Why Some Sikhs Are Fake

[Darkfantasyxz]

I myself being a believer in general spirituality and Sikh philosophy, I find it weird how many of the Gurdwara Baba's, my own parents and my relatives are fake. They say Waheguru Waheguru every morning like it makes a difference and in the evening, talk badly about others, consume alcohol, believe in a long gone caste system, etc. My friend's father beats her without reason, and my own mom wants to Amrit-shak before she gets old so she could be "counted as one of God's people". I told her that there is no use of a formality, change her backwards beliefs such as the caste system and gossiping and listening to Baba Ranjit Singh for advice rather than the Granth Sahib.
Am I right, or are they? What is the point of Amrit-shak'ing as a formality if you will not change your nature?

 

[Harry Haller]

Darkfantasyxzji,

Although this is probably not popular opinion, my own beliefs are that as we are all different, thus our interpretations of sikhism become different. People mould religion to suit themselves no matter what it is they seek. Your mother may be comfortable with her interpretation and the need for Babas, sadly, that to her is what sikhism is all about, which brings on a couple of questions, you are clearly enlightened enough to scratch a bit below the surface, not all people are, do you have the right, should you have the right to take these people to one side and gently explain that they are living a life of ritual and not a life of the shabad Guru. Well if you try, good luck!

The answer is that they are right for them, and you are right for you. The thought of understanding the mysteries that lie beyond time and space possibly excite you as they excite me, maybe the people round you are more suited to something more within the limits and capacity of understanding, nevertheless, it is not our role to judge or impress upon others our own personal understanding of sikhism. During a recent survey I carried out myself, speaking to members of my own family, I could not even get a majority agreement on whether god exists in a cowpat, some members were horrified I could disrespect Waheguru with such a statement, some maintained that Waheguru only exists in the good, most talk of sin, some drink, some lie, the imperfections in our understanding are on a huge scale, but each calls himself/herself a sikh, and each is learning, and each deserves the right to hold those opinions close to their heart.

Let the people around grow at whatever pace they feel appropriate, let them indulge in ritual and baba worship, try and look at whatever good the limited amount of sikhi that is permeating through achieves for them, praise it, laud it, and try and forget some of the clear wrong paths that are being taken, but most importantly, explore your gift of understanding, ask the questions, find the answers, as you say, in the SGGS, and maybe through your light, those around you will start to ask you questions, will note how you live your life, and you can be a quiet inspiration not only to those round you, but to every living thing you interact with in your life.

peacesignkaur

 

[Mai Harinder Kaur]

I myself being a believer in general spirituality and Sikh philosophy, I find it weird how many of the Gurdwara Baba's, my own parents and my relatives are fake. They say Waheguru Waheguru every morning like it makes a difference and in the evening, talk badly about others, consume alcohol, believe in a long gone caste system, etc. My friend's father beats her without reason, and my own mom wants to Amrit-shak before she gets old so she could be "counted as one of God's people". I told her that there is no use of a formality, change her backwards beliefs such as the caste system and gossiping and listening to Baba Ranjit Singh for advice rather than the Granth Sahib.
Am I right, or are they? What is the point of Amrit-shak'ing as a formality if you will not change your nature?

Darkfantasyxz ji,

This appears to be your first post here, so first let me say welcome to you!

welcomekaur welcomemunda welcomekaur welcomemunda welcomekaur

I think most of us have asked these questions of ourselves at one time or another. These are problems within all communities, I think, not just Sikhs.

Before I go on, if your friend is being beaten by her father, she needs immediate help. Without knowing where you are, I can't make suggestions, but this is a very serious problem that needs to be addressed elsewhere.

As for the rest, it hurts me to see other Sikhs drinking and gossiping and believing in caste and the various babas and cults out there. In practical terms, what can I do about it?

First and foremost, I must make sure that I myself am not doing any of those things. I must work on becoming the best Sikh I can possibly be. I have found this to be a full-time job without a lot of energy left to worry too much about others' behaviours.

I do agree with you on one thing. Amrit is a far from a ritual and those who make it such are missing the whole point. You never know, though. I know one woman who took Amrit just on a whim with no intention of taking it seriously. However, after accepting the blessing of Amrit, she realised what it meant and completely changed her attitude. As I said, you never know.

One thing I have learned: judging others is a dangerous business. It is impossible to know what is in another's heart and mind, however well you know them. I would suggest that you try to focus more on your own growth and less on them. You are young; it is unlikely that your elders will listen to you with anything except disdain. They may, though, see your growth as a Sikh and realise what they are missing. Or they might not.

Whether they do or not, you will be growing and that is good.

Please remember to talk to Guru ji about whatever is on your mind. Take a Hukamnama and really listen to the answer. If you can do this is the physical universe, do it there. If not, take a cyberhukamnama. In either case Guru ji will be speaking directly to you. I am not certain as to how this works, but I know that it does.

I had to smile at the title of this thread. "Why Some Sikhs Are Fake." Aren't we all fake in one way or another? I try my best, yet still find that bit of hypocrisy in myself. None of us is perfect. The best we can do is the best we can do - and leave the rest to Guru ji.

You have my best wishes and will be in my prayers.

 

[Tejwant Singh]

Darkfantasyxz ji,

Guru Fateh.

Welcome to the forum.

I would be curious to know what is behind your sn. J/K.

As Mai ji said that we are all fakes, we are all hypocrites. Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moh, Hankaar are parts of our DNA as humans so they can not be eradicated but Gurbani gives us the tools how to lasso them to our advantage as Gurbani names them our enemies within.

The biggest problem we find in our Gurdwaras is the lack of Gurbani knowledge by our Babas/Bhais, and because of this they love to invent and tell stories as Sakhis to spice their ignorance up.

Many Kathavachaks do the same which is an insult to Sikhi and the people who listen to them gobble the nonsense and remember the fake stories which most of the times contradict Gurmat values given to us in SGGS, our only Guru and forget the verse that the baba or the kathavachak tried to base his fairy tale on.

Sikhi is a journey of the individual and of the individual only. Each of us carries our own spiritual torch. So, if we do not try to learn ourselves what the Gurbani says and keep on depending on the others, then we shall remain parrots with ugly plumagges.

What we need is well educated Babas/Bhais/ Kathavachaks in Sikhi not fairy tale tellers who are there to rake money and make the sangat ignorant while lining their own pockets.

Thanks for sharing your inner outrage.

Regards

Tejwant Singh

 

[princess kaur]

i think except 5% all we r fake its not our attitude to look upon life but we r not ready to leave comfots of our life. i have seen many amritdhari ladies who after following it strictly for few days come to that stand again.
the ridiculous thing is that some amritdhari ladies also keep karvachauth,

so the whole thing is that people like me are not ready for amritshak at this stage.

persons who have got this oppurtunity not like to say but i think get bored after somedays.

old people amritshak coz they free from their responsibilities.

and these r not our interpretations but r the reasons to keep ourselves away....

how many amritdhari sikhs like kathavachak and bhai not follow caste system???? so we r all fake......

 

[SinghWeapon]

Purity is a lifelong journey. People do not understand what it means to live by heart. Being PURE is the ultimate reward.