Three Main Principles

The three main principles of Sikhism are;

1. Remember God (Nāam Japo) - the remembrance of God by repeating and focussing the mind on His name and His blessings. Remembrance of the divine Name is a key practice. The verbal repetition of the name of God or a sacred syllable is an established practice in religious traditions in India, but Guru Nanak's interpretation emphasized inward, personal observance. Guru Nanak's ideal is the total exposure of one's being to the divine Name and a total conforming to Dharma or the "Divine Order". Nanak described the result of the disciplined application of nāam simraṇ as a "growing towards and into God" through a gradual process of five stages. The last of these is sach khand (The Realm of Truth)—the final union of the spirit with God.

2. Honest work (Kirat Karō) - to work and earn by the "sweat of the brow", to live a family way of life, and practice truthfulness and honesty in all dealings is a fundamental part of Sikhi. The term means to carry out good deeds and earn a honest, pure and upright livelihood by exercising ones God given skills, abilities, talents and hard labour for the benefit and improvement of the individual, their family and society at large. Guru Nanak stressed kirat karō: that a Sikh should balance work, worship, and charity, and should defend the rights of all creatures, and in particular, fellow human beings. They are encouraged to have a chaṛdī kalā, or optimistic - resilience, view of life.

3. Share with others (Vaṇḍ Chakkō) - to share ones wealth with others in the community, to give to charity, to distribute in Langar (free Kitchen) and to generally help others in the community who need help. A Sikh is expected to contribute at least 10% of their wealth/income called Dasvandh to the needy people of the world or to a worthy cause. Sikh teachings stress the concept of sharing through the distribution of free food at Sikh gurdwaras (laṅgar), giving charitable donations, and working for the good of the community and others (sēvā).

Seva or Karseva also shortened to 'Sewa' is a word used to refer to "selfless service" or "free-voluntary service", performed without any thought of reward or personal benefit. Doing 'Seva' is a central Sikh tenet; all Sikhs are encouraged by their Guru Guru Granth Sahib to perform Seva or Selfless Service within the community. Not only is this good for community relations but it is also good and moral uplifting of the person performing the voluntary service.

Guide To Discover Sikhism |   Guide To Becoming A Pure Sikh|   Guide To Carrying Out Nitnem