麻豆社

Good morning.

For the last few weeks, like most of us, my thoughts have been filled with the pain and suffering in the Middle East. Over the weekend, a hundred thousand people took to the streets to express their horror at what is happening in Gaza, whilst at the same time an installation was unveiled in North London of a Shabbat table with over 200 empty seats, each with the poster of an Israeli kidnapped by Hamas.

The agony is intense, and so is the compulsion to do something, anything, to channel our feelings and emotions about it all, to make our response meaningful.

The word 鈥榰nprecedented鈥� is used frequently, but we still find ourselves looking back in history to see where the echoes can be found.
Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhi, lived over 500 years ago. He travelled extensively, including in the Middle East. His teachings focus on our relationship with the Almighty and the oneness of humanity instead of the political leaders of the day.

However, in the 1520s, he made an exception after witnessing the deeply harrowing invasion of his homeland by Babur, the first of the Mughal Emperors. Guru Nanak felt compelled to write about Babur 鈥渢errifying India鈥�, saying:

There was so much slaughter that the people screamed. Didn't You feel any compassion, O Lord?

When atrocities take place, many people of faith wonder where God is in all of this. These verses stand out in the Sikh scriptures precisely because they are so unusual. Sikhs are taught that nothing in this world happens outside of the command of the Almighty, and even so, Guru Nanak has to question whether the Almighty understands the pain of humanity. This was his response to the brutal killings, the bloodshed, the death and destruction around him.
In times such as today, we need to find ways to respond to our emotions, collectively and individually. Even though we feel so powerless, we reach for actions which we somehow believe will have some impact. For the Guru, it was through his verses, for others it鈥檚 through meaningful acts.

On Friday, the Faiths Forum for London brought together Muslims, Jews and people from other faiths to plant trees in South London. They were there as friends, first and foremost. It was a small act, but one which is all the more important given the events of this month.

It feels utterly hopeless at the moment. Divisions are becoming ever more deep in society. But the flame of hope hasn鈥檛 been completely extinguished. If you look hard enough, you can still see it flickering here and there, even if the light it gives is weak for now.

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