Raveender

Sat Sri Akaal everyone After posting my reply, i saw a number of other posts already posted. Id like to apoligize to this forum that I dont have references to back up whatever I have said in my post, as I noticed that almost everyone had proper references. Id like to say that Im still learning everyday about the amazing beauty of our religion and whatever my comments are from my own personal understandings and thoughts about how i see, belief and understand Sikhism. take care and god bless

Sat Sri Akal Jagdip, since you are hell bent in your beliefs that Sikhism is so flawed for your liking, ill do the best I can, please let me say that what im saying is purely my own thought and based on my understandings..also, let me apologize to you and to anyone there who felt insulted with my supposed attack on Christianity, that wasnt my intention. I am a Sikh, and I belief very much in my religion as i have been a follower of it for my whole life and I have never been lead astray. When you go to a gurduwara, the gianniji is the person who preaches, and he interprets what the Guru Granth Sahibji is saying. For me, the gianiji is there to guide us, but it is always up to us to do our own reading, understand and make our own educated decisions. The situation that the Gurujis lived in all those years back, the environments, the socio economic scene, is very much different to what you and I are used to at the moment, however, i find it amazing that whatever was preached back in the day is still valid until today, if you can interpret the meaning and messages embedded in our Granth Sahib ji and evolve it to the situations of today. Ok lets look at your questions and see if we can get you some of the answers... 2. There was no absolute method used to choose the next Guru, throughout each of our Guruji's lives, they met many of their followers, some were more spiritual than others and who displayed traits that would help Sikhism at that point to progress further. This are individuals who were not worried about materialistic belongings, but had a common,true and sincere love for the Gurujis and wanted to go about and do their sewa to mankind just as the Gurujis before them had. 3.Im sorry, i felt this question was just an assumption you were making, there is no written rule that a holy person should be born in a poor house or rich house. It really doesnt make any difference. its not the house you are born in, its you..Guru Nanak ji was born to a family which was of a higher stature at the time, businessmen or civil servant, but Guru Nanakji had no interest in all that, from his young age his mind was not with possessing properties or goods but was to help mankind. Are you assuming that all rich people are bad and grow up to be cheats and all poor people good and grow up to start a religion and be highly enlightended? Id like to think that you have some control of your own life and that you decide your own future, dont base your assumptions blindly. 4. Yes there are people dead against it, but again there are people who dont have problems with it. Dont generalise and speak like as though you've gone around the world to make get this consensus. there are many paths to GOD. We all pray to the same GOD but we take different paths to him. I agree with your post that everyone is equal, but it seems that you always like to take what people think. You have your own mind, and you should be able to make your own decisions as to whom you want to marry or be with. More and more people I know have intercaste marriages, maybe its not happening in your part of the world but it is where i am from. The main thing is, the person you marry should make you happy and feel at peace, i mean you are going to be with him/her for the rest of your life, so you should be comfortable with him/her, how you decide to raise your children if you have an intereligious marriage, well that would be up to the individuals, should they be sikhs,,should they be hindus, christians, buddhist, or shld they have the best of both worlds. It all depends on the individual, dont ever be binded by what people you dont know are telling you, make your own choices because at the end of the day only you will answer for them, not them. 5. Why do they use their surnames, I dont know but i dont want to judge their whole personality based on that. Like i told you earlier, a Sikh is a Sikh no matter if he uses his caste name when he shouldnt but what matters is if the individual itself. How he lives his life, how he helps his fellow man without looking at caste, creed or color, those are the things that make a difference in this world and those are the things that all of us shld strive for. Helping, doing sewa with prayers in your mind,and heart doing something wholeheartedly and not expecting any gains in return, thats what matters 6. From some websites I have been to and books I have read, there was an incident when Guru Nanak Devji went to a stream for for his bath and it was there that Guruji got into a state of trance and was blessed by GOD and was asked to preach to mankind and rid it off the evils that was happening. Guruji appeared to the surface 3 days later and thus began his long journey to bring man back to the rightous path. My many apologies for not being able to back this up with names, Im hoping my fellow friends who read this forum can help substantiate this. How I can prove this, well I cant, but then i could turn back to you and say the same about Jesus Christ. My hope is, you have an open mind, if you need only facts and exact dates to help you understand Sikhism, then theres no point, the point is to learn about Sikhism and what it preaches and try your best to follow it. I dont recall having any islamic elements in Sikhism, my apologies, maybe you could explain what elements of Islam were brought in. All i can think of if any was there is only one GOD, but in Islam, whoever is not a Muslim is an infidel and should be converted. So again, what elements of Islam were brought in? 7. Again, another question which is hard to understand not because we dont understand Sikhism but because the answer you seek would be based on assumptions. The banis, the Guru Granth Sahib ji, all have teachings of what Guruji preached, read it, absorb it, answer your own question 9. Being the youngest of the major religions in the world, it has spread across the world, you could go to most countries and find Sikhs or a Gurduwara. Guru Nanakji also travelled to many destinations during his time. Im sorry you have found Sikhism too rigid for your liking. I dont and im living just fine in the year 2004. I know many others who agree with me. 12. With all due respect Jaspal, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammad, they werent GOD, they are his messengers. The reference Guru Granth Sahib ji has is GOD Almighty, as we said earlier, all are on different paths leading to the same thing. GOD is the common entity here, different religions preach differently, but it ends up we are praying to the same common thing. 14. Then I ask you this, why are there pictures and statues of Jesus Christ and crosses in many Christian homes? Are you saying that you would be ok if it were a cross or a picture of Jesus Christ but not if it were pictures of Guruji? There are pictures of Gurus across Sikh homes as marks of respect, GOD is everywhere, and we pray to him asking him for his guidance and blessings anytime, anywhere. 15. I guess, again i would stick to my own guns on this one, Im not speaking for anyone else in this forum, gays and gay marriages is not the norm, if individuals decide to pursue it, then its their own choice, and again they should do what makes them comfortable, at the end of the day we will answer for all our actions this earth. Its not easy to change the perception of human beings on issues of taboo like this. And im sure you would agree that if a person is gay and hellbent on getting married he would want nothing more than to have the blessings of his/her family. Well its up to him/her to explain his/her actions if there is a need for justification. No one wants to loose their family or loved ones but i guess explanations and patience. Please let me know what other scriptures of other religions have to say about this. This is an on going conflict to all religions and we hear about it almost everyday, gay marriages in the us, gay preachers etc you've heard im sure... 16. Again another touchy issue, i speak for my own, if a pregnancy happens by accident between two careless individuals, then they should not punish an unborn child for their mistake, they should do what is right, get married, and raise it with love. If it happens by force, then well, im afraid its really difficult situation to be in. Again, with matters such as this maybe since im not exposed to it so much i cant give you proper answers, again if the other scriptures out there have got answers on them please let me know 18 Again, in Malaysia which is where Im from, i havent seen this. But a Gurdwara is the house gf GOD. Anyone can go in and pray if they so wish. And if you are stopped from going in maybe you should explain to the individuals about Sikhism. But dont let individuals stop you from doing what you must do 20 Individuals getting angry is not the fault of the Guru Granth Sahibji, maybe these individuals feel they have failed in helping their fellow Sikhs understand or comprehend what the teachings of the Gurus are. At the end of the day, if and individual feels that he/she cant handle the simplicity of Sikhism, and needs to have all the answers laid out in front of him/her, then when do you get a chance to use the greatest gift of all from GOD...you mind! You need to learn, and interpret, question if you have to, but always take the initiative Rite, Im quite sure u'll be far from happy with all of my answers, thats fine by me, I answered from my heart and from my understanding and if you feel the need to reply my post by undermining whats been said with the way you feel, then so be it. I have spent my time reading forums, reading books, listening to the SGGS ji, I try to live my life the best i can based on the teaching of my Gurus. Id like to tell you something, GOD made a diverse world, he created all types of men and every so often he put stumbling blocks in front of us. I belive it is a test of faith to see how we manage ourselves and how we use what he have learnt to solve the situation, do we crack and blame HIM or do we presevere, with our faith in our hearts, thinking with our minds and overcoming a bad situation by coming out on top and learning from it. I am a strong beliver in never worrying about what other people have to say about what I do, as long as I know that I am doing the right thing, based on my beloved religion and principles and im not hurting anyone in return. Sikhism is alive and kicking and it will always be, i find it offending that you say its blindfaith. Blind faith is for individuals who dont use their brains to think. Sikhism shows you the path, u need to use your mind to thread that path with its teachings as your guide to do what is right or wrong and become a better person Ok, I hope you find peace in whatever your decision, I dont think anyone is here to force you to do something that you dont wish to do (im not). Again my apologies to anyone out there and to you Jaspal for anything I may have said to insult or hurt you, im merely human and im trying my best to learn everyday to make myself a better person. Take care,god bless and good luck.

