but take it from me that a snake can cast its slough but not its poison

The last to learn gossip are the parties concerned.

The One who created the world pervades it. Do not look for the True One far away. Recognize the Word [the Divine Spirit] dwelling in every heart.

It should not have escaped notice that Guru Gobind Singh accidentally solved the surname problem that vexes a number of Western women nowadays. They do not wish to take their husband’s name at marriage – so they keep their own, which is derived from their father! The use of Kaur overcomes the difficulty completely.

Men have always danced bhangra, and women the female Punjabi equivalent, gidda, but not in the same place. Now, at sophisticated wedding receptions, there may be mixed discos with elderly bemused relatives watching and thinking how things have changed since their young days. Not, of course for the better!

Children should not offer their opinions in the presence of their elders or contradict them.

When a family of grandparents, the sons and wives, their grandsons who may also be married, live together, perhaps under the same roof and sharing the same hearth and kitchen, it is important that its members should be compatible to the greatest possible degree. Suppose a young man from a rural area went to agricultural college in Ludhiana and somehow met a medical student who, it may be adduced, came from a well-to-do urban family with servants who did the cooking and cleaning. They fall in love and marry. She gives up her training, as would normally be expected, to live with her husband’s family where she is expected to cook, clean, help on the farm and perhaps even lay a cow dung floor. This may be an extreme example but hopefully it demonstrates the importance of arranged marriages in an extended family culture and the sense of marrying within the occupational group. Even in a less contrasting situation a girl has to fit in with her mother-in-law who rules the kitchen, and with existing and therefore senior sisters-in-law.

For a vast number of people in India, there is no social support system. In their old age, parents depend on their sons to maintain them. That remains a reason for having large families and rejoicing at the birth of a boy more than a girl. A girl will marry and leave her home for another, probably accompanied by a considerable dowry. She is a liability from birth until her wedding day.

Today, 500 years since Guru Nanak began to preach, it is still common to find families with both Sikh and Hindu members.

Nowadays marriages across the lines of varna and zat are permissible but traditions that are probably 2,000 years old are not quickly rejected. (Caste discrimination in India is now illegal but it still exists, as does illegal discrimination of various kinds in Britain and elsewhere.)

His monotheism left no place for apparent polytheism. We know that a fundamental Hindu teaching is that God is one: Truth is One; sages call it by many names such as Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Yama, Garutman, or Matarishvan. (Rig Veda: 1:164:46) The Yajur Veda, another important scripture, expresses the same truth as follows: For an awakened soul, Indra, Varuna, Agni, Yama, Aditya, Chandra – all these names represent only One spiritual being. (32:1) These words lie at the heart of the religion but for many devotees and non-Hindu observers the reality seems to be polytheistic. The pictures and images which may be seen in a mandir, ranging from Rama and Hanuman, to Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Guru Nanak and Gandhi, might convey this message to the uninformed, rather than one of diversity within unity which is at the heart of Hinduism. Certainly that seems to have been true of the village Hinduism that Guru Nanak experienced.

India is a country that cannot afford to employ all the doctors it trains, which explains why some of them have migrated to Europe or America. It depends on volunteers and voluntary contributions to make up for services that the government cannot afford to provide. Sikhs do this by setting up clinics or dispensaries and day wards at gurdwaras. Here, medical care is given free of charge and minor operations can be performed.

The Punjab census for 2001 states that the ratio of women to men in the population is now 874 per thousand. In 1991 it was 882. The most widely given reason for this is the abortion of female foetuses. The practice, as in the UK, is unlikely to be confined to Sikhs but certainly includes them.

The fact that no material from brahminical Hindu scriptures or the Qur’an is included is easily explained. Either it could result in the charge that the Gurus were merely plagiarists or to the assertion that they did accept the authority of these scriptures. What they certainly were is eclectic in their view of scripture, refusing to claim that God spoke only through the revelation that was given to them.

Sikhs, however, should not allow the belief that God is immanent within humanity or nature to become pantheism or to say that any created being is God.

