Why Are Religions Like Budhism And Jainism More Famous Then Sikhism

[VerbalArtistry]

Sikhism is not even popular amongst "Sikhs" never mind comparing it to other religions. The community is too ritualistic in a way, Questioning or free thinking is considered blasphemy, expecting of people to be perfect overnight, being judgmental not forgetting apathy amongst Sikh parents when teaching the next generations, and then apathy of the youth to not come forward, which leads to those dastardly old folks and mutely side kicks to freely do as they choose.

[Mehtab Singh]

Sikhism is not even popular amongst "Sikhs" never mind comparing it to other religions. The community is too ritualistic in a way, Questioning or free thinking is considered blasphemy, expecting of people to be perfect overnight, being judgmental not forgetting apathy amongst Sikh parents when teaching the next generations, and then apathy of the youth to not come forward, which leads to those dastardly old folks and mutely side kicks to freely do as they choose.

Maybe based on your experience/interaction thats true for some members of the Sikh community, but definitely not for all Sikhs.

[sunny_love_kirtan]

@ topic starter.

if u are talking abt. india then i do not agree with u. sikhism is more popular in india than budhism or jainism. acc. to 2001 census there are 19.2 million sikhs in india whereas buddhists are just 7.6 million & jains 4.4 million.

& if u are talking abt world then i would say yes budhism is more popular bcoz there are over 400 million of them as compare to 19.2 mn sikhs.

haha ridiculous

we r'nt even talking about quantity of sikhs because quality is more important. My topic is about awareness of sikhism among non-sikhs.

obviously u cant compare the popularity or awareness of sikhism with budhism in Punjab. We all know the figures and its too easy to google.

[Guest Ksingh5]

My brother,

The Sikh religion will never be adopted by the west in the present climate as the adoption of Buddha and Hindu Dharma has been.

The Sikh faith in the eyes of the west seems to be very 2 dimensional, there seems to be no difference between the Abrahamic religions and the Sikh religion. You may argue we have a new philosophy to offer to the world but my argument to this is proving it.

We in the Sikh Dharma do not have any person with a deeper philosophical thought that can share their points with west and open their minds. In the past there have been Sikhs with these qualities but they have been ignored or ex-communicated. This Sikh faith is no different to any other western religion.

The question will arise from western thought, how are the Sikhs different?

My answer to this will be, we are not different to Hindu or Buddhist but we share the same thought process to reach enlightenment.

We Sikhs have always failed the western philosophers; the philosophy that has been translated by our religious leaders and academics is very weak. No depth has been given to the philosophy and even when the words are challenged? We do not have academics to answers these challenges.

We are the 5^th largest religion in the world and that’s about what we are a number in the statistics.

[Mehtab Singh]

Akl klw nh pweIAY pRBu AlK AlyKM ]

akal kalaa neh paaeeai prabh alakh alaekha(n) ||

God is not found by intellectual devices; He is unknowable and unseen.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Raag Maaroo on Ang 1098

The Sikh religion will never be adopted by the west in the present climate as the adoption of Buddha and Hindu Dharma has been.

That is purely your personal opinion which you are free to have and share, however, since that is based on your experiences, it doesn't have to be the absolute truth. There have been, there are and there always will be seekers from every culture who will embrace Sikhi.

iehu scu sBnw kw Ksmu hY ijsu bKsy so jnu pwvhy ]

eihu sach sabhanaa kaa khasam hai jis bakhasae so jan paavehae ||

This Truth is the Lord and Master of all; whoever is blessed, obtains it.

Guru Amar Daas Ji in Raag Raamkalee on Ang 917

ndir kry ijsu AwpxI so clY siqgur Bwie ]

nadhar karae jis aapanee so chalai sathigur bhaae ||

Whoever is blessed with the Lord's Glance of Grace, walks in harmony with the Will of the True Guru.

Guru Raam Daas Ji in Salok Vaaraan Thay Vadheek on Ang 1421

The Sikh faith in the eyes of the west seems to be very 2 dimensional, there seems to be no difference between the Abrahamic religions and the Sikh religion.

