Professor Explains The 'Essence of Sikhism'

Editor's Note: The following was submitted by Sukhchain Singh, Professor of Sikhism and Attorney at Law. Singh is visiting and preaching at the . He was also , who died after police say a lone gunman opened fire there last Sunday, killing six.

ESSENCE OF SIKHISM

by Sukhchain Singh

‘SIKH’ means a Life-long Learner of Purpose of Human Life, Divine Truth and Spirituality. It literally means a ‘Student’ (Shishya), a ‘Disciple’, a devout Follower of the GURU.

GURU lexically means: ‘GU=Goo’ for Darkness + ‘RU=Roo’ for Light: GURU = Darkness Dispeller: GURU is Spiritual Enlightener, who knows GOD fully well, is himself liberated and can assuredly get his Followers liberated with Divine Grace. Such a Guru in human form is directly chosen by God Himself to pass on esoteric knowledge of His Divine Attributes to the World. Such a GURU in human form becomes essential as a LINK between GOD and HUMANS. Humans cannot directly see or hear or touch GOD. They cannot attain knowledge without Seeing, Listening and Touching. GURU helps Humans in imbibing Divine Image of GOD and listening to God’s Divine Voice through Guru’s Teachings. Thus, they attain Divine Knowledge by ‘Listening through the Guru’. Listening leads to Understanding> Imbibing> Practicing the Divine Principles.

PRIME GURU:  GURU is He who first gives knowledge, eradicates ignorance and illumines Disciple’s Soul. Such a First Guru for the World from whom all knowledge emanates is God Himself. Therefore, God always is the Prime Guru for all the Human Beings. Thus GOD is Human Guru’s GURU. Prophets, Holy Persons, Divine Messengers and Preachers of Spirituality who have come to the World for teaching and preaching the attributes of God and Divinity to Human Beings are the blessed ‘Chosen Ones’ who act as the Holy Medium between Human Soul and Prime Soul: God for a living Re-union. However, in worldly context of Spirituality, we reverently call such blessed ‘Chosen Ones’ of GOD as the ‘GURUS’ for the World.

BASIC THEOLOGY OF SIKHISM: GOD as the PRIME TRUTH. TRUTH is ever changeless. Whatever changes is not a Truth. God is an Eternal Living Truth. He is a LIVING TRUTH unlike the lifeless Scientific Truths such as Newton’s Laws of Motion or the Mathematical Truths e.g. 2+2=4. Human Soul is Deathless and Eternal and is, therefore, a Sub-Truth vis-à-vis God, the Prime Truth. Human Soul gets separated from God as per God’s volition which is essential for Creation in the World. The real Purpose of Human Life is to seek the Soul’s re-union with the Prime Source, the Prime Truth: God.

Human Soul has to be a purified Truth so as to reunite with God because only a Truth can join with a Truth. However, Human Soul cannot perceive God due to ‘Wall of Illusion’ (Untruth) standing in between itself and God. This Wall of Illusion cannot be demolished by any traditional methods of Divine Realization such as Ritualistic Bathing at imagined Holy Water-edges, Renunciation of World, Yogic Penance and even Wisdom. Key to God-Realization is to accept completely and unconditionally the Divine ‘Will’. 

Such a ‘Will’ of Lord is called ‘HUKAM’: Divine Ordinance.

Hukam cannot come before us in any written form, nor can it be heard like the Proclamation of a King.

It is scribed by God well within the Inner-Self of every Human-Being and has to be explored and understood.

This requires a Spiritual Method which Humans cannot learn without the help of the ‘Guru’.

Herein is the Guiding Role of the Guru, the Holy Spiritual Enlightener, who has to be a ‘Truth’ because only a Truth can join the Sub-Truth of the Human Soul with the Prime Truth God.

HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE: First Guru of Sikhs was Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji who was born in the Punjab of erstwhile undivided India in 1469 A.D. He declared Sikhism around 1500. He was succeeded by 9 more Gurus in Human Form until 1708. (Human Guruship Time Span: 239 Years)
Thereafter, Sikh Guruship had been vested in the Holy Sikh Scripture called ‘Sree Guru Granth Sahib’ which is deemed as the Eleventh, Last and Eternal Guru of the Sikhs and the Universal Seekers of Divine Truth.

‘GURU GRANTH’ has the Universal Teachings for spiritual elevation and emancipation of entire Humanity.
It has 1430 large sized pages written in Gurmukhee Script of traditional Sikh Language Punjabi. It is all in exquisitely knit and rhymed verses in 31 unique Symphonies (Raags). It has 36 Contributors to it. They are: 6 of 10 Sikh Gurus, 15 celebrated Saints from different Faith Traditions of India, 11 Court Singers (Bhatts) of first 5 Sikh Gurus and 4 devout Sikhs of their times. ‘Sree Guru Granth Sahib’ is a unique and authentic Religious Scripture with great spiritual message for Wellness of entire Humanity. It is a Universal Scripture for all Mankind. Daily Sikh Prayer (Ardaas) ends with Good Wishes for the Wellness of entire Mankind.

Sikhism is the Fifth largest World Faith with universal outlook and appeal. It stands for Peace and Tolerance.

Sikh Worship Centers (Gurdwaras) are open to People of all World Faiths with free Food (Langar) always.

More than 25 Million Sikhs currently reside in most Countries of World, exceeding 700,000 now in America.

Professor Sukhchain Singh, {Professor of Sikhism & Attorney at Law} is the Chairperson of Omni-Faith International Organization.