WHAT WE SEE, SO WE BECOME....

Some people say that we should not keep pictures of Gurus as this is Manmat, but according to me anything related to Gurus is Gurmat.... A piece of Art is deeply related to Spirituality & Divinity and Everything and every kind of Art has a great effect on our mind & psychology….. It's true that pictures of Sikh Gurus are not real & authentic but being an art lover and winning several prizes in drawing competitions, I personally feel that some of the great portraits & paintings of Sikh Gurus by great artists like Sobha Singh, Tarlok Singh, Amrita Shergill, Devinder Singh etc. put great impact on our eyes and mind and we feel soothing, peaceful & enlightened…..

That’s why Darbar Sahib(Golden Temple) and almost all the Gurudwaras & religious places all over the world have museums and art galleries….. Many old religious scriptures & writings are also comprised of many paintings & drawings of Gurus.... We should not think the particular picture as our Guru and should only believe in Shabad Guru i.e Guru Granth Sahib but for increasing our faith and especially for the children these photos are very inspiring, beneficial & motivational…..

When I was a child of 1 or 2 years and even was unable to speak properly I always used to see the picture of Guru Gobind Singh ji by Sobha Singh on wall in front of me and I still believe that that picture of Guru Maharaj has played a great role in instilling the religious & spiritual faith and beliefs in early days of my life….. If all Sikh children are taught about the Sikh history and sacrifices by our great martyrs like Bhai Taru Singh ji, Bhai Mani Singh ji, Baba Deep Singh ji, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur ji, Bhai Mati Das ji, Bhai Dyala ji and many other thousands of martyrs, with pictures or animation, it will have a long lasting effect on children's mind; but sad thing is that today a Sikh child takes interest in watching misleading actors & singers and listen to their cultureless and worthless songs, which are playing a negative role in taking away our youth from Sikhism.....

Morever inspite of placing & putting the photos of actors, players, corrupt political leaders and singers if we put religious pictures in front of us it will be more fruitful….. Somebody has said ‘What we see, so we become’, which means that if we see good things it will have a good impact on our mind & if we constantly see bad things it will have the worst impact….. Therefore, it depends on us what we like to see and Everyone is free to do whatever he likes or wants..... - HARGUNPREET SINGH.