Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih!

In this world, we deal in transactions. We weigh our decisions against cost and benefit. When we give, we expect something in return. We convince ourselves that there is not enough—that there will never be enough.

But what if we shifted that thinking?

What if we came to understand what it means to give, to share, with a sense of vastness instead?

What if we came to give with a sense of abundance? With the understanding that there will always be enough?

This can happen when the collective lives in the Nam-Dan-Isnan (Identifying-Giving-Cleansing) paradigm.

This is the guidance given to us through the Wisdom. Nam comes from the Persian Nam and the Sanskrit Naman, meaning “name.” In the Guru Granth Sahib, Nam can refer to how human beings “identify or identify with” the One, or to The Divine Name, the real essence of the One.

Nam is deep introspection and Identification with IkOankar, the One. Nam is an active, dynamic, genuine, authentic, and inspirational culture. Nam unites the being with the Being.

Dan qualified by Nam is giving within the Sikh paradigm. When rooted in Nam, Dan is a sharing that benefits others and empowers those in need. It is a spirit of abundance and security rather than one of scarcity and calculation.

Isnan, in classical understanding, is physical cleansing at a sacred site. In Sikhi, it encompasses a kind of cleansing through reflection and absorption in the Wisdom’s teaching, to live one’s life guided by the Wisdom. It is clarity in purpose and in action.

When these three things come together, we glorify the Nam, we connect with and experience the One, we give without calculation, and we are constantly cleansing ourselves from within. Communities that live out this paradigm show us how to share without a sense of transaction and only with a sense of vastness.

May we yearn to live in the Nam-Dan-Isnan paradigm.

May the Wisdom-Guru guide us!