In this day and age, the Temple seems like an anachronism. We do not know of any temples or visit any temples. At most, those of us who have been to the Far East have encountered  statue-filled temples. Once could conclude, perhaps, that temples are at odds with monotheistic thought. Yet the Temple plays a major role in Jewish worship, and especially in Leviticus. In order to understand the idea of the Temple in depth, we will visit a contemporary temple on the Indian subcontinent. It is a temple belonging to a monotheistic religion, and is thus devoid of idols and icons. A comparison between that temple and the Temple in Leviticus can help us to better understand ourselves, as well as find philosophical allies in the world of religions.

Solidarity and Equality in Sikhism

Some five hundred years ago, Guru Nanak established Sikhism in northern India. The religion (the word “sikh” means “disciple”) blends elements of Hinduism and Islam. A synthesis can be a success or a failure, and Guru Nanak created a successful synthesis, taking the good from each religion and discarding their negative baggage. He eschewed, for example, Hinduism’s idolatrous elements while spreading the idea of Niranjan, the worship of a single, formless God. Nanak even imported, by way of Islam, Jewish ideas, such as the conception of God watching over and steering reality, the notion of Creation as an expression of God’s will (which comes from Kabbala), and the idea of equality between all human beings. Nanak opposed the caste system, which is based on the assumption that there are entire segments of society with which one must not come in contact, and whose members are doomed to spend their entire lives in hard labor.

The Sikhs also differ from the Hindus in their approach to life and family. The monastic ideal plays a minor role in Sikhism, and the adherent is instructed to marry and have a family. Furthermore, the Sikhs rejected the passivity of yogis who dedicate their lives to asceticism and meditation. The three pillars of Sikhism are Nām Japna (remembrance and recitation of the divine Name), kirat karō (honest work), and “vand chakkō (giving alms).

Nanak adopted from Hinduism a profound tolerance for all human beings. While Islam emphasizes the idea of jihad, or holy war, and Christianity stresses the obligation to convert heretics through missionary work (“outside the Church there is no salvation”), for Nanak the faithful are not only........

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