Harsimirit Kaur discussing Sikhism

Interview with Harsimirit Kaur:

Love the saints of every faith:
Put away thy pride.
Remember the essence of religion
Is meekness and sympathy,
Not fine clothes,
Not the Yogi’s garb and ashes,
Not the blowing of the horns,
Not the shaven head,
Not long prayers,
Not recitations and torturings,
Not the ascetic way,
But a life of goodness and purity,
Amid the world’s temptations.

I was raised Roman Catholic and I studied Biblical literature at the HebrewUniversity and studied archaeology at the HebrewUniversity in Jerusalem. I studied the Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. Religions tend to become contemporary with the demands of modern thinking. A little lax here a little more strict there. And then there are sycophants or needy people who are extremists and who exploit the literature. So you have belief in Christianity of Jesus where if you see the son you see the father but he didn’t say, “I am God!” God is in all of us. Jesus was not the first Messiah. The first Messiah was Methuselah the second one was the High Priest. In the Jewish Temple there were priests called Cohen as described in the Torah. I think that what Paul was trying to do was make the belief in Jesus comfortable for non-Jews and comfortable for Jews. The problem with the Jews who believe in Jesus was the act of circumcision. That you couldn’t believe in Jesus unless you were circumcised. Paul condemned the Church of Jerusalem for trying to force Gentiles to wear a head covering. If you go into a Jewish Temple it is different and you’ve got to as in Rome do as the Romans do but the word Christian does not mean the belief in Jesus. It means anointed. After the high priest the kings of Israel were called anointed. After that the term loosely meant a godly inspired person. Messiah does not mean someone who redeems the world through self-sacrifice it just means anointed for certain tasks to bid people to live saintly.

The word Sikh is an old Sanskrit word which means a student. Not a student who just sits in a classroom like a table but one who actually studies and learns for the purpose of learning. Chronologically Sikh is a 600 year old faith that is not a religion but is the science of how to function in life. Guru Nanak Devji was the first Sikh guru who condensed the truths that are found in many different cultures and from his observations of nature. He condensed these universal truths that all people live by rather or not they believe it. These are all of the natural laws of the universe. The beginning of the Sikh scripture in the Granth Sahib introduces you to how to function in life. What is truth? How does one take the blindness off and open his eyes? How does one overcome the five vices of greed, lust, anger, over attachment and gluttony? In Sikhism when we become suckers to the five vices we become like Satan. We are called Satan like a loose term. In the story Michael kicked Lucifer out of Heaven because he said he was like God. The name Michael means “Who is my God?” In other words being dual minded I don’t want to accept the way it is I want to accept the way it’s not. The word Satan means accuser but it is also one of the names of the evil inspiration. It is negative in that it is unproductive inspiration. In Sikhism when we are suckers to our five vices we become like Satan. In Arabic Shatan means a sucker of those five vices or the influence that causes one to look away from the only way. There is only one way to God the true way. The five vices confuse us and blind us. We are a sucker to our own ego and our own ways. Everyone is brought up in different environments which give them a picture of reality according to how they are raised and what influences are around them.

People follow that certain way because they believe their way is the only way. Then they put themselves in a box. Then they put God in a box. So how do you view people? There is the reality of life. If you live in the desert and you don’t boil the water you are going to die of diseases. So if you don’t boil it for at least five minutes you are not living in reality.

There is no such thing as a false religion. What people believe they believe they believe based on their own experiences. That does not mean there is nothing false in the religion but a religion is a religion. What is a true religion and what is a false religion? It is just there.

So how do we meet people? How do we take the blindness off? Through education and all of the natural laws of the universe. We need to observe what works and what doesn’t work. We need to get outside of the box of how we are brought up. I’m not saying if you are raised as a religious Christian you need to break away from Christianity. I’m not saying that. What I am saying is perfectly pure and has nothing to do with religion. If you don’t drink a glass of water you are going to dehydrate. If you don’t learn complex mathematics you can’t be an astronaut. If you don’t practice you can’t be a good warrior. There is no shortcut around it. There is only one way to go and that is the way of reality. People tend to try and locate where is God? The question is not where is God but where am I? All of creation is a result of the actions of God’s power and his infinite love and appreciation. The whole world was created for us. We are the center of the universe.

