ARCHIVED FORUM: Gurdwara Tapoban Sahib
10 "gods" and Guru Pictures
Posted by : Jarnail Singh Arshi Gyani
Date: 7/23/2004 4:49 am
Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa waheguu Ji Ki fateh.
Recently on another mail on this Forum I read that a "sikh' girl convertted to Islam because she liked the idea of ONE GOD and NOT 10 as in Sikhi..
There was a book published in malaysia some time ago by a Sikh Doctor and his entire fa,ily converted to Christianity..... it had "reasons" on why they converted.. ( The local Sikh Community "had demonstrations and burned copies of the book...)
One of the daughters of this man...gave a reason for converting as her mother had hung a photo of Guru Teg bahadur in her room and she was admonished daily that "guru ji" was looking at her...and dont do this and that BUT most of all "DONT SLEEP WITH YOUR FEET POINTED AT THE PHOTO or guru ji will be furious and punish you"....The gilr gleefully says" Now that i am a Christian, I have a God that LOVES ME....he resides in MY HEART.... and I am NOT AFRAID of that fearsome guru..... I ONLY FOUND OUT that this guru was POWERLESS when I SLEEP with my FEET towards His PHOTO and he cant do ANYTHING to ME....because jesus now protects me...
The dad is even worse.... he blames Guru Ji for His business failing, bankruptsy and fleeing to Australia becoming another Bankrupt and then back again after failing again... then finding Jesus and succeeding.. he laments if only i had found jesus earlier i would never have been bankrupt ???
The book is so full of utter rubbish that fellow Gursikhs who were roped in to draft a REPLY to the anti-Gurmatt in the book couldnt write a single sentence for teh Simple reason that the BOOK had NOTHING about GURMATT or anti-Gurmatt to be countered...... These people were simply"sikhs" who were jsut born into sikh family BUT KNEW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about even the BASIC TENETS of SIKHi/GURMATT.
They "knew" sikhs had 10 gods, idolised a book, beleived in " reading HOLY verses over water to tuen it into Magic Water they called amrit"...beleived in holy water around gurdwaras that could cure diseases, make Black Crows into WHITE SWANS...sikhs had pictures of their gods while saying they dont wordship idols......
GURBANI and GURMATT of GURU SAHIBAAN is so PRISTINE PURE , crystal clear as Daimonds.... and we sikhs have MUDDIED this Pristine clarity into the MUDDIEST RIVER full of SILT of AANDH VISHWASH, Wishy washy Superstitions, IMAGINARY pictures of Gurus, Statues etc....
AND then we BLAME these "wishy washy superstitious sikhs" of being converted ??? WHY NOT ?? These are NOT SIKHS in the First place...They KNOW nothing about sikhi/gurmatt as it should be. WHY do we get so upset over the actions of these misguided so called sikhs.... the BASIC MISTAKE and GALTII is OURS....Our Gurdwaras have NO PARCHAAR, CASTE is PARDHAAN in our society, WE SELL guru pictures and statues in OUR GURDWARAS and install them on the walls of homes and gurdwaras, we TREAT GURU GRANTH SAHIB JEE as a mere "object" of blind adulation, RITUALLY "scared" of committing sacrilege by not matha teking, turning our back, etc etc BUT NOT SCARED AT ALL of the REAL SACRILEGE of BLATANT DISOBEDIENCE of every single TENET of this SAME GURBANI/GURU...GURU JI WROTE GURBANI for us to READ/VICHAAR/FOLLOW..... WE cover it up with rumallas, Bow "hollowly" in front of it and at the back of it and at the sides of it.....BUT NEVER BOTHER to LEARN how to Read it...we have NO TIME to take a Hukmnama ( we never learn how to) BUT we have plenty of time to BOW BOW BOW all over the place here and there ????
Dont get me wrong.... I am NOT SAYING we shouldnt cover GURU Ji with Rumallaas, or we shouldnt Matha Tek.....Far from it...BUT what i am saying such HOLLOW practises practised JUST RITUALLY without any KNOWLEDGE or effort to STUDY GURBANI is just that - HOLLOW RITUALISM...IF you BOW a HUNDRED times Daily to GURU JI bUt dont know SIKHI starts with EK Ongkar... DOUBLY EMPHASISED by GURU JI by the NUMERAL ONE....and NOT 10 gods, dont know that imaginary guru pictures are just PAPER...that Gurmatt doesnt teach SUPERSTITIONS... etc then all that BOWING and KOWTOWING is absolutley Useless.
Dass jarnail Singh
Re: 10 "gods" and Guru Pictures
Posted by : sikh?
Date: 7/23/2004 8:35 am
waheguru
Re: 10 "gods" and Guru Pictures
Posted by : A Singh
Date: 7/23/2004 10:32 am
Gyani Jarnail Singh,
I can totally relate to the sad situation you describe, one instance, I feel I must relay is from my university days, when I was questioned by a female Sidhi girl on my course about my Dastaar and religious and social background. She was curious for two reasons, (a) that their Sindhi temple also had pictures of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and she wanted to understand more about Sikhs and (b) because her friends were, in their own words, all "jat sikhs", one of whom was with her at the time.
So we talked for a good hour and she was impressed with the general teachings of all the Sikh "Gurus" and more so with what Sikhs are and represent. During this time, her "Jat Sikh" friend largely remained silent and then finally spoke and told me "I come from a Jat Sikh family and we usually go to the Temple every so often to hear them read from...you know...that...erm...'Big Book' they have...!!!"
Shocked? Surprised...I don't know...but I did have to bite my lip before continuing...
To be honest, I felt more sorry for the girl, since clearly this was the result of the exposure given to her by her parents into Sikhi and as such they are responsible for her incredibly naive attitude.
