Why I Chose Sikhism

[shanti]

oh this will be a long post i suggest u get a cup of sum herbal tea and maybe sum cookies =D

i was brought up roman catholic....strict and went to a catholic school till i was 11 but i really didnt like the atmosphere with the priests and nuns and i seemed to always have questions that they cudnt answer..like why is the world square? (im joking)but i was a kid and jus nothin about religion appealed to me....then i chose to go to a non denominational school wen i was 12 and we had very minimal religious influence and we learned more about morals and values...which was really quite kewl.

then at 14 we went on holiday to Turkey..the first thing i heard was the islamic call to prayer and i was instantly drawn to it...we visited some mosques(islamic place of worship) out there and i found it amazing that these people could live their life centred around a religion all the time..it was a great learning point.

i ended up going back to turkey wen i was 16 and stayed in a very remote village with a turkish family and just loved the way their religion was part of their everyday life and i started to study islam until i was 18 and throught learning about it i had thought of converting to Islam....especially with the amount of converts in my area and that was in our media....but then my grandmother took really ill and ended up in a Catholic hospital ran by nuns..and my uncle also started teaching in a Catholic school so my immediate thoughts were that of guilt i felt terrible that i wud ever think of changing my religion and going against my familys Catholic beliefs....so i just thought i shud stay Catholic and take what i was given.

Then as i was finishing up college i became friends with a Sikh boy in another class. I started hanging out with him and we had a good friendship and he wore a turban..but i never saw him as any different from anyone else..to be honest i knew very little about Sikhism...anyway at weekends he used to go out and get drunk with all his sikh friends and cousins (yeah all punjabi boys tut tut) and they all found it hilarious that me as a "ghori" white girl never drank or went to clubs and bars.

They had all been out one weekend on a drunken nite out and he called me the next day mouthing off and screaming about some "ghora munda" white boy who had asked his cousin why he was wearing a turban and in a nightclub drinking beer? My friends cousin went crazy with the white boy and started saying it was a racist attack and he shud be able to wear his turban anywhere he wants because these white ppl attack his religion when hes trying to have a "good time"

After speaking to him i came online and found SIKHNET and sum other sikh sites and did a bit of research....and found out that actually Sikhs CANNOT drink alcohol and certainly not while wearing dastaar....so i called the boy and asked him a few things about Sikhism and i was trying to get him to explain, thinking maybe i had read it all wrong but he cudnt he kept giving me the reason we are Sikh u wudnt understand. So i came online again and found an English version of Guru Granth Sahib and as soon as i read the Mool Mantar sumthing changed that instant, it was like sumone had hugged me (i now know its cherdi kala =D) and from that second have read nitnem and jus lived as much as a sikh as i can (sorry there wasnt anything hugely dramatic anout me becoming Sikh)......im not sure if that makes sense while writing but i guess i was graced by Waheguru and thats all i can say..now i cant imagine anything before being Sikh......i feel like i was born Sikh even tho it took me almost 19 years to find it..and as for my friend slowly we drifted apart but the last time i spoke to him he was reading more about Sikhism..so i wish him well.

Being Sikh to me is simply being a learner....and i have a lot to learn like everyone else and i am hoping one day if its Gurus blessing that i can be graced with amrit also........i hope this has all made sense.

Waheguru Ang Sang

Shanti xx

[Prem]

Shanti

Thank you for sharing your beautiful story with us - I hope you find a good sangat and achieve bliss and peace and dignity in Sikhi and in the seva you do for all humanity Sikh and non Sikh

peace and love

Prem

[S1ngh]

God bless you shanti !!

Your blog is always my fav. read

[Jaspaul Singh]

wow ..

bhenji that is a great inspirattional read.. may guru ji keep you in chardi kala..

:doh:

p.s - i saw ur comments on our kirtan site.. im glad you liked the kirtan

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

thanks for sharing your story shanti. You are an inspiration not only for me but for the whole forum!!

madd respect!!!

[Baldeep Singh]

Thats just beautiful what you have written, Bhen Shantijee :'( Dhan Dhan Sri Satguru Granth Sahibjeee

Sab Te Vada Satgur Nanak Jin Kal Rakhi Meri

The Greatest of all is the True Guru Nanak, who saved by honour in this age of darkness.

[Sony]

Wow Bhenji,

just...... wow..........

[guruji's_student]

AWWWWWW myy shanti pwincess heheh .. lookin wiked in dastar!! .. but u knwo ure nxt test !!

keep in chardi kala .. i hpe vaheguroo ji also blesses you with amrit 1 day penji

u said .. its taken u 19 years to find sikhi .. DNT WORRI ABOUT IT!.. you found it didnt u ?

U TRULY ARE BLESSED!!

vahegurooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo x x x

[kaur03]

WOW!

thats amazing!!

penji u luk amaziiiing in ur dastaar!!!!!!!

:doh: :doh:

[Khalsa_starr]

you story is very inspiring and close to my story of converting, same age, same way, and same concept!

Sounds like your friend was not much of a sikh after all

Little advice, gurdwara's is the least likely place you will find advice and to learn about sikhi - they speak in punjabi! At least over here, i don't know of what the temples are like in the UK.