Guru Granth Sahib promotes ideals of social welfare, multiculturalism, and ethics that can bring stability to the global community. It presents Sikh teachings as relevant to modern philosophy and contributing to worldwide well-being. Its message of religious tolerance, pluralism, and inter-faith dialogue can foster understanding between religions and help address global challenges by establishing peace, harmony, and cooperation. The moral code in Guru Granth Sahib outlines virtues like humility, tolerance, and hard work that can improve lives individually and collectively.

1. PRACTICABILITY OF HUMAN IDEALS
OF GURU GRANTH SAHIB
FOR BRINGING STABILITY IN GLOBAL
COMMUNITY
Dr. Jaspal Kaur Kaang
Professor and Academic-Incharge
Department of Guru Nanak Sikh Studies
Panjab University, Chandigarh, INDIA

2. Guru Granth Sahib is such a creative work of Indian
medieval age that enshrines on the one hand, matchless
elaboration of spirituality and, on the other, a powerful
expression of the message of revolutionary ideals of social
welfare, multicultural distinctness and eternal ethical code
aimed at cultural reconstruction.
It is widely accepted that Sikhism is related to the
modern philosophy and the concepts and doctrines
expressed through Guru Granth Sahib contribute to
the the all round welfare of modern global
community.

3. Global Village
Modern human being is living in a multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-
religion, multilingual and multi-regional world. As a result, the world
community is face to face with innumerable challenges and problems
related to racial, regional, communal, gender and cultural identity. In view
of these problems, it has become necessary to analyse intra-faith
dialogue, multi-religiosity, creation of multi-cultural society and globally
relevant ethical norms in this global village for establishing everlasting
peace, harmony, equilibrium and mutual understanding and, in this
context, Guru Granth Sahib emerges as a unique text which presents a
multi-layered and multi-dimensional assessment of the realty of human
life.

4. Religious Tolerance
The aim of religious tolerance is not to accept or
adopt religious beliefs, doctrines and activities of
others, nor is it to transform these into those of one’s
own religion. Its aim is only to give due respect to all
the religious creeds and beliefs without distorting any
of these in any manner so that an environment of
peace and understanding prevails in the society at
both national and international levels.

5. Role of Guru Granth Sahib in the Context of
Religious Tolerance
The unique process of creation and editing of Guru Granth
Sahib is based on religious tolerance.It comprises verses
composed by 36 holy persons connected with varied
provinces, states, regions, faiths, beliefs and sects. They
include 6 Sikh Gurus, 15 Bhagats, 11 Bhatts, and 4 devotees of
the Gurus. Bhagats include Hindus as well as Mohammadens.
Some of them belong to higher caste sections while some of
them belong to lower caste groups but their verses have been
selected without any discrimination.

6. Such a spirit of tolerance is also visible in the case of
language of the compositions. The varied diction used in
the Guru Granth Sahib springs from multiple sources.
Guru Granth Sahib, in totality of the compilation
promotes the concept of ‘welfare of all' (Sarbat da Bhala
and Sagal Jamati) which never attempts to humiliate any
of the religions. The compositions included treat the
whole world as a closely related entity and wishes for its
welfare without any selfish motive and prays for grant of
bounties and happiness to all

7. jgqu jlMdw riK lY AwpxI ikrpw Dwir]
ijqu duAwrY aubrY iqqY lYhu aubwir]
Jagat jalanda rakh lei aapni kirpa dhaar.
Jitt duarei ubrei titei leih ubaar.
(I beseech you oh, Almighty ! Be merciful and save the burning world in
whatever way it can be saved !) The cosmic vision of Guru Granth Sahib
exhorts the followers of all the religions of the world to rise above the
differences and conflicts and it provides them with a common pattern
for the welfare of the whole mankind. Religious Pluralism is a concept of
‘global responsibility’ based on the mutual relation of respect for
differences, tolerance for others’ views and healthy exchange of ideas.

8. Religious Pluralism presented through Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib is such a creative work through which different layers of religious
pluralism could be identified. From the point of view of place and time, Guru Granth
Sahib is an historical document which covers a period from 12th century CE to 17th
century CE incorporating a variety of geographical regions, occupations, languages
and communities and includes compositions of saints, Bhagats and Sufi Faqirs,
besides the Sikh Gurus, all of whom, though connected with different beliefs, sects,
provinces and doctrines seem to be guiding the whole mankind in unison. This is the
most appropriate illustration of religious pluralism. The greatest contribution of Guru
Granth Sahib lies in visualising ideal development of a human being and a society
and creating an atmosphere which teaches the mankind divided into sects by the
religious fanaticism and narrow political approach, how to live in mutual love and
understanding.

