FriendlyStranger

"What I meant was that Guru said live a normal life. (don't live in celibate, isolated, far away from people etc)" I've already explained to you that the Guru did not tell us to live a normal life. What's normal is always changing. 60 years ago, and especially during the Guru's time, having sex before marriage and dating was not considered normal in any civilized part of the world. Now things are changing, having sex before marriage and even avoiding marriage to prolong our lustful lifestyles is becoming the norm. The Guru gave us a permanent lifestyle that isn't fickle like the term "normal". The lifestyle of a Sikh doesn't change with the times. Living as a celibate is fine within Sikhi, but you're right that the Guru encourages we live a family life. "And according to me(and so many people in this world) a normal life is exactly just as I described" Who's your Guru then? The people of the world or the Gurus? "If you desire to play this game of love with Me, then step onto My Path with your head in hand. When you place your feet on this Path, give Me your head, and do not pay any attention to public opinion" -Guru Nanak ang 1412 "Before I see myself as a sikh, I see myself as a human being." I don't know, maybe I'm alone in thinking this way, but I would rather see myself as a Sikh first and humans second as silly as that may sound. We're human for such a short time, so it's not that important to me. "If i conquer all my desires, I will end up not wanting to live. Why should I live this life? If I have no desire to live." Conquering desire doesn't necessarily mean that all your desires have to disappear. Conquering desires means you control your desire and that they don't control you. God gave us sex to create life. Our ability to create life is the most powerful and one of the most meaningful things we can do as humans. Having sex outside of marriage where you have no intention to create life reduces the importance of sex and procreation. Sex is extremely powerful and not something you should take lightly, therefore you should save it for marriage, not for some random guy/girl. You can see the effects yourself when a society doesn't value sex and marriage as something important.

"The Guru says, live a normal life, and a normal life is to date, fall in love, fall out of love, find the person you connect with and that includes having relationships and sex before marriage." You're making that up. Where does the Guru ever tell us to live a normal life(normal is always changing anyways), and where does he ever tell us that the lifestyle that you have outlined is what we should be striving for? It's ok if you don't want to follow Sikhi, but don't lie. The Guru says the opposite, he says that the life of a Sikh is not only unique, but difficult as well. "The devotees. lifestyle is unique and distinct; they follow the most difficult path. They renounce greed, avarice, egotism and desire; they do not talk too much. The path they take is sharper than a two-edged sword, and finer than a hair." -Guru Amar Das ang 918 A Sikh has to conquer their desire and lust. Giving into desire and lust like you're suggesting is not in line with the Guru's teaching at all. "You have to make mistakes in life to learn and grow as a human being" Sure, but if you can learn everything and become a perfect and saintly person on your own, then why follow the Guru at all? Sounds like an excuse. "you can't be afraid of falling in love, dating, having relationships, because that's not what life is about" Again, not what the Guru is saying, just the meaning of life that hollywood has fed you. The purpose of life for a Sikh is to serve God's creation and experience God. Simple as that.

You already accomplished that by calling Jesus a pakhandi baba.

Guru Nanak IS God, not just was. Guru Nanak is without ego, without anger, without attachments, without lust, and without greed. Guru Nanak has no sense of I-ness. When all vices and I-ness is gone, there is only the light of God left. Guru Nanak is the pure and undiluted light of God.

This "censor everything I don't like" mentality that a lot of Sikhs have should stop. Either grow a thicker skin or debate them. Crying about it looks pathetic and only encourages people to post more controversial material because they know it makes some people angry.

Dating and chasing girls is not Gurmat. I'm with you. We should be lifting and getting stronger, but women should not be the motivation, especially not Muslim women.

So we should break our religion by going after girls and trying to date them to piss off Pakis? What a petty and mundane life.

I have the impression that following Sikhism is so impractical and difficult Living life as a Sikh comes natural and the only way worth living if you love the Guru. Don't force yourself to live something you don't love yet(maybe you never will). Is it mandatory for all Sikhs to never cut any of their hair, meaning its a sin if they do? If you become Khalsa, it's mandatory to never cut any of your hair. Not all Sikhs are Khalsa, though. People eat meat for the taste, how can one eat something and not like or dislike the taste of it? Sikhi doesn't prohibit meat eating. Sikhi teaches you to not become attached to the pleasures of food. Eat healthy, eat little, and don't let these pleasures distract you from God. A religious/spiritual person doesn't necessarily like or dislike food. The pleasure of food just becomes completely irrelevant to a person who loves God or lives a spiritual life. Sikhs believe that there is goodness in every religion, so do Hindus, Jews, Christians, Muslims, go to heaven as well? Sikhs believe there is goodness in every person; we couldn't care less about other religions. How you use this life is important. The labels we attach to this body of dust does not matter to God. A Sikh, however, only sees life worth living with the Guru. I suggest you read these books to understand Sikhi. They're not very long and I imagine they would be a joy to read for any spiritual person. http://www.vidhia.com/Professor%20Puran%20Singh/The_Spirit_Born_People_Puran_Singh.pdf http://www.vidhia.com/Professor%20Puran%20Singh/Spirit_of_the_Sikh_Part1.pdf http://www.vidhia.com/Professor%20Puran%20Singh/Spirit_of_the_Sikh_Part2_V2.pdf

How can Sikhs call themselves "monotheistic" and then basically worship the Gurus? Guru isn't plural. There is one Guru. We don't worship the form of the Guru, we worship the infinite light and wisdom of the Guru, i.e. God. If the Gurus were all divinely guided, then why did many of their own sons try to establish their own religious sects? Is there a rule that says their children can't try to establish their own religions? I'm not sure why this matters. what did the Jews do to deserve the Holocaust, or the Bengalis for the famine of 1943? Sikhs are not concerned with why God does what he does. Ideally we would accept His will and continue trying our best to serve and improve humanity. So no, I'm not going to answer your question about why things happen and if people deserve it because 1. I don't know and 2. I don't care. Sitting around wasting your time and depressing yourself with unanswerable questions is not chardi kala. Going out and living righteously is. Do you believe the universe and our souls are eternal, that is, without a beginning? God created the universe and souls, so they're not eternal. Only God is eternal and without beginning. If Sikhs were meant to show guidance to the whole world, how come they can't even enjoy superiority in their own land of origin? Again, your first statement has nothing to with your second statement. Showing guidance to the whole world(a purpose you just made up) has nothing to with controlling land. "Enjoying" superiority sounds awful anyways. If we want political power, we will get it through hard work, it's not going to fall in our laps because we're not God's chosen people as a brother/sister mentioned earlier. Also, you couldn't sound more like a Muslim if you tried. You never used "we, us, or our" and instead used "they, their, Sikhs".

I was supporting you partially and I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. I'm not against eating meat. I'm against you saying that we should eat whatever we "like". If God gives us meat to eat, then eat it, but we shouldn't be going out of our way to satisfy our taste for meat. Living simply and spontaneously with the unconditional love of God as our impetus is the central message of Gurbani(to me). We both agree that overthinking things and meticulously calculating the karma of our every action is a waste of time when we should be focusing on God and service.

I agree that our Guru doesn't outright prohibit meat consumption, but he doesn't tell us to eat whatever we like to our heart's content either. We should eat simple food and in small quantaties. "Those who serve are content. They meditate on the Truest of the True.
 They do not place their feet in sin, but do good deeds and live righteously in Dharma.
 They burn away the bonds of the world, and eat a simple diet of grain and water. You are the Great Forgiver; You give continually, more and more each day. By His greatness, the Great Lord is obtained. ||7||" Ang 467

Simran is remembrance and aching for God. Anyone can meditate, but only lovers are blessed enough to partake in simran.

I'm not defending Islam nor do I think it's a righteous or compassionate religion. However, what you're promoting is basically what Guru Tegh Bahadur tried to end with his shaheedi. You mention some Sikhs in the past forcefully converting people, but is there any precedent of forced conversions set by the Guru?

