HeyDudesWassup

I'm not going to give suggestions what I think it means BUT it certainly sounds like a wake up call. Maybe GuruJi is letting you know that you need to do more Naam Simran? I think you were blessed to get this nightmare. Read the Following from Bhai Rama Singh Jee's nightmare: http://e.domaindlx.com/punjabtiger/Rama-Jee/hell1.jpg http://e.domaindlx.com/punjabtiger/Rama-Jee/hell2.jpg http://e.domaindlx.com/punjabtiger/Rama-Jee/hell3.jpg You can read more summaries here from his book: http://forums.waheguroo.com/index.php?act=ST&f=12&t=2224

Islam and Sikhism - A comparative view on Women http://www.gurmatps.org/pdf/articles/islam_and_sikhism.pdf

GURMAT AND NATURALISMS Nirgun Sargun Ik Hai†= the Formless and the forms Is One. This teaching is the basis for the perspective that all matter is holy and indeed, in a state-of-being conscious. Matter includes the solar systems, the earth, and us. For, “Water, wind, fire sing to You…Sing continents, worlds, and solar systems, which have been made and established.†(Sodar or That Gate, which appears in both morning and evening prayers). For Sikhs, there is a cosmic symphony of Praise which is going on and the choice is simply whether to join in, improvising the Unstruck Melody, or jarring against it. “The sky is the plate, upon which are placed the sun and moon as lamps and stars as pearls. The fragrance of sandalwood is the incense, the winds the fan and all vegetation are the flowers. How can we perform Your Worship, Destroyer of Fears? The Unstruck Melody plays and the Word is the tender flute. Your eyes are thousands, but You have no eye. Your forms are thousands, but You have no form…Light is in all , this Light is One. This Light causes the radiance of enlightenment to arise in all.†(Sohila, bedtime prayer) Since the Light is in all, Sikhs have no problem with the beliefs of indigenous peoples, which rather, are respected as different angles on the Truth. What is notable is the sharing of images and practises, for instance, the uncut hair of the native Americans and the kesh of the Sikhs. “Victory to the cauldron and the sword!†proclaimed the Druid-loving Gauls in ‘Asteriks’ comics. Degh Tegh Fateh!! is the Sikh slogan with precisely the same meaning. The double-edged sword, the Khanda, is used to stir the cauldron, the batta, while the Elixir of Life, Khande-de-Pahul, amrit, is trans-created and given to initiate new members in the Order of the Khalsa. “Behold this sword Excalibur, which rose form the lake of still meditation and was returned to it again. The Sword of Spirit, of light and truth, is always sharp and always with us, if our lake be stilled.†What Sikhs call the nectar-sweet amrit is what the Norse referred to as the mead of immortality, the drink of the One-harriers, those who realised the One. Then there is the reverence for “Mata Dharat Mahatâ€, the Great Earth Mother. Earth is to be respected as our common mother with all other forms. Taoism precisely expresses the belief of “sehajâ€; that Spontaneous Joy, which is called wu-wei. To be natural is to be allowing the Light of God to bask in your being. Dr Kanwar Ranvir Singh http://www.bsingh.dsl.pipex.com/khalsa/news59.htm

GURMAT AND JESUS Unless you can see Christ in me, you are failing as a Christian. Unless I see Guru in you I am failing as a Sikh. Jesus says that as you have treated the least of people, so you have treated me (Matthew 25:40). Guru Gobind Singh asked the disciple Bhai Kannaya why he was providing water to the enemy troops in a battle. He answered that he could only see the Guru’s Face. The Guru then asked him to apply ointment as well as provide water! So, if we all follow a Christian will see someone sitting over there as Jesus and I will That Same One as Guru Gobind Singh. Does that person have two faces, apart from their “ordinary†face? No. I will see Christ, not Jesus. I will see Guru but not Guru Gobind Singh. Jesus and Guru Gobind Singh have different faces because they have different bodies, but Christ and Guru have One Face because they reflect One Light. Do not worship the body, but recognise the One Holy Spirit. Thus, Sikhs have ten Gurus. There were ten bodies, yet One Guru in all ten. To emphasise that the Guru was Spirit, not body, Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is the Guru, though to the worshippers of bodies it is only a book. And for matters of discipline Guru Khalsa Panth is the Guru, though to the worshippers of body these are only ordinary people. Jesus says, “Thy Will be done†(Matthew 6:10). Guru reveals walking along the “hukamâ€. But what is this Will? The Guru says that the Will cannot be stated, and the only one who knows it is the one who has realised it, free from ego (Japji Sahib, 1-2). Either it is Thy will or my will. And my will can never lead me to You. So, what is Thy Will? Jesus says that there are two commands - love God with all heart, mind, and body, and love neighbour as self (Mark 12:28-31). Guru says, “Jin prem kio tin he Prabh paio.†Only those who Love have realised God. (Swayyas 9) But is this possible? Is it possible to Love? Is it possible to have no hatred, because if you Hate anyone or anything you are not filled with Love : my will - my hatred is still there. God is without hate, “nirvairâ€. (Mul Mantra) God causes the sun to shine on the good and the wicked. Guru says that the One who has realised “sees the indignant and Indra with the same eye.†When someone offends you, do you see them as a king of angels? Jesus says if you lust after a woman you should cast out your eye. Better that you should lose this than lose God (Matthew 5:28). The disciples are shocked - I can’t do this! Exactly, “you†can’t. “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.†(Matthew: 19:26) You cannot obey God. Only God can obey God. Only God can help you. What you can do is choose whether you want to point your face to God - GurMukh - or point it to yourself - manmukh - and spin in circles torturing yourself. Being a Christian is about being a disciple of Jesus, yet Jesus did not cut his hair being a Nazarene, and he wore a turban. He was dark which is why he was hidden in Egypt as a baby (Matthew 2:14). He carried a sword: “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword†(Matthew 10:34), and his close disciple, Peter, the rock of the Church also carried and indeed used his sword to defend Jesus when he was arrested (John 18: 10-11). What was his spiritual discipline? No one today knows. Guru Gobind Singh bowed before the first five Khalsa and acknowledging them as representing the Guru Khalsa Panth, begged to be initiated by the Guru Khalsa Panth. The Khalsa discipline (Sikh Reht Maryada) is the discipline of the Guru. Just as earlier Gurus had added to the discipline of the Sikhs, by extending the prayers to include verses revealed through later Gurus, so the Guru Khalsa Panth is empowered to evolve the discipline keeping in harmony with the unchanging Divine Word. The Sikh Reht Maryada is the latest utterance of the Guru Khalsa Panth. It cannot be changed or challenged by any individual; the various leaders of the Sikh nation (Jathedars of the Five Takhts (Thrones) are executive officers to interpret and implement only. The Pope has the power he does because no one knows what Jesus did or would do - there are monks and nuns in Orders of Jesus but they really don’t know what he did - what prayers did he recite and at what times? These Orders follow rules made by their founding masters, rather than Jesus. Jesus was the Word made flesh, but when he left the world the Word went with him. The New Testament is a commentary/biography on the Word, equivalent to the Janamsakhis. In today’s world, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is the Word. When Jesus was a Nazarene or Essene he would not have touched wine or cut his hair. This we know from the testimony of Samson who was also a Nazarene: “A razor has never come upon my head for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother’s womb.†(Judges 16:17). So, the question is simply did he later cut his hair or drink wine? There is no evidence that he cut his hair. Did he drink wine? I would suggest to you that the “wine†he drank was not the physical intoxicant but the wine of spiritual intoxication. In the wedding where he turns water to wine, he turns the everyday into the spiritual - this slakes our thirst much better (John 2:7-9). How Jesus lived has little to do with how Christians, supposedly disciples, interpret and follow his example. “Bani Guru, Guru hai bani.†= The Word is the Guru, Guru is the Word. We have Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Which Word do the Christians have? Jesus was the Word made flesh and is no longer here for consultation, unlike Guru Granth Sahib Ji. We have idols in our minds of what saints look like - they are wide-eyed innocents. Yet Jesus smashed the stalls in the Temple and “making a whip of cords drove them out.†(John 2:15) I don’t think that the stall-holders felt that he loved them but he did, nor were his disciples to be doe-eyed innocents relying solely on God, tempting God by being irresponsible and lazy. On another encounter with the religious legalists, “he looked around at them with anger.†(Mark 3:1-5) Trusting in Grace does not mean lack of Effort. We have to love. Love God, love self, love neighbour, love creation. Most Christians focus on God and neighbour, and despise self and creation - hence the obsession with penance, austerity, rejection of joy in this life through marriage. Yet Guru Ji says that Creator and creation are One. One image used is as a Dancer and dance (Jaap Sahib, 48) When the Dancer Wills there is a dance, and that dance is separate from the Dancer yet also part of the Dancer. Guru Ji says that God and self are One - “You are I, I am You.†Can you separate gold and a gold bangle, or a drop in an ocean. Jesus says, “I and the Father are One.†(John 10:30)All of us can be if we stop hating and start loving. If there is hate, there is no True Love, for God has no hate “Nirvairâ€. If we hate ourselves or hate life we cannot love God or anyone. A crowd of people was chasing an adulteress and wanted to stone her to death. It is the religious law they cried. When Jesus asked which one of them was without sin, they dropped their stones and went home. Was he condoning adultery or other forms of sex outside marriage or was he saying that it is better to judge yourself than others? (John 8: 3-9) Perhaps one meaning of the story becomes clearer if we pair this story with another when he told his disciples that it was better to cast out their eyes than gaze lustfully. They protested that it is impossible. Precisely - no one can be good enough to “deserve†God. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji tells us, “I was without merit. You showed Grace and made me worthy.†(Slok, Mahalla 5, Rehras Sahib)Only God has virtues. S/He gifts them as S/He pleases. I am nothing. You are Everything. We depend on you. The ordinary person loves their ego, their “I amâ€. The religious person often ends up worshipping the ego, in the “hero-ego†state. If I do this and this and this and don’t do that and that and that I will find God. God is not lost - it is the “I†which is lost. Better let God find you. Does that mean effort has no place? Far from it - it means that you keep spiritually travelling but God will give you the clues and even when you reach the Door, you can only knock - God will open in Her/His own time. There are many different ways to become disciples of Jesus. There are many baptisms - baptism at birth, baptism before death (so that you don’t sin before you die); baptism by a bit of holy water, baptism by full immersion; baptism by water, baptism by the Holy Spirit. It was because of this confusion that the Christians of the Middle East were divided up and converted, albeit under social and economic pressures, to fairly clear-cut Islam when it showed up. Sikhs today become initiated in the Order of the Khalsa in the same way as Guru Gobind Singh Ji nearly 300 years ago. Baptism is a form of martyrdom - you offer your head, your wisdom and accept the Guru’s care and discipline. For any personal problems ask Sri Guru Granth Sahib for hukam, for queries on discipline, consult Guru Khalsa Panth’s Sikh Reht Maryada. But a living martyrdom is difficult - far easier to make a dramatic gesture. Most people love their ego, the (self)-righteous worship it; the God-oriented are busy with God...ego, oh that...they forget about it in Love. In a strange scene Jesus meets a possessed man. The demons come and bow before Jesus. Jesus than asks their name and then sends them away. (The demons then enter some pigs that then die.) (Mark 5: 1-13). This is a very different image from that of the Christian with Crucifix in hand, ordering demons to leave in the name of Jesus. How different is Jesus and Christianity, love for enemies and exclusivity based on a personality cult. The five demonical urges in human beings - pride, anger, lust, greed, attachment - can be gotten rid off by loving them. Get to know them, ask their name. Who are you, greed? Why do you keep collecting all this dust? I realise that you are trying to help me to keep body and soul together. Thank you. But realise it is all a gift. The Owner is not you: you cannot own them, be sure that they do not own you. Hello, lust. I am part of this physical life. You help me enjoy the sacred joys of flesh. You provide me with that. But can you ever make me feel that I am loveable? When “I†Love, “I†become Loveable. And when “I†Love, there is no space for hate. And how sick to hate these five servants. They bear an awful face only because we have become their servants. We like them being the masters, we are addicted to it. Rather than freeing ourselves from such addiction, it is far easier to blame, indeed to demonise them. The Guru offers us a different addiction to get away from this - the sweet waters of life of the Living Word, and the intoxicating nectar of the Naam - the Praise/Presence/Gur-Manter of God. In mystical terms the crucifixion represents death followed by re-birth, martyrdom followed by the victory over death. The varying myths Christians have manufactured about freeing people from sin need not detain us. Such beliefs owe more to the Cults of Mithras and Isis than the teachings of the Master Jesus. Martyrdom and heroism are linked in Amrit baptism. One offers one’s head - the ideas of previous life - gets admitted in a religious order in which personal matters are settled by Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and doctrinal matters are settled by Guru Khalsa Panth’s Sikh Reht Maryada - and works towards becoming a spiritual hero - conquering the ego by letting it go. The mystic warrior is an archetype buried deep within the psyche of all humankind. Obi Wan Kenobi is the Khalsa, Darth Vader a renegade having given in to the five thieves they now control him and his destiny. Darth Vader works hard to establish his worth, Obi Wan Kenobi realises that he has no worth and is, therefore, priceless. “If I cut you down, you will cease to exist, but if you cut me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.†(Star Wars) Kenobi’s worth is the smile of an infant, a sunset on the beach, or a raindrop ... leaving aside artificial efforts to establish the self of the average person or the self-hero worship of the religious person, he accepts the Nature-self of the mystic conqueror where death and life are unities and a constant re-birth of the holy spirit in the trickling of nectar... Jesus said that a person should render unto Caesar that which belonged to Caesar, and to God what belonged to God. (Luke 20:22-25) Thus, the spiritual and the political life was separated. The spiritualists could withdraw from life into monasteries and the political need have no spiritual direction. The Gurus, on the other hand, recognised God as the True Ruler. The spiritual life (peeri) and the political life (meeri) would balance each other, realise each other for God is the Midst of the Everyday, the Miracle is every Moment. Gurmat is about liberation - liberation from the cycles of birth and death in which we chase our tail, liberation from the five urges that we worship rather than God, liberation from mythologies, which contradict the scientific knowledge we have painstakingly accumulated, liberation from male exploitation of women, religious persecution and hatred, racial injustice and oppression of human rights. The chains that bind any one of these categories slip into all of them. We love these chains. We are like prisoners that cannot cope outside of jail. To be chained is not to be Free, to despise any is to be far from (yet one is always near to) Love. “The mouth of the hungry is the golak of the Guru.†Sikhism without social activism is sick. Let us all drink the medicine of the Word and Name. Christianity has travelled in an hourglass image. First, it spread widely including Africa and Asia before coming to Europe, then it was European, and then with the period of European expansion it has become worldwide. One problem it has faced in this third phase is the European bias that has travelled with it, for instance, the pre-Christian Christmas Tree. Sikhs have also grown in three phases - all-India and into Central Asia at the times of the Ten Gurus, then Punjabi, and now with migrations, conversions from local populations and re-discovery of millions of Sikhs scattered in Utter Pradesh, Rajastan, Orissa, etc. also a worldwide religion. Yet even in this third phase Sikhism has taken things from the native soil of Punjab - the pre-Sikh brahminical-yogic traditions based on effort rather than Grace. It is from these traditions that we find the emphasis on human effort rather than Divine Grace. Effort leads to confidence in ego, Grace to surrender of the ego; effort focuses on disputes about codes of behaviour, Grace on the changes within; effort condemns others as not strict enough to deserve, Grace accepts all, starts from a recognition of our nothingness and accepts all as a Gift of Love, and whatever is offered as insufficient. If I wanted to kill you, what would you give me to save your life - some money, some food, what? Everything? Would you promise to become my slave? Funny how you might become my slave to save your life but hesitate to become God’s slave who gave you life. Effort puts a price on God and self - a few prayers, a bit of charity, a bit of this, a bit of that, now I am good enough. Grace focuses on our love of despite, our love of control. We love our chains of the five energies - freedom is so risky. We love to hate, because we hate ourselves - we have put a price on ourselves and struggle to pay, rather than accept that we are Priceless; we want to control the world and God through our efforts - I have done this, so You must do that, rather than accept the Beauty of the Will That Is. There is a difference between the fervent striving arising from the action of Grace and reliance on human effort and ingenuity. In the UK perhaps as many young Sikhs convert to Christianity as Islam, though since they are not specifically targeted there is less tension. The reason: lack of English in the Gurdwaras makes the proceedings rather dull. One purpose of these pieces has been to provide some basic information comparing the two. Another purpose is that the Sri Guru Granth Sahib is open mysticism, whereas mystic traditions have always been hidden (if not lost) in religions. Thus, any Sikh will provide a re-interpretation of Christian teachings whose hallmark will be spirituality and clarity. Jesus and Christianity are separate things. The final purpose is to learn from the Christian tradition. Jesus faced two sets of opponents - the Sadducees (scholars - kitabi (bookish) Sikhs) and Pharisees (Jewish legalist spiritualists - sants and sects). One group was doubtful of the spiritual life, the other confused spirituality with rigorous discipline focused on extended prayers, special diets, mantras, communion with dead spirits of the holy, miraculous powers, etc to deserve God rather than seeking Grace in humility and love. Our society today is divided in the same way, though writers like Professor Sahib Singh, Bhai Sahib Veer Singh Ji and Professor Puran Singh Ji, and some others point out the spiritual way through their writings. A society fighting against itself cannot stand up for long. The wars between the various sant (ultra-orthodox, charismatic) groups of Christians in Turkey and North Africa confused all of them and they converted to Islam with its simplicity, balance and direction. The kitabi Christians of Rome were united and survived. In India the various sant and sect groups are shading into Hinduism. Yet that does not mean that the kitabi Christians had it right - the Church became the playground for politicians as most spiritual seekers chose the seclusion of monasteries. The Singh Sabha movement began in 1873 and climaxed in 1920 bringing spirituality, unity, and clarity. Seventy years later our Gurdwaras are legal battlefields. Where are the Veer Singhs and Puran Singhs of today? I hope some of you Singhs and Kaurs reading this will ask yourself and take up the challenge of spiritual renewal. Dr Kanwar Ranvir Singh All references for Gurmat are to the Nitnem (Daily Prayers). For Jesus all references are to the four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. http://www.bsingh.dsl.pipex.com/khalsa/news52.htm

