Importance of Ethics in Sikhism

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Ethics in Sikhism

Dr Dalvinder Singh Grewal

Prof Emeritus Desh Bhagat University ​

Societies and languages of religions are products of a particular place and time in which they are born and change with passing times. Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Christianity, and other religions have their origin in a long history and their culture and languages are the most affected over a period of time. Among the most recent religions, Sikhism is the recent that is least affected by the changes brought by time and situations. India, at the time of the origin of Sikhism, was passing through a dark period. The Hindus who formed nearly ninety percent of the population were the subjects and the Muslims were the ruling class. The Hindus were strictly following the caste system. The Muslims too were divided into two classes; the royal and the common. Guru. The process of laying down the value system in Sikhim was initiated by the originator of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, born in 1469 in Nankana Sahib near Lahore and the process continued with later nine Gurus. Being closest to the present times, it represents the value systems demanded at present and will be more useful in the future, hence is discussed here.

Guru Nanak showed that there is but one God who is the Creator of the entire universe. (Ik ongkar, Karta Purukh, SGGS, 1). The ethics of equality, fraternity, and brotherhood of man originates from this very idea that God is One and all are His creation hence all being equal. He loves all equally hence all must live peacefully with each other and with love and affection. Thus Sikhism emphasizes a moral and ethical life devoid of enmity and cruelty. The moral character of human beings is developed through self-reliance, generosity, and humility. Sikhism teaches equality of all people of different races, religions, or sex.

God has been the Truth before the beginning of the universe, in the beginning, is True at present and will be True even in Future." (SGGS, 1). Thus this reality of Truth needs to be understood. Profound faith in the Creator by declaring that the Creation of the True one cannot be devoid of Reality. Reality is that 'God is everywhere and in each being'.

The approach to conduct of the Gurus was different than the previous thinkers and it had wider and deeper significance. This is so, because Indian thought underrated the reality of the Transitory world, while Guru Nanak showed profound faith in the Creator by declaring that the Creation of the True one cannot be devoid of Reality. He says, "Good Conduct is above Truth itself." " Of all virtues Truth is the highest, but still higher is conduct." (SGGS, 62)

Here lies the emphasis on ethical Conduct; that is, though nothing else is more important than the vision of Truth, but Life of Truthful living is of greater Reality of God. A man who contemplates on the name of God attains the Truth through pure conduct.

"He contemplates His Lord with love in the heart, and attains to God through (pure) conduct and the Word, by Guru's Grace."

This only means that you cannot separate a man's conduct from his insight of God. These two are the manifestations of the one Lord.

True conduct abjures falsehood. Guru Nanak aptly questions as to how we find truth and demolish the walls of falsehood? "How then to be true? How to remove the veil of sham, untruth" (SGGS, 1)

Here, falsehood stands for illusion or 'Maya', which is the source of desire and worldliness. The Guru's question points to the foremost concern of the seeker. When the truth is realized, it inevitably leads to noble actions or good conduct. Maya creates egotism, hence everyone in the world is egoistic when attached to Maya. One can only save from egotism if one has self-discipline and moral conduct. Since the entire world is in the Order of God (hukmai ander sabh ko bahr hukam na koi, SGGS 1)", our conduct must be such to avoid egotism and its attached maladies of lust, anger, and greed relating to selfishness, worldly attachments and pride (kam, krodh lobh, moh and Ahankar). Self-discipline means self-control. God-orientation naturally issues forth from a self-disciplined and cultured style of life. It is the Lord in every human body; sprouting forth in disciplined conduct, only thus do we know the presence of God in man: "We know the Truth when the heart is true." (sachu ta par jaanie ja ride sacha hoi, SGGS, p. 468)

To get rid of all these maladies a perfect Guru and guide is the best person who will help you maintain rightful conduct. Truth is realized only with help from the Guru or, as Guru Angad puts it, "By the Grace of God, the Word of Guru (Shabad) dispels ego (Haumai)" "One practices the Word of Guru with the Grace of the Lord." The Guru ward remembers his divine beginnings and, by upholding moral principles, grows attached to His Name, attaining liberation from all vices and becoming closer to God. Man's goal is to get closer to God every day. As he accomplishes this, he feels inspired, liberated, and motivated to take action.

