My Religion My Faith

Religion never used to interest me. However, I have recently been reading a book " No God But God " by Reza  Aslan. While the book itself is fascinating what caught my attention was his definition of Religion. He says

"Religion ......is not about faith. It is the story of faith. It is a institutionalized system of symbols and metaphors (read rituals and myths) that provides a common language with which a community of faith can share with each other their numinous encounter with the Divine Presence.

In my view it very succinctly summaries what  religion should be, but that is not what it  has become.It should be to communally observe certain rules of society and share their encounters with the Divine Presence.

But regretfully religion has been hi-jacked by  minders in the form of priests, mullahs, pundits, Brahmins  and bhai ji's. All along they have led the common folk to believe that religion was too complex for the common man to understand and that they were the only ones who could interpret it. With increased media coverage and transparency,  we are seeing examples of how these people have exploited the system for their own gratification, which ranges from sexual, financial to power and control.

This has lead me to think about my self , what I believe in and what do I have faith in ?

I was born a Sikh. When we were young my Father, who was active in the Sikh community in Rangoon,  made it a point to take us to the Sikh gurudwara (temple)  most Sundays. However it was more of a social event for us children. While the elders listened to the kirtan and the sermons by the bhai ji's , we kids were outside playing , buying toys and eating ice cream from vendors who would gather there.

My formal education began in the Khalsa (Sikh) primary school. The principal was a  Anglo-Indian lady called Ms. Cooper. I do not remember any emphasis on religious education or even any attempt to teach Punjabi. The medium of instruction was English. Strangely enough my next school an International school run by the Methodist's  required us the visit the chapel a couple of times  every week and to sing hymns and American gospel songs. Back in India, I  finished my high school run by  the Irish Christian Brothers.I subsequently went to graduate school at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and stayed in the Theology School dormitory.  None of these schools had any religious  influence on me.

The closest thing to religion in which I participated  was having to recite the Japji Sahib while my Mother plaited my long hair into briads at the back of my head. This went on until I was about twelve and  started tying a turban.

 According to Wikipedia " Japji Sahib  is a universal sacred hymn about God composed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the Sikh faith. The Japji Sahib consists of the Mool Mantra as the beginning followed by 38 hymns and a final Salok at the end of this composition. The Japji appears at the very beginning of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Book of the Sikhs. It is regarded as the most important Bani or 'set of verses' by the Sikhs and is recited every morning by all practising this faith.

I recited this every morning  without understanding a word and rattling it off as fast as I could,trying to see if I could finish it off before my Mother finished with my hair.As we entered our teens our visits to the gurudwara  got fewer , although we did have a prayer room at home and on certain days of the months we were required to attend and listen to the prayers being read. Also on every important occasion, birthdays, exam time, interviews and a special prayer or ardass would be read , requesting God to ensure our success.

Following my post-graduate studies in the United States I ended up in Hong Kong. For the first few years, on occasional  Sundays I would visit the gurudwara , more from a point of eating the langar ( the communal food ) and seeing if I could find others with a similar back ground and with whom I could socialize.

After my marriage and with our two children, our visits to the temple became less frequent, except when we visited India, when my Mother and my In-Laws would insist that we visit the gurudwara to offer a prayer of thanks.

As I grow older and start reading a bit more about other religions, I  have come to the conclusion that essentially all religions are the same. There is the ultimate belief in the concept of  one God, Supreme Being, Wahe Guru, Allah or what ever name you want to give it. All religions preach communal living and living in harmony. From a personal point of view I feel that religion is essentially  rules for society to live by. Look at the Ten Commandments. It is a set of rules which is observed by both Judaism and Christianity. According to Reza Islan , Islam incorporated some of the features of the Jewish religion  such as abstaining from eating pork, fasting on Friday.

