STRAIGHT FROM
THE SOURCE A CONVERSATION WITH KANWAL PRAKASH SINGH
Kanwal Prakash (K.P.) Singh co-founded the International
Center of Indianapolis in 1972 to give the community
a space to learn about, and celebrate, other cultures.
The Center holds an annual International Festival
at the Indiana State Fairgrounds every fall.
Singh serves as unofficial local spokesman for
his own faith, Sikhism, and as a champion for religious
diversity in general. "Let us keep our religion
and religious matters from becoming divisive distractions,"
he wrote in a recently published letter to the Indianapolis
Star. "Let us be guided by principles that
are unifying, inclusive, timeless, universal, and
reaffirm the spirit upon which our nation was founded."
Singh, who was born in India, came to the University
of Michigan in the mid-1960s, where he earned a
Master of Planning degree. In 1967, he went to work
as an urban planner for the City of Indianapolis,
before launching a career as a fine artist in the
early 1970s. Working under the name K. P. Singh
Designs, he has become well known for his depictions
of Indiana architecture and landscapes.
Here, Singh describes
his religion, comparing and contrasting it to Christianity.
CN: What are the tenets of Sikhism?
Singh: Sikhism is a monotheistic faith that believes
in one supreme God, the father and mother of all
life. We believe that God Almighty is the creator
of all knowledge and the supreme inspiration of
all faiths. Each faith has pretty much agreed on
some basic thoughts; therefore, we have to say that
all inspiration has come from one source. Since
God created light, and from that light he created
all life and blessed each living being with a divine
essence, how then can some people be holier than
others? From this, it follows that all humanity
is one race, one brotherhood, regardless of where
you were born or which faith you belong to. The
Sikh faith emphasizes the importance of serviceto
man, life, creationas the highest form of
offering to God. Every act of service is an offering.
CN: Give an example of how these beliefs are put
into practice.
Singh: Each Sikh temple has a community kitchen,
where food is served every day at noon and at night,
and anyone of any faith can come and partake of
blessed food. In those places, there is the sense
that were all one, and the food is prepared
by volunteers and served by volunteers. At each
step, symbolically and ritually, the concepts of
oneness, equality, unity, and brotherhood are reinforced.
CN: In what ways does Sikhism differ from Christianity?
Singh: We differ in our belief in transmigration
of the soul and karma. Karma means your actions
in a previous life that you carry from a previous
birth into this life. What you do with this life
might emancipate you or bring you closer to eternal
union with God, or it might not, depending on the
burden youre carrying from a previous life
and the burdens youve added in this life.
We believe that there are many lifetimes and many
life forms, and that this is a process in which
you could be vegetation, a bird, an animal, or an
insect. But humans are the most precious life form
in this whole process. If you are blessed with a
human body, that is your time to know God and to
be reunited with God.
CN: Christians believe that faith in Jesus Christ
is the exclusive means of human salvation. Is there
a similar concept in Sikhism?
Singh: I believe that the light of God has arrived
here in many ways and in many forms and through
many messengers. And I, as one human being, am willing
to receive that lightnot just from Christianity
but through Buddhism or Islam or from non-faith,
for that matter. No particular faith could possibly
have the entire truth.
CN: What is the point, or benefit, of learning
about faith traditions foreign to your own?
Singh: By understanding the things that have been
obstacles in our path, we can bring in greater understanding
and greater appreciation of other cultures. A lot
of positive energy can flow from this kind of sharing.
It is not something to be frightened about; it is
something to celebrate. Let us not be bogged down
by one tradition or another. There are common fundamentals
that unite us all as one human family. Let us focus
on those.