Nanak replied, "I am not idle, but am busy in guarding my own fields". Kalu asked him, "Where are your fields?" Nanak replied, "My body is a field. The mind is the ploughman. Righteousness is the cultivation. Modesty is water for irrigation. I have sown the field with the seed of the sacred Name of the Lord. Contentment is my field’s harrow. Humility is its hedge. The seeds will germinate into a good crop with love and devotion. Fortunate is the house in which such a crop is brought! O sir, mammon will not accompany us to the next world. It has infatuated the whole world, but there are few who understand its delusive nature".

The question is not “where is God” because he is beyond time and dimension. If you take a spaceship and go up billions and billions of light years you are still in the center of the universe. We give God a name. In Hebrew the name for God Jehovah means “was, is, will be”. There is no substance to say, “This is God!” Everything in this universe is made up of a bunch of tiny tiny specks of energy. I saw a program on TV a couple of days ago where someone said they could prove God exists. They said, “Take a computer and you recreate and control everything in the world.” Maybe God is doing that with us.

There is aspect of Sikhism that believes God is playing a game but that doesn’t mean he is taking a ball or a toy and playing with it. What it means is that God that God is self sustaining and doesn’t need anything. God puts all of the energy in motion. God is just a throw away word for that which we can’t understand. He is aware of the motion and there is a concept of that but not superstition. If you slam your hand on a rock you don’t bruise the rock. God didn’t bruise your hand but nature allowed it to happen and in Sikhism that is the belief.

Guru Nanak started his writings. This is unlike the Talmud which is an oral tradition explaining the written law and not written down until thousands of years later. Moses received Torah from Sinai in the form of not just written law but also oral law. There are other parts of the Talmud that came much later explaining the oral law. The Mishna and the Torah came from Mount Sinai all of the other things came later explaining what it means. It doesn’t go into details of how you tie on ritual clothing so that is where the oral law comes in. I thought I understood the Bible but there was a lot I missed that was so obvious that we can see it. When I studied the Sikh writings I was able to understand a lot more of the message of the Bible which I would never have understood before.

The whole thing about the crucifixion of Jesus is not so much a sacrifice for a blood-thirsty God or part of the primitive belief that if the gods are angry you have to feed them which was a means of scaring people into the faith. In my opinion the role of Jesus is very minute compared to all of creation but it is symbolic and congruent too. It does not mean that God placed himself on a tree to die but it means that 24 hours a day throughout time God is working like a slave to go out of his way to sustain the universe.

Now that I understand Sikhism I realize that God is infinitely working for us and not asking for anything in return because he is complete. He doesn’t need us. He loves us so he wants us but if we don’t come to him he isn’t hurting.

Do Nama Smarana. Love God. Be devoted to one God. Serve your fellow beings. God is all-in-all. Pray. Praise Him always. Attain the bliss of union with Him

As to the resurrection Sikhs don’t believe in magic. We do however believe in miracles. According to Maimonides who was a medieval physician and astrologer and rabbi a miracle is a perfectly fine scientific natural phenomenon that we can’t understand so it’s as if it is magic. Sikhism is totally against superstition and totally against exploiting congregations of people into conversion by using magical stories. However, miracles do happen just not all of the time and there are no such things as supernatural powers. Every thing is natural. Supernatural means outside of the laws of the universe. It can’t be and Guru Nanak said that. The Bible states, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.” What is this kingdom of God? God sitting on a chair saying, “If you don’t follow that faith I’m going to throw you in Hell!”? No. That is just the way things are.

We should be afraid now not when we are dead because Heaven and Hell starts here where we are now. There is no such thing as birth and death it is a continuation of reality. You can’t destroy anything in the universe it just converts into another form. here is a judgment but pure Sikhism does not believe in reincarnation. Not anyway in the sense of superstition. It does believe that if you die and are on your deathbed and you are thinking about a woman you are going to come back as a pig or when you die you are thinking about you million dollar home in the next life you will be living in an old cottage or shack it’s not to be taken literally. It does mean that in the next phase of life you are going to be disappointed because there is really nothing there. Everything was created by God from nothing. Because everything is nothing. When we die we are going to be really pissed off or really ecstatic depending on our mindset.

It is not so much who was Jesus as the Messiah but instead the message behind it. That all of this nature is here for us. To me the resurrection just means the victory of the universe. You can’t control the universe. You can do experiments but you aren’t making the experiment work you are only putting things together and observing how the laws of nature operate. But, to give a label God is a primitive means of doing it. The purpose of Sikhism is not God focused but on leading a progressive life. A proactive life not a reactive life. There is God but not in the way religions are teaching it.

In true prayer there is no worshipper and worship;
there is only the worshipped.

Another thing is that a lot of Christians go “Halleluiah! Halleluiah!” and it sounds pretty good because it helps clear your mind. Sikhs go “Wahi Guru! Wahi Guru!” A lot of Sikhs say that is God’s name but its not it’s just an exclamation. It’s not Sikhism but it’s not bad to do it. Even the Bible states “My people perish from lack of knowledge.” Sikhs seek the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of God is within you. “Thy Kingdom come” means to come into my awareness. Guru Nanak explains this because we are not a religion. There is no converting. You are in a sense converting from lack of knowledge to more knowledge. Your mind and your body benefit from it. Your mind is clear and happy and you have healthier habits. You take care of your body and you seek better relations with your neighbors and coworkers and your family. It helps promote peace because we promote appreciation of the human race. No one sits on a chair in the Gurdwara unless you are handicapped because everybody is equal.

The Hindus believe in the cast system. They teach the philosophy of no. They say you can’t eat meat, you are not allowed to eat eggs but you can drink milk. Guru Nanak never said that. Guru Nanak says that everything is good. Sikhism does promote vegetarianism because it is healthy. A lot of people eating meat get high blood pressure and it is killing them. Sikhism is a lot like Christians. What is Christian? Is it a Baptist? Is it a Catholic? Is it a Presbyterian? There are 110 types of Pentecostals. There are about 50 types of Sikhs. One type worship Saints or Saintly People and they worship them like Gods. They are like the Pope and they teach them not to eat meat and Hindu scriptures not Sikh scriptures.

95% of Sikhs do not believe in the teachings of the Granth Sahib. They say they do believe in it but they don’t because they are not taught the meaning or they are brainwashed or deprived. They have a surface understanding.

I’ll have to explain why Sikh’s wear a turban because it has become the symbol of the Sikh religion. The high priest in the Old Testament wore a turban. It’s a global thing. About 400 years ago Sikh’s were fighting to protect their lives and the turban protected their head in battle. They also don’t cut their hair because your body benefits from your hair so they keep their hair wrapped up. We believe in being dignified and are wearing a crown because you want to look the healthful God that is in our bodies. This means to not dress sloppily looking like a bum but to wear what you wear as if God is inside of you. The Sikhs take the Granth Sahib and put silk cloth around it so why should we not dress in the same way with pride. God is inside of us. When we see each other dressed up with dignity and pride we are reminded that the other person we are looking at has God inside of them too. Whether or not they are a believer doesn’t matter. What do I mean by God? It is the reality that is outside of you.

A true prayer needs no reward;
it is a reward in itself.

If you don’t wear a turban it doesn’t mean you are not a Sikh but it is a sign of how strong of a Sikh one is. Guru Nanak did not intend in teaching his wisdom to impose on people to put on Indian clothes. He did not talk very much about wearing the clothes. His philosophy is what he focused on. There is not tax system. You cannot bribe God. God is complete. You can’t piss him off.

Creation is the dance and symphony of God. When we dance and sing it is just our reaction to what is going on around us and how we see things. So the mind dances in Sikhism by thinking about the wisdom that Guru teaches us and focuses the mind on reality.

From Wikipedia: The three tenets of Sikhism

1. Naam Japna Guru ji led the Sikhs directly to practise Simran and Naam Japna – meditation on God through reciting, chanting, singing and constant remembrance followed by deep study & comprehension of God’s Name and virtues. In real life to practice and tread on the path of Dharam (righteousness) - The inner thought of the Sikh thus stays constantly immersed in praises and appreciation of the Creator and the ONE ETERNAL GOD Waheguru.

2. Kirat Karni He expected the Sikhs to live as honourable householders and practise Kirat Karni – To honestly earn by ones physical and mental effort while accepting both pains and pleasures as GOD's gifts and blessings. One is to stay truthful at all times and, fear none but the Eternal Super Soul. Live a life founded on decency immersed in Dharam - life controlled by high spiritual, moral and social values.

3. Vand Chakna. The Sikhs were asked to share their wealth within the community by practising Vand Chakna – “Share and Consume together”. The community or Sadh Sangat is an important part of Sikhism. One must be part of a community that is living the flawless objective values set out by the Sikh Gurus and every Sikh has to contribute in whatever way possible to the common community pool. This spirit of Sharing and Giving is an important message from Guru Nanak.