Why does Sikhi have different jathas?

[Simran9]

Today I wanna know why Sikhi has so many jathas. I think these can be considered to be like factions, like in Christianity they have split into Protestants or Roman Catholics, etc.

I have minimal knowledge about the different jathas in Sikhi, in fact whatever I do know is from this forum. I'm wondering what was the need to create these jathas when we all should be uniting under the nishaan sahib and the banner of Khalsa. There have been good things that came out from jathas cuz they highlighted different aspects of Sikhi and enforced them. But there are differences between the jathas too, and that is where they go in different directions.

It's like saying "I'm American" but I'm a "Republican." In the same way we all call ourselves Sikhs but then we are affiliated with some particular jatha.

So why do we separate ourselves into different jathas that enforce different rules? I thought most if not all questions are answered in SGGS ji, so why do jathas disagree on certain points? I think maybe they are in disagreement cuz they have misinterpreted Gurbani, or they have some other agenda....i dunno. I think Guru Gobind Singh ji created the ultimate jatha for us: Khalsa. So why is there a need to still have more jathas?

I know a lot of members here are part of some jatha....I don't mean to offend anyone. I just don't understand the need for more jathas. I didn't know bout jathas until I came across this forum...

thanx in advance to anyone who sheds light

on this. :wub:

[simmal tree]

in my humble opinion bhainjee satpreet kaur jee, there is nothing wrong with jathaas

akhand keertanee jathaa formerly known as nirbaan keertanee jathaa

or dam dami taksaal jatha bhindra (mehta)

or the respected nihung singh dals

and the various sangat groups and other establishments

they are all just there for the well-being of the gursikhs

they do not intend to seperate us

they are like different rooms in the house of guru nanak

at the end of the day we all eat at the same table

and if we dont' we should

at the end of the day we all pray in the same room

and if we don't we should

but we can't say why does guru nanaks' house have all these rooms

it's a mansion - obviously there will be different areas

please don't confuse jathas with sects

sikhi does not have any sects

the bard, "Keerat Jee" has said it really clearly

listen there is only one highest path - that is the Guru's sangat

ek utham panth sunio gur sangat

and upon meeting them the noose of death is cut away

So that's for sure and final - that we are all one

ek pitha ekas kay hum baarak

Guru sahib says it

but please don't think these jathas are going against that

Sometimes the jathas do get clogged or polluted and you can think that if they are a child of guru jee - they are shutting the door of their room to guru jee's other children and they don't come down for dinner at night

they are losing out.

guru sahib will do kirpaa upon his children when they learn and practice guru sah

ib's teachings that "gursikhaa eiko pyaar gurmithaa puthaa bhaaeeaa"

we are all like siblings, like friends

we are all children of guru gobind singh jee

please do not think that jathas are like protestants and catholics

protestants and catholics and other denominations won't even meet with each other

whereas the different jathas meet and intermingle

there are many people who intermingle

just for example there could be a gursikh who took amrit at anandpur sahib, learned santhiya from a teacher from rara sahib and they go to "sadh sangat" smagams in dodra punjab, and they believe keski is a kakaar, and they wear a taksali kirpan and they do seva at their local nanaksaria gurdwara

or a whole different group of jathas and different teachings mixed - it happens all the time

therefore please understand these are different "schools" and "areas" but definately not different 'sects' because 'sects' do not intermingle

i agree with you satpreet kaur bhainjee that you see some of the politics and it stresses you... and you want to know how can that be solved

the solution is on an individual level - i have to do my nitnem and to do ardas to guru jee

everything else is in guru jee's hands - i can't do anything else

i would answer a much longer post, i usually talk much more than this - but it's late at night and i'm not very alert and awake :wub:

bhul chuk maaf karnaa jee

stay in chardee kalaa

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw!

vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!!

[DhadiMania]

each jatha does parchaar, no doubt about it. but each jatha clashes with one another due to the fact each jatha has different beliefs.

of course there petty little squabbles may go on for ever and forever. but have they not considered actually uniting just like satpreet said and that way get khalsa raj.

if they really do want to fight, they can do, but fight with maya that is inflicting such terrible damage on us.

take an example of Temuchin (the guy who moulded mongolia into a powerful nation in the 13th century). Because he united all the mongol tribes, temuchin's name was given the title of great khan, Genghis Khan.

each tribe was unique, one had heavy cavalry while the others had archers etc etc. Genghis Khan began to do deals with them i.e. if you join we will give you this. they all joined under one banner. the nine bands banner. together each tribe unified and attacked the finest armies of the world. in a matter of a few decades, the mongols stretched from the west to the cities of persia, hungary and germany, to the east china. Genghis Khan created the largest empire ever created by one man (all of asia and eastern europe was in his hands). for a man born in a tent, people thought genghis had torn open the gates of heaven itself. Genghis and his mother used to eat wild mushrooms and rats to surivive. but the children and grandchildren ate of persian gold.

he died when he was 80, due to old age (obviously), his son Ogatai khan was good, but other leaders could not control the tribes. result, the Mongol Empire fell less than two centuries after Genghis died.

so how does this apply to us?

