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I'm a guy born into a Sikh family raised in the west. Our life at home was always secular and aside from a few things like what we can eat and stuff religion never played any significant role in dictating who we were allowed to befriend or what to wear or even what to believe. I consider myself very lucky in that my parents have always been extremely open-minded people and would rather have us go down our own paths and follow something that makes us happy rather than stick to their beliefs just because we feel obligated. My mum and dad have integrated very well into Canadian society and being born here this country has my allegiance and I'm certainly very proud to be a part of it.

I decided a few years ago that I felt uncomfortable aligning myself with any absolutes religion because at the end of the day none of us knows for sure where we came from, why we're here or where we're going. Some of us have very strong beliefs/opinions, but nothing is actually clear-cut. So I started calling myself an Agnostic. But a while back I started taking a big interest in philosophy and religion and made a point of seeking out as much information as I possibly could, but with school and extracurriculars everything has been pretty limited thus far. I started out thinking that I could be a Christian or a Jew. I was fascinated with the deep Abrahamic history that came along with those two faiths, and although I found good teachings in both I was put off of both due to their absolutes nature. I looked into Islam a bit but it never got too far. Aside from the "us vs them" mentality that goes along with the religion, I felt myself constantly disagreeing with a new teaching no matter how many new corners I turned. I would have looked into Hinduism (I'm already quite familiar with it as my House has plenty of Hindu deities on pictures and other art forms), but I don't know how I feel about the idea of multiple God's, and I'm much more comfortable believing in one supreme ruler of the universe (if any exists at all). I really really like Buddhism and it's something I'm still looking into and is a possibility but this being a Sikh forum I won't talk about it here. And then finally there was Sikhism. The only path I've come across so far that appeals to me as much (if not even more) than Buddhism. I tried talking to my parents about it but their knowledge is limited.

In one way it's a blessing to be living at the heart of the largest Sikh community in North America but in another way it's not. I find that too many people around here are "cultural Sikh" rather than the true types. Whereas Sikhi teaches acceptance of all regardless of their skin color, people around here look down on the blacks as sub-human. Whereas Sikhi teaches universal-brotherhood, people around here would rather disown their daughters (and occasionally sons) than let them marry a white person, not because of religious differences but because of what "other people will think". Whereas Sikhi teaches to respect others and have good manners, people around here don't know the meaning of the words. This is even apparent among our religious leaders who should be setting the example. Call me crazy, but when I see a white/asian/black person come to the Gurdwara (yeah I still go regularly with my family), I feel honored that they would take the time to research this religion and take an interest (because this isn't an evangelical/missionary religion) and come alone (which they usually do) to a new place that seems foreign, and because of this I feel it is my duty to at the very least walk over and say hi and offer to bring them something if they're eating, try to answer any questions theymay have or if I can't, direct them towards someone with more knowledge than me. But I find that far too often they are ignored. They leave just as they came in, without talking to a single person. Most people (even the people who do sewa) won't even look at them and just assume that they're some poor person who has come off the streets for a free meal, even though I find that that's very rarely the case. And lastly, whereas Sikhi teaches us to uphold social justice, many people here have never heard of the expression. Family members letting someone in the family be abused rather than helping them get help from the authorities because they're embarrassed of what other Sikhs/Punjabi community members might think of their dirty laundry, people lying, cheating, stealing and manipulating others to get their way etc... and being someone who has grown up in a very multicultural community, I find this to be the case more among the Punjabi/Sikhs than other groups like whites or asians, but you could argue that anyone who acts like this isn't a Sikh at all, just in name, which I would agree with.

The reason I'm telling you this is that although I realize that not all of us act like this, I just to happened to live around and meet many people in the Gurdwara who do, and it just always sort of painted a negative image of the religion in my head. After doing only a bit of research quickly found that although these people wear turbans or are baptized, they're the very opposite of what a Sikh should be like. Whenever I have a question or someone else does on the proper behavior that a Sikh would employ in any given situation, I now look instead at the example set out by our Gurus and look at their manners and conduct and morality for guidance. I really very much like what I see which is why I'm back on here. There are still certain things like the nature of God and the importance of Baptism that I am unsure of but as far as an example of how a normal person should live their every day life and treat the people around them goes, I think I'd be hard pressed to find a better guide than Sikhi.

With all that being said, before I jump in any deeper there are a few questions that I would like answered. If anyone can help me out, please do so it really is very much appreciated :)

1) What is the criteria one must meet in order to merge back with God after death?

2) If you do not meet these criteria but are still generally a good and decent, what happens to you?

3) What happens to you if you were a bad person? If it's reincarnation into lower-life forms, how long does this go on for before you're given another chance?

4) Can Atheists/Agnostics ever attain full-salvation?