GURMAT AND ISLAM Both faiths recognise the Oneness of God and regard it as human duty to follow what they describe as the hukm, the Divine Will. However, they differ on the content of this hukm. For Muslims, it can be derived from the Holy Koran, the hadith of the Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him), the consensus of the religious scholars (ijma) and argument by analogy (ijtihad). The kafir is the rebel, the unbeliever, who denies this hukm. For Sikhs, the hukm is unspeakable: “hukm na ka-ha ja-yeâ€. It can only be realised when lived. Therefore, the emphasis is on personal experience rather than social order. God’s laws and truths are written in every human heart, they are inscribed in the very being of our nature, articulated in the body, mind and soul. The ideal Muslim social order is a return to the state established by the Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him), with all the world as Muslims, the remaining non-Muslims - zimmis – suitably subjugated and unable to promote their lies/practise their faiths. This ideal may be seen in a range of states from Afghanistan (where Sikhs may no longer perform nagar keertans), to Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. It looks to an ideal past. The result of this has been what is termed Islam’s bloody borders, struggles with all non-Muslims be they Hindu (India), Jews (Israel), Sikhs, Christians (Sudan, Indonesia, Balkans), Buddhists (Bhutan). By contrast, for Sikhs it is an as yet unrealised one world (sabhe manas ko ik pachanbo = recognise all humankind as One), with pluralism in people’s approaches to the One Reality as a garden of many flowers, with an emphasis on the equal dignity of all, of which the langar is a microcosm. This pluralistic, one world vision is guarded by an armed and active citizenry in this republic of joy and is captured in the opt-repeated slogan, “Degh Tegh Fateh†= Victory to the Cauldron and the Sword. This ideal is also captured in the name of the birthplace of the Khalsa, Anandpur Sahib, City of Bliss. This is a physical manifestation of the spiritual transformation explained by holy bhagat Ravidass in the hymn about Begumpura, a description of the Kingdom of God. By entering that Kingdom within our heart, Sikhs strive to manifest that Kingdom in this world as a vanguard of this revolution, Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj – army of the Eternal Spirit. First, this manifests for the flourishing of all humanity irrespective of race, religion, or sex in changing human expressions of God’s Divine Order, an ever-changing, ever-fresh kaleidoscope of rainbow colours in front of the Light of God’s Word or Guru-Bani. God’s law is not an abstract system for self-defined ‘normal’ people, with the ‘abnormal’, the kafir to be changed or subjugated, but a growing personal development which manifests in all people. It is based on the growth of every single person with the law (hukm) the universal natural growth principle for each person as a unique plant in God’s Garden of Love and Life. Second, it is a vision which looks to the future manifestation of that Order on earth realising that its success depends not on external coercion (law or sh’araih), but inner transformation through meditation (simran) and meditation in action (meeri-peeri). Finally, the victory of God’s Order is held to be part of God’s sovereignty so it will be. Trusting in this, Sikhs enjoy chardi kala, a dynamic optimism for the future, not looking to the past. SUFIS However, there are also those within the Islamic tradition who also seek a mystical communion with God, the sufis. Not surprisingly, the relations with some sufis were very close. The Qadiriya, Bahlol Shah, established one of the oldest Gurdwaras in the world in Baghdad, while another of that group, Saint Mian Mir laid the foundation stone of the Golden Temple, according to a persistent tradition. From the Chestiya, some writings of Baba Farid are included in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and Pir Budhu Shah martyred himself and his children in service to the Truth when the Mughal forces attacked holy Guru Gobind Singh. These facts explain why it was Muslims who opened the gates to the city of Lahore, establishing a Sikh Kingdom or Khalistan, from 1799 to 1849. During the wars between the Sikhs and the later Mughal Emperors, many sufis fought alongside the Sikhs against the Mughal tyranny, even though the latter considered them as a jihad to eliminate the Sikhs in a series of holocausts. Dr Kanwar Ranvir Singh http://www.bsingh.dsl.pipex.com/khalsa/news54.htm

