Thought for the Day BBC Radio 4 14/10/08

Author:  Dr Indarjit Singh

Sikhs throughout the world are preparing to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Gurgaddi, the day when our 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh decided that the infant Sikh community was now strong enough to stand on its own without the guidance of further living Gurus.

But why ten Gurus in the first place? After all, key Sikh teachings on the importance of religious tolerance, emphasis on gender equality in our one human family, and a commitment to social justice, were all put forward by the founder of the religion: Guru Nanak.

Guru Nanak was a realist. He wasn’t interested in simply putting forward impressive sounding ideals, but in permanently changing attitudes and aspirations of people trapped in the rigidity of caste for whom religion had become ritual and superstition. He saw the difficulty of bringing about real change in a single lifespan and instituted a system of succession. The task of succeeding Gurus was to show the practicality of Sikh teachings in often difficult and dangerous circumstances which cost three of the Gurus their lives.

By the time of the tenth Guru, Sikh teachings had taken strong root, and Guru Gobind Singh gave his followers one final command:–follow the guidance of the Sikh scriptures as you would those of a living Guru. It is command that will be the main focus of our celebrations next week. In lectures and services in gurdwaras we’ll be reminded to constantly focus on the instructions for responsible living detailed in our holy scriptures.

But following instructions doesn’t come easy to any of us. They seem boring and unnecessary and get in the way of what we want to do. In self assembly I dive straight in; proud of my DIY skills. But as I step back to admire my handiwork, I find it all skewed and ready to fall apart. Then and only then do I turn to the book of instructions.

In much the same way, we’ve become a bit of a clever clogs society. We don’t need old fashioned religion to shape the way we live. Look at what we’ve achieved without it. Well these last few weeks we’ve been looking, not in admiration but horror at our attempts to build prosperity on debt and greed. Perhaps it’s time for us all to go back to the drawing board and look again at the guidance of our scriptures on our collective responsibilities to wider society.