The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life

by Simran Jeet Singh

Like Jaswant Singh Khalra’s parable of the lantern, seva sets us free to call on ourselves to do the right thing based on what is actually within our control, to accept what we cannot change with fortitude, and to keep our lights burning as we challenge the darkness.

Every morning, people would see him walking through the streets of Amritsar, bending over to pick up the trash he found along the way. He continued this practice through his advanced age, at which point people started asking him questions. “You have been doing this for years, babaji, and yet our city is still polluted. Don’t you realize yet that it makes no difference?” Bhagat Puran Singh’s wisdom would shine through his smile as he explained: “It may not make a difference to you, but it makes a difference to me. My aim is to leave this world better than how I found it.”