Altruism: Altruism & Sikh

This was taken from wikipedia, but I thought it helped depict a good lesson in the art of war and compassion.

Altruism is essential to the Sikh religion. In the late 1600s, Guru Gobind Singh Ji (the tenth guru in Sikhism), was in war with the Moghul rulers to protect the people of different faiths, when a fellow Sikh, Bhai Kanhaiya, attended the troops of the enemy. He gave water to both friends and foes who were wounded on the battlefield. Some of the enemy began to fight again and some Sikh warriors were annoyed by Bhai Kanhaiya as he was helping their enemy. Sikh soldiers brought Bhai Kanhaiya before Guru Gobind Singh Ji, and complained of his action that they considered counterproductive to their struggle on the battlefield. "What were you doing, and why?" asked the Guru. "I was giving water to the wounded because I saw your face in all of them," replied Bhai Kanhaiya. The Guru responded, "Then you should also give them ointment to heal their wounds. You were practicing what you were coached in the house of the Guru."

It is important to practice compassion and altruism even during the heat of a battle, you can not fight fire with fire. It is pointless to go to church every day and be exposed to such positive wisdom and then go on with daily life and get angry at people, and do things the bible says not to do. It is good to know about what is right and wrong, but it's a lot more challenging to incorporate good will into your everyday mindset.