I am moved
I was just surfing wikipedia, reading about the history of India and the Muhgal empire, when I stumbled upon an interesting figure: the Sikh leader, Guru Tegh Bahadur. Now, as most of you know, I am an atheist, and am not overly fond of most religious leaders or religious thought in general. However, reading about this guy moved me, specifically reading about his death. He died for the religious freedom of Hindus. Now, even Jesus didn't die to save people who didn't even believe in him (at least according to mainstream Christianity). But this guy did, and he's considered one of the 11 Gurus in Sikhism, and his death is considered as a righteous act. That's pretty nice in this world, and way above anything in any of the 3 Abrahamic religions (one only has to read the old testament to see what the Jewish idea is, I already talked about Christ, and Muhammed made a point of conquering Arabia).
As far as I'm concerned, this guy's act is something everyone in this modern world should spare a couple minutes to think about. Especially for religious people, if your religion can't see the incredible righteousness of a man dying for others of completely different views, you've got a problem. Not to say Sikhism is perfect, or that even this Guru was perfect, but just this one act is something really special. Especially in this Christmas season over here in America, it's worth thinking about what truly is righteous, what is really right or wrong.
As far as I'm concerned, this guy's act is something everyone in this modern world should spare a couple minutes to think about. Especially for religious people, if your religion can't see the incredible righteousness of a man dying for others of completely different views, you've got a problem. Not to say Sikhism is perfect, or that even this Guru was perfect, but just this one act is something really special. Especially in this Christmas season over here in America, it's worth thinking about what truly is righteous, what is really right or wrong.