PHILOSOPHY OF THE SIKH FAITH
Question 1:
How did Guru Nanak manage
to form the Sikh Religion when Islam was the top religion in the world at
that time?
Guru Nanak Dev did not found one more faith but revealed
the faith for humanity, a faith for all people. H. L. Bradshaw writes in
The Sikh Review, Calcutta:“Sikhism is a Universal world of faith, a message for
all men. Sikhs must cease to think of their faith as just another good
religion and must begin to think in terms of Sikhism being the religion
for this New Age...” Other scholars have also observed
the same thing, but in different words, that a common God for all of
humanity was revealed and preached by Guru Nanak Dev. Earlier, there was
a“God” who accepted only good Christians to Heaven while another “God”
accepted only good Muslims there. There was one more “God” who loved only
high caste Hindus; other Indians were considered low caste and
untouchable. Further, the low caste were considered not entitled to enter
Heaven after death and they were not permitted to enter a Hindu religious
place here onthis earth. Unfortunately, this situation, prevails even
today.Thus followers of each faith believed that unless one belonged to
their faith one couldnot be accepted by God in His Heaven. In simple
words, every religion claimed a franchise onGod, and preached that people
of other faiths are not entitled to Heaven created by “their” Godfor
them.In 1499, coming out of the river Being after three days, Guru Nanak
Dev told people,both Hindus and Muslims, who came to greet him: “Na koi
Hindu, na Musalman”. The Guru, thus, explained that God does not identify
us as Hindus or Muslims or as members of any other faith. He judges us
only by our deeds. Everyone who loves God, realizes God. ((Guru Granth
Sahib) Page 8) God can be loved by any name Ram, Allah, Guru, Gobind.
These and many other Names are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. The Sikh
scripture contains hymns written by six Gurus and more than two dozen holy
persons including those born in low caste, Hindu and Muslim faiths. Farid
was a Muslim and loved God as Allah. Ravidas was a shoe maker, a low caste,
and untouchable.Gurbani preaches that God is our common Father. He loves
all people whatever their faith. We are valued in His Court not by the
name we adopt to love Him but by the deeds we do to serve people. Many
scholars have observed that the Sikh faith is the message for the whole
world.
These principles made people embrace the
Sikh faith against many odds.
Hindus and Muslims who accepted
the above teachings of Guru Nanak Dev were welcomed to sit together for
the first time as equals and were named Sangat. Later in 1699,
aftertraining for two centuries to live that kind of life, Guru Gobind
Singh revealed Khalsa Panth, anorganization to serve people and protect
their human rights. They were required to partake of Amrit, wear the 5K’s
and adopt new names (Singh for a male, Kaur for a female). We call
that organized body Guru Khalsa Panth, Sikh Panth or simply Sikhs.The
rulers did not like people adopting the Sikh faith. They tried to stop
this wave startedby Guru Nanak Dev. Guru Arjan Dev was arrested and
tortured to death. His son, Guru Har-Gobind was attacked four times by the
army of the Governor of Lahore. Guru Teg Bahadur was arrested along with
his three associates. They all were tortured and murdered. Guru Gobind
Sikh was attacked repeatedly. He sacrificed his family, his mother and all
of his four sons. Thousands of Sikhs died fighting for their right. Guru
Gobind Singh himself was stabbed to death.The Khalsa continued to resist
state tyranny while living a truthful life and serving people.
As a result, Sikhs and the Sikh faith were accepted
by the common man;
the Sikhs,supported both by Hindus and
Muslims, became rulers of the Punjab when Maharaja RanjitSingh took over
Lahore in 1799.
Question 2:
Is not Sikhism just another
religion? Don't all religions preach the path to God?Why did Guru Teg Bahadur sacrifice his life for the
Hindus, when Sikhism does not encourage the practice of Hindu rituals?
See also question 1 above for the answers to the first part of the
question.
(a) According to the popular perception, religions may be
divided into two groups on thebases of the definition of God and the
mission of human life:
(i) God can be realized through our faith alone.
Unless you belong to our faith you will goto Hell. The only key to the
Heaven is with our prophet. For entering Heaven, people must accept our
faith.
(ii) God is Father/Mother of all people and loves every human
being; He/She belongs toeveryone, believers (whatever their faith) and
nonbelievers. There is no place called “Heaven”into which people of a
particular faith only would be allowed. Anyone, who loves God, bywhatever
Name Allah, Ram, Hari, Guru, Jesus etc., lives in Heaven (while living in
this world)and realizes God.There is also a third group, (it includes
Buddhism and Jainism) who do not require beliefin the existence of God.
This group is not included in this discussion. Sikhism alone
belongs to group. Hence, it is basically different from all faiths.
Other faiths, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, belong to
group
(iii).While followers of other religions wish to reach Heaven, Sikhism
says Heaven or Hell are not physical places where the souls are destined
to go after people die. The devotees who love God and “see” Him pervading
everywhere enjoy “True Heaven” while living here in this world. They have
no desire for ran assumed place called Heaven. (Guru Granth Sahib) Page
1324) Thus, Gurbani explains that when we love God, and sing His virtues,
we are in Heaven.When we turn our back to Him and get involved in lust,
ego, greed, anger, etc., we suffer Hellhere in this very life: ((Guru
Granth Sahib) Pages 325, 1369) Sikhism does not claim exclusive rights to
God. It accepts that God belongs to everyone,believers and nonbelievers.
Anyone, a Hindu, a Muslim, etc., who loves Him realizes Him.Let us
understand that morality and ethics (one should be truthful, sincere,
humble, and helpful) are the same in all faiths. Rituals have little value.
It is the definition of God and themission of human life which determine
the nature of a faith. To explain this: in any government, be it a
republic, a dictatorship, or a kingship, peopledoing good deeds are
honored and those committing wrong actions are punished. However, thethree
governments have different kinds of constitutions and permit different
human rights to theircitizens. Similarly, morality and ethics are
basically the same in all religions but they differ regarding the
definition of God and the mission of human life. Other religions claim a
franchiseon God and His “Heaven” while Sikhism teaches He is our common
Father; we all are equal inHis Court.
(b) Sikh faith recognizes the right
of every human being to love God by any name and byany method one likes.
No one, not even a king, has a right to force one’s own chosen Name
ormethod to love God on people of other faiths. In Guru Granth Sahib all
the names of the Almighty, whether adopted by Hindus, Muslims, or Yogis
were accepted as His Names to beloved by people according to their
choice.Guru Teg Bahadur protested against state oppression, which included
the threat of death, to forcibly convert Hindus to Islam. He sacrificed
his life to protect the human rights of the people to remember God
by any Name, Ram or Krishan, they love. This is the basic principles a
Sikh is to believe and practice, and for which the Guru offered his
head.Thinking that the Guru gave
his life to protect the religion of Hindus is belittling his sacrifice.
Question 3:
How can I see any of the Gurus? How can the Gurus
come down to meet us here?
The Gurus are here, we have only to know
that they are here with us all the time. ((Guru Granth Sahib) Page 982)
Gurbani in Sri Guru Granth is the living spirit of the Gurus. When you
read or listen to Gurbani, the Guru is talking to you and you are hearing
the actual words of the Guru. Gurbani are words of the Guru in written
form. The physical body of the Guru, of course, is not there.Anyway, the
physical body was not the Guru’ the word spoken by the Guru, Gurbani, is
our Guru, according to the philosophy of Shabad Guru. That is why we bow
to the Guru Granth Sahib.Please remember that whatever the Gurus
practiced, it was recorded in words and passed on by them to us as Sri Guru
Granth Sahib.Gurus don't have to come down to us. They did not leave us.
They are with us. Enjoy“talking” to the Gurus and listening to them
through Gurbani.
Question 4:
I have heard and read there
are other Masters/Gurus who can help us to reach liberation/mukti. These
people have experienced God and by following them, one may experience God,
too. These people may be Sikhs (sants) or from other religions. Is
this true? If so, are we as Sikhs allowed to follow these people?
