Most trusted Name in the NRI media
Serving over 22 millions NRIs worldwide

STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE A CONVERSATION WITH KANWAL PRAKASH SINGH


Kanwal Prakash (K.P.) Singh co-founded the International Center of Indianapolis in 1972 to give the community a space to learn about, and celebrate, other cultures. The Center holds an annual International Festival at the Indiana State Fairgrounds every fall.

Singh serves as unofficial local spokesman for his own faith, Sikhism, and as a champion for religious diversity in general. "Let us keep our religion and religious matters from becoming divisive distractions," he wrote in a recently published letter to the Indianapolis Star. "Let us be guided by principles that are unifying, inclusive, timeless, universal, and reaffirm the spirit upon which our nation was founded."

Singh, who was born in India, came to the University of Michigan in the mid-1960s, where he earned a Master of Planning degree. In 1967, he went to work as an urban planner for the City of Indianapolis, before launching a career as a fine artist in the early 1970s. Working under the name K. P. Singh Designs, he has become well known for his depictions of Indiana architecture and landscapes.

Here, Singh describes his religion, comparing and contrasting it to Christianity.

CN: What are the tenets of Sikhism?

Singh: Sikhism is a monotheistic faith that believes in one supreme God, the father and mother of all life. We believe that God Almighty is the creator of all knowledge and the supreme inspiration of all faiths. Each faith has pretty much agreed on some basic thoughts; therefore, we have to say that all inspiration has come from one source. Since God created light, and from that light he created all life and blessed each living being with a divine essence, how then can some people be holier than others? From this, it follows that all humanity is one race, one brotherhood, regardless of where you were born or which faith you belong to. The Sikh faith emphasizes the importance of service—to man, life, creation—as the highest form of offering to God. Every act of service is an offering.

CN: Give an example of how these beliefs are put into practice.

Singh: Each Sikh temple has a community kitchen, where food is served every day at noon and at night, and anyone of any faith can come and partake of blessed food. In those places, there is the sense that we’re all one, and the food is prepared by volunteers and served by volunteers. At each step, symbolically and ritually, the concepts of oneness, equality, unity, and brotherhood are reinforced.

CN: In what ways does Sikhism differ from Christianity?

Singh: We differ in our belief in transmigration of the soul and karma. Karma means your actions in a previous life that you carry from a previous birth into this life. What you do with this life might emancipate you or bring you closer to eternal union with God, or it might not, depending on the burden you’re carrying from a previous life and the burdens you’ve added in this life. We believe that there are many lifetimes and many life forms, and that this is a process in which you could be vegetation, a bird, an animal, or an insect. But humans are the most precious life form in this whole process. If you are blessed with a human body, that is your time to know God and to be reunited with God.

CN: Christians believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the exclusive means of human salvation. Is there a similar concept in Sikhism?

Singh: I believe that the light of God has arrived here in many ways and in many forms and through many messengers. And I, as one human being, am willing to receive that light—not just from Christianity but through Buddhism or Islam or from non-faith, for that matter. No particular faith could possibly have the entire truth.

CN: What is the point, or benefit, of learning about faith traditions foreign to your own?

Singh: By understanding the things that have been obstacles in our path, we can bring in greater understanding and greater appreciation of other cultures. A lot of positive energy can flow from this kind of sharing. It is not something to be frightened about; it is something to celebrate. Let us not be bogged down by one tradition or another. There are common fundamentals that unite us all as one human family. Let us focus on those.


Any comments on this article or you have any news: Click here

Disclaimer
NRIinternet.com will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. We reserve the right to edit comments that are published.


K.P.Singh, an architect by training, is known for his precise, detailed pen-and-ink drawings of historic architecture and monuments in Indiana and around the world. His work is on display in private and public collections in at least 25 countries