I have come to recognize that the Sikh religion is probably one of the most enlightened. Its founder Guru Nanak Dev took aspects of of both Hinduism and Islam and the holy book the Guru Granth Sahib ( " the living Guru") contains hymns and sayings from both these religions. It does not stop people from any faiths( or caste,or gender ) entering or eating the communal food. All the gurudwara's in India and abroad are among the cleanest places of worship and almost all the maintenance work  is done by volunteers ( Seva) . All these temples have four entrances  symbolizing that it is open to all. It is not a proselytizing religion . Its religious programmes or its preachers do not  proscribe any hatred or dislike of any other religion or community. Its ceremonies are short and simple. Women are treated as equal and you will find Sikh women among the most emancipated.Even the Sikh names are unisex ? You will find a lot of boys and girls having the same name - such as Harjit, Simran, Manjeet or Jatinder.

Sikhism's beliefs are simple . Like all religions it believes in one God. Its rituals are minimum.

"Recitation of religious books, penance, religious discussions and all meditations,
The exposition of six schools of philosophy and Hindu ceremonial books,
The practice of yoga and the performance of religious rituals,
The abandonment of everything and wandering in forests,
The performance of many efforts of various types,
Alms giving, oblation to fire and bestowal of many jewels,
Cutting off the body into small pieces and making them an offering of fire,
The performance of fastings and vows of many varieties,
All these are not equal to the contemplation of Lord's Name".
(Guru Arjan, Ashtpadi, pg. 205)

 "One man shaves off and calls himself a sanyasin, another passes for a yogi or a celibate. One calls himself a Hindu, another a Turk, one a Shia, another a Sunni, ("another a Christian or a Buddhist" )but know ye, men all over are the same. He alone is the Creator of ("all" ) Hindus ,Muslims ("Christians or Buddhist"), the Compassionate One, the Allah, our great Giver: nay, know not another, for there is not another. So serve they all the One alone: for He the One is the only God of us all: it is His Form, His Light that is diffused in all." (Guru Gobind Singh, Kabitas 71-90, Akal Ustati)

 "The temple or the mosque are the same, the Hindu worship or the Musalman prayer are the same; all men are the same; it is through error they appear different. Deities, demons, Yakshas, heavenly singers, Musalmans and Hindus adopt the customary dress of their different countries. All men have the same eyes, the same ears, the same body, the same build, a compound of earth, air, fire, and water. All and Abhekh are the same, the Purans and the Quran are the same; they are all alike; it is the one God who created all. The Hindu God and the Muhammadan God are the same; let no man even by mistake suppose there is a difference." (Guru Gobind Singh, Akal Ustat, pg. 275)

Source: www.sikhs.org  Words in parentheses  are mine.

Having said that I am not a rigid practicing Sikh.I do not carry any of the five symbols associated with  Sikhism.These are the five K's. Kesh ( long hair /beard), Kanga ( comb to keep you hair tidy), Kirpan ( short dagger or sword ), Kara ( steel bangle ) and Kachera ( long drawers - I dont know if boxers would qualify?). These symbols to identify a Sikh from a distance were given by the last Guru Gobind Singh when the Sikhs took on the role of defending the Hindu's against persecution by the Mughal rulers.

While I am sure most Sikhs would disagree with me, perhaps these symbols were necessary at that point of time. I personally am not convinced that it is as relevant in today's world, but then it is up to the individual to decide. I still consider my self a Sikh and will be for the rest of my life.

I do believe in God or a Supreme Being  or a Wahe Guru to whom I utter a prayer at  times of stress or when I desperately want something  positive to happen.I do not go to the temple or make offerings. The one way communication could be when I am walking in the evening or when I am about to sleep or some other time when I am by myself. When my prayers are answered or something good happens, I quietly offer my thanks.While no saint, I do try to live a decent life within the constraints of the modern world.

I do not know whether my children and  their children will continue to be Sikhs (or follow any religion at all ), but hopefully they will keep a open mind and view Sikhism vs other religions and then decide for themselves.