Sat Sri Akal to all,
I have a few questions to ask about sikhi. I am new to sikhi, my family is hindu and that was the faith i was born into, but I always had questions that were not able to be answered. Many of my friends are sikhi and introduced me to the philosophy, whenever I went to the gurdwara i felt the most peace. The rituals and 100s of gods in hinduism was quite confusing, and they were draped with gold and linens. It all did not make sense to me, as to how anyone knew what these characters looked like. To me hinduism was a fantasy like philosophy that got carried away into something else, and prophets god mixed up into gods.
I always believed in god as one, god as the universe, and god within us. whatever we imagine is our creation and gods will. I then slowly started to read the guru granth this year, and to my surprise it fit most of my beliefs. This was a brilliant awakening for myself, the only thing is that I am but the single sikh follower in my family. Once i found SPN it gave some relief as to being able to receive answers.
What is guru? is guru god? is guru the universe? is guru the teacher within us? is guru the 10 prophets?
What is fateh? I recall hearing it in gurdwara, and now i see it hear on SPN, ie. wahe guru fateh, khalsa fateh. Is the maatlab to be forever? or long live?
My next question is in regards to karas, to me the kara symbolizes something so beautiful. that god is one and that the universe is forever connecting. I know one is able to receive a kara at gurdwara, but there are also places like sikhkaras.com which have karas that are engraved with the mool mantra and such. If a person was to purchase a kara from sikhkaras.com would one have to take the kara to gurdwara to be blessed? Also when wearing a kara is one able to eat meat? I know one is not to put toxics such as smoke and alcohol into their bodys. Thought the thing is i see people who wear karas and ingest meat, but I also see people where karas and ingest alcohol. This confuses me, i know it is that persons own path and prerogative. I am wondering, because I do not want to take away from the symbolism if i were to wear one.
I know that a sikhi is someone who reads gurbani whether they have taken amrit or not. Is gurbani reading only to be read at 5 in the morning? this seems a bit ritualistic to me? or is this just a guideline and gurbani can be read later in the day, so long as you have bathed?
Also wondering, would it be disrespectful if i read my ipod in gurdwara (i have a gurbani app which translates some words which i am unfamiliar with) I do not want to go to the gurdwara to offend anyone.
Also I have cut my hair before, and I have many sikhi friends who cut their hair. This confuses me, I would love to grow my hair our to be long and luscious, but I am curious as to whether I am able to get very small trims in order to keep it healthy. Those sikhi who do cut their hair, what does this mean? are they going against the Guru? are they reversing all their long worked gurbani readings.
This is hard for me, because i am going against my family in a way, and most of the time my father is very cynical towards me. But i know that I am on the right path and that this is where I should be. Is there any tips you can give a new sikhi disciple. Our family has annual poojas, but I know that Sikhi hold phat in the home. would it be unrealistic for me to want to bless our home with the readings of the guru granth sahib ji if there is a pandit coming to recite from the hindu scriptures. I am not sure what to do, because I feel this is my home too. Please help me.
I am very excited to hear from my new Sikhi friends.
Thank you
Sat Sri Akal
Sikhipyar
More...
I have a few questions to ask about sikhi. I am new to sikhi, my family is hindu and that was the faith i was born into, but I always had questions that were not able to be answered. Many of my friends are sikhi and introduced me to the philosophy, whenever I went to the gurdwara i felt the most peace. The rituals and 100s of gods in hinduism was quite confusing, and they were draped with gold and linens. It all did not make sense to me, as to how anyone knew what these characters looked like. To me hinduism was a fantasy like philosophy that got carried away into something else, and prophets god mixed up into gods.
I always believed in god as one, god as the universe, and god within us. whatever we imagine is our creation and gods will. I then slowly started to read the guru granth this year, and to my surprise it fit most of my beliefs. This was a brilliant awakening for myself, the only thing is that I am but the single sikh follower in my family. Once i found SPN it gave some relief as to being able to receive answers.
What is guru? is guru god? is guru the universe? is guru the teacher within us? is guru the 10 prophets?
What is fateh? I recall hearing it in gurdwara, and now i see it hear on SPN, ie. wahe guru fateh, khalsa fateh. Is the maatlab to be forever? or long live?
My next question is in regards to karas, to me the kara symbolizes something so beautiful. that god is one and that the universe is forever connecting. I know one is able to receive a kara at gurdwara, but there are also places like sikhkaras.com which have karas that are engraved with the mool mantra and such. If a person was to purchase a kara from sikhkaras.com would one have to take the kara to gurdwara to be blessed? Also when wearing a kara is one able to eat meat? I know one is not to put toxics such as smoke and alcohol into their bodys. Thought the thing is i see people who wear karas and ingest meat, but I also see people where karas and ingest alcohol. This confuses me, i know it is that persons own path and prerogative. I am wondering, because I do not want to take away from the symbolism if i were to wear one.
I know that a sikhi is someone who reads gurbani whether they have taken amrit or not. Is gurbani reading only to be read at 5 in the morning? this seems a bit ritualistic to me? or is this just a guideline and gurbani can be read later in the day, so long as you have bathed?
Also wondering, would it be disrespectful if i read my ipod in gurdwara (i have a gurbani app which translates some words which i am unfamiliar with) I do not want to go to the gurdwara to offend anyone.
Also I have cut my hair before, and I have many sikhi friends who cut their hair. This confuses me, I would love to grow my hair our to be long and luscious, but I am curious as to whether I am able to get very small trims in order to keep it healthy. Those sikhi who do cut their hair, what does this mean? are they going against the Guru? are they reversing all their long worked gurbani readings.
This is hard for me, because i am going against my family in a way, and most of the time my father is very cynical towards me. But i know that I am on the right path and that this is where I should be. Is there any tips you can give a new sikhi disciple. Our family has annual poojas, but I know that Sikhi hold phat in the home. would it be unrealistic for me to want to bless our home with the readings of the guru granth sahib ji if there is a pandit coming to recite from the hindu scriptures. I am not sure what to do, because I feel this is my home too. Please help me.
I am very excited to hear from my new Sikhi friends.
Thank you
Sat Sri Akal
Sikhipyar
More...