If we can see the oneness in the creator and creation, there is then no room left for distinctions of race, caste, creed, gender, color or national origin. The Ultimate reality has no gender, form, race or color.
Seeing the state of the practice of our faith and ‘way of life’, Sikhi today, brings back nostalgic memories of yesteryear (my childhood) when it seemed all so simple and full of joy. I speak of Sikhi in the former Malaya (now Malaysia) where I was born.
Like every year, on November 11 on the Armistice Day, about 300 Sikhs throughout Europe paid a visit to Ieper - Belgium and laid flowers at the Menen Gate the National Monument of Belgium and later at Hollebeke where Sikhs fought for the first time against Germany in October 1914.
In the world of the 21st century our value does not rest in what we acquire, find, or know. It rests in who we have become through our experience. Value lies in our capacity and ability to consciously use information. Ultimately, we are valuable for our wisdom and our ability to deliver results.
I could argue that over 500 years ago the Sikh Founder-Gurus offered the model of an egalitarian society that promised self-governance, transparency and accountability with freedom from racial, caste and gender stereotypes. I have to concede, though, that the practice often remains short of the teaching.
American society tends to delude itself into believing that ignorance is the exclusive source of hate-violence. Part of the reason for this is that this idea is more comforting than the reality. It’s comforting for us to think that people would be compassionate towards one another if they were more educated.
Last year Nishaan, the colorful Sikh quarterly from Delhi, asked me to trace the Sikh (and Punjabi) presence in Delhi. Pushpinder Singh Chopra, Bhayee Sikander Singh Bagriyan and Monica Arora provided much of the research material. The more I learned about Delhi, the more I became entranced with it.
"Anyone who closes his eyes to the past is blind to the present. Whoever refuses to remember the inhumanity is prone to risks of new infection"
There is likely little doubt that over 300 years ago when the 10th Master’s presence graced the earth and he led Sikhs and others into necessary battle, that Sarb Loh (pure iron) was the preferred blade material for Kirpans and possibly swords that might have seen duty in the protection of oneself and the innocent.