SPNer in Focus - Lee Douglas

• Please tell us about your first experiences of Sikhi (either in your family or as a convert).

I have always been spiritual in nature, ever since I can remember, despite or perhaps because I come from a largely atheist family.

For many years my searching for God (although at the time I did not realise this was what I was doing) lead me down the Neo-Pagan path, which eventually lead nowhere, except round and round in logical circles.

So, one day I decided to simply stop that part of my life and look elsewhere. After a few years, I found myself reading a book from the library about Sikhi.

I was astounded! I found that Sikhi encompasses all that I had come to believe about God. I found it just made sense to me, and so I sought out Sikhs to talk to.

• What events and experiences inspired you to continue on your journey learning about Sikhism, and deepening your understanding?

I work in the IT industry; and so prior to making my decision to convert, I met many Sikhs via the Internet, which lead to a memorable email exchange with a young Sikh living in London. He invited me to a Sikh Summer Camp in which he was doing some fine Seva. I went to this camp, the only white man, and an older man surrounded predominantly by children.

I was left largely to my own devices. I spoke to many people there, old and young. The children were full of exuberance and more than willing to come and talk to this strange, small, fat and hairy bloke. The elders initially stayed away, but as the two weeks progressed, I found them approaching me, and I asked questions. I arose at 4:00 am. I did all the things that the rest of the camp did, and went home with a very nice copy of Nitnem.

Let me say this to any new non-Punjabi converts: The youth at that camp were a great help to me. I will never forget their kindness.

• If you could name one thing about Sikhism that is most important to you (something that you would never give up) what would it be?

When I first read Mool Mantar, again I was almost blown away by what it was communicating to me! It is I think the very essence of Sikh.

One God who is all, all pervading, the realisation of the interconnectedness of everything, the idea that nothing exists that is not God! Wow! It has made me treat people better.

• Were there individuals who were role models, who taught you how to be and live as a Sikh?

Too many to mention: the Sikh youth from that camp, the young Sikh who invited me, his younger brother, and an old gentleman who did approach me on the very first day, and who spoke Punjabi to me. I shrugged my shoulders, he signed for me to wait, and he wandered off. A few minutes later, he was back with another man, who served as translator for us.

I met a few years ago a white couple about 10 years older than me who had a very Western slant on the Sikhi they practiced, not by any means what I would call orthodox, but very nice, unassuming, friendly, gentle people.

• Who may have motivated you to learn more about Sikhism?

Everybody, but admittedly myself. I by this time had the bit between my teeth. I am dogged when it comes to trying to understand new things

• Did you ever experience barriers as you continued on your journey?

When I see the pettiness displayed by some Sikhs, it does bring me down, but not for long. What we do here on this earth? Well all of that is ordained. We all are little tiny facets of God. All that God does cannot be wrong, so if I can attempt to see God in others, then my mood improves.

• Thinking of yourself today as a Sikh, how do you live Sikhism in your own way?

I do the things that most of us do. I go to Gurdwara. I even awake early (some days) for Simran. I try to get up continuously, but Ahhh! Life has a habit of getting in the way. I help anybody that asks for it, even those who do not ask but I can see need it.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/face-to-face/27507-spner-in-focus-lee-douglas.html

• How do you understand Seva to the Guru and to the panth, in your own words and in your own experience?

Seva? Well that’s a bit different for me. Sikhi has, over the last 8 to 9 years, made me a better man, more considerate, willing to forgive, more helpful generally. If you need help, than ask a Sikh. This is now a major belief of mine.

• What is the most difficult part of being a Sikh?

The hardest part of any spiritual path is not being too hard on yourself. We all fall from time to time. God will always pick us up, dust us down, and put us back on the road. That is if our intent is pure.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507

So, guilt, you don't need it. Say, Sorry! Mean it! Then, forge ahead. God forgives.

• Is there anything else you would like to share with the Readers?

People are people the word over. We each of us are unique and individual, and the reality is that not all of us will reach for God. Those people who do not believe, or believe in another way from us: Well they are God too. We must treat them all as such.

• What are the Top 5 Critical Things that you would like to suggest for the Overall Improvement of SPN.

A tiny thing really. When you write or reply to a post, there are two buttons. Save and Submit, I often hit the wrong one. It would be handy if the Submit button was on the right rather than the left, but it is a tiny thing.

• Sikh Philosophy Network thanks Lee ji for this interview with this prayer.

Guru Ram Das Ang 775

ਜੋ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਕਹੈ ਸੋਈ ਪਰੁ ਕੀਜੈ ਨਾਨਕ ਅੰਕਿ ਸਮਾਇਆ ॥੩॥
jo prabh kehai soee par keejai naanak ank samaaeiaa ||3||
Whatever God says, I gladly do. O Nanak, I have merged into the fiber of His Being. ||3||
ਹਰਿ ਪ੍ਰਭਿ ਕਾਜੁ ਰਚਾਇਆ ॥
har prabh kaaj rachaaeiaa ||
The Lord God has arranged the marriage ceremony;

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਵੀਆਹਣਿ ਆਇਆ ॥
guramukh veeaahan aaeiaa ||
He has come to marry the Gurmukh.

ਵੀਆਹਣਿ ਆਇਆ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਹਰਿ ਪਾਇਆ ਸਾ ਧਨ ਕੰਤ ਪਿਆਰੀ ॥
veeaahan aaeiaa guramukh har paaeiaa saa dhhan kanth piaaree ||
He has come to marry the Gurmukh, who has found the Lord. That bride is very dear to her Lord.

ਸੰਤ ਜਨਾ ਮਿਲਿ ਮੰਗਲ ਗਾਏ ਹਰਿ ਜੀਉ ਆਪਿ ਸਵਾਰੀ ॥
santh janaa mil mangal gaaeae har jeeo aap savaaree ||
The humble Saints join together and sing the songs of joy; the Dear Lord Himself has adorned the soul-bride.
ਸੁਰਿ ਨਰ ਗਣ ਗੰਧਰਬ ਮਿਲਿ ਆਏ ਅਪੂਰਬ ਜੰਞ ਬਣਾਈ ॥
sur nar gan gandhharab mil aaeae apoorab jannj banaaee ||
The angels and mortal beings, the heavenly heralds and celestial singers, have come together and formed a wondrous wedding party.

ਨਾਨਕ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਮੈ ਸਾਚਾ ਨਾ ਕਦੇ ਮਰੈ ਨ ਜਾਈ ॥੪॥੧॥੩॥
naanak prabh paaeiaa mai saachaa naa kadhae marai n jaaee ||4||1||3||
O Nanak, I have found my True Lord God, who never dies, and is not born. ||4||1||3||

 
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Brother lee,

since you parents were atheists that means they never told you that there is a god i think that those are one's parent's who first tell him about god and other religious acts but in some cases the god guided you your case is one of this kind isn't it incredible
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507
when did you first thought about the fact that there is a god?
and the second question is that suppose if your parents were Christian or if they followed a religion which of course had a definition of god why do you think you must have chosen your present religion then?

Sikh Rolayist Ji,

Like a lot of people my age and from my background, my parents paid lip service to the Church of England, I along with the next brother down from me (I am the eldest child of 5 of us) where actualy Christend into the Anglican faith, and also attended Sunday school. Don't read to much into this though, we where shipped of to Sunday school to give my folx some peace and nothing more(Imagine 5 kids all no more than 3 years apart!)

So although I grew up in a household where God was never mentioned, I also grew up in a time where on the surface the majority of us in the UK were affiliated with the C of E.

I never really thought about God untill I was about 10 years old, I mean of course I had heard of such a being, I had learnt about Christianity, and I am actualy a product of Imperial India before the partiation.

My gradfather on my mothers side left Mumbai shortly after the partianion with his family in toll. My Mum was born in Mumbai, and so I also grew up with the stories of my Indian cusions who converted from Hinduism to Catholisiom.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507

So I had an idea that there was more than one way to see deity.

When I reach ten years of age I fell in with some Pagans, and Neo-Paganism was my very first direct dealings with deity, my first knowledge of a creative God come from this source. Now you probably think, ten is a little young to start down the Pagan route, but in truth 10 is the age in which I started secondry school, so I was only 5 years away from leaving school and staring work.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507

I think that perhaps if my parents were truely religious and followed with their hearts the faith they paid lip service to thinks may have been differant for me. I may very well by now be a devout Christian instead. Who knows for sure, not it. Although I can say that I have always been a little bit rebelous, so maybe not.

Dear: Lee ji
I can relate to that (being born into the 'wrong' familly, that is)!
My Father was - supposedly - a Catholic, my Mom 1/4 Jewish daughter of agnostic Dutch Republicans and 'English/Irish' ne'r-go-to-the-Catholic-Heaven' types. They raised us (three Boys, one Girl) as Catholics - but mainly just so that we could go to Catholic Parochial Schools; as we were a Military Familly, and the Base Schools often STANK.
I believe in Reincarnation DEEPLY - I always have (first learned of it, at age 7 or 8, in the Movie 'Patton' - of all places!); thus, since I KNOW that I was a 'Dhamra Practitioner' in countless past lives, I've come to believe that people like you and I are often born into such families as a kind of 'test' - to see if the Dharma has, over the course of so many incarnations, 'stuck' with us well enough that we come back to it - even if the environment that we were raised in contained few if any clues!
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507
I haven't 'converted' to Sikhism (it's not a good time to make such decisions; many problems and challenges facing me!); I've always considered myself a Mahayana Buddhist - a devotee of the Dalai Lamas; but I agree with you - in spades - that the Guru Granth Sahib is a Truly Enlightened Text; a REALLY, REALLY good guild to Life, The Universe, and Everything.
I, too, became interested after reading a book called, "An Introduction to Sikhism".
Thanks for sharing your story!

JimRix Ji,

And thank you sir for sharing your story. I particularly liked the expresion 'Dhamra Practitioner', don't know why, just has a nice ring to it.

dear jimrinx,

every page and every line in the Granth praises God and no one else i wonder how can anyone respect it without respecting god i fear you are a spiritual atheist but still i appreciate your respect for Guru Granth sahib.

Dear: Sikh Rolyalist
I'm afraid you 'have me' - for I must admit that I've read MUCH of the Guru Granth Sahib, as well as a smattering of other Important Works of the Sikh Faith, most of this came to me in a rather abbreiviated form; in fact, the most informative book of them all was 'An Introduction to Sikhism' - written be a very loving Sikh Woman (sorry, I don't recall her exact name; but it's probably in most English Lauguage Print Databases) - as it Truly Impressed Me; or, in other words, I've yet to get the entire Guru Granth sahib off of my 'Read This' List - which is often dozens of books long.
I was atrracted to SPN because of this; as I've read many, many books on Religion, Philosophy, Mysticism, Physics - everything! - and the Sikh Faith appeals to my sense of the 'oneness' of all Faiths - and my Belief that The Great Formless One was behind, at one time or another, the formation of All Beliefs; even if many a False 'God King' and corrupt Theocracy has sullied the orginal beliefs, inspired through mystic communion, of the Founding Saint/Prophet/Seer/Avdhoot/Messiah/Guru/Etc..
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507
After all; I said that I've always considered myself a MAHAYANA Buddhist - and we're not properly labeled 'Atheist', like most Theravadas at least 'sound' when they talk about 'no clear light' or 'no Formless Realm'; as where, exactly, do you think the 'Great Formless One' resides? Where Mahayana Buddhist go - to be Judged - when we Die; it's where I KNOW I'll 'visit' long enough to select my next Incarnation - as I 'Made A Deal' with The Great Formless One eons of lifetimes ago; I have to 'Work For It' - a Higher Incarnation, that is.
I've promise to read ALL of the Guru Granth Sahib just for you, Sikh Royalist ji; but I also want YOU to read Thomas Paines "Common Sense" & "The Age of Reason" - the influence that Thomas Paine had upon America is one of the main reasons we have suffered through very little internal conflcit (just one Civil War - which was very just, as it was not only fought to abolish slavery, it also make a point - about the Value of The Principles of Thomas Paine!), as well as why some of the less ignorant Americans - the ones who've actually read Marx, instead of cursing him out of pure ignorance, say - are so 'proud' of our Form of Governance.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507
But then Thomas Paine was a Great Guru if I've ever read of one.
Have you ever read The Avesta? The (better say "Holy" - so my Muslim friends won't get upset!) Quran? The Bible? Any Sutras? Lao Tzu? Confuscius? Plato? Any of the Ghitas? Vedas? Upanishads?
I envy people who speak Hindi or Punjabi - that has to make dealing with so many very un-western names so much easier!

dear jimrinx after knowing you to some depth i have realized that you are still in a kind of search for the truth and for that purpose Granth is of course very informative really sorry for asking you such a stupid question in my last post i have not read Thomas Paines but i will try to as soon as I'm free.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507
i have a copy of Quran but never got time to read it have only read the index.i have read The new testament but a few pages from the front and it was so good to read it as if my eyes started to open up the best line i think was "Love even those who hate you do not only love those who love you don't even the tax collectors do that"
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507
Gita was perhaps the first scripture that came to my hands i think i was 13 or so the most inspiring quote was "do your deeds do not worry about the result"
have read Plato to some extent not properly

but most importantly i have read a thought by kabir ji
"pothi padh padh jag mua pandit bana na koy dhai akshar prem ke padhe so pandit hoye"
no one becomes a wise man by reading scriptures but by understanding them and loving every creature.

Dear: Sikh Royalist ji
Quite so! The part about Wisdom not being found in the Words within Books, that is!
I recommended Thomas Paine because - though he 'sounds like' an Atheist, he inspired many of the Great Deist (people who believe in a God of some sort - but not a God who, if you pray to Hirm for every little thing in the hope of receiving some kind of 'Divine Intervention' in ones affairs, you're going to get it; Deist see the Universe more as a 'Wind-Up Toy', and God as an Caring Observer who set things up to teach us the difference between Good and Evil - through experiencing BOTH of them; which is why it's nonsense to constantly asking the Greatest Guru to let you 'cheat on your tests and/or homework' by praying for 'the answers) who helped to write our Constitution; as it's the one thing that keeps us Americans - who are descendants of the War-like Europeans that battled it out over the Reformation and Conter-Reformation (Catholic vs Protestant Christian - NOT what "Jesus would do"!) - from doing the same thing HERE.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=27507
I'm very worried about the escalating crisis in, oh, say, YOUR part of the World, you see; and I'd like everyone to read their Thomas Paine - as the Ideals expressed in his writiings might just help you get some Real Peace!
I'm sorry if that comes off rude - it shouldn't!
I didn't get whatever Wisdom of that sort just from a Book though; I got it through Divine Communion - so, sometimes, I feel rather compelled to play the Guru myself!
Peace, Sikh Royalist ji; I wish the People of India - and your Neighbors - all the best!