SIKHS VIEWS ON SOCIAL PROBLEMS by Karan Chagger

The Sikh faith is one of the youngest, it is only 500 years old. It can thus be said to be a 'modern' religion.

The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev Ji said: "Suffering is the remedy and comfort is the disease". What this really means is that the mind of man is more prone to evil than to good, and accordingly, all the so-called MODERN SOCIAL PROBLEMS are nothing but necessary evils created by our Maker to test the character of man.

The radio, television and print media keep harping about the modern social problems in our daily lives, but what are the solutions ?

Sikhs identify five evils as the root of all modern social problems, and are required to understand them in order to avoid them. They are: Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, and Pride.

The first evil, Lust (Kam) is a grave sin because it results in nothing but shame and misery. We hear daily of problems caused by lust: AIDS, prostitution and teenage pregnancies - to name a few. Sikhism promotes a monogamous relation with one's spouse, and forbids promiscuity.

The second evil, Anger (Krodh) is a passion of the mind which is charged with destructive power. It has been known to lead to perversity in an individual because it draws its strength from evil thought. It produces problems such as violence in the home, on the streets and between nations of the world. Anger can be conquered by cultivating the virtues of patience and forgiveness. Sikhs believe that God dwells in every heart and one should not hurt the God in another man.

The third evil, Greed (Lobh) is an obsessive desire for money or a love of selfish gain. It causes problems such as : dishonesty, disloyalty and unfairness. Sikhism admonishes to keep greed in check, stressing the need for contentment to conquer greed, because it creates a desire for needless luxury and other selfish evils, and so the excessive love of money, and money obtained by fraud and unfair means is to be resented.

The fourth evil, Worldly Attachment (Moh) springs from disregard for the fact that people and things do not remain forever. If human kind were not so attached to their worldly possessions, they would not fear death, for death means losing the things and people dearly loved; therefore by controlling the temptation of attachment, Sikhs should triumph over the ghosts of fear that drive to failure or death.

Finally, the fifth and greatest evil that every Sikh must guard against is Pride (Ahankar); it is probably the worst of all the evils combined together. Sikhism teaches that the remedy for pride is to cultivate selfless humility; because humility, forgiveness and compassion go together.

According to the Sikh faith, if we can control these five evils, we can lessen if not prevent the social problems in the world, and help ourselves and those around us.

Sikh culture advocates that each individual has a right to develop their human potential to the utmost, and achieve a perfect personality by learning to control those evils.

This article was originally published in Cross Cultures Magazine in Volume 1 - Issue 2 - 1992. Unauthorized copying, distribution or other usage without express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.