# KRODH -  Anger In Sikhism !



## Archived_Member16 (Oct 11, 2007)

*Krodh* is derived from the Sanskrit word *krodha*, which means *wrath* or *Rage*. This is an emotion recognized in the Sikh system as a spring of conation and is as such counted as one of the Five Evils.

It expresses itself in several forms from silent sullenness to *hysterical tantrums and violence*. In Sikh Scripture *krodh* usually appears in combination with kam — as *"kam krodh"*. The coalescence is not simply for the sake of alliterative effect. Krodh (ire) is the direct progeny of kam (desire). The latter when thwarted or jilted produces the former. The Scripture also counts *krodh* (or its synonym kop) among the four rivers of fire.

_Violence, attachment, covetousness and wrath,"_ says Guru Nanak _"are like four rivers of fire; those who fall in them burn, and can swim across, O Nanak, only through God's grace"_ (GG, 147). Elsewhere he says, _"Kam and krodh dissolve the body as borax melts gold"_ (GG, 932). Guru Arjan, Nanak V, censures krodh in these words: _"O krodh, thou enslavest sinful men and then caperest around them like an ape."_

In thy company men become base and are punished variously by Death's messengers. _The Merciful God, the Eradicator of the sufferings of the humble, O Nanak, alone saveth all"_ (GG, 1358). Guru Ram Das, Nanak IV, warns: _"Do not go near those who are possessed by wrath uncontrollable"_ (GG, 40). _Krodh is to be vanquished and eradicated_. This is done through _humility and firm faith_ in the Divine.

Guru Arjan's prescription: _"Do not be angry with any one; search your own self and live in the world with humility. Thus, O Nanak, you may go across (the ocean of existence) under God's grace"_ (GG, 259). Shaikh Farid, a thirteenth-century Muslim saint whose compositions are preserved in the Sikh Scripture, says in one of his couplets: _"O Farid, do good to him who hath done thee evil and do not nurse anger in thy heart; no disease will then afflict thy body and all felicities shall be thine"_ (GG, 1381-82). Righteous indignation against evil, injustice and tyranny is, however, not to be equated with krodh as an undesirable passion. Several hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib, particularly those by Guru Nanak and Kabir, express in strong terms their disapproval of the corruption of their day.

*References:*

Sabadarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Amritsar, 1964
Jodh Singh, Bhai, Gurmat Nirnaya. Ludhiana, 1932
Sher Singh, The Philosophy of Sikhism. Lahore, 1944
Avtar Singh, Ethics of the Sikhs. Patiala, 1970
Nirbhai Singh, Philosophy of Sikhism. Delhi, 1990
Above adapted from article By L. M. Joshi
*source:* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krodh

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Furthermore, please see the following "Youtube" link ( *Anger & Lust - SIKH RELIGION* ) too :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkJbjdnwwIk​


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## Astroboy (Oct 11, 2007)

Some of the minor phases of Krodh are:

Slander, evil gossip, backbiting, profanity, fault-finding, irritability, jealousy, malice, impatience, resentment, destructive criticism, ill will, haughtiness, lecturing
on mistakes and faults of others, just to name a few.
.


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## spnadmin (Oct 11, 2007)

KRODH..:}8-: The one that gets hold of me every time.


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## dalsingh (Oct 12, 2007)

_kam (desire)

_I would say kam is better translated as lust myself.


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## Astroboy (Oct 12, 2007)

*KAM*  (*L. M. Joshi*) (Skt. _kama_), meaning desire, longing, concupiscence, sensuality or lasciviousness, is counted among the five cardinal sins or sinful propensities.  In common usage, the term stands for passion for sexual pleasure and it is in this sense that it is considered an evil in Sikhism.  In Brahmanical literature _kam_ is not always disdained.  Kam as Kamadeva is a god in the Hindu pantheon comparable to Eros of Greek mythology and Cupid of the Romans, and is as such not contradictory to spiritual life.  _Kam_ (gratification of desire) is in Hinduism one of the four objectives (_purusarthas_) of human life, the other three being _artha_ (acquirement of wealth), _dharma_ (discharge of duty), and _moksa_ (final emancipation). Jainism and Buddhism, which arose as protest movements against Brahmanical ritualism and superstition, however looked upon _kam_ with horror.  For _munis_ and _sramanas_ of Jainism and Buddhism and for _yogis_ of the Sankhya school, _kam_ was to be deliberately suppressed to achieve ultimate release.  As a result, they preached celibacy and asceticism.
The Gurus rejected Brahmanical superstition as well as self-mortifying austerities. Yet they recognized the four _purusarthas_, referred to in _gurbani_ as _char padaraths_ or the four human pursuits.  However, in Sikhism _kam_ is not unrestricted gratification of carnal desires, but an impulse which needs to be kept under check like other impulses and passions.  Unrestrained propensity towards _kam_, especially sexual relationship outside the marital bond, is condemned in the strongest terms in Sikh codes of conduct as well as in the Scripture.  It is a destructive evil and a deadly sin.  To quote Guru Arjan, Nanak V:  “O Kam, thou landest people in hell and makest them wander through many births, enticest all minds, swayest all the three worlds and undoest one's meditation, austerities and restraint. The pleasure is ephemeral and thou afflictest high and low alike " (GG, 1358).  Guru Tegh Bahadur, Nanak IX, says:  "In the sinning heart reigns _kam_ and the fickle mind breaks out of control.  _Kam_ casts its noose even upon _yogis_, _jangams_ and _sannyasis_.  Only those imbued with God's Name (fall not a prey to it) and are able to go across the ocean of existence" (GG, 1186).  Bhai Gurdas describes an ideal Sikh as one who is loyal to his wife and "regards all other women as mothers, sisters and daughters" (Varan, XXIX. 11). Guru Gobind Singh also said: "Love your own wedded wife ever so more, but do not go to another woman's bed even in a dream."  Sikh codes of conduct strictly prohibit extramarital relations.
While prescribing self-control and restraint and not total annihilation of _kam_, the Gurus suggested two ways of channelizing and sublimating it.  On the one hand, they pronounced _grihastha_ or married life to be the ideal one, and, on the other laid down love of God and absorption in His Name as the essential principle of spiritual discipline.  Says Guru Gobind Singh, "Hear ye all, I proclaim here the truth: only they who love God find Him."  The image of a devotee most common in Sikh Scripture is one of a wife deeply in love with her _kant_ or husband presently separated from him, and waiting, craving, praying for a reunion with him.  Such fervent devotion cannot but bridle the wayward passion in man.  According to Guru Arjan, a person who has cultivated the love       of the Lord’s feet would desire neither kingship, nor worldly power, nor even _mukti_ or liberation (GG 534).       
BIBLIOGRAPHY​1.         _Sabadarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib_.  Amritsar, 1964
2.         Sher Singh, _The Philosophy of Sikhism_.  Lahore, 1944
3.         _Avtar Singh, Ethics of the Sikhs_.  Patiala, 1970


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## Astroboy (Oct 12, 2007)

*KRODH* (*L. M. Joshi*)(Skt. _krodha_) or wrath is an emotion recognized in the Sikh system as a spring of conation and is as such counted as one of the Five Evils.  It expresses itself in several forms from silent sullenness to hysterical tantrums and violence.  In Sikh Scripture _krodh_ usually appears in combination with _kam_—as _kam krodh_.  The coalescence is not simply for the sake of alliterative effect.  _Krodh_ (ire) is the direct progeny of _kam_ (desire). The latter when thwarted or jilted produces the former.  The Scripture also counts _krodh_ (or its synonym _kop_) among the four rivers of fire.  Violence, attachment, covetousness and wrath," says Guru Nanak "are like four rivers of fire; those who fall in them burn, and can swim across, O Nanak, only through God's grace" (GG, 147).  Elsewhere he says, "_Kam_ and _krodh _dissolve the body as borax melts gold" (GG, 932).   Guru Arjan, Nanak V, censures _krodh_ in these words: "O _krodh, _thou enslavest sinful men and then caperest around them like an ape.  In thy company men become base and are punished variously by Death's messengers.  The Merciful God, the Eradicator of the sufferings of the humble, O Nanak, alone saveth all" (GG, 1358).  Guru Ram Das, Nanak IV, warns: "Do not go near those who are possessed by wrath uncontrollable' (GG, 40).  _Krodh_ is to be vanquished and eradicated.  This is done through humility and firm faith in the Divine.  Guru Arjan's prescription: "Do not be angry with any one; search your own self and live in the world with humility.  Thus, O Nanak, you may go across (the ocean of existence) under God's grace" (GG, 259).  Shaikh Farid, a thirteenth-century Muslim saint whose compositions are preserved in the Sikh Scripture, says in one of his couplets: "O Farid, do good to him who hath done thee evil and do not nurse anger in thy heart; no disease will then afflict thy body and all felicities shall be thine" (GG, 1381-82).  Righteous indignation against evil, injustice
and tyranny is, however, not to be equated with _krodh_ as an undesirable passion.   Several hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib, particularly those by Guru Nanak and Kabir, express in strong terms their disapproval of the corruption of their day.      
BIBLIOGRAPHY​1.         _Sabadarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji_. Amritsar, 1964
2.         Jodh Singh, Bhai, _Gurmat Nirnaya_. Ludhiana, 1932
3.         Sher Singh, _The Philosophy of Sikhism_. Lahore, 1944             
4.         Avtar Singh, _Ethics of the Sikhs_. Patiala, 1970
5.         Nirbhai Singh, _Philosophy of Sikhism_. Delhi, 1990
L.M. J.​


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## Astroboy (Oct 13, 2007)

