Sikh Marriage

[SuperGirl]

Can Sikhs marry people who are of a different religion to them? If they are, does the person they marry have to convert and become Sikh?

Turban wearing Sikhs are very good looking. They are mysterious and reserved.

The only thing that would put me off asking one out, is the religion aspect.

[Jaspaul Singh]

lol bhainji...

take a look at this...

http://www.sikhsangat.com/index.ppa?showtopic=11377

we just had a long convo about this exact same thing... and its ok your new to the forum ....usually everyone starts assusing the person of not using the search button feature for the forum...

anyway... read that thread...

[Kharkoo4Life]

Can Sikhs marry people who are of a different religion to them? If they are, does the person they marry have to convert and become Sikh?

Turban wearing Sikhs are very good looking. They are mysterious and reserved.

The only thing that would put me off asking one out, is the religion aspect.

100463[/snapback]

Fateh,

I think this question was posed in an earlier thread. But as we can sometimes be lazy and unwilling to search for the topics (or provide reference for where they are..hehe) i wil try to give a short response to ur query.

According to Sikh Rehat Marayada (Code of conduct) a Sikh is to marry only a Sikh. There are many reasons on which this hukam (directive) is based upon. Firstly, i would like to point out an imporant difference in terms of inter-racial marriage and inter-faith marriage. While the former is usually merely a difference of physical attributes and in some cases geographical origin, they are hence no restrictions on such a marriage nor are they frowned upon by the Sikh faith. (tho due to cultural influences many ppl wud like to tell us otherwise.)

Inter-faith marriage however is a much more delicate issue filled with potential problems from the getgo. Marriage is considered an important and necessary step in ones life in the Sikh faith. It allows us to live a "grist jeevan" as ordained and exemplified by the Gurus themselvs. Marriage is a step which helps us reach closer to God, and is why the Gurus themselves proclaimed in the Bani that:

"Bride and Groom are not they who pose as one whole, bride and groom are they who are two bodies with one soul". IF two ppl, (i.e. husband n wife) who may live in the same house and share the same bed, but have different beliefe systems, diff values, or different appraoches to life how can one honestly expect such 2 diff minded ppl to be able to unify and merge their thinking let alone their souls?

This is not to say that either one is right or wrong. Every faith which espouses equailty and love if practiced hoenstly and properly is a path to God. However, for two beings to be able to become one in every which way, thinking, talking, behaving, etc they must share the same mindset. And ones mindset or way of thinking is usually connected and based on ones belief system, value system which in turn is derived from their faith of practice. Ohterwise a veil of differnce will always separate the two.

So in short yes, a sikh can only marry a sikh. But if two ppl choose to live a life together and one is not a sikh, then yes they may marry but only if the other chooses to adopt the Sikh lifestyel and become a sikh him/herself.

Also i was curious, with regards to ur comment that the "religion aspect" was what was putting u off from being with a Sikh what exactly about the religion was it that makes u hesitant or reluctant? Jus wondering :doh:

Hope this sheds some light onto ur question. If not i would be more than happy to fwd a more lengthy, indepth article on Sikh Marriage to you if you so desire.

May waheguru bless us all with understanding and tolerance.

Fateh.

Sandip Singh

[SuperGirl]

Can Sikhs marry people who are of a different religion to them? If they are, does the person they marry have to convert and become Sikh?

Oh what I meant about the "religions aspect", was that I was unsure whether it would be a wise move to ask out a Sikh boy because of his feelings towards religion. If Sikhs don't believe in marrying outside their religion then there is no point.

But I must say, you are all missing out on Latinos. We make great food.

:doh:

[SuperGirl]

Can Sikhs marry people who are of a different religion to them? If they are, does the person they marry have to convert and become Sikh?

P.S.

I'd marry you any day Sandeep!

[singh_khalsa]

Nothing is stopping a 'sikh' marrying someone from a diifferent religion. However a dedicated sikh, who is amrit shakyaa, would be going against rehat (sikh code of conduct) if marrying someone from another religion or even a sikh who hasnt amrit shak.

[Kharkoo4Life]

Can Sikhs marry people who are of a different religion to them? If they are, does the person they marry have to convert and become Sikh?

Oh what I meant about the "religions aspect", was that I was unsure whether it would be a wise move to ask out a Sikh boy because of his feelings towards religion. If Sikhs don't believe in marrying outside their religion then there is no point.

But I must say, you are all missing out on Latinos. We make great food.

:doh:

100475[/snapback]

In that case, perhaps i should remind you, that latinos are more than welcome (jus like any other individual) to learn, understand for themselvs the Sikh faith and adopt it if they so choose to! So u better start learnin soon i guess...lol....

and iwth regards to asking out a SIkh boy, or a Sikh boy asking you out...i think that if either of the two was wholeheartedly committed to the others happiness and loved the other unconditionally, then the problem of a difference of faith would not arise as they would love everything about that person including their faith...and then the question arises what is more important to each..their faith? or the person they date?

[buddasingh]

You see supergirl, your problem is not the religion of the sikh, because the religion of the sikh rises above religion, sikhi is a discipline, an art, a dedication to the beauty of creation. Your problem is the comparative portrayal of religions as by hard-line fundamentalist mainstream media. In reality comparing other religions to sikhi is like comparing scared good kids to fearless good kids. Both are good, one is religion, the other rises above.

It is only in the last 20 years due to drastic change in world demographics that other faiths have undergone facelifts and botox injections claiming the more humble approach to god, inter-faith, and differences that Sikhi defined in its inception. Am I claiming superiority of Sikh faith? No that would be anti-sikh. I am claiming the superiority of the human potential which sikhi mandates.

Sikhs don’t believe in converting, because they don’t believe anything is wrong with people who follow other faiths or ways of life. At the same time Sikhs don’t have any more right to their faith than anyone else who may be interested in becoming Sikh.

Of course since a Sikh is fully committed to all of humanity in the manner described above, a Sikh would require as a partner someone to share this open minded uniformed discipline, that is another Sikh.

So good news and good news. Good news is that your only hope is to explore sikhi. In fact the optimism it provides is necessary for a Sikh women to survive living with a Sikh man or for that matter helpful for any woman living with any man.

Good news is that you may always see turbaned sikhs as mysterious and reserved. Cause if you marry one, the mystery turns out to be overgrown mamma’s boys for a good 10 years before they become mysterious and reserved once again for the next 10 years.

btw sikhs don't eat latinos for food .

[SuperGirl]

You see supergirl, your problem is not the religion of the sikh, because the religion of the sikh rises above religion, sikhi is a discipline, an art, a dedication to the beauty of creation. Your problem is the comparative portrayal of religions as by hard-line fundamentalist mainstream media. In reality comparing other religions to sikhi is like comparing scared good kids to fearless good kids. Both are good, one is religion, the other rises above.

btw sikhs don't eat latinos for food .

100532[/snapback]

Thank you for your reply buddasingh. You sound very intelligent. The mamma's boy thing sounds really cute.

Aw I don't think I will ever cross that boundary now. It sounds too complex.

Look but don't touch.

:doh:

[Harnek Singh]

Waheguru JikWaheguru Jika Khalsa, Waheguru Jiki Fateh

By Latino food do you mean tacos, beef burritos etc

Most practising Sikhs are vegetarians.....ooops I hope I did not start another eat meat or not debate :doh: @

Gurfateh