The Ideal Sikh That I Want To Be

I am currently a young but a quickly growing Sikh teen. When I grow older, I aspire to be as perfect a Sikh as I can be; one who would be an exemplary role-model to youngsters and whom they can look up to.

The best way, or rather the most conventional path to undertake is that I will subscribe to the teachings of the Sikh institution. Actually, it is not that I have not subscribed to those teachings yet. It is just that as I grow older, the thought of being a great Sikh will inspire and spur me on to lean onto the finer, more intricate teachings of the Sikh ideology.

For a start, I have taken ‘Amrit’, something that is a rarity given the age that I had taken it – 11. Well, there is ample of room of improvement there, and truthfully, albeit with much haste of my consciousness, I will improve there.

In addition to that, I also do my ‘Rehraas Sahib’ path on an almost daily basis. Speaking of that, I had started doing ‘Japji Sahib’ in the mornings but God forbid for some reason or another, I could not sustain it.

Furthermore, I do not indulge in anything that is strictly prohibited in my religion. To put it to perspective, I have unshorn hair and many of you would be amazed, my unshorn hair measures a little longer than 165cm.  I also do not consume intoxicants such as liquor and cigars. There are other prohibitants too, but these are the key ones. 

As a result of that, the thoughts of me cutting my hair or consuming alcoholic beverages do not even cross my mind. Moreover, I shall, throughout the entirety of my life, thank God for whatever he has in store for me as well as whatever he blesses me.

I shall also work hard and live by the three golden rules put forth by Guru Nanak, namely; living an honest life by earning by the sweat of my brow and the strength of my back, resonate on the name of the Lord Almighty on every breath I take and lastly, share my earnings with the less fortunate and needy.

If, by God’s grace, I be a millionaire or something to that tune in the future, I will build institutions for the less fortunate and shelter the homeless. I will, essentially, do as much as I can do with the power within my hands to change the lives of the many needy people that are scattered all around the globe.

After helping these people get a firm footing in life, it is my hope that they would in turn help their needy brethren, and so on and so forth. If this cycle continues, the chances of finding helpless folks on the streets will diminish little by little year after year.

So much chatter but no work will make this piece of writing awfully redundant. I will, henceforth, stick to what I have said I want to be in the future. They say, actions speak louder than words, and for that reason, it is my duty to walk the talk, the sooner the better that is.

After all, I want to strive to be as compassionate as Guru Nanak, as great a learner as Guru Angad, as great a sacrificer as Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur, and also as commanding a leader as Guru Gobind Singh was. That is my perception of the ideal Sikh that I want to be.

*This is the core of an essay that I had written for the end year 'Sikhi' assesment test of my Punjabi School.