I Am Calling You Out

[Wales85]

No other religion I have ever encountered has been more equipped to handle the many challenges that face the modern world as sikhism. A spiritual void is sweeping across the west, and I feel that sikhism, if properly explained, could address this moral and religious vacuum. As much as I despite it, Islam is growing in the west and this is not only due to immigration. Muslims actively evangelize, and they are vocal about their beliefs. The fact that their beliefs tend to border on insane doesn't matter, since many westerners are longing for the spiritual home that their parents had... but cannot accept the concept of a triune God or the divinity of a man. I am calling all of you sikhs out. You should be ashamed. You have been given this great gift, been born into this amazing faith, and you have not done nearly enough to bring it to the world. Of course no one likes religion being shoved down their throat... but is it not the case that in the old days many sikh missionaries were sent by the Gurus.. and this is likely how your family became sikh? Do you not owe others this same opportunity? Did the Gurus intend sikhism only for a select few punjabis and no one else? Can you imagine how many of the problems addressed on this site would be alleviated if the sikh religion became common among non punjabis? Do you realize how fast and how quickly the sikh religion could take off, and how wonderful that could be for both mankind and for the cultural and political influence of sikhs? If there were a million more sikhs, on fire with the love of God, how many more philosophers, doctors, philanthropist, and politicians would bring their gifts to the quam?

I challenge everyone who reads this to tell at least one person about your religion. Don't wait for them to ask, just tell them. Ask them if they would like to go to Gurdwara with you. Ask them if they are familiar with your beliefs. The product is priceless, but the marketing department sucks. You aren't doing anyone any favors by not giving them this opportunity, and you all have a religious obligation to bring the Guru's teachings to a world that is in desperate need of it.

WJKK WJKF!!!!!!

[Singh559]

I agree with you that a lot of us, or at least I am an embarrassment. I don't think we should try to convert anyone, but should simply inform about our history and identity. If we change ourselves the atmosphere around us changes and people automatically start looking up to us. We have a duty to serve humanity and the chardi kalaa of the Sikh panth over any other worldly desire.

For my pre-history-1600s class I'm going to be doing Sikh history as my paper and presentation. Should be interesting, wish me luck.

Another thing we need to acknowledge is not all religions are essentially bad. Some may have changed from the original intent into something completely different, but if someone is a good person and considers them self any religion, i don't think religion would matter. Sadly as you said there is a spiritual void left in the west and many people are on the verge of atheism and are becoming senile.

Have faith and never stop trusting Guru Ji! <3

At the end of the day whatever happens everyone should TRULY happy regardless of religion.

(accepted in my own little way i guess, don't believe in converting though)

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsaa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!!

[guptkuri]

I accept your challenge, veer ji

[Mehtab Singh]

Good thoughts, but I disagree on "selling/marketing" Sikhi. If someone asks me about Sikhi, I won't spare him/her till I have spoken on Sikhi for half an hour, but I won't go out to "sell" Sikhi to someone who doesn't even feel the need. Sorry sir, we are not like Christians or Muslims looking for converts, and you can take that from someone who himself "converted" to Sikhi

Challenge accepted long ago, only to share this priceless jewel, not to sell/market it. If this was the case, we wouldn't have a single person from a Sikh family who cut his/her hair. Its all in Gurujee's hands, all His bhaana, all His kirpa. If He wishes to make us the tools to inspire others, so be it. But if we take it upon ourselves to treat Sikhi like a marketable commodity, we've lost the plot.

Apologies for the partially disagreeing viewpoint

[Wales85]

I totally get what some of your are saying about "not converting". I couldn't agree more, its one of the best attributes of sikhi. I am saying to be the same type of missionary that the early sikhs were. What I am saying is that their are SOOOOO many people who need what the Gurus taught... but sikhs have become very anti-missionary (prob due in large part to the awful conversion tactics of some christians/MUSLIMS) to the point that very few people are aware of what sikhism offers. If I was not married to a punjabi girl... I can guarantee you I would have no knowledge of sikhi. It took years before I even knew much about it, because people simply never talked about it. That is a shame and a travesty! Something this great should not be hidden, it should be made available to all. If you see your brother dying of thirst in the desert, would you not offer him something to drink? I can even tell you from ample experience... in many cases you can practically be begging for it and sikhs still feel awkward about telling you about it! Why?! Early sikhs were dispatched across asia to spread these teachings.... literally acting as missionaries. Guru Nanak Dev Gi travelled all around asia/middle east to spread these teachings...... and it was much harder back then. How can sikhs justify not doing the same thing when it is so easy to do in this day and age.

As to the comment about religions... I can certainly agree. I feel this is especially true with many catholics that I meet.... salt of the earth.. but the theological beliefs that you are forced to believe simply drive many people away. It leaves many of us (including myself for many years) with a bad feeling because they believe so strongly in God but cannot swallow that he is a trinity/becomes bread/etc. I think God still loves people of all religions and accepts their devotion, since it is actions that he cares about. However... we all need nourishment... and how difficult it is to be nourished when you have to force yourself to believe so many crazy things! Many deist without a religion in the states... where else can they go? Offer sikhism... you will find that many of them need it desperately but they don't even know it exist! Without it you have to go it alone... without a guide... and that is very very hard!

[Singh559]

I think we should simply focus on ourselves and then create institutions for the betterment of society and SIkh community centers in Punjab, around the states, free educational centers, free medical centers, ect.. ect.. and it will happen automatically.

Setting up a museum dedicated to Sikh history preservation and a true account of SIkh history. There are still a few things in history that have been distorted by RSS and British influence, if we create a solid foundation we won't be able to be attacked in terms of falsifying our history...

We need unity and youth leadership for this to occur and GurSikh thinking of the highest order.

Just saw this two days ago:

That is where the problem lies, we need to get together and open up to each other for real.

[VanHelsingh]

I Am Calling You Out

You're calling ME out? No, I call YOU out! :D

I agree with Wales85, but people are so weary of (all) religion nowadays its difficult. Nevertheless, its worth a try.