TEN GURUS AND A BOOK.

In my Allegory of a Two-Storied Temple, I compared the issue of compatibility among world cultures and their religions to a “two-storied temple,” where the ground floor is partitioned among the different religious and cultural traditions, but each cubicle has its own ladder ascending to the upper floor, which has no partitions at all. It would be utterly counterproductive to try to achieve an intercultural, or interfaith, understanding by breaking through the partitions, as there would be a great risk there of bringing the whole structure of the temple down. But it is an entirely different thing for representatives from each separate cubicle to climb up their respective ladders to the upper floor, which they all have in common, and where they can fruitfully communicate without any fear of structural damage.

But what exactly is up there on the upper floor? I suggested that there reigns the One “philosophical” God, whose different manifestations are found in the variety of world religions. He does not create obstacles to a mutual understanding. He does not set individual religions against each other, and offers them no rewards for forcing any particular religion on those who happen to profess a different religion. On the contrary, He reminds them of what they all have in common, and commands them to build a spiritual trust and religious tolerance on behalf of Him and in behalf of world peace.

In practical terms, it is awfully hard, even for a philosopher, to ascend from the level of a particular religion to the general level of the philosophical God. Some religions are so terribly possessive that they might mistake the philosophical God for the Supreme Commander of a rival religion. There are others, too, which do not seem as antagonistic to real and perceived competition. In my previous entry I cited Buddhism as one of such examples of an almost philosophical religion. Unfortunately, a religious philosophy cannot be easily separated from the religious faith and practice, and the nations that have practiced Buddhism as their primary religion tend to score poorly on the comparative scale.

But there is another religion which is theologically inoffensive, and mostly philosophical in nature, yet unlike Buddhism, it is socially inoffensive and unassuming, which makes it perfectly suitable as the world’s best intermediary and third-party negotiator. It has no priesthood to lay down the law, and its holy book can easily be regarded as a “how-to” of moral advice for individual and social behavior. In other words, it gives off no air of infallibility and makes no claim on other cultures that might put it in conflict with them.

This is the principal reason why I find this religion particularly important, and its followers, ideal third-party mediators in all such world affairs which for any reason cannot be conducted on a direct basis. So, here it is.

Out of India comes yet another great religion, surprisingly, the fifth largest in the world, although there is a big question mark as to how the numbers for other, “lesser” religions have been counted.

But even if those other figures have been unwarrantably lowered, the religion of the Indian Sikhs deserves very serious consideration nevertheless, as perhaps the most underrated, or merely unfairly overlooked, of all legitimate world religions.

Sikhism was born at the end of the 15th century in the Punjab district of what is now India and Pakistan by Guru Nanak, and is based on his teachings, and those of the nine Sikh gurus who followed him. There are currently twenty million Sikhs in the world, and most of them live in the Punjab province of India.

Guru Nanak was a monotheistic philosopher and spiritual leader who was, early on in his life, influenced in his thinking by the Sufi tradition of Islam, with its emphasis on meditation. At the age of 29, Nanak must have had a profound mystical experience, suddenly proclaiming: “There is no Hindu, there is no Moslem!” He summarily rejected all cultural idols of the Hindus, but retained their concept of moksha, as liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth into a state of final unity with God. Nanak also condemned the caste system, and introduced the ongoing Sikh custom of people of all social ranks having meals together.

Sikhism is stressing the importance of doing good deeds, rather than merely carrying out rituals. The most important thing is the internal religious state of the individual. Sikhs believe that the way to lead a good life is to “keep God in heart and mind at all times, live honestly and work hard, treat everyone equally, be generous to the less fortunate, and serve others.”

Their place of worship is called a Gurdwara. Their holy scripture is a book called the Guru Granth Sahib, or Adi Granth, First Book. The tenth and last Sikh Guru Gobind Singh willed that after his death the line of human Gurus should come to an end (his own four sons were all dead by then), and, from then on, the spiritual guide of the Sikhs should be the teachings in that book, so that now it has the status of a Guru, and the Sikhs show it all the respect they would give to a human Guru. Guru Gobind Singh decreed that when Sikhs could not find answers in the Adi Granth, they were to decide issues within the Khalsa, Community of the Pure, membership in which is granted in the rite of initiation by baptism. There is no such thing as Sikh priesthood, either in the Khalsa or anywhere else.

Come to think of it, Sikhism is an interesting religion, which sounds, overall, as something that may be too good to be true. But, I guess, one has to be a Sikh to find out the small script of real life in this beautifully painted picture of gentle wisdom. What is of greater importance than the actual faith and practice here are the general principles of the Sikh tradition, and the philosophical conclusions one may draw from them.

And of course who can follow these enlightened principles and draw the proper philosophical conclusions from them better than someone raised with them all along, that is, a natural-born Sikh?

…So what am I saying? A Sikh for the General Secretary of the United Nations?

No, I am suggesting ten Sikhs as janitors to clean up the world mess.