Dear Harry Ji
Nice post and worth a thought. I have not gone through the other responses to your post yet but i would like to go thourgh them and learn more as soon as i get some time.
Meanwhile as Your original post is very thought provoking and I wanted to capture before i loose them So I will try to express some thoughts on your post.
To start with I am of the opinion that religion has diffrent meaning for different people. As everyone has different set of eyes, so everyone sees it differently. Majority of the people take religion as a big group they belong to. As the group with more members is considered strongest so most of the people tend to increse the number of members in thier particular type of group.
When we talk in common language, most of us spend their life trying to prove my religion is better than yours in this way or that. In actual they are trying to prove my group is better than yours.
Sikhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christanity they are all groups which are created under the name of religion. So is Athism which is created on the concept of No-GOD.
Where as actual Religion in itself is about learning compassion, love, reightous earning, respect, faithfulness, helping the needy, being truthfull in a nutshell a rightous way of life.
We have different religions all over the globe not because they are diffrent but because they were started in geographically apart areas, and thus had diffrent names just like geographically apart areas have diffrent languages.
With the expansion of human race they started to come across each other, and thus started the hinderence. By nature,
Human being is quite reluctant to change its age old ways so when diffrent relgions intermixed they started feeling the fear of change and thus the hatred among diffrent relgions.
Now I dont know about other religions, But sikhism is not just meant for a particular set of geographically located people. It addresses Human race as a whole. It does not ask anyone to convert.
Sikh Gurus addresed Mulla (Muslim Priest) how to be a true Mulla, They addressed Hindu Pandit, telling him how to be a true Pandit. They never said if you are mulla you wont be librated, nor they ever said if you are hindu Pandit you will go to hell.
Gurus gave us the term Sikh,
Sikh means a learner not just a person belonging to a certain group. Everyone can be a Sikh ie. a learner no matter what religion/group they practice/follow.
On those lines, Sikhism differs from Atheism in terms its belief in One Universal formless creator, who is independent of time, is fearless,independent of birth and death, and is by itself only.
Regarding the recitation of Banis. This is something that has much deeper meaning than what we normally understand it is. On the broader scale it is promoted as a practice that every gursikh has to undertake every morning and in the evening. Now when we practice any ritual we dont tend to go into its deep meanings and the logic behind those rituals. Guru's started it as a To-do list for the day before start of every day.
So that we can remember what Guru has guided us to practice. So that we follow that path in our daily chores. So that at the end of the day we go through it again. So that we can keep an eye on how we are progressing on our path to rightous living.
But these days, most of us if not all, unknowingly treat it as a practice that has to be done every monring/evening. No one takes it as a to do list for the day/life. They just finish it off in 20-40 minutes and go off to other things. Most wont even remember what they read . Most wont even try to understand. For them finishing off the practice is the only requirement to be a sikh. Which i dont think was the vision of our Gurus.
Regarding some sikhs getting involved in wrong activities like Extra marital affairs, telling lies and drinking etc.
I consider it wrong to judge a Phylosophy based on the performance of student studying that phylosophy. So if a person who looks like sikh, is doing something wrong that does not mean Sikh phylosophy is wrong. It just means that, that Sikh does not understand the phylosophy in its true essence. It would be wrong to use those people to justify our alienation away from Gurus Message. Rather we should act like praticing Sikh role models for others coz atleast by Guru's grace we have some understanding of Guru's Message that we can identify a right against wrong.
Moreover,
Sikh phylosphy enshrined in Guru Granth Saheb requires self study, dedication and time. It does not propagate from generation to generation. A children born in a sikh family is not sikh unless he/she understands and practices guidelines in Guru granth saheb in his /her life. It is similar to a profession of doctor, Children of doctor needs to practice medicines themselves to be doctor. They can't be doctor just being born in a doctor family.
Today, We have got more people born in sikh family, than the actual Sikhs who learned sikhism through self study and practice. I consider later one to be praticing sikhs.
Guru Granth Saheb includes the writings which are independent of time . Coz truth never decays with time. It includes the writings of the great people before and during Guru Ji's time. These include people from muslim as well as Hindu background. That simply testifies that Guru Granth saheb truly believes that Truth can be told by person of any caste, creed or race.
It also testifies that Sikh phylosophy believes in one human race.
Under this light, there is no question if an Athiest is right or a sikh is right or a Muslim is right. Everyone will be judged on the rightness of the act without any consideration of the group to which one belongs to.
Moving on to the concept of Hell/Heaven. In my meager understanding of Bani,
It is hell when we are involved in wrong doing, coz at that time we are constantly fearfull of being caught, we tell lies to cover it up, We make foes out of it. our mind is not at rest. What else you describe hell as. On the other hand, If we have done something right, WE are not fearfull of anyone, We dont have to tell any lies, We have nothing to hide, We make more friends and our mind is contantly at rest. This is what heaven is for me according to Guru Granth Saheb. Only a free mind can connect to GOD. Thats why our GURUs told us to earn the rightous living.
In some phylosophies, Hell/heaven are described as something that happens after death, People are threatened to connect to GOD through certain rituals otherwise they will be sent to hell. People perform those rituals as told, thus help someone make money. And they themselves live under the false impression that they have got a seat booked for themselves in heaven.
In actuall in thier day to day life they keep on dying everyday from fear, lies, stress and thus living the hell without knowing about it.
People who live truthfull and rightous life are already living in heaven. They wont die daily of fear ,lies and stress. Our Gurus have guided
"Gur Kai Sahbdi Jo marai, fir marai na duji var"
ਗੁਰ ਕੈ ਸਬਦੇ ਜੇ ਮਰੈ ਫਿਰਿ ਮਰੈ ਨ ਦੂਜੀ ਵਾਰ ॥
गुर कै सबदे जे मरै फिरि मरै न दूजी वार ॥
Gur kai sabḏe je marai fir marai na ḏūjī vār.
But when he dies in the Word of the Guru's Shabad, then he does not die, ever again.
http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=1009&punjabi=t&id=43151#l43151
So there is no point that a true practicing Sikh is selfish yearning for Heavens. Coz a true practicing sikh would already be living in heaven through his day to day life in accrodance with Guru's guidelines. It might be selfish of the people who perform certain baseless rituals trying to secure thier seat in heavens after death but who never bothered to live this life according to Guru's Guidelines ie. rightous way of living.
I wish i can make some sense. Sorry about the long post. PLease feel free to correct me.
Thanks once again for your post.
Keep flowing....
Rupinder Singh
peacesign
