Daya
Encyclopedia
Daya or Compassion is a fundamental teaching of the Sikh religion and teachings can be found on DAYA. The other four qualities in the arsenal are: Truth (Sat
), Contentment (Santokh
), Humility (Nimrata
) and Love (Pyar). These five qualities are essential to a Sikh and it is their duty to meditate and recite the Gurbani so that these virtues become a part of their mind.
The importance of Daya can be seen from the following Shabads from Guru Granth Sahib
:
This concept says to not ignore tragedies that take place in the world but to face them head-on and do whatever is possible within ones means. As a Sikh
you must feel the pain and suffering of other people involved in any tragedy.
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DAYA (usually spelt daia in Punjabi), from Sanskrit
"Day" meaning to sympathize with, to have pity on, stands for compassion, sympathy. It means ‘suffering in the suffering of all others’. It is deeper and more positive in sentiment than sympathy. Daya, cognitively, observes alien pain; affectively, it gets touched by it and moves with affectional responses for the sufferer; and cognitively it moves one to act mercifully, pityingly, with kindness and forgiveness. One imbued with daya “chooses to die himself rather than cause others to die,” says Guru Nanak (GG, 356).
Daya is a divine quality and a moral virtue highly prized in all religious traditions. In the Sikh Scripture, mahadaial (super compassionate), daiapati (lord of compassion), daial dev (merciful god), karima, rahima (the merciful one), etc., have been used as attributive names of God (GG, 249, 991, 1027, 727). In Sikh
ethics, too, daya is inter alia, a basic moral requirement, a moral vow. “Keep your heart content and cherish compassion for others; this way alone can your holy vow be fulfilled” (GG 299).
At the human level, one can comprehend feeling of another’s anguish, but as a theological doctrine it is to risk allowing suffering in God’s life. This has often caused much controversy in theological circles. God does not suffer in the sense of pain from evil as evil, but may suffer compassion (daya) as bearing the pain of others to relieve them (of pain as also of evil). That is why at the time of Babar’s invasion of India, Guru Nanak, when he witnessed the suffering of people, complained to God:
The Guru, in the image of God, is also daial purakh (compassionate being) and bakhasand (forgiver)—GG, 681.
Daya is a virtue of the mind. In India
n thought, virtues are classified into (i) those of the body: dana
(charity), paritrana (succouring those in distress), paricharana (social service); (ii) those of speech: satya (veracity), hitovachana (beneficial speech), priyavachana (sweet speech), svadhyaya (reciting of Scriptures) and (iii) those of the mind which, besides daya, also include aparigraha (unworldliness) and sraddha (reverence and piety).
In Sikh
thought daya is considered the highest virtue:
Sat (Sikhism)
Sat is a Sanskrit adjective meaning "the ideal; pure and true essence " of an entity or existence in the Vedanta. It can thus be concluded as "the self-existent or Universal Spirit, Brahman".-Etymology:...
), Contentment (Santokh
Santokh
Santokh means Contentment and is one of five virtues that is vigorously promoted by the Sikh Gurus. The other four qualities in the arsenal are: Truth , Compassion , Humility and Love...
), Humility (Nimrata
Nimrata
Nimrata is a virtue that is vigorously promoted by Gurbani. The literal translation of this Punjabi word is "Humility", or "Benevolence". The other four qualities in the arsenal are: Truth , Contentment , Compassion and Love...
) and Love (Pyar). These five qualities are essential to a Sikh and it is their duty to meditate and recite the Gurbani so that these virtues become a part of their mind.
The importance of Daya can be seen from the following Shabads from Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
:
This concept says to not ignore tragedies that take place in the world but to face them head-on and do whatever is possible within ones means. As a Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
you must feel the pain and suffering of other people involved in any tragedy.
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DAYA (usually spelt daia in Punjabi), from Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
"Day" meaning to sympathize with, to have pity on, stands for compassion, sympathy. It means ‘suffering in the suffering of all others’. It is deeper and more positive in sentiment than sympathy. Daya, cognitively, observes alien pain; affectively, it gets touched by it and moves with affectional responses for the sufferer; and cognitively it moves one to act mercifully, pityingly, with kindness and forgiveness. One imbued with daya “chooses to die himself rather than cause others to die,” says Guru Nanak (GG, 356).
Daya is a divine quality and a moral virtue highly prized in all religious traditions. In the Sikh Scripture, mahadaial (super compassionate), daiapati (lord of compassion), daial dev (merciful god), karima, rahima (the merciful one), etc., have been used as attributive names of God (GG, 249, 991, 1027, 727). In Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
ethics, too, daya is inter alia, a basic moral requirement, a moral vow. “Keep your heart content and cherish compassion for others; this way alone can your holy vow be fulfilled” (GG 299).
At the human level, one can comprehend feeling of another’s anguish, but as a theological doctrine it is to risk allowing suffering in God’s life. This has often caused much controversy in theological circles. God does not suffer in the sense of pain from evil as evil, but may suffer compassion (daya) as bearing the pain of others to relieve them (of pain as also of evil). That is why at the time of Babar’s invasion of India, Guru Nanak, when he witnessed the suffering of people, complained to God:
The Guru, in the image of God, is also daial purakh (compassionate being) and bakhasand (forgiver)—GG, 681.
Daya is a virtue of the mind. In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n thought, virtues are classified into (i) those of the body: dana
Dana
-Singers:Some singers are popularly known only by the name, Dana:* Dana Rosemary Scallon , Irish-American singer and politician* Dana , Korean pop singer* Dana International , Israeli pop singer-In fiction:...
(charity), paritrana (succouring those in distress), paricharana (social service); (ii) those of speech: satya (veracity), hitovachana (beneficial speech), priyavachana (sweet speech), svadhyaya (reciting of Scriptures) and (iii) those of the mind which, besides daya, also include aparigraha (unworldliness) and sraddha (reverence and piety).
In Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
thought daya is considered the highest virtue: