Interesting Question

[Ramneet Singh]

k so me and Quest4Akaal were talking and he brought up a very intersting topic. He heard someone ask once that if god is supposed to be beyond ego, then why do we need to praise and worship him? I wanted to know what the online sangat thinks of this in relation to sikhi.

[OhTwadi]

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[saint-soldier]

well said papi v2.0.... we should be praising and worshipping God to eliminate our ego

[GurBaani]

Thats like saying, we drink water to eliminate thirst of the ocean.

Waheguru...

What a nice way to put it into words! :s

Poster:

We went through Chaurasi Lakh Juna and finally we were given this human body...Who gave us this body?...If not god, for you, then who did?...And why were we given this body? --->So we can cleanse ourselves from the sins we've committed in all those Jooni's...And who can cleanse these sins...Naam - Guru himself...So why shouldn't we praise him... :D

Guru for one should be considered as a mother...A mother who gave us human form so we can be free from the life-death cylce...And all this mother wants in return is lots of love from its child...it sounds reasonable to me... :D

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

i think we sing God's praises so we can make the qualities of God our own. In praising God, we realize our own divinity, our relation to the one divine light.

when we sing god's praises, it should awaken God's light within us. so we are not just mere mortals, we are the emodiment of God. our actions, our conduct is "godlike"

don't know if i expressed myself clearly.

peace.

[pyaraji]

You think God wants us to sing their praise, so they feel good? Thats like saying, we drink water to eliminate thirst of the ocean.

We should be singing praises for ourselves, not to "please" God.

Good Reply!

[MPKaur]

Like previously said, praising God benefits us.

Ang 1360:

ਜਾਣੋ ਸਤਿ ਹੋਵੰਤੋ ਮਰਣੋ ਦ੍ਰਿਸਟੇਣ ਮਿਥਿਆ ॥

Know for sure that death will come; whatever is seen is false.

ਕੀਰਤਿ ਸਾਥਿ ਚਲੰਥੋ ਭਣੰਤਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਸਾਧ ਸੰਗੇਣ ॥੩॥

So chant the Kirtan of the Lord's Praises in the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy; this alone shall go along with you in the end. ||3||

ਮਾਯਾ ਚਿਤ ਭਰਮੇਣ ਇਸਟ ਮਿਤ੍ਰੇਖੁ ਬਾਂਧਵਹ ॥

The consciousness wanders lost in Maya, attached to friends and relatives.

ਲਬਧ੍ਯ੍ਯੰ ਸਾਧ ਸੰਗੇਣ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੁਖ ਅਸਥਾਨੰ ਗੋਪਾਲ ਭਜਣੰ ॥੪॥

Vibrating and meditating on the Lord of the Universe in the Saadh Sangat, O Nanak, the eternal place of rest is found. ||4||

ਮੈਲਾਗਰ ਸੰਗੇਣ ਨਿੰਮੁ ਬਿਰਖ ਸਿ ਚੰਦਨਹ ॥

The lowly nim tree, growing near the sandalwood tree, becomes just like the sandalwood tree.

ਨਿਕਟਿ ਬਸੰਤੋ ਬਾਂਸੋ ਨਾਨਕ ਅਹੰ ਬੁਧਿ ਨ ਬੋਹਤੇ ॥੫॥

But the bamboo tree, also growing near it, does not pick up its fragrance; it is too tall and proud. ||5||

ਗਾਥਾ ਗੁੰਫ ਗੋਪਾਲ ਕਥੰ ਮਥੰ ਮਾਨ ਮਰਦਨਹ ॥

In this Gaat'haa, the Lord's Sermon is woven; listening to it, pride is crushed.

ਹਤੰ ਪੰਚ ਸਤ੍ਰੇਣ ਨਾਨਕ ਹਰਿ ਬਾਣੇ ਪ੍ਰਹਾਰਣਹ ॥੬॥

The five enemies are killed, O Nanak, by shooting the Arrow of the Lord. ||6||

ਬਚਨ ਸਾਧ ਸੁਖ ਪੰਥਾ ਲਹੰਥਾ ਬਡ ਕਰਮਣਹ ॥

The Words of the Holy are the path of peace. They are obtained by good karma.

ਰਹੰਤਾ ਜਨਮ ਮਰਣੇਨ ਰਮਣੰ ਨਾਨਕ ਹਰਿ ਕੀਰਤਨਹ ॥੭॥

The cycle of birth and death is ended, O Nanak, singing the Kirtan of the Lord's Praises. ||7||

[Quest4Akal]

I think paapi and some of you misunderstood the intent of the poster. While you answered defensively paapi "You think God wants us to sing their praise, so they feel good? Thats like saying, we drink water to eliminate thirst of the ocean.

We should be singing praises for ourselves, not to "please" God." It was not meant by us to raise this question to say it is wrong or why do we do it. Thats fine we will blindly follow it because our beloved guru who sacrificed so much tells us to.

The purpose is to find an answer that can be a fitting reply to an athiest. I have heard this question asked so many times by athiest and in general by people. So i told Ramneet Singh to post on sikhsangat to see if we could get some use out of this forum instead of it being used to bicker back and forth. So far m P kaurs answer is really fitting and she also has provided bani to back it up which is also good. Mann kaum layee qurban your answer was very well stated as well.

Once again i'm glad we can open up such discussions. These types of questions need to be thought about and answered.

So so far we have the answer is we praise god so we can take on similar qualities. If anyone else would like elaborate or offer even more insite please feel free. Thank you.

[1978]

hmm god hasnt got ego, he doesnt want us to praise him, we praise him because we need him, we need him to help us fight kaljug, those who dont praise him are lost in the kaljugi world, those who do, GUR MEREH SANGH SADHA HEH NALE, god is always with them, helping and protecting us

[Bundha]

My take on this would be – God is without ego, so he does not need us to praise Him. In fact if you look at it the majority of Sunsaar does not praise him, much of that section actually deny Him, or ignore him or curse Him. The tiny section who do praise Him do so because of something they require, only a tiny tiny percentage love Him unconditionally, YET He provides for all even the deniers , the ignorers and the cursers.

He is our father and as all parents they look after their children and provide for them, it is natural for His children to sing His praises. He looks after the billions upon billions of life forms and provides for all – He is that great. So just as an Emperor sits on a throne and his subjects come to him then we also present ourselves infront of Akaal, the only difference being that He is also our father.

It is through our actions that we are separated from him, the more we engross ourselves in Maya and the 5 chore the more we move away from Him, to get back to Him we have to get His attention and we do this by Naam Simran and ardaas.