Veero & Bheno,
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.
I personally did not know who or where to turn to because I personally feel quite warey of asking this within my community which is quite close-knit.
I am a 20 year old youngster and I've always been an academic and generally quite popular (have often heard the phrase ' when not in need, you don't try to find god ' which may help explain my situation). Relating to my academic nature I am quite inquisitive and I'm intrigued by other's views, I can read Bani, koran and other religious scriptures and analyse them for many many hours. I have always had a deep deep pyar for Sikhi which slowly seems to be disintergrating and for which I feel really guilty and try to force myself to be more of a strict sikh.
I personally feel I am growing up in a society where the world is moving forward, Sikh's (not everybody) are moving backwards and enhancing fundamentalist views, and under a scope are picking and choosing philosophically what seems right to them in our Guru ji (SGGSJ) this I find a total hypocritical view of our beautiful, spiritual and peaceful religion. What I loved so much about my religion was the fact that it placed such a high value on the education, physical and spiritual strength of a person this to me seems to be gradually disappearing from the religion with which I feel deep in love with.
I regularly do speeches and seva at local gurdwaray but seem to be over-powered by bhai's or 'sants' (please not the sarcastic quotation marks) who repeatedly chant waheguru, and ask bibiyan to open bottles of milk in order to 'soak up the bani' yet not listening to a word of it themselves. I am surrounded by people who believe by simply carrying out naam simran I am going to complete my medicine degree. I have spent years doing charity work and always try to better myself as a person.
However ultimately I wanted to ask the general sikh community whether they feel our religion which was a beautiful philosophy of life, promoting equality, love, peace, courage, and self-sacrifice, is gradually turning in to a supersticious religion, are our fellow brothers who are complete taksali's and disagree with me saying we should read bani and UNDERSTAND and APPLY it to everyday life and use it in a relative manner in order to improve our lives instead of repeatingly chanting words which one may never even understand. Is our modern day Sikhi compatible with being an academic who strives for knowledge?
Are we still sikhs?
I don't mean to write our a lecture here (which I have) but, I feel I am losing faith through uneducated people taking primary positions to teach others about Sikhi, when they know little about it other than (questionably fictional sakhiyan and supersticions) our Guru ji's were humans with great knowledge but am I supposed to believe our Guru ji's also possesed magical powers etc. I find it much more comfortable to know there were these 10 great divinely inspired people who came upon this earth and attempted to spread a message which could completely improve a person's life?
Is our religion becoming fundamentalist and how are academics supposed to relate to 'old school' Singh's who believe sant's have direct contact with our Guru ji's? how am i expected to go about this.
Please try and help me because I feel I am losing faith in not only my community but respect for my religion and its preachers. I really do not want this to happen and hope this does not reflect negatively on me, I have been told by my seniors it is normal to question God but I feel I am questioning Sikh rituals, i.e divas, dhoof, paani bothalaan etc. I find these contradictory and can't help question the influence of an Hindu-Sikh alliance.
Am I still a Sikh.
Please Help..
WJKK WJKF