*FIVE* *EVILS* (*L*. *M*. *Joshi*) or _pancadokh_ or _panj_ _vikar_ as they are referred to in Sikh Scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, are, according to Sikhism, the five major weaknesses of the human personality at variance with its spiritual essence. The common evils far exceed in number, but a group of five of them came to be identified because of the obstruction they are believed to cause in man's pursuit of the moral and spiritual path. The group of five evils comprises _kama_, _krodha_, _lobha_, _moha_, and _ahankara_ (_kam_, _karodh_, _lobh_, _moh_ and _hankar_, in Punjabi); translated into English these words mean lust, wrath, greed, attachment and egoity, respectively. The word 'evil' here may be understood to represent the connotation of Punjabi _pap_ (sin), _dokh_ (defect), or _kilbikh_ (defilement).
The number five (_panj_, _panca_) is traditional and has been used in a variety of contexts. One comes across repeated references to pentads in philosophy, religion, ethics, mythology and history of India. The god Siva has five faces, hence his name _Pancanana_; the Buddha analysed human personality into five aggregates (_panca_-_skandha_) and laid down five moral precepts (_pancasila_); the Upanisads speak of the five fires (_pancagni_) and five sheaths or wrappers investing the self (_pancakosah_); Jainism has its five vows (_pancavratas_), and the Yoga system its five abstentions (_yamas_) and five observations (_niyamas_); five are the organs of sense, five the organs of action, five the objects of sense, five the gross and subtle elements (_panca_ _mahabhuta_ or _panca_ _tattva_). There are also the traditions of five _makaras_ of Tantric Yoga, five _kakars_ of later Sikhism and of the first five members of the Khalsa community and so on. The list of pentads (_pancaka_) can be lengthened.  However, theologically, no special significance attaches to the number five in the group of evils except that these five human failures are believed to constitute strong hindrances to spiritual progress.
The early Vedic literature bears no reference to the concept of 'five evils'; the terms _moha_, _kama_, _krodha_ and _aham_ do occur in the Vedic texts, but they are not enumerated as a series of evils. Moreover, these words do not seem to have any significant relation to ethical and soteriological ideas in the Vedic age. It was the ascetic sages of non-Vedic tradition, the _munis_ and _sramanas_ who propounded the philosophy of renunciation and the methods of sense-control. The impact of their ideas and practices was felt by the Upanisadic teachers. Thus the Upanisads, though they do not condemn _kama_ or desire, are aware of the evils like _raga_ or passion, _avidya_ or _nescience_, _moha_ or delusion, and _ahankara_ or egoity. These evils are mentioned and condemned in some of the post-Buddhistic Upanisads such as the _Prasna_, _Svetasvatara_, _Aitareya_, _Isa_ and _Mundaka_. The last-named text refers to 'the sages whose defilements have been destroyed' (_ksinadosah_), although it does not enumerate the 'defilements'.
Long before these later Upanisads, however, leaders of _sramanic_ philosophers had expounded soteriological techniques in which eradication of all evils and imperfections was considered _sine_ _qua_ _non_ for ultimate release. It is in the teachings of Kapilamuni, Parsvanatha, Sakyamuni and Mahavira that one finds a detailed discussion of the nature and function of _kama_, _krodha_, _lobha_, _moha_ and _ahankara_ and many other kindred vices.
The old Pali texts contain three lists of evils and factors which obstruct meditation and moral perfection. The list of five 'hindrances' (_nivaranas_) consists of sensuous desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and sceptical doubt. These hindrances blind man's mental vision and make concentration difficult. The list of ten 'fetters' (_sanyojanas_), which bind beings to _sansara_, comprises the following: belief in a permanent individuality, sceptical doubt, belief in the efficacy of mere moral observances and rituals, sensual passion, ill will, desire for existence in the material world, desire for existence in the immaterial world, conceit, restlessness and nescience.
The first two in the list of five hindrances, viz. sensuous desire (_kamacchanda_) and ill will or malice are the same as the first two in the list of five evils mentioned in the Sikh canon. Likewise, belief in a permanent individuality (_satkayadrsti_), sensual passion (_kamaraga_), ill will, conceit (_mana_) and nescience (_avidya_), included in the Buddhist list of ten fetters, are comparable to egoity, lust, wrath, pride and delusion or attachment of Sikh enumeration.
The third Buddhist list of ten 'defilements' (Pali _kilesa_, Punjabi _kalesh_ and Skt. _klesa_), includes the following: greed (_lobha_), hatred (_dosa_), delusion (_moha_), conceit (_mana_), false views, sceptical doubt, sloth, distraction, shamelessness and recklessness. In this list, again, the first four defilements are nearly identical with those included in the list of' ‘five evils' minus lust (_kama_). This last evil is mentioned separately and repeatedly in the Buddhist scriptures in Pali as well as in Sanskrit.  Similarly wrath (_krodha_) is mentioned separately as a powerful enemy of holy life.  Early Buddhist sources describe the triad of _lobha_, _dosa_ (_dvesa_), and _moha_ as the three roots of evil (_akusala_-_mula_). One of the standard Buddhist words for evil is _klesa_ which may be translated as 'defilement' or ‘depravity’. A list of six defilements is found in some Buddhist Sanskrit sources and includes passion (_raga_), ill will (_pratigha_), conceit (_mana_), nescience (_avidya_), false view (k_udrsti_), and sceptical doubt (_vichikitsa_).
