Ethics

Abstract

Value systems are based on beliefs but the moral issues which religions address in their scriptures often reflect the relationship of eternal principles to particular historical and social circumstances. Christians and Sikhs, as we have seen, believe in a God who is the creator and sustainer of the universe and who is the parent of humanity. It is the responsibility and duty of those who share these concepts to work as God’s co-partners in the world, using its resources but not exploiting them as if no other world existed, and caring for all people as one’s own kin. Christians encapsulate this teaching in the injunction to ‘love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18) supplemented by the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) which Jesus told to reinforce the Jewish view that one’s neighbour is anyone in need, not the person one would like to help. Sikhs make the same point by telling the story of Bhai Kanaya, a follower of the tenth Guru who, during a battle between Sikh forces and a Mughal army, was commended by the Guru for treating the wounded irrespective of whether they were Sikhs or their foes.¹ This principle of service to humanity, called seva, has been mentioned already. It is the greatest Sikh virtue. It characterises communities wherever they are found.