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Summary of Question:	Materialism
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Sunday, 5/06/2001 3:35 AM MDT

I've been practising Sikhism since the day I was born, but what I don't understand what Materialism is. I aware that its one of the 5 evils that we should ignore but what is it exactly? And one more question. When we do Sewa and meditate towards the Name of God, what will be our benefits? I come from a strict religious family meaning that I don't drink, sniff, or sleep around. I recently became a vegetarian, its been a month and it has been very difficult, but I was able to adjust. so again, What are our benefits in thinking about Naam?

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REPLY
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Naam is meditation. The point of practising name is to be able to remember the relationship of the finite (self) with the Infinite (Wahe Guru, God, Divine, etc) when the meditation is not happening. The practice leads to constant rememberance automatically.

When we practice/remember Naam our relationship to the material world changes. We realize that although we need to have things for survivial and even comfort, there is nothing that we take with us when we leave this planet. So accummulating material things for their own sake isn't worthwhile. That is why when people have a lot of money often they turn to philanthropy rather than just continuing to acquire things.

As a vegetarian be sure you are eating balanced from all the food groups. Keep up, habits are hard to break.