The Jaina sources also contain details concerning evils and defilements. All the five evils of the Sikh list are found repeatedly mentioned in the sacred literature of Jainism.  The _Avasyakasutra_ has a list of eighteen sins which includes among others wrath (_krodha_), conceit, delusion (_maya_), greed, and ill will.  The standard Jaina term for evil is 'dirt' or 'passion' (_kasaya_). The _Dasavaikalikasutra_ states that four _kasayas_, viz. wrath, conceit, delusion and greed, cause rebirth.  The _Uttaradhyayanasutra_ mentions _moha_, _trsna_ (synonym of _kama_) and _lobha_ as the sources of sorrow.
The _Yogasutra_ (II. 3) has a list of five defilements or hindrances called _panca_-_klesah_.  These are nescience (_avidya_), egoity (_asmita_), passion (raga), ill will (dvesa) and the will to live (_abhinivesa_). It should be pointed out here that _avidya_ equals _moha_; _asmita_ is identical with _ahankara_; _raga_ is similar to _kama_; _dvesa_ is not different from _krodha_; and _abhinivesa_ belongs to the category of _lobha_ understood as continuous desire for existence in _sansar_.
The _Bhagavad_-_gita_ mentions all the five evils although they are not enumerated as forming a pentad. The text mentions _kama_ as desire or wish and at one point it is identified with _krodha_. Besides _kama_ and _krodha_ the Bhagavad-gita mentions passion (_raga_), ill will, attachment, delusion, egoity, greed, conceit and nescience (_ajnana_), and employs terms such as _papa_, _dosa_ and _kalmasa_ for impurities or defilements.  In one verse hypocrisy, arrogance, conceit, wrath, harsh speech and nescience are described as demoniac qualities. Medieval Buddhist, Jainist, and Brahmanical authors of religious and philosophical works continued to discuss the meaning, nature and methods of eradicating the five and more evils. The Tantric adepts (_siddhas_) recommended rather radical techniques of combating the evil psychological forces, especially through the method of 'conquering passions through passions'. Reference may be made here to Tulasidasa who, in a series of quadriparti verses (_chaupais_) in his _Ramacharitamanasa_, acknowledges the universality of _kama_, _krodha_, _lobha_, _moha_, _mana_ and _trsna_ which afflict not only men but also the gods.
There is no philosophical or theological explication of the five evils, collectively or individually, in Sikh Scripture, but man is repeatedly warned against them. They have been called diseases or maladies which afflict human beings with disastrous effects. The evil pentad is however mentioned at numerous places in the Holy Book. In at least five instances the list consists of the following: _kam_, _krodh_, _lobh_, _moh_ and _abhiman_ or _ahankar_. At one place instead of _moh_ and _abhiman_ we have _mad_ and _ninda_. Here the word _mad_ may be interpreted in the sense of 'intoxication born of egoity'. The word _ninda_ means slander.  In two of the seven instances cited here the members of the evil pentad are called 'five thieves' (_panch_-_chor_). In a hymn by Kabir the list has _trishna_ (craving), _kam_, _krodh_, _mad_ and _matsar_ as the five evils. The word _trishna_ (Skt. _trsna_) means craving or desire, while the word _matsar_ means jealousy. Often the five evils are referred to as 'the five' (_panch_) or 'al1 the five' (_sare_ _panch_). At places the five organs of sense (_jnanendriyas_) are also often referred to as 'the five'.
One, two, three or four of the five cardinal evils are repeatedly mentioned almost throughout the body of the Sikh canon. The triad _kam_, _krodh_ and _lobh_ finds as frequent a mention as the triad _kam_, _krodh_ and _ahankar_ or _moh_, _lobh_ and _ahankar_. Among the five evils the one that is condemned more than the others is _ahankar_. When only two of the five are mentioned, the pair consists either of _kam_ and _krodh_, or of _moh_ and _guman_, or of _lobh_ and _moh_; when a group of four out of the five evils is cited, it usually consists of the first four, _kam_, _krodh_, _lobh_ and _moh_. Since the Sikh canon is a composite text containing the religious poetry not only of the Gurus but also of several saints and Sufis from various regions, synonyms, occasionally from different languages, occur. Thus _lobh_ is also called _lalach_; _man_ is called _garab_ (Skt. _garva_) and _guman_; _moh_ is also called bharam (Skt. _bhrama_).
A word of most frequent occurrence is _haumai_. It is perhaps derived from _aham_, 'I' or egoity, the essential element of ego; _hankar_, _ahankar_ are its semantic cognates. The word _man_ is employed in a double sense; sometimes it is clearly used in the sense of 'honour' or 'respect'.  In most cases, however, it is synonymous with _abhiman_.
Although it is permissible to identify _haumai_ with _ahankar_, the fact that _haumai_ is not included in the evil pentad and yet comes in for the strongest censure in the Scripture
would lead to the conclusion that it is regarded as a major evil in addition to those forming the pentad. It may be added that _haumai_ or egoity, self-centredness, the personality system, the belief in one's individual existence, is the basis of all the other evils. From this standpoint, _ahankar_ may be reckoned as an offshoot of _haumai_. The assertion or affirmation of 'I' runs counter to the affirmation of 'Thou'; the consciousness of 'self existence' or 'one's own existence' (_sva_-_bhava_ or _atma_-_bhava_) is diametrically opposed to the consciousness of God's existence. In a system in which the sole reality of God (_ik_ _onkar_) is the first principle, there can be no room for the reality of an 'individual existence' or 'one's own existence' apart from or along with the existence of God. To say that God alone is the reality means that there is no other reality that belongs to someone else, and that there is no someone else who can claim an independent reality of his own. The truth is that there is no truth in _haumai_.
