Kirat Karni
Meditate and contemplate on the Name of God to obtain unity and to be one with the Universe.
ਕਿਰਤ ਕਰਨੀ (Kirat Karni)
To work and earn by the sweat of the brow in a honest way, to live a family way of life, and practice truthfulness and honesty in all dealings
“The true Sikh of the Guru shall make an honest living by lawful work. Eat the food which is rightly earned.” ਹਕੁ ਹਲਾਲੁ ਬਖੋਰਹੁ ਖਾਣਾ ॥ (1084)
Sikh Rehat Maryada published by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Amritsar,
Sikhism lays stress on honest and truthful labor (Das Nauhan Di Kirat ). It considers work ethics as essential ingredient for harmonious society and recommend that a Sikh must earn his livelihood with the sweat of brow and share the earnest earnings with the needy. Sikh religion believes in the creed of worker and complete dignity of labor by leading a truthful and honest life. A Sikh should be up and doing. There should be no idle rich man and no exploitation of the poor by the rich. All must labor and must sweat to create the foodstuffs. This would eliminate poverty. The human body should be working for the well-being of the family and society but the mind has to remain tuned towards God. The Sikh is required to do an honest living through truthful means and live the life of a householder.
Kirat Karni is doing something that is honest, truthful, and will help you do something good for your family/community. This is one of the three pillars that Guru Nanak Dev Ji told us about. When we live and work honestly we are able to keep our minds free of corrupt thoughts, idea’s, and greed. We are able to better control our lives which make Naam Japna and Vand ke Shakna easier. Honesty is a key principle of Sikhs, because as Sikhs lying is impossible when we know that Waheguru knows everything and when lie even if others may not know, Waheguru will. Kirat is so important and vital for a proper Gursikhi Jeevan and not practicing it makes it harder for us to control our mind.
Kirat Karni does not only mean being honest but also doing honest. This means that not only from our words but also from our actions we must be equally as honest. It’s important to know that if we only speak honestly than we are not 100% practicing Kirat because a vital part of it is doing actions. To understand this, imagine if you were hungry and you thought about food. Now thinking about food won’t fill your stomach will it? You need to take an action for a result! The same applies to Kirat Karni. You cannot just speak truth, you also must do it.
How do we apply Kirat Karni into our lives? Being honest is actually the easiest out of all three pillars of Sikhi, because it can be done by not lying and doing good things. Now you may think, easier than that is sharing but the truth is that even sharing is not as easy for us when Davaektha comes in the way. Davaektha is when we share something but we take the larger part for ourselves. Getting rid of that habit is hard because we do not have a humble nature yet and alot of times we don’t even realize we are doing it. To become humble we must first live honestly and remove greed, corrupt thoughts, and unhonesty. Then we can move on to the other pillars with a slightly cleaner and clearer mind.
How can YOU help?
Come talk to us - we have many Seva (volunteer) opportunities at the Gurdwara Sahib from helping out in the kitchen to helping to run the programs and services. We also occasionally need assistance with technology such as social media, video editing, live broadcast and filming events and again reach out via email or come talk to us in person.
Alternately - search around for local organizations and all communities have food banks, many charities that all need volunteers. We also recommend volunteering as a family, bring along your kids and teach and show them.
