( or , pronunciation: , meaning

compassion Compassion is a social feeling that motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is sensitivity to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based ...

) is a fundamental teaching of the Sikh religion and teachings. The other four fundamental qualities are ''truth'' (), ''contentment'' (), ''humility'' () and ''love'' (). These five qualities are essential to a Sikh and it is their duty to meditate and recite the ''

Gurbani Gurbani (, pronunciation: , lit. the Guru's words) is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib. In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Gu ...

'' so that these virtues become a part of their mind. The importance of can be seen from the following Shabads from

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib (, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth (), its first rendition, w ...

: says to not ignore tragedies that take place in the world but to face them head-on and do whatever is possible within one's means. As a

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

one must feel the pain and suffering of other people involved in any tragedy.

References

Bibliography

Concepts In Sikhism - Edited by Dr. Surinder Singh Sodhi
Above adapted from article By J. S. Neki {{Virtues Sikh beliefs Compassion