9. Unitary Pluralism
Guru Granth Sahib, as a whole represents the unity of God, the Supreme Soul.
These days, multi-dimensional expanse of cultures, communities and ideologies is
being recognised but it is an extension of <> only. The very foundation of Guru
Granth Sahib is given by the following couplet penned by BhagatKabir:
Avil Alh nUru aupwieAw kudriq ky sB bMdy
eyk nUr qy sBu jgu aupijAw kaun Bly ko mMdy]
Avval Allah noor upaaia kudrat key sab bandey
Eyk noor tey sab jag upjia kaun bhaley ko mandey.
(The Almighty created one spirit out which the whole creation came into being and
all the human beings make part of it. So no one is better or worse as compared to
the others.)
No religion stands ignored or neglected in Guru Granth Sahib. It, rather, gives due
recognition to the utility and identity of each of the different religions.

10. Pluriform Pluralism
Many forms of Pluriform Pluralism are present in
Guru Granth Sahib.
koeI bolY rwm rwm koeI Kudwie]
koeI syvY guseIAw koeI Alwih]
kwrx krn krIm] ikrpw Dwir rhIm]
koeI nwvY qIriQ koeI hj jwie]
koeI kry pUjw koeI isr invwie]
koeI pVy byd koeI kqyb]
koeI EFY nIl koeI supyd]
koeI khY qurku koeI khY ihMdU]
koeI bwCY iBsqu koeI surigMd]
khu nwnk ijin hukmu pCwqw]
pRB swihb kw iqin Byd jwqw]

11. Koi boley Raam-Raam koi khudaai.
Koi sevei gusayaan koi Allahi.
Koi karan kareem.
Kirpa dhaar raheem.
Koi naavei tirath koi hajj jaai.
Koi karey pooja koi sir nivaai.
Koi parhey beyd koi kateyb.
Koi odhey neel koi supeyd.
Koi kahei turak koi kahei hindu.
Koi baachhei koi surgind.
Kahu Nanak jin hukam pachhaata.
Prabh sahib ka tin bheyd jaata.
(There are innumerable ways devotees name their deities, adopt their ways of
worship, arrange their physical appearances and designate their respective sects but
the ultimate reality is only one which must be recognised by one and all.)

12. Ethical Pluralism
Gurbani (text of Guru Granth Sahib) aims at
preaching human values among whole of the
mankind through inculcation of virtues such as
sweetness of words
PrIdw ijnI kMmI nwih gux qy kMmVY
ivswir
Farida jinni kami naahi gun tey kammrhey visaar
nwnk iPkw bolIAY qnu mnu iPkw
hoie
Nanak phikka boliei tan man phikka hoi

13. Humility
‘PrIdw QIau pvwhI dBu jy sweI
loVih sBu
Farida theeo pavaahi dabh jey saai lorheh sabh
invxu su AKru Kvxu guxu ijhbw
mxIAw mMq
Nivan su akkkhar khavan gun jihba manian mant
‘imTqu nIvI nwnkw gux cMigAweIAw
qqu’
Mithatt neeveen Nanka gun changiayan tatt

14. Productive Work
PrIdw ijnI kMmI nwih gux qy
kMmVY ivswir
Farida jinni kami naahi gun tey kammrhey
visaar

15. Forbearance
drvySW no loVIAY ruKW dI
jIrWid
Darveyshan nu lorhiyey rukkhan di jeeraand

16. Tolerance
PrIdw bury dw Blw kir gusw mn
n hMFwie
Farida burey da bhala kar gussa man n
handaai

17. Through teachings of virtuous conduct, Guru
Granth Sahib builds up a moral code which
could serve as a solid and healthy foundation
for bringing about excellence in individual and
collective life of human beings.

18. Through teachings of virtuous conduct, Guru
Granth Sahib builds up a moral code which
could serve as a solid and healthy foundation
for bringing about excellence in individual and
collective life of human beings.

19. Inter-faith Dialogue
In fact, peace and harmony cannot be built up among various
communities and nations until mutual understanding is established
among different religions and such an atmosphere of mutual
understanding cannot be built up unless inter-faith dialogue is
established. In the contemporary times, inter-faith dialogue has become
a primary necessity at the international level and persistent efforts need
to be made for creation of such a dialogue. We should encourage the
process of interaction, tolerance, learning and teaching vis-à-vis faiths
adopted by the others. Guru Granth Sahib arranges inter-faith dialogue
as an alternative to crusades in order to keep the whole of the mankind
united and tension-free.

20. The approach of mutual interaction which is being preferred in the
modern times was adopted by the Sikh Gurus centuries ago and they
incorporated it in their compositions. Through the dictum
jb lgu dunIAw rhIAY nwnk ikCu suxIAY ikCu khIAY
Jab lag duniyan rahiyei nanak kichh suniyei kichh kahiyei
Guru Granth Sahib preaches expression of the self before others and
also lays stress on the need to lend the ear to what others have to say.
This approach would remove the ignorance and will spread purposeful
knowledge among the masses. Interaction at a common platform brings
all the religions at par with one another and removes the fear of
assimilation of one religion into any other one.

