Sikhism and Ethics
Bobby Singh
In article <4drhn2$9...@master.ftn.net>,
RAVINDER MAHAL <s00...@discgate.wright.edu> wrote:
> I'm taking a bioethics class. This class has brought up some
>dilemmas for me. The class deals with complex issues such as abortion,
>euthanasia, etc. My question is this. Where are Sikhs supposed to stand
>on issues such as this that are not addressed in Bani? As far as I know,
>I cannot find a reference to any of these topics in any scripture.
I took a similar class 3 yrs ago. Bani does not address these issues
explicitly. Implicitly, different people derive different interpretations
from it, largely depending on personal biases and cultural influences.
Its much like the topic of eating meat. Some ppl say it is wrong, others
say it iis ok as long onew does not get to the point that one cannot live
without meat. These are very tough issues and I don't think there ever will
be an offical sikh answer that even most sikhs will accept.
Are
>we left to use our own ability for reason to determine what is right and
>wrong? And is it permissible for one to apply reason and logic to
>accepted Sikh thoughts on morality, or is this considered blasphemous? I
Permissible?? I'd say it is your duty to do so!!After all, Guru Nanak did
the same when he demonstrated that some hindu rituals were very illogical
and meaningless, i.e. when he went into Ganges and started watering his
fields while the other ppl were throwing water to the sun etc.
>sometimes find it extremely difficult to accept things on blind faith....
sometimes? well you are still better off than I am...I always find it
difficult to do this...thtas my problem! (that, and spelling too!)
Bobby Singh
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Autar Singh
On 24 Jan 1996, BsinghB wrote:
> WJKK
> WJKF
>
> You will be surpried as to how the Guru Granth Sahib deals with almost all
> modern problems/dilemmas.
>
> I cannot right now quote you the relavant tuk's of Gurbani - but I will
> try to find them for you.
> But in general we can infer that Sikhism believes in the sanctity of life
> - Life is a gift - and so Abortion is totally ruled out. In the same way I
> beleive Euthanasia is also not correct.
There can be many reasons why a woman resorts to abortion:
1. premarital sex
2. sexual abuse by close relative
3. rape
4. etc.
or why she has to undergo abortion:
1. her life is endangered if she continues the pregnancy
2. the child is already dead
3. the child's life is endangered
4. etc.
I am not a doctor but I think this are some of the reasons for abortion.
Now if we all live according to the tenets of Sikhism, there will be no
premarital sex, no sexual abuse, no rapes. then we do not have to worry
about abortion !! this is the ideal situation that guru ji envisioned.
As far as the second group of reasons is concerned, if the child is
already dead, there is no problem. The issue is how do we deal with
situations 1. and 3. above. If the mother's life or the unborn child's
life is endangered by continuing with the pregnancy, should abortion be
allowed? Maybe this is the question that needs to be answered.
my comments on 'basahk or Khatack' have not been posted on the newsgroup.
i wonder why?
bhul chuk maaf.
autar singh.
>
> Guru Fateh
>
> Bhupinder Singh
> CENTRAL GURDWARA RESOURCE CENTRE
> London
> http://www.demon.co.uk/charities/sikh/home.htm
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Bhupinder Singh Bhasin
> London
Rajwinder Singh
Saraswati K. Khalsa (s...@dana.ucc.NAU.EDU) wrote:
: But that is up to the parent to decide individually.
Vaaheguroo ji ka Khalsa Vaaheguroo ji ki Fateh!
I think if the parents are devout Sikhs, they would
be guided by the Guru to whatever is the best option.
I have thought a little about these things, and I have
found no answers with my own reasonings. Admittedly I
do not have much understanding of Gurbani, So I can't
really say that I can even think about these issues
from a Sikh point of view.
rajwinder singh
jas
>In article <19941@822619203> you wrote:
>: About abortion, as far as I know, the soul is supposed to enter the body
>: on the 120th day after conception and it is that day that we celebrate.
Can you please tell us where do you get the 120th day from?
>: Personally, I fully sympathize with those that oppose abortions except
>: for that one thing. After the 120th day, I am totally opposed.
Why do you sympathize with those who oppose abortions?
Do you feel its justified to have? How do you justify it before the 120th day
and not allow it after? Is this a Christian or Western culture thing..
where abortions are illegal after 4 months...etc..and before that its legal.
Did you know within 2 weeks, all the limbs,etc..of a child is formed?
They look like human beings. I think the onus should be on the "parents"..
if they don't want a child..not to have it... not kill "fetuses"<aka human
beings>, because the child will be a burden on their life.
They can get castrated or get their tubes tied if they are irresponsible
in their sexual activities.
>: But, then there is always the question of, is life always better then
>: death?
"Killing a Child (fetus), who is not going to Harm/Kill the "mother"
is as far as I know totally against Sikh principles"! There is no excuse
from the parents... if they didn't want a child, they should have taken all
precausions before hand, not to have conceived.
But what really stinks is the "female infanticide" that goes on in
Punjab and all over India...where females fetuses are aborted..be them
doctors, farmers, or mere workers, they all do the same.
>This applies to severely retarded, disabled or challenged fetuses.
>: But that is up to the parent to decide individually.
And about the last statement I agree, that its up to the parents to
decide on Children who are severely disabled, and won't be able to live a
"functional" life in society...the Parents by their own Karma gave birth to
such a child, and its their duty to decide what actions they will take next.
>: Saraswati Kaur Khalsa
First time I heard the name "Saraswati"! for a Sikh:)\
Regards,
Jas.
%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*
Jaswinder Singh,(#poet) E-mail- yu10...@yorku.ca j...@interlog.com
POETRY Page-- http://www.interlog.com/~jas/welcome.html/jashome.html
Sikhism Page. http://www.interlog.com/~jas/welcome.html/sikhism.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------
You sealed my fate, you rolled the dice
You left me helpless, my soul did slice...
My love you bet on, my heart put on ice,
Can you love me dear and give me my life?... Jas. Jan,27,96.
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Saraswati K. Khalsa
>
> >In article <19941@822619203> you wrote:
> >: About abortion, as far as I know, the soul is supposed to enter the body
> >: on the 120th day after conception and it is that day that we celebrate.
>
> Can you please tell us where do you get the 120th day from?
I would like to apologize for this. It is something I have grown
up with all my life. A teaching of the Siri Singh Sahibs, and supported
by various incidences of women dreaming of the soul entering the body on
the day before the 120th day. Apparently it is some kind of ancient
knowledge. I know that most of you out there do not have the same kind of
relationship with the Siri Singh Sahib that I have, and therefore you do
not accept his teachings without reservation the way that I do. I have
learned throughout my life to trust in his words completely. He never lies.
But, I realize that it is different for most of you. I made the mistake
of thinking the practice of celebrating the entry of the soul into the
body was a traditional Sikh custom. I have put out some questions to various
people as to the exact source of this teaching, and I will get back to
the newsgroup as soon as I know exactly wehre it comes from.
>
>
> >: Personally, I fully sympathize with those that oppose abortions except
> >: for that one thing. After the 120th day, I am totally opposed.
>
> Why do you sympathize with those who oppose abortions?
> Do you feel its justified to have? How do you justify it before the 120th day
> and not allow it after? Is this a Christian or Western culture thing..
> where abortions are illegal after 4 months...etc..and before that its legal.
>
> Did you know within 2 weeks, all the limbs,etc..of a child is formed?
> They look like human beings. I think the onus should be on the "parents"..
> if they don't want a child..not to have it... not kill "fetuses"<aka human
> beings>, because the child will be a burden on their life.
Did you know that the nervous system of a child is not developed until
the 20th week after conception? That is about five months into the
pregnancy, and that means that the fetus cannot feel anything before that
point in its existence.
I am a Sikh, but also my culture is western. I do not believe that it is
necessarily better for a child to be born into terrible poverty or pain
or even into a family that doesnt even want it. I agree that abortion is
not something one should do because you dont want a child to be a burden
on your life. And also, it is always a last resort.
The truth is that people do not use abortion as a means of birth
control. Statistics show that the majority of abortions are performed on
women in their early twenties and mostly are performed only once on the
same woman. This means that most abortions occur because these women
have already made a mistake, and dont want to make another one by
bringing a child into the world without a father or a true family to take
care of it.
>
> They can get castrated or get their tubes tied if they are irresponsible
> in their sexual activities.
Yes, I agree. If you are irresponsible in your sexual activities then
you should just take all precautions against pregnancy. However, when it
comes time to consider an abortion, this option is already lost. The
choice is now whether to bring up a child in such a irresponsible family
or to abort the fetus. There can be no going back.
So, do you really think that someone who cannot even prevent herself from
becoming pregnant is really going to make a great parent? Anyone can get
pregnant, not many people are fit parents!
>
> >: But, then there is always the question of, is life always better then
> >: death?
>
> "Killing a Child (fetus), who is not going to Harm/Kill the "mother"
> is as far as I know totally against Sikh principles"! There is no excuse
> from the parents... if they didn't want a child, they should have taken all
> precausions before hand, not to have conceived.
>
> But what really stinks is the "female infanticide" that goes on in
> Punjab and all over India...where females fetuses are aborted..be them
> doctors, farmers, or mere workers, they all do the same.
Yes, that really stinks. I agree. And also, I do not think it is
necessarily against Sikh principles to consider that a child's life may
be a living hell due to the circumstances taht surround its birth, and
therefore I think that abortion should be an option if the parent
percieves that they absolutely cannot raise this child in a humane
manner. Im not talking here about someone who just doenst feel like
changing diapers. Im talking here about people who cannot afford to
properly feed or medicate their children.
There is such an explosion of population in the world today, it is the
leading cause of the increase in all of societies problems. I think
rather it would be more immoral to have 6 children considering this
current over population problem we are having then to abort a fetus that
would not be given the chance to live a healthy and decent life.
>
> >This applies to severely retarded, disabled or challenged fetuses.
> >: But that is up to the parent to decide individually.
>
> And about the last statement I agree, that its up to the parents to
> decide on Children who are severely disabled, and won't be able to live a
> "functional" life in society...the Parents by their own Karma gave birth to
> such a child, and its their duty to decide what actions they will take next.
>
> >: Saraswati Kaur Khalsa
>
> First time I heard the name "Saraswati"! for a Sikh:)\
It is rather odd isnt it? But it is my name:) I know of several other
American Sikh children with the same name too:)
>
> Regards,
> Jas.
Thank you for you comments Jas:)
Saraswati Kaur Khalsa
..::''''::..
.:::. .;'' ``;.
.... ::::: :: :: :: ::
,;' .;: () ..: `:::' :: :: :: ::
::. ..:,:;.,:;. . :: .::::. `:' :: .:' :: :: `:. ::
'''::, :: :: :: `:: :: ;: .:: : :: : : ::
,:'; ::; :: :: :: :: :: ::,::''. . :: `:. .:' ::
`:,,,,;;' ,;; ,;;, ;;, ,;;, ,;;, `:,,,,:' :;: `;..``::::''..;'
"Reach for your soul. Reach even farther. ``::,,,,::''
The impulse of creation and power authentic--the hourglass point
between energy and matter: that is the seat of the soul."
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