Kaam ( Punjabi: ਕਾਮ; ''Kāma'') is one of the five thieves in

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

, described as excessive lust or desire. A devout Sikh is expected to be in control of ''Kaam'' at all times.

Translation

The term has been rendered as translating to desire, longing, concupiscence, sensuality or lasciviousness in English.

Description

In common parlance, the term refers to excessive sexual desire. Sikhism views kaam as an urge that an individual must keep in-control from time to time. It is not viewed as dissimilar to other urges and cravings of the human experience that must also be periodically kept in-check. Kaam becomes a true evil when it begins interfering with one's marital life, such as leading a spouse to cheat on their partner under its influence. Sikhism condemns kaam which interferes with the spiritual journey and day-to-day life of an individual. Guru Tegh Bahadur states the following on the issue of kaam: The word refers to all desires but usually it is used in reference to desires which are sexual in-nature. Normal and healthy amounts of sexual lust and desire, such as between two married spouses, is not condemned in Sikhism but rather excessive amounts which interfere in one's spiritual journey is treated as both a vice and immoral. Kaam is not looked upon as wholly a biological phenomenon but also as a learnt behaviour in-which one can be influenced negatively by others. The

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 ...

offers the following commentary on the nature of ''Kaam'': ''Kaam'' is related and linked to '' lobh'', another of the five thieves. Whilst kaam is the extreme desire for sexual things, lobh, on the other hand is the disproportionately large desire or covetousness for material things.

Extramarital connection

Kaam is connected to the potential of transgressing upon one's marriage by cheating on their partner. This is warned against in Sikh texts, such as in the '' Varan'' of Bhai Gurdas. Bhai Gurdas says the consummate Sikh is utterly faithful to his wife and regards all other women as "mothers, sisters and daughters" in Varan 29:11. Guru Gobind Singh gives the following piece of advice to his Sikhs:

Solution

Since Sikhism does not advocate for celibacy and asceticism as fixes for kaam, it has taught other methods of dealing with the issue. There are two ways of dealing with kaam within Sikhism through channelization and redirection of the energy to other aims: # Adopting the life of a ''grihastha'', that is, the married life of a householder. # '' Pyaar'', one of the five virtues. Reaching a state of mind where one is totally emersed and imbued with the love of the divine. The implementation of '' Naam Simran'' is important for reaching this state of love for

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. Regarding the second way of sublimating kaam, Guru Gobind Singh makes the following remark the affirm this method: The ideal relationship between the divine and devotee in Sikhism is envisioned as a soul-bride, in-which the devotee is a wife longing for her husband (''kant''), which is God. This is a reoccurring theme that is repeated through the Sikh canon. The devotee is pained by the state of being separate from God and craves reunion with God. This procedure of complete devotion stifles the negative potentials of kaam and redirects its energy to spiritual progress for the individual. Guru Arjan states on page 534 of the Guru Granth Sahib that a person who has truly fallen in love with God humbly seeks neither positions of power, authority, nor even spiritual liberation ( ''mukti'').

Comparison to the concept of ''kama'' in other Indic religions

In the Hindu tradition, kaam is not always seen as a negative state of mind. There exists many Indic deities related to kaam, such as

Kamadeva Kamadeva (, ), also known as Kama, Manmatha, and Madana is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of Eroticism, erotic love, carnal desire, attraction, pleasure and beauty, as well as the personification of the concept of ''kāma''. He is depicted as a ...

. Thus, unlike Sikhism, the concept does not necessarily imply adverse effects to the spiritual path as per Hinduism. It also views '' kama'' as one of the four '' Puruṣārtha'' of a human life. However, certain schools and traditions of Hindu thought, such as the yogis of the

Samkhya Samkhya or Sankhya (; ) is a dualistic orthodox school of Hindu philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, '' Puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit) and '' Prakṛti'' (nature or matter, including the human mind a ...

school, practice the suppression of kaam as part of their beliefs and practices. Sikhism's conceptualization of kaam/kama is analogous to those of the Sramanic traditions, such as

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

. These traditions see kaam as a source for alarm. Therefore, they have prescribed celibacy and asceticism as methods for dealing with kaam. This differs from Sikhism, which does not advocate for the lifestyle of a celibate or ascetic.

References