| Arm yourself with knowledge. |
Let us iterate once again that we hold no animosity towards any one, in fact religious harmony is an ideal which we should all strive towards.
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| What is Sikhisms views evolution? | ||||||
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| Shabad by Guru Nanak Dev Ji on panna 1035 Guru Granth Sahib Ji : | ||||||
"For endless eons, there was only utter darkness. There was no earth or sky; there was only the infinite Command of His Hukam. There was no day or night, no moon or sun; God sat in primal, profound Samaadhi. || 1 || There were no sources of creation or powers of speech, no air or water. There was no creation or destruction, no coming or going. There were no continents, nether regions, seven seas, rivers or flowing water. || 2 || There were no heavenly realms, earth or nether regions of the underworld. There was no heaven or hell, no death or time. There was no hell or heaven, no birth or death, no coming or going in reincarnation. || 3 || There was no Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva. No one was seen, except the One Lord. There was no female or male, no social class or caste of birth; no one experienced pain or pleasure. || 4 || There were no people of celibacy or charity; no one lived in the forests. There were no Siddhas or seekers, no one living in peace. There were no Yogis, no wandering pilgrims, no religious robes; no one called himself the master. || 5 || There was no chanting or meditation, no self-discipline, fasting or worship. No one spoke or talked in duality. He created Himself, and rejoiced; He evaluates Himself. || 6 || There was no purification, no self-restraint, no malas of basil seeds. There were no Gopis, no Krishna, no cows or cowherds. There were no tantras, no mantras and no hypocrisy; no one played the flute. || 7 || There was no karma, no Dharma, no buzzing fly of Maya. Social class and birth were not seen with any eyes. There was no noose of attachment, no death inscribed upon the forehead; no one meditated on anything. || 8 || There was no slander, no seed, no soul and no life. There was no Gorakh and no Maachhindra. There was no spiritual wisdom or meditation, no ancestry or creation, no reckoning of accounts. || 9 || There were no castes or social classes, no religious robes, no Brahmin or Kh'shaatriya. There were no demi-gods or temples, no cows or Gaayatri prayer. There were no burnt offerings, no ceremonial feasts, no cleansing rituals at sacred shrines of pilgrimage; no one worshipped in adoration. || 10 || There was no Mullah, there was no Qazi. There was no Shaykh, or pilgrims to Mecca. There was no king or subjects, and no worldly egotism; no one spoke of himself. || 11 || There was no love or devotion, no Shiva or Shakti - no energy or matter. There were no friends or companions, no semen or blood. He Himself is the banker, and He Himself is the merchant. Such is the Pleasure of the Will of the True Lord. || 12 || There were no Vedas, Korans or Bibles, no Simritees or Shaastras. There was no recitation of the Puraanas, no sunrise or sunset. The Unfathomable Lord Himself was the speaker and the preacher; the unseen Lord Himself saw everything. || 13 || When He so willed, He created the world. Without any supporting power, He sustained the universe. He created Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; He fostered enticement and attachment to Maya. || 14 || How rare is that person who listens to the Word of the Guru's Shabad. He created the creation, and watches over it; the Hukam of His Command is over all. He formed the planets, solar systems and nether regions, and brought what was hidden to manifestation. || 15 || No one knows His limits. This understanding comes from the Perfect Guru. O Nanak, those who are attuned to the Truth are wonder struck; singing His Glorious Praises, they are filled with wonder. || 16 ||" |
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| We can sensibly combine
what the Guru teaches and what science has discovered so far. We can believe
and make a good use of what evolutionary psychologists say. However, we
should not take their word as gospel, for one reason, that science is not
complete. If we believe in our Guru, then, Guru has the last word. Our faith
in the Guru should not be disturbed just because someone has discovered
some new and fascinating phenomenon, this is a sign of spiritual immaturity.
The function of Guru is to shed light where we cannot see. Guru says that there are some things in our life that we will never understand. If we have not reached this conclusion ourselves then, we have a long way to go yet. This is why it is written: "Thinking and pondering a million times cannot yield the Truth. Being silent, to a compete state of thoughtlessness, real silence is not achieved. Desires and deficiencies are not fulfilled, even if we acquired all the goods of the universe. Millions of wise and clever ideas are useless in the end." (SGGS p.1) Guru says, "This mind is a combination of matter, as well as well as the consciousness. This mind is a product of the five elements. But, if one can make this mind remain in its higher state of consciousness, one can see everything in the three worlds (the whole universe)." (SGGS p.342) Listening to the Guru does not mean that we should ignore science. However, whenever, without any proof, the scientists claim that something does not exist, simply because, they cannot find it, and if this view contradicts my Guru's teaching, then, we follow the Guru. Time has continued to prove that Guru Sahib Ji is always correct. |
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| If the Gurus said that all religions lead to the same path, you'll be ok whichever religion you're in. | ||||
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| Were not the guru’s products and derivatives of there own society? | ||||
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| In other faiths women are given such respect what about sikhism? | ||||
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As can be seen only in Sikhism is the status of women so high, unlike other faiths where a value of a women in half that of a man, where a man can divoce his wife by repeating the phrase "I divorce you" three times or where a women needs the witness of three men of upstanding character if she is to accuse her husband of any inpropriority. |
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What of these verses from Dasam Granth Sahib : |
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| 'Khharti Ka Poot Hon, Baahman Ko Nahey, Kaiy Tapp Aavat Hon Jo Karon'. "I am son of Khatri and not of Brahman who does 'Tap'." | ||||
| "Teh Ham Adhik Tappasya Saadhi". (Guru Gobind Singh Ji) Here I did so much 'Tap' (in his previous life). | ||||
| Meaning of tapa is universal and continuous for at least the last 5000 years of known history of Indian civilisations and from the ancient past numerous great sages have nurtured this ancient system of tapa and the Gurus being latest and purest in this series. It is all a mtter of circumstance. Everybody can and should do tapa in normal peaceful times. But when tyrants are harassing humanity, tapa is not recommended. Guru Gobind Singh Ji says that all those who have fire in them and sensitiveness towards defence of innocent people, those who use their power to defend the weak and innocent people (Real meaning of Khatri not todays stamping by birth) they will take up arms and fight with oppression and not do tapa. In the Bhagwad Gita also, Arjuna wants to do tapa but Bhagwan Krishan Ji asks him that this is not the right time to do this, war is upon you and tyrants are ready to eliminate humanity. Justice is awaited by a woman whose modesty was compromised in open parliament. Therefore Arjuna, being a Khatri, performed his duty and passed on Tapa and took his bow and arrow to kill the enemy. Therefore, the real meaning of Gurus Ji's words has to be understood with the background of circumstance in mind. Humanity was trembling at that time, fake tapaswis and yogis could not do anything. Humanity was suffering, righteousness was being ridiculed and evil was being forced on humanity. Therefore Guru Sahib Ji is saying I am a son of a Khatri and must do my duty to uphold rightoeousness and uproot evil, the time for tapasia like that of a Brahmin is not now. Tapa is meant for peaceful days, but when the enemy is sitting upon your, ready to attack your identity, teerath, daan, daya, tap and sanyam all become vain. Sword is the only sadhna under such circumstances. This is the meaning of the mentioned lines. |
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| Extra
information |
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Sikhism
does not look down upon people who follow other religions as "inferior,
non-believer, etc". That is one reason why you don't see Sikh Missionaries
actively pursuing conversions. |
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Sikhism
is a religion of Equality. Equality between Men and Women and also stressing
"universal equality" amongst all human beings |
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Sikhism
is a modern way of life, it doesn't subject people to valueless rituals.
A few examples being the caste system, bathing in holy rivers, facing
a certain direction for a prayer, slaughtering animals in the name of
God, circumcision. |
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God
himself spoke to Guru Nanak Dev Ji the founder of Sikhism on the "Day
of Revelation", when Guru Nanak Dev Ji was called to God' home and
given his directives to preach to this world.
God spoke the following verse on this most blessed day to Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the entire world. Known as the Mul Mantra. The very first verse written in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji (the Sikh scripture) and found at many other places before other hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. |
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And in God's court Guru Nanak spoke the following, which God accepted and condoned, and comes rigtt after "Jap".
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Sikhism
is a religion which builds character. It tells its followers to be "hard
workers" to earn their daily bread. To share this with others, as
well as to remember the Lord in their heart. Hence within Sikhism, there
is a compassion towards all of humanity, a fact of social reform. |
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| Sikhism
is the only religion that allows all people, of any caste, colour, creed,
religion to come to "ANY"! of their holy places, without restriction,
and be given equal respect in all matters. |
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Sikhism
is the only religion where the Scripture is written by the Prophet of
the religion who was in divine communication with God, out of all the
other worldly religions whose scriptures were written later by people.
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| Sikhism
is the only religion that has in its Scripture, Hymns of Divine saints
who had attained that state of perfection and communion with God in life.
Be them Muslim or Hindu (from every caste). Hence Sikhism is truly a religion
that has broken down barriers between religions. That is why Hindu and
Muslim saints divine hymns from God are also recorded in Guru Granth Sahib
Ji. |
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