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Guest The answered
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Guest The answered
I have one thing to say about the secrecy bit if you're an adult, and that is: If you are an adult, I'm telling you straight up that you're a bit too worried about keeping this a secret.

It shouldn't be something you're so worried about. You know... If your Muslims friends disown you, they aren't really your friends eh..?

I understand what you are saying, and I have thought about this myself. If I do choose to be Sikh, then the social issues shouldn't really matter. But the thing is, Muslim backlash about these things is severe, Muslims are meant to believe in death for appostates. Although it probably won't come to that, I don't want to risk getting myself into unnecessary distress before I've even made a choice, and I will need people's help afterwards. So I understand why you say that I shouldn't be worried, but please understand why I am.

Yes, I am an adult.

And so what if they find out you're thinking of converting? Whenever someone converts to Islam, the person who helped the individual convert always says something along the lines of "You made the right choice." or "You've seen the light."... However, the person who helped the new Muslim convert is not God, therefore cannot judge that individual and then declare such a thing. Everyone who is devoted to their religion sees the light. Just because one person really likes her/his religion, doesn't mean it is "the" light. If God sees everyone as equals, why would God only show "the" 'light' to a certain number of people? What I mean by this is...choosing a religion (don't matter which one it is) does not mean you made 'the' correct choice. What makes anything like that a correct choice is following the religion with unshakable and undying faith...which you are not doing at the moment.

I know I'm not doing that at the moment. But the thing is, I haven't made my decision yet. I am asking here so I can find somebody who can help me make the decision. My heart tells me one thing very strongly, but my head tells me to be cautious.

Thing is, you're confused. I really suggest that you understand what you truly wish for. Like... You know for a fact that there are things about Islam that you cannot accept, however you're worried about your friends disowning you. PICK ONE!...Faith or peers?

If you have ANY issues with Islam, you should be more worried about your faith/state of mind, rather than worry about your peers disowning you. You said you're suffering from depression already, but trust me buddy...depression is inevitable when you cannot choose what you want because of worrying about what your peers/"friends" want.

Yes, I am confused. But that confusion is between the different sides of my head. What my friends want is not something that will influence my decision, I will make sure of that, just as I did when I became Muslim in the first place and had to deal with the mocking atheists gave me, the racism and the bullying from my peers. However, my former friends are an issue that will affect my life quite a lot, to put it mildly, so it is an issue that I will need help with.

Like I said...your faith/state of mind is what you should be concerned about, not people disowning you. If you can "never accept" "so many things within Islam", why did you convert?

I converted to Islam because of bad reasons, I was young and didn't understand things properly. I don't want to make the same mistake again, so I am trying to find somebody who I can talk to and help weigh up my choices.

I stayed Muslim, however, because whilst I was stuggling with understanding it, my reasons for being a Muslim changed. I began to become spiritual, I understood and loved my religion, and for the first time ever I felt a special love in my heart for God. People who are born Muslim are Muslims for a bad reason as well: their parents decided for them. But does that mean that they will automatically grow to be bad Muslims? Of course not. Being a Muslim has changed me so much, for the better, from a boy to the man I am now. I understand people and the world so much now, compared to before. I've broken free from my depression (but is still there, clinically. I am still on medication) and want to love God with all my heart and all my soul!

But there are some issues with Islam that stop me from doing that, and that I don't understand. Muslims are taught to suppress these thoughts, doubts, as 'whispers of the devil', and for a long time, that's what I did. But I can't anymore. The fact is, despite all it has done for me, and all its good points, Islam isn't my true religion. There are so many things that I believe only because I have to, and I would not if I didn't. It seems Sikhi doesn't have this. It's core teachings feel completey consistent to me, both with eachother and with my heart. But just knowing the core teachings isn't enough, and I need somebody to teach me more so I can make the correct choice, unlike the one I made so many years ago.

I don't have much time now, so I can't finish responding to your post sorry.

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Guest Jaipal Singh

Hi - I consider myself a Gursikh although I am not Amritdhari. I would be happy to meet up with you (I am from Birmingham) and help where possible. Whilst my religious knowledge is dwarfed by more learned people here I am not completely clueless.