(i)
The key part of the question is : “Are we, as Sikhs, allowed to follow
these people?”The answer is a firm “NO”. A Sikh is a person who believes
in the Guruship of the Guru Granth and Guru Panth. He/she is admitted to
the Panth only by Panj Pyaras and they alone are entitled to administer
Nam Amrit to the Sikhs. A Sikh is not to get Nam from any individual who
claims to be a guru, a Sant or a Brahmgiani (He who has experienced God),
not even from any one Amritdhari Sikh.In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh founded
Guru Khalsa Panth and handed over the Gurushipto the Panj Pyaras those
first five Sikhs who offered their heads in love of their faith. It is
thenthat Guru Gobind Rai, after partaking of Amrit to the disciples (admit
people to the Sikh Panth)and give them religious instructions. This
historical event is well known to all the world.Today, if anyone, a child
of a Sikh or a non Sikh, wants to become a Sikh, he/she mustappear before
the Panj Pyaras (not before any individual, not even before a person who
claimsto be God incarnate), accept Amrit and agree to live according to
the Sikh Rehat Maryada (SikhCode of Conduct). According to it, a Sikh can
listen to no spiritual guidance other that given bythe five Amritdhari
Sikhs, the Pyaras deputed for the job.
(ii) To answer the other aspect of
the question, let us first be clear that a person isn't amember of the
Khalsa Panth, a Sikh, unless he partakes of Amrit. Even the children of a
SikhPanth. Just by keeping long hair and tying turbans, as many followers
of the Dera Jaimal Singhat Beas, Punjab do, one does not become a Sikh.
Anyway the followers o the Dera claim themselves to be Radha Swamis and not
Sikhs. A Sikh is not permitted to be a follower of thatdera or get any
guidance or advice from there.A faithful will go only to a place of
his/her faith and not to that of any other faith. For example, a Muslim
will go to a mosque and a Christian to a church. They won't go to a temple
or read Vedas for spiritual guidance. They may do so for their information
and not as an act of faith. Similarly, a Sikh is permitted to go only to a
Gurdwara and refer to Gurbani for spiritual guidance. A Sikh may, however,
visit a place of any faith but is not allowed to believe in or follow the
guidance there to the members of that faith.One cannot practice and
believe in two faiths at the same time.
(iii) During the period of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a holy
man preached the Sikh faith and he often said: “Dhan Nirankar, Hor Sabha
Khuar”. It means “Glory to the formless God; except His followers, others
are all lost.” They were later called Nirankaris.A splinter group of that
organization gave up the teaching of the Sikh faith and started their own
sect but continued to claim themselves to be Nirankaris. They, after the
popular with the support of the Congress Government. They even dared to
fire at the Sikhs and kill 13 of themon the Vaisakhi Day of 1978 in
Amritsar. They are labeled as nakli (false) Nirankaris. Their“guru” keeps
long hair and wears a turban like Sikhs, but he is not a Sikh. He has been
successful in fooling the innocent Sikhs by his dress and by his singing
of Gurbani hymns. No Sikh is permitted to have any dealings with him or
with any member of their sect.Everyday, new sants in Sikh appearance
(usually white turban, robes and long hair) are increasing the number of
such fake guides. Some claim to be something more than a Brahmgiani, adding
101, 108, 1001, 1008, titles to their name without knowing their
meaning.When you are close to them, you will find most of them are
suffering from greed. Their mission is to collect money from people for
building their own personal empire and their ego.Gurbani says: Do not
believe greedy persons. (Because all their tall claims are false.)Of
course, there are good sants and holy Sikhs who are doing great service in
teaching Gurmat and Gurbani to the people. A true Sikh does not make false
claims (as we often hear from money-hungry sants). He will endorse
everything mentioned in Gurbani and will not start any group of his
followers or have any name identifying his own with one or another thing
doing differently than what is practiced by the Sikh Panth.
