Happy Valentines Day

You may well be wondering why a Sikh web site is wishing you a Happy Valentines Day? Well St Valentine is the patron Saint of Love according to Christianity, but, as we all know, Valentines Day has become a commercial enterprise, probably picked up by florists who felt that February was a quiet time of year - well considering the price of roses in February now they must all be doing quite well ! Anyway I was thinking that Valentines Day does have some origins in a religion, so what has religion got to do with Love? 

Religion is founded upon Love and Gurbani provides us with some wonderful shabads that talk about Love.

If you desire to play the game of love, then step onto My Path with your head in hand. When you place your feet on this Path, give Me your head, and do not pay any attention to public opinion.

Guru Granth Sahib p.1412

In fact one of the most used analogies in the Guru Granth Sahib is that of a Brides (devotees) Love for her Husband (God):

Sing, sing, O brides of the Lord, 
the marriage songs of the Lord.
The Lord, my King, has come to my house as my Husband.

p.482

God is the creator of this creation and all the beings live within Gods Will (or Law) so what can we possibly give to God? We can give Love:

Those who Love, will find God.

Tva Prasad Svayay, Guru Gobind Singh Ji

Gurbani tells us again and again that the path towards God is a path of Love and Loving devotion. 

So we find that the Sikh faith along with other faiths places a strong emphasis upon Love, so why not have a day to celebrate Love? As mentioned before, today we have a very commercialised Valentines Day that seems to slightly miss the point. The Sikh Way of Life is that of a householder and leading a family life is actively encouraged. Marriage is an integral part of the Sikh way of life, so we should celebrate the Love that a couple shares. However, today people are encouraged to send multiple valentines day cards (well the card companies would encourage this!) and generally indulge in activity that may leads us towards Lust (one of the five vices). Gurbani reminds us time and again to beware of lust, which distracts us from the path of love, the path of God.

So this Valentines day let us all celebrate Love, but let us also pray that we are not consumed by lust. Hey don't we do that everyday?

Bhupinder Singh