You think this is okay?

I don't think we as Sikhs should worry about the afterlife or even concern ourselves with liberation. Our primary purpose should be loving Akal Purakh. ਸੁਰਗ ਬਾਸੁ ਨ ਬਾਛੀਐ ਡਰੀਐ ਨ ਨਰਕਿ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥ Surag bās na bācẖẖī▫ai darī▫ai na narak nivās. Don't wish for a home in heaven, and don't be afraid to live in hell. ਹੋਨਾ ਹੈ ਸੋ ਹੋਈ ਹੈ ਮਨਹਿ ਨ ਕੀਜੈ ਆਸ ॥੧॥ Honā hai so ho▫ī hai manėh na kījai ās. ||1|| Whatever will be will be, so don't get your hopes up in your mind. ||1|| ਰਮਈਆ ਗੁਨ ਗਾਈਐ ॥ Rama▫ī▫ā gun gā▫ī▫ai. Sing the Glorious Praises of the Lord, ਜਾ ਤੇ ਪਾਈਐ ਪਰਮ ਨਿਧਾਨੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ Jā ṯe pā▫ī▫ai param niḏẖān. ||1|| rahā▫o. from whom the most excellent treasure is obtained. ||1||Pause||

Puran Singh respects Jesus(A spiritual man with long hair and beard) and occasionally uses him as an example.

We can spend hours trying to rationalize why Sikhs wear a turban and grow out their hair, but none of these reasons matters. All that matters is that Guru Gobind Singh gave us this form. No one is forcing you to wear a turban and grow your hair, it's a choice. Nothing needs to be changed, and I say this as a mona. I'd like to quote the great Prof Puran Singh too: "We as men of the Guru have no symbols. We, I say, as men of the Guru have no so-called religion or religious creed as others have. “Then what are these impediments of long hair and beard?” asks the impatient young Sikh who sees that the whole world is clean-shaven with a cigarette in its lips. And it is so neat looking. “I wish to be like that. After all what does the hair matter when my heart is pure?” The question is quite simple to answer when the answer is based on an intellectual analysis of things. And who is there to compel any one to be of the Guru, unless one feels the need of His love and His protection and His Ideal and unless one seeks ardently for Him? But those who have been to Him and have loved Him and have received His gifts cannot throw the gifts of the Guru to the winds and still say they love Him. It is a question of the intensity of personal love for the Guru. Those braids of Jesus Christ and these sacred knots of the Five Beloved of Guru Gobind Singh who tied them on their heads with his own hands are His Gifts thenceforward. For one who has any feeling in his breast, death is more welcome than parting with His gifts. "

Where in Gurbani does it say that those gods were necessary to receive mukti? Naam has always been the way and it will remain the only way regardless of religion. ਆਦਿ ਜੁਗਾਦੀ ਰਖਦਾ ਸਚੁ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾਰੁ ॥ Āḏ jugāḏī rakẖ▫ḏā sacẖ nām karṯār. From the very beginning, and throughout the ages, the True Name of the Creator has been our Saving Grace.

1. How long are you supposed to meditate for (approximately)? The ideal is that your mind is absorbed with the lord day and night, but there isn't any rule with a specific time. Everyone spiritually progresses at different rates. 2. Does anyone know any resources for learning Punjabi (so I can understand the service better)? You can use this for learning the Gurmukhi script: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5UNLfJ1TsJm0OHEOslS3NOqGduHwggGg Here's a folder full of resources to learn Punjabi: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/52bz3b4g12v9x0o/AABlrqm_ndBLqTO6KLbj2bzVa?dl=0 3. What are the rules on modesty for women, if any? Someone else could answer this better than me. 4. What is the difference for a women between wearing a chunni/dupatta vs a turban? The turban wearing woman is Khalsa and the other isn't. 5. Are there any versions of sri guru granth sahib available in English? Yes. http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani