Questions, *~Please Respond*~

[DDAVIDALE]

Dear sangat

Whilst surfing the net I've come across many ex-sikhs who've left the fold and joined up with some other self-fulfilling path:

1.NAMDHARIS

2.NANAK NAAM CHARDI KALA-Darshan Das

3.RADHASWAMI

4.NIRANKARI

5.RAM RAHEEM SIRSA

6.OSHO

7.ASHUTOSH

AMONGST THE OTHER DEHDARI FOLLOWERS.

My question is that why do people leave the faith/path they were born in, do they out of choice, enlightement and contentment that they find elsewhere, because to my knowledge all of the above preach the same gospel as shri guru granth sahib, use the same mantra and even adopt the same outward appearance? If some of the baba above never had turbans or kept kesh would people follow them? Sikhism already has and always will contain the essential qualities required to be a righteous person and live a honest life but why do people wander, or as my colleague put it why does the government create groups that wanna oppose sikhism?

[motorcyclewale]

people are fooled by outter appearance. these above listed sects, their babe are all fake from the inside. but people dont realize that. and are brainwashed into believing you need to have a deh-dhari guru. and no, if these babe didnt keep kesh, nobody would follow them, even the babe themselvs know this, that keeping kesh is important no matter who you claim to be. so in order to lead the people into believing them, they have the sikhi appearance, but from the inside, its all just show, for the money.

and the goverment does all this, well simply cuz they just dont like sikhi, plain and simple. they know if everybody becomes 100% sikh, and only believes guru granth sahib ji, theres gonna be khalsa raj everywhere in the region. and they still scared of the whole khalistan idea. its all done for political reasons. so they figure, dont let them become khalse, and they wont get khalistan, or khalsa raj. theres big big money spent behind all these anti sikh things. people are paid big bucks to say things anti sikhi. only to confuse the people and mislead them.

[Ek0sikh]

Sikhism is difficult (or very easy for some) religion in terms of rules and regulations for many in punjab i.e. whether it is keeping turban on or doing nitnem banis. Sikhism opposes "pujarivaad"(special class who pray for you but it has again become prevalent) and many other superstitious dogmas which still prevail in our society. whereas following a baba is much more easier option and with special favours they can/will pray for you to the almighty and take care of your problems.

I have also heard that the babas in question make things easier for people by describing things in the most accepted format or as a concocted story so that people can buy into their ideas and ways to achieve hapiness (based on what many of these followers said to me).whereas gurbani is much more difficult to understand and follow for the common man i.e. the idea of self-study and self-restraints to lead pious life.

the notion of having a supernatural power or a living person (same as a pundit) to help in distress (most people become followers when they are faced with severe problems in their personal life) OR the idea of attaching to a power-base nearby to gain some sort of personal satisfaction/favours or in many cases work ( yes, getting jobs and earining their livlihood through these deras....)

some followers have been dissidents who simply opposed sikh way of life (the strict rules regarding alcohol/tabacco/un cut hair etc) and want to follow something different which also relates to the govt strategy to implant -ve "strains" in certain areas maybe to tackle extremism. Punjab is dominated by certain orgs/parties like RSS, shiv sena, BSP who have built their stronghold in cities especially and they promote most of these deras extensively which benefits their own agendas.

above all levels of illeteracy has also played a significant role in this where people tend to follow the easier route and NOT study religious scriptures/ gurbani themselves(but rely on others). this gap is widening and is a major cause for concern in terms declining "youth" population in Gurdwaras.

Once a dera becomes famous then its the vicious circle of vote bank and every state government start favouring them.

bhul chuk maaf........................