Gurmat and Hinduism As we have seen Gurmat is universal mystical revolution. Hinduism is hard to pin down but there are certain fundamental beliefs focusing around a national-political project which has been active in India since the Aryan invasion three and a half thousand years ago. But whereas the western Aryan belief systems such as the ancient Greek and Roman were changed by the influence of Judaism and Christianity, the eastern Aryans have not made this change, since the earlier attempts of Jainism and Buddhism were effectively marginalised in India, the land of their birth. There is also a gulf between sramanic beliefs of the indigenous Indians which were later taken over and interpreted by the Aryan priests the brahmins, and brahminism. Sramanic beliefs include devi (the Goddess), music and dance as symbolised by Shiva and Krishna, and the Guru-chela relationship implied in the Upanishads. The brahmin texts include the Rig Veda, Manu and other simritis, shatras, purans, tales of Ram (Ramayana) and Mahabharata. While the sramanic tradition deals with the dynamic tension of opposing forces in the universe (male and female, Guru and apprentice) which exist in the universe and within ourselves, the brahminical deals with social order as expressed in the caste system and the subjection and elimination of forces outside the brahminical social order which hope is expressed in the figure of Kalki, the final incarnation of Vishnu who is yet to come. In contrast with Hindus, Sikhs do not accept animistic or polytheistic beliefs. Moreover, its monotheism does not contain any belief in avatars - that God incarnates as a man and dies. Its method of realisation, or soteriology, does not involve renunciation, but rather social transformation through living in reality and social responsibility, both within the inner family unit, the intermediate family (sangat) and humanity. The doctrine of Meeri-Peeri is that spiritual and social transformation are linked, which is why Sikhs do not believe in the caste system, and believe that women are equal to men. Moreover, Sikhs do not accept the Vedas, Ramayana, Gita, Purans or Laws of Manu but believe in Guru Granth Sahib Ji solely. ONE GOD OR MANY? A unique belief of the Sikhs is universal grace. It is that "God" saves everyone, whatever their race, religion, or sex. God is thought of in many ways, as Void, as Zero, as Person, Mother, Father, Lover, Friend, Nature, The Force, Amazing Grace (Wah-Guru) among others. People, however, must be willing to be saved and that means accepting the One as the True Religion. Clearly, this is different from worship of different gods and goddesses. Sikhs do not associate anyone with God. One God is Supreme. The Khalsa is that Sikh who "repeats day and night the name of That One whose Light is Unending, and who does not think of any except God...in whose heart the light of the Perfect One shines, that one is recognised as a complete member of the Khalsa." (First of Thirty-Three Swayyas) Sikhs worship the Creator, not any created. The Hindus teach that there are 33 million gods and goddesses. There are some important ones, such as Indra - king of the gods, Vishnu - preserver, Brahma - creator, Shiva - destroyer. Moreover, some of these are sometimes associated with God, when they are regarded as avatars, or incarnations. Vishnu has many incarnations. Among these the most important are Rama and Krishna. However, two agnostics, the Jain founder, Mahavir and Lord Buddha are alleged incarnations, although this is obviously disputed by members of those religions. Some Hindus also regard Guru Gobind Singh as an incarnation. This seems difficult since the Guru wrote: "Say if Krishan were the Ocean of Mercy, why should the hunter's arrow have struck him? If he can save other families, why did he destroy his own? Say why did he who called himself the eternal and the unconceived, enter into the womb of Devaki? Why did he who had no father or mother call Vasudev his father?" (33 Swayyas, no.14.) "Why call Shiv God and why speak of Brahma as God? God is not Ram Chander, Krishan, or Vishnu who you suppose to be lords of the world. Sukhdev, Parasar, and Vyas erred in abandoning the One God and worshipping many gods. All have set up false religions; I in every way believe that there is but One God. (33 Swayyas, no.15) This fits with the teaching of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji where Saint Kabir writes: "Beings like Hanuman and Garuda, Indra and Brahma know not, O God Your attributes. The four Vedas, Simritis and Purans, Vishnu and Laksmi know them not. Says Kabir, whoever touches God's feet and seeks Divine shelter shall not wander in reincarnations." (Kabir, Raag Dhanasari). He also clarifies the use of Ram in Guru Granth Sahib Ji. "Kabir, call him Ram who is All-Present; we must make distinction between two 'Rams'. The One Ram is contained in All. Ram Chander is only contained in one thing, himself." (Kabir, Sloks). Ram as a name for God is used by the Sikhs, and as Sunnya (Void), Allah and others. But Ram as Ram Chander is only a created being. Sikhs worship only the One God, and do not associate God with any created being. REVELATION OR MYSTERY? The Gurus state that they are not saying anything themselves. Rather God is speaking through them and they are simply the instrument through which God, the True Guru, the Breath of Life blows. The melody of their lives is the result of God's play. "O holy God, by Your Favour it is not I who have been speaking: You have said all that has been said." (Guru Gobind Singh) The same claim is also made for the religious books of the Semitic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All claim that God has sent their books, as do the Sikhs. However, the various books of the Hindus have been written by different saints, such as Mahabharata by saint Vyas, the Purans, the Laws of Manu by Manu as their own inspiration, not as the Word of God. The Gita is claimed to be the word of Krishna. However, Krishna claims to be God, not a servant of God. These are called Simriti. The other Hindu writings are Sruti which are claimed to come from the gods, though they were not written down for centuries later. These include the Vedas, which tells us about medicine, the invasion of India by the Aryans and their religion - their main gods, Indra the king, Agni, the fire, and their important ritual, the sacrifice of horses. There is mention of the One in the Upanishads written a thousand years later. Mountain recluses, the rishis who kept uncut hair, wrote these. But they are the writings of the saints intoxicated with God, not the Word sent down by God which is what the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Qu'ran and Bible claim to be. The Guru Granth Sahib Ji is written in the common language of the people. It includes regional languages such as Bengali and Punjabi, the language of yogis Sanskriti, of Muslims Arabic and Persian, and also Brij Basha which was a lingua franca in northern South Asia in that time. All of these writings were set to music. Some like Raag Maru were favoured by the yogis, other raags by the Muslims, others by indigenous, tribal peoples and some were universal. In this way, God communicated to a whole range of people in their own languages and their own preferred music. The common people of many races, religions, and regions of South Asia and the Middle East could understand the message. The Hindu books were written in Sanskrit, the language of the gods, and only brahmins were allowed to study and interpret the scriptures. The Gurus got rid of the need for intermediaries. DIRECT LINK OR INTERMEDIARY? There is no intermediary between the human and God according to the Gurus, but the brahmins are the central feature of the Hindu religion. Without the brahmins there would not be any religion. The gods of the Hindus have changed - Vishnu and Brahma replaced Indra and Agni, and their rituals have changed - from horse sacrifices to vegetarianism under the influence of Buddhism. Their relevant holy books have changed, from the Vedas and Mann to the Mahabharata, Gita and Purans, and their attitudes to violence has changed, from hunters like Ram and Krishan whose dialogue, the Gita, is telling his friend Arjun to kill his relatives, to the non-violence of Gandhi. But the brahmin has been the constant of Hinduism, which is why Hinduism is sometimes termed as brahminism. The fundamental belief of the Hindus is the role of the brahmin, for without the brahmin no ritual is complete. Not anyone can become a brahmin. One must be born a brahmin. But Kabir says, "In the womb there is neither family pride nor caste, all beings have been created from the Divine essence. Speak brahmin, when did brahmins originate?...How are you brahmins and we sudras? How were we made of mere blood and you of milk?" The status of the brahmin is fixed in the oldest Hindu scripture, the Rig-Veda. In the Purusa-Sukta, verse 12, we are told that the sacrifice of the first man led to "His mouth became the brahmin...and from his feet the sudras are born." In this shabad in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji Kabir is challenging the Hindu religious belief with the Sikh belief that all have come from One God and so all humanity is One. Guru Gobind Singh taught, “Recognise all humankind as One.†The caste system is based on race. "Varnas" means colour. The top race is the brahmin, the second is the warrior - kashatri, then the skilled worker, unskilled worker, then the untouchables, dalits, who are the descendants of those conquered by the Aryans. Caste determined your profession, your position in society, whether you could worship - dalits were excluded from Hindu temples. The Gurus condemned caste as meaningless, and caste has played no part in Sikh history, religious or political. WOMEN According to the Gurus, God dwells in everyone as a fragrance in flower, reflection in a mirror, or fire in wood, so everyone is equal for all partake in God's society of love. Women and men are equal according to the Gurus. They can take part in all religious events as keertanees (hymn singers), granthis (looking after Guru Granth Sahib Ji), or in panj piyaras (in Khande-de-Pahul ceremony - initiation by Guru Khalsa Panth). They have their own names from birth till death - Kaur, meaning Princess. They do not use their father's name and husband's name which means that they belong to these men. If they have entered the Khalsa they should know self-defence and defence of the weak and helpless, if necessary, by use of the kirpan - sword of mercy - in the Sikh martial art - gatka. Sikhism is a feminist religion. This differs from the Hindu legal scripture, the Code of Manu 5: 147-9. "By a girl, by a young woman, or even by an aged one, nothing must be done independently, even in her own house. In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord (husband) is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent. She must not seek to separate herself from her father, husband or sons; by leaving them she would make both her own and her husband's families contemptible." TREATMENT OF DIFFERENT RELIGIONS Hindu belief is that "It cannot be said that Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism are separate religions. All these four faiths and their offshoots are one. Hinduism is an ocean into which all the rivers run. It can absorb Islam and Christianity and all other religions and only then can it become the ocean." Mahatma Gandhi, (Collected Works, Vol. 90, p.177). By way of contrast, the Sikhs prefer pluralism. Sikh belief is that "The Teacher of teachers is One, though manifesting in different ways. The Way, which praises the Name is the Way of ways. Follow that way which glorifies God. Pause and reflect. Just as seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months are derived from One sun, as are the seasons, so, says Nanak, God is One but manifests in different religions." Guru Granth Sahib Ji, daily bedtime prayer) The natural result of this pluralism is the Bhagat Bani, which is part of Guru Granth Sahib Ji. The bhagats were saints who lived before the Gurus, but who preached the way of the Name. From their own spiritual experiments they had found the limits of the beliefs, rituals, and disciplines of the various religions. Their conclusion was that Truth was most easily realised by looking for Divine Support which was open to any who looked for it whatever their race, religion, or sex. A person had to turn their focus away from "I" to "You". Instead of facing the ego, they should turn the face - "mukh" towards WaheGuru, from "munmukh" (facing ego) to "Gurmukh" (facing Grace). Thus, some of the bhagats were Muslims, Tantric Buddhists, etc. and some rejected all religious identities. The inclusion of the Bhagat Bani in the Sikh Scripture by the Gurus is the Sikh way of manifesting the transcendental unity of religions but also respect for the genuine differences of multiple religious traditions, the forms of the Formless. Dr Kanwar Ranvir Singh http://www.bsingh.dsl.pipex.com/khalsa/news56.htm