Nevertheless, this unreal reality, this false truth—_haumai_—apparently exists. It is unreal and false from the standpoint of God who is the only absolute Reality; it is real and true from the standpoint of the fettered creatures coursing in _sansar_. These creatures have assumed a reality of their own; every fettered being is seemingly convinced of its own existence; this conviction flourishes in its ignorance of God's reality. There can be no such thing as co-existence of God and not-God; Reality and falsity cannot co-exist as cannot light and darkness. Therefore, where there is awareness of God's reality there is absence of one's own reality, and vice versa; where there is awareness of one's own existence or _haumai_, there is absence of the awareness of God's existence. The Scripture says: "_Haumai_ _jai ta kant samai_—God is realized only when one eradicates egoity" (GG, 750); literally, '(one) merges into (one's) Lord only when (her/his) egoity has disappeared'.
The five evils, lust, wrath, greed, attachment and egoity, flourish on the soil of the belief in one's individualized existence. By destroying the doctrine of one's own existence or the belief in one's individual reality, the sages (_sant, sadh_) cancel in one stroke, as it were, the entire catalogue of evils. Desire, anger, avarice, infatuation, egoism, passion, jealousy, hypocrisy, pride, deception, falsehood, violence, doubt, and nescience and other forms of depravity listed in the Guru Granth Sahib do not affect him who has overcome his own self and found his essence in God's reality. Liberation (_mukti, mokh_) means the extinction of all the evils headed by _haumai._
The Sikh canon also points to the way of extinguishing evils of all kinds. It is acknowledged that the five evils afflict all beings in _sansar_ and that it is difficult to control them. Yet the possibility of conquering them is not ruled out in the theological framework of Sikhism; the moral training of a Sikh is in fact directed towards controlling the senses and eradicating the evils. The seeker of liberation has first to liberate himself of the yoke of the pentad. No headway can be made towards God-realization without discarding the cardinal evils. Kabir says, "He alone cherishes the Lord's feet who is rid of desire, wrath, greed and attachment—_kamu krodhu lobhu mohu bibarjit haripadu chinai soi_ (GG, 1123).
Loving devotion (_bhagati, bhakti_) to God is, according to Sikhism, the way to ultimate release. One can love God only when one has annihilated self-love; this means that the devotee must be humble and surrender himself fully unto God. The Gurus stress the necessity of taking refuge in God. To this end, one must first renounce pride (_man_). Constant awareness of God (_simran_) is the panacea for all ills. He who enshrines the Lord's lotus feet in his heart destroys sins of many existences.  Devotion to God eradicates the evils in an instant and purifies the body (GG, 245). The destruction of evils may be viewed both as a cause and consequence of the practice of _nam_ _simran_. Awareness of God's presence comes only when lust, wrath, avarice, attachment and egoity have departed from the devotee; when the devotee lives in constant awareness of God, the evils touch him not. Such a person is unaffected by pleasure and pain, for he has freed himself from evils such as _lobh_, _moh_ and _abhiman_. Guru Tegh Bahadur describes such a sage as one liberated while still alive and calls him an image of God on earth (GG, I426-27).
Another way of overcoming _haumai_ and other evils is to keep the company of the saints (_sant_, _sadh_) who radiate virtuous qualities. One kills lust, wrath, greed and other depravities of the evil age (_kali_-_kales_) by taking refuge in the _sangat_, the holy fellowship. It is by discarding the most powerful of evils, egoity, that one can get admission to this sacred society. Egoity ceases as one takes to the company of the holy (GG, 271). A third method of overcoming the evils is to submit oneself to the instruction of the spiritual preceptor (_guru_). He who would overcome the five evils must follow his teaching.  The wisdom obtained from the preceptor is like a swift sword (_kharagu_ _karara_) which cuts through confusion, infatuation, avarice and egoity (GG, 1087).  One celebrates God's virtues through the favour of the sage (_sant_ _prasadi_) and destroys lust, anger and insanity born of egoism (_unmad_). In Guru Nanak's _Sidh_ _Gosti_ it is stated that without the preceptor one's efforts bear no fruit. The importance of living up to the instruction of the holy preceptor can be judged from the concept of the 'Guru-oriented person' (_gurmukh_) so central to the Sikh moral system. A _gurmukh_ is one who has turned his face towards the Guru, that is to say, a person who by practising what the Guru teaches has freed himself from the depravities and lives in the Divine presence. He achieves this position by conquering the evils under the guidance of the Guru and ever remains in tune with the Supreme Reality.
See AHANKAR, KAM, KRODH, LOBH and MOH.
BIBLIOGRAPHY​1.         Jodh Singh, Bhai, _Gurmati_ _Nirnaya_. Lahore, 1932 
2.         Sher Singh, _The_ _Philosophy_ _of_ _Sikhism_. Lahore, 1944
3.         Nirbhai Singh, _Philosophy_ _of_ _Sikhism_. Delhi, 1990 
4.         Nripinder Singh, _The_ _Sikh_ _Moral_ _Tradition_. Delhi, 1990 
5.         Teja Singh _Essays in Sikhism_. Lahore, 1941 
6.         Wazir Singh, _Philosophy of Sikh Religion_. Delhi, 1981 
7.         Avtar Singh, _Ethics of the Sikhs_. Patiala, 1970


