Dear Dattaswamiji
In contrast to your belief and quote 'But a Satguru says that the path with thorns alone will lead to the Lord because in this path you have to cut the bonds with your family and with your hard-earned money. Sacrifice gives lot of pain and sacrifice alone will lead to the Lord. The path with flowers strengthens your bonds with your family and money which gives you lot of happiness', Gurbani teaches, ‘hasandiya khailndiya pandhiya khavandhia vichai hovai mukat-While laughing, playing, dressing and eating, one is liberated.” - Guru Granth ang.522.10. So, Guru Nanak does not preach total abstinence from sex. Thus he married, worked at modikhana and had children. He advises control of sex, which would save the mankind from five mighty foes “Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment and Pride.” - Guru Granth ang.274.6. Since Sikhism does not advocate a life of renunciation, sexual activity in a marriage is never any bar to full religious participation. Salvation must be sought in this worldly life - a domestic life, honestly led, shared with the community and spent with an awareness of the Infinite within.
Evidently, systems that recommend Ahimsa, asceticism, monasticism, Sanyasa, celibacy or withdrawal from life, reject every kind of social involvement, much less social responsibility, as an unwanted bondage. And it was a belief during Guru Nanak time that to be religious and to socialize are two different things and the one who socializes cannot be religious. But Guru Nanak declared to become religious one has to socialize in society. A Sikh is not to be a hermit living in the cities The one who does not socialize and or becomes householder cannot put into practice religion, as religion is a part of natural process of Akal Purakh, same way to be a householder is also in the natural process. Sikh Gurus did not advocate retirement from the world in order to attain salvation. They advocated the life style of a Gurmukh, the house-holder who faces the challeges of worldly life.
A Gurmukh is concerned with making this world a better place. He is a person with a mission. He sees Akal Purakh in His creation, in the poor, in the needy. Thus Sikhism to me is a very logical and scientific religion. It guides that promotes human rights, gender equality, religious freedom, and all those wonderful steps towards spirituality. It is so sweet that it does not require giving up family life, shaving head, Tilak, Rosary, wearing particular dress, sacrifice, fasting, chaining, pilgrimage, haj, worshipping dead, torture, specific pose, rituals and shuns supesition etc. There is no fuss, gossip, tamasha or being talk of gatherings. With this Guru distanced himself from the following ten main pillars of Hinduism like 1) Concept of Avtarvadha: i.e. Akal Purakh TAKES BIRTH from time to time whenever the level of tyranny on the earth becomes unbearable. ….. 2) Concept of POLYTHEISM; i.e existence of multi Akal Purakh-heads; reaching a count of even 330,000,000. …. 3) Concept of TRINITY: i.e. Existence of Lord Brahama as the Creator, Lord Vishnu as Provider, & Lord Shiva as the Destroyer. …. 4) IDOL Worship; i.e. Akal Purakh can be set up as an image ….. 5) Chatur-Varan - The CASTE SYSTEM; meaning Human beings are born UNEQUAL as Brahmins, Kashatryas, Vayshias, & Shudras. …. 6) Chatur-Ashram; Four stages of Life: Renunciation being the last…. 7) Sanctity of Sanskrit Language as Dev-Bhasha, the language of Akal Purakh, …. 8) Mazes of mechanical rituals prescribed for different activities of life. …. 9) Advocacy of a life of Brahamacharya (Celibacy), Yogi (renunciation), Jangam (Staying naked), etc. …..10) Sacredness of the COW. Sikh Philosophy advocates that none of the above pillars have any connection whateversoever with a life of spirituality and advised us to keep distance from them.
Regards Sahni Mohinder