Gurmat and Dhamma If you go to the Golden Temple one of the most interesting things you will observe are some Tibetan pilgrims who come to pray there, bowing down at each of their steps. These people are Buddhists who may belong to one of the numerous sects of Tibetan Buddhism, who regard Guru Nanak as Guru Rinpoche. Guru Padmasambhava brought Buddhism to Tibet and they regard the Guru as a reincarnation of the precious one, ‘Rinpoche’.There are many teachings in common – the middle path of living, the importance of congregation called sangam/sangat, the importance of meditation, the individual’s responsibility for their destiny, even the archetypal images of the warrior monk, in Gurmat the saint-soldier tradition. Sikhs equally have great reverence for Buddhist teachers. It is a matter of no small pride that a Sikh escorted the Dalai Lama to India when he exiled Tibet. Indeed, Punjab, the Sikh homeland, was formerly called Gandhara, the home of Mahayana Buddhism. This goes back to a period when the Dhamma was revered by almost half the people of the world. The main difference is that whereas the Buddha-nature is held to All Pervasive but people must make efforts to realise it, the Guru-nature is also All-Pervasive but reaches out to everyone. It is a matter of effort against Grace. However, in reality the difference is perhaps a matter of emphasis since the Mahayana tradition lays a special stress on compassion inherent in the universe finding expression in the figure of the Bodhistavva. On the other hand, the Sikh tradition also speaks of the need to choose; otherwise, there is no gift of life, and Universal Amazing Grace is not a gift, but an imposition. There are portions of the Guru Granth Sahib which have close relations with Buddhist thought. For instance, many of the sloks of Baba Kabir are strikingly similar to Zen koans. Moreover, while he condemns the practise of hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca), he speaks highly of the ‘bald heads’. These may have been shaven Buddhist monks. After Buddhism rose to ascendancy in India, the brahmins (Hindu priests) worked for its elimination through massacres of monks, conversion of Buddhist meditation centres into temples, claiming that Buddha was an incarnation of the god Vishnu with the implication that to revere Buddha one must also revere Vishnu, adoption of some of its teachings such as vegetarianism (unknown to the Hindus who composed the Rig Veda which mentions the sacrifices and eating of horses), and corruption of its techniques such as tantra. Similar patterns may be seen today with regard to the Sikhs. Attacks on Golden Temple, genocide of Sikhs, targeting of amridharis, creation of myth of Dusht Daman and Hemkunt Sahib (the alleged Hindu rishi who was reborn as Guru Gobind Singh), adoption of principles such as the removal of caste restrictions and, in particular, langar the Sikh communal kitchen, and continual claim that Sikhs are hair-keeping Hindus established to protect Hinduism from Islam through military means which is a distortion of the purpose of the revelation of Khalsa as vanguard of new world order (Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj). At best, the Sikh may be an individual seeker for escape from the world or mukti in which case Khalsa is interpreted as ‘pure’ – Khalis. This, of course, destroys the raj of the Khalsa, the world-transformation which is integral to the Sikh unity of Meeri-Peeri, universal spirituality and spiritual revolution. The present attacks on the Sikh faith shed light on the elimination of Buddhism from Indian soil, and equally the history of Buddhism provides a warning to Sikhs about the techniques which may be marshalled against them. The destruction of Buddhism in India means that many of the obvious and interesting parallels such as use of terms like “sunnya†(the Void), “nirvanaâ€, “nau nidhs†(nine jewels) have not been explored by the Sikh scholars whose lens are coloured by the jaundiced eye in which the Dhamma was misrepresented in India. There may be even more not so obvious parallels. For instance verses of Gurbani state, “The responsibility of humankind is to walk along the Royal Road of the Law – this message is sent with His sacred horse and proclaimed as the Guru’s Word by beat of drum†(Guru Granth Sahib Ji: 142). The wind horse (lung da) of Tibetan Buddhism is a horse which brings happiness and good fortune, which is symbolised by the jewel of its back, wherever it goes. This jewel or mani is the philosophers’s stone that transforms people from lead to gold, from self-centred to Life-centred. God and God’s Name is considered as the jewel in the Sikh tradition as the Law is in Buddhism, but in both traditions, Buddha/Guru-bani or Guru’s Word is also the philosopher’s stone, and also the sangat or fellowship. In the sangat one comes to realise the nine jewels of meditation. The image of the wind horse is printed on prayer flags which as the wind blows sets the horse in motion carrying prayers for happiness and good fortune to the ten directions. It is interesting in this connection that Guru Gobind Singh is depicted in iconography riding a blue horse, with a white hawk on his arm. One difference between Gurmat and Buddhism is the clear monotheism of the Gurus as against the agnosticism or even atheism of some proponents of the Dhamma. “All the Buddhas created by Thee, proclaim Thee.†(Guru Granth Sahib Ji, p.6) It is often said that Buddha was an atheist, but from a Sikh perspective it may be argued that he was simply silent about the existence of a God or not, since he regarded it as irrelevant to his method. In the Sikh tradition, Buddha is regarded as a sincere worshipper since “God†to a Sikh is not simply One Being, but also Universal Consciousness and Dr Kanwar Ranvir Singh http://www.bsingh.dsl.pipex.com/khalsa/news57.htm

