This is with reference to the comment by Jagdish and Mohini Gupta, about the resistance of religion to change unlike the world of science (Marayadas Tend To Become Rigid, Letters, Sep.02)

As I understand it, the word of God as uttered by his prophets is eternal and never changing. If you believe in a prophet, so must you accept as timeless his teachings and instructions regarding both the spiritual and the temporal world. I do not see how one can draw a parallel with the world of science, which is a product of human understanding.

Also, having spent most of my life in it, I think the world of science is a poor touchstone against which to measure human endeavor. There is an arrogance there that is not founded in reality. As scientists and physicians, every day I am overwhelmed by how little we truly understand, both about the human body, the mind and the world around us.

In specific reference to the Sikh Maryada, the Gurus gave us the guidelines by which to fashion our lives. They left it to the Sarbat Khalsa to address the specific issues of day-to-day life. It is now up to us to address such matters as caste, the disabled and female feticide (which I think is a very pressing issue and is something we choose to ignore in our social circles although the Guru gave strict instructions that his Sikhs should have no social dealings with families who kill their daughters, unborn or otherwise).

I think the message of our Gurus transcends time, their social commentary transcends time and instructions about the Sikh Roop transcend time. We have been left with very clear instructions by our Gurus on certain issues and some issues have been left to the Sikh sangat to address in the light of their teachings.

Sincerely

Harmeet Kaur