Well, we need a great khan, but this time a great

singh that can unite every single jatha under the nishaan sahib. that way we can set off for world expansion. but of course not wreack havoc and destruction like Genghis did to the world. we need to unite, get khalsa raj, and have a common enemy to fight with. that enemy is maya, the nirankari's, namdharis. the list goes on and on.

but the question is, who will be our great khan?

[GurSa Singh]

just for example there could be a gursikh who took amrit at anandpur sahib, learned santhiya from a teacher from rara sahib and they go to "sadh sangat" smagams in dodra punjab, and they believe keski is a kakaar, and they wear a taksali kirpan and they do seva at their local nanaksaria gurdwara

Now that's what I call a true Khalsa.....

[Khalsa4ever]

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw!

vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!!

Yeah... that's an interesting question.

I myself prefer to see us all as Sikh... but I suppose different "styles" of Sikhi within Sikhism do exist, hence the different Jathas.

I'm kinda leaning towards the fact that different rehatnamas exist within the Khalsa panth as the main cause of this... because if there was only one practiced Rehit, there would be only one Panth :wub:

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw!

vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!!

[Jaspaul Singh]

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw!

vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!!

Yeah... that's an interesting question.

I myself prefer to see us all as Sikh... but I suppose different "styles" of Sikhi within Sikhism do exist, hence the different Jathas.

I'm kinda leaning towards the fact that different rehatnamas exist within the Khalsa panth as the main cause of this... because if there was only one practiced Rehit, there would be only one Panth :wub:

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw!

vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!!

Really great question again !!

I do see your concerns as looking upon this and i can agree wit you too, since sikhi is a very young religion, u dont know how many different groups would form in the near future.. just look at the outcome of the nirakdharis, radhoswamis, etc...

But i fully agree wit Khalsa4ever veerji on this!! :e:

[joga singh]

yes, the same way like we have so many sikhi forums ,

earlier i had requested to merge all forums in one ,but i got reply that

its not possible . :wub: @

so whats wrong in so many jathas , when we modern sikhs cannot keep one forum. :e:

[Vaheguru24/7]

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw!

vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!!

Thing is, everyone has a different lifestyle, everyone is an individual, so what is best for one person is not necessarily best for everyone. Just taking an example, when I do Simran, I find it easier to concentrate if the Simran is done on the vaja, at a fairly fastish speed, with tabla and loads of chainai (if ur into jathas, then that's probably akj style ). But I've got many friends who prefer slow, peaceful simran without vaja/tabla etc.

The way I see it is that neither of us are "wrong", but we need to respect that we are all at different stages and Guru Sahib has blessed us all with an individual understanding of Gurbani and Gursikhi.

Guru Sahib said to have "prem" and i think that's the most important quality of a Gursikh. Who are we to judge others for following what they believe is right? How do we know that what we understand of Gurbani is the "correct" interpretation? I can't say about anyone else, but I'm certainly not knowledgeable enough to have a good understanding of Gurbani - I just do what "feels right" for me.

I don't see a problem with different jathas SO LONG AS THEIR AIM IS SAME - BANI AND SIMRAN AND BANI AND SIMRAN!! To me, well, it's just taking a different route to the same ultimate goal!

Sorry if I've offend

ed anyone, but it's very upsetting to keep seeing gursikh fighting over so-called "sikhi issues" when we should be following GURbani - the GURU'S teachings! We need to go back to basics - daya (compassion). What is the point in arguing over these small issues (and let's be honest, 99% of the disagreements arejust plain daft! How many banis should we do in the morning, what style of dastaar is best etc etc) Let's just all do simran and bani and leave the rest up to Guru Jee. If someone is straying, then encourage them to read more bani and do more simran - don't try and force them to do things a certain way if it's not right for them.

And in our daily ardaasaan, please let's pray for daya and ekta in the panth.

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw!

vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!!

[SSB]

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw!

vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!!

Vaheguru24/7 i totally agree with you! :wub:

i also like doing simran fast but my family like doing it slow i love akj simran

[Deep Singh]

Well, i think it is always good to have different opinions represented...and in a way that is done when we have different jathas or sampardais. As long as the basis of our thoughts, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, is there...than i think it does not matter if there are different jathas, etc. It is infact good to have jathas, just for the reason that: we have got different opinions....and that is good! not just one-sided thinking.