How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life
The Light We Give (2022) lights a defiant flame of hope for troubled times. Drawing on a lifetime of navigating racism growing up as a Sikh in Texas, it offers simple, guiding principles and daily practices that can help anyone live a more fulfilling, joyful life – regardless of their circumstances.
Simran Jeet Singh is a widely published author, a visiting professor of history and religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and the executive director for the Religion & Society Program at the Aspen Institute.
September 11, 2001 was the first time Simran Jeet Singh had ever seen his mother lock the front door.
Growing up as a native Texan in a Sikh family, Simran was used to two things by his senior year in high school. One, that his long hair and turban, dark skin and beard caused a lot of racist reactions. He most often deflected these with quick thinking and humor – sometimes even using them as a chance to educate people about Sikh culture. But growing up Sikh also meant that his family was committed to generosity and community. Their door had remained open his entire life, ready to welcome anyone in need at any hour of the day or night.
Earlier that day, they’d watched the news in horror – both as the twin towers fell and when the image of a bearded, brown-skinned, and turban-wearing Osama bin Laden was broadcast as the mastermind of the terrorist attacks. In one fateful moment, the image of a turbaned terrorist was cemented in hearts and minds around the globe. The outpouring of hatred and violence was almost immediate.
After a lifetime of navigating racism and ignorance in his hometown, the stakes were forever raised in that moment. For the first time, his family was receiving death threats. In the aftermath, a turbaned Sikh in Arizona was murdered in his workplace. Others were beaten and harassed, despite having absolutely nothing to do with the terrorist attacks or those who perpetrated them.
But something else was happening, too. Friends and neighbors were checking in on Simran’s family. They offered meals, comfort, and moral support. Communities around the country were connecting and sharing information, too – supporting each other as they found ways to respond to the violence.
His family found immediate cause for hope in this outpouring of love and support, and life slowly assumed a new normal. But for Simran, it was just the beginning of a longer journey toward wisdom.
He realized that despite dealing with racism every day of his life in Texas, it wasn’t enough to keep his loved ones safe. His reality was challenging, for sure. There were many times he struggled with anger over the injustice of it all. But embracing this reality fully meant diving deep into his core principles, facing his biases, and practicing a new way to be in the world.
Transforming his life through a few simple principles wasn’t easy, but the reward has meant living with joy and fulfillment – no matter what the circumstances are. In the next section, we’ll start to discover how you can do this, too.
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Blink 3 von 12 - Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit
von Yuval Noah Harari
