Browsing Tag: Philosophy

The soul is something similar to water with no shape of its own but, for us earthlings it is experienced as what gives us life -- the force within the vessel of flesh. Without the body the soul has no reality. The mind is similar – without the flesh – the brain – the mind does not exist. The container of the flesh gives them shape and existence.

The pen is mightier than the sword! This has been advocated through the years by many. I have always wondered how many of us actually believed in it and how many of us have actually taken that path.

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.

Over time, the window that Sikhism opened for me into the sacred has become a mirror in which to reflect on my own tradition. I share the following observations in a spirit of deep gratitude. Sikhism has never been a tool for self-analysis so much as a gift of self-discovery.

This predisposition to be disinterested in our neighbors inherently limits the atheistic quest to end injustice; if we are only for our own causes, we can't claim to be agents of justice or rationality.

While reading Shakespeare's poem "All the world's a stage", I was surprised to find that its conceptual framework already existed in Guru Nanak's hymn and the poem content is very similar to the hymns of Guru Nanak recorded at Ang 137-138.

Discussions of religion are typically about God. Atheists reject religion because they don’t believe in God; Jews, Christians and Muslims take belief in God as fundamental to their religious commitment. The philosopher John Gray, however, has recently been arguing that belief in God should have little or nothing to do with religion.

We recognize at a certain level of awareness that men like Jesus, Nanak, Gobind Singh were special — beyond human understanding — so much so that we unnecessarily free them of all human experiences, particularly those that are universally recognized as painful or noxious.

Sikhs all over the world are celebrating Guru Nanak’s Birthday (Properly called as: Pawan Prakash Utsav) on November 10, 2011 with great devotion and celebrations.

Over 500 years ago, Guru Nanak taught that Truth is a universal constant, and nobody has an exclusive right to it. Like the story of the six blind men describing an elephant, most of us have our own version of truth, but beyond that lies the ultimate truth underlying the unity of humankind.

“Sikhism” is a comprehensive viewpoint of the Sikh scriptures, traditions, history, festivals, homeland, and the Sikh Diaspora.

While the essentials for life - like air and water - are free for all, other things require compensation to obtain and use. Since to enjoy comfort and a high standard of living are common human desires, only those who are prosperous can obtain these.

The way to nirvana is actually quite simple, learnt Reena Singh at an inter-faith meet at the R K Mission in Delhi recently.

The philosopher Suzanne Langer once wrote, “though the material of poetry is verbal, its import is not the literal assertion made in the words but the way the assertion is made and this involves the sound, the tempo … and the unifying all-embracing artifice of rhythm.”

FEW OF US ARE ALTOGETHER INNOCENT OF THE NEED FOR FORGIVENESS.

When I say that "The Battle continues.....", I simply mean the battle which has no end. A battle between the GOOD and the EVIL which is on for eternity. But what role does my SIKHI (Learning spirit) play in it? It simply helps me explore and feel...

Some of us may at times like pointing fingers at what we see as ‘other people’s ego’. Some believe that we are in fact our ego. Many spiritual traditions of the east and the west believe that the ego is an ‘enemy’ which must be done away with, or at least overcome.

One of my friends’ nieces asked me a question in the Gurdwara Langar Hall: "What is the difference between Sufism and Sikhism?" I just wondered where I should start...

User shares his thought about the sikh lifestyle.

Amandeep Singh examines the correlation between our internal and external environments.