Five virtues

For Sikhs, the final goal of life is to reunite or merge with God (Mukti). The Sikh Gurus taught that to achieve this goal it was important to work hard at developing positive human qualities which lead the soul closer to God. The Gurus taught that all human beings have the qualities they need to reunite with God but they must train their minds to make the most of these qualities. In order to reach the final goal of life, Sikhs believe that they must constantly develop their love for God by developing compassion for all God’s creation.

The mind of someone who is gurmukh, is constantly focused on God at all times; while the mind of Manmukh is full of desire, attractions, doubts, greed, etc and he or she will be full of sorrow and pain.

"The foolish self-willed manmukh does not remember the Lord’s name; he wastes away his life in vain. But when he meets the True Guru, then he obtains the Name; he sheds egotism and emotional attachment. The Lord’s humble servants are True – they practise Truth, and reflect upon the Word of the Guru’s Shabad. The True Lord God unites them with Himself, and they keep the True Lord enshrined in their hearts. O Nanak, through the Name, I have obtained salvation and understanding; this alone is my wealth."

Sikhs believe that human beings must work at developing all the God-like qualities they have in order to truly love God. Love of God is not just a feeling but always involves showing love for God by selfless service to God’s creation. A person who is [[gurmukh[[ does not act out of selfishness but, by focusing on God, acts out of compassion for others. Maya and haumai are overcome by focusing only on God while serving God in creation. Material wealth, fame and praise are unimportant because the gurmukh is focused on the only thing of lasting value – God "The wealth of the Naam shall never be exhausted; no one can estimate its worth".

One of the most important virtues which Sikhs try to develop during life is that of truth. God is Truth and by trying to practise truth, i.e. live a truthful life, Sikhs believe that they can live in accordance with God’s Will/Hukam.

Truth is not just about speaking the truth but also about recognising and living in line with the true nature of reality. Acting justly towards others, honesty, treating everyone as equals and avoiding criticising others are all examples of truthful living for Sikhs.

Another important virtue is that of contentment. Instead of constantly thinking of how to satisfy personal desires, Sikhs try to accept the circumstances of their lives and concentrate on acting in accordance with God’s Will/Hukam. They try to remember that all aspects of life are a result of God’s Will/Hukam. Contentment leads to freedom from care, fear and worry.

Because Sikhs believe that self-centredness (haumai) leads the soul away from God, they also try to develop a selfless attitude to everything they do. By concentrating on God while going about their day-to-day lives in the world, Sikhs believe that haumai will gradually be conquered. Focusing the mind on God helps people to stop thinking about themselves and their actions eventually become truly selfless.

Living truthfully, trying to remain content and acting selflessly are difficult attitudes for human beings to develop. Sikhs recognise this and believe that they must work hard to train their minds to think and act virtuously. Not everyone will achieve this in this present life and different people will be at different stages of spiritual development. But eventually, if they focus on God who will help to develop these virtues, all will reach reunion:

The life of the spirit is not achieved in one step. The Path to Reality cannot be (travelled) in a short time. For the journey is quite a long one. But sooner or later everyone has to travel it through.

For many Sikhs, reunion with God seems far away. Serving God by training the mind to live in harmony with His Will/Hukam is the most immediate goal during life. If spiritual progress is made, then the soul may be reborn in human form and it can continue to move closer to reunion.