(iv) Recently,
some self-proclaimed preachers, to develop their own sect, have
startedsaying (and even actually practicing) that not just the six
prescribed pauries, but all of the Anandshould be read at the end of the
Sikh Diwan. (Yogi Harbhajan Singh, who lead this thought,regretted it in
1995, and requested the Panth, in writing, to excuse him for this.)Some have
started worshiping Sri Guru Granth Sahib and pictures of
the Gurus (the pictures are all falseanyway) just as the Brahmans worship
their idols. This is prohibited by the Sikh Panth. Such new“inventions” in
the field o faith are fraught with danger. They are laying a foundation to
split the Sikhs. All these people are supported by the opponents of Sikhs
because it serves their purposeof weakening the Sikh community by dividing
the Sikhs. Such impostors harm the Sikhs and corrupt the Sikh faith. With a
very loud voice, they claim themselves to be Brahmgyanis and liberated
sants.
A Sikh has to ignore them.They identify their followers by
new names (not as Sikhs) assigned by them. If any person whether a Giani
or sant makes Sikhs become his own disciples or identifies them as a
distinct group, he is not a true Sikh. Such persons do not guide but
misguide Sikhs to convert them into their own followers rather than
letting them behave as members of the Panth.Some of such sants or gurus
evidently receive the support of the authorities to weaken the Sikh
strength in India and elsewhere. They come up with a new nonSikh or
antiSikh thought,present it as a Sikh principle and introduce it amongst
the sikhs to divide them. Their intention isto take over a section of the
Sikh community by making them their followers. This is done to satisfy
their ego of claiming to be “Master” of “Guru” and weaken the unity of the
Sikh Panth.
Groups like Kukas (Namdharis),
Radha swamis, and false nirankaris all started as Sikh preachers but later
turned openly against the Panth. They are cheating Sikhs by appearing like
Sikhs with uncut hair, turbans, and by quoting Gurbani in their
speeches.
Similarly, there are many new saints who claim to be
Sikhs but make their own disciples;they tell Sikhs their own Rent rather
than advising them to follow the Panthic Rehat. Recently,some sants have
altered the structure of Rehras and modified Gurdwara protocol. Sikhs have
towatch them, reject them and disassociate from them. Some naive Sikhs,
particularly women, fall prey to them because of their fake and false
promises of “saving” them here and in the nextworld. It is well known that
some impostors claimed themselves to be “gurus” and tried to establish
their own sects, groups or religion even during the period of the Gurus.
They all were excommunicated by the Gurus, even if they were their own sons
or relatives. Khalsa Panth hasto continue to adopt the same procedure to
deal with such false gurus, sants, and preachers.
Question 5:
Why do most temples celebrate only Guru Nanak and
Guru Gobind Singh’s birthday and not the rest of the Gurus. Are not they
equal?
(i) Many Sikhs have a wrong perception that whenever we Sikhs
have a special gathering (Jor Mela) we do so to celebrate the birth or
demise or any other event in the life of a Guru. Actually these gatherings
are held to preach Gurmat and not to celebrate any day or date in the life
of a Guru.Some days, whether related to the life of a Guru or not, were
chosen as convenient andeasy to remember by the people for annual
gatherings of the Sikhs. These important functionsare conducted on a large
scale. They are used to preach the Sikh faith, remind them of
theirheritage, and to plan for the future of the community.Let us look at
the major days celebrated by the Sikhs. Vaisakhi and Diwali: Sikhs during
the 18th century go together (and they continue to do so even today) twice
a year on Vaisakhi and Diwali at Amritsar. These two days are not
connected with the birth or demise of any Guru. People celebrated these
days even before the birth of Guru Nanak Dev. They were chosen by the
Sikhs because they were well known and very popular throughout Punjab.The
Khalsa was founded on Vaisakhi Day at Anandpur not at Amritsar, where the
gathering is actually held on that day. However, the most important
gathering at Anandpur is heldnot on Vaisakhi but on hola Mahalla.Hola
Mahalla: Hola, a spring festival, is cerebrated at Anandpur, a few days
before Vaisakhi. That day is not connected with any incident in the life
of the tenth Guru or any otherGuru. Celebration of this spring festival is
an old custom and it started even long before the birth of Nanak. Being a
common, well known day, Guru Gobind Singh fixed it as an annual sports
andway games day for the Sikhs at Anandpur. Since then Sikhs continue to
gather there for thisfunction every year. Maghi: This Jor Mela is held at
Muktsar, the place of the final battle between Guru Gobind Singh and the
ruling Mughal forces in May June (Jeth) 1705. The winter month Magh
(January), and not Jeth, the summer month, when the battle was actually
fought at that place, was considered suitable for holding a function in
this hot dry region of Malwa.Kartak PooranMasi: The birth of Guru Nanak is
celebrated in fall (Kartak, full moon) buthe was born in Vaisakh (early
summer). On that day, Sikhs used to gather there to preachGurmat. This
being the place of the birth of the Guru, the gathering there was wrongly
assumedto be the celebration of the birthday of the Guru.