A person who lives with an emphasis on the Guru develops the three qualities of Naam (the Name), Daan (Service), and Isnaan (purity of one's own life). "The Gurmukh is blessed with the Name, Compassion, and purity. "Guru's follower is a continuous learner 'a Sikh'. A Sikh should represent moral responsibility and righteousness. Falsehood must be rejected and Truth adopted from the core. The Supreme Sikh scripture Sri Guru Granth Sahib is an embodiment of literature on self-discipline. Man creates social order. Starting as a householder, he may get lost in worldly affairs and entangled in five evils but self-control only saves and regulates his life. Guru Nanak says that one should not eat and sleep more than necessary for the maintenance of health.

To get rid of all these maladies a perfect Guru and guide is the best person who will help you maintain rightful conduct. Only the Guru can make one realize the truth. Guru Angad says, "Ego is removed through the word by the Grace of God". "If the Lord be in Grace, one practice the Word of Guru." The Guru ward remembers his origin, the God, and maintaining rightful conduct gets attached to His Name, thereby gaining freedom from all evils and reaching near God. The mission of man is to reach God. His effort in doing so makes him creative, free from evils, and creates a will to act. Guru Nanak says, "Contentment (Santokh), Reflection (Saram), Right Orientation (Dhian), Self-Discipline (Jugat), Absolute faith in God (parent), showing respect to all other religions (Ai panthi sagal jamati) SGGS, 6) and control of mind and ego (man jite jag jit, SGGS, p. 1103)) and Service to humanity (seva kiti santokhai) (SGG, p.466)

One should keep away from lust, and anger particularly as they are physically and mentally injurious. In order to live in God's spirit, we must eradicate greed and avarice from our minds.

"But when through the Guru's Word, one overcometh one's greed, one is reconciled to the Lord."

The social order demands certain specific patterns of behavior from every man and woman. An individual has to be content with his role in the social group. A person's goals should not outpace his or her place in society. Everyone contributes to the upkeep of a desired social order by fulfilling their individual tasks. "It is the bull of Dharma, the law born of mercy, which through contentment creates harmony". Man must decide or consider if his own activities are appropriate or not in light of the ultimate goal, which is a life centered on God. He must be able to accurately and wisely interpret his Dharma by pondering on the Guru's Word. To promote reflection, attachment to ephemeral objects must be avoided. "Love not that which is a passing show".

Man has the capacity to withdraw himself in reflection. The concern of the wise man should be the preservation of the social order. He needs to resist temptations in order to accomplish this goal. For him, "beauty, wealth, social status, and the sweet pleasures of life are mere tinsels". These are to be used only as necessities of life. Reflection enables us to distinguish between true and false values.

Man must have a right orientation that is, orientation to God. Guru Nanak calls this the path of 'Naam'. Naam is not only the ultimate reality, but also the ultimate concern, which appears to us as the Truth, Truth which is greater medicine, that rinses away the sins. "Truth is the panacea; it cleanses one of sin." Constant awareness of Naam is the cure for man's ego-centeredness. The finest way to recognize God is in His creation, which he fills with himself while making no effort to do so. "Your light is in your works, and in Your light are You known". "I am blindfolded, and Naam is my staff," he declares. You can avoid errors in your ethical job by focusing on the Naam and resisting the seduction of Maya. "And though without attributes, all attributes are here in You."

Even though intellectual conception does reveal the nature of Him and His creation, for the common man, the popular form of repetition of Naam is through listening and singing the praises of the Lord and loving the Lord with all our heart. 'Sing of Him, hear of Him, and love the master". Self-discipline is a God-oriented life that is self-regulation with devotion to the Lord.