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## Astroboy (Oct 13, 2007)

HUMAI (Ego) (Taran Singh).  The term haumai is a compound of two pronouns hau and mai each meaning ‘I’, and thus, haumai means ‘I, I’.  The ancient Indian term, for haumai has been aham-kara—‘I-maker’ or ‘I-doer’.  In the Chhandogya Upanisad, it (sham-kara) is equated with atman or soul, conceived as the immanent Divinity.  But, its most popular sense, later, was the one attached to it in the Sankhya philosophy viz. it is a mental organ or function, evolved from matter, and mediating between the material and the spiritual.  In Buddhism, it has two slightly varying meanings viz. ‘mind involved in I-making-mine-making conceit’ and ‘the bias of I-making-mine-making from the aham-kara that all actions spring.  According to the Pali Pitakas, springs of action are six, three being roots of good, three of bad actions or three of moral and three of immoral.  The three roots of bad actions are greed (lobha), hate (dosa) and want of intelligence (moha); the other three are their opposites—detachment, love and intelligence.  Modern Mahayanists hold that in the Bodhisattva theory, altruism as opposed to egoism takes a more prominent position, and the goal of nirvana is not one of personal salvation but of transferred merit, saintly aspiration being for the salvation of all beings.
In English, the word nearest to haumai is ego which, metaphysically, from the Latin root, means ‘a conscious thinking subject’ as opposed to ‘non-ego’ or object—thus, it stands for the ‘self’, soul and spirit.  The term ‘egoism’, ethically, stands for the theory which holds the self-interest to be the foundation of morality, and the egoist, thus, is systematically selfish and self-opinionated.  An egocentric is, as we call it, self-centred.  An egoist can think of nothing else, but of ‘I’ and ‘me’, and is invariably ‘talking about himself’, in ‘self-conceit’ and ‘selfishness’.  Duality too has been recognized in the ego, and thus, ego is subject-consciousness and object consciousness, or, of ‘I’ and ‘Me’—it is not dualism of essentially different substances, but it is of such a nature as to form together one individual conscious being.  Again, a distinction has been drawn between Theoretical 
egoism or the Subjective Idealism which maintains that one’s own individual ego is the only being that a man can logically assert to exist; and the Practical egoism which has three forms—logical, aesthetic and moral, according to Kant.  A logical egoist considers it unnecessary to bring his own judgement to the test of another’s understanding; the aesthetic egoist is fully satisfied with his own tastes; and the moral egoist makes himself the end of all his activities—nothing is valuable unless it benefits him.  In ethics, egoism maintains that the standard of conduct for the individual is his own good on the whole.  So, the inclinations and purposes of an egoist are immediately and exclusively directed towards himself; he, in his consciousness, thinks about himself and his own immediate interests only, is self-centred and self-opinionated.
Egoism is based on an atomistic conception of society viz. every social whole is composed of individuals, the nature of each one of whom is to preserve his own life, to seek his own good, to satisfy his own desires; and good and evil are relative to the individual.  But is is a false conception, as no man is self-contained.  An individual’s interests are not different from the interests of the society or of all members of the community.  Every individual is a member of an organic whole and the complete good is the good of the whole of which he is a member.  Higher men realize their true good by denying what appears to be their private good, and they so far identify themselves with their state or church that they are content to die so that the institution may live.  Self-interest, self-conceit, self-seeking and self-reference—all become irrelevant to them.
Using the term haumai, viz. I-ness and My-ness, Guru Nanak has given his view of haumai most comprehensively in sloka VII.I of the Asa-di-var (ode in the Asa Measure).  At the same place, in another sloka, his first successor, Guru Angad, has also tried to interpret the view of Guru Nanak on the subject.  Guru Nanak’s sloka, referred to in the above, reads, in English translation, as this:
In ego man comes, in ego he goes,
In ego he is born, in ego he dies.
In ego he gives in ego he receives,
In ego he earns, in ego he loses.
In ego he is true or false,
In ego he has considerations of sin and virtue.
In ego he descends to hell or rises to heaven,
In ego he laughs, in ego he weeps.
In ego he begrimes, in ego he washes himself,
In ego he is misled into the considerations of castes and kinds
In ego he is foolish, in ego he is wise,
And loses. all sense of salvation and liberation.
In ego he is absorbed in Maya (illusion), 
In ego he is overtaken by delusion.
In ego are men born as creatures
Man can see the Gate, if he understands his ego,
Without realization, all talk of ego that entangles a man.
Nanak, under the Supreme Will our record is made,
As one sees the one, we perceive the other. (Asa-di-var VII.I)
In the light of the above sloka, Guru Nanak’s view of haumai can be constructed as this:
1.   Humai is a creation of the Supreme Being as it comes into existence under His Will.  He is the master of the play of life.  The whole play of life is caused by the presence of ego in man which gives rise to the conflict between the higher and lower selves.
2.  Haumai is a condition of the mind.  Mind itself is born of the five elements which are the objects of the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.  That is, Haumai is material and not spiritual in its basic nature.
3.  Haumai (I-ness, My-ness) is so powerful an instinct that it influences each and every activity of man (or animal) throughout the course of his existence which may run into myriads of births and lives.  Ego is the basis of his transmigration from life to life, serves as the initial force or motive in all his actions, directs every choice of man—true or false, good or evil, painful or pleasurable.
4.  Haumai is that condition of mind which keeps man ignorant of the true reality, the true purpose of his life, and thus keeps him away from salvation and union with God.
5.  Guru Angad has described haumai as a deep-rooted disease.  So far as it remains as the condition of the mind, it (mind) cannot conduct itself in a healthy way.  But, again, Guru Angad assures that the word of the Guru is the medicine which can cure the disease of ego.
6.  An egoist everywhere sees the projection of his own mind only.
7.  One hears the word of the Guru when the Supreme Being Himself blesses him with His grace.  The will of the Supreme binds a man to transmigration while His grace liberates him from that bondage of the cycle of births and deaths.  Ego binds a man, grace liberates.
8.  Ego is the basis of individuality which at once separates one from the totality of life or cosmic and social life.  This separation gives the idea of preservation of the self which leads to struggle for existence.
9.  The idea of struggle for existence makes the egoist self-seeking, conceited, self-assertive, selfish and proud.  As he secures his interests and himself, he develops a complex of superiority. He begins to feel proud of his caste, birth, country, creed, colour, sex, prowess, learning, culture, conduct, rituals, etc.  Thus, he begins to feel that he is born to rule while others are there to serve his will and carry out his order.  They are just the means to preserve and watch his interests.
10.  Guru Nanak has no where given a hint that haumai can be purified and trained to serve nobler purposes or to work for the salvation of man.  According to him ‘ego’ constitutes the wall of separation between God and man.  So, this has to be completely removed; it is to be burnt, destroyed and eliminated altogether.
11.  However, mind or consciousness is a great power.  If mind becomes pure, it realizes God.  Mind is not merely ego; it has the powers of cognition, perception, understanding, reasoning and right discrimination.  These functions of mind in Indian terminology, have been called ahamkar, mana, chit, budhi, bibek, etc.  But mind is purified only when the ego is banished completely.  Mind must be rid of ego.  Guru Granth describes ego as disease, falsehood, wall, dross, dirt, poison, etc.  Mind, to be healthy, must get rid of the disease, falsehood, separation, dross, dirt and poison.  When ego is banished nobler and higher faculties of mind come into play.
12.  In the total scheme of God, ego makes the play of the world possible by creating the conflict between spirit and matter or good or evil.  Ego is not what is called the free will as opposed to determinism.  Man has no free will.  His entire course is determined by the will of God.  God Himself puts him on the path of evil or good, so called, for in fact the duality of evil and good also does not exist.
The Guru Granth calls the egoist as manmukh or sakat.  He is mind-oriented and follows the irrational carnal urges of lust, anger, avarice, attachment and pride.  He is thoroughly a materialist and is bound to the material joys.  He is always double minded, vacillating between God and Mammon.  When man shakes off ego, he merges his self with the cosmic self.  Such a man considers himself as a drop in the ocean of life and understands that his good or interest is common with the good of the other members of the human society or family.  Such a man identifies himself with the society.  He has no individual interests.  An egoist does everything with desire for reward or fruit for himself while a non-egoist is niskani (desireless) in all his actions.