From this we conclude that major Sikh gatherings,
called Jor Melas, general meetings of the Panth, were held on days already
popular with the people and not necessarily on the birthday or another day
connected with the life of a Guru.
This technique, choosing an
already popular day for the celebration, has been also used by the
Christians. Christ was born in August/September but Christians celebrate
it on December25. Even before the birth of Christ, this day was already a
public festival day for celebrating thebeginning of the new solar year. On
this day, when the new solar year was considered to havestarted, the day
length starts increasing from then on. (Actually the solstice falls on
December21/22.) Now, people often assume, of course, mistakenly that
December 25 (Christmas) is thebirthday of Christ.Instead of calling a
seasonal or an annual major function of the religion a Jor Mela, as itwas
until recently, Sikhs now advertise it as celebration of the birth day or
shaheedi (martyrdom)day of the Guru. This is a wrong approach to the Sikh
gatherings. Sikhs hold their specialcongregation for community education
and not to celebrate the birth or demise of any Guru eventhough it may be
held on such a day. Do the Sikhs distribute ladoos on the birthday or sit
together sadly on the shaheedi days? Of course not. (No wonder, in future
the Sikhs may startdoing that.) Days are chosen for Panthic congregation
and not to celebrate certain incidents inthe life Gurdwara functions are
held, therefore, in the same way Kirtan, katha, lecture, dhadhivar, etc.,
whatever the day, birthday or demise day. If the birthday of Guru Nanak
Dev was celebrated during the Guru period, we would not be reading two
dates (Kartak and Vaisakh) in Sikh literature telling about his
birth.Similarly there would have been no second opinion about the
dates of other major events. The celebration of the birthdays of the Gurus
is of recent origin during the British regime.There is no evidence in Sikh
history that the birthdays of the Gurus were celebrated by the Gurus or by
their disciples. Now writer has mentioned the celebration of Guru Teg
Bahadur by Guru Gobind Singh or his own birthday by him.
The correct answer to the above
question is that regional gatherings and general gatherings (as explained
above) are held on popular days convenient for Sikhs. These days are
chosen for Gurmat Parchar and discussing the issues related to the Panth
they were not to celebrate the birth or martyrdom of the Gurus.
(ii)
A wrong response to the above question (Why do we celebrate the birthday
of Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Gobind Singh only, and not of other Gurus?) was
adopted by the Sikhs and they started holding functions on the birthdays
of some other Gurus as well. When the logic was carried further another
question, “Why are the birthdays of the Bhagats not celebrated by the
Sikhs?” cropped up. Some gatherings on the birthday of Bhagat Ravidas.
Ravidasi Sikhs, assome Sikhs are mistakenly called now have started to
celebrate the birthday of guru Ravidas intheir own places. This is surely
a step in the wrong direction.Some Sikhs have gone further on this
path; they have started the celebrations of birthdays of Bhagats (gurus)
Kabir, namdev and other contributors to the holy scriptures. This will
split Sikhs into different sections based on caste. Thus, they have
started undoing what the Gurus did throughout their lives -- unite
peopleinto one brotherhood of equals believing in one scripture, the Guru
Granth Sahib.Therefore, we must continue to hold regional and national
gatherings on the chosen dates for preaching Gurmat but not label them as
birthday or martyrdom day celebrations (even when gatherings are held on
such dates).