Jagdip..first of all...have u ever read any books on sikhism before u came up here and gave us your bold questions. Usually, id like to think that there are some educated questions brought up by the poster's here and it seems that ures has just been to get a quick list of answers without doing your homework first.. I cant be arsed with most of your questions becoz im very sure that if u actually stopped sitting around and moping and instead read thru the different topics on this forums or other sites, you'd have your answers. My response to no 5 is this...dont generalise, not everyone uses their caste names, there are some who do, some who dont..it doesnt make anyone less of a sikh or more of a sikh..you are a sikh because you choose to follow in the guruji's footsteps and emulate the way of life they have set out. It's not the absolute law but if u actually read thru them and think about it, everything that our dear gurujis said and preached make you into a more wholesome and better person, I dont recall ever reading anywhere that any of our gurujis asked any of their followers to do the wrong thing or something that didnt make sense. To no 7, there are definining moments in the life of Guru Nanak Devji, very early on even, which showed him to be a spiritual and person immersed in thought, there are the events where he dissapeared and returned back from a river, mind my inability to explain the whole story to you but i think its better for you to go out there, read up on this and make your own educated decisions. Ifyou would like to find out more about any of our Guruji's, then im sure your well stocked local Gurduwara will have enuff info for you to read to your heart's content..and if for some reason it doesnt, then well..there's this thing called the internet where you could learn more than you could imagine on any given subject A question id like to post back to you is...how do confirm to me thatthat Jesus Christ was a legitimate messenger of GOD? You werent exactly roaming the streets back in the day and thus its only thru what you have read and what Christians have said. I mean, honestly, do you actually think that any follower of any religion on this earth is gonna come out and say anything to make their religion look bad? no..didnt think so...at the end of the day...its all down to YOU..how you live your life while on this earth, how you treat other ppl..how you treat other creatures, how you go about your daily routines, thats whats important, because when you breathe your last breath, its gonna be just you and GOD, not the ppl who have their caste names, not the ppl who go to different types of Gurduwaras, not the ppl who who blow up planes, buildings,..just you.. Im sorry to anyone out there if I have insulted you, or said soemthing hurting, but you know...we live in this world once..we shld make sure that with this one chance, we can make a difference, to ourselves, to our community, to our family and we dont burden ourselves with petty arguments or ridiculous comments...

Hi everyone, am new to this forum, just a question ....I tie my pug every day..its a desi type...the cloth is actually made from a longer cloth which is cut in the middle and sewn together on the sides thus making it wide...my question.....its very important that the pug I tie must be nice and neat..all the rolls must be arranged nicely, however, I sometimes cant make it happen and my last roll, is sometimes messy..how do the rest of you pull your pug b4 tying it..do u fold it or do u roll it (i pull the pug diagonally and roll the sides)?Does ?anyone use this particular type of cloth? Thanking everyone in advance and keep those replies rolling in..cheers