jss, thanks. I've never been to a smagam before. I didn't know they also did gupt simran, I hope I can attend this type of smagam soon.

More: http://forums.waheguroo.com/index.php?act=ST&f=12&t=2224

thanks Pheena bro, that post wasn't mine (I was just posting it for someone) but still it would be great if you can post some stuff from the book

this is from a curious man: well in general wht i feel is that in the very beginning of human life there were many religions , all tribal, everyone started to beleive in sun , stones , water etc, as God, then when it was all at its height maybe then JUDAISM was born(i dont know much about its origin) ...people started worshipping the real God... but after many centuries... when people again lost faith..started idol worship...became cruel..started thinking that their religion should overtake others...CHRISTIANITY was born...again spreAding the SAME message ... to different people in a different way.......by sending a prophet...... everything was well.........then after some time people again lost faith in God....idol worship again started....people lost their senses and forcefully fought for superiority of their religions ..... thus God sent another prophet... and ISLAM...begin...... on the other hand in east...i.e. India.. when Hinduism was too much deeply affected by idol worship... BUDDHISM and after that JAINISM started.... Islam also taught the same message in different manner to different people of those time... and it was immensly successful... all went well..but when islam and christianity both took forceful actions to convert people..known as Holy wars..i guess... and when there was lot of paakhand and rituals.. God sent another prophet..and SIKHISM started and spread the same message again in a different manner to the people of those times.... to date i feel ..since its the newest ...only 5 centuries old...let it grow ..c how it will change todays world like other religions did in past ... and nothing is like FINAL MESSENGER....srry its my feeling.... if people again get blind.. if people again started fighting for making their religion superior... when sikhs also start to do paakhands and rituals... HE will agin send a prophet to teach HIS children ...what is right and what is wrong!!! So what i feel, is that God is one, dont worry about the manner u worhip God, but worry whom u r worshipping, i.e., obviously dont worship stones and do rituals... but think,praise, meditate,worship, HIM!!! no religion which beleives in one god is a matter of true or false... its the way we handleit.... handle it honestly...then its true....handle it faithfully ..then its true... handle it truthfully... then its true... handle it with love..then its true... well i cant go into any texts and research.. lol ..cuz i m just 19 and doin engineering....no time... ... anywys...i gave my feeling... hope i didnt do anything wrong!! NANAK JEEVTIYAA MAR REHIYE , AISA JOG KAMAIYE||

Hello Tawheed bro, where did you go? Can you provide some links to some Islamic forums just in case someone here wants to send "An Invitation to Sikhism"?

Thanks for sharing!

lalleshvari, why the evil smiley thing besides Bhai Randhir Singh Ji's name? He cut all ties with Teja Singh when Teja Singh was excommunicated.

Great!

Accupuncture is the way to go, maybe also a good Chiropractor.

NiranJana, I just pop in a Wicked Yoga DVD and do what ever routine, this is what got me started: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...&s=dvd&n=507846 I prefer 'Livings Arts' DVDs over any other because the ambience allows you to get right into it. after you finish your Yoga routine then try meditation (so much easier to focus). For diet check this out: http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/diet/home.asp Meditation: http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/meditation/techniques.asp

Esoteric groups? Is he referring to groups on earth or not? In the flesh or not?

I like to do yoga before meditation because it quiets my body/mind and I am able to meditate better. But there are so many things which seem a bit suspicious (Women only camps, Tantric Yoga, Numerology) to me about 3HO, right now it seems just like a corporate company trying to expand. Does this Kundalini yoga info differ from what is taught by 3HO? http://www.gurbani.org/webart6.htm

Man I can't beleive I didn't read these posts, awesome! I find if I do Yoga before Meditation I am able to get in a deeper state alot quicker because the body/mind have calmed down already and I don't get as many thoughts. Also Yoga can be thought of a meditation in itself becuase you could be mindful to all your actions and the body's reactions of each pose.

Are you back from India man?

Is it a Nutty pic or a _utty pic?

I tried the regular meditation preset settings, it felt like I was being brainwashed into a zombie LOL It was not soothing or relaxing at all. Try it out for yourself and post your own expereince.

Naturally is always best.........I tried this program and did not like it

We all can speculate but I'm sure its a good thing