NOTE:
Sankrant,
Pooran Masi, Amavas and other such days were chosen for regular
gatheringsof Sikhs. Unfortunately, now people believe them to be sacred
days, an antiSikh belief. Theywere chosen just for convenience because
these dates/days were easy to remember.
Question 6:
We take
out Parshad in the name of the Panj Pyaras. Similarly, why do we not take
out Parshad in the name of the ten Gurus as well?
The correct
procedure for the distribution of the Parshad according to the
Gurmat philosophy is given below. It will automatically explain why Parshad
is not taken our for the tenGurus.At the conclusion of the Gurdwara
function, the Parshad is first accepted into the GuruDarbar (kirpan Bhet)
and then distributed according to the Maryada.
(a) Kirpan BhetAfter the
prayer and the recitation of the hymn (Hukam) from the Guru Granth Sahib
kirpan is put into the Parsad before it is distributed to the Sangat. This
is symbolic of the acceptance of the Parsad (which is offered by a Sikh of
Sikhs) in the Guru Darbar. Parsad is accepted only after the recitation of
the Guru’s hymn. Hence, kirpan Bhet has to be done thereafter and not
before. Kirpan is not to be put into the Parsad halfway during the Ardas
when the request is made for the acceptance of the Parsad. (This Maryada
is the direction of the proper authority, Akal Takhat, and is not based on
the personal opinion of the author. Hence, it has to be observed
strictly.) Ardas should, therefore, be performed without making a Sikh to
stand alert with a naked kirpan in his hand ready to put it in the Parsad
when the Granthi mentions Parshad in his prayer.
(b) Distribution of the
Parsad
(i) According to the protocol, Parsad should first be given to the
Guru and then to his minister, the person attending the Guru Granth Sahib.
Later, if should be distributed to the Sangat without discrimination. As a
result of not knowing this procedure, some omissions are being made in
distribution of the Parsad.Guru Gobind Singh passed on the guruship to the
ever-alive Guru, Panj Pyaras,representing the Guru Khalsa Panth. The Guru,
himself, became their first Sikh by accepting Amrit from them. Panj Pyaras,
the five Singhs, represent the living and functioning Guru in theSangat.
It is not given in the name of the first Panj Pyaras (chosen by Guru
Gobind Singh)hoping the Parsad will “reach” them. Because of this
misunderstanding, the Parsad is sometimes given again to these five Singhs
while distributing it to the Sangat. It is a wrong practice and isbased on
the ignorance of the Sikhs regarding the Sikh philosophy.According to the
Maryada, the Panj Pyara Parsad is not to be mixed back in the total Parsad
but it to be distributed at random to the first five Singhs who are easily
approachable. Forthis selection, it is not desirable to go to the end of
the Sangat for giving Panj Pyara Parsad to asenior Giani Ji or some senior
office bearer in the Sangat.Every Sangat has the authority to choose their
Panj Pyaras for any local purpose, forexample, for the Amrit ceremony, for
the Sikh procession, for a foundation stone laying ceremony, for
distribution of the Parsad. It must be mentioned here that the five Singhs
chosenas the Panj Pyaras may not be the same every time They are chosen
from the Singhs available in the Sangat at that time and only for a
specific purpose . Giving Parsad to one Singh is no reflection on his
greatness or the devotion of other Singhs in the Sangat . The selection of
the Panj Pyras for giving Parsad or for any function does not rate the
chosen persons to be the topmost Sikhs in the Sangat. If it were so, the
selection would raise a lot of unnecessary questions about the decision
made. Further, there would be many objections to the choice whenever Panj
Pyaras are chosen. The selection is done for a specific assignment only;
thereafter, the five Singhs are again equal members of the Panth. There
may be one group of five chosen Singhs for the Amrit ceremony and another
group of five Singhs to lead the Khalsa procession.
(ii) After giving
Parsad to the Panj Pyaras, it i suffered to the minister (Granthi Sahib)
ofthe Guru. As he is to attend the Guru Granth Sahib, Parsad is put in a
bowl and placed near him.It is a totally wrong belief that the Parsad in
the bowl is meant for the Guru. “Feeding” Parsad or Langar to the Guru
Granth Sahib or pictures of the Gurus is strictly against the
Gurmat philosophy. It is Thakur Puja, a pure Brahmanical ritual, which is
prohibited by Sikhs.
