Thought for the Day BBC Radio 4 20/1/09

Author:  Dr Indarjit Singh

We Sikhs are very democratic. We all consider ourselves equals, and those who find themselves in authority are given constant instructions by one and all, as to what they must do.

Multiply this a thousand fold and we get a small measure of the challenges Barak Obama faces today as he assumes office as President of the United States. He begins his term at a time of doubt and uncertainty over conflict in the Middle East and Afghanistan and the response to terrorism. He also faces a global economic crisis that dwarfs anything seen in the last half century.

Today, not only America, but the whole world will be looking to the new President with near impossible hopes and expectations. The cartoonists capture this mood perfectly, with the one Sunday paper showing Barak Obama as superman flying through the air holding the world aloft, in the palms of his hands.

The new President also face the reality of powerful lobbying groups that have long dominated the American scene, trying to pull him in different directions, and there will be the constraining influence of long established policies at home and abroad. The challenge for the President will be to react to these in a way that is consistent with his eloquent promises of a more prosperous America and a fairer world order.

I see hope in the inspiration that he will derive from the rich diversity of his upbringing in different cultures. This broader vision will be of immense help in harnessing the energies of people of different faiths to work together for the common good, an important thrust of Sikh teachings. As Guru Nanak reminds us:

Religion consists not of mere talk but service to those around us
Those that look on all alike and consider all as equals are truly religious.

There are encouraging signs that Barak Obama is moving in this direction. He has already had meetings with different Christian denominations, and people of other faiths, and it been reported that he will visit a Muslim country within his first one hundred days of office,

It wont be easy to change the perception of religion being a cause of conflict, but if Barak Obama succeeds in getting our different faiths working together in this way, he will be tapping an important resource, and his ‘yes we can’, may well become a reality