To all people who try to remind me of my Sikh roots to justify their own religious hatred - PLEASE DON'T!
I guess I ruffle many feathers when I speak about how certain politicians have failed our country. People take it personally. They think that I'm attacking Hindus. 'Because, if this government had not come to power, the Muhammadans would have taken over our country, and converted it to a Muslim state.' A statement I find highly preposterous and ill-reasoned.
I would have understood if such statements were coming from uneducated, uncouth people, or those who lack common sense. But I can't understand when they are made by highly educated, seemingly intelligent people. How do they justify their ignorance?
And then they tell me, 'How can you forget - Sikhism was created to fight Muslims?'
No - Sikhism was not created to fight Muslims - it was created to fight injustice, oppression, and superstition. It was created to eradicate the caste system, to provide equal status to women, to ensure that no one goes hungry. The foundation of Sikhism is humanity, not religious warfare.
Bhai Kanhaiya ji, the ultimate Sikh, offered water to all wounded soldiers on the battlefield, irrespective of the side they were fighting on. On being questioned, he replied, "Yes, my Guru, what they say is true. But Maharaj, I saw no Mughal or Sikh on the battlefield. I only saw human beings. And, Guru Ji, they all have the same God’s Spirit - have you not taught us to treat all God's people as the same?" Guru Ji smiled and blessed Bhai Kanhaiya. He said, "Bhai Kanhaiya Ji, you are right, you have understood the true message of Gurbani."
Please, stop trying to belittle the great humanitarian principles of my Gurus by trying to tell me that I should hate humans just because they belong to a different religion.
Your hatred has already done enough harm. Sikhs continue to be gunned down in the US because they have turbans and beards. Innocent people get killed because of their ethnicity.
The world doesn't need more hate. It needs love. So that we can all come together responsibly and fight the pandemic together.
We are in the middle of a deadly global crisis. Please don't make it worse with your hate.
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