(iii) Parsad is later distributed to the Sangat
equally and without discrimination. When aSikh gets Parsad he bows to the
Guru to thank him for this favor and then eats the Parsad.
(iv) The reader
will have already understood the answer as to why Parsad is not given
tothe Gurus. To restate it, Parsad is not given in the name of the
deceased Panj Pyaras who werechosen by the Guru on the day of Baisakhi in
1699. Parsad is given to the Panj Pyaras chosenfor the purpose from the
Sangat sitting in the Guru Darbar at that time. There is no question
ofgiving Parsad to a person or persons (whether the Panj Pyaras chosen by
the Guru or the Gurusthemselves) who are no longer present in body form in
the Sangat for receiving the Parsad.Offerings made in the name of deceased
people do not benefit them and this practice was,therefore, prohibited by
Guru Nanak.NOTE: Incidentally it may also be mentioned here that it is
wrong to bring Langar in a plate tothe Guru Darbar for a Bhog ceremony as
mentioned above. The Guru Granth does not eatanything. It is against the
Sikh philosophy to put kirpan into the Langar (anyway you cannot do it.How
will you do it to the chapatis or water which is yet to come out of the
tap? Also, more Langar is being cooked while it is being served to the
Sangat.)What we ignore is that Langar already belongs to the Guru; it
makes no sense to requestthe Guru to accept the Langar. Parsad is offered
to the Guru Darbar by a Sikh or Sikhs; puttingkirpan into it symbolisms
its acceptance by the Guru which is done after the recitation of thehymn.
For the Langar, we merely do Ardas; we request the permission of the Guru
for itsdistribution to the Sangat so they can partake of it.
Question 7:
I have been an Amritdhari for the past 8 years, I
do my Banis regularly, but theconfusion I face is how am I going to be
united with the Satguru?
(i) You already have been graced by the
Satguru. You have been bestowed with Amrit.When you read Bani, you
actually are talking to the Guru. These Gurbani words were actuallyuttered
by the Guru.Assume that Satguru is sitting before a blind man. Satguru is
speaking and he is listening. Is not that man united with the Guru? Yew,
he is communicating with the Guru but without seeing his body. Even when a
person has eyes, communication is through words only. Guru is the sea of
virtues and they are revealed through his words and height of his physical
body.
Gurbani is Guru. When you read it, you
directly listen to the Guru. You try to understand the meaning and
directions of Gurbani and follow them to live your life. In case you need
help to learn the interpretation of Gurbani, you may read any translation.
The one by Prof. Sahib Singh, Guru Granth Darpan, is very suitable for a
seeker as it logically explains Gurbani in special section to answer such
questions as Nam Japna, Guru, God, and to understand their virtues. Also,
if convenient you may consult some scholar for learning the meanings of
Gurbani. Some Sikhs say that translation and guides are only a help. When
you listen to Kirtanattentively with your mind fixed on the Almighty, many
complicated philosophies become clearbecause you are turned to the Guru
and directly listening to him. The message is also revealedto the listener
directly when one recites Gurbani with love and one’s mind is drenched in
thethought presented by the hymn. (ii) Sometimes the meanings of Gurbani
hymns are distorted by opportunists tomisguide the Sikhs. For
example:Sight of the Guru removes all sins and helps one to meet God.
