Manvir Singh Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 sat sri akal khalsa ji, i recently had a discussion with some friends at university about the origins of sikhism. a few of them (sikhs and hindus) felt that sikhism originated from hinduism as sri guru nanak dev ji was born into a hindu family, some suggested it was a compromise between the two religions of the time islam and hinduism, i insisted that gurbani is the word of god and not an interpretation of the two religions i further pointed out that guru nanak stated that he is neither hindu nor muslim. this act was verified at death whereupon his body had escaped the plans of both hindus and muslims to incorporate him into their religion with their choice of funeral service. i also mentioned guru ji renouncing ritualism of islam(fasting etc) and the caste system, idol worshiping of hindus. however my friends claimed that gurbani refered to the quran at various points and refered to hindu gods also. i am as fresh as a daisy in sikhism and only know the basics i would be grateful if the more learned could enlighten me to this subject so i will be better equipped to disprove such claim. any extracts from gurbani would be particularly helpful which reject claims made by both faiths thanking you in advance (to avoid the annoying follow on posts of gratitude) waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sukhsingh Posted June 6, 2003 Report Share Posted June 6, 2003 fateh sahd sangat ji, well it does. but it does it like as an example, because at the time people new about both religions. i wish i could explain it better, im sure someone will come up with a quote of some sort. waheguru ji ka khalsa, waheguru ji ki fateh 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms514 Posted June 6, 2003 Report Share Posted June 6, 2003 Sat Sri Akal: I would reallr REALLY recommend reading a book (it is only 34 pages long) called "SIKHISM: AN ORIGINAL, DISTINCT, REVEALED AND COMPLETE RELIGION" by HARNAM SINGH SHAN. This book can be downloaded at: http://www.sikhi.org.uk/articles/files/sikhidistincta4.pdf This book lays out the conventional thoughts that Sikhism origionates from Hinduism or Islam, and the very prevalent view that Sikhism is a combination of Hinduism and Islam. Then it proceeds to dismantle that viewpoint in an organized and throough fashion. Last, it outlines what traits Sikhism has that makes it a distinct religion. Also, go to this link: http://www.sikhs.org/religion.htm This link has a comparative analysis of Sikhism with the other faiths of the world, showing similarities and differences of Sikhism with the other religions. A good read. If there are specific arguements that the made in favor of Sikhism being a hand-me-down of other religions that you would want discussed, please post them here so they can be addressed. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raagrishi Posted June 6, 2003 Report Share Posted June 6, 2003 whats truth is truth. everytime i religion has come down it has brought the message of truth but it has been caught in bad practices. if some of it seems to resemble sikhi its just because the truth still prevades in it and not that sikhi has come from there. The Quran is used a symbol of knowledge, where ever you get knowledge from you take it as it is talking about God this is the message that the Gurus were trying to give. The orriginal sikhs were called nanak panthis and then slowly slowly we saw the need to become our own distinct form. so even at the start, those that were affiliated with Guru Nanak be they from Muslim or HIndu backgrounds were seen as the followers of Guru Nanak. Hence this negates the linking we any religion as the Nanak Panthi was is seperate. From Nanak Panthis the term Sikh came and from Sikh the Khalsa. Bhul Chuk Maaf Rishipal Singh 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabbarSher Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 Dear Manvir, Firsty let me thank you for putting across your question that many sikh children, teenagers and even adults are reminded about again and again. Let me give you a very cler answer. Sikhism did not originate from the Hindu religion. Please read the book by Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha.."Hum Hindu Nahin". The main argument given by some people going all out for prooving that Sikhism is actually Hindusim is : Guru Nanak was born in a Hindu family. that the ancestors of Guru Nanak were Hindu....so Sikhism is an extension of Hinduism. How very ridicolous. I will attempt to answer this question. If we take this view into account can the Hindu, Islamic, Buddh, Christian, Jew scholars respond to the following very simple and basic question: 1. Who were the ancestors of Moses ? What ws their religion ? (The only religion before Moses was Paganism........similar to Hinduism) 2. Who were the ancestors of Christ ? (I think they were Jew) 3. Who were the ancestors of Mohammed ? (Pagans again) So what do the above questions proove .......that there is no religion but paganism......since the base of all religions is paganism..... But then paganism is not a religion ...it is simply worshipping the creation something which the Sikh dharam is against but not the Hindu Dharam. Islam, Christinaity and Judaism are so similar in their teachings, so how can they call their religions to be originals. All these religions made compromises when they introduced intercessors like Satan, Devil, Shaitan, Angels, Heaven, Hell, Hoors, Devi Devtas, Tri Gods, etc. etc. Hindu Gods are so similar to Roman, Greekgods ...so it means all Hinduism is not original.....it came from the Greeks. Sikhism is the only religion which says that there is only ONE God. And that he doesnt need anyone to run his creation. Can any of the learned scholars of the other religions say this aloud. I do hope that I have been able top answer the question to your satisfaction. If you have any other questions, please feel free to post them or PM me .. Fateh, H Singh 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 Great Post H Singh!! Keep it up. We need Intellectuals like you!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guv Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 But then paganism is not a religion ...it is simply worshipping the creation something which the Sikh dharam is against but not the Hindu Dharam. can u explain what u mean by that please. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabbarSher Posted June 12, 2003 Report Share Posted June 12, 2003 Dear Guv, Firstly my apologies for replying so late. I think I have to make a habit of checking the posts more regularly. Paganism is when you worship the creation rather than the creator. Paganism has its stems in 'Power' : 'Shakti' For e.g. in the ancient times, man saw fire and its power and what its power can do. Since power of fire was devastating, he was afraid of the same and started worshipping it. he felt that if he worshipped 'fire' and offered it sacrifices etc. the 'fire' would worship it. Since fire was not confined to s single place, so intelligence giverned that perhaps there was a single force governing 'fire'. That when this force was worshipped, it would not use its devastating power and protect man. Similar was the case of more devastating power worshipping. This holds true for animals as well. Slowly more stories were weaved around these concepts and the worship gained more strength. Further the number of worshipped beings gained strength. Imagination follwed and people saw how 'Kings' of the times had their courtiers. They felt that perhaps this is the way God functioned, but their limited knowledge did not let them understand that God is not materialistic, rather a creator of materisla things. The laws that hold true for material things, or the way in whoch the material things function or the limitations of material things do not hold true for God. Frankly speaking paganism was nothing but the first step in the 'evolution' of religions. It gave knwoledge about a central God but restyricted it through the Worship of other Gods. The Hindu trinity again further restricted or rather belittled the greatness of God. They tend to think that one of the three creates, the second one looks after evryone and the thrid one destroys. As if God is a an earth based King. Sikhism is very clear in this respect and says that there is none other but one God. Isalm does say that but then restricts by recognising three female dieties as well sa 'Shaitan' not to mention the Farishtas ...angels etc. In a nutshell Paganism is the worship of multiple Gods...not a single Supreme being. I hope I have answerd the question to your satisfaction. Should you need more information, please feel free to contact me. Fateh, Harpreet 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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