Again, that is your personal observation. A minor study of Gurbani is suffice to prove how distinct Sikhi is from all Abrahamic faiths.

Awqm rwmu sMswrw ]

aatham raam sa(n)saaraa ||

O Supreme Soul of the World,

swcw Kylu qum@wrw ]

saachaa khael thumhaaraa ||

Your play is true.

scu Kylu qum@wrw Agm Apwrw quDu ibnu kauxu buJwey ]

sach khael thumhaaraa agam apaaraa thudhh bin koun bujhaaeae ||

Your play is true, O Inaccessible and Infinite Lord; without You, who can make me understand?

Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Raag Soohee on Ang 764

You may argue we have a new philosophy to offer to the world but my argument to this is proving it.

Sikhi is definitely a new, unique and distinct philosophy. Anyone who says its not, or feels its a mix of Hinduism and Islam has unfortunately studied only the tip of the iceberg.

We in the Sikh Dharma do not have any person with a deeper philosophical thought that can share their points with west and open their minds.

If the western mindset wants a convenient version of Sikhi, then thats their misfortune. It depends on them what they want to accept. Sikhi is not where you choose what you want to follow and what you don't. Sikh means student/disciple/follower. Not selector/chooser. You either choose to abide by the teachings of the Gurus or don't, meaning you can either be a Sikh or you cannot be. There is no pick-and-choose in Sikhi as this is not a business, its a spiritually progressive developmental journey of the soul towards Vaheguru.

In the past there have been Sikhs with these qualities but they have been ignored or ex-communicated.

And I am sure there was a good reason why.

This Sikh faith is no different to any other western religion.

There is no western religion. The Abrahamic religions followed in the west actually started in the Middle East. And I repeat, a minor study of Gurbani is suffice to prove how distinct Sikhi is from all Abrahamic faiths. Bhai Gurdas Jee has clearly said "Nanak Nirmal Panth Chalaya", meaning that Sahib Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jee Maharaj started a new and flawless path.

The question will arise from western thought, how are the Sikhs different?

Again, its upto the west as to how they want to approach Sikhi. Do they want to accept, or do they want to pick-and-choose.

My answer to this will be, we are not different to Hindu or Buddhist but we share the same thought process to reach enlightenment.

The only similarity we have to Hindus and Buddhists is that we too are human beings just like them. Other than that, their beliefs are clearly different. The salvation/liberation in Hinduism/Buddhism is nowhere similar to that of Sikhi. Besides that there are loads of other differences as well.

We Sikhs have always failed the western philosophers;

Why do you keep measuring with the scale of western standards? Sikhs don't owe any favor to the western philosophers/thinkers that we will modify Sikhi to appease their mindset. If they have failed, its their comprehensive and intellectual caliber that is too short of measuring the vastness of Gurmat. Its not our fault that they are the ones analyzing Sikhi based on their own confined and finite horizon.

the philosophy that has been translated by our religious leaders and academics is very weak.

Which is why leaders and scholars do damage. True Sikhi is what was lived and practiced by Gurmukh piyaare over the centuries, not what political leaders and scholars (chunch giyanis) utter.

kbIr swcw siqguru ikAw krY jau isKw mih cUk ]

kabeer saachaa sathigur kiaa karai jo sikhaa mehi chook ||

Kabeer, what can the True Guru do, when His Sikhs are at fault?

AMDy eyk n lwgeI ijau bWsu bjweIAY PUk ]158]

a(n)dhhae eaek n laagee jio baa(n)s bajaaeeai fook ||158||

The blind do not take in any of His Teachings; it is as useless as blowing into bamboo. ||158||

Bhagat Kabeer Ji in Salok Kabeer Jee on Ang 1372

No depth has been given to the philosophy and even when the words are challenged?

What aspect of philosophy and which words are you referring to here?

We do not have academics to answers these challenges.

And which challenges would these be?

[VanHelsingh]

Let's not put these western thinkers on a pedestal. Yes, there are a lot of highly intelligent and deep thinkers amongst them, but western culture and most 'normal' people (probably generalising) seem to err towards shortcuts or simple solutions. Ideas which don't tally with convention are largely ignored or - even worse - ridiculed and/or feared.