In the Sidhgoshti (A Dialogue with the Siddhas), Guru Nanak (vide stanze-68) says that an egoist creates a world of his own life. The spider who weaves a web out of his ownself and is entangled in it and is thus killed ultimately by his own false creation.  An egoist lives in an imaginary world of his own wherein he himself matters the most and remains the centre of the entire universe or a small circle of his relatives is all that matters.  In selfishness, he thinks of his own salvation only and resorts to the so-called religious acts of supposed merit such as dips at the so-called holy places, alms-deeds, austeritier, meditation, samadhis (concentrations), recitations, mortification, etc.  (Asa-di-var, VIII-2, also ibid, IX, I, IV.2).  So-called men of religious piety who sin against others by discriminating against them on grounds of caste, creed, birth, position, sex, learning, and claim superiority for themselves for observing Shradh or sutak or purity of the cooking-squares are indeed egoists.  They do not meditate on the Name and live in a fool’s paradise that these rituals and religious practices would save them.  Similarly, men of power, wealth, position, beauty and bravery are proud, and in their egoism, care not a fig for the feelings of others, behave like tyrants, do high-handedness; but they also live in a world of their own fabrication as they have to reap the fruit of what they had sown.  Being forgetful of the Name, all these men of ego suffer terribly.
In ego, a world springs up, O man,
Forgetting the Name, this world suffers.
A Gurmukh thinks of knowledge and truth, and burns ego by the word of the Guru.
He is pure in mind, thought and word,
he merges with the True One.  (Sidhgoshti, 68)
A Gurmukh is the antithesis of an egoist.  He mediates on the Name and so purifies his mind that all the evil and selfish tendencies leave him.  This is banishing of the ego.  There is no other remedy for the otherwise incurable disease of ego.  Mediation on the Name alone can banish ego and make one the servant of God.  The disciple of the Name inculcates in the devotee the virtues of temperance, honest, non-attachment, moderation, gratitude and love of the Lord.  These are the qualities of a servant of God too.  This plane of character guarantees the state of bliss and continuous pleasure to a Gurmukh.
Guru Nanak is more concerned with practical life than theorising.  In bani, he has placed haumai in opposition to Hukam (Supreme Will), Seva (service), Gyan (discriminating knowledge), Sehj (poise, middle-path), Nam (meditation, devotion) and Nirlaip (non-attachment).
(1)  In the Japu (pauri II), with which the Guru Granth opens, he has placed haumai in opposition to the Supreme Will or human, saying that one can be a man of realization and truthfulness only if he conducts himself in accordance with the Supreme Will.  He has drawn some sort of distinction between order and will, as it is the will which creates order.  God is absolutely free to ordain an order.  His will creates the order which works in the cosmic evolution and course.  By His will:  all forms come into being, they develop life, grow exalted, become good or evil, receive pain or pleasure, win Grace and get liberation or are doomed forever in transmigration, etc.; but an egoist is led to believe, erroneously, that he can transgress the will or order and by his efforts or actions develop, get exalted, become good, get pleasure, and win liberation.  By such thinking, he denies, not only the Supremacy of the Divine Will, but the absoluteness of the Supreme Being itself.  The Guru asserts that ‘all are subject to the Supreme Will, none outside its pale’, but the egoist asserts that he is beyond the pale of the Supreme Will and thus he feels not the need of being devoted to that and meditating on the Name.  The Guru asserts that a cosmic order exists, the egoist does not recognize this and feels that he can defy any order or rule.  He does not care for the rules which make a man really exalted or otherwise, great or otherwise, and bring suffering or pleasure.  He is selfish, self-willed, self-seeking and sins against the common interests of society or community.  He defies the social laws.  The egoist does not understand the supremacy of the will though it is there.  He suffers for his ignorance as he constantly sins against humanity.  He is not a responsible being and does not contribute to the total good of mankind by following higher and nobler tendencies which too are present in his mind.  He is narrow in outlook.  We must attune our will to the Supreme-will, our self to the higher self, and choose the higher course of good which may result in the good of all.
(2)  As already referred to, Guru Nanak has placed haumai in opposition to seva or service of God which also means service of mankind.  The man who wants to serve God must attune his ego to the Supreme-will.  For this, he need develop a certain pattern of life. In opposition to this sloka on ego, the Guru has given the character of a servant of God as under:
The service of God is done by the men of temperate lives who meditate on Him as the truest of the true,
They refrain from treading the path of evil, and doing good, practise honesty.
They have broken the bonds of worldliness, and eat and drink moderately.
“Thou art lavish in They mercies, of which Thou givest daily ever-increasingly”—
thus glorifying they obtain the glorious Lord.  (Asa-di-var, VII)
The conflict between ego and will-to-serve is removed when man, through the grace of Guru and God, meditates on the Name.  By meditation and devotion, his will gets attuned to the will of the Supreme.  Meditation on the Name gives him a set character which is temperate, refrains from the path of evil, practises honesty, is unattached to the world, eats and drinks moderately and thus obtains the Lord.  A man of meditation believes that God is the giver of every gift and He gives through His mercy and gives ever-increasingly, while an egoist believes just the other way.  He lives for himself only, lives intemperately, eats and drinks immoderately, and earns by hook or by crook, not caring the least for honesty.  An egoist is bound or attached to the world; he is attached to his own interests; he cares for the need of his family only and with that his circle ends.  A servant of God looks after the needs of the humanity, the society and the community.  He breaks the bonds of the body and the family or narrow considerations.  Mankind is his family.
(3)  Ego and right knowledge are always in opposition.  In a hymn (No.33) of Sri rag, Guru Nanak emphasizes that a man of service who alone is honoured in the court of the Lord, is a man of right discrimination; he is a man of enlightenment which comes through living according to the teachings of the holy books, under the fear of the Lord and by knowing the truth.  This man goes beyond the attractions and charms of Maya and is not deceived by it, while a greedy man, an egoist, always vacillates.  The lamp of the mind, the Guru says, is lighted this way:
If we practise the teachings of the holy books, If we put the wick of the Lord’s fear in the lamp of the mind,
If we give it the fire of truth:—
This, then, is the oil, and this is how the lamp is lighted.
If the inside is lit like this,
then the Lord is obtained.
A man who is impressed by the word of the Guru, adopts such a way of life.  He surrenders himself completely to the will of the Lord.  He fears the Lord.  An egoist does not care for the word of the Guru, nor for truth, nor for the Supreme-will.  He believes that his own intellect is supreme and he can make no error.  A man of pure intellect will serve mankind, not an egoist.
(4)  Ego and bhakti (nam-bhakti) do not go together.  Guru Amardas (Vadhans, Pada-ix) has emphatically stated that haumai (ego) and nam (meditation on the Name) are in direct conflict, the two can never dwell in the same mind.  Guru Nanak (Asa, Ashtpadi-II), portraying the life of a man of meditation, says that externally he also appears to be a man of ego as he lives in the world and earns and spends like all men, but he then clarifies, he is unattached in his mind.
Outwardly he is an egoist,
He appears to behave and eat like that;
But he is liberated inwardly,
he is never attached.
A bhakta lives in the world, earns and spends, rears up family, brings up his children.  But still he shares his earnings with others.  He lives temperately and moderately.  He can save to spend in the service of man.  A servant of God can never be proud and egotistical.  Meditation on the Nam gives non-attachment.
Haumai is, in fact, a denial of God, the Supreme Reality; it is the denial of the existence of a cosmic order, it is the denial of the oneness of the human society; it is denial of the path of love, knowledge, service and devotion’ it is living in an imaginary world of own fancy; it is living in constant conflict with all else in the creation.  But it is God’s own creation to serve as an instrument of the play of life which He enjoys.  God also sends the Guru to free men of the grip of haumai so that they may be reclaimed to God.  The Guru is sent to mankind as God’s grace to it.  He banishes haumai root and branch and unites man with God again.
T. S


