Confused

[singh_comradz]

bhenji/veer ji (i'm not jagjit bhaji lol but i'll try and give yo some info)

this person as you said is a recent convert and as we all know Muslims believe that by submission to Allah and by believing in the prophet Muhammed is the only way someone will get to heaven. if she's stern in her belief then she wont take any notice of what you have to say.. she just wants you to doubt and question your faith

here is a viewpoint on the whole thing, but some might disagree.

from www.whyichosesikhism.com (well worth having a look at)

Q: If the Gurus said that all religions lead to the same path, you'll be ok whichever religion you're in. Then why didn't they mention them all in depth in their writings? With Sikhism, if all these past religions were right why don't we believe in Adam as the first man etc. Was there a sudden change of plan when the Guru's came along? Now man was no longer created from Adam?

The argument we are all on a path which leads to God, no matter which we take cannot apply. Not everyone worships one God.

A: It is a TOTALLY FALSE argument that Sikhism believes all paths lead to the same goal and thus all religions are equal: From its very inception, Gurmat has been declared a unique and distinct path. Bhai Gurdas writes: "the Guru has created the mighty Gurmukh panth. This panth keeps itself away from the boundaries of the Vedas and the Semitic scriptures..." (Bhai Gurdas, 23.19)

SGGS over and over stresses the importance of "Gurmat Naam". Without Gurmat Naam no one can find Akaal or reach sachkhand. Gurmat naam is only available in the house of Guru Nanak: "Nanak kai ghar keval, naam" . Keval means "only".

Without naam, no one can find God. GurbaaNee is clear about this fact:

Nanak naam binaa ko mukath n hoee

Translation:O Nanak, without the Naam, the Name of the Lord, no one is liberated

Where is this naam to be found? From the Guru.

bin gur naam n paaeiaa jaae

Translation:Without the Guru, the Naam cannot be obtained.

Satguru Nanak is the only true Guru who has preached naam, and given gurmat-naam.

As for other acts of "religion", this is what Guru Nanak says:

theeruthh thup dhaeiaa dhuth dhaan ||

Pilgrimages, austere discipline, compassion and charity

jae ko paavai thil kaa maan ||

these, by themselves, bring only an iota of merit.

suniaa mu(n)niaa man keethaa bhaao ||

Listening and believing with love and humility in your mind,

a(n)thurugath theerathh mal naao ||

cleanse yourself with the Name, at the sacred shrine deep within.......

So, unless someone receives Gurmat Naam from Guru Nanak, there is no liberation. They will be rewarded for their good karma, but not liberated. They don't want liberation! Christians are content with heaven, and they will receive it. But then they will enter the cycle of births and deaths again, hopefully in a life which will bring them closer to liberation. Gurmat Panth's respect of all religions goes as far as saying that they are not sent to eternal hell, they will get what they work for. Like Harmandir Saahib: God is open and available to all directions and all people of the world, but the path to God is ONE: Gurmat.

About other faiths:

eik jainee oujhurr paae dhhuruhu khuaaeiaa ||

Some are Jains, wasting their time in the wilderness; by their pre-ordained destiny, they are ruined. panna 1285

hi(n)dhoo a(n)nhaa thurukoo kaanaa ||

The Hindu is blind; the Muslim has only one eye. panna 875

In many other places it is made clear that Gurmat, the way of the Giani, who meditates on Gurmat Naam is the only path to Akaal. Others will get their heaven etc. but not find Akaal.

All faiths will get what they work towards. Only Gurmat has a concept such as Sach Khand and God-Realisation in such a clear way. Thus, Gurmat is the only path to Sach Khand and merger with Akaal.

Who else is the true Guru of status of Guru Nanak? Mohammad? Jesus? Krishna? Rama? There is none. These prophets don't come close to even the Sikhs of Guru Nanak, let alone Guru Nanak himself. GurbaaNee leaves no doubt: "Sabh tay Vadaa Satgur Nanak, Jin kal raakhee mayree" meaning Satuguru Nanak is THE GREATEST who has protected my honour in this age of darkness (Kaljug).

i slightly disagree with this in that i believe every religion is true and WILL eventually lead to the same path.

EXAMPLE:

a mountain has streams leading into it (lol that dont make sense but plz carrying on reading). some streams take longer than others. but Khalsa is the shortcut.

by taking amrit and keeping rehit is the only way one can achieve mukhti

our lives are like account balances, as a result of our past deeds we might have credit or we might be debited in this life. likewise if joe bloggs was a really good person who done loadsa good deeds in his past lives in which he was a devout muslim, christian then by the grace of the Guru in this life he might have the opportunity of earning sikhi and taking amrit and becoming joe singh :T:

siqguir rwKy sy jn aubry hor mwieAw moh KuAwrI hy ]12]

sathigur raakhae sae jan oubarae hor maaeiaa moh khuaaree hae ||12||

Those humble beings, whom the True Guru protects, are saved. The rest are ruined through emotional attachment to Maya. ||12||

Guru Amar Daas Ji

Raag Maaroo

1050

and (i think) of all faiths the SGGS are the only scriptures which place great emphasis on naam

pwchu muis muslw ibCwvY qb qau dInu pCwnY ]3]

paachahu mus musalaa bishhaavai thab tho dheen pashhaanai ||3||

Spread your prayer mat by conquering your five desires, and you shall recognize the true religion. ||3||

Bhagat Kabeer Ji

Raag Aasaa

480

hir kIriq rhrwis hmwrI gurmuiK pMQu AqIqM ]3]

har keerath reharaas hamaaree guramukh pa(n)thh atheetha(n) ||3||

The Praise of the Lord is my occupation; and to live as Gurmukh is my pure religion. ||3||

Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Raag Aasaa

360

all the answers you need are in Gurbani, as for your friend. i wouldn't take much notice of her ranting. :T:

bhul chuk maaf

[singh_comradz]

actually just to correct myself it doesn't matter what religion joe bloggs was in his past lives. as long as did his good deeds.

This Shabad is by Bhai Gurdaas Ji in Vaars Bhai Gurdaas on Pannaa 1

puCn gl eImwn dI kwzI mulW iekTy hoeI]

pushhan gal eemaan dhee kaazee mulaa(n) eikat(h)ae hoee||

Qazi and maulvis got together and began discussing religion.

vfw sWg vrqwieAw lK n sky kudriq koeI]

vaddaa saa(n)g varathaaeiaa lakh n sakae kudharath koee||

A great fantasy has been created and no one could understood its mystery.

puCx Kol ikqwb nUM vfw ihMdU kI muslmwnoeI]

pushhan khol kithaab noo(n) vaddaa hi(n)dhoo kee musalamaanoee||

They asked Baba Nanak to open and search in his book whether Hindu is great or the Muslim.

bwbw AwKy hwzIAW SuB AmlW bwJo dovyN roeI]

baabaa aakhae haazeeaaa(n) shubh amalaa(n) baajho dhovae(n) roee||

Baba replied to the pilgrim hajis, that, without good deeds both will have to weep and wail.

ihMdU muslmwn doie drgih AMdr lYx n FoeI]

hi(n)dhoo musalamaan dhoe dharagehi a(n)dhar lain n dtoee||

Only by being a Hindu or a Muslim one can not get accepted in the court of the Lord.

kcw rMg kusuMB kw pwxI DoqY iQr n rhoeI]

kachaa ra(n)g kusu(n)bh kaa paanee dhhothai thhir n rehoee||

As the colour of safflower is impermanent and is washed away in water, likewise the colours of religiosity are also temporary.

krn bKIlI Awp ivc rwm rhIm kuQwie KloeI]

karan bakheelee aap vich raam reheem kuthhaae khaloee||

(Followers of both the religions) In their expositions, denounce Ram and Rahim.

rwh SYqwnI dunIAw goeI ]óó]

raah shaithaanee dhuneeaa goee ||aa||

The whole of the world is following the ways of Satan.

also another good article on www.whyichosesikhism.com about Sikhi and reincarnation

Q: This idea of reincarnation is rejected from the 3 major religions. Once again was Hinduism right? Then the 3 faiths God sent after it were contradicting it, then Sikhism came and said no oops! Yep Hinduism was right, reincarnation is right. More so, it was eliminated in the Books of God 3 times in succession! All the scriptures tell of the Day of Judgment and the after-life. Why have Sikhs just copied the Hindus?

A: The Sikh concept of the after-life is much more descriptive than any other faith. Here is a fundamental question that no other faith can answer, including Islam. If a baby is born and screams one scream and then dies, what will happen to its soul? What was the purpose of its existence? If we believe in one coming and one going, then the birth of this baby makes no sense. It had no life to live and could not do anything and so will it go to Heaven or somewhere else? And why did God give this creature such a short life in which it could do nothing? No answer can be given to this question by Islam.

On the other hand, Sikhism believes that everything is a result of karma. The child's karma called for it to only live for that long and it will now be re-born again after having lived that karma it had created. A human can only exit the web of karma by meditating on Gurmat Naam and immersing the self into Akaal.

According to Sikhism, when a Human dies, jam doot or minions of death come and take the soul to the court of Dharam Rai. This is a very painful journey in which the soul of the manmukh (one without the Satguru) encounters much pain and hardship. Once in the court of Dharam Rai, his account of deeds is read to him and he cannot deny anything. He cries that he did not take advantage of human life and become one with Akaal. He is then given his sentence. This can be a certain amount of time in heaven or hell to receive the fruits of his deeds and then after that time, he is sent back into the cycle of births and deaths. Heaven and Hell are not permanent places. They are not where a Sikh wishes to go. They are simply transitory places where one receives either pleasure or pain.

There are 5 Khands or realms: the first is Dharam Khand in which all souls must appear to receive their account in the court of Dharam Rai. The next realm is Giaan Khand in which reside countless gods and goddesses and angels and also beings like Buddha and other prophets. After this realm is Sharam Khand. Sharam Khand is now a level that cannot be understood by the human mind. In it, the mind and intellect are re-shaped to see and understand new realities.

All the above mentioned places: heaven, hell, Dharam Khand, Gian Khand, Sharam Khand are all transitory and will finish when Akaal finishes creation. Beyond these are "true" realms. These are Karam Khand and Sach Khand. Karam Khand is for true devotees of Akaal who have meditated on him and Sach Khand is where Gursikhs go who have meditated on Gurmat Naam and become one with God. Here they are forever immersed in bliss and unity with God and forever sing his praises.

Clearly then, this system is different than any other faith. It is not "borrowed" from Hinduism.

bhul chuk maaf

[SevaSimranSacrifice]

so sorry bhaji i thought jagjit bhaji said he had articles...

I am so grateful for your reply....if anything my friend has inspired me to learn and re-learn more about sikhi.....have to admit i have been a bit lazy for a while now..it was like a kick up the backside for me...i mean what if i meet someone who is questioning my faith and i have nothing to back myself and the religion.

It was a long read but i enjoyed every bit of it. :TH:

Thanks again bhaji! Keep posting more info please