Gur Fateh

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But there are some issues with Islam that stop me from doing that, and that I don't understand. Muslims are taught to suppress these thoughts, doubts, as 'whispers of the devil', and for a long time, that's what I did. But I can't anymore. The fact is, despite all it has done for me, and all its good points, Islam isn't my true religion. There are so many things that I believe only because I have to, and I would not if I didn't. It seems Sikhi doesn't have this. It's core teachings feel completey consistent to me, both with eachother and with my heart. But just knowing the core teachings isn't enough, and I need somebody to teach me more so I can make the correct choice, unlike the one I made so many years ago.

Vaheguru ji ka khalsa, vaheguru ji ki fateh!

You are not the only one who has converted to islam from being an atheist, and then found sikhi! What you said there is exactly how i felt about islam back then.. It was better than christianity or other monotheistic religions i knew at that time. But it was continuous struggle against my own consciousness to accept things like kafirs going to hell. I used to read a lot about other religions too at that time, which gave some comfort, but at the same time made it even more frustrating.. i had started to believe in bits here and bits there. Then i came across Sikhi! It was the happiest time of my life. Everything in Sikhi made sense. It was love and freedom and pure bliss to read Gurbani for the first time. I was even childish enough to believe that everyone would automatically become sikhs if they just heard about it because it's so perfect and wonderful :lol: :BL: (well i still partly believe that, they just need to hear a bit more..)

I don't know what else to say.. but i'm happy for you, partly because your story reminds me of my own journey. I just hope you won't have too much trouble with the muslims you know and that they would still accept you as friend (which may be difficult). And it's good you are seeking Gursikh company right from the beginning.. i didn't for the first couple of years, and it's something that i regret. But you seem to be wiser. :)

Vaheguru ji ka khalsa, vaheguru ji ki fateh!

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Please know that no one from here will "force" you to "convert" into Sikhee. The choice will be up to you. However, its a Sikhs duty to inspire others and share Guru Nanak dev jee's divine message for the benefit of mankind and to realise the purpose of life.

Please note that I am still learning (rather slowly) and am not extremely knowledgeable in Gurmat. I am still doing a lot of "vichaar" (spiritual inquiry) on Gurbani (as per Sri Guru Granth sahib jee) on my own.

Initially I read books but that was not enough. I then realised that to understand Sikhee is make self effort (uddham) to read and contemplate on Gurbani as written in Sri Guru Granth sahib jee.

To help me I ask Akal Purakh (Allah/God) for help in this endeavour and guide me to understand Guru jees divine teachings (Gurmat). I ask Akal Purakh to help me, a moorkah , be a "Gurmukh" to realise the purpose of human life.

This online sites helps me a great deal "Gurbani.org". This site has recently started a "blog" page on Gurbani vichaar.

A shabad to contemplate on:

*

Do those deeds which the Guru has ordained. Why are you chasing after the Guru's actions?

Says Nanak, through the Guru's Teachings, merge in the True Lord ||27|| (sggs 933).

Note: Bride in the shabad refers to all of us as "soul brides". If you have any other queries on the shabad in the link above, please do not hesitate to ask.

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Guest The answered
Vaheguru ji ka khalsa, vaheguru ji ki fateh!

You are not the only one who has converted to islam from being an atheist, and then found sikhi! What you said there is exactly how i felt about islam back then.. It was better than christianity or other monotheistic religions i knew at that time. But it was continuous struggle against my own consciousness to accept things like kafirs going to hell. I used to read a lot about other religions too at that time, which gave some comfort, but at the same time made it even more frustrating.. i had started to believe in bits here and bits there. Then i came across Sikhi! It was the happiest time of my life. Everything in Sikhi made sense. It was love and freedom and pure bliss to read Gurbani for the first time. I was even childish enough to believe that everyone would automatically become sikhs if they just heard about it because it's so perfect and wonderful (well i still partly believe that, they just need to hear a bit more..)

I don't know what else to say.. but i'm happy for you, partly because your story reminds me of my own journey. I just hope you won't have too much trouble with the muslims you know and that they would still accept you as friend (which may be difficult). And it's good you are seeking Gursikh company right from the beginning.. i didn't for the first couple of years, and it's something that i regret. But you seem to be wiser.

Vaheguru ji ka khalsa, vaheguru ji ki fateh!

Thank you for this kind reply. It's good to know that there are other people in the same situation. I'm guessing you live in Canada or America though.

Still, I might join this forum so I can talk to you about things.

Vaheguru ji ka khalsa, vaheguru ji ki fateh!

You are not the only one who has converted to islam from being an atheist, and then found sikhi! What you said there is exactly how i felt about islam back then.. It was better than christianity or other monotheistic religions i knew at that time. But it was continuous struggle against my own consciousness to accept things like kafirs going to hell. I used to read a lot about other religions too at that time, which gave some comfort, but at the same time made it even more frustrating.. i had started to believe in bits here and bits there. Then i came across Sikhi! It was the happiest time of my life. Everything in Sikhi made sense. It was love and freedom and pure bliss to read Gurbani for the first time. I was even childish enough to believe that everyone would automatically become sikhs if they just heard about it because it's so perfect and wonderful (well i still partly believe that, they just need to hear a bit more..)

I don't know what else to say.. but i'm happy for you, partly because your story reminds me of my own journey. I just hope you won't have too much trouble with the muslims you know and that they would still accept you as friend (which may be difficult). And it's good you are seeking Gursikh company right from the beginning.. i didn't for the first couple of years, and it's something that i regret. But you seem to be wiser.

Vaheguru ji ka khalsa, vaheguru ji ki fateh!

Thank you for this kind reply. It's good to know that there are other people in the same situation. I'm guessing you live in Canada or America though.

Hi - I consider myself a Gursikh although I am not Amritdhari. I would be happy to meet up with you (I am from Birmingham) and help where possible. Whilst my religious knowledge is dwarfed by more learned people here I am not completely clueless.

Gur Fateh

Sounds like a possible proposal. I'll join the site so I can communicate with you.

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vir ji, there are books written by scholar Naranjan Singh available for free with free shipping from www.sikhnation.com. The explanations of Sikhi given by the saint who wrote these books are highly illuminating. I recommend you order these books and begin your investigations there.

There are English discourses on Sikhi available from http://www.gurunanakacademy.com/audio/index.php?q=f&f=%2FEnglish+Katha%2FBhai+Parminder+Singh+Ji . These are from a very spiritually accomplished sikh who unfortunately passed away a few years ago. Hope you enjoy these.

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What makes anything like that a correct choice is following the religion with unshakable and undying faith...which you are not doing at the moment.
I know I'm not doing that at the moment. But the thing is, I haven't made my decision yet. I am asking here so I can find somebody who can help me make the decision. My heart tells me one thing very strongly, but my head tells me to be cautious.
I didn't mean that you haven't made a decision to leave Islam/become a Sikh.. When I stated "following the religion with unshakable and undying faith, which you are not doing at the moment, I actually meant that you are not following Islam with undying faith. You said that you haven't made a decision yet, but I was actually referring to your decision to become a Muslim, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the confusion :)
I don't have much time now, so I can't finish responding to your post sorry.
'The answered', it's fine. When you get the chance to finish responding, please explain what a 'salam' is, and please explain what Puggis' are.

I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with those terms. I thought 'salam' was a Muslim greeting, so now I'm confused.

Thank you.

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Guest The answered

^Salaam is NOT Muslim but URDU and Urdu is a beautiful language. Pugg is the punjabi word for Turban and Puggis would be Turban wearing Sikhs i guess. like turbanators lol

'Asalamu Alaykum' is an Arabic Muslim greeting with a religious origin. It is used in many different languages, however. It means 'may peace be upon you', which is a beautiful saying but for some reason Muslims are not permitted to share this prayer with 'Kafirs': non-Muslims.

'Puggi' was something I heard one of my Urdu-speaking friends refer to Sikhs as. I got annoyed every time people did things like this, but what can you do? Ignorant attitudes are so common with people.

I read about the Gurus on Sikhs.org, but there was no biography of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Do you know where I can find one? All those links people sent have been very useful anyway.

BTW, I've applied to join the forum but I haven't recieved my confirmation email yet.

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