21. Multi-cultural Society
The cultural model presented in Guru Granth Sahib is not a
fundamentalist religion of any particular community or caste group. It
includes people who belong to different provinces, communities and
religions but are attuned to the same cosmic harmony. The ideals
presented in Guru Granth Sahib appear as futuristic dialogue which does
not admit any discrimination or animosity. The model of multi-cultural
society as presented by Guru Granth Sahib is not one dimensional but it
is multi-dimensional one based as it is on the welfare-of-all doctrine
which extends same respect to the strangers as is extended to those
who are closely related. Gurbani(verses included in Guru Granth Sahib)
includes a number of couplets which express deep reverence to the
people belonging to the so-called lower castes

22. nIcw AMidr nIc jwiq nIcI hU Aiq nIc]
nwnk iqn kyY sMig swiQ vifAw isau ikAw rIs]
ijQY nIc smwlIAin iqQY ndir qyrI bKsIs]
Neecha andir neech jaat neechee hoo ati neech.
Nanak tin kei sang saath vaddian siu kia rees.
Jithei neech samalian tithei nadir teyri baksees.
(Nanak says that he is in tune with the lowest of the lowly and he prefers their
company in comparison to the highly placed people because one earns the grace of
the Almighty by giving care to the under-privileged.) The main message of Gurbani is
to recognise the identity and dignity of each culture on equal basis and to contribute
towards establishing it in effective and meaningful manner. Gurbani discourages
animosity, discrimination and violence and promotes communal tolerance, racial
harmony and inter-cultural society these being important ingredients of multi-
cultural society. Guru Granth Sahib teaches us to recognise and respect the values
cherished by the others.

23. Moral Values
Gurbani aims at developing spiritually prosperous, mentally
poised and morally sound human beings and, therefore, warns
against evil actions through exhortations such as
min jIqY jgu jIq
Man jeetei jag jeet
( Having control over one’s mind is like having control over the
whole world).),

24. ‘mnu mYdwn kir
Man meidaan kar
(One must erase one’s ego.)
‘bury dw Blw kr’
Burey da bhala kar
( One should be helpful even to an evil-doer.)
‘ihAwaU n kwhY Twih’ Hiaau na kaahei thaahi
( One should not injure anyone’s feelings.)
‘nwnk iPkw bolIAY qn mnu iP`kw hoie’
Nanak phikka boliei tan man phikka hoi
(Nanak says, if we speak rough we invite mental as well as physical ailments)
‘kwly ilKu n lyK’
Kaaley likh na leykh
(We should neither inculcate nor express evil thoughts.)

25. Such pieces of advice contribute a lot towards the
development of sound moral character. The technique of
making one’s conduct simple and straightforward through a
disciplined mind is one of distinct and special aspects of
Gurbani. Qualities of ignoring pitfalls on the part of the others
and being soft spoken and sweet in speech constitute the
foundation of art of living. Utterances replete with sweetness
and humility go to build up a congenial and pleasant
environment.

26. Gurbani rejects the habit of vilification and opposes the slanderers
because such people badly pollute the social and cultural environment.
Laying stress on inculcation of virtues of humility and courtesy, Gurbani
clarifies that when ego vanishes as soon as these virtues are imbibed.
Once the barrier of ego is removed, feelings of hatred, backbiting,
jealousy, slander and anger disappear automatically. No doubt, the
model of morality presented through Gurbani imparts the qualities of
patience, contentment and continence in human beings and teaches
them how to have self-control and self-discipline which help in freeing
oneself from the clutches of evil deeds. The principles of morality
endow a human being with mental alertness and building up awareness
in him/her imparts to them qualities of firmness, boldness and creativity
so essential for entering a new life. The moral code presented by Guru
Granth Sahib form a healthy ingredient of Indian philosophical
tradition.It tends to recognise the significance of spiritual as well as
practical aspects of ethical values.

27. Conclusion
Today, when the whole of the world looks to have fallen prey to
selfishness, disorder and tension-ridden atmosphere born out of mutual
differences and seems to be standing on a pile of dynamite being face to
face with terror and barbarity, it is essential to disseminate and adopt
the message of universal brotherhood imparted by Guru Granth Sahib.
The practicability of the message of religious tolerance, awareness of
religious pluralism and model of inter-faith dialogue, as contained in
Guru Granth Sahib stir up the human consciousness because this
message possesses the potential of establishing an international
fraternity or multi-cultural system. Such an effort in the form of virtuous
conduct can certainly unite the whole world as one family by
strengthening human brotherhood and mutual understanding and it can
also serve as a medium for solution of world level problems.