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## Astroboy (Oct 19, 2007)

YouTube - Anger & Lust - SIKH RELIGION


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## Randip Singh (Oct 20, 2007)

Soul_jyot said:


> *Krodh* is derived from the Sanskrit word *krodha*, which means *wrath* or *Rage*. This is an emotion recognized in the Sikh system as a spring of conation and is as such counted as one of the Five Evils.
> 
> It expresses itself in several forms from silent sullenness to *hysterical tantrums and violence*. In Sikh Scripture *krodh* usually appears in combination with kam — as *"kam krodh"*. The coalescence is not simply for the sake of alliterative effect. Krodh (ire) is the direct progeny of kam (desire). The latter when thwarted or jilted produces the former. The Scripture also counts *krodh* (or its synonym kop) among the four rivers of fire.
> 
> ...



kkkrodh is something I battle with everyday........it is my biggest fault...


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## Randip Singh (Oct 20, 2007)

dalsingh said:


> _kam (desire)
> 
> _I would say kam is better translated as lust myself.



yes....or an obsession with sex.

I think each of the 5 thieves describes an obsessive behaviour.


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## Harry Haller (Jun 10, 2014)

Randip Singh said:


> yes....or an obsession with sex.
> 
> I think each of the 5 thieves describes an obsessive behaviour.



absolutely agree!


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## kggr001 (Jun 11, 2014)

Krodh(Anger), is just as hard to fight like any other thief, I happen to get anger when I get impatience or someone is yelling at me, but when I think about it it's pointless to get angry, since anger doesn't solve anything, it doesn't make things go faster nor does it make the yelling person stop. It makes matters worse. The best way to fight it is to have acceptance and live according the 5 virtues.


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## chazSingh (Jun 11, 2014)

kggr001 said:


> Krodh(Anger), is just as hard to fight like any other thief, I happen to get anger when I get impatience or someone is yelling at me, but when I think about it it's pointless to get angry, since anger doesn't solve anything, it doesn't make things go faster nor does it make the yelling person stop. It makes matters worse. The best way to fight it is to have acceptance and live according the 5 virtues.



yes ji,

the grace which dawns upon us is being able to see what our anger is doing to us, to the people around us...and when it springs up within us we are able to let it slowly pass by, keep our calm, and think of a better way through the situation...

so many details, so many opportunities to resolve a situation are missed when we become clouded with anger...and we have lost that all important feeling of "recognising all human race as one"


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## Luckysingh (Jun 14, 2014)

No krodh in sikhi.
One should drench and convert all the krodh build up with Love.
This is what helps you develop the Bir Ras as prescribed by dasam pita.


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