5) If I try my best to follow the moral/ethical teachings of the Gurus and try to be a good person the way Sikhi teaches I should, but I do not become baptized or keep my hair at all, would I still be at liberty to call myself a Sikh, and if yes, could someone like me ever attain full salvation as outlined in Sikhi?

6) Does the Golden Rule exist in Sikhi? Is there every any mention of it anywhere or at least its implication?

7) According to Sikhi, is it more important to be someone who follows a religion, believes in God and engages in regular prayer or be someone who does their best to make the world a better place and put a smile on someone's face everyday by being the type of pure and kind-hearted person who you could trust with your life?

I'm sure I'll have more later but those are all I can think of right now. If you've read all the way up until now I thank you very much for taking the time to help out a stranger who needs your advice. Take care, and God bless.

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Your saying that your," parents have always been extremely open-minded people and would rather have us go down our own paths and follow something that makes us happy rather than stick to their beliefs just because we feel obligated." shows how your parents have failed to bring you up as a Sikh. They were not being " extremely open-minded people" but extremely lazy people who had no time to teach you about their own religion, about your rich culture, your mother language and left you an absolutely confused and a person without any roots.

So try to rediscover your roots as a Sikh and you will get the answer to your questions.

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Your saying that your," parents have always been extremely open-minded people and would rather have us go down our own paths and follow something that makes us happy rather than stick to their beliefs just because we feel obligated." shows how your parents have failed to bring you up as a Sikh. They were not being " extremely open-minded people" but extremely lazy people who had no time to teach you about their own religion, about your rich culture, your mother language and left you an absolutely confused and a person without any roots.

So try to rediscover your roots as a Sikh and you will get the answer to your questions.

. Veer ji please take time to read the full post, why do we feel the need to needlessly attack someones upbringing? Not everyones brought up the same way, and is blessed with being born into a Gursikh famly. Veerji above has stated his parents had limited knowledge of Sikhism.. We do not know the whole story, and what does it matter in relation to the topic?

Chis brother, i will let someone else answer your questions who has better understanding of Gurbani then me, these are questions many ask when first starting on the path of Sikhi. Hope you get your answers

Also this is must watch , for anyone new to Sikhi, as Sant Mani Singh ji does an amazing english q & a with sangat, you may need headphones, also there are 2 parts.

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Hello Chris, welcome to SIkhSangat. Thanks for sharing your story and your experience with Sikhi. I remember a long time ago a white Sikh named Chris came to our Gurudwara. I was probably in middle school then and had cut hair and very little knowledge about Sikhi but I sat and spoke with him. He shared his story and his experiences prior to becoming a Sikh. He used to be a part of the military, when he completed his service he began preaching the gospel. I forgot the reasoning but he left what he was doing and began exploring other religions, when he came across Sikhi he started to go to various Gurudwaras but he always got ignored. He noticed the tension but one day he brought a camera and he got a line of uncles to get an interview lol. I agree, there is a lot of setbacks in the Punjabi mindset and more often than not Sikhs start mixing Punjabi culture with Sikhi. A lot of Sikhs are Punjabi but that doesn't mean only Punjabis can be Sikhs.

I think the best way to understand what Sikhi is, is to listen to katha by accomplished Sikhs. The English katha posted by GuptUnknown: " Sant Baba Mani Singh Ji" is amazing, have a listen to that.

Also, please check out all the videos on this YouTube channel called "BasicsOfSikhi" : http://www.youtube.c...sofsikhi/videos

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1) What is the criteria one must meet in order to merge back with God after death?

Perhaps other Sikhs can guide you on this. I couldn't help but only parrot my basic understanding of Sikhi. The katha by Sant Baba Mani Singh answers this quite well.

2) If you do not meet these criteria but are still generally a good and decent, what happens to you?

I don't think we can answer this but our karams decide what happens. Until we merge back to Waheguru we either go in the cycle of birth and death. Some who have done good but haven't realized God may be given another chance on Earth.

3) What happens to you if you were a bad person? If it's reincarnation into lower-life forms, how long does this go on for before you're given another chance?

Guru Nanak Dev Ji said there are 8.4 million joons (scientific estimates range anywhere from 7.8-8.7 million). The cycle of birth and death itself is punishment until we've realized where we have come from and merge back into the One Light - Waheguru.

4) Can Atheists/Agnostics ever attain full-salvation?

Sikhi is a religion only because it has to be. Sikhi is a Universal lifestyle. Rehit is there to prevent us from falling, it's like security/insurance if we fall on the path of manmat.

[5) If I try my best to follow the moral/ethical teachings of the Gurus and try to be a good person the way Sikhi teaches I should, but I do not become baptized or keep my hair at all, would I still be at liberty to call myself a Sikh, and if yes, could someone like me ever attain full salvation as outlined in Sikhi?

To be a Sikh you can do either of the two: Make Guru Sahib your Guru or listen to what Guru Sahib is telling. The end result is the same. Guru Gobind Singh Ji instructed Sikhs to have uncut hair and administered Khanday Batay Da Amrit. This, however, doesn't mean you can't be a Sikh so long as you have the drive to become a full Sikh. Watch this video, it answers your question directly :

6) Does the Golden Rule exist in Sikhi? Is there every any mention of it anywhere or at least its implication?

The Golden Rule are the teachings of the Gurus. There are many, perhaps you could be more specific?

7) According to Sikhi, is it more important to be someone who follows a religion, believes in God and engages in regular prayer or be someone who does their best to make the world a better place and put a smile on someone's face everyday by being the type of pure and kind-hearted person who you could trust with your life?

Sikhi is a religion only because it has to be. The world is filled with many, many distractions that steer a person away from reality and Waheguru. Guru Sahib's gift to us is Gursikhi Jeevan - the lifestyle of a Gursikh.

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7. Guru sayz truth iz hi hi.er still iz truthful livin . And that of all the relijens the best 1 iz to do gud deeds. Prayr helpz u 2 b gud person and kno the diff of gud n bad. Do prayr = clean soul = do gud deed. Or no prayr = dirti mind = prob mor lykkli do norti norti. . . . Plz sum1 wid sttm put quotz 4 da bra

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7. Guru sayz truth iz hi hi.er still iz truthful livin . And that of all the relijens the best 1 iz to do gud deeds. Prayr helpz u 2 b gud person and kno the diff of gud n bad. Do prayr = clean soul = do gud deed. Or no prayr = dirti mind = prob mor lykkli do norti norti. . . . Plz sum1 wid sttm put quotz 4 da bra

Translation:

Answer to question 7.

Guru Sahib says truth is high, even higher is truthful living. Of all religions, the best religion is to do good deeds. Prayer helps a person better them self and understand the difference between good and bad. Prayer/naam simran helps clean the mind and in effect you do good deeds. No prayer keeps the mind the same and the individual is more likely to fall astray from the path of Sikhi.

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hey my friend try watching these 2 videos, i hope u can understand slight ghetto east london english. one video talks about "Mind Body Soul", which i reckon is wat wud help u, and the other video talks about our guru and the purpose of why our gurus had 2 come to this planet in the first place

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDQN4q-1FTo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU1LKjrOawU

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7. Guru sayz truth iz hi hi.er still iz truthful livin . And that of all the relijens the best 1 iz to do gud deeds. Prayr helpz u 2 b gud person and kno the diff of gud n bad. Do prayr = clean soul = do gud deed. Or no prayr = dirti mind = prob mor lykkli do norti norti. . . . Plz sum1 wid sttm put quotz 4 da bra

Translation:

Answer to question 7.

Guru Sahib says truth is high, even higher is truthful living. Of all religions, the best religion is to do good deeds. Prayer helps a person better them self and understand the difference between good and bad. Prayer/naam simran helps clean the mind and in effect you do good deeds. No prayer keeps the mind the same and the individual is more likely to fall astray from the path of Sikhi.

Quite an excellent reply. Innergear bro, i knew you would come through with some gems, and thank you Singh 559 for translation.

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1) fisrt u dont merge with god after dath , u merge with him here with the tools that the gurus let us , likenaam simran , waheguru manter , mool manter , japp , nitnem paat , other paats , kirtan , katha , etc

2) (according to my opininon cooret me if im wrong ) u will probablybe born in to a sikh family again so u can continue on ur path

3) 4.8 million

4) no , if they do good deeds , they might get gyan in the next life , ppl r athesit bcz lackness of gyan , more and more atheist rbrcoming sikhs bcz sikhi is da truth n other religons cant provide wat sikhi provides evn an athiest scholar who knocked down all othr religons , prasied sikhi and said it com from god for the benefit of mankind .

5) we need anmrit to achives salvation , i heard a katha bout y u need anmrit , it lik opens a gateway to dsaum duaar or somthn i frgot , also i hearda katha that if a person is calln himself a sikh that by havn uncut hair and putnn singh to the title of the name dosent make u a sikh of the guru , that u need many more stuff to . also we r all sikhs but not true sikhs , look at wat happend in delhi in 1984 , they killdall sikhs wether ur keshdhari , mna , eatmeat , anmritshuk , they didnt care , all u r doing by not following gurus rehit is weaking ur own panth

6)

7) its important to be both , one is not more important then the othr , like u need bana and bani , they r the same

forgive daas for any mistakes , and correct any , also check ur research to , dont take what daas has to serioulsy , check witsom1 else to .

BHUL CHUK MAF KARNA

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