((Guru Granth Sahib) Page 915) Sight of the Guru saves one from the cycle
of birth and death. ((Guru Granth Sahib) Page 1018) Fake gurus quote such
hymns to say that one gets mukti by seeing the guru. It is awrong
interpretation of the above hymns. The meaning of “seeing” is not just
looking atthe guru, but listening to the advice of the Guru and obeying
it.The true meaning of the word Darshan is explained in another hymn.The
whole world looks at the true Guru. By just looking at the Guru, one does
not qualifyfor Mukti; one achieves that status only by understanding and
following the Word (message) ofthe Guru.In our routine dialogue we
use this phrase quite often. When we say, “I want to see you.”It means
that one wants to discuss some topic with the person and not just to have
a look at thatperson. Some self-made false “gurus” pick up such references
(as mentioned above) from Gurbani and misguide naive people by distorting
their meaning and message. They make theirfollowers believe that they
themselves are the Guru, (not the Gurbani which they quote) and
theirdarsan will attract followers and extract money from them.If just
looking at the face of the Guru could benefit a follower, then Prithi
Chand and RamRai would not have gone astray. Being sons of the Guru, they
watched the Guru every day, veryclosely and for many years. They enjoyed
the lap of the Guru. However, despite the close“darsans” of the Guru, they
committed intolerable acts and were eventually cast out of the Sikhfaith
by the Gurus.How can a follower benefit the “darsans” of a modern fake
guru?
Question 8:
What does Guru Granth Sahib tell
about Yoga?
Yoga is an independent faith and probably the oldest
Indian faith. The mission of a yogiis to be a Sidh, one who has realized
the ultimate and is able to perform miracles. Guru Nanak issaid to have
had two serious long discussions with them, one in the snow-covered peaks
ofHimalayas and the other in village Achal near Batala, Punjab.Guru Nanak
Dev has written Sidh Gosht, which is the summary of his spiritual
dialoguewith them. He criticized their practice of remaining Jati,
celibate, and claiming superiority over thefamily men. He did not agree
with their philosophy of faith. He rejected them. There are fourhymns in
Jap Jee advising yogis to practice the right kind of life rather than
believing in theirrituals and miracles. He also said that yoga is not the
right path for achieving the mission ofhuman life and neither is the path
of miracles (of which yogis are proud) the path of holy people.((Guru
Granth Sahib) Page 6) Sikhs do not follow the path of any kind of yoga.
Guru says listening to Gurbani is thetrue yoga. Kundalni gets awakened
(the mission is achieved) by being in Gurmat Sangat.
Question 9:
In Christianity they say Jesus Christ is the only
savior. You say Guru Nanak is the only savior. What is the difference?
Let the readers first know what made a participant at the Sikh youth camp
(Singapore,Samelan 1994) ask this question. A couple of Sikh youth during
free time discussed with me howsome you born in Sikh families get
misguided by Christian propaganda. Christian missionaries tell Sikhs that
unless they believe in Jesus and become Christians they will go to Hell.
They say that Christ died for sinners and took their sins upon himself.
Christ is the only savior; those, who believe in him, will be saved and
others will suffer in Hell. The Sikh youth wanted the author toexplain to
the participants at the Samelan how Guru Nanak will save them if they
practice the Sikh faith. Accordingly the message of Guru Nanak Dev, living
the Sewa-Simran life, was explained.Some opinions of Western scholars (see
Question 1, Chapter II) were mentioned in the talk to explain the relevance
of the Sikh faith to the modern day life. In the end, it was concluded that
Guru Nanak Dev, because of his message of one common God for whole
humanity and equality of all people, is the savior of all mankind and not
just of the Sikhs.The above question was asked at the end of that lecture.
To answer this question let me repeat the Christian statement told to the
youth “Those who believe in Christ as the only Son of God who sacrificed
his life for taking over the sins of thepeople, will be saved by him
(Christ) and permitted entry into Heaven”.However, Gurbani says that
nobody can claim a sole proprietorship on God, he is thecommon Father for
all of us. A person can love Him by any Name, Ram, Allah, Guru or
Gobind.To be saved, one has to live life free from vices. Guru Nanak does
not say “you believe in meand I will save you”. Rather he says “one cannot
be saved by anyone else. One has to live the right kind of life to be saved
by the Lord”. ((Guru Granth Sahib) Page 134)from the
on and not is with his of by their after people to gives himself one in
lives this for life, all God persons No
prophet, Christ or any other holy man, can save anyone. One has to live a
virtuous life to be saved, not just believe in one or another prophet.
This is the message of Guru Nanak for the people all over the world.