Sikhism -- The Green Religion

With the arrival of spring and its celebration of nature, I decided to contemplate my faith tradition, Sikhism, and what it says about the natural environment.

Saffron has always been an essential Sikh colour, evident in the colour of the Nishan Sahib, the Sikh flag that flies at the entrance or atop every Gurdwara (the Sikh place of worship), as well as the traditional Sikh dress called Baana, where saffron is often mixed with royal blue. Though Sikhs are asked to consider all colours equal, much like all people, all religions, all occasions, etc…. it would be futile to deny the potency of these two colours in arousing spirit and sentiment in those who have any connection to Sikhism and Sikh culture

I would like to add another colour to my Sikh faith and the Sikh way of life, and that colour is green. It might be coincidental that saffron and blue mixed together make green. Then again, it might not. Green is the colour of all that is young, growing and vibrant, the colour of the trees and land, and the word most used to metaphorically describe environmental activism and stewardship concerning the environment (Greenpeace, Green Party, Greening Sacred Spaces…).

It’s official then – green is in. Today more than ever, people are coming to realize the importance of ‘being green’. We are coming to realize that instead of simply an optional act of good will it is in fact the duty of the worlds’ citizens to take care of the Earth; the very Earth that has sustained humans, and that humans repaid by plundering and violating.

So how can Sikhs make a place for a green ethic in our way of life? What does the environment have to do with spirituality? What do the Sikh Gurus teach about these matters? These were questions I asked myself time and time again. And like almost everything else, I found answers waiting to be understood in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scriptures. The Guru Granth Sahib is the complied writings of saints, fakirs, and enlightened individuals of all walks of life, including weavers, cobblers and farmers, from all different castes religions and genders. After having established the Sikh way, the tenth and final human Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh (1666 -1708) named this sacred text to be the final and eternal Guru of the Sikhs. With its interfaith based writings, the teachings it contains are not only spiritual to Sikhs, but universal and inspiring for all. But as with all great texts, you have to read it to benefit from its timeless wisdom. It is not to be worshiped blindly, as was the custom of many in India at the time. (A translation of the Guru Granth Sahib can be found online at www.searchgurbani.com)

Once I started reading, not only was I forced to accept the undeniable relationship between spirituality and the environment, I was also amazed at the science and ecology presented to us by our Guru.

On the subject of pollution, Guru Ji (Ji is a term of respect) says on pg. 8:10 of the Guru Granth Sahib, "Air is the Guru, Water is the Father, and Earth is the Great Mother of all." If we can learn any primary values in Gurbani, the writings contained in the Guru Granth Sahib, some of the first would be to learn of the importance of respecting the Guru as well as one’s mother and father, who are in reality, a child's first Gurus. Guru Nanak the first Guru, and founder of Sikhism (1469-1539) tells us that air is our Guru, water our father and the earth is our mother. Would anyone dare disrespect their guru (teacher) and their parents the way that we do the air, water and earth? All of these elements are sacred to us - or at least should be.

Further on, the Guru reveals how scientifically forward thinking and understanding Gurbani is when Guru Ji says, "From the True Lord came the air, and from the air came water" 19:18. Today, every seventh-grade child likely knows the hydrological cycle, and yet we adults wantonly waste and pollute this sacred element. On page 472:14, the Guru tells us "First, there is life in the water, by which everything else is made green."
Having spoken of air and water the Guru goes on to say of the earth
“…in the midst of these, He established the earth as a home for Dharma” 7:12.

While many may take Dharma to mean religion, the more literal meaning is “duty”. Duty and service, to God, to one’s family and community, are central ideas to the Sikh faith. Would we throw garbage left, right and centre in a gurdwara, temple, mosque or church? Would we pollute the air inside these sacred spaces so that worshippers could barely breath? What about poisoning the water in langar (the free kitchen, which is in all gurdwaras), or communion? Of course we wouldn’t. Then why do we do it to planet Earth, which, as the Guru tells us, was established by God as a home for Dharma?

Of the trees, plants and nature in general, Guru Ji states, "The Lord is among the trees and the plants, within the household and outside as well" 223:16. Yet we endlessly consume and waste paper. Deforestation is someone else's problem. It's so far away, and has so little to do with me, we tell ourselves.

But our Guru tells us that God resides within these natural creations. Caring little or not at all about the welfare of the future of creation is caring little or not at all for God. I do not think that the path of the truly spiritual individual lies apart from the path of the environmentalist. Indeed they seem to be very much aligned, if not one and the same.

We are shown repeatedly in the Guru Granth Sahib that God pervades the air, water, earth and plants, and informed of our close familial ties with these elements, as they are Guru, father and mother. So when we disrespect our environment we are disrespecting God and our family.

"The devotees are in harmony with their God; He is in the water, the land, and the sky" 748: 3.

"The Lord is totally pervading the water, the land, and all space. He is contained in the forests as well" 133:13,

"O Nanak, He is pervading and permeating all places, the forests and the meadows, the three worlds, and every hair" 966:9.

"Behold God in all the earth and sky, in the water, on the land, in the forests and mountains, and in the nether regions of the underworld" 299:16.

"If someone is going to teach me something, let it be that the Lord is pervading the forests and fields"92:12.

All of these quotes, and many more like them, are from the Guru Granth Sahib, which we accept as the absolute and infinite Guru.

I don't think the main issue is how many activist groups we join or whether we advocate for environmental laws. I think the issue is rather that we as Sikhs, indeed all people, learning that the environment is central to our religion, our way of life, must come together as a community to become more environmentally conscious and active in our daily life.

One final point comes to mind. We so often hear the Guru refer to God with the word “Har”…
“Obtaining the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, they are satisfied; joining the Sangat, the Blessed Congregation, their virtues shine forth” 10:5.

The similarity between God’s name and the Punjabi word for green (hara) seems to me uncanny. It looks like the colour Green is already taken – by none other than God.