The pursuit of worldly pleasure always ends in suffering. The wise man therefore always tries to place himself, through reflection on the Guru's Word, out of bounds to pleasures and sufferings alike. But if one pierces the heart, one develops composure and sees both joy and grief equally.

Simple in look and conduct, characterizes a man who is God-centered and self-disciplined. Those who assume air and throw their weight around in the world are so tainted that, however often they bathe in places of pilgrimage, the taint could never be removed. Guru Nanak believes in dignified simplicity (Garibi ves). Indeed, there are good men in this world who are silky inside while appearing in co{censored} clothes outside. The world's good rags are found outside, while the rags inside are made of silk. The self-reliance of a civilized man, along with his economy of words and avoidance of pointless discussion, is what truly defines his dignity.

Men get courageous via faith. A guy who lives as indicated above and has God in his heart walks haughtily with the staff of faith in his hand. "The Lord's name is the only support for me, the blind one," he said. He develops fearlessness because of his orderly life and devotion to God.

Respect for all other Religions is another principle of Sikhism. In the Sikh perspective, value is attributed to the principle that a wise man treats groups other than his, with the same respect that he gives to his own group. Guru Nanak advises, "We shouldn't think of ourselves as excellent while considering others to be evil beings. We should act in accordance with Truth while suppressing our egos." I see no one that's bad, though I am not good says Nanak; he who slays his ego is himself like the true Lord." Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, says that if we change our angle of vision, we will see no enemy, no stranger, we will dwell in harmony with every human being. "Yes, I'm estranged with no one, nor is anyone a stranger unto me."

Guru Nanak perceives service as a combination of four elements of behavior in an individual - sweetness to others in daily life, forgiveness, compassion, and service: The foundation of all social greatness is being kind and humble to others in daily life. "Sweetness and humility, Nanak, is the essence of virtue." "We must avoid rude speech, as by speaking rudely we cast ourselves away from others." "To be sour-tongued is to destroy oneself. O, foolish mind." "Avoid speaking ill of others and, speak well of others in whichever place we are." "Wherever we go, We should speak nothing but good."

In the spirit of Guru Nanak, forgiveness is not to be seen as just forgiving individuals who have wronged us. We shouldn't let our fabricated pride prevent us from forgiving others. But we must still keep in mind the overall social order or traditions of our society.

When the ego dies inside of a man, he discovers universal compassion. When one dies to the self, this is what it is to become great, to transcend one's finitude. Thus one becomes a know-all, and knows within All-Merciful God the alone attains Glory who soothes himself in all life." If one finds himself in others, one will naturally do for them what he ordinarily does for himself. This is giving oneself to others (Daan). Without compassion, one cannot give. Guru Nanak insists that we must give only what we have earned from the sweat of our brow.

We have now reached the pinnacle of the behavior pattern, or what we refer to as service. Giving a desirable thing or commodity is a donation (Daan), and service is a style of life where one gives continuously. Short of service (seva) therefore is no fulfillment: "For, His service is the Deed most sublime." Here again, we have to see an all-society viewpoint, leaving our ego behind. Otherwise, you do not get the status in the moral life which belongs to a fulfilled man: "If he loses his self and serves He gets honour." The most valuable service a man can provide is to assist everyone who is connected to him in attaining their own perfections in a similar manner: "And, emancipating themselves they emancipate their clans too; thus fulfilled is their life of the world." We should also think for the betterment of all and have no ill will against anyone. (sarbat da bhala)

Summary

To sum up we can say that the most modern religion; the Sikhism. A being is nature's creation at the heart of whom God has sent on earth to perform duties. He must all acts truthfully and treat all beings as belonging to God and love them accordingly without any favor and formality. Equality, Justice, and Brotherhood thus remain the key principles of conduct of Sikhism on which is based compassion, sharing one's hard earnings, and remembering the One who has created all equally. Truth and universal brotherhood and welfare remain the fundamental to Sikh religion.