In 1991 the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won many seats in India’s general election. These were gained by a clear religious appeal to Hindus to make India a Hindu nation. This has often been accompanied by criticisms of Christians and Muslims for being aliens, not true Indians. Sikhs are fearful of the rise of Hindu militancy for two reasons. If the Hindus tell them that they are really Hindus (as the Vishnu Hindu Parishad, a Hindu religious and political group, suggests, calling them ‘Keshdhari Hindus’) their distinctive identity is threatened. If churches and mosques are attacked they fear that gurdwaras will be the next chosen targets. Some Sikhs have moved to the Punjab from other parts of India, anxious to avoid this danger. Occasional Sikh attacks on Hindus in Punjab should be seen in the context of creating an exclusively Sikh state de facto by forcing Hindus to flee, if the Hindu government, as they see it, will not grant them one de jure. This is a form of ethnic cleansing. In every respect it goes against the teachings of the Gurus.

The solution of the Punjab problem may lie in a radical redrafting of the Indian Constitution to produce a federation that gives more regional autonomy. Punjab is not the only region to have been in conflict with the centre, but it is the only one in which religion and politics have united to create a powerful opposition.

There is no priest to interpret it or monopolize the performance of ritual actions, as in some other religions. This is also a reason why translations are not installed in gurdwaras and Sikhs insist on the importance of the original language, for all translations are interpretations to some extent. It is the message contained in the book that matters.

Such an austere religion has never appealed to the masses and today may have less than 4 million adherents. Jains do not believe in a personal creator God. Liberation is through their way of life and entails becoming a monk or nun, which may not be achieved in their present existence. It is nontheistic; the gods are themselves souls on the way to liberation.

Let no one be proud of their birth. Know that we are all born from the same clay.

In Punjabi culture a girl is paraya dhan – the property of others is the literal meaning of the phrase. Her father, then her husband, is responsible for her. She is never her own person. She is a costly expense to her parents, as a dowry is expected, and after they have spent everything on her the benefit is enjoyed by the family she marries into.

Theory and practice may not coincide. A Sikh girl may find her life restricted more than her brother’s even though Sikh teaching is one of gender equality.

The word sahib, which Sikhs use when they speak of the scripture, may become contentious in future. It was used respectfully in addressing, in particular, white men in the days of the Raj. The wife was known as the mem sahib, which indicated that her status derived from her husband. Sahib is used to acknowledge the status of the scripture in the same way, but some women writers may dispense with it, claiming that it reinforces the strong but unwarranted male dominance in the Sikh Panth.

Tera (13) is a lucky number for Sikhs (though, as with other people who believe in God, luck should have no place in their thinking). Tera also means ‘yours’.

Gu- means darkness and ru- means light. A guru is one who dispels spiritual darkness and gives light to the disciple (called a chela or sishya, for which the Punjabi equivalent is ‘Sikh’).

When additional emphasis is placed upon these officiants being celibate and male (to avoid the pollution of menstruation), then the importance of ritual purity for many Christians, though they may have become unaware of it through familiarity, becomes obvious. Perhaps no more need be said, but the Christian view of the Blessed Virgin Mary might be a fruitful area for further exploration.

If the principle of impurity is admitted, then impurity is everywhere. There are worms in cow dung and in wood. Many though the grains of corn be, there is none of them which does not contain life. There was life in the primordial waters from which vegetation came. How can impurity be warded off? It is to be found in every kitchen. Nanak says, pollution is not removed in this way [through rituals]. It is washed away by knowledge of God. (AG 472)

Guru Nanak asked those who considered women impure and incapable of spiritual liberation, mukti: Why do you condemn woman, the one from whom great men and kings are born? It is through despised woman that we are conceived and born; it is to woman that we become engaged and married; woman is our lifelong companion who perpetuated the race. (AG 473)

Sometimes it is said that Guru Nanak attempted to blend the best of Hinduism and Islam in a new religion that would appeal to both communities and bring them together. A moment’s reflection will enable us to realize the inadequacy of this suggestion. Who is to define the ‘best’ of any religion, first of all? (Usually a Westerner using liberal Christianity as the criterion.) Secondly, there was no possibility of bringing together those who followed the teachings of the Vedas and the ministry of the brahmins, with those for whom the Qur’an was authoritative. It is, in fact, unlikely that Guru Nanak wished to create a religion at all, bearing in mind his comments on the inadequacy of religion!

In a battle, some soldiers of Guru Gobind Singh saw a Sikh named Ghanaya giving water to the enemy. They went to the Guru with their complaint. Ghanaya was called and questioned. Ghanaya’s response was that he had not helped the enemy: as he went around the battlefield, he saw no friend or foe but only the Guru’s face.

The Guru Granth dramatically dispels conventional taboos against female pollution, menstruation and sexuality. Menstrual bleeding is regarded as an essential, natural process. Life itself begins with it. The first Guru reprimands those who stigmatize the garment stained with menstrual blood as polluted (GG: 140).

Daughter of a Sikh father and a Hungarian mother, Amrita Sher-Gil in her short life (1913–41) transformed the course of Indian art. In her oft-quoted words: ‘Europe belongs to Picasso, Matisse and Braque and many others. India belongs only to me.

My Sikh sisters and brothers proclaim with utter glory and faith “Jo Bole So Nihaal, Sat Sri Akaal”, I say ”Jo Anubhava So Nihaal, Sat Sri Akaal”. My translation of the former is “He who utters ‘Great Eternal Truth’ becomes joyous”, while the latter translates to “He who experiences ‘Great Eternal Truth’ becomes joyous”.

Judaism or Islam or Sikhism. I can be a believer in something bigger than what I can touch. I can make a leap of faith to a higher power in a way that’s appropriate to my culture but not be imprisoned by it.  

All of his (Nanak's) progressive thinking attained absolution at the age of 30, when he had the transcendental experience, quite similar to that of Mohammed and Joan of Arc, that was about to rock the very foundation of orthodox Hinduism in India.

Nanak’s encounter of God and God’s court was in fact a profound hallucinatory Near-Death Experience caused by drowning that strengthened his pre-conceived notion of a rational, compassionate and unorthodox society.

The entire Granth Sahib, which is the central scripture of Sikhism, is basically an elaboration of the Mool Mantar.

Though it was a son, brother and husband who entered the river, the mythic initiation endows him with his fundamental humanity. Located in the amniotic waters, he goes through the process of physical drinking, which gives him the metaphysical insight into the Divine. He responds in a sensuous, poetic outpouring, and is honored with gender-inclusive clothing from the Divine court. Unlike other initiation rites, there are no additions to or subtractions from the body: no tattoos, circumcision or scarring marked his transition. In Guru Nanak’s case, his new identity is marked by the unity of bana (the material cloth) and bani (poetry); sirpao (dress) and nam (word).

Think about it for a second: Babies are not born prejudice, they are not racist,they don’t hate, they don’t judge, and are not born believing in christianity, buddhism, sikhism, hinduism, judaism or any other ism. We, as adults, teach them all these things.

Nanak wanted to preach people that God loves both the Hindus and the Muslims the same way. Believing in his spiritual encounter, he wanted to eliminate the distance between the Hindus and the Muslims by teaching the words of equality and One God. But just like usual, he ended up forming yet another religion which became more and more hardcore with its own rituals and regulations in the hands of the subsequent nine Gurus.

Sikhism emerged as a ray of hope for the people of India who were stuck in obscurity – who craved for a way out from the rigorous battle between Hindu and Muslim orthodoxy.

Chattri ko poot ho, Baman ko naheen kayee tap aavat ha jo karon; Ar aur janjaar jito greh ko tohe tyaag, kahan chit taan mai dharon, Ab reejh ke deh vahey humko jo-oo, hau binti kar jor karoon ; Jab aao ki audh nidaan bane, att hi ran main tab jujh maroon. (I am the son of a Chhatri (Khatri), not of a Brahmin and I will live according to my Dharma. All other complications of life are meaningless for me, and I set my heart on the path of righteousness. I humbly beseech thee God Almighty that when the time comes for me to fulfill my Dharma, may I die with honour in the field of battle)

Guru Nanak preached a simple message of making an honest living (kirat Karna), praise the Universal God (Naam Japna), and charity or sharing the fruits of honest earnings with the needy (Vandh Chhakna). He further stated that all men are equal (Casteless Society), and women are equal to men (Equality of women), and all should live a truthful life. He firmly believed and preached the equality of

women in every sphere of life. Let us explore these five points of Nanak’s teaching.

All world religions—Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism—are founded on a canon of sacred scriptures that codifies the will of their founder and the superior truth of his revelation. This step of canonization was invented only twice in the world: with the Hebrew and the Buddhist canons.

One can classify Judaism, Christianity, and Islam variously. From one perspective, they are monotheisms, religions that uphold God's singularity. Islam itself provides another view, linking them by a tradition of continued divine revelation disclosed in scripture and culminating in the Quran. Muslims regard Jews and Christians as "People of the Book"—a name that outside observers occasionally apply to Muslims too. As apt as these designations may be, however, they do not entirely differentiate these three religions from others. Sikhism and ancient Egyptian Atenism, for example, also qualify as monotheisms, and Muslims came to include Zoroastrians and Hindus as other "People of the Book." The most useful term for collating Judaism, Christianity, and Islam into a single category is "Abrhamic," which distinguishes them by stressing the significance they accord to Abraham: Israel's founding patriarch for Jews, guarantor of the covenant for Christians, and a prophet for Muslims. These Abrahamic identities unite the religions conceptually, even while frequently polarizing their adherents.

Another important date for Sikh migration beyond India was 1857, the year of the first independence struggle, known to British historians as the Mutiny. Sikhs stood aside from the uprising because they had no wish to reinstate the Mughals or any other Muslim rulers, and that seemed to them the likely consequence of its success. This won Sikhs favour with the British who began recruiting them into the army in increasingly large numbers. By 1870, Sikh soldiers were serving overseas. On retirement, after demobilization in India, they often returned to the colonies where they had been stationed, such as Malaya or Hong Kong, to become members of the police force or security guards for private companies. During the First World War, Sikhs fought at Gallipoli and in other parts of Europe, as well as in Africa as part of the British army.

Other Sikhs went to California and Vancouver, as well as other areas of the Pacific region before the First World War. In 1902 Sikh soldiers from Hong Kong went to Canada to take part in celebrations marking the coronation of Edward VII. Some eventually returned as settlers to work in British Columbia’s lumber mills. Sikhs were also to be found in California before the outbreak of the First World War.

Their children, now grown up and themselves parents, may visit Punjab less frequently. Many have never been to India and declare themselves to be British Sikhs, though experiences of racial discrimination and harassment make them uneasy about their status and future, so some move to what seems a more receptive North America. Events in India since 1984 have reminded them that Punjab is the Sikh homeland.

Sikhism is not a religion which looks for converts but a feature of the American diaspora is the large number of ‘white’, gora, Sikhs. In 1969 an Indian sant, or spiritual teacher, Harbhajan Singh Puri (Yogi Bhajan, to give him his popular name), began teaching kundalini yoga in the USA. Some of his students were attracted by his total lifestyle, which included vegetarianism as well as the usual amritdhari discipline, of daily nam simran (meditation upon the Sikh scriptures), the prohibition of alcohol, tobacco, drugs and sex outside marriage, as well as his Sikh world view stressing equality and service. To these might be added his own strong and attractive personality.

What affinity with Sikhism will the children of these mixed marriages have? The answer depends on the attitude of both parents. Where the non-Sikh partner shares the life of the sangat as far as possible, even if they don’t learn Punjabi, and the community is friendly and receptive, the evidence seems to point to children staying Sikh. When the Sikh spouse is indifferent to their heritage, the children end up in a kind of no-man’s land, prey to the valueless society which tends to surround them.

Most United Kingdom cities have sufficient Ramgarhia or Jat Sikhs to make the financing of separate gurdwaras feasible. Clearly, Jats and Ramgharias have their own lifestyles which conflict. Perhaps the emergence of separate gurdwaras would be found in other countries if these two groups found themselves living side by side. Conclusions might only be possible, however, when a survey of zats in the USA (where it is claimed that there are now 300 gurdwaras) is carried out and compared with the British situation.

Europe’s Sikh community outside Britain scarcely exists. During 1993 there was some unrest in a district of Belgium to which Sikhs had gone to take part in harvesting as casual labourers. At times of high unemployment, there are always possibilities of non-whites being accused of job stealing. These often diminish when a group becomes established. Meanwhile Sikhs are sometimes deterred from migrating to areas where none has been previously.

Besides this kind of individual answer there are some general ones: Famine. Sometimes writers mention famines in the nineteenth century, which forced Punjabis to migrate in order to survive. Membership of the British Indian army, which led to Sikhs literally discovering new horizons, and gave them secure pensions after their term of service. These were sufficient to keep them and their families, but not to establish businesses or landholdings. They returned to the countries in which they had been serving, where they knew gaps in employment existed. Lack of opportunities at home. Farms or businesses may only be able to provide employment for a limited number of people, especially with mechanization. Surplus sons had to look elsewhere – and at the same time help the extended family to prosper from their earnings so that they could eventually find a niche when they returned home.

Lack of land. Most of Punjab had been cultivated by the late eighteenth century, when irrigation projects had become fully operational. Jats, especially, had to look elsewhere. Prospects abroad, like those offered to the craftsmen who went to East Africa. The affluence of Britain in the 1950s and opportunities which the British government and employers offered those willing to work unsociable hours. Advertisements informed Asians and people from the Caribbean of such work in textile mills and public transport. Demands for professional skills in countries such as the USA or Indonesia, or the Gulf States. Though India can afford to employ most of its graduates nowadays, many relish the prospect of overseas experience. Sikh rejection of the concepts of ritual purity and pollution which stopped some Hindus migrating.

In 2003 the most expensive gurdwara in the world was opened in Southall, England. The cost is estimated at £13,000,000 but a figure of £24,000,000 has also been mentioned.

The audacity of the Gurus in using Muslim and Hindu names for God is noteworthy. Partly a prudent move – because going to a Muslim village and preaching about Krishna using terms completely unfamiliar would have been unwise – it is also a mark of the inclusiveness which was intrinsic to Sikhism from its outset.

The Vatican has been sending out missionaries across the world not to help the poor, but to convert the poor, in exchange for charity. In this respect, empirically speaking, the only religion that has been practicing the tradition of actual selfless service religiously, is Sikhism. Till this day Sikh langars or soup-kitchens across the world feed millions of people regularly, no matter their status, faith or ethnicity, without asking for anything in return. Religious charity in exchange for religious conversion is the most sacrilegious act of all. In the end, it has nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with service. Either serve or don't, there is no spreading the word. Spread good acts, not good news.

To break another's bones, to take their life, is to forgo wonder: It is to cut off a part of ourselves that we do not yet know. I choose nonviolence because it is moral and strategic.

To speak of “God” properly, then—to use the word in a sense consonant with the teachings of orthodox Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Bahá’í, a great deal of antique paganism, and so forth—is to speak of the one infinite source of all that is: eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, uncreated, uncaused, perfectly transcendent of all things and for that very reason absolutely immanent to all things. God so understood is not something posed over against the universe, in addition to it, nor is he the universe itself. He is not a “being,” at least not in the way that a tree, a shoemaker, or a god is a being; he is not one more object in the inventory of things that are, or any sort of discrete object at all.

This great region—the birthplace of Indus Valley civilization, Mauryan Empire, Ranjit Singh’s Empire, and the secular and pacifist philosophy of Sikhism—has been destroyed in the past forty years by pathetic leadership and crude amalgamation of religion and politics. Consider this: Punjab can boast of two Nobel laureates out of a total of four for the whole subcontinent, if we leave aside Mother Teresa. Such is our intellectual achievement in spite of the perpetual myth that Punjabis are all brawn and no brain. But . . . what happened at the time of partition destroyed Punjabis totally on both sides of the border. And I don’t mean just the refugees. They, of course, are still traumatised by the genocide. But . . . do you think the millions who indulged in murders, rapes, and plunder on both sides were able to just shirk off their feelings of sin and remorse? It... would have been impossible. Just look at the figures of growing alcohol and drug consumption in post-partition Punjab. I believe the guilt and remorse propelled